Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot, Ensign Flounderberry, and the squirrel.

Sukuru - The title is temporary. I need something else, but can't think of anything. Probably because I'm tied up with Star Trekking for the Holy Grail and the rest of the Black Author Ser- I mean, nothing, I said nothing...

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Chapter Two

"I copy, Lieutenant Uhura. I'll get looking for the creature right away." Ensign Flounderberry said. It was his lucky day. He had to go chase a squirrel around the ship.

Flounderberry scowled. He was(n't) an important man; he had (no) important things to do! Running around chasing a squirrel from what could be another galaxy was(n't) a waste of his time! He looked around, scowl remaining firmly in place. It was a huge starship, how were a few redshirts supposed to find a small squirrel? Couldn't they look for the squirrel with the sensors, or something?

Suddenly, Flounderberry sneezed. Great, he thought. I'm alergic to this thing.

Then the meaning of that dawned on him. If he were alergic to the squirrel, and he sneezed, then that meant that the squirrel was nearby. He spun around, and managed to catch a glimpse of a little, blackish-grey tail zipping around a corner.

"HA!" He shouted, and took off in pursuit. He rounded the corner, and saw the blackish-grey tail following a squirrel body of the same color that was slowly pulling away from him. Flounderberry increased his speed and lengthened his stride, but the squirrel kept pulling away. The squirrel ran past a doorway, and it opened as another crewman stepped out. Flounderberry tried to dodge, but still hit him. Luckily, they bounced off eachother, and Flounderberry kept his momentum and footing. He looked over his shoulder and called out an apology as he kept running.

The squirrel continued to gain ground on him, and then another door opened. Unnoticed by the yeoman leaving her quarters, the squirrel veered into the room. Flounderberry twisted his body to try and jump in, but he lost his footing by the sudden change in velocity and fell over, skidding for several feet on the clean floor. The crewman gave him a strange look and began walking in the other direction.

Flounderberry scrambled to his feet, and looked at the door the squirrel went in to. He smiled predatorially; that was the only exit or entrance in the room. He slowly moved in on the target, smile growing. He had that thing now.

The door opened on his approach, and Flounderberry raced inside, eyes searching for the squirrel. He caught a glimpse of it slipping under the bed.

Flounderberry looked around, grin growing. Something he could use as a net... there! Pillow case! He grabbed the pillow and called the case off, and looked under. Two eyes stared back at him.

"I've got you now, you little son of a -"

"Ahem." A female voice said from behind.

Flounderberry had gotten his head under by then, and his eyes widened. He jumped, his head smacking into the underside of the bed. The squirrel, seeing it's opportunity to escape, slashed at Flounderberry's face, and ran out. Flounderberry screamed, and tried to yank his head out as the squirrel ran out, between the yeoman's legs and through the open door, and then down the corridor.

The Yeoman turned around to look at where the squirrel went, then looked at Flounderberry. "So, would you mind pulling your head out from under my bed?" She asked.

"Uh... I can't..." He said uncertainly.

"You can't?"

"I'm stuck." He squeaked, embarrassed.

"You're stuck."

"Uh-huh." Flounderberry nodded as best he could.

"So, while you're stuck, would you care to explain why you're in here to me?" She asked, impatience in her voice.

Flounderberry considered. "Not really, no."

The Yeoman pretended to consider, then nodded. "Okay. Have fun. My shifts in 5 minutes, and my roommate is on the same shift. Enjoy yourself."

"No!" Flounderberry screamed. "Help! Lemme out! No!"

The Yeoman rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic." She said as she walked out.

--

Tycho looked at Janson, who was on the other bed. Tycho had rearranged all the furniture, just to keep as much distance (and as many obstacles) between himself and Janson as possible. He didn't care if it looked good. In fact, he had a straight line of furniture between himself and Janson. It had taken some work, but he had gotten it. Janson was on the inside, and Tycho had a bed near the door. That way, it would help keep Janson in his quarters, and if he tried to get to Tycho, he'd make noise.

With one last inspection of the barrier, Tycho nodded in satisfaction. Perfect.

He looked over his shoulder, and walked out of the room. The nonhuman, Spock, had offered him a tour of the ship when he got off-duty at 2000hrs. Tycho glanced at his chrono, which had been adjusted to shiptime. It was 1949hrs now, he'd just go up to the Bridge and they'd begin the tour.

He got there at 1954hrs, and spotted Spock immediatly. Walking over, he spoke. "Ready to go?"

Spock turned his head and body towards Tycho, and cocked his head slightly to the side, his eyebrow creasing. "I said that I would give you an inspection of the ship at 2000hrs; right now it is 1954hrs."

"Well, it's about 2000hrs - "

"It is 1954hrs." Spock said evenly, not showing room for compromise.

"Well, I'm sure the Captain wouldn't mind if you missed - what, five minutes-"

"5.64 minutes." Spock corrected.

"-5.64 minutes of your shift." Tycho finished without stopping.

Spock regained his classic look, eyebrow creasing again. "I always complete my shift."

"Well, just this once-"

"Always." Spock said.

"Just this once," Tycho continued. "I'll stand over here by the 'lift." He finished.

"That would be preferrable." Spock said mildly. "I will be done in approximately 4.97 minutes." He said. He then turned to his console and did not look up until his shift was over.

Tycho went over and stood by the turbolift. He noticed that the doctor was standing near him. What was his name - McCoy, that was it.

"Just got put off by Spock?" McCoy asked.

"Uh, I wouldn't quite phrase it as 'put off.'" Tycho replied. "But can't really blame someone for being who they are. So he likes to be precise; one out of trillions, what difference does it make in the scheme of things?"

McCoy chuckled. "You really ARE from another galaxy. It's not one out of trillions, it's millions out of trillions."

"You mean - "

"Uh-huh."

"His entire species is like that? Every Vulcan?" Tycho's eyes widened.

"Well..." McCoy paused. "He's only half Vulcan, and not every Vulcan is like that. Most are, but a lot of them split up centuries ago and went to a planet called Romulus. Thusly, they became known as Romulans. The Romulans are basically Vulcans who give their emotions free reign." McCoy explained.

"Ah. Do the Vulcans and Romulans get along well?"

McCoy snorted. "Hardly. In fact, when Starfleet and the Federation - that's us - were first formed, or around that time, Vulcan and Romulus was just getting into a large war that could have spanned mutliple years, if Starfleet hadn't intervened and helped the Vulcans."

"I see."

Spock came up between them. "My shift is ended. I will now guide you on an inspection of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701."

"Good luck." McCoy said dryly. "If you're anything like me, you'll never want to see him again by the time your done."

"The feeling is mutual, Doctor." Spock replied.

McCoy scowled.