The Amazing Stan

Posted on Wed Nov 20th, 2019 @ 4:22pm by Chief Helmsman Eden Bowers & Captain Rueben Gregnol

Mission: Mission 10 - Temperance
Location: USS Temperance, Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 05 21:00
995 words - 2 OF Standard Post Measure

Having coaxed the little guy out from behind the console which was basically a big ball of wires at this point while they worked to figure out the status of the ship they'd come across. Eden held the spider in her hand finally. "See, I wasn't going to hurt you. I bet you're scared silly, all these people came in here and interrupted your nice nap." She held it up closer to her face so she could see it's eyes. "I think I'm going to call you Stan. You're rather cute you know."

"It really is not cute." A soft voice called from behind Eden. The Captain stood there looking at the woman holding the huge spider in her hands like it was a kitten or something just as loveable. What was it with this woman?

"Don't tell me you've subscribed to the hysteria? If you got close enough to see the fuzziness and the big eyes I think you'd change your mind. If you could get past the eight legs." Eden smiled at him. "Spiders are incredibly helpful, they eat bugs that are harmful to us and they're actually very shy."

The man just stared at her emotionless as he tried to work out if he was hearing her correctly. "They do not belong on ships or being that size. You nearly killed of our new Chief Engineer as he thought it was Talarian hook spider. Engineers are hard to come by." Replied the Captain as he crossed the bridge now that everyone else had left to go look elsewhere for things to do or to sleep.

"Well that part is true, I don't know how it got on a starship, but still. He's not going to hurt anyone and it's not his fault or mine that the Burnie is scared of spiders. Stan wasn't going to hurt him. He was only interested in running away and staying alive. If I hadn't pulled him out Burnie might have lit the whole bridge on fire."


Gregnol was pretty sure the Engineer would not have set the whole Bridge alight but maybe a small section would have been scored. "You have named it?" The man realised whirling around from the console that he had assured was now working.

"Sure . . . why not? All creatures need names if you're going to address them often. Might not be the names they'd give themselves but I don't speak jumping spider fluently enough to figure that out. I just figure he's scared and hungry and alone and I might be able to help him out."

Gregnol looked at the woman and shook his head again. "You cannot bring him on to the old girl and when I make up my mind on what ship is our future it cannot go on it. Cannot just have a spider with a name running around. It is dangerous." He said patiently as he crossed to the now working console and sat down at what must have been the operations console.

Eden narrowed her eyes at him. "He's not the least bit dangerous, he's a jumping spider. They are absolutely no threat to humans, I can prove it to you. Besides, he could live his whole life in a cage and be perfectly safe, especially from all of you scaredy-cats who won't give him a chance because he has eight legs. He can't help what he was born as. It's common decency to help another creature."

Gregnol looked at her carefully before he shook his head. "It is all well and good you thinking like that but a lot of the crew are scaredy-cats and we have to look after them." He said gently. He did not want her getting annoyed as she was looking like his younger sister when she was cross. If she stamped her foot he would not be able to hold in his laughter.

She still stood there, trying to defend this little spider. "Doesn't mean we should just let Stan die because some are afraid of him. Other people should be educated about him so that they aren't afraid."

"I do not think people are going to listen. We do not even know how he got here yet or if there are any more." The man muttered. He was not going to educate people on not being scared when he was not really a fan of the thing himself.

"So what do you suggest we do? Let Stan die?" Eden's eyes were wide. Normally not a crier it would bring her to tears to know he was on this ship starving to death or that someone had murdered him when she wasn't there to defend his life.

"Eden do not use tear or the pout lip with me. I have sisters and a wife." Gregnol was not immune to it at all. Jeassaho among others were going to kill him for what he was going to do. "I cannot let that thing free on either of the ships. If you really want to keep it, it needs changing."

"I wasn't going to let him run free. I have no desire to see him hurt or the others hurt trying to save themselves from him. I think I could create a little habitat for him on the ship. Some vegetation, a little aquarium. He would be perfectly contained." Eden was holding onto the tiniest bit of hope that Gregnol would let her.

Gregnol just rolled his eyes. He was getting out of there before she adopted anything else scary. He would really have to talk to the other crew from 2246 and see how normal this was of Eden.

Eden stood there watching him leave. That wasn't a yes exactly, but it wasn't a no either. She quickly turned and headed in the other direction, determined to find Jake and tell him about Stan.

OFF::

Reuben Gregnol
Captain
SS Mary Rose

Eden Bowers
Chief Helmsman
SS Mary Rose