<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Shvedova watched in silence as Sgt Brekke waded into the mess of brawling marines. It wasn't the first time she'd witnessed something like this, and she was willing to give them a little slack for the circumstances under which they'd been thrown together. But if they were dropping into an unstable facility full of colonists who were already panicked, she was going to need these marines to keep their heads on straight. <br/><br/>It may not be a combat situation, but it was sure as hell likely to be stressful. The USCM wasn't there to fight, but they <em>were</em> there to inspire calm and confidence. And right now, this squad didn't look up to the task.<br/><br/>Happily, it didn't take Brekke long to restore a semblence of order, and Shvedova exhaled slowly in relief. Brekke had the respect of the marines he'd served with before, and even the ones who didn't know him seemed to respond to his authoritative presence. She nodded slowly when Brekke passed the focus back to her.<br/><br/>"Thank you sergeant," she said without glancing at him. "I'm going to overlook this shit once, and once only. I know all of you have seem some bad situations on your last deployments. But I'm gonna need you to remember that  gunfire isn't the only kind of stress you're trained to deal with. Combat isn't just about gunfights, it's about inspiring calm and confidence in a volatile crowd. <em>That's</em> the mission we've got today. If any of you ends up discharging your weapon, it won't be because you're a badass, it'll be because you or one of your fellow marines fucked up. And if you fuck up, there are over a hundred people down there who could die. I'll wager that's more lives than any of you have been responsible for in a single operation. Is that understood?"<br/><br/>"Understood, ma'am," the marines chorused with a variable but overall satisfactory level of gusto.<br/><br/>"I hope so." Shvedova took a step back and turned to her right. "Drop time is in fifteen minutes. Sergeant Brekke, pack 'em in."</span></span>