Tohr's Acquisition

Posted on Tue Nov 27th, 2012 @ 6:19pm by Ignatius Reilly & Eldren Tohr
Edited on on Sun Sep 20th, 2015 @ 10:19pm

Mission: Sections of the Delta Quadrant
Location: Varies

While Oralia had one way of grieving for her lost brother, Ignatius J. Reilly Zeferino had another way altogether. She couldn’t shed tears the way Oz could; nor could she beat up on defenseless pillows when the anger got to be too much. Instead, as Iggy found herself struggling with the emotions, she chose to live out her battle in reality by seeking out others of her ilk and trouncing them soundly.

Trouncing her opponents was relatively ‘easy’ for her - at just over a half a pound and with a leg span of fourteen inches, she was larger than any she’d yet come across - not that she’d come across all that many who were worthy of being taken on as opponents. It wasn’t just their size that made them non-contenders, it was also their lack of intelligence. Those, however, Iggy didn’t mind simply putting out of their misery. As a side benefit, she’d found that her fellow arachnids were quite tasty as meals.

After seeing Oralia off to work after lunch and after a brief meeting with Sakkath in their quarters, Ignatius was again on the prowl through the Station’s darkest confines. It was back here that she knew she’d find some mindless challenger that she could pounce upon and rip limb from limb. How she found them was with her sense of ‘smell’ - the chemical receptors on her pedipalps and just inside her mouth let her taste the air currents to know what was where. Following that now, she caught a whiff of something she hadn’t ever tasted before: a male... not just any male, but a male tarantula. Not only would he be a worthy opponent, and a healthy meal, he might, just possibly, be a potential mate. Perhaps, if he was worthy enough, she’d take him home and install him in her former terrarium as her own personal pet.

Slowly and deliberately, Iggy walked along the ceiling of the jefferies tubes, chasing down the source of the scent.

* * *Somewhere in the Jefferies tubes* * *

War and years spent around the quadrants hunting down enemies had shown him many things, but he’d never seen something so silly as a compulsive collector. His desire to go to any length to get a specimen of spider seemed very alien to Tohr. But no matter, this business would have brought great deal of latinum to his pockets.

More fuel for his never-ending hunt.

Tohr himself had never been an expert on spiders, or arachnids in general, aside from coming to know similar Bajoran creatures for their dangerous qualities in his assignments as a guerrilla.

At any rate, the shopkeeper of exotics had guaranteed the health of the particular specimen of spider he’d bought. Tarantula, he’d called it. Or something like that.
Not that Tohr really cared, considering the use he intended for it. He’d spent some time studying documentation on arachnids and what he found was interesting. He hoped that the instinct in this newly sentient spider remained strong. Strong enough for it to rise to the bait.

The niche he’d found in one of the tubes well-served the purpose. Lined with energy cables, it was consistently warmer than the tube itself. He placed the box in the niche with the well fed spider inside and set his mind on doing what he did best...

...wait for the prey.

* * *Jefferies Tube, Different Spider* * *

A trip that might have taken a bipedal engineer mere minutes was a far slower trip for Iggy. It wasn’t that she was moving at a leisurely pace; she was, by tarantula standards, “bookin’ it”. Down several decks and along a lateral crevice, she kept moving, stopping only once to have a snack - she’d learned quite some time ago to pack her own pre-marinated meals for trips like this.

Seemingly hours after first tasting the male tarantula’s scent, Iggy finally was on the same level as him. There was another taste in the air, as well, though, one that had her moving slower than normal. It was sweat from a biped.... Rationalizing that an engineer may have just been through this area, she crept forward, seeking out her possible paramour and, if she were lucky, some warmth. These damned Jefferies tubes were chilly!

To her delight, she found both: the nook the male had chosen was warmed by the cables running through and around it. Confusingly, though, the male was encased in a box... a box that smelled familiar. It smelled like the boxes Oralia brought live crickets and roaches home in. What’s this? Are you a meal or a male?, she asked the trapped spider, tapping at the box’s lid and knowing he’d never respond. He was simply a stupid, unaware male.

It happened too fast. The jet of liquid splattered her with a thick foamy substance that swelled quickly almost completely engulfing her body becoming harder and harder.

Unsure what was happening, Iggy’s instincts took over for her. In the moment the foam touched her, she clutched at the box and curled in on it and herself. She also screamed, a sound that pierced into the brain of any sentient being near her. As the foam hardened, though, and Iggy found that she was fine, but simply trapped, like a bug her web might be if she had to weave a web to catch prey, she stopped screaming.

“Easier than I thought.” Tohr commented coming out of the shadow. “Sticky, isn’t it? How ironic...”

Inside her foam cocoon, Iggy tried to shift around. It was sticky... and stiff.... Who are you!? What is this?! Let me out! Do you know who I belong to? You will be in big trouble!

“Well this I had to hear... It can communicate.” Tohr spoke to himself with a grin of satisfaction. “And yes... Indeed I know who you did belong to: Commander Zeferino. I thought to have to come to snatch you from her quarters... You spared me the trouble. A life-saver indeed you are, the commander owes you...” Tohr mocked her putting the foamy ball into a larger box readied for the occasion.

A life saver? She couldn’t fathom how she’d saved a life. You will find me difficult to transport! I can talk to anyone I wish and you cannot silence me.

“I see.” Tohr replied bringing the now closed box to eye level. “In my years in the resistance I had to torture Cardassians to make them speak... provided that you know what a Cardassian is. Now it seems I’m facing the opposite problem... I deem it of a much easier solution. I don’t think you can broadcast like a news station. Attract unwanted attention and you’ll be the cause of a sudden death. Have you ever seen someone hit by a disruptor? Oh, that includes your former proprietor.”

Tohr paused to let his words linger a little.

“Am I understood?”

Did you kill the nice man with all the crickets? Iggy asked the question more to give herself a moment to think than to really have the question answered. She’d somehow saved a life and the ‘commander’ owed her... With a tiny mental squeak, she got it: Oz was a commander; she’d saved Oz’s life by coming out of the apartment and now... if she wasn’t quiet, he’d... A disruptor? Oralia has been searching for one; I have not seen anyone hit by one, however. Curiosity laced her concern. What does it do?

“Kicks you out from existence,” was Tohr’s laconic response as he started to move down the Jefferies tube with his burden. “Or it could just make you a small pile of incinerated dust if you like. Depends on the setting.”

You used this on the food guy? And you are now threatening to use it on Oralia if I am not quiet? She felt the need to clarify things, just so she knew the ground rules.

“Smart girl.” Tohr grinned.

***********************
Ignatius J. Reilly Zeferino
Trapped Like a Bug in a Web

Eldren Tohr
Predator of Predators