A Caitan, a Captain, and a Dog

Posted on Wed Jul 18th, 2018 @ 3:12pm by Captain Horatio Refelian & Commander M'Mira & Master Chief Petty Officer Freya Duffell
Edited on on Mon Sep 3rd, 2018 @ 3:47pm

1,392 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: The Return to Faltan
Location: Command & Control, Falton Station
Timeline: MD01 - 0930

Captain Refelian, Chief Duffell and Laddie materialised on the transporter padd in the Command Centre Of Faltan Station. At first glance, C&C was a mess. Debris, dust and old circuits covered the area. Harry would have guessed the Station had been unattended for years not 20 or so months.

The Captain slowly made his was down the few steps to the main deck. Home. He thought to himself with a smile creating across his face. An approaching officer brought him out of his muse. He looked the Caitan up and down and smiled, “I’m guessing you’re Lieutenant Commander M’Mira, Chief of Operations?”

"Captain Rrrefelian," M'Mira purred in a soft trilling voice. Her tail swished to her left as she sized up the Captain. "You look exactly like your picture." She strolled up to the Captain, the gap in height between them becoming more and more noticeable as she neared him.

Reaching a claw to one of the tactical stations, showing her brightly red painted nails with some sort of silver design on them, she swiped away a thick layer of dust. She curled her upper lip in what was obviously a disgusted expression and then wiped it on the back of her uniform. Tail wilting, she apologized, "Sorrrrry for the mess. It is not what I would preferrrred you to see. Unfortunately something about the atmosphere in here seems to layer the dust like pollen from one of your dandelions."

Once again she directed her attention to her claws and gave the disgusted expression. One of her nails had turned entirely white and it reached into her fur. "Once the showers are fully functional, I will have to take several of them just to get this filth off me. Disgusting. I never realized that I would become a maid when I signed up for this mission." The purring quality to her voice stayed throughout her sentences while her green eyes widened at the Captain.

“The reports were correct then.” Harry said as he glanced around the Command Centre Of Faltan Station. “It’s just perfect. This is the challenge I needed. This is Master Chief Petty Officer Freya Duffell, she’s my Yeoman.” He said introducing the lady on his right.

“Do you have a status report for me or is it to early to tell?” He asked the Caitan Ops Chief.

M'Mira looked up and down at the Master Chief Petty Officer, sniffed the air and then looked away. I'm prettier. "Nice to meet you, Yeoman.
Now, Captain, this place is an utter disaster. Half of the stations do not have enough power going to them. The power generators look as if they have been running on batteries from the 21st Terran century. Rust and mold are in abundance. Some of the living quarters are passable but this whole place could use decontamination and sterilization," she said as she jumped as her tail accidentally swiped some dust in the Yeoman's direction. "You call it a challenge, Captain; however, we might be better suited taking most of this as scrap and installing new machinery. However, I understand that is not an option, so I will have to perrrform some miracles. That is the short version, Captain. I can leave you a detailed report on a PADD, if you wish."

“A pleasure, Commander.” The Yeoman replied, in her strong British accent, with a curtious nod.

Refelian couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the Commander’s Report. “Sounds interesting to say the least, but I’m sure you and the rest of the crew will make it home for us as quick as you can.” Before looking at Duffell and giving her the ’you’re dismissed’ look. “Walk with me, Commander.” He said gesturing towards a quieter corner of the Control Centre. “Heel, Laddie.” He instructed his dog, “He doesn’t bother you does he?” he asked the Chief of Operations.

Falling into step with the Captain, M'Mira took great care not to brush against anything with dust. She took great lengths to bend her body around any possible contact with more dust than was necessary. M'Mira looked down at the dog with disdain. Stupid, useless creature, enslaving yourself to a higher being. She looked back up at the Captain. "No. Why would he?"

“I know some people and cultures don’t like the idea of keeping a pet, but he keeps me company.” The Captain said as they walked. As they reached the quieter corner, Harry lowered his voice. “Was anyone here to greet you when you arrived here at Faltan Station?”

"I perrrsonally have not had a pet. I was raised to believe that beings should have choice in who they are with but I know that pets are common in your culture. Given their limited intelligence, I could certainly understand the mutually beneficial relationship." Her tail drooped a bit, wondering if she just insulted the Captain.

However, when she heard the inquiry regarding visitors, she instantly became alert. Her ears stood up a bit higher and her head swiveled. "I have not seen anyone, Captain. Are you expecting trouble? I have only been here a few hours and this mess is what I found. It makes me want to cough up hairballs."

Refelian let out a small chuckle, “I guess that’s what it is. Different cultures, different ideas.” He said before moving on to business. “Faltan wasn’t completely abandoned, a small administrative team was left behind. Starfleet lost contact with them six weeks ago. One of our missions here is to find out what happened to them. I’m sorry to put you to work straight away, but I’d like you to start looking into this. I have the details of the parts of the station they were using while the rest had been shut down.”

M'Mira purred thoughtfully. "There's more than six weeks of dust here. They likely abandoned this area well beforrre that." She purred again, pleased that she had a mystery to solve. "Therrre is no need to apologize. I enjoy the work. Show me the details and I will get started. I would much rrrather do that than play maid, anyways." To emphasize the point, she shook a paw to get rid of imaginary dust from her paw. The silver designs on her red nails became clearer - stars.

“I thought you might.” The Captain said as he pulled a PADD out of his duffel bag. It’s not much to go on but it’s a start. I suggest looking for any foreign transporter signatures or signs of struggle in these areas.”

Trilling happily, M’Mira considered, “Yes. I assume the computers would have the latest medical records and genetic signatures of the former crew. I will search those too. My prey has much to worry about now. I’m on the hunt.” Her green eyes glistened as she looked up at the Caltrain making her plans. “Is there anything else that I should know, Captain?”

“Not at the moment. Once we get more man power I’ll assign more people to help.” Refelian said, “If you need anything, please ask. I’ll try and squeeze some more information out of Command, if I get anything I’ll let you know.”

"I always love giving them a good squeeze," she teased, her tail swaying from side to side pleasantly. "In the meantime, I will...." Distractedly, she looked down at the dog, to make sure that it was not sniffing her. "In the meantime, I will check the medical records and transporterrrr logs. May I be dismissed, sir?"

“Of course.” The Captain said with smile. “It’s been a pleasure to meet you. Looks like I need to go and find a broom.” He said with a smirk as he glanced around the dusty Control Centre.

Involuntarily, M’Mira shuddered at the concept of touching more dust. “I would say much more than a broom is requirrred.” She swung her body around, making sure there was plenty of distance between the dog and her tail. The last thing she needed was an unintelligent animal chasing her tail.

Purring thoughtfully, she left, ordering the skeleton crew to make sure everything is dust free by the time she was done with her research.

 

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