Why Bump in the Night?

Posted on Tue Oct 28th, 2025 @ 4:45pm by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami & Lieutenant Commander Oscar McDonald MD & Ensign Karri

1,374 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Vinyl and Void

Adrianna couldn't get back off to sleep that night. She told Vance that she needed a walk. In truth, she went to her office, then the gym to blow off steam and now found herself in the crew lounge, her head in her hands swirling a glass of 'make believe' grappa. Damn being back on duty. At least the synthahol still burned, but it hardly took the edge off and she was on duty, so she couldn't particularly drink-- certainly not with Gorns on the radar.

Apparently ‘too crabbit’ even for paperwork, Doctor McDonald had ended up heading for the crew lounge. Perhaps some breakfast would improve his mood? Although he firmly believed the technician who had managed to somehow mislabel half of the inventory was more than deserving of his reprimand, perhaps he could have lowered the volume just a tad…

His intentions to eat stopped as he saw a familiar face. Crossing the room, navigating through the tables, he frowned, “I would say good morning but that would be a lie,” he observed, eyeing her drink, “would you rather be alone?”

Adrianna looked up and then to her watch, "it's morning?" She blinked, it was. She downed what was left of the 'depresso martini' and shook her head, "let me get coffee or you need to learn Italiano." Her voice sounded groggy at best. She stood up and ordered the strongest coffee she knew and then sat back down, "il medico have a cure to wake me up after four hours of broken sleep that is legal?"

“Nothing I’d recommend, or I’d use it myself,” the physician said ruefully, shaking his head. “Must be something in the water, have to admit I did not get the best sleep either. What is giving you sleepless nights?”

He was genuinely curious. Baciami was someone who did not scare easily, and who was a formidable ally and officer. If anything she probably caused more than a few nightmares amongst the lower deckers.

Karri walked in, rather groggy herself. She just had a dream where she was stuck in a spooky warehouse alone. And her only company was an evil voice. She yawned. "Sleep interrupted too?"

McDonald frowned, his mind working. “The coffee shop…” he mumbled to himself, recalling how overcrowded the place had been. He had put it down to having less staff and being the start of the day but perhaps there was more to it. “Bring your coffee Lieutenant, I think we should maybe make sure something else isn’t going on …”

Adrianna looked up and nodded, "my nightmares are more like reminders of the blood on my hands from being undercover. Gawd knows I killed a number of people, or at least assisted in it. Not all the rumours are false." She shrugged, "that said, my nightmares stuck into reality too..." Adrianna stood up to follow the pair to the coffee shop. She pulled out the note that had been on her mirror regarding translators not being able talk their way out of hell and handed it to the doctor, "my undercover persona was a translator."

"Wow!" Karri said. Both about the dream an her being impressed. "Mine was tame compared to that. I was just stuck alone in a warehouse, doing inventory of all things. The corridors were so imposing that it made scary look like Risa. Nevertheless I still had to go down them. I just put my mind to my work, until I kept hearing an ominous laugh. It never stopped. My fur rose up and everything. It just kept getting more ominous, then I woke up "

“Mines was… odd. Vivid. I didn’t hear a laugh but I was sure I heard a woman’s voice say my name,” McDonald confided as they reached a still busy coffee shop. He saw tired faces, many seeming ill at ease. “I get the feeling we are not alone in having a troubled nights sleep.”

"I can handle the nightmares-- to a point," Adrianna replied sipping coffee before she gestured at the note, "it's my life of being undercover, the paranoia of that, that makes me question if someone is in my quarters whilst I am sleeping. That is far from ok. Merde, it wasn't Vance, he swears. But I'm not alone in my quarters anymore, I cannot just sleep with a phaser under my pillow."

“Something playing games?” McDonald suggested, “obviously not the nice kind… if that tribble cult is behind this I am throwing them all out the airlock personally…”

"Si, and o will be slimming the cazzo di tribble alive," Adrianna muttered.

Reaching one of the tables, he stood on the chair, mindful of his precarious balance as he whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up! I need a show of hands… how many of you are here because nightmares kept you awake last night?”

There was a pause and then a couple of hands went up, then a few more. Most of them from female crew members. “No need to act tough, this is important. If you aren’t honest I will ensure your next physical is done by me. Now, who experienced nightmares?”

This time almost every hand seemed to go up but he barely had time to register that fact as the chair seemed to be kicked out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor.

Adrianna went to reach out to catch him, but there was no saving the doctor. She quickly knelt down, "medico? You alright?"

Karri knelt down as well. She didn't expect that. "First dreams, now this? What's going on?"

Years of medical training allowed him to assure himself he had not suffered any serious injuries, although had undoubtedly earned a few bumps and bruises. “I must have been off balance,” he reasoned. What other, logical explanation was there? “But I am quite alright,” he added as he began to pick himself up off the floor.

Adrianna nodded and stood up, offering her hand to him in case. Adrianna looked around and paused, "you know... Most of these people are lower deckers. It could be that tribble. He is mainly worshipped by them."

“But a tribble can’t influence dreams,” McDonald pointed out as he stood, gingerly cradling his left arm. “At least not usually. We need data. Perhaps sickbay, we can run full scans on all of us and I can get this arm fixed. And we go from there?”

"Perhaps, but I'm happy to have any excuse to down the pet," Adrianna admitted, before whistling, "everyone with nightmares, med bay. We may have an outbreak of... Something."

"So, and I hate to do my Vulcan imitation. But finding out what this "something" is would be logical." Karri said "Being a Lower decker myself I'd sure like to know."

"Perhaps you can try and figure out whether any of these people are part of the Gary cult. See if anyone has done anything spectacular lately. Or see if anyone has brought any contriband on board. I've been a little off my game. Call it giving them a false sense of security. But we need to know. I want any excuse to end 'the Gary'."

"I'm sorry if I'm out of the loop, but manifests will do that to you." Karri began. "But Who's Gary?"

"The merde according to many lower deckers," Adrianna explained, "there's a cult surrounding a pet tribble on board. It's name is Gary. It has a habit of escaping. It's done 'miracles' allegedly. Ultimately, he is an illegal pet that keeps escaping his cage."

"I need to get away from supplies more often " Karri thought to herself. "Ah. Gary does sound interesting, I'll say that."

"The only thing interesting about Gary, is that he somehow has a number of followers whilst looking like he'd make a great teapot cosy," Adrianna muttered.

"Ah." Karri said, chucking a little. "So yeah. Let's get rid of the Gary. This tribble sounds like trouble."

“First stop Sickbay,” McDonald reminded them. “And then, if it looks like this tribble is behind it all, you may hunt the Gary.”

"Ah, I love the smell of a good hunt first thing in a morning," Adrianna smirked.

OFF

 

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