Transfer

Posted on 15 Oct 2017 @ 12:36am by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant David Moreau Jr
Edited on on 15 Oct 2017 @ 12:37am

1,788 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Crossing Over
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: November 13, 2388 || 0830 hours

Harvey stood in his ready room, back to the entrance, and stared out his viewport. His ready room, unfortunately, was not on the side of the ship that faced Finnea Prime. Instead, he had little choice but to observe the Presidium class station that orbited it. And, his view wasn't a good one at the moment either as the ship was positioned down by the lower dome as the Black Hawk's shuttles were hard at work ferrying supplies from the station.

Sadly, neither of those things bothered him. He'd just spent the last half hour on the comms with Commander Krasa, the station's Commanding Officer. The Bolian had been faced with a herculean task, and around every turn, he found himself against another wall to climb. The Finneans, though they were happy with the outcome of recent days, were not so easy to forget or forgive. The memory of the Federation abandoning them had returned, and now they'd started to wall off parts of the planet below, and become agitated in their interactions. Krasa wanted to make sure his station was ready for anything. In his view, there was only one person in the sector who could do the job.

It was a concept that Harvey did not like all that well, especially since he had to deal with it the morning after his wedding. There would be no honeymoon for him and Joey. After all, they just had a two-month vacation, and this situation with the Zone... well... Harvey wouldn't leave it alone until it was done.

The Captain sighed, and finally tapped his badge. "Lieutenant Moreau to the Ready Room."

David grunted as he heard the call come from his combadge that rested with his shirt on the bench he was doing pushups beside of. He did five more before he climbed to his feet and tapped it. "On my way, Captain," he said before he put his shirt on and grabbed a towel to wipe sweat off of his face and neck. After he tossed it in the recycler, the hulking Chief of Security headed for the turbolift and rode it to the bridge.

He existed the bridge and gave a nod to a few officers on duty before he headed to the ready room and tapped the chime.

"Come," called out Harvey, still staring out the window. He had no plans to turn inward, especially since he could see the reflection of the door panels all too well in the window.

David entered the ready room and came to a parade rest when he noticed the Captain had his back to him. "Reporting as ordered, Captain," he said.

Harvey waited for the doors to close to begin speaking. "You seem to have made quite the impression on Commander Krasa," Harvey remarked, still facing away from the Security Chief. "He couldn't stop talking about you for at least half an hour."

"All part of the service, Sir," David said. "He was stunned when I found him and I stayed with him during the cleanup."

"So he mentioned," Harvey confirmed, turning now to face the Lieutenant. He didn't say anything else for a moment, but instead slightly narrowed his eyes and examined the man while he deliberated on how exactly to say what he needed to ask.

Since the Captain didn't ask a question or reveal any information, David continued to stand at parade rest with a neutral look on his face. If it was required, he'd stand there until he was told he could move again and he could stand in that position for a very long time.

"Mister Moreau..." Harvey said, approaching his desk in order to sit behind it. "Commander Krasa has submitted a request to Admiral O'Connell, since he's still here in the area, to have you transferred to Deep Space 15."

"Sir?" David asked, a bit confused. "I only arrived on this ship a week ago. You outrank Commander Krasa, so you could easily say no,couldn't you?"

Harvey sat in his chair and looked up to the Security Chief. "It's hard to do when Admiralty is involved," Harvey said. "Especially when said Admiral travelled forty lightyears out of his way just for a favor."

The Captain sighed and leaned back in his chair. "And, honestly, Admiral O'Connell simply forwarded the request to me with a simple suggestion. To let you decide. Your dedication to Starfleet, Lieutenant, is without dispute. Despite everything, the rough patches, the intense combat... everything. You deserve to be more than what Starfleet has made you out to be. The Black Hawk needs a protector, sure. We have no idea what we're facing. Finnea needs a protector as well. Someone who's not going to let the Finneans or the Selubassari run over them like Deep Space Fifteen has been in the last few months."

"Thank you, Sir," David said. It was unusual for the choice to be given to him, but the fact was the starbase did need help in a major way and it was at a critical time. With an Admiral involved in the process, he could easily find that choice yanked out from under him. "What about the Black Hawk, Captain?" he asked finally. "You'll be without a Chief of Security. I mean, Cooper is good, but is she ready for that?"

Harvey provided the Lieutenant a weak smile. "It's not the first time I've been without a chief," he confessed. "Of course, I've told you before I've been through a few Chiefs. I think both Cooper and Metsker are capable officers, and I take it Cooper would be your recommendation, based on the question?"

"Metsker...I forgot about him," David admitted a bit sheepishly. "Of course, he'd make a fine Chief if that's your choice. I'd rather stay, but this is an opportunity and with the base falling three times in short order....they do need someone with real combat experience. I'll take it, Captain, but I won't leave you until you have a solid replacement in place."

"To be honest, Mister Moreau," the Captain began, "I really only have my eyes set on one person to fill your shoes. That is, if I can catch her before she boards the next transport bound for Deep Space 11."

"Her?" David asked as he mentally called up any Security personnel in the quadrant that would fit the bill, but there were so many of them that he shook his head.

"Your predecessor, actually." Harvey called up the profile on his terminal and spun it around for the Lieutenant to see.

"Lieutenant Di Pasquale," David read. "I read a lot of her reports when I came aboard and I have to say, she had to have been a loss to you when she took a leave of absence. The battle for Deep Space 11 took its toll on a lot of people."

The Captain fought the urge to sigh, thinking about the entire ordeal. "That's an understatement, Lieutenant. Aside from a planet being razed, and brother fighting brother, the other major loss that day was this ship's namesake. But we all had to deal with it in our own way."

"I wish I could have been here for it, but I was stuck on assignment back on Earth at the Academy," the hulking Chief of Security said. "But I did learn one thing that only has a vague passing to what we're talking about here."

"Oh?" Harvey asked, folding his hands in his lap. "What would that be, exactly?"

Moreau took a breath. "Computer, play Moreau Two, Shake It Off he said before he started to move and lip sync to the song the computer started to play. He moved around the ready room shaking his his shoulders and gesturing and acting like he had a microphone while singing to the Captain and hoped that the man could appreciate it and get a laugh.

Harvey was speechless. His eyes widened in surprise, wondering what would have possessed the stoic security chief to perform such an act, in the ready room no less. Eventually, the over-the-top acting and dancing wore on the captain's defenses. Slowly, but surely, his lips began to curl upward as their owner started to enjoy the spectacle. Not long thereafter, a soft chuckle came from the man.

David stopped when the song was over and bowed. "The point is, Captain, sometimes...you just have to shake it off and don't worry about what others say. The rest was me losing a bet, but I didn't have a blonde wig with me this time."

The Captain remained surprised. "Indeed. Well, Mister Moreau, since I got to enjoy a side of you I assume many people don't get to even glimpse... what, pray tell, did this wager include?"

"I got drunk on Earth and bet an Admiral that I could lift more than he could," David admitted. "He won. By having four dozen cadets lift a shuttle. I had to put on the wig and sing the song at the Academy in a room full of cadets."

Harvey chuckled during the story. "And here I thought the bet involved something with your present Captain. I hope, for your sake, there isn't a holorecording of that performance. I'm sure your new security detachment would find it quite educational."

"Do you really think an Admiral would pass up the opportunity to record something like that?" Moreau asked. "It's why I decided to do it for as many people as I could so it can't be used against me."

"Fair enough," Harvey said, still smiling as he nodded. Harvey then rose from his feet and came around the desk to stand a full pace in front of the man. "Well, Lieutenant, I thank you for your service aboard the Black Hawk. I know our time together was short, and, for once, it's nice to not have the spot vacated due to... incidents in the line of duty."

David offered his hammock of a hand to the Captain. "Perhaps our paths will cross again, Sir," he said. "And maybe next time, you'll be more relaxed than you are now."

One can only hope, thought Harvey as he extended a hand to accept what the Lieutenant offered. "Time will tell, Lieutenant. Time will tell."

"A tense Captain makes for a tense crew, Captain," David said as he shook the man's hand. "Experience taught me that. If you'll excuse me, Sir, I have to pack."

Harvey simply nodded his head. "Dismissed, Lieutenant. And good luck."

"To you and the Black Hawk as well, Sir," David said with a nod before he turned and headed out.

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