A Boost of Confidence

Posted on 08 Jun 2015 @ 6:46pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler

1,340 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Repairs
Location: Bridge
Timeline: MD 4

[ON]

Ethan O'Donnell was trying to wrap his head around all that happened. After the adrenaline fell, his thoughts swirled around. For the first time since the team popped out of the Jeffires tube hatch, he could have been killed. That thought sunk in like a heavy stone being dropped into a rushing river. He had to grab the side of the edge of the ops console just to keep himself on his two feet. He stood at the ops console still, his eyes betraying him. He still couldn't believe that all he and Harold could do was watch as the computer core was erased.

The Black Hawk was now severely crippled. This was bad, very bad. The only good thing that happened, was that he was able to take Emily down. That was something right? Right? He blew out a breath as his gaze lifted from the ops console and out into the bridge. How was he going to explain this to the Captain. He felt like he failed.

Reports had started to come in droves to the Captain. One by one, members of the crew announced they'd secured sections of the ship. It still wasn't completely secured, but its security was the least on Harvey's mind. His team has just successfully taken Engineering when the worst happened. Harvey decided to head straight for the bridge. Climbing fifteen decks worth of Jefferies Tubes did little to phase him, especially when he emerged on the bridge to only a small number of faces and three dead bodies on the floor.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded, spotting Lieutenant O'Donnell, the most senior officer he could see.

Ethan almost flinched... almost. He was harried enough, and had to bite his tongue not to snap back. "Emily," he almost growled. He was trying to keep his own anger and failure at bay. He still had a job to do. "She did something to the main computer, it's wiping clean line by line. Lieutenant Sherman and I tried to stop it, we tried every code, every algorithm we could think of and nothing." His gaze flitted to the bodies, he crossed his arms over his chest. "I am trying to get medics up here." He almost threw his hands up in the air at the absurdity of this all. "But, I don't think they will be here anytime soon."

His gaze came back to the captain. "Permission to bring their bodies into the briefing room?"

It took everything Harvey had to keep his anger in check. He rarely had an issue with anger, but having his ship boarded, his former yeoman arranging his capture, and now his ship a sitting duck was a trifecta of unfortunate events. He clutched a tightening fist behind his back as to keep it away from peering eyes, not that it mattered who would see it since the bridge was mainly vacant.

"Yes..." Harvey said, looking down at the bodies on the floor. He holstered his phaser and gestured for Ethan to give him a hand. Lieutenant Sherman, after all, needed to remain focused on the critical issue.

Giving a slight nod, Ethan approached the first slain body. Such a waste, he thought to himself as he looked upon the man. He recalled the conversation he had with Emily, how her intent wasn't for anyone to get killed. Obviously, they were just words to her. He still couldn't believe someone who wore the uniform, could be such a traitor. He fell back onto his haunches and grabbed the man's legs then stood. He had never though, in a hundred years he would be carrying a lifeless body into the briefing room.

After the first body was carried in, he and the captain returned for the second. He swallowed hard. "I shot Emily," he said, out of the blue as the second body was deposited in the briefing room. "She didn't give me a choice."

Harvey nearly dropped the dead man's legs in response. He looked up to meet Ethan's turmoiled gaze. "She didn't give anyone much choice today, did she?" He thought of the events in the corridor a mere couple of hours ago. "Is she..." For some reason the thought of asking if she'd been killed seemed to be an odd question.

Ethan shook his head. "My phaser was on heavy stun," he said. "I had her dragged to the brig after Paradon's team beamed off." He briefly thought about how it wouldn't have been hard to drag her lithe form through Jeffries tubes. He was pretty sure that the officers dragging her were not careful. There was some small pleasure in that. "Andropov assured me she would not be escaping." He knew the captain was right, Emily left him no choice. It would take a while to get over the fact that a woman he had come to know had betrayed an institution he loved. Then, having to shoot her just added to his turmoil.

Though he were no Betazoid, Harvey could sense his turmoil. The lieutenant's tone and behavior were indicators enough. Laying a hand on the helmsman's shoulder, Harvey spoke, "We have to stay focused, Lieutenant." Sighing, he added, "Regardless of how we feel about betrayal, we still have a mission to accomplish and a ship to defend. We owe those who fell today to finish what we started." There clearly was far more going on than any of them thought.

There was a brief nod as a Ethan took a few moments to collect himself. Yes, this shook him to his core, yes it left him confused, but the captain was right. There was still a job to do. "Aye, sir," he said, trying to muster as much confidence as he could to back the words he just said. There would be time to sort through feelings later. The started to carry the third person gingerly to the briefing room, silence, once again filling the air. "With your permission, sir, I'd like to get down to the flight deck. Assess any damage there, make sure everyone is okay." He took pause, "unless you have other orders for me."

Harvey, looking through the open door to the vacant and inoperable bridge, could only shake his head. "If you run into anything suspicious," Harvey took one of the two walkies off of his belt and handed it to the Lieutenant. "Call it in. We've lost enough people for one day."

Ethan took a hold of the device. "Aye, Captain," he said. The loss once again sunk in, the frown he tried to keep at bay forced itself onto his lips. He headed back onto the bridge, the thought of crawling through Jeffries tubes once again made his knees hurt. But, he knew it was necessary. "I'll see you soon, sir." He then turned his full attention to the taller man. "I'm glad you are okay, Captain," he said in a tone that was just slightly above a whisper.

The Captain nodded to Ethan. He was about to say something, but a series of hollow tones from the Operations station caught his attention. The lights flickered as the computer-assisted functions disappeared, leaving only the emergency lighting to solely illuminate the bridge. "Dammit..." Harvey instantly moved over to the Operations station, his focus now again fully affixed on the ship's disability.

Just as he was about to enter the hatch, the bridge once again momentarily fell into darkness. The emergency lighting came to life, bathing the command center in an eerie red hue. Ethan suppressed a sigh. For a moment he struggled with what he should do. Stay on the bridge and try to help, or get down to the flight deck and check out what was going on down there. Deciding there wasn't much he could do on the bridge, he climbed into the hatch.

[OFF]

Captain Harvey Geisler
Commanding Officer
USS Black Hawk

Lieutenant Ethan O'Donnell
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Black Hawk/i>

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