Lt's Log, 09.24.15 Ya Got Tribble
Ya
Got Tribble
by Me
Starbase
X – the last stop before the two-week trip to the location of
diplomatic mission with the Klingon Empire at a beautiful, tropical,
undisclosed location. It's not really named Starbase X, but it
wouldn't be wise for me to give away our location, so it must stay
classified ... for now.
My
ship and her crew are beginning our preparations for the event, which
a few of us will have the honor of attending in full down on the
planet. Although I'm only a LtJG and have only been assigned to this
ship for a couple months, the Captain has confidence in my diplomatic
skills and feels that my enthusiasm for learning about other cultures
will be appreciated by the fun-loving Klingons. So he says, or...
perhaps I'll just be thrown at the most talkative of our hosts, as a
distraction, so that the senior leaders can mix and mingle with no
obligation to be stuck with any less-than-desirable conversation. I'm
figuring its the latter.
My
biggest concern, however, was the acquisition of appropriate “resort
wear”, seeing as I have only basic uniforms, not even a formal one
for official diplomatic missions. Luckily, this affair is more
casual, but does include a Klingon wedding ceremony, banquet dinner
and late-night music lounge. So, this convenient stop at a Starbase
was my only opportunity to find some dresses and casual footwear,
assuming they had some non-Starfleet boutiques there.
The
ship has arrived and docked. So, I eagerly board the station and run
around asking workers for directions, until I find the vendor area.
Expectation:
I
notice there is hardly any signs or customers around. Then I stop in
my tracks. Here it is.
Reality:
Well,
at least it wasn't a total loss, as I did find a lovely,
Bohemian-type floor-length casual gown, a swimsuit and cover-up, a
striped, black-and-white shirt and mesh-type hat. I left the station
with a few bags in hand - not as much as I'd hoped to, but feeling it
was an adequate success. I just gotta figure out how to get this fish
smell outta the clothes.
Back aboard the Starship...
Immediately, I go to my quarters, hanging up my new threads and gathering other clothing options for the trip. At the bottom of one of the shop bags is the black hat, but I don't know where to store it yet. I pull it out, then notice... the bag is not empty. A small, brown furry ball was under the hat. How strange, I think. I reach down to poke it, figure it is safe and pick it up. Instantly, it wiggles in my palm, startling me and making me let out a muffled shriek from the surprise. It's alive! My Betazoid senses feel only contentment and good will from it, but no higher, complex thoughts or emotions. So, I figure it's safe. And then... it begins to purr.
Oh, it's so cute when it purrs. My fingers go right to it, stroking the long fur, without even asking my mind for permission to do so first, like an automatic instinct. While keeping it in my palm, I sit down on my sofa, to continue petting it and trying to figure out where its other body parts are. But it seems to just be endless fur with no apparent orifices. Its purring is now making soft vibrations that lull me into a much needed rest.
I wonder what I will do with it. I don't see why I can't just keep it in my room. I am a bit lonely and would love to have a pet aboard. It's small so it shouldn't use up much supplies, I figure. Then I half-consciously list off some possible names for it:
Furry
Mr. Furry... no...
Furnando
Furnado
Furrball Tinytot
Fuzzball
Fuzzy Wuzzy wuz a bear...
Fuzzbucket
Fuzz Lightyear
Fezziwig ... perhaps better for an owl...
Mr. Snuffaluffagus
Mr. Bigglesworth
Mr. Big...
Chocolate.... mmmm hungry... no...
Captain Huggy Face... but there's no face, so, no...
Gremlin
Gizmo...
the Rum Tum Tugger ... is a curious cat...
zzzzz...
Ten hours later...
I
woke from a peaceful slumber within a serene dream of contentment.
But, I didn't know why. Or where I was. Or what had just happened
before I slept. Or what time it was. Was I due for duty?
As
my eyes adjusted, I realized I was aboard the ship, in my quarters.
My alarm was going off with soft, classical music, which is how I
preferred to be woken. 8:45am. I wasn't late for duty, at least. But
something was missing...
Oh
yes! My sweet little furball that I had accidentally acquired on the
Deep Space Station X-7 while shopping for the upcoming shore leave.
It had stowed away in my shopping bag, under a hat. It's
tranquilizing trills had lulled me into my slumber...
Where
is it??
That
worry was motivation enough to hop off my sofa and frantically search
every nook and cranny of my quarters. But, it was all for naught.
That sweet little furball had likely wandered off during my long,
long sleep, looking for food no doubt.
So,
quickly, I got dressed, hoping for time to search the ship before my
duty shift began.
*
* *
I
began on the second deck of the Sovereign-class Starship, hoping he
didn't go far. Well, I'm guessing that it's a “he”, and I'll just
call it a “he”, as there were no discernible body parts in that
round ball of fur that fit in my palm. I had not yet decided on a
name for him, going through about 20 possibilities before I dozed off
last night.
A
scan of the hallways proved fruitless and I couldn't quite just go
into other people's private quarters, so I knew I'd have to get
investigative and inquire crew members. But, I needed to come up with
a cover story, not wanting to reveal how I knew about it.
Something... scientific and experimental... yeah.
“Hey,”
I stopped a Marine passing by. “Have you happened to notice a
baseball-sized brown furry creature around here? We were studying it
in the lab and somehow it got out.”
He
pondered for a moment. “Oh yeah, I did notice something slowly
scattering around in the Officer's Mess a few hours ago. I hoped it
wasn't a rat.”
I
laughed politely, “Oh, no, not at all. Thanks for the info!” I
tried to seem cheerful and nonchalant. It did make sense that it
would go for the food area.
*
* *
In
the Officer's Mess, there were a few people seated, but no sign of my
new pet. So, I was relegated to asking a few people seated at a
table, admitting my folly.
They
replied in the negative, but then one male remembered seeing it down
on Deck 8 near the Holosuite. He said it was about an hour ago when
he was off-duty.
Oh
No!, I thought, I'd never find it in there. Then again, the computer
could tell me what life forms are in there.
I
thanked them humbly and scurried off to Deck 8.
*
* *
Again...
no sign of furball and the Holodeck computer reported there were no
life signs inside and it was not in use. Why would my furry be down
here? Maybe with another girl? I suddenly became jealous, and scared
of losing my pet. I had no proof that it was mine and I had found it
first.
*
* *
I
went up a deck, to the Sick Bay. The nurses each reported seeing it,
also about an hour ago. But one of them said it was light tan, not
dark brown. I figured this difference was due to the lighting. But no
one had seen it recently. It seemed like it could move fast to have
traveled all around the sick bay rooms. Perhaps it was hiding
somewhere. They promised to call me if they spotted it again.
Before
I left, I heard the First Officer hailing the Chief Medical Officer
to ask about a small creature, so I ran to the turbolift to make my
way to the Bridge.
*
* *
It
was a bit early for my shift, and I didn't usually work on the
Bridge, but I reported to the First Officer to see if he needed help
with anything.
“Yeah,”
he began with a quizzical look on his face. “There have been
reported sightings of a small, brown rat-like animal on several
decks, which has some crew members worried.”
I knew I had to
come partially clean. “Oh yes, I've been looking for it, too. It's
not a rat, I can assure you, though I'm not sure what it is,
exactly,” I admitted sheepishly.
“Do
you know if it's able to transport itself at will?”
“Pardon
me?” I wasn't sure what he was asking.
He
crossed his arms, “All twelve reports were given at the same time,
but different locations, as if it were at each place within a few
minutes.”
“Hmmm, no. That is odd.” I was genuinely
telling the truth, and just as perplexed as he was, but I didn't
really trust people's sense of timing.
“Well,
it's just recently been spotted in the main Shuttlebay.”
I
felt a bit relieved, “I'll go right there now and investigate,
Sir.”
*
* *
Within
five minutes, my sweet, silky fuzzball was in my arms again, but now
he was a bit bigger. Probably ate too much food, I figured, though he
was purring again. I hoped he was happy that I found him, hiding in a
dark corner, probably scared out of its little mind.
“I
promise that I won't let you out of my sight again.” I was all
smiles, happy again.
I
planned to immediately make some kind of protective cage for him in
my quarters, and to limit his food, at least until the ship reached
its destination, or I figured out how he could travel so fast.
“I'll
call you my little Houdini, you escape artist!” I giggled,
unknowing at the time that my precious pet had multiplied and there
were 11 others around the ship, that would soon cause more trouble
than I could imagine.
Tribbles Titles for Future Use:
Song titles:
Bridge over Tribbled water
If you've got Tribble
Nobody Knows de Tribble I've Seen
Tap Your Tribbles Away
Tribble Blues
Tribble in Mind
Tribble in Paradise
Tribble no More
Ya Got Tribble
http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/lpa/songindex/results.cfm
quotes/sayings:
