" To Hold The Universe In The Palm Of Your Hand "
(Previous Post: " Hell To Pay ")
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Stardate: 60299.0950
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C, Level 4, Food Court
Time had come to a relative standstill for the Chief Science Officer as she meticulously studied the various markings on the stone Lieutenant Onison had brought over to the table where the Romulan/Human Operations Officer and Shillian scientist had been sitting at. At first glance the stone seemed to perfectly match the majority of accounts concerning it, its weight, size and markings corresponding to what the Shillian woman had pictured the artefact to be from the countless legends and fables that spoke of the Mind Stone and its powers.
The moment the stone had been placed on the table the Shillian scientist had been ready to rush back to the USS ANUBIS and perform all of the numerous tests she had already prepared to confirm the identity and special properties of the item. As ready as the Chief Science Officer had been though the Shillian had failed to take into consideration the physical and psychological impacts having the item in question in her possession would have. The head of the science department of the USS ANUBIS had been so stunned by the unexpected gesture made by Lieutenant Onison that the scientist had found it impossible for her to get up from her chair, staring at the item in her hands with increasing disbelief.
The Shillian woman remembered Marine Second Lieutenant Pravat joining them at the table and even his asking about the rock in the hands of the scientist, but in all honesty the Chief Science Officer could not remember what her answer had been, at least not word for word. As any self respecting scientist would have, the Shillian had given a detailed explanation of the possible significance of the artefact held in her hands, but she could not say for sure if she had accurately voiced her surprise and scepticism about the actual identity of the item. The more the Shillian scientist scrutinized the item the more she began to think that the term "scepticism" might have been a little strong to describe the specific focus of her interest and curiosity. From her continued observations the Chief Science Officer had found no indications that the item she had in her hand had been anything other than what Lieutenant Onison had claimed it to be, and there had been no reason to believe otherwise as the Shillian could not see why the Starfleet Intel Operative would want to deceive anyone about this.
"Serenna," the Chief Science Officer of the ANUBIS said, finally gathering the strength of will to get up from her chair, her eyes never leaving the item in her hands, "would you mind if I returned to the ship and performed a few tests. I would like to confirm that this is in fact the last piece of the Mind Stone and maybe begin to unravel some of the discrepancies that I had come across during my research of the legends."
"Do I really have a say in the matter?" The Chief of Operations replied, imaging that an entire platoon of Nausicaan warriors would not be able to keep the scientist away from the ship and the labs she would require for her research. "I think her actually *making* it to the ship is going to be the harder part if she does not stop staring at the stone and look where she is going," the hybrid added, glancing in the direction of the only other person present who had the slightest idea of what all of this had been about.
"I'll escort her back to the ANUBIS," the Enaran said, joining the Shillian in a standing position, "if only to insure that she does not injure herself by walking off one of the docking ports or inadvertently running into one or more of the questionable members of the staff of the NEW ALEXANDRIA."
Although the offer made by the Marine Commanding Officer had more than likely been meant as a joke at the expense of the Shillian woman, the Chief of Operations had still appeared grateful for the offer, not at all finding it impossible to imagine that the Chief Science Officer could find some way to not make it back safe and sound to the ANUBIS. "Thank you Lieutenant," the hybrid said with a nod of her head, "I have a few things to do here before I return, but I will make sure to check up on our distracted friend as soon as my duties permit."
With a respectful bow the Marine Second Lieutenant took his leave of the Operations Officer and fell in step with the slow moving Shillian scientist who had begun the trek back to the ANUBIS, a trek that would take much longer than the Marine could have expected due to the slow moving pace of the Chief Science Officer.
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Stardate: 60299.1011
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section D, Level 5, Primary umbilical connection to the USS ANUBIS
So far the Marine Second Lieutenant had saved the Shillian woman from running into three walls, missing the entrance to an ASPS pod that would have made her fall onto the anti-gravitational tracks, plough through a shipment of medical supplies being transferred from the base to one of the others ships and most important Pravat had rescued the scientist from boarding the wrong Scarab-Class ship, the USS HORUS which was also docked alongside the USS ANUBIS.
"You know," the Shillian woman said, acknowledging for the first time the benevolent escort that had been by her side since they had left the food court several levels higher, "I can't believe that after all that we went through, getting the Mind Stone would be this easy."
The Enaran bit his tongue keeping his immediate reply to the comment made by the Shillian scientist unspoken. There had been *nothing* easy about any parts of the mission that they had been sent on to secure the item the scientist cradled so passionately in her hands. At first the Marine had been ready to blast the Shillisn woman for what she had said accusing her of being ignorant about what had happened, but as they approached the opened port leading to the ANUBIS Pravat reconsidered. Knowing the scientist as he did allowed the Enaran to associate the comment made not with the presumed ignorance of the scientist but rather the universal innocence she had displayed since the first time he had met her.
This unique side of the Shillian woman had proven to be both a source of great frustration for many members of the crew of the ANUBIS as well as an endearing quality about the scientist that the Marine found increasingly refreshing.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
"To see the world in a grain of sand,
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
2005 post #056
