Commanders and Critters

Posted on Tue Jul 25, 2017 @ 2:58pm by Commodore Michael Aravan & Captain Madelina Weisz

Mission: History
Location: Maddy's Quarters
Timeline: Backpost

It required a small bribe and a hint of a threat to several personnel on the Triumphant, but Captain Michael Aravan left Science with a small container in his arms. The Captain of the Odyssey class starship wore a nondescript white tee shirt that said "I Was Never Here. You Didn't See Me" on the front and "That's An Order" on the back in black letters. He also wore a pair of grey pants and a pair of black and white running shoes.

He went to the turbolift and requested deck twenty-two, barely able to sustain a mad laugh as two Ensigns exited the turbolift. They quickly stepped out of his way despite him being off duty and he knew they wouldn't say anything.

Michael had already established that Maddy wasn't in her personal quarters and had been on duty when he got off shift and had made his trip to Science for the box he now carried. When the turbolift came to a halt on the deck where the senior officers had their quarters, he went down the hall as if he had every right to be there. While he did have every right to be anywhere on the ship, he wanted anyone who saw him to think he was there to see someone.

When he came to Commander Weisz's door, he used his Command override authorization to enter her quarters and quickly stepped in. He breathed a sigh of relief and then the laughter he had been holding in burst out of him. A gale of laughter filled the empty quarters as he made his way to Maddy's bedroom, interspersed with guffaws, chuckles and a few snickers.

He set the container down on her bed and looked at it. "Are you ready, pretties?" He asked as he clicked a latch on it and took it by the sides. "Just make sure you go under the blankets, in the pillow case and everywhere else," he said.

Michael took a breath and upended the box, spilling all manner of insects all over the Commander's bed and pillow, then he turned and ran from the quarters before they could get him. As he walked back down the corridor, he began to laugh again, knowing it was just a matter of time.

****

Today was one of the longest days of Commander Madelina Weiss's career, and she was beyond exhausted. To her, it seemed like anything that could go wrong... did go wrong, and that meant she spent her entire day on the go, bouncing from one department to the next until the issues were taken care of. And now, all she wanted to do was take a much needed shower and crawl into bed to sleep for... what she hoped... was a substantial amount of time before she needed to get up and start all over again.

Oh, I never thought I'd be so happy to see my door, she thought as she moved down the corridor. The door leading to her quarters was in her sights. Soon, she'd be able to shed her uniform and scrub the grime from her skin.

Maddy stepped up to her door, and when the sensors picked up her presence and opened, she walked inside. Her uniform jacket was taken off immediately and tossed onto the couch just before she began to make her way toward her bedroom. Without bothering to turn the light on, the redhead woman pulled the rest of her uniform off and made her way into the bathroom, turning the light on as she crossed the small room to the shower.

Wit a smile, she reached inside and started the water feature, then adjusted the temperature before she moved to the sink. The Commander looked at her reflection in the mirror as she reached for her toothbrush and toothpaste. It didn't take long for her to complete that task before she was stepping under the hot spray of water. Her breath hissed from between her slightly parted lips as the heat stung her skin.

She stood there with her head lowered, letting the water ease her tense muscles and wash the stress away. Relaxing was the name of this game, and if that meant forgetting about who she was and wait she did... if only for a little while, then that was exactly what she was going do. It wasn't until the temperature of the water started to cool off that she finally cleaned herself and climbed out, making quick work of drying off. With that task complete, she dressed and moved back into her bedroom after turning the light off.

Maddy stretched her arms above her head and gave a groan of satisfaction before she pulled the covers back on her bed a bit. The sheets looked so inviting, and called to her. Who was she not to give them what they wanted?

The redhead climbed into bed and slid beneath the covers with a content sigh, nearly relaxing until... What the hell was that? Did something just move against her leg? And now against her arm? There was no way. She brushed it aside and tucked an arm under her head just as something smacked against her cheek.

Okay... there was no imagining that.

"Computer... turn the lights up one hundred percent," she ordered.

When the computer complied, Maddy brought her hand up to touch the area she'd felt something hit her face, then she felt it. Panic started to set in when she thought she felt something with legs. No. No. No. This was impossible. How?

Shaky hands reached out to grip the top of the covers and shoved them away. The sight that created her was one straight out of a horror movie. Bugs. Everywhere. On her legs, crawling over her arms... just everywhere.

Maddy let out a scream that sounded like someone was trying to murder her as she swatted at her arms and thrashed her legs in an effort to get the creepy crawlies off of her. The more she moved, the more they seemed to flock to her. She dove out of bed and screamed again, shaking and batting at herself to get them off of herself. This was repulsive, disgusting... just downright wrong.

Wearing nothing but a T-shirt and underwear, the XO bolted out of her bedroom like someone was going to kill her. She didn't stop there, either. Maddy ran out into the corridor, only stopping when she came into contact with the bulkhead across from her door. Her chest heaved and huge tears now rolled down her cheeks as she looked back at her door with complete horror written on her face.

"Gotcha, Commander," Michael's voice came over the corridor intercom. "The ball is in your court."

Maddy wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand as a look of pure anger crossed her features. This was a prank? It was all just a f$+@&%g prank!? "Computer... locate Captain Michael Aravan!"

"Captain Aravan is currently in Junction twenty-four, Section ninety-one of the Operations Jeffries Tubes." the computer replied.

"Computer... lock down Junction twenty-four, Section ninety-one of the Operations Jeffries tube," Maddy ordered as she moved to the nearest hatch, throwing it open with a growl. He was about to be beaten within an inch of his life, and it didn't matter to her that she was pretty scantily clad. She'd chase him all over the ship if that's what needed to be done.

When she got there, all that was found behind the forcefields was a cute plush bug with a combadge attached to it and a note which said "Try again."

Maddy left the plush bug where it was left and made her way back to her quarters. Thankfully, her combadge was still on her jacket, which was left in the living room, and that meant she didn't need to go back into her bedroom. Still, the redhead made her way back into the corridor and tapped the device. =^=Weisz to Science... I want all nonessential personnel on duty to report to my quarters immediately. I expect no less than a dozen individuals. This is an order.=^= With that, she tapped her badge again and waited.

It wasn't long before a dozen confused Science personnel showed up at her quarters. The lead Scientist made an effort to look at only her eyes and cleared his throat. "What can we help you with, Commander?" he asked. A few junior officers looked elsewhere but one Ensign couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her.

"There are bugs all over my bedroom. I want you to go in there, find them, and get them out," the redhead ordered. She didn't even seem to care that there were people staring at her. There were more pressing matters to attend to. "All of them. If there are any left behind, I'll take turns wearing each of you like socks."

The senior Science officer nodded and looked at the staring Ensign. "Go get some containers," he ordered the young man. "And while you're at it, get some officers from Entomology here." The young Ensign nodded and took off while the senior officer led the other ones into her quarters. "We'll get them all, Commander," he said. When I find who did this... he mentally thought. I'm going to skin them.

For the next two hours, the Science team scoured her apartment and came out with container after container of insect. The senior officer approached Maddy. "That should be all of them, Commander," he said. "We've looked over every inch of your quarters and put everything back the way we found it."

The Commander shook her head. That wasn't good enough for her. "I want another sweep done," she said, struggling to keep her eyes open where she sat in the corridor. "Just to be sure." Even Maddy knew she was being irrational, but that didn't matter when someone played on one of her biggest fears. He was going to pay dearly for this, and time was on her side.

With an inward sigh, the Scientist lead the others back into her quarters and began the sweep once again. While the young Ensign was in her bedroom, ostensibly checking her drawers, he glanced around furtively and when no one was looking, grabbed a pair of red lace panties and shoved them in his right boot, then adjusted his pant leg. "No bugs in here," he called out after checking a tricorder.

"Good," the senior Scientist said as he entered the room. "I know we got them all, but let's make it appear we're checking again. Go check the vents and access hatches."

Another two hours went by and the lead officer came out once again. "The quarters are completely free of insects, Commander," he said. "We didn't even find any eggs or anything else."

"Thank you. You're all free to go," she said, getting to her feet. Maddy wasn't comfortable with sleeping in her bedroom after that, but at least her couch was decent enough.

"You're welcome, Commander," the lead Scientist said before he motioned to his personnel. "Let's go. We have entomological studies and cataloging to do. When I find out who did this...." With a sigh, he led them off.

Oh, Maddy already knew who did this, and his ass was hers the second she could think straight. He had no idea what was coming his way. For now, the redhead made her way back into her quarters. She was terrified that there were still some lurkers roaming around, and even though she was exhausted, she wasn't risking it.

The Commander made quick work of packing a bag with only the basics, then walked out her quarters once more and locked it up. No way could she stay in there after that. It was enlisted quarters for her for the time being, and that's where she headed. It was finally time to sleep. Part one of Captain Asshole's punishment... suffer without her for a few hours while she took personal time to make up for the four plus hours of rest he took from her.