Watching... Waiting...

Posted on 26 Jan 2016 @ 10:16am by Commander Jayla Kij & Captain Harvey Geisler

1,233 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Rude Awakening
Location: USS Black Hawk || Ready Room
Timeline: MD 9 || 1310 hours

Jayla made her way to the bridge. She had just heard that Commander Kos had been arrested on suspicion of Consortium involvement. She didn't believe it for one second and she was going to find out if Captain Geisler did. Perhaps heading to the Captain's ready room was a bit much, but she'd always been a bit precocious, so she found herself pressing her thumb to the door chime outside the Captain's ready room door- which is where the computer had said he was only two minutes before.

Harvey had given up staring out the window at the O'Carroll and the convoy. He'd almost given up hearing back from his yeoman with the task he'd given her. If there was one thing he hated, it was having to wait. For now, he settled for sitting at his desk to review the claims submitted by those held behind forcefields. Jillian O'Connell's word hinged entirely on the convoy. Mac's claim, however...

The Captain didn't even know where to start. In fact, he was thankful to hear the door chime. Harvey rose to approach his replicator as he called, "Come!" Upon seeing the familiar face once the doors parted, he greeted, "Doctor. Care for a cup of coffee?"

If anything could disarm Jayla, it was a cup of coffee. "Sure," she said, almost forgetting while she was here. "You look a bit overworked," she added.

"Overworked," Geisler said, pressing the preset button he had programmed less than a month into his tenure as Captain. "Stressed. Frustrated." He sighed as the two cups of coffee materialized. "I don't know what to think anymore, really," he said, handing one of them to her.

Jayla nodded, accepting the cup he handed her. "I heard Commander Kos is in custody," she said, sipping carefully.

Her comment caused Harvey to pause mid-sip. After a moment, when he had collected himself, Harvey returned to the desk, but did not sit down. "According to the computer logs, she was the one who sabotaged the ship the moment the O'Carroll arrived," he said matter-of-factly.

Jayla was shocked enough that it showed plainly on her face. But, after a moment, the shock changed slowly to suspicion, then disbelief. "I don't believe it," she said. "Why would she go to all that trouble only to neglect to erase the evidence? Or at least try to make it look like someone else did it."

He grunted just before taking another sip. "That's what she said too," he remarked. "But if she was framed, who would do it and why? Why even target her?"

She shrugged. "Maybe just to throw you off the search for whoever really did it," she said. "You know, like you're too busy kicking yourself for not seeing her deception, so you don't even try to figure out if she really was deceiving you."

Those words rang painfully true. "I really should find better ways to deal with betrayal," he muttered, taking his seat at last. "Maybe Mac is innocent," he mused. "It's going to have to wait until we sort out this mess with the O'Carroll and the convoy."

"How bad is it?" she asked. "Anybody need a doctor?" she asked hopefully.

"No injuries were reported," Harvey replied. "Looks like Walsh got involved before anyone on the convoy could get hurt. Speaking of, how are the pilots?"

"Mended," answered Jayla. "I'm keeping one for observation, but the other two seriously injured ones are in their quarters, taking a couple of days off. The rest were minor injuries. I was kinda hoping for something to do. I suppose I could order full physicals for the entire crew. But, then everyone would hate me. And I'd probably have to fear for my life. And that gets tedious."

"Perhaps something that's a little routine is something we all need," Harvey mused. Sighing, he looked at her for a moment. When he realized he had momentarily fixated on her spots, the best-known visual feature of a Trill, he shifted in his chair. "What do you think about all of this? Consortium? The O'Carroll? Mac?"

"I think we're going to have to be very careful with who we trust," she said. "I have a feeling this whole mess is far more complicated than anyone could guess." She took a sip of her coffee. "Everything so far feels too easy. Conspiracies are never this easy."

Harvey took a hefty drink of his coffee. "True," he muttered, agreeing with the good doctor. "Absolutely nothing is adding up," he commented before realizing it was the first time he had been open about what he'd been seeing about this situation. Perhaps it would do him well to start trusting some of those around him instead of resorting to brooding.

But therein lay the difficulty. Who could he trust? He thought of Jillian's remark, knowing her doctor and close friend of several years both turned on her in a moment. The woman in front of him now was indeed innocent. She'd done nothing to harm him over the past few months. Instead, she pushed him, challenged him, made him better. Would someone who possessed the qualities of a traitor do that. "For now," he said with frustration and impatience in his tone, "we wait. We see if Commander O'Connell's allegations have merit. Until then..."

Jayla nodded and sighed. "There's really nothing else to do, is there?" she said. "Maybe something else will turn up." But, she didn't sound convinced.

Harvey finished his coffee and placed the mug on the desk. "I'm afraid not," he said with a sigh. "I just... can't wait for this mess to be over. How could someone just up and betray Starfleet and everything the Federation stands for. I don't get it."

"My theory is that they were never loyal to Starfleet or the Federation," answered Jayla. "They can't have been. Not really. If they were, none of this would be happening."

He nodded slowly. "And the saddest part is that it actually happened in the first place."

Jayla nodded and sighed. She drained her coffee cup and stared into the bottom of it. "Here is where one of us is supposed to say something profound and enlightening," she said. "If only this were a book, that might actually happen."

"Unfortunately, Jayla, this is real life." Harvey rose from his seat, empty coffee cup in hand. "And if past experience has taught me anything, it's to stop avoiding the situation and find a way to deal with it."

"Absolutely," said Jayla. "That sounds profound enough for fiction. Now," she added, setting her empty cup down. "How do we deal with it? No, wait. It's probably better if I don't know. I talk too much and I'm liable to let your plans slip to a consortium agent. So, don't tell me."

"Fair enough," Harvey said, picking up her cup and returning both to the replicator for recycling. "When this is over, I think I'm going to work on by backhand." He hadn't told her that since the last trip to sickbay, he had been trying some different exercises.

Jayla grinned. "Gonna try to beat me next time?" she asked, eyes twinkling.

Harvey simply smiled. "We'll see," he said with hopefulness in his voice.

"Yes we will," she replied. Though she sounded competitive, she secretly looked forward to the day when he could best her in an honest game.

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