Keeping things moving...

Posted on 29 Sep 2016 @ 7:30pm by Lieutenant Elizabeth Marion & Commodore Harvey Geisler

1,459 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Click Three Times
Location: Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 8 || 0800 hours

Contrary to Lieutenant Di Pasquale's suggestion, Harvey didn't sleep in. It was the first morning since the Cochrane was captured, and there would be a lot to do to not only rescue their crewmates and colleagues, but to find a way home as well. It was also the first morning he'd chosen to use his quarters as his temporary office as the bridge was out of commission, and there was no other real point of going up to a ready room. Commander Bast's absence meant that a department was without leadership. And, without knowing how long that would be, he had to make sure matters were taken care of.

He'd been reviewing personnel reports and more since he'd awakened, and now was the time to make things official. Tapping his commbadge, he ordered, "Captain Geisler to Lieutenant Marion, please report to my quarters."

Lieutenant Marion had been heading down the corridor near her own quarters when the call suddenly came in from her new Captain. Liz wasn't used to being off the Arizona yet, and almost caught herself using the far more familiar tone that came with being on board her former ship with her adopted father. Her hand hovered over her commbadge just long enough to allow her to adopt a more professional mindset before making any sort of response.

"On my way, sir," the woman finally said before cutting a sharp right down a corridor she hadn't intended to head down previously. It didn't take too long or too many turns to arrive at her destination. When Liz arrived at the door, she again had to restrain the urge to start tapping the override command that usually worked on her father's quarters, as well as a small silent admonishment for retaining bad habits thanks to him. She tapped the chime command after a brief moment and waited, something she wasn't overly used to doing.

"Come in," Harvey ordered. With this being the first person he'd ever called to his quarters instead of a ready room, Harvey was suddenly very aware that his back was to the door. He'd have to move his desk at the first opportunity. Still, he made no effort to adjust his jacket or posture in his seat.

Lt. Marion walked in and took a very brief glance around the room, noting the subtle differences between it and the one that her father had aboard the Arizona. Without spending a great deal of time, the woman returned her focus on the back of the man who had summoned her.

"What can I do for you this morning, Captain?" Liz inquired.

Harvey turned to examine the new arrival. He hadn't the pleasure of meeting the brunette before, but with situations as they were, Harvey still found himself wishing circumstances hadn't forced this encounter.

"Coffee?" Harvey asked, gesturing to the carafe on his desk. "Not replicated."

"Thank you, no," Marion declined with a curt smile, "I haven't touched the stuff since I was commissioned."

Harvey nodded, taking the opportunity to refill his mug. "I understand you came aboard only recently."

Liz nodded, "Yes, I transferred off the Arizona when my father..."

Lt. Marion cleared her throat and paused for a second, "After Admiral Cowell was recalled to Starfleet Command and the ship was placed in refit."

The Captain took a sip of his coffee and nodded. He took note of her hesitation and looked her in the eye. "Admiral Cowell is your father?" he asked. He'd heard the name before, but never had the opportunity to meet him. "If it helps, he would have been a Consortium target had he stayed much longer. It'd be a sad day for Starfleet to lose the Arizona to them."

"Adopted father, but yes," Elizabeth nodded, "And given how rough a condition the ship was before the recall, I don't know that anyone would have wasted their time with her. She wasn't exactly in the best shape after our last mission. But it's nice to know I don't need to worry about what he might be doing to the enemy. I just worry he's getting himself in trouble with the rest of the Admiralty..."

Harvey chuckled at that remark before gesturing for her to take a seat if she desired. "We're not in the best of shape either. Squaring off with the Consortium in a Mutura-class nebula, and seemingly forced through a dimensional rift into whatever level of hell this is..." He sighed before taking another drink. "Seems we're no stranger to punishment either."

Lt. Marion began to comment before stopping short, she wasn't entirely sure whether mentioning the Arizona's most recent mission would be overly appropriate even given the Black Hawk's current predicament, since the two were vastly different in terms of location, both physically and temporally. She decided to let the thought slide and simply address the matter already brought up.

"I've had a bit of experience with levels of hell, sir, and so far I believe we've managed to keep the ship as close to one piece as possible. Most of the Operations teams are getting some very good hands on training if nothing else," Liz said with a half-smirk born from years of deflating her father's legendary pessimism.

Harvey set down the mug and scooted closer towards the table. "That's good to hear. What's your impression of the team so far?"

Lt. Marion folded her arms across her midriff and took a moment to think about the question before responding, "I've seen people in worse situations take things far better, if you want my honest opinion. Some of the crewmen are already in a full on panic about the shape of the ship, while others don't seem to even notice the increase in workload. And the workload itself isn't helping things. No sooner do I get the shift rotations right, someone comes along and yanks people out of place because they think they know better. I'd call the whole department manageable, but barely with the power vacuum."

No sooner had she said it, Elizabeth realized she'd forgotten herself yet again and actually told it like it was rather than using the far more politically correct speech she'd been taught at the recruit depot.

He nodded, taking careful note of her response. In fact, it sparked a twinge of guilt and remorse not knowing the exact condition of Temerant. "Yes, not having Commander Bast around is a bit of a problem. And, I assure you, we're going to get him and everyone else back. His absence is actually why I called you here."

"Oh?" Liz couldn't help but cock her head to the side slightly. She hadn't been on the ship all that long and had only had a passing conversation with Cmdr. Bast before the unfortunate event. The fact that he had called her in the first place seemed odd as it was, but to hear that just added to the mystery.

"I'm hoping you're willing to fill his shoes for the next few days." Harvey explained. "This was supposed to be a two-day trip back to Starbase Unity, and we were supposed to be fine just tending to repairs. Now, this is looking like a week or two journey to figure out how to undo all of this. We can't go on coasting anymore. We've got to maintain some stability until then."

"If that's what you want, Captain, I'm happy to step up," Marion said as she straightened up again, "I'll do what it takes to keep us above water, sir."

"That's good to hear," the Captain said with a nod. "Again, this is just temporary, so don't hope this will turn into a permanent position." Harvey himself wouldn't give up hope. Not until he had no choice.

"Let's hope it is just for a little while," Liz nodded, "If there's nothing else, I'll get to work."

"There is one more thing," Harvey said, picking up his mug again. "We're en route to a... well, most people would call it a seedy space station. We don't know a lot about it, but I'm taking a runabout over when we get there. We're looking for information. I'm looking for a Ops officer or an Engineer to come along." He didn't want to outright ask her to volunteer, but he did want her immediate reaction.

"As long as you don't tell me not to bring a phaser, I don't mind," Liz smirked.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said before sipping his coffee. "We'll be there in a few days, so until then, keep operations moving."

"I'll make it happen," Lt. Marion said before turning around and disappearing back into the corridor she'd come from.

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