"Stormy Horizons"
Previous Post: "Confrontation"
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Stardate: 60298.1705
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
Looking at the expression of confusion on the XO's face left little doubt in everyone's mind that the ILO had been in one way or another responsible for the escape of the Romulans and their inability to stop the frigate from returning home to the Empire. Although standing at her station, it was clear that the Commander's mind had been in the CO and ILO, trying to imagine the outrage of their Captain and the explanation that her wife would supply in return, if any.
Sharing in the XO's puzzlement, many of the bridge crew found themselves ignoring their immediate duties for a brief moment, exchanging glances with one another as each tried to figure out exactly what had taken place and why. Had they discovered a traitor amongst their ranks? Enaii's past had never been an open book, even for those closest to her, but the ILO's links to the Romulan Empire were as clear to see as those of the COO. Although very different from each other, the Romulan/Terran hybrid and Intel Agent shared a special affinity and interest towards the empire which only served to convince Serenna that the situation was far more complicated than what anyone might have believed.
Seeing the looks of condemnation on the faces of the Sec/Tac and MCO, the Romulan/Terran hybrid could only imagine the thoughts and emotions that were brewing in the two men's hearts. Lt. Seth appeared ready to cross the bridge in a single bound and deal with the threat the ILO represented without a hint of hesitation, the Marine by his side looking equally ready to do the same.
Looking further towards the back of the bridge, the COO could see an entirely different expression on the face of the CSciO. Instead of the rage and anger that the Romulan/Terran hybrid had observed on the two men near the security station, Serenna saw pain interlaced in with the confusion that they all shared. Trying to understand the reason for this, the COO could only guess that the CSciO had someone felt personally betrayed by what everyone believed the ILO had done.
Turning her gaze onto the closed door behind which the CO and ILO were, the Romulan/Terran hybrid wondered as to the possible reasons Enaii could have had to do what they all believed she had done despite not having been given any proofs of this as of yet. Thinking a little more about this, the COO wondered how quickly the other members of the senior staff, including her Academy classmate, would have turned on her had the clues pointed in her direction instead of the ILO? Rawyvin and Pravat seemed more than ready to execute what they believed to be a just sentence without having been given any of the facts of the crime, or even if there had been a crime in the first place.
Not wanting to fall into the trap of doubts and unfounded accusations, the COO decided to change the focus of everyone's thoughts. Capt. Simmons was taking care of the issue at hand leaving the rest of the crew to deal with the mission that had brought them here. "Approaching OTOL B, we will be entering orbit in approximately 10 minutes; sensors have not detected any ships in orbit or any structure on or beneath the planet's surface."
Responding to the announcement made by the COO, everyone returned their attention to their respective stations to either confirm or add to what the Romulan/Terran hybrid had said.
Speaking first in a tone of voice that betrayed the anger he felt brewing within him, the Sec/Tac officer gave the OTOL system another thorough scan, now more then ever expecting to see a fleet of enemy ships ready to spring their trap on the unexpected crew of the ANUBIS. "Tactical sensors show no other ships in the vicinity, looks like we are the only ones here."
Sounding absolutely disappointed in his own report, Lt. Seth doubled his efforts to find traces of the ship or ships he was certain were there waiting for them if only to justify and strengthen the mounting anger he felt towards the ILO. If Enaii had indeed been the one responsible, as most of them suspected her to be, for the chain of malfunctions they had experienced which allowed the Romulan frigate and its crew to escape, it only made sense that there would be more of them waiting in the shadows. Finding proof of the existence of these ships would not only prove what most believed, but it would also serve to justify the unpleasant fate that the Sec/Tac and Marine were imagining unleashing on the woman currently in the officer of their CO.
Adding to the initial report, the CSciO confirmed that the source of the distress signal that had led them here still remained undetected. "Orbital and planetary scans still show no signs of a distress beacon, although I am unable to scan more than a few square miles of the planet at a time due to the severe electromagnetic interferences caused by the storm. At this rate it will take us weeks to scan the entire planet, maybe longer depending on the movements of these storm cells. There might be certain areas that we will never be able to scan from up here."
Looking at the Eneran man who had sent them here following the recounting of his dream, the XO waited to see if the Marine still believed that his vision and this rescue mission were indeed somehow linked to one another. Forcing himself to look away from the still closed door to the CO's ready room, Pravat just shrugged his shoulders unable to give Rikar or anyone else more than he already had.
While debating on the course of action to take next, the XO found herself looking once again in the direction of the CO's officer. Not only had the input and opinion of the Captain been nice to have at this time, but to know how Enaii was doing would have made Rikar feel a little more at ease with everything. The XO's concerns were interrupted when the CSciO added more to her report by announcing, "Cmdr. Rikar, I think I might have found something, it isn't much but sensors have picked up a very faint metallic signature somewhere beneath the planet's watery surface. The signal appeared for no more than a fraction of a second and judging by what I was able to see it is either a small ship like a shuttle or a large piece of debris from a much larger ship. Either way what the sensors saw is not something that is naturally occurring on that planet."
Having received their first concrete piece of evidence that this might not have been an entirely pointless chase, the XO decided to act and not wait for the return of their CO suspecting that his meeting with the ILO might last for quite some time longer. "Lt. Serenna, take the BARRACUDA down and see what the sensors have picked up, take Lt. Pravat with you as your security escort and Lt. Dawson to insure that you can get back in one piece."
Looking back at the XO with surprise, the Romulan/Terran hybrid had been ready to ask as to why Rikar would not be leading this mission herself, but the COO quickly figured that the First Officer had wanted to remain onboard to see how the situation with her wife would end. So accepting the mission that she had been handed, Serenna stood from her station and headed for the turbolift motioning for the Marine to follow while reaching for her comm. Badge to contact the third member of the BARRACUDA's command staff, "Serenna to Dawson, meet me on Deck 29, we are going fishing."
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Serena Switt {serena1141@yahoo.com.au}
Lieutenant Serenna
Chief of Operations / Second Officer
USS ANUBIS
2005 post #017
