In the Wee Small Hours

Posted on Fri May 5th, 2023 @ 10:43am by Commander Antonia 'Tony" Stoffels

Mission: Starship Side Quest
Location: USS Resolution - Mess
Timeline: Night

Mosey preferred the middle of the 'night'. Even though, night was subjective on a starship. It was always night. The 3rd shift rotations seemed to leave her to her business and that was just ducky with her. She hit up astrometrics and worked on her maps for a few hours, with permission of course. She watched the engineers work on the warp core from the top tier. She found the sound to be the most calming sound in the chaos of a starship. Once, she had recorded it and used it during a hibernation cycle as white noise. Best plum sleep she'd ever had.

She decided around the human's 4 am, to head to the mess hall to get a cup of drink. Preferably sweet. She had a copy of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County under her arm, and braced herself for the odd stares she usually received when she'd get a bowl of something to lap up like a cat.

Tony walked into the mess in her pyjama's and a morning coat. The night bartenders were used to her walking in like this when she couldn't sleep. And lately that was more and more. She missed Ren sharing her bed. And when coming off duty she was just too keyed up to sleep. She knew she needed it but sleep evaded her. All she could do was worry about Sky and Ren out there all alone.

She blinked when she ran into Mosey at the bar. A therapist was not the person she had hoped to run in tonight.

"Well I'll be a bump on a log," Mosey greeted putting her book down. She was just as taken aback as the Commander seemed to be. "Doin' late night rounds in your jim-jams?"

"Can't sleep." Tony grumbled. "You?"

"I don't sleep."

Tony blinked. "Not at all? What a blessing."

"I hibernate yearly, for two weeks, that's all the sleep I need, sweet beans," Mosey lapped at her juice tea concoction. It was pink with strawberries.

"Amazing. Wish I could do with so little sleep." Tony sighed.

"It drives your kind mad," Mosey kindly and spoke from experience. "And you don't want that suge."

"I know. And believe me I have been trying to get some rest." She rubbed her eyes. "It's the residue of the poison, it makes it hard to get any sleep."

"There's antiquated techniques for poison that still work," Mosey lapped her juice drink. "Herbs and stuff. Tale knows those. Get you right as rain."

"Dr Rutherford is on it. We have it under control." Tony said. "And he is close to a cure. But it did a number on my body and my mind."

"Explains how you can start an argument with an empty house," Mosey laughed.

"Sorry?" Tony asked not following along.

"From my experiences," Mosey went into work mode. "You getch yerself worked up into a lather really quick. I understand right now (Mosey motioned). But, I didn't before-- until now."

"Who me? You think I am a hothead?" Tony blinked.

"From mine and Tale's joint experiences," Mosey blinked her secondary eyelid. "But if you have something eatin' away at you, that explains a lot!"

Tony snorted. "Believe me, I am not a hothead at all. That is Kay. I just don't agree with the work the two of you are doing."

Mosey lapped her drink. "I get it. More hens peckin' in the henhouse checking things out. But, we leave when its done. It's only a nuisance if you want it to be."

"That's not it." Tony took a deep breath. This was certainly not going to help her sleep. "Look I tried to explain to your boss why I think this is a bad idea, so I don't want to go into it again. But on top of that I think it is very disrespectful to my boss who was just on board this ship for weeks and found nothing wrong and who did her own screening of Lt Jansen and cleared her. It feels like someone has it in for this ship and the counselling department in general." Which she was not part of but Tony defended her friends.

"Ain't it funny how this bicycle seems to be stationary?" Mosey smiled. She finished her bowl and stood. Her limbs cracked a little. She giggled. "Tiny chairs. That wasn't even what my initial concern was about ma'am, but it's very interesting that you keep talking about it. I shouldn't tell you --We cleared Lt. Jansen when we got here."

Mosey let her knees swivel back and forth. The full 360. "You've been frettin' and a fussin', when we have been talking to people on the lower decks and the Doc has barely concerned herself with the upper management of the ship. Mama bears take care of the cubs? She's just making sure the cubs ain't fighting."

That made Tony smile. "I am pretty new at being a mama bear."

"You're pretty good at it. You got lots of cubs."

"Yeah but it is driving me crazy that some of my favorite cubs are missing."

"I reckon it'd drive anyone absolutely chitters! I'd be commandeering ships for mine," Mosey nodded.

"Don't tempt me." Tony said while she wearily rubbed her tired eyes.

"You be counting sheepie sheepies!"

"Doesn't help." She grumbled. "Believe me I have tried it all."

"Doc Hesh uses tea," Mosey stretched. "For hibernation, I use dead sleep. I put each body part to sleep. I lay down, wait until I'm very comfortable, then I say goodnight to each part. Goodnight big toe, and wait until I cannot feel it. Then I say goodnight to my other toes. Then the balls of my feet, and so forth. Up my calves. To my knees. It takes about an hour. Of active thinking of putting myself to sleep. Then I sit with my brain as I drift off to shut it off. It works every time. Try using the warp core sound. I assure you, it works. I don't like sleep. For I don't sleep."

"An hour! Gosh I don't think I have the patience for that. I may have to stop off at medical. But I am still on so much meds because of the poison that I really don't want to add something else to the list."

"All good things arrive unto them that wait--and don't die in the meantime," Mosey quoted Mark Twain to the exhausted XO with a large smile. "But dollars to donuts, if you get good at putting your body to sleep you can do it in under 3 minutes."

"That's impressive I just don't have the time to get that good right now." She heaved herself to her feet. "I guess sickbay it is then."

"Oh come here," Mosey chittered. Towering over Tony, she spoke in a low hypnotic tone in an ancient language. She picked up Tony's hand with her clawed mitt and traced Tony's palm quickly. Her voice returned to the squeaky balloon once again, "You'll be right as rain, and awake in time for your shift on the bridge.'

'And do come tell me about the dream," she said in a low rumbling from within her. "It should be divine."

"I don't know if I believe in that." Tony started to say and then yawned. "Darn."

Mosey tapped her. "I like you suge, I don't do that for just an'body. Get to a bed."

"Your boss doesn't." Tony grinned and yawned again. "Thank you, Mosey, you are a kind person."

Mosey studied the XO as she rubbed her eyes. When Mosey was about to leave to return to Admiral Brennan's ship, Tale requested she stay - not out of her friendly obligation to the Second Officer - but out of respect for the XO not being able to leave the ship. Mosey shook her head and decided to keep this information to herself. "Goodnight Tony."

Tony gave a little wave, yawned again and then walked off back to bed.