Note: This is part of an intricately interweaving series of stories that form a single, sprawling epic. See profile for reading order.
- 1 -
I used to be James T. Kirk, captain of the ISS Enterprise, and male. Now I'm Jenna Lawson, the new Security Chief on the USS Enterprise, and female. In my own universe, a woman named Janice Lester swapped our bodies and fitted me with an undetectable 'bio-collar' that prevents me from telling anyone who I really am. Janice is dead now, killed by my science officer Mr Spock when he decided to take command of our Enterprise. Unfortunately, she was still in my body when she was vaporised, so I've travelled to this universe to steal the body of their Jim Kirk. Now that I was here all I needed to do was figure out how. The problem was I'd been here two months already and I was no closer to accomplishing this than I had been when I first arrived.
"Hello, Earth to Jenna," said a female voice. It was Nyota Uhura, the ship's communications officer.
"Sorry," I said, shaking my head, "I was miles away."
"No kidding," said an amused Christine Chapel. "You didn't react at all when I revealed my childhood 'trauma'."
"Childhood trauma?"
"Yes," said Uhura, "Christine was just telling us how other children used to mock her name."
"What's wrong with her name?"
"It rhymes with 'Sistine Chapel'," said Christine. "That's more than enough for other children to get their teeth into."
"All the years we've known each other and that had never once occurred to me," chuckled Uhura.
The three of us were sitting at a table in the ship's commisary breakfasting together as we did most mornings when our shifts aligned.
"What are your plans for your shore leave on Exitar VI?" Uhura asked Nurse Chapel.
"The usual. A bit of shopping in the bazaars, and taking in the sights with Dr McCoy. He's been here before and has agreed to show me around. Though if he doesn't get here soon I'm beaming down without him. We only have a day or two while Captain Kirk and Mr Spock negotiate a trade deal with the Exitarians so there's not time to waste. You?"
"I want to get myself an Exitarian sitar," replied Uhura. "They're reputed to be the finest in this sector."
They turned and eyed me expectantly.
"Sex," I said, "it's been too long. I need to let off some steam with a hot woman."
They both laughed at this.
"So if you and Dr McCoy are both going to be planetside, who'll be minding sickbay?" I asked Christine.
"Nurse Krishnamurgan. He's perfectly capable of handling routine stuff and can stabilise someone long enough for Dr McCoy to beam back aboard and deal with it if anything serious comes up, so I think we're covered."
Uhura looked thoughtful.
"It's intriguing that we have Admiral Cartwright along with us on this trip, yet he doesn't appear to be part of the negotiating team."
"The scuttlebutt is that this is just a private visit," said Christine. "Starfleet admirals have the clout to hitch a ride on starships, so why not use it occasionally? Perhaps he wants an Exitarian sitar, too, Nyota."
They chuckled at this and I joined in for the sake of appearances, but unlike them I knew that whatever the reason for his visit it wouldn't be frivolous. Like me, Larry Cartwright was an Empire spy. We were the first of many the Empire had started sending over to infiltrate the Federation and weaken it from within. The Admiral had replaced his counterpart, just as I hoped to one day replace mine, but unlike him I was here under false pretences. We had carefully ensured there was no obvious connection between us so an investigation of one would not expose the other, yet here he now was on the Enterprise. I still wasn't entirely sure how I'd managed to bluff my way to this universe. Had the fact I'd done so been uncovered, I wondered? Was Admiral Cartwright here to kill me by order of the Emperor? In the two days since he had been on board he had made no attempt to seek me out. Given my concerns, I was hoping things would stay that way.
It was as I was thinking this that we heard the announcement, of course.
"Lieutenant Commander Lawson to report to the conference room immediately."
"Duty calls," I said, leaving the my companions to their breakfasts.
When I arrived at the conference room I was faced by Kirk, Spock, Dr McCoy, and the Admiral himself. Kirk got straight to the point.
"Thank you for joining us, Lieutenant Commander. As you're aware, Admiral Cartwright came aboard two days ago when we rendezvoused with the USS Manchester. He's here in a purely private capacity and joined us in order to enjoy a few days vacation time on Exitar. He would prefer to do so alone, but Starfleet regulations require that anyone of his rank visiting an alien world must be accompanied at all times by an armed security officer. That being so I've tasked you with protecting him while he's on Exitar."
"Very good, sir," I replied, never taking my eyes off Kirk.
Unlike everyone else I knew the captain to be an imposter. He had given himself away when we encountered the Enterprise of the zombieverse. Oh the body was certainly that of Jim Kirk, but the mind inside it belonged to someone else. And as soon as I could figure out how to get us both to Camus II, I'd be using the alien body-swapping device there to make that body my own.
"Then the admiral is all yours. Please accompany him to the transporter room."
"I'll join you too, if you don't mind," said Dr McCoy.
"Not at all, doctor," I said.
Having the captain choose me rather than someone else to accompany Cartwright was a piece of luck, but we weren't going to be able to compare notes while McCoy was with us.