Thirty Seconds in the Turbolift

[Samantha_Kent 0]

Sam headed out of the science lab and into the nearest turbolift, wondering vaguely what Lt. Eagle had called a science officer to the bridge for. Her mind wasn’t exactly on whatever crisis had pulled them off the planet – she was entirely consumed with thinking about the small statuette they had managed to bring with them. She and Lieutenant Daena and Ensign Gault had found the thing to be of beautiful design, complex and completely unrelated to the people currently living on the planet – if that wasn’t support for Professor Jones’s theory on the mysterious empire she was researching, Sam didn’t know what was. It didn’t prove anything, of course, but it was certainly grounds for further study.

 

It was enormously satisfying to have finally gotten off that prison planet and actually be doing the job that she had trained to do. There was no question that being trapped down on Axrekrav had been good team-building; she had gotten to know her fellow officers very well very quickly, and she certainly felt more comfortable aboard this ship than she might have as a fresh new officer with only some calmer mission to deal with. Nevertheless, she did not want to spend her entire Starfleet career locked in barracks on planets where ten below was balmy. She wanted to learn things, she wanted to make discoveries. Or at least…

 

Sam sighed. “Bridge!” she said softly, and leaned against the bulkhead of the turbolift, straightening her uniform as the ‘lift hummed its way upwards.

 

She didn’t know how much of an impression Brian thought his words had made on her during their last conversation. But they had made her think…a lot. "I didn't ask what you wanted to do...I asked what you want to be…you aren't just a scientist...there has to be more you desire."

 

What was she beyond her uniform?

 

Clearly Brian and Malik both saw something there that she hadn’t even quite seen herself, and she wasn’t sure if she found that flattering or nervewracking. She wasn’t exactly afraid of their attention, but sooner or later she would have to make a choice, and there was no way that everyone involved in that decision would end up happy. Sam grimaced. She was awkward and hesitant when it came to love anyway; she didn’t like the fact that she was almost guaranteed to hurt or even lose one of her friends in the process. And so instead she was, no doubt, leading both of them on and being utterly unfair to all three of them. This couldn’t go on…she had to make a choice, and soon.

 

But not quite yet… she thought with a small smile as the doors slid open and she stepped out onto the bridge. Right now, I’ve got archeological puzzles to solve.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Samantha_Kent