A Certain Scientific Friendship

Posted on Thu Jul 16th, 2015 @ 2:42pm by Ensign Honey Flanagan & Lieutenant Valeria Mordin

Confused! For as much as the dimwitted creature could be. Confused, that is. Her ten paws patterpattered on the deckplating, as she made her way through the science labs. She stopped every now and then to sniff the air, trying to pick up any familiar scent. However, instead of a familiar one, the creature picked up an intriguing one. As such the Voltaran Multipaw trotted over towards Valeria and clambered up the rabbitess' leg.

"Ahhh!" the rabbitess exclaimed in surprise when she felt no less than four paws clambering up her leg. She looked down, and then her surprise melted to admiration, "Aren't you precious..." she knelt down to give the Multipaw the attention it wanted, and save her leg from any further clambering mauling. She held no special powers or telepathic capacity to enthrall the beast. Like most, a scritch under the chin and the rabbitess' attention would suffice for such. Though, she certainly didn't expect the Multipaw to buy her a drink anytime soon. "Now, who's your owner, little decapod?"

Ooooh, this large creature made sounds similar to that familiar large creature who made similar sounds! And gave Abigail food! And scritches! Mmmmm. Scritches. The multipaw hefted its relatively large head and closed golden eyes, pawing up at Valeria and giving a satisfied 'Murp' sound. Mmm, more of those sounds. If only the creature could understand them.

"Abigaaail!" came a sing-song voice from further down the science labs, nearer to the entrance. "Abigail bissscuiiiit!" sounded the voice again.

Those lengthy ears perked up to their full height, and her glance turned to the source, and gave a nod. "Is that her name?" Valeria asked as she scooped up the Multipaw in her arms. Big and heavy, sure, but in truth it weighed in at about sixteen fluffs. Give or take. "Normally there's a regulation about unattended companions. Though, recalling it is proving difficult." the rabbitess said with a smirk.

Abigail protested only very minorly to being picked up. One might say it was just a formality, really. The protesting. Soon she settled in Valeria's soft grip and gave a yaaAAaawn, pawing up at the rabbitess' muzzle.

"She'sss not unattended, ssshe'sss with y - Tsss'usssugi!" Honey hopped up, beaming a toothy grin, showing rows of small, razorsharp, almost shark-like teeth. "Oooo, beautiful earsss, and - very good form, and - .. thossse eyesss, I've read ssso many talessss about them but to sssee them for real isss jussst - " The strange, halfblood, tailed creature wearing a science uniform and a ensign pip came closer to Valeria. "Uhm... Hiii." she gave a bit of a wave. "Permisssion to ssspeak freely, ma'am?"

Abigail now recognized Honey and simply gave the ensign a stare.

Valeria allowed herself to be essentially admired by the Ensign with a smirk. She twitched her ears upon their mention, and then when Honey mentioned her eyes, Valeria turned to give the hybrid her full attention, those reflectionless eyes just endless windows into a cryptic soul.

"Hi." Valeria returned, with a smirk. "And always. I prefer a casual approach, and I'd rather not put protocol before procedure. That being said, introductions are perhaps in order."

"Valeria Mordin." she said simply.

"Well, in that cassse ~ " Honey darted forward, pulled Valeria into a hug and lifted her off the ground, giggling. "Fluffybunny!" she exclaimed, putting the other officer down again and blinking golden eyes at her, out of synch with eachother. "I am Honey Flanagan, xenobiologissst. And thisss isss Abigail Bissscuit, xenobiology. Apparently you are my new bossss." Honey smiled, flicking out her forked tongue at Valeria.

At the notion of being picked up and hugged, Valeria could really only smile. Hopefully Honey's nickname for her wouldn't be too catchy. "Pleased to meet you both." the rabbitess addressed Honey first, then the Multipaw, before turning to Honey again, "And I do believe I am. Your boss, that is. Though technically also xenobiology." a giggle.

"My personal specialties lay in mathematics and physics. It will be beneficial to have someone with a straying focus." Valeria admitted.

"At leassst you know what you are. Xenobiology wissse. Though I guessss that what isss and isssn't xenobiology depends on your frame of reference." Honey mused, rubbing her chin. She absentmindedly held an arm out for Abigail, who took the opportunity to climb up on Honey's shoulder, there to make herself at home. "Abigail Bissscuit isss a Voltaran Multipaw, an apex predator from Voltare III, though knowing that a dumb-asss-a-bag-of-bricksss Multipaw isss the apex predator puts the ressst of the biology on that planet into perssspective. Asss for myssself, I am half human. I don't know what the ressst isss. Nobody doesss."

Valeria actually gave a nod, "I do know what I am. A farmer's daughter, middle of nine. A student, a prolific learner, and I have several marks in my home record for aggressive educational pursuits." she pointed out, then when Honey mentioned that half of her lineage was an unknown factor, the rabbitess gave a nod, "Explains the interest in xenobiology. Not that curiosity isn't its own pursuit."

Valeria gave Honey a prolonged study. The scales, the formation of the spines, the eyes, the hands, "Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to the big question. Which means I have not robbed you of the chance to discover it." the Ts'usu belief of everything having a good and bad side. Balance, as it were. "But, with fortune, I'll be there when you find it."

"That doesss sssound good. And, yesss, my heritage isss why I became a xenobiologissst and why I joined Sssstarfleet." honey smiled, rocking back and forth on her heels, just looking at Valeria. "Ssso, how doesss a farmer's daughter become a ssscientissst?"

"Aggressive education." she answered simply to start. Then a smirk, "I abandoned my schooling in my local district and attended several schools outside of my district, station, and wage. I was eventually caught, and sentenced to attend the most prestigious university in the region. The task was to achieve nine marks at least." a pause, "Failure would result in punishment. Perhaps public service, but it would bring shame to my family name. Success would clear me of charges of truancy and what was given the preliminary name of educational theft."

"I achieved their goals, though hardly with ease. When it came time to send a limited delegation to Starfleet, I was among those chosen." Valeria recalled. "The rest is, well, history."

Honey listened, fascinated. "Wow. That'sss - ... Amazing. Ssso hard you have fought for where you are. You didn't get anything handed to you, like I did." she wilted slightly on that thought, though quickly putting it behind her again. "And you've reached your own goal? Fullfilled your own ambition, in reaching chief ssscientissst posssition on a ssstarfleet ssship, proving you can do it? Or do you wisssh to achieve more in life?"

Valeria put a hand on Honey's shoulder. "My ambition is to make my family proud, and to do well. Becoming Chief on my own just proves my superiors appreciate me for what's between my ears, rather than beneath them." a pause, "I enjoy learning, so I suppose my ambition is to find something unknown, and discover it."

She made the cutest confused face, "Like you were? Not at all. You were helped, we all get help, but for you, the greatest trial is self-discovery. I was handed my heritage, you get to discover it." Valeria pointed out.

Honey blinked her eyes, out of synch. "I wasss handed everything on a silver platter. I never had to fight for anything in my life. Yet." Then a shrug. "I sssupossse it doesssn't really matter, in the end." Then a smile again, still rocking back and forth on her feet. "Ssso, isss your family proud?"

Valeria gave a nod, "So far, they are proud. They were worried for a while when I was brought home by university security, but now, they're quite pleased at the result. Of course, my siblings enjoy my letters back home, though I imagine they wish I was home helping on the fields." a giggle. "I write home when I can, and while my youngest sibling has trouble reading, she has no trouble being read to."

"That sssoundsss ssso nice." Honey smiled reaching up to petpet and scritchscritch Abigail, who seemed to appreciate the attention. "Do you missss your home? Your family? Your planet? I've never been to a planet. What'sss it like?"

Valeria couldn't help but give a soft smile at the fondness between the two. "Truth be told, Ts'usugi prize moons higher than worlds, on account of the fact that we live on the moons of our home world, rather then on her surface." she started. "Though, moon or otherwise, having firm ground beneath your paws, natural gravity to hold you in place, and natural air to breath is a feeling all on its own."

"I don't miss them, in the sense of a longing to return. I miss them, in the sense that I do not see them as often as I would like. Both my home and my family. Though, I write them whenever I encounter something new unless Starfleet classifies it." a soft smile, "Though, as a memento of home, I cleared and brought a batch of the local flora. It has quite a few names, but the name that stuck the most was every child's name for it. The Tattletail."

"It's a flower that only blooms at night, and its pollen is luminescent. It's also rather hard to get rid of once it's on you, and has a tendency to grow in places children aren't supposed to be, like interesting caves or spooky woods."

Honey giggled. "Aren't thossse jussst the mossst interesssting placesss to be though? And not jussst for kidsss? I wisssh I could sssee a real cave sssome time. I'm sssure I will, in time. Whenever there isss another interesssting creature to be ssstudied." She smiled, flicking her forked tongue out in Valeria's general direction again. Abigail meanwhile decided she was bored and started climbing down to the ground, there to sit and look around a bit.

"I would love to sssee that Tattletail sssome time if that'sss okay, Valeria." the halfblood continued. "I mean, that isss my ssspeciality and field of ssstudy, interesssting ssspeciesss of all sssortsss of life.'

"They are indeed." and at that, Valeria gave Honey a wink, "And I'll be happy to show you my Tattletail. I'd prefer an enclosed area, though. I'm certain the last thing the Captain needs or wants is glowing pollen all throughout the ship." a smirk, "I mean, how would he know who was where they weren't supposed to be?"

"By ... the trailsss of glowing pollen? I would think having glowing pollen in the air that sssticksss to people makesss it easssier to track them." Honey furrowed her brows. It only seemed logical to her. "I mean, glowing footssstepsss. Jussst turn off the lightsss and follow them." A shrug, then a giggle. "I would make falssse feet, put sssome pollen on them and then walk them up a wall and on the ceiling. Sssee sssecurity try to figure out how that one happened."

Valeria actually gave a giggle. "Oh that's very much how Mother found out who had been where they weren't supposed to be." Honey had the heart and soul of a prankster. "I would love to see Security's reaction, though I fear on this ship, the source of the Tattletail pollen would be obvious."

"You have a curious nature, and a prankster's heart. I think we'll be fast friends."

Honey beamed a smile and gave a nod. "That sssoundsss like a lot of fun." Then a smile. "Just meansss we have to come up with other tricksss to pull on people."