Lt Commander Samantha Palmer Mission Specialist USS Chimera NCC 96899 = Conference Room Samantha listened intently to the reports from the different departments. She also watched the officers closely, memorising their names and faces. While some of the other officers were enjoying their lunch, she had hardly touched her plate. Her concentration was focused on the meeting and she felt rather tense and not very much hungry. Occasionally she glanced at Nicolas, who sat upright and listening attentively to what everyone was saying; he didn’t appear to pay her much attention. Relations in the room seemed to be strained, and Samantha didn’t need to be an empath to sense that. When McTaggert the engineer sat down after giving his report, he gave her a look that spoke volumes. She quickly looked away and brushed at a stray strand of hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught McTaggert jabbing at a grape when it defiantly flew across the table. Samantha watched in astonishment as the grape headed directly for Nicolas. It hit him in the left eye and then landed squarely. He frowned slightly then nonchalantly picked up the grape and popped it into his mouth. “Hmmm, tasty,” he replied with a grin while everyone laughed nervously. “Sorry,” McTaggert muttered, seeming greatly embarrassed. “All right, Commander Palmer, would you give us some more detail about Marsh and the Gott, please?” Bretam asked when all the officers had completed their reports. Samantha nodded and rose from her chair. “As many of you know, the Marsh is quite a dangerous area of space. It is filled with all sorts of anomalies, most notable temporal anomalies. The prototype technology that is currently being installed on the Chimera will help us navigate through the Marsh, measuring the temporal interference and making sure that we remain unaffected by it. Captain Harker has recently returned from the Marsh, and since he knows the region very well has been assigned for this mission to help us navigate through the anomalies. “The USS Gott was conducting experiments with a type of technology that allows the ship to create a window into the past. It is called temporal viewing. Without going into too much detail, the technology utilises the ideal conditions of the Marsh. The Gott crew were making good progress until they were ambushed by the X’Chi, and it’s of great importance that the research be recovered so that the project may continue.” Samantha nodded to the General and sat back down. Glancing at her plate, she noticed it was almost empty, but didn’t remember take a bite at all. The General said a few more words then dismissed the meeting. “That went rather well,” Nicolas said in a low voice as the exited the conference room. “Extremely,” Samantha replied mockingly. “You better have that eye checked for bruising.” “I might just. Sickbay has the most gorgeous staff. Have you met them?” “Oh, I keep postponing my physical,” she replied as they stepped into the turbolift, remembering that she needed to make a new appointment with the CMO. “I don’t think Dr Summers is very impressed with me.” As the turbolift doors closed, Nicolas casually placed a hand on the small of her back. She glanced over at him, but he kept his eyes fixed on the door while he asked the computer to stop at Deck 3. When the turbolift stopped and the doors opened, she expected him to get out with her, but he remained behind. “Aren’t you coming?” she asked. “I want to stop by Astrometrics,” he said. “I need to give them the updated star charts.” “Oh,” Samantha said. “I’ll see you later then.” Nicolas smiled at her and the turbolift doors closed. Samantha continued on to her quarters, eager to take a nap and just get some rest. She wondered why Nicolas had placed his hand on her back. Maybe he was just being friendly. And the kiss on the cheek earlier? Was it a compliment when he told her she still looked the same after a decade? Shaking her head she continued on to her quarters and went inside. The best was to try and not think about these things. She was just overanalysing actions that held no significant meaning. If things continued this way and she felt uncomfortable, she could ask him to try and be more professional. Yes, that’s what I’ll do, she thought to herself and stepped inside her quarters. = -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.1/28 - Release Date: 2005/06/24