"Out of Character"

[Mark Garrison 0]

“Out of Character”

 

Mark glanced himself over once more, making sure that everything on his uniform was tucked, pressed, and folded properly on his uniform. He checked his pips, two gold and one black, while his thumb played with the wedding band on his left ring finger. “Just another day at work.” He thought with a small sigh as he exited the spacious quarters.

 

The walk to the turbo lift was uneventful; he passed two pilots at the lift doors opened ushering him in. He felt bad about not going to the funeral, but Alison had a double shift scheduled for the second day of shift, which meant skipping the service was the only way to spend any time together. Work had already been straining their relationship enough, he vowed that they’d spend some quality time together on this leave.

 

The lift put him on deck 14, depositing him among the familiar faces and names of the officers who roamed this area of the ship. He rounded a turn before entering the all too familiar confines of the security office. He was actually glad that he was on foot patrol today, maybe he’d get a chance to run into Alison. Several of the ensigns glanced over to his entrance and quickly began whispering. Mark scowled as he moved to his desk, never being a big fan of ship gossip.

 

Grabbing the daily report off his desk, he glanced up to where Victria sat. Odd that she wasn’t there, as the Captain had confined her to quarters following the discovery of dead pilots. The Lieutenant Commander suppressed a smirk as he turned to Lieutenant Benson. “Geoff...any idea where our little...vampire is today?”

 

Benson raised a brow, he never thought he’d hear the day he heard Garrison say the “V” word. He’d told Geoffrey once in private that he found the tone that most people say it akin to ancient Earth racial slurs. “Uh, I thought Lieutenant Victria was on the planet...with you. Sir.”

 

Mark chuckled more out of surprise then anything. “Uh, I think you mean Ensign Victria. With me? You couldn’t get me within a meter of those fangs. Besides, we got back a few hours ago. Don‘t tell me no ones keeping track of who‘s coming and going.”

 

He quickly scooped up several padds as Ensign Mathews looked up at him with a nervous face. “Uh actually sir, Victria’s a...”

 

“Never mind,” Mark cut him off as he made his way to the door. “Just make sure she stays in her quarters when she’s not on duty. Alison will kill me if she escapes.”

 

And with that he was gone, leaving Geoff and Greg with bewildered looks on their face. Melissa McKay, who was sitting next to Mathews, furrowed her brow. “I didn’t know Lieutenant Garrison was married.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Greg finally muttered.

 

“He was wearing a wedding band, didn’t you see it?”

 

“No.”

 

“He’s not married...” Benson finally put in. “At least, not that I know of.”

 

“Maybe he was married.” Melissa theorized. “Maybe she died, or something. It might be an anniversary or something.”

 

“Maybe...” Greg trailed off as he considered it. “But who was he talking about, Alison? I didn’t know we had anyone named Alison in the security department.”

 

“We don’t” Geoff said, a look of uneasiness setting in. “Maybe someone from a different department but still...something isn’t right. Why did he refer to Victria as an Ensign?”

 

McKay nodded in agreement. “And why was he wearing Lieutenant Commander pips?”

 

“He was?”

 

Melissa looked over at her compatriot and let out a large groan. “Gods Greg, do you pay attention to anything?”

 

Greg leaned back in a defensive manner. “Yeah, to his face. Where weren’t you checking him out?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

Benson scowled while clearing his throat, finally drawing the attention of the two bickering Ensigns. “Quiet you two. Get back to work.”

 

Both of the young ones made moves to rebut but quickly thought better. Geoff, like Mark was a rather informal superior officer, but there was a time for everything. Both of the Ensigns knew when they meant business. He let out a small sigh as he watched them return to their respective reports, his own mind racing.

 

It was just too...odd. The irregularities...and Mark didn’t even seem to notice them. He glanced back at his own pile of papers, thoughts that he was over reacting beginning to set in. No, he’d go talk with him, see what was up. At least to dispel the questions from his mind.

 

“Computer, locate Lieutenant Mark Garrison.”

Edited April 14, 2008 by Mark Garrison