Surefoot 41: Stray

USS Oberon, Deck 3 Fore -- Senior Officers' Quarters:

The Klingon Bird of Prey swooped down, screaming and going KAPOW! KAPOW! at the manta-shaped starship hiding behind the stuffed penguin. The penguin cried out in agony as the Klingon disruptor beams struck it, but it still protected the Catamaran, long enough for the vessel to come about from behind the penguin, draw up behind the Bird of Prey... and go KAPOW! KAPOW! back.

The Klingon ship spun down and ended belly up and moaning on top of a bored-looking black and tan Border Terrier, who lay on the floor and sighed.

Cal Meacham brought the Catamaran up over the fallen Bird of Prey and gave it a few more KAPOW!s for good measure, before declaring, fist raised, "YES! POWER CAT WINS AGAIN! PAW-SOME!"

On the wall above his bed, the poster for his favourite holohero ever, Power Cat ("He's Paw-Some!"), seemed to look down on him, the muscular, lion-headed hero with the blue and red cape and costume smiling with approval at the victory.

Meanwhile, Cal's dog shrugged the toy Klingon ship off his back, unable to be held back any longer, and attacked the six-year-old with relentless licks to the face, making Cal fall back and squeal, "Hobbes! Stop that!"

But he didn't try too hard to defend himself from the relentless assault-

"[BLEEP]!"

Cal sat up, heart stopping. No, he didn't hear anything, he didn't-

"CALVIN MEACHAM!" the voice continued. "GET IN HERE THIS INSTANT!"

He wiped the dog slobber from his face and set Hobbes aside, as he fought the urge to pretend to be asleep, and instead rose and entered the living room, Hobbes following.

Dad was standing there, his face twisted with anger, holding the remains of a red and yellow scarf and demanding, "Care to explain this, young man?"

Cal remained at the doorway, as if leaving himself a chance to escape. No. No, he did not care to explain anything.

Not that his father would let him off the hook. "No? No idea about the state of this? How it got ruined like this? The rips, the dog slobber on it?"

Cal swallowed, managing to shake his head. Dad shouldn't have found it so soon, he never goes in the closet, ever, he says it's like a black hole in there, why did he have to go in there-

"No? You're denying it?"

From behind him, the bathroom door slid open, and Mom walked out, towel wrapped around her and strawberry-blonde hair pinned up as he regarded the scene. "What's going on?"

Dad turned to her, shaking the tattered scarf in her direction. "I'll tell you what's going on! Our son went into the closet, took out this scarf -- a family heirloom from the Twentieth Century! -- and let his [BLEEP] dog claw it to bits!"

"Jeff-"

Dad turned back to Cal, still shaking the scarf. "This was an original Melchester Rovers football scarf! Almost four hundred years old! Do you know how [BLEEP] valuable this is?"

"Jeff," Mom repeated, "Language."

"What about my language? We set the Profanity Filter on his Universal Translator! He's not hearing what I'm saying!"

"But he knows you're saying something rude."

"Good! I want him to know how angry I am!"

She reached up and patted his clenched arm. "Believe it or not, you can illustrate your anger without profanity, a raised voice, or that constipated expression of yours." Now Mom looked at Cal. "Come here, young man."

Cal obeyed, trying not to meet Dad's glare along the way.

Mom dropped to one knee, adjusting the towel around her as she caught her son's full attention and asked, "Calvin, did you go into the closet and take out your father's antique baseball scarf-"

"Football," Dad corrected with a mutter through gritted teeth. "The proper kind, too, not that American non-sport."

Mom ignored him. "Well, Calvin? Did you?"

Cal nodded, unable to deny or hold back under his Mom's unrelenting stare. He didn't mean to ruin it! He was exploring the closet, because he remembered the scarf had a lion's symbol on it, resembling Power Cat, and he put it on, thinking it might have powers in it. And Hobbes saw it, and thought it was a new Tuggy Toy, and went for it. Cal tried to get him off of it, but that only made it worse and now he lied about it and Power Cat says Never Lie and- and-

He started to cry, unable to contain himself any longer.

Mom took him in her arms.

Dad remained angry, glaring at Hobbes, who kept staring longingly at the scarf. "We should never have bought him when we stopped at K-7."

"We didn't get Cal at K-7, Jeff. Remember? When a Mommy and Daddy get together-"

"Oh, very funny! You should have gone into Comedy instead of Warp Mechanics!"

"And I would have been brilliant at that, too." She drew back and wiped the tears from Cal's face, not looking angry like Dad but still not forgiving. "You know you did wrong going into the closet, and playing with things that don't belong to you. That's not something Power Cat would do, is it?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are, Sweetheart." She hugged him again... before announcing, "But you're still going to have to be punished." She looked at him once more. "No holodeck adventures or desserts for a week."

"That's it?" Dad protested, holding up the remains of the scarf. "This was a four-hundred-year old family heirloom!"

"It still is," his wife pointed out. "And it can be repaired."

Dad still glowered at Hobbes, who joined Cal and Mom as if for solidarity. "They should have both been sent back to Earth before we came to Sherman. We're in the middle of a [BLEEP] war out here!"

"Go to work, Chief Helmsman Pottymouth," she urged. "The Bridge needs you to do... helm things."

Dad grunted, throwing the scarf down onto an adjacent chair and sparing a sharp look at Hobbes. "I'm beaming you over to the Klingons when they show up! I bet they eat dogs!"

Hobbes barked happily in reply at his departure.

Mom looked to her son again, her expression serious. "Calvin, you are a very lucky young man. Not only do you get to live onboard a starship with your Mom and Dad, but you also get to keep a pet, too. Captain Taaers could have said No to both."

Thoughts of Captain Taaers -- a large Trill man who always looked fierce despite his spots, at least whenever Cal ran into him -- saying No threatened to bring back the tears. "Hobbes is a good boy! He doesn't really cause any trouble!"

On cue, the dog rushed over to the scarf, leapt up, grabbed one end in his mouth, and began racing around the living room in triumph, under and around tables and chairs, knocking over one of the latter, caught up in another one of his notorious Zoomies, before disappearing into Cal's bedroom.

"So I see," Mom agreed dryly. "And I know he's a dog and can't help doing some of the things he does. That's why he needs you to look out for him: feeding him only his supplements, taking him to the Arboretum for his poos and wees, making sure he gets exercise and not get bored.

It takes a lot to be able to take care of a pet. If you can't do it, we'll have to seriously consider not having him onboard. Remember that episode of Power Cat when he wanted that space octopus as a pet but he couldn't take care of it, and had to find a proper home for it?"

He remembered, and remembered crying over Power Cat giving away his pet, and his face screwed up again. "N-No- please- I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I'll be good, I promise-"

A chirp interrupted them, followed with a voice announcing, "Lieutenant Commander Meacham, please report to Main Engineering."

Mom frowned, calling out, "Meacham here. It's my night off, Wixili."

"Sorry, Sue, Captain's orders. We're having trouble initiating a warpfield, and he wants to know if it's due to exterior subspace fluctuations, or to the Deck 6 Project."

Mom growled. "I'll be there in five minutes. Meacham out." As the line chirped closed, she looked to her son. "I don't know how long I'll be, so you get yourself to bed, and we'll talk in the morning. Okay?"

He nodded, wiping tears from his face.

Mom kissed him again, rose and quickly returned to her bedroom to get dressed.

Cal returned to his room, seeing remnants of Dad's scarf all over the floor, some of it clinging to Hobbes' dark, wiry fur. The dog became aware of it, and began trying to eat some of it, until Cal knelt and brushed it off him, shooing him up onto his bed.

Mom entered, in uniform and carrying a small globe she set on the side table. "Go to sleep. No snacks, no playing. Nanny will be keeping an eye on you, if you want a story or song. Good night, Sweetie."

"Good night, Mom."

The lights dimmed and the bedroom door slid shut, as Cal lay there, Hobbes lying beside him, sighing to himself as he settled in for the night.

Cal remained awake, however, his mind racing around like Hobbes having one of his Zoomies. They couldn't get rid of his dog. They couldn't! He was part of the family! He had been around forever!

But Dad was so mad. Cal never thought he would find the scarf so soon. Dad would talk to Captain Taaers on the Bridge, tell him about what had happened. Then the Captain would order Hobbes off his ship. Maybe even... even give Hobbes to the Klingons to eat like Dad warned!

Cal made a whimpering noise.

Then a warm yellow-red glow appeared within the globe, the glow coalescing into the round, smiling, humanoid face of his holographic sitter, Nanny. "Calvin? Are you okay? Would my little man like a Flotter story? Or Winnie the Pooh? Or perhaps a song?" After a pause she repeated, "Calvin?"

"No." Quickly he amended before she corrected him, "No, thank you." He hated her. She was always telling on him to Mom and Dad whenever he tried sneaking snacks, or wouldn't do his studies or brush his teeth. She was so bossy, and always called him 'my little man'. He only managed to go exploring the closet without being caught because Mom forgot to turn Nanny on when she went to work.

He hated Nanny.

He hated being there. There were no other children onboard the Oberon for him to play with. He knew there were others on the other ships in the Fleet -- he had met them all once during a Christmas trip to a nearby planet -- but the Oberon spent its time on patrol away from the other ships, doing Stupid Things. All he had was Hobbes.

And soon, Dad and Mom would send his dog away. Or worse. Cal was sure of it.

Nanny's globe began emitting a slow rotating light, producing soft golden yellow beams that caressed the ceiling and walls, as soft, relaxing chimes played. It tried to put him to sleep. It usually worked.

Not now, though.

The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that Hobbes was going to be sent away. And it would be Cal's fault. He knew he shouldn't have been in the closet, shouldn't have played with Dad's scarf.

He couldn't let it happen.

He sat up, alerting Nanny. "Is there something wrong, Calvin? Do you need to go potty?"

And that was when the idea beamed into his head. "Hobbes does!"

The dog sat up at the sound of his name, and made inquisitive noises.

"Does he?" Nanny asked. "It's rather late, Calvin-"

"He's a dog, he doesn't know time!" Brightened now with the idea going nova in his head, he looked to Hobbes. "Isn't that right, Hobbes? You want to go Walkies?"

The word triggered a yelp of unexpected delight from the canine, as he leapt off the bed and started racing around the perimeter impatiently.

"Calvin," Nanny chided gently. "It's late, and your Mommy and Daddy have gone to work-"

Cal looked to the globe. "I have to take him! He can't wee in here again! He's already in trouble for chewing up Dad's scarf! I can get to the Arboretum and be right back! I'll be quick! I promise!"

The yellow-red face frowned. "I should tell your Mom and Dad-"

"No! You can't! Dad's busy on the Bridge, and Mom had to go back to work!"

"I am programmed to contact them in the event of an emergency involving you-"

"But I don't have a Merjancy! I take Hobbes to the Arboretum myself all the time! It's my job! It teaches me Sponsbilty! Mom said! And I know the way, it's on Deck 6 Port, near the Crew Quarters and past the Science Labs! No one stops me!"

"And you'll go straight there and back? No going off on adventures?"

He lifted up his hand, pointing to the almost-imperceptible bump under the skin. "I can't go on Ventures! Captain Taaers had a NoGo put in here!"

Nanny frowned in consideration, before announcing, "Put some shoes on, the decks are cold and I don't want my little man to get chilled. And hurry back, or I will contact your parents!"

"I will!" he lied, racing out, Hobbes at his side.

Cal found his shoes under the couch, and then filled his shoulder bag with Doggy Treats, and snacks for himself, before finally obtaining Mom's portable tool box, opening it and looking at all the strange little silver instruments lined up inside, finding the one he wanted, the one with the penguin nose at the end.

The NoGo put under the skin of his hand was something Mom and Dad had to do if he was to stay onboard the Oberon. It was supposed to buzz a warning and set off alarms if he wandered into Stricted Areas. But one time, when Mom let Cal tag along for the day while she supervised work in the Weapons Pod up top, and he kept setting off alarms as they crawled through the Jefferies Tubes into Stricted Areas, she turned off the NoGo with this tool.

He did everything he saw her do that day. He couldn't tell if it worked or not, but he knew he would soon find out.

*

Cal's mind raced ahead, almost as much as Hobbes did as they walked along the curved corridors to the Turbolifts, the dog enthusiastically greeting passing crewmembers, sometimes stopping ones he recognised as likely to give him a quick scratch behind the ears or a reaffirmation that he was, indeed, a Good Boy.

Cal's fear grew as they descended to Deck 6, and walked along the outer corridor ring to the Arboretum. It was Night Shift, and though the Crew's Quarters were down here along with the Science Labs, not many people were about. While Cal knew Dad was far away on the Bridge on Deck 1, he could still run into Mom or one of her Engineering friends down here, maybe working in the Shuttlebay in the Aft section.

But he didn't run into anyone as they entered the Arboretum and Hobbes did his business under his favourite Karpelian apple tree. Cal was satisfied; now they can say that they did go here for Hobbes' poos and wees. It wasn't really lying.

As they departed, they didn't go back the way they came. Instead, Cal led them to a horizontal hatchway in a side juncture, unoccupied. He entered with Hobbes, hoping he had turned off the NoGo, otherwise Security would be along in seconds.

The pair of them crawled through the tube and around a corner, before Cal had to pick up Hobbes and struggle down a ladder... four decks, using his shoulder bag as a harness for Hobbes. Mom and the other Engineers always complained about having to crawl around down here, but he never understood why. They were some marvellous places to have a secret hideout!

They ended up in a small dark circular alcove on Deck 10, that Mom said was something called the Sensor Bay Catwalk. She told him that this was the place where the ship could scan space for things, and needed to be protected from wrong readings, so it blocked outside signals. "That's why we always have to let people know if we're going down here," she had said. "For safety reasons."

There wasn't much here, and as Cal sat down and opened his bag to feed Hobbes and himself after their long journey, he wished now that he had brought a pillow or blanket with him. Still, he figured he wouldn't have to be down here for very long, just long enough for Dad to see how much he'd miss having Hobbes around and-

He jumped as the ship rocked to one side, and seconds later, the Red Alert klaxon filled the air. It howled, again and again, making Hobbes bark and finally howl along as well.

Cal pulled the dog close, desperate to calm him down -- and calm himself down too. "Shh! Quiet! They'll hear us!" Though, as the sirens continued, he wondered if maybe they already had, and that he had triggered the alarms by coming down here. But then why did the ship rock like that?

Fear grew inside him, like when his belly rumbled with hunger. What was happening?

Just then, as if hearing his thoughts, the klaxon ended, and the intercom in the wall over him chirped to life, as the voice of First Officer MacDonald shouted, "Attention All Hands! We're caught in some sort of subspace rift! We've lost warp- mpulse drive- munications-" Then his words kept getting eaten up by static. "Tetryon radiation! Polari- shifts- tainment field degra- breach- ALL HANDS, ABAN-"

His voice was lost, replaced by the Red Alert again.

It sounded bad. Real bad.

He had to find Mom and Dad.

He gave up trying to calm Hobbes down, and instead lifted him up again as he started to climb the ladder back up to the horizontal hatch. Hobbes was heavy, and panicking. "Hobbes, no- stop it-"

The ship rocked again.

Cal lost his tenuous grip on the ladder rung, and fell down again-

*

He woke up, his head ringing and hurting. Hobbes was beside him, whimpering.

Cal winced in pain, touching the back of his head -- it was so sore! He began crying as he felt his elbow and bottom sore as well. He wanted his Mom and Dad!

Hobbes rose and began licking his face to make him feel better.

Mom and Dad... he sat up fully, hugging his dog for warmth and comfort. It was cold down here, and dark, but it was quiet now, no alarm! Maybe whatever happened that Mr MacDonald was so upset about wasn't happening any more!

His head hurt. His stomach grumbled. He needed Mom to take him to Sickbay to get fixed by Doctor Sluvak, and then to take him to the Mess Hall for dinner. He didn't care now if he got in trouble.

How long had he been asleep? He didn't know.

He had to find someone and get help. Like Power Cat would say, 'Starfleet is There to Help Everyone'. And everyone on the Oberon knew him and Hobbes. Even the people on the Deck 6 Project Mom talked about, though he wasn't supposed to talk to them.

He made his way up to the next deck, and then the next one, not finding anyone on either. But Deck 7 had so much there: Sickbay, Security, Cargo Bays-

He found darkness, coldness, burned and damaged walls and floors and ceilings, with support struts and conduit cables hanging down, exposed. Doors wouldn't open, and no one answered when he knocked on them.

He made his way to Sickbay. There had to be someone there. There was always someone there, day or night!

The doors to Sickbay were open, but only a bit; Cal saw the leg of an overturned chair keeping the doors from completely closing. Hobbes raced up to it, barking, before Cal caught up, unable to open the doors but able to press his face in the gap, peer in and call, "Hello?"

His call echoed. The interior of Sickbay was dark, except for flashing alarms.

"Is anybody there?"

Nothing.

This was so wrong!

"Anybody?" he pleaded, afraid.

The computer seemingly responded with, "Warning: tetryon radiation detected. Initiate Evacuation and Decontamination Protocols immediately."

"What does that mean?" Cal asked it. "I don't know what means! Can you call my Mom and Dad please?"

"Warning: tetryon radiation detected. Initiate Evacuation and Decontamination Protocols immediately."

Cal stepped back. Stupid computer! It wasn't even listening to him!

He had to get back home to Mom and Dad. They won't have left without him! And they were only on the next deck up!

"YOU'RE STUPID!" he shouted into the gap.

"Auto Destruct in thirty minutes," it replied as he ran away.