THE RELIANT

TAMALA'S PET

"What's that purring noise?" John asked as he stepped onto the bridge.

"It's Tamala's pet," Lisa responded.

"Her what?"

Tamala turned around in her seat where John could see her holding something brown and furry in her arms.

"It's my new pet," Tamala remarked. She held up it up so John could have a better look at it. "See?"

John kept looking at whatever it was Tamala was holding as he sat down in his chair. It was a little ball of brown fur. He couldn't tell if it had eyes through all the fur, though he could see its mouth.

"What in the world is that?" he asked.

"It's called a Noggu," Tamala told him.

"A what?"

"A Noggu."

"Never heard of it." John shook his head. "Where'd you get it?"

"I got it on Alliance base 57. Someone was selling him. I thought he looked cute, so I bought him."

"You bought him?"

"Um-hmmm," Tamala murmured, grinning and nodding.

"How much did you give for it?"

"A hundred."

John raised his eyebrows at her. "You paid a hundred for that thing?"

She nodded again. "Yeah."

"What is his name?" Lisa asked her.

Tamala's grin broadened. "His name is Gadget."

"Gadget?" John repeated.

"Yeah," Tamala said, nodding again. "Look, Captain, isn't he cute?"

"Yeah," he said a little less than enthusiastically, "cute."

"I think he looks adorable, Tamala," Lisa said with a grin of her own.

"Thanks, Lisa."

"Where's its eyes?" John asked her. "All I see is a bunch of fur and a mouth."

Tamala pulled back some of its fur to reveal two small beady eyes staring back at him. It gave him the creeps.

"See, Captain?" Tamala said. "Its got eyes."

"So I see."

Tamala, seeing how the Captain wasn't too impressed with her new pet, held it up towards Zack who was sitting next to her.

"What do you think about Gadget, Zack?"

Zack barely glanced at the creature as he simply said, "Fuzzy."

Tamala shot Zack an annoyed look like she so often did before turning to Bortis who was sitting on the other side of her.

"What do you think of Gadget, Bortis?"

She held him up so he could get a closer look at him. Bortis looked over Gadget for a moment before he reached down and quickly grabbed him. He held it above his head as he opened his mouth. Gadget let out an ear-piercing scream as the Morlon lowered the creature slowly into his mouth.

"Bortis, no!" Tamala yelled as she yanked Gadget out of his grasp. Tamala held her pet in her arms and lovingly caressed his furry head. "There, there, Gadget. It's okay. Bortis isn't going to hurt you." She shot Bortis an angry look. "Bortis, how could you!"

Bortis merely glanced at Tamala and offered her a grunt.

"Tamala," John began to say at her, "before Bortis has a chance to make your little pet his lunch, why don't you take, uh, Gadget into your quarters and keep him there, all right?"