Unfriendly Fire

Posted on Thu Jun 8th, 2023 @ 3:43pm by Lieutenant Chexor Vonn & Lieutenant Amara Naidoo

1,933 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Prelude: Getting Ready to Depart
Location: Deck 23 - Main Deflector Generator Compartment
Timeline: MD4 - 1820 Hours

"Gary, this is your final warning!" shouted the seasloth's master from the ground level of the deflector generator compartment. "You must get down or... well, I don't know what will become of you."

The Bolian mammal had somehow gotten himself into this predicament. Using his lanky arms and legs, he was slowly traversing a beam along the highrise of the room, inching deeper and deeper into its cavernous depths. This was no place for an animal to be taking a leisurely stroll. One mistep would mean certain death. Yes, Gary was cuddly and squishy and could most likely survive a fall from his current altitude, but one could feel the energy permeating the air. If Chex had any hair, it would be standing on end. You wouldn't want to be plummeting to oblivion here.

The Lieutenant pointed his finger into the air towards the sloth. "The Chief of Security is going to be here any minute and I told her to bring a phaser. She won't have any qualms about shooting you."

Gary ignored Chex's pleas and simply kept on going as quickly as a sloth dared to move.

A few steps from Deflector control, flanked by two of her more burly Security Officers, Amara could hear the Chief Operations Officer talking with someone called Gary, it seemed as if it had moved beyond reason and was now well into the pleading phase but she was still puzzled why she needed the phaser. If it was a Starfleet Officer then she would be breaking multiple regulations by stunning him, possibly even a few more if it turned out to be a civilian.

"Lieutenant, you called for Security" her eyes wandering the room but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "You made it sound urgent!"

Chex turned upon hearing the approaching voice and his relief was etched on every facet of his bald head. "Finally, you're here!" he exclaimed to the woman leading the pack. "This is urgent. Lieutenant Naidoo, is it?" he wondered, trying to remember her name.

"Thats me" she waived her two officers away, both taking positions on either side of the doorway. "Lieutenant Chex is it?"

"Vonn. Chexor Vonn," he corrected her before adding, "You may refer to me as Chex though. Given this beast's recent behaviour, I believe we'll be seeing much of each other in the days ahead." The Bolian turned and pointed up to the rafters where Gary, his sloth, was currently sat and looking down upon them. It was as if he was taunting the group from afar. "He's out of control! Can you believe that this is all because there was beetle in his dinner?" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "He's not one for harming living things..."

"Is... Is that a sloth?" her mind immediately auto correcting as well just in case "or a crew member?"

Amara's mind was racing, going over the smattering of personnel files she had looked over since arriving. She could remember two Caitains being on the crew but no others that would be clad in fur, except maybe Ensign Kessin but only when he was budding.

"A seasloth to be more precise," Chex informed her. "Whether or not he's a member of the crew depends on who you ask. He's a pet and a dear friend to me, when he behaves of course. If you were to make that inquiry with him, however, Gary would have you believe that he's in command of the ship. The power's gone to his head, I tell you. Did you know that he made Crewman Goda cry the other day?" He nodded rather enthusiastically in an attempt to further his point. "He kept threatening to open canisters of biohazardous material in the science lab. There wasn't anything the poor crewman could do." The Lieutenant frowned, full of remorse that his pet had been so much trouble as of late.

"Are sloths not slow moving and cumbersome? How did he escape your quarters and how did he get several decks and a handful of sections away without you noticing?" Amara was quizzical... actually she was now well into the realms of utter confusion as she continued looking at the sloth who in his own immeasurably slow motions seemed to be mocking both her, Chex and the two security officers watching the door.

Those were all important questions. "You would be surprised at how quickly he can move when he's upset," the blue-skinned male answered. "One minute we're having a delicious dinner prepared by yours truly..." Chex motioned to himself with his hands. "... the next, the doors to my quarters are open and he's gone. Perhaps he's trying to find a more suitable place for that beetle to reside... Hmmm... I would have thought he would have chosen the arboretum instead." He looked towards Gary and cried out to him. "You didn't think this through, did you?!"

In reply, the sloth reached down behind his back. There was a pause. Then, the animal flung something towards them.

"Incoming!" Like an expert who had done this many times before, Chex dodged the projectile by diving to his left.

Amara wasn't quite as quick and ended up with a face full of something warm and brown... It didn't smell so good either.

With one eye that wasn't covered she looked at Chex. "Is this what I think it is?"

The Bolian looked up from the deck plating, aghast and extremely embarrassed at the developments before him. He had to commend Gary for his aim though. It was getting better. Even so, he was a little surprised that Naidoo hadn't been quicker to dodge the proverbial bullet. He slowly rose to his feet. Not knowing what else he should do in the moment given that all of this could be considered his fault, Chex chose to remove his top so that the Chief of Security could wipe her face with it. "I... I'm so sorry," he apologised, putting his hands up defensively. "If it's any consolation, the nutrients in seasloth fesces are quite beneficial for the skin. I wouldn't recommend using it every day... but as far as facials go, Gary may have added a day or two to your already alluring demeanor."

"Yes" she said, her tone and facial expression blank as she wiped away as much of the fecal matter as she could, remnants still in her blond hair and something sticky trickling down the front of her neck into the gold collar. Once done she handed the now stained tunic back to the Bolian before shooting a look of daggers at the pair of security guards, both snickering gently until they noticed the icy glare.

"I can see only one way to correct this situation rapidly Lieutenant!" she said softly, her right hand taking the hilt of the type two phaser and pulling it quickly from the holster on her hip, rapidly taking aim and squeezing off a single burst of phased orange energy that hit square its target.

"Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!" Chex exclaimed, clapping Naidoo's shoulder in triumph. Shooting Gary was what he was going to suggest to her in order to expel any ill feelings she might've had.

The seasloth meanwhile, fell forward with his mouth agape; surprised at the security officer's actions. He tumbled down, his lanky arms flailing in the air until he hit the deck with a light thump. Due to the mammal's unique physiology, he bounced a couple of times before coming to stop. Gary was motionless, stunned by the attack.

Chex was not worried in the least. "I knew I made the right decision in asking for you to come here!" he told Amara, beaming in her exceptional prowess.

Amara simply continued to wipe away Gary's chosen projectile, already feeling it drying in her hair as she did and once again glaring at her two security officers who had once again started to snicker. "You two are dismissed!"

Once they had exited the room she turned back to Lieutenant Chex. "Perhaps a review of the sensitivity on the door activation sensor might be in order for your quarters Lieutenant".

"That and more," the Bolian told her. He rubbed his hands together. The plotting had begun. There was much to do; much to ensure so that an incident such as this did not reoccur. "He'll be disciplined accordingly for his foul behaviour today, I assure you." The whole affair had been embarassing for all parties involved to which Chex felt some responsibility. "Is there anything that I can offer you in compensation for your troubles? Lunch... or dinner perhaps? Some time in the holodeck? A song? I do enjoy having a good strum on my guitar. It's an excellent way to relieve stress and it often brings a smile to people's faces."

"All I want at the moment Lieutenant is a shower" running her fingers through her hair to try and remove some of the crusted fecal matter. "And to find a way to remove the memory of this entirely from my brain!"

Chex frowned. "Oh," he said dejectedly. "O... of course. Please, go and get cleaned up. I've got everything well in hand here. Thank you again, Lieutenant. I truly appreciate your help." He bowed slightly at the hip to demonstrate his gratitude.

"I'm sorry... I can be a bit blunt at times... My apologies!" she offered regretting her abrupt manner. "Look, I don't really know anyone here... How about once we get settled in we head for ten forward, have a few drinks and get to know each other better. Makes sense as we will be working together!"

The frown vanished and it was replaced with a warm smile. "That sounds like a splendid idea!" the Bolian exclaimed. Whilst he wasn't necessarily new to the Britannic, the crew he'd known had departed following their mission in the Gamma Quadrant. It was as much of a new start for Amara, as it was for him.

"Good... Well, I need that shower and we have a starship to launch!" she beamed, her fingers getting caught in her hair from the crusted fecal matter.

Having been on the receiving end of his sloth's antics on a number of occasions, Chex was sympathetic to Amara's predicament. Unlike him, however, the Chief of Security had hair. It was going to take a little extra time for her to wash the excrement out. The Bolian made a mental note to try and make it up to her somehow in the future. Gary was also going to have to apologize.

As the two officers parted ways, Lieutenant Vonn made his way over to his semi-conscious pet in order to collect him. He stood a few feet away with his hands on his hips and shook his head with disappointment.

"You could have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble," Chex informed him. "Anyone else and they may have suggested that I send you away to Aunt Kysia, or worse yet, a Klingon zoo. You'd become the foster child of an overbearing mugato."

The sloth's oval head turned slightly and he looked up to his master. He blinked once and then twice as the consequences for his actions were beginning to dawn on him.

"You've escaped that fate this time but I wouldn't press my luck if I were you." Chex reached down, he took a hold of Gary's hand and started to drag him out. "Now come on. You're going to be really hungry once the temporary paralysis wears off."

 

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