Drafting a Resignation

Posted on Thu Nov 5th, 2020 @ 6:31am by Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea

Mission: Season 4: Episode 2: Rest And Relaxation
Location: Naxea's Quarters; 2200 Hours
Timeline: En route to Pacifica
679 words - 1.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The lighting was dim in her quarters as Naxea held a PaDD in her hand, lounging on her bed, dressed in uniform minus the jacket with the top partly unzipped and the sleeves pushed up. She mulled over the draft on the PaDD, letting out a sigh as she did so. She was drafting her resignation from the Starfleet Marine Corps. How did one resign from their life? She thought back over the past several weeks and the pain that each day had brought.

She had learned of a Bajoran massacre that she and S'hib discovered on Sarva Three due to information leaked by Garak. Then she fought the Terran Empire, captured, tortured, sexually abused, had her mind wiped and physically altered. It was all too much for her. All of her life she had dealt with hardships, since being born during the Cardassian Occupation. She thought about her life in the Corps.

From her first day at the Marine Academy, she recalled the Andorian Drill Instructor Gunnery Sergeant Thral. He had been especially hard on her from the beginning, sometimes pushing her harder than the other cadets, making her re-run an obstacle course because he felt she could do it faster. Often he was right as her time improved. Through many bruises, muscle sprains, and even two cases of broken bones when she landed wrong on a moving shuttle drop breaking her ankle and then again, breaking her arm when she fell off the obstacle course, landing wrong.

She then recalled her first duty assignment as a Platoon Commander aboard the USS Forrestal. It was the most boring four years of her career as they were mostly used as guard detail for ambassadors. She had hated the assignment but still came to enjoy serving with every Marine under her Command, except maybe Corporal Jenkins. That guy was a constant pain in her ass, having to bail him out of one brig after another for getting involved in bar fights. She was certain there for a awhile that the man was going to be the death of her. Last she had heard, Corporal Jenkins was killed in a bar fight with a Nausicaan. Fucking idiot, she thought as she shook her head at the memory.

She then thought about her time as the Platoon Commander of the Marine Raider Platoon on Deep Space Fifteen. It was there that she had finally gotten her first taste of combat when she performed a hostage rescue mission against Orion Pirates. She recalled the Marines in her Raider Platoon as some of the best Marines she had served with...and the most violent. One of her closest friends was a Sergeant Luxa Gami. A betazoid that you did not want to get on her bad side as she recalled watching Sergeant Gami rip the intestines of an Orion out with her knife, smiling while she did it. The discipline among officers and enlisted were more laxed in the Special Forces Platoon than a standard infantry unit but it had made them a better team.

Then she had joined the Elysium as it's Detachment Commander and ended up making several good friends here and even a romantic interest with Lieutenant S'hib. She smiled as she recalled the times he had tried so hard to impress her by showing up unannounced to Marine Training. Her smile slowly faded as she thought about the recent events, finishing with signing her name on the PaDD. All she needed now was to deliver the PaDD to the Captain and send a copy to the Starfleet Marine Corps Commandant.

Her mind drifted to the possibility of working a farm on Bajor. It seemed like a peaceful option and at the moment a very appealing one. The land around Dahkur was fertile and offered beautiful scenery. She took the PaDD and placed it into the nightstand next to her bed for the time being until she was certain of her decision. She got up and made her way into the lavatory to shower and get ready for bed.