Camp Hope

Posted on Tue Jul 3rd, 2018 @ 12:44pm by

Mission: Negotiations and Apothecaries
Location: D'Anaconia's Quarters
Timeline: 8th of February 2395 after "An uncooperative cooperative patient"

ON

Gabe entered his quarters after the typical first session with most on ship councilors. He went to the replicator and ordered a beer, Guinness, as the beverage materialized he looked over at the chronograph above the door. Taking the beer from the replicator and doing the math he sat behind the computer screen he knew was going to chime, letting him know that the real session had begun. As he took the first pull from the dark liquid the screen chimed and flashed to a black screen emblazoned with the merged Star Fleet and Star Fleet Marines logo on a black background. The words under the logo read “Camp Hope”. He tapped the button that accepted the communication and leaned back in his chair to look at the faces of his fellow survivors. The feminine, yet hard face of the General glared at the other members of the peer to peer counseling session as the rowdy bunch all laughed and yelled at each other. Gabe took another pull of the not quite real beer and grinned as he listened to the ruckus that transferred well across the stars.

“Hey ass, I heard you got canned from your own company!”

“Dude, I left, retired I didn't get canned! Besides my son wouldn't have the balls to can me.”

“Not what I heard.”

“Ha! The Captain said balls!”

Gabe's mind drifted back in time to the Archer and the group of men and women he had been assigned to work with. The back and forth of this group reminded him of that a great deal Major General Avery O'Brien served as the mother, CO, councilor and more importantly fellow survivor to this group of misfits. O'Brien coughed a few times and when that wasnt enough to get the attention of the group she spoke.

“Shat up ye' imbeciles, gods below your catterwallin' could wake up the dead in Tir Na Nog!” that outburst instantly got the group to quieten down and the back and forth stopped completely.

“Better now,” O'Brien's eyes snapped up “D'Anconia, you were transferred how's life on the new ship treating ye'?”

“Well enough, the armory was a mess but I'm getting it squared away well enough. The crew is..” the glair from the former General pierced him and he trailed off.

“I'm not worried about that, are you talkin' to the councilor or are ye feckin' with him like ye do?” O'Brien asked pointedly.

Gabe coughed then cleared his throat and grinned “You know me General, I can never pass up the opportunity to feck.”

O'Brien cursed in Irish under her breath “Why dont ye' tell the man that your gettin' outside, sanctioned help? I swear it was nco's like you that made me want to pull me hair out.”

Gabe shrugged and took a pull of the fake beer, “She didnt ask, and it would be completely against the NCO's creed not to mess with officers that dont take the time to ask the right questions.”

She cursed again “So instead of volunteering information that would free you from spending time doing constructive things your being a hard headed arse about it to what, make a point?”

Gabe shook his head “No Ma'am, we enlisted men would never dream of making a point to an officer, they know everything already. I'm just doing it to pass the time until retirement.”

“Ye are a lying twit ye know that D'Anconia, next time your in a session let the poor woman know! If you know I'll find out about it and I'll com her myself.”

As Gabe snorted and took another pull of his beer O'Brien's eyes moved slightly to look at another section of her screen and bark out a name. “Bannon, sit rep with you.”

This continued for an hour, the General calling out names teasing out information from each of her patients and dolling out bits of advice, 'orders', understanding and care with equal efficiency and understanding. The weekly talks with the Camp Hope guys helped Gabe keep a lid on and even work through his issues but it was a continuous process. He would keep in contact with a few of the guys between the meetings and would be there for others when they needed it. As the screen went black and the meeting was over he took the bottle to the replicator and watched it go away in a pillar of light. He took a breath and started to peel off his uniform to take a shower and get ready for bed.

OFF

Gabriel Estaban Aubrey D'Anconia
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Armory Specialist
USS Wolff