STF

Nibbles and Mushu

Posted May 2, 2021, 11:18 p.m. by Ensign George Anderson (Scientist) (Riley W)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (Science Chief, First Officer) in Nibbles and Mushu

Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman) in Nibbles and Mushu

Posted by Ensign George Anderson (Scientist) in Nibbles and Mushu
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Rand had a rare moment of nothing to do. The captain was busy taking reports and meeting with departments around the ship. He’d dismissed her and now she had time to herself. Now normally that would mean she was in her quarters in the peace and quiet. She’d been going early in the mornings to work with Nibbles for Cmdr Alden, but he’d said she could come as much as she wanted. Randy was busy else where on the ship. There was no telling what her brother was up to. That just meant she could go see nibbles. She entered the lab and nodded to a couple of the other scientists that were there early in the mornings. She took the PaDD that Alden had her keep the log on and wrote down the date and time and then removed a new bag of berries from the sustenance cabinet. She walked over to the enclosure and gently popped the lid. A few days ago she’d started talking to him, more because she didn’t want her voice to startle him if she spoke to someone else. It was all nonsense of course, but at least he didn’t startle this time. She placed several pieces in the cage with a ‘pile’ in the palm of her hand. She started this way each time and it seemed to be working.
Yeoman Rand

There was a PaDD sat on one of the counters in Alden’s lab, still open and in use. Some papers and a pen also sat on the workstation, and a sample of… Well, something. It looked yellowish and liquidy or perhaps slimy. On each of the animal’s terrariums was a small tag listing the name Rand had come up with for them.

It was several moments before Roman headed back in, carrying a cup of tea and… Another stack of paperwork. Upon entry of the lab he briefly paused. “Ah, yeoman. I see you’re working with… Nibbles,” he said, moving to his previous seat and setting down his work and his drink.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand glanced at the work, but did not touch. In fact she didn’t get close to it at all. Cmdr Alden had told her she could feed and work with Nibbles, but to touch nothing else. She could take notes for him if he liked but she wasn’t touching samples. Rand turned her head with a smile. He liked the names or was humoring her. “Yes Sir. I had some extra time and thought I would try a new berry. He likes the darker colored ones, and I wanted to try something brighter. The darker ones he eats more of the acidic ones than the sweeter. But I’m not sure if that’s because they fill him up faster of if it’s because of the flavor or some other reason.” Nibbles seemed to be fine with the change. This were fresh instead of dried. He bit one and the juice shot out of it, into his face. The little rodent dropped the berry hissing and spiting at the offensive thing. Rand was concerned at how vocal he was about it afraid the juice might have hurt him, but after a moment he went back to eating, avoiding that particular berry type out of the selection.
Yeoman Rand

“We can group the berries by those characteristics, and see which he chooses from the separate groups,” Roman suggested, leaning over the paperwork. Then, he capped the sample, and pulled some of the work from the new pile. “That would help us tell why he chooses a specific type of berry.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand nodded, she’d have to check the computer. This particular selection was a mix of Earth and alien berries. So she wasn’t familiar with their taste, but the containers were labelled so she should be able to look them up easily and then sort them. “I can work on that.” Nibbles was happily in her hand at the moment, eating the berries. “Or I can after he moves.” Rand a point to not move him at least for a few minutes after he got on her hand. She wanted him to get used her and didn’t want to risk that by making some strange animal social guffaw. She glanced over at the snake having seen it move and it was staring quite greedily at Nibbles. It just creeped her out, she felt like it was hunting her. She moved, turning her back to it and blocking its view of the rodent. She figured, Nibbles, was probably it’s natural food but she wasn’t going to feed Nibbles to the angry red thing.
Yeoman Rand

The “angry red thing” continued to watch her as she blocked the view of Nibbles. But its container was tightly sealed. That snake wasn’t going anywhere unless someone else wanted it to.

“I would be willing to help you out but I am quite busy today… with things that unfortunately do not involve the lab.” He could probably be doing the paperwork elsewhere, but he found it easy to focus in the lab, even if Mushu kept trying to get his attention, the little lizard tapping toes and a tongue against the wall of his container.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand heard the slight tapping and looked over at Mushu and pursed her lips in thought. “Would you like me to feed Mushu when I’m done here? He’s got that left foot on the glass again, though I’ve never seen him tap his tongue like that.” Nibbles was done eating but instead of going to sleep as usual he was trying to climb her sleeve. Though she was happy that he seemed comfortable with her, she wasn’t ready to have him run around the lab. His claws were a problem though. They curved inward and were now firmly latched to the fabric and she couldn’t get him off one handed without hurting him. “Well Cmdr I think it’s official, he likes me, but now I can’t get him off.”
Yeoman Rand

“Yes, that would be quite helpful,” Roman said without looking up. He hadn’t fed any of his animals yet that day, and had no problem letting Rand do the safe ones. He looked something up on the PaDD, and then wrote something on the papers. He looked up at last when Rand spoke again, seeming just a bit irritated. “Is he latched on somehow?” He asked, not sure why she couldn’t remove a tiny mouse herself.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand heard the irritation and berated herself internally. Alden didn’t like being bothered. She’d gotten used to in the mornings that he was not as ‘prickly’ and even slightly more than tolerated her comments. “He is, but I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She turned her attention back to Nibbles, he was now hunkered down like a cat that refused to be moved. She carefully worked on each claw, but they seemed to curve 360 degrees, almost back into the paw. “Fascinating, you are really determined aren’t you.” She was whispering to him. She would almost have twist the paw to get it out, she tried to just let the claws rip holes in her sleeve, but that was just a mess of half cut threads. She tried picking him up by the nape of the neck. Mother animals often did that and it was instinct for them to go limp. However that only seemed to distress Nibbles. She glanced around, “Bowen,” she called to the NE across from her, “Give me those scissors.” She held out her hand for them.

George stepped into the Science Lab, holding a small plastic container in one hand. A small snake, about six inches long and thinner than his pinkie finger, lay curled up atop a moist paper towel inside the container. “Good morning, Alden, Rand,” he said with a cheerful glance from one to the other. George then began to head for his regular workstation to start his duties for the day. Why had he brought Clark with him? He liked the company.

Ens Anderson, Sci/Sec

Rand glanced up from where she was about to go at something with a pair of scissors. “Good morning,” it was said quietly, she was expected to answer but she wasn’t comfortable with conversation, plus she’d already annoyed Alden. She still wasn’t comfortable with the whole first name thing and he preferred it over his last name after that horribly awkward situation in the gym. A moment later she placed the scissors down and slipped her arm out of the cut off part of her sleeve. “You can keep that, I didn’t really need it.” She glanced around again, finding a magnifying glass and lifted Nibbles up (but not out of the cage) to get a better look at how those sickle like claws worked.
Yeoman Rand

“Morning, Ensign,” Roman said, glancing briefly at Anderson. “I’d be careful with that. Several of the animals here wouldn’t mind snacking on him,” he said, meaning Anderson’s little snake. In his glance, he caught sight of what Rand was doing. “The hell happened?!” He asked, seeing her sleeve. It looked cleanly cut. “I’d have helped you, you know.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand shook her head, “It’s okay, it’s just cotton. I can fix it later, or Randy will. I cut it off. I couldn’t get him loose without hurting him.” Now he sounded disappointed or upset or something with her. He’d been annoyed by her comments so she took care of it. Rand cringed internally she was SO bad at this.

George nodded. “Don’t worry, sir. I’ll keep him away from the cages,” he said with a smile. His attention was taken away from his own animal when he noticed what Rand had done to her shirt sleeve. “What’s going on here?” He asked, leaving Clark in his container and coming over to see if he could help.

Ens. Anderson

Oh she hated attention and now she had it from both of them. “He is attached to my sleeve, and I needed my arm, so I let him keep the sleeve.” She passed the magnifying glass to Alden and then using both hands, she very gently held Nibbles and manipulated his paw with the other hand. Just enough so Alden could see, the claws, sickle shaped curved through the material and back out and almost into the paw. She could flex the paw and the claw extended and the retracted. “I couldn’t get him loose without hurting him. He could hang on for hours like that I guess. And most mammals have blood vessels running into the claws. If I cut too far he could bleed out.” Alden put her in charge of caring for him, she was just trying to be careful with him. He was the only specimen he had. Forgetting the fact Rand was a bit attached now despite trying not to be.
Yeoman Rand

Roman nodded. “You’re right,” he said, looking at the claws with the magnifying glass. “They curve nearly all the way around. I’d hate to have this little guy angry at me. I’m sure we can get you a new shirt.” As long as she didn’t mind a science department shirt, that was. He was getting a little worried about letting others handle his animals. Too many things could happen. At least this time, the only casualty was a sleeve.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“That’s fascinating,” George said with a tilted head, leaning down to examine the little claws. “Too bad we don’t have a companion for the little guy. Most animals do better with a buddy,” he commented, standing up straight again. “I’ll fetch that shirt for her, sir,” he left, coming back a little bit later with a shirt from the storage closet where they were stored just in case of incident.

Anderson, Sci

Rand shook her head, oh dear. “No I don’t need…” but Anderson was gone. She would have time to change and it was only the first 4th of the sleeve. She’d be able to fix it. She glanced at Alden. “I’m sorry Cmdr. That was the idea wasn’t it? That I’d be a companion for him see if helped? He didn’t hurt me.” She set the little rodent down and offered her arm up for inspection there were no marks, not even from her use of the scissors. “I would have left him there, but you said not to take him out of the cage.” She shrugged, “Really I just didn’t want to hurt him. I’m sorry.” The shirt wasn’t a big deal but she knew from previous days he was very concerned about his animals hurting someone or vise versa. She wasn’t hurt at all. Nibbles seemed to have just attached to her sleeve and gone to sleep. Infact he was still sleeping attached to the sleeve scrap in his cage.
Yeoman Rand

“Yes, that was the idea,” Roman confirmed. “You’re fine, Rand, you didn’t do anything wrong,” he reassured her, using her first name… Probably for the first time ever. “He likes you, too. Has he seemed happier?” He asked her, wanting to know if the idea was helpful. It seemed to be.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand blinked. He’d used her name. Not that she had a problem with that, but the lack of formality made things confusing. Was coming to help him work or social. She thought it was work, well it was fun work, but still. She liked helping Alden because he was always professional and had strict rules for the labs. She was able to relax and not worry about anything else. But at the same time she supposed she was a little flattered that he thought enough of her to use her name. She thought about his question while she added notes and sketch of his claws to the PaDD near his cage. “He’s been active when I come in in the mornings, instead of sleeping. He seems to be eating more, but when I used the mini scale to weigh him he’s the same weight. I’m not sure how to quantify ‘happy’ in an animal. I was going to start leaving the pile of food opposite of my hand. He always falls asleep in my hand, but I didn’t know if it was because the food was there or because he likes my hand. I guess now I know.”

Roman nodded. “Those are the signs of happiness in an animal. They eat more enthusiastically and they usually enjoy activity more.”

Once he had dropped off the shirt, George decided he probably wasn’t needed for the conversation and went back to his work station, pulling open Clark’s container and letting the little snake slither up his hand and wrap around his wrist. Clark’s tongue flicked out as he smelled the new place, and George got to work at the computer. He was testing some protein simulations, so he knew his work wouldn’t be unsafe for the snake.

Ens. Anderson

She replaced the lid and locked it. She put the berries and seeds away and took out a container of small crickets for Mushu. She passed Anderson and honestly thought he just had a bracelet on. She thought the color was interesting and then it moved! “Is that a snake?” She had heard that Anderson had pet snakes, but she honestly didn’t know they could be trained to be ‘worn’ like that. She moved back to Mushu’s terrarium. She put the tip of her finger against the glass where his foot was and grinned before unlocking the lid and then releasing 3 crickets into the cage and closing the container. “I’ve never seen anyone carry a snake like that.” She looked at Alden, he needed someone to help with the animals when he was busy and Anderson had been at the top of the list. She picked up the list near his work area and handed him Anderson’s file. She couldn’t be anymore obvious about what she expected him to do.
Yeoman Rand

“Ah, well. My wrist is warm, so he likes it here. I handle them a lot, so they’re really comfortable lounging with me. As long as I provide some warm ‘sunlight’ and a basking spot,” George gave Rand a smile, gesturing to a small desk light he’d turned on when he got here. It was shining right onto the keyboard, above which his hands invariably would be. Clark had his head resting on the back of George’s hand, but he lifted it, flicking his tongue at Rand. “Nah, she’s not going to bring you food, buddy,” he chuckled. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your earthworms later.” He reached over and rubbed the top of the snake’s head with his finger. Clark seemed to lean into the touch, transparent eyelids blinking.

Rand watched the small snake while Mushu ate. But she offered no more comments. She wasn’t going to offer food to any animal she wasn’t told to. She turned back to Mushu who had his left paw on the glass again. “Okay I’m getting them. Don’t be so impatient. You’re just going to play with them first.” Four seemed to be an ideal number for him at the moment so she dropped four more crickets in watched to make sure he ate all of them.

“I’d carry him like that, but he’d eat me,” said Roman, grinning as he pointed to his 6ft long, red alien anaconda snake. Mushu watched the crickets, snatching them one by one with his tongue. He seemed to be making a game out of it. As he watched Rand hint to him what she wanted, and by hint, he meant all but shout, he gave her a very annoyed look as he picked up the file, giving it a glance over. With a grunt of dissatisfaction, he turned to the Ensign. “Anderson… how would you like to learn how to manage my animals?”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

George lifted his head, interest clear on his face. “Sure, sir. I’d love to learn.” He stood up, lifting his hand to his collar, and Clark slid off his hand and onto his shoulder. His tail flicked up and seemed to drape over the man’s ear for balance. George realized what he’d done, and decided that if he was going to deal with other animals, it’d be a good idea to put his snake away. “Okay, buddy. Time to sleep in your container for a bit,” he muttered, lifting up the small container. Clark seemed to blink at him, flicking his tongue once or twice before slithering into the round container. George didn’t close the top, but he did place it under the warm lamp, and What annoyance Clark seemed to express melted away when he was placed under the heat lamp.

George stepped over and crouched in front of the anaconda’s cage. “My, aren’t you a beauty. Do they have a name?” he asked, glancing at Alden. “I never had an anaconda, but I had a Reticulated Python. Called him Cleese.”

Ens. Anderson

“Rand named him. It’s Wyvern,” Roman told him. “And be careful with it! A scratch from its fangs will make you very sick. A bite will be lethal,” he warned. It was the same warning he’s given Rand, just before allowing her to feed Wyvern… the snake had nearly bitten her.

“Wasn’t planning on touching,” George assured the CSO.

Rand watched from a safe distance. Wyvern didn’t seem to be as fascinated by Anderson as he was her. Maybe she smelled like fear? After the first day she had a very healthy respect…no at least be honest with herself, fear of the 6 foot bright red snake. She moved around to the other ‘safe’ animals Cmdr Alden said she could feed for him. When she passed his work station she saw the reports and forms he was working on. It was almost like a compulsion. She couldn’t help it. In a few minutes they ones giving him trouble were all sorted, filled and ready for his approval. His science reports and notes she didn’t touch, but the administrative paperwork was done for him. She quickly went back to finishing feeding the safe creatures.
Yeoman Rand

“The yeoman has been assisting me the last few days. She is allowed to feed the non-venomous animals only,” he told Anderson, “And we are experimenting with how her interaction with the Atariva mouse affect him. She calls him Nibbles.” His tone made it unclear whether he approved of that name or not, but it was already written on the side of Nibble’s enclosure, so obviously it wasn’t too much of a problem to him.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Pretty brave to be working with a hot species,” Anderson commented, standing up and looking down at ‘Wyvern.’ “Something as big as this shouldn’t have to be venomous. Snakes this big usually depend on their constriction to immobilize their prey. Venomous snakes are usually a lot smaller than this.. Whatever it hunts natively must be really big, and really mean for something this big to develop venom…”

Ens. “Obsessed with Snakes” Anderson

“All of my creatures are from the same planet, and I believe that you are correct. There are some very fearsome animals living there. I have seen that this snake can go weeks without eating if it needs to.” Roman headed over to the cabinet, producing a live mouse. A demonstration he had also given Rand. Unlocking the container, he lifted the lid for a split second, just long enough to drop the mouse in, and then shut the lid quickly, relocking it.

The snake, Wyvern, had been watching Roman’s movements, and once the mouse was released into its container, the snake locked his gaze onto it. When he was done watching the mouse, he lunged swiftly, his fangs sinking into the mouse’s flesh. Once his fangs made contact, the mouse began to thrash wildly, but Wyvern’s grip was unbreakable. The mouse thrashed for several minutes, squealing loudly, until finally, it slowed, and then stopped moving. And then, it was inside the snake in one gulp.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Bit overkill for a mouse,” Anderson chuckled at first, then shook his head slightly, his smile fading. “I’d suggest moving away from live prey, and giving him bigger portion sizes. Snake that big can easily eat something as big as a deer,” he crouched again, looking through the glass at the large snake. “Although you might find it… educational or something to feed live animals to wyvern… you saw how much that mouse thrashed and squealed.” He glanced over to Nibbles’ cage, where the small thing was mostly hidden. “There’s three things wrong with that. Firstly, even though you think it might be okay for Wyvern himself, the mouse has claws and could scratch your snake, draw blood. Injure him. Secondly, it’s unnecessarily cruel for the mouse. Much better for the mouse to die peacefully via CO2 chamber than to die in agony from venom. Thirdly, you’re going to terrify your other animals. Look at Nibbles. It’s shivering. It heard that shriek. No wonder he clung to Rand like that. Probably thinks he’s next. Instead of live mice, I’d suggest something as big as a rabbit. Pre-euthanized, of course.”

George “the snake expert” Anderson

Rand was busy back at Nibbles cage. She’d been trying to get a closer look at his claws to see if she could coax him to release the sleeve. Not that she wanted it back but so incase Nibbles ever did it again. The squeal had the exact effect Anderson described, luckily her hands weren’t near his claws when he suddenly released the scrap and hid inside the den. Nibble might be small and docile, but he was wild and scared. She left the scrap near the den and locked the lid. She wanted to take Nibbles back to her quarters but she had to remind herself he wasn’t a pet.

Roman listened to the lecture, his eyes turning slowly to daggers. Why, oh why, had he listened to Rand? He took a breath to compose himself before saying anything regretful. “I understand that you’re quite the snake enthusiast. I even think you may be right. However. I will not and I repeat, will not be lectured like a twelve year old boy by a junior officer.” He said, his voice tight with controlled anger. “Have we understood one another?” He asked.

He took notes, however, recognizing the irritating correctness of Anderson’s spiel. “Your suggestions are noted, Ensign.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

George gave Alden a flat look, then shrugged. “I’m just looking out for your animals here,” he replied, standing up. He acknowledged the man’s anger, but didn’t rise to it. Alden was a higher rank than he was. By quite the margin. But he was also younger. And less experienced, especially in reptile care. George had spoken out of concern for the animal. Concern for all the animals in the lab. He couldn’t stand to see someone who didn’t know how to care for reptiles trying to deal with something like this. Let alone a venomous species. George didn’t know what the hell Alden was thinking, trying to study Wyvern when he knew so little about reptile care that he was throwing mice at the snake and letting another completely inexperienced person try to feed such a dangerous but beautiful creature. Internally, the ensign was absolutely seething, but he didn’t let it show on his face, keeping his tone calm and his face neutral. “I don’t think that the chain of command has priority over animal welfare, sir. And those words had to be said. If you are upset about the fact that I care enough about these creatures to speak up when I see them being treated poorly, well… I suppose I’m serving under the wrong officer.” He gave Roman a very stiff and overly formal salute, then went back to his work station, leaning over his garter snake’s container for a moment before beginning to type on the keyboard again, working with his protein folding.

Ens. Anderson, Sci

Rand took a deep breath and without a care walked over to Alden with a PaDD in hand. “What did you think? If he’ll stand up to you about taking care of them, he won’t take any flack from anyone else. He’ll make sure they are taken care of. Or should I keep searching the personnel files, Sir?”
Yeoman Rand

Roman gave her a look which for a moment was full of pure fire. But then, the fire died, and he closed his eyes briefly. “No, Ensign. He’ll be able to do the job and do it right.” He said, looking to Anderson. “I am… sorry. For my temper. You are, of course, correct. I am no expert in snakes specifically. I keep the animals to study them, their effects, and their environments. They are not pets.”

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

George was silent for several moments, forcing himself to not react until he’d calmed himself down as well. He pushed away from his workstation, looking at Alden with a hard expression on his face. “Pets or not, animals need to be cared for correctly, in a manner that considers their needs.” he said softly. “May I speak freely for a moment, sir?” he glanced over at the enclosure Wyvern was being kept in. “I know I already have spoken freely, but I don’t want to overstep my boundaries too many times in a day,” he gave Alden a wry smile.

Ens. Anderson


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