You've Cat to be Kidding Me
Posted on Thu Dec 5th, 2019 @ 12:56am by Executive Officer Jake Ford & Executive Officer Valiyi Uhin
Mission:
Mission 10 - Temperance
Location: XO's Office
Timeline: MD -01 : 1540 Hrs
1480 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure
Despite having been around the Rosie for at least a couple of weeks since they'd left Daucina, and everything that entailed, for some reason Jake's path had never really crossed with the ship's first officer. His initial dealings and those that followed had mostly been with Gregnol, and for whatever reason he'd not had a chance to meet her properly outside of making brief eye contact across a conference table.
It hadn't been until Jake had reviewed personnel files that he'd clocked why her name was familiar; his brother Jack's previous assignment had been the USS Fargo, which meant they had probably overlapped at some point. Maybe his brother had mentioned her or something, Jake figured. Either way, he was open to meeting her more informally.
Buzzing on her door intercom, Jake waited to be permitted entry.
The door slid open without warning, revealing a large, vibrantly-colored cat-like creature, which was thrust into Jake's arms before he could get a word or reaction in. The giver of said strange beast took two steps back, smoothing out her hair and clothing before getting a good look at the creature. It had come to her in a package (with appropriate airholes) during their trip to Daucina, and Valiyi would have had her chance to open it... if it had not been opened by a wily little Mahone child two weeks prior.
The creature settled in Jake's arms, releasing a loud rumble of a purr. Valiyi huffed. "It was about time I had found the blasted thing in my office. I thought I would have had to call you in to help me find it... Ford, yes?"
"Uh..." Jake peered out between ears and a tail that had already started whipping his face. "If you needed pet control, I'm sure we could've used a tricorder..." he flinched as the tail caught him in one eye. "...or a phaser..."
"No, he was a gift." Valiyi insisted, as the creature purred into Jake's shoulder. "It would have been an interesting way to meet you, that was for sure. Please, do come in, and... if it does manage to do something more than what it is doing, I might have answers as to what it is so we know how to subdue it."
Jake found himself bending - almost bowing over - as the animal mounted his shoulders and started to curl up around the back of his neck. He managed to work himself carefully into the room. "What even is this thing? Please tell me it's not venomous or carnivorous or something..."
"Venomous? No." Valiyi reached over to scritch behind the creature's ears. "She's an experimental creature that was saved from an illegally run colony outside of ... somewhere in Ferengi space, I assume. I wrote a paper on the diplomatic travesty of said colony, which helped one of the environmental activist groups in the area take down... it is a long story." She stopped herself. "At the end of the day, he's not venomous and while he is carnivorous, I've been informed he won't eat the flesh of anyone aboard the ship. Unless we have mice."
"R-right..." Jake cringed. "I guess I should be asking if you have a permit or whatever we use on board for possibly hazardous...whatever this is. Then again, I don't know if permits are even a thing on the Rosie..." he said, unsure about trying to extract it from his shoulders.
"They're not, Mister Ford." Valiyi pointed out frankly. She made a small noise between her teeth, and the creature's head lifted off of Jake's shoulder, turning toward the woman. It climbed off of the man's shoulders and towards Valiyi, sniffing her hair before settling in a similar manner around her arms. "... There. Now we can talk."
Jake brushed at his shoulders, trying and failing to remove the lingering fluff and hair. "Thanks." He hoped he wasn't allergic. "So if the animal wasn't what you wanted to talk to me about, what was it you had in mind?" he asked.
"Well don't be silly, neither of us have time to chase each other down in this ship of wayward souls and monstrous wild children, so I thought I'd make it official," Valiyi pointed out, gesturing toward the mismatched lavish seats of the office. As she went to sit herself, she repositioned the creature to sit in her lap, which it seemed to do willingly. "I simply wanted to know if you were adjusting well enough."
"As well as can be expected," Jake replied, taking a seat. "It's different from Starfleet, if that's what you mean. Probably not wildly different from a few other ships I've worked on. The people are about right." He eyed the animal momentarily. "Wayward souls probably about covers it."
"I'm trying to be nice." Valiyi stated plainly. It was clear she had a frustration, but she didn't want to voice it to the man in front of her, who was nice enough to not run in the face of the wild-eyed creature between them. "One dishonorable discharge has colored my opinion enough, I suppose. But good. I'm glad you're settled in well enough. Our last Armory Officer... he had a very different take on the world. Not a bad one... just... different."
"Everyone's different," Jake shrugged a little. "I've worked a lot of places, seen a lot of different types of folks. People from different cultures and backgrounds. They've all got their own take on things. Anyone else you're particularly worried about?"
"Well, he also had a shuttle that he was quite attached to, but that's neither here nor there." Valiyi scritched under the creature's chin, to which the creature responded with a purr and curl of the tail. It's eyes rested on Jake, lazily observing him from it's spot. "I don't know if 'worry' is the correct word. I'm worried for the safety of everyone, what with what's around every corner of this vessel. But I'm alarmed at how quickly a couple of our... newer arrivals have just been able to mix themselves into the crew without any issue. Not everyone, of course. Wayward souls are simply that, but we've just come out of an alternate reality. Someone who seems to have keen knowledge of that reality appearing and magically waving a wand and making it better? That deserves a bit of explanation..."
"Some people are good with people," Jake noted. "Take it from me, the crew doesn't just 'welcome' new folks without a little bit of a...hazing...first." He rubbed his chin, recalling a few of the pranks his team had pulled on him the first few days. "I keep hearing rumours of this 'alternate reality' from some of the crew. Sounds like it put the wind up a few people. Now I imagine the ones that needed it have had counselling, but I get the sense that you're maybe bothered about it in other ways?"
Valiyi couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I feel like I'm back in the Academy again, and that's the last place I want to be." She took to setting the creature down at their feet as she stood and walked to her desk. "I've done a bit of rummaging around, asking old contacts if they've heard anything odd about certain crew members. Your predecessor was one, purely out of curiosity... but this. This is odd."
She plucked a PaDD off her desk, handing it to Jake. The file displayed was that of former petty officer Alika Mahone. "This file should not read like this if she's currently on the ship, wouldn't you agree?"
Jake scanned through it. "Yeah, I'd say...wait-" He looked up at Valiyi. "You mean this person here is actually alive, here on board?"
"She is. Alive, on board, and apparently knows the ins and outs of the ship more than Captain Gregnol does." Valiyi pointed out. "She has a history with the ship and ... what's left of the original crew. But it stands to reason that there is something amiss here, but she's been terribly quiet about the whole thing."
"And then it would stand to reason that I should keep an eye on her..." Jake noted, echoing her phrasing. "Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'll let you know what I find."
"Good good." Valiyi fell silent, about to offer to the man a drink and further discussion, when the alien creature leapt off her lap and darted further into her office. "... Oh dear. Perhaps we can continue discussion at another time?"
"Yes. Another time." Jake recoiled a little as the creature skipped away. Standing, he nodded once at Valiyi. "Thanks for the chat. I'll try not to leave it too long next time."
Valiyi Uhin
Second Officer
SS Mary Rose
Jake Ford
Chief Armoury Officer
SS Mary Rose
