"Operational Detour"
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Stardate: 60298.1917
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Corridor
Peering into the eyes of the COO, the CO seemed sceptical about the explanation that he had been given; trying as best as he could to figure out if what he had been told was the truth and if not why would the Romulan/Terran hybrid lie to him?
Having evaluated the situation and the officer standing in front of him, Capt. Simmons motioned for the Romulan/Terran hybrid to walk with him. "Being a CO means many things, one of them is to know the people under your command as much as possible since their lives are on the line with each and every decision made. It is true that there is no way to know what a person thinks or feels all the time, but that is the nature of the beast. I don't have to ask of the computer where Lt. Maya is because I know her well enough to know that she is in one of the labs working on something scientific, probably trying to solve the mystery of the Mind Stone. I also don't have to wonder where our CEO is because I have learned through my dealings with him that his way of relaxing is to be in engineering."
Listening to the words of her CO, the Romulan/Terran hybrid knew exactly where this was going. The predictability of the crew and his observations of this meant that Capt. Simmons knew those under his command well and that surprises rarely came up. The COO knew that she had served under James T. Simmons long enough for him to know her and her ways and that because of this he had seen right through her excuse.
Continuing with his explanation sounding more and more like his bethroved than a ship's CO, Capt. Simmons glanced at the COO walking next to him. "Now this doesn't mean that a CO can't be surprised from time to time, but I for one hope that these surprises will be kept to a minimum as it does tend to change the way I look at those I have come to trust in many different ways."
Realising that the CO had not bought her story and that he had been kind enough to give her the opportunity to retract her explanation as to why she had been in the corridors, the Romulan/Terran hybrid decided to tell the Captain the truth. "I couldn't rest without knowing the reasons behind Lt. Cmdr. Enaii's conduct or involvement. I feared that you did not want to open an official inquiry into the issue until we reached NEW ALEXANDRIA to avoid the rest of the crew to know about the specifics of what had happened, so I thought I would begin a preliminary investigation only involving a select few. This would either clear the ILO of any wrong doing or give us enough for you to report her as a traitor to the Admiral."
Smiling weakly, the CO continued to walk as he spoke, "you can take the officer out of Security, but you can never take the mindset required for that position out of an officer once they have it. I appreciate what you are trying to do, but I do feel that this may be better handled by Admiral Koneki himself. Enaii is not the kind of person that is prone to flights of fancy or emotional reactions, so instead of trying to uncover something that might very well come back to bite me and you in the ass later, I want to speak to the Admiral and clarify certain things first. My guess is that there is more to this story than Enaii told me, actually I am certain of it, and going digging around right now is only going to make the crew in general wonder about whether or not our ILO can be trusted. No ship can function like that, everyone has to be able to trust everyone else implicitly."
Stopping at the entrance of a turbolift, the Romulan/Terran hybrid lowered her head showing that she understood the error of her actions, as well intended as they might have been. "I will put an end to my investigation right away."
Nodding his appreciation, the CO stepped into the turbolift and vanished behind the closing doors leaving the COO to return to Sickbay and inform Ens. Summers that there had no longer been a need to secure a blood sample from the ILO's daughter, news that the Romulan/Terran hybrid could image would be welcomed by the aCMO.
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Stardate: 60298.1921
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Sickbay
Entering Sickbay, the Romulan/Terran hybrid was happy to see the aCMO working at one of the stations at the back. Hopefully this meant that the COO would be able to approach the Ensign and tell her to forget about everything that they had spoken about. "Ens. Summers, glad to find you still here. We need to talk."
Turning to greet the COO, the aCMO moved out of the way from her work allowing the Romulan/Terran hybrid to see the blood stained towel resting on top of the work station. "Ah, Lt. Serenna, guess what I found?"
Unwilling to jump to a conclusion that could not possibly be, the Romulan/Terran hybrid just glared at the aCMO for a moment. "That cannot be Enaii's blood, unless it is somehow mixed in with your own."
Appearing taken aback by the comment made, Ens. Summers took a few seconds to explain the origin of the towel and the large crimson stain that was on it. "No, but it’s the next best thing. I was able to get her daughter's blood on this towel. She was exercising with her mother and I took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself."
Quickly looking over her shoulder fearing that the ILO would be there ready to seek out revenge for whatever had been done to her daughter, the Romulan/Terran hybrid regretted having brought the aCMO into this affair, especially now that Capt. Simmons had made her see the wisdom in waiting to be back at their home base.
Seeing the expression of fear on the COO's face, an expression that had remained there only for a fraction of a second, the aCMO gave a few more details about the manner in which the blood had been collected. "Relax Lieutenant, that Lt. Cmdr. Enaii has you really on edge, what is the strangest part of this is that I actually understand what you are feeling although I can't figure out why. Anyway, the blood was cleaned off the floor after Talia suffered from a minor accident in the gym while roughhousing with Cmdr. Rikar. As far as everyone is concerned, I was just there to make sure that Talia had not suffered any lasting injuries from her accident and to clean up the mess that had been left behind."
Finding the iron of the situation less than amusing, the Romulan/Terran hybrid reached for the towel and placed it into a medical container before sealing it and handing the box to the aCMO. "No tests, no analysis, no research. Put this away and make sure that no one knows where it came from. I would tell you to destroy it but my Intel training forbids me to dispose of any type of information or item that could prove to be useful at a later time."
Leaving the box in the care of the aCMO, the Romulan/Terran hybrid left Sickbay without looking back, not entirely certain as to the importance or possible danger the blood stained towel could be.
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Serena Switt {serena1141@yahoo.com.au}
Lieutenant Serenna
Chief of Operations / Second Officer
USS ANUBIS
2005 post #031
