The Power Of Words

Posted on Dec 09, 2016 @ 10:56am by Ensign Sofia Andersson
Edited on on Dec 09, 2016 @ 10:56am

Mission: Aftermath

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"The Power of Words"
[previous post was "Breakfast" by the excited Shawn]
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LOCATION: USS ANUBIS
SD[2.16] 1209.0930
SCENE: Guest Quarters
Time index: Very early morning

From the window of her temporary quarters she could see EARTH and stars beyond. A grateful yet timid smile danced on the woman's lips as she took in the view and the relaxed sensation that still enveloped her like a soft, warm blanket. The bed had been oh so comfortable and the night had been more peaceful than she could remember having in a long time, but as pleasant as it all had been, it had been but a dream and nothing more.

Reality would soon come crashing through this wonderful world that she had somehow found her way into as soon as her work on understanding the ooze would be completed. She would all too soon be returned to the Versailles triage center and handed over to the local authorities, and from there who knew what her future would hold.

Sofia closed her eyes and held back her tears. There had been no use to fear what was to come. She had made several questionable decisions, as pointed out by so many, and she had to pay for the errors of her past. All that the blonde woman could do was hope that her making friends and being part of something truly greater and better than herself as she had over the last few days would not be a single, isolated occurrence.

In her naivete she had fallen for the wrong guy and through him had aligned herself with the Neo-Essentialists. From there the mistakes she made piled one on top of the other and she knew that it would take a lifetime to make even begin to make amends for what she had helped bring about. The best she could do was to focus on the present and take things one day at a time

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SCENE: Deck A-4, IGC
Time index: 30 minutes later

There was something to be said about being part of an away mission, to deal first-hand with the situations, to be part of the action right there in the trenches. That said though, the ExO / ILO could not help but feel relieved at being back in her domain, in charge and overseeing the actions in the Intel Gathering Center of the USS ANUBIS. This is where she felt most at ease and most effective in her work.

Shar'El perused the reports spread over the multiple screens set in front of her. The internal sensors had not shown anything out of the ordinary on board the ANUBIS, everyone having eventually made it back to their quarters for the night including Lieutenant Paquette and Ensign Stark who had finally been released from Sickbay.

The only notable exception had been the internal sensors picking up some sort of disturbance in Ensign Ya'Han's quarters during the night. Likely their Chief of Security had gone through a rough night for reasons that the ExO / ILO could easily imagine. Because of this Shar'El made a mental note to run into the ship's Chief of Security later that morning just to make sure that she had been alright.

The rest of the reports dealt with external matters dealing with EARTH, its current political struggles as well as the shuffling of personnel and vessels in Starfleet. As nothing stuck out as having been unusual or worthy of further investigation, the ExO / ILO fetched a PADD and placed it on top of one of the consoles.

"Computer, download 'Away Mission Report: Paris' to the device on console one.

=/\= Downloading. =/\=

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SCENE: Exo-biology Lab
Time index: 30 minutes later

Commander Shar'El walked into the lab not at all surprised to see both Maya and Sofia already hard at work on their continued research. The ExO / ILO had wanted to get an estimate on the time for completion of their work before meeting with the Captain, but her attention was diverted by the broadcasted memories of Miss Andersson.

For the next several minutes Shar'El simply listened to the woman's memories which were being kept right below the conscious surface, Sofia doing her best to focus on her work and not allow those memories to overwhelm her. The more the ExO / ILO saw, the more she needed to know in order to better understand the woman.

Shar'El had made a promise to her Captain that she would never pry into the memories of a member of the ANUBIS' crew, but Sofia had not been so protected by the vow. As the Intel Liaison Officer that she was and had always been under the tutelage of Admiral Koniki, the blonde woman's memories had been more than fair game.

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SCENE: Captain's Ready Room
Time index: 90 minutes later

"Good morning Commander," Erik said as he welcomed his First Officer into the room, two cups of steaming Risian tea sitting on his desk. "I gather the PADD contains your mission report on that underground research facility that was discovered by Ensigns Stark and Ya'Han."

"Yes Captain," Shar'El smiled as she handed the PADD in question to her Commander officer. "There is also a file on there about Miss Sofia Andersson."

"Problems?" The Captain queried, Erik wondering if Shar'El and he had made a mistake in having allowed the woman to come aboard the ANUBIS.

"No problems whatsoever Captain," the ExO / ILO quickly reassured, "I went to the ExO-Biology lab earlier this morning and saw the woman in action. By 0700 both she and Commander Maya had already resumed their work on the ooze. With them being so occupied I saw an opportunity to better understand the woman."

"You scanned her memories," Erik noted in a mixture of understanding and mild disappointment. "Well, I can't exactly blame you for doing so. If I had your abilities I probably would have done the same. So what's the final verdict?"

"She made several questionable decisions which led her to be on the wrong side of the recent conflict against the Neo-Essentialists," the ExO / ILO explained in a very emotional and empathetic tone. "The board of Inquiry who sentenced her to the Versaille triage center did so under the belief that she would be able to show her true allegiances while being made to see first hand the results of those she had associated with. I fear that her perceived crime may make it impossible for her to ever truly be able to get out of the logistic and political abyss she has found herself into."

"You believe, and I might add possibly rightfully so, that her having been a member of the Neo-Essentialist will insure that she never gets the chance she deserves to prove herself," Morningstar said, "Am I correct?"

"I do Captain," Shar'El replied with as much conviction as the Captain had ever heard in his First Officer's voice before.

"Seems that you and Maya share a certain admiration for the woman," Erik offered as he reached for another PADD and placed it next to the one Shar'El had just handed over. "I cannot make any promises but I will see what I can do."

"Maybe you could contact Captain Kane," the ExO / ILO innocently offered knowing very well that her Captain would see through her without even trying. "The USS PHOENIX has been returned to active status under his command and as of the last report I saw he was still looking for several key officers to fill the vacancies on the ship."

Erik just grinned. There was a good reason why Shar'El had been his first Officer *and* Intel Liaison Officer for the ANUBIS.

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SCENE: Exo-biology Lab
Time index: over 3 hours later

"I believe that the preliminary work has been completed beyond what would have been anyone's expectations," Commander Maya noted with pride. "We should be able to send our report later this afternoon."

"Are you certain that there is not more research that we could dom" Sofia asked, not wanting for the dream to end so soon. As much as she knew that this time would come, the blonde haired woman had still hoped that she would be able to remain in this fantasy a little while longer.

"I understand your position, but there is little more I can do," Maya stated, adding a smile to show that her words had been carefully chosen.

"More?"

"I submitted a report to captain Morningstar earlier this morning regarding your help and work on this project," the Chief Science Officer explained. "Whatever came our way, I saw how you did everything you could down in the facility. Once we came back to the ANUBIS, you continued showing your focus and dedication. Although I can guess that it was not entirely driven by a professional need to get the job done, I thought I should at the very least go on record that you have been more than a valued asset to this research."

"Thank you Commander," Sofia said on the verge of tears, these ones being of joy. "I do not know what to say?"

"Well, there is one piece missing on our report," Maya happily announced. "A name. The ooze will beyond a doubt be classified as a new organism and as such will require a name. I thought the honor should be yours."

"Commander," Sofia quickly argued against, "you outrank me not to mention that without you and the rest of the crew of the ANUBIS the survey team might not have made it back out alive, that speed demon would have likely cut us all to shreds before we knew what was happening."

"This is not a question of rank or achievement," Maya explained, "it is a matter of making sure that someone worthy gets the recognition they deserve." The Commander had wanted to say more but it would have required her going into details of the kind of work that had done under the before now unknown banner of NEW ALEXANDRIA, work that had always remained anonymous for security reasons. "I believe that it is better for everyone if your name is linked to the article that will be sure to be published in the next scientific journals."

"Again, thank you Commander," Andersson said now more than ever unable to reconcile the ideas of the Neo-Essentialists with the reality that she had been made to see. Here, a woman from an entirely different race had freely and happily gave up the honors associated with all the work they had done to instead give it to a person Sofia who still had difficulty seeing herself as having been worthy of anything in any way.

"So, what shall the name of the organism be?"

Overwhelmed with emotions the blonde woman could barely think straight. Offering to name it after the Commander would certainly be refused and could even be see as an insult for having wasted this opportunity, but still Sofia could not bring herself to name it after anything that was directly associated with her as a person. "I have an idea," she voiced after a few more seconds of heavy thinking. "Parisium, it means Paris in latin and I think it would be nice for everyone to in time be able to again look upon the city without instantly thinking of the death and desolation that was caused."

"Parisium it is," Maya so noted as she typed the name on the PADD in her hand, the Chief Science Officer more than happy to see that her confidence in the woman had not at all been misplaced. "I think we should celebrate," the Commander added thinking that the Black Hole Lounge would be the perfect location to rest, eat and acknowledge their accomplishments.

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NM:

I think this addresses all of the loose ends that I needed to take care of.

* Ooze now has a name: "Parisium" CHECK
* Sofia will be considered for a position on the PHOENIX CHECK
* Sofia has been made to again question her Neo-Essentialists views CHECK
* Sofia has also been made to want to be part of a starship family CHECK

If I missed something please let me know.

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Tiffany Reeve
Ensign Sofia Andersson
Currently sentenced to the
VERSAILLES Triage Center