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"Adlibbing"
Previous post – Jayson's "The Morning After"
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Engineering Lower Deck C (Deck 28)
Stardate: 30152.0200

Although she had been an Engineer, Sonja moved with the speed and skill of a trained Intel Operative as she ducked behind one of the vertical conduits to better observe whoever or whatever had emerged from the hidden crawlspace.  The redhead had made a point to memorize the schematics of the MASQUERADE DREAMS, so it was with a great deal of surprise that she had found her knowledge lacking.

With her emerald eyes fixated on the unexpected member of the engineering staff, the CEO mentally reviewed the ship's layout in an attempt to determine where the hidden crawlspace might have led to.  With 27 decks above her head though, the list of possibilities had been too numerous to explore at this time, but the redheaded Engineer had made a mental note to research this further when the opportunity would present itself.

Having noticed an opportunity to make a discrete and unseen exit, Sonja pivoted on the tips of her toes, planning to return to the public decks and eventually her own room where she would be able to research this hidden crawlspace.  As she turned though, her elbow caught the edge of a tool that had been left behind.

:: What kind of numbskull engineer leaves their tools behind like this,:: the Chief Engineer thought to herself, powerless to stop the metal device from hitting various pipes and conduits as it made its way towards the floor plates.  If the clanging sound of the tool playing pinball with the pipes had not been enough to draw someone's attention, the loud echoing crash of the device's final impact should have been enough to alert whoever had been on duty all the way up on the bridge.

"Who is there!?!?" The demanding request had been quickly followed by the sound of rushing footsteps leaving Sonja with no time to hide or even to attempt a rapid exit.

"Not so loud," the redhead said in a hushed voice, motioning the man who had come running to investigate to keep it down with both of her hands.  Acting as if she had been severely impaired, likely due to excessive consumption, Sonja gazed up for a split second to see if her efforts had at the very least been mildly successful.  To the Engineer's surprise, she saw a furry Caitian standing in front of her instead of a Human.

"You should not be here," the MASQUERADE DREAMS' lower class Engineer noted with a low growl as he rushed in closer to catch the woman who had just lost her balance.

The truth had been that Sonja had done this to draw the Caitian in closer, thus limiting his ability to move and insuring that should she need to subdue the man, she would be able to do so with much greater ease.

"Thank you," the redhead half mumbled as she ran her hand through the Caitian's fur located directly behind his neck.  While he would believe that the intoxicated woman had done so to help stabilize herself, Sonja had found the perfect way to get a solid hold of the Humanoid should she need to introduce him to the nearest bulkhead.  "This is the first time that I have been rescued by such a soft kitty," Sonja purred.

It was easy to see the dislike on the Caitain's face in the use of the tern 'kitty’, something that he had likely heard far too many times for his own liking.

"Miss, I am not sure how you got down here but you need to return to the upper decks," the Caitian offered, obviously doing his best to maintain his composure.  After all he had been a member of the crew of the MASQUERADE DREAMS and she had been a passenger, one who could possibly make his life a lot more complicated than it had already been.

"I don't think I will be able to make it on my own," Sonja added with a slight slur as she forced one of her feet to slide from beneath her body, placing the greater majority of her weight in the arms of her 'saviour'.  "Why don’t you help me out fuzzy,” the redhead added dreamingly as she touched the Caitian's face in almost a caressing manner.

The low level Engineer drew in a deep breath to help calm himself.  Not only had the redhead been drunk but she had been flirting with him forcing he Captain Engineer to be even more careful as to how he needed to approach the situation. "The name is Kytith and I will help you get back to the upper decks," he said as he helped the stumbling woman to the nearest turbolift.

After having helped the intoxicated woman in, Kytith took one large step backwards, leaving the redhead alone in the transport pod.

"Aren't you coming along?" Sonja asked in a sing-song tone. "Always wanted to know what a living fur blanket feels like."

Kytith rolled his eyes as the door to the turbolift closed, ending his nightmare encounter with the red headed woman.  On the other side of the doors, Sonja let out a sigh of relief. "So glad fur-face didn't follow me to my room, that could have been a hard mess to untangle."

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Lorraine Paquette

Lieutenant JG Sonja Paquette
Chief Engineering Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC 18501