The Letter

Posted on 03 May 2017 @ 10:24pm by Commodore Harvey Geisler

989 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Finnean Crisis
Location: USS Black Hawk || Ready Room
Timeline: MD 1 || 1645 hours

With the ship now at high warp and cruising towards the Finnean System, Harvey left the bridge to the very capable Commander Teixeira, deciding to check out the Ready Room. He assumed that it was nearly twice the size of his older one. A complete sectional sofa, a table to eat at, and even a decently sized desk with shelf before him.

While it all was new, he noticed one familiar object, the hulk of his former command chair. It had been partially restored, but it had been given a new life…

As a fish tank.

Harvey never thought he would have been the kind that liked fish. But, there were many things in his recent history that he’d never thought he’d be. A friend, a lover, a Captain.

Life had many changes for him still, the exact quantity seemed to be unknown. Destiny had determined a portion of his fate arbitrarily. Sometime, in the next three to fourteen months, he would launch a probe, and that probe would take a hundred year journey to be discovered a week ago.

Harvey shook his head. He never understood temporal mechanics, and it seemed a crash course was in store. Yet, there would be time for that later.

For now, he sat down at the desk. After removing the fresh cover from his head, Harvey set the PADD he was carried into the room on the desk. Harvey had read the letter a hundred times since it was handed to him by the Petty Officer at Bora Bora. He practically had it memorized by now, but he picked it up to read once more…

= = = = =

From: VADM Zachary O’Connell
To: CAPT Harvey Geisler

I can’t believe we’ve made it this far, Harvey. I remember our days at the academy. To come this far… Trust me when I say, Harvey, that I never wanted to see you again, much less work with you. It’s amazing how tragedy can bring even the worst of enemies together.

The Dominion and the Federation…

Harvey and Zachary…

When I found out you were the one assigned to arrest my wife, I sincerely thought that there would be no forgiving you, no more chances. You and your crew, you’re heroes. The Federation needs you. We all do.

My wife’s life… Even my son’s life depends on it.

We should have dinner some time. Whenever you get back to the Gamma Quadrant, we should get together. You’re seeing someone right? Bring her to.

Thanks again,

-Zachary

= = = = =

Harvey tossed the PADD onto the desk, more frustrated than ever. Having knowledge of the probe and Finnea helped a bit. He shook his head. That wasn’t true. He didn’t understand a bit. If anything, he was confused now more than ever.

He looked down at the desk. The PADD had spun around, glistening a bit in the light. The display itself looked a bit different. Just a moment before it had been filled with white words on a stereotypical black background. And, usually, when someone looked at a PADD with an angle, whatever was on the screen wouldn’t be visible, much less legible. Yet, under the glisten from the overhead lighting, Harvey could see… something…

Leaning over, he picked up the PADD once more and looked at it for the umpteenth time. Except this time, he angled it side to side. Sure enough, several of the words were not in a traditional white color. No, this was a different spectrum entirely, one used for the visually impaired. Harvey accessed the PADD’s pop up settings and adjusted the brightness of the screen. As expected, most of the letter disappeared under the adjustments, leaving behind a handful of words scattered around Zach’s letter.

It was another message, very short and personal.

= = = = =

From: CAPT Harvey Geisler
To Harvey

Trust no one. The Federation depends on it.

= = = = =

Harvey’s mouth fell open as he sank into his chair. The PADD itself escaped his grasp and clattered to the floor. His chest began to heave, forcing him to take short, quick breaths. “No... no... no...” he muttered under the forced bursts of air. He balled up his left fist and brought it over his chest, over his heart.

Finally, he barreled out of his chair and into the head connected to his office. In the private chamber, he approached the sink, turned on the water, and began to splash water on his face. Both his hands then gripped the sides of the sink, attempting to stabilize his posture and in turn quell the panic attack.

After what felt like hours, Harvey was calm enough to return to the main room. He paced the floor, running both his hands through his hair as he did. It was bad enough that he was going to be the one to record the message on the probe, but to send himself a message.

“My god, Harvey,” he muttered, looking down at the PADD that he dropped. The PADD!

Harvey picked it up and found a place to stash it, taking care to remove the battery as he did. He couldn’t let anyone see it, not even Thiago or Joey. Not until he could figure out why Harvey would warn himself. Were there traitors among the crew again? High up in Starfleet?

“I thought this was over,” he murmured softly. It was supposed to be over. Why did he have to be plunged back into a nightmare? And why did he have to go it alone?

He had to get inside the Zone. No matter what. It wasn’t just the safety of the Federation that depended on it. Harvey had to do it for the sake of his own sanity.

“Harvey… Harvey…” he gasped, sitting down on the couch. “What the hell are we going to do?”

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