Title: "Spot Must Die!" (Part 2 of 7)
Author: Lt. Commander Benton
Stardate: 2460803
Earthdate: October 20, 2383
Location: Slart II

Two security men and one small unnoticed companion materialized in the center of a beautiful glade on the surface of Slart II. There were trees all around, springy green turf beneath their feet and a light breeze propelled
puffy white clouds across the crystal firmament above. Benton took a moment to savor the air. It felt good to be back in nature; sometimes he missed his old home on New Kelva. Even city-boy Sitto seemed to be enjoying the raw beauty here.

Off in the not-too-far distance, Benton could see a small town nestled amongst the trees of a small wood. "That must be the administrative center for this hemisphere," he told Sitto. They began walking toward the town to meet with the chief administrator. Along the way, Benton noticed that there were many homemade flyers pinned to light poles and trees offering rewards for lost neighborhood pets. He wondered briefly at this, but in the end
dismissed it as unimportant.

Meanwhile, still unnoticed, their small companion moved off on his own and soon disappeared amid the trees and buildings of the town.
 ________________________________

Officer Nedic Arn walked his beat in the quiet arboreal suburbs. He had been in the police force for almost eleven years now, and he still enjoyed his job: the fresh air, the exercise, and the fact that nothing very serious
ever happened.

Naturally, just as this thought passed through his mind a shrill female voice cried, "Help! Officer, help!"

Arn turned and saw a young girl frantically jumping up and down and flailing her arms to get his attention. "This way!" she waved. "Quick! Mr. Tuvo's in trouble!" Arn didn't hesitate for a second. Quick as he could, he dashed
off in the direction the girl indicated, determined to save Mr. Tuvo.

Fifteen minutes later, Arn climbed out of a tree with a small furry bundle in his arms and handed a frightened little kitten to a relieved little girl. She hugged the little kitty to her with such fervor that the kitty's eyes  bugged. "Oh, Mr. Tuvo, are you all right? I was so worried," she gushed. "You're a naughty kitty for climbing so high."

Arn brushed some leaves and twigs from his hair and uniform. Now that he had a moment to think, he recognized the little girl as Fiola Linali. He also noticed that Fiola's cat looked like a pure-bred. "There you go, Fiola," said Arn. "Mr. Tuvo sure is a nice cat. Now you take care of him, okay?"

"Thank you, Officer," said Fiola as she skipped away back to her house.

Arn stood watching until Fiola disappeared into her home. He made a mental note of the address. Now that he had found what he needed, he'd be back: tonight...

Arn turned around to resume his patrol and bumped straight-away into a pair of men costumed in gold and black uniforms of some type he didn't recognize. *Must be some of those 'Federationers' I've heard about,* he thought to himself.

One of the gold uniformed men smiled and said, "Pardon me, sir; terribly sorry," and politely stepped aside to let Arn by.

Arn said absentmindedly in return, "No trouble. My fault," and went on his way. He had other things on his mind. He hadn't walked far when he was brought back to reality when he thought he caught a glimpse of something
out of the corner of his eye behind a tree. He walked over to investigate, and just caught a glimpse of a small, brown, furry object scuttling away behind some other trees a little farther away.

Intrigued, Arn decided to follow in case it was a dangerous type of animal that he would have to take care of. But it seemed as if the more determinedly Arn chased the furry whatever-it-was, the more quickly it was able to elude him. It was as though there were more than one little animal. Arn dashed over to the tree where the fur-ball had just been, only to see a glimpse of it disappearing behind a different tree. He ran to the new tree,
just in time to see it duck into a nearby bush. It was becoming maddening. He thought he saw a hint of fuzz beneath the leaves of a nearby hedge, but then a sudden movement made him turn his head to the left. A small dog ran yapping from behind one tree trunk to another. Then, another motion diverted his attention to the right when a small cat zipped between two low bushes with a loud and deliberate "meow."

There was more than one animal here! When Arn looked back under the hedge where the brown fur-ball had been before, it was gone. The animals had ganged up on him and were deliberately trying to divert him from catching the fur-ball. Arn couldn't believe it. What was this little fur-ball that it could unite the pets of the neighborhood against him like this?

Suddenly, Arn saw his chance. He dove at a rustling shrubbery hoping to snag this mystery creature, but instead, the foliage virtually erupted with dozens of dogs, cats, ferrets, wuzzles and goombas, and Arn wound up face down in a mud puddle, empty-handed. The animals jumped all around and on top of Arn in a hopeless whirlwind of confusion tearing at his uniform, but Arn nevertheless managed to spy the small brown creature riding away from the scene on the back of a small beige cat that bore a remarkable resemblance to
Mr. Tuvo. Gathering up the tattered remnants of his uniform, Arn took off after the pair, and the chase was on!
 ________________________________

Location: USS Virgo

Meanwhile, back aboard the *Virgo,* Francesca was still desperately looking for Spot. She had checked out the mess hall, the kitchen and the central food replicator machinery rooms, especially the chicken prep area, all the
likely places a hungry tribble might head for, but there was no sign of him.

"Where could he be?" she said aloud as she stood in the middle of a corridor feeling at a loss for where to look next. Then a thought hit her. "He must have jumped ship when the landing party beamed down!" she suddenly
realized.

As Francesca ran to the nearest transporter room, her mind was full of thoughts of wreaking her bloody vengeance on that stupid little tribble for putting her through all this. Again.
 ________________________________

Location: Slart II

Back on the planet surface, Benton and Sitto were taking a few tricorder readings of various flora and fauna to confirm there were no unpleasant surprises in store for the crew. As soon as they were finished and made
their report to the captain, shore leave would commence. The only thing they were reminded of again by the Slartan administrator was the basic request not to upset the local citizens with any ruckus or troublemaking while on shore leave.

As they made their way back toward the edge of town and the glade where they originally beamed down, Benton noted once again the huge number of reward posters for lost neighborhood pets.

A distant racket was becoming louder. Benton realized it was the sound of many animals barking, meowing, growling, howling and harrumphing, and they were coming this way. He and Sitto stopped beside a brick wall to wait and see what was going on.

A few seconds later, a small, beige cat came bounding around the nearer street corner and ran right past Benton and Sitto. They jumped back in unison against the brick wall to avoid being run over. The cat ran down
the middle of the street, around the far corner and out of sight. That in itself was not all that noteworthy, but Benton also happened to notice that the small beige cat was bearing an even smaller rider on its back -- a round furry one -- like some sort of bizarre Lilliputian horse and jockey team.

"Spot? How..." said Benton in disbelief. He and Sitto looked at each other in astonishment, but just then, a stampede of other animals came tearing around the corner after the tribble-and-cat combo, making a fearsome
noise.

When they too had passed and disappeared around the second corner, Sitto shook his head and chuckled. He said, "What's next, a cattle drive?"

Benton was about to explain that that wasn't very likely, but he was interrupted by a new noise. To his further surprise and Sitto's growing amusement, Francesca came barreling around the corner hollering, "Ssspoooooot! Wwwaaaiiit!" As she blew by the two men, she spared Benton a smile and called, "Hi there, Benton," in between her huffs and puffs, and then she too rounded the second corner, the echoes of her hollering still ringing in the men's ears.

Deciding that this situation probably needed looking into, Benton was about to take off after the parade himself, but again, the sound of running footfalls checked him. This time a man wearing some sort of tattered uniform came around the corner. His face was red from the exertion, his clothes were dirty and torn, and he was clutching a large, long-handled net. He ran by Benton and Sitto and vanished around the second corner in hot pursuit of anything he could catch.

"Come on!" said Benton to the madly grinning Sitto as he headed off after Spot. He couldn't imagine how Spot had gotten himself down to the planet, but he was causing trouble and needed to be stopped before he got hurt or jeopardized the relationship between the Slartans and the *Virgo*. To discover that Francesca was involved came as no big shock, but now he was more sure than ever that what he suspected was wrong with Spot was true, and it alarmed Benton a great deal.

Sitto shouted and pointed to a narrow alley that looked like it offered a shortcut. Benton altered his course, and running between buildings and through people's back yards, he and Sitto quickly gained on the amok tribble
and its train of pursuers.

Jumping out from between two buildings, Benton stood fearlessly in the middle of the street in front of the approaching stampede. The cat carrying Spot came to a screeching halt in front of Benton and Spot went flying
head over heals (so to speak) through the air. He thumped into Benton's chest and plopped onto the pavement before Benton's feet.

Benton folded his arms across his chest, looked down and said, "Hello, Spot."

Spot chirped an angry and annoyed reply.

Just then Francesca came running up surrounded by dozens of yammering and jumping wuzzles and goombas. She was saying, "Beat it, you mangy beasts!" as she fought her way through them to where Spot lay. She shot off a rapid-fire stream of words: "Spot! You bad boy... Hi there, Benton," she smiled and fluttered her eyelashes innocently. "I'll just be taking Spot here back to the ship now. No harm done..." She bent to scoop up Spot in her hands and make her escape before Benton could reprimand her when the red-faced uniformed man finally caught up.

"Not so fast, Miss!" he huffed. He shouldered past Francesca and bent down to pick up Spot himself. Spot reared up and began screeching and hissing so loudly that you'd think there was an army of murderous Klingons after him. Somehow he managed to jump up a little, and Officer Arn jerked his hand back. "Ow!" he yelled, wiping the blood off his finger. "That animal just bit me! That's it. He's under arrest!"
 

Title: "Spot Must Die!" (Part 3 of 7)
Author: Lt. Commander Benton
Stardate: 2460803
Earthdate: October 20, 2383
Location: Slart II

Officer Nedic Arn jerked his hand back from Spot. "Ow!" yelled Arn, wiping the blood off his finger. "That animal just bit me! That's it. He's under arrest!"

Benton's brow furrowed. This really wasn't like Spot at all; normally he was a very gentle soul. True, he was occasionally a little misbehaved, but never before had he been so completely out of control and vicious. "Is that
really necessary, officer?" Benton interjected in defense of his little friend.

"Officer Nedic Arn. Yes it is. I'm charging him with biting me, suspicion of being responsible for the disappearance of several neighborhood pets," at that he pointed to the closest of many nearby posters advertising a reward
for the return of a family pet, "disturbing the peace, inciting these other animals to riot, ruining my new uniform, and anything else I can think of. That creature, whatever it is, is a menace."

"Spot can't be responsible for the pet disappearances. We only just arrived," said Benton.

Francesca butted in, "So the tribble and his friends got a little frisky? Can't we settle this without going through all the nasty and time-consuming paperwork?"

"Not a chance," said Arn, readying a sack.

In spite of himself, Sitto Lan found himself stepping toward Officer Arn and putting his arm conspiratorially around Arn's shoulder. Sitto said, "All right, Arn. What's it gonna take? Two strips of latinum?"

"No."

"Fine," Sitto said, "three strips."

"No. Not two, not three, not ten-thousand. You can't bribe me." He disengaged himself from Sitto. "You all will have to take this up with the judge." With that, Arn scooped Spot up in his sack and tied it shut. Spot could be heard rustling about inside and squeaking pathetically.

Officer Arn turned back to Benton. "Court will be in session tomorrow morning. You can tell your story there." He handed Benton a slightly mangled slip of paper from his shirt pocket with the address of the court house,
and, without further ado, walked away, sack and tribble in hand.

"Thank you kindly," said Benton to Arn's retreating back.

By this time, Francesca was practically in tears. She flustered about saying, "Oh jeez... I'm so sorry Benton... It's all my fault... I let him get away from me. Again."

Benton turned to Francesca and tried to comfort her. "Don't worry, Francesca."

"What're you gonna do, Benny?" asked Sitto.

"We'll come back tomorrow and explain everything to the judge. I'm sure justice will prevail and Spot will be set free."

"You're gonna tell the judge the truth about Spot?"

"Of course," replied Benton matter-of-factly. "We can't lie to the authorities!"

"Spot's dead," moaned Francesca.
 ________________________________

Stardate: 2460805
Earthdate: October 21, 2383

The next morning dawned cold and gray. The clouds overhead threatened rain as three figures materialized in the glade and walked toward the small town and the court house. With Benton in the lead, the trio found the building and the right room. They waited a short time while the court took care of a few other cases.

Then, finally, it was Benton's turn. He stood before the judge's bench while the Honorable Judge Neblit Gis silently read the paperwork before him enumerating Spot's "crimes." Benton gave a reassuring look back at
Francesca, who was nervously sitting next to Sitto, clutching his arm, at the back of the room.

Finally, the judge looked up and addressed Benton. "Lieutenant Commander Benton. Uh... do I have that title correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"I assume the animal in question is yours."

"Yes, Your Honor, he is. Well, that is to say, he doesn't actually "belong" to me. We met in the wilderness on my homeworld, and we've been friends ever since then."

"Do you mean to tell me that this is a 'wild' animal?"

"Well... I wouldn't say 'wild' per se, Your Honor." In the background, Sitto could be heard groaning in disbelief.

"I see," said the judge, looking over Spot's paperwork again. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Since your starship only arrived a few days ago, I'm dismissing the charge of killing local pets. It looks like the only
significant complaints about your 'friend' is that he bit a police officer."

"Yes, Your Honor. I assure you, he's never bitten anyone else; on this planet," reassured Benton, confident that his honest testimony would win Spot's freedom. That's why he couldn't understand why he heard, in the background, Francesca moan and slap her forehead with her hand.

Judge Gis looked with surprise at Benton. "Commander Benton, This seemed like a simple case. I was about to release the animal to your custody with the provision that you return it to your starship and take steps to ensure it never again returns to Slart, but I have now changed my mind."

"Your Honor?"

"I'm going to do you a favor instead," said the judge. "What we have here is a wild animal living in an enclosed space on a space vessel. Immediately upon your arrival here, it escapes to the planet surface and bites someone. By your admission, it has bitten people on other planets, and according to the report in front of me it's responsible for causing a considerable amount of commotion in a very short amount of time." Judge Gis paused for a moment, then spoke the court's sentence, "I hereby order the animal be euthanized." His gavel came down on the benchtop like a clap of thunder.

Benton stared at the judge in shock and disbelief. How could this be? Nipping someone on the finger didn't warrant a death penalty! Behind Benton, Sitto and Francesca sprang to their feet upon hearing the judge's decision and rushed forward exclaiming, "Wait a minute!" and, "You can't be serious!", but the judge had already risen and two seconds later he was gone from the courtroom.

The three officers stood in stunned silence just looking at each other. None of them had thought it would turn out like this.

Finally, Benton broke the silence. He just sighed and said, "Oh dear."
 ________________________________

Benton sat in the center of the floor in Spot's holding cell deep in the bowels of a warehouse-type building near the court house. Spot was sulking a few feet in front of Benton, ignoring him. Benton was saying, "Is there
anything I can get you?"

Spot made no acknowledgment.

"A pillow maybe?"

No reply.

"A jelly doughnut?"

Silence.

Benton sat back a moment and thought. Finally he said, "Would you like me to stay here with you tonight? I can have the *Virgo* beam down a sleeping bag and I can camp out here. If you want..."

Spot turned around to face away from Benton.

A feeling of dread was growing in Benton's gut. Dread that his friend's plight was, at its root, his own fault. These feelings of uncertainty and guilt would hang over his head for the rest of his life unless he found out the truth now.

Benton leaned forward again and began pensively, "Spot, there's something I have to ask you." Even though Spot looked like he still wasn't listening, Benton pressed on. "I was thinking today about that time when you saved my life back on New Kelva and uh... I know I never really asked..." How to ask Spot this now? Finally, Benton just blurted it out: "You did *want* to come along with me back then, didn't you? I just took it for granted. I know we never discussed it, but... I would hate to think that you came along and stayed with me all of this time just out of some kind of misplaced sense of duty when you'd rather have stayed wild and free on New Kelva..."

Spot shuffled around a bit, but made no answer.

"You wouldn't do that, would you?" Benton paused, and Spot continued shuffling uncomfortably. Benton smiled and said, "Yeah, I didn't think you would."

Just then the door to the cell clanged and rattled as someone on the outside of the cell was unlocking it. Apparently, visitor hours were over. Benton made to stand, but just then, Spot lunged toward the door himself, at
least as much as a tribble was *able* to "lunge, in a desperate last attempt to escape. Benton suddenly jerked his left arm away from the wildly agitated tribble and cradled his wrist in his right hand.

Benton ducked through the now-open door. He turned around briefly and said, "I'll come back tomorrow, Spot." Then the door clanged shut again, sealing the angrily croaking Spot inside. The guard who had opened the door walked away, intent on his other duties, leaving Benton alone with his whirling thoughts. Perplexed and more troubled than ever, he just stood a moment outside the cell. Spot's unprovoked attack grieved him deeply, and he even considered for a moment the possibility that the judge's sentence was just and correct.

Benton took his hand away from his wrist, and the hand came away red with blood.
 

Title: "Spot Must Die!" (Part 4 of 7)
Author: Lt. Commander Benton
Stardate: 2460805
Earthdate: October 21, 2383
Location: Slart II

Late at night, a dark, sinister figure crept along the wall of the small house, keeping to the bushes as much as possible. It was impossible to identify the interloper because he wore a mask. He had marked the address the day before, and now he was following the sound of soft meowing coming from around the corner behind the house. He reached the corner and carefully peeped around. No one was in sight, and the back yard was draped in gloomy shadows: perfect.

The sinister figure's sharp eyes swept quickly across the yard and homed in on what he was looking for: the source of the meowing, a small beige cat. It looked at him curiously. He gently withdrew a tiny needle-gun from his jacket pocket and took careful aim. A puff of discharged gas from the gun, a hissing "whzzztt" as the needle sped away, and a suddenly prone cat told the story of what just transpired.

The sinister figure slunk over to where the cat lay softly snoring. He unfolded a sack from his belt and stuffed the cat into it. Then, as quickly as he came, the dark sinister figure dissolved back into the night from
whence he came.
 __________________________________

The ground effect vehicle slowed to a stop and settled earthward in front of a low-built, warehouse-like building. The structure was camouflaged so that it almost disappeared amidst the thick trees and shrubbery that surrounded it. A man emerged from the building and watched the vehicle land. As he stepped out, the face of Judge Neblit Gis was revealed. He walked toward the hover-car and greeted the pilot as he disembarked. "Arn. You're ahead of schedule."

"It's been a good week, Judge," said Officer Nedic Arn. He walked around to the back of his vehicle and popped the cargo hatch. Inside were several cages. One of the cages held a small beige cat.

"Mmm. Nice haul," said the other man.

"Yeah, they should be worth more than the usual. Plus I got one more I need to pick up. That weird off-planet creature you sent up the river today. No one will know we stole it instead of having it put to sleep. Too bad we
couldn't pin all these other animal disappearances on it."

"Ah yes, that one," chuckled Gis. "This is one sweet business we have here, Arn. We pick up these critters and then sell them to the fancy restaurants on Breckoli IX. How's the finger, by the way?"

"Still smarts," grumbled Arn.

"The cash we get for that little beast will make it feel better," said Gis.

Chuckling at their own cleverness, the two men began transferring the cages from the vehicle to the warehouse.
 __________________________________

Location: USS Virgo

Back on the *Virgo,* Francesca sat by herself at a table in the forward mess hall. She was staring out the big forward window nursing a good stiff drink, her second, and she was feeling worse than she ever felt before. Benton had entrusted his best friend Spot to her care, and she had failed them both miserably. Now Spot was going to die, and Benton would never forgive her. And just when they were starting to become such good friends too. She sighed. She might as well jettison herself out the airlock.

Just then from right behind her, the voice Francesca most dreaded hearing interrupted her gloomy thoughts.

"Francesca? Mind if I sit down?"

Francesca turned to see Benton politely waiting for her to give her permission. She couldn't deny him, so she indicated the seat opposite her with a motion of her hand, and Benton sat down.

Before she lost her nerve and before Benton could start chewing her out, she began blurting out, "Benton! Oh, I'm so sorry! I tried my best, but you know how Spot is. Oh, it's all my fault!" She was practically sobbing.

"It's not your fault, Francesca. It's mine," said Benton.

Francesca continued, "I can never make it up to... What did you say?"

"I said that the blame is mine and not yours," said Benton. "I knew Spot was not himself. I should never have left him with you."

Francesca noticed that suddenly Benton's eyes seemed to look far away. In time or space, she didn't know. Benton continued in a somewhat quieter voice, narrating almost to himself as if he had forgotten Francesca was
there. "Spot's been following me around ever since that day he saved my life on New Kelva. After I left the homeworld and entered Starfleet Academy, he's lived in small rooms. After the Academy, he's lived on cramped space stations and starships: all artificial environments. But Spot is, and always will be, a natural, wild animal. This turn in his personality was bound to happen sooner or later." Benton paused and looked down at the tabletop. When he looked up again Francesca saw a real grief in his eyes.

Benton returned to the present, looked at Francesca, and said simply, "Spot's returned to his wild state. He's become unpredictable and dangerous."

"Oh," was all Francesca could think of to say.

Benton rose from his chair. His Kelvan composure were fully in place again. He said, "Well, I just wanted to tell you that, so you don't worry yourself too much."

Francesca reached out and took hold of Benton's hand. He didn't resist. She sniffed and said, "Thanks, Benton."

"You're welcome, Francesca," said Benton, then walked out of the mess hall.
 __________________________________

After finishing her drink, Francesca wobbled back to her cabin. She was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol; she had ordered real Saurian Brandy, not that wimpy Synthahol stuff. She sat (fell) on her bed and lay
staring at the ceiling thinking.

She still felt a little bad. Even if Benton had known about Spot's mental condition, it had still been her  responsibility to look after the little guy while Benton was on his away mission. Spot had escaped because she had diverted her attention for a second, and then he had gotten in trouble and was sentenced to be put to sleep by the Slartan judge. And all because Spot had reverted to his wild state and was simply following his instincts and trying to go back to his natural environment.

Well, she couldn't let that stand. She *had* to do something! Spot was scheduled to be put to sleep tomorrow, so she had to do something tonight, but what could she do? There was only one thing...
 __________________________________

Location: Slart II

A lone, shadowy figure sparkled into existence in a dimly lit corridor deep in the bowels of a warehouse-type building near the Slartan court building. It slunk along a wall toward a certain door. At the door, the figure pulled
some sort of device out of a pocket and applied it to the door over the lock. A second later, there was a soft click and the door swung silently open. A soft chirping sound came from the other side of the door. The lone shadowy figure whispered, "Come on! Let's go!"
 

Title: "Spot Must Die!" (Part 5 of 7)
Author: Lt. Commander Benton
Stardate: 2460808
Earthdate: October 22, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

"Captain to the bridge!" announced the intercom in Maruu's quarters, startling the *Virgo's* captain to wakefulness.

Maruu sat up in bed and addressed the intercom, "Bridge. This is the captain. What's the problem?"

"Urgent message from President Lindo Tinwelint, Captain. He seemed quite upset, sir."

"I'll be right there," said Maruu. He got out of bed and pulled on his outer tunic. Five minutes later, he was striding through the turbolift doors onto the bridge. As he settled into his command chair he ordered, "Put the
President on screen."

The starscape on the main view screen shimmered and dissolved into the angry visage of the President of Slart II. He glared at Maruu and practically shouted, "Captain Maruu! We had an agreement!"

"Yes we did, Mister President," said Maruu calmly. "We could use Slart II for shore leave if we didn't cause any trouble. As far as I know, we have obeyed your stipulations."

"I beg to differ, Captain! I have in front of me reports detailing civil disturbances, stolen domestic animals, attacks on police officers, and, latest of all, a break-in at the animal impound sector!"

Maruu was taken aback. He had no idea what the President was talking about, but he knew he had to quiet this situation. "Mister President, I assure you, I will get to the bottom of these incidents and take whatever measures are required to resolve them."

"No need, Captain," continued the President. "We have already dispatched officers to deal with the escapee."

"Wha...?" said a confused Maruu.

Commander Benton had entered the bridge somewhere during the conversation. Now he said, "Captain? May I have a private word with you? It pertains to what the President is saying."

Maruu nodded at Benton. To the president on the main viewer he said, "Mister President, I will get back to you on this issue. I'm sure we can resolve it to both our satisfactions." He signaled the comm channel be closed, and the viewer swam back into the familiar star view. To Benton he said, "In my office, Commander. And this better be good."

Captain Maruu and Lieutenant Commander Benton walked off the bridge and entered the captain's ready room.
 ___________________________________

"Spill it, Commander," barked the captain. He had walked behind his desk and stood hunched over his desk resting his knuckles on the desktop. Benton stood at attention on the other side of the desk. "I've been monitoring the planet surface from Security, sir, and I noticed a certain life sign movement a short while ago. I believe I know what has transpired down on Slart, and I must confess that I am in part responsible, sir."

"You?" said an incredulous Maruu. He had a hard time believing that the straight-laced Benton was involved in anything illegal.

"Yes, sir," said Benton, somewhat abashedly. "I'm afraid it's Spot."

"Spot!" exploded Maruu. "When you came aboard, you promised that you would..."

"And I have, sir, it's just that..." said Benton. "Spot has turned wild. All he wants to do is to go back to the wilderness."

"The bottom line is, Commander, that your pet has jeopardized our relations with the inhabitants of this planet. They are after him and intend to kill him before he causes any more trouble."

"Sir! With all due respect, Spot is my responsibility. If he has become a threat to civilization and can no longer be controlled, it is *my* duty to deal with him." Benton stood staring at Captain Maruu in determination.

Captain Maruu contemplated his Chief of Security. Finally, he said, "Very well, Commander. Permission granted to resolve your situation. I'll contact the Slartan government and inform them you'll be joining their expedition."

"Thank you, sir," said Benton grimly.
 ___________________________________

Benton opened the big chest that had always rested on the floor at the back of his quarters. His mindset was intense and focused. The chest held old family relics and the like and was basically Benton's only concrete link
to his past. It hadn't been opened for many years. Even the lock was old-fashioned. He inserted the key in the lock and turned. The lock popped.

He piled out a bunch of miscellaneous things until he was almost at the bottom. Finally, he withdrew from the chest a long narrow canvas-shrouded bundle and set it aside. He replaced the other things he had taken from
the box and closed and locked the lid again.

Benton now turned his single-minded attention to the long bundle. It was wrapped in canvas and tied by simple twine cords. Benton untied the knots and flipped back the canvas folds. Now before him lay the wicked, black form of a compression phaser rifle. It was one of the first ever made, and it had belonged to his father.

He picked it up and hefted it to get a feel of it. It was perfectly balanced, and Benton was very impressed by the craftsmanship. Then he remembered who he planning to use it on, and his mood darkened again.

He hefted the phaser rifle again and checked the power cell.

Still charged.
 

Title: "Spot Must Die!" (Part 6 of 7)
Author: Lt. Commander Benton
Stardate: 2460808
Earthdate: October 22, 2383
Location: USS Virgo

Benton heaved the big phaser rifle onto his shoulder and headed for Security. The doors parted to reveal Sitto Lan manning the main console as usual. "Sitto!" called Benton.

"Yo."

"Are you still monitoring that life sign?"

"Yup."

Where is it now?"

"A few miles north of the city on the borders of a large forested area."

"Any other life signs nearby?"

Sitto punched a few commands into his console. "Yes. One other, but it's not Slartan, it's Human."

"Who is it?" asked Benton, but he already knew the answer.

Sitto worked his station. He said, "There's a Starfleet com signature." Sitto narrowed his scan. "It's Lieutenant Milano."

"That's what I was afraid of," said Benton. "Francesca's in grave danger!"

"What? From Spot?" asked an incredulous Sitto.

Benton turned to face Sitto. He pulled back the uniform sleeve on his left arm and showed Sitto the bloody bandage where Spot had bitten him back in his holding cage.

"Oh geez!"
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Location: Slart II

Francesca walked behind Spot. After she had sprung Spot from jail, she had wanted them to head due north into the forests, away from the population centers. She figured that was where Spot would be happiest since that was where the wilderness was the thickest, but Spot had been veering northeast. She was tired of arguing with the stupid tribble, so now she was reduced to just widely-spaced complaints.

"Where are you going? Are you looking for food? I brought sandwiches, you know!"

Spot ignored her and trundled on. Soon enough he came upon a building that seemed to be camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding forest. Spot headed for it, but Francesca hesitated. She had a weird feeling that
something wasn't quite right here. She quickened her pace to catch up with Spot and reached him just as the tribble reached the door to the building.

The door was slightly ajar, and Spot squeezed through. Francesca tried peeking inside, but the interior was dark. She didn't really want to go in, but she didn't want to stay out here all by herself either, so finally she
pushed the door open just enough to let her squeeze her thin body in too.

Her eyes adjusted to the dim light in a few seconds and she looked around. Inside, the building was all one big room. There were row after row of shelves and low tables with small cages on them. Spot was nowhere to be seen, of course. Francesca whispered, "Spot! Come on, let's get out of here."

A commotion was starting somewhere off to the left that sounded like a bunch of animals making noise, so Francesca went to investigate. There was Spot, amidst a group of cages that all held animals of one sort or another. They seemed excited to see Spot and were being quite vocal about it.

Francesca said, "What's going on here? What are you guys doing locked up like this? In a secret warehouse...? In the middle of a forest...?" Something was definitely weird about this. Spot meanwhile had climbed up a table leg and was nudging open the lock on a cage that held a small beige cat. The cat meowed a "thank you" as it sprang out of its prison, and Spot answered with a chirp.

"Here, let me help," said Francesca eagerly. She began popping open the cages one by one freeing the captive pets until she was surrounded by a miniature stampede of dogs, cats, wuzzles and goombas. When they were all loose Francesca said, "All right now. Let's get out of here!" She ran foward the door and the stampede followed her.

But as she emerged back out into the light of day, she was stopped by Officer Nedic Arn, who had just arrived on the scene to check up on things.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?" he demanded brusquely of the intruder.

Before Francesca could answer though, the door burst open and the stampede of family pets thundered out, sending Francesca sprawling into Arn's arms. He was caught off guard and the both of them went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Get your hands off me, you masher!" sputtered Francesca as she tried to extricate herself from the hapless Arn while at the same time slap him silly.

Arn defended himself as best he could until Francesca scrambled off him. He jumped back to his own feet, and shouted, "You're nuts, lady!" but the escaping animals quickly regained his attention.

Last out the door was a small beige cat bearing a smaller, round rider, and when Arn saw them a new anger burned in his eyes. That little off-world creature had been the bane of his existence these last few days, but now he would get it!

Francesca gave a small yelp and jumped back a step when Arn drew his pistol. "Look out lady. I'm gonna get that critter," said Arn. He took aim.

Just then another voice called, "Please stop right there, sir!" It was Benton and Sitto. They had finally arrived on the scene.

"What?" said Arn. "Where are all these people coming from?!"

"That animal is my responsibility," said Benton. "I'll take care of it." Arn lowered his gun, not quite sure what was going on. Sitto, who had been carrying the big phaser rifle, now handed it to Benton with a concerned expression on his face. "You sure you want to do this, Benny? You want me to do it?" he asked.

"No. I have to be the one," said Benton as he flipped on the targeting sensor. He raised the rifle to his shoulder and swung it around to point at Spot, who was still racing away from the scene on the back of the cat.

From her place in the doorway, Francesca cried, "Oh no! Don't do it, Benton."

Benton heard her, but if Spot had turned dangerous he had to do it. The figure of his life-long friend centered in the targeting scope, but suddenly the image became blurry and spoiled his aim. Benton reached up and wiped
the tear from his eye and took aim once again. The cat that was bearing Spot away was running at full tilt and would soon be out of range. But there was something about the cat that bothered Benton at the back of his mind. What was it? It looked familiar.... Of course! It was the cat named "Mr. Tuvo." But what was it doing here miles from home in the middle of a forest?

Then, Benton became aware of the large number of other small animals running around amongst the trees. They all looked suspiciously like pets. Then he remembered the unusual number of "Lost Pet" posters he had seen before. Something was definitely not right here. All these animals must have been stolen. He knew that Francesca had nothing to do with it, so that just left...

Benton swung his rifle around toward Nedic Arn just in time to see the Slartan officer pointing his own sidearm at him. Benton squeezed the trigger, and his blast shot Arn's pistol right out his hand.

"AAAH!" cried Arn.

Francesca strode forward and clobbered Arn with a well-placed clout to the jaw. Arn dropped like a sack of potatoes.