Sal Taybrim

And the gingers are taking over...

Now I picture Ops officers in the brig singing 'nobody knows the trouble I seen...'

YESSSSSSS!

A Fantastic Flying Fanclub!

Aww, Theo's the bestest - and scariest - ExO anyone could ever ask for. <3

Congratulations to both of you and welcome to the fleet!

Theo Whittaker, a girl's best friend...

Oh boy, this should be fun...

Congratulations and welcome to the fleet, all!

Welcome - and welcome back to the fleet! We're glad to have you guys!

I'm loving the conversation between awkward scientists: Also: Yep. That's a bug, alright.

Thanks, Mikey... now it's in my head...

Smooth man, real smooth.

Is that all it takes? ;-)

Congrats and welcome to the fleet!

Mmm, beefcake!

They could ironically meet at the 'Donut Worry' shop on the Promenade!

Cue the dramatic music!

Sal's not the only pastry addict!

And Kali makes me want to go to the Observation Deck more often: On seconds thought maybe not... my doctor told me to stay away from doom for a while...

Bad me for not quoting this sooner! Stupid computer issues... Anyways, on with the quotes!

::From her perch on top of the world, Iris could see everything. Her entire Queendom sat below, and it was good. Everything belonged to her, from the cold ground to the raised soft-floors. Mother was down there, playing with her prey. The small creature squeaked as it pelt rapidly flashed and changed colour. Mother didn’t seem to be eating it though, just playing. She liked to do that, it was odd really, but Iris didn’t question it. Mother must have lost her appetite when she’d lost her wings. It was sad really, but it was okay. Iris was here now, she could rule these lands and look after mother.:: ::The guardians of her world stood aside with their customary call. A new subject passed between them. Hmm, interesting. The new arrival looked exactly like her favourite food, blue and hard, with lots of little wriggly bits at the front. But this one was huge! That could feed mother and Iris forever… It would be hard to bring down though, this would take patience. Iris fixed the creature with a long glare as it slowly walked towards where mother was sitting. Then, the unexpected happened. The newcomer put down a smaller creature in front of mother, it squealed a threatening squeal as it’s eyes literally flashed with murderous intent. It was barely a branch-length away from Mother! Iris had to do something! Mother had to be protected!:: ::Iris spread her wings proudly and cawed, her regal voice echoing throughout her territory, an unmistakeable show of power. Then, she pounced, diving from her perch with all the speed she could muster, her eyes fixed on Mother’s assailant:: Iris: SCRAAW!!! ::She was coming in hot, wings spread, talons extended, target directly in her sights. oOMINE! Wait, what?Oo Iris scrabbled against the raised ground as she slid across it with a loud scraping. She suddenly found herself once again in the air, only this time, falling uncontrollably to the lowest point of her queendom. She hit the ground with a thud, rolled and stood up, chest puffed out. Determined to make the fumble look intentional. All sign of the attacking creature had vanished, obviously she’d frightened it off. It was more than it deserved, attacking mother carried a hefty sentence under Iris’s rule. The avian cawed once more, glared at the giant wriggly food with a glare that said “Don’t do it again”, then fluttered back to her perch on top of the world.:: ((30 seconds earlier – Phrik’s office, Starbase 118 medical bay)) ::Phrik sighed at the call of his newest pet, he knew what was coming. His hand shot out, suddenly grabbing the bleeping PADD on the table in a blur of motion. Seconds later, a green and purple scaled bird hit his desk with a thump, slid along it in a cacophony of caws, flapping and scraping, then shot off the end, landing in a heap on the floor. She slowly stood up, shook herself off and returned to her perch atop one of the life support monitors. Phrik shook his head with the expression of a man who’d seen this happen far too many times. He tapped the PADD once, muting it, and then looked at the quaking Nasat that stood terrified in front of his desk.:: Phrik: I’m sorry, you were saying? ::Hattie stared at him, wide eyed, not entirely sure if what she had just witnessed had been real.:: Hattie: Um-well, uh, d-did tha… Phrik: You don’t mind birds do you? ::Hattie blinked.:: Hattie: ::Tentatively:: Uh, uh, n-not usually… Phrik: Good. Now, you were saying? ::He spoke again with a slight edge to his voice, as if daring her to bring up the bird.:: ::Hattie threw a somewhat fearful glance towards the strange lizard-bird as it pruned it’s wings, then looked back to Phrik, deciding it best to pretend that the past 30 seconds had never happened.:: Hattie: W-well, it’s just, well, I’m H-8 Blue, the new nurse. B-but, you can call me Hattie, if you like. Phrik: :: impatiently.:: Yes, I know, it says that here. ::He tapped the PADD she’d given him with a pointed finger.:: Now, is there something I can help you with? ::Taken aback slightly by his tone Hattie shut her eyes for a second to collect herself. Obviously not everyone was as nice as Doctor Ezo.:: Hattie: N-n-not per-say. I-I, just wanted to in-introduce myself… W-we’ll be working together, s-so, I w-wanted to say hello Phrik: Hmmm. I see… ::Phrik turned his gaze back towards the PADD, and it was at this point that Hattie realised it probably hadn’t been the best idea to give him the report of the ‘incident’. He didn’t seem like he’d be anywhere near as understanding as Doctor Ezo had been.:: Phrik: So you’re the one behind the destruction of Storeroom three? ::Hattie jumped back, resisting the urge to bolt from the room:: Hattie: W-w-well, n-no, there was a, was a pi… Phrik: ::Skeptically:: Pink targ. Yes, so I’ve read. ::If it weren’t for the mountains of corroborating evidence Phrik would have called the entire escapade a product of a young nurses’ overactive imagination as she tried to cover up a titanic blunder. But apparently there really was a pink targ on the station, and it really had been causing mayhem.:: Phrik: ::Musingly:: Cruel really. ::He snapped his gaze back to her.:: Well, I think that concludes the required introduction. I’m sure you have work that needs doing. ::She let out a short sigh of relief, thankful he’d dropped the matter.:: Hattie: Um, I was, actually, hoping you’d have something for me to do? M-maybe. That’s what Doctor Ezo said, at least. Phrik: Ahh, well, in that case, here. ::He pushed a small stack of muted PADDs towards her.:: I trust you are capable of performing mindless beuracracy? Hattie: Well, uh, I guess? B-but… Phrik: ::Cutting her off:: Excellent. These need to be back by Friday. ::She slumped, disheartened. After all she’d gone through they still weren’t giving her any real practical jobs! It wasn’t fair!:: Hatte: Uh, oh, o-okay. B-but, can I not help with something practical, a surgery, maybe? ::A hopeful tinge in her voice.:: Phrik: When you have more experience, we’ll see, until then you have PADDs to fill out. ::To Phrik’s eye it was only fair. She was still a child, barely old enough to drink let alone perform surgery. They seemed to keep getting younger and younger…:: Hattie: oh… ::Her antennae drooped and her face fell. She slowly dragged the stack of PADDs towards her and haphazardly lifted them, holding tightly with four arms. Then she turned and began to walk away from Phrik’s desk, thoroughly disheartened. Her tail swayed sadly:: ::Phrik sighed heavily. There was something about her that almost reminded him of himself. He clutched the bridge of his nose and called out to her.:: Phrik: Fine. I have 4 more physicals for today. Two Humans, a Denobulan and a Klingon. Against my better judgement, I’ll let you take them. Can you handle that? ::Hattie almost squealed in response, antennae shooting up almost instantly:: Hattie: Yes! Um, I mean, I can do that! You can count on me! ::Phrik sighed a sigh of ‘I’m going to regret this aren’t I?’ and stood up.:: Phrik: I won’t be gone long. Patient files are on the top PADD. ::He looked up at Iris, sat watching on the monitor:: Iris, here. ::She immediately took flight, swooped down and landed on his shoulder. Her tail wrapping itself around the back of his neck. It was about time something be done about Iris’s lodgings. There was a new Engineer on the station, perhaps he could help.:: Phrik: ::Glancing back at Hattie as he walked towards the exit:: Try not to make a fool of yourself. Ensign Phrik, MD Medical Officer Starbase 118 Ops O239308P10

Yes, yes it is. We'll come back some day!

2394: Ops hosts the Annual Galactic Chicken Fanciers Association Convention. Bring your dress whites!

She could, and she did.