“M’HARK!”

Runt nearly fell out of bed as he jumped upwards, fur already bristling as he shot a glare to the side. There, standing at his bed on his side of the room, was Lieutenant Hollis. The Ferengi had a mild annoyance sprawled across his face as he stared down at the cat.

The twos room was unique–Hollis’ having an air of organization and picture perfect cleanliness. Artifacts from home on the shelf, various cultural tapestries hung up along the wall, and an easel in the corner with his latest painting on it. For all intensive purposes, it was quite homey. His paints were organized along a shelf in color wheel order, and the brushes were always in pristine condition. Runt could never figure out how he kept them so clean. M’Hark’s side, meanwhile, was a bit more chaotic.

Runt’s was organized to a T; various PADDs full of information in a small, rotating library that were even labeled on the side. Books scattered across the foot of his bed and a slowly dying PADD propped up next to them; the cat never stopped wanting to learn–much to the dismay of Hollis. A scratching post that served more as a sharpening stone for Runt’s claws was in the other corner of the room. Next to it was a prop-up desk and mini workbench, with his currently deactivated plasma knife lying on the table.

“I’m up, I’m up-”

“Why is there fur all over the ground?”

”Err…I don’t—oh, shit, am I already starting to shed?” M’Hark furrowed his brow, earning a look from Hollis.

“You….what??” Hollis pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ohhhmygod, do not start shedding everywhere and leaving it all over the floor!”

“I can’t help it. I’ll make sure to start sweeping every night, though.” Runt rolled his eyes and turned back over to the other side of the bed, back facing Hollis. Just as he got comfortable enough to let his eyes drift off, Hollis nudged him once again. “Mmmhhh…what?”

“Doctor Sullivan is calling us to transport room one.” Hollis shrugged as he glanced down at his PADD. “Apparently we’re going on an away mission for potential research.”

“Research?!” Runt sprung out of bed, hastily bolting for his closet. “YES! Yes! I was hoping for this! Which planet??? Oh, oh, do I have to get some protective gear??” The cat rambled as he threw on his uniform, getting ready to leave in mere seconds.

“I have no idea, M’Hark.” Hollis grumbled as he dressed himself as well. As fast as they had been told, the two we’re already out the door, with Runt practically sprinting to the transporter room.

“Runt!” Amira smiled as the cat scrambled in, out of breath. “Where’s Hollis?”

“Here, Doctor.” Hollis walked in with his usual look: mild annoyance. “Care to debrief us?”

“Of course.” Amira walked to one of the Monitors in the transporter room and pulled up a visual of Drekar V. “Drekar V–we’ve been tasked with gathering samples of as much of it’s ecosystem as we can. The climate is somehow thriving despite it’s conditions.” Runt squealed as Amira spoke, very quickly writing down on his PADD.

“With all due respect ma’am, why us?” Hollis glanced at Runt as he already had at least ten paragraphs noted down. “Let me rephrase that, why me?”

“Well, Hollis, it’s better to have some security detail with us. All I need from you is to help us keep watch while we gather data.” Amira patted his shoulder. “We should be able to withstand the climate with our jackets. Where I’m having us go is more person friendly.”

“Oh, oh–Doctor. Do you think there will be any micro-organisims that have adapted to form multi-class subspeices depending on which region they’re from?” Runt spoke as he walked over to the three folded up jackets, throwing his on.

“I hope so,” Amira nudges Hollis with a smile. “Who knows! Maybe we’ll encounter something you can use those tactical skills against.” The Ferengi simply rolled his eyes as Amira reached to grab her coat and smiled at him warmly.

. . . .

The planet was nothing they could ever describe.

Ice and frost covered any and all flora across the face of where they were standing, with the most gorgeous lighting coming down and reflecting off itself. Local flora and plants had ice hanging off the ends, with trees and larger plants turning into what could only be described as gorgeous ice sculptures.

The hilly terrain served as a small challenge for Amira, but Hollis and M’Hark did just fine. The group of three started their walk around the area as Hollis glanced over at the good doctor.

”This was clever, doctor.”

“What was?” Amira raised a brow as Runt ran around in the background (and in front of them), collecting as many samples and research as he could.

“Being in the only area where sun is consistently on it. It allowed the ice to melt enough to be inhabitable for a few hours, and preserves the ecosystem.” Hollis smile got a little softer. “It’s very impressive.”

“You’re too kind!” Amira chuckled as she patted his back. “It was simple, honestly. I-“ She then paused.

“What?”

“Impressive you knew that just by getting your surroundings.” Amira smirked at the Ferengi. “Hollis, I’ve noticed you have much more of a liking for biology and scientific work rather than tactical work. Why not transfer over to here?”

“Uh…” He gave Amira a sheepish grin, his face just a little bit more red than before. “Thank you, Doctor. It was just kind of a thing my father wanted. They’ve been in Starfleet for a while.”

”Yeah?” Amira nudged him. “Is that really all?”

“…Maybe another day, Doctor. I’m-“

”WATCH OUT!” Runt screamed, suddenly. But just as Hollis turned to see what the cat was sayi—

BANG!

Something whizzed through the air as Hollis watched in almost slow motion as Amira’s left shoulder had blood explode out from the front of it. A line attatched to what seemed to be a sort of harpoon lodged itself in her shoulder as she let out a horrific cry of agony, blood splattering its way across the ice.

Before Hollis could react, something slammed into the back of his head and he fell forward, not being able to react in time to stop some sort of needle penetrating the back of his neck. To his genuine terror, the Ferengi quickly realized he couldn’t move his legs anymore. Then his torso, then his arms, and neck. It all happened so fast that he could only let out a cry.

Runt had already started to charge forward the moment he screamed, but the cat was no match after a shot of the harpoon gun to the leg. Hollis’ eyes were barely able to travel and see three masked men walk forward—one instantly getting clawed in the face as two more emerged from the bushes and grabbed Amira, who was protesting with screams as she tried to reach her badge; all that did was get it ripped off her chest and crushed on the ground. Hollis tried desperately, so desperately to reach out to the doctor, but he couldn’t.

The last thing Lieutenant Hollis saw before blacking out was Runt’s hand sprawled across the icy ground, a boot on his palm and forcing his claws outward—with one of the masked men holding what could only be the telltale sign of pliers. The last thing he heard was Amira’s cry for M’Hark to look away and close his eyes. Then?

Nothing.