Dog-Gonnit! [Part 1]
Posted on Thu May 15th, 2025 @ 5:36pm by Lieutenant Commander Asahi Kita & Chief Petty Officer Baen Sloane
Mission:
Take My Hand
642 words - 1.3 OF Standard Post Measure
The return to the Vesta had been a chaotic mess. Between sorting through the items that had been left on the ship since his disappearance and the refit of Intelligence being a nightmare, Asahi had little time to actually use his quarters for relaxation. Even at Hojo’s whines and attempts to herd the man back to ‘home base’ went all but ignored.
All but today's attempts.
Today, Hojo had taken point to leap atop the pile of wires and isochips Asahi had been muttering incessantly about. Asahi barely shouted at the dog, but this got a clear ‘HEY! I'm working on that!,” and a mild growl as Hojo rolled about on a pile of multicolored chips that were previously put into neat, color-coded stacks. His ire at the dog did not last long, as he rubbed the dog’s belly with a hand. “Listen, bud, if I don't get this fixed, I can't do my job. And if I can't do my job, then we'll all be driven into the nearest supernova or something. And don't you think we've been through enough of a nightmare?”
Hojo’s lolled out tongue and happy rolling was put to rest as Asahi pushed the dog aside. “Come on now, Hojo. I'll play la-” The dog righted himself, and faster than Asahi could react, snagged one of the various chips he had previously been rolling in. “Hojo nooooo…”
Quick as he was to grab the chip, Hojo was at the door. As it slid open, a silence fell between the two, Asahi slowly sitting upright. He crept forward, offering a smile as he made slow and steady progress to close the gap between himself and his canine. “C’mon buddy, gimmie that and I'll go find your fetch ball. Yeah?”
Hojo waited till Asahi’s fingers grazed the chip, jumping back towards the door, ready to dash. “No, Hojo, come on.” Asahi’s voice affected a calm, soothing tone. “You know you don't wanna be bad right now. I don't give treats to bad-”
Not waiting for Asahi to finish his sentence, Hojo turned and darted out the door. Asahi let out a shout, lunging forward as far as he could, which happened to be slamming face first into the floor of the hallway Hojo zoomed down.
“Yanno, that dog hasn't been the same since you had that whole alternate version of you thing sorted out.”
After peeling himself off the floor and sitting upright, Asahi looked up at the smirking face of Baen. The latter had a clear bowl of some potato salad-like concoction, which Asahi squinted at while commenting. “Yanno, that's none of your concern, Baen.”
The taller took a bite of the salad using the spoon that stuck out of the bowl. “Oh I think it is. If someone or something on this ship is acting strange, especially the pet of my direct supervisor? After what we've seen? I'm not doing my job if I'm not at least a little nosy.”
“I got it. He's just dodgy that I might disappear again. I've done it to him before.” As Asahi stood, he could smell the unmistakable aroma of zucchini. The side of his mouth twitched. “If I start acting weird, then you can pull out the ‘I Told You So’s.” Brushing past, Asahi started down the same hall Hojo ran down. If he knew his dog any, there was only one place he would want Asahi to go.
“You always act weird,” Baen pointed out, following the shorter man with his gaze. “Just don't go hijacking the ship or anything too stressful. The whole Quoird thing is stress enough.” He frowned as Asahi waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “If we find out your dog’s been replaced by a new form of Breen tech, that's on you!”
