A Less-Than-Ideal Reunion

Posted on Wed 19th Aug, 2020 @ 9:11pm by Major Haley Sawyer
Edited on on Thu 20th Aug, 2020 @ 9:13pm

1,040 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Deck 119: Marine XO's Office / Outside Marine Barracks
Timeline: Previously... (Concurrent with the Falcon's Arrival on 109)

Haley Sawyer sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes.

Reviewing training reports was hardly the highlight of her day, but it was one of the necessary evils that came with the job description. She placed the PADD that she was reading down on the desk and tapped on her console to see the time. Eleven-oh-eight. She had a meeting in a little under an hour but, until then, her time was her own… and there were a number of training reports to finish reviewing.

She tapped off her desk console and was about to pick up the PADD she had been reading, when her comm sounded. She glanced down at her interactive desk, to see where the signal was coming from. Noting that it was Sergeant Senoti, one of the duty officers at the front reception desk of the barracks, she pressed the ‘accept’ key on her console and said, “Go ahead, Sergeant.”

“Sir,” the voice over the intercom sounded a little uncertain, “I’ve got someone claiming to be a ‘Lieutenant’ Sawyer, asking to speak with you…”

Haley couldn’t, for the life of her, understand why this request was causing Senoti so much confusion. But then it occurred to her that, if Senoti didn’t know that she was an identical twin, then perhaps he might be puzzled by the appearance of a face that looked exactly the same as the unit XO.

“It’s my sister,” she replied, with a little smile and a shake of her head. “Put her through.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Um, sorry sir…” an increasingly flustered-sounding Senoti replied, “What I meant to say was that… she’s here...”

Now it was Haley’s turn to pause. Hannah was on the Falcon - she had no idea exactly where, but the last time they had spoken, they weren’t scheduled to be anywhere near the Triangle Region.

“What do you mean, ‘she’s here’?” she asked, getting slightly frustrated at Senoti’s inability to express himself.

“I mean exactly that, sir,” Senoti replied. “I mean she’s standing here… at the reception desk.”

Haley suddenly felt a swirl of emotion welling up inside of her: joy, confusion, elation, concern.

“I’m on my way,” she said, her voice high and thin.

She flicked off the comm, rounded her desk and left her office. As she navigated her way through the barracks corridors, she broke into a gentle jog, trying not to bump into any of the other marines milling about as she did so. It was just over five minutes, before she came rounded the last corner, exited through the security and came out into the main marine reception area.

And there she was…

Her uniform was burnt and torn in places, her blonde hair unkempt and scruffy, but it was undoubtedly her.

“Hannah,” she said, “Are you…? What the…?” Whatever questions she was trying to ask got caught in her mouth and, eventually, she settled for taking a couple of quick paces across the reception and hugging her.

She took a step back, still holding on to her forearms, as if letting go might make her go away. “What happened to you?” she asked, still not quite believing that she was there.

“We were attacked…” Hannah said, “I wasn’t going to tell you we were coming…” she said, smiling feebly. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Haley laughed, trying not to let the emotion get on top of her. “Well, it’s certainly that,” she said with a grin that was not altogether genuine. After a couple of seconds, her face fell and the grin was replaced with concern again. “Who?” she asked, “Who attacked you?”

“We think it was pirates,” Hannah replied simply. “We were lucky to survive… Not all of us did.”

“The captain?” Haley asked.

Hannah nodded. “Captain Grax is here,” she said. “The bridge crew all made it…” she paused, obviously thinking about those that they had lost. “But the doctor… some of the engineering staff as well…”

She began to well up and Haley pulled her into a close hug again. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

A few moments passed. And suddenly, Haley realised that Hannah almost certainly needed some medical attention. “We need to get you to the infirmary,” she said, releasing her again.

Hannah simply waved her away. “I’m fine,” she said. “The station’s medical staff checked us all out the second we arrived. I’m a little shaken, but otherwise I’m completely healthy. I’m not sure about the Falcon, though,” she continued. “I think it’s a miracle she stayed in one piece long enough to get us to safety.”

“If I had to guess,” Haley said knowingly, “A significant part of that miracle would have been the way that a certain person flew her.”

Hannah smiled, but didn’t confirm or deny the part that her flying played in their escape.

“Have you got somewhere to stay?” Haley asked, her mind clearly moving to the next logical step.

“The station XO was with the team that met us,” Hannah replied, “I heard her telling the captain that we’d all be assigned guest quarters, but I don’t know where mine are yet.”

Haley turned around to the reception desk, where Sergeant Senoti and a couple of other NCOs were trying their hardest to look like they hadn’t been listening to the sisters’ conversation. “Find out where Lieutenant Sawyer has been billeted,” she ordered, ignoring their pretence.

Senoti nodded and began contacting the station quartermaster’s office. “Deck twenty-nine,” he said after a few moments. “Section H, unit 37.”

“Thank you,” Haley said, formally but genuinely. “Please tell my assistant, I’ll be out for the rest of the day, and to reschedule my midday meeting.”

“Yes, sir,” Senoti responded smartly, even as Haley was already turning away.

“Come on,” Haley said, moving to Hannah’s side and putting an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get you settled in.”

Hannah put her arm around her sister’s waist and, together, they headed out of the barracks.

 

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