In The Field

Posted on 11 Jun 2024 @ 3:41pm by Commander John Reynolds & Commodore Harvey Geisler

2,671 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Return to Razmena
Location: Flight Deck
Timeline: June 17, 2390 || 1515 hours

The Search and Rescue team had, as soon as the flight deck had been totally secured, reported that two members of the Kwando team had remained aboard the Gaittithe. Harvey hadn't been sure if he should have been curious or thankful. After moments of debate, he settled on thankful, especially since that meant he wouldn't have to wait for another rendezvous in order to start getting some answers.

He wasn't surprised that either Commander Reynolds or Ensign Mitchell hadn't returned on the initial shuttles. There were plenty of wounded crewmembers, and getting them to safety was the first priority. Harvey had considered boarding one of the shuttles heading over to the Gaittithe, but the last thing he needed was to take away a return seat from a wounded crewmember on a return trip.

So he waited, as patiently as possible, for an opportunity to connect with his executive officer. By this point in the afternoon, search and rescue had recovered eighty of the two hundred-odd lifesigns from the derelict starship. Those who remained were trapped behind fallen bulkheads and scattered. The radiation continued to make transports near-impossible, and the lull in the action allowed for a moment for Harvey to take a shuttlepod to the Gaittithe.

It was an unusual sight, the scarred hull of an Akira class vessel, not to mention the damaged Flight Deck that Harvey now stepped onto. In many ways, it reminded him of his first command, now a museum at her final resting place on New Bajor. "Commander!?" he called out, spotting John across the flight deck, still in his costume.

John had been helping to get survivors organized in groups to be sent back to the Black Hawk. When he heard his rank called out, he turned to face the voice. The Captain? He'd rarely seen a CO off the ship in a situation like this. But he'd never really seen a situation like this before. He smiled and waved a hand for Captain Geisler to join him.

Harvey approached quickly, but not with haste. The Captain was very aware that his presence on the Gaittithe was a surprise to everyone, especially with the ship's condition. "Not too bad for being in the Gamma Quadrant for just over a week, Commander. Convoy raids, undercover work, and now a ship beyond repair."

John chuckled. "Not too bad at all, Captain." He turned and directed four more people to the current group and the next four to the one standing by. "I take it this is a fairly normal Gamma Quadrant week?" he added with grin. "Not that it bothers me. Gives me a good breaking-in period."

"Something like that," Harvey admitted. He took a deep breath, then turned to survey the flight deck. Even in the distance, he could see someone using a laser torch to cut some fallen support beams and free some workbees and shuttles. "Hell of a thing, whatever it was that happened to this ship. Any ideas?"

"Not a complete picture, no," said John. "They say they didn't attack the ship. They're just scavengers that get tips about resources. This one just happened to a Starfleet ship. I'm not sure if I believe it all, but the one I questioned seemed passionate and determinate about what they were doing. She believed in it; like a cause." He gestured for the next group to wait a minute before they advanced. "I'm sure you know what happens when people who are fighting for a cause - real or imagined, good or bad - get killed or captured. The martyr's blood makes the seed of the cause grow and flourish."

Harvey grunted. John's suggestion had caused Harvey to think about his service during the Dominion War, specifically his time on Betazed when it was under Dominion control. Harvey himself had been so concerned with finding Alison that he'd--

The memory gave Harvey pause. He hadn't thought about his deceased wife in several months. Was it a crime to forget and move on, even when his daughter carried Alison's memory via her name? He was grateful the young toddler didn't have the elder Alison's ginger locks, otherwise Harvey would likely be quite emotional as she grew.

Harvey cleared his throat and uttered an agreement. "Is that what we're dealing with?" he asked John. "A cause? An ideology? If so, I liked it better when it just pirates following greed."

"It seems like it to me," said John. "But I don't have all the puzzle pieces. But yeah, dealing with plain ole pirates was a lot better." John paused and turned to the waiting group. "You guys are good." He stopped the last one, "You're the last group from this area?"

The haggard officer in torn clothing looked up from the floor and into John's eyes. He was tired, sick and tired of everything. He'd planned to take this opportunity to get the hell out of Starfleet. "No sir. There's two more down the corridor. Mojo is with them, too. Always did a good job at keeping us calm." His gaze fell back to the floor as he pulled himself free from John's grasp. "Excuse me...sir."

John watched him walk off and then his turned his attention to Captain Geisler. "They're not all like that. A good majority are that I've run into. But not all of them. As for greedy pirates, I got a couple of names out of one them; Dosi, Karemma, and some human named Voseh. They call themselves freelancers that are intent to stop surviving and start thriving."

"Voseh..." Harvey said softly. The name seemed familiar, and it took Harvey more than he'd liked to place the name. "Kelinor Voseh," he said a second later, but this time with a voice that was more confident and full. "We've had some dealings with him. He's got himself a Saber class for a ship. We did check and see that it was legally obtained before the Mars incident. Runs a gang of pirates out here. In fact, we've been on the search for him for a while. Unofficially of course."

The first of the last two groups from that section came in and waited in the designated area. John gave them a nod and turned to the Captain. "Running a gang of pirates, huh? Well I don't know what pirates are doing with all of the things that they're taking, but industrial replicators and probes don't fit the normal bill. I'm sure some of them are being sold on the black market, but if they're trying to eke out an existence out here...those things could be pretty useful. And the Starfleet grade medical supplies would be like latinum to colonies."

Harvey's eyes widened. "Industrial replicators? Probes?" He shook his head for a moment. "These pirates are certainly bold, taking maritime law to the extremes." He sighed and watched the activity on the flight deck for a moment, especially as much of the Gaittithe's crew were being escorted into shuttles. "Any assessment of the crew or word from their Senior Staff?"

John ushered the waiting group to the next shuttle. "Well, you heard that officer a minute ago. And you've seen the rest. The survivors of the crew of I've run across are a general mix of that. Some cant wait to get out and others can't wait to get back in the fight. As far as the Senior Staff..." John shook his head, "...none of them survived. Strategically speaking, it's a sound tactic; take out the out the Senior Staff and all Command level personnel and there's no one left to give orders. Chaos, people running everywhere, some scared out of their minds. That's the worse part; it instills fear." He paused and turned to the Captain. "I don't who we're up against, but they for damn sure don't care who they put down."

The Captain shook his head. "There has to be more to what's happening out here. I'm sure you've seen your fair share in your career, but this has to be more than pirates. Orions, Ferengi, Nausicaans... none have ever been this bold, much less organized or strategic."

"I agree," said John. "Someone else attacks a ship. Someone else gives the coordinates. Someone else is pulling the strings." The final group made their way up to the waiting area, along with Mojo. The chimp was still wearing his child's command red uniform top. Despite it being torn, tattered, and stained. He walked up to John and made some pant-hoot sounds before standing still in front of him. John smiled at the chimp and held out his hand, which Mojo took. "Good job," John said. "Thanks for helping to keep the survivors calm." John motioned to the last group.

Mojo grinned, grunted, and screeched his excitement at the approval. Then he saw the other man in uniform and quieted down.

"Mojo, this Captain Geisler of the USS Black Hawk," said John. "He's my Commanding Officer and the one responsible for saving this crew." John made a few general gestures to help communicate who Harvey was.

Mojo made the same pant-hoot sounds but more emphatically. He then stood stock-still.

John looked at Harvey. "It's a long story, Captain. In short, Mojo belonged to the deceased XO. The pirates found him and tortured him off and on for who knows how long. I found him locked in a cage and sedated. I have a feeling they were going to take him with them for some more. So I rescued him. He's waiting for you to say something."

Harvey raised an eyebrow in genuine shock as Commander Reynolds recounted Mojo's most recent history. For a moment, Harvey's eyes bounced back and forth between John and Mojo, mostly in surprise due to Harvey having not imagined John to be good with animals. Then again, one's behavior with animals was not something that he naturally thought about when meeting an individual.

"Hello Mojo," Harvey greeted, extending a fist for the marsupial to bump. "My name is Harvey. Don't let Mister Reynolds here twist the truth. He has just as much credit for saving this crew as I do."

Mojo recognized the gesture from some of the younger officers and happily returned the bumping as best he could. His new human was making some gestures with his hands and arms as the big boss was talking. When he was finished, Mojo laughed and screeched and put his arms in the air.

John chuckled and shook his head. "I think I said something wrong or funny. Whatever the case, I really need to find someone on board that can help me communicate better with him. Or even a holo-program to teach me. From what they've told me," John said pointing to the last of his group to board, "Mojo here was like part of the crew, to a point. He stayed in the XO's quarters for the most part.

The Captain nodded his head. "Under normal circumstances, I'd have you go check out his quarters and see about picking up some belongings." Harvey gritted his team as soon as he said it, realizing that he'd spoken in idioms and not thinking about reality. "I'd bet though there's a few holoprograms that could be helpful. You might also talk to Senior Chief Rasputin. She's had dealings with marsupials before."

"I'll keep that in mind once things calm down when we get back," said John. He hadn't met the Senior Chief yet, but if she's dealt with them before, then she should be able to help him out. John watched the last shuttle leave and turned to Harvey. "You can see for yourself the devastation. And this is just the shuttle bay. I haven't seen much more of the ship, let alone the Bridge."

"From what sensors could tell," Harvey said solemnly, "there isn't much of a bridge left. I hate to say it..." Harvey took a moment and sighed. He surveyed their surroundings once more, taking in the scale of the devastation. He'd seen something like this only once before, and that was left on the surface of New Bajor. "I think the Gaittithe is a total loss. It'll be up to Unity to salvage what's left."

John shook his head and sighed. "Damned shame about that. She was a good ship, I bet." He felt Mojo grab his hand and wondered if chimpanzees could tell a difference in human vocal intonations or was just picking up on the body language. Something else to ask the Senior Chief. "So we're towing her back or are they sending a tow?"

The Captain turned to face John. "We're the only ship in the sector. After pushing all those pirates away, we can't just leave it. We're going to have to tow her to Unity ourselves. They'll worry about getting the wreckage to back to Gamma Command. We can't afford to be off the line for a week."

"Guess I'd better send a message to Engineering when we get back. Let them know to plan ahead for that." John paused and looked around at everything. "I just don't know what to make of it all. Nothing seems right about any of it. Nothing fits."

"I couldn't agree more," Harvey remarked, finding himself disappointed that John hadn't uncovered any more. He didn't fault John for that. Whatever was happening, it was well above both of their heads. "We should debrief the survivors," he suggested. "I can't imagine they'll know much more, but something is better than nothing right now."

"Agreed. That crew over there," he said pointing the opposite side of the bay, "that's taking down the hanging chunk of wall plating...they're survivors. They had minor injuries that were treatable here and refused to leave the ship in this condition. So they volunteered to do what they could. We put them to work clearing debris from the cargo bay. I bet they'd be willing to talk."

The Captain nodded, watching them work for a moment. "Only when they're ready," Harvey stated. "And only then. For now, let them work." Looking back to John, though his eyes went straight to Mojo, Harvey continued, "We're going to have to leave for Unity as soon as all crew is secured back aboard the 'Hawk. There's no point in keeping this ship powered up, especially for this next flight. Don't let any remaining survivors linger here too long."

"I can do that, Captain. We'll make sure that everything is secure enough for a tow," said John. "I'll pass the word along to have what's being worked on wrapped up and secured. All non-essential personnel and survivors will be on the next several shuttle runs." He looked down at Mojo. "We'll be the last ones out, Captain."

"As long as you don't stretch the clock any longer than necessary," Harvey remarked, seeing the crew struggle with the bulkhead. "The moment it starts to look unsafe over here, you all get out." He placed a hand on John's shoulder and nodded. "Be safe. I don't want to have to break in a new XO. Again."

"Copy that, Captain," he answered. "Yeah, I'd hate for you to have to break in another one, too."

The Captain removed his hand and gave John a nod. "Commander. Mojo." Then he stepped away, returning to his shuttlepod with plans to depart the Gaittithe.

John watched as the Captain walked to his shuttle. "Well Mojo, here's hoping that'll be us soon," he said, gesturing to Geisler and then the two of them. "Hey!" he yelled to the open bay. "This ship's gonna be powered down and towed back to Starbase Unity soon! Let's start wrapping up! All survivors and non-essential personnel, squeeze into the next several shuttles what you can! Secure what you're working on and then let's go!" He patted Mojo on the head and went to help with the bulkhead.

Tag / End

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