Raining Cats and Dogs
Posted on Wed Jan 5th, 2011 @ 1:57pm by Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper & Captain Elsie Halliwell
1,125 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Looking for the Future in all the Wrong Places
Location: Ready Room, USS Ranger
Timeline: Current
ON:
T'kaarch had gotten the silent treatment all the way back to the Ranger, apart for a hissed "In my ready room in ten, Lieutenant!" from the captain. As such, he was now in front of said ready room, and slightly nervously pressed the chime. He just hoped he could explain what happened.
The doors slid open from Elsie’s command and as the cat-like creature skulked inwards, the captain barely lifted her eyes to greet him. “Sit down,†she enunciated through gritted and clenched teeth. Her ‘meeting’ and management of the Kerr situation had not gone down too well, and T’kaarch, with his little stunt, was about to get the wrath of her… again.
“What in Hell do you think you were doing, Lieutenant?†she bellowed, placing both hands on the hard, flat desk before her and raising now to her full height.
"Captain, I..." T'kaarch looked down and fiddled with his tail. "You know I was on the Arrrchimedes beforrre... and I... I've met a frrriend." He still wasn't sure how to explain it exactly. Little did he know the explanation had hitched a ride on the transporter beam, and intended to come and help him out, in her very own manner.
“I don’t care who you knew, Lieutenant,†Halliwell barked back, shaking as she spoke. “You’re a senior…â€
At that point, a third, unannounced person entered the ready room. No, in fact, she appeared out of thin air. "Hello, Captain!" She said happily and mischievously.
Elsie’s face dropped and whitened as the unfamiliar form of the woman materialised. She quickly reached for her combadge. “Halliwell to Security. Intruder alert in my ready room!â€
"C-captain, that won't be necessary; She's my frrriend." T'kaarch had to resist standing up himself, knowing full well he should avoid any more undesired behaviours.
The doors to her officer slid open as two men in golden uniforms stormed in, a phaser in each hand. “Captain?†one said, training his gun on the unfamiliar woman. Elsie shook her head and them and opened her palm in a non-defensive manner. “Hold your fire,†she said, now looking toward T’kaarch and his new acquaintance.
"I am Holly. Did T'kaarch not tell you about me? Bad boy!" She tapped T'kaarch softly on the head then skipped to behind the captain. "Captain Halliwell. Your database file precedes you!"
T'kaarch, now more embarrassed then anything else, tried to wave Holly on his side of the desk again, while he said: "Captain, please excuse herrr... she's... not herrrself."
“Lieutenant!†Elsie barked, moving back from her chair into the small recess behind her desk. “You had better explain what is going on here and now!â€
"As you prrropably know, I've flown arrround in a shuttle until I came onboard the Arrrchimedes. I had made herrr as a... companion, as well as a quick way to access data and contrrrols..."
That sparked another reaction in Holly, who all of a sudden was in front of T'kaarch. "So that's what I was to you? A tool?"
"Please, Holly, let me finish..." T'kaarch didn't want to brush her aside, but right now her state of mind was the least of his problems. "On the Arrrchimedes an accident happened... the Polarrron accident... and she was a... casualty, deleted when the accident happened. Orrr well, that's what everrryone thought..."
Holly had sat down by now, on top of captain Halliwell's desk no less. However, at least she was silent and out of the way.
"When we came back to the Arrrchimedes I had this... feeling. So I went back to the place wherrre I... lost herrr... and therrre she was. Like this... She's neverrr been this way, I think she's... missing things. Subrrroutines... I can't explain it."
Halliwell scowled. “That gives you no right, Lieutenant, to run off on your own accord. No right at all! You put the mission at risk and our security.†She turned to face the hologram. “Where have you been?†she asked, rolling her eyes at the mere thought of conversing with a computer program.
T'kaarch looked up to the captain, then to Holly. "How did you get on the Rrrangerrr?"
Holly jumped off the desk with playful eyes. "Transporter beams don't just transport humans or cats, you know. You are quite cute when you transport, you can't help blinking!"
“Enough!†Elsie screamed. She turned to T’kaarch and completely ignored the protests of Holly as she spoke. “I will not have my ship, or this mission compromised because of your... follies, Lieutenant. Once again you have caused more mischief that you can account for. Sort this out immediately. I don’t want a faulty holographic program running through the Ranger’s systems.â€
"Yes, Captain." The answer was soft, and unsure.
“Oh, we’re not done with this, Lieutenant,†Elsie cut in. “Your constant tom-foolery and unprofessionalism has gone too far this time. Head to the science lab and fix this mess. Now!â€
T'kaarch really wanted to protest. He, for once, had nothing - well, not much - to do with the re-appearance of Holly. Granted, he shouldn't have ran off, but all the rest spiralled out of control. His whole demeanor hanging, he just stood up and slouched out of the ready room.
Holly, however, had no intention of leaving. Also, being a hologram, she couldn't be forced by any conventional means (which was also why T'kaarch didn't even bother trying). She did, however, lose the playful bling in her eyes. "Captain." She said to the still seething woman in front of her. "You shouldn't be so hard on T'kaarch - It's not his fault that I appeared."
Incensed, Elsie boomed, “How dare you question my conduct?†Then, on realising what she was doing, muttered to herself, “I’m talking to a computer!†She turned to face the visage of the woman stood before her and took in a breath to calm herself down. “I don’t know what you’re doing on my ship, an independent program somehow running rife through my systems, but I want you gone.â€
At that point T'kaarch had reached the science lab, and transferred the hologram down. "Well, looks like I have to go, Captain!" Holly said before she vanished back into the holo emitters she came from.
A post of importance by...
OFF:
Elsie Halliwell,
Commanding Officer, USS Ranger
T'kaarch,
Chief Science Officer, USS Ranger
Holly (PNPC T'kaarch)
Hologram
USS Archimedes
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