"Of The Millions of Planets In This Galaxy, We Had To Go Back To That One"
(Previous Post: "Rush")
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Stardate: 60339.1610
The Shillian scientist could not figure out what part of the senior staff meeting she had just stepped out of had troubled her the most. Being told that she would once again hold the double position and duties of Chief Science Officer *and* Executive Officer had been bad enough but to do so on a ship as large as the ANUBIS had stricken fear into the heart of the Shillian woman. On the HATHOR she could at a simple glance keep track of the whereabouts of the entire crew, but on the SCARAB-Class ship, the responsibilities of the First Officer would be folds more demanding.
If that had been the only issue the Shillian would have not been so concerned about their new mission, but from the little that Captain Rikar had said it had been clear that several aspects of their new mission would call upon the expertise of the Chief Science Officer. SURIAL III had been a world that had challenged the entirety of the crew on multiple levels and the scientist doubted that many were looking forward to rushing back deep into Cardassian space in search of a ghost.
"I need to check in with my men," the Marine First Lieutenant said, passing right by the Shillian Executive Officer without as much as meeting her eyes. "I will return to the bridge and begin tactical preparations as soon as everything is settled down below," Prav continued not giving the Chief Science Officer the time to even begin to formulate a reply before the Marine vanished into the turbolift.
The Enaran Marine was a very good choice to take over the position of Chief of Security and Tactical Officer for the ANUBIS, that much the Shillian was sure, so why had she felt so torn by the idea of having him on the bridge and so close to her on an almost constant basis? Confusion quickly settled in as the idea of his manning the tactical station triggered a conflicting volley of emotions within the scientist ranging from overjoyed to deeply troubled.
"Commander," the former Chief Engineering Officer of the USS ANUBIS now the Executive Officer of the HATHOR said in a atypical gentle tone, "at your earliest convenience it might be a good idea for us to sit and coordinate our plans to that we can advise our respective captains of the best course of actions as we approach and break into Cardassian space."
The Shillian woman had been so taken by surprise by the words of Lieutenant Dawson that the Chief Science Officer had found herself unable to say anything for several seconds, a situation that visibly amused the large engineer who smiled and walked away, joining up with the Chief Medical Officer of the HATHOR as they both left the bridge of the ANUBIS.
"Is everything all right?" Captain Rikar asked as she too stepped out of the Conference Lounge to find her Executive Officer in a state of complete bafflement. The Commanding Officer of the USS ANUBIS had expected a barrage of questions from her Chief Science Officer concerning their upcoming mission since the captain had really said next to nothing about the reasons why they would soon be heading back into Cardassian space in search of a woman whom everyone had believed and accepted to be dead.
"Just sorting through some of the questions that I would like to ask," the Shillian scientist said, her current state of confusion making it impossible for her to carry on one of her usual lengthy conversations, a situation that Captain Rikar did not seem to disprove of in any way, shape or form.
"I will do my best to answer all of your questions, but not right now," the Commanding Officer of the ANUBIS said while making her way to her Ready Room. "Commodore Simmons explained to me earlier that not all of the repairs had been accomplished on the ANUBIS. Therefore I need a detailed report on what is and is not working on my ship before we get underway. Lieutenant Fairborn and Annie will be taking care of the leg work but I need you to prioritise and coordinate with the repair teams of NEW ALEXANDRIAN to insure that the most urgent repairs are done in time. Once you have done this, I will be happy to sit down with you and listen to your input on how best we can carry out the final objective of our mission."
The Shillian woman found herself nodding her understanding without once again being able to utter a single word, the thoughts filling the head of the Executive Officer flooding her conscious mind like a full strength tsunami. Eventually the scientist found herself standing at the back of the bridge of the ANUBIS having realised that she had not moved in several seconds adding a level of odd emotional discomfort to her already lengthy list of issues plaguing her thoughts.
Since she knew the science station onboard the ANUBIS far more than she knew that of the Executive Officer, the Chief Science Officer headed for more common ground to begin working on the task given to her by Captain Rikar and to hopefully find a way to regain her mental composure before the ship and its crew were to leave for SURIAL III in the morning.
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"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2006 post #002
Setting: USS HATHOR, Bridge
Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Executive Officer and Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
