Opportunity

Posted on 11 Jan 2020 @ 1:43pm by Commander Thiago Teixeira & Commodore Harvey Geisler

1,745 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Epilogue
Location: Geisler Quarters
Timeline: June 20, 2389

Thiago shrugged on his uniform jacket and fastened the front. He gave himself a look in the mirror before picking up a PADD and exiting his quarters. It was a short walk to his destination. He stopped and looked at the door.

Room 09|06.

He touched the announcer.

Harvey looked up from his desk at the door. It wasn't unusual for the doorbell to ring while he was off duty; after all, a Captain was never really off duty, not unless he was off and far away from his command. Thankfully, Joey had elected to go on a walk around the deck with Mila, the babies, and the dogs so that he could have a few moments of peace and sift through the myriad of reports that had been backing up.

His eyes darted around their quarters, which were very clearly unpresentable in this moment with baby paraphernalia and other items strung about. Such was the life of a parent. Harvey, however, found himself wondering what it would be like when the twins were mobile and capable of actual destruction, rather than relying solely on tired parents to not keep their quarters up.

"Come in," he called from the desk. Harvey then rose and started walking over to the replicator in hopes of getting a hot beverage.

The doors slid open.

"Captain?" he called, not yet entering the quarters. "Sorry to bother you."

"Not a bother at all, Thiago," Harvey said, glancing at his XO as he crossed the room to the replicator. "Come in. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea?"

"Pineapple juice," he replied, crossing into the room. The doors slid closed behind him. "How're the babies doing?"

Harvey inputted the order into the replicator and it immediately produced a glass of juice and a mug filled with steaming coffee. Turning, to approach Thiago to deliver the glass, he replied, "Healthy, sleeping, eating, sleeping, pooping... all with a smile or two. Modern medicine says they're the embodiment of stellar health for their age."

"Fatherhood is treating you well then?" Thiago wasn't a father himself, nor did he have any immediate plans to be. But the idea of finding someone with whom he could settle down and have children with was appealing. "Thank you," he said, accepting the juice.

"So far," Harvey remarked. He gestured at the couch as he tossed a few soiled onesies off of the chair next to it. "Have a seat," he verbally reinforced just before he sat down himself. As soon as his posterior hit the cushion, he could feel the fatigue he'd built up rush over him. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea.

Harvey looked tired. It wasn't surprising; being a new parent to twins on top of all of the exhaustion and stress from the last mission took a toll. "I don't want to keep you long," he explained, sitting down. He took a swallow of the sweet, tangy pineapple juice. He looked down at his PADD, now resting in his lap, before continuing. "Serving on the Black Hawk, with you, has been a pleasure. Even with all of the things we've experienced."

The Captain, perplexed, looked up from his coffee at Thiago. The fatigue he unknowingly displayed quickly vanished, obscured by a quizzical expression. "We certainly have had our share of adventures. Consortium. Dolmoqour."

Thiago nodded. "Any idea what you'll be doing while the ship is being repaired? I, apparently, will be teaching at the Academy." He handed the PADD to his Commanding Officer. "This just came in. 'With your years of experience in Starfleet, including nearly a decade as an Executive Officer, the Commandant believes that you are exceptionally qualified to serve as a visiting professor in the Command School program,'" he quoted.

Harvey looked down at the padd and set his coffee on the low table in front of him. "Visiting professor?" he echoed, looking through the orders. Harvey then chuckled, adding, "I think you'll make an excellent teacher. Though I'm not sure who to feel sorry for... you or the students."

"Rude," he retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Seriously though, I do think you'll do an excellent job," Harvey affirmed. "As for me, Admiral O'Connell is trying to keep me close. We're going to head for Earth in a couple days, let the grandparents enjoy the kids, and then it's back to New Bajor. Admiral O'Connell wants me to help with some administrative duties concerning the restructuring of the sector. Should be interesting."

Thiago nodded. "I'm sure everyone is excited to meet the little ones." He looked down into his glass. "I'm hoping the Academy, and the Commandant, won't protest too much when I leave to come back here. Commandant Franklin and I served together once, nearly twenty years ago on the Hsien Ning. I'm not sure how well she remembers me though. I was Sensor Officer and she was the Chief of Security. Our paths didn't cross very often."

“I imagine we’ll be drydocked at least for the semester,” Harvey supposed. “That’ll at least keep you from being summoned away mid-class. Regarding the Commandant, I did have to give her a personal briefing on the cadets we had aboard during the Consortium debacle. She seems nice, so long as she doesn’t believe you’re hiding anything from her.”

Another drink of the sweet pineapple juice before Thiago continued. "I'm glad everything worked out with the Dolmoqour. Things looked pretty bad there for a while."

He paused and took a single deep breath. "I'm sorry I left you. I thought you'd be able to get away too. And I knew that if they had both of us, things would be that much easier for them."

The Captain nodded. He, too, had had plenty of time to reflect on what had transpired on that fateful day. "You were acting in the ship's and crew's best interest. The Chief of Security was compromised, and the Command Team cornered. Had we both been taken, then the ship would certainly have been taken with ease."

Though he appreciated Harvey's understanding, he still hung his head and shook it slightly. "I wasn't able to protect enough of the crew. I wasn't able to protect you. Which, as Executive Officer, is my job." He looked up at the other man. "I'm sorry I didn't do more."

Harvey leaned forward in his chair to pick up his coffee, managing to stifle a yawn before taking a hefty swig of the black elixir. "Remember the Kobayashi Maru?" Harvey asked. "You and I both know that it is impossible to win every battle. Hell, there's a crashed Akira on the surface of New Bajor that proves that firsthand. The only thing they didn't warn us about is the danger of hindsight. We must both learn from our mistakes and our regrets in order to grow as command officers."

"I miss that Black Hawk," he said. "But this is a fine ship too. I'll miss her." He smiled, thinking about his new assignment. "The things we sacrifice to prepare future generations. There is something unsettling in training those set on replacing you."

“It’s a sign of one’s own mortality,” Harvey confirmed, placing his coffee back down on the table. “We always think we’re forever young and invincible until there are actual children in our care.”

Thiago laughed. "I suppose you would know something about that," he said, looking at some of the evidence of the newest members of the Geisler family. "One nice thing about being at the Academy is being able to scout some new talent for us."

Harvey smiled and chuckled as he leaned back in the chair. “New talent! It’s probably the only way we’ll attract new crew anymore. Anyone with proper experience who takes one look at our service record is bound to run far away and fast.”

"We have been through a lot of crazy adventures," Thiago agreed. "But anyone who looks past that and into the people who serve here....well, they'll find that this ship is very worth their attention."

“Indeed they will.” Harvey didn’t say anything else as he sized up Thiago. Were he a Betazoid, he likely would have picked up on more of the things and feelings left unsaid. “We are going to miss you around here, Thiago. But life in dry dock is going to be a bore, I feel.”

"I appreciate that, Harvey. Really," he replied. He looked down at his juice. It was getting close to empty. Another round?, he asked himself, Or give him some quiet time? Opting for the latter, he took a last gulp of the pineapple juice. "I should go. You don't get much time alone. Especially with the babies now."

Part of Harvey wanted to tell Thiago to stay, but Harvey could certainly feel how heavy his eyelids were getting. Why did Starfleet have to make these chairs so comfortable? "I think that's going to be my story for the next eighteen years. At least you'll only be seeing your cadets an hour or two a day."

Harvey mustered what energy that remained and stood up to extend his hand to Thiago. "I wish you the best of luck with the Academy, Thiago. I just hope the best and the brightest are ready for the wealth of knowledge you have to impart."

"Here's hoping," he confirmed, he set his empty glass down and rose to his feet. Taking Harvey's hand, he gave it a firm shake. "The galaxy is a big place," the Brazilian said. "I'm glad to get to share one, tiny portion of it with you."

Geisler held Thiago's hand for a beat longer. "As am I," he agreed. "Thank you, Thiago. For everything."

"Thank you. Friend."

Harvey could only smile. Something about this moment felt odd. He couldn't put his finger on it, but maybe the strange feeling originated with how tired he was feeling.

"Now," Thiago encouraged, "go rest. And I have to go pack." He turned and left the Geisler quarters. Leaving, even for a short term assignment, felt strange. But this was an opportunity. And Thiago wasn't one to turn down such things. Still, this felt different. Maybe it was returning to Earth after so long. Maybe it was just how far from the Black Hawk he would be. Whatever it was, he was a bit wistful.

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