"There Are Certain Things In This Universe You Just Cannot Hide From"
(Previous Post: "Mind Games And Other Headaches")
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Stardate: 60313.1130
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 13, Stellar Cartography
The last days had been nothing more than a vague memory for the Shillian scientist who had spent the greater majority of her time in this room. The rest of her time had been divided between the other labs onboard the USS ANUBIS reducing to an absolute minimum the time the head of the Science Department had spent in her quarters or in the corridors of the ship.
The official reason for this had been that there had been a great deal of data that the scientist had wanted to research, the majority of which had come from other ships assigned to NEW ALEXANDRIA. The unofficial reason for the zealous and frantic work schedule of the Chief Science Officer had been that she had not wanted to run into the Marine Commanding Officer.
The scientist had received the and acknowledged the call from Captain Simmons requesting that all senior officer report to the Conference Lounge at thirteen hundred hours, but the Shillian woman had figured that she still had more then enough time to finish the astrological research she had been in the midst of before it had been time to leave for the meeting.
The grumbling of her stomach had in no way diminished the intensity with which the scientist had been working on solving some of the inconsistencies she had discovered in the sensor logs of the NIL, EGYPT, HORUS and SEKMETH. Although the ships had patrolled different sections of the quadrant, there had been some common phenomenon that had observed with different levels of scrutiny. There had been nothing urgent or potentially dangerous about these differences but the Shillian scientist had wanted to resolve these discrepancies before the meeting of senior officers as a mean to not think about the man that she would have to be with during that time.
Despite the mounting amount of work, the Chief Science Officer found it increasingly impossible to focus on the scientific aspect of this problem, instead discovering that her mind grew increasingly more preoccupied by the rapidly approaching deadline. The discussion the scientist had shared with Ensign Mei had raised several questions, all of which focused on the source of the emotions the Shillian had felt over the last few days since her entering the Holographic Simulation Chamber.
The Chief Science Officer had been so deeply involved in her own thoughts that she had failed to notice that someone had come into the room to interrupt her self-imposed solitude. What had been even more awkward had been that the person who had just stepped Into Stellar Cartography and the Marine that had haunted the thoughts of the Shillian scientist had been one and the same.
From the now sealed entrance way, Prav watched the Shillian as she continued to work on whatever she had been in the middle of; silently contemplating the choice he had just made.
He watched the Scientist toil diligently on her research. There wasn’t a devious, unscrupulous bone in her body. He felt envious for a moment but the memories from the morgue and her words from sickbay were enough to chase that feeling away. He did what he did because he had to. If he was going to do his job right, he had to accept the fact that the ends always justified the means. He had been crazy to think there was any other way. He shook his head, after all these years, his grandfather had been right; the military was no place for ethics.
Why had he come down here looking for her? Certainly his decision would make it impossible to pursue any kind of relationship with the woman now. She was… he paused looking at the smooth curve of her neck as she leaned over the PADD she was working on. She was so virtuous, what would she want with him anyway? He turned to the door, making the decision that this hadn’t been a good idea.
“Prav?”
He turned around at the sound of her voice. “Ah, I see you’re busy. I’ll come back later,” he lied.
She quickly put down the PADD she had been staring at. “Wait,” she called. “I’m not busy, I mean, I was busy but I can stop for a minute.” All the dread she had been anticipating had vanished.
Not quite sure what to say he said the very thing he knew he shouldn’t have. “Do you want to go get some lunch?”
The Shillian scientist blinked a few times, then blinked some more. Part of her had still been mad at the Enaran for what he had done, but another part of the Chief Science Officer knew that done nothing wrong. All that the Marine Commanding Officer could be accused of had been that he had acted as his training and duties had required him to. Could she blame a star for going nova even if it meant the destruction of an entire solar system? There had been only one possible answer to this philosophical question, as there had been only one possible reply to the offer made by Pravat. "Lunch would be nice."
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Stardate: 60313.1145
Setting: NEW ALEXANDRIA, Cafeteria
The decision to go to the cafeteria of the base instead of going to the crew lounge on board the ANUBIS had been an easy one, but as they arrives the Enaran Marine and Shillian scientist wondered if they had not made the wrong choice. Although contained to a single table, the four individuals from the USS ANUBIS had been making their presence impossible to miss.
"Pravat! Maya! Join us," an exuberant Assistant Chief Medical Officer said, waving the duo closer.
Not wanting to appear antisocial the Shillian and Enaran complied with the request and soon discovered the extent of their error. To see Talia covered in Andorian Chocolate Fudge as if she had taken a swim through a pool filled with the delicacy had been forgivable given the age of the child, but to see the same disorder gracing the faces of Ensign Summers and Ensign Mei had just been a little too much to take. The only island of serenity at the table had been the Chief of Operations who had seemingly found a way to remain unscathed by the chocolate assault that had already claimed three victims.
"Did someone put an exploding device in the chocolate?" The Enaran Marine asked, looking at the gathering of women at the table trying to figure out how such widespread mayhem could have taken place.
"Of course not," The head of the Counseling department said in mock frustration. "Talia was just showing us some innovative ways to enjoy our lunch."
"This is lunch?" Pravat said, clearly unable to believe that Starfleet Officers could behave as he had found them. While trying to figure out a way to make a delicate retreat, the Marine Commanding Officer saw the Chief Science Officer sit at the table next to Talia, willingly joining the chocolate covered group.
"Come on Prav," the Shillian said looking up at the baffled Marine. "Sit and have some fun. If there is one thing that I have learned lately it is to seize the moment, because it may never come again."
Faced with an impossible situation, Pravat decided to side with the Shillian and join the group, ordering two more of the apparently volatile chocolate creations as he sat down.
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Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
and
**************** 2005 post #109
Matt Kelly {downwitmal@yahoo.com}
Writing for:
2nd Lt. Pravat
MCO
USS ANUBIS
