"As If Dealing With the Normal Routine Had Not Been Sufficient"
(Previous Post: "Snooping Around")
---
Stardate: 61014.1700
The simple chairs of the DRAGONSEYE had felt like the
most comfortable cushion to the Shillian woman as she
melded into it following their first day amongst the
trading population of IRRAJ. The say that the day,
which had now gone into its eleventh hour, had been
hard would have been a monumental understatement
having introduced Ensign Stormwind and Lieutenant
Commander Maya to a whole new way of life filled with
strange customs and more bureaucracy than either could
have even thought possible.
"I hope that the others are having better luck they we
are," the Flight Control Officer of the USS ANUBIS
said as he allowed gravity to pull his body into the
waiting chair next to where the Shillian scientist had
already retreated to. "It feels like we have been at
this for days and it has not even been one. At this
rate whatever we find will have been made obsolete."
"As draining and physically demanding as this day has
been I would not dismiss what we have discovered so
easily," the Chief Science Officer said as she turned
her chair to face that of the Flight Control Officer.
"I mean I do agree that we found very little in
regards to our true purpose to this world, but the
information that we have collected about the ways of
this culture will surely prove to be of great interest
to several people back at NEW ALEXANDRIA, so our
efforts will not have been in vain."
Ensign Stormwind glared for a brief moment at the
Shillian woman, her words having failed to make all
that he had endured over the last eleven hours feel
worth while. A slew of comments and replies flashed
through the mind of the Flight Control Officer but
instead of saying any of them Ensign Stormwind simply
sighed and accepted the fact that by design and
because this had been who she was the Chief Science
Officer had analyses their progress as a scientist
first and above all else.
"We can hope that something better will come out of
our meeting with the next merchant," the Vulcan hybrid
said in a perfect unemotional tone. "We have a few
hours before we are to meet with him, this would be a
good time for both of us to freshen up and get some
rest as I suspect that this new meeting will be as
demanding as the previous ones."
Unable to contradict the logic of the statement made
by the Flight Control Officer, not that she had wanted
to, the Shillian scientist agreed with a nod of her
head and made her way to the back of the DRAGONSEYE
where she would be able to freshen up before returning
to the comfort of the seat which she had just left.
---
Compared to the places that they had visited before,
the Ivory Lotus had come across as a high class
establishment if not by the décor on the walls and
pillars at least by the crowd that that been enjoying
lavish meals and sophisticated entertainment.
"Fascinating," the Flight Control Officer said in a
way which clearly echoed his Vulcan heritage, yet his
eyes had scrutinized the forms of the dancers on the
far stage with an admiration that had been all too
human. "Looks like you will have a new chapter to add
to your observations of this culture and of their way
of life," the Vulcan hybrid said in a teasing way as
the two undercover officers made their way deeper into
the establishment in search of the merchant they were
scheduled to meet.
In order to keep their undercover identities intact,
the Shililan woman had taken the lead while Ensign
Stromwind brought up the rear several steps back.
Although this had been a somewhat awkward position,
the Flight Control Officer had made good use it this
opportunity to scan the room and the gathered
merchants. The hidden tricoder which the Vulcan
hybrid had brought with him had also been busy,
gathering information on the people sitting at the
surrounding tables and storing it for later analysis.
What the unseen device had failed to record for
reasons that would never be known of the Flight
Control Officer had been the rapid approach of a
shadowy form who seemed to move through the room with
the agility and ease of a ghost. Before Ensign
Stormwind could understand what had happened, the man
found himself taken by the arm and dragged out of the
high class establishment barely able to notice that
the Chief Science Officer had suffered the same fate
and had been hooked on the other arm of this unknown
individual.
---
"What was that all about," the Shillian woman demanded
in an indignant tone, half concerned that they might
have been intercepted by an adversary Intel operative
and half fearing that the two of them had been
labelled as easy targets for some kind of extortion.
The fears of the Chief Science Officer were quickly
dismissed and replaced by several others when the
person who had pulled them out of the establishment
revealed her identity.
"Lieutenant Commander Enaii?" Derek gasped, his human
half having taken over for the time being fuelled by
the adrenaline which had coursed through his system.
"Lieutenant Commander Enaii," the Shillian repeated
with an audible lump in her throat. "I was not aware
that you had been assigned to the away team, I mean as
the Intel Liaison Officer of the ANUBIS you have every
right to take part in any and all missions you see
fit, but I had not expected you to be 'up-to-it' given
your recent ordeal. This of course does not mean that
I am not pleased to see you here although I will admit
that I am somewhat puzzled by the way you have
selected to make your presence known to us, surely it
would have been easier to let us know that you had
been here without snagging us the way you did. I mean
you almost gave us both a heart attack."
The Intel Operative glared into the eyes of the
rambling Shillian which caused the Chief Science
Officer to stop talking, an event which both the
Flight Control Officer and the cloaked woman had been
grateful for.
"DRAGONSEYE," the operative said in a blunt and
commanding tone which left it clear to both of the
other two officers that there had not been any
negotiating possible. Something had brought Enaii to
them and they would find out what only after they
would return to the ship.
---
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2006 post #193
Setting: USS DRAGONSEYE, Flight Deck
Stardate: 61014.1915
Setting: IRRAJ, Dinning Establishment, the Ivory Lotus
Stardate: 61014.1925
Setting: IRRAJ, Dark Alley next to the Ivory Lotus
Jessica Solarik { maya_992003@yahoo.com }
Lieutenant Commander Maya
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)
