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"Friendly Confrontation"
[previous post was "Downloading"]
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Setting: USS ANUBIS, Corridor outside the Counselor's office
Stardate: 30149.1715

"What the heck is her problem?" the Chief of Operations asked as he pointed an accusing digit towards the Chief Engineering Officer who had been busy well beyond the woman standing in his way and the now closing door of the Counselor's office.

"She's busy, she's on edge and they are *all* doing their best," Ya'Han replied as she kept Jayson at arm's length.  The last thing any of them had needed had been any sort of confrontation, physical or otherwise.  As Chief of Security it had been her duty to maintain the peace, and this had been the best way to accomplish this.

"Their best? In what?" the Chief of Operations demanded in a rage of frustration.  "I was dismissed and even insulted multiple times by... by... by that..."

"Chief Engineer," the black haired woman quickly said to avoid Jayson saying something that he might end up regretting.  That he might not like it, the fct had been that the head of the Engineering department did outrank him.  "I agree that Lieutenant Paquette as a unique way with words, but right now her efforts are focused on helping our ILO get through this in one piece if at all possible."

"Which brings me to my next point," the Chief of Operations said in complete exasperation as he crossed his arms over his chest.  "What *is* going on in there?  What the heck requires the ship's Counselor, Assistant Chief Medical Officer, Chief Engineer and Chief of Security to be working all around the Intel Officer?"

"I had just walked in, but that is not the point.  As you know, Ensign Shar'El was linked to the machine that was found in the underground of the moon," Ya'Han began, glad to see that Jayson seemed actually willing to listen.  "Somehow, the ILO gained memories and or knowledge from that machine, memories and or knowledge that could prove to be highly valuable, hence why they are trying to download them into the ship's computer.  Lieutenant Paquette had brought a portable memory component but it was quickly discovered that it lacked the capacity required for this to work."

"You don't *download* someone's memories into a computer," the OPS officer said matter-of-factly, his frustration having surfaced once again, even if only partially, "and even if you could, why hijack half of the available computer memory?  It's not like you are trying to access a galactic repository of knowledge."

"Well," the Chief of Security continued, hoping that the explanation would appease the Chief of Operations, "the downloading aspect is why Lieutenant Dalziel, Lieutenant Paquette and Doctor Seska are involved.  The need for the computer memory is because there seem to be a whole lot of information crammed in Ensign's Shar'El's head.  Remember, that machine was designed to collect data from everywhere, so in a way you could say that it was a sort of galactic repository of knowledge.  That said, I will admit that I do not fully understand every little bit that is going on in there, but I do know this; Shar'El thought it important enough to make a big deal out of this and in return everyone else has come in to help and work to the best of their skills and abilities.  I think the best we can do is to give them the time and support they need instead of demanding answers to questions that would likely be well off target."

"How do you expect me to justify this to Captain Morningstar when he asks about this," Jayson demanded, his frustration having slowly diminished through the lengthy explanation.  "Trust me, he will ask and it will be my neck on the line for having allowed it to happen.  What if the ship becomes inoperational because of all this?"

"There is no way for any of us to know what will happen," Ya'Han said calmly, trying to reason with Jayson.  "All we can do is to evaluate the situation and do our best to deal with it.  Sooner or later we all make decisions that we will come to regret, but what we need to do is learn from them and move on.  Whatever happens I know that we will be able to fix things and move on." The Chief of Security paused for a moment, trying to see if her words had actually made a difference in the man's position.  "Being part of Starfleet means that we will take chances from time to time, and this seems to be one of those times.  We have to try and see where it leads us."

=/\= Bridge to Ensign Stark. =/\=

"Go ahead," the Chief of Operations replied unenthusiastically as he tapped his comm badge.

=/\= The information download into our computer has actually increased. Should we terminate the link and purge the affected data storage banks? =/\=

Ya'Han took a single step forward, closing the gap between her and Jayson.  "They need our help and support on this, there is no way to know what we will actually walk away with unless we try," the black haired woman whispered, hoping to convince the man that leaving things as is had been the right thing to do.

"No," Stark replied after a few seconds, "let the download continue and make sure that all available memory is made accessible.  We may have to clean up the mess afterwards, but for the time being we'll just have to wait and see what happens.  Stark out."

"Thank you," the black haired woman said, adding a genuine smile of appreciation.  "I know we are doing the right thing."

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Hanali Han

Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501