Forced into Exile (Part 1)

ORIGINAL WRITING This page was originally published elsewhere as part of a joint sim or fleet effort. It has been duplicated here for posterity.

Characters:	Commodore Zachary O’Connell
Location:	Starbase Unity
Time:	Mission Day 1, 1230 hours
Author:	Greenfelt22
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On another day and in another time, Zach would have found himself enjoying a slow walk down these corridors. Starbase Unity had at one time been a Dominion facility, and their technology Zach had always found astonishing. Interfaces were simple, as was maintanence. Diagnostic readouts were complicated however as they relied strictly on error codes, no doubt taking advantage of the extensive Jem’hadar and Vorta programming.

Today was obviously different. The events that had transpired over the last few hours had everyone on edge. Every person Zach had observed bore frowns instead of smiles. Several kept looking over their shoulders as they walked, hoping they weren’t the target of a friend or colleague. Even security details traveled in pairs and walked side-by-side and not behind the other. It didn’t take a Betazoid to see that Starbase Unity possessed not an ounce of trust this afternoon.

Zach didn’t blame them at all. In fact, as he traversed this corridor himself, he was flanked by more security personnel than he liked. He even wore a phaser on his waist as an extra precaution.

Precaution.

The Consortium had already played their hand by disabling the shield generator and by utilizing the Ottawa to take out the command crew. Zach hadn’t felt like a hero when he arrived, but now he felt like a prisoner. He was the Ensign of Flag Officers, but because he wore his pip in a gold-outlined box, he was automatically a high profile target. The O’Carroll was safer without him in the center seat. Until the smoke was clear, he would essentially be a prisoner on Unity.

But he felt like he was only adding more risk to the lives of the other Starfleet personnel on this Starbase. Personnel who didn’t know at this very moment who to trust, even if they’d known each other for years.

The Commodore couldn’t blame them. After all, his own Chief Medical Officer of several years led the revolt aboard his starship. Had it not been for Lieutenant Wul, Zach would likely not be walking these corridors now, nor turning into the Damage Control Center for Gamma Sector.

“Report,” he demanded, not entirely sure who was in charge.

A Bolian Chief Petty Officer looked up from a large readout emblazoned in red. “Commodore,” he replied in a low tone. “We’ve got emergency forcefields in place finally. The worst sectors have been evacuated or otherwise sealed off. The living areas that survived have been turned into triage centers or are slated to turn into dormitories.” It went without saying that for the masses who resided on Unity, losing most of the Gamma Sector robbed the facility of many creature comforts.

“Well,” Zach commented, taking a look at the damage reports himself, “at least we’ll stay warm.”

“Unless one doesn’t like heat,” the Bolian added, his usual chipper demeanor evidently absent. “Our focus is to get the shield generator back online, but that’s going to take several days, maybe even a couple weeks. The sabotage was meant to keep it down permanently and we’re lucky the damage wasn’t catastrophic.”

“A couple weeks is catastrophic,” Zachary countered. “Industrial replicators?”

“Damaged as well. We might get them back tomorrow, but we’re going to have to machine a few parts by hand to get the job done.”

Zach sighed. If only the Hopkins had made it, then at least they could use the Olympic-class ship to temporarily house personnel instead of keeping them in unprotected areas. Hopefully he could get the O’Carroll released soon to go check on their status. “It’s been a while since I machined a few parts,” he said, “but if you point me towards the shop and tell me what you need, I’ll give you guys a hand.”

If only the Bolian could smile, he would have. Something else, something deep kept the man’s typical nature at bay. “Thank you, sir.”

Nodding to the Chief, Zachary turned to leave, armed escort and all.

“Sir?” asked the Chief, interrupting the man’s stride and stepping close to the Commodore. Instantly, Zach’s guards raised their weapons, and Zach just as quickly raised his hands to calm them down. “Sir, I believe a Commander Mort serves with you.”

Zach tensed up at the name, instantly recalling his first officer’s sacrifice on the bridge of the O’Carroll.

Before the Commodore could speak, the Chief added, “He married my sister, sir. She was visiting me here on Unity while the O’Carroll was on assignment. She…” the Bolian’s tone fell silent. “She was in the Gamma Sector when the Ottawa unleashed her final volley. She didn’t make it.”

Zach instinctively clasped the man’s shoulder. “Neither did Mort.” Zach fought tears of his own, but for the sake of the room, he felt he had to stay strong. “I’m sorry for your loss, Chief.”

The Bolian fought tears of his own. “And I yours, sir.”

The Commodore nodded to the Chief, deciding that even if no one trusted another here on Unity, he could certainly count on everyone wanting to strike back for the injustices that happened here today.

And, right now, he’d gladly join them.

Read the Next Part

Accreditation

This post was originally written by Greenfelt22 for Bravo Fleet and posted on the Bravo Fleet forums. Use of Bravo Fleet's Forced into Exile (Part 1) is permitted under the Creative Commons 4.0 License and has been modified to suit the story and purposes of the USS Black Hawk Star Trek Role-Playing Simulation.