<USS Avalon> "News Between Friends"

News Between Friends
Anthony Manson
and 
Elissabeth Marksbury
 

Singing quietly to herself, Elissabeth picked up the three PADDs and left her 
quarters for her office.  Singing?  She stopped once she caught herself, 
shaking her head, unbelieving.  Bryce had come over last night, and again, they 
sat and talked, holding each other until he had to go.  And she found herself 
unable to wait until she could see him again.  So, silly, really, but it was 
nice and carefree and she didn't want the feeling to go away.
 
However, she'd been neglecting her work just a bit.  Elissabeth was determined 
to try to focus on the amount of bureaucracy crossing her desk while trying not 
to worry about the Captain's trial.  Anthony promised to keep her apprised.  
 
Elissabeth turned the corner, nearly hitting another person. Fortunately, she 
had stepped away and regained her balance on pure reflex. "Sorry, Anthony, my 
head is obviously in the clouds today," she laughed.
 
Looking up, Anthony had a smile on his face, "The charges on the Captain have 
been dropped. He's not guilty on any count." 
 
Relief washed over her and she nearly hugged Anthony, but knew better.  "That's 
wonderful news.  Are you making an announcement?"  
 
"Announcement?" Anthony chuckled, "It's spreading like wildfire throughout the 
ship. Besides, Skyler's back, she can make an announcement. Something about 
being over the intercom makes me edgy." He shrugged as they walked through the 
corridor. "Were you headed for your office or the bridge?" 
 
"Office to drop these things off and then to the Bridge.  Want to keep me 
company?" she asked, still a little more chipper than normal.  
 
"Sure, so what's gotten you to a light mood?" 
 
"Someone," she smiled, cryptically, as they entered her office and she began 
rummaging through her desk.  
 
"And that someone is making you... giddy, or something close to it, who is it?" 
Anthony said with a little more determination and a smile that was expanding. 
 
"You won't like it," she warned.  
 
"Ew, Javan?" 
 
Looking at him with all the seriousness she could muster, she responded, 
"You're lucky I don't kill you for that."  Then smiling, she added, "Only in my 
worst nightmares." 
 
"Hey, you warned, I assumed. Now spit it out already." Anthony burst into 
laughter at the thought of Commander Sierra and her together. It wasn't 
intentional, but her warning had made the thought possible. 
 
Shuddering at the thought of Sierra, she then brought that sweet smile back to 
her face, "Bryce Quinn."  
 
"Quinn!" Anthony had gotten up from his seat, "I'm starting to think Javan 
would have been better." 
 
The look of momentary shock on her face was replaced with a bit of sadness.  
"Hardly."  
 
Anthony held his hands up, "Sorry, it's just... It's the same guy out for 
Ketchum's head. You sorta only see the enemy and not the person." 
 
"That's not true.  He was going to defend Ketchum, but the Captain chose 
someone else instead," she sighed slightly, feeling petty for having the need 
to defend Bryce to one of her closest friends.  "He's a wonderful person.  
Don't you trust my judgment, Anthony?"  
 
"Some words have been warped," Anthony mumbled. When he saw Elissabeth giving 
him a look, he shook his head, "Sorry. Just an opinion. But if you say he's a 
wonderful person, then I'm happy." 
 
"Good. Thank you."  She paused a moment, transferring some information onto a 
PADD for Monroe. "I think I messed something up," Elissabeth decided to 
confess.  It had been weighing heavily on her during the whole trial.
 
"What?" Anthony said frowning a little. 
 
She sighed deeply.  "I confronted Ketchum about something and I probably 
shouldn't have said anything."  
 
"What did you say?" Anthony asked, the news getting a little more interesting. 
 
Passing her hand over her eyes in embarrassment, she asked, "Just between the 
two of us, right?"  
 
"Of course, now out with it, what did you say to him?" Anthony narrowed his 
eyes, voice complete with concern. 
 
"I told him that he needed to stop screwing around with that petty officer 
because it was going to interfere with the trial - make him look bad, character 
wise."  There, she said it. 
 
"Okay, okay, I get why I can put two and two together. Nothing on this ship 
leaves or enters without my knowing." Anthony nicely described his job as he 
looked at Elissabeth, "What I don't get is how you knew." 
 
She rolled her eyes.  "Really, Anthony, what do you think I do all day?  Sit 
around the Security offices playing 'Pick-Up Sticks' with Sierra?"  She tipped 
her head to the side and grinned mischievously, "As mentally challenging for 
him as that would be, I have better things to do.  I watch everything just as 
much as you do."
 
"Wow, would Sierra loved to hear that from you," Anthony responded. "Getting 
back to the subject - what were you thinking? Ketchum has his agenda, his 
decisions are his alone, and we're here to support him. Right or wrong, Marks." 
 
"I know!  I told you I messed up.  But someone needed to say it.  It looked bad 
and you know it."  Then sighing again, she said very softly, "I was afraid we'd 
lose him." 
 
"I don't blame you, but... sometimes you gotta go out on the limb and trust the 
guy. I didn't say anything 'cause I trust him enough to make his own 
decisions." 
 
"And I didn't.  I was worried about him.  Dammit, Anthony, he lost his son.  
John was just my team member and I know how it affected me.  I can't imagine 
what he was going through or thinking or not seeing straight."  She paused.  
"I'm not justifying my actions, I told you I was wrong.  I really crossed the 
line with that one and it's been eating at me ever since.  I did what I thought 
was right at the time, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty.  I just don't 
know how to go about fixing it."
 
"Just go apologize," Anthony answered. When Marksbury gave him a surprised look 
and opened her mouth to speak, he shook his head and responded with a 
determination in his voice, "Don't give me that. Sometimes all it takes is a 
simple apology. And that's what you're going to do." 
 
"Yes, sir," she answered a little coldly in response to the dressing down. 
 
Anthony smirked, clearly annoyed, "Don't go 'yes, sir' with me, Marks. You know 
you have to. You wanna patch things up, that's what it's gonna take." He 
shrugged, "Just do it. Pull him over to one side and talk to him. Is it really 
that hard?" 
 
"No, and it was actually my intent.  I just didn't realise it had to be an 
order." 
 
"It wasn't an order. You just needed to hear it to do it." 
 
"I know."  Blowing out one final deep breath, she looked at him earnestly.  "Do 
you think he'll forgive me?  Or ever respect me again?"  
 
"Yeah," Anthony nodded, "he's a good guy, you know that." 
 
"I know, but you didn't hear the way I spoke to him, either." She added a few 
keystrokes, calling up a couple more files. "But whatever happens is what I 
deserve, I suppose."  
 
"We'll see when you hit that moment, I guess, but don't dwell on it.  Just fix 
it."
 
"Thanks," Elissabeth conceded.  She knew he was right, she'd just been too 
embarrassed over having said anything in the first place to have confided in 
anyone else.  Silence descended upon them for a moment, before she suddenly 
looked up and asked, "Wedding plans?"  
 
"Oh yeah," Anthony said with a small smile, "it's gonna be at the crew lounge. 
Everything will fall in place when Alder or myself give the word." He shrugged, 
"I don't know, I suppose it's gonna be simple. Simple's good, though."
 
"And here I had in mind something fluffy and frilly," she winked.  "Is it okay 
if I bring Bryce with me?  Or would that upset you?" 
 
Anthony shrugged again, "You can, I suppose." 
 
Frustration beginning to creep into her body, Elissabeth turned and finished 
what she was doing.  "I'm taking my shift on the Bridge, I guess," she said, a 
little defeated. 
 
"Okay, not much going on there. We won't be heading out until Ketchum gets back 
and Starfleet issues new orders." Anthony followed Elissabeth out of the 
office. 
 
"Why do I suddenly feel like there is a strain between us?"  
 
"There isn't unless you make it a strain. You have a guy that I don't 
necessarily agree with, but at the same time, I don't know him. So don't worry 
about me. Who knows, maybe I'll see that Quinn is more personable." 
 
"I suppose I just expected you to be happy, that's all.  You're one of the best 
friends I have."  They stepped onto the Bridge and James was at Tactical.  He 
smiled at her, genuinely, and she returned it, though surprisingly without 
those typical flutters in her belly.  "I left some reports on my desk for you," 
she told him, "and I need to meet with you later to discuss some things when 
you're not busy."  
 
"Alright," James replied as he stepped away from the station, giving a nod to 
both of them before disappearing into the turbolift. 
 
Anthony looked at her, "You really must like Quinn," he said softly. "You 
usually radiate with uncertainty whenever Monroe is around." 
 
Turning to face Anthony, looking him straight in the eye, Elissabeth replied, 
"I do." 




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