This Adventure is for You

Posted on Sat Apr 13th, 2013 @ 3:05am by

767 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Mission 82 - The Aggressor
Location: Assistant Chief Medical Officer's Quarters
Timeline: Current

The first step out of the airlock sent chills up her spine. With her personal bag in one hand and Dale's parting gift to her in the other, the new Assistant Chief Medical Officer stepped into hallway, attempting to not get knocked over by the other eager beavers escaping from the dreaded shuttle trip. Hunter stepped into the hallway, having the reach onto her tippy toes in order to figure out where the hell she was supposed to go.

She looked left and right, then left and right again, until she noticed a larger group of people heading in the same direction. After getting bumped in the shoulder for the fourth time, causing her to almost drop poor Chuck onto the hard surface, Hunter moved with the herd. She didn't even bother to look at her PADD and notice she was supposed to go left instead of right. As long as there was a turbo lift nearby, she didn't mind going on a mini adventure.

All Chuck wanted to do was get out of his cage and be able to stretch for once. He cried out a couple of meows to his owner, who finally made her way to the Promenade. While she was still nowhere near where she needed to be, the buzzing sound of the present company comforted her more. Chuck gave up on his mission and simply peeked out at the new environment through the cage window.

No one seemed to notice the new face, as people bumped into a confused Hunter more frequently than when she was in the hall. "I gotta find a turbo lift!" Shaking her head and looking around, she finally spotted it. Letting out a big sigh, she moved as fast as she could to her goal. She had to catch her breath as she placed her stuff on the floor next to her feet. Leaning back, Hunter smiled. The fast pace made her feel at ease, and she looked forward to spending her time there. Chuck was happy just to be on safe grounds.

The turbo lift whisked the two away to their new home. The doors whooshed open as Hunter made her way just as if she was catching the turbo lift. Standing in front of the door, she took one last deep breath. Her heart was beating, trying not to set high expectations for where she was going to be staying indefinitely.

Exposing the living area to her, Hunter couldn't help but smile. This was the first time she was living completely on her own. No roommates, no cousins, no brothers... that last thought almost took away the happiness from her. But she didn't let it happen. Not this time, at least. She placed Chuck's cage on the ground and tossed her bag onto the chair next to her. The quiet air was quickly filled with Chuck realizing he finally made it home and didn't want to be stuck where he was any longer.

Hunter gasped as she realized she left the little guy in there for too long. She jumped over to the cage, opened the door, and stepped aside and the cat bolted out of the confined space and out into the open. He was just as excited as she was. He couldn't wait to explore, and neither could Hunter. "You're probably hungry, bub." Hunter never forgot her duty to take care of others, on duty or off.

She took in a few deep breaths of the new air as she made her way over to the replicator. "One small hunting tuna. Preferably dead." She made that mistake before. Chuck found joy out of getting to hunt for his meal. Hunter didn't like the smell of what was left over after the battle. She didn't even have to get his attention; Chuck knew what just came out of the computer as the smell of salt water rushed straight to his nose. He sped over to his owner's legs, where she placed the plate of dead fish in front of him.

Patting him on his head, Hunter couldn't help but smile. Dale knew she could never live alone, and he was right. Chuck was the best gift anyone had given her. He was no replacement for Hudson but he was the next best thing.

Hunter looked up at the window, showing the vast and endless universe laid out in front of her. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked out at where she was going to be.

"You'd be so proud of me, Hudson. I miss you too much. This adventure is for you."

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