The missing cat

Posted on 03 Feb 2026 @ 1:49am by Lieutenant Commander Riah Amberlyn XMD & Lieutenant Aev Flammia & Lieutenant JG Ryan Collingway

1,952 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Lathira Shoreleave
Location: Sickbay, Arawyn

// Mess Hall //

It was supposed to be a simple assignment. A malfunction replicator. Diagnostic. Easy fix. What Ryan did not expect was a mess of fur and fangs that hissed and lunged at him as he opened the replicator circuitry.

He reacted entirely on impulse. He didn't have heavy gloves, and he sincerely wished he did. Instead instinct took over and he grabbed the cat mid-flight. He held the cat closely along his mid-section as the cat gave a good swipe at him. He looked at the chef. "What is this?"

"Seems like a cat," the chef said, unhelpfully. "Replicator has been messed up for most of the day. Maybe it's been there that long."

"Right," Ryan said as the cat growled at him, not happy with this arrangement either. He already had minor scratches. "Look, I'm an engineer. Not an animal sanctuary. What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You could take it to the feline care community center. I think Doctor Amberlyn is taking care of a few cats. I would ask her."

"Sure." The last thing Ryan wanted to do was deal with a room full of cats. He opted to ask Doctor Amberlyn. "I'll deal with this, and fix up the replicator," he said.

He took the cat-still hissing and growling-out of mess hall. But along the way, something happened. His eyes soon became waterly. The minor cuts began to swell. And then, inveitably....

"AH-CHOO!"

Ryan sneezed. Not a good thing to do with a stressed out cat, but he managed. He hurried to sickbay as fast as he could manage. By now his eyes were very red as he entered and he sneezed a lot more.

// Sickbay //

"Lost Cat," he said to the first person he could find. "Please...take cat."

"Oh my," said the Department's yeoman, CPO Lucy Engerman, manning the reception desk. "She hurried to Ryan. "Lieutenant, you're allergic!!" She took the cat immediately. "Come with me," she said to Ryan and led him back to exam room 1, still holding the irritated cat in her arms. She tapped the comm on the wall of the exam room. "Patient in Exam 1, needs attention STAT." She smiled at Ryan, who sneezed again. "Let me put the kitty somewhere."

As she spoke, the kitten began to dig at her waist with its back feet and she was forced to hold it away from her body. Looking squarely into its angry eyes, she said very calmly, "You need to settle down. All is well." Still angry, the cat did quit its scrambling. She held it close again. Ryan sneezed. Lucy held up one finger and moved into the hallway,

Dr Amberlyn had to wait in the hallway for Lucy to exit, but her attention was fully on the patient. "Ryan Collingway. What have we got going on? Did I see a cat?"

Ryan blew his nose with the tissues helpfully provided. "Found it inside a replicator. No idea how long it's been there. My guess is that the smell of food drew it there. Chef has been serving fish lately."

Ryan sneezed again. "My file...probably won't say I'm allergic because I didn't *know* I was allergic. Never had a cat. Or a dog. Or any pets. Between the allergies and the claws I definitely don't see the appeal of them right now!"

"They can be quite off-putting," admitted Riah, noticing that his speech did not appear to be affected. "Are you having trouble breathing? Is your tongue swelling?" she asked with calm urgency, adding to the nurse now in attendance, "Antihistamine antibiotic hypo."

"No, I'm okay," Ryan said, slightly worried about how bad the allergies could be. "There was a gel pack in the replicator. It didn't look punctured, but you might want to give that cat a look-over as well. I don't know what he ate in the mess hall either."

"Complications of having a cat population," she said, satisfied he was not going into an anaphylactic reaction. The nurse returned with the hypo and Riah adjusted the paired dosage and administered it, calculating the amount based on Ryan's age and weight, which were posted discreetly on the monitor above the bed. "That's fast acting. Let see those scratches. cat-scratch fever is a long standing issue with all cats. I've added an antibiotic to the hypo to protect you." She studied the wounds on his arms and hands and one on his chin. They had been undoubtedly painful. She pulled a dermal regenerator from the instruments on the tray the nurse had quietly provided and soon the scratches healed from angry stripes to barely visible pink lines. The sneezing was less intense as well. "Drink lots of water today. Your mouth may get dry from the antihistamine. Yeoman Lucy reentered the room, clearly ready to report. Riah looked between the two. "Now. Do we have any clue who belongs to this cat?"

Ryan shrugged. "No idea."

"I put it in the other decon room for now. I've contacted Emmy with the Feline Care Community to come get it," said Lucy.

"Good," the doctor nodded. "All cats that are not stray should be chipped with their owners info. I hate the idea that we may now have stray cats on the ship. There are clearly not enough mice or rats to feed them if they are invading the chef's replicators."

"Thanks doctor," Ryan said, feeling better and knowing that the cat-situation was being well-handled. "I'll get back to fixing the replicator. Hopefully nothing else leaps out of one today."

Aev stormed into the medical bay and collided with a nurse coming the opposite direction. The young officer stumbled backward, his PADD slipping from his grasp and spinning through the air, only to be caught short as Aev grabbed his arm and steadied him before he hit the deck.

“I’m sorry,” Aev said quickly. He turned away as he helped the man back to his feet, clearly more flustered by his own carelessness than the collision itself. Bending down, he retrieved the fallen PADD and handed it back. Then, almost as an afterthought, he asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have seen a small cat around here, would you?”

Ignis swept in behind him in his humanoid form, taking in the scene with theatrical gravity. “For the record,” he said, folding his arms, “this is why I recommend not charging into medical facilities like a wounded targ.” He leaned slightly toward the nurse, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Small. Furry. Judgemental. Answers to no authority whatsoever?”

Ignis straightened and glanced back at Aev. “I warned you he would infiltrate critical ship functions. This is how it begins.”

Ryan was almost out the door when he saw Aev and Ignis. He had only met the two once, before the Commander went...somewhere...he wasn't sure where. "I just brought in a cat I found in a replicator in the mess hall. I don't think he got into the gel pack, but you might want to check him over just to be sure," he supplied.

The nurse, Ensign Camparda, regained his composure quickly once crashing to the floor was taken off the list of possible outcomes. "That's okay," said Camparda, taking the PaDD and nodding. "Yes, we have a cat. Is it yours?" He described the little imp, "a kitten really, orange tabby?"

“Yeah,” Aev said, a faint edge of irritation slipping into his voice as his thoughts stayed firmly on the missing cat.

"Yup, that's the one. He's in the decon room right now. Come on," laughed Camparda.

Aev started to follow the nurse, then paused and turned back, studying Ryan more closely. “En…” He caught himself and corrected smoothly. “Lieutenant.” A small, wry smile flickered across his face. “Congratulations on the promotion.” His gaze lingered on the other man’s injuries. “What happened, did you get into a fight?”

"Yeah. With your cat. He won." Ryan was already checking his data padd. Three more maintenance requests had popped up during the conversation. The fun of having a skeleton crew. "Thanks. I need to go. But...I'm glad you found him."

“I see,” Aev said to Calloway. “If you find yourself in need of some self-defense training, Lieutenant, let Ensign Harbridge know. He can arrange something for you.” He gave the newly minted lieutenant (j.g.) a brief parting nod, then turned and followed the nurse down the corridor.

On the way, they encountered Lucy Engerman, with significantly less impact that Aev had found Camparda.

"The Commander belongs to the cat Lt Collingway brought in," Camparda explained and the three moved quickly into the second decon room, where Aev's cat sat regally on a small shelf in front of the built-in computer monitor. His expression was definitely one of indignant hostility mixed with an accusation of extreme negligence.

"Is that him?" asked Camparda.

Ignis squinted at the cat as it was presented, then straightened with exaggerated solemnity. “Confirmed,” he announced. “That is our missing unit. Note the smug posture, the complete lack of remorse, and the fresh evidence of successful combat operations.” He glanced at Aev “I warned you he was hostile. You ignored me.”

Aev shot Ignis a look and then moved toward the small creature, scooping him up with practiced ease. The kitten immediately protested with a soft mew, then climbed up Aev’s shoulder as if it had always belonged there. The small creature settled against the back of his neck and purred insistently into his ear.

Aev let out a quiet sigh, already hoping the captain wouldn’t literally murder him if she learned about the kitten’s unauthorized tour of the ship during his absence. “Thank you,” he said sincerely to Camparda.

Camparda smiled, brushing off the attention. "You look good with a cat on your shoulder. Maybe you can teach it to talk. Kitty wanna sardine. And what are you gonna do when he gets big?"

“I’m not really a cat person, if I’m being honest,” Aev said quietly as the kitten continued to purr and nuzzle insistently at his ear. He exhaled, the tension easing just a fraction, and reached up to scratch behind the kitten’s head. “But… I suppose this little creature is growing on me.”

"Have you heard about the Feline Care Community? Sort of like a cat co-op. They will help you take care of your cat while you are away, on shore leave or away team, whatever," inquired Camparda.

“Feline care community?” Aev let out a short, incredulous laugh, then quickly reined it in when he caught Camparda’s completely serious expression. “I see,” he added at once. “I’ll… keep that in mind.” He glanced at Ignis, who was watching the exchange with far too much amusement for anyone involved.

Ignis folded his arms, clearly delighted. “I’ll start the paperwork now,” he said lightly. “Frankly, he’s lucky this ship doesn’t have a brig for cats.”

“Well, there’s a thought,” Aev said, his smile a little more genuine now. He glanced at the kitten perched against his shoulder. “How would you like that? An overnight stay in the feline brig?” The smile slipped as he realized he was, in fact, addressing the cat in earnest. I must be losing it, he thought. He turned back to Camparda and inclined his head. “I should get her back to my quarters. Thank you for your help.” With a final nod, he headed out into the corridor, Ignis falling into step beside him as the kitten purred contentedly against his neck.

~~~
LtCmdr Riah Amberlyn, xMD
LT Aev Flammia
Ltjg Ryan Collingway
Ignis - apb Aev
various medical NPC's apb Kate

 

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