A Moose on the Loose

Posted on Sat Feb 17th, 2024 @ 9:46pm by Ensign Charlotte (Charlie) Washington & Petty Officer 2nd Class Henry Washington

Mission: Character Development
1707 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

"So the Iconians were this super old civilisation whose technology made anything we have today look like the wooden wheel," Henry said excitedly. "You see, they created these gateways that allowed them to travel vast distances within mere seconds."

Moose yelped and cocked his head to one side.

"No Moose, when I say vast distances I don't mean like our transporter, I mean vast distances. One of their gateways was discovered in the gamma quadrant by The Emissary."

Moose barked.

"No, they destroyed it," Henry replied sadly. "I get why they did it, but it would have been amazing to see one in real life. Can you imagine just stepping through a gate and you're on the other side of the galaxy? No transporters, no starships ... the possibilities."

Moose's tail wagged and then dropped again.

Henry looked towards the door expecting them to part and for Charlie to come through but that didn't happen and he looked back at the dog, equally disappointed. "We should call her shouldn't we?" She was unusually late and he could feel his stomach groaning in protest. He tapped his combadge, "Charlie, are you on your way home? Can we... I mean I, can I eat without you?"

"I'll be home in just a minute, I'm on my way right now. Why don't you go ahead and get dinner ready and on the table and I'll be there to eat by the time it's all set out. I was thinking pizza? We've been eating fruit and salads for days. I could use something a little comforting and greasy," Charlie replied.

"Whatever you say honey," Henry replied, mentally shelving the Hj'kki fish recipe he had been eager to try. He closed the comlink and jumped off the sofa so suddenly that Moose also jumped up, thinking they were about to start a game. "Charlie will be home soon," he said as he tied the cord on the robe he was wearing. Charlie had insisted on getting it for him for his birthday. It hadn't been his favourite gift at the time, but he had to admit, it was super comfortable and he would be lost without it.

Charlie rounded the corner and entered their quarters only a couple of minutes later and was immediately distracted by the smell of cheesy deliciousness which Henry was in the middle of placing on the table. So distracted in fact that she entirely neglected to notice that Moose slipped right out the front door as she came in.

"That looks so good. I can't wait to dive in," Charlie said, her eyes wide with hunger.

"I was tempted to add some pineapple to it, but I knew you wouldn't approve," Henry said as he kissed his wife. "Though there are some spicy fruit from the Gandorra system that I think would be really nice on Pizza."

"Oooh that might be good, you should replicate some on the side. We can add it on a slice and see if we like it," Charlie smiled and then looked around, confused. "Where's Moose? I was expecting my usual fluffy greeting."

"He was just here," Henry said as he excitedly moved back towards the replicator, clearly not expecting Charlie to like the idea of adding fruit to her pizza. "Must be in the bedroom."

A quick check revealed that wasn't the case. "Henry, sweetheart, he's not in the bedroom either. Is this some weird surprise or set up or something?" She asked, unsure of what in the world was going on.

"No, he was just here," Henry said as he handled the plate that had just been replicated. "Have you looked properly?" He asked as his eyes roamed the small room. They eventually landed on the door where Charlie had just come from and he was hit by a realisation. "Oh no!"

"Oh no? What do you mean oh no?!" Charlie followed his eyes to the doors. "Oh no. You don't think he snuck out do you?!"

"He must have done," Henry said as he almost threw the plate on the table. "We have to find him quickly," he said in a panicked voice as he moved towards the door. They parted for him and he stuck his head out, looking one way and then the other, nothing. "What do we do?"

"We think like Moose! Where would Moose go?" Charlie peered out the door as well. "Probably to the closest food source, don't you think?"

Henry studied the row of doors that lined their section of the ship. "That could be anywhere," he said as he pulled his dressing gown tighter around him. He was feeling rather exposed right now and hoped that no one came out of their quarters, he might die of embarrassment. "We're going to have to look for him, I'll go starboard, you port."

"Got it," Charlie immediately rushed off to port. "Wait, should you..." she turned to ask Henry if he should change first only to find that he wasn't even there anymore. This should make for some interesting gossip later, Charlie thought.

Henry hurtled down the corridor, his head whipping back and forth hoping to catch sight of a wagging tail or goofball eyes. "Moose! Moose!" He called in an angry whisper. Where the hell are you? He thought as he approached an intersection of the corridor. He threw his head back and sniffed the air wildly, doing his best to catch a scent of food or even unlock some kind of new tracking ability he didn't know he had; it didn't work.

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice asked.

"Moose....Moooooose.....Moose?" Charlie cautiously called out as she navigated every nook and cranny of the ship, totally oblivious to the stares that followed her. It wasn't every day that an ops officer wandered around the Athena calling out for a moose. Three minutes passed, then five, with no luck. She was just about to give up when a fluffy tail wagged out of the corner of her eye. "Gotcha!" Charlie lunged around the corner and grabbed the tail.

Henry tilted his head down towards the direction of where the voice had come from. His eyes met with a dark-skinned woman in a blue uniform. "I'm sniffing the air," he said, instantly regretting that he hadn't chosen a lie to tell.

"Why?" Bharani asked. "And where are your shoes?"

Henry looked down and realised for the first time he was indeed barefoot, and still in his dressing gown. He pulled the cord tighter as he felt his cheeks growing warm. He wondered why she had pointed out his lack of shoes over his attire but he knew his mental capacity was better used trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. "It's...fun."

"Fun?" Bharani repeated. It was hard for her to get a read on people at the best of times but even she couldn't see how wondering the corridors barefoot, in a dressing gown could be considered fun.

"Yes," Henry said, his face now starting to get clammy. "A game, I like games, my wife is a game too. I mean I'm married to a game. No that's not right." He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and tried to smile, though, by the look on her face, he barely managed a smirk. "I like games, I'm married to my wife, obviously, we're playing a game. I need to go..." And without offering any further explanation he hurried down the corridor as fast as his bare feet would take him.

"What in the hell are you...?" A large Caitian swiftly turned to look at the perpetrator that had accosted his tail.

Charlie's cheeks flushed red and she stood back up as she gave a tiny yet friendly wave. "Apologies, I'm so sorry. I don't...uhm...I don't know what happened."

"Is this some sort of new prank or something that they're putting all the junior officers up to?" He quickly closed the distance between them. "If you EVER touch my tail again..."

"Yes, sir, of course not," Charlie piped up before he could finish the sentence. Her voice quivered with regret. "So so sorry, won't happen again," she slowly backed away around the corner and out of sight before drawing a deep breath of relief. Ok, note to self, do not go after tails without seeing the rest of the body first.

Henry continued searching for another ten minutes without much luck. He was getting used to the strange stares and pointing as his dressing gown billowed behind him like a cape. He had run out of ideas and hoped that Charlie was having more luck. His right hand slapped the left side of his chest and waited for the familiar chirp of his combadge; the combadge he wasn't wearing. He made his way over to one of the dark wall panels that lined the corridor and activated the LCARS touchscreen. "Henry to Charlie, any luck?"

"I found a fluffy crew member, but it wasn't Moose," Charlie responded with a note of clear disappointment.

"Damn!" Henry replied, frustration etched in his voice. "I'm gonna head back to our quarters before security arrests me for streaking, meet me there, I might have an idea." He closed the channel, took a daring look around and then half-walked, half-ran back the way he had come.

"So you did find him!" Charlie exclaimed as she arrived back to their quarters to find Moose politely sitting inside as if they hadn't just frantically searched the deck for him. Henry had beat her back as well, she assumed he walked faster, motivated by his lack of clothing.

"No," Henry replied, a mixture of frustration and relief in his voice. "I just got back here and here he was, like butter wouldn't melt. He must have come back himself," he added as he bent down to nuzzle Moose's head. "But how did you activate the door Moosey?" He asked in a singsong tone.

"Wait what?" Charlie looked from Moose back to Henry before letting out a small sigh. "Well at least he's back okay, and at least you didn't a reprimand for wandering a ship half naked."