Posted Sept. 12, 2021, 2:44 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) (Lucas Foxley)
Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Roman’s Gladiators
Posted by Lieutenant Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Roman’s Gladiators
Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Roman’s Gladiators
Posted by… suppressed (6) by the Post Ghost! 👻(snip)
Rand had been allowed to introduce Randy to the animals in the lab and it had helped Randy to have a more in depth idea of what Alden had been doing. But then Randy, with all the crew losses and transfers and not having met with the ship carrying the replacements yet, had been moved to medical. Randy really was a great nurse. Nurse Practictioner actually. Rand was proud of him. That also meant she was picking up more of the work to help Alden. That actually wasn’t Randy’s fault. With Carmichael having transferred, Alden was in command for the moment, so Rand was working with him all day long. The man had a lot on his shoulders before, and now it was even more. Rand admired how he handled it, never seeming to be phased by the endless amount of work. She did her best to mitigate all of it and make things flow as smoothly as possible. She probably annoyed Alden as much as she had Carmichael. She did her best.
Carmichael transferring was disappointing to Roman. They had been friends, and had worked well together. And then, after Carmichael left, and before Rogers came aboard, command duties had been transferred to him. Rand had been indispensable. She wrote up notes, did paperwork, helped with basic lab duties, along with her other typical jobs, like compiling his reports. He was sure he’d have lost his mind without her, though he did feel bad. He knew she was as busy as he was, especially with Randy’s transfer to medical. At least he didn’t have to hear Randy’s nagging anymore.
At 0530, Rand had finished her run, showered, put on her uniform and arrived in the galley. She spoke to the chief briefly and then headed down to the biology lab. She entered quietly and walked over Nibble’s cage. Early in the morning before she left to collect morning reports, was the only time she had to spend with the small rodent. He was doing much better with the consistent interaction. She didn’t notice anyone else in the lab at the moment so she wouldn’t be able to handle him, but she could feed him. As she passed his enclosure, Mushu placed his left front foot on the glass. “Oh I know you’re hungry, Mushu, but I’m not supposed to feed you. Cmdr Alden will be in soon or En Anderson.” Mushu’s eyes followed her as she went to the sustenance cabinet and took out a new blend of fruit and nuts for Nibbles. Rand liked the changes that Alden had made to the lab, with docile animals on a separate side of the lab from the aggressive ones. That meant she didn’t have to watch Mr Wyvern track her across the lab and contemplate trying to eat her.
The lab had been upgraded considerably. The enclosures were as large as space would allow, to give the animals closer to their preferred amount of space. They were newly secured, with lids that would not be accidentally coming off, and reinforced on the larger or stronger animal’s enclosures. For the dangerous ones, a feeding mechanism had been fitted, in order to allow safer feeding protocols. Usually, it was in the form of a two-door hatch. The first door was opened from the outside, the food dropped in, whether it be pellets or meat, and then the first door was closed and secured. The second, inner door could be opened by button, dropping the food into the cage. Animals had been sorted, the docile herbivorous on one side of the lab, and carnivorous or dangerous on the other, separated by a screen.
Rand started making notes on the clipboard of his behavior, what she was feeding him and how much he ate. Nibbles was still asleep, having taken the cut sleeve of her uniform that he’d attached to weeks before, and tucking it into his nest. She made a visual inspection of his respiration rate and noted it down. His cage was fairly clean and wouldn’t need changing for a few more days. She carefully lifted the lid keeping an eye on Nibbles. He was still a wild animal after all, and carefully scattered the food mixture into the cage, without putting her hand in, and then closed and secured the lid.
Yeoman Rand
Rand didn’t mind the Goo lizard or even the Chinzilla. She wasn’t approved to feed or handle them, though she wouldn’t mind given the new safety measures. She did make notes on their habitat and sleep habits. She left the lab at 0600 to collect department reports and compile them. She compiled them and then returned to the lab to finish taking notes on the different data points Alden asked her to observe.
It was 0700 when Roman arrived in the biology lab to find Rand already working on the daily observations. He knew she preferred the observations for the animals like Nibbles or Mushu, names which she gave them. But she also did notes on the others, though less frequently. It wasn’t a job he minded, so usually she left taking notes on Mr Wyvern and the other carnivorous to him. A tea already in hand, he took a seat at one of the lab tables and looked at his PaDD. Since Rand had been working with him more regularly, they saw each other almost every morning, so after he’d sat down he said, “Morning, Rand.”
~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO
Rand looked up from where she was taking notes on the Goo lizard. She had drained some of the water into a beaker for Alden to test later. The lizard liked to get in the water and the goo it excreted got into the water. Alden was testing it for something. She wore protective gloves when she did it, always careful.
Alden had found that a small dose of the poison would not kill, though it would make whoever had the misfortune to come in contact with it have a bad time. He was alright with Rand collecting the water, given that she was extremely careful with it.
Rand was comfortable with Alden now. His ‘sudden’ words in the silence didn’t startle her and she was used to his moods now, which meant she didn’t get nervous or startle. “Good morning Cmdr. Alden. The water sample is on the sample table. I have the morning reports ready to go over.” Normally there was no food or drink allowed in the lab. But Alden had made exception once or twice recently because of the work load. Rand had cleared a space in a far corner for such. She and Alden had both skipped meals several times in the weeks. That is until Randy walked into the lab and berated them, loudly and extensively. And then she’d heard it again when she got back to their quarters where Randy had stayed up waiting for her. So with the sight of his tea, “Chef should have breakfast prepared soon. Do you want to eat and do reports in the Galley or here today?”
Yeoman Rand
Randy’s lecture - reminiscent of old times - had caused Alden to relax his no food in the lab rule. “Here will be good. Though our new Captain has taken over her duties, I still have much to catch up on,” he said, stifling a yawn, “Fantastic. I believe I may be near finished studying the lizard’s poison.” He hadn’t had time for his research project in recent weeks. He had become too busy with administrative and command duties, and so the only thing he’d had time for was to feed and care for the animals. Now that they had a new Captain, he could go back to doing his research.
~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO
Rand nodded and wrote down the last bit of observations and slipped out the door. She returned moments later and moved carefully along the edge of the lap to the far corner. Rand was never comfortable sharing a meal or shudder a drink with a superior officer. However it was one of the things she had to do. Working meals were a common occurance for yeomen. Setting the food down Rand grabbed her PaDD and waited for Alden. “Her are the lab updates. Astrometrics is still claiming a malfunction with the main sensor array. Engineering has checked it again and says there is nothing wrong.”
“And here are the potential new science officers that command sent for you to choose from for the current science vacancies.”
Yeoman Rand
“I’ll have to take a look at it,” Roman said, about the sensor. He skimmed the lab updates, planning to do a more thorough read later. He was quite used to the timid way Rand shared meals, sitting in the farthest corner of the lab. At first he’d thought it was.. a little strange. But he didn’t really mind anymore. And then she handed him the files of potential new science offers, and he let out an irritated sigh. His least favorite chore was looking for potential officers. “Lovely. I’ve got my work for the day, then?” He said to Rand.
~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO
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