Comfort Zones

Posted on Fri Jun 20th, 2025 @ 8:49am by Staff Sergeant Lacey Burkett & Major Marcus Ming

4,166 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Mission 9: When the Stars Went Silent
Location: Forward Bar, Grill and Lounge.

Marcus wondered for the nth time why he was so comfortable in bars.....A virtual barfly as the old title went. He also preferred the real stuff vs Synthol when a fight wasn't imminent. He hadn't planned to rise in the ranks faster than usual but it had happened. He was a bit better than average on a bell curve if anyone believed that. He didn't mind that he had the trust of Captain Talon and his surviving pilots. It meant his cold, menacing, calculating protective anger had more fuel.

This war was eating at him like everyone else. Surrender and give up were two things he had no visceral experience with despite knowing the definitions. Still without a real partner he decided that occasional numbness wasn't so bad. He'd drank a little in his quarters and stashed two 64 oz flasks on each hip and a few smaller ones here and there loaded with Tullimore Dew. He was good at keeping illicit parties going day or night. His faux leather long coat was great for hiding beasts like his. He was seated at a booth in the far corner with one marine and 3 fleet officers.

He was the odd man out aside from being the booze hookup. After a while he excused himself garnering some disappointed glances. There was being the center of the party and being taken advantage of. As the ranking Marine he'd a mental note of his face. The UFPMC had a certain code which that 1st LT had danced close to if not over the line. Some of it was Ming's fault for letting his guard down. He sat in a half booth half table. A waiter came over and asked for an order. Ming requested a cold jasmine tea with no ice. The man walked away to fill the order, and Marcus stared at his hands on the table while watching for movement out of the corners of his eyes.

Marcus wasn't the only one seeking solitude. In the chaos of the withdrawal the NCO billets were the most basic of the basic, a rack when one was free with fresh bedding if one could be bothered and if the replicators were functional. Being a Marine, Staff Sergeant Burkett was used to limited alone time, but this setup featured all the privacy of the average greenhouse. Finally getting a couple hours where she wasn't sleeping or running interference for the L.T. Lacey had decided a booth or a table would be about as much solitude as she'd get, perhaps with some sort of meal to help her not to dwell on all that had gone down of late.

Lacey now had both the booth and the meal, but one thing she didn't have was salt. The shaker on her table was missing, no surprise given the Lounge had been used as temporary hospital until pretty recently. So she scooted on over to the adjacent table to borrow one, her uniform green top and black and grey jacket discarded on the bench seat, so she was just in a black and grey tank, boots and trousers. Her Auburn hair was about her shoulders framing her freckled face giving her a bit of a southern cowgirl vibe. Funny thing was that was almost exactly what she may have been if not for Starfleet, and whether Marine or Farm hand, she was from Oklahoma and sounded like it too.

"Hey there," she offered the man sat at the table next door in her charming southern drawl. "Mind if I grab this here shaker? Mine's ridden off somewhere."

Ming actually smiled. He said, " Your drawl reminds me of some of the wranglers I met growing up. I quite like it. As for the shaker I suspect I might be willing to lend you that salt shaker miss, Are you expecting company or could I beg some company and maybe a little conversation. Not asking for anything more than that if you are concerned about that."

Lacey's heart sank a little. She was hoping for some proper alone time with her thoughts, such as they were. But she was kind of heart and there were many people on board who'd been through a lot. She couldn't refuse.

"Well sure," she said, her cheek rising with a single-sided smile as she swiped the salt shaker. "Come on over, long as ya don't mind me eatin' my chicken here. Ain't eatin' 'er pretty like, neither. I'm starved!" Lacey moved back to her own table, dispensing a shaking of salt on her meal from standing then slid into her seat.

"Say, ain't you a Marine?" She asked as Ming got himself situated. "Swear I'd seen your face floatin' around in them reports and requests and such keep flyin' at me."

"Nailed the nail head on. Major David Ming...commanding officer of the Denver's flight of fighters. The Knights. Wishin' those reports had a happier ring to them but most of the flight came back so could've been worse I suppose. You're new on the Denver are you? Saw something about you on the personnel reports and I rarely mistake a face," Ming stated.

He added after a heartbeat as he pulled a flask out of his duster pocket rasing it up enough for her to see, "We're off duty so no worries if you eat just about any way feels right. If eating like someone who's hungry is the oddest thing I'll see tonight I won't mind a bit. Mind if i...?"

Lacey tensed up when 'David' mentioned his rank.

"No sir," she replied to the waving flask. "I don't mind sir. 'S'all good."

Even if Lacey had minded, she wasn't the sort to go against a superior's wishes.

"Yep I'm new," she went on, answering his question. "Managed to get me and some other folk from Belleraphon on an escape pod, 'an thank the stars we got picked up. I was in some makeshift hospital for a while with Lieutenant Ashley, she got burned up real bad in a Plasma fire. Then some scary lady, two an' a half Pip-er with a cybernetic arm come pressed me into guardin' some stuff for her an you don't mess with a two an' a half pip-er but you surely don't mess with one who can rip your arms off. So I was doin' that, an' then once I was relieved I got a call off of the ell-tee, so now I'm his uhhh... how'd you call it. Secretary? No that ain't it. Yeoman? Yeoman. Needed someone to run interference while he's tryin' to pick up all o' the pieces an' form some sorta unit with whoever we all got left."

Lacey finally got to her chicken. She took a piece in both hands and started to gnash it off the bone with glee.

Ming chuckled and said, "First off, we're off duty. Marcus is fine and I won't stand on formality if you wont. Save the formality for when we are on duty. Interesting that I was never offered to have a yeoman assigned to me nor did a ever think about of requesting one. Something to be said about filling out the flight reports yourself."

His voice darkened a little as he went on, It's the 'Sorry to report' messages I could do without but it's nobody else's job but mine as the commander of the Knights. I just had to do one for a pilot who's been with me since I joined the Knights as CO. She was one of the best and her number came up well before it should have. It is part of the reason I hate the Dominion so much...and why my BAC is a one or two points away from sober. They say never get close to your subordinates but it's rather hard NOT to when you're in each other's pockets like we are."

"Well yeah," Lacey had to agree quickly in-between bites. She was more of a specialist than a commander per-se, but she knew about the comradery between those who served together. "I guess when you drill so hard wi' someone you get to know 'em, even if you ain't supposed to be close an' all." Lacey thought about all those she'd served with, on Belleraphon and before, all the people she'd probably never see again. It was grim.

"Nasty, anit?" She added.

"Quite. I learned long ago that intensive training, especially as a unit, does wonders. Same with folks who are good at their jobs. One hospitilzed for long term care after extreme radiation exposure due to a Dominion weapon exploding damned near on top of his fighter. Shields went and he got bathed in hard radiation. Luckily he was likely to make a full recovery last I was told. He wast taken back to Earth via medical ship. McPhearson was my first loss as a commanding officer. She wasn't better or worse than any of us. It just came to numbers...sheer bad luck. It's not fucking fair....But that's the way of the universe I suppose. It's not all bubble gum and chocolate pecan pies," Ming said.

Marcus shook his head and said with a slight smile toward the end, "Sorry. Hadn't planned on being such a ball of cheer. So, you're new to the Denver. Mind if I ask a little about your training and skills? Call it professional curiousity."

"'s alright," Lacey smiled, cocking her head to Marcus in sympathy. "We all have been through a lot. Only natural 's gonna be on ya mind. 'n' if you wanna just talk about stuff I don' mind. 's all part of bein' a Marine, anit? Supportin' each other an' all."

Lacey washed her mouthful of food down with a slug of water.

"Given my size and prowess in hand to hand they put me in the infantry straight outta basic," Lacey joked, winking a long-lashed eye and making the freckles on her cheek dance as she did. "Nah I'm just joshin'. Admin outta basic, Queen o' R.E.M.F. which I didn' appreciate too much. But I was good at it, got a lotta good work done, helped out, y'know? From there they put me in the Armory, organisin' all the weapons, gettin' 'em charged, fixed up, cleaned, whatever. Then they done put me in for trainin' as a sniper. See with personal energy beam weapons like what we use? They gonna be accurate a couple miles easy with a bit o' diallin' in, no problem. Most marines could do that, ain't like with the old projectile rifles with the wind and fall off an' all that. But wi' phasers? You dial 'em in good you can make shots oh, seven, eight miles if you're good." Lacey spoke with animation, acting out the actions of the adjustments as she spoke, probably more unconsciously than consciously, her cutlery discarded on the plate. "Now that takes skill," she said, pointing at Marcus, "...cause if that sight is off by the tiniest margin y'all are missin' what you're shootin' at and they gon' know you're there. Someone worked out I was able to dial in a rifle real good I guess. Trained me up, got me some stripes, was a Corporal when all this started. Done me some good recon, got good intel on some ground combat throughout the early part of the war, saved a few people because of it, we won an action or two 'cause o' what I spotted that nobody else done spotted. Made me a Sergeant for it. Then last year? I got me a confirmed kill at six point five miles, one shot. Boom! Dead Vorter. Shot that smug grin right offa his face. Now I know what you're thinkin', they jus' warm up another Vorter like they're boil in the bag rations, but even then still gotta take the time to do it an' that leaves the firsts without direction for a while. That's what got me the staff stripe."

Lacey sat back a little in her seat, clearly proud of her achievements.

"Ain't no recon as I can do up here in space though. So I'm back to organisin'. Guess all that admin they had me doin' as a boot caught the eye of the ell-tee. Can't say as I mind it much. I mean, I guess I never thought 'bout it. Must mean I don't mind it, right?"

"I'd say not. Seems I had two aptitudes the Fleet and Marines liked. I was a natural for astronautics and astronautical tactics. Apparently I have exceptional directional and spacial awareness. On the flip side of the coin I started studying martial arts what seems like weeks after I started walking. To date I have a double black belt in Taekwondo, and a black belt in Wadō-ryū with more mid-level belts in Muay Thai, Jujutsu as well as Shaolin zuì quán. I know at least a dozen ways to kill most humanoids hand to hand but I love flying too much and I had a good enough hand to call the end run," Ming said.

He went on, " I've assisted in a couple raids. I aim to assist in as many more as possible. Lt. Viat was in command in both missions on the ground which I was fine with. I'm still grumpy about not being allowed to sling that Cardassian Dal over my shoulder that I laid out. Might've been some good intel material but it worked out. Either way it felt good flattening that bastard."

Lacey nodded gravely, finishing another mouthful. She was wolfing it down and it was the best thing she'd experienced in days.

"Amounta pain those sumbitches given us? Sure does feel good, donit. Oh an' remind me to be stood next to you on the next mission that gets all close an' personal like. You'll probly floor the whole squad, resume like that. 'tween you an' me? Don't fancy my chances against one of them Jem'hadar when he's up in my face. I ain't no pussy but they're big guys, like two hundred pounds or summit. And that I ain't. That's why they have me up miles away takin' 'em out afore they knows what's hit 'em. Best chances I got o' contributin', as I figure. An you can't cloak against what you don't know is there, now can ya."

"Everything has a weakness. They have em just like we do. Part of why I like carrying slug throwers, reinforced brass knuckles, blades and, when I can, fragmentation and flash grenades. They don't fight fair neither do I. We also just got a Warhammer class Interceptor / Runabout. Tougher and well armed designed to land ground forces. My XO and wing man are checked out for that bird as am I, " Ming said.

Marcus paused before chuckeling. He added, "Didn't quite mean to delve so much into work off the clock. Mind if I get a quick bite myself while we chat?"

Lacey shook her head.

"No sir, seems like a good time for it."

Marcus waved over a server and said, "Burger please. My usual, if you don't mind. Citrus soft drink too, please."

"Yessir Lieu.....Sorry...Major. Congratulations on the promotion, sir. The green looks good on you," the server said conversationally.

Ming replied with a genuine smile, "Thanks Mitch. Feels more right to me for sure."

The server retreated to put in the order and help other customers. The officer grinned a bit sheepishly, "Before you ask, yes I am a bit of a regular. The atmosphere and the people watching helps me decompress. It's even odds versus a good book and not quite as fun as riding my horse....or at least a fair holographic of him...In the holodeck but that's usually what I prefer in the morning not the end of the day. Though toward the end of my day I do sometimes fire up the holodeck to visit him in the barn and say hi. I usually have a carrot or three or some apples to bring him as a treat. The smell and their presence is so calming. Sadly my sweet Sirocco passed away a while back. It's a nice way to remember him and make a few memories with something close to the original."

"Mmmm!" Lacey made excited noises as she finished a mouthful of fries.

"You ride too?" She smiled. "Best thing my Pa ever taught me was how to ride. I'd spend hours and hours on Biscuit just ridin' about the place enjoying my freedom. That's when I was young. She passed a while back, afore the war started. Sounds like that'd be a nice program to put on the holodeck, not that I can ever work them things out."

Marcus grinned as he started to talk, "Yeah. I finally got the opportunity to start learning when I was 12. A couple years later I got Sirocco. We'd go for long rides through the riding trails around Flagstaff, in Northern Arizona during the warm months, During the snowy months we'd ride through the Rincon Mountains on the outskirts of Tucson in Southern Arizona. I was there when he was born and that Arabian was like a big dog even if I was just muckin out his stables. He'd slide his head over my shoulder and pull me into a horse version of a hug a lot of the time when I wasn't looking....and often enough when I was. He passed away a few years ago. Never knew true heartbreak until then. Always said he took a piece of me when he went. He left me with some damned fond memories though...Still think I got the better deal."

Ming's gaze lowered for just a heartbeat before he looked up again recovering quickly if only outwardly, "I could show you the program sometime. If you want I can also walk you through the setup of your horse...However you want to go about that. If you want to give recreating Biscuit it'll help if you have any imagery but if not we can hammer something out I suspect."

"That's real kind," Lacey replied looking very touched. "I don't reckon I could do biscuit herself, she's dead and I ain't one fer lookin' back none. But maybe one like her? I sure miss her it's true like you do wi' your Sirocco. But I don't think about that too too much. Bet I would if I went home though. Talkin' o' which..." Lacey gestured with a fry she collected from her plate, "...swap that from Rincon to Ozarks and you got my childhood too. Me and my old boyfriend just used to go off all day ridin'..." Her voice trailed off and Lacey went a little glassy eyed as her gaze moved to her mind's eye, playing back some fond memories. The fry eventually entered her mouth.

At that moment the server delivered Marcus' food. A plate with a cheeseburger with tomato, pickle, onion, aioli with a side of onion rings with a sauce that looked a bit like ranch however it was more reddish pink than white. Ming grinned at the server, "Compliments to the chef. Thanks for taking care of it."

The server nodded and thanked the major before leaving. After the other man left he said, "Well, maybe we can make some new memories riding. Not that I am implying that I aim to be your boyfriend. If that happens...well, that happens but it'll be down the road. We love horses, we love riding, and we'd be two people enjoying that together. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ming grabbed a smaller onion ring that would've come from the end, dipped it and popped it into his mouth. He started to chew with a smile that made it to his eyes more than his lips due to his chewing but it was there.

Lacey looked mildly uncomfortable at the mention of boyfriends and concentrated very hard on her plate of chicken.

"It'd be nice to ride again," she observed, not taking his eye. "Guess we all gotta concentrate on gettin' the ship sorted out first, doubt there's too much power and time for holodeckin' just now... sir..."

She emphasised the sir. It was unconventional for an officer and an N.C.O. to speak of such things. She changed the subject a little.

"Pa's horse was called Gravy, see, 'cause o' the patterns on 'im. Not a proper like ridin' jumpin' fences all the while kinda horse, I mean sure you could ride 'im plenty but he could just as well pull some heavy weights too. Don't got too many o' them horses 'round no more. 'tween you an' me? I always liked 'em. The Shire horses, the English call 'em. Work horses. Literally. Darn purdy. So when we got another horse for me an' Ma an' my sister Jane to use? Had to call her Biscuit, so as we had Biscuit an' Gravy. Speakin' o' which I reckon next meal I get me's gonna be biscuits. I'm in that mood now." She offered Ming a slight smile and took another bite of chicken.

Marcus took a bite out of his burger as the NCO spoke. He looked a tad embarrased as he swallowed and said, "Sorry. Poor choice of wording on my part. No implications intended aside from two marines going out for a horseride."

He sighed and chomped down another fry dipped onion ring. He said, "My best friend's family loved making biscuits and sausage gravy. His parents were a jolly Irishman and a Southern Bell from the deep of the American South. Interesting dinners at that home. It's still a sight to see. Anyway, I have always been fond of the Arabian horses. Sure footed, great mounts for most terrains, and most are pretty damned affectionate with their owners. Sirocco and his mother, Cohort, loved giving me neck hugs whenever they could. It was damned cute as well as nice knowing they cared for me like I did for them."

"Yeah," Lacey agreed. "Ain't never found affection like that from nobody but animals. Not yet anyhow. Not that I'm lookin', mind. Not right now anyhow. But Biscuit sure were nice. Spanner was my favourite though. Family Dog. He died few years back. Great Dog. Didn't know his be-hind from his front end but sure was entertainin' watching him tryin' to work it out." She shood her head with a smile, remembering and took some more food.

"Mostly grew up around Doberman Pinchers and English Cocker Spaniels. Dogs like people have varying intelligence I learned but virtually all were pretty damned smart. One of each my family owned were canine equivelants to Sir Isaac Newton, Nikola Tesla or Zefram Cochrane. We usually had one of each any given time. They played off eachother when hunting. Defending the home they played to eachother's strengths and weaknesses. It was amazing. Growing up the always slept with me in my room. My shadows. Actually our Doberman Cody used to play with Sirocco often enough. Poor Tucker...Our Spaniel at the time....Could never keep up. After a while he'd sit and watch with me. It was entertaining for sure. I considered those three to be brothers we were so close. I.....was at Starfleet Acadamy when they died. Happened over the span of nine months. Thousands of clicks between us and I felt it when each one passed away. I've always said that they took a piece of my soul with them when they did so and left a piece of theirs with me. Still think I got the better of the deal," Ming said. The last few sentances were obviously subdued except the last which was gallows humor. |

"I'm sure you looked after them real good, sir," Lacey said kindly. It was nice to 'shoot the shit' with another Marine after so much chaos. She was looking forward to her bunk time after her meal. A good meal and a sleep. After that the Sergeant felt like she'd be able to cope with just about anything again.

Marcus chuckled softly. He said, "There were times where we took care of each other without a doubt."

Before he could continue his combadge chirped. Marcus tapped it and a basso voice came through, "Druid to Lunertic....Could I talk to you in your office?"

Ming recognized the tone and responded, "You got it Knight 5. I'll head there presently."

The response came, "Thanks boss," and the line closed.

The major looked at his dinner companion and said, "Duty calls. No rest for the weary....or the wicked mind you."

He stood and smiled, "I'm glad we had time to chat, Sergeant. Maybe we can do it again ... casual and friendly only if you prefer."

"'m always friendly, Major," Lacey returned with a smile. "Stay safe now."

 

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