A TIME OF DECISION

A STAR TREK STORY

JUANELL HOPPER

Jim Kirk, Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy, and Spock wake up to find themselves in 1879, and have no idea how they got there. They are discovered by two strangers, Jim West and Artemus Gordon who are used to strange occurrences, and decide to help them by taking them along. What kind of stir will they cause in the Wild, Wild West?

Jim Kirk started to wake up. He was feeling very warm…actually, he thought he was feeling too warm. And the light was on. He did not usually leave the lights on when he went to sleep. It was usually automatic anyway, and it seemed awfully bright this morning. Then something, or someone, overshadowed his eyes.

"What kind of clothes is he wearing?" a voice asked.

"Must be some kind of foreign clothes," another answered.

"All four of them are dressed like that. They must be some kind of group."

"I wonder why this one wears gold and the other three wear blue."

"I don't know, but the lady has some nice legs. She must be a saloon girl to be dressed like that."

With that comment, Jim opened his eyes as he realized he was not in his room on the Enterprise. He sat up and his head hurt. He was not inside at all…he was outside in the sun. The sun!? He looked up at the two he had heard talking. They both stared at him with confused looks. One of them had eyes that were as green as his were blue, and looked like he cared plenty about his appearance. He wore a royal blue suit with a vest and tie, and the other wore a similar suit except it was brown. However, what Jim noticed next was that they also wore a tied down gun belt.

Jim stood up, and the men put their hands to their guns which looked like revolvers. They all just stared at each other a moment. "Who are you?" Jim asked. "Where are we?"

"We might ask you who you are," the guy in the blue suit said. "I'm Jim West."

"I'm…Jim Kirk. Is this some kind of joke?" He looked around him at the terrain which looked a lot like a desert, but they were close to a railroad track with a short train sitting on it.

"You don't know how you got here?"

"No. Who are you…I mean…" Jim was not sure what he wanted to say. "Where are we?"

"You're in Nevada."

"Nev…" Jim's mouth dropped open. He looked down at the others who were starting to wake up now. The others being Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy, and Spock.

Jim helped Carol up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"What happened?" Carol asked.

"I don't know, but I think we're in trouble," Jim said quietly.

"Why? Where are we?"

"Look around you."

Bones stood up next. "Jim, what happened?" he asked in his usual way. "How did we get out here? It's hot as a…" Bones realized they were not alone then as he looked at West and his companion. He looked at Jim wondering what he would do to get out of this mess.

Spock stood up next, and the two strangers could not help but notice his ears. "Did you come from a circus or something?" West asked.

Spock looked at Jim, knowing that it was too late to conceal his ears now. They were not sure what to say because they did not know how they got there, but they had a feeling they were not in the 23rd century anymore. "Uh…we're…" Jim did not know what to say. "We're lost."

"I think we can see that," the other man said. "I'm Artemus Gordon. You said your name is Jim Kirk?"

"Yes," Jim replied.

"So who are the rest of you?"

"Uh, this is Carol Marcus, Leonard McCoy…and Spock."

West and Gordon looked at Spock as they were very curious about him. He definitely looked different. "Why are his ears like that?" Gordon asked bluntly.

"I am a Vulcan," Spock said. "And you may direct your questions to me as I am perfectly capable of answering for myself."

West and Gordon looked at each other. "Well, he sounds smart enough," Gordon said.

"You folks better come with us," West said. "We'll try to find you some normal looking clothes so you won't look so odd until we can figure out where you came from."

"Wait a minute!" Bones said. "We don't even know who you are."

"Bones," Jim interrupted. "I'm the captain here."

"Captain?" West asked. "Captain of what?"

"That's gonna be a little hard to explain."

"Try me. You don't look like any soldiers I've ever seen, and I sure haven't seen clothes like those…but why don't we get in out of the sun?"

West gestured to the train behind them. "Shall we?" he asked.

The others just looked at Jim and followed him as he went along with their new friends…or enemies. They did not know which yet.

They entered the train which was fixed inside like a plush dwelling. "Who are you guys?" Jim asked.

"Well, I guess we can tell you who we are first," West replied. "We're government agents with the Secret Service. We work for the president solving problems. And taking care of …strange occurrences." He looked at Spock. "I think this might qualify as a strange occurrence. What do you think, Artie?"

"I can't say it's the strangest thing I've ever seen, but it qualifies," Gordon replied.

"Look, we're just trying to figure out what happened," Jim said. "Did you see anything strange?"

"Only you," West replied. "We'll try to get you some normal looking clothes so you can go into the next town with us. Until we figure out what's going on here, I think you folks should stay with us. Just have a seat." He showed them his ID. "In case you have any doubts."

Jim and the others sat down and waited until West and Gordon went into the next car. Bones stood up. "Jim, what are we going to do?" Bones asked. "Where are we, and how did we get here?"

"Bones, I don't know the answer to any of those questions," Jim replied.

"Judging by their clothing…and this train," Spock said. "I would presume that we have in some way traveled through time."

"How did that happen, and when? I can't remember much of what happened."

"Neither can I," Carol said.

"I believe the travel through time has somehow altered our memories," Spock said. "However, I believe it is possible that we will eventually remember."

"Jim, are you sure we're not in some holodeck?" Bones asked. "Jim West and Artemus Gordon. Why do those names sound familiar?"

Jim stood up and looked out the window of the train as it was now moving. "I just wonder what year we're in."

"I believe I have found the answer," Spock said.

The others looked and Spock had a newspaper. "The date on this paper is August twentieth, eighteen seventy-nine," Spock said.

"Eighteen seventy nine!" Bones exclaimed. He looked at Jim. "We're in the nineteenth century! How did this happen?"

"I don't remember what happened that could have brought us here," Jim said. "Do any of you remember what we were doing? It's strange that we remember who we are and where we should be…but we can't remember what brought us here."

"I agree that it is odd," Spock replied. "However, it is logical to believe that a force strong enough to send us through time is also strong enough to alter our memories."

"You think it will come back to us?"

"It is hard to say but it is possible."

Jim took out his communicator. "I guess there's no need to try and contact the Enterprise, but we need to keep these with us so we can talk to each other…if they'll even work." He pressed a button on the communicator and it lit up.

Spock's communicator chirped at him. "It is working, Captain. I do not believe it would be wise to let anyone see them, however. And since there are no communication relays in this time, I do not believe we will be able to contact each other at a great distance."

"Don't tell me things I already know."

"I fear we may have already caused interference with what these people have already seen."

"I don't see that we could help that since we were unconscious and they found us."

"I agree."

"I wish I had some medical equipment with me," Bones said. "Maybe if I could do a scan…"

"I do not believe that would help, Doctor."

Carol folded her arms. "I'm sure they don't have anything we can wear. You three are taller than them. Did you hear him say I must be a saloon girl?"

Jim smiled. "Well, since we're in eighteen seventy nine, you may have to just accept that as the way things are."

"Just because a woman wears a short dress doesn't mean…"

"I know that. Just cool it, will ya?"

The door from the other car opened, and the other two came back in. "I'm afraid we don't have anything that would fit you but once we're in town, we'll get something for you," West said. "And your lady here too."

"I'm only his lady," Carol declared as she hit Jim on the arm.

"You two are…betrothed?"

"Yes," Jim answered. "And she's not a saloon girl."

"Sorry."

They all sat down again. "So, are you going to tell us anymore about how you got here?" West asked.

The others all looked at Jim. "I'm afraid we still don't know ourselves," he said. "We woke up here."

"Where were you before?"

"When you say that you investigate strange stuff, what do you mean?"

"Anything that shouldn't be happening, or anything that doesn't look quite right, and anything that's reported to the President that he thinks bears investigation. Anything that might threaten the United States."

"Oh."

"Now, we think that finding you is considered a strange occurrence. Where were you before?"

"We can't answer that question," Jim said. "We actually don't know how we got here, and don't remember where we were when this happened."

"You know something," Gordon said. "You're just stalling. You think we haven't seen anyone as strange as you. You're mistaken."

Jim looked at the others. He knew they might have to share their time -travel experience with these men in order to get the help they needed. Spock could see that Jim was considering telling them. "Captain, you cannot violate the prime directive," he said.

"Spock, how many times have I heard that?" Jim asked. "We always have to violate it. Don't you think that means it's a little over the top? You can't always stick to rules when you're in a situation that is different than anything stated in that prime directive."

"He's right, Spock," Bones said. "You wanta have to stay here forever? No one can help us if they don't know what's going on."

"To reveal the actual circumstances that brought us here would be a severe violation," Spock replied. "It could upset the time line even further than it already has been."

"Wait a minute!" West said. "Time line?"

"Well, now who let the cat out of the bag?" Bones asked looking at Spock.

Jim looked at West. "We're from the future," he said.

Gordon and West looked at each other. "That would explain their strange clothing," Gordon said.

"So you don't think it's strange that we say we're from the future?"

"It's not the first time we've been involved with time travel."

"It's not?"

"No. We've done it ourselves, as a matter of fact."

"Question is: what time are you from?" West asked.

Spock, Bones, and Carol just waited to see if Jim would tell them. "We're from the twenty-third century," Jim said.

West and Gordon were silent for a moment. "So what's the twenty-third century like?" West asked.

Spock started to say something but with a look from Jim, he stopped. "It's a lot different than now," Jim said. "I'm the captain of a star ship."

"You…are the captain of a star ship." West had definitely seen how the others looked to this one for guidance and to speak for them all. "And you don't have any idea how you got here?"

Jim shook his head. "No. I can't even remember where we were or what we were doing."

"Isn't that an odd occurrence to you?"

"Well, it is the first time this has ever happened."

"I'm not sure how we can help you, but you're welcome to stay with us until you figure it out. Might be better if you did."

"I don't see that we have much choice in the matter."

When they arrived in the town, Jim and the others were looking out the windows of the train. "Jim, we're really here," Bones said. "We're really in the eighteen hundreds."

"I see that, Bones," Jim replied. "We're in big trouble."

"Captain, I do not believe a change of clothes is sufficient to conceal the fact that I am…an alien," Spock said.

"Don't worry, Spock. We'll most likely be wearing hats."

Carol looked at Jim. "And I'll be wearing one of those dresses?" she asked.

"You're wearing a dress now."

"But Jim, have you never paid attention to what dresses in this time period looked like?"

"They're long and…pretty."

"Most of them involve wearing a corset. I am not the kind of woman who wears a corset."

"You can do it for now. It's not like it's permanent, you know."

"How do you know? What if we're stuck here?"

Jim scowled at that. "Let's try to have a little hope, okay?" he said.

"Jim, she's right," Bones said. "We could be here a long time."

"It won't kill us, Bones. I want to get back to our own time and our ship myself, but until we can do that, we just have to make the best of this situation."

"I can't believe they didn't have much of a reaction to us being from the future."

"You heard what they said…they've experienced time travel themselves."

"How do you know they don't think we're crazy and they're gonna put us in an insane asylum?"

"Bones."

"Jim, that's what they did with people they thought were crazy in these days! They lock you up in a room and throw away the key!"

"If they talk to you very long, they might just do that. Stop panicking."

They watched what was going on in the town. "This is unbelievable," Bones said. "It's actually an old western town."

"Not just any old western town. It's Carson City, Nevada."

Jim pointed toward a sign that had the town's name on it. "I wonder what they came here for," he said.

"Maybe they're just on their way somewhere else," Bones replied.

Soon, Jim West and Artemus Gordon came back with clothes for them. Jim Kirk looked at himself in the mirror. He was dressed in a blue shirt with a brown, leather vest, and jeans that were basically the same color as the vest, and he was wearing boots as well as a cowboy hat, and a gun belt. Bones soon walked up beside him. He had complained about his first outfit, and informed them that he was a doctor, not a cowboy. He was now wearing a navy blue suit from the 1800's, and a sash tie. "This is more like it," he said.

Jim looked at him. "I kinda like dressing like a cowboy," he said.

"You would."

Spock came over to them next. He was dressed in a cowboy outfit as well with a white shirt, black vest and black pants. "I am not certain this is the right costume for me," he said as he put the black hat on.

"Why not?" Jim asked.

"I believe there is too much contrast with the color of my skin and the color of this hat."

"I don't think so. Your hair is the same color, and at least when you take the hat off, your hair won't look any different."

Just then, Carol came from the other room dressed in a Western royal blue dress with white lace on it, and a hat to match. She put her hand on her hip as she waited to see what Jim would say, but she thought his smile was enough. "You like it, don't you?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Jim replied.

Carol looked in the mirror. "It is pretty at least."

"We need a photo of this so we can remember when we get back where we belong."

"Who knows if we'll be wearing this when we get back?"

"That's true."

Jim West came into the train. "If you folks are ready, we can stay in this town tonight," he said. "We'll get rooms in the hotel."

Jim looked at Spock to make sure his pointed ears were hidden by his hat. "I don't think anyone will notice that your ears are pointed," he said.

"Perhaps I should remain here, Captain," Spock replied. "I do not want to cause a stir in this town. If anyone were to see my ears, they would know something is…strange."

"I hate to leave you here alone."

"I do not mind being alone."

"Spock, you're used to being in a ship full of people," Bones said. "You can't want to stay here on this train by yourself."

"I will be quite alright, Doctor. I do not believe our visiting this town will help our situation. I will attempt to meditate and perhaps I can remember how we arrived here."

"Alright, Spock," Jim said. "Just do what you want."

"Thank you, Captain."

"You can tell us anything you figure out when we get back then. Just don't leave the train by yourself."

"I will remain here, Jim."

Jim, Carol, and Bones followed their two guides out of the train. "It just doesn't seem right," Bones said.

"What?" Jim asked.

"Leaving Spock in there like that."

"Bones, it's better if he stays there than to be discovered."

"Why are we going into this town anyway?"

"Because we're here. Don't you wonder why we're here?"

"I don't see how going into this town is going to tell us why we're here. We're liable to just run into more trouble, and end up in jail or something worse…maybe even on the end of a rope."

"Bones, just lighten up, will ya?"

"We may never know why we're here," Carol said.

Jim hoped they could find out why they were there. He had tried to remember what happened but he could not. He hoped Spock could remember if he tried…