A small path carried the sound of galloping hooves through a dense wooded forest. On one end, a knight with a feathered helmet spurred on a dark-haired charger. The horse fumed as it charged a dark chestnut horse of similar stature. The other was clad in shining armor just as his opponent. They raised their swords and cried out. The feathered knight took a hard blow from the others sword and fell from his mount. The victor reeled around and raised the mask of his helmet. Williams face was red and beaded with sweat. He called out with a pompous accent.

“You fought with strength and skill sir knight, but the road is mine! Stand aside!”

The other knight sat up and shook a gauntlet. “I will not! My lord has Claim to the grail, and I shall suffer no other to take it!”

They both turn as another horse approaches behind them. Runt, who had lagged behind, had caught up and appeared to be struggling with the horse they were riding.

“Why—is this—work with me, god damned equine!” Runt hissed, jostling around on the horse.

It wasn’t long before he was physically altercating with the animal, nearly being flung off the horses back.

“I..” HUFF. “..hate..” HUFF. “..horseback..” HUUUUFFFF. “…Riding.”

Williams lowers his sword and turns in his saddle. “It takes a little getting used to. But you’re doing well.”

The feathered knight recovered from the sight of Runts bucking horse and retrieved his sword. He raised it above his head and tried to shout over the sound of the horses.

“I will not grant the road to ANYONE who fails to beat in combat. HAVE AT THEE!!!”

Williams saw that Runt was frustrated and didn’t want to continue further on the quest until they could do it together. He looked at the charging knight and said, “Computer, freeze character.” The knight froze in mid stride with his heavy weapon raised above his head. Williams turned back to Runt.

“It’s all good. Try scooting a little further back in the saddle.”

“It’s not working with me! This thing is BROKEN.” The cat hissed. Runt lets out a frustrated groan, re-positioning themself on the horse. “Okay. There. I got it! Can’t go wrong now..”

Runt was indeed very wrong, and before Williams could say anything; “Computer, unfreeze character.”

“Runt, no!-“

“AGAUAYGAHHHH!”

Have you ever seen a cat thrown across a stretch of a few feet by a horse? Now you have.

Williams swung himself off his horse and went over to check on Runt. With the safety protocols on, Runt had the wind knocked from them, but nothing seemed broken. He offered a hand and helped Runt up.

“That was… better.” He tried not to let the laugh cracking his voice show on his face.

“I HATE horses! Hate, hate, HATE!” Runt flipped upwards, landing on his feet (obviously), and gave a very rude and very one fingered gesture to the equine. The horse retaliated with a small huff.

“Let’s just continue with this. I’m having fun when it’s not with *it*.” They snap, thrusting another finger in the animals direction.

Williams nods in agreement. “Probably a good idea. Besides, swords are the best part.”

He raised his sword as Runt drew his own. They turned to the feathered knight, still frozen in place, and Williams continued.

“Computer, unfreeze the feathered knight. NOW THEN! LETS SEE HOW YOU FARE AGAINST TWO WARRIORS IN SERVICE TO THE KINGS C-“

Beeeeep! Beeeep!

His exclamation was cut off by a chirping sound over the holodecks comm. Williams looked disappointed and lowered his sword. “Computer freeze program. We’d better change and get back to work.” He sheathed his sword. “Meet you in the shuttle bay in 30 minutes?”

Just as things were getting interesting for the two, Runt let out a small frown and nodded.

“Ffiiinnneee…” There was a small beat, as Runt acted like he was about come up for a big cat hug. . .

. . . And then pulled the armor back onto his head, shoving it playfully downward!

“Race you therreeee!~” The cat calls out as he runs, tail playfully nudging him to the side.

Williams pulled up the mask. “Computer, arch!” He then chased Runt out of the holodeck.

The two had been assigned to run a safety and maintenance overhaul for one of the stations recently recovered shuttle craft. Apparently a senior officer had been struck by an anomaly while on board. Then both pilot and shuttle had been repaired by another omnipotent 5th dimensional race that had evolved beyond time and space. Like any recovered Starfleet equipment, the shuttle now needed a full diagnostic on its primary systems and a sweep for any tampering or sabotage before it could be certified for flight.

Williams changed back into his uniform and tucked his tricorder onto his hip. He then walked to the shuttle bay and found Runt opening up a toolkit by the shuttle.

“You beat me! How!?”

Runt smirked, now leaning against the wall as he stared at his claws like a teenage girl obsessed with nailcare would.

“Mmmmmmmiiiii have my waaayyyysss. I guess it helps I’m a cutie pie.” He struck a pose. “The hunkiest hunk on the starbase! Gets me *alll* the perks.”

Williams rolled his eyes and walked over to the shuttle hatch. He keyed it open and gave the cabin a quick visual inspection. “LOOKS clear. Now for the fun part. Checking every system one by one.”

He took out his tricorder and synced it to the engineering systems console.

“Dawh, you don’t think so??” Runt looks at all the equipment, letting out a small sigh as he stares. “Blegh. Okay…what do you want to start with?” The cat walked over, kneeling down next to Williams. “I can do the grunt work. Light work for me.”

“Sounds good. I’ll run a sweep for foreign objects in the framework if you want to handle the engineering work. Then all we have is the test flight, we can get this done quickly enough.”

He bent down and ran the teicorder near the shuttles bulkhead. The interior components of the shuttle appeared as he scanned the shuttle inch by inch for foreign technology.

The work was long and dull. William started humming an earth tune to himself as he reached the nose of the shuttle.

There was a notable prep in Runt’s step (and work) as he made haste with his movements. If anything, he’s been very upbeat and much more cheerful from when Williams last saw them. “Hey, Wills. Guess whaaaaaaaat?~” Runt snickered. “I met this super cute guy on my way here. Total sweetheart. Maybe things can go well with him!”

A pause came from Runt. “Kinda silly. I had this insane fear of never being able to meet a guy, and…here I am.”

The sound was a little muffled through the shuttles viewport. But Williams got the gist and popped his head up to smile at Runt. “Way to go Runt! What’s his name?”

Runt smirks, peaking his head out as well—and hitting it on something. “Ow! Well, I’m not gonna say who to you just yet. I don’t know if it’s going to work out.”

Runt then starts to work on the outer shell. “…I hope it works out, at least. You have anyone at home waiting for you?”

Williams turns back to the shuttle and taps at the controls on his tricorder. “My last relationship was with a girl in high school. But when I entered the Academy… I didn’t really have time for one anymore. I had a pretty rough go of it my first two semesters.”

“Dawh, I’m sorry.” Runt frowned, looking at Williams. “I’ll be your wingcat! Get you a new girl—or guy, I don’t judge—to meet!” There’s a pause as Runt scans another object. “Hey, Williams..can I ask you a kinda weird question?”

Williams was happy with the idea of a wingman. He smiled at the idea of Runt hooking him up with a new lady after such a long dry spell. He looked up from his tricorder as Runt asked him. “Sure, go for it.”

“I’m going to be posted to a starfleet ship eventually. And uh..” There was a small pause. The two have gotten decently close these past few days and weeks.  “Do you plan to go to one?”

“I really hope so. It’s the reason I joined up. Wouldn’t it be cool if we both got reassigned to the same ship?” 

Runt got the world’s largest, goofy smile across his face. “You’d wanna do that?? I’d LOVE to be posted together! Ugh, imagine how amazing it’d be if we were reassigned to the same ship.” There’s a small pause from the cat. “Which task group are you being assigned too? I’m ninety-seven. I know we’re both twenty one..”

Williams shook his head. “I… haven’t recieved a new assignment. I didn’t realize you were leaving. We’re you offered a new post?”

“Not yet.” Runt got that signature, off-putting, toothy grin. “But! I’m working here for a while. Better to enhance my knowledge a bit, you know? I’m just happy to be anywhere in starfleet.”

Runt looked at the shuttle. “Booooring, though. I’ve known everything I need to know about this one. Anyways—“ he looked back down at Williams. “I really, really hope we don’t get separated. You’re my first real friend in a while.”

“Aww…thanks, Runt.” He shut his tricorder. “Well, there’s no foreign attachments of any kind that I can see. And no clear signs of tampering. You ready to give this thing a spin?”

“Sure! Here, let me-“ Runt clamored out from the spot he was in, opening the shuttle’s doors and bowing. “Ladies first.” He smirks.

“Ha ha.” He said dryly. Williams stepped up into the shuttle and took the pilots seat as Runt sat down to monitor the engineering console. Williams ran pre flight checks and powered up the impulse drive. “Taking us up, easy does it…”

The shuttle lifted off the deck and began to glide towards the force field. A moment passed as they waited for traffic control to clear them, then they made a long elliptical pass along the stations exterior.

“Everything’s set here.” Runt looked out the main window, giving a wishful sigh. “…It’s kind of silly, but..I can’t ever get over how wonderful this starbase is.” Runt smiled, softly. “Everything about starfleet is great. The whole world is. Knowing so much about everything—the world in general!” His tail patted Williams on the shoulder. “Knowledge is everything, is what I like to say.” The cat then glanced back at the console, and Williams again. “I think space is beautiful. In a sort of cheesy way.”

Williams smiled. “I know what you mean. As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be out here. Just to see it all and live among the stars. I thin-” He stopped half way through his thought as the navigational panel lit up. He tapped the LCARS controls and furrowed his brow. “We’re drifting. Impulse is dropping.” The shuttle made a strange whirring sound and the cabin lights flickered. “Thrusters are out.”

“Uhm?” Runt started looking at the panel, working on it. “Williams, we’re—“ the cat let out a sudden yelp as one thruster fired, causing the ship to start spinning.  “aaaAH!” The cat yeowled, clawing onto the seat to not be thrown out of it.

The ensign tried to work on the imbalance as the ships lights started flashing red, an alarm blaring. Williams clenched his jaw and grabbed the console as the ship lurched. He fought with the shuttle. Pressing thruster controls to no avail. His anger came put in a grunt and a fist against the flickering panel.

“Come on! Don’t do this to me!!” With one last chaotic lurch, the shuttle died and began a wide drift away from the station. Williams tried the start up sequence, but nothing happened. Runt already appeared to be opening up an access panel and checking through the shuttles systems.

Runt was laser focused, hands working fast and accurately; it was nothing new, but if William’s could notice anything, it was that his hands were shaking.  “It’s fine, it’s fine! Just..just gotta..” He started to regulate his breathing, but something was clearly freaking Runt out. It only started after the lights went out.

“Williams! You gotta find a way to contact the starbase!” Williams, who should’ve noticed the equal fear in Runt, was too busy with his own frustration and fear to be of any help. He continued pressing the darkened controls with greater and greater urgency.

“I’M. TRYING. The whole shuttle is dead. Damn!!” He slammed his fist down again and stood from his seat. He began pacing through the small cabin, looking for something to help with.

Runt took a deep breath once again, trying to steady himself. To him, this was a nightmare. The specific shape of this shuttle reminded runt of quite a few years ago, and it just— “AH!” The cat yelped, stumbling back as sparks fly out of the panel.

Williams turned as the sparks shot out into the cabin. He knelt down and help Runt sit up. “What was that? What’s wrong with the shuttle?”

Runt takes a deep breath, eyes starting to look wild. But his breath wasn’t slowing down.“We need..light. Light in here. Work on that, while I..do this.” The cat rushed back, hands working quickly.

Williams stood and looked at one of the lighting panels. Not likely. Wait, there were emergency equipment stowed aboard. He stood and walked to a hatch in the shuttle. He pulled it open and retrieved a pair of hand held emergency lights. He switched one on and handed the other to Runt. “Light. Now we can SEE we’re in trouble.” He’d meant it as a joke to ease the tension, but he was still too riled up to sound light hearted.

Runt was nothing like his normal self, the cat putting it in his maw as he worked. “I-I don’t—I need—“ The animals fur was bristled as he slammed his hands on the panel, cursing loudly. “WORK, DAMNIT!”

Williams took Runt by the shoulders and gave him a shake. “Runt! Only one of us can lose their cool at a time. And I don’t think it should be the engineer!” Once more his attempt to be lighthearted had made what was supposed to be ensuring a frenzy of panicked hysterics.

“Get OFF ME!” Runt suddenly screeches, slashing at Williams face. It missed, but this was some sort of freak out from the cat. He hastily went back to the console, trying to make everything fit in place. But even then, tears were welling in the cats eyes.

The shuttle became very quiet. Runt continued to work at the shuttle repairs. The sudden outburst had temporarily overcome the feelings of fear and left Williams to pace back and forth. He looked over Runts shoulder every other length of the cabin he paced.

Williams started cracking his knuckles and thinking about his breathing. He stopped over Runts shoulder again, trying to make sense of the isolinear mess before them. “Any luck? How much longer?”

“I-I don’t—I don’t know. I’m..” Runt was working diligently—and, soon enough, the lights flickered on. Runt noticeably de-tensed the moments the lights were back on, but his fur was still bristled. He was silent, and it was clear the power was back on—but the engines were seemingly offline. He tried to hail the starbase, letting out a defeated sigh.

Runt and Williams started hailing the station and finally recieved an answer from traffic control. Within minutes, the shuttle was being tractored into the hanger. A maintenance crew checked with the ensign and began more intense repairs on the affected systems.

Williams stretched his arms wide as they stepped out of the shuttle. Now that they were free from the confined space, he finally felt he could breath properly again. He saw that Runt had fallen silent again after briefing the repair crew. He had been far more curt with the caitian than he should have been.

Williams walked towards the turbo lift with Runt and they stepped inside. “Medical.” The turbolift began moving. There was some quiet as he thought of what to say. “Runt, I’m sorry.”

Runt turned to William..

..and pulled him into a big hug.

“I’m sorry.” The caitian stayed there, not letting go for a solid few minutes. “I—have this…thing.” Runt pulled away. “Being in dark places. Dark, shuttle ship like places. It’s…I can’t explain it. At least when we were examining it, it had light! I just…I feel awful. Normally I’ve been able to handle myself, but today just–” The cat sighed, before their ears perked up in alarm. “Oh *shoot*, did I scratch you??”

“Close, but no I’m good. I guess we both have some growth ahead of us. Thanks.” Williams smiled and the turbo lift opened. “I doubt the doc will find anything serious to fix. What do you say we leave cramped quarters behind for the rest of the day?”

Runt glanced back across the hall, ears flat against his skull. “..I think I need to..do something else, actually. They offer free counseling, right?”

“Yeah, the station has counseling staff. You feel you need to talk with a counselor?”

“I don’t know. I have a lot to think about before I do.” Runt looked hesitantly to the side. “i’m still really sorry for…all of that.”

Williams nodded. “I forgive you. Do you forgive me?”

“Why would I not?” Runt, for the first time in a few hours, gave a smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

They stepped out of the turbo lift and walked towards the medical bay. “I DID get you thrown off a horse.” They both smiled and this time Williams let out a real laugh.

“Eh, it was worth it. Now I hate them even more than before!” Runt snickered and patted Williams on the shoulder. His face faltered shortly after.

“Just..be safe. Yeah?”

“I will. You just hurry back.” Williams smiled. The doors whooshed open and closed as the two ensigns entered sickbay.

As the nurse checked them over to clear them for duty, Williams thought about their accident. He’d actually shook Runt, and that left him feeling terrible. In a moment of anxiety for a member of his team, he had failed to uplift his friend and help him rise to the occasion. With the feelings of uselessness he had felt, he had unintentionally lashed out. 

The medical probe hovered over his forehead and he made a mental vow. Never again. He was here to protect, and that meant protecting the minds of his friends and colleagues. He suddenly noticed the time on a nearby panel, eyebrows raising. With one glance over to his Caitian friend, Williams mouthed ‘Holodeck in five?’. The cat flashed a goofy smile, and nodded. He seemed more calm now…almost like Williams had uplifted him and his spirits on the way to medical.

Huh.

Maybe things will be okay after all.