"Welcoming Hand"
Previous Post: "Interrogation"
/\/\/\
Stardate: 60301.1555
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Section C-2, Level 1, Infirmary
Having helped secure the CEO to the biobed using restraints with the help of the MCO, the Romulan/Terran hybrid had been able to turn her attention to the ANUBIS' new Cns: Ens. Mei. "You seem perplexed, is there anything I can do to help."
Looking up from the PADD that she had been studying, Susan hesitated for a second before answering the question not entirely sure if the offer for help had been genuine or some sort of a ploy to discriminate the Cns in her new role. At least the question asked by the COO had solidified one of the debates the Ensign had been in the middle of, that of figuring out the woman's origins. Returning to her analysis of the information that had been handed to her, Susan replied, "Actually there is one thing you could help me with. Since I do not have access to the crew's files at the moment, could you tell me if it was your father or mother who was Romulan? My guess would be that it was your father as statistics show that the majority of defectors from the Star Empire are man, not that there has been that many of them to make an accurate research on."
Standing in front of the Cns with her eyes narrowed, the Romulan/Terran hybrid did her best to hide her surprise having been completely taken aback by the directness of the question, something that by itself had been an accomplishment worthy of acclaim. Feeling outraged by the question at first, the COO quickly edited her feelings towards the Ensign thinking that she had not only displayed a remarkable gift of observation and deduction but had also shown a fair bit of courage given the situation. "I can see why you were assigned to the general staff of NEW ALEXANDRIA, and as for your question you are correct, I am half Romulan and it was my father who defected from the Star Empire wanting to find a way to secure peace for his people."
Not daring to look up from the PADD in her hands, the Cns silently thanked her lucky stars for having been right, the last thing Susan needed having been to antagonize a member of the senior staff of the ship she had been assigned to.
Leaving the Cns to her analysis of the CEO's most recent brainwaves, the COO excused herself, "Ensign, I look forward to serving with you."
Wasting no time to replace the departing COO, the aCMO slid next to the Cns whose hands had begun to show signs of shacking. Recognizing the indications of extreme nervousness, Lea tried her best to ease the stress that Susan had placed herself under. "Ensign to Ensign I can tell you this, don't worry about her, she's harmless as long as you don't step on her toes."
Looking up from her PADD once again, Ens. Mei smiled weakly showing that she was grateful for the efforts shown to make her feel welcome despite the mess that she had walked right in the middle of. Having met the aCMO's eyes, the Cns relaxed her posture ever so slightly before speaking, "Is it always like this or did I really land at a bad time?"
Looking around the room, the aCMO tried to remember a time when things had been simpler and after having been unable to come up with any such instances other than when she had been in more private settings, Lea chuckled. "Don’t worry, it's not always like this, there will be times when it will get a lot worse and you'll wish that you were back at the Academy thinking about how great it will be to be out here."
After taking in what the aCMO had said, the Cns began to laugh and was quickly joined by Lea who took the fellow Ensign by the arm leading her to an area where they could continue to work on understanding the CEO's condition.
/\/\/\
Looking at the scene from the other side of the room, the CO, ExO and COO seemed pleased that the Cns had jumped into the fray as she had. Breaking the silence that had been between them, it was the Romulan/Terran hybrid who spoke first. "Captain, Commander, I recommend that we assign an armed detail to David's side at all times until this situation is resolved. We cannot count on someone the size of the Oltharian to show up every time."
Smiling at the good fortune that they had when Elan had appeared in the doorway, Capt. Simmons nodded his agreement thinking that they had been lucky that the situation had been contained to within this room. "Bring in *our* people to take over security, there is no need to make a spectacle of this."
Stopping the CO before he left, the ExO took hold of the man's arm. "James, you should get that bruised look at. Looks like he really got a good grip on you back them."
Expecting their CO to be the perfect image of a Captain, that of being invulnerable and indestructible, the Romulan/Terran hybrid added her concerns to those of the ExO, "Cmdr. Rikar is right, you should get that bruised looked at, if only to insure that Clora does not have a panic attack when she sees you in this manner."
Thinking of how his bethroved would likely react at the sight of his neck as he suspected it to be, Capt. Simmons agreed to receive medical treatment although he felt perfectly fine. "You know Number One, there are times when being the CO has its downfalls."
Watching the ExO take the CO over to one of the biobeds, the Romulan/Terran hybrid turned her attention to another area of the room, this time seeing the Enaran, the Shillian and the towering Oltharian speaking while occasionally glancing at the restrained body of the ANUBIS' CEO. It was clear by the expressions on their faces that they were concerned about the state of David, a sentiment that the COO shared wholeheartedly wondering what could have made her Academy classmate behave as he had and hoping that Lea and Susan would be able to quickly find the cause and solution to this problem.
/\/\/\
/\/\/\
Serena Switt {serena1141@yahoo.com.au}
Lieutenant Serenna 2005 post #081
Chief of Operations / Second Officer
USS ANUBIS
