Weekly Short Stories Contest and Company! discussion
Brainstormin' Help
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Get to Know Your Character(Popcorn Served)
RICK NEWTON: Uncle Garrison? Can I have a corn muffin?GARRISON KELLY: You already ate four of them, Rick, so no.
RICK NEWTON: Pleeeeeeeeease?
GARRISON KELLY: No!
RICK NEWTON: Pretty please with sugar on top?
GARRISON KELLY: We’re all out of corn muffins, Rick, but I do have another food item you’re sure to love. It’s called a Knuckle Sandwich and it’s normally eaten with a lot of red sauce. I repeat: a LOT of red sauce and it’s washed down with red Kool-Aid. And for dessert, I’ll make you spit gum out through your forehead and you can chew on that for an hour and a half before it loses its flavor. Is any of this sinking in yet?
RICK NEWTON: Waaaaaaaaaah!
GARRISON KELLY: Alright, alright, I’m sorry, Rick. I know that you’re hungrier than a refugee even after you ate four fucking corn muffins. If you’re that hungry, you can have a chocolate starfish and wash it down with a gallon of hotdog flavored water!
RICK NEWTON: I want my mommy! Waaaaaaaaah!!
MS. NEWTON: Mommy’s here for you. She’s here…to tell you to go to your room, young man!
GARRISON: I love you so much right now, Ms. Newton!
RICK NEWTON: Hey!
Mouse #2: (Sitting by the rail, chewing on what’s left of a Slim Jim.) Did you hear that, Herbert, over there in the movie commentary thread?Mouse #9: (Watching the sunset.) Yep.
Mouse #2: That’s Sara’s writer, isn’t it?
(The sunset on the blue waves looks a living painting by N. C. Wyeth.)
Mouse #9: (Sniffs at a cookie crumb.) Uhm, hmm.
Mouse #2: And Sara’s the one . . .
Mouse #9: (After a pause.) Uhm hmm. She’s the one, Clyde.
Mouse #2: It wasn’t that other one?
Mouse #9: Nope. Sara’s the one who nabbed the constipation syrup from the hold. (Coughs.)
(Mouse #2 stops chewing on the Slim Jim. He sniffs it suspiciously, then throws it over the side.)
Leslie:(as she dusts the tables inside the tavern) I'm starting to feel uneasy.
Andy: Why?
Leslie: Should we warn Sara? You know, Kyra just got back.
Andy: (purses her lips) Should we?
Leslie: (sighs) Fine, let's not get ourselves into trouble.
Andy: Yeah, yeah. It would be best not to get in the way of the mice.
Leslie: What about Al?
Andy: (arches an eyebrow) Seriously? She's wearing a cat costume, I'm sure she can manage.
Leslie: Oh, okay.
Andy: Why?
Leslie: Should we warn Sara? You know, Kyra just got back.
Andy: (purses her lips) Should we?
Leslie: (sighs) Fine, let's not get ourselves into trouble.
Andy: Yeah, yeah. It would be best not to get in the way of the mice.
Leslie: What about Al?
Andy: (arches an eyebrow) Seriously? She's wearing a cat costume, I'm sure she can manage.
Leslie: Oh, okay.
(Daybreak. A couple of the mice loiter in the doorway to the ship’s tavern. A Dungeon & Dragons game had gone on until late Halloween night, after which the last of the players had headed for their bunks.)Mouse #6: Hey, Narvis! What’s going on with the cat?
Mouse #8: (Approaching.) He’s lost his mind.
Mouse #3: (Sniffing a piece of a pretzel.) Loretta says he was on Facebook last night and saw where the captain posted something about “Cat tonight.”
Mouse #6: (Scanning the littered, deserted deck.) He think’s Kirilee’s writer has a TV talk show.
Mouse #8: The girl who moved into that old cabin that had once been Dom Langouste’s, that has the sunken tub?
Mouse #3: (Nods.) She’s a looker, alright. Clyde says he heard she starred on the Hilly & Hannah show.
Mouse #8: Ralph wants to watch Miss Grey Eyes’ tonight show, so Phil and Herbert are trying to get that battery-operated TV to work.
(For a few moments they survey the deck outside the tavern.)
Mouse #6: Well, I suppose I’ll nose around and see what the pirates left for breakfast.
Mouse #3: Nothing like leftover pizza!
Mouse #8: I felt sorry for the delivery man from Domino’s. He looked plumb tuckered out.
Mouse #6: Yeah, and he had to row all the way back to somewhere.
Lol! I hope whoever ordered the pizza, that I didn't get to eat, gave the delivery man a huge tip :D
Sara: (rubs her hands evilly) Eat the honeycomb, Frank. Just eat the honeycomb.Nikara: You realize the mice know you took the constipation syrup?
Sara: (shrugs) Yeah, so?
Nikara: That means they're going to try and get it back. And they'll probably try to get revenge, too. Remember the last time they got you? You were on the toilet for hours.
Sara: Let them come! I'll be ready for them this time. No mouse is going to outsmart Sara Walsh!
Kyra: Hey, Sara. Where'd the syrup go?
Sara: Hm? (checks the bottle's hiding place behind the bookshelf) It's gone. (eyes widening) Those dirty little rodents!
Nikara: I don't think I'll be eating dinner tonight.
Neve: [To Guy.] What do you and Al see in M's mice? [She is angry, but the question is mostly rhetorical.]Guy: [He is reading Leadership For Dummies, and ignores her.]
Neve: Yeah, yeah. Ignore me.
Guy: Hmmm. I'm not ignoring you. You don't want me to answer.
Neve: [She moves around to see what he is reading.] OMG! Someone has actually written that book?
Guy: [He looks up from the book.] Yes. Unbelievable, isn't it? I'm reading it only because I joked about the 'dummy' series missing a leadership book, because the only people who would read it would never be, could never be leaders. But the person in the next aisle told me it existed. I —
Neve: Can't you ever stop talking?! Sheesh.
Guy: [Shrugs, and ignores her.] As I was saying. Someone in the aisle across from me piped up and said that that is a real book. So I had to buy—
Neve: OMG! Who cares!? Now this [she aggressively sets in front of Guy, a large pet carrying case] is worth caring about! My 'secret' weapon. I just picked him up from the SPCA.
Guy: Really? A dog?
Neve: [Looks at him like he is an idiot.] A cat, idiot. What good are dogs at catching mice?
Guy: [Shrugs.] Pretty good, if they are a wolf. Farley Mowat describes wolves catching rodents very effectively in Never Cry Wolf. And in—
Neve: You can't stop talking, can you? Don't you know, yet, that no one really listens to you?! Well, between you and me, most everyone would rather throw sand in their eyes than listen to you prate on about … about … well. Prate. On. About nothing.
Guy: Did you hear the Chinese parable about the world's best mouser? It's about a cat that—
Neve: Caught mice? Really? I am shocked. A story about a cat that caught mice? Are you kidding me?
Guy: It is not just about cats catching mice. It is a parable and a cautionary tale.
Neve: [Rolls her eyes.]
Guy: Really! I … [Stops. Smiles.] You wouldn't know anything about what 'leadership' means, would you?
Neve: [Laughs.] It means not having to follow. Or, perhaps, knowing where you are going, and the cost of making decisions.
Guy: Hmmm. What an interesting answer. Technically, not correct. But…. Hmmmm. On second thought, there is some element of truth. But I am not sure how relevant that truth is to my thought… [Looks at Neve.] You are not Pandora, are you? Or, to a lesser extent, Frank. I need someone who is willing and able to talk with me. Why are you with me, anyway?
Neve: Really? You created me, how the hell would I know why I am with you beyond some weird narcissism on your part.
Guy: [Grunts. Mutters.] I wonder where Pandora is? And maybe M. He seems to have some clear ideas of what leadership means.
Sara: I know what leadership means!Nikara: (hits her over the head with a book) No, you don't. You sent all your troops to their deaths in your third book.
Sara: (ignoring Nikara) It's being in control. Being in charge and in control.
Nikara: Not necessarily. You weren't in control when you sent your entire navy on a suicidal mission.
Sara: (sticking her tongue out) I won, didn't I?
Nikara: That sentiment might mean more if there were other people alive to celebrate your victory with you.
Sara: (scowling) You suck.
Mouse #3: This thing’s been getting some use. (He sticks the cotton swab up.)(Herbert and Malcolm heft a small can of sewing machine oil and put a couple of drops on the swab. Phil and Narvis aim a small flashlight down into the typewriter.)
Mouse #2: How does it look, Earl?
Mouse #3: (Swabbing the joints that anchor the hammers.) Well, you saw it. I must have dug a mile of ribbon pulp out of here.
Mouse #2: Harriet says Ray’s a nervous wreck.
Mouse #8: (Nods.) It’s three days into National Novel Writing Month, and he hasn’t even made it to two thousand words.
Mouse #1: Ralph the cat took over typing for him, you know--that is, till he finally had to have his paws bandaged.
(Earl sticks the swab back up.)
Mouse #8: Keeping Ray in typewriter ribbons is a chore!
(Herbert and Malcolm tip the can, then set it back down, grunting.)
Mouse #9: Lucky thing there was an office-supplies store in that last town the pirates sacked. (Glances over at Phil, and then at Clyde.) All the mice are in awe of that job you guys pulled.
Mouse #8: Yeah. How you managed to stow away on one of the rowboats, much less get back loaded with ribbons and ink, is beyond me.
Mouse #2: (Sighs.) What can I say?
Mouse #1: The big mouse upstairs was looking out for us. And we had Earl and Barney and Ray along.
Mouse #3: Ray can smell an office-supplies store a mile away.
Mouse #2: (Guffaws.) Even if it’s downwind!
(The mice break out into laughter.)
Mouse #9: (Glances around.) Where’s Barney? I haven’t seen him this morning.
Mouse #8: Loretta told me he’s feeling poorly.
Mouse #3: (Sticks the swab up.) I’m sorry to hear that.
(Malcolm and Herbert lift the can, grunting.)
Mouse #2: We all know that not everything the pirates throw down is good to eat.
Mouse #8: Loretta said he gnawed on a book someone had left on a bench in the tavern.
Mouse #1: (Snorts.) Apparently it disagreed with him.
Mouse #8: She asked him about it, of course. (Raises his eyebrows.) You know how women are.
(Standing carefully on the edge of the typewriter, Herbert and Malcolm set the can down carefully.)
Mouse #3: (From down in the typewriter.) Yep. They always want to know everything.
Mouse #8: He told Loretta it was called Leadership for Dummies.
Mouse #6: (Thinking about it a moment.) Barney’s the bashful, retiring sort. Maybe he figured if he ate some of it, it might change his life.
Mouse #1: (Shifting position, helping hold the flashlight.) If you ask me, that self-help stuff is nothing but empty calories.
RICK NEWTON: Aww!! There are mousy pies on this ship! I want to roll around and cuddle with them all!GARRISON KELLY: I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rick. Not every mouse you meet is a character from Sparkle Pie’s Wonderful Adventures.
RICK NEWTON: But they’re soooooo cute!!
GARRISON KELLY: You know who else is cute? My tri-colored Abyssinian kitty Tori! And she’s a damn good hunter too! (laughs evilly)
RICK NEWTON: Cute cuddly kitties and mousies playing together! Aww!!
GARRISON KELLY: That’s right, Rick. They’re going to get together and Tori’s going to play a game of freeze tag with them. Hint, hint, wink, wink!
RICK NEWTON: Tori wouldn’t do that! She’s too cuuuuuuuute!! ^_^
GARRISON KELLY: Ugh…I quit. You’re hopeless, Rick, you know that?
(Ray, tired and despondent, returns as the others are finishing the work of cleaning and lubricating the typewriter.)Mouse #1: Well, look who’s here, now that all the work’s done!
(Herbert and Malcolm hand the oil can down to Clyde. Ray scampers to help.)
Mouse #10: (Brightening a little.) I have to admit, the smell of trichloroethane and the machine oil is enough to cheer anybody up!
(Earl hands the blackened swab up to Herbert, then climbs out of the typewriter.)
Mouse #3: Try it out, Ray. Let me watch it in action.
(Clyde hands up a sheet of paper which, with difficulty, they wind in. Then Phil and Narvis shine the light down into the typewriter as Ray types a few words: “So it was that in late
Mouse #8: Look at those hammers flash.
Mouse #10: (Gazes up gratefully from the keys.) Smooth as satin, fellows! You have my undying gratitude.
(Phil and Narvis hand the flashlight down, then several of them drag from the shadows an inlaid tulipwood box. Inside the box is a set of silver thimbles. From the shadows Clyde and Malcolm lug a medicine vial that now contains brandy. Soon the mice are gathered in a circle, each holding a thimble.)
Mouse #3: (His eyes watering, his ears turning red.) The elixir of the gods.
Mouse #9: Tell us about the story you’re working on, Ray.
Mouse #10: (Shrugs.) Typical post-apocalyptic all-the-humans-have-perished fantasy.
Mouse #6: (Nods.) Now all the cats that used to live on Science Diet are looking for a mouse.
Mouse #10: You got it. (He takes a sip, his face a picture of utter contentment.)
Mouse #9: Ever think about writing a sword-and-sorcery novel, Ray?
Mouse #10: You mean a Mouse-Who-Lived sort of thing? (Shakes his head.)
Mouse #2: (Sighs.) Faye read every one of those. (Takes a sip. His nose turns pink and his whiskers twitch.) I thought I’d never finish hearing about Hairless Plodder and his friends and that mouse that went bad.
Mouse #1: (Nods commiseratively.) Harriet read them, too. All seven volumes. I’ll bet she burned a hundred candles down reading late. (Chuckles.) I think she was as afraid of Waldomart as the characters in the story were.
Mouse #9: (Stretching a leg.) It takes place at some sort of school for magic mice, doesn’t it?
Mouse #2: (Nods.) Bogsmarts.
Mouse #1: There’s four middens. Hairless and his friends are in Kitchendoor.
Mouse #1: But there’s Cravenslaw and Reeferpuff, too.
Mouse #8: And Smithereen. (His eyes get wide.) That’s the bad one.
Mouse #1: (Shakes his head.) I can’t tell you how many times I wished Waldomart would finish off that little brat.
Mouse #2: Yeah. Not to mention his chums, Lon Treacly and Calliope Plunger.
Mouse #1: (Grunts.) She’s the know-it-all Payco Mouthfoil calls “Horseteeth.”
Mouse #8: (Disgustedly.) Loretta hardly finished The Deathly Marshmallows before she started all over on The Stoned Sorcerer.
Hahaha M, fine, I'm starting to love those mice :)) Good morning!
There’s hope Ray will make it through NaNo after all!
Kyra: (snorts) Well, at least one of us will make our NaNoWriMo goals.Sara: (snickering) How's it feel to be upstaged by a mouse, Kyra?
Kyra: (glaring) Don't be so cocky, Sara. You were on the toilet for hours after they got you.
GARRISON KELLY: How about it, Rick? Are you doing NaNoWriMo?RICK NEWTON: You betcha! I’m going to do a story about exercising your demons!
GARRISON KELLY: That’s great, Rick. How exactly do you plan on exercising them: with a Bowflex or the PX90?
RICK NEWTON: You knew what I meant to say!
GARRISON KELLY: Of course I did. You meant something entirely different: The Tower 200 from Body By Jake!
RICK NEWTON: Garrison!
Great popcorn, Al! Nice Garrison and Kyra. Now, to write something. But not tonight, sadly. I am crashing out for the night.
Sara: I thought we were the pirates! Why are we being boarded by other pirates?!Nikara: (snorting) I don't know if you know this, Sara, but we really suck at what we do. Other pirates don't really count us as part of the gang.
Kyra: Shut up, both of you! Sara, get ready to use some of you water-controlling magic.
Sara: I thought you shut off my power while we're on the WSS.
Kyra: And now I'm reactivating it. Nikara, go get your...whatever it is you've been working on in the cargo hold. That weird new cannon-contraption.
Sara: Shouldn't we wait for captain's orders?
(Kyra and Nikara stare at her incredulously)
Sara: (sighing) Right, stupid question. Sorry.
This is lovely, people. Brightens my day every time.
Mouse #6: (Lying on his back.) Oh, help me! I’m gonna die.Mouse #2: If I weren’t so hairy, I’d be red in the face.
(Mouse #8 tries to talk but can’t quit laughing.)
Mouse #3: What do you suppose that thing is, down there in the hold? (He wipes his eyes.)
Mouse #6: (Gets his breath.) I don’t know, but just wait until those girls try to use it.
(The mice succumb to fits of laughter.)
These are delightful! Thank you everyone for these. They bring a smile to my face.Erica is back!
Guy: [To Sophia.] I heard that Erica is back! [He is pacing with excitement.] And that she is on board! Do you know where I can find her? I have to talk to her.
Sophia: [Shakes her head.] Guy, Guy, Guy. I ... Frank has told you about her. What is it with you? Men!
Guy: What? I just want to talk!
Sophia: Really?
Guy: What? What?
Mouse #3: Did you hear that, Malcolm?Mouse #6: (Nods.)
Mouse #8: Mice don’t plot. (He spits out a piece of bacon rind.)
Mouse #9: (Raises his eyebrows.) Everybody knows that.
(The mice start snickering.)
Leslie: I'm back, Andy! (as she slips inside the tavern, she notices a pool of dark liquid on the floor) What happened here?
Andy: (peeps through the windows) Shhh...
Leslie: Andy, I've been outside. There's nothing in there.
Andy: (whispers) Be quiet Leslie, or you'll be in trouble.
Leslie: (raises an eyebrow and shakes her head) Oh! And what kind of trouble would I be in if I don't keep my mouth shut?
(The sound of footsteps from behind forces Andy and Leslie to turn around. They spot a mouse under the table, holding a bottle of rum)
Andy: (whispers to Leslie) Don't move. Do you know that they have plans of tossing Frank to Framy and Barge.
Leslie: (bursts into laughter) Are you serious, Andy? That's just a mouse.
(The mouse steps closer to Andy and smirks)
Leslie: Okay. It must be true, then...
Andy: (peeps through the windows) Shhh...
Leslie: Andy, I've been outside. There's nothing in there.
Andy: (whispers) Be quiet Leslie, or you'll be in trouble.
Leslie: (raises an eyebrow and shakes her head) Oh! And what kind of trouble would I be in if I don't keep my mouth shut?
(The sound of footsteps from behind forces Andy and Leslie to turn around. They spot a mouse under the table, holding a bottle of rum)
Andy: (whispers to Leslie) Don't move. Do you know that they have plans of tossing Frank to Framy and Barge.
Leslie: (bursts into laughter) Are you serious, Andy? That's just a mouse.
(The mouse steps closer to Andy and smirks)
Leslie: Okay. It must be true, then...
Framy and Barge won’t eat Frank. They’re used to fine food.
LOL! Nice to know that mice can be gourmands as well as anyone.
Kyra: False alarm, Sara. The other pirates are friendly.Sara: That's definitely a first. Friends of Al's? (Kyra nods) I guess this means you'll be turning off my powers again.
Kyra: Sorry, Sara. Safety precaution. I don't want you to accidentally capsize the boat, or not-so-accidentally drown the mice.
Sara: Fair enough, but the mice do deserve a good dunking. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. Guy said he found Frank in the water a few hours ago, hog-tied and gagged. They had to throw a life saver in after him, and then haul him on board. He barely escaped drowning.
Kyra: Lucky Guy found Frank when he did, then. Was it the mice?
Sara: Must've been. They've been getting bolder and bolder lately. I saw them hanging around Nikki's contraption earlier today. Probably trying to figure out how it works, for one of their little schemes.
Kyra: Maybe. Or maybe they were–
(A loud explosion rocks the boat. Both girls fall to the deck, and Nikara stumbles around the corner, coughing uncontrollably.)
Kyra: Nikara! (runs to Nikara's side)
Nikara: (bending over double)(wheezing) Hey, guys. I figured out what the mice were up to earlier.
Mouse #3: Hey, Narvis!Mouse #8: What’s up, Earl? Did you hear that explosion?
(Mouse #3 starts to reply but winds up laughing instead. Phil comes around the corner, his eyes wide.)
Mouse #1: You should have seen it!
Mouse #8: Were you down there?
(Phil nods.)
Mouse #3: Who set it off?
Mouse #1: Nikara. (Wipes his eyes.)
Mouse #8: (Concerned.) Was she hurt?
Mouse #1: (Shakes his head, then looks around.) I need to find an inhaler.
Mouse #3: An inhaler? What for, Phil?
Mouse #1: Herbert’s laughing so hard, he can’t breathe.
Nikara: (wiping some soot from her brow) I will kill those mice.Sara: (laughing) You see? All this time, you've been telling me to just let it go, to be more mature, and look what happens. Not so nice, being outsmarted by rodents, is it?
Nikara: (upset) Do you know how long it took me to build that new cannon? And it was my only model!
Sara: (staring) Are you seriously worried about your machine? I mean, look at you. You look like something just came out of Al's laundry hamper.
Kyra: Just make a new cannon, Nikara. You have an eidetic memory; surely you remember how you built it the first time.
Nikara: I don't have all the parts. Most of the necessary components were lost in the explosion. How will we defend against attacks now, with my cannon gone and with a crew barely capable of lifting a cannonball in the first place?
Kyra: (tutting) Be nice, Nikki.
Nikara: Oh, please. These are scholars, not athletes. Even our mice are intellectuals. The other pirates probably die laughing when we come into port.
Sara: Speaking of other pirates. What are we doing about Al's friends?
Kyra: Absolutely nothing. I'm done with mischief for the day. Nikara, go get cleaned up. And you, Sara– look after her. (leaves)
Sara: (looking at Nikara) Did she just put me in charge of you? This is the opposite of how these things usually go.
Nikara: Don't flatter yourself. She just wanted to get rid of you.
Sara: Dangit! The Cap'n just forbade all mice killings.Nikara: There are other means of punishment that don't involve death.
Kyra: I'm going to go walk the plank now, before something gets out of hand.
Andy: Do you think we need reinforcements?
Leslie: Ha! Reinforcements? We'd still be outnumbered by those rodents.
Andy: So true...(starts pacing back and forth) I miss Lexi.
Leslie: (grins) Andy, dear, if you're thinking of hauling your twin sister here, I don't think she would help you if in case the mice decided to tie you up.
Andy: (glares at Leslie) Argh! I'm so getting off this ship!
Leslie: (laughs) Go ahead, no one's stopping you.
Leslie: Ha! Reinforcements? We'd still be outnumbered by those rodents.
Andy: So true...(starts pacing back and forth) I miss Lexi.
Leslie: (grins) Andy, dear, if you're thinking of hauling your twin sister here, I don't think she would help you if in case the mice decided to tie you up.
Andy: (glares at Leslie) Argh! I'm so getting off this ship!
Leslie: (laughs) Go ahead, no one's stopping you.
Neve: What was that? [She picked herself up from the floor.] Damn! That was my favourite mug!Guy: It felt like we were attacked! But … [he looks around] the boat doesn't appear to be sinking.
Neve: Ship! This is a ship, not a boat.
Guy: [Shrugs.] Right. I'm going to see if I can find out what happened. [He leaves.]
Neve: Right! Sure you are! Hypocrite! [He was gone.] He's just hoping to see Erica, I bet. Now, where was I? [She turns to the table.] Right. [She looks at the contraption she is building.] Phew! Nothing appears to be broken. [She adjusts a spring tension, tightens a bolt. She smiles.] Those mice don't stand a chance.
Guy: [He sees the Professor.] Isn't this funny? Where is everyone? I would have thought the explosion — or whatever that was — would have brought more of the crew up on deck.
Professor: Yes. Me too. [He is actively looking around.] Have you seen Al?
Guy: [Rolls his eyes.] No. No I haven't. And I think it would be better if you didn't see her.
Professor: Really? Interesting. And you aren't looking for Erica?
Hello Leslie! Great series of Popcorn! I'm laughing. Well, and yawning. Time to hit the kip. Goodnight.
Lol! Oh my my! Did the Professor help clarify her 'situation' with Frank? This is making me smile!
LOL!! Popcorn never fails to make me laugh.
(Kyra and Sara are eating lunch in the crew's quarters. Nikara enters, grease marks covering her shirt and arms, and she's grinning widely.)Nikara: Hey, have you guys heard? Al is going to marry Frank.
Kyra: (chokes on her sandwich)
Sara: What?! Where did you hear that?
Nikara: From Al.
Kyra: (spitting out a piece of lettuce) She told you?
Nikara: Well, not told me, per se. At least, not with her knowing it. I have a hidden mic outside her quarters. She forgot to shut the door before she called Frank her "fiancé," and the recorder picked it up. I'm listening to the tapes right now.
Sara: This I've got to hear. (She stands, shakes a few crumbs loose from her shirt, and follows Nikara outside)
Kyra: (closes her eyes) This'll be the talk of the ship for weeks.
Oh, those tapes won't be burned. Not now that Nikara and Sara have their hands on them. They've probably already leaked the recordings to the rest of the crew. Sorry, Captain. XD
Nikara: I wanted to put the mic inside Al's quarters, but I thought that would end up producing some very disturbing recordings.Sara: Based on what happened after her argument with Frank, you probably made the right call.
LOL!! That was just what I needed after today. It seems Frank's finally getting friendlier!!
Leslie: Where are you taking me?
Andy: (She drags Leslie out of the tavern) It's not healthy to stay in the tavern for long hours. I'm taking you where the action is..
Leslie: What do you mean? (she stops in the hallway)
Andy: Well, Nikara said something about tapes. I'm dying to hear them. I think...(pauses when she sees five mice scurry towards Nikara's quarters)
Leslie: I'm not sure Nikara's going to like that. What exactly are in those tapes?
Andy: That I don't know.
Andy: (She drags Leslie out of the tavern) It's not healthy to stay in the tavern for long hours. I'm taking you where the action is..
Leslie: What do you mean? (she stops in the hallway)
Andy: Well, Nikara said something about tapes. I'm dying to hear them. I think...(pauses when she sees five mice scurry towards Nikara's quarters)
Leslie: I'm not sure Nikara's going to like that. What exactly are in those tapes?
Andy: That I don't know.
(Nikara's in the cargo hold, humming to herself as she sorts through a box of gears. Suddenly, she pauses, turns around, and scoops up a small gray figure behind the toolbox.)Nikara: Aha!
Mouse: (wriggles around in her hands, trying to free itself)
Nikara: (squeezes a little tighter) Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm more mature than Sara is.
Mouse: Mm-mble-m-blm.
Nikara: Oh. Sorry. (moves her finger away from the mouse's mouth) So. Which one are you?
Mouse: Like hell I'm telling you!
Nikara: (growing cross) Fine, then, be that way. Don't try to act so superior; I caught you, remember?
Mouse: (tries to attempt a snort, which is rather hard to do with a mouse's larynx) It's this stupid paw. Crushed under that giant klutz's foot. That's why you caught me.
Nikara: Don't give yourself too much credit. I'm faster than most people are. Which klutz are you referring to?
Mouse: That man, Frank. The one we tried to drown. I heard he was engaged to the captain.
Nikara: I heard the same. Sara and I were just about to leak the tapes.
Mouse: Oh, please don't do that! If she hears the crew talking about her little secret, she'll assume I blabbed. You know how short of temper she can be, especially on matters involving Frank.
Nikara: Again, you're giving yourself too much credit. Sara and I have a rep for causing trouble. She'll know it was us. (lifting the mouse up to eye level) By the way, nice little trick earlier, rigging my cannon like that.
Mouse: Glad you enjoyed it.
Nikara: I didn't. I won't be able to make another one until we pull into port, and I can go buy more parts. So, I have a deal to make with you.
Mouse: I don't make deals with self-centered, obnoxious–
Nikara: Listen. The way I see it, you owe me a favor now, in order to make things right for what you did. So, when I need a favor, I want to be able to call on you and your little furry friends for help.
Mouse: And if I disagree?
Nikara: (deadly serious) We go to Plan B. I dispose of you, then trap the next mouse that comes along and give him the same offer.
Mouse: (more squeakily than normal) Aye. I'd be willing to do you a favor or two.
Nikara: Excellent. Go tell your other mice friends. And if they disagree with my conditions, I think you'd best find a way to persuade them. Keep in mind that I was the one who built that cannon in the first place.
Leslie wrote: "Leslie: Where are you taking me?Andy: (She drags Leslie out of the tavern) It's not healthy to stay in the tavern for long hours. I'm taking you where the action is..
Leslie: What do you mean? (sh..."
XD LOL! Hysterical!! Sorry, I missed this before I typed up my last episode...
Nikara: (shrugs) Can you blame them? The last time we were here, Asyla and Lyla wreaked havoc on the cargo hold.