Surprise, Surprise

Posted on 10 Apr 2016 @ 1:18am by Lieutenant Commander Adam Casey & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

3,195 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Timeline: MD 5 - Evening.

The kids finally asleep, Adam had left an alert for him to be warned if the kids got out of bed. He wanted to know more of the ship, and of course he needed to finish up the report he had been working on. He sighed as he walked into the mess hall, getting a cup of coffee from the replicator before sitting down, making notes on a PADD, not paying attention to anyone in the mess hall at the moment.

Camia wandered through the corridors of the Black Hawk and despite being off duty, the young Security Chief still stopped at every checkpoint and asked the Security personnel for their reports. It had been very quiet on the ship since she had returned from New Risa and she felt like it was too quiet, like the calm before the storm.

She wore a pair of black pants, sleeveless grey t-shirt and a pair of white shoes as she entered the mess hall and tried to decide if she were hungry or just bored. She started to head to the replicator and stopped as she saw the profile of a man who seemed familiar and moved a little further in and turned to see him in profile. It was the ex-Starfleet officer who she had met on the planet, but what was he doing on the ship. She made up her mind and approached him.

"Excuse me, didn't I meet you and your daughters on New Risa?"

Adam looked up from his PADD, and allowed himself a small smile. "Camila, wasn't it?" He asked, remembering the young woman. "Indeed you did. They had fun on holiday." He said. "I'm the new Chief Science Officer here on the Black Hawk." He said, by way of explanation. "Remember I told you about the officer I saved? Funnily enough, it was Harvey...that is to say Captain Geisler." He said, by way of explanation.

Camila blinked, then nodded. "I'm sorry I was a bit evasive on the planet, Mister Casey," she said. "I'm the Chief of Security on the ship and well, things had gotten shaken up a bit prior to our arrival at New Risa and I was certain who I could trust. I'm surprised he was able to re-instate you and in such a such a position."

"No apology needed. In fact, I wanted to see you, and to thank you for your...advice. Harvey's briefed me on what's been happening...right now, it's hard to know who to trust, and frankly, it's a little horrifying." Adam said. "He found me after we met, and asked me aboard, precisely for the reason of having someone he could trust. I don't know if he's got my commission fully reactivated, but for now it's a battlefield commission, as it were." Adam said. "Care to join me?" He offered.

"Give me just a moment," she said as she went to the replicator and requested a Ktarian Chocolate Puff. Once she had the exotic chocolate dish and a utensil, she headed over to where he was. "All things considered, I'm really surprised that you chose to come back on a ship in this time of crisis. Did you bring your children aboard?"

"Well, given the nature of the crisis, it wasn't a hard decision. Plus, there are some who would be happy to see me dead. I didn't want to take that risk with the children. Right now, all hell is breaking loose, and if the floodgates open...I'd rather be somewhere I can fight for my kids, instead of being caught out." Adam said, before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I'll speak to Lieutenant Cooper and have her arrange something special for the girls if you're interested," Camila said. "She's a very unique individual and I think the girls will be able to relate to you once you get past the velocity she operates at."

"Yes, she is at that." Adam agreed. "She greeted me when I came aboard, and gave the girls a necklace each, portable transporter and alarm of some kind. They immediately took a shining to her, and invited her to dinner." Adam said, with a small smile. "They also wanted to know if they'd get to see you again; they really liked your shirt, and what you said to them."

"Well, I have the shirt still and it wouldn't be hard to get a pattern scanned of it," Camila said. "If it would be okay for me to give it to them. As for Lieutenant Cooper, I'm pleased that she took the initiative; it tells me that I made a very good choice when I made her my assistant chief for Security." She paused to take a bite of the chocolate and looked like she had just discovered one of the secrets of the universe. "I'd be happy to meet them again."

"Of course it would be. And they'd love to see you again; I know I'd be happy for them to see you again. They wouldn't stop talking about you for a while after we met. They're very impressionable, and you left a really good impression on them." Adam took a sip of his coffee. "Before we went on holiday, they were...a little down. They wouldn't tell me, of course, but a father knows these things."

"How far along is Maria in her violin lessons?" Camila asked.

"She's been having them for six months now, so not very far along." Adam replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "She's very determined though, and wants to be better."

"Once you and them get settled in, I'd be happy to give her a few lessons," Camila offered before attacking her chocolate god again.

Adam smiled as he finished his coffee. "I appreciate that. I'll definitely take you up on that." Adam said, as he put down his PADD. "I have to admit, I never expected anything like this to happen when I took the girls on holiday. Does the unexpected happen often around here?"

"I haven't been aboard long," she said. "But from what I've seen so far, things don't seem to be looking up at the moment. I assume you've been briefed by the Captain?"

"Yeah, we had a chat. Made my spine shiver, truth be told." He replied, with a sigh. "This whole business makes me wonder where Starfleet went wrong, how this could have happened. I won't pretend to understand any of it."

"It isn't Starfleet that went wrong," Camila said. "It's whoever is behind the Consortium and how they're getting to our people. Our Operations Chief was drugged and telepathically subjugated into acting against his will."

"Poor bastard. I'd imagine he's not too happy. Do we know any of the higher ups behind the consortium?" Adam asked.

"We know that Commodore Terlexa of DS 11 has been compromised," Camila said. "DS 11 is lost to us for the time being. As for outside of Starfleet, I have no idea."

"Yeah, Harvey told me about Terlexa. Don't know much about her, or DS 11. But that's not unexpected, I never really spent any time in the Gamma Quadrant. I only graduated a few years before the Dominion War began, so kinda got cold feet, and was lucky the Lagos never came out here." Adam explained.

"I was one of the last group to leave before the fall of DS 11," Camila said as she finished her puff. "It went from bad to worse and a few select officers gave everything to let the rest of us get out."

"That's why I joined Starfleet; for the people who acted like that. Starfleet is important; it's a peacekeeping group, and when it runs properly, it's perhaps the most important group out here. Given everything that Starfleet has done for the galaxy, it's surprising that more people don't realise that." Adam said. "But some people will exemplify the traits of what Starfleet stands for."

"Not just Starfleet, but the United Federation of Planets," Camila said. "Without them and their efforts, Starfleet wouldn't exist. I'm mainly a peacekeeper in my role, but have no doubt that when the time comes, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the free stay free and the guilty are brought to justice." Her mind flashed back to the battle in the cargo bay on the T'Pring when she fought against Temerant and she shuddered.

Adam nodded. "I entirely agree. That's one of the reasons I'm here. I'm always interested in peace, which is why I minored in Security, but I always loved science, so I chose that as my primary field. Still, the look on people's faces when I say I'm a Science Officer...one of the nurses here did a double take when I reported in for my boarding physical. It was a little funny actually."

"Granted, you're a big man, but size isn't always everything," she said. "Look at me. People think that I'd blow away in a stiff breeze and would never expect to find me in a phaser fight, but I've done it."

"Oh, I entirely agree. Size...well, people judge too much on how big a person is, and generally don't look beneath the surface, which is a shame." Adam said. "Still, we do what we're best at, and that's what matters."

Camila looked him over for a moment. "I'm trying to put together a Search and Rescue unit from crew aboard the ship. With your Security training, I think you'd be a benefit to the team. Would you be interested in learning more about it?"

Adam thought for a moment. "I know of SAR units. I'm happy to go in for training; especially if I can help out more on the ship." He said.

She smiled. "I graduated in the top three of my class," she said with a bit of pride. "Of course, out of one hundred and nine, only thirty of us completed the course. It's not for those without a driving will, and the training will eat into personal time."

Adam nodded. "Indeed. That might be the only concern; making sure I don't neglect the kids. I stopped thinking of personal time when Amy was born." He said, with a sly smile.

"Well, due to conflicting shift schedules and everything else going on, the only time available for shift training would be off duty. I work Alpha and my Assistant works Gamma, so Beta would be the only good time available for training," Camila said. "I assume you'll be Alpha shift as well?"

"You assume correctly." Adam confirmed, with a nod. "How long would each training session be?"

"It depends on how much free time you have and how much you're willing to dedicate to it," she said. "So far, I've only had one person come in to begin cross training."

"Well, in terms of free time, I'm happy to dedicate time to it, it'll work easier after about nineteen thirty hours, which is the girls bed time. Then again, I can always get a sitter. How many days are you looking at?" He asked.

Camila laughed. "Full time? Eighteen months, but that's working with recruits straight out of the Academy for the most part. Since the personnel I'm looking at are already trained in one area, it becomes a matter of cross-training. Off hand, I'd say no more than nine months total to get a base operational unit ready."

Adam nodded; the time frame meant it wasn't going to be daily, which he could accept. "Alright, I'm in. I'll send a memo to my department; recommend that they might want to take part. Can't promise any takers though."

"You can do that," she said. "But I'd rather get a core together of department heads and then expand into the departments. It would give us a group of leaders that people under us in the department could look to."

Adam nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. You can definitely count me in." He promised. "It makes sense, actually, to have a SAR group on board."

"What kind of Security training do you currently have?" Camila asked him.

"Forensic Investigation, Protection detail, basic SAR, but all of it is out of date, since I've not used it in nine years now." He replied

"So you don't have anything other than basic SAR which can be used," she noted. "We can get you up to speed."

Adam thought for a moment. "Sounds good. Been meaning to bring my security training up to date. Do you know when you'll be starting it?"

"Any time which is convenient for both of us after Alpha Shift," Camila told him. "My Assistant Chief, Lieutenant Cooper, is also qualified to teach SAR."

Adam stood up as she finished speaking. "One moment." He said, before going and getting himself a glass of pineapple juice. "I have to admit, today has been...Well, I never thought any of this would happen. By now, I should be nearly back to DS9. But here we are. That unexpected that we should expect...I have never known life to be so unpredictable." He said.

"How long did you say you were in Starfleet before you were forced out?" She asked him, surprised that he hadn't learned to expect the unexpected.

Adam smiled. "Nine years. I know, I should know better. Trouble is, life on the Lagos was straightforward. We studied Nebulae and spatial phenomena, and nothing unexpected happened. At least, almost nothing." He said, his smile vanishing. "In 2375, at the end of the Dominion War, something happened that I could never have foreseen. I don't know if you heard about it, but on Earth, there was a serial killer, a human who chose his victims, and tortured them before killing them." He said.

"You have a lot more experience than I do, but I've learned a lot in the short time I have served," Camila said as she strained to hear the rest of what he was saying. "Earth had a number of serial killers. That doesn't ring any bells."

"This one was one I caught. Had to be me. Turned out to be my older brother. It was the first time I really faced the unexpected. About as unexpected as anything could be, really." Adam said. "He taught me about family, and having a code. Mine was family. Damned near tore me apart to bring him in, but I had to do the right thing. Ever since then, I've always tried playing it safe, mostly to keep my kids safe. Our father wasn't around as a kid; he was a Marine. I refuse to do the same with my kids." He explained.

"...what?" Camila said more than asked as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard. "You had to catch and turn your own brother in? That had to be horrible. I hope you never have to go through something like that again, or your girls."

"Pretty much the worst experience. My father and I had a fight afterwards; I blamed him for Jeff's decisions in life. Took me the better part of a decade to forgive him. But ever since then, I've refused to let anyone raise my kids. Yes, they go to school, but they've never gone more twenty four hours without seeing me. Don't get me wrong, I know one day that'll change, but for now, I make sure I'm in the game. Harvey told me about what's going on, and frankly, it made me think of the day I had to turn Jeff in." Adam explained.

She shook her head. "I disagree with blaming your father," she said. "No one can force anything short of mental coercion to do something which they inherently do not have a desire to do. I realize that it was your brother, but he made the decision to do what he did. As for your girls, between me and my personnel, I give you my word that nothing will happen to them even when you aren't around."

Adam nodded. "I know. I always knew; I just needed to find someone to blame. I looked up to him as a kid, and I wanted to be just like him. When I found out about him, I forced myself to find him because only I could." He said. He sighed. "Thank you, Camila. If there was anyone I could trust, it is you. I know, we've only just met, but there's a certain determination about you. Plus, I read your record when I came aboard. You've got more courage than many; certainly more than me. I was a coward, because I waited to bring in my brother until I couldn't wait anymore. I let myself be drummed out of the fleet when I should have stayed and kept helping save lives."

"I'm just not the type to give up," Camila said. "That doesn't make me courageous or anything else. It's duty. The same duty that you did when you went after your brother and cost you your career when you chose to save Captain Geisler."

"That's what life is, isn't it?" He asked, as he took a sip of his drink. "Choices. It's our choices that make us who we are. We're human because we choose to help others; it's in our nature. But not all have that nature, and that's the constant fight. Are we good because we're good natured, or because we're dark inside and can fight that darkness better than most? I've been questioning that for years now, and I still don't have an answer."

"Like you said, it's about choices." She got up to take her bowl to the recycler and came back. "My choice is to never stop fighting the good fight even if I lose faith in those around me."

Adam flashed her a sad smile. "Faith is something as a scientist I shouldn't always accept, because there's always a scientific answer to any question. But as a Starfleet Officer, I have faith in my colleagues, in my friends; what ones I have left."

"Recent events have led me to question my faith in colleagues," Camila said. "But I'm trying not to give up on all of them."

"I can understand that, more than you know." Adam replied. "But it's the darkness that means we need to work harder and unite, now more than ever. We've obviously lost colleagues to the Consortium. Now we need to make sure we don't lose anyone else."

"It will be difficult, but no one ever said it would be easy," she said.

"Never is, but that's what makes it worth it." Adam said, finishing his drink. "At least, I hope it is."

"Only the futures knows that," Camila said as she came to her feet. "As for me, I have violin lessons to plan for a certain young lady, so if you will excuse me...?"

"Thank you, Camila, for down on the planet, and tonight. It's nice to have been able to talk. Have a good evening." Adam said, with a small smile.

"To you as well, Adam," she said before she headed out.

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