The Sound of Stalking This Way Comes

[Kansas_Jones 0]

01.26.08

USS Agincourt NCC-81762

“The Sound of Stalking This Way Comes”

 

"Tay!" The first echoes indicated that everything was still in place. Someone had been doing something with the Soltan engineering equipment in the corner of the cargo bay, but it seemed that none of the major supplies had been moved. It was best to be sure. Tay took the first lap around her improvised work out area slowly and carefully, moving from the top of one stack of carrying cases and crates to the other, carefully verifying that none of these artificial trees had been moved.

 

As her wing muscles warmed, and she confirmed the course, the durations of her hops increased. Shortly she was hitting the rhythm, banking hard here as she hit a ninety degree turn, clearing over the top of the another stack her, folding her wings entirely to pass between narrow stacks there. It was a good lay out. As she settled in, the periodic sonar pulses stopped. This was her cargo bay now. She knew it. Hers.

 

The doors slid open...

 

Fate and Murphy must have gotten married at some point over the millenniums, or at least had a torrid affair with one another that was still sending chaotic ripples over the course of time.

 

Therefore, Lieutenant Commander Kansas JoNs chose that moment to go padding into the cargo bay. The Caitian was still on duty, and was doing a patrol run with the intent to check on the Soltan engineering tech that still remained in the main cargo bay, as well as the Soltan weapons that had been 'signed out' by Lieutenant Condacin from the security armory. Her first stop was the cargo bay. Nodding to the lone security guard watching over what equipment remained in the bay, the feline entered the cargo area. The scent hit a fraction of a second before the visual contact and Kansas hissed and dropped to all fours, moving now in a sideways pattern away from the bat creature.

 

"Tay!" Intruder. Humanoid. She gained altitude to lose speed, banked, back winged, and landed silently on top of one of the taller create stacks. She slowly approached the edge. See. Not be seen. Maintain height advantage. "Tay!" She shifted her pulse into the higher probing frequencies, hoping the prey would not be able to hear. Prey? Too big to be prey. Not easy prey. Wearing cloth. Not prey. Fur. Prey? Weapon. Not prey. Uniform? Definitely not prey. She flattened herself against the top of the stack anyway. See. Do not be seen.

 

Kansas had been raised among civilization. True, she was of a predatory feline species, but she had been well educated, ate with utensils, and no longer ran down the antelopes and such. However, no matter how many thousands of years had passed, the aggressive tendencies of the hunter felines were never far from the surface.

 

The lieutenant commander did not like the ensign.

 

Even though she was of a bat-like humanoid species, Tay was a dead ringer for the Great Predator Bird of Caits past. The ancient myths claimed that these avian predators had done battle with, and killed many felines over the years during the ancient days of the planet Cait. Now, this long dead avian species had been relegated to fairy tales and such, but the survival instincts of her planet’s past was imprinted on JoNs's brain.

 

And she was reacting. Badly. Kansas as well blended into the shadows, and let loose with another resounding hissing growl.

 

Predator. Silence. Tay flattened herself against the top of the crate. In many ways the problem remained the same. See and hear. Do not be seen or heard. She knew her territory. There was wing space enough for evasions. The immediate objective??? The light switch. Too much light. Other than that... maintain distance. Maintain height.

 

The feline second officer, completely trashing her training, mores and sanity for the moment, leapt on a crate and then up and over to the general area where she thought the Nightflyer was ensconced, attempting to get a line of sight. "What business do you have here Ensign?" Her keen eyes searched for the bat.

 

Words? The not prey predator was going to confuse the situation with words? Carefully, she considered the meaning of the words. Clearly, the furry one was trying to force her to reveal position. Not predator? Howled like predator. Carefully, Tay considered her position, the predator's position, the obstructions, and the most likely strike routes of approach. She shifted position slightly, ready to take to the air, and considered. There was another world where she used words. She was supposed to spend most of her time in that world, especially on a starship. Words. "Tay science. Tay assigned Soltan Tech. Tay needs fly. Here room fly." She tensed herself for a leap.

 

JoNs stayed where she was, crouched low on all fours in a classic pre-pounce pose; her ears were flat. "Sciences officer assigned to the Soltan tech work force? Very well then." Her normally purred voice carried a snarl across the cargo bay area. "You were on the third shift Nightflyer. I haven't seen your transfer orders yet."

 

"Transfer new. Ask Oddly. Ask Shadow." Her position would be known now. Would the furred one move?

 

Kansas jumped closer to the source of the voice, alighting on an orange colored stacking of crates. "That will not be necessary." A low growl echoed over the area as she fought to tramp down on her more predatory instincts.

 

The furred one was getting closer. Too close. Soon it would be time to either pounce or fly. Which? Tay did not want to know. She turned her head, lowered and narrowed her voice, and bounced her voice off the back wall of the cargo bay, listening to the bounces filling the room. There. The furred one would have three good ideas where Tay was. Too bad all three would be wrong.

 

“Ensign, I will not repeat myself again. Please confirm your position, mrrowllf, or I will actively seek you out."

 

"Tay here." She raised herself slightly, clearly in sight of the clawed one. Her position was exposed, but two paths were open to her that were less open to those-without-wings. She stood ready.

 

The clawed one was very still, staying on her own crate perch, taking in the bat-one's appearance. The Caitian's lip curled back in a silent snarl as her more aggressive emotions again took over. Her fangs flashed in the overhead lighting suffused throughout the cargo bay. "Nightflyer. This is my ship, my territory. If you don't crowd me, I will not crowd you.”

 

Tay decided to attempt a lengthy speech. "Know biology? Study beasts? Tay studies biology. Nightlyers have word 'hsssssst.' Means something near fight - flight radius. Hssssssst." Too many words.

 

The lieutenant commanders golden tail started lashing back and forth. "No, I do not claim to know biology, security is my forte." With no warning, she leapt in the general direction of the ensign with a slight feinting to the trajectory to the left side.

 

"TAY!" This time, she used her voice not as a sonar pulse, not in an attempt to communicate, but as a weapon. Many sound sensitive species might be in pain, hearing it at close range. Others might feel compelled to defend their ears. A few actually fell stunned. Tay, however, was not waiting to see if her pulse had any effect. She released her hands, fell below the level of the crate, and pushed off in the direction of the makeshift Soltan study lab. If the predator attempted to follow and missed, she would be falling out of control in a sensitive direction. Tay, however, could unfurl her wings, bank, change directions, and loop back towards the outside door. Two power thrusts for speed, bank again into a turn, reach out with her toe, a precise tap on the switch, and....

 

"Tay!" Darkness. Her territory? Her ship? "Tay!" Quite. Ultrasonic. Hopefully unheard by the furred one. "Tay!" Gain altitude. Lose speed. Land. "Tay!"

 

The voice blast had indeed had the desired effect, and JoNs veered further off course from her erratic pounce; she landed on her paws on the hard decking, attempting to visually track her 'prey'. The golden furred Caitian began a smooth stalking pattern among the crates and barrels, and her natural night vision adjusted to the darkness quickly. As with the overwhelming predatory instincts that she was fighting (or at least trying to), the feline second officers curiosity was as well peeking through her feral nature. "I am an only child. Do you have siblings Nightflyer?" Her snarled voice carried over the distance.

 

Again she narrowed her voice, bouncing it off walls so it would come from many places. "Sisters hunt Jungle." She moved. She would move after words. "Tay!"

 

"The planet Cait has flat plains and grasslands. The Ancient tribes would hunt." JoNs sensed rather then visually tracked the movement of the bat.

 

"Jungle tall. Jungle green. Flocks still fly hunt. Flocks always fly hunt. Few fly stars." The predator was still moving smoothly. No bumps in the dark. Her eyes were likely as good as or better than Tay's. Her ears, though? Tay moved again, launching true high bursts to keep her bearing, and lower false bursts to echo off walls and among the crates. Was this a real hunt? Was it a game?

 

JoNs stayed behind the cover of some crates, watching and waiting. "Most of my family is in service to the stars." The feline then darted to another set of storage barrels.

 

Tay listened to the predator's voice and its echoes. As long as she kept talking, Tay need not pin her directly with her voice. The feline was giving her position away. Tay could play this game forever... or until her break ended and Oddly and Shadow expected her back in the main lab. That would be soon. Tay would have to end this. Words again? It didn't work last time. Still... "Hunt scientist serves stars? Cat serves stars not. Cat not flock. Cat taboo. Cat family hunt cat. Eat cat. Scatter bones."

 

The young second officer flared, both physically as her fur puffed out and temper wise. The cat is taboo? Doesn't serve the stars? Eat cat? Scatter bones?! Forgetting the so called stalking game, Kansas called out, "Computer! Lights, JoNs override Delta 2." The feline walked into the middle of the cargo bay, upright on her two hind paws. "I beg your pardon Ensign Tay?" The anger in her voice was poorly masked.

 

At that point, Tay thought it no longer at all a game, and tapped her com badge. "Security. Tay attacked cargo bay one. Request help."

 

Kansas as well tapped at her commbadge. "Security. JoNs here, belay that request, all is well here, out." With some effort, she kept her purred voice neutral. Then, she tried a different tactic. Placing one paw digit on either side of her mouth, the feline let loose with a shrill whistle that blasted the area; maybe the bat beings sonar would react to this?

 

“Belay belay. JoNs attacked Tay. Tay requests help."

 

Paw to forehead, indeed. This is probably why I avoided going into the diplomatic or first contact corps. With a displeased growl at the general situation, the lieutenant commander began to back out of the vicinity, leaving the Nightflyer wherever she was in hiding. A paw swiped at her commbadge. "Security, this is JoNs again. I am leaving the general area that is currently in contention with regard to the request of the ensign. I'll wait in the corridor for the response team, JoNs out."

 

Tay waited to hear the doors operate, and treed herself atop one of the taller stacks in sight of the door. She breathed deeply, trembling slightly from the sustained use of high metabolism. She would have to eat again. She would have to report to Oddly. She would have to find out who this JoNs was.

 

Serves the stars. Not. Her cargo bay. Not.

[Tay 0]

Work Request

 

Originator : Ensign Tay

Problem : Lights Always On

Location : Cargo Bay One

Priority : Low

Specifics of Problem and Comments : Big taboo cat say "Computer! Lights, JoNs override Delta 2." Switch not work. Fix?