The Return

Posted on Fri 2nd Jun, 2017 @ 4:01pm by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Zachary Hunt

695 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: For The Uniform
Location: Deck 12: CO's Ready Room
Timeline: MD-01: 0700 Hours

The thoughts of Section 49 Alpha had been lessening over the past couple of months. To begin with they occupied his time like a procession of drummers... images, thoughts and what ifs permeated every thought that he had. Recently these had subsided somewhat, but not completely. He certainly needed something to take his mind off it - life on Vanguard had been rather dull since.

One decision he had made was to bring Commander Hunt back into the fray. It took a lot of soul searching, but he had finally come to realise that his former self, dedicated and duty-bound, would have made exactly the same decision. He couldn't have expected him to throw away his entire career for someone he hadn't even known yet.

When Hunt had received the communications that Drake had requested a meeting, he wasn't sure what to expect. He thought that any news was better than no news. He knew even if he was allowed back on Vanguard, he would have to earn the trust from Drake, something he never even had the chance to do. He had just finished catching up with Leah and made his way to Drake's Ready Room. He pressed the chime outside, the amount of times he pressed the blasted thing, people must get fed up of them.

"Come in" Drake barked, his usual invitation of welcome these days... he had to remain calm and collected.

Hunt entered without hesitation and more calmness than he displayed last time he was here, "Colonel Drake."

"Commander Hunt, take a seat" He gestured to the collection of arm chair come office chairs, arranged in front of his huge desk. Drake had often wondered who had designed this room as why they felt a need to install such a large desk. Five men could have easily worked at it!

Hunt sat down at one of the seats in front of where Drake gestured. He kept his calmness as he sat and waited for Drake to speak.

"Commander..." He hesitated, how was he going to play this. "Commander, do you feel any regret for what you've done?". He would take things from there, dependent on his reaction.

There was no hesitation from Hunt, "Yes Sir,"

Drake nodded. "I know you think that my Uncle had my best intentions at heart and simply wanted to know if I could cope with my new position. But, without saying too much, things aren't always what they seem... and they never are when he's involved." His voice began the trail off, "I know that now, but should have realised it years ago."

He cleared his throat, "What I'm trying to get at is what were your intentions, going into it? Were you simply following orders? Did he make you trust him? Was it something that you thought would help your career?"

"It was something that I thought would ruin my career if I didn't do as was asked. The more I worked alongside you, the more I could see the wrong in my actions," Hunt replied calmly.

"I can't blame you for what you've done, Commander... I think I would have done the same thing, some years ago... but you also have to understand why I feel betrayed. I need to know I can trust my command staff one hundred percent, all of the time. Can I trust you now?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I completely understand, Sir. You can trust me 100%, you can ask me to do anything and I will not hesitate to do so. I know it will take a while for me to fully earn your trust, but I'm committed to showing you that you can," Hunt replied quickly and formally.

Drake could here the sincerity in his voice, the mistake he made seemed to be weighing heavily on his shoulders. Good he thought to himself, it ought to.

"Well then, in that case, let's go over some of these duty rosters" He nodded towards a pile of PADDS lying on table to the side of the room. He decided to skip the long speech he had planned out, there seemed no need for it.

 

RSS Feed

Comments (1)