Purrfect

Posted on Thu Oct 8, 2015 @ 6:21pm by Lieutenant Benj Amoran
Edited on on Fri Oct 9, 2015 @ 5:13am

1,750 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: A Storage Bay / Sickbay
Timeline: MD04 - 09:30

ON:


A padd in one hand and stylus in the other Peridot leaned closer to the crate to see its label - self sealing stem bolts - fascinating. She ticked the item off the list and made her way to the next crate.

"Meep."

What was that?

She paused and lay both the padd and stylus on the nearest crate.

"Meep," she heard again.

Now where was it coming from, she wondered alarmed that there might be some live creature smuggled in one of these packing cases.

"Meep."

But it didn't sound muffled, not like she imagined it would sound if it was trapped in a crate.

"Meep."

On soft feet Peridot crept towards the gap between the crate with its stem bolts and the next one - it was about ten centimetres wide. She crouched as she looked to see if she could see anything.

The gap was too badly lit but once again she heard that little voice. Peridot took the torch from her belt (always wise when conducting a cargo inventory down in these holds) and shone it down the gap.

Two golden glowing eyes flashed back at her. Instantly she switched off the torch and got to her knees.

"I hope I didn't blind you," she said, "Come on little thing, you shouldn't be down here." It was another ten minutes before she'd coaxed it from its hiding place and had the tiny, trembling ball of fuzz in her hand. "Poor lost thing," she said, wishing that she had something she could feed it, "you must be scared to be all alone down here," and doubly so if it had been here when the station was thrown about.

She tied a couple of knots in her uniform top to form a pouch and deposited the kitten in it before retriving her padd. The inventory would still get done even if she took an hour out. Besides, she had a duty to report the little visitor for health reasons.

---

There might be a vet somewhere on the promenade, she really had no idea but Peridot figured it would be just as easy to drop into sick bay. Unorthodox maybe but she hoped they'd not mind.

By the time she emerged from the turbolift the kitten in its improvised cradle was kneeding her stomach with pin-prick claws and purring fuzzilly.

She entered sick bay and with a slightly sheepish expression sought assistance for her patient.

Lt Amoran, Benj, was bent over the control monitor of an up-ended large scanner which he had been attempting to re-assemble after it had suffered a fall. This was not the kind of 'fallen patient' he preferred to treat. In fact it was his LEAST favourite type of 'first response' medical aid: Aid for the equipment! Muttering and cursing in his native Bajoran, Benj didn't notice the quiet approach of the young woman until she was almost upon him.

"BY THE SPIRITS!" he burst out as he jumped out of his skin when he DID realise she was there. "Where did YOU come from...... ?" realising he had startled her with his own surprised reaction he immediately became concilliatory and soothing.

"Oh... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to .... please......do take a seat....." he opened his arm towards a chair, assuming it was the young woman herself who needed attention. "I'm Benj. How can I help you?" he added with a warm reassuring smile.

Peridot had taken a moment to look around and had been on the verge of sloping out with her bundle rather than be a nuisance.

"I'm sorry to bother you with everything being so busy," she said quickly with a small smile, "I've found this little, guy, or gal, I don't know which. I want to check he's (she couldn't very well call the kitten *it*) safe to keep aboard. While I find who he belongs to ... if he belongs to anyone."

Benj looked quizically at the new 'patient' and then back at the person who had brought the kitten in. She was cute.... and the kitten too!

"Aw! Look at this!" He picked the kitten out of the makeshift pouch in her tunic top and turned the little cat upside down gently, soothing it as he did so as not to frighten it..... him.

"This little man is looking very confused. Where did you find him" he said, confirming the creature's gender.

"In one of the storage bays. I was helping prepare for the mission down to the surface - fun inventory taking stuff," she shrugged and waggled her head at that, "and he was hiding between two of the crates."

"I wonder how he got aboard?" Benj said, checking the tiny cat's heartbeat and vitals with a hand held mini medscanner. "Are there any pets of this kind on the station's roster? There has to have been a record of him being checked over for the appropriate vaccinations and health etc."

The lovely creature looked up at Benj and melted his heart with beautiful deep eyes but then he had to tear his gaze away and return it to the kitten! ;) LOL :)

Peridot flushed, "I haven't looked. I came straight here. I can check the database, but I haven't read anything in the reports that he's missing - they all cross my desk."

"What do you do? If that's not too personal a question?" Benj asked. "I don't recall seeing you in here before." As he spoke he continued to check the kitten over and eventually put him down on the biobed, the examination completed.

"I'm the Captain's Yeoman, I don't get out as much as I'd like," until she'd admitted it, Peridot hadn't really been aware that was true, "I tend to hang around in case she needs me."

"I imagine she's fairly demanding." he grinned conspiratorially.

"You wouldn't believe it. She's got certain ... ideas ... of how things should be done."

"Amia used to be like that. But she didn't agree with the way Chelsea used to do them before her. It does make it hard for those of us who must follow to keep up!" he agreed, handing the purring kitten back to her. "now she can't even remember what her own preferences and ideas were, you have to feel sorry for her. It hasn't been an easy transition for her from the start. Big footsteps to walk in and now not even any of her own to lay down instead" He shook his head. His sympathy was genuine but his own situation naturally irked him more than any wish to take on the concerns of his boss.

Peridot nodded in sympathy as she clutched Purrcey to her stomach, it would be a moment before she realised she'd named the kitten. "I think we're all a bit shaken up (understatement). Commander Aldrex is a bit easier to work with. He's in charge while the Captain is ... how do I phrase it ... indisposed."

"That sounds a bit ......... serious... for a Starbase CO to be 'Indisposed'needs for a large amount of *shaken up* in my experience" he commented carefully. "How long has this been going on? If it's okay for you to say?"

"Its hard to say. She's been relieved of duty and confined to quarters. I don't know if its for her own well being. The aliens took her daughter away, but, and this might just be a rumour, she attacked one of them, maybe killed. Someone said the kidnap might be revenge."

"Oh. That's not good!" he looked almost alarmed. "Are you safe? Do you have to still see her? I don't want you to get hurt." he was looking very worried for Peridot. He put one finger under her chin and lifted her face upwards. "Look at me please." He asked and when she did he watched very carefully for the honesty of her reply.

Peridot shook her head. When she spoke it was in a sad tone, "I don't have access. They've not taken her son back to her either. They, the twins I mean have a nanny and they've put them up in separate quarters." The Captain might be hard work but Peridot had put in a lot of hard work herself to make the best of the relationship. She cared.

"Its such a relief to be able to talk to someone. I don't usually gossip, but it all feels so big. I hope Purrcey here will take my mind of it a bit."

"Purrcey?" Benj grinned. "Nice. I like that, good choice." he wondered if that was a bit of a cliche but it actually was true.

"When you say 'They' who is calling the shots with the CO's care package?" he asked. ~And who is representing 'Medical' in that?~ his mind asked silently. "The Chief Counsellor I would imagine?" he guessed.

"Yes, she visited last night just after. Security is visiting some time this morning. I took myself off to help with the stocktaking for what can be spared to go to the surface of that damned planet there. At least it found me this little guy. I don't know what to believe - there's been too much weird stuff happening recently."

"You can say that again. What with those damned Fae and their tricks, then all the hallucinogens in our air supply and between all of those, the evacuation and the chaos that set off." he agreed with feeling.

"What I'd give for a nice quiet week."

"Does such a thing even exist?" he joked.

"Tell you what.... why don't we wait and see what this week brings and then, on Friday, say, get together and celebrate .... or commiserate.... over how quiet it was or was not? Over dinner perhaps? In the Box?" He was being very forward but he couldn't just let her walk away and maybe never return.

She hesitated just a second, unconciously she tossed her blonde hair, "Why not," she replied, "I should be able to get the time off. 19:00 ok for you?"

Ben drew in a breath and consciously composed his body language out of nervous and excited and into his best attempt at 'nonchalant' but his eyes sparkled no matter what else he tried to keep back. "Yes, that's great" he replied, wanting to punch the air but holding that back as well........ at least until she had left Sickbay.


A JP between:

Chief Petty Officer Peridot Quirm
Captain's Yeoman

and

Lt. Amoran, Benj
ACMO - DS5

 

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