A Very Fond Farewell

Posted on 13 Sep 2016 @ 12:29am by Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Captain Harvey Geisler

1,255 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Click Three Times
Location: USS Chimera
Timeline: MD7 || 1730 Hours

Master Chief Petty Officer Francine Desjardins rode the turbolift to the Chimera's bridge, her heart feeling heavy in her chest. The last few weeks had been very intense. The death of their Captain, hunting down rogue Starfleet ships, the mad dash through the nebula, and now this. Being ordered to abandon the ship that she had called home for the past sixteen years. She had been assigned to the Chimera as a stellar cartographer just as the ship had left spacedock, and it was painful for her to have to abandon her home.

During this time, she'd seen people come and go. She'd served under three commanding officers, and four Chief Science Officers. She fought back tears as she thought about her latest superior officers - Captain Suresh, Commander Simoneau, and Lieutenant Commander T'Jarik. All dead. So many friends and colleagues, over the past few days, had found death. But for some reason, fate had seemed to spare the old woman. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. The turbolift slowed to a halt, and she adjusted her hair, pushing the grey strands behind her ears.

The doors opened, reavealing a deserted bridge. Some panels were missing from the consoles, no doubt cannibalized and transferred to either the Black Hawk, or the Cochrane. She stepped forward, her legs unsteady, and reached for the guardrail to steady herself. She could almost see the ghosts of her former crewmates at the consoles, and once again, tears threatened to overwhelm her. She blinked to push them away, and focused on the two men who were standing in front of her.

One, she recognized. The tall man in the command uniform had to be Captain Harvey Geisler, the commanding officer of the Black Hawk. She'd heard his name mentioned in a briefing, along with his picture. He'd been labeled a Consortium member. She now knew that wasn't the case, that the traitors had been their own commanders. The second man stood in a gold uniform, wearing Lieutenant Commander's pips. She didn't recognize him, but the spots running down his face and neck identified him as a Trill.

Her back was sore from hauling equipment out of the Science labs for the past six hours, and clearing out her most prized belongings out of her quarters. Not that she had so many - some archaeological finds from Delta Onais III, a few trinkets she'd acquired here and there at crafts fairs throughout the Alpha Quadrant, and some art projects her children had made when they were younger. Before they had been old enough to be called Starfleet officers themselves.

She circled round the guardrail, and stepped down into the command center, where Geisler and the Trill man were waiting. The Trill was carrying something hidden under a cloth. Her brow furrowed in curiosity, as she turned her eyes toward the seniormost officer, and looked at Captain Geisler.

"Master Chief Desjardins," Harvey began, having practiced the name a few times before she arrived. His pronunciation was not perfect, but he hoped it was passable. "I'm Captain Harvey Geisler. This is my Second Officer, Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast. Thank you for meeting us."

Desjardins nodded her head. "What can I do for you gentlemen?" she asked.

Bast stepped forward. "From my examination of the ship's personnel record, you have been serving on this ship the longest," he said. "Close to sixteen years now."

Desjardins nodded again. "Sixteen years," she confirmed. "I came on board just as the ship was getting ready to leave Spacedock. I served under Captain Morneau for nine of those years, up until he decided to retire. Then Captain Marezzon, then Captain Suresh."

It was Captain Geisler's turn to nod. "I think we all wish this story would have a better ending. While that's just not possible, there is something we wanted to do." He then nodded to Temerant to remove the covering.

Bast slowly reached for the silk cloth, and uncovered the object he was carrying. He watched Desjardins's face first displayed confusion, then surprise, shock, and gratitude.

"Made from Indian mahogany," explained Bast. "It was engraved at Utopia Planetia Fleetyards on Stardate 46558.2. Normally when a ship is decommissioned, the plaque is returned to Starfleet Headquarters. However that's not really a viable option in this case, so we thought it should go to the person who's been with this ship the longest."

Desjardins extended a hand to touch the plaque. Her fingers, showing early signs of arthritis, felt the softness of the wood, and traced the outline of the letters even as tears flooded her eyes.

USS CHIMERA
Intrepid-Class
Starfleet Registry NCC-73204 - Launched Stardate 46558.2
Utopia Planetia Fleetyards - Sol Sector
United Federation of Planets
"We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained" - John F. Kennedy

"We all agree," Harvey said after a few solemn moments, "that the Chimera's story should have had a better ending. Though nothing can change that now, I choose to remember her as she was, not what she forced to be in her final days. I hope you will do the same, Chief Desjardins."

Desjardins smiled, and nodded at Geisler. "I could tell you stories about this ship," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "The first mission under Captain Morneau. How he spent two weeks searching for a pilot who'd crash-landed on a Class-L planet. He spared nothing to find him, even had the other pilots pulling triple shifts. Leave no one behind, he always said. We did the impossible with those sensors, trying to locate him. Captain Morneau would bring us coffee himself."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I can see my children running down those corridors. I raised them on this ship by myself." She looked up at Geisler and Bast. "Their father was killed during the Dominion war," she explained. "I chose to stay in Starfleet, and raise them in space. Now they're officers too."

Bast nodded. He was proud of what they had done today. As a Trill, he had always believed that part of his duty to the universe was the preservation of memory. In passing on the symbiont to a new host, but also in actions such as these, where part of the ship's memory would be entrusted to someone like Desjardins.

"I'm sure they're very proud of their heritage," he said. "And of you, for managing to raise them on your own, in less than ideal conditions on a ship like this." He watched Desjardins smile. "You've been transferred to the Black Hawk, in the Science department under Commander Casey. I'll make sure this is delivered directly to your quarters. There's a shuttle waiting for you in the Main Shuttlebay, ready to take you there."

Desjardins shook their hands, and thanked them both, before turning and heading back to the turbolift.

After the doors closed behind her, Bast looked at Geisler. "Thank you for allowing me to do this," he said.

"I wish the Logos had a Captain like Morneau when I was in trouble," Harvey remarked, touched by the woman's story. "And you're welcome, Temerant." He smiled at the Trill, but his mind was already starting to consider the last few things he had to take care of aboard. "You should head for the Cochrane. I'm sure Commander Teixeira is on the lookout for you."

"Yes, Sir," replied Bast. He picked up the plaque and followed in Desjardins's footsteps, heading for the shuttlebay.

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