A Mood & A Companionate Ear.

Posted on Mon Feb 14th, 2022 @ 8:50pm by

711 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Not All Changes Are Welcome.
Location: En Route to Sickbay
Timeline: Current

The walk to Sickbay as he'd been ordered to do was a slow one, he was in no rush because his mood demanded he'd wallow in the aftermath of what happened with each step he took. If anything it served as a stark reminder that maybe he was done, burnt out. That his prime in Starfleet had come and gone, that he was still trying to do things that a younger Mark could do only now apparently not. As much as he tried to rationalize it by telling himself that it was not his fault, part of him nagged that he should have been better prepared. He'd been trusted with a ship, a crew, he'd come back towed, his crew injured and some missing.

Without intention, Sam had inadvertently caught up with Mark. She too was on the way to Sickbay as she'd been ordered to do and going by the body language she was picking up from the Commander his mood reflected it. "Mark." She called once the corridor was clear.

Mark stopped and turned to notice the blonde-haired marine that was the only one to be rescued. "Sam...." Mark added. "Off to Sickbay too?"

"Yeah, Captain's orders." Sam caught up with Mark and fell into step with him as they continued the walk.

"Yeah, same here." Mark returned feeling that look Sam was giving him. "Go on, out with it."

"You're beating yourself up too much over what happened." Sam started. "It was a trap, you and I know that all too well, it's what we do as Marines. I remember you saying yourself that you expect mistakes to be made but what you wouldn't tolerate is not learning from them."

"My ship was crippled, not disabled, but crippled needing a tow back here. Many of my crew were injured and several missing, you included almost." Mark shot back. "While I take full responsibility for it, and have, it just proves to me that perhaps my time is done. Time for the younger folks to have a go."

There was an awkward moment between the two of them and Sam understood. Everyone knew Mark missed the green uniform, it was where he was at his best, his peak.

"Have you spoken to Ayla about any of this?" Sam asked wondering just how serious Mark was considering he was talking about ending his career.

"No, well, sort of I guess." He answered as the walked towards a Turbolift. "I've mentioned it but nothing solid just yet." Though recent events sure made that 'talk' all the more serious to have.

"Maybe you should speak to the Captain first before you have that talk proper." Sam suggested knowing that as the Captain he'd be a wealth of information that might shed some light on options Mark may not have considered yet.

"Maybe. Though right now I suppose an after-action medical is in order, at least I can't screw that up." It was obvious that Mark was taking recent events hard, beating himself up over what happened. While hindsight was easy, the spur of the moment often tended to play out differently. It made him wonder what he could have done differently.

"Have you thought about wearing the green again?" Sam spoke.

"I'm a family man now Sam, they come first. It's why I stepped out of it." Mark answered. "I don't regret it, and I've made sure Ayla knows I don't blame her. I just think all those years of high intensity, rigors of marine life have finally caught up with me."

"Well, let's get you checked out, see how many miles you have left on the clock." Sam joked trying to life the mood of the moment.

Pressing the button to the lift it was only a brief moment before it opened. Mark let Sam walk in first before following her in allowing the doors to close behind them. The rest of the ride was done in silence though the wheels of thought were certainly going in Mark's head. Questions of What If? and the like, where his life had led him, the events of his career.

Maybe he was overdue for a service, get checked, get a feel for what shape he was in before work began on a recovery.

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