Chapter 1: Peculiar Happenings
"Spock! Come look!"
Inside the Plum Creek cabin, Spock dropped what he was doing. There was no mistaking the note of exhilaration in his wife's voice, and from experience he knew that it could mean anything. Foremost in his mind was an image of T'Naisa on horseback performing some new "stunt". Though her obstetrician claimed that ordinary riding was not harmful in the first trimester of pregnancy, and T'Naisa herself had vowed to stay off her horse, she was very impulsive by nature.
Knowing that if she lost this child she might never have another, Spock hurried out the door, onto the porch. There was a loud clap of thunder and a heavy gust disarranged his bangs. The sunlight vanished in the shadow of a cloud. And there stood T'Naisa between the cabin and the corral, arms outstretched, red hair flying, her face flushed like an excited child.
"Look at that!" she cried, pointing to the sky.
Spock ventured out into the tempest and glanced up. There indeed was a towering cumulonimbus, the likes of which he had never seen before. The wind rapidly increased to a roar, and multiple bolts of lightning began to streak downward.
"T'Naisa!" he shouted. "Come inside! Hurry!"
Her arms dropped and she ran his way. As she reached him, he grasped her hand tightly. And at that instant a great flash of light engulfed them…
oooo
It was a cool midmorning on Main Beach at Santa Cruz. Several people were taking advantage of the pleasant day by surfing, beach combing, or jogging along the moist sand. Others were enjoying the entertainment on the boardwalk.
Spock and his wife T'Mara strolled hand-in-hand by the water's edge, watching sunlight glisten on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. After a moment T'Mara stopped and turned to him. Admiring his meticulously groomed beard, she ran her hands under each of his coat's lapels and flashed a playful smile. "You really do look dangerously appealing today, my sweet."
Stroking her cheek with his fingers, he asked, "Dangerous?"
"You will find out what I mean when we return to the hotel room," she replied mischievously.
"Indeed, then perhaps we should continue in that direction."
But T'Mara remained rooted to the spot, for suddenly the day had dimmed. Looking up at the formerly blue sky, she found it engulfed with roiling black clouds. "Odd," she said. "They didn't predict rain."
Observing the abrupt change, Spock agreed. "The weather service forecast a sunny day. Come, we better hurry back to the boardwalk and seek shelter."
Lightning hit the water. The wind began blowing hard, sending sand into their faces. The scene continued to darken as Spock and T'Mara rushed toward the boardwalk, but before they could reach the steps, a clap of thunder roared and a bright light encompassed them.
Somehow they were no longer on the beach.
Spock held tight to T'Mara's arm as they swayed with vertigo. Then taking a deep breath, he placed a hand on his temple and succeeded in eliminating the sense of dizziness. He then steadied T'Mara as she regained her balance.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Yes...yes I believe I am. But where are we?"
Spock surveyed their surroundings. They were standing in a dark, narrow roadway between two commercial buildings. High overhead, stars were visible. Judging by the sounds of the city, it was doubtful that they were still anywhere in Santa Cruz…or even in the 23rd century.
T'Mara had reached the same conclusion. Recalling another shift into the past that she had experienced with her husband, she cried, "No...not again! Where have we landed this time?"
Looking toward the nearest end of the roadway, Spock inwardly sighed. On the adjacent street, antique cars could be seen rolling on rubber tires. Bright neon signs glowed on storefronts. "Bailey's Bail Bonds", "Pawn Palace", "Trixie's XXX", "Paradise Tavern".
Finally he said, "If my grasp of history is accurate, I estimate mid-20th century Earth. As to where…"
At a crackling sound, they both turned sharply. The crackling became loud and thunderous. They shielded their eyes as a bright yellow light appeared near them. It dissipated within seconds, leaving behind two people who seemed to be recovering from the shock of the experience.
Spock's brows crept into his bangs. It was a moment before he could speak, and then only one word emerged. "Fascinating."
There before him stood a mirror image of himself, only this man was clean-shaven. At the stranger's side was a beautiful woman arranging her fiery red hair over Vulcanoid ear tips.
Unusual, Spock thought, for he had never before seen a redheaded Vulcan. For that reason he surmised that—like T'Mara and himself—she was also part human.
His male 'twin' began scrutinizing both him and T'Mara. After a moment the double muttered, "Most peculiar." He then became concerned over his female companion. "T'Naisa, are you well?"
When she nodded in the affirmative, the male twin said, "May I suggest that we all retreat deeper into the shadows, lest we attract the attention of onlookers."
Spock agreed on the advisability of the action. Keeping his eyes on the strange pair, they moved into the alley and stood face to face. There he warily addressed the man. "Since I do not have access to a tricorder, I am going to take a leap in logic. I will assume that you…and the female…are physical beings. I am going to make a second assumption that you were transported here during a storm."
"You are correct on both counts," replied the twin. "We are indeed physical beings and yes, we were engulfed by a peculiar tempest while outside our cabin at Plum Creek. I therefore make the same assumption regarding the two of you."
"Indeed," Spock concurred. "We were on a beach at Santa Cruz. An unexpected storm arose, and we suddenly found ourselves in this locale."
The twin's slanted eyebrow climbed. "So...whether by a temporal disturbance or by some other means, we seem to have been thrust into an alternate reality. In any case, I feel that introductions are in order. I am Spock and this is my wife, T'Naisa."
Spock's eyebrow rose even higher. "Unusual, to the say this least. I am also Spock, and this is my wife, T'Mara."
The two women faintly smiled at each other. Wishing to establish a relationship with her counterpart, T'Mara ventured to say, "T'Naisa...Plum Creek as in Plum Creek, Colorado?"
T'Naisa replied in a warm, expressive manner that belied her Vulcan appearance. "No, it's in Idaho. Not a town, but the name of a mountain property that we own. It belonged to Jim Kirk's uncle and—"
"T'Naisa," her Spock cautioned. "We should not reveal personal information until we have a better understanding of our situation."
"Wise," said the bearded Spock.
Overhead, the stars were now obscured and a light drizzle began to fall. Since the Spock-twin and T'Naisa wore thin clothing and no jackets, they were soon shivering.
"A most unpleasant situation," the twin said. "We cannot remain here, yet if we leave this alley, our alien appearance will draw unwelcome attention."
Spock took off his jacket and was about to hold it out to T'Naisa when he changed his mind and offered it, instead, to his clean-shaven double. "For your wife."
"Most kind," the twin said, and T'Naisa gratefully accepted it from his hands.
"We must find shelter," Spock said decisively. He waved his companions toward the end of the alley, where they all peeked out at a wide street with a steady flow of traffic. There were not many pedestrians on the sidewalk, other than three young men loitering nearby in a suspicious manner.
Spock watched a brown-skinned man come striding along the sidewalk. As the man passed by, all three loiterers sprang into action, struck the defenseless man on the back of his head, and hustled him toward the alley. There was no way for Spock to consult his alternate, but as it turned out, there was no need. Both of them leaped upon the thugs, immediately dropping two with well-placed nerve pinches. The third one backed away from the scene and ran in a cowardly manner.
T'Mara and T'Naisa bent over the crime victim, who had never completely lost consciousness. Sitting with a hand pressed to his neatly cropped African hair, he glanced around at his peculiar-looking rescuers and broke into a bright, thankful smile.
"Well, what d'you know, a bunch of actors in makeup. Thank you, gentlemen! If you'd just help me to my feet…"
"You need a doctor," T'Mara said with concern. It was raining more heavily now; they were getting wetter and colder by the minute—a dangerous state of affairs for desert-bred Vulcans.
Spock got the man to his feet and they all stood together on the glistening sidewalk.
The man held out his hand to him and said, "Tyrone. Tyrone Kennett."
Spock knew from experience that assuming a regional pseudonym was wise during timeshifts. Directly behind Tyrone, a name was emblazoned on the marquee of a run-down theater. It would have to do.
"Wayne," he said, accepting the handshake. "And this my…brother, John."
"Wayne, John." Tyrone pulled out a wallet and produced a fistful of paper money. "I want to give you a reward."
"That is not necessary," John-Spock said.
Wayne-Spock gave him a severe look, accepted the bills, and pocketed them. "Thank you, Tyrone. As a matter of fact, we were finding ourselves quite short of funds." Hesitating only slightly, he ventured to ask, "Could you tell us where we are?"
"You mean you're lost? Man, this is Hollywood Boulevard."
"In which city?" John-Spock asked, utterly serious.
Tyrone laid back his head and laughed. "That's a good one. Are you guys a comedy act?"
T'Naisa quickly spoke up. "They are very funny, aren't they? We've just arrived from out of town. Would you happen to know someplace to stay around here? Someplace cheap? I'm not joking—all we have are the clothes on our backs."
Tyrone sobered. "Hey, I have a great idea. I owe you guys a lot. As you can tell, this is a seedy part of town. I was just heading out to check on a vacant building that I inherited when my uncle passed away. How would you like to be caretakers? I'll only charge you for the utilities. It has a little upstairs apartment and a storefront at street level. Most everything you'd need is there. Furniture, a few old clothes in the closet, even some canned goods in the cupboards. Want to take a look?"