Back To The Furore

Who: Big Pink Tree, Keto
Where: Medibay
When: Just after the violent return of the 'stranded' people
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The Big Pink Tree bounced joyously around the medibay, rearranging various
items, bouncing a little more, then rearranging them back again.
It could hardly get over the shock. It was IN CHARGE. It was the head of the
medibay! Such responsibility and high level of trust was enough to give the
Tree an extra spring in its bounce. Evidently it was moving up in the world.
The fact that there had been very few patients in the space of the last couple
of hours had done nothing to dampen the Tree's enthusiasm - indeed, it had
merely made it even prouder. It was doing such a good job that the patients
were getting cured before they even showed up! It was so very, very happy.
A short while ago, two ships had shot passed the medibay window, but the Tree
wasn't concerned. Ships didn't get ill, nor did they contain nutrients for
vegetation. Therefore, they weren't part of its responsibilities.
A little after that, there had been a Tree-audible crunch. By Tree-audible,
it meant that it had detected a faint shiver through its sensitive roots,
meaning that there had been a heavy impact somewhere on the decks below it.
Wondering vaguely if this had anything to do with those ships that flew past the
window earlier, the Tree moved a few more items around the medibay, in a vague
attempt to improve efficiency if it were to get a sudden influx of people.
Indeed, it did get a sudden influx of people. Or person, at any rate.
The medibay door was flung inwards, crashing against the wall and causing its
automatic motors to whine in protest - slamming sliding automatic doors was not
their intended function.
The shocked Tree would have blinked, if it had eyes.
"...rustle?" it asked in surprise.
"What," growled the dishevelled Keto, "Are you doing in my medibay?"
"Rustle rustle-rustle."
"I know you're a member of my staff. I know you're a VERY JUNIOR member of my
staff. So, therefore, (a) what are you doing unsupervised in my medibay and (b)
where were you when your department head was stranded on a planet full of robots
trying to make THIS..." (indicating his leg) "...happen to the rest of me, hmm?"
The Tree hesitated. Even an over-enthusiastic shrub could detect that a wrong
answer here could cost it a few branches.
"Rustle...rustle rustle," it hazarded. Keto continued to glare for a second,
then growled.
"If I find you've touched anything in here, you're firewood," he muttered,
climbing up onto a medibunk, his Plebian leg refusing to lift off the floor,
"Now, we need to start looking for a way to turn my leg back to normal. Where's
Cleavage?"
"Rustle."
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"Rustle rustle-rustle rustle Rustle," responded the Tree. Keto frowned.
"You think she went to do something involving 'that'? What's 'that'?"
"Rustle rustle?"
"'That'?"
"Rustle?"
"TH..!" began Keto, then gave up and grabbed the Tree, "Listen very closely.
I am extremely close to the end of my tether at the moment, so I wish for a
clear, calm and concise answer to my following question. Where do you think
Cleavage went?"
"Rustle," replied the quavering Tree, and pointed a branch towards a TV
screen. Keto turned towards it just in time to see the missile strike Earth
right between the dunes.
"WHAT!?" yelped Keto, dropping the Tree in surprise, "Wasn't Chrysler supposed
to stop that thing!?"
There was a second's silence as Keto's mind turned over.
"Ah. Yes, I suppose that was rather the expected result, then. But I didn't
see any explosion. Did you see any explosion?"
"Rustle."
"No. So perhaps the missile was a dud. Perhaps nothing happened."
The Tree and Keto looked at each other.
"Perhaps I should find out what we're planning to do about it."
"Rustle rustle?" asked the Tree as Keto headed for the door, leg limping.
"Don't touch anything!" the doctor snapped, "The others will be back shortly,
so just wait here!"
"Rustle?"
"Coffey, Wildflower, Alexander, Trisees and the annoying one."
"RUSTLE RUSTLE!?"
"Yes," sighed Keto, "They're both back. And a missile has just hit Earth.
This day just gets better and better..."
With that, the doors shut behind him, the automated motors giving an
electronic sniff in disdain for any door-slamming-open doctors.
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OOC: Okay, Keto's wandering vaguely around the ship trying to find out what the
stranded people missed. ;) Shoot.