Pup's Grand Adventure
Posted on Sun Nov 26th, 2023 @ 3:11pm by Alika Mahone & Lieutenant Alan Harrison
1,124 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Roll With It
Timeline: MD 02, lunchtime
Haechi rarely went anywhere without Lugh or Luka. They were her big brothers, who knew exactly when and where to go. Lugh was the meat connoisseur, and was able to sniff out good food at the drop of a hat. And Luka? He was warm, gave her plenty of attention, and seemed to be the human the rest of their large pack listened to. So it made sense to her to listen to his every word.
But after what she had seen, the cream and rust coated malamute was nothing but distressed. She was down a street she was not familiar with, and far enough from home that trusting her nose was not working as well as usual. And the street was busy! No one seemed to notice her, which she took to her advantage by weaving in between legs in the bustling street. The sound of an alarmed human voice spooked her; what they were screaming about she could not understand.
But she took the first open door as an opportunity for a small respite. Trotting inside, she sniffed about. Her tail dropped at the amount of unfamiliar smells. It smelled… odd. Uninviting to her, even with the sights and sounds of food all around. No matter, the door had already slid shut behind her. Silly owner doors and their closing.
Turning her head, she took in her surroundings. It was all odd, all different, especially that strange-smelling man at the other side of the room. He did not look anything like Luka. Maybe he was friendly?
Alan had stepped out to grab a quick bite to eat. A deep analysis of the sensor logs for the Luka's home had turned up not just nothing, but somehow less than nothing - there wasn't even the slightest change in the temperature at any time in the last 12 hours before the Captain had disappeared! Deep in thought and staring into his food, he was interrupted by some movement at the other end of the room: the arrival of what appeared to be a dog.
The young malamute tilted her head one way and then the other. Her ears perked upright as she padded her way forward, and the closer she got to Alan, the clearer it was that she was not where she was supposed to be. Her fur was in disarray, and there were reddened splotches all over her coat. Her chops had a similarly-colored stain all around them. Despite this and her lack of a collar, she was more concerned about the man staring her straight down. But he didn't yell at her, or make a grab for her; not yet. Maybe she found a human she could at least talk to.
Maybe he knew where Luka and Lugh went? He didn't smell like either member of her pack. She let out a soft yip, stopping midway in the room. Her tail lowered, concerned now that this man was going to try for her like that other strange person did.
Alan realized he knew this dog and that she was one of Luka's herd of dogs (there was no better description due to most of the dogs being officially classified by Starfleet as "massive"). The poor thing looked like she'd been through hell. She probably hadn't had anything to eat since at least when the Captain disappeared, so he grabbed a scrap of food off his plate and motioned it toward Haechi, "Are you hungry?" he asked softly.
The pup stood upright and alert at Alan's first word. She sniffed the air, padding forward at the smell of food. After giving him a wary look, Haechi slowly reached forward to take the food. It wasn't long before it was in her jaws and she was happily munching away.
Alan watched the pup devour her food. He wasn't quite losing it enough to think that dog would be able to respond, but he asked anyway, "Where have you been off to? Do you know where Luka is?"
Smart as she was, the pup looked up at Alan curiously, head tilting from one side to the other. If she knew, she would not have known how to tell him. Or even where to begin.
Alan figured Haechi was still hungry, so he grabbed another morsel of food from his plate and offered it to her. "Maybe you'll tell me what I need to know if I bribe you with more food?" he chuckled.
"Shit there she is!" From the doorway of the establishment was Alika, hands on her hips as she peered down at the dog. Haechi's head whipped around at the sound of Alika's voice, ears perking upright. She yipped happily, tail wagging. "Yeah yeah. We knew you'd want some food at some point, ya mischief maker."
Alan was relieved to get some help with Haechi. However, he was confused by the familiarity this new arrival, who he had met earlier in Engineering, seemed to have with the Captain's dog. "Crewman Macchi?" he inquired.
Alika's eyes widened at the sight of Alan with the now standing upright pup. "Uhhhhh- yessir! I had ah- someone ask if I could help with the search of this - ah... Adorable cutie pie! And there was a tip off that he'd be looking for something to eat. Glad she was found, especially with- is that blood?"
Before Alan had a chance to continue his line of thinking, his thoughts turned to the blood. "I think it is, Crewman," he replied, standing to get a closer look at the pup that had moved closer to Alika. He took out his tricorder and scanned, "And by the looks of it... human."
"... Oh." Wiping away the sigh of relief Alika almost let out, she took a closer look at the pup's muzzle. There did seem to be blood all over. "Should we get her back to L-... the Captain? He's probably worried sick about her."
"You haven't heard?" Alan was puzzled how the Crewman had not heard the public announcement about the Captain's disappearance, "He's gone missing. I'm worried this blood is... well... his."
The look on Alika's expression was a sheer panic. The pieces began to click together; Kikua's uncharacteristic anxiety among them. "It better not be his or someone's gonna have to deal with me." She finally worked the courage to talk to him. It would be just like life to rip them apart again. "There's gotta be a doc we can take her too to find all that out, right?"
She did not wait for Alan to respond, instead standing upright and putting the pump on the head. "Let's go find them before this turns less into evidence and more into a stain on her fur."
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