[USS Charon, Deck Two]
The sound was unmistakable. Paws, moving at astonishing speed on a carpeted floor. However, there seemed to be no sign of pursuit.
Mildly bemused, the lithe figure of the lone Vulcan roaming the corridor turned to see a large creature cheerfully bouncing towards him. Amber and white, vaguely resembling a terran canine though extraordinarily large, and it was wearing a collar. Before the animal could swoop past Voran, a hand darted out and caught the leather around the fvai's neck.
Obviously, the animal had not expected to be brought to such an abrupt halt by the biped and paws scrambled futilely for a few more seconds. But the sharp violet gaze entirely failed to impress Nohtho who resorted to gently nibbling at his newfound pal's arm, drenching the sleeve in slobber.
"Ah. I presume you are lost?"
The PADD in the Vulcans hand was beginning to get drenched as well and he made the mistake of trying to remedy the situation. A brief flurry of fur later, the fvai was prancing past two yelping crewmembers, right through the open doors of a turbolift. Voran could have sworn the animal was grinning, despite the fact there was a PADD stuck between its teeth.
"How unusual."
Shaking his head, the young Vulcan walked up to the wide eyed petty officers and pointed his chin towards the lift "May I inquire as to where the lift was headed?"
"The last place you want such a beastie to go, mate."
"Indeed."
[USS Charon, Bridge]
Eyes focused on the console, Sakarra was deeply gratified to finally be back in the helmsman's chair. More than that, the steady hum of Charon's engines was back at last, breaking a silence that had lasted much too long.
Coordinating with the Galae flight ops proved to be less of a challenge than she had expected, although there had been a slight hiccup in resolving a difference concerning protocols. She watched as the mooring clamps finally retracted and gently brought the thrusters online.
Waiting for the command from her CO, the young Vulcan was surprised to hear the sound of turbolift doors and a few startled sounds instead. A brief glance over her shoulder turned into a look of astonishment when a large quadruped came bouncing onto the bridge, cheerfully chewing on … well, it must have been a PADD once – which it promptly dropped into Shiarrael t`Rehu's lap.
Shiarrael had been sitting quietly in the Captain's chair, her eyes on the viewscreen focused on the Guardian which was now breaking orbit from I'Rak Prime. She had contemplated asking Aiden to take the children away- take them to be with his mother. It was too dangerous on the Charon- but her own selfishness prevented that. In such an isolated and violent place, Ael and Nnoil were all she had. Without them she was nothing. Slowly the Guardian twisted away from the planet and her heart with it. A moment later the Guardian's nacelles flashed and the ship stretched into oblivion before disappearing. A light sigh escaped her lips- her chest tightened, she missed him already. With a deep breath she closed her eyes and collected herself. The sound in the turbo lift immediately caught her attention and her eyes darted open as her head twisted around for a better look. When the slobber laced PADD hit her lap Shiarrael was stunned by the abruptness
"Nohtho, what are you doing here?" She grabbed the animal's reins and stood up.
If Sakarra's brows could have climbed any higher, they might have at the sight of what the next arriving turbolift produced. A familiar face to be certain, although the dark tunic was covered in slobber and an abundance of honey-amber fur. Still, she could have sworn there was a brief sense of amusement laced with just a bit of exasperation emanating from the young male before mental shields locked into place and sharp, violet eyes settled on her for the duration of a heartbeat.
"My apologies for intruding upon the bridge at this time, Captain." Voran's deep baritone sounded from the turbolift which he had not yet left "However it seems your … animal found it prudent to bring you a gift. As it is, I would ask that I might retrieve it."
"Ah, I see, this is yours?" She picked up the slobber drenched device with her free hand and waved it at the Vulcan "good." She held it out for him to take "and since you both appear to be acquainted already" Shiarrael grinned "please take Nohtho back to my quarters and tie him to…" she paused. What exactly could the animal be tied to? He was big enough he could drag her furniture across the entire ship lest he get it jammed in a doorway. She frowned "why don't you watch over him until my shift ends? Or find mister Warren and have him take the animal off your hands."
"I should be pleased to assist, Captain." Taking the CO's gesture as invitation, the young male stepped onto the bridge and bowed politely before accepting the pitiful leftovers of the PADD from the Rihanha's hand. Looking down at the grin on her upturned face, a brow rose in a quite eloquent fashion.
"Unfortunately I am neither authorized nor inclined to access your quarters, nor am I acquainted with an individual named Warren."
Still, he reached for the fvai's collar again and was rewarded with a huge nose poking his ribs.
"I'mavau r'hi."
Oddly enough, the stern voice was indulgent enough to make the animal look abashed and happy at the same time.
"However, I shall … watch over your fvai until such time as you deem fit to retrieve him." Another half bow accompanied the statement and the slobber covered Vulcan pivoted around, striding back towards the lift with a grinning Nohtho in tow.
Returning to her chair Shiarrael casually scooped up a big gooey drop of slobber and shook it onto the floor. Noticing the gazes of the bridge crew she frowned "do you not have enough work?" the question was enough to motivate them to busy themselves. "Commander Tyrax, set course for the stellar cluster, maximum warp. Let's finish our business here."
Having awaited those very words, Sakarra signaled the station which had given them the all clear several seconds ago and Charon gracefully tipped her bow to port, rotating as she went. Resisting the temptation to offer a farewell beyond the brief technical confirmation of departure, the young Vulcan set their course and Charon's silvery hull shuddered like a racehorse before the bell as her warp engines powered up.
The silver hull gracefully swooped over a Warbird's beak, impulse engines aglow before all that was left in front of them was the vast emptiness of space.
"Port has been cleared, course plotted and laid in."
A brief "Go" and the telltale noise of more slobber being removed from a chair's fabric answered the raven haired woman and she once more found herself experiencing unexpected amusement.
One could certainly never fault the Captain's brevity.
[Deck Two]
Voran felt the shudder as Charon jumped to warp and gave a brief, grave nod. He would have to … expedite contact. Unfortunately, the objective had turned out quite different from what he had anticipated. More difficult and unpredictable, and certainly more … attractive.
Eyes glinting with merriment looked up at the Vulcan and the fvai pulled towards an interesting scent, not at all deterred by the fact that the iron grip on his collar would not budge an inch.
"I agree." Voran nodded "It seems lunch would be in order."
[End Log]
Captain Shiarrael t'Rehu
Commanding Officer
&
Lieutenant Commander Sakarra Tyrax
Chief Helm/2XO
USS Charon
Also starring:
Voran & Nohtho the Fvai
