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"Something Old, Something New"
(Cont. from "New Mission")
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Office of the CSciO
Stardate: 63077.1430

It felt weird.  To be in this office without Maya had already been something that she had never done before, but to know that this had not become *her* office had left the Asian woman somewhat baffled.

Aki grinned as she ran her finger over the new pip that had been placed on her collar.  Lieutenant Junior Grade Mitshiba, Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS, there was a nice ring to it.

The sound of the door chime made Aki spun around to face the door before she granted access to whoever had been on the other side.  When the door opened, the new CSciO was happy to see the ship's COO standing there.

"What brings you here?" Aki asked, not at all displeased by ET's presence.

"Just wanted to congratulate you on your promotions," the COO said as he stepped into the office to let the door close behind him.

"You got a promotion as well, unless I dreamt that part of the meeting," the Lieutenant said with a smile as she ran her finger over the pip that had been placed on the COO's collar.

"Good, so we can both congratulate each other," ET said as he reached for Aki's hand and pulled her closer to him so that he could wrap his arms around her and embrace the Asian woman as the two of them shared a passionate kiss.

When the kiss finally ended, Aki found her legs had become rather weak and she was forced to lean back against her desk.  "If we go through 17 days of this, I might be able to give the Captain a new theory as to how memories are genetically transferred from one person to another," the CSciO said jokingly.

"Speaking of which," ET said as he joined Aki on the edge of the desk.  "Guess I'm missing something here, mind explaining to me what this *genetic memory transfer* is all about?"

Aki grinned.  "Very few races have the ability to transfer their memories to their offspring during gestation.  This means that the child is born with the memories, knowledge and experiences of both their parents.  Think about it a little like a Trill symbiont, as they go from host to host they gather their memories from the time they were merged.  Genetic memory transfer goes beyond that, allowing the child to access the memories of not only their parents, but also their grandparents and great grandparents, and so on.  On a purely social aspect, this allows the next generation to have full knowledge of what the previous generations experienced without having to learn it."

"Sounds overwhelming to me," ET said.  "I could not imagine having the memories of my parents and grandparents in here," the COO continued as he tapped the side of his head.  "I wouldn't know who I am."

"This concept is strange for us, but to a race that has seen this for countless generations, it would be second nature to them," Akira pointed out.  "Their society would work on a completely different level as there are few secrets since a child would know all that their parents and their parents' parents knew."

"Yeah," ET began, his voice having shifted to being far more serious. "So imagine what a race like the Romulans would be able to accomplish if they could access the memories of anyone they wanted, especially members of races that are already able to do this."

"That would be why this mission is so important and why we cannot afford to fail," Aki said as she matched ET's serious tone of voice.

"Well then, I will let you get back to your work and I will get back to mine," the COO said as he rose to his feet.  "Think you will be available for dinner, tonight say around 2000.  By that time we will be well inside Romulan space and should be able to relax for an hour or so."

"I would be honored," Aki replied, adding the customary Asian bow of respect.

"See you then," Et concluded before he left the office and the new CSciO alone to her work and thoughts.

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Dawn Bohr
Lieutenant JG Akira 'Aki' Mitshiba
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS