"What is Worse Than a Fish Out Of Water?"
(Previous Post: "Monkeys, Cats and Hirogens?")
---
Stardate: 61017.0600
"Maya is in command of the ANUBIS!" The Enaran Marine
said, repeating the report given to him by the
Klingoness Tes'Karka.
"Captain Rikar and Lieutenant Commander Enaii are
apparently… indisposed, and our CO has placed the next
highest ranking officer in charge," the Marine
explained as if all had been perfectly right with the
universe.
Pravat on the other hand knew better, he knew Maya
well enough to know that having her in charge of the
ANUBIS had been asking for trouble but at least there
had been one saving grace: the ANUBIS was safely
docked inside the NEW ALEXANDRIA complex away from
bloodthirsty aliens and vindictive enemies.
"Tes, continue with the early morning training, I am
going up to the bridge to check up on something," the
Enaran man said as he tossed his pulse riffle towards
his second in command.
"You mean checking up on *someone*," the Klingoness
replied as she caught the weapon with a single hand.
The entire ship knew of the romance that had been
developing between Pravat and Maya, yet no one dared
to say more than careful whispers about it, aside from
Tes'Karka who had never been one to place the
'politically correct card', especially not when
speaking to the Enaran Marine Command Officer.
---
"CAPI!" was all that the Marine heard before being run
over by a small fury creature which had almost seemed
to be travelling at warp speed. As small as the
animal had been, it had collided with the Enaran at
just the perfect time and perfect angel to send the
man off balance. By the time Pravat had begun to
figure out what had happened he had been long on his
way towards the deck plates and had Talia not bumped
into him, the Enaran Marine might have actually had a
slight chance of avoiding the fall.
Less than happy with what had just taken place, Pravat
bounced back onto his feet only to find the Hirogen
Chief of Security approaching him from the same
direction the monkey and child had come from.
"Good morning," Uxtar said with a playful grin, "looks
like you need to work on your reflexes."
"Sorry," the Enaran growled back, "we never covered
being attacked by a runaway monkey in basic training."
Uxtar laughed but his amusement was cut short when the
sound of something heavy crashing onto the floor
reached the two men. The Chief of Security sighed and
resumed his walk down the corridor not giving any
indication of being in a rush to catch the miniature
menaces comprises of a small monkey and of a little girl.
---
"Good morning Maya," the Enaran said as he stepped
onto the command deck of the USS ANUBIS, "how are
things up here?" Pravat added wondering if the
Shillian woman had been aware of the disturbances
caused by Talia and her pet.
"All is quiet," the Chief Science Officer replied from
the science station, the Shillian having apparently
refused to sit in the chair reserved for the
commanding officer despite her having been placed in
charge of the ship. "I guess that should not come as
such a surprise since we are inside NEW ALEXANDRIA and
that it is currently 6:10 in the morning, but then
again time is not relevant in space. I mean anyone
could decide to attack us at any time, but that would
of course require for them to know the location of the
NEW ALEXANDRIA complex and bypass the perimeter defences."
For a fraction of a second the Enaran Marine actually
wondered why he had subjected himself to the incessant
ramblings of the Shillian woman when he could have
instead enjoyed some early morning training exercises
with his troops. Then his eyes met hers and any
questions that he might have had at that moment
vanished into thin air.
"I was informed that Captain Rikar and Lieutenant
Commander Enaii are currently busy," Pravat said as he
moved closer to the Shillian, taking position in front
of the science station which had placed him in an
awkward position of being *lower* than the scientist.
"They are both currently on the station enjoy some
well deserved rest and relaxation, that is why I was
placed in command of the ANUBIS, guess Captain Rikar
figured that she could trust me with that
responsibility since we were docked," the Shillian
replied but before she could continue on with some
barely relevant line of thought the Enaran cut in.
"Who is looking after Talia?"
"Doctor Summers, why?" the Shillian woman replied not
entirely certain as to why the Marine had been
interested in Talia and her current caregiver.
"Because the last time I checked, Talia was on Deck 20
running after her monkey and our illustrious Chief
Medical Officer was nowhere to be seen," the Marine
calmly explained as he gazed deeply into the eyes of
the Shillian.
"Computer, locate Doctor Summers," the Chief Science
Officer demanded, not wanting anything to tarnish her
time in charge of the USS ANUBIS.
=/\= Doctor Summers is currently in the Quarters of
Captain Rikar and Lieutenant Commander Enaii, =/\= the
computer replied.
The Shillian had been debating as to what steps to
take next when a call from Main Engineering came
through over the communications system. =/\= Ensign
Norheim to the Bridge, we have a small situation down
here, =/\= the Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
reported before a loud crashing sound was heard in the
background.
Just at that moment the new Chief of Operations
stepped onto the Bridge, "Good morning I am Ensign
Thomas, and I was wondering if it would be possible
for me to see the Captain. I know that it is early
but they do say that the early bird gets the worm."
"I'm sorry, but I need to take care of a little
problem," the Shillian said as she ran passed the
Ensign without giving too much of an explanation. "I
am sure that Lieutenant Pravat will be more than happy
to show you around the bridge in the meantime. I mean
he is an experienced bridge officer even if he is the
Marine Command Officer and I have complete confidence
in his skills as a teacher. I will return as soon as
I can," the Shillian concluded with as the doors to
the turbolift closed.
"Did I come at a bad time?" Elliot asked looking at
the Enaran Marine with a somewhat bewildered
expression on his face.
"Welcome onboard the ANUBIS," Pravat chuckled, "and I
would not worry about it, there is no such thing as a
*bad time* on this ship. They are *all* bad."
---
It had been almost a complete hour since the Shillian
woman had made a hasty exit from the Bridge leaving
the new Chief of Operations and the Marine Command
Officer alone. When the Chief Science Officer finally
returned, the Enaran had just finished going through
the tactical systems of the ANUBIS.
"Perfect timing," Pravat said as he greeted the
visible fatigued Shillian back, "are we to gather that
our situation has been resolved."
"Yes," the Shillian woman said as she approached the
two men. "Please forgive me for my having to run out
like that but I thought it best to take care of the
situation in person. I mean I could have dispatched
others to take care of this but I felt it prudent to
deal with the daughter of our Captain directly."
"Admiral Koneki had mentioned that the Intelligence
Liaison Officer of this ship also had a daughter, but
I was not aware that the Captain also had one," Elliot
said glad to see that his two daughters had not been
the only *youths* onboard the ship.
"Actually Talia is the daughter of both Captain Rikar
and Lieutenant Commander Enaii," Pravat said trying
his best to set the records straight.
"I am sorry," the new Operations Officer gulped, "I
had been under the impression that Captain Rikar was a
woman according to how the Admiral had referred to the
commanding officer of this ship."
"Captain Rikar is a woman," the Shillian said with a
wide grin, and anticipating the next question the
Chief Science Officer continued, "and so is Lieutenant
Commander Enaii. Talia technically has two mothers,
but that is easily explained by the fact that Captain
Rikar adopted Talia after getting married to Enaii. Of
course since the birth records of Talia are highly
classified and Lieutenant Commander Enaii has never
mentioned the other side of the genetic heritage of
her daughter there is no way for us to know who the
father was, that is if there was a father. I mean
given the technology that is at our disposal there are
an endless number of possibilities to account for the
origins of Talia."
Ensign Thomas just stood there wide-eyed and stunned.
"You have heard nothing yet my friend," Pravat
chuckled as he slapped the Operations Officer on the
back. "That sort of story is nothing compared to some
of the things we get to deal with on a regular basis."
---
"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2006 post #231
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 20, Marine Mess Hall
Stardate: 61017.0605
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 20, Corridor outside of the Marine Mess Hall
Stardate: 61017.0615
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 1, Bridge
Stardate: 61017.0710
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 1, Bridge
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)
