"Nine Days a Spider-Keeper"

[Citrus 0]

Ensign Abraham Hamilton was fairly new on Excalibur -- he'd just been transferred from scientific research on Camelot a month or two ago! And now here he was, back from a frightening mirror universe, and his chief had asked him to do her a special favor!

 

It was very exciting. She'd left instructions in the Lab, her message had said, as well as the supplies he would need. Quickly he put two and two together -- she had an important experiment for him to perform! It was so... just exciting!

 

He picked up the padd on the clean desk in her office and looked it over. Then Ensign Hamilton read it two more times to make sure he hadn't missed something, and, shoulders set, headed back out to the main Lab.

 

He knelt in front of a large glass enclosure, and squinted, not seeing what his chief had referred to on the padd. Then, something jumped at the side of the terrarium, and Abraham jumped away from the glass.

 

Breathe, he told himself. This was, after all, his chance to impress the lieutenant commander!

 

He retrieved several of the insects she'd specified, and stared down into the terrarium at the large orange spider there, looking up at him with legs raised.

 

Citrus stared up at the strange face that seemed to be staring back at her and hissed, flashing blue feet at that evil visage. Clearly, it had some nefarious plot in mind to steal her stored cricket parts -- or ruin her web! One leg moving at a time, she started up the glass of the wall, in a better position to attack when he did whatever he was going to do.

 

As he predicted (it seemed all evil people did the same things), he lifted the lid of the terrarium, and dropped straw-covered things in, then, lid in hand, stood there to watch.

 

And all evil people did the same dumb things, too. Why he didn't put it right back on and re-encage her, she couldn't imagine. Stupid little humanses. But, it left her in a good position to...

 

Pounce! But she missed her target (him), instead bouncing half off the side of her own tank to the floor. Hmm. She got lucky that time, and started in a sprint across the Lab.

 

The chief's pet was getting away!! Oh, no! What was he going to do if Laarell came back and he had to tell her that her spider was gone? Quickly he grabbed an empty chemical holder, leaping towards the spider.

 

The stars aligned for him, and the bug was trapped. Quickly

 

Oh nooo!!! Citrus instantly started flinging herself at the glass, a low hiss escaping again. But before she knew it, there was a piece of something under her blue feet, and she was marched... no! Not back to the tank!!... and dropped back onto her plant.

 

Hmmph.

 

Nine days later...

 

Laarell arrived back on Excalibur, in a considerably better mood than when she'd left, and headed right down to the Lab, not bothering to drop by her quarters first. She looked towards her beloved's cage, removing the bug and letting it crawl contentedly to her shoulder, then headed towards one of the back research rooms in search of Citrus' temporary keeper.

 

Was it her, or did Hamilton look positively pale?

 

The ensign's eyes boggled when he saw the spider. How come she didn't behave like that for him?? "Commander! Welcome back!" And his voice sounded of relief.

 

"Thanks." Laarell grinned. "Everything go all right when I was gone with baby here?"

 

That was no baby. That was an ugly, horrible, stinking, hissing, pouncing, biting... "Oh, yes, Commander! We got along so well! Three crickets a day -- your little darling was spoiled." He forced a smile at the pair.

 

"Ahh. Good." She turned her head, stroked the tarantula's abdomen with one finger. "Here. I think she'd like to say thank you." She removed it from her shoulder, legs flailing wildly, and smiled, holding it out to Hamilton.

 

He shook his head vehemently. "Really, Ma'am, that's quite all right --"

 

"I insist."

 

Reluctantly he took it into his hand, lightweight little monster, and inwardly, cringed. Deep in his heart, he knew that this was his reward for taking care of the stupid bug. His buddies down in Engineering had been right -- the Orion never would look at him. Even after he'd poured his heart into caring for her spider...

 

Abraham sighed. Oh well. There were always other ways to get her attention.