Dr. Salmon I Presume?

Posted on 02 Nov 2017 @ 1:38pm by Lieutenant Zim Salmon, Ph.D. (Dec-Jan 2389-TRNS, Bre'el Dip. Msn)

Mission: He ho'omaka hou 'ana - A New Beginning
Location: Alpha Quadrant
Timeline: 20 December 2388
Tags: quim, otter, hawaii, science

Dr. Salmon and his group of research students had put their things away for the day as the sun slowly sank providing a gorgeous sunset. The weather was warm if not downright hot, and the students and teachers had headed for the lake they were camped near.

One of the students cast a line into the water, in a effort to sample the local fish, if he was so lucky. Zim snorted, as he pulled off his shirt, leaving just his close-fitting shorts on.
"That" he said dismissively, "is no way to fish. Allow me to demonstrate" he offered, as he waded out into the lake.
"Yah, well, I don't exactly swim like you do Prof" his student replied with a laugh, lounging back in the shade of a tree.

Dr. Salmon gave his student a toothy grin, then dove under the water. His eyes quickly adjusted so that he was seeing clearly in the water, and he began to swim in search of his quarry. He soon spied several large and tasty-looking specimens and began to stalk them through the weeds. One ventured a bit too close to long green vines growing upward - and was nabbed as clawed paw - or perhaps it was more of a hand - shot out and grabbed it.

While this fish was meant for dinner, he left it alive for the moment so that he could get a good picture first. Purely in the name of science - trophy was such an ugly word.

Meanwhile on land, a couple of his students looked up as a land vehicle arrived, which was unexpected, and someone in a Starfleet uniform got out.
"I'm looking for Lt Salmon?" he inquired. "Is this his campsite?"
"oh, you mean Dr. Salmon? Yah, he's here" a girl replied, then yelled over to the guy fishing, "Where's Doc Z?"
"In the lake!" he yelled back, pointing vaguely at the water. The man who'd come headed towards the fisherman, muttering "hasn't Anyone here heard of a Comm unit?"

The messenger arrived by the fisherman, shielding his eyes with a hand and looking out at the people splashing in the lake.
"Ah, which one is he?"
"Doc Z? He's underwater. Should be up in a minute or, well, maybe a few minutes" the kid said with an expressive shrug.
"Few minutes!? He'll drown in a few minutes!" the messenger said, looking very alarmed, then looking back to the lake like he was scanning for a floating body.
"Buddy, chill" the student said calmly, putting a hand behind his head to cushion it. "Doc's a Quim. They can stay down forever, at least compared to a human."

Just about that time, Zim's head popped out of the water. To make swimming easier, he'd put his catch in his mouth, where it continued to wiggle and struggle to be free as he waded ashore. The messenger glanced sideways to the student for confirmation, and was given a smile and nod. He proceeded forward to meet Dr. Salmon and deliver his message.

"Dr. Salmon?" he said, still making sure he had the right being this time.
Zim looked up, noticed the uniform, then grabbed the fish out of his mouth. He stuck it behind his back, where it continued to struggle, it's tail flashing into sight, then away and back again every couple of seconds.
"Why yes, I'm Dr. Salmon. And you might be?" he prompted, smiling a toothy smile while he tried to get on top of the situation. He gave the fish a squeeze with his hidden hand to try and get the dratted thing to stop squirming.
The messenger did his best to maintain his composure. "Ah, Starfleet has been trying to reach you sir. You've been offered a position aboard the USS Hawaii, but they need an immediate answer." He offered the Quim a PADD.

Dr. Salmon dropped the fish, and put a furry foot on it (it was still flopping around), and took the offered device. He read over it quickly, his whiskers beginning to twitch with excitement.
"Please convey that I will definitely accept this position, and will be catching the first ship or stray comet if necessary as soon as I've gathered my things and turned over leadership of this project. Please see what you can do about finding me a way to the Providence Fleet Yards. I will be back to town within two hours" he told the messenger, as he handed back the PADD.

Looking somewhat dismayed, the man wiped slime and a number of silvery scales off the PADD. Dr. Salmon had already turned and was hurrying towards his tent as fast as his relatively short legs could carry him. The man looked down, as the fish flopped onto his formerly shiny, now slimy, boot before heading back to his vehicle, shaking his head. This job didn't pay enough.