Burying the Hatchet

Posted on 01 Mar 2016 @ 9:45am by Admiral Zachary O'Connell & Captain Harvey Geisler

1,856 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Starbase Unity
Timeline: MD 2 || 0800 hours

Harvey tugged at his uniform jacket as he found himself incredibly nervous. The last time he'd seen Zachary O'Connell was aboard the USS Logos. Just like at the Academy, Harvey and Zach shared quarters, although they worked differing shifts. It was a bonus in that they rarely saw each other, though they frequently interrupted each other's sleeping habits. And, unlike the Academy, they were not together for long, put to an end by an epidemic plaguing a colonized star cluster the Logos passed through.

As the turbolift took him to the transporter room, Harvey stared at the doors in front of him, remembering how he'd felt when he'd been given the mission to hunt down his former roommate. If their history hadn't been what it was, that false order was enough to give him concern with meeting Zach. What was he going to say, "How are you doing, Zach? I'm sorry that I was ordered to hunt you down?"

The Captain smirked. "Well, not that sorry."

Swooshing apart, the turbolift doors yielded another of the Black Hawk's corridors. Several crewmen walked about, just released from their shifts and were heading elsewhere around the ship. Many of them did not take notice of the Captain, a fact which today he found perfectly acceptable. The last thing he desired was a bit of fanfare before visiting the brass.

Harvey Geisler entered Transporter Room One, nodded at the chief and stepped up to the platform.

"Starbase Unity is standing by to receive you, Captain," announced Warrant Officer Jenerou, looking up from her console to see him standing there.

He only nodded in reply. About half a minute passed by before he finally said, "That was an order to energize, Chief."

"Oh," she timidly replied, quickly moving her hand over the sliders.

In a heartbeat, his vision was overcome with shimmering blue light and faded away, revealing a Transporter Room that was apparently constructed by the Dominion. Shivers rippled through his body, recalling his time in one of their camps, and having been "examined" aboard a Jem'Hadar vessel.

Each memory that flashed above the surface was not worth remembering.

"Captain?" said a gentle, yet reassuring voice.

Harvey looked down to see a familiar face smiling at him. "Commander," he replied, greeting the woman he'd previously ordered into confinement. Stepping down from the pad, he casually asked, "How's the little one?"

Jillian placed her hand over her still growing abdomen. "They say I'm two weeks away," she answered. "Personally, I don't think the little one's going to stay in there too much longer."

He smiled in return. "Takes after both his parents, I see."

Jillian couldn't help but smile. Something had changed in the man in front of her. He certainly wasn't the same person who visited her in that holding cell, or poorly attempted an apology when he returned her to the O'Carroll. No matter how much she wanted to infer, doing so in front of junior officers was not an option.

"I suppose the Commodore--"

"Sent me to escort you, yes," Jillian confessed, leading him out of the room. "He thought--"

"It'd loosen me up a bit before meeting with him," Harvey finished. "Can't say I blame him."

"We all know how much I hated being in the middle of your spats, Harvey," she said informally.

"And you willingly stepped in again," Harvey commented. "What's the saying, Jill? Fool me once..."

"I know, I know." They stopped at a turbolift. The doors parted a half second later, as if it were just fashionably late to a party. They stepped inside and Jillian instructed it where to go. "Zach has changed, Harvey. And it looks like you have too."

To Harvey's surprise, the turbolift immediately came to a halt, depositing them on the command level. He grunted, though it was mainly at the Dominion's capacity to build fast turbolifts. "Didn't like to waste any time, did they?" he mused.

"And that's only half speed," Jillian remarked. "They had to make some modifications after a pregnant Trill's first ride. Rumor has it that it took two days to fully clean the car."

Harvey made an instant note to share that factoid with Doctor Kij, thinking she'd find it fascinating. Before he could say anything to Jill, she led him inside a nearby office.

Behind the desk sat a man looking over content on a PADD. His face and appearance was familiar, save for the grey that was beginning to sprout in his hairline. He looked up to see Jill and Harvey standing before him. Zachary placed a smile on his face immediately, and rose from the desk. "Harvey!" he said with a cheerful voice, rounding the desk and extending a hand towards the Captain.

Captain Geisler stood still, giving the Commodore a quizzical look.

Unsure of what else to do, Zach slowly retracted his hand, but did his best to keep his smile. "I see you've been doing well."

"And you've certainly been keeping busy yourself, Harvey said, pretending to look around the office, but clearly glancing in Jill's direction. "Congratulations," he did offer to his old roommate, purposely trying to be civil in front of Jill.

Jill beamed, certainly pleased about something. She stepped forward and kissed Zach on the cheek. "I'll leave you two to your business. See you in a couple days, Commodore," she told Zach with a smile and then left the office.

Harvey's eyes followed her out, then snapped back to Zach. "Please tell me that I'm not transporting you somewhere."

Zach instantly chuckled. "You know, Jill and I had a little bet," he said, sitting in one of the two chairs in front of the desk and gesturing for Zach to sit in the other. "I now have to play Queen in the delivery room until the baby's born."

Remaining standing, Harvey scoffed as he remembered Zach's disdain for the 20th Century British group. Harvey would play it often himself when Zach was in the room. "How'd you lose?"

"I thought you would have punched me square in the jaw," Zachary said, resisting the urge to offer the chair again. "After all, I'm the reason why your Queen collection never left with you on the Logos."

"And probably why I wound up with your CCR," Harvey supposed, one of Zach's favorite groups that Harvey famously hated.

"To answer your question," Zach continued. "No, you're not ferrying me to anywhere. Until we can completely fortify Unity and begin to push back the Consortium, my orders are to remain here with the rest of the Task Force Senior Staff."

"How bad is it?" Harvey asked.

Zach sighed. "The Consortium controls nearly seventy percent of Task Force 9's assets. And, I suppose, less then five percent of the entire Task Force knows what's really going on."

"And you do?"

Zach reached over and picked up an isolinear chip and handed it to Harvey. "This contains everything that we know. Because of the situation, we're not classifying any of this. Secrecy is what has jeopardized the Gamma Quadrant."

"And the truth will set us free?" Harvey mockingly replied. "Seems a bit cliché."

"Unavoidable," Zach replied as Harvey accepted the chip. "We do ask that the information on that chip is not uploaded to your main computer. It's dangerous in the wrong hands."

"So what's the plan, then?" Harvey asked, deciding at last to accept the chair. "Sit here and wait? Keep trying to weaken Terlexa at Gavara? Because that worked so well in your favor."

It was Zach's turn to grunt. "We're done with Gavara, for now. The Tianamen, Brazil and the Rhodes have already taken a position near Gavara. The O'Carroll's gone off scouting the Nelson's last known position. We think we can turn Captain L'Pau with a little logic."

"Good luck," murmured Harvey.

"We have to try something," Zach said, tossing both hands into the air and leaning back in his chair. "Over ninety-five percent of our personnel are completely innocent, blindly following orders that are influenced by the Consortium." He paused for a beat and then nonchalantly added, "Just like you were."

Harvey's eyes narrowed. He did, however, choose to let the comment slide. "So, what? Are you expecting me to patrol the perimeter? Or are you going to force us to scout and leave the 325th behind in patrol formations as well?"

Zach studied the expression on his former roommate's face before responding. "Neither." He reached back to his desk to pick up the PADD he was studying with Harvey came in. "The Black Hawk needs its teeth. For many reasons, besides the fact that Terlexa would count us removing the 325th as a victory. If there's one thing we all need right now is a morale boost."

The Commodore held out the PADD. "Your orders, Captain, are to make a supply run to the Yolvanda system, or "New Risa," whatever you want to call it, for three reasons. First, your crew needs a break, somewhere where the Consortium does not exist. Second, there's an abundance of supplies there, raw matter for replicators, perishables, et cetera that we have a great need for here on Unity. And third," he tapped a button on the PADD to activate it. "The Chimera and the Cochrane were spotted less than a light year from the system. We need to remind the Consortium that Yolvanda will not be theirs."

"Let me guess. Whatever means necessary?"

Zach shook his head. "Ignore whatever crap Terlexa put in your head. Between those two Intrepid ships have to be at least three hundred people who have no idea what's going on. The last known crew rosters are on that list. Hopefully, you have someone in your care who can deduce who might be on what side."

Harvey nodded, accepting the PADD. "When do--"

"As soon as you're ready," Zach said, standing up. He waited for Harvey to follow suit before continuing. "I know I said your crew needs a break. We just can't afford a long one. Stay no more than two days at Yolvanda, and I'll send the Callisto as your relief. All of the other details," he tapped on the PADD, "are in there."

Harvey nodded. "You know," he said. "I almost did punch you."

Zach smiled. "Jill did say you developed a softer side." His smile faded away. "I, uh, I read about Alison in your file. I'm sorry."

Harvey shook his head. "It was a long time ago," he said, slapping Zach on the shoulder with the PADD. He turned to leave, but stopped just short of the doors' proximity sensors. Harvey turned to face Zach. "Commodore, huh? Red's not a good color on an engineer."

With a small chuckle, Zach added, "Nor a doctor." He watched as Harvey left, leaving him alone in the Dominion-styled office. Shaking his head, he looked at the ground as he started to round the desk back to his seat.

"Damn Queen..." he muttered, wondering if he could convince Jill to do something other than natural birth. There was no way he'd make it past a half-hour of labor.

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