"Rude Awakening"
[Previous post: "Imperial Trouble", written by the trouble making Julian Knight]
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Setting: USS HATHOR, Lea's Quarters
Lea had been dosing in and out of sleep. Her body had been tired and sought rest, but her mind had not been able to stop. Juggling the situation with Enaii, the Imperians and the Cardassian, Lea had just not been able to put her mind to rest. When she did manage to close her eyes, the CMO could only see nightmarish visions. Some of these pertained to piles of biomatter goo sitting on the transporter platform of the ANUBIS. The others dealt with death and destruction left behind by the soulless Imperians.
As tired as she might have been Lea had been happy to hear the door
chime ring. The CMO figured who it had been and was that much more
grateful when she opened the door to see her friend.
"I hope that I didn't wake you," Susan said as she accepted Lea's
invitation to come in.
"Not really," the CMO replied. "I haven’t been able to get any real
rest, and when I close my eyes all I see is death. So I'd rather be awake."
"Who would have thought that this mission would turn out this way," Susan sighed. "We come all the way out here to try and save Enaii. What we end up with is finding ourselves in a situation that may reshape this entire quadrant. Sometimes I think being stuck on a planet unaware of the chaos amongst the stars is preferable."
"Is this another of your reverse psychology attempts to get me to feel
better?" Lea asked with a smile. Susan had used this trick more than
once and Lea had come to recognize it. Looking at her friend though,
the CMO saw something different in the Cns' posture. "You're serious?"
"Maybe not entirely," Susan admitted. "There are times though when I
wonder what we are doing out here. Then I realise that we are the ones
making a difference in the lives of millions."
"Susan, you of all people cannot start doubting yourself. We all need
you. *I* need you. Remember, I'm the basket case here. Without
you're support, I might as well steal an escape pod and run back home."
The CNS chuckled. "I doubt that David would allow you to get very far.
He would rescue you in a heartbeat. That would be just in time for you
to be skinned alive by Serenna."
Lea and Susan laughed at the morbid thought, easily imagining the HATHOR's CO enjoying such an activity. After the laughter had died down the CMO looked at her friend and wondered if this had not all been an elaborate act. Susan was an expert counsellor, that she liked to admit it or not. Just being around the Cns had a way of making people feel better. After a few minutes Lea decided that it didn't matter. Susan and her had been here together and for those few moments everything had seemed to be right with the world.
=/\= Red Alert! All senior staff report to the bridge, =/\= David
announced over the ship's intercom.
"What now!" Lea said in exasperation, sounding as if she had been
seconds away from throwing a fit.
"Whatever it is, we'd better report to the bridge," Susan said with
confidence and conviction.
=-=
"What's going on?" Lea asked as she and Susan stepped onto the bridge.
"We have been tracking a probe on an intercept course for the ANUBIS,"
the ExO/CEO replied. Has quickly as the Cns and CMO had made it to the
bridge, everyone else had beaten them there.
"So why the red alert?" Susan wondered to David who had returned to the
engineering station on the bridge.
"Because that probe had scanned us and has altered course," Uxtar said.
The Hirogen had always come across as being ready to do battle, and
this time had been no different.
"Altered course is an understatement," Derek said in a very un-Vulcan
way. "It's heading directly for us like a torpedo."
"*That* would be reason enough for the red alert," Lea sighed hoping
that the encounter with the probe would not result in work for her.
=-=
Lt. J.G. Lea Summers 2006 post #042
Stardate: 60341.0700
Setting: USS HATHOR, Bridge
Stardate: 60341.0710
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS HATHOR
