[snip]

Then just as it seems the beast might not make it through to gouge out their eyes and devour their souls to likely all their surprise the door handle clicked up and after a pause the door got pushed open.....

“What?” Sasha exclaimed.

“What?” Rick started. “Some dog.”

”..Oh Gods it can open doors we’re ALL GOING TO DIE!!!” Booster said crying in fear, “..Why has no one from the armory department shown up yet?!? I called them over 10 minutes AGO!!!” He wailed then broke off from the pair and fled down the hall out of sight, leaving Gagarin and Walters to their fate it seems.

Sasha looked like he was about to follow Booster, his finger mere inches from the comms, paralyzed to the spot and unable to move his legs to tear after him.

Thankfully for the two the great dangerous beast was not some nameless horror from the great beyond ready to devour their souls, or rend their flesh. No, as the door swiveled open from the inside, the great dangerous beast turned out to be a dog!

“It’s a werewolf!” Sasha cried out.

“It’s a dog,” Rick replied, utterly relieved. “Cute.”

“That’s what they want you to see,” Sasha said.

“What?”

“Shapeshifters. Lure you into a false sense of security. Like Transylvania. How else could it have torn open a crate to escape and opened the door?” A realization came to him and he stuttered out. “The crate could be it’s coffin and it has escaped!”

“Okay, Ensign, you are officially cut off from horror videos.” He paused, still looking at the dog. “And science fiction.”

Specifically a short furry cute little thing like this, https://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/1610/cavalier-king-charles-spaniel-standing.jpg?mode=pad&width=1000&rnd=132143803040000000

It was female, and had a curious tilt to its head, as if looking up at the pair expecting something. Around its body was a blue-green-silver colored harness with two side pouches to either side. Weaved into the top was the markings of the MACO service branch, as well on the other ‘Service Dog’. A collar around its neck with a silver engraved dog tag gave the dog’s service number, blood type, breed, and rank/name Sergeant Nessa in this case. Another tag with a data chip read for hook up to a scanner could likely contain more information.

Rick studied it. “Maybe you should call it in?” He moved to one side and moved closer to read what was written. “What have we here?” He said to himself. “MACO Service dog. I didn’t think we had any MACO’s on board.”

“Don’t get too close. It could shape change and possess you,” Sasha said in a whisper.

“Oh please nobody tell me this conversation is being recorded,” Rick muttered. “The call, sir?” he said. He craned his head to read. “Sgt Nessa.”

Sitting dutifully the dog sat on its hindlegs, as if at attention. It seemed to be waiting for someone to give it orders.....

GM CockRoach

Sasha’s finger moved and pressed the comms. [o] Ensign Gagarin to the Bridge. [c] His voice was thick with his accent, coming out more in his anxiety. [o] In the Cargo Bay. E Deck. We have found a were (coming out as vere) .. uh, dog. [c] Rick whispered, guiding him. ‘A trained MACO service dog’ [o] Apparently a trained service dog. MACO. [c]

Rick went down to a knee. “Are you Nessa? Good dog.” With some mental reluctance but still unconsciously, he pulled out a strip of his beef jerky. “You hungry, girl? Come here. You know this stuff is gold out here so you better enjoy it.” Inside he was thinking, yeah, right, any food is gone in five seconds with a dog. Any dog.

Rick and Sasha

The dog gave a crisp bark in response to the query of being hungry, then a whine as if nodding a yes. When presented with the food it used its left paw to scrap it off Rick’s hand and down to the floor where it dug into the offering with gusto.

Isaac was reading a pad on his way to the mess hall for a light snack before bed. Thinking about what to eat then he Heard the Commotion from the cargo bay. He opened the door and called out “ who is in here come out now”

Lt. Isaac Black (AC)

Hearing Black’s command back into the cargo bay the dog turned in his direction as if a command was given or recognizing a possible situation, lowering its belly to the ground nearer back to the door it sniffed, then gave a clipped short soft pair of barks looking up at Black as if expecting him to know what to do or say next. The dog was clearly well trained and quite intelligent.

Sasha watched Black walk past him. Were they making that much noise that they woke someone? Or was it Booster screaming down the corridor that did it? Probably Booster. Sasha glanced at Black then at the comms. Was it working? Was there nobody on the bridge? Were they vacuuming there and nobody heard the comms over the sound of the vacuum? Wouldn’t ‘that’ be the irony?

“Whoa, watch your step Lieutenant,” PO Rick Walters said from his place down on one knee with the dog not far. “We’re down here.” He had been looking in the direction of the dimmed Cargo Bay where the lighting was poor - well, for now - and the sounds of the screeching and tearing of metal and had missed Black until he was very close. This little girl dug her self out of a crate? He looked at her paws and muzzle .. was she hurt at all from that? While he did that he replied to Black, “I don’t think there’s anyone in there. There was just crewman Booster who got .. spooked when the Sergeant here hit the door control.” Was Nessa some kind of guide dog that could open doors and stuff? She didn’t look like a wolf or anything .. formidable. Not hunky like a Doberman or German shepherd or other traditional ‘guard’ dogs.

Based on how the dog walked and looked, it seemed in fine shape. No injuries were present other then that the dog looked hungry and recently awoken.

Meanwhile Sasha tapped at the comms. Brand new ship. Did this not work?

• Sasha and Rick

[O]On my way.[C] Renault’s voice came through the comm Sasha was tapping at. Several moments later, Renault stepped off the lift and looked between all of them. “There is a MACO service animal in the cargo?” He asked, as if confirming what had been said over the comms. And then he spotted the dog. “Elle est adorable!” (She is adorable) he said in French, grinning at the little dog. “She is behaved? Aggressive or friendly?”

~ Captain Renault

The dog hearing the new arrival turned, seeming briefly confused by the sudden activity. But then as if sensing there were no threats or duties assigned to it, upon seeing the Captain it sat on its hunches again as it awaiting further orders.

Sasha had a momentary twinge of panic right after the Captain had answered. “Is everyone a vam..”, but at a look from Rick he didn’t finish that statement. However, he did continue to wonder about the rest of the officers on the ship seemingly up at all hours. Did that mean that as an Ensign that he should be up and about during the day shift too rather than sleeping? The cross training from Moscow and the Americas meant little sleep between studies. Did he miss some unspoken expectation? He looked at the armory person who was so late on the call. It didn’t even look like he had gotten any call that Booster had made. By the look in his eyes, Rick was just full of curiosity about this dog that Sasha still wasn’t sure about. The dog looked benign, but so did communism.

Meanwhile, Rick looked up as the Captain approached. “She definitely is, Captain,” and by association showing that he had some French understanding. He hadn’t met the Captain yet and had only at the last moment spotted the pips at his breast. The Captain could see that there was some smile on his face that he was trying to control. “That last question is one for interpretation. Crewman Booster was spooked by her escaping her kennel and coming at him in the dim cargo bay. But she’s been like this since. Her tag says ‘Sgt Nessa’.”

Sasha and Rick

If anyone deemed to check Nessa’s cargo container, they would find not only the open pen inside, which had been opened by likely some kind of emergency latch on the interior for the dog to use if it needed to get out by itself. Also inside the container was an array of boxes each holding some various shipments of dog related food stuffs, medical equipment, equipment harness for different duties, and a pair of PADDs currently turned off.

Looking at the shipping manifest for the container, it seems someone had made a mistake at Earth a big one in fact! This dog had been put to sleep for a trip to Mars where it was expected to undergo final training as a MACO Search/Rescue/Contraband service animal. Instead of going there she got shipped here, it would seem someone for MACO Command on Mars would be winding up with a shipping crate meant for the Sojourner that would have contained two months worth of toilet paper.

If anyone deemed to look at the turned off PADDs this would be confirmed. The Nessa had completed training as a service dog for the MACOs as a therapy dog for morale purposes when not on duty. She had also finished much of her current search/rescue training but had not started or completed the Contraband and such training.

GM CockRoach