From the Ashes: Part 2C [Moriarty's History Files]

Posted on Sat Jun 13th, 2026 @ 6:08am by Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Moriarty

2,923 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Federation Ground Forces Officer Training Facility - Nearby Bar
Timeline: Moriarty's History Files: 2376 (year 1 of training - almost a year after the war)

:: Jesse Moriarty's History Files ::
:: Ground Forces Officer Training ::
:: 2376 - year 1 of training - almost a year after the war ::


PREVIOUSLY...

Martinez looked down, a small smile coming to them. "School smarts doesn't bring people back alive," they argued lightly, eyes warm as they glanced at Moriarty. "Reading a situation does."

"Seems like they're actually going to give me a chance to put that to the test," he said softly with awe, shaking his head.

Martinez nodded, letting out a soft breath. "You'll be great at it," they said, meaning it.

CONTINUED...


"And what do you want to do?" Jesse asked, hoping they wouldn't skip out on the question, genuinely curious. "Climb up the ranks or specialise?"

Martinez considered it before they smiled. "I don't think I have a specialism in me. So...climbing up the ranks. Where I can be in the room to make decisions."

"Great, you're going to be my boss in a few years, and you'll remember this..." he laughed softly, groaning as he rubbed his face.

"Don't think I will," Martinez said as they shook his head, smiling. "Because I think we'll climb up together, shoulder to shoulder."

Moriarty grinned at the prospect, watching them with appreciation at the sentiment. "Have each others backs?"

"Thought that was what we had been doing since we first met," they said and smiled back, a grin that would have had their mama smack the back of their head. "I work best when I got someone beside me. I don't care who leads...but one person doesn't have all the skills to get through it all. It takes a tribe...even if it is a tribe of two."

Moriarty smiled weakly as he looked down, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously for a moment. "Sounds like you don't care if someone doesn't know it all."

"I don't know it all, so...can't judge," Martinez said softly as they glanced at him. "I've needed someone steady beside me in the war, to keep me moving forward. I'm...older now, at least I feel older. But it taught me that we can't do everything by ourselves...we need others."

Jesse nodded, enjoying what they said more than he liked to admit. He took a slow sip of his drink, savouring the warmth. "Honestly? I've always felt...less than," he almost whispered. "But...if you're right...maybe it doesn't matter if I am."

Martinez swore softly under their breath, shaking their head. "You're not...less," they said firmly. They turned to face him fully, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Never let anyone make you feel that way. Every one of us is different, with different strengths. And good leaders read that and...use it."

Moriarty searched their eyes, deciding he believed them before nodding with a small smile. "See, this is why we need to have each others' back," he chuckled softly.

Martinez nodded before they gave a small smile in return. "You got strengths I don't...and I got ones you don't," they said and chuckled. "Although right now...being sober might not be one of them..."

"Huh, guess I need to find more personal questions so you knock more of those back..." Moriarty laughed, pushing the glass closer to them. "Who'd you shack up with in the force, Martinez?"

"You mean right now?" Martinez asked and glanced at them, fingers drifting closer to their glass...a shield in case they needed it. In case they didn't want to answer.

"No...I mean when you were serving before, who did you shack up with?" he asked knowingly, having seen their earlier reaction to his insinuations.

Martinez glanced down, at the glass. "One night stand here and there on shoreleave, whenever they let us out of the mud or dust..." they bit their lip for a moment. "Does emotionally shacking up with count? Not the physical, but...just that feeling of complete trust?"

"Sure," Moriarty offered with a half shrug, even if it hadn't had the desired effect of making them drink.

Martinez considered it before they took the glass, swallowed the contents, refilled the drink and knocked it back again. And grimaced. "Maybe," they said it with a small, even cheeky smile. "What about you?"

Jesse shook his head with a soft laugh at the suggestion, thinking on it for a long moment. "I...do the one night stand thing. And...that's not a good idea with people you have to work with."

"Don't shit where you eat," Martinez blurted out with a grin, before shaking their head. "A friend of mine used to say that..." their smile faded a little as they let out a breath. "I don't even remember why she said it."

"You sure about that..." Jesse hovered the bottle threateningly over the glass to refill it for Martinez to shoot.

Martinez looked at him before they brought the glass to him, meeting his eyes and holding them. "What about you then, Moriarty? Have you had a quick fumble in the armoury with a fellow trooper, or do your one night stands get reserved to civvies?"

Jesse gave a heavy sigh, looking away with a soft chuckle. "Maybe...once or twice, but we were always very much on the same page," he added quickly.

"Same page..." Martinez nodded and took a slow breath before they took their glass and raised it in a toast. "To those who were on the same page as us...if only for ten minutes."


~~~~~~


:: The Next Morning ::

Moriarty groaned as he rolled onto his side. He tried to open his eyes just a crack...and quickly snapped them shut again, blocking out the light. "Was I hit by a grenade?" he croaked.

Martinez moaned softly, lifting their head before they smiled. And then grimaced, screwing their eyes shut. "Nope...disruptor blast...in a bottle..."

"Fuck..." Jesse pressed his hand to his forehead, groaning as he rubbed it softly. "How much did we drink?!"

"Bottle..." Martinez looked at him before they reached out, across the space, to touch his hair. For a moment they stroked it before closing their eyes. "Mmm...where are we?"

Jesse leant into it, sighing softly as he braved opening an eye. "I dunno...this isn't base..."

Martinez nodded and took a deeper breath, sitting up. They looked around for a moment, scanning the room first for threat, then for clues. And then they smiled. "Stock room of the bar," they said and shifted from the blanket they had been lying on, to curl forward and rub their temples.

Moriarty groaned, trying to drag the blanket over his head. "Not true...I'm dreaming..."

Martinez looked around before they reached out for a bottle, reading the label before they opened it to sniff. "Non-alcoholic..." they took a sip. "Carbonated water..." they drank some and then nudged Moriarty. "Here...drink."

Jesse did as told, gulping a few mouthfuls before sitting back with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. "I'm getting old..."

Martinez chuckled at that, nodding as they watched him with a pained smile. "Makes two of us," they said before they rubbed their own forehead. "Not used to drinking that much."

"Not anymore," Jesse rubbed his temple, trying to get used to...well...being alive. "I'd have got through that for breakfast as a teenager..."

Martinez bit their lip for a moment before they nodded, looking at him. "I blame the war," they finally said. "Limited access to alcohol, and no chance to indulge even when we were off duty."

"I knew someone that made it...they almost lost their tongue..." Jesse chuckled roughly, finally braving opening both eyes to watch them.

Martinez chuckled, looking down, their face pinched with the headache. "Someone in my old squad used to get some now and then. Off this...Operations officer she hooked up with. It tasted like coolant. But it warmed you up."

"Did it make you feel this bad the day after?" he asked weakly, reaching for the water they'd found, gulping more down with need.

"No..." Martinez admitted and shook their head before they grinned. "We never drank enough of it to find out..." they eased back, slowly, and groaned with it. "I should have taken the hypos with me."

"You mean we've gotta somehow crawl all the way back to base like this?" Jesse groaned softly, rubbing his eyes.

Martinez looked at him before checking the time. They had four hours before they needed to report back. Four hours was a lot. "Clean up operation first..." they said before they pushed themselves up, swaying for a moment. "There's a place close by, a gym...we go there, we shower, we go and eat...and before you know it...we'll feel better."

"That's a lie..." Moriarty groaned as he shifted to sit under his own steam, covering his face with his hands. "But I'll go along with it..."


---


Martinez gripped their fork as they took more of the hash browns with eggs. There was a cup of coffee as well, and some coconut water...all things that Martinez claimed helped a hangover. Or more, what they could get here. "I miss Mars," they muttered and reached for the coffee. "Plenty of places with better hangover cures than this."

"I can't believe you can eat that," Moriarty grimaced, but chuckled softly...which meant he was easing up just a touch. "What would you have on Mars?"

"For hangovers...anything with lentils or rice, loads of ginger and spices..." Martinez glanced at him before sipping the coffee. "My Dad makes a mean birria...it's like a stew. Usually as tacos, unless your head’s thumping so much the crunch will hurt...that works well too. Anything with fat, protein and carbs that's not too hard on the stomach."

"I've never understood the fried food thing..." Moriarty admitted, taking a bite of his toast carefully, taking three times longer than usual to chew it.

"Is it the texture or the time it takes?" Martinez asked, curious as they watched him before looking down at their own plate. And then reached for the hot sauce, their stomach calm enough to risk it for the sake of tastebuds.

"Whoa whoa whoa..." Jesse held his hand out with wide eyes, shaking a finger from side to side. "That is a disaster waiting to happen..."

Martinez was about to argue before sighing and placing the bottle down. "Fine. For you," they said and looked at him with interest. "Is it a texture thing though?"

"Maybe...I'm not so bad with something breaded, you know? So it feels drier...but just...stuff fried in a pan with oil or butter?" he gave a half wince. "And it's worse when I feel like this."

Martinez nodded before they took more to eat, but it was slow...steady, while their mind worked through the haze. "What's your favourite food then? Except...chocolate."

"Honestly? There's nothing better than a warm loaf of bread you can tear apart with your hands...topped with some fresh butter or hard cheese," Jesse shook his head at himself, at what a simpleton he must sound. "Although, between us, those ridiculously spicy dried noodles you throw hot water over are pretty damn good too."

Martinez watched him with fondness at the words. "Fresh bread...butter..." they said, quietly, thinking about it. "I haven't tried the noodles. Never...really had noodles. I don't know why, just...not tried them."

"They're hardly even food," he gave them fair warning, shaking his head lightly as he took a piece of now cold toast. "But they're somehow morish. Maybe it's because they feel so forbidden. Or foreboding."

Martinez sat back and took the coconut water to drink. They were full. It was enough for now. "You know, after emergency war rations...I feel like I can eat most things. Morish sounds good. Forbidden sounds...better."

"Probably why I like chocolate so much...decadent...full of fat and sugar...totally pointless...but tastes great," Moriarty admitted with a soft laugh.

"Sweetness when there could be bitterness," Martinez said with a small smile. "So now I know what to get you if I ever need to get you a present."

"Planning to do something that needs an apology?" he grinned, shaking his head as he reached for his tea, sighing with relief from the warmth.

Martinez grinned as they watched him, shaking their head. "If I do something that needs an apology, I'll say I'm sorry. Presents are for...birthdays, or as thank yous."

"I don't do birthdays," Jesse said softly, shaking his head as he poured more tea from the pot.

"Don't know it, or don't care?" Martinez asked, no hesitation, nothing to soften the words except the gentle look in their dark eyes. They had served alongside people like that. Some who didn't know their own birthday, others who knew but didn't care, the day marked as something darker rather than joy.

"Don't remember it anymore," Jesse said quietly but honesty, the headache in his temples lowering his guard.

Martinez nodded at that, no judgement...not even sadness or pity. "Well then. I'll have to just stick to thank yous," they said with a small smile, raising an eyebrow. They didn't prod more. It wasn't their business unless he wanted to make it so.

"That sounds like a lot of work on my side," he responded wryly, but fixed them with his most human looking smile of the morning so far.

"Of course it will be," Martinez said before they winked, finishing off their coffee. "But I promise, it'll be worth it. I can source good chocolate."

"Let me guess, Mars?" he teased, but with a small smile, clearly the throbbing in his head starting to ease off.

"Oh no...we don't do chocolate well," Martinez said with a laugh, soft and throaty, before they shook their head. "Friend of mine's in New Zealand now, on Earth. He promised me to send me some good stuff."

"Care packages from around the quadrant? Why didn't I think of that..." Moriarty chuckled softly as he considered Martinez. Yes, they seemed the type to have a good, strong friendship base.

Martinez gave him a small smile and nodded, taking a breath. "Some of my old squad just...retired after they disbanded my old battalion. So I got some contacts that are civilian now," they shrugged and looked down.

"How are they getting on with that?" he asked seriously, genuinely interested as to how they were coping with life on the outside.

Martinez gave a small smile, giving a small shrug. "Kerren's just happy to be surfing again," they said and met his eyes. "Last message sounded good though. Said he is sleeping better than he has in years. I asked what his secret was...he said it was the snow in the mountains. Problem is...I fucking hate snow."

Moriarty laughed out loud at the words, nodding with complete agreement as he reached to pour more tea. "A shortcut to misery..."

"And wet feet. Had enough of those," Martinez said and shook their head, but it was with that small smile that knew that Moriarty too had experienced his share of wet feet. Different planets during the war, different environments. And for Martinez, a lot of them had been jungles, or rainy areas. Places they had started to hate.

"And we've come back for more...imagine that," Moriarty met Martinez's eyes pointedly, amusement pulling on his lips, but honesty in his eyes.

Martinez smiled as they met his eyes, nodding. "Must be conditioning. We must be a counsellor's wet dream."

Moriarty paused, shaking his head lightly as he set his cup down and looked away as he rubbed his achy temple. "You know what...truth is, I don't know what I'd do instead," he said softly but honestly. He was 22...no home, no plans...he'd been living for the fight against the Cardassians, and now it was...all just over.

Martinez studied him at that, taking a slow breath. "Well..." they gave him a small smile. "I suppose that it'll keep you away from getting a job as a masseur at Risa..."

"Now there's a thought..." he sat back as he watched them with raised eyebrows, trying to imagine it for just a moment. "I thought about going once. But I didn't get it."

"I never went," Martinez whispered, sounding almost embarrassed as they met his eyes. "Never been close enough to it in peacetime to and...well...during the war, we were mostly on starbases if we had any leave."

"You'd be bored within five minutes," he assured, waving a hand at them. "I wandered off from the resort, which kind of defeats the object."

"To...find things to climb and run over?" they asked with a smile, curious at just what he had gotten up to. "Or found a bar and someone to climb?"

Moriarty laughed softly at the way they put it, shaking his head firmly. "The first one, the first one..."

Martinez laughed then grimaced at sounding too loud in their own head. The headache was still there, still strong. "Smart move, don't want to catch something."

"Or get caught..." Moriarty replied pointedly before giving them a small, almost playful smile.

Martinez laughed softly, nodding as they raised an eyebrow. "Or get caught," they agreed, their voice soft.


TO BE CONTINUED...


FGF Cadet [now Lt. Colonel] Jesse Moriarty
Federation Ground Forces

FGF Cadet Angel Martinez
Federation Ground Forces
(NPC Morven)

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