Planning Ahead

Posted on 26 Aug 2025 @ 5:56pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Commander John Reynolds

1,705 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Imposters Among Us
Location: Conference Room
Timeline: July 7, 2390

A week had passed since the incident in the nebula, and the ship's command functions still remained in Auxiliary Control. Harvey found himself rather stir crazy, since he didn't have an appropriate ready room or conference area to meet with the staff. The area was not designed for comfort, but rather functionality and emergency, not for every day business and operations.

Even now, as Harvey entered the vacant bridge, it seemed eerie to pass through a familiar space. It was a shame, really, to have to hide deep within the ship due to an overzealous power. Harvey grunted as he entered the conference room, thinking that Starfleet really should reconsider the placement of the bridge module. There had to be better ways to operate these vessels.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. There was another matter worthy of his current attention, and that was the state of the Black Hawk. Repairs were still underway, but the ship couldn't remain where it was for long. And that is why he'd asked Commander Reynolds to join him in the conference room. It was time to discuss their next steps.

John was already up when the call had come through. Dressed for duty, however, was a different story. After the call from the Commodore, he quickly put on a clean uniform that had been hanging on the back of a chair and headed out the door, grabbing a PADD from the table. John ran a hand through his prematurely greying hair and sighed. The events of the last couple weeks had probably added a couple hundred more. Oh well.

He entered the conference room and immediately spotted Harvey. "Morning, Commodore. Excuse the unkempt, 'non-Starfleet' appearance. This week of downtime for most has meant more work for me. But that's okay, if something has to be sacrificed, I'd rather it be Starfleet's dress-and-appearance than me."

The Commodore considered Reynolds' words and appearance for a moment before ultimately nodding his head. "Understandable. I appreciate you diving in to assist the crew. Since you've been working so close beside them, how about we start this off with a status report?"

"Things are moving right along," he said. "But I'd like to see it move faster. Chalk it up to being on the frontier of space, but supplies are hard to get. Even here. We're using whatever we don't need at this point for the industrial replicator." He paused and chuckled. "This is probably the closest this ship has ever been to Spartan."

"And to think we've barely been in service for a month," Harvey flippantly remarked. "Is there anything we might be able to source from the planet below?"

"It's possible," he said. "What we can get depends on how much longer you want to stay here. There are a few crew members that could talk a Ferengi out of his last strip of latinum, but I'm afraid most of them would be taken." Then he added, with a smirk, "Unless we resort to covert acquisitions or time of war necessitations." John laughed and dismissively waved his hand. "We'd both be on the wrong side of an inquiry. Or worse."

Harvey chuckled at the thought. No matter how the Commodore looked at it, if he wound up at an inquiry, he certainly would be at the wrong side of it. Well, not unless he found a way to sabotage the Executive Officer before hand. "I think we've about overstayed our welcome. But, it doesn't make sense to get back underway until repairs are complete and the squadron is home. But to that end, it's time to consider next steps. My next steps, your next steps. Even the ship's next steps."

John sighed. "You have no idea how much that hits," he said. "At any rate, I can push some double shifts and get planetary resources up here. They aren't going to like it, but they'll have to deal with it. It'll mean faster repairs and a faster end to this." John make a few quick notes to send an updated duty roster to the appropriate department heads.

Harvey chuckled. The very idea of working double shifts seemed to be unpleasant, but the stress of completing repairs to a starship was nothing compared to the minute-to-minute stress of hiding in plain sight. "That's appreciated, but that's not the kind of next steps I'm talking about. I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a Commodore. With everything going on out here, I've been thinking about moving to somewhere... stationary."

John didn't know the Commodore as well as some of his other crew did. But it made sense if you were going to move up in the ranks to not have to fly around the quadrant. "After a mission like this, I can see why. I used to be on a starbase way back. This sort of stuff makes me miss it real bad. But I'm not looking to become the CO of this ship. Maybe until we can dock at Gamma Command and get a new boss, but not for good."

The Commodore blinked. He knew time with the first officer had been brief, all thanks to the fact that this Black Hawk had only been in service for only a few weeks. Commander Reynolds had boarded the ship shortly before departing, and in that short amount of time, Harvey had come to know the man. In fact, he recalled a rather poignant conversation in the destroyed hold of the Gaittithe. But he hadn't expected this sort of insight from the man. In a way, Harvey respected Reynolds for that.

With a chuckle, Harvey shook his head. The Commodore leaned against the table, facing the viewports so he could see New Risa out the window. "You know, I didn't think you'd see that coming. Definitely shows how you earned those pips."

John laughed. "I don't know about all that. But after getting the shit beat out of me at a starbase I was once stationed at... you know, life experience." He turned to look out at the dark expanse beyond the planet, silent for a moment. "Too damn much of it. So, next steps for you, huh," he said turning. "How's the missus taking that idea? She ready to leave the ship behind?"

"More or less," Harvey said with a smirk and a chuckle. "If we didn't have a couple of toddlers, it would've been a harder decision. It's... challenging being a Captain and a father. I'm starting to understand more and more why Starfleet frowns on Captains having families out in the frontier. One never really knows where their first duty lies. I'd like to prevent myself from facing that question."

John turned around to face the captain. "I don't envy you at all in that regard. I probably will never settle down. When the time comes, I'll most likely find a quiet corner of the galaxy and fade away. But until then, Starfleet always calls."

"That it does," Harvey said, his voice soft. "That it does. The good news for you, John, is that command is not something that's just forced on people. You're either meant for it, or you're not. I'm a good example. The red uniform might have been forced on me, but I chose to be a Captain."

"And I'm glad for that. Going from gold to red was one thing, but choosing anything beyond Executive Officer?" He pulled out a chair and sat down. "There was a time, back in the early days, that I'd considered the Captain route. Had a loose idea and everything. But..." He sighed and waved it away, back to the dark recesses of time. "So what do you have in mind for the final days of the Geisler clan? Mountains and trees? Beaches and sand? Or the bustling city?"

Harvey chuckled, still leaning against the table. "Final days? John, you make it sound like I'm dying." He laughed once more, then sighed. Truthfully, he had never given much thought to the future, at least nothing beyond his mission. For a moment, he considered the possibilities and weighed them again what D'rimo and the Confederation might have for him once this was all over. Would he still have a purpose? Would he even be allowed to survive? He shook his head and answered, "Honestly, I'm not too sure. I'd love to find a quiet corner of the galaxy, maybe even settle in the Idran system. Time will tell, I suppose."

It was John's turn to laugh now. "Well, I didn't mean it like that. But anyway... I guess no one really knows what the future holds. I wish you two the best of luck with those plans. If anyone deserves to settle down in a quiet corner of the Galaxy, it's for damn sure you. Harvey Geisler, commanding officer of the demon ship Black Hawk who split the vessel into different space-time zones and managed to hold it all together." He sighed. "What an exit."

The Commodore smiled and chuckled, though he found himself wondering what the hell John was talking about. Demon ship? Space-time zones? The person underneath the Commodore's uniform may have only been born yesterday, but all of these things that John had mentioned weren't in any of the memories harvested from the source. Perhaps it was time to review a few logs. "What an exit indeed."

Harvey cleared his throat and stood up. "Well. Good to know you are not looking for the center seat. I have a briefing with the Admiral at the end of the week, and I'll let him know my intent. Depending on how that goes, you might find yourself there temporarily after that conversation, or perhaps someone will be reassigned from throughout Belvedere. But, uh... I don't think we can count on anything permanently happening yet. Who knows what will happen out here."

John followed suit and stood. "Understood, sir. And yeah, who knows what will happen."

The Commodore smirked, grateful for one less hurdle to deal with. "Thanks, John. I'll let you get back to it." With a nod, Harvey turned and left the room, bound for the next hurdle to clear.

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