Kaylee(Virginia) and Charlotte(Spider)
darthcourt10
Well worn.
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Snippet 35: S0ngD0g13
Virginia and Charlotte...
...................................
The Admiral stared. Blinked. Stared a bit more. "Say again?"
The Shipgirl before her desk held her salute and spoke clearly. "Ironclad USS Virginia reporting, with asset, Ma'am."
"Asset? That is a very large spider, Virginia." She motioned to the creature in question, as large as a Jack Russell Terrier, sitting by Kaylee's leg.
The spider lifted a foreleg and spoke in a high-pitched, childish voice, "Ack-row-man-cha-la Charlotte Mack-Amis re-portin', Ma'am." Her diction was that of a small child's, Shimada noted.
"Just how old are you, Charlotte?" the Admiral asked.
"She hatched about a week ago, Ma'am," said Virginia. "I don't mind shooting the big ones or smashing the eggs, but when Charlotte came out of hers and stared up at me, I just couldn't bring myself to hurt her. I mean, look at her; she's such a cutie, Ma'am."
Admiral Shimada sighed. "You realize that my sending you there was supposed to be a punishment detail, yes?"
Kaylee nodded sharply. "Yes, Ma'am. And it was, especially after my camp ashore was raided while I was away and my rations stolen. I'll say that there were edible, if noisome, things aplenty, and leave it at that."
"And yet you bring back a pet, Virginia."
"She's an asset, Ma'am, or a potential one, at any rate. I did my homework beforehand and found out Acromantula had valuable products, at least in the Wizarding World; the silk is used for high-end clothing, and the venom sells for upward of a hundred Galleons per pint. According to Akizuki, who asked Nagato's boy, Harry, it's five Pounds English to the Galleon, so if my numbers are right, one pint of venom goes for a hair over seventy-two thousand Yen."
"You may, possibly, be onto something, Virginia. That said, I'm still on the fence about allowing you to keep her. Do you know how large Charlotte will grow?"
"Her mama was seventeen hands in height, Ma'am; that's five-foot-eight, draught-horse-size."
Shimada paused and thought silently. "She gets quarantined, the same as any new animal brought in, and she gets a checkup from a vet. The fact she's only a week old and speaking understandable English shows she's intelligent; I leave it up to you and your uncle to find out if she's trainable. If, and I do mean if, she can meet or exceed the same standards as the MWDs at the beginning of their training within two weeks after being released from quarantine, I'll permit you to keep her. Otherwise..."
Virginia nodded, knowing full-well what the Admiral's 'Otherwise' meant. A large predator, which Charlotte undoubtedly was, with a typical diet of 'anything it can catch', was not something to be idly released on a populated military base; untrained she'd be a danger... "Understood, Ma'am."
The Admiral nodded. "Good. You're dismissed; take Charlotte to the Veterinary Clinic and then go home and sleep. You're scheduled for a patrol at 0500 and it's 2130 right now."
"Aye, Ma'am."
Charlotte lifted her foreleg in time with Virginia's salute and said, "Good Even-in' Ma'am."
As the pair turned and walked out, Shimada could hear Charlotte ask, "Gin-ya? What's a vet-nary clinic?"
Admiral Shimada poured herself a stiff shot of sake from her bottom drawer and downed it. "I hope this doesn't come back to bite me on the ass..."
Virginia and Charlotte...
...................................
The Admiral stared. Blinked. Stared a bit more. "Say again?"
The Shipgirl before her desk held her salute and spoke clearly. "Ironclad USS Virginia reporting, with asset, Ma'am."
"Asset? That is a very large spider, Virginia." She motioned to the creature in question, as large as a Jack Russell Terrier, sitting by Kaylee's leg.
The spider lifted a foreleg and spoke in a high-pitched, childish voice, "Ack-row-man-cha-la Charlotte Mack-Amis re-portin', Ma'am." Her diction was that of a small child's, Shimada noted.
"Just how old are you, Charlotte?" the Admiral asked.
"She hatched about a week ago, Ma'am," said Virginia. "I don't mind shooting the big ones or smashing the eggs, but when Charlotte came out of hers and stared up at me, I just couldn't bring myself to hurt her. I mean, look at her; she's such a cutie, Ma'am."
Admiral Shimada sighed. "You realize that my sending you there was supposed to be a punishment detail, yes?"
Kaylee nodded sharply. "Yes, Ma'am. And it was, especially after my camp ashore was raided while I was away and my rations stolen. I'll say that there were edible, if noisome, things aplenty, and leave it at that."
"And yet you bring back a pet, Virginia."
"She's an asset, Ma'am, or a potential one, at any rate. I did my homework beforehand and found out Acromantula had valuable products, at least in the Wizarding World; the silk is used for high-end clothing, and the venom sells for upward of a hundred Galleons per pint. According to Akizuki, who asked Nagato's boy, Harry, it's five Pounds English to the Galleon, so if my numbers are right, one pint of venom goes for a hair over seventy-two thousand Yen."
"You may, possibly, be onto something, Virginia. That said, I'm still on the fence about allowing you to keep her. Do you know how large Charlotte will grow?"
"Her mama was seventeen hands in height, Ma'am; that's five-foot-eight, draught-horse-size."
Shimada paused and thought silently. "She gets quarantined, the same as any new animal brought in, and she gets a checkup from a vet. The fact she's only a week old and speaking understandable English shows she's intelligent; I leave it up to you and your uncle to find out if she's trainable. If, and I do mean if, she can meet or exceed the same standards as the MWDs at the beginning of their training within two weeks after being released from quarantine, I'll permit you to keep her. Otherwise..."
Virginia nodded, knowing full-well what the Admiral's 'Otherwise' meant. A large predator, which Charlotte undoubtedly was, with a typical diet of 'anything it can catch', was not something to be idly released on a populated military base; untrained she'd be a danger... "Understood, Ma'am."
The Admiral nodded. "Good. You're dismissed; take Charlotte to the Veterinary Clinic and then go home and sleep. You're scheduled for a patrol at 0500 and it's 2130 right now."
"Aye, Ma'am."
Charlotte lifted her foreleg in time with Virginia's salute and said, "Good Even-in' Ma'am."
As the pair turned and walked out, Shimada could hear Charlotte ask, "Gin-ya? What's a vet-nary clinic?"
Admiral Shimada poured herself a stiff shot of sake from her bottom drawer and downed it. "I hope this doesn't come back to bite me on the ass..."