Day in the life of Marines

[Vio]

^{Mari #8}

---

“Sit down, please,” Seaman Ortiz said to Miss Breen as the three of them entered the interrogation room. It felt cold and empty, such was its purpose: To be unforgiving and uncomfortable to those being questioned so that they might sooner tell the honest truth and escape its tense confines. At least, that was the impression Anette Mari received when she, too, stepped into the room. Really, this was all new to her.

^{“No handcuffs…?”}

^{“No handcuffs,” Daniel replied:
“…Were you two close…?”}

… The timorous teen remained silent and still. She hadn’t sat down beside Daniel, simply because she didn’t feel confident in doing so, and had instead remained pressed close to the wall nearest the door. Anxieties were rife despite the general safety that the Marine presence here offered — Tequila Wolf had supposedly been fortified with additional protections after a disturbance in the last couple of years. Still, she clung to Mahogani and kept a respectable distance. Handcuffs wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

^{“He had nothing to do with it, I swear!”}

…! The cherry blossom-haired girl flinched at Breen’s outburst, not least of which as a result of the previous look she’d been given by the prisoner. But, despite her raised voice, Carol remained firmly planted in her seat. Maybe the lack of handcuffs had done something after all? Where no physical bonds existed, mental ones had been forged, such was the woman’s unusual modicum of respect for the authority. It was perhaps made even more unusual by the fact that said authority was little more than a Seaman and unranked janitorial staff…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Mari remains quiet and nervous as Daniel begins to interrogate Carol Breen about her brother.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

Anette Mari | #ff91a4
Daniel Ortiz | #2c4e72
Carol Breen [NPC] | #fffcbb

[Mr. Moon]

Daniel #9

The young chore girl was probably too shy to intervene, and so it was up to Daniel to calm her down and continue with the questioning.
“Miss Breen, calm down, this has nothing to do with your past crimes.”
He raised his voice slightly to make sure she will hear him.
“Listen, we are here because your brother Edward now leads so-called Red Skull pirates and we would like to ask you for your cooperation with capturing him.”
This stopped her in her track, leaving her speechless for a moment, with her mouth open and eyes focused on Daniel.
“What?”
That was the only thing she managed to say after a while. Daniel sighed. He wasn´t a really good diplomat, despite the effort of all these teachers his father paid for him, so he had no idea how to deal with a situation like that.
“Miss Breen, this may come as a shock to you, but unfortunately it´s true.”
He reached to his folder and pulled out several photos of her brother with his new crew, some of them taken in secret during rides they conducted.
“This is your brother now, so I need…”
She didn´t let him finish.
“No…this is impossible. Edward would never…he would never…THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
She lashed at him.
“Your and that stupid government of yours! You destroyed our family, you forced him into this!”
Daniel frowned. Something in him wanted to return her anger with anger. To shout at her, give her lecture about responsibility both of them had for their lives, but in the end, he controlled himself. Perhaps he should thank these teachers after all.
“I am sorry to break it to you, but this has nothing to do with you and your case. You was arrested three years ago, and according to our information, your brother lived a normal life until six months ago, when he started his pirate crew. Whatever happened to him, whatever helped to shape his decision, it has nothing to do with you.”
This was a lie. According to the file, her brother started drinking when his sister was arrested, lost his job, became violent with strong anti-Governmental tendencies. The only reason no one ever did anything with that was simply because the local law enforcements were terribly understaffed and probably a bit incompetent.
“Is…is it true?”
She asked on the verge of tears.
“Unfortunately, yes. You made a mistake, but your brother chose this life voluntarily and he already hurt a lot of people.”
After this followed other pictures a newspapers articles about him and his victims.
“You can help us to save dozens if not hundreds of other people and…”
He paused, lowering his tone slightly.
“You can help also yourself.”
Carol blinked in surprise.
“Help myself?”
She asked silently.
“Yes”
Daniel nodded.
“Your brother already committed terrible crimes. Crimes, that make yours insignificant in comparison. So, if you help us to bring him to justice, the government can make the life here for you more enjoyable, or perhaps, if your information will be of great value grant you a complete pardon for your crimes."
She bit her lips. The young recruit could see in her eyes that she already decided, just needed time to convince her conscience, that it truly was the right choice. In her case, it was another two hours of silence combined with a gentle reassuring, that lead to the final.
“Alright, but…I don´t know much. Back then, shortly before you arrested me, he told me about some secret place of his. He discovered it when he was fishing but…I don´t really understand him, he was trying to be secretive and all…”
Daniel nodded, although inside he was silently cursing. If the best they get from her will be some vague information, this whole thing will be useless.
“It doesn´t matter, even seemingly insignificant things can help.”

[Vio]

^{Mari #9}

---

The meek girl’s fear was omnipresent, yet somehow it was Seaman Ortiz who remained the most calm, taking control of the situation through little more than words. She’d seen this before. No matter the problem, Anette Gepetto had always been able to tackle it through little more than calm demeanour and careful words — never a raised voice unless absolutely necessary. All those times she’d withdrawn from him in her preteen years seemed so much of a waste now.

Breen, Edward… Captain of the ‘Red Skull’ Pirates, Miss Anette thought, distracting herself from morose reminiscence through dutiful contemplation. A mere Chore Girl, she knew nothing of the deeper fundamentals of the case they were investigating, other than the aforementioned details by Daniel. There were no doubt more factors at play that she was unaware of — unentitled to know — and yet that only served as a bollard upon which to moor her mind.

A mystery.

^{“You can help us save dozens…”}

^{“Alright, but…,” Carol began:
“I don’t really understand him…”}

“Even seemingly insignificant things can help,” Daniel answered, once again demonstrating that remarkable calm confidence that tempered the emotional storm that was Miss Breen. It was baffling. How could anyone maintain such strength of character in such frightening instances? That was a real mystery she would perhaps never be able to solve.

“Okay… Well, he said it was something you had to see to believe,” Miss Breen continued, confidence perhaps inspired in her with the promise of freedom. Was it a false promise? It was impossible for Mari to tell, but that in and of itself only offered strength to the deception if any were at play. “A cove where the water was so clear you could see the reef below, but then turned dark as twilight, bottomless. Edward told me that there was a second inlet within that cove, but it was impossible to see the entrance in the cliffs unless you went ‘over the edge’. I’m not sure what he meant,” she finished, wiping her eyes on her sleeve to vanquish the faintest traces of tears before looking — equal parts hopeful and expectant — to the Seaman.

^{That sounds… Mari pondered:
A lot like a riddle, but…}

^{“I never saw it, so I can’t physically help you find it…”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>As Mari observes the interrogation, she is surprised by Daniel’s ability to remain calm despite Carol’s temperament.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

Anette Mari | #ff91a4
Daniel Ortiz | #2c4e72
Carol Breen [NPC] | #fffcbb

[Mr. Moon]

Daniel #10

The young marine nodded and prepared a pen and small notebook to write down everything miss Breen said. The whole time he was keeping a completely professional face, occasionally nodding, as if he was actually understanding what she was saying, hiding his insecurity and confusion behind an expertly crafted mask.

“Well, that will be it. If you have nothing more to say, I will escort you back to your workplace and hand your case to my superiors. I´ll tell them you fully cooperated with us so I am pretty sure they will take your contribution into account.”

She silently nodded and got up, so Daniel walked her out of the door, leaving Mari and the notes he wrote back there.

“Wait for me for a bit, I´ll be right back.”

He asked his companion, before escorting miss Breen back to her place. It didn´t take long. She didn´t resist and only exchange a few words with him, so in a few minutes, Daniel was back. Only after the doors closed behind him did his face turn pale.

“Uuuuuh, please tell me you understand it.”

He looked at Mari quite desperate from the idea, he will have to report this to captain Vaun. Truth to be told, while he was trying to act tough and all, he had no idea what could possibly that riddle mean, or if it even meant anything, because as he walked back to the interrogation room the thought occurred to him, whatever she simply didn´t lie to them or make a joke on their expanse. He wouldn´t be that surprised if she did. He was no expert on reading in humans or discerning lies and she was a criminal, they were all liars by default. Or she possibly really didn´t know anything else…either way, he didn´t think that this was the way his first independent mission will end.

[Vio]

^{Mari #10}

---

^{“Wait for me,” Daniel said:
“I’ll be right back…”}

That left Mari alone, standing in an empty and cold interrogation room with Mahogani in her arms. It wasn’t cold as the outside was — the wintry binds of Tequila Wolf were something else — but cold in a sense that its purpose required. Devoid of personal warmth. That could only be granted by whomever so sat opposite, should they so desire. This coldness made her uncomfortable, as if she were next in line to be interrogated, but perhaps that was just a matter of personal insecurity. For a legitimate criminal, it was no doubt more intense: A testament to how emotionally hardened such people could become.

“‘Over the edge’,” Miss Anette quoted quietly, prompting a gentle nod of Mahogani’s head, unseen by the girl’s eyes as she stared at the now empty chairs and table. “Over the edge of a waterfall? No, that’s… ridiculous,” she spoke calmly, stepping over to the table and setting her carven company down upon the seat Seaman Ortiz had formerly occupied. The lady samurai knelt neatly and politely, head high enough for her ivory visage and amber eyes to peer over to the opposing seat while Miss Breen had been seated.

“Sometimes you get inlets within coves, right?” the cherry blossom-haired Chore Girl asked, pacing quietly around the table and putting memory to good use as she recalled the words spoken. Mahogani’s amber eyes simply stared across the table. “Waterfalls pouring into coves isn’t unusual, either, if an island’s smaller and steeper…,” she continued, voice little more than a whisper, as if speaking any louder could disturb the solemn void of the room itself. In complete silence, even a mousy whisper was startlingly intense, accompanied only by the gentle groan of the structure in which said room existed. “I don’t know enough about waterfalls, though,” the girl noted sadly.

^{Whoosh… Click!}

^{“Please,” Daniel had returned:
“Tell me you understand…?”}

H– He looks like he’s seen a ghost…! Daniel’s expression was enough to tell her that he was rather lost. Truth be told, that didn’t inspire much confidence, but what else could she expect? He might’ve been older than she was, but not by much. Even as a Marine, he would still have been undergoing training and education at his current rank, and this was arguably an example of it. For a moment, Miss Anette simply returned his stare with cautious uncertainty, a little shaken by his words of dread. Rosé hues turned to meet the fiery amber glare of Mahogani, whose head had tilted when the door had opened, now facing a little more towards Daniel as if judging him.

Mari’s gaze sharpened.

“D– Do you have any paper? Maybe a… a map of East Blue?” she asked. She wondered just how detailed a map of one of the Four Blues could be, but genuinely had faith that the World Government would have a decent map at hand. The more detailed the map, the better, but even in this day and age such things were few and far between. Only the most skilled of cartographers could muster up such incredibly detailed works that demonstrated bathymetry and topography and no one soul had managed to completely chart an entire ocean yet, let alone the world.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>As Mari considers the riddle posed by Carol Breen, but is rather lost without reference, and so asks a desperate Daniel to provide resources.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

Anette Mari | #ff91a4
Daniel Ortiz | #2c4e72
Carol Breen [NPC] | #fffcbb

[Mr. Moon]

Daniel #11

Many other marines would be hesitant to ask Mari for help if they were in his shoes. She was just a Chore girl after all and if she received any training so far it was probably very limited, so why to show weakness to someone who was lower than you on the social and power leader? But not Daniel.
After his last mission ended in such terrible failure, he was determined to succeed in this one, no matter the cost. His personal ego wasn't even something he would consider.
"I have a paper, yes."
He nodded, giving Mari his notebook and pen.
"But map will be a problem...give me a moment."
With that, the young recruit disappeared again. His first stop was in the jailer's office, but they didn't even have a map of the whole bridge there and so he rushed back to the headquarters of the 22nd division. What took him and Mari fifteen or so minutes, he made under one. Truth to be told, he cheated a bit, so for a moment, the people of Tequila Wolf could see a rare sight. Gargantuan bird of prey with dark blue feathers speeding low above the bridge, only to transform back into the form of a young marine recruit, right after he reached the headquarters. Curiously enough if someone asked him, he would swear on his life that he ran the whole time on foot.
From there he rushed straight to the captain's office, knocking on the doors to no effect.
Was captain away? The young marine looked around and when he made sure no one is around, tested the doorknob. It was open and the captain wasn't anywhere to be found.
A silent voice of reason warned him that this was a bad idea, one that could easily get him into lots of trouble, but, it was the captain who gave him this task right, so it should be alright. He sneaked inside, quickly searching his table. Most of its drawers were filled with some paperwork, but in one he found a few maps which he quickly hid under his uniform, before rushing back the same way he got there.
It wasn't even five minutes since he left and the young recruit was back, gasping for air, but with a wide smile on his face.
"So I have a map of the bridge…"
He said, putting the borrowed maps on the table,
"two nearby islands and this one looks like it has most of the East Blue on it!"
He put a large detailed map on the table in front of Mari.
"Now this one had to cost fortune…"
The young recruit muttered with the confidence of someone who could have easy access to a few million beli if he asked his father nicely enough. Making a point for himself that if nothing else this map has to return back to its place unscathed.

[Vio]

^{Mari #11}

---

Once again, Anette Mari was left alone, with only Mahogani as company. Truly it was a nice feeling for what it was worth, she just wished that she was somewhere warmer and more comfortable. At the very least, she had something to occupy her mind, taking the notebook and pen Daniel had left and immediately jotting down concise notes on the riddle at hand: Quick theories to commit to memory, rather than written form, but done so anyway for the sake of actively tracking them.

I… We should be cleaning, she thought, pausing for a moment and looking at Mahogani, whose amber eyes seemed to follow her about the room. Were they neglecting their duties? No, not really — Seaman Ortiz had requested her company by Captain Hertz’ order. Paranoid anxiety over a sense of duty, perhaps, was what had decided to pester her mind and interrupt her thoughts. But Mahogani’s stare said enough. There was no dishonour, no abandonment of duty to fret over.

The door opened again.

“I have a map… had to cost a fortune,” Daniel spoke, laying an assortment on the table. The largest of the set occupied most of the table itself, the parchment upon which it had been drawn near pristine. For a moment, rosé eyes scanned the smaller maps, ignoring the one of Tequila Wolf entirely, but swiftly dismissed them. She didn’t say a word. Not initially. Her mind was too focused on the task at hand. That, and a little bit of her usually timorous demeanour clung tight to her throat.

“Th– Thank you,” she managed, though barely able to shift her eyes to Mister Ortiz as she did so. Her attention was wholly upon the large map before her as she leaned over it. Once or twice, she attempted to break the silence further, but nerves failed her. Lost in the map, essentially, she pondered, finally speaking — though not to anyone in particular — in such a hushed tone that it was almost completely impossible to tell what she was saying without reading her lips. “Goa, Mirrorball, Conomi, Yotsuba, Polestar… Why isn’t Tequila Wolf on the map? …Oykot, Frauce… What are those…? Jigo… kuchi? Hmm,” her silent babble ceased as she realised something quite crucial to the investigation.

^{“I… Uhm… Wh–,” Mari stammered:
“Where was Edward Breen from…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>As Mari pours over the maps provided by Daniel, but asks for more details where he can provide.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

Anette Mari | #ff91a4
Daniel Ortiz | #2c4e72
Carol Breen [NPC] | #fffcbb

[Mr. Moon]

Daniel #12

The young recruit put down all the maps and stepped back to give Mari some space for her work. He found out how prone to nervousness that young woman was the moment they met and so didn't want to stress her even more than she already was as he knew, from his own experience, that stress was a mind-killer.

Still, despite his effort, the young chore girl looked stressed and overwhelmed by her task, which in turn was unsettling him. The way she was muttering for herself while looking at the largest map was suggesting that she was simply lost. That wasn't good. They couldn´t return empty-handed. Not after he basically broke in their captain´s office to steal these maps! The young recruit made a few steps closer, putting his hand on her shoulder.

“Relax, you can do this!”

He tried to say in the most encouraging way he was capable of, just at the moment, when Mari asked him about the home island of Edward Breen. The recruit paused with his hand still on her shoulder, before quickly pulling it back with an awkward smile on his face.

“What island is he from…ehm…let me see…”

He muttered, quickly walking away from her to hide his red face behind the folder he got during the briefing for this assignment.

“Edward Breen…Edward…here it is!”

He smiled victoriously, pointing on a paper somewhere at the beginning of the folder.

“According to this, Edward Breen and his sister Carol are from Shell Island. Does it help?”

The Seaman recruit asked hopefully, trying to forget the incident that happened just a moment ago. He would really like to help her with her task, but while he had already received his basic training in cartography and naval navigation, he simply didn´t have the brain for riddles and puzzles like that.

[Vio]

^{Mari #12}

---

“Relax,” Seaman Ortiz said, though that was far from what she did when Miss Anette felt his hand upon her shoulder. Highly strung, he instinctively tensed — a response to almost any trigger that surprised or startled her. Still, with her question posed, Daniel soon retreated and allowed her to settle again as he went through the details — Shell Island.

That’s in the…, Mari thought slowly, searching the map for the target isle and soon finding it. The Yotsuba Island Region, so, she continued in silence as an index finger hovered over the Breen family’s place of origin. According to the map’s key, the place held a World Navy fortress which likely served the immediate region, such was the Marines’ hold over the East Blue. But from that point, the cherry blossom-haired girl traced possible routes — to the north, south, east, and west — that she deemed would be feasible to travel.

“North’s way too far,” she uttered, “and south would just take you deeper into the Yotsuba Island Region, right?” Though she asked a question in her quiet tones, she wasn’t really seeking an answer; Mahogani’s head tilted slightly, barely visible unless you were paying the doll mind. “East takes you to Frauce, but the only small islands nearby are these Jigokuchi, a– and going west just takes you to the C– Conomi Islands…,” she continued, starting to stammer and tense again once she realised she had been talking aloud. Rosé eyes glimpsed Daniel before closing and allowing the teen some much-needed sensory solitude in the darkness of her mind.

When her eyes opened again, she was staring back down at the map. In that moment of feigned solace, a flash of certainty had crossed her mind — her finger traced north again, but deviated. Perhaps a few days' travel from Shell Island were a small spattering of islets, situated off to the north-west, away from major sea routes unless you were purposefully aiming for them. But it wasn’t the location or names of the islets that caught her eye — it was the shape.

On the map, most landmasses had jagged edges; not often precise, but usually accurate to the coastlines of the countries and islands as depicted. But these ones? Size alone was never a factor in the topographical and bathymetric accuracy of sea charts, so she believed — she was no navigator or charter — and so why did these little islands have such smooth edges? One was almost perfectly circular, a portion cut out of it that gave it the vague look of a crescent moon.

^{“I– I think that,” she began:
“That may be it…?”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Putting her mind to it, Mari finds an island that seems odd compared to the map Daniel provided, suspecting it may be what they are looking for.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

Anette Mari | #ff91a4
Daniel Ortiz | #2c4e72
Carol Breen [NPC] | #fffcbb

[Mr. Moon]

Daniel #13

The young Marine recruit was watching Mari with silent fascination almost as if he was reading some incredibly thrilling book. Well, actually this was even more thrilling than the best book he ever read as this was reality. And the success or failure of his first independent mission was completely dependent on that girl´s ability to solve the riddle left behind by Edward Breen. And she really did it! Or, at least he hoped so as Mari herself didn´t look exactly sure about it. But it was the best they had, so Daniel gave her a reassuring smile.

“Excellent work, now let´s present our findings to the higher-ups!”

He quickly collected all the maps, hiding them under his uniform, and also took his notes with the transcription of the riddle, just in case Mari did a mistake, and headed back to the 22nd main building. There he found them an empty office and brought a blank piece of paper and pen each.

“Alright, now I´ll teach you about the most exciting part of every Marine´s work. The paperwork!”

The young recruit sighed, pushing one piece to her.

“Basically, every time you finish our assignment and sometimes even during it, you are expected to write a report about what you did and how so your boss and their boss would know what´s going on. It had to be written because from time to time some officers who don´t have anything better to do are going back to these and putting together statistics and other very important things for even higher-ups.”

He said the “very important things” with a lot of irony in his voice.

“Anyway it´s not that hard. Just write your name and rank up there, the name and rank of your commanding officer, which in our case is a captain Hertz, and today´s date. Now, under that, you shall briefly describe the orders we got and under that what we did and our findings. Then down there you will put your signature and…that´s pretty much it. Once you finish it I´ll take it to the captain and we both can go back to our regular duties.”

With that, Daniel started to write, taking his time to do so, so Mari wouldn´t think she had to hurry with her report. That…and he really didn´t want to go back to his regular duties so soon.

[Vio]

^{Mari #13}

---

^{“Excellent work,” Seaman Ortiz spoke:
“Now, let’s present our findings…!”}

“W– Wha…?” Mari stammered, blinking for a moment as she processed what the young man had just said. Still relatively fresh to the Marine scene, she was unsure about many things about her intended profession. She wasn’t an actual rank and file soldier nor specialist employee, just janitorial until she was old enough to properly enlist. In a sense, this was her first proper engagement — her first day in the life of a Marine. It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.

Hurriedly, she lifted Mahogani from the seat she had occupied and pursued the hasty steps of Mister Ortiz back outside in the cold air of Tequila Wolf. All the way she walked at a brisk pace, sticking close to Daniel until they reached the relative warmth of the structure used as the 22nd Marine Division’s main outpost, where he led her into the sanctity of another empty office.

“Paperwork,” Daniel had said with the enthusiasm of a child being told it was bedtime. “Just write your name and rank up there … briefly describe the orders … and that’s pretty much it,” he explained. Concise, yet informative enough. He wasn’t a great teacher, it seemed, but Miss Anette was independent and learned enough to figure it all out of her own accord. After all, she’d seemingly solved an unusual riddle off of very little deep knowledge, but those were the fundamentals of her grandfather’s journals.

“O– Okay,” she nodded, keeping Mahogani in her lap this time as she took a pen and did the deed. If there was one thing that was immediately obvious, it was the quality of it all, handwriting exceptionally neat and easy on the eyes, description clear, and swiftly completed. Perhaps the strangest thing included, however, was the signature included:

^{Anette Mari
& Mahogani}

With nervous silence she handed the paperwork to Daniel, saluted, and took her leave. There wasn’t much else to say or do, nor to concern herself about for fear of collapsing in a state of panic. She already felt a little guilt for leaving her janitorial schedule behind, even if it was relayed from above, and so she fully intended to return to it and make the most of what time she had left. Diligence, determination, duty. At least, in a strange sense, she felt like she’d accomplished something. The outcome would be revealed in due time. But before she could leave the office, she stalled.

^{“Th– Thank you,” she uttered:
“I… Yeah, thanks…”}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>A worried Mari completes the paperwork and takes her leave.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

Anette Mari | #ff91a4
Daniel Ortiz | #2c4e72
Carol Breen [NPC] | #fffcbb