TITLE: In Out In Out In Out In Out
AUTHOR: MikeJaffa
SYNOPSIS: Will the tardigrade return? A silly take on that possibility.
DISCLAIMER: Start Trek: Discoery is owned by CBS Television. I am making no money off this fic.
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Burnham and Saru stepped out of the turbo lift, took a couple of steps into Discovery's bridge, and stopped.
Captain Lorca was staring out the forward view port. "Burnham, I understand you let the tardigrade go."
"Yes," Michael said.
Lorca slowly rounded on them. "The creature was key to the strategic advantage this ship has over the Klingons, and you let it go."
Burnham started to speak, but Saru cut her off: "Sir, the Tardigrade's condition had been deteriorating. There was every reason to believe that if we continued to use it make jumps, it would die. Our strategic advantage would be gone. Furthermore, there is ample evidence it is sentient. Do we wish to enslave a sentient race? That would contradict Federation values, and I do not know if our war is worth winning if we sacrifice our values to do it."
Lorca considered. "Well put. Ok. Now we have to figure out what to do. My ready room."
They followed Lorca into the ready room and stopped just inside the door, stunned.
The tardigrade was standing on its four rear legs by Lorca's desk, its snout in the bowl of fortune cookies, happily munching away. Then the munching stopped. After some snuffling, it raised its head and looked at them. It dropped to all eight legs, lumbered over to Burnham, and licked her hand. Then blue light crackled in the room and it vanished.
Lorca half-smiled. "We were wrong, Burnham, all of us. You didn't let it go. You just showed it where the cat door is."