"Operational Emotions"
Previous Post: "Actions"
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Stardate: 60298.1622
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Looking at the operations console and the increasing distance that separated the ANUBIS from TOLAR IV being displayed, the Romulan/Terran hybrid felt a mixture of emotions swell within her, not that she was allowing any of them to outwardly show. Feeling joy as they left the planet and the system, the COO would have smiled and maybe even cheered had she been another person with a different life, both past and present, experiences having taught the Chief of Operations that such an emotion and feeling was nothing more than a fleeting moment.
Looking at the list of names of those who had not returned from the planet replaced the joy the COO felt with its opposite, and sadness quickly took over proving that she had been right about the duration of the first emotion she had felt. Reading the medical report about the MCO's condition the Romulan/Terran hybrid replaced the sadness within her thoughts with hope as the outcome of their mission to TOLAR IV could have been much worse than it was. Thinking back about all of the ships and races that they had come across, the Chief of Operations even wondered as to how they had managed to accomplish all that they had.
Knowing that they had retrieved an item that dealt with the Mind Stone, and being confident that no one else had come out of this with more than they had, made the COO feel satisfied in the results. Focussing on the price and hardships that they had faced would serve no purpose, only making the tasks they needed to do next that much more difficult, so the Romulan/Terran hybrid concentrated on their achievements and what they would need to do next.
Having been trained in the field of Intel had made this a little easier for the Romulan/Terran hybrid, allowing her to detach herself from her emotions so to not hinder her skills and efficiency, a way of life that she recognized all too easily in the ILO. Thinking of her friend and fellow ACT classmate, the COO knew that letting emotions take control of your actions was a good thing, up to a certain point. David displayed a passion for his work that no one else could, but when he allowed this passion to consume him to the point of anger, nothing good ever came out.
Thinking of just how opposite the ILO and CEO were made the COO wonder how the two had been able to coexist for so long next to one another without killing each other. Standing at different ends of the emotional spectrum made Enaii and David to be natural opposing forces, yet they managed to work together and make the ANUBIS the ship that it was, a ship already heading for its next mission.
Scanning the information provided by the XO about the distress signal that she had received, the Romulan/Terran hybrid confirmed the origin of the message as best she could to her CO, as per the requirements of her duties and position as COO. "Captain, according to the telemetry given by Cmdr. Rikar, the signal came from either the third or forth planet in the OTOL System. We are unable to determine the source with more accuracy because of the length and weakness of the signal."
Having overheard the report, the CSciO added her observations of the situation, showing that she had been using the ANUBIS' sensors to scan the area ahead of them. "The proximity of the two planets to one another is not making things easy, and according to long-range sensors there are no distinct signal coming from either of these worlds. For whatever reason it seems that Cmdr. Rikar received the tail end of the distress signal and that whoever sent it has stopped transmitting."
Taking in the information given in strides, the CO turned around in his chair and looked at his second in command to see what she thought of the situation. On many occasions Simmons had found that Rikar's intuition had been right, and to know what she believed they might find would go a long way to ease his concerns or strengthen his fears.
Having met the CO's gaze for a brief moment, the XO glanced down at her instruments for a moment before looking up once again. "I doubt that it's a trap. Why would they send a general distress signal using SFI encoding to drag us all the way to an open system? The tactic doesn't make sense as the signal could have easily summoned a number of ships from countless other races. In fact considering the weakness of the signal, whoever sent it is lucky that I was in range to receive it as I strongly doubt that anyone else would have."
Feeling a little more reassured by what the XO had said, the CO turned to face the station of the Sec/Tac officer, receiving the report from Lt. Seth even before he had requested it. "Sensors are not picking up any other ship in the vicinity or around either planet. There is the possibility that one or more could be hiding behind the planets or their moons, but from here it does look like Cmdr. Rikar's assessment is accurate and that we are not being led into a trap of some sort."
Not having sounded as convinced as he might have liked the Sec/Tac to be, the CO resumed his previous stance staring at the flowing stars on the main view screen. "How long before we reach the OTOL System?"
Looking at her instruments, the COO was able to easily find the answer to the CO's question. "We will reach the outer limits of that system in just under two hours at our current speed."
Looking as if he was debating the pros and cons of the amount of time it would take them to reach their new destination against all that the XO and Sec/Tac officer had said, the CO eventually stood from his chair and spoke, "Helm, increase speed to Warp 8. If this is a genuine distress signal, we'd better get there quick. Number One, you have the bridge."
Not looking back to anyone on the bridge, the CO vanished into his ready room, keeping his thoughts, feelings and emotions about the missions, their accomplishments and the distress signal they were responding to to himself for the time being.
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Serena Switt {serena1141@yahoo.com.au}
Lieutenant Serenna
Chief of Operations / Second Officer
USS ANUBIS
2005 post #007
