Command Counseling

Posted on 01 Mar 2026 @ 2:08am by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant T’Mari Rael

2,021 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Epitaph
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: July 22, 2390

Two weeks had passed since that final confrontation with D'rimo at the wormhole. Since then, the Black Hawk had stuck near Gamma Command undergoing repairs and debriefing cycles with various members of command. Harvey had borne much of the weight and intensity of these several days. Between commanding the task group, commanding the ship, and then captured and tortured by an unforeseen enemy, he had drawn much scrutiny from too many in Gamma Command's hierarchy.

He'd somehow managed to retain all of his commands and responsibilities, but it was all contingent on several signatures. He didn't just need to be medically fit, but he also needed to be psychologically clear. Harvey was given the choice of counseling, either a mandated counselor from the Bashir Medical Center, or from a list of available counselors in the sector.

It was no surprise then that he'd selected the woman assigned to the Black Hawk. After all, if he were to clear all scrutiny and be placed back into active assignment, he'd need the validation of the one responsible for the ship's mental well being.

The time had come for their first session, and true to his word, Harvey now stood outside T'Mari's office to ring the door chime.

T’Mari had sensed Harvey’s arrival from inside her office, walking to the door she gave a caring smile as she greeted Harvey. “Hello Commodore, please come in and make yourself comfortable.”

"Thank you," Harvey said with a half-hearted smile. It was one thing to pay a visit to a member of the senior staff, but it was another entirely when the roles were altered to patient and counselor. He paused inside the doorway and surveyed the furniture in the room, debating which would provide the least amount of discomfort.

Ultimately, he settled on an arm chair in the sitting area. "Thank you for agreeing to see me," he said as he approached the chair to sit down.

T’Mari nodded. “As I always say my door is always open, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be for formal Counselling sessions especially after everything you and Joey have been through.” She took a seat and made herself comfortable. “Feel free to start wherever is comfortable for you, there’s no rush.”

"Except that this is formal counseling," Harvey remarked. "Much of Headquarters has called my ability to command into question. Whether or not I retain my rank and position rests largely in yours and Doctor Monroe's hands."

T’Mari nodded. “That's true, from what I’ve seen so far since your return I don’t have any huge concerns, not that it helps knowing you have to talk about everything all over again.” She offered a warmer smile. “Just be open and honest with me, don’t hold anything back and I will do my upmost to help you.”

Harvey had no intention of holding anything back, but it didn't mean any of this was going to be comfortable. "Well, that's the thing. I'm not even sure where to start."

“Okay” T’Mari nodded. “how’s about you start at the beginning? What do you remember about your capture?”

A frown appeared on Harvey's face as he leaned back in the chair. He took in a deep breath and held it for a minute. His gaze was not turned towards the Counselor, nor did his eyes wander the room. "I was standing aboard the alien craft, the one we supposedly rescued in that nebula. I was talking to Joey... and she pulled a phaser on me. There was no warning. No indication it was coming. Then she opened a container and there... there I was. Or the Harvey that walked around with all of you for a week."

T’Mari nodded. “I can’t imagine what must have gone through your mind, seeing the other Harvey and realising that Joey wasn't truly Joey.”

"The word betrayal doesn't even begin to describe it," he replied instantly. Harvey exhaled and shook his head. "In all my time in the Dominion War, I was never even close to a changeling, so I never got to see first hand what it was like with someone posing as a crewmate or close friend. But to think that that clone had fooled me for two whole weeks... and I was supposed to be the person who knew her best!"

“She had us all fooled Commodore, hell I’m supposed to be able to sense when something is off, but I didn’t pick up on either of them!” T’Mari sighed. “All in all both of your duplicates were able to fool the entire crew.”

In another lifetime, Harvey probably would have been impressed by such a feat. "Not many get that duplicate of themselves they ask for," he admitted. "Aside from the fact that I wished it never happened, I find it incredible that he was able to get away with so much for so long."

“As much as I hate to say it, for all intents and purposes he was you. He never gave us any reason to suspect anything.” T’Mari shook her head. “What I did sense was emotional fluctuations that you could put down to the situation at hand. Anyway, enough about him I’m more concerned with you.”

Harvey raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly she meant by saying she was more concerned with him. Of course, there was the fact that he was the patient and the clone wasn't. "And what exactly are you more concerned with?" he asked her.

“Your emotional well-being Commodore, that’s what I’m here for after all.” T’Mari offered. “You keep a calm exterior, one of control, but we both know what’s happened has had a profound effect. Especially where Joey and your children are concerned. I’m not worried about your ability to Command, I’ve seen no reason to doubt you in that respect since your return, but you know Starfleet will want me to be as thorough as possible.”

He tilted his chin up, struck by her response. "I know this is the third ship I've commanded, and they're not the only ships I was on that had been destroyed or damaged beyond repair. And I do know what it means to love and lose that love suddenly and horribly."

Harvey paused for a second, realizing that his tone had wavered. He hadn't thought about losing Alison, his first wife, for a while. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time that his mind had replayed his final memory of her, looking across Starbase 211's shuttlebay as they boarded different shuttles with their individual patients. "It's one thing for this crew to not realize that someone had replaced me. But my wife... Joey... I was living with a stranger for two weeks and I had no idea! And to think that... that woman hadn't just fooled me but plotted to steal my family..."

His voice trailed off at the end, once again replaying his worst fear. Little Alison and Jameson growing up with a woman who looked like their mother but was everything but. The little ones would have likely never known.

“I don’t have children of my own, as much as I’d like to.” T’Mari offered. “But I do understand how horrific that would be. I wasn’t there when the other Joey was apprehended but from what I understand I think she actually started to care for the twins. It was that side of her that got her caught, she didn’t want to hurt the children. She may have started out fighting against us, but I think that’s changed now.” She paused. “It’s your greatest fear isn’t it? Losing your children, your family.”

"I've already lost one," Harvey answered quickly, then hesitated. "Well, I lost what was supposed to be the start of one. Alison had always talked about having children, and we had started trying before the war started. But when the war was creeping toward 211, we, uh, we put it on hold."

T’Mari nodded. “Alison, your first wife.” She said more reminding herself of the details from Harvey’s personnel file. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

"It's been more than fifteen years," Harvey reminded her. "Most days I don't really feel her absence any more, but there are days, especially when I hold my daughter, that I can't help thinking of what could have been." Sighing, he added, "Thinking of the what ifs sometimes feels dangerous. The mind can't seem to help to do it."

T’Mari nodded. “You have the happy times with Alison to remember, they’re a part of you part of what’s made you who you are now. Don’t be afraid of those memories, what ifs are just that, what could have been. You have your family here now, they need you and you need them just as much. They keep you strong, and you keep them just as strong.”

That was certainly true, the fact that he drew strength from Joey, and she drew just as much from him. "The what ifs tend to guide me at times," he admitted. "Not in the sense of wishing for a different life, but more trying to prevent others from experiencing the worst of times. Of course my success rate on that has been rather low lately."

“Not your fault” T’Mari waved that off. “Situations beyond your control, and you ended up with the ‘shit end of the stick’, as one of my patients used to say!” She grinned. “You’ve proven yourself enough, if Starfleet can’t see that then that's their problem. Sorry, I tend to be a little outspoken sometimes.”

Harvey grunted. He'd been handed the shit end more times than he cared for, and even though he was an expert in dealing with it, he certainly would welcome a change of pace. "Too often Starfleet cares about statistics and not so much the results. Out here, where Starfleet is already questioning our involvement in the Gamma Quadrant, they see me either a liability, or an excuse to continue to pull inward and be an isolationist."

“Then the same could be said for your crew, they couldn’t kick us all off the ship” T’Mari grinned. “Seriously though, you’re doing what you have to do, it’s either that or do nothing which is out of the question. Plus you can’t be blamed for the actions of your duplicate counterpart.”

"Directly blamed, no," Harvey confirmed. "The same way Captain Sisko or Doctor Bashir couldn't be blamed for the actions of the Bashir changeling. Or the multiple positions at Starfleet Command that were compromised during the Dominion War. I think what we're all left behind with is the importance of being careful, especially on the edge of a frontier that can so easily replace anyone. That is where Starfleet will find my faults."

T’Mari nodded. “We’re all aware of that now, we’ll all be more careful from now on.” She paused. “ I just wish I could have sensed something, anything, that would have given them away. There just wasn’t anything that stood out enough.”

"Well, I trust that in the future, you'll share anything you think is odd?" Harvey asked. "Even something in the slightest. This quadrant is proving again and again that we just can't take anything at face value."

T’Mari nodded. “You can bet on it.” She smiled. “Right now though I’m just glad to have the real you back again.”

"You and me both," Harvey confirmed. Smiling, he rose from the couch and offered T'Mari a nod. "Well, I suppose this has been a productive session."

T’Mari nodded. “I’d say so, now we just have to keep that momentum going for our next session.”

"Indeed we shall," Harvey said with a nod. "In which case, I bid you adieu until the next session." Harvey offered a soft smile, and exited the room.

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