Harrington Starbase USS Comanche Creek Science Labs Stardate 2261.110 Warrant Officer Steven Maturin, PhD, was fussing over one of the captured mech-spiders. His specialty fell under the Naturalist disciplines but as he was the SCI officer on call he had taken the lead on the examination. The spider he was checking out was slightly larger than the other USB spiders and he was attempting to ascertain why. Calestorm couldn’t really call the event a capture; it was more taking the little buggers into custody and the landing party hadn’t encountered any real hostility from the mech-arachnids. According to the report filed by Fleet Intel, the original design of the spiders had been as some sort of low-level security device but then the manufacturer folded and the spiders had been relegated to the collector and antiques market. They had limited capabilities, but could be used as low level reconnaissance or a simple remote controlled toy, depending on the commands entered into the internal program buffers. Leaning against a counter, Crash took a sip of her tea from the mug she held and listened attentively to the SCI geek as he reported his current findings to her. ”Do not underestimate them Captain - If enough of these USB* spiders were to attack a person? They could cause damage. With that said, they are limited as Engineering and Communications have also reported. These spiders are mainly for use as a collector fancy or limited data gathering. ” She nodded. “Well, at least they won’t take over the ship in a coup attempt.” “Perhaps I could keep one as a kind of office mascot? It would make a remarkable paperweight when not in use.” Cale shook her head firmly. “Negative on that notion Doc. These things’re are gonna be remanded to Starfleet custody once we’re done with ‘em.” “Captain, I assure you that there would be no harm in--“ The scanning program triggered an event, as evidenced by the tonal alert. A bluish–green holographic cone appeared, of a Human male dressed in faux-pirate wear, with sash and floppy hat complete with feather. His mustache enhanced his ever present mischievous smile. Recognition flitted across Crash’s features. “Help me Odie-Won Benobi! You’re my only hope!” There was a silent pause as Maturin and Calestorm glanced at one another, eyebrows raised. Laughter erupted from the holo-recording and then the portly man continued speaking. “I’m just kidding! But I, ahem, do in fact need some help. If you would be so kind as to forward the following information onto the nearest Federation authorities…” They listened to the information the man had to offer and once the message played itself out, silence hovered for a moment before Maturin ventured a comment. “Odd fellow.” Maturin tapped a finger against the desktop. ”And he’s definitely no princess.” Crash sighed and took a bracing sip of her tea. “You’ve no idea Doc.” *United Syndicate/Beta – original manufacturer of the mech-spiders