Lt. Commander Zachary James Hartley had been back from the dead a little over three years, three years since he had been found by the crew of the McKinley, adrift in a blast-scarred shuttle from the USS Mansfield… his old ship, one that had been lost presumably with all hands following a run in with a Romulan commerce raider in June of ‘97. Until the moment the McKinley had confirmed his identity, then Lieutenant Hartley had been on the Federation’s list of Missing - Presumed Lost since that horrible day that had taken the lives of everyone he had worked with for over a year… and the life of his beloved Charlotte, the woman that had followed him to the Manny to start a life together. He would never forget her voice, the way she always smiled, and her beautiful laugh. But, try as he might, the last thing Zach could remember was dinner and the evening following with Charlotte the day of her birthday… June 7th, 2397. The following day and the incident that had taken over a thousand lives… including hers… was a blank.

Once Zach had been found, the poking and the proding back on Terra commenced. Countless meetings with shrinks, Fleet Intel, Command, and the Federation’s Office of Counterintelligence… that was fun! before they would even let his family know he was alive. His mom, Stefanie, and baby sister, Jane, had held him between them and cried till they physically couldn’t while Zach looked over their heads at his father… who just couldn’t believe his only son had been returned to him… just stood there, tears refusing to fall and shaking his head in disbelief. His first words to his son were “I had just about given up hope… I’m sorry son” before the mountain of a man wrapped his entire family in his arms and for the first time in Zach’s memory, Michael James Hartley cried.

It had taken over a year to finally get through the psych evals and security screenings to even being considered for a return to active duty and after that, Zach took the full 24 months of survivor’s leave before returning to the world he was now longing for. When Command reached out about the Atlantis, it was Jane that convinced him to take it.

Now, three weeks later, Zach Hartley sat in a window seat watching the massive hulk of Starbase One grow in the frame. She was right He thought. I missed this, more than anything… and as much as I miss Char’, she wouldn’t have wanted me to give up what I loved either!

As the shuttle docked, the newly minted Lieutenant Commander rose and tugged his tunic straight before grabbing his day bag and heading into a bustling environment that rivaled the very busiest of old Earth’s busiest pre-space airports.

Once he found the right gate, Zach strode over to the food court for a quick bite before the six-hour MAC flight out to Atlantis. Grabbing a sub sandwich and chips, he found a table near the gate and settled down to wait.

Hartley, CTO