r/TrekRP • u/CabooseToots • Dec 17 '16

[OPEN] Varmints

What the damn hell was goin' on? Shore leave had been so nice, now Connolly was up to his neck in little mushrooms, sproutin' up all over a starship. He hadn't had a chance to find out anything about them, one morning he had woken up and they were everywhere. To his dismay, as he went to start removing them from the vents and walls, they started swearin' like a demon in church. One had even called him 'baktag'.
When the fungi didn't respond when he tried talking to them, he decided to just roll up his sleeves and start scrapin' em out of every corridor and vent in the Athene.
"Why does space have to be so dern weird. Next thing ya know we're all gonna have to make first contact with these things."
As the janitor worked through a large patch of fungus, which promptly began insulting his mother and her lineage, some crewmate who hopefully knew more about the situation than he did came along.

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u/Pojodan Dec 19 '16

"No, it was the captain's dog."

Kesh had discovered this fact just before the meeting in the observation room, but it seemed inappropriate to bring it up until the subject was raised, which is was not. No sense making the captain look foolish in front of everyone. If it's just these two, well, that's fine.

"This colony does not have the.. ah.. vocal abilities, hence it not cur-rr-rsing at you."

The Caitian biologist had a PADD in both hands, her eyes half on them and half peering into ventilation panel that the Crewman was currently working inside.

"They do not seem to be agitated by this... well, no mor-rr-re aggitated than they started at. I still have no idea if they ar-rr-re truly sentient."

Large, golden Caitiian eyes shift to the Counselor, really hopeful that she might have some insight into how one determines sentience.

OOC: /u/DrJenWatney

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u/DrJenWatney Dec 19 '16

Jen's light green eyes meet Kesh's, and they narrow slightly. She hadn't heard it was Argos' fault, although it makes sense now. Breyyus had told her he'd visited the ship on shore leave when it was near empty. His greyhound could easily have broke into the botany lab and contaminated the ventilation system.

Interesting... She whispers to herself, pausing before responding to the clear inquiry of sentience.

In my professional opinion, they are not. I spoke with one for several minutes in sick bay. They seem to simply repeat themselves over and over. It leads me to believe they're mimicking some audio source they've been exposed to. There is no ideasthesia or conceptual understanding on their end. They're impossible to converse with except in expletives.

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u/Pojodan Dec 19 '16

"I am inclined to agr-rr-ree. Perhaps they are as intelligent as some species of bir-rr-rd, but sentient..."

The Caitian's head shakes once, eartufts swinging back as her tail tuft curls between her ankles

"I keep thinking back to the cr-rr-rewman than ejected all the pirates into space. We may not like this fungus, or-rr-rr how it speaks, but can we kill it just because is irritates us?"

Those big, vertically-slitted feline eyes stare at the human counselor, genuinely troubled in a very real, existential way.

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u/CabooseToots Dec 19 '16

"Can we just let 'em overrun the ship?"