"Hindsight"
(Previous Post was Mark's "Venting Frustration")
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Stardate: 61015.1300
The young woman sat alone at her desk as she reviewed the reports that
had come from IRRAJ… the world they had barely escaped from several hours
ago. The stillness present in the office of the CO only served to accentuate
the turmoil that had been left behind… according to the local news and the
transmissions from various transport vessels leaving the system, the
planet had been plunged into utter chaos. Thanks to the civil uprising led by
a select few IRRAJ had found itself thrown in the midst of a civil war.
Although many reports had been intercepted by the ANUBIS's IGC, the Intelligence Gathering Centre, few details and specifics had been obtained about the conflict and the information that had been gathered had been all too often in direct conflict with previous statements. The announcement made by the King himself had reassured the general population that the *minor* disruption of their otherwise peaceful lives would not last more than an hour thanks to the help of their new allies… the Dominion. The reports from the underground and of several departing freighters though had painted an entirely different picture of the conflict. According to these reports the commoners of IRRAJ, lead by none other than Rehaw and Princess Adeja herself had risen against these *allies* in force and had managed to stop their progress through the city and even claimed to have 'disposed' of several enemy divisions.
Based on her knowledge of the Jem'Hadar, the Dominion's elite troops,
the young woman had strongly doubted that the commoners of IRRAJ who
possessed next to no combat skills or advanced weapons could have been able to
overpower a single Jem'Hadar, let alone 'several divisions.' On the
other hand the redheaded captain had not written the people of IRRAJ off yet,
holding fast to the ideal that the determination to make their world a
better place would be more than sufficient to given them the strength
to oppose the Dominion and its troops. That said though Rikar felt an
increasing amount of guilt take hold of her soul as she grew to realise
that the presence of the ANUBIS and of its crew on that world had been the
catalyst that had started it all.
Having had enough of these reports and of the picture they were
painting of the planet which they were travelling away from as fast as they could, the young woman shifted her attention to the medical reports that had been provided to her by the aCMO. The crew, it seemed, had encountered its
own set of problems due to their mission to IRRAJ… a mission that could
only be classified as a monumental failure based on the final outcome. Instead of having established a secured Intel base on the planet, the Federation had found itself to be nothing more than a spectator while the population of the planet fought against Dominion troops.
As she leaned back into her chair while holding the last of the PADDs that had landed on her desk, the young woman sighed… the latest status report on the ANUBIS' ExO and CEO had not changed since their return to the ship… and to make matters worse the CMO had apparently given up on not only them but also herself.
The sound of the door chime brought the redheaded woman back to the
here and now as she lowered the PADD to welcome the person who stood on the
other side of the door.
"Come in," Rikar ordered… her voice having clearly echoed a level of
desperation which under any circumstances should never be associated
with the CO of a ship.
"You wanted to see me Captain," the towering Oltharian said as he
stepped into the CO's Ready Room. Despite his size, the giant radiated an aura of calmness which the young woman found comforting.
"I'll make this quick… as you are likely aware Lt. Dawson is currently
in Sickbay and the medical reports do not point a speedy recovery…
therefore I am appointing you CEO of the ANUBIS for the time being," the redheaded woman offered as she tried to force a smile on her pink lips.
"Thank you Captain… but what about Ens. Norheim? He is after all the
aCEO?" The Oltharian inquired, obviously having given this very matter some
extended thoughts before he had been called into the CO's office.
"I am not doubting his skills nor his capabilities in handling the ANUBIS… but I would like for you to take him under your wing Elan. He is still inexperienced and right now I don't think dropping him in charge of Engineering would do him or anyone else any good… Mattias and everyone else down there need support and reassurances. The Engineering staff knows
and respects you… and this is only temporary… at least until we reach NEW
ALEXANDRIA," the young woman explained to which the giant simply nodded
his understanding before he exited the Ready Room.
The young woman sighed to herself as she watched the towering alien walked away… the truth of the matter was that she had no idea what would happen with David and she had wanted someone with some level of experience to be down below… if only to prepare them for a possible change that no one had likely been ready for.
Although the situation concerning the ExO had been very similar, the young woman had figured that since Enaii had more than likely been keeping a
vigilant watch over the entire ship, officially assigning someone to the position of First Officer had been unnecessary and would only serve to fuel rumours as to the fate of Serenna. The young woman could easily justify, even if only to herself, the need to have Elan down in Engineering, but she could not bring herself to do the same in regards to the position of ExO.
Since the debate over the position of First Officer had been pushed
aside, the young woman shifted her thoughts onto the last member of the away
team who had returned to the ship with grave injuries… the ship's CSciO… Lt.
Cmdr. Maya. Unlike Lt. Dawson and Lt. Cmdr. Serenna, the Shillian had
responded to treatments very well and had been back on her feet within
hours of their return… but the CO had not been concerned about Maya's
physical state… rather her emotional condition. The young woman had feared that their last mission might have affected the CSciO in the same manner as
the CMO… not that Maya had fallen victim to the ILO's unique and sometimes
difficult style of dealing with a difficult situation.
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"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the Darkness 2006 post #215
Setting: USS ANUBIS, CO's Ready Room
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
and the Light"
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
