~Chapter 1~
"You know, these highly formatted reports are getting kind of annoying to proofread."
"Tell me about it, I've been stuck reading them too."
Cray Whickman and Karlenn Trant were, as per normal, spending their lunch break together, and on this occasion, forced to read their co-workers' reports. He sighed.
"At least you don't have to write them too," he mumbled. She grinned.
"Oh, poor, long suffering baby that you are," she cooed jokingly, and went back to reading, reaching over to grab her slice of pizza occasionally. A loud klaxon rang out.
"Senior officers to the Bridge, immediately, I repeat, senior officers to the bridge." Cray saw Lieutenant Commander Nara stand up quickly on the other side of the hall, walking out quickly, a piece of stray toast in his hand to be munched. He turned to Karlenn.
"Do I count?" he asked forlornly. She smiled.
"Yes. Shoo," she said, and waved him off with her hands. He sighed dramatically, and stood, trying to shove his PADDs into some form of order.
"I'll see you later, once I get off, and these reports from hell are written." He strode out of the room, and dashed into the turbo lift that Lt. Cmdr. Nara was already in. Cray sighed again in earnest.
"Girl troubles?" Mr. Nara asked him. Cray started slightly, then sighed again.
"Girl troubles, PADD troubles, soccer troubles, troubles in general." He turned to face the other man. "How'd you know?" Mr. Nara smiled.
"I just know girls," he replied. "Siegfried Nara. I'm Ops." Cray nodded.
"Uh, Cray Whickman. I think I'm in charge of Sec/Tac... Kind of by accident." Mr. Nara chuckled.
"It's nice to meet you, you know, in person." Mr. Nara took a quick bite of the toast in his hand, and smiled. "Karlenn's always talking about you." Cray choked slightly, on what, he wasn't exactly sure, but choked all the same. Mr. Nara's smile grew a little wider.
"Somehow I thought that was it. You know, she really likes you," he said, a hint of mischief in his voice. Cray dredged up a weak smile.
"Well, we went to the academy together..." he said, and Mr. Nara smiled.
"That wasn't quite what I meant, but it'll do for an interpretation."
The turbolift arrived at the bridge.
On the viewscreen a large star was in view, and the Captain was standing in the middle of the bridge as if she were a rabbit who had just had a dern squirrel come up and steal her lettuce. And as a side note, Sarah does not like lettuce, but this is a metaphor.
"All senior officers have reported in, Captain," Nara noted. She did not turn around but gave him a wave to note she had heard him.
"Mr. Midori, how long until we reach that planet?"
"Um, ten minutes? Yeah, ten point 23 minutes."
Cray listened to the cool questions and almost cooler answers and began to worry. He definitely wasn't as experienced or as knowledgeable as the officers around him. He could only hope that the Captain would ask nothing of him.
"Mr. Whickman, what are the specifications of the structure generating the tractor beam?"
"Er-" Calm down, he told himself. "It is unarmed and unshielded, Captain."
"Recommendations?"
"We'll be in phaser range in one minute. Of course, that supposes you aren't curious, Captain."
"I am always curious, Mr. Whickman. Have the phasers ready, but don't shoot anything just yet. Mr. Stellar, have an escape course plotted and ready to go."
"Aye, ma'am."
"Oh, uh, yes, ma'am." Cray actually felt a bit better now. He had done it. Maybe with a few bumps, but he hadn't messed things up too badly.
A short while later, Nara spoke, "Captain, we're being hailed."
"Finally. Onscreen." At this point she sat down, and Cray noticed Dr. McCoy was occupying the seat usually reserved for the XO. "This is Captain Sarah Cosmo of the USS Empire. We request you release our ship and let us continue peacefully on our way."
=/\=We are the Odales, Captain Sarah Cosmo of the USS Empire. Please, do not be alarmed. We mean you no harm.=/\=
"If you mean us no harm then why must you use a tractor beam instead of asking us to come to your planet?"
=/\=Captain Sarah Cosmo, it is imperative that you and your ship come to our planet without delay.=/\=
"May I ask why?"
=/\=It will all be explained when you arrive.=/\=
"They cut the connection, Captain," Nara said, even though it was relatively obvious they had.
"Well, I suppose we're in for a surprise, then. Mr. Stellar, Mr. Whickman, I want your fingers hovering over those commands." At this point the Captain sat down and began conversing in hushed tones with Dr. McCoy. Cray swallowed. Today was just going to be one of those days.
*****
Aerial's fingers hovered nervously above her controls. She wriggled her fingers in anticipation of the Captain's next orders. She was apprehensive, of course, she hated being pulled in by tractor beams. She wanted to be in control, to know she was the one who was driving the ship. That was why she got such a thrill from being at the Helm - she and only she was at the wheel. The Empire would go wherever she wanted it to, with Sarah's permission, of course. The doohickey blinked, and the red little light caught Aerial's eye. That's really...unusual... she thought, noticing the blink again.
"O Captain, My Captain...what do we know about these Orgal-y- whatever they want to be called-"
"Odales?" Sig offered.
"Yeah, these Odales. Have we dealt with them before?"
"No." Sarah responded, "Why?"
"'Cause they're pulling us in awful fast. They must really want to talk to us - they're going to pull this baby apart if they go any faster..."
*****
Keei blinked. Tractor beam? Not good. Pulled apart? Even worse. "Um...I've..."
"Save that line for when we need it Keei," Katana said leaning back in what was officially known as "Her Chair."
"Ehh.. Okay...but I really do-"
"Save it."
"Yes'm."
The short officer reached absentmindedly into one of hidden pockets and pulled out a bag of M&Ms. If she was going to die, she was going to die on a chocolate rush darn it!
*****
As Katana was being sucked further and further into the thingy-madoodle of death, that was apparently trying to shake them apart like a magic 8 ball, most of her thoughts were occupied by one thing.
And it wasn't even what most people would think it was.
It was mostly based on how freakishly uncomfortable her chair was.
Honestly, one, since it had been quite a while since they'd had a first officer, so, no one had sat in it. So it didn't even have a butt groove. Secondly, the thing was harder than a scone left out for a week. Which, she mused, may actually be the same hardness as a diamond. Also, completely disregarding the butt groove, it was oddly shaped, so that no matter where she sat on it, it was excruciatingly uncomfortable.
"The second we have a moment, before anyone has to sit in this chair again, we are getting it replaced. I don't care if I have to rip it out of the floor myself," she muttered under her breath. She heard Sarah snicker slightly.
"Oh, laugh it up, dork face," Tana mumbled at her.
"I just find it amusing," Sarah had a small smirk carefully etched into her face. "That while we're about to die, you are bothered by how uncomfortable your chair is." Tana glared at her.
*****
Aerial shook her head with a smile. An inch from death and the crew could still manage to joke. Although Tana seemed to be really serious about that chair...
"Hey Sarah? Are we going to, um, do anything about this?"
"Anything you can do?"
"I tried pulling up already. Unless you get us some serious power from who knows where in engineering, we're in trouble."
"Hmm." Sarah really didn't seem concerned, which worried Aerial to no end. As she started her last attempt to conjure an escape plan, the whole crew was thrown forward. The ship had come to an abrupt stop right before impacting with the Odales vessel.
"Well, I guess that works." Keei laughed nervously.
Aerial seemed confused, "Sarah, did you know that was going to happen?"
"Nope. But I figured something like that would."
"Why?"
"You're so naïve, Aerial," Katana offered, "Sarah's one of the main characters – we never die. At least not like that. We always have to go out more valiantly."
"Oh. Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Around here, the craziest explanation is usually the correct one."
*****
As seconds ticked by, Cray seemed to remember old Professor Buttypete telling them, "Not only is it very rude, but also rather dangerous not to signal a ship as soon as you have finished towing them in. They could get annoyed with you and start firing. The same goes if you're being towed. If they don't signal you, you don't technically have to ask any questions." Cray supposed Captain Cosmo hadn't had Professor Buttypete; otherwise she might have been demanding an explanation by now. And then there was the fact that every subsequent teacher Cray had spent extra time telling each class the exact opposite. The point of this train of thought was to wonder why they were just sitting here.
Then he noticed the Captain was quite busy vehemently (for a Vulcan) imposing some rule or regulation upon Katana. As they spoke quickly, Cray strained to hear. Then he almost fell over the front of his console and that was the end of that. His curiosity was satisfied, however, when Katana turned to Sig and said, "Can we please find out what the King of the Peanut People wants from us?"
I suppose this is a good place to describe the Odales. They were very pale people with coloring reminiscent of a watered down electric blue. They seemed tall and spindle-like, and quite humanoid in appearance. But the most noticeable difference between the Odales and, say, Humans is the fact that they have a remarkable cranium similar to a peanut (in shell) standing on its end.
Sig looked at the Captain who signaled her approval. "Odales on channel."
"On screen."
=/\=Captain Sarah Cosmo of the USS Empire, welcome. Please, join us on the planet.=/\=
"Well, first I'd—"
Cray was quite bewildered as he and the other member of the bridge crew slowly looked at their surroundings. The room was pure white, and it was impossible to tell where it started or ended, or even from where the light was coming.
Lt. Cmdr. Midori started running, and seemed to draw the attention of her crewmates. She kept running, even until she was very far away. At last she turned around and trotted back, distress on her childlike features. "I can't find the end!"
"Perhaps it is not for you to find, small one of the USS Empire," said a voice behind them. They whirled around, putting Cray in the front. There were five Odales in the room, the one to whom they had spoken and four others. It was impossible for Cray to tell the age or gender of these people, and they were much taller in person. They were all at least 2m tall, with their previous acquaintance topping 2.5m. It was comical in a frightening sort of way when the Captain stepped forward and began to address their host. He was a full meter taller than her.
"Why have you brought us here? I was willing to go along with the tractor beam without much of a fuss, but abducting members of my crew steps over the line," she said. Cray was impressed with the fact that she could have so much conviction despite her emotionless tone and the intimidating height difference.
"Captain Sarah Cosmo of the USS Empire, we have brought you here because we need your help."
"Our help? With what?"
"The race from our neighboring planet, the Quartles, are attempting to change the past for their own purposes."
"The Federation does not involve itself in local disputes."
"You do not understand. They wish to change every past. If they succeed, your Federation will no longer exist."
"So you know what they're going to do? Why don't you stop them?"
"We lack your technology."
"That doesn't make any sense. If you lack our technology, and the Quartles wish to change the past, and we don't have time travel technology, how exactly do you expect us to stop them?"
"Again, you misunderstand us. We lack your military technology."
"Our technology is for peacefully exploring the universe. It is not for aggressive purposes."
"Then perhaps you would like to explore the past."
By the time the Captain had opened up her mouth to say something, the bridge crew had been returned to their ship. Captain Cosmo sat down heavily, apparently trying to think of something they could do to get out of this mess.
"Um, Captain?" Cmdr. Midori said timidly.
"Keei, please."
"I think you might want to listen to her, Captain," Lt. Cmdr. Stellar said over her shoulder.
"What is it Keei?"
"You're never gonna guess where we are." Keei's expression said it all, and Cray let out an involuntary groan. At this point it appeared Katana felt the urge to comment.
"Damn Mr. Peanut."
*****
Keei was looking at her display screen disbelievingly "Um... at his time I am...dead...most likely. Ladies and Gents, welcome to the year, 2568." There was stunned silence around the bridge as everyone digested this bit of information.
"So I'm all dead and wrinkly?" Katana asked in an 'I can't believe it' voice.
Keei mulled it over for a bit "Probably."
"Why is no one shooting at us?" Sig asked brow furrowed. Sarah shot him a 'look'. "Not that I'm complaining!" he amended hastily, "But don't we look suspicious?"
Aerial switched to ship monitors and frowned slightly. "We should, but the peanut people messed with the ship."
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Everybody winced as the icy tone rang across the bridge. Aerial hurried to elaborate, "They didn't touch anything on the ship they just installed a holographic drive that makes the ship look like a normal one for this era!"
"Then we'd better get this over with so they can uninstall it," Sarah said peevishly.
"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Aerial stammered, "Where to?"
*****
"Let's just stay here for right now and ascertain where we are. Ms. Midori, how about matching reference stars and figuring out where we are."
"I think... Austenous IV. Federation colony, close to Romulan space. Its economy is fueled by tourism."
"Like Risa?" asked Toru.
"Um, yeah, except without more about the landscape."
"No skankiness," Katana added.
"How do you know anything about Risa?" Keei asked, intrigued.
Katana shrugged. "I know a lot of things."
"Like that time the really funny noises were coming from the greenhouse?" Keei asked, the picture of innocence.
"No. Not like that time."
"As much as everyone is dying to find out what happened in the greenhouse, I think we'd better concentrate more on trying to find out what it is we need to keep from changing. Mr. Nara, can you find a news transmission or the like?"
"Searching... Locked on to a transmission from the capital city."
"On screen."
A middle aged woman who appeared to be the news anchor appeared on the screen. "--ege riots have erupted to protest the talks between the Federation and Romulan governments." Images of picketing youths appeared.
"Ah! Now I can make clothes!" Katana rushed over to Sarah's ready room to do who-knows-what, but the rest of the officers were busy trying to take in the information.
"The Hotel Columbia has been surrounded by policemen since the talks began in an attempt to keep the delegates safe. The Hotel management told us that they have to utmost confidence in Griliton police force, but refused to comment on the progression of the talks, or their opinions. In sports, the--"
"Close channel. Well, I think we know what we have to do. Ms. Stellar, take us into orbit around Austenous IV."
*****
"Computer, replicate 26th century design alpha, size 8 petite."
The computer beeped in compliance, and out came--
"A fish? What the ****? Why the **** did you give me a ******* fish, you ******* machine?" After a few moments of silence, Katana inquired again, but without such colorful word usage. "What the **** is this, computer?"
"26th century design alpha, size 8 petite."
"No, computer, this is a fish. Show me 26th century design alpha."
The design was not for clothing. Not even for a fish. It was the specifications for a banana. On fire.
Katana banged her head against the wall.
*****
Sarah, Keei, Toru, Sig, and Cray were all crowded over Keei's console and trying to design a plan, when a large bundle of bright colors with legs came running out of the ready room and crashed into poor, frightened Cray.
"Kay everybody, here are our disguises!" Katana began tossing the garments, which landed on people's head due to their surprise.
"Um, Katana, don't you think something a little less... neon would be more appropriate?" Elenna asked gently.
"It's what all those people on the news were wearing, and we're all young enough to be in college."
"Except for you," Sarah remarked quietly.
"Shut up. I'm young and beautiful, and you're just jealous."
"Whatever, obasan*," Keei said
"Just put it on! Boys, in the ready room, and don't come out till we say. Or else."
A few minutes later, after everyone had changed, Katana looked very smug. "You all look great." She turned in Sarah and Keei's direction. "Just like I said you would. Now, we have a future to save!"
*obasan - Japanese - aunt or middle aged lady
*****
Keei looked at her neon outfit and winced. "I don't think I'll be able to hear my commbadge these clothes are so loud." She wasn't the only one to feel this way she was sure, but no one else seemed to be saying anything.
"I dun WANNA be a hippy." She muttered darkly under her breath.
*****
"Um, Thanks for the disguise, Tana."
After pulling on her horrendously gaudy outfit, supplied by the Empire Unusual Clothing Expert, Tana, Aerial shuffled back to her seat. She had a slight problem sitting back down since her outfit included a skirt-like object over the pants. It was three metal rings covered with a translucent red plastic - a modern hoop skirt that made it impossible to sit normally. She sighed and, balancing carefully knelt on her swivel chair. Trying her best to ignore her discomfort, she focused instead on her map. Glancing back and forth, she finally found the star cluster she was looking for. Pulling back on the thingadoomahickey and hitting the doodad, Aerial called out.
"We're here. Yo, Captain?" Receiving no reaction, Aerial changed her tone of voice. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be arriving momentarily. Please return to your seats and buckle your seatbelts in preparation for landing. Thank you for Flying Starfleet Air and enjoy your time in Austenous IV."
Surprisingly enough, the crew stopped what they were doing and followed her instructions.
When the ship slowed to a crawl, Aerial turned over her shoulder. "Katana or Sarah, any pointers before we go undercover?"
The women looked at each other, then Tana answered, "Nah, we're just gonna wing it."
"Okey dokey. Where do you want to start?"
There was silence for a moment or two, then Elenna threw out her suggestion, "We're dressed as, um, college students, right? So we need to go to a campus where we'd blend in."
"Or a circus." Toru cringed. Tana shot him a dirty look that screamed "shut up!"
"The riots! In the streets! We should go there!" Keei bounced.
Sarah who had remained quiet until now said, "The Hotel Columbia, Ms. Stellar."
"Yes, Ma'am."