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Tribble Trouble - Not to worry?!?
The hunt for the Mask of Mouldering Prime of Hazmat had been successful.
The relic on board the couples ship, safe and sound in a large size crate to be transported to the Jean-Luc Picard Museum of Oddities on Earth.
Feeling tired but also proud of their work, Mariner was relaxing in the co-pilots chair while Petra was re-ordering the small cargo hold. This, being Petra’s way of relaxing, while Mariner enjoyed a Martini with her legs up on the console.
“Um, Beckett…”
“What’s up hon?”
Their romantic entablement might have been a more recent development for sure, but neither of them was shy about it, all kinds of pet names and endearments flowing freely between the loving couple.
“I… you might want to come in here and have a look-see.”
Mariner sighed, sipping the last of her drink before taking the few steps to the back of the ship.
“What’s going on…???”
And there it was, in plain view for her to see. The something unexpected having been attached to the crate where the Mask was stored in. Something, which certainly should not have been there.
“O.M.G! Where the hell did those come from?”
Mariner having been berated of the one Tribble she had acquired for personal use only while back on the Cerritos, knew how dangerous these animals still could be.
“Well, we did check the crate back on Zylos Four, but I did not see anything out of the ordinary back then.”
“So, someone sneaked one in?”
“Looks like it.”
“But, why? I mean, sure, Tribbles are… well, you get one then you have four out of a sudden and then more… but why?”
“Guess, not everyone is as pleased to lose this precious artefact. I mean, there was some controversy as to where it belonged and Picard won the bet fair and square…”
“So, what should we do? It’s still the one… real small one…”
Mariner could see the very small hairy thing at the bottom of the crate, not really wanting to harm it. Even it the Tribble could harm them or the museum at least.
“Airlock?”
“NO! Absolutely not! Don’t even think about it.”
Mariner immediately going into her protective mode, picking up the wee one from the crate, cuddling it in her arms, afraid Petra might actually go for the threat.
But, Petra burst into laughter just then, reaching for the furry Tribble and petting it.
“What kind of monster do you think I am, sweetheart?”
Mariner looked at Petra, a smile emerging on her lips. Petra was smiling too. After all, she would never harm a living thing. Not an animal. People, well, that was a whole other matter.
“Sorry. Just, I don’t want to harm it. I mean, they’re kinda cute and well… It’s just a baby!”
“You want to become a mommy.” Petra chuckled.
“Well, no. But, we can take care of it and make sure it ends up in a place where it’s not harmed.”
Petra stared at Mariner for a spell then making a quick inventory of the back of the ship.
“The Bio-chamber.”
“Huh?”
“We can isolate the Tribble there, until we find a home for it.”
“Cool!”
“Let’s just hope it’s not pregnant!”
“They’re born pregnant, love.”
“Oh, yeah… that.”
“And no food for it, for now at least!”
“Roger that!”
The two quickly made the Tribble comfortable inside the Bio-chamber after scanning the animal making sure there were no more surprises.
Petra and Mariner stood there, hovering above the Bio-chamber, looking at their accidentally acquired baby, arms around each other.
“So, mommies huh?”
“Yeah, well, for a while at least.”
They laughed at the thought, but it was nice to take care of something or someone for a change, other than each other.