Teenage Inquisitor

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 11:46pm by 1st Lieutenant Mark Cross

Mission: Season 3: Episode 4: Cause and Effect
Location: Marine Country, Deck 32
Timeline: MD 6, 1500Hrs
2405 words - 4.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Having ditched River for the third time today she figured she would find her father, he'd missed their lunch date and she was feeling particularly needy and annoying having just spent the whole morning with the Elasian robot princess that was River Lokaa, even her name sounds like a Borg. Over her shoulder was slung her gym bag as she passed a number of marines all of them giving her the evils, non-marines weren't exactly welcome in what the ship's crew had dubbed 'Marine country' but she didn't care, she was after all a Wyatt which meant an all-access pass for the young teen. She had made it about five minutes unchallenged when a voice called to her.

"Well you're even more lost than I am!" Mark called to the girl, who had been having his own struggles finding his way around what had been his first starship-based assignment. He figured he'd get there in the end.

Abbey was relived that the Marines wasnt about to drag her away so she flashed him a smile. "Being lost and looking for someone are teo different things" She crossed her arms and raised her eyes brows. "So, where are you trying to find urm..." Her eyes flicked to his collar "Lieutenant' she said finally, the lessons her dad had given her paying off.

"I'm not trying to find anywhere right now, just...don't normally see anyone other than Marines down here, that's all! Plus I'm kinda new here" Mark shrugged. "The name's Cross by the way. Who are you looking for?"

"My father" She explained simply, "He always told me not to speak to strangers." Abbey knew she was being difficult but she loved nothing more than making marines sweat, they were for all intense and purposes the fighting backbone of the federation and were called upon when things got tough but give them a difficult teen girl to deal with and they squirmed and oh boy did Abbey enjoy making them squirm. "So we should change that, is there a bar or something around here?" she asked innocently.

"There's the coffee mess? I know where that is at least!" Mark had engineering in his DNA on his Dad's side, and with that seemed to come the same addiction to coffee that those guys seemed to have. His first two questions when coming aboard were where's the gym, and where can I get a coffee? The quality was questionable, but it was better than nothing. "Follow me!" he started blazing a trail through the corridors in the direction of a caffeine boost.

'Urgh Coffee, wheres the good stuff!' River thought having meant something with a bit more a kick but followed him anyway as they made a path through the labyrinthian style maze that was the corridors of the Elysium she wondered how she got lumbered with the most boring marine there was. Where was the boozer, the gambling, the fighting... the fun!

"You know we don't have a bar on this deck right? It's a travesty" Mark shrugged. It was a little disappointing, but the reputation that Marines had, and the reality, was a little different anyway. The early morning training sessions never went very well with a raging hangover, so any visits there had to be pretty selective anyway.

"Well, that's becoming more apparent, its like you read my mind or something" She teased, it was lucky really because if Abbey was able to get a drink so easily her father would have to station guards to stop her. He didn't like his daughter drinking apparently it was an age thing but drinking with marines would likely cause a scene. "So you're new, I didn't see you at the check-in when we arrived, where did you come from?"

"I've been based on-planet pretty much since I enlisted - This is my first assignment on a starship, mainly why I don't know my way around I guess" he explained, trying to keep the story short and sweet. "I kind of...needed to get on the first boat out of my last situation so that landed me here!"

"Why the desperate need to get away?" She asked as they entered the lounge, her father wasn't here but a few marines were playing cards in the corner. "Some romantic interest went wrong? You're a Criminal in disguise, some bodged mission went wrong? Or did you just tick off the wrong person?" Abbey was fully into her investigator mode now, the Man who was her current companion becoming much more interesting.

"Option number one!" Mark made his way across the lounge to fetch them coffees. "I signed up for the Marines in the first place because of a girl. She was head of the unit, so when it all crashed and burned it wasn't the best place for me. I'd already graduated the Academy, I'd probably have been a CMO by now if I hadn't followed my heart."

Following the marine Abbey pressed her questions her curiosity and boredom getting the better of her, "That's so romantic, following a girl across literally space to stay with her. My dad kinda just got stuck we me after my mother... well a single dad." She said avoiding saying that her mother was dead, she still didn't like to think about it, Abbey watched him ready the drinks before asking. "What was she like your girlfriend?"

Mark carried both mugs to a nearby free table, placing them opposite each other. "She was...although it didn't feel like that a lot of the time." he dropped himself onto one side of the table, instantly taking a sip of his brew. "She didn't have much emotional bandwidth when it came to romance, it seemed to make her more uncomfortable than anything else."

Abbey sat and pulled one of the steaming mugs to her side and cupped it with both her hands and sipped, she didn't not like the coffee she just preferred something stronger, like vodka or something. "So why did you love her if she couldn't love you back? Why did you give up everything for her?" She questioned looking at him from across the top of her mug.

"I mean...it felt like it suited me at the time...but I guess I hoped it'd be different after a while!" he shrugged as he took another sip. "Besides, the whole idea was that she'd give me a glowing recommendation when it came to coming back to Starfleet down the line. Turns out she didn't really care about my dreams and aspirations either, that was the biggest kicker."

"She sounds positively horrid" The young woman pulled a disgusted face and then drank some more of her coffee, "Well at least you're here now and have the freedom of doing whatever you want and whoever you want," She said with a wry smile and bobbing her eyebrow upwards.

"Some people are born to be Marines and not a lot else. She was one of them." Mark looked around the room curiously, although he didn't know who Abbey's Dad was, and wouldn't have recognised him anyway. "So how long have you guys been on Elysium?"

"Only a few weeks, if that. We just joined the crew from the starbase. His assignment renewal was up and we got shifted here" She shrugged, "Much better than the last gig that place sucked!" Abbey put the mug down already half-drunk, she had a high tolerance for the heat.

"Ohhh interesting! Where were you before then?" He took another long sip from his mug, noticing that most of it was gone already. It's a good job coffee wasn't rationed, or he'd have to find something else to fill the gap.

Abbey would have replied but behind Cross her father had entered and she slipped casually further into her chair but it was already too late. "Oh great just as we were getting along." She said as his gruff voice broken the silence.

"Abbey, Sir" Luke said his voice doing well to hide the annoyance of having been informed by several subordinate marines that his wayward daughter had been sighted pestering the new lieutenant, well actually they were talking about a pretty young woman walking about by the descriptions he knew who it was. Just what he needed in the middle of an intruder rehearsal. "I'm sorry for my daughter sir, she tends to wander into places she shouldn't be."

Mark chuckled as he watched the whole scene unfold. Turns out Abbey was a little troublemaker, not that he was particularly surprised.

"Honestly she's been no trouble, I needed to grab coffee anyway. Get yourself a mug if you don't have anywhere else to be?"

He looked between the officer and then to his daughter before giving one singular nod and moved to fix them all another drink, Luke only ever looked out for his daughter and needed to work on their relationship which was in part why he took the new posting to a bigger ship. It didn't take long and Luke returned with a mug filled with coffee and a jug to refill theirs if needed. He took an adjacent seat and sat down placing his drink in front of him and the jug in the middle "So, just what exactly has she been up to?"

"Looking for you, and making friends, from what I gather anyways!" Mark made a reach for the jug to refill his mug. He decided that mentioning how Abbey was as outraged as he was about the lack of bar on the deck, and would likely join the campaign to get one, would be a bad idea. He wasn't good with ages, but figured she probably wasn't one to give free reign as far as that's concerned.

"Plus giving a few Marines a fright seeing someone that wasn't one of us down here too I'm sure."

Luke felt that the officer was holding some of the information back from the look of Abbey's relief but let it slide, "Well, like they say family of a marine is a family to the marines." He smiled Abbey's shock clear on her face. "Don't look so shocked dear, you've caught me in a good mood the training simulations we've been running have been going well, in fact, sir I was about to start writing the report for you to see and back brief Major Naxea."

"That's very true!" Mark took a long swig of his second mug. "I've heard that you guys have been killing it...no pun intended...but I'm due to check in with the Major in the not too distant, so I'll be sure to pass it along." From what he'd gathered so far, the Marine detachment's performance in simulations was exemplary. Of course, all Marines had a certain level of competence, but there was always scope to excel beyond that. He was pleased to see he was stepping into an already well-oiled machine.

"Maybe youll let me join in on one of your training sessions, Ensign Lokaa has been teaching me hand to hand and firing a phaser" Interjected Abbey looking to both her father and to Cross for a nod. "Since you keep saying 'Being a Marine is in the Wyatts blood'. " Abbey said her voice low and gruff in an attempt to mimic her father.

"You have to complete the 10-mile initiation run before you can set foot in your first simulation." Mark replied, completely deadpan, taking another sip from his mug. "Did Ensign Lokaa not tell you about that part?"

"Really?" She huffed putting her empty mug down her fathers nods indicating that the lieutenant was telling the truth though he could be in on the joke. "No she didnt but fine, ill do whatever it takes then." She shrugged, she had no idea if she could even run 10 whole miles but to see the smug look on her fathers face wiped cleans shed do it.

"Well in that case..." Mark was impressed with the level of determination if nothing else. Maybe she did have the 'Marine gene' after all. "If you can complete the 10 miles, and prove you can use that phaser on the range without giving me a haircut, I'll speak to the Major about getting you involved."

He figured the biggest challenge of all would be getting the Major to sign off on it, but he'd deal with that particular situation IF it ever arose.

Abbey looked to her dad who was studying her like a hunter woukd a prey, “Dad?" She asked sheepishly.

"I just thought you wanted to join Starfleet, become a scientist." He sipped his coffee trying to figure his daughter out. "It wont be easy you know." Luke wasnt trying to put her of but he didn't want her to be unprepared.

"Well, I do but I also think I could be a Marine. Ive been researching and theres some sub units in the Corp who require scientific backgrounds. Its not all just photon torpedoes for breakfast" She said her comment even naking herself crack a smile. "And I know but River csn train me and maybe even you guys, think of how beneficial that would be" She said with a shrug.

Mark raised his hand. "Graduated Starfleet Medical, 7 years, before I enlisted. I've never not been frontline. If science is what you want to do then Starfleet is the clearer path in for sure."

He took another sip of coffee.

"...but there's no harm in trying it out while you're here I guess."

Luke chortled, “You have no idea how wrong those words could be down the line" Luke stood placing the coffee mug in his right hand. "Well, since were all in agreement i think however it is time for Abbey to return home and to her instructor, if i know the young Elasian she is going to be angry you ditched her... Again."

Sighing Abbey also stood "Fine, thankyou for your company Cross it was most enjoyable" She darted a toothy smile at him and winked causing her farther to roll his eyes and walk off towards the door.

"See you after 10 miles rookie!!" He called across the room as they turned to leave. He refilled his own mug for the road, and prepared to go and look busy.

1st Lieutenant Mark Cross
Marine Officer

Gunnery Sergeant Luke Wyatt
Marine SNCO

Abbey Wyatt
Civilian