Enter the Rangers
"I take it Niko and Gooseman are visiting Andor?" Commander Walsh (or Mustache, as he was known by Beta's own scrambled Bubblehead.) Looked up from a series of files.
"We did have Two weeks leave, sir." Captain Zachery Foxx shrugged. "They wanted to take advantage of that time."
"And you two didn't?" This time, it was Walter 'Doc' Hartford's turn to shrug.
"Didn't have anything planned. Couldn't get a date, either."
"MAMBO!!" Doc jumped as the errant memory bird known as Bubblehead hopped out of a vent. A tic appeared in Walsh's left eye.
"What's the situation, sir?" Zach got his attention.
"An Andorian colony has been having communication problems . . . black outs that occur for stretches at a time, and always end after they receive medical supplies. It's pretty far out from Andor and Earth, takes a while for anything to reach them, or any news. Ambassador Waldo requested you to take a look." Walsh had lost track of Bubblehead in the briefing. "It's a simple recon mission, so you two should have no problem with it."
"Famous last words, Joey." Commander Edgar Cain stuck his head into the office.
"What are you doing here, Cain?"
"Couple reasons, most importantly, your budget again."
"And Wheiner can't do it, why?"
"Oh, he had to do a spin on the story that his daughter was making out with a disreputable rocker and got checked into rehab himself. Hear they're going into family therapy soon."
"You're awfully chipper about that."
"I won the betting pool again."
"CHA CHA CHA!!!" Bubblehead popped out of a filing cabinet somehow having made an origami hat complete with paper fruit. "PARTY!!"
"That memory bird is still in one piece?"
"He won't be for long." Walsh groaned. Zach took the file handed to him, and then he and Doc slipped out. There were a few crashing sounds, and Bubblehead was chased out.
"This the thanks I get for bringing Joy to your life?" Bubblehead pouted for a second. "I'll go to someone who appreciates me! NACHOS!!" A ranger carrying a plate of said dish saw Bubblehead and ran off into the opposite direction. "Come back, love of my life!!"
"Doc, any progress on a Bubblehead-proof cage?"
"We know it can't have anything electric in it, or metal . . . or a lock."
"So that's a no?"
"Pretty much." The fire sprinkler system went off as Beta's staff dissolved into the normal amount of chaos.
I know, short and silly, but I cut this chapter in half because there was a drafting problem . . .