" Time "
(Previous Post was Julian's " Emptiness ")
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Stardate: 60308.1101
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, outside the Counselling Department
The young woman walked down the corridor… her gaze locked on the PADD
that she had personally picked up from the ANUBIS' new Cns. It had been
almost a week since David had been ordered to report for counselling sessions,
and the redheaded woman had wanted to pick up the latest of the 2 available
reports to study before it was brought to James. That the report had
been the third had been a very positive sign which spoke well for the CEO's
determination to see this through… and the ExO suspected that the
assistance of the aCMO had something to do in this.
"Commander… is that David's latest psych evaluation?" The Ops officer inquired as she caught up and slide next to the ExO as the young woman headed towards the nearest turbolift access.
"Have you been following me?" Rikar playfully countered, not having expected the half Human, half Romulan woman to suddenly appear our of nowhere or accurately identify the PADD in her hands without having even glanced at its content.
"As Chief of Operations of the ANUBIS it is my responsibility to keep track of everyone's location on the ship… in case an emergency should arise." The Ops Officer offered in her defence, the woman's stoic voice and appearance not hinting in the slightest that she had been joking.
"Serenna… we are *inside* NEW ALEXANDRIA. The only possible *emergency* that we would have to deal with would be a snap deployment." The ExO pointed out as she looked over to the hybrid who jumped in without any hesitation.
"And that is exactly why knowing where each and every member of the crew, or at least knowing where the members of the senior staff are, would prove to be a valuable information that would enable us to shorten our response time." The Ops Officer announced with a tone of assurance that bordered on Vulcan logic.
"Let me guess… you had been thinking about this exact conversation for quite some time to be sure that you would come up on the winning side… right?" The young woman queried as she stopped walking leaving the Ops Officer to take a few steps lead.
"Commander… you of all people should know this… a woman never tells." Serenna countered with after having also stopped and looked back at the redheaded woman, shooting at the ExO a look that for a brief moment seemed to reflect a hint of amusement before being completely replaced with an unmatched seriousness that only the half Human, half Romulan could adequately convey.
"Remind me to never play poker *against* you… my guess is that you would have me on my naked rear inside a dozen hands." Rikar chuckled as she resumed her walk and joined up with the Ops Officer.
"Only if I went easy on you Commander… that said… care to share Ensign Mei's latest take on our CEO?" Serenna quickly countered with as she opted to drop the current discussion in favour of the reason why she had come to this specific deck at this specific time.
"Since your security clearance is actually high enough to request a copy of this report from Susan directly… I guess I really don't have a choice in the matter." The young woman said through a half grin as she brought the PADD back to her eyes and called up the more pertinent data to be displayed.
"There are certain advantages to being onboard an Intel vessel and consequently carrying a higher security clearance." The Ops Officer pointed out sounding against as serious as ever. The truth of the matter had been that Serenna had been right… had it not been for her higher security clearance based on her serving onboard the ANUBIS, the psychological information pertaining to David would have been out of her reach.
"According to David's own words… Lea and Elan have been the most helpful during the last week. Apparently our large Oltharian friend has brought some robotic engineering problems to our CEO asking for his help. I know Elan and he is not one to need help with anything dealing with Engineering… so I'm guessing that he is still feeling guilty about what he did to David." The ExO said with a grin, still finding it hard to believe that the massive alien had also found his way to NEW ALEXANDRIA.
"A busy David is a happy David." The Ops Officer offered, glad to see that others had taken on the task of helping as they could. Since both Sabrina and she had been involved in the meeting that had seen the CEO's duty so drastically reduced, any direct attempt to help might have resulted in confusion and mixed feelings from Dawson.
With that said, the 2 women vanished inside a turbolift pod, each satisfied about the content of the report which seemed to indicate that the CEO had been making progress… or at least heading in the right direction to seeing his duties reinstated.
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Stardate: 60308.1107
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Array Section, Deck A-5, Holographic Simulation
Chambers 1
Designed to provide an infiltration team with a perfect replica of the
area they would be faced with… and having access to the more than impressive
database of locations contained within the computers of the NEW
ALEXANDRIA base, the MCO and his team had requested the use of these specialized rooms for training exercises… a request that James had been most happy to grant.
It had made sense for the senior staff to relax after their last mission, but Marine 2nd Lt. Pravat had not wanted his people to become to comfortable and become soft… so as soon as he had been able to, the MCO had set up a gruelling training schedule for the Marines under his command as well as for himself. The best way to deal with falling off a horse it seemed had been to jump back on it as soon as possible… and Pravat had proven this ancient belief to be extremely accurate.
Lost in the middle of a city turned to rubble with the sound of explosions filling the air around them, Pravat and Tes'Karka lead their reformed team of Marines into the midst of this war zone which had been borrowed from the archive records of the USS HORUS.
With a motion of his hand, the MCO indicated to his second in command that he wanted her and her team to investigate a particular area while the rest of the Marines under Pravat's control would provide cover fire. A few seconds after the Klingon woman and her team had left that the Enaran man heard the shifting of feet coming from behind him which prompted him to quickly spin around and point his fully charged pulse riffle in the direction of what he believed had been a threat. With his finger firmly pressed against the trigger of the weapon in his hand, the Marine soon realised that the sound had not come from a threat, but rather from someone who should not have been there in the first place.
"MAYA!!! What are you doing here?" The MCO demanded with despair as he had been within a hair width of shooting the CSciO.
"I had wanted to see one of these Holographic Simulation Chambers in operation… but because of the computer requirements in the creation of the scenarios I never had the chance since they tend to be kept for actual away mission training. So when I heard that you and your men were using it, I thought I would drop in for a visit and see how realistic the recreation was… I mean this is a holodeck so I know that the majority of what is here is not real, but the technology used in these simulation chambers is must more accurate and specific than what the standard holodecks use… so I figured that since the holodeck safeties were active, there would be no harm in seeing the room in action first hand." The CSciO rambled on, ignoring as best as she could the destruction and chaos that surrounded her from all sides.
"Maya… these Holographic Simulation Chambers *don't* have safety protocols… we are dealing with live weapons' fire." The Marine pointed out in exasperation, already thinking of what he would need to do next.
"Live… as in real… as in you could have *killed* me!!!" The Shillian said as the colour drained from her face before she collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"MEDIC!!!" Pravat screamed to his own people before he made his way to the limp body of the CSciO in order to bring her to a more secured location.
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Stardate: 60308.1122
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Sickbay
"A few bumps and bruises… but other than that she will be fine. Next
time though it might be an idea to place a warning sign on the doors to the
Holographic Simulation Chambers." The aCMO announced as she walked away
from the biobed on which the CSciO had been placed on.
Satisfied that the situation had not been as bad as she had made it out to be given the urgency of the MCO's call to the bridge, the young woman had been ready to return to her duties when Ensign Mei walked into the room.
"Commander… can I have a word with you?" Susan quietly inquired making it clear that whatever she had wanted to talk to Rikar about had been of a somewhat delicate matter.
"Is this about you report on David?" The young woman immediately inquired as soon as the 2 of them had move out of earshot of the Shillian and Enaran who had begun a playful argument about the CSciO's presence in the HSC.
"Not really… I had wanted to speak with you about something but after you took the PADD you left before I could mention it to you." The Cns explained, looking a little hesitant if not outright nervous.
"Is this about another member of the crew?" The ExO inquired, her concerns immediately coming to the surface.
"Yes… No… I mean yes it is about a member of the crew and no it is not about *another*… I wanted to speak to you about *you*." Susan ever so quietly whispered, not thinking it wise to advertise this to those within Sickbay.
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Stardate: 60308.1122
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Counselling Department
It had not taken long for the ExO and Cns to make their way to the
Counselling Department where the discussion that had been started could
proceed in more private surroundings.
"Me? What about me?" Rikar demanded as she doors closed behind her, obviously sounding somewhat upset.
"With all due respect Commander… I thought that you and I could talk a little… I have heard that your wife has been away for debriefing for over a week and during that time you have been solely responsible for your child. On a more professional front, you have been faced with difficult decisions… and I simply wanted to see how you were doing." Susan explained, not at all coming across as over confident considering that she had been the newest member of the crew and that she still had a great deal to learn about the ship and its crew.
"I appreciate the concerns… but you have to remember that at one point in my career I *was* a Cns, so I know what to expect and know exactly where you are trying to go with this. When I married Enaii I knew what I was getting into… and although some of this Intel stuff is a little more than I had expected, I know that she will come back to me and Talia when her duties and responsibilities to Admiral Koneki and this base are competed. Now if you will excuse me Ensign… I do have a pile of work waiting for me on the bridge." The young woman countered with in an official tone that had left the Cns with no doubts that the meeting which had not really begun had been brought to a permanent end.
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Stardate: 60308.1124
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Corridor outside Counselling Department
As soon as the door between the young woman and the Cns had closed, the
ExO's calm and collect façade melted leaving the redheaded woman within
seconds of bursting into tears. It had been true that the last week
had been rather complicated for various reasons but it had only been after
Ensign Mei had pointed it out that Sabrina had realised just how much
time had passed. It had been over 1 week since she had seen her wife… 1
week since Talia had seen her mother… how much more could they take?
"Commander Rikar? Are you alright?" The charming voice of Lt. Onison reached the young woman reminding her that she had been in the 'open' of the corridor of the ship.
"I am fine… thank you Lieutenant… just had to stop for a moment and get my thoughts back in line. I am glad that you are here as I had wanted to ask how you have been adjusting to your new life here?" The ExO offered as she quickly regained her composure… the experienced gained from her years as a Cns and her time with Enaii having taught her to hide her personal emotions with great skill and efficiency.
"The ship is most interesting… as is the crew. I think it will be an honour to serve with you all. That said, I would like to extend my most sincere apologies to you and Cpt. Simmons… Lt. Maya has informed me that what I had believed to be a small trinket had almost been the item that you had been looking for but that it turned out to be nothing more than a fake." Luke ever so expertly said, knowing all too well how to play this game and to insure that his position within the crew remained as solid as possible.
"Don't give it a second though… it wasn't your fault that the item turned out to be a fake. Hopefully next time we will have more luck. Now if you will excuse me… I have to get to the bridge." The young woman offered with a hint of expediency before turning away from Luke and heading towards the nearest turbolift access.
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Stardate: 60312.1128
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Bridge
The CO turned the chair that he had been sitting in as the young woman
stepped onto the bridge and immediately noticed that the eyes of his
ExO had seemed a little more red than normal.
"Number One… how is Lt. Maya?" James inquired, wondering if maybe something had happened to the ANUBIS' CSciO.
"She's fine… she was a little roughed up during her exit out of the HSC but other than that she and the rest of the Marines who had been training there suffered no injuries… now if it is alright with you I would like to take care of some paper work that has been accumulating on my desk?" The ExO inquired as she realised that she had not been able to completely erase the tale-tale signs of her crying while in the turbolift.
With a nod of his head the CO dismissed his ExO and wondered as to what had happened.
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Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Commander Sabrina Rikar
Executive Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
2005 post #094
"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light"
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
