Who Needs Sleep?

Posted on Thu Dec 30th, 2021 @ 3:26am by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Remal Kajun

Mission: *CD*
Location: Bajor

5 Hours later, a speck of light rose on the horizon shining through the window directly into Rhenora’s face. But that was not what woke her from her slumber. Nope, it was something much less friendly.

The large hairy Puluku looked at her from just beyond the tip of her nose, her breaths ruffling the fine hair on its 8 long legs as she breathed in her sleep. The creature regarded her curiously, wondering why after so many years it’s nesting room was currently inhabited by something other than her recently eaten mate or her newly hatched offspring. The Keeper would be in soon with food for her younglings and to hopefully get this…thing…out of her room. It raised one of its long legs to touch the creature’s nose….

The scream was enough to rattle the windows and cause Patin to come running, bursting through the door with the axe. The look on her face was a mixture of deep seeded historical rage and hysteria.

“ Buku… I warned you there would be people here, leave them alone, they are not your breakfast” Patin glared at the large spider creature, causing it to scurry back to its hiding place under the bed.

Rhenora had scurried to the foot of the bed after seeing the creature, hands automatically looking for the knife under the pillow and coming empty.

“ You have a pet Puluku?” The Starfleet Captain glared at her old friend who looked back at her innocently.

“ It’s my house, they’re my pets, and food insurance policy if things get lean in winter” Patin refused to take offence. “ Now get up, there’s the livestock to feed.”

As Palin left, Remal rolled into a sitting position, not allowing his feet to touch the floor, lack of sleep filling his eyes. “Colorful friend you have there. Would you like my professional opinion as a counselor or as your husband?” He shifted slightly as he pulled the bag down from around his shoulders and felt his nose as it was the only thing on him still cold.

“ She’s nuts… I know, she was nuts back then and she’s more nuts now” Rhenora mused as she extricated herself from the old sleeping bag and rubbed the idle spider webs from her messed up hair. “That’s why she was also brilliant as a fighter”

“Well, she may have been a brilliant fighter, but I feel like she may have also lost something of herself on the battlefield. She is more than lonely, but she hides it well. Probably the alcohol, but I can’t say until I’ve studied her for a bit longer. There is something missing from her life and until we figure out what it is, she’s going to be one tough nut to crack or to see reason.” He reached down and checked his boots, wary of intrepid insectoids, before confidently slipping them on.

“ Alcohol… tobacco…recreationals, she’s done them all in some way to try and numb the past. She did some of our toughest work, she saw more than she should have, it’s taken its toll” Rhenora said sadly as she tried to find her own boots, tipping a baby Puluku out of one before putting it on.

“Coping mechanisms like that are no surprise when one lives a life such as hers.” He sighed, “So, any ideas on how we are going to get through to her that her life is in danger? Or do you think she is a lost cause at this point?” He fastened his boots and stood up, bringing his jacket up around his neck. The house was drafty and if there were Pulukus around, who knew what else she may have hidden.

“ I think there will be two issues, one is getting her to believe that her life may be in danger, the other is stopping her going off like a vigilante when she does finally accept that someone may be after her… or us” Rhenora mused as she finished dressing and trying to coax some order out of her hair, it was almost a lost cause. What she wouldn’t give for a hot bath right about now.

Fully dressed, axe still on her shoulder, Patin stepped into the doorway, “Alright you lolli-lags, what is taking you so long? We’ve got a herd waiting to be fed. That’s you Northern boy.” She bellowed while dropping a bucket at his feet. “As for Noz and I, the snowpack calls. We’ve got 10 kilometers to cover and a pack to ride and I ain’t getting no younger.” She stuck a slim stogie into her mouth and lit it. She took a slow deep inhale, savored it for a minute and then let it out into the room, which was now filled with tar and something else skunk like.

“Who wha? 10 kilometres? Don’t you understand that people out there are trying to kill you? That’s why we’re here remember” Rhenora protested, hands on hips and pout on pointe. “You can’t leave yourself out in the open like that, you’ll end up like the rest of them!”

She just smiled, “Snowhover will be departing in 5 minutes, with or without you. I suggest you bundle up.” Patin ducked out of the room leaving Rhenora and Remal holding the bucket and their tongues.

“ Someone needs to look after her….”Rhenora started as she grabbed a dusty extra coat from the web-covered rack along the wall. A few sharp shakes and a small plethora of insects crawled out of it. “Hrmmmm freezing may be preferable”

“At least you don’t have to deal with shoveling shite. Though come to think of it, you might have the worse end of the deal. Oh and just so you know, there is no coffee.” He scooched up to her stunned face, planted a kiss before scurrying out the door with his bucket.

The colour drained from her face, 5 hours of disrupted cold sleep and no coffee? Was there a fate worse than death with her name on it? Patin was waiting in the kitchen, foot tapping as she waited for them both to sort themselves out.

“ These fences aren’t going to check themselves” She called from the kitchen, tossing a few things into a rudimentary rucksack and throwing it over one shoulder. A minute later she was on what looked like an Earth snowmobile with a few heavier-duty modifications. It was open air, and looked fast. Designed to travel over the snow at speeds over 50 km an hour. She revved the engine.

“ Alright alright I’m coming… but I’m warning you I’m uncaffeinated and hungry!” Rhenora called as she shuffled towards the door and cast apologetic eyes towards Remal.

Remal gave Rhenora one last glance and muttered to himself as they drove off, “Prophets be kind.” Before turning towards the barn where there was shite to be flung and animals to be fed.

TBC