" Friendly Chat "
Previous Post: "Afterthoughts"
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Stardate: 60322.0930
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Turbolift
Having requested permission to leave the bridge and
with her head filled with unanswered questions, the
Romulan/Terran hybrid waited for the turbolift to
finish its descent to Deck 22 where the COO knew she
would find the focus of many of her questions.
Working, or at least staying busy, had always been a
way for David to deal with whatever had been on his
mind, a trend that the Romulan/Terran hybrid had
observed in many other engineers and engineering
hopefuls back at the Academy. Being a workaholic
seemed to be a prerequisite for that position;
something that no one seemed to complain about at it
insured that most ships ran as smoothly as possible
even in the most demanding of times.
Entering the holly ground that was Main Engineering,
the Romulan/Terran hybrid was greeted by T'Reni, the
Vulcan who had taken over the duties of CEO while
David's condition and attitude were being evaluated by
those in charge. "Commander, what can we do for you?"
Looking at the Vulcan, the COO could not help but
recall her attempts to portray the race, realizing
that she had made a far more convincing Romulan agent
than a Vulcan merchant. The suppressing of all
emotions had proven to be the hardest part of the
hybrid's undercover identity which had proven to be an
interesting experience in many aspects. Having
returned to her normal self, the Romulan/Terran hybrid
felt almost thankful for not having to think about
*how* to reply before actually replaying. "I am
searching for Lt. Dawson, have you seen him?"
Appearing uncertain, the Vulcan glanced around the
room searching for the man in question leaving the COO
to believe that her previous assumptions as to the
man's whereabouts had been erroneous. If David had
not decided to spend his time in Engineering, the
Romulan/Terran hybrid could only imagine that this
meant trouble with a capital 'T'.
Having confirmed with some members of the Engineering
staff that Dawson had not been around, or even seen,
the Vulcan turned and made her report to the COO.
"Sorry Commander, it would appear that Lt. Dawson
never came down here since your return from the
TANGIERS ORBITAL."
Bowing her head in thanks for the information, the
Romulan/Terran hybrid made a hasty retreat from the
room, now concerned for the engineer's wellbeing.
Taking into account that he had been within arm's
reach of those who had been responsible for the death
of his brother and that they had escaped, the COO
could only imagine the kind of mindset Dawson was in,
and that honestly troubled her.
/\/\/\
Hearing the door chime meant that someone had wanted to see her, and after having verified with her agenda that no appointments had been scheduled, Susan prepared herself to deal with some sort of emergency. After all people were not in a habbit of just dropping in on her while she was on duty just to say 'hello' or to talk about the weather, something that Ens. Mei might have found refreshing. "Come on in, the door is always open."
Walking into the office, the Romulan/Terran hybrid was shocked to find Susan still displaying the features of a Bajoran woman instead of her own, and the Cns was quick to pick up on this surprise since the COO had not been all that good at hiding her feelings. "Lea has been kind of busy and I have grown fond of my new looks, but I am sure that you did not come all the way here to see if I had kept the nose ridges."
Although finding the scene amusing, the
Romulan/Terran hybrid could not bring herself to smile
as she immediately thought of the reason why she had
come to see Ens. Mei. "I came to speak to you about
David."
Letting out a sigh of disappointment, the Cns walked
to the couch and motioned the COO to join her figuring
that they might has well make themselves comfortable
for what would likely be a lengthy and arduous
discussion.
Looking onto the Romulan/Terran hybrid the Ensign
thought to herself **What did he do this time,** but
instead of saying those words out loud the Cns decided
to remain quiet and let the COO speak the first words.
Having accepted the invitation to sit, the COO wasted
no time to relay her concerns about her not having
been able to locate the engineer. "It's David, I went
to Main Engineering thinking that I would find him
there but I was told that he was not, nor had been
there since our return from the casino."
Seeing the concern in the COO's eyes, Susan became a
little confused as to why the Romulan/Terran hybrid
had not used the ship's internal sensors to locate
David, a task that would have been nothing more than
routine for the COO and former Sec/Tac officer of the
ANUBIS. "Why not ask the computer to find him?"
Appearing almost insulted by the suggestion, as if
the Romulan/Terran hybrid had not thought of this
option by herself, the COO explained why the computer
had not been a valid choice. "David knows this ship
like the back of his hand, and as much as he claims to
hate every nuts and bolts, I know that he would be the
first to know if *anyone* asked the computer as to his
current location. I wanted to find him and have a
friend chat, not make him believe that someone is
after him for a reason that only he could think of. I
had hoped that you had seen him since our return from
the TANGIERS ORBITAL."
Sharing in the COO's concerns, the Cns looked around
her office trying to imagine where dawson might have
been and agreeing that requesting the assistance of
the computer could make matters worse depending on
David's current state of mind. Recalling the anger
that she had seen in his eyes before they had left the
casino, and the dent that he had left on the rear
panel of the shuttle, Susan could only guess as to
what might be inside the mind of the engineer. "I
haven't seen him, but maybe with both of us looking
for him we'll have a better chance to find him before
he does something that we all will regret."
Appearing to be in complete agreement with the Cns'
plan, the Romulan/Terran hybrid jumped back to her
feet and reacted as her training dictated. "I'll
search the lower deck, you take care of the main
areas, report anything that you find."
Looking at the COO leaving the office like the woman
on a mission that she was, Susan sighed and thought to
herself that it would have been nice if someone had
come to see her for a friendly chat and nothing else.
/\/\/\
Lieutenant Commander Serenna 2005 post #216
Stardate: 60322.0940
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Cns' Office
/\/\/\
Serena Switt {serena1141@yahoo.com.au}
Chief of Operations / Second Officer
USS ANUBIS
