"Staying In His Shadow"
[Previous post: "Oltharian Dilemma, Engineering Solutions", written by the technically inclined Francois Charette]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Corridor, Deck 2
Lea stayed as close to Uxtar as she could. Officially she had been
sticking close to make sure that his injuries were not being aggravated.
Unofficially, and truthfully, the CMO had glued herself to the Hirogen
for only one reason. Lea was scared.
All that the CMO knew of these Imperians had been what she had read in
the reports. The way the one on the ANUBIS had picked up Pravat and
almost crushed his throat. The way that same *thing* had seemed
invulnerable to the Marines' weapons. Adding to this had been what Starfleet
knew of them and of their goal of cleansing the galaxy of biological
life. That alone had been enough to make Lea more than hesitant at the
idea of going anywhere near them.
"What was that?" Lea asked in a panic startled by the noise of metal
rubbing on metal. If sensors could not pick up the whereabouts of these
machines, they could have been anywhere. At least as far as the CMO
had been concerned, not taking into account the various force fields that
had been set up.
"That sounded like a power conduit becoming loose and falling onto the
deck plates," Uxtar replied. In contrast to the CMO, the Sec/Tac had
been as calm as could be. For the Hirogen this had been second nature
as he hunted for the Imperians.
Another sound sent Lea clinging to the Hirogen's back. Uxtar looked
over his shoulder at the new growth that had suddenly appeared on his
person. Lea seemed utterly terrified, her nails digging into the back of
Uxtar like a cat in a tree. "I heard something else," the CMO said on
the verge of tears.
"That was probably one of the emergency bulkheads dropping into place,"
Uxtar said. As the Chief of Security, the Hirogen had been required to
be more patient that any other Hirogen. Lea slowly eased her grip on
the man's back only to reassert it when another crash was heard. "That
was the sound of my patience hitting rock bottom, Sir," Uxtar said
before Lea could panic.
The CMO quickly realised that getting on Uxtar's bad side had not been
a wise move. Especially not now, so Lea retracted her *claws* and took
a few steps back keeping Uxtar well in view. Lea tried to divert her
thoughts from the current danger by imagining the Sec/Tac explaining to
the CO why he had not *protected* the CMO. Lea actually smiled at the
idea that Uxtar would have to say that *he* had been the one who had
injured the CMO. She had been clinging to his back like a scared cat
after all, distracting him from his true duties.
Reality quickly settled back in when the sound of phaser riffle fire
filled the air. The CMO immediately picked up on Uxtar's increased
alertness. All joking aside Lea could only think of one other person she
would have preferred to be with at a time like this. Although David had
not been as much of a *warrior* as Uxtar, Lea would have more than
welcomed his strong arms to protect her. A better use of those muscular
appendages would have been for them to be used to sweep her away, but
that was another story.
The Sec/Tac reached back and pushed with care Lea against the nearest
wall, protecting her as best he could. The sound of weapons' fire had
grown louder as they moved meaning that they had been close. Before the
CMO could say or even think anything, Uxtar suddenly leaped out with
his riffle in hand. The sound of the gun firing made the CMO close her
eyes tighter with each pulse.
All that Lea could think about at that precise moment was that she
wanted to be with her friend Susan. Being somewhere, anywhere, the two of
them talking about *anything* would have been better than being here.
Now Lea could only hope that she would be able to talk to her friend
once again after this. Even if under the pretences of the two of them
sitting at a opposite ends of a table during a counselling session.
Something that the CMO figured she would more than likely require after
this ordeal.
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Lt. J.G. Lea Summers 2006 post #076
Stardate: 60401.1500
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS HATHOR
