Apology of a Strange Kind

Posted on Sun Nov 19th, 2023 @ 7:02pm by Lieutenant Amara Naidoo & Lieutenant Chexor Vonn

2,048 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: To Catch a Thief
Location: Deck ? - Naidoo's Quarters
Timeline: MD5 - 2030 Hours

A number of days had passed since the incident in the deflector compartment which saw Gary the seasloth unceremoniously fling his fecal matter at the ship's Chief of Security. It was an unexpected and unfortunate move on the mammal's part and one that landed him in a great deal of trouble. Gary'd had the majority of his priviledges revoked, including that of his fictitious rank of chief petty officer; much to the glee of the crewmen on deck twenty-seven.

In an effort to regain some of his freedom, Gary had been ordered to apologize to the Lieutenant for his trangressions. The apology needed to be genuine and from whatever it was that was inside of his lanky body that could be deemed a heart. If that obstinate beast even has one, Chexor scoffed from afar, knowing all too well what the seasloth was capable of.

Gary was sat in front of the door to Lieutenant Naidoo's quarters. He was dressed more pleasantly than most: an off-white coloured ensemble which perfectly contrasted his prussian blue fur. For all intents and purposes, he was looking rather snazzy and impressive for an animal in a suit. Gary had chosen the attire himself. Strangely enough, he had a knack for such things. Chex hoped that the gesture would be enough to gain Amara's forgiveness.

The seasloth reached up and he gently pressed on the door chime with the lengthy claw on his finger. It was now or never.

The doors parted, Amara running a towel through her damp hair, a robe pulled around her and tied at the waist. "Gary!" feeling her eyebrow twitch at the sight of the seasloth. 'Am I going to need another shower after this! she thought to herself.

Gary's head tilted to the side upon seeing the human woman, as if to contemplate his next move. Following some mostly silent encouragement from the side, the sloth reached back (similarly to before), except this time he produced an exotic flower for her of vibrant yellow and red hues.

Amara was somewhat taken aback as she took the offered bloom, so assumed it was presented as a peace offering. "Thank you... Would you like to come in" she spoke to the animal, not entirely sure if he was sentient enough to understand her and she was convinced her expression reflected that same level of perplexed confusion.

The sloth began to climb up the doorframe in response to the Chief of Security's invitation. After a few long moments, when he was about as high up as Amara's shoulders, Gary reached out to grab the flower he'd just given her and as he carefully began to pull it towards himself, he opened his mouth wide as if he was about to take a bite.

"Don't eat it!" came Chexor's voice from the side. There was a light scuffling noise and the burly Bolian dove in an attempt to prevent his pet from eating the flower. Unfortunately, Chex misjudged his jump and fell short of his target, landing face first on the deck. "Owww..." he mumbled in pain.

"I'm starting to think you two are a double act and not Operations Chief and his pet!" Amara chuckled lightly, offering a hand to Chex to help him up.

The Bolian took the offered hand and used it to return to his feet. "Thank you," he said. Between himself and Naidoo (they were maybe about twelve inches apart at this very moment), was Gary's head.... and he had a red petal hanging out of the corner of his mouth! A yellow one slowly fell to the floor between them. Chex closed his eyes and sighed. "You just couldn't resist, could you?" he scolded his pet before taking a step back. "I'm sorry... uh... this wasn't the manner in which this apology was supposed to play out. That flower... well... it's rare up here as you can imagine, and it also happens to be one of his favourite snacks..."

"I'm just glad he wasn't flinging poop about again to be honest, I've only just gotten out of the shower" she said, realising she was still standing wearing nothing but a white robe. "Please come in, excuse me a moment while I go and put some clothes on!"

"Oh! Yes, of course. Don't mind us. Perhaps I should have informed... no warned you that we would be stopping by," Chex said, feeling somewhat guilty that they'd caught the Lieutenant at a bad time. He pulled Gary off of the door frame and stepped into Naidoo's quarters nonetheless. "I suppose then, that it would not have been a surprise. You see, Gary had been feeling quite depressed since our eventful last encounter. He's a very sensitive soul, and did not relish the idea that someone aboard the ship was upset with him. This entire apology was actually his idea," Chex informed her, speaking a little louder from the entrance area so that Naidoo could hear him.

"So he is sentient?" she called from the bedroom, her curiosity getting the better of her. "As in a full range of emotions and cognitive ability's, communications skills?"

"HA! HA-HA! Well, I wouldn't go that far!" the Bolian laughed. He turned slightly, and as he did so, noticed that Gary had not taken too kindly to his words and had picked up an object to throw at him. "Put that down! This isn't your home!" Chex shouted and he rushed over to the sloth to take the object away from him. "He's very much a mangy beast! He just possesses a flamboyant personality!" The two began to pull the object towards themselves in a battle of tug of war.

Amara came back into the living space, now wearing her uniform, the tunic jacket open, still running a towel through her hair. "Please do be careful. That's a Nausicaan ceremonial birthing blade." she pointed a finger at the object the two of them seemed to be fighting over. The blade was sheathed thankfully.

"You hear that, Gary? It's a Nausicaan blade. You don't look like a Nausicaan, now do you?" Chex stated, whilst pointing to the weapon.

The sloth looked down for a moment and he pulled the blade out partially from the scabbard. It was immediately clear what his intentions were, as he was seemingly starstruck by his own reflection. His eyes grew wide with excitement and he began to pose for himself.

Chexor sighed and he covered his face with his hand. "Oh for the love of the First Mother...."

Amara just looked on in a stunned quiet anxiety. Not a common mix of emotions but it was apt given the sloth's unpredictable nature. The blade it was now playing with and Chexor's seeming lack of understanding at just how lethal the blade could be. She took a slight side step, placing herself in a position that she could dive back into the sleeping quarters... just in case the sloth, Gary, decided to attempt to fling it at someone.

"All right. That's enough!" the Bolian exclaimed and he snatched the weapon from his pet whilst he was mesmerized by... himself. He turned and held it out to the Chief of Security. "I'm so sorry about all of this. I don't know what gets into him sometimes."

Amara hurriedly moved forward to take the blade from them making a mental note to ensure Gary's bio signature was logged and excluded from access into any of the armouries across the ship. "No harm was done... this time!"

The seasloth reached desperately for the object as it was being taken away, but gave up on the endeavour as he was too slow to react. He plopped down onto the floor, looking utterly sad and defeated.

"He never means to harm anyone," Chex told Amara. "Perhaps, living aboard a starship is too much for him. Lieutenant Hawkins and I have been constructing a water conduit from our quarters to Cetecean OPS so that he has access to a more familiar environment. It should be completed within the week and hopefully with it, his rebellious behaviour." Chexor didn't want to even contemplate what would come next if Gary didn't adjust to his new surroundings. It would be too much for him to bear.

The thought of the creature having a means of exiting their quarters and reach areas of the ship that would not have motion sensors as discerning as the ones in Chex's quarters did give Amara pause but perhaps he was right, being able to access areas more in keeping with what the animal was accustomed to would help soothe the beast. "I'll keep Security on standby" she teased.

A wise precaution given what had already happened. Still, the Bolian sincerely hoped that it would not be necessary. Chex nodded, acknowledging what Amara had said. He then put his hands on his hips, and had a quick glance around whilst standing awkwardly in place. "So... these are your living quarters..." he said.

"They are indeed... Mostly indigenous artifacts and trinkets from my home town of Hout Bay a little way out of Cape Town". She looked around realising that she still had a small mountain of boxes left to unpack, clothing, drapes, some furniture bits. It would be like home soon enough, the only thing missing would be the view of the bay through the windows, the bird of paradise plants growing in her garden... "I'll have it looking like home in no time!"

"Hah! I've heard that many times before! The curse of being a senior officer is that one usually does not have much time to spare for such things. Even so, it's not like there's a time limit. One object a day.. makes this place feel more home-ay." Embarassed, Chex rolled his eyes back. He had to work on his rhyming. It had been too long. He cleared his throat and resumed speaking, "I've never been to Hout Bay or Cape Town," he admitted to her. "During my time on Earth, I spent most of my time away from the Academy taking in the lights and the action on broadway."

"The Cape is worth a visit if you get the chance at our next lay over. I may be biased but it is possibly the most beautiful part of Earth!" And she had to admit, there was bias, more than just a little as well.

Why wait until they got back to Earth? "There is always the holodeck?" Chexor suggested. "I know that it's technically not the same as the real thing but who knows when we'll be going back."

"It's never the same on the holodeck. The sounds are not a vibrant, the smells seem just a little off. The real thing is far better!" She was feeling a little home sick just talking about it.

Amara was right, of course. Whilst the holodeck could nearly replicate people, objects and environments to perfection, they were simply still not authentic enough. Would engineers ever be able to create something that was as good as the real thing? Perhaps one day. "Well, I shall endeavour to visit there when we return to Earth, then," he offered.

Chex looked around for a moment for Gary and found him laying back against the wall scratching his belly drowsily. "We should probably get going. It's way past his bed time," he motioned towards the sloth with his thumb. ",and I do not wish to be taking up too much of your downtime."

"It's fine Lieutenant. It's been nice talking to you!" She meant it as well. He may come across as being somewhat exuberant and erratic but there was something about the Bolian she found endearing, dare she say it, likeable.

"Same," he replied with a nod and warm smile. "Perhaps we'll do it again some time..." Chex turned to pick up Gary. Of course you'll be talking again. You're both department heads on the same ship! he chided to himself with frustration. "Come on, you." He slung the sloth onto his shoulder and as he was about to leave Amara's quarters, Gary waved goodbye to the woman.

The movement the sloth made was mesmerizingly slow and she found herself mimicking the movement.

END

 

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