This little story was inspired by Bewildered Females latest caper, "To Love Those Pointy Ears." I've borrowed some of her characters. Thanks for the loan, Bea!

Not to worry, dear readers, the next chapters of my other stories are near completion. Look for them soon!

"Captain Wentworth, Bettafish"

One fine Spring day, four friends were enjoying their day off. They were in their first semester of Starfleet Academy. It had been a rough round of mid-terms, and the women felt they had well-earned this break. They had decided to first go to the pet store, then they were going to go out to dinner, and perhaps have a few drinks afterwards.

Beatrice and Jamie were cousins, and also roommates. Likewise, so were Rosemary and Janette. The first two already had a pet boxer dog, so they felt like they had their hands full taking care of him. On the other hand, Janette and Rosemary often had schedules as different as day and night—literally. Since they didn't see each other or their next door neighbors very often, they felt lonely and needed pets to keep them company when everyone else was away.

Janette in particular had been chomping at the bit to get a bettafish ever since they all got there.

"What should I get?" Rosemary wondered on the way.

"Get a mongoose," Janette suggested.

"A mongoose?" Lina gawked, "How the heck did you come up with that?"

"Oh, it was in Rikki Tikki Tavi. I just read it last night."

Beatrice rolled her eyes. "Is there any book you haven't read?"

"Oh, plenty! I regret that I have but one lifetime to live—and so many books I'll never read!" Janette sighed despondently.

"Girl, please," said Lina, "You need to get out more. It's a good thing you're getting a pet—you need one."

"What she really needs is a man," Beatrice threw in.

"I don't have time for a man," said Janette, "That's why I'm getting a fish."

Rosemary thought for a moment. "Well, a mongoose wasn't exactly what I had in mind. But now that you mention it, that sounds kind of cute. Do they even sell mongooses?"

"I saw one in the window yesterday," Beatrice remembered.

"What about a tribble?" Rosemary wondered aloud.

"No way, girl!" said Lina, "You don't want one of those! Trust me."

Sure enough, when they arrived at the pet store, a lone mongoose jumped up and down as they neared the window.

"See? You know you can't say no to the little fellow now," said Janette.

"I don't want to," Rosemary giggled. "I'll take her."

"Okay, let's get your fish—we're hungry," the other two insisted.

They made their way to the fish section. Since it was the end of the day, and also the end of the week, nearly all the fish were gone. A shrimp floating leisurely in the first tank watched the women with curiosity.

Hey, baby, buy an aquarium and I will come, okay?

But they continued on past him. There was only one bettafish left. He was bright red, with a few teal scales. Janette's heart was instantly lost.

"Oh, he's so adorable!" she squealed. "He's definitely the one! See? He wants me, too."

The fish flitted around his tiny bowl. What are you talking about, lady? Feed me already!

"He's a typical male," said Lina, "He wants you to give him food."

Good luck, Mr. Bettafish! thought the two larger fish in the tank across way, And may the Fish be with you...

They brought the animals up to the counter, along with a starter supply of pet food.

"His name is Captain Wentworth!" Janette exclaimed.

The others laughed. "Oh, yeah, like we didn't see that one coming!"

"What are you gonna name yours?" the stocky clerk asked Rosemary.

"Hmmm...I don't know yet. We'll have to see."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"At the Sign of Shelob's"

That evening, Shelob's Tavern By the Bay was packed.

"Guess everyone else had the same idea we did," Beatrice sighed. "But I really want to eat here. We haven't had Greek/Lebanese food in months."

The others agreed.

"Let's go to the bar and get some drinks while we wait for a table, then," Lina suggested.

The place was filled with aliens from all corners of the galaxy. In one corner, a group of Klingons were howling in drunken laughter.

"You see, Chex?" one of them roared above the others, "What did I tell you?"

Some Andorians at the table next to them seemed to be getting annoyed at the noise level, but the Klingons paid them no heed and continued their foolishness. The one called "Chex" eyed Rosemary and licked his lips.

Rosemary ignored him and instead stroked her new mongoose, who was nuzzled around her neck. "What is this?" she said, "Interstellar Central Station?"

They found a spot to squeeze into at the other end of the bar, next to a group of Tellarites. On the other side were some Romulans from the embasssy, who made it obvious that they wanted plenty of space between themselves and the Tellarites.

Beatrice chucked at the Klingons on the other side, whose racket could still be heard. "Too bad Rosemary didn't get that tribble. That would have made things interesting!"

"It would have given Janette practice for her Interstellar Relations career," Lina mused.

"And you your first case in Interstellar Law afterwards," Rosemary added with a smirk.

"Wow, just thinking about all of that drama makes me relieved I'm going to be an engineer," Beatrice laughed again.

"For my part," Rosemary chimed in, "I'm content with my career choice."

Janette shook her head. "I don't know how Geology can ever be interesting."

"Yeah," Lina agreed, "Rocks are so boring."

"Diamonds are rocks, and so are other precious stones," she countered, "The way I see it, I'll be spending time with a girl's best friend on a regular basis."

"I suppose I wouldn't think a rock was boring if a cute guy put one on my finger," Beatrice admitted. Then she suddenly gasped into her wine glass. "Look!" she hissed, "It's Captain Solok!"

The others turned in the direction of the doorway to see a talk, proud-looking Vulcan exchanging words with the hostess. The Captain didn't seem at all pleased that there was an hour wait, and was boring into her skull with his eyes. The poor girl looked like she wanted to melt into the floor.

"Oh, he's so hot." Lina dreamily fanned herself with her hand.

Janette was in the middle of taking a sip of her stout and choked. "Yeah, and I'll just bet he knows it, too."

"I thought you said you thought Vulcans were attractive?" said Beatrice.

"They are," she took another sip, "But they're boring as heck. And besides, I've seen plenty of Vulcans around here who are far more attractive than he is."

"I don't know, Jan," Lina smiled wickedly, "He might surprise you if you'd only give him a chance."

"Oh, yeah—in seven years—at that point, I would have left him long ago." Janette dismissed him with a wave, as though she were shooing away a fly.

Beatrice grinned. "I think it would be worth the wait."

"But remember: we're not supposed to know about that part," Lina reminded them.

"Maybe your taste runs more...Romulan?" she indicated to the group next to them.

Janette choked again. She was red with embarrassment. But if the Romulans heard, they were making a good show of pretending they hadn't.

"Whatever! I'd rather be in the company of my own dashing Captain Wentworth." She kissed the side of the jar resting on the counter. Captain Wentworth responded by chasing a bubble that landed near her lips. "He's such a little flirt!"

"Gimme a break," the others groaned.

"Oh, Bea, don't look now, but that fat Ferengi has been checking you out the whole time we've been sitting here—I said don't look!" Lina scolded.

The fat Ferengi raised his glass to Beatrice when he caught her staring. She flashed him a flirtatious smile.

Just then, the frazzled hostess appeared. "Your table is ready. And, just to let you know, your drinks were paid for by that Ferengi gentleman over there."

"Well, hey," Beatrice smiled, "If he has the money honey!"

They followed her to the cleaned table, which was near the door. Solok was still standing nearby, and he narrowed his eyes at them.

When the hostess returned to her station, Solok got her attention once more. "Why is it that you seated those women already, when I was here first?" If a Vulcan could sound angry, he did.

"They've been waiting in the bar for an hour," she explained.

"I see..." He shot a warning look at them.

"Well, Bea, it looks like you're quickly making the most of things!" Janette laughed aloud, "Ol' Captain Solok doesn't yet know what hit him! He's a goner, and the poor chap doesn't even realize it yet."

Solok obviously heard her, and decided to leave.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Mongoose On the Loose!"

"Why did you do that?" Beatrice asked in horror, once he was gone.

Janette crossed her arms. "Well, it serves you right for embarrassing me at the bar like that!"

"She was only joking, Janette," said Rosemary. "I doubt those Romulans even heard what she said, but you made sure Solok heard you!"

"They did hear! Uh, and in case y'all haven't noticed, I have to work with those guys!" She was near tears.

"Whoa, wait, you got that job at the Romulan Embassy?" Lina gasped, "And you didn't tell us?"

"I did tell you," she sniffed, "three weeks ago."

"Okay, I remember. Oooooh! Now it all comes together." Lina's eyes sparkled, and she rubbed her hands in anticipation. "One of them was that tech guy you were telling me about." She turned to the others, "She's got it bad for this guy-"

"No I don't!"

"She does," Lina continued anyway, "She sabotaged her computer because she wanted him to come fix it. So she could check him out. What was his name again? Jareth?"

"Jaketh," she corrected, "And it's not like that. We're just co-workers. He said to report any and all computer problems directly to him."

"So he can check her out," Lina supplied with a simper.

Rosemary looked over at them, as discreetly as she could manage. "Who are the ones next to him?"

Janette sniffed again, "That's Tourad, the ambassador's aide, and the other one is some guy I always see hanging around the office. I don't know his name yet."

"Tourad is kind of cute, too," Rosemary observed.

Before anyone could expound on Rosemary's remark, a man at the table next to them slammed his beer stein loudly on the table. Rosemary's mongoose, who was already frightened to be in a new and noisy place, darted out of her arms.

"Wait! Come back, little mongoose!" she called after her.

It was like watching a train wreck. The mongoose jumped from table to table, upsetting everyone's dinner and drinks in the process. Janette quickly grabbed her fish jar for safe keeping.

"It's a rat!" one man shrieked.

Then the screams began.

"No! No!" the girls tried to tell them, "She's a mongoose! A mongoose!"

The restaurant owner held his hands up. "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. The situation is all under control."

Like hell it was.

The racket was two loud for anybody to hear anything other than horrible sound of total chaos. The mongoose ran across the bar. When the people there started trying to hit her, she leaped over to the liquor shelf against the wall. Bottles came crashing down, spilling the various liquids all over the floor. As to be expected, the bartenders slipped and slid around in their efforts to contain the animal.

"Oh, kill it! Kill it!" shouted a woman.

A group of waiters took down the decorative fish nets on the wall. "Come here, ya dirty rat," they called in a coaxing tone, "We're not gonna hurt ya."

Fortunately, the mongoose was smart enough not to buy it. Instead, she dashed out the door. The people breathed a sigh of relief. All except the four friends.

Now it was Rosemary's turn to cry. "My poor little mongoose! And I didn't even give her a name! I'll never see her again!"

The hostess approached the table. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you ladies to leave."

"We're really sorry," said Lina, "We'll be off now."

They made their way past the group of Romulans, and Jaketh caught Janette's eye. "If you were trying to get my attention, Miss Janette, you've succeeded." There was little in his tone to indicate if that was good or bad.

"See you Monday," she replied sheepishly. What else could she say?

OoOoOoOoOoO

"It's A Date"

They left the restaurant and headed down the street for their dorms. Rosemary was still sobbing. When they had gone only a block, Captain Solok came around the corner.

"Out of the frying pan..." Beatrice whispered.

As they neared him, they realized he was holding...the mongoose!

"I take it this creature belongs to you? Her heightened state of fear is understandable, considering the the commotion I heard coming from the tavern," he remarked. "It was logical of her to seek out a Vulcan for refuge."

"Oh, the little darling!" Rosemary cried. The mongoose leaped into her arms. "Thank you, Captain Solok."

"Thanks is illogical. Cadet Wilder," he said sternly.

Beatrice snapped to attention.

"You will join me for dinner on Monday—that's not a request." Before she could respond, he was gone.

They stood in the light of the lamp post for a while. To say that they were shocked would be an inaccurate description. After that evening, nothing would have surprised them. Solok's order was just another drop in the bucket.

Rosemary smiled. "See? Everything is working out. Beatrice has her date with Solok, and Jaketh will propose to Janette in no time."

"What about you?" Janette asked.

"Who? Me?" she responded innocently. "I suppose I'll have to swing by the Romulan embassy with you on Monday."

They started on again for their dorm building.

"Well," said Lina, patting herself on the back for having stayed out of trouble thus far. Though a part of her knew it was only a matter of time before her turn would come. She remembered well those longing glances in her direction from that Tellarite at the bar. "Looks like the world ends on Monday. Do be sure to give me all the details on Tuesday."