A/N: This is my first Star Trek fic. Also I haven't exactly seen all of the episodes for TOS, so bear with me if some of my facts are wrong. Of course, I do not own Star Trek or any of it's characters. The only things I do own are the plot for this story and the four characters I have created to be thrown into that futuristic world we all know and love that makes up Star Trek. Oh yeah, character thoughts are in italics and the thoughts of the Unseen are in bold. Enjoy!

2009

They lay there, in their sleeping bags, sprawled over the grass, which was damp with dew. All four of their faces were turned to the night sky staring at the pinpricks of light that were the stars. "Look, Kat. There's Orion and there's the big dipper and…" Kat sighed, cutting her friend off. "Yeah, I see them, Ree, but I didn't come camping tonight to look at constellations. When is this meteor shower supposed to start?"

"Technically," Aurelia began, "a meteor shower doesn't just start in our sky. The pieces of the meteor that fall through our atmosphere have been travelling through space for years before reaching Earth."

"Thank you Dr. Aurelia Hensen, for that wonderful piece of useless knowledge." Kat sighed again. She was bored out of her mind. She didn't find any interest in the stars or meteor showers. Her interest lay beyond those pinpricks of light, those tiny spheres of burning gas. She wanted to know what was beyond this galaxy, if there really was other life out there. She just couldn't accept the fact that Earth was the only planet on which life could be sustained. Kat crawled out of her sleeping bag and almost immediately wished she hadn't as the cool night air began to seep through her pajamas.

Grabbing her coat and one of the extra blankets they brought, she went to sit next to the fire. She had only been there for a moment before the others came to join her.

"Are you okay?" Kat looked up at Emily, whose perfect jet black hair was pulled back into a tight and neat bun as usual. Em could always tell when something was bothering any of the other three women and usually tried to help as best she could. They were all in college together. Kat was majoring in law with a minor in psychology, and aspired to be a government official and maybe president one day. The minor in psychology was just in case her political career failed her. Emily was a med student, striving to be a surgeon. Reena was working on her masters in both technology and engineering. She was always tinkering around with the electronics in the dorm, much to the displeasure of the dean. And then there was Aurelia, resident genius. She was about to finish up a double major in physiology and geology and a double minor in linguistics and archeology. She hoped that she could work for the government.

There were only two factors that made these four women friends. One was that they all were fans of Star Trek and the second that they all were orphans. Not one of them had any surviving family, so when they first met, they kind of created their own family among the four of them.

"Kat, is it about Josh?" Reena's question brought her out of her reverie. She looked at her mechanically inclined friend, noticing her lengthy, chocolate brown hair was actually down for a change. "You should wear your hair like that more often, Ree. It looks nice that way."

"Couldn't wear it like this in the lab. Too much machinery to get it caught in. I'd be bald in no time." Everyone except Aurelia laughed at Reena's response.

"Might I point out that changing the subject for the sake of taking the attention off yourself, Katherine, does not help us with understanding why you are upset? And without the reasons for your sadness, we cannot possibly hope to deduce a means of making you happy again." Aurelia looked quite astonished to see that her friends were staring at her as if they were looking at an alien. "Are you sure you're not at least part Vulcan there, Lia? Cuz you sound so much like Spock sometimes that I think we are gonna have to call you Spockette," Emily said, breaking the awkward silence that had ensued after the genius's question. Everyone laughed again, and it was a while before it stopped. Another blanket of silence fell over the women as each stared into the flickering flames of the fire and let their minds wander through different thoughts. Kat was thinking about Josh, her fiancé, and after a few moments, she sighed again. Ex fiancé, she reminded herself. "Josh broke off the engagement," she said to the fire, not wanting to see the looks of bewilderment she knew were being passed between themselves. "Why would he do that?" Emily's question was quiet, as though she were afraid that someone were listening to their conversation. "He met someone else. Someone who isn't career driven like I am. He said he couldn't commit to a woman who had committed her life to her career. He said he would be better off marrying a statue." Angry tears were forming in her eyes, but she forced them back with sheer determination etched on her face. Her hands clenched into fists, and she stood up and began pacing. The others knew what was about to happen, and were glad they were camping, as there was nothing breakable around for her to throw in a fit of rage.

"Stupid, arrogant, womanizing, egotistic, chauvinistic, pig-headed, lying asshole!" Kat yelled all of this in one breath to the chilly night. She tripped over a rock in her pacing, and being already angry at her ex fiancé, and now at herself for stubbing her toes into the rock, picked it up and promptly threw it into the trees. A branch lying nearby followed, and then another rock and she continued to throw various bits of nature at the trees until she finally collapsed onto her knees, exhausted and in tears. The others watched her emotional display, but having seen it happen a thousand times since they had met, they didn't stop her. It was best to let her have it out, though it was not easy for them to watch.

Kat was something of a leader to them. She had the strongest will of the four of them, and possessed a temperament that gave her the qualities required of a leader. She would be a wonderful politician if it weren't for her temper. It was often a joke among the girls that she would be more fit and at home as a high ranking officer in the military rather than in a government office.

"Kat," Emily started, rising from her seat, grabbing her bag, and walking over to her red headed, teary eyed friend. "I have something to make you feel better."

"What is it?" She wiped the tears from her face roughly with a dirt encrusted hand, leaving streaks of earth where the streams of her tears had been. Emily helped her friend to her feet and then rummaged around in her bag for a moment before extracting a portable DVD player and a DVD set of Star Trek. Kat brightened up at the sight, "Aww…Em, you sure do know how to treat a distressed friend. There's nothing that can cure heartache quicker than a whole night with Captain James Tiberius Kirk. William Shatner was so gorgeous when he was younger."

"I thought you might like that. I always come prepared," she pulled out a bag of potato chips and box of cookies as well. "Besides, it looks like we won't be getting to see that meteor shower after all. Clouds are moving in. Guess that storm is gonna hit sooner than the weather said."

"Who cares," Reena exclaimed which was shocking as she was the one who had dragged them all out there in the first place. "What? I just want to see Scotty. He's my hero," she defended when everyone just stared at her.

"It is immensely fascinating at how one's mind can change at the drop of a hat." Leave it to Aurelia to make a Spock-like comment just before watching Star Trek.

They pulled everything inside the tent and settled in for a full night of watching videos. Just as they started their third episode, the aforementioned storm broke upon them and the increasing wind whipped against the sides of their tent. Lightning flashed in the sky and the roll of thunder followed immediately.

"Guys, I think we should pack it up and head back to campus." Emily's voice quivered slightly as she said this, but it was common knowledge that she was terrified of storms.

Fifteen minutes later, everything was loaded up into Kat's SUV and the four soaking wet girls left the campground without hesitation. Aurelia was driving, as Kat didn't feel like her being behind the wheel would be ideal in her state. She was still thinking about Josh. She let her mind wander on the subject as she looked out of the window in the backseat. The rain was falling harder now, so hard it was blinding, as they drove down the highway. Lightning still continued to flash at various intervals and the booming thunder that always followed made Emily jump every time it occurred. "Its okay, Em," Kat said in a soothing voice. "We'll be back on campus in no time." Emily responded with a nervous smile, and tried not to jump out of her skin as the thunder boomed again.

It happened in a flash, seconds after Kat's comment, a car came flying from one of the side roads and slammed into the side of the SUV, pushing it into the lane of oncoming traffic and into the path of an 18-wheeler, who could not stop in time to avoid hitting the vehicle. Another flash of bright light and the girls fell out of consciousness; the puddles of water surrounding the overturned SUV were colored red from the blood that seeped from their unmoving, lifeless bodies.

Kat opened her eyes to sunlight filtering into the tent. She sat up in her sleeping bag and took in her surroundings. Aurelia, Emily and Reena were still asleep. Kat stood and carefully made her way to the tent's exit, quietly unzipping the entrance so as not to wake anyone. She wanted time to herself to sit and think about the dream she just had. More like a nightmare really, she thought. I died, we all died. She had a problem believing that it was actually just a dream. It seemed so real.

That is because it was real, my child. Kat whirled around; looking behind her for the owner of the voice but no one was there. You cannot see us, nor will you ever see us. We have no substance, only thought and voice.

"Who are you?"

You may call us the Unseen, child.

"I'm twenty-five years old, I'm not a child."

To us, you are a child. We have lived for centuries. We live across all times and realities, therefore we are the keepers of all times and realities.

"Realities? Do you mean to tell me that there are alternate realities?"

Yes, child. There are alternate realities and alternate universes. Ones just like the one in which you lived and in that reality you survived that accident which took your life in your own reality. But there are also other realities in which you must play a part but have not yet.

"I don't understand."

Perhaps we should wake your friends before discussing this further.

Kat made to move back to the tent, but before she could go anywhere, Aurelia came out of it. Reena came next, then Emily. All three of them looked just as confused as Kat had felt upon first waking up. No doubt confused about the nightmare of dying, which turns out wasn't really a nightmare.

Welcome, children to your mid reality.

"Kat, what is going on?" Emily looked like she was terrified. "I just remember having a horrible dream, in which we all died in a car wreck. And now I wake up to some disembodied voice calling me a child."

"Just listen to what she has to say, guys. It's kinda hard to explain right now, but we are in between realities from what I gather. We did die in our old reality and now these beings who call themselves the Unseen want us to go to a new reality. They say we must be present in that reality. I'm still kinda confused on that subject."

The reality you must enter will be both familiar, yet unfamiliar to you all. You already know some of the inhabitants, but though you will recognize them, they will not know you as in your reality, they did not know you.

"What is the basis of this reality? How is it we know some of the people in it already if we haven't been there?" Aurelia was always full of useful questions.

You have seen it and some of the happenings that we allowed you to see through a television program called Star Trek. You of course know to what I am referring. And I daresay you also know the people to whom I referred earlier that you will recognize. You must remember that though they are the same, they are also different.

"What if we decide not to go?"

We will not force you. It is entirely your choice. However, I must caution that if you do not choose to enter this new reality, then your lives will be at an end forever. You will be doomed to travel the planet you perished on for all eternity as a spirit.

"So basically what you are telling us is that we died in our reality so in order to still live we have to enter a new reality?"

That is correct, Katherine. Of course, we also give you the choice of choosing the species you wish to enter as. And we will give you the knowledge and abilities needed to be successful and survive in that reality. But we need your decision soon, as we can only keep you here in the mid reality for a few moments longer.

"What do you guys think? Do you wanna die and wander the earth forever or do you wanna go join Starfleet?" When it comes down to making a decision, Kat takes on the leadership role and puts the choice into words to make the others choose the right one without thinking twice. With her it's either doom or survival, and right now they all wanted to survive. Each one of her friends nodded their assent.

"We will go to the new reality."

Very well. Close your eyes, all of you and receive the information you will need.

Kat closed her eyes and at once she felt a rush of information flashing across her mind. When the rush was over, she had a slight headache.

Now think of the species you wish to enter as, and it will be so.

All of them chose human, except Aurelia that is, who chose to be Vulcan.

Aurelia, child, you do realize that this choice will leave you practically devoid of emotion and ruled by logic, correct?

"Yes, that is completely understood. I was never one for emotions anyway."

Very well. It is done. You will all enter the reality in a moment, for there is only one more piece of advice I must give you. You will enter upon the starship Enterprise. Everything about your lives in that reality is falsified. You all have the new memories for this reality as well as the old memories from the old reality. You must not reveal to anyone that you are from a different reality. The consequences would be unbearable.

"You have our word. We will not reveal where we truly come from."

I see. Good luck, children. I hope to see you again, but not anytime soon.

A burst of white light flashed from nowhere and the four girls were rendered unconscious again.