“Why the hell does this thing keep following me around?” Kelsie frowned at the tiny fluffy creature, trying not to get hypnotized by its eyes again. “It’s creepy.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Julianna crouched and scratched the dog’s head between its ears, quietly giggling as the animal closed its eyes in ecstasy. “It’s cute. It’s called a dog, you know?”

Kelsie raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care what it’s called, I want it out of my office. Oh dear god, is it pissing on my floor?” Was this some kind of a secret weapon unleashed by those wretched monkeys? “Are you sure it’s not just here to spy on us?”

“It doesn’t look very smart.” David tried to shoo the thing away. “Maybe it’s just an animal.”

“The monkeys were also ‘just animals’ and look at them now, parading around with rifles, singing some dumb songs. Maybe this devious creature just pretends to be stupid but understands everything we say.” Kelsie’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, come here,” she purred and the puppy excitedly skittled over to her extended hand. “Would you like to get shot in the face?” she continued in a sweet voice. The puppy barked eagerly and licked her palm. “Eww,” she recoiled, her face twisted in disgust.

Julianna rushed in and grabbed the animal, cradling it in her arms. “Don’t you dare,” she hissed at Kelsie.

“I think it just needs some training.” Jim Harlowe was still nervous around them but, as Kelsie had expected, he was determined to fight to find his place here. He walked over to the young scientist and petted the dog who was now comfortably seated on her lap.

“Train it then. Somewhere else. And you,” she pointed a finger at David, “don’t think I didn’t see you.”

He raised his hands, putting on an innocent expression. “I didn’t do anything. And it wasn’t a banana!”

“I don’t care what it was,” Kelsie growled. “I don’t think that monkey armada that just marched through the Meeting Place would appreciate your jokes. No!” she raised a finger, preventing David from speaking again. “Go clean this mess. Now.”

David frowned at the puddle in the middle of the room. “But I’m a Commander.”

“Then go find a fucking mop you can command. Before I demote your ass so that it is the only thing you will be able to command around here.” Kelsie rolled her eyes as he was leaving, a slight smile playing on her lips. Despite him acting like an idiot at times, she still liked having him around. He provided a completely different perspective than the always focused and logical Julianna.

Three datapads beeped at once. The dog raised its head and whined, confused by the sound and the suddenly frowning, worried, focused faces around it.

“What the actual fuck?” Julianna mumbled and both Jim and Kelsie looked at her in surprise, not expecting such words from her. “What the hell is [i]that[/i]?” An image showed up on the big screen, showing several objects emerging from the Gateway. The trio stared in stunned silence as the [i]things[/i] gracefully floated towards the Meeting Place, the two smaller ones circling the bigger one. 

Kelsie’s jaw dropped down and she gawked at the magnificent view, unable to close her mouth. “Are those… animals?” Were they in danger? If something like that impacted the station, it could compromise its structural integrity. Despite the danger, even Kelsie had to admit it was a marvelous sight.

“Uh… yes and no?” Julianna hesitated, using her device to remotely activate the powerful scanners aboard the Chimera. Kelsie managed to collect her jaw from the floor and shut her mouth, shooting the young scientist an angry frown. “Sorry, this is something completely new. And,” she studied the data, “actually I stand behind my answer. The ships are partially organic and partially mechanical.”

Jim swiped through magnified images. “Equipped for battle as well, it seems. The smaller ones at least.”

“True,” Julianna nodded. “But the weapon systems don’t seem to be powered up. At least from what I can tell. What do I know, maybe the thing has teeth and claws and will just rip its way inside the station.” The girl chuckled nervously, but there was also excitement in her eyes. Kelsie understood her excitement, even though she hardly shared it.

Jim swiped on his datapad and the ship images were replaced by a strange room with two even stranger people in it. “Incoming transmission,” he said quietly, unable to look away from the screen.

As the green-haired woman spoke, making strange chirping and singing sounds, David entered the room, holding a mop and a bucket filled with soapy water. “Hey, did you know there's a broom closet at… what the fuck is that? Did Julianna force you to watch that ancient movie with the talking trees and the little people and the cursed jewelry again?”

“Shut up and listen,” Kelsie hissed because the woman just finished her speech and the man with a mouth full of creepy canines started to translate it into weirdly accented English.

“Genetic manipulation, of course, that makes sense,” Julianna mumbled after the transmission ended. 

Kelsie shook her head. “How does any of that make sense?”

“Well, they’ve said it.” David wasn’t nearly as shocked as the others. In fact, he quite calmly grabbed the mop and started to wipe the floor. “They’ve adapted to their hostile world. Freekin tree-huggers turned into trees.” They all looked at him and he shrugged. “What? I’m not as dumb as I look. Mostly. But don’t mind me, I’m just commanding this mop here. And I’m commanding it damn well if you ask me.”

“I think Commander Parker does have a point,” Jim nodded. “They certainly do look like some kind of plant-human hybrids. And from the tone of their message, they do seem quite peaceful. Which of course could be a trick,” he added quickly, reacting to Kelsie’s raised eyebrow. 

The Guardian sighed and got up. “Fine. Commander Harlowe, you like them, you deal with them. I’m still processing the monkeys, I can’t really deal with talking plants right now. And keep that thing away from me,” she pointed at the dog currently curled up at Jim’s feet.

“Yes, ma’am,” he smiled and scratched the animal’s head, excited about his first real assignment. “I’ll send a welcome message right away and invite them over for negotiations. And I’ll take care of the dog.”

David walked over to Jim and patted his shoulder. “I feel like you will be needing this, mate.” The mop was handed into Jim’s hand and David headed out of the room, leaving the newest team member in a bit of an absurd situation.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” Julianna giggled quietly. “I’ll head to the lab and go over the scan data to have a report ready for you before the negotiations start.”

“Right,” Jim nodded and got up, trying to figure out what to do first. A wet tongue licked his hand and a quiet whining made him look down at the puppy. Now, where do you walk a dog at a space station?