Bug Hunt, No hair balls allowed

Posted on 11 Aug 2020 @ 2:00am by Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd

1,775 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: S03 Ep 02 Trouble in the Sticks (Incidentals) Galen IV Phase 1
Location: Various
Timeline: After Feline fancy side mission post

[ON]

- The surface of Galen IV -

Iria was walking at a brisk pace in her feline form, it was cooler than she had expected but it wasn't extremely cold, << Not too bad out here, not sure how long I can keep you updated, I love you! >> She sent to Remy she resisted in stopping to look behind her to look at the area where she 'knew he and the shuttle were', even if she couldn't see it because of the cloaking technology. Iria saw a bird native to Galen IV taking flight, from the corner of her eye, she wanted to follow it, but she kept going in the direction of the coordinates that she had been given by the Captain to focus her search on.

- Shuttle -

Dodd was carefully monitoring Walon as she searched for any signs that would provide the data the mission needed. He picked up lots of random life signs from a variety of organisms, like a few other random cats, a stray dog or two and even a Klingon Targ was detected. He was also picking up a few humanoid life signs but they were far enough away to not be a threat at the moment.

- The surface of Galen IV -

Iria resisted in running in the direction that was given as coordinates to search. She didn't want to risk making her presence out of place by running straight for a certain area. In general, most cats explored and only ran when they were hunting something, or playing or running from danger. There wasn't anything to 'hunt' yet. There were no others that she was playing with, and so far so good nothing was actively trying to hunt her down or be a danger to her.

- On the shuttle -

Dodd was doing all he could to monitor the situation as well as trying not to worry about Walon. The sensors were active but fortunately, the reading of lifeforms, for the most part, we're in the distance away from Walon. He just made a record of all he did detect and the path Walon was taking. He logged on the known landmarks she passed as well. He was hoping she would find something very soon as he did not like her being out all alone. He was sensing thoughts of some of the residents who likely had not been converted to hosts as the thought were that of fear and dread. He could not risk sending any of his thoughts outs to anyone not even Walon as that could make the mission fail. He was able to keep his thoughts contained.

He had no way to send any sort of signal to Walon, but he noticed a large gathering of lifeforms about 1 mile from where Walon was heading. Maybe that was the location of the hive centre and maybe that was the queen. If only he could give her the information.

- Galen IV -

Iria was doing her best to blend in, she made herself ignore the visible distress on some folks faces. She kept going forward and deeper into the city, the smell of folks changed as she headed towards what looked to be a business centre. The expression on most folks was smiling but it didn't match their eyes. The eyes were not happy, she slinked into the shadows and started watching and listening.

After a few hours of people watching she followed a small group of people, Vulcan, Deltan, Elysian, a hybrid Orion that appeared half Romulan. There was a Trill in the middle of the group, instead of the more commonly known spots or pigmentation that ran along the body this Trill had forehead ridges.
They hadn't spoken a word aloud but after some time outside, they had gathered together and started towards the centre of the business centre shops. Iria followed them carefully to the doorway but since there seemed to be no pets walking around she stuck to the shadows and circled around the building. Looking for another way in...

- Shuttle -

Iria came back to the shuttle around 0145 hours, she was tired but had gotten as much information as she could. ~~ Remy, I narrowed down the location of the Queen. I will mark the coordinates down when I get inside. How was your day? ~~ She sent to him as she waited for the ramp to open and allow her to enter the shuttle again.

Remy opened the ramp and boosted the security of the cloaking device. ~~ I am glad you are back so my nerves can relax as I know you are safe and at my side again. ~~ Remy then turned to secure the shuttle once more. Remy was ready to get off this planet and get back to his domain of engineering.

Iria was covered in a pale blue-white nimbus then she stood there in the human form she gave Remy a cheeky grin, before she reached for her clothes. She had just pulled her shirt over her head and the fabric settled against her skin when her stomach rolled in protest. She made a face then ran past Remy to the bathroom, well it had been her intended destination but she ended up getting sick about four steps away from it. The tracking device she swallowed was in the middle of the mess she had made. Iria muttered under her breath as she caught her breath. " Well that's not fun but at least I didn't hork it up outside for the bluegills to find."

"Oh my, sweetheart, are you alright?" Dodd responded as he dashed over to assist his Imzadi. He reached for a towel as he approached.

Iria looked up at him her face flushed with a combination of embarrassment and rueful amusement, "Could be better but at least I didn't get it on you." She didn't expect him to help her with this mess but she wasn't going to tell him she wasn't appreciative because it wasn't many who would help when you threw up.

"Well at least you made it safely back to the shuttle," Dodd added. "Did you accomplish your fact-finding mission?"

Iria nodded softly, her stomach still rolling in protest even though the tracking device was on the deck plating of the shuttle instead of still inside her stomach. "Yeah, I was going to mark everything down in my report before I felt sick." She swallowed and tried to smile, "I can get this done go ahead and get us back to the ship." She really didn't want to get sick again and more than that she didn't want to throw up on Remy. She was certain he would forgive her if she did but the matter was it would be a big hit to her pride.

Dodd stood up and reached for a PADD and handed it to Walon. "Here you go, so you can start your report". Dodd then stepped to his pilot's seat and started the prep for taking off. He checked the sensors and found it was clear in the area. So he did the speed start and took off within fifteen minutes of Walon's return to the shuttle. He knew this shuttle and was confident in the vehicle to do the quick take-off protocols.

They were outside the atmosphere in less than ten minutes and Dodd was monitoring all the sensors the whole time. It appeared the cloaking device worked successfully and still in effect. Then Dodd set the autopilot to get the shuttle to the ship and he then tended to assist Walon with getting cleaned up as well as cleaning the deck plating and disposing of the mess.

"You are not aware of how happy I am to see you," Dodd stated as he looked at Walon with a loving grin. "I will be even happier once I have you safely back on the Tomcat." Dodd then took his seat to review the data he collected from the sensors while on the surface and to let Walon make her notes of her findings.

Iria wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to him, but after she had gotten sick she figured it was better to wait until they arrived back at the Tomcat. She was as very happy to be near Remy and being able to finally relax after stressing over the mission. "I am very happy to see you too and after I give this report I think we are due for a break." If nothing else sharing a shower and light meal with Remy might settle her rolling stomach. That or it was just a reaction to being feline for so many hours, she had never done more than two hours before. This had definitely taken well over eight hours. She wrote her findings quickly and clearly while fighting the rolling of her upset stomach. She finished after a few more minutes and smiled softly as she watched Remy bring the shuttle back to the Tomcat.

After about forty minutes, the shuttle was approaching the Tomcat. Dodd requested the clearance to land in shuttle bay three as this is where the stored this particular shuttle. It was granted and the computer took over the rest of the process.

"Once we brief the captain with your intel, we can see about getting cleaned up and take a little downtime to relax before we have to jump back into action," Dodd stated to his Imzadi.

"Maybe a massage is what you need after spending all that time in fur." Dodd added with a playful grin.

Iria smiled cheekily at him, "That sounds absolutely wonderful, Remy, you're going to spoil me." She would have kissed him but she didn't want to bump his hands on the controls and have the shuttle go in a direction that they didn't want.

- Shuttle Bay Three, USS Tomcat -

Once the shuttle had settled back on the deck plating of the Tomcat, Dodd secured the vehicle and opened the hatch. Dodd started down the ramp and reach for Iria, who followed him down the ramp. She was happy to be back on the ship and she wanted nothing more than to head to their quarters to relax with Remy; however, she needed to give her report to the Captain first then provided nothing else came up, she hoped that she and Remy could get some rest and relax for a few hours and maybe get one of Remy's massages as he suggested...

[OFF]

Lt Iria Walon
Chief Counselor, Chief Intelligence officer
USS Tomcat

Lt Remington Dodd
Chief Engineer
USS Tomcat

 

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