In a Pet (general readers)
Dec. 28th, 2011 06:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
my_b7_fic(847 words)
Blake entered the flight deck, and halted, his path blocked by a pile of cushions from the flight deck couch. Cally was on her hands and knees, peering under the remnants of the couch. "Cally? What are you doing?"
"Oh, Blake. It's nothing." Cally rose to her feet and brushed dust off her knees. "My moondisk is missing."
Avon had walked up behind Blake, silently (he was wearing velvet rather than leather today.) "I hope it didn't get into a console. How conductive is a moondisk, I wonder? There's enough current to vaporize it, along with the circuitry."
Cally looked horrified. Blake turned to Avon with a frown. "Maybe you'd better check, since you thought of it."
After the entire crew carried out an extensive search of the flight deck the missing telepathic cactus was still missing. "Well, at least the little fellow must be all right," Vila said. "Avon didn't find any missing circuits."
Avon wiped his palms together. "If it occurred more than a few minutes before Cally came on deck, the auto-repair would have eliminated the evidence."
"Thank you, Avon. It's good to know its death won't inconvenience you." Cally said with dignity. She picked up the moondisk's tray of sand. "I'll just go tidy this away. No point in cluttering up the flight deck with useless items." She strode off the flight deck without looking behind herself.
Gan looked at Avon and said, reproachfully, "That was her pet, Avon."
Avon shook his head. "It was an over-active weed. She'll have forgot all about it in a week."
--
Two weeks later, Blake caught Cally singing an Auron lullaby to one of the large buttons on her console. He quietly assembled the rest of the crew in the rest room for a discussion.
"Maybe we could get her a kitten," Vila suggested. "After all, she's still got the sandbox."
Avon frowned. "Animals on board ship are likely to be a nuisance."
"Oh, what trouble can a little cat be?" Gan said.
"Ithink it's a good idea," Jenna put in. "We can probably get one on a freetrader station."
Blake nibbled on his thumb for a moment. "Right, we'll get Cally a cat."
--
"Cat? You don't want an Earth-cat. Here, look at this Martian flat-cat. Lovely colour, isn't it? Only five credits!"
Gan eyed the animal dubiously. It was a roughly rectangular mass of bright blue fur. He poked it and it humped up and rubbed against his hand. He picked it up and examined it. In a bare patch near its leading edge it had eight tiny purple eyes, and a tiny toothless mouth encircled by cilia. "He eats ground-up standard rations. A spoonful'll last him for days. And you can pop him in the freezer when you're busy, they aestivate, so it won't bother him at all."
"Well... it is a pretty colour." Gan gave the vendor five credits and folded up the flat-cat and put it in his pocket.
--
"Cat? You don't want an Earth-cat. Or one of those Martian flat-cats, either. They don't do anything." The bartender dropped a snowy white furry sphere on the counter in front of Vila. "Ten credits for this pedigreed tribble."
Vila stroked the fur and the tribble vibrated and purred. He grinned. "Do you have one with red fur?"
--
"I'm looking for a live plant," Avon stated firmly. "It should have limited mobility and some degree of intelligence."
The florist went into the back room, returning with a two-foot-tall potted plant. It had a single raggedy-looking stalk with a three-branched complex structure at the top. "This triffid's a fine specimen."
Avon moved his hand and the triffid's stalk rotated to follow him, pistils quivering. It started to swell up as if to attack. Avon aimed his gun at it and it cringed. "All right. Wrap it up."
"That'll be fifty-five credits."
--
Blake looked down at a tug on his trouser leg. A golden-furred humanoid looked up at him and rubbed its stomach suggestively. Blake smiled and picked it up. It grinned at him and made a high-pitched comment, tugging at his hair. Blake laughed. "How would you like to come with me on my ship?" The fuzzy grinned and mimed shooting troopers.
--
Jenna stuffed the hissing white Persian kitten into a carrying case and grinned. It had been expensive, but outbidding a Freedom City casino owner gave her more than a little satisfaction.
--
Cally smiled at the collection of pets. "Oh, thank you. But really, you needn't have bothered."
Avon looked sour. "That's what I told Blake. So the moondisk is gone, so what."
"It's not gone!" Cally held up a bundle of black leather with the moondisk nestled in the folds. "I found it today, in your closet, Avon." She cuddled the moondisk against her cheek.
Avon scowled. "My best tunic. I hope that plant hasn't ruined it."
"Oh, I think she improved it." Cally held up the tunic, showing Avon that the front was covered with a myriad of small, brightly colored, 'rhinestones'. "Aren't her babies cute?"
(This used request #23: Cally's moondisk dies/runs away from home and everyone tries to find her a new pet to make her feel better.)
Blake entered the flight deck, and halted, his path blocked by a pile of cushions from the flight deck couch. Cally was on her hands and knees, peering under the remnants of the couch. "Cally? What are you doing?"
"Oh, Blake. It's nothing." Cally rose to her feet and brushed dust off her knees. "My moondisk is missing."
Avon had walked up behind Blake, silently (he was wearing velvet rather than leather today.) "I hope it didn't get into a console. How conductive is a moondisk, I wonder? There's enough current to vaporize it, along with the circuitry."
Cally looked horrified. Blake turned to Avon with a frown. "Maybe you'd better check, since you thought of it."
After the entire crew carried out an extensive search of the flight deck the missing telepathic cactus was still missing. "Well, at least the little fellow must be all right," Vila said. "Avon didn't find any missing circuits."
Avon wiped his palms together. "If it occurred more than a few minutes before Cally came on deck, the auto-repair would have eliminated the evidence."
"Thank you, Avon. It's good to know its death won't inconvenience you." Cally said with dignity. She picked up the moondisk's tray of sand. "I'll just go tidy this away. No point in cluttering up the flight deck with useless items." She strode off the flight deck without looking behind herself.
Gan looked at Avon and said, reproachfully, "That was her pet, Avon."
Avon shook his head. "It was an over-active weed. She'll have forgot all about it in a week."
--
Two weeks later, Blake caught Cally singing an Auron lullaby to one of the large buttons on her console. He quietly assembled the rest of the crew in the rest room for a discussion.
"Maybe we could get her a kitten," Vila suggested. "After all, she's still got the sandbox."
Avon frowned. "Animals on board ship are likely to be a nuisance."
"Oh, what trouble can a little cat be?" Gan said.
"Ithink it's a good idea," Jenna put in. "We can probably get one on a freetrader station."
Blake nibbled on his thumb for a moment. "Right, we'll get Cally a cat."
--
"Cat? You don't want an Earth-cat. Here, look at this Martian flat-cat. Lovely colour, isn't it? Only five credits!"
Gan eyed the animal dubiously. It was a roughly rectangular mass of bright blue fur. He poked it and it humped up and rubbed against his hand. He picked it up and examined it. In a bare patch near its leading edge it had eight tiny purple eyes, and a tiny toothless mouth encircled by cilia. "He eats ground-up standard rations. A spoonful'll last him for days. And you can pop him in the freezer when you're busy, they aestivate, so it won't bother him at all."
"Well... it is a pretty colour." Gan gave the vendor five credits and folded up the flat-cat and put it in his pocket.
--
"Cat? You don't want an Earth-cat. Or one of those Martian flat-cats, either. They don't do anything." The bartender dropped a snowy white furry sphere on the counter in front of Vila. "Ten credits for this pedigreed tribble."
Vila stroked the fur and the tribble vibrated and purred. He grinned. "Do you have one with red fur?"
--
"I'm looking for a live plant," Avon stated firmly. "It should have limited mobility and some degree of intelligence."
The florist went into the back room, returning with a two-foot-tall potted plant. It had a single raggedy-looking stalk with a three-branched complex structure at the top. "This triffid's a fine specimen."
Avon moved his hand and the triffid's stalk rotated to follow him, pistils quivering. It started to swell up as if to attack. Avon aimed his gun at it and it cringed. "All right. Wrap it up."
"That'll be fifty-five credits."
--
Blake looked down at a tug on his trouser leg. A golden-furred humanoid looked up at him and rubbed its stomach suggestively. Blake smiled and picked it up. It grinned at him and made a high-pitched comment, tugging at his hair. Blake laughed. "How would you like to come with me on my ship?" The fuzzy grinned and mimed shooting troopers.
--
Jenna stuffed the hissing white Persian kitten into a carrying case and grinned. It had been expensive, but outbidding a Freedom City casino owner gave her more than a little satisfaction.
--
Cally smiled at the collection of pets. "Oh, thank you. But really, you needn't have bothered."
Avon looked sour. "That's what I told Blake. So the moondisk is gone, so what."
"It's not gone!" Cally held up a bundle of black leather with the moondisk nestled in the folds. "I found it today, in your closet, Avon." She cuddled the moondisk against her cheek.
Avon scowled. "My best tunic. I hope that plant hasn't ruined it."
"Oh, I think she improved it." Cally held up the tunic, showing Avon that the front was covered with a myriad of small, brightly colored, 'rhinestones'. "Aren't her babies cute?"
(This used request #23: Cally's moondisk dies/runs away from home and everyone tries to find her a new pet to make her feel better.)
