"Meanwhile, back at the lab..."

[Annabelle O'Halloran 0]

Anna left the bridge. Dominick and Tobias were working on the final transmissions sent from the buoy before it stopped relaying and she was hoping they would be able to easily see what it was, that it would be innocuous and they could just backtrack and relaunch. She entered the lab and went immediately to a workstation and logged in. She brought up the original schematics that Tobias had worked on and keyed on possible problem areas.

 

Tobias entered only a few minutes after her. While he could of done his work on the bridge, having the full range of testing devices in the lab would speed things up. That, and the entire department had been on the bridge, and being that he wasn't fan of that place, he decided to let someone else have the pleasure of working with the big shots.

 

Glancing away from the screen, Anna looked enquiringly at Tobias as he came in. "Find anything?" She asked hopefully, although his expression didn't look any too promising.

 

"No, not yet." He frowned slightly, and moved next to her, observing her work. "Any luck on your end?"

 

She angled the screen so he could see it easily, shaking her head, as she answered, "Nope, nothing. I brought up the schematics you worked on---I know you did some modifications and I'm just looking for, or let's just say I'm hoping to find a possible glitch, but for a biologist I make a pretty lousy engineer." She shot him a smile and then leaned back in the seat. "How about you take a look?"

 

"I doubt that there is a fault with my programming, but I'll take a look." He leaned into a console, looking over the code programming of the buoy.

 

"Oh, I doubt very much there's a fault with your programming," Anna agreed easily, "but they do have a small percentage of failure and maybe it would be a good idea for you to find out what that failure usually entails and then try reprogramming it as a possible fix?"

 

He raised a brow towards her, wondering if she usually had such a gift for words. "Agreed. I am looking now, but until we know the physical cause, the logical one will be hard to determine."

 

"I'm just looking at all our options, Tobias. It may end up that we go all the way back and drag the thing back into the cargo bay, give it a good talking to and then send it back out with a second chance to prove itself." She looked at him, gauging his reaction, before continuing quietly, "We have the resources and time to try several different approaches and my personal opinion, no matter what Commander Murray says is, that it's probably a glitch, however..." Anna paused, her eyes gleaming with humor, "I have to admit, though I will deny it if you repeat it to him, Commander Murray is often, and quite aggravatingly correct. We could very well be looking at Gorn interference. If so, then well, it's up to the Captain where the line is drawn. Our job is to exhaust every possibility it's in our power to explore and if that means you get to try reprogramming from a distance, so be it."

 

"Yes. The Gorn would seem to have little to gain by this course of action, but they've been proven to march to the beat of their own drum." He smirked, always enjoying that human saying. He paused to consider the variables, before taking a deep breath and sighing. "At least it doesn't smell in here anymore."

 

"The Gorn aren't big traders, so I'm not familiar with them," Anna replied absently, and with some regret. "My family mostly trades in the Alpha Quadrant so I'd never heard much about them till they were covered at the Academy, and even then, I was more interested in their physiology than their politics." She gave Tobias a puzzled look and sniffed the air, before asking him, "What do you mean it smelled?"

 

He shook his head at the memory. "Some clueless Lieutenant was running chemical tests in here earlier and flooded the labs with noxious gas. I informed him of the need for safety protocols." He turned from the console towards Anna. "So, your family are merchants?"

 

"Yes, they are," Anna replied, giving him a measured look and recalling at almost the same instant, Dominick Pneuma's complaint about a pushy ensign. "Tobias, are you referring to Lt. Pneuma?"

 

"I believe so. I'd never met him before, but a couple crewmen identified him as such."

 

"You're going to learn, if you haven't already that I don't stand on ceremony," Anna began quietly. "But Tobias, you are an ensign, no matter that there is some bright and shiny brass in your Host history. If you have a problem with a higher ranking officer, then I want to know about it." She met his gaze with a level one of her own. "But, It's not appropriate for you to insult any officer or crew member, and I'm sure I don't need to remind you that Lt. Pneuma is a ranking officer. He has more time in rank than I do and though you aren't privy to the information in his file, he is an exemplary officer and an asset to this department, just as you are."

 

"As you wish. However, I should state that my intent was not to insult the Lieutenant. I recognize his seniority over me, but that does not make him immune to errors. I thought it prudent to address the situation with him. Had the mixture been more...noxious there would have been a risk to the lab crew." There was no malice on his face, but he met her gaze with a very serious tone. "I apologize for stepping beyond my place. In the future, I'll consult such issues with you."

 

"I hope that you do, Tobias. I trust and depend on your judgment, she said, her expression softening as she nodded, accepting his concern over possibly ignored safety protocols as genuine. "We do work with hazardous materials and you're right...the lab is no place for carelessness." She smiled wryly, meeting his eyes, "It's not as if serving upon the Reaent isn't already living dangerously enough."

 

"Yes, many of the crew have told me what's considered exciting on this ship." A small grin formed. "It's another reason I chose my posting here. Hopefully I'll run into something I've never seen."

 

"Ah, Tobias," Anna's eyes gleamed with humor and just a little of the fearful superstition she'd been raised with. "Haven't you ever heard, Be careful what you wish for?"