Posted by Lieutenant Commander Liam Madison (Chief Science Officer) in CSO’s Office- Visions of Green

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in CSO’s Office- Visions of Green

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Faye Calloway (Chief Intelligence Officer) in CSO’s Office- Visions of Green
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Faye tilted her head slightly as she processed the additional information. “Huh, interesting.” Her brain loved puzzles and Scales was a new little puzzle she was trying to figure out, but that puzzle was connected to the deeper one that was the CSO. And if there was something her brain loved more than one puzzle, it was multiple ones connected together.

“Have you figured out how he escaped the enclosure?”

~Faye Calloway, CIO

“Surprisingly, no. We inspected the vents and all the openings. Even the doors. Nothing appeared broken or out of place. He did have dirt on his claws, but he does crawl on the ground.” Liam’s fingers gently stroked down the lizard’s back.

Scales closed his eyes, flattened his feathers and puffed out his throat a bit. He appeared pleased by the attention and seemed more like a happy dog than a reptile. The long whip-like tail even swayed slightly after the petting.

Liam continued. “Since I’ve been coming in here once a day, Scales hasn’t escaped for a month now. It seems illogical, but I’m more worried he’ll hurt himself eventually.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Faye smirked. “Have you consider the possibility that he escapes to get attention? I know when I’m busier than usual, my cat will find a way to get my attention, even if it’s scratching up something she normally wouldn’t.” It was rare that Tess ever acted out like that though, mostly because Faye interacted with her constantly when she was in their quarters.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Liam weighed what Faye had just suggested. His arm held up the reptile and looked him over, examining the content look on his face. It seemed he had dozed off now. His chest heaved in steady pace as his claws held on firmly, tail draped along Liam’s elbow.

“I will be honestly, that line of thinking had never really crossed my mind. I just assumed that his behaviors were instinctive rather than purposeful.”

His hand reached up and once more stroked the lizard’s feathered crown. Scales shifted, but didn’t move as he acted like a feline on a favorite perch. “He seems content and dozing. If you want enter and take a look around, now would be a good time. I can increase the heat in my palm to ensure he doesn’t notice you.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Faye nodded, though she was calculating the ways things could shift in a moment.

Stepping into the enclosure, she sussed out the way the plant material was set out, how it fell, how much Scales ate of any leaf (if it was obvious or not). “You have very specific control over your heat generation. That is… unexpected. Interesting,” she said as eh continued to catalogue the design and function of the enclosure.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Liam continued to stroke the lizard’s crown as he replied. “I didn’t at first. I melted at least one or two data pads a week when it manifested. I believe Engineering started to dread whenever I sent in a request.”

In the back of the enclosure, a small nest sat. Several roots, leaves, and more had been piled together with a small indentation in the center. Scales, upon noticing her locating his bed, blinked his eyes smugly.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“Welcome to the club. Though I can say these days my interactions with Engineering come with less swearing,” Faye said, casting a glance over her shoulder at Liam. “Perks of being married to the Chief Engineer.”

Faye peered closely at the bed and the ground, examining how many varieties of plants Scales used for his nest versus might be chomping on and leaving pieces of on the floor.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

The one with the most eaten from it was the wintergreen. Several small berries had been stripped, nibbled on, and scattered across the ground. Many of the fruiting shrubs shared the same fate. For his nest, lush green ferns covered the down of the lizard’s nest. It provided perfect shade from the heating lamps to aid his control of his body temperature. The ground had been dug out a bit, leaving an indentation for his belly.

“That would certainly help. I can’t say I have found time to explore relationships much. Usually too busy and heavily focused on my work.” He commented as he added. “I’m setting Scales down. My arm is going a bit numb holding him.”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

“Okay,” Faye said, shifting her focus to the creature and remaining still to see what he did once our of contact with Liam. Her mind had catalogued the different foliage and she was making a plan for how to perpetuate the greenery. The issue was his preference for the fruiting plants. They took time (a whole growth cycle) to get to that point, so you would essentially need to have them grown in succession for a long duration to cover their fruiting season. It would take awhile, but once established there could hypothetically always be a plant in the fruiting stage. It was contrary to how nature cycles went however, but Faye was also dealing with gorwing in an artificial environment. Either way, this all would require research and planning.

“Scales clearly prefers the fruiting plants, but if not available what do you typically feed him?”

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Liam took a moment recall his memory. It had been a while since he last checked Scales’ diet program. Finally he spoke, listing off the ones he knew for certain. “Dark leafy greens like mustard and collard greens. Eaten a few peppers and spinach depending on his mood. He hates celery and lettuce.”

Scales tilted his head, staring her down with one eye. He bobbed his head before he flicked his tongue. Slowly, he took a step toward her. His feathers fluffed out to look ‘scary’.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Faye nodded. “Leafy greens are good. They grow fast so they’ll be easier to supplement in the interim.” She crouched and eyed the lizard with one eye slightly squinted. “I’m not so sure about you either, but that’s okay. We can just either keep our distance or very slowly introduce ourselves.” She was at least rather practical that way, though it had come from years of chaotic incidents with people and creatures of all kinds.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

“I’m sure he’ll warm up to you. Just takes some time to get use to your scent is all.” Liam stated as he watched Scales shimmer down. His feathers flattened and he scurried toward the nearest bush, disappearing from sight.

“With the introductions to the habitat done, is there anything else you need to see?”

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Faye shook her head. “No, I think I have the info I need. I can work on getting the other shrubs started along with the greens. I think I have some ideas about growing some of it in situ but that will require some more research and my getting to know Scales a bit better. Probably not a bad thing all told.” It wasn’t quite what she had in mind when she had gone to Madison to ask about a growing space, but it was something that was constant and require attention. For now it might just fit the bill of giving her the much needed outlet.

~Faye Calloway, CIO

Liam took a measured look and seemed content with her answer. It went without saying she knew to contact him if she needed something else. Of course, a last moment thought crossed his mind. “He hasn’t escaped his enclosure for a while, but if he does… I suggest not being surprised if he is laying in the grow bed or on your desk. He does that with those he likes.”

As if noticing the mention of him, Scales lifted up his head and blinked in their direction. The subtle smugness oozed off his reptilian features.

-CSO, Liam J. Madison, Sci.

Faye arched her brows. “Really,” she said. “I hope he doesn’t scare my cat if he decides my home office is equally interesting. But at least in the main offices, he might startle my officers and that would be funny. Have to keep them on their toes.”

She began walking away before she turned abruptly. “I’ll get right on starting things. Thanks.” And with that, Calloway left.

~Faye Calloway, CIO