Weary and Waiting

Posted on Wed Jul 29th, 2026 @ 2:09am by Admiral Deela T'Lar & Colonel Ezekiel Bagwell & Lieutenant Commander Ariana Monroe-Wayne

978 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 121 - "Where There's A Section, There's A Way"
Location: USS Essex
Timeline: Current
Tags: Bagwell

ON:

Sickbay

T'Lar watched as Vox and Counselor Kaleri departed sickbay. The emotional noise thinned into something manageable — tired, fragile, but no longer overwhelming. It was time to resume her duties.

She tapped her combadge. “T’Lar to Bridge. Any word from the Perseus?”

"No updates, as soon as I hear something you'll be the first to know, still waiting on the reinforcements. If anything changes I'll let you know." Ezekiel called out, thinking to himself, why aren't they responding? Then he realized he just repeated himself twice and he felt kind of foolish but he couldn't take it back. Now it's sounding more foolish. He was struggling right now with the loss of the Saratoga. Her shell was there but it seemed like a soul of the ship was gone. Right now Bridge duty gave him some kind of purpose.

T'Lar was tired of being there, waiting for the Perseus to show up. She hated the fact that she was in the dark. Nothing she could do about it, "Okay."

T’Lar nodded to herself. She turned toward the doors, ready to leave Sickbay — then paused as a thought surfaced.

The relief ships.

She tapped her combadge again, “Colonel, ETA on the incoming vessels?”

"They should be here in about 30 minutes, assuming they keep their current speed." The incoming Fleet had exceeded the warp limitations. The situation definitely called for a speedy response. Anytime you dealt with the Borg, it demanded a speedy response.

"Good to know. I'll see you in a bit." She was happy that at least something was going right. She turned back to the survivors.

Lieutenant Rourke watched her with quiet expectation. Ensign Solomon sat straighter, calmer than before. Lieutenant Hale observed silently from his biobed.

“There are relief ships en route,” T’Lar said, her tone gentle but certain. “If you feel comfortable, I would like to transfer you to them. They will take you home to Starbase 400.” As she didn't know when the Perseus would return.

Solomon blinked, relief softening his whole posture. Rourke nodded immediately.

Hale let out a slow breath, tension easing.

Before T’Lar could continue, Lieutenant jg Jalen Price stirred. His eyes fluttered open, dazed but aware.

“Where...?” He murmured, his voice tapering off.

“You are safe,” T’Lar said softly. “And you will be going home soon.”

The three men exchanged looks — tired, grateful, overwhelmed.

“Thank you, Admiral,” Rourke said quietly. “For everything.”

T’Lar inclined her head. “Lieutenant Hale has confirmed he will not be pressing any charges. This incident will not follow Ensign Solomon.”

Solomon’s breath hitched — relief, disbelief, gratitude all at once.

T’Lar let the moment settle, then stepped toward the doors. There was still work to do.

Bridge

T'Lar stepped off the turbo lift onto the bridge. The relief ships were almost there. Her plan was to send the survivors back to Starbase 400 were they could get the mental help they needed. She walked over to Bagwell, "I was thinking. When the relief ships arrive, would you like to oversee them getting the Saratoga towed?"

"I would appreciate that I don't know." Ezekiel said, knowing that his first duty was to her as one of his commanding officers. But a part of him also wanted to be there for the Saratoga. He hated the fact that she was adrift.

"Don't worry about the Essex, go tend to the ship." T'Lar walked away.

Twenty minutes later...

The collections went off over at the Tactical station, Ezekiel was Manning strategic operations when he glanced at the fleet. "Detecting several ships incoming, it looks like our reinforcements led by the Perseus."

T’Lar straightened. “Hail them.”

A heartbeat later, the viewscreen flickered to life, revealing the crisp uniforms and calm expression of a Starfleet captain aboard the lead relief ship.

“Admiral T’Lar,” he said with a respectful nod, “this is Captain Renford of the USS Arcturus. We are here to assume control of the damaged vessel and escort her crew back to Starbase 400.”

T’Lar inclined her head. “Your arrival is timely, Captain. My executive officer, Colonel Bagwell, will oversee the transfer and towing procedures.”

“Understood. We stand ready.”

The channel closed, and the viewscreen returned to the stars — now framed by the silhouettes of the two relief ships easing into position beside the Essex.

T’Lar turned to Bagwell, "You may begin preparations.”

"Thank you Admiral." Ezekiel called out as he started to coordinate with the other two ships to get the Saratoga and position. He hated seeing her being towed under tractor being. And not buy her own engines. Quietly Ezekiel opened a channel, coordinating with the other two shifts trying not to distract the Admiral. There was a lot of commotion going on right now. Conspiracy seem to be up when the new vessels came in.

Ezekiel wondered, what would happen next. Now that the portal is fully opened. Would Jurati be able to hold the gate? How much are the Federation Fleet we need to be in orbit to protect this area. And then of course the bigger mystery what's happening on the other side.

T’Lar allowed herself a quiet breath — not relief, but the calm that comes when a crisis finally begins to resolve. The three survivors would be going home. The damaged ship would be secured. And the Essex could soon turn her bow toward Starbase 400.

After some time, the Perseus returned which was a a relief as T'Lar was worried that something happened to them. Now that the Perseus was back, they were now enroute to Starbase 400. She couldn't wait to see her daughter. T'Lar looked around at her crew on the bridge. She smiled as she made an announcement, "Set course for Starbase 400. Let's go home." She sat in her chair as they made their way back to Starbase 400.

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