From: Live Long and Prosper 
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 12:51:58 -0500 (EST)
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Launch Time and Mission (Impossible?) Briefing

SD 90415.1557
------
Bridge
------
MD 5.1330
      Fielding was rather relieved that there were two science
stations on the Bridge; it gave him an excuse to accompany his
superior officer without seeming to tag along.  He wasn't at all
sure how she would react to returning here, to the Bridge, for
the first time after the incident the day before.
      Well... he glanced at her.  She *seemed* to be all right.
Though, between yesterday morning and its mess, yesterday afternoon
and her hours-long nap, and this morning and her rather puzzling
absence, he hadn't really seen her doing all that much work in the
department since... two days ago, he realized, if that.
      This would be the testing ground, then, he thought grimly.
What a way to start.  Not even finding out how your superior officer
really operates until launch... because Fielding wasn't willing tto
believe that Anne's behavior of the past few days was typical.
That would be too cruel a joke, even for BUPERS.
		*****		*****		*****
MD 5.1345
      Running the final diagnostics, Anne felt a mild excitement
coursing through her.  They were finally on their way.  She would,
quite possibly, get a chance to gather new information, to analyze
new findings and new readings, to boldly develop theories that no
one had developed before.
      In fact, she was fairly certain that she would be able to
do all these things; it was part of the job description.  And, now
that she was on a new ship with new crew, she might even be able to
find some time to make those new theories into another scientific paper.
      As the Counselor walked onto the bridge, Anne saw Fielding stiffen 
a bit, then relax.  She smiled quietly.  Poor Fielding... what must he
be thinking of her now, after she had collapsed so magnificently before
him?  Not to mention the afternoon, not a single detail of which she 
could recall.  Fielding was no Jon Dameon, it was true; but then, had he 
been, *he* would have been the Chief Science Officer... and Derek 
Fielding was certainly better than the Rickie F. in her dream.
      She would have a talk with Fielding as soon as she could find the
time, thought Anne to herself.  She punched in some more commands, lazily
watching the *Passed* messages scroll onto the screen.  She would get
Fielding a half-frozen lime soda and tell him what a good aCSciO he was.
      As she ran her programs, she listened to the bustling on the 
Bridge.  She was mildly pleased that she couldn't see it; it would 
have made her nervous.  For now, she could concentrate on her own 
console, her own little world of science.
      Her ears pricked up as she heard the First Officer speak.
<>
"Ops," he said, facing forward, "sever all umbilicals.  Tactical, 
charge main deflector."
"Aye, sir," he heard Ensign Keyrin reply.  "Charging main 
deflector."
"All umbilicals to DELTA severed," reported th'Tellan.  "We are 
operating under our own power."
"Acknowledged," Brennan nodded.  "Secure all decks and prepare for 
departure."
<>
      Departure?  *DEPARTURE*?  For a moment, Anne forgot all about her 
mission to find new things and to boldly develop theories.  She wasn't 
feeling bold at all now; she felt numb.  *Departure*.  It sounded so... 
so.... *dinal*.  She couldn't help but think of the past four and a half 
days.  Yes, they were not the best of times; but then again, she could be 
safe in the knowledge that they would not be encountering any unknowns.
      *Unknowns?  What about the BELLEROPHON?* her mind bellowed.  Well, 
the answer to that was simple, of course; she had simply not had to 
care on that ship.  She was under Dameon's charge, she did as he 
told her to, there was no trick involved.  Just do what she did 
best, he used to tell her.  Be a scientist.  And she *had* been.  A 
*scientist*.  Now what was she?  Some kind of administraor?
      *Yes,* her mind told her.  *Now shut up and get working.*
      For once convinced that her mental conversation had resulted in 
something productive, Anne got back to work.
<>
      The CO sat back and watched carefully.  A routine procedure,
 a launch...they cleared the station in due course, impulse
 engines powering up.  After several minutes, she nodded to
 herself.  "Mr. O'Graeach, set a course for the primary Delta
 Corellis star system, heading 108 Mark 32."
 
      "Heading laid in, sir..."
 
      "Engage, warp 6."
 
      There was that moment of disorientation one always felt as a
 ship jumped into warp.  A shudder, almost, seemed to pass through
 the bridge, and then the hum seemed normal.
 
 <>
      Anne sighed slightly, regarding the display in front of her.  It 
had been only four and a half days, yet she felt as though she were 
leaving home as the ship left SB DELTA far behind.
      Her sadness dissipated quickly, however, as she begaan to 
collect data from the readings on the console.  She was in her element 
now, finally.  Collecting gratuitous -- or not so gratuitous -- 
scientific information was what she did best.  The personal mission she 
had set for herself soon reasserted itself again.  She was ready.
      Anne nodded to Fielding, and he nodded back in unspoken 
comprehension.  He would run the diagnostics, leaving her free to 
investigate, correlate, dispense of all the new information.  Most of it 
might not be useful, but some might be... and, like a compulsive gambler 
in a casino, Anne was willing to spend a lot of time and energy on the 
little bits of might-bes.
------------------
Observation Lounge
------------------
MD 5.1500
      As she entered the Observation Lounge, Anne regarded the other 
officers in the room warily.  Dr. Ledoux she knew and liked, of course; and
she gave her a surreptitious smile.  She regarded the First Officer a 
bit nervously.  She may have to speak with him soon... and not about 
the mission, either.  But she held that thought.  Business first.
      The Counselor, while she (he?) had turned out to be quite 
sympathetic (a nice change from the uninterested or downright malicious 
counselors she had known all her life), Anne was still rather embarrassed 
about trashing her office, to say nothing of... well.  She focused her 
mind again, grateful that her years in practice had kept her facial 
expression guardedly neutral while her mind played games with her.
     She averted her eyes quickly from the Flight Control Officer; she 
had a vague recollection of his presence on the Bridge the previous 
morning, when... She gave her mind a quick kick.  *Quit thinking*, she 
told it sternly.  *This is a *mission briefing*.  How can I be an 
effective scientist when I keep thinking about my personal problems?*
      Her mind had no answer for that, and Anne continued her appraisal 
of her crewmates.  Ensign Gann and First Lieutenaant Shachor she had not 
met yet; she instinctively kept a bit of a distance, but hoped that they 
would turn out to be all right.  In any case, they must both be competent 
enough officers; the engines were operating quite normally, and she 
hadn't heard any complaints about the Marines.
      Commander th'Tellan was still a mystery to her.  He and his theory 
of sanity and insanity were rather interesting, to say the least.  He had 
done all right during the launch, however, and she supposed that he *was* 
a capable Operations Manager after all... even if he did give her rather 
a turn.
      Captain Bell looked about as cold as a Vulcan, Anne decided.  She 
admired her cool... *collectedness*.  She had left rather quickly the day 
before from the Science department; Anne hoped that she had not managed 
to annoy her.  In any case, the Captain was an officer first, a person 
second, from what she had read.  She need not fear that any annoyance 
would carry over to assignment of responsibilities.
      Ensign Keyrin, though, was another story.  Yes, Anne thought rather 
sadly, she *had* blown it with Aelyria.  Anne only hoped that the Security 
Officer would find it in her heart to forgive her for whatever injury she 
had caused.
      With those thoughts tumbling through her mind, Anne sat down at her 
place, waiting for the mission briefing to begin.
      As the Captain, then the First Officer, began to speak, Anne 
listened attentively, her problems forgotten.  This was most 
interesting... a land dispute over... what?  A hunk of rock?  She 
supposed that there might be more to it than that... and was not 
surprised when the Captain began to delegate duties.
<>
      "We arrive in just about seven days," Bell suddenly said. 
 "It falls to us to facilitate the negotiations and to keep an eye
 on the disputed territory.  Commander th'Tellan," she looked
 suddenly to the Romulan, "will be the one for science, security,
 and engineering to co-ordinate with on the latter.  I want as
 much information on those planetoids as we can gather as soon as
 we are within range."
 
<>
      Anne nodded, acknowledging the assignment.  Her mind immediately 
began to work out some avenues of inquiry that she might take even before 
they were due to arrive within range of the planetoids.  As she thought 
about it, questions began to form in her mind.  She listened to the 
Captain's further delegations of duty until she heard the magic words 
asking for questions.
      After the MCO had posed his questions, and after he had received 
the reply, Anne raised her own queries.  Perhaps not as relevant as 
Shachor's; but she felt that she needed to know what she was dealing 
with before she got to the planetoids in question.
      "Sir," she said, "what will be the likely trend in their scientific 
system and knowledge should their application to beoome members of the 
Federation be accepted?  Or, conversely, what will be the likely trend if 
their application is *not* accepted?"
Respectfully submitted,
Masako Goto
Lt. Anne Murray, Ph.D.
CSciO
USS CHESAPEAKE NCC-31813
<>
All: Okay, this is what Anne was thinking while the whole thing was going 
     on... and in case you're wondering, thoughts take much less time
     than it takes to read.  :)
Amy: Sorry if the question is rather irrelevant, but Anne *would* insist 
     on asking something like that... :|
Takako: I think you know about what she's going to be seeing Brennan...
Melvin: th'Tellan is a cool guy, but Anne still thinks he's rather 
        strange.  ;)
Michael: If you've any ideas about how Gann and Murray might meet up, I'm 
         open to ideas.... haven't seen a post from you in a while.  Looking 
         forward to hearing what Engineering's been like!
Lynnaea: *You* know, and *I* know, that Keyrin and Anne are going to be 
         okay... but I didn't think Anne would know that.  ;)
Fabian: You realize, of course, that Anne is going to be *quite* upset 
        about the lab bunny... 
Chris: Whatever else happens, I am hoping that Anne would still be able 
       to smile at Catherine without getting her head bitten off... ;)
James: Just couldn't resist inserting the ambiguity regarding Stavay's 
       gender... and yes, Anne's been thinking a lot.  Maybe *too* much. :)
Naomi: Well... she's kind of shy of men, as I mentioned earlier, so... 
       please don't take her attiude toward Shachor personally.  :)
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Thought for the day: Why do children insist that they want to be adults 
                     when the adults insist that they want to be children?
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