I didn't do Anything!

The journey to the turbolift was short but Jonathan ignored it and kept on moving around the deck. Once he had seen the whole deck he took a moment to picture the deck in his own mind without thinking back on the schematic. It wasn't as if he was in any rush, it wasn't rude nor was it urgent to see the CO.

Only necessary.

Jonathan made his way back to the first turbolift he had saw on the deck and smiled when he saw it. He never did trust the schematics, they was always something hidden. If you're given the blueprints for some new weapon, make sure you get insurance too otherwise you might lose some fingers to a phase coil meltdown.

He strolled into the turbolift and nodded to a male starfleet officer. The officer did not return the nod. Jonathan wasn't surprised, Starfleet and Marines were different and they was certainly some differences between them. It was just ridiculous.

"Deck 1."

Out of the corner of his eyes Jonathan noted the officer in blue twitch as if Jonathan had said some extreme offensive word. Oh, was issuing the turbolift orders a crime for Marines as well? Jon ignored it and then clasped his hands together behind his back. A scoff hidden (badly) by a cough sounded from the Starfleet officer.

"Is there something wrong, Ensign." Jonathan said turning to face the man with a pleasant expression which seemed to only make things worse.

"No."

Jonathan raised a perfectly senior eyebrow at the man and didn't miss the man's fist clenching and unclench. The marine's eyes followed back up to the man's face. He faced the door once more and silence followed except for the soft hum of the lift zooming upwards through the ship.

"How can you do it, how can-." Cried the ensign suddenly that even made Jonathan jump slightly which was a first. He turned and waited for the man to continue but all he saw was a troubled man.

"You may speak freely, I'm not your boss." Jonathan said gently as he searched the young man's face and the conflict within those eyes but didn't break his gaze when he saw those young eyes lock with his own aged ones.

"How can you do it?... fight, kill and... murder and then you dogs just sleep in your beds like nothing happened! Do you even have hearts!?" The ensign was beet red in the face and his eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets.

Jonathan's face hardened - not with anger, that ship had sailed but with mere frustration. Though inside his heart went out to the man, he did understand.

"It's not easy." Jonathan said softly to the man and saw him roll his eyes. "You say fight, I say self defense... and to protect others." It was true, if no one fought off the bad guys who would be around to protect your ass if it got cornered?

"You say kill..." Jonathan paused and waited for the younger man to look him in the eye, eventually he did and Jon continued, "I don't deny it but consider my position. If someone holds the gun to someone you love."

Jonathan's gaze narrowed as he saw the man from his nightmares raise that gun, to his wife. "If that loved one was your father, your mother, your brother or even your daughter, and the only way to save them is by taking a life, would you?"

"I don't expect you to answer that. You won't know until your in that situation, you won't know when you're going to be thrown into a situation when you're forced to make a decision between save one or saved a hundred, save yourself or save a stranger."

"You do not know."

By this point Jonathan's narrowed gaze had become slits within his flesh creating the impact of his dark eyes which spoke all the emotion he needed to speak to make this man understand. He saw the reflection of his own eyes within the man and he could tell, he had made an impression.

The ensign gulped and the anger that had been evident on his face had been washed from his face. Instead his cheeks were burning with embarrassment at his own views, thoughts, all because of some marine he didn't even know and only that he was a marine.

A soft pressure on the man's shoulder made him look up to see Jonathan was standing right in front of him, his hand giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Don't let grief and anger consume you. Accept it, control it... not it control you." Jonathan said softly as he removed the hand. The doors behind him opened, thus giving Jonathan his exit out onto the bridge.

End Jonathan