It was a surprisingly normal day on the U.S.S. Enterprise, and for once Captain James T. Kirk was glad for the inactivity. The past three weeks had been filled with meetings with interplanetary dignitaries and negotiations regarding various high-stakes treaties. While there had been no major SNAFUs, the entire crew was worn out from almost a month of dress uniforms and strict etiquette guidelines. Yes, it was nice to do nothing but maintain the course of the ship again.
A crackle of the intercom brought Kirk suddenly back to the present.
"Capt'n? Scotty here."
"Captain Kirk here. What seems to be the problem, Mr. Scott?"
"Sir, I cannae explain it; the transporters seem to have spontaneously activated!"
"When did this start, Mr. Scott?"
"Records indicate the phenomenon initiated approximately 6.57 minutes ago," Spock chimed in from his station on the bridge.
"Aye, Sir," Scotty confirmed. "The technician com'ed me about three minutes ago and I've been here ever since. I'll keep working on it but I still don' have any idea what's wrong, Sir."
"Thank you, Mr. Scott. Meet me in engineering." Hearing the distress in his chief engineer's voice, he added, "Would you like me to bring Mr. Chekov with me?" The favor was accepted and Kirk signed off, removing his hand from the com button and sighing internally. So much for a normal day…
"Captain, sensors are indicating that the problem resides in the quantum diffraction regulator. If the malfunction is not rectified in approximately 8.6 minutes there is an 83% chance of serious damage to the ship and her crew."
"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Kirk replied, signing audibly this time and hauling himself to his feet. "I'll go and see if I can help Scotty; come on, Chekov. You have the conn, Mr. Spock."
The vulcan nodded once and settled himself in the chair Kirk had just vacated while Kirk and Chekov made their way to the turbolift to assist Scotty.
Down in engineering, Kirk found Scotty up to his eyeballs in chaos. Ensigns were rushing around frantically, and it was a testament to the engineer's extreme duress that the offer of the young Russian's help was accepted.
"Spock says it's the quantum diffusion regulator," Kirk said by way of greeting.
"Aye, but they're clean. The only other possibility is the atom circulator."
"Or the adwanced momentum lock," Chekov added, scanning the displays.
"Either way, I dinnea wan' to experience a meltdown of either one of those firsthand," Scotty fretted, suddenly diving underneath the console in a desperate effort to keep his Lady unharmed.
Kirk rolled up his sleeves and sighed again. "Let's get to work."
Back in the transporter room, Lieutenant Kyla Planck was rummaging around under the controls of the transporter, her café au lait skin glowing eerily in the light of the broken transporter. Suddenly, her concentration was shattered by a flash of light and the appearance of something…someone…on the transporter pad.
"Captain? Lt. Planck here," the brunette said, placing a shaking hand on the com button and slowly drawing her phaser.
"Commander Spock speaking. Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"It's the transporter, Sir. It seems to have experienced a…malfunction."
"Your report, Lt. Planck."
"A girl, Sir. I haven't beamed anyone aboard, but she's just…here. I have a phaser on her, but she appears to be unconscious, Sir."
"Thank you, Lieutenant; I will be there to assist you momentarily. Maintain your position and confirm that your phaser is set to stun."
"Thank you, Sir. Planck out."
Kyla ended the communication and took a step towards the pad. She hesitated, wondering if she should try to extract the girl from the beam or perhaps even continue to try to fix the machinery. But she didn't get long enough to make a decision. Suddenly, the blue haze of the transporter beam fizzled and died. Lt. Planck relaxed slightly, looking up at the beam generators; that was one crisis sorted.
A flurry of movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. Looking back down at the intruder she was met with a pair of wide blue eyes.
"Hey, hey, hey," she soothed, lowering her phaser at the obvious signs of terror on the girl's face. "I'm not going to hurt you."
But the girl was scrambling to her feet faster than Kyla's brain could process what was happening.
As luck (Unluck? Was that a word? the woman wondered) would have it, Spock chose the exact moment the girl rushed towards the door to arrive at the transporter room.
Pneumatic pistons hissed as the door opened and the imposing vulcan breezed into the room – and the mysterious visitor exited at top speed.