"Nothing, Absolutely Nothing"
[Previous post: "Searching Through The Unknown For The Unexplained", written by the masterful Francois Charette]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, CMO's Office
Stardate: 60327.1400
Lea sat at her desk looking at a PADD, the expression on her face mirrored that of Susan who sat opposite to her. Both looked less than happy if not a little depressed. Being back in Sickbay had not been the problem; in fact Lea had liked it. After all this was her domain and where she felt the most at ease. The two security guards posted at the entrance of Sickbay were not the cause of their mood either. The problem was the lack of proof to support their version of events.
"Do you think she will believe us?" Lea asked of Susan. Waiting for their CO to get back to them with a final verdict was proving to be nerve-racking. Although the wait had been relatively short, Lea began to understand how David must have been feeling. At least Lea had several things going for her such as not being alone and being on her ship.
"Why wouldn't she?" Susan replied. "Captains are not prone to make snap decisions, or accuse members of their crew without proof," the Cns said. The glare that she received from Lea made Susan reconsider her choice of words. After all, their CO had been a little quick with the accusations brought up against the CEO. "All right, most COs don't make snap decisions. But I still say that Captain Rikar will not think that all three of us are lying. At least I hope she won't."
Lea grinned wryly hoping that her friend was right. That or that the investigation into the story they had laid out would produce some proofs. The CMO did not hold her hopes very high though. If Jaycee and En were as they had claimed to be, sisters of Enaii, they were likely to be as skilled as the ILO.
"Maybe we should get back to working on finding a cure for SDS," Susan said. As a Cns it made sense for her to want to shift the focus of their situation onto something more productive. Sitting there in the CMO's office pondering as to what would happen next served no purpose.
"As much as I would love to," Lea began propping the full weight of her chin on her hand, "my mind is really not up to it. I can't stop thinking about what Jaycee said and how they kept referring to David as a *target*. I always thought Enaii was cold, and obviously that trait runs in the family. If they were her sisters and we made then angry, I can only imagine what will happen to us. Who knows, the CO might discover evidence that will implicate *us* in some weird way."
Just as the image of her standing next to David as he faced the court-martial admiralty the door to Sickbay opened. Lea and Susan immediately jumped although neither one of them had seen who had come in. Straining to hear the conversation between the guards and the new arrival, Lea heard only mumbles.
"Can you tell who is here?" Susan whispered, hoping that her friend had heard more than she had.
"My guess," Lea said in the same whispered voice, "a pink fluffy bunny with a lisp. I can't make out anything they are saying."
For a brief moment the Cns forgot about their situation and smiled. The thought of a pink bunny coming into Sickbay had been an amusing if not overly strange one.
"Are you all right?" Uxtar asked the moment he had appeared into the doorway to the CMO's office. Both Lea and Susan began to laugh, the Hirogen having been as far away from a 'pink fluffy bunny' as could be. "Did I say something funny?"
"No," Lea said through her chuckles.
"We are just a little loopy at the moment," Susan added. Uxtar was a new member to the crew but the Cns had hoped that he would not take their giddiness personally. Laughing had been a better option and remedy than crying.
"I heard about what happened in the Bio chemistry Lab and I wanted to see if you were all right," Uxtar said. Not only had the Hirogen not taken their laughing personally, but he had shown himself to be a caring individual. That alone made the Cns and CMO feel much better.
"It's the waiting that is really getting to us," Susan said glancing at her friend and thinking of David as well. As bad as it had been for them, which it really had not been, the CEO had faced much worse.
"You won't have to wait much longer," Uxtar said. "Nico informed me a few minutes ago that Lt. Fairborn and Annie had returned from the lab."
Lea and Susan exchange a lengthy look, the Cns and CMO suddenly becoming frightful of what would happen next. "With our luck they will have found absolutely nothing," Lea sighed. "That or proof that all three of us went bunkers all at the same time. It wouldn't be the first case of mass hysteria."
Susan nodded. Maybe pleading temporary insanity, for both David and themselves, would have been an easier way to go.
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Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Ensign Lea Summers 2005 post #452
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
