Keth meets the Captain

Posted on Mon Nov 22nd, 2021 @ 1:48pm by Captain Abigail Laurens

The weight that seemed to firmly settle on Abigail's shoulders had not eased with the knowledge that the away team had returned home. Instead, it seemed to just grow even heavier. She cradled a stack of PaDD's against her chest as she walked the distance along the corridor toward the turbolift, one PaDD in her hand in front of her as she scanned through the data, eyes flicking back and forth as she read, the data not doing anything to make her feel any better in any way. She was so engrossed as the turbolift doors parted that she entered without paying attention, barely registering the presence of another being.

After a moment she glanced up, offering a quick smile and a nod, eyes barely registering on Keth's physical being before she looked back at the PaDD in her hand.

That was when the moment of dawning became apparent. Eyes widening slightly, head shifting, gaze moving back toward Keth, moving slowly from mane and ears down to feet, the bipedal stance of the large felinoid that towered over her. As she looked up, its face split, revealing an array of sharp teeth that almost sent a shiver down Abigail's spine. It was smiling at her, at least, she assumed that that's what it was... though in actuality it appeared more like the grin of a blender waiting to pulse her morning smoothie. "Lieutenant," she finally offered quietly with a small nod.

Keth was moving.
Keth was moving very fast.
In fact, there was a very real possibility Keth was moving fast enough to leave ripples in coffee cups in high dimensions. THE CAPTAIN KNEW HIS NAME!!!

Well.

Rank.

The captain knew his rank. But still, back on the hype train!

Keth expressed his appreciation of the Captains welcome, and commented on the day as it progressed. He also made light comment on the honour, high though it was, of being selected to join her crew by no one other than herself. (In truth there had been hat at Starfleet Command with some balled up pieces of paper in it, and her ship had been the unlock winner in the Keth Lottery. No takesbackies.)

Keth said all of this, with the slight grammatical error of forgetting that most humanoid speech in the Alpha Quadrant had punctuation. Along with the inability to speak on an inhale as well as an exhale, which Keth could.
"YouKnowMyNameOhMyGordCanIJustSayHowHappyAndExcited-IAmToBeOnYourShipAndUnderYourCommandAndJUstKnowingThatYou-KnowWhoIAmAndStillWantMeOnYourShipIsAnAmazingOpportunityIwill-NotScrewUpEvenThoughI'mToldIAmATroubleMagnetButIassureYou-IamNotFerroMagneticInNatureIAmKeth."

If Abigail had been taken aback as she first encountered him, this... outburst... startled her to the point she nearly dropped the PaDD she had been reading. Adding it to the stack, she held up a hand, slowly closing fingers and thumb together. "Take a breath Lieutenant Keth!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. The more excited he became, the toothier his grin. It was almost as if his entire body were quivering, vibrating, and for the briefest of moments Abigail had found herself concerned that he may knock the turbolift car from its tracks if he didn't calm. "I trust you're settling in well here on the Astraea?" she asked politely, hoping small talk might calm him.

"Yes."

The three-letter word came out severely stressed and strained from Keth. He was trying to be calm, to be cool, relaxed. But this was the Captian, THE captain, his captain, so it was difficult. And so the little word got squeezed out of his fourth lung, up past an impressive set of vocal cords, and then sent through teeth designed by H.R. Giger. To say that the humble words autobiography could be entitled 'NOT AGAIN!' is an understatement.

"Can I just say I have read every declassified mission report and I am honoured beyond words to be part of your crew! I mean...you are you! YOU! The work you've done, the perilous missions you've been on, and the dangerous aliens you've met...I mean to think you're still a Captian. And my-" Keth grabbed that word and dragged it back into the Hellraiser Cube that was his thinking meat. "Our captain is...well just whoa. Blows my mind. I am going to learn so much from you. I know it. Not like I can see into the future, but if I could it would still be the same, but I can't which is a relief because a lot of scientists on Huan have been debating causality lately and it's getting into the competitive fighting circuit which is usually the realm of postgrads and academics, not tenured scholars. I had to sign a form saying I wouldn't 'defend' my Starfleet Academy dissertation. Which makes sense as there were just Academy lecturers there and no medical or referee staff."

Abigail tipped her head to one side slightly, eyes wide as she watched him speak with fascination. "You really are a most unusual individual Mr Keth," she said with a slight shake of her head. "Fascinating. Are all your people as... exuberant as you?"

"Oh no, no-no. Ah huh, hehe er...I'm...er..I'm considered quite shy compared to my brothers and sisters. But I'm working on it," Keth said with all the emphasisim of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Shy? He was considered Shy? Yikes! Abigail smiled politely. "So, tell me Keth, which mission did you read about that intrigued you most?"

Keth sucked in a breath in thought. It is a miracle, and the foresight of Starfleet programmers, that this sudden intake of air didn't set off the emergency decompression alarm.

"Well...I mean there are so many to choose from. Picking just one would be like picking out a star from the sky," Keth enthused. "But...if I had to pick like a top-five I'd have to go with: the time you fought the Kazon, woke up the Vad'waar, fought the Hirogen in World War 2, your various encounters with the Borg which really only count as one. OH! And the actions you took to save a cargo bay full of telepathic refugee's from space facists."

Abigail raised an eyebrow slightly as she listened to him rattle off a resume that, though impressive, was definitely not hers. "I see," she said calmly. "Clearly you're very well versed in the missions of the USS Voyager and Admiral Janeway," she replied dryly as the turbolift halted and the doors opened. "I suggest you do some more homework, Lieutenant Keth," Abigail said with a gentle smile as she stepped out before turning back to look at him. "I expect a revised profile from you by the end of the week."

Keth was nearly levitating as the turbolift car sped away. She wanted him to write up a more in-depth report, backed up by sources, metadata, and probably some form of puppetry. This was the greatest day of his life. Or lives, if you subscribed to the Order Of The Nine.

Hum, Keth thought, if I do well will she introduce me to Chakotay? OH! OOOH! I could be her new Tuvok! Or Kim!

....Wait would that one be a demotion?