A Casual Evening Out

Posted on 26 Sep 2015 @ 12:50am by Commander C. Kos & Commodore Harvey Geisler

2,156 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Rude Awakening
Location: DS11 || Compound
Timeline: MD 1 || 1900 hours

Harvey stood on the balcony outside Deep Space 11's famed Bolian Restuarant. A long sleeve white-button up covered his own torso, accompanying a pair of khaki shorts and flip flops. Though the Black Hawk had been attached to Gamma Command, the Regula-class Starbase in orbit, Harvey hadn't taken the chance to step foot on the planet below, choosing to instead personally oversee the Black Hawk's refit. In addition to reconstructing and reconfiguring the LCARS operating system, the ship finally had its battle scars removed. The ship itself, however, had grown quiet as most of the crew chose to beam down to the planet for much needed rest and relaxation, leaving the starbase team behind to tend to the ship.

Captain Geisler had felt something odd in the air aboard the Black Hawk in its eerie silence. He'd thought it was just the repair personnel, but he felt it in the natural, unfiltered air of the planet.

The wonderfully sweet smelling air...

Harvey closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. The last time he breathed natural air was several months ago on Betazed. The temporal distance seemed much, much longer, almost a couple years, not a full seven months. When he opened his eyes, he gazed once more on the lush landscape before him. If he didn't enjoy the Black Hawk so much, perhaps he'd make a request to transfer here.

But maybe after all of the craziness with the Task Force subsided. Treachery, extortion, corruption... Tomorrow was his official debriefing from his last few months with the Golden Stars, but one evening free of duty would do him good. He only hoped Commander Kos, his XO who'd taken leave for the last few days as well, would accept his dinner invitation.

"Great location, Harvey." Mackenzie had managed to silently approach him from behind. "I hope I'm not under-dressed," she said with a smile, motioning towards the strapless, light green leaf-printed cover that was wrapped around her midsection, leaving the top of her bright blue one-piece swimsuit exposed. Her red hair was still damp with seawater, but her suit had dried completely already.

Harvey nearly flinched, surprised at her unannounced arrival. He turned, still registering her words in his mind as he took in her appearance. To say that he was stunned was an understatement. "Co... Mac. You look... great." Harvey blinked, the momentary darkness in his vision imprinting her likeness on the back of his eye.

"Thank you," she said, reveling in his reaction. She had never felt pretty per se. It wasn't that she thought she was bad looking, but she didn't ever feel like anything special. At least not in the physical beauty department. When she got positive attention for her appearance, it provided her with a much needed esteem boost. "So, Bolian cuisine? Interesting choice." She smiled widely at the attractive Captain. "Didn't want to do soup again?"

"Something like that." Harvey gestured towards the nearby table. He hadn't requested a table on the balcony, but fortune had instead intervened. "I've been admiring these mountains from orbit," he confessed, standing near his seat waiting for her to sit first. "Thought a closer look was in order."

"Have you been to the beach yet?" she asked while taking a seat at the cozy table. "I was down there all morning and then again a little bit ago. The sand is very soft; an extra fine grain. And the water! It's warm, but still refreshing. You really should go for a swim."

"Not yet," Harvey said, sitting across from her. Two glasses of water already awaited them at the table, though Harvey had a barely touched glass of bourbon on his side of the table. He'd felt it inappropriate to work on it alone. "Just beamed down actually. I'm considering spending the night down here before my debriefing with Captain Terlexa. Possibly exploring the mountains some afterwards. Not really sure yet."

"Maybe we can go for a walk on the beach after dinner?" she encouraged, overcoming her urge to tell Harvey that he could stay in the room she'd been staying in since yesterday. "And I would happily go for a moonlight dip with you." She reached out and touched Harvey's hand. Before he could respond, a short Bolian woman approached the duo.

"Can I get you anything to drink Miss?" the server asked.

Mac's eyes darted down the drinks menu on the table. "Is the lager brewed here or imported?"

"We import all of our Bolian craft beers from Bolarus," the server replied. "We just got the lager in this morning."

"I'll take one. Thank you," Mac responded with a smile. That server walked away and Mac looked back at Harvey. Her fingers were still touching his hand. She moved her hand so it was covering his.

The first touch felt more like a brush, though it was evident that it was intended to be more than that. In one brief moment, electricity surged through Harvey's body, initiating from the point of contact. As she ordered, he couldn't help but keep his eyes on her. The way her crimson hair fell across her shoulders reminded him of a lost love. He'd felt similar pings before, even at the moment she first came aboard. Part of his conscious mind urged caution. After all, she was his executive officer. Starfleet possessed few regulations in this regard, but it was simply good practice.

On the other hand...

When her gaze returned to him, he saw something new in those green eyes of hers. They'd served together for... was it four or five months now? He'd made it a habit to maintain a weekly meeting with her, usually over dinner, to discuss shipboard and personnel matters. It was perfectly clear that the Kos in front of her was not the same Kos he knew. At least, not exactly. And, somehow, he didn't completely mind.

"Looks like you've been enjoying your R and R," Harvey commented, subconsciously letting his hand remain where it was.

"I have. Well deserved, I think." Her face darkened and her heart quickened. She withdrew her hand. "I've been through a lot. I'm trying not to think about it." She sighed, her breath catching momentarily. She fought to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes.

To say he was taken aback was an understatement. Every nuance of her reaction, and Harvey rarely picked up on these, told him something was amiss. He was unsure of what to do. Should he prod or let the subject die? "Is everything okay?" he asked, leaning forward in his chair instead of against the back as he usually would.

She sobbed quietly for a few moments, tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto her bathing suit. "Reza. Braxus," she said between heaves. "They. Are. Gone."

Harvey quickly moved his chair to sit beside her. As soon as the chair was back on the ground, he slipped into the seat and reached out to wrap his arm around her. Just before the hand touched skin, Harvey hesitated and lifted the hand for a moment, considering placing it on her her upper back as he thought that would be a little more professional. He forced himself to remember that both of them were without their uniforms tonight, and he knew how lonely the red collar made someone, especially after tragedy. Finally gently wrapping her arm around her, Harvey said nothing. He was no counselor, nor qualified by any means to give advice. He'd seen too many die not just under his command, but dating all the way back to the Logos when he worked on the cure for Edlund's Syndrome. Some of those deaths were meaningless, but others were sacrifices for the greater good. He'd read Kos's report from Nestene IX and knew that Reza and Braxus were part of the latter.

She felt Harvey's arm around her. It was reassuring, but she continued to weep. Braxus had been so young; so much left to accomplish. Reza, likewise, was in her prime. She had been a good officer. They both had been. As if dying wasn't bad enough, the manner of their deaths were brutal. Mackenzie was unsure she would ever get the sound of Braxus' spine breaking over the knee of the giant Syndicate attacker. Nor the sight of Reza standing before her, a large metal rod jutting from her chest. The Security Chief had dropped to her knees momentarily before completely hitting the ground, dead.

Kos buried her head in Harvey's shoulder and continued to cry. Her heart hurt for the her fallen comrades. It was several minutes before she was able to speak again.

"I'm not sure I'm up to this right now," she said between sniffles. "Could you give me a hand to my room?"

Harvey nodded and reached for his badge to summon a site-to-site transport, only to be rudely reminded that he'd left it in his quarters. Judging by her own clothing, she had arrived to the restaurant sans badge as well. "Come on," he said softly, gently helping her out of the chair and out of the restaurant, but not before leaving a strip of latinum on the table to cover the bill. "Where are you staying?" he said as soon as he spotted three different hotels in the distance.

"O...ce...an...ic Inn...," she managed to get out between heaving sobs, pointing vaguely to the left. "Roo...m s...se...seven."

Harvey pulled her close, doing his best to shield her vulnerability from on-lookers and passer-bys, as he led her in the direction indicated. Fortunately, he could only see one hotel to the left, so traveling there would be easy.

As Harvey led her, she tried to push the images and sounds from the away mission out of her head. It was only marginally successful, but enough that she was able to start to focus on controlling her breathing.

He could feel her start to calm down. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he realized he was not acting as a Starfleet officer, nor a Captain assisting a senior officer. Harvey was acting as a gentleman. He could not remember the last time he'd done something like this, but he imagined it was when he last held a woman with gorgeous red hair.

By the time they reached her room, Mackenzie had managed to calm down. She was no longer crying, though she still found her breathing to be a little erratic. "Thank you Harvey. You are too good to me," she said to the brown-haired Captain. "Please come in. Let me get you some food since I pulled you away from dinner."

"A bowl of soup would be nice," he replied with a deadpan tone, escorting Mac into the room. The sun was beginning to set, as he could tell from the view outside the open windows. Harvey couldn't help but smile. Somehow, the view from here just seemed better. He'd never been a social person, always preferring the company of few to none. In a way, he was relieved to not have dinner at the Bolian restaurant, though he might still try again tomorrow.

She chuckled. "You really like soup, don't you?" She crossed to the replicator and had it conjure up a bowl of plomeek soup for Geisler. She got a strawberry milkshake for herself. "Here you go," she said, setting the bowl on the table.

Harvey had been joking. Given her current emotional state, Harvey managed to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing or otherwise telling her the truth. Despite growing up with two parents and a sister, his first experience with such emotions with Alison did not go well, an experience he vowed never to repeat.

"Thank you," he mustered, sampling the soup. It was quite tasty, though, he was somehow quite envious of the milkshake in Kos' hand.

Drinking her shake, Mackenzie's mind began to return to normal. She could feel her previous emotion outburst retreating. She was embarrassed how she had acted. "Harvey," she began, "I know this evening hasn't gone as you planned. I'm sorry about that. I owe you. For tonight, can you just sit here with me? Hold me?"

It was then that Harvey noticed that she was sitting next to him at the table. Despite months of meetings and professional situations, Harvey found no problem in complying with Mac's request. Leaving his soup on the table, he scooted his chair closer to hers and began to reach around her. His approach was awkward as his arm jerked while the two sides of his mind fought for control on how to proceed. The lesser part, that which represented Harvey's shrinking social skills, wrestled against the dominant rules and regulations part. Somehow, Goliath was bested and Harvey's arm landed softly around her shoulders. The soup now resided on the table alone, abandoned to the moment.

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