Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in What If…

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in What If…

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in What If…
Posted by… suppressed (16) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
Marianne chuckled lightly. “Barely known him two days and you’ve got his number. You must really like him.” She patted Rand on the arm. “Go, or he will.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand blushed furiously, “Yes ma’am, I do.” Rand bobbed what could only be a tiny curtsy and hurried back down the hallway. She slowed before she entered the room and took a deep breath to try and clear the heat on her cheeks.

“I found Clue. I always liked this one as a child.” She walked over and set the box on the bed and opened it. While she set the game up she wondered if she should sit in the chair so she could face him while they played. She would much rather sit beside him again though.

Yeoman Rand

Rand was eyeing the spot she really wanted. Roman patted next to him. “Sit here. We’ll just hide the cards from each other. I love Clue. I always win.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Her heart raced and she bit her lip just a bit when he patted the spot next to him. She slid the board to the side and sat back down. “I bet you win at everything.” She shuffled the cards in the 3 decks and had him pick one from each. Then she mixed them and dealt. She gave him a pencil and a score card.

“How do you pick the animals you study?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman laughed. “No, I most definitely do not.” He took his score card and looked at his cards. He smiled, “Well, there’s a lot of freedom in what we pick, I like to have some prey animals, some predator animals, kept separately of course.” He responded as he picked a colored player piece and set it in the starting spot.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

She glanced up and over and grinned, “I bet you won all the competitions in school.” Rand placed her piece and went through her cards. “You don’t study them together do you?” She sounded horrified at the thought. “There was a news story about a private researcher who kept their animals seperate but would put them together to observe hunting behaviors. The prey never stood a chance in the inclosed area. Those scientists should be trapped with the animals.”

Yeoman Rand

Roman looked horrified and shook his head vigorously. He rolled the single die and moved his piece. “Never. There are more than enough ways to do that without doing… that.“

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“I thought it was horrible. The report also said what the supposed scientists learned was inaccurate because they hunt was too easy.” Rand shook her head, “I mean, it’s natural, prey and predator, but messing with the balance like that.” She rolled and moved her piece. “Isn’t it more effective to study them in their natural habitat instead of a lab?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman nodded. “It is, and it would be preferable, but I am stationed on a starship. So I do what I can what with I have. Besides, there are things about serving on a ship I’d miss were I stationed at a science outpost.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Like what?” She asked glancing up at him. While he talked she took her next turn and entered the conservatory. She paired it with a weapon and suspect and waited to see what he had.

Yeoman Rand

Roman showed her a card, then took his turn, entered a room, and made his own guess. “The new planets, the alien meetings, the… adventure of it?” It would seem like the conversation would keep him awake as he was quite interested but it seemed to relax him in a way that was making him tired.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand showed him a card and then took her turn. “Have you met very many new people? That seems terribly stressful. What If you do something wrong amd don’t know until it is too late?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman shrugged, “Then you do. Things can be so different, messing up is unavoidable.” He took his turn, used the shortcut, and made a new guess.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand showed him a card and then took her turn. “I guess animals are safer. Instinct is pretty universal isn’t it?”

Yeoman Rand

“It is. Still, there are many accidents.” Roman said and pulled up a sleeve to show off a rather gnarly looking scar along his wrist. An animal scratch, no doubt.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Oh!” Her hand reached over and gently touched his arm. “What happened?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman smiled. He seemed to like her touch. “I misread the signals of a certain little critter when I first met her. A little girl called an atarivan mouse.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“A mouse?!” Rand gave him a look. “What kind of mouse leaves a scar like that?” It seemed to big for something as tiny as a mouse.

Yeoman Rand

“One with wicked hooked claws,” Roman said. He grabbed a PaDD and showed her a picture of the mouse in question. Sure enough, it had needle sharp curved claws. It was bigger than most mice with big ears but was objectively quite cute. He also took his guess for the game.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“OH MY GOSH SHE IS ADORABLE.” Rand absently handed him a card while she stared at the picture. “What kind of studies are you doing? What do you think the claws are for? Those ears are so big. What did Jay name her?”

Yeoman Rand

Roman smiled. This wasn’t working to make him tired, Rand was the only person as engaged in all this as Jay would be and it was only working him up, though still seeming to relax him. “Ugh,” he sighed a suffering sigh, “Nibbles. The claws are defense, she eats mostly berries and plants, and the occasional bug, which they probably assist in catching. We think the ears are big so she can hear predators.”

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“What is their skin and coat like? I imagine the babies could hurt the mother’s skin when they are young.” She looked at the photo, she thought Nibbles was a great name. “Do you call her Nibbles when Jay can’t hear?”

Yeoman Rand