From: Live Long and Prosper 
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 23:46:48 -0500 (EST)
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: The Two Troublemakers

SD 90414.0439
 
---------
Turbolift
---------
 
MD 4.0815
 
        Anne hadn't begun to fully realize the enormity of what had
happened until she, Ensign Keyrin, and the other female security officer
were in the turbolift on the way to Deck 6.
 
        As she stood between the two security officers, Anne could feel
herself blushing.  She had managed to attack a superior officer only four
days into the job, and now... now she was being sent to her quarters.
She could remember only fuzzily what had happened in the last seven
minutes; she only hoped that she hadn't managed to make a *complete* fool
of herself.
 
        As the lift arrived at its destination, and the three women
stepped out into the corridor, Anne couldn't help feeling rather
self-conscious, escorted as she was by two security officers.
 
        Aelyria sensed this.  The atmosphere when she had arrived on the
bridge had been one of worry, tension, and on Murray's part, embarrassment.
 
        "Linda?  Why don't you head back to patrol, and I'll take things
from here."  Her voice was quiet and calm.
 
        Linda Abernathy gave her commanding officer a short look, and
decided it wiser not to question authority.  She quietly left them,
returning back down the corridor.
 
        Keyrin let their pace slow from businesslike walk to more of a
thoughtful, leisurely stroll.  She wondered how to approach things... Anne
looked distraught and withdrawn.
 
        "I know you probably don't feel like talking about things right
now,"  she began, "And that's okay.  If you need an ear, I'm here.
Meanwhile, is there anything I can get for you to make you comfortable?"
 
       Anne shook her head a bit, but more to clear it than to argue
with what Keyrin had said.  She finally found her voice.
 
       "No... thank you," she said, her voice a near whisper.  "I'm just
sorry you had to see me like this." Suddenly, she recalled that Keyrin
had been the one to calm her down after the incident in her science lab
three days ago.  "Well," she said with a sheepish smile, "I guess you
already *have*, come to think of it."
 
       Aelyria shot her a grin.  "No problem.  So," she added, hoping to
take Anne's mind off her troubles, "How about showing me some of that psycho
stuff you're so fond of?"
 
       Anne summoned up some of her courage.  Keyrin had been most kind
to her ever since they had met... perhaps she wouldn't mind answering a
question, even if it sounded completely strange.
 
       "Have you ever felt like strangling your second-in-command?" she
asked, quickly biting off the automatic "Aelyria" that had nearly ended
her query.  Keyrin was here on official business, after all.
 
       Aelyria bit her lip, not knowing how to answer... she genuinely
liked Torr, but he was so *damn* infuriating when he overrode her, as he did
so often.  Just would *not* let her make her own mistakes... just like her
mother.  "Yes."
 
        ... But... he was competent, and friendly, and a great fighter.
And.. Aelyria felt they had a working trust.  Not a personal one, not after
that incident with the Counselor, but a working one that would see Security
-- and therefore the ship -- through.   "No."
 
        Anne looked at her.
 
        "I mean --"  she sighed sharply.  "I don't know.  Why?"
 
        "It's... well, my second-in-command has been pestering me and
pestering me... he's gone so far as to play tricks on me with the
Bridge station, and... he looks at me funny.  He looks like he's sizing
me up, deciding whether or not I'm worthy of his trust.  It's frightening."
 
        She paused, then realized that she hadn't answered Ensign Keyrin's
question about her psychometrics.
 
        "To change the subject a bit..." she said, "yes, I'd love to
show you the psychometric materials.  They're in my quarters." 
 
       They arrived at Anne's quarters now, and she keyed the entry to the
door.  "Great.  'Inside the mind of a ...'"  The CSO faltered.  "What *do*
you call people that use this stuff?"
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Lynnaea AelCaymarth          Masako Goto
Ens. Aelyria Keyrin          Lt. Anne Murray, Ph.D.
CSO                          CSciO
USS CHESAPEAKE NCC-31813     USS CHESAPEAKE NCC-31813
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thought for the day: Why is it that when you want your phone to stretch, 
                     the cord's stuck under your chair?  (courtesy of Erika 
                     "The Quiet One" Grunnet)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Go to messages for April 1997 or Main Archive Page