=/\= Briefing Room =/\= Athena hated all the waiting around for people to arrive for the briefing meetings; so she waited until the last moment and walked in right on the dot. She smiled politely as she walked in. She noticed a couple of faces that she only recognized from the new crew padds she had been familiarizing herself with as an introduction back into work. Upon hearing a couple of the newest rumors Athena avoided eye contact with the general at the head of the table. Her attention was first directed to the man sitting at the foot of the table. She took in his stiff posture and ignored the sense of foreboding that washed through her. She slid into the only empty seat which happened to between Lt. McTaggert and Major Walsh. She gave them each a bright smile as she ignored the underlying tension every that seemed to be laying some where under the surface there. Athena's gaze then fell across the table to the woman sitting across from her; although Athena's expression never changed she felt a sense of being lied to and nobody had said a thing, yet. She sat back in her chair and listened to the introductions while the plates were set on the table. Athena gave a small nod to each as they were introduces. {Interesting.} The single word passed through her mind as with the new information she had picked up in the generals brief introduction. Athena was happy to note that the tension between the two men on either side of her disappeared as soon as the information on the new mission started. She looked at the plate in front of her and gave a small sigh one of the things that had returned was her appetite. She gave another small sigh and concentrated on what Lt. Foster was now saying. Athena plucked a grape from here plate and put it in her mouth to avoid smirking when the general offered his flying services in the next mission. She was sure Shane would be less than pleased and mention something to the general later. It would be a lot easier if the XO would just shake his head and except it. The general has always been a man of action, you can't expect him to sit on the back burner this late in the game. Athena listened to the rest of what the general had to say and sat back to settle in while the others had their say. As the engineering Lt. started her mind began to wonder a bit. As the techno babble became a little more than Athena could concentrate on she looked around the table and noticed how almost every one had their favorite beverage. She noticed how Shane's and the generals were sitting fairly close together and switched them as the engineer's report continued. Then inch by inch she moved the mug in front of Keylor until it was close to Rangi's. She switched the mugs and then slid Rangi's across until she could exchange it for the one in front of Shane. She smiled as no on seemed to notice the mugs that were playing the shell game at the head of the table. The General would never know that she switched drinks as his was in front of him again. She wondered how Rangi would respond when she found green tea instead of hot chocolate in the mug in front of her and vice versa for Shane. As the engineer finished she resisted the urge to applaud. Athena sat next to the enginner and all eye fell onto her next she smiled and said, "Morale seems to be pickking up at the thought of leaving the base." She gave a look to the CMO. As the next person went Athena concentrated half on what was being said and half on moving things around the table. She remembered how Rangi asked her to keep track of how she felt when doing so. After switching Andersen's nearly empty plate with Samantha's nearly full one, she noted that she felt fine. She moved Harker's spoon over by Oriana and his fork over by Jack as she studied the man's stern unmoving features in his face and his stiff positioning as if he was always on alert. The reports were almost over and Athena looked down the table and took in a small smile that passed over the general's face. Athena's focus fell on the place setting of Sean's. She watched the grapes and imagined them dancing around his plate. As the last report was being made Athena concentrated on the plate beside her and wondered how she could make the grapes dance around the engineers plate. She watched as one grape rolled off and then another followed. Athena decided she really couldn't have the grapes danceing around the plate and settled for just having them roll off the plate. Athena had another grape roll on to the table. She had a fourth grape rolling to the edge when McTaggert picked up his fork to stab the grape that was now at the edge of his plate. With grapes being how they are (round); the engineer missed and one of the grapes flew down the table and hit Harker in the face. The silence that followed was almost deafening and the brief look from the general told Athena there was a talk somewhere in her future. She sat patiently listening to the rest of the meeting without another word and made a quick exit as soon as they were dismissed. =/\= End Log =/\= Lt. Athena Wellington Counselor USS Chimera