The Octonauts and the Random Role Reversal

Chapter Three

Barnacles - Medic  
Kwazii - Engineer      
Peso - Computer Systems Expert/Photographer
Shellington - Lieutenant
Dashi - Captain
Tweak - Marine Biologist

The responses were understandably varied.

"Engineer?" almost spat Kwazii, coughing as he realised what the already chuckling Captain had unwittingly let him in for. "You've got to be kidding me, matey."

Tweak scowled at Kwazii. "That'll show you whose job is 'just bolts and screws'."

"While you've got my job, Tweak," Shellington chuckled, looking somewhat nervous. "Good luck! I think you'll enjoy it."

The new marine biologist shrugged. "While you can have fun in Kwazii's role, Shel. You'll be doing a lot of - nothing, I imagine, as well as some zipping around far too fast."

Now it was Kwazii's turn to shoot an annoyed look at the bunny at the scathing comment, to which she replied by very maturely sticking her tongue out at him.

Barnacles automatically opened his mouth to intervene in yet another of their battles, which he could see coming pretty clearly, but quickly reminded himself that he wasn't technically the Captain any more. Speaking of which...

The dachshund was looking even more nervous than Shellington was, which was saying something since his new role involved him using more driving skills in a single mission than he was accustomed to in a typical month. Dashi was still blinking up at the screen, seeming to need verification that she was to be in charge for the next couple of days. Barnacles came and rested a reassuring paw on her shoulder. "And I guess my job's yours for the time being, Dashi!"

Dashi laughed, but her own paws were entwined together, the dog shifting from foot to foot. "I guess it is, yeah..."

Barnacles pulled his hat back off his head, the fur feeling bare up on his crown without it. "You'll be needing this, then," he commented, passing her the hat and slipping his Octo-Compass off his belt.

She still didn't look too sure about it, but Dashi took her own hat off and replaced it with the larger Captain's hat, which fell slightly over her eyes.

The other Octonauts followed suit in swapping around some of their equipment. Grudgingly, Kwazii strapped Tweak's tool belt around his waist, Peso, having already carefully hung Dashi's treasured camera around his neck, passed Barnacles his medical bag and pale blue medic's hat, and Shellington exchanged his satchel complete with notebook and magnifying glass for, well - whatever Kwazii used for his job, since the pirate wasn't planning on giving up his eyepatch any time soon.

Once they were all finished changing their looks up a little, the Octonauts had to share a chuckle at how odd they all looked (and felt) now they officially had each other's roles. Kwazii was absently playing with a hammer from his new mechanic kit; Tweak was typically very protective of her tools, so Barnacles could tell she was fighting back a retort or probably a word of warning, many of which tended to pass between the two fairly often already. He himself wore Peso's smaller hat, and when he chanced a peek inside the medical kit that was to be his for the next couple of days, Barnacles suddenly felt a little bit out of his depth. Bandaging had never been his forte - he even found wrapping Christmas presents a bit of a stretch without the calm medic's help and swift flippers. Still, he supposed: in for a penny, in for a pound.

He wasn't the only one to have doubts, it turned out. "Are we allowed to ask for hints if we need it?" Peso inquired worriedly. "Like if I don't understand one of the buttons up here in the HQ, can I ask Dashi what it is?"

"And are we swapping rooms as well?" Shellington wanted to know. "I sleep where I work, so if Tweak is working in the lab...?"

"And how long are we doing this for?" Kwazii added with a half-grin. "I don't know how long I can go without blowing something up in the workshop."

"Long enough for me to get back to it intact, if you know what's good for you," warned Tweak, not quite as jovially.

"Three days?" Barnacles suggested.

"I think they're all reasonable requests," agreed Inkling wisely, taking the role of chief decision maker since no-one else was quite qualified to do it any more. "Ask questions if you need it, yes. Sleep in each other's rooms. Three days in each other's roles seems like a good amount. But the most important thing is to enjoy the experience trying something new. I think you might all be surprised by what you find out!"

Barnacles nodded along with the rest of the crew. The Octonauts looked around, evidently unsure what to do now. It was all well and good deciding to do this, but no-one really knew where to go from here, standing in the HQ feeling slightly foolish in each other's apparel.

Inkling waved a tentacle, looking amused. "Well, Captain?"

Both captains, the old and the new, reacted to the title. Barnacles grinned, somewhat embarrassed that he had already nearly forgotten, and gestured to the dachshund. "It's all yours, Captain Dashi. Catchphrase and all."

Dashi stepped up onto the traditional captain's podium, looking slightly nervous, though determined as she turned to face the rest of the crew. "Octonauts," she started tentatively, echoing Barnacles' usual phrase in her soft Australian accent. "Let's do this!"