The Rising Anger (Backpost)

Posted on 13 Jun 2016 @ 3:42pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Lieutenant Commander Adam Casey
Edited on on 13 Jun 2016 @ 3:42pm

1,310 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Medical Lab Two
Timeline: MD9 || 2030 Hours

Adam smiled as he kissed Maria, and knelt next to her. Both of them were standing next to Amy's bed, and both were upset, visibly so. "Don't worry Maria, Amy is going to be just fine." Adam promised softly. He placed the back of his hand gently on Amy's forehead. He knew people were working behind him, but right now he had only one concern. He didn't even notice who was there as he kissed Amy's forehead.

Harvey exited the back ward, his unkept hair still matted to one side and his uniform showing pressed wrinkles from spending two days on a cot. He was planning to head straight to the restroom and perhaps get some soothing tea from the replicator. Based on how he was feeling, his usual coffee order was out of the question, especially since he knew he needed a few more hours of rack time before being capable of reassuming his duties.

He couldn't help but notice, however, Adam next to the bed where one of his daughters lay. The Captain knew this virus had wrecked havoc on the ship and the planet below, and seeing an upset friend only made that realization more damning.

Taking a diplomatic approach, Harvey pulled down on his wrinkled jacket and approached the opposite side of the bed. "How is she?" he simply asked.

"Not good. She's been hallucinating seeing her mother, and stuck with a fever." Adam replied, as he placed a new cold flannel on her forehead. "Maria's been doing well enough, I'm just glad she wasn't struck with the fever. I just...I don't know what I'd do if I lost her."

Harvey couldn't say anything. It was one thing to have your loved one completely stolen from you, but to watch them deteriorate before your very eyes... that wasn't something he'd experienced.

"We're not going to lose anyone else," Harvey stated. He'd almost not used the word else but it seemed to be appropriate here. "And we're certainly not going to lose Amy. She'll pull through."

"I'll make sure of it. I'll be damned if I lose anyone else in my family." Adam said. "Why is it, whenever Starfleet is involved, bad things happen?"

Bast looked up from his workbench at Casey. "External factors," he said simply. "Don't worry, we're working very hard so that nothing else bad happens. At least in the short term."

Harvey turned to see the yellow collared Trill man sitting there. A check rose in his own spirit, wondering what Bast was doing in sickbay, especially since Harvey didn't exactly have trust or faith in the man. Ignoring Bast's comments for now, Harvey looked back to Adam. "Starfleet doesn't instigate, Adam," Harvey tried to say calmly. "We all know that."

"And yet everywhere we go, death seems to follow. We follow the damned prime directive, but at the same time we can help people who need it, yet we don't. How many people die because of a want for power? Because we can't seem to figure out how to be better people?" Adam asked. "I came aboard, and already I find out parts of Starfleet want us dead, my daughter contracted a deadly virus, and people died on the planet. What's the betting the next place we go, people die?" He asked, finally venting an anger he had been bottling up for years. "Hell, Starfleet was happy to let you die before Harvey, so don't tell me they're actually good people in charge!"

"I don't think they're happy to see anyone die, Adam," Harvey said, doing his best to keep his calm. The action was not for Harvey's or Adam's sake, but for the two girls. "I understood it back then, and I understand it even more now. There are rules, Adam, you know that, not just for protecting its members. If it weren't for those rules, we wouldn't be any better than the Dominion, Romulans, or anyone else for that matter. Including the Consortium."

"Starfleet, and the Federation as a whole, is deeply devoted to providing the best for everyone," added Bast. "The people in the Federation are happy, and that doesn't always sit well with some of our neighbors. Difficult decisions have to be made, and sometimes you have to sacrifice the one, in order to save the many. Sometimes you have to roll the hard six."

"Deeply devoted. That's a good one." Adam scoffed. "Yeah, I get the idea of Starfleet. I know, explore new worlds, improve ourselves. That's why people die, right? This Consortium, they want to attack Starfleet ships, why? Because they want power? Newsflash, they're not the first. Leyton before the Dominion War, Klingons, Romulans, The Borg, the Dominion, Founders and the Breen. Tell me something; how are we better? Why are we better? What are we fighting for?"

Harvey frowned. "Snap out of it, Adam," he sternly replied, purposely not answering his question. He was a Starfleet officer who willingly put back on that uniform after all these years. He knew what it stood for. "We fight only when needed, and when we do, it's against those who would rather conquer than make peaceful relations."

Adam sighed, as he stood up. "Harvey, Starfleet...Starfleet stood for something. But now it's being corrupted. It isn't the same Starfleet it used to be. Don't tell me you disagree. But here's the rub; how do we defeat an enemy who knows us as well as we know ourselves? Who knows our ships, our tools, and who isn't afraid to cross the line and do whatever it takes to win? Where do we draw the line?"

"We draw it just where we always have," Harvey stated. "By being ourselves. Standing up for what we believe, to keep the power hungry out of the lives who don't deserve it. Desperate people do stupid things. We'll be ready for when they slip."

"When they do...I'll be there, ready for them." Adam said, feeling a little better, having gotten out some of the pent up rage he had been feeling. "We'll be ready for them." He added.

Harvey looked at Adam, taking note of his reaction. He wasn't sure if it was a front to change the topic, or if Adam was actually better now that his frustration was off his chest. It had been eight years since he last saw his friend. While some of the Adam he knew was still there, he could tell family life had changed the man. "Indeed we will," he replied. "You need to get some rest, Adam. The medical staff can take care of her."

Adam looked at him. "Do we know how the virus started?" Adam asked.

Harvey shook his head, and then looked to Lieutenant Bast beside him. "Not yet," he confessed. "But we'll find out. If it takes every person on this ship chipping in, we'll find it."

Adam nodded. "Let me know when we know, please." Adam said.

Even in his tired state, Harvey could tell something was off with Adam. He knew Adam to be a sensible man, but Harvey did recall with perfect clarity the incident where Adam stole a shuttle to rescue him while Harvey was marooned on a planet protected by the Prime Directive. If Adam could do something rash then, who knew what he was capable of now?

But he could not deny his Chief Science Officer knowing critical information like that, especially if the planet below was still in turmoil. "You know I will," he told Adam.

"Good." Adam said, as he turned away before Harvey could see the fire in his eyes, the darkness that was threatening to build up. He walked away, heading for a chair where he could sleep in. If someone had created the virus, they would soon meet Adam. And then they would pay the price.

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