Shanghaied

Posted on 15 Oct 2017 @ 12:37am by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Commodore Harvey Geisler

2,426 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Crossing Over
Location: Deep Space 15
Timeline: MD 12 || 0930 hours

Once the reception was over and Camila had said her farewells to the few friends who had came to talk to her, including Joey who had tried to talk her into staying, the slender Security officer headed towards the transport that would take her back to her place of atonement on Deep Space 11 once again. She had considered asking Captain Geisler if she could return to the Black Hawk, but he had a new Chief of Security who looked like a walking mountain, a Assistant Chief of Security and Cooper was still there was well. There's no place for me there anymore she sighed mentally as she headed down the corridor that would take her to the transport.

Arriving at the airlock just before the blonde Lieutenant did, a pair of Security officers stood in the middle, blocking the portal to the shuttlebay. One of them was discussing a matter with the boatswain at the check-in station, and the other held a PADD that was angled slightly towards any potential onlookers. Displayed on the PADD was an image of a blonde human lieutenant and a short dossier.

Camila came up to where the Security officers were and cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said. "I need to get to my transport before it leaves." She felt a flicker of panic when she saw the image of herself on the PADD and raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem? I'm Lieutenant Di Pasquale."

All three gentlemen turned to face the lieutenant. The boatswain was not large by any means, but the two security officers would have made excellent linebackers on an American football team. "Miss Di Pasquale," the senior guard said, "I'm afraid you'll have to come with us."

"What's this about?" Camila asked as she stood her ground. She had gotten used to her former authority as the Chief of Security on the old Black Hawk and she was a full Lieutenant.

Noticing a pair of Deltans approaching the airlock from behind the lieutenant, the senior guard said, "We really should discuss the matter in private," he said, gesturing towards an alternate corridor.

The blonde wanted to growl. "If I miss my transport over something stupid, I'm going to make sure you're all assigned to Waste Management for a year," she promised them as she stepped aside for the Deltans with a look of annoyance and headed down the corridor they had indicated.

The guards quickly got in step with the Lieutenant, escorting her down the corridor. It wasn't long until they arrived at a security checkpoint, manned by a petty officer. "If you'll just wait here, Lieutenant," said the senior guard. "Our superior will be with you shortly."

Camila muttered and looked at the guard. "Please try to make it quick. I'm due on Deep Space 11 in a couple days and not many transports are going that way from here."

The senior guard nodded and left the room. The junior guard took a position by the door, and the petty officer remained at the desk.

Tired of waiting after a few minutes of no appearance from anyone, Camila tapped her combadge. "Di Pasquale to Security. What's taking so long? My transport is waiting."

No response came, but the Petty Officer at the desk looked up at the Lieutenant. "Ma'am," he said cautiously. "This is security. A security checkpoint, no less."

Camila sighed. "I'm fully aware this is a checkpoint, Petty Officer," she said. "However, since no one seems to have an idea of why I'm here, perhaps I should contact Commander Krala instead and find out why I'm being detained for no reason."

"With respect, Lieutenant," said the Petty Officer. "That is not proper procedure, nor is it in the chain of command. The person you would need to contact would be the Chief of Security, or the station's Executive Officer."

"I'm not known for following the proper chain of command," Camila said. "It gets in the way of important things, such as missing my transport back to Deep Space 11. Are you going to fly me back in a shuttle and we can get to know each other, Petty Officer?"

"I'm afraid I'm not certified, Lieutenant," the Petty Officer quipped. "I'm sure whatever this is will be resolved soon. And that the shuttlebay will be restocked with new transports bound for Deep Space 11."

"Get your Chief down here now," Camila ordered the enlisted man with a desire to simply walk away from the checkpoint. "Or so help me you will be on report faster than a non Starfleet Deltan seducing someone."

"I'm sorry ma'am," the Petty Officer replied, surprised she didn't say anything about the bay being void of transports. "The station doesn't presently have a Chief of Security. I'm told one is en route."

"Wait....restocked?" she repeated when she realized what he said. "I've missed my transport and there's no Chief? You're going to be sorry, Petty Officer." She turned to walk away and stopped when she saw a Bolian with the rank of Commander. "You. Who are you and why am I being detained?" she asked the man.

"Lieutenant Di Pasquale, I take it?" the Bolian asked, bearing a smile that might be too friendly, even for a Bolian. "I'm Commander Krasa, the station's commander. I'm afraid there's been a... misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding, Commander?" Camila asked as her annoyance grew. "The kind that has me detained for no reason and causes me to miss my transport?"

The Bolian held his hands up in defense. "That is what it looks like, Lieutenant," he hold her. "Though the transport has left, it should still be in transporter range. And, may I remind you that you are in the presence of a senior officer?"

"I apologize, Commander," she said. "I came here for a wedding and my leave is only for a limited time. I got frustrated. May I be dismissed to see if I can be beamed to my transport, Sir?"

The Commander nodded his head. "I'll escort you there myself. Deep Space 15 can be a bit confusing, even for a Presidium."

"Thank you, Commander," Camila said with a faint smile.

Leading the way out of the room, Commander Krasa walked straight to the nearest turbolift alcove where a car was already waiting for them. "Deck 21," he instructed the lift.

Camila stood beside of him. "May I ask what happened, Sir?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Krasa said, looking over at the Lieutenant beside him. "Oh, the mixup. Just... some crossed paperwork in Operations. It's been an interesting last week around here, and we're still trying to straighten everything out. I'm sorry you were affected."

"I'll sure my transport will still be in range," Camila said. "If not, could I get you to contact Deep Space 11 and explain what happened?"

"I sincerely doubt that will be necessary," Krasa said as the turbolift stopped. The doors parted, revealing yet another non-descript corridor. "Right this way," he said, leading her out into the hall. The transporter room was the second door on the left. Aside from the transporter chief and the stationed security guard, the room was empty.

Commander Krasa stepped over to the control surface and handed the woman a PADD. "Transport coordinates for the Lieutenant," he instructed her. "Let's make it snappy as they've been waiting long enough."

The woman nodded, inputting the coordinates into her system.

Camila stepped onto the transporter pad and gave a nod. "Ready," she said before a part of her brain wondered why the Bolian would have the coordinates of her transport on a PADD. "Commander, how do you have the coordinates of the transport?"

The Bolian only grinned. "Energize." At his command, the chief moved the sliders. Transport had been initiated.

Before she could say anything, the blonde felt the transporter immobilize her and she didn't have time for anything else before she found herself in another transporter room.

Waiting for her beside the control board was a familiar man with sandy blond hair surrounding a solemn expression. The fact that he wore four pips on his collar was enough for anyone to not ask questions, though the Captain was more than certain that he'd receive a barrage from the woman on the transporter pad soon enough. Before she could say anything, the Captain stepped forward and handed the woman a PADD. "Quarters assignments, duty roster, and necessary clearance codes," he told her. "Settle in. You start tomorrow."

And, without waiting for another word, Harvey Geisler left the transporter room, practically expecting to be chased down once reality set back in.

Camila focused on the man in front of her and the pips on his shoulder as a PADD was put in her hand. She nearly dropped it in shock when she heard the words he spoke and when he turned around to leave, she took another few seconds before she leapt off the transporter pad to go after him.

"Quarters? Duty? Clearance? Settle? Captain Geisler, I'm no longer under your command...am I?" she asked, the questions tumbling out of her mouth as she hustled to catch up to him.

Harvey did his best not to burst out into unrestrained laughter as he heard the rumble of footsteps and questions behind him. As soon as she was next to him, he said, "Correct. You were not under my command, but that had to be fixed, Miss Di Pasquale."

"It had?" Was all she could asked as she looked over at him then at the PADD in her hand and then back at him. A thousand more questions welled up in her mind. "What about my assignment to Deep Space 11?" she asked. "Wait...you and Commander Krala planned this. That's why I was detained. But...you have a Chief and Assistant Chief, Sir....what do you need me for?"

"I had a Chief," Harvey explained, turning a corner to pass through a junction. "And, I needed the best damn Security Chief in the Quadrant. By the way, thanks for coming to the wedding."

"It as beautiful, Captain. I wouldn't have missed it for anything." Camila said as she walked beside of him. "Wait..your other Chief went to Deep Space 15?" she asked as she put two and two together from what the Petty Officer told her about the station not having a Chief. "As for being the best...I only do what I'm trained to do and I didn't do it very well the last time I served under you."

"You're entitled to your opinion," said Harvey. "I thought you performed quite well considering the circumstances. The Consortium didn't make it easy for anyone."

"Thank you, Sir, but I feel like I let you down," she said. "It's why I requested assignment to Deep Space 11 and have been doing nothing but slowly working myself to death." It was true enough, but she didn't mention the booze that she had recently stopped drinking. However, her frame was thinner than it used to be.

"How so?" Harvey asked, stopping at a turbolift alcove.

"I couldn't protect everyone, Captain," Camila said softly. "As a Chief of Security, it's my job to ensure the safety of the ship and crew. The ship went down and I know how many personnel died and all I could do was try to help take back Deep Space 11 and caused more damage than was warranted." She decided to say nothing about the conflict with Bast during that mission and she didn't plan to.

The turbolift arrived and Harvey stepped inside. "Let me get this straight," Harvey said, looking at her. "You feel guilty for something that you had absolutely no control over? Camila, it is absolutely possible in this life to do everything right and still lose."

She stepped in with him. "I never said it made sense, Captain," she said. "It's just how I feel. Deep Space 11 was my first assignment before Black Hawk and ....it just felt wrong to be doing what I was doing and fighting officers that I used to serve side by side with."

Harvey could only nod as he pressed a control stud to force the turbolift to move. "There was nothing right about that crisis," he remarked. "Regardless of circumstances or feelings... I believe that your place is here on the Black Hawk. I'm sure you saw that practically all of the Akira's senior staff is on board. That Romulan engineer found a way to leave the quadrant, but you... your place is here, Lieutenant. I need a sharp mind for what we're about to do, and a person I can count on ready to do the job."

"I did notice, Sir," Camila said. "And I want to thank you for believing in me enough to want me back. All I can say is that I hope I don't let you down."

"Whatever you do," Harvey told her, smiling, "make sure you don't. I had Lieutenant Adan take the liberty of fetching your personal effects from Deep Space 11. They'll be here in a couple days, and hopefully we'll be able to warp out by then."

"All I really had there was spare uniforms, Captain," she said. "After...after the Akira went down...I decided to travel light. I haven't even played a violin since I came back from shore leave."

"I can understand that. During the Dominion War, I didn't keep anything with me. I lost it all when the Dominion took Starbase 211. It wasn't until after the war I was able to recover some of my things." Harvey glanced over at her while the lift continued to rise. "This ship's fresh off the assembly line. Bigger, larger crew, better holodecks. When you get a chance, you might break in the holodeck with one of your routines. You might find it helpful, now that you're home."

Camila knew that he didn't share his past with many people and she was honored to get even a small glimpse of it. "I'll consider it, Sir," she said. "But I doubt I'll ever top the performance you walked in on. That one will be with me for the rest of my life. As for home...you're right. It may take some getting used to...but I am home."

Harvey smiled as the lift came to a stop. "Then, welcome home, Lieutenant. I'm sure you have much to do, and I know I do." With that, he nodded and exited the lift, bound to resume his day.

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