I guess I see the relationship between Marines and TSN crews as similar to the relationship between the MACOs and Starfleet officers in Star Trek: Enterprise, at least toward the end of Season 3. That seems to be what @admin is going for from what I can tell.
I also like the idea of a QRF, although I’m not sure that would be something we could actually do in RP. It might be possible to have quasi-spontaneous missions for people to get together and have some RP fun; it would just require a bit of organizing. I’m getting on a thought roll here, so bear with me, but we could have one or two set times during the week during which these QRF missions might occur, and anyone who can commit to being on duty for that time could post on a dedicated thread (or maybe a google doc) to let people know who’s free and if there are enough for a mission. I would be interested in developing this idea further if more people are interested and if this is feasible. Is this a topic for another thread?
If transporter tech hasn’t been developed yet (or doesn’t exist), shuttles between the station and dockyards would be ideal in my mind, but then direct transfer from a station to a docked ship.
I’d like to note that if tractor beams exist, transporter tech may be just as likely, but that’s my opinion, and if transporter tech doesn’t exist (as @admin stated) then so be it.