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"Getting Closer"
[Previous post: "Out Of Reach"]
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Setting: USS SPHINX
Stardate: 63073.2210

The mobile command unit swerved through the asteroid field under the expert piloting of Ensign Thomas as he followed the tracking signal from the transport ship.  With all of his attention focused on that task alone everyone had remained silent so as to not distract the ANUBIS' COO.

With her heart jumping each time the ship flew by a moving asteroid large enough to turn them into a pile of floating debris, the aCMO had decided to retreat to the back section and take care of something she had wanted to do for a while.

"So," the Betazoid grinned as she watched the Kerelian shed her betrothal dress.  "You're not planning on getting married."

Adriana sighed before she chuckled, rushing to put her Starfleet Uniform back on.  "I due hope to get married," the aCMO replied.  "One day, but not as a Kerelian and definitively not with anyone that was down on that rock."

"Don't be so harsh in your judgment," Mortina added, a gentle smile having formed on her lips as she turned to look at the Efrosian priest who had remained at the front of the SPHINX.  "For every hundred of questionable individuals in that trade center, there is at least one worth some attention."

Felling far more comfortable now that she had been back in her uniform, Ensign Lopez tilted herhead to see past the standing Betazoid and confirm whom she had been looking at.  "Isn't Ojall a little old?" Adriana pointed out guessing that the Efrosian had been in his late 50s or early 60s.

"It is not the age of the body that counts," the Betazoid replied in a dreamy voice.  "It's the strength of the soul that matters.  Over time the body fails, but the soul only grows stronger, and his is remarkable.

"I'm guessing that being a Betazoid gives you a unique perspective into other people," the aCMO said while looking at the two Kzinti hunters standing next to one another and still managing to appear galaxies apart.  "Looking into someone deepest thoughts and even their proverbial soul can give you a unique insight into someone."

"I never go looking into anyone's thoughts or soul," Mortina quickly said in her defense as she snapped back to look at the aCMO.  "At least not without their permission and knowledge, but there is something different about Ojall and I felt it the moment he came to my rescue."

"Your rescue?" Adriana gasped.

I had been held captive by some unknown individual who I suspected wanted to either use my telepathic abilities or get information from me," Mortina explained rather quickly as if she had wanted to forget the event as soon as the words had crossed her lips.  "He came to my rescue and brought me back to that temple, and during all that time his mind had been wide open.  No secrets, not hidden agenda, not even a passing thought about who I was or what reason he needed to have to rescue me other than I needed it."

"Sounds very selfless," the aCMO said in admiration of the man she didn't really know, yet the Betazoid's words rang oddly accurate based on what the Ensign had seen thus far of the Efrosian priest.

"There is a generosity about him that seems boundless," the Betazoid continued, her voice having changed from dreamy to mesmerize.  Adriana grinned and wished that Eve had been here to see this, as a ship's Counselor Ensign Dalziel would have likely had a field day with the Betazoid's enthrallment with the Efrosian.

"Brace yourselves!" Elliot called out as the SPHINX was sent into a hard, sharp turn to avoid impacting against a rapidly moving asteroid. Mortina and Adriana found themselves plastered to one of the walls of the rear section and before either one of them had been able to get back onto their feet, the Efrosian priest had appeared and offered a helping hand, one that the Betazoid accepted with joy as well as flustered red cheeks.

Adriana sighed once more at the romantic air that had filled the room despite the situation, one that had likely been about to become much worst thanks to the fact that Hex had been thrown onto Grex following the COO's emergency maneuver.

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Marissa Montonera-Lombardi (mmlm24@gmail.com)

Ensign Adriana Lopez
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS