Questions of Command

Posted on 23 Apr 2016 @ 10:57pm by Ensign Kelly Khan & Commodore Harvey Geisler

2,524 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Deck 6
Timeline: MD 6 || 1300 Hours

Cadet Senior Class Kelly Khan left Talons and walked down the corridor until she came to a room which she hadn't been in yet. The plaque on the door read "War Time Memorial" and she wondered if it were all the fallen personnel of the Black Hawk or a total from the Dominion War. She was just about ready to enter when she heard footsteps coming down the hall and turned her head, then snapped to attention when she saw it was the Captain. "Captain Geisler, Sir," she said in acknowledgement of the head of the ship.

It hadn't been long since the briefing broke and the crew had been recalled. Rather than sit in his command chair or the ready room during the process, Harvey had decided to make it a point to be off the bridge. Since the transporter was first engaged after the order, the Captain had navigated the corridors, checking on key departments, as well as circling through areas where the crew would congregate, including those that would still be off duty.

Therefore, when he saw Cadet Khan after he took a turn at one of Deck Six's many junctions, he wasn't the least bit surprised. "Cadet," he greeted her. Other than seeing her in passing on the bridge in the late hours, Harvey didn't know too much about her, other than the fact that she was the only command-section cadet aboard.

"I was just thinking about going to see the War Time Memorial, Sir," she said, indicating the door she stood in front of. "Is it just for Black Hawk personnel, Captain?" She felt distinctly underdressed in the man's presence as she was off duty and wearing a white blouse, black pants and a pair of pink running shoes instead of her uniform.

Her question answered the initial one he'd had, which was had she been there before. He approached her and the door she was ready to open. "It's... Well, not exactly. It's better just to see it." Pausing for a moment, he considered his timeframes, and then asked, "Would you like a personal tour, Cadet?"

"Khan, Kelly Khan, Captain," Kelly said when she realized she hadn't introduced herself. "Er, I'm not a Captain, I'm a Cadet Fourth Class. You knew that, didn't you?" She stopped as she realized that her brain was screaming at her to shut up. "I'd like that, Sir. If you have time."

The Captain smirked. He'd never been a nervous cadet, but he'd seen many before in his life. He tapped a button beside the door to open the room. The door was never locked, but the sensor had been programmed for extreme proximity, just to keep it from opening for random passer-bys. The lights flickered to life, just as they'd did for him months before.

"I come by once a month now," Harvey said, looking at the displays around the room. "I think it helps me stay in tune with the ship."

Great, Kelly thought to herself when she saw the smirk. He thinks you're a simpering baboon now.. "I've heard that a Captain has to know every part of their ship in order to know what they're capable of in every regard, Sir," she said and looked into the room. She saw a battered phaser rifle on display with some Jem'hadar disruptors. "Dominion War?" she asked. She had been seven years old at the time but everyone, everywhere was talking about it no matter how shielded her Papa had tried to keep her from it.

"It's true," Harvey said, acknowledging the comment that every Captain needing to know every part, every inch of the ship. "I've been in command of this ship for... almost eight months now. The Black Hawk is more than a collection of welds, conduit and duranium. She has a soul, a strong, proud one, forged by fire."

"Then she's a good one and I'm proud to serve on such a distinguished vessel, Captain," Kelly said before she read the plaque under the phaser rifle and the sacrifice that had been made. "I've taken Command courses at the Academy, but they said that actually taking command of a ship is much different than anything you can learn there. May I ask what it's taught you, Sir?"

Harvey stopped in front of a picture of the ship's first captain, Mitch Bueller. "It's taught me the details are important," he replied, nodding at the man's image. "Every single one. Delegation is easy, and so is leaving the responsibility entirely at the appropriate level. But, at the core, you have to think of a ship as a member of your crew. She deserves as much, if not more, attention than the souls aboard the ship."

"That sounds like what a Security instructor said at the Academy," she said as she looked at the captain he nodded to. "But I understand what you mean. If you let even one aspect of it down, it will do the same to you. I eventually want to be a test pilot for Starfleet, and that means getting to know everything about every ship I'll ever be on. Which is why I took Engineering as my secondary degree."

She paused and looked up at him again. "I can guess what the hardest part of Command is, but what would be the part you enjoy the most?"

It escaped his mouth before he had a chance to consider an answer: "Working with the finest crew in the quadrant." Harvey smirked in response before turning to look at the cadet to meet her youthful gaze. "You know, I thought I was supposed to be giving you a tour."

Kelly smiled, then blushed. "I'm sorry, Sir," she said. "I'm full of questions, but I'll be quiet and let you give the tour."

"Don't be sorry, Miss Khan," he replied with a nod. "The Black Hawk," he began, gesturing to a screen under an embroidered version of the ship's patch, "is a war hero. She was launched in 2374 under the command of Captain Mitch Bueller, part way through the Dominion War. Like most vessels during the time, it was understaffed, but it was also the first home of the newly formed 301st. And it didn't take long for the Black Hawk, Bueller, and even the 301st to make a name for themselves."

She listened and absorbed everything he was saying. The history of the ship intrigued her but the reason for the valor and heroism of the Captain and crew made her shudder. "The crew that was available must have been extremely brave to go into battle so understaffed," she said with a glance at the phaser rifle and plaque that accompanied it.

"That's one of the challenges of command," Harvey pointed out. "Often times our actions are dictated by situations. You take something like the Dominion War... It changes people. I've seen it firsthand." Skipping a beat, he continued. "This crew, this ship, was so good, they became a staple on the front lines. Bueller was known for his first-strike methods, so good, that they've become textbook. At least," Harvey tapped on a piece of glass, "that's what the placard says."

"What happened to Captain Bueller?" Kelly asked. "You make it sound like the reality is different from the texts."

"What would happen to you if the Dominion decided not to destroy you, but board your ship with the intent to capture?" Harvey proposed. "Destroying a ship is easy, but the Dominion likes to instill fear; make one feel worthless. Which is what happened to the Black Hawk." He tapped on one of the glass cases that held the Jem'Hadar rifle. "And how these came to be in the museum."

"Honestly," Kelly said after a moment of thought. "I'd probably fight to the end, victorious or otherwise. There's no way I could justify doing anything else if it meant saving one member of my crew."

"And that's what Bueller did," Harvey said with a nod. "In the end, the Black Hawk suffered extreme damage. It took months getting her operational again, just in time for the Battle of Cardassia. But she had no squadron, and most of her crew were transferred elsewhere during those last few months. The Black Hawk finished the war without her soul."

Kelly frowned; she knew that a good Captain would die rather than let his ship and crew be taken from them. "She's a fighter, though, or she wouldn't be here now. It's a risk that all of us take every day we're out here and we keep coming no matter what happens. We wouldn't be who we are if we let things, no matter how horrible, set us back."

"Indeed," Harvey agreed. "Bueller retired not long after, but not before building this in remembrance of all who fell during the war. To remind all who came after him that this ship had... Well has spirit. I like to think that this ship is coming alive again. It's odd to think that I can thank the Consortium for that."

"I wouldn't thank them for that," Kelly said. "But I would give thanks to the crew who went above and beyond the call of duty and had the courage to face their own friends and fellow crew members as the enemy. It's a real wake up call and not something that everyone could easily do."

The Captain chuckled at the comment, not because he found it hilarious, but encouraging that someone half his age had such insight. "Still, it's unfortunate. I just hope that when it's all over, we won't need rooms like this to remind us of what came before."

"No, we won't, but...is it really ever over, Captain?" Kelly asked a bit sadly.

"I've worn this uniform for more than twenty years, Cadet," Harvey said, looking into one of the display cases. "Things do come to an end, but life never does." That lesson in particular Harvey admitted to himself he still had much to learn about.

Kelly followed his gaze as she listened to him "I was once told that even if someone dies, as long as you keep them in your heart and memories, they'll always be with you," she said softly. "I hope to wear a uniform as long as you have, Sir, and make my ship and crew just as proud of me as we are of you."

Harvey did not know how to respond to that. He'd never felt like a hero, not even when he cured Edlund's Disease or especially when he stood in this room dedicated to lost lives. It wasn't until this moment, however, that Harvey had ever considered what anyone on board had thought about him. He stood there, almost mystified that someone so young was proud of him.

Maybe he wasn't such a lost cause after all, and maybe it was time for him to have a little more faith in himself. "I'm sure you'll make it to the top in no time, Cadet. And, if not, you might have a future in Counseling."

Kelly wrinkled her nose. "I've spent my time in counseling," she said, which was reflected in her personnel file that she had spent time being counseled at the Academy. "So the only place for me is at the top. I want to be a test pilot for Starfleet one day."

"A dangerous profession," Harvey commented. "Of course, just about everything in Starfleet is dangerous these days."

"I'm ready for it, Captain," Kelly said and meant it. "I have years of training under excellent officers such as yourself and the crew of the Black Hawk to show me the way." She put her faith in the Captain and every other officer who had more experience than her, but she did have a filter to block the good from the bad at the end of the day.

Harvey offered the only natural response, a smile. "Then we shall have to put the year that we have together to good use. Between Lieutenant Adan and Commander Walsh, you have some excellent teachers and opportunities at your disposal. Don't pass them up."

"I'm not about to, Sir, but you did forget the most important teacher of all," Kelly said.

"Oh?" Harvey asked. It was more of a rhetorical response, but he didn't expect her to see it that way. "If that's the case, I'm sure Adan will make sure you have an ample amount of time behind the Black Hawk's helm. And, should he do so, I expect you to remember what you learned here today." Harvey nodded at the display case beside them as he said it.

"Yes, Sir," Kelly said as she looked up at him. "You are the most important teacher here. I've been on the helm at Gamma Shift for a few days now, Captain. I washed every shuttle and runabout inside and out for that honor." She told him and it didn't sound like a complaint at all.

"You... washed every shuttle and runabout?" Harvey didn't think he was that surprised, but that evaporated quickly once he heard his own words.

"Yes, Sir," Kelly said with pride. "Inside and out. The Flight Deck Manager can vouch for me. It took ten hours, but it was well worth it to see them shine."

"I won't need to cash in that voucher, Cadet," he replied. "I saw the shuttles the morning after. I don't think I've seen brand new shuttles sparkle like that."

Kelly beamed a ten thousand Teracochrane smile at him. "It was a work of love, Captain," she said. "I've been in love with flying since I saw my first shuttle when I was a little girl and knew that I'd be flying them among the stars one day."

He nodded with a smile, deliberately planning to drop in one of her next shifts on the bridge just to observe her at the helm. Though, it might be better suited for when they weren't orbiting a planet that was infected by some strange disease. It was now up to the ship's small medical team to figure out what was going on so that cadets like Miss Khan here would have that chance. "That day is coming all too soon," he told her. "And even though it's afternoon, mine is just getting started."

"Yes, Sir," Kelly said. "Thank you for the tour and a chance to speak with you, Captain. It's been a pleasure."

"Pleasure is mine, Cadet." Nodding at her, he added a final, "Good day," and turned to leave.

"To you as well, Captain," Kelly said. She lingered in the Memorial for a few more minutes after he left, thinking on what he had told her and planned to take the lessons to heart. She was pleased that she had gotten an opportunity to speak with him person-to-person and looked forward to an opportunity in the future when she was able to carry out his orders. Still smiling, she left a short time later and headed back to her quarters.

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