Stars when you shine, you know how I feel
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel
Oh, freedom is mine, and I know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
Feeling Good - Nina Simone
'So,' Captain James T. Kirk says. 'Oxford, huh?'
I'm standing in the middle of the Med-Bay, decked out in black trousers and a black top, my red hair pulled into a ponytail and my head aching from so much thinking. It had been two hours since my revelation, and 30 minutes since the Spanish Counsellor Jommin of the U.S.S Enterprise had left my side after an hour of talking me through my many mini panic-attacks.
I tear my gaze away from where a Doctor, who had introduced himself as Doctor M'Benga, talks lowly with the Doctor McCoy. I can only assume that he was being filled in on my situation. The cranky Southern man was still yet to discharge me and, according to Captain James Kirk, he was having a hard time accepting the fact that I was ailment free. You should see him when he's chasing me up for my medical reviews, the blonde haired man had told me.
I look to him now. I felt, in only one word, drained. Drained, shocked, annoyed, tired and freaked the fuck out. 'Yup,' I reply.
James crosses his arms over his chest and nods. 'Impressive. Bio-Engineering?'
I reply, once again, with a, 'Yup'. After a short pause in which James Kirk huffs out a laugh, I ask, 'So, Captain of a spaceship?'
He snorts then, his cerulean eyes darting to me. 'You know, if you keep calling the Enterprise a spaceship, my crew are going to start catching onto the fact that you might not be from around this, er, time'. I blink, to which he catches my gaze and looks at me seriously, apparently catching on to the fact that I genuinely assumed that was what I should call the Enterprise. 'Look, I can't even imagine how overwhelming all this information must be to you. I've been in contact with the Academy, and they've given me permission to hunt down the people who brought you here'.
I nod. 'Oh'.
He turns, so that he's facing me more fully. 'I've got the best crew in the Federation on board this ship, and we'll do everything we can to figure this out. The moment we got you off that ship, the thing vanished at warp speed - fast,' he corrects quickly, seeing my confused look. 'It's how we've explored so much of the galaxy. You'll see,' he waves a hand, and I slot away this new piece of information. 'The high-ups at the Academy...they've given me permission to keep you aboard this ship as long as we look. I don't think...I mean, no offence, but I don't think having you on Earth is the best idea at the moment. These were Starfleet Officers gone mad scientist...it's kind of bad publicity-'
I snort. 'Yeah, I fuckin' bet'.
He peers at me, this blue eyed Captain. 'You okay with that?'
I shrug. 'I'm still in the state of mind that this is all some very elaborate dream caused by too many tequila shots. I mean, where the hell else do I have to go, Captain James Kirk?'
His mouth tugs into a half-smile at that. 'You can call me Jim, June. You're not a part of my crew'. Thank fuck. The guy seemed to be either Jim, James, Kirk, Captain Kirk, or just Captain. I was starting to get a headache from wondering what the hell I was supposed to be calling him. 'We'll figure this out and...maybe find a way to get you home'. I nod. I don't miss the lack of promise in the sentence.
'Alright'. I whip my head around to look at where the Southern Doctor was making his way over to us, parting ways with M'Benga. The latter shoots me a curious look, and upon catching my eye, an awkward smile flashes across his features. Subtle, dude. 'Let's go, Jim'.
Jim or James nods, before starting for the sliding door. I breathe in deeply, suddenly nervous at the prospect of leaving the white lit medical room. What the hell would I see on the other side of these doors - more green skinned people from planets that had, apparently, existed even when I was living on Earth, 242 years ago?
Jesus. Physically, that's how long it had been since I had touched the polluted, blue and green planet. I wonder what it looked like now? I wonder if my home still existed? I wonder if my name went down in history, as the twenty-four year old woman who disappeared without a trace? I wonder if my friends felt guilt? I wonder if the graves of my family were there for me visit, if it ever came to the point that I really wouldn't be able to return home-
Panic swells inside me.
The lights in the hallway flicker, and it is only then that I realise we have left the Med-Bay. Jim tuts and looks to the ceiling, muttering a, 'Gotta get Scotty to check the power...', just as a thin, silken cloth is shoved in front of my face. I yelp, nearly trip over my own feet, and throw the Doctor walking beside me, whose eyebrows and furrowed and mouth is pulled into a moody, straight line, a bewildered look.
'Your nose is bleeding,' he explains, still looking at me curiously.
I blink, before yanking the cloth from his hand and pressing it to my nose, too distracted to notice the people in brightly coloured, as I had found out, uniforms greeting their Captain and throwing me curious looks. When I pull the cloth away, I see a small speck of red marring the clean white. Huh. I had never had a nose bleed before. Maybe it was stress.
'Stress,' the Doctor grunts, voicing my thoughts. I look at him as he reaches his hand down into the pocket of his black trousers. 'Keep it,' he says shortly, as I hand the cloth over to him. I nearly blush. Jesus, June, why the hell would the guy want a cloth covered in your snot and blood? I am about to thank him as I slip the cloth into the pocket of the trousers that had been given to me, but instead grunt in surprise as a metal, beeping device is suddenly planted against my forehead.
'What the-?'
Jim, the yellow shirted Captain, looks over his shoulder. 'Oh,' he hums, rolling his eyes. 'He does that. Bones is a paranoid wreck, just so you know-'
'I am not a paranoid wreck because I don't want ancient, disgusting diseases making their way onto your ship, Jim'. Oh, so that's what it did - checked me for illnesses and diseases that, simply because I'm from the past, I must have? You know, I was really starting to believe this McCoy or Bones or whatever was severely socially inept. 'Her nose was just bleeding - that's-'
'Probably a sign of stress,' I snap, flicking his tanned hand away from my face. 'Christ, I'm from the 21st Century, not the 14th Century, Doc. Shockingly, the Black Plague was long gone by the time I came about-'
The Doctor ignores his friends, who for some odd reason calls him Bones, snort of laughter. Instead, he glares down at me. 'What about Ebola, Avian Influenza, Cholera-'
'I really feel like I might have noticed if I had bloody Ebola, Doctor McCoy,' I snap, as Jim leads us into what I assume is an elevator. As the doors swish shut behind us, I barely even notice as the thing starts moving, only paying attention to Jim Kirk, who throws the blue shirted Head Doctor an exasperated look.
'Bones, leave it. Why are you following us, anyway?'
Following us to where, I want to ask. I suppose it's not an entirely bad thing. I was keeping busy, forgetting for just a brief moment the bizarre thing that had happened to me. In the time that I had spoken to Jommin, my heart rate monitor had been beeping so fast that the woman had seemed half sure I was having a heart attack. On top of that, I was finding out more and more information about where and when I was. Right now, that was the only thing keeping me calm.
'To keep an eye on her,' the Doctor snaps, as I am led out of the lift onto a floor, once again, scattered with various people. I catch sight of a woman with skin pink and wrinkled; the top of her head apparently made of a claw like thing...like legs. She passes us with a group of people also dressed in red and, apparently, my gaping has become a little too obvious, because a rough hands wraps around my bare arm and yanks me forward.
'C'mon,' the good Doctor says roughly, dropping his hand from my arm the moment I whirl to face him.
Aliens. Fucking aliens.
'Are you Human?' I ask him, jogging a little to keep up. The Captain nods to people in front of us, and I see different skin tones, heights, I hear different accents...Something stirs within me, and I know it to be excitement. Was this an inappropriate time to be excited?
McCoy looks slowly down, a deadpan looks on his rugged face. 'No,' he replies, sarcasm dripping from his tone. 'Lots of damn aliens have Georgian accents'.
I stare at him, swallow a smile, and reply, '...Fair point'. Rude American.
Jim stops in front of a door, one of the many that line the long corridor that has suddenly become very sparse the further down we walk, and presses his thumb against a black pad to the right of the door. I watch, intrigued, as a thumb print flashes in green across the screen, before the door swooshes open. Shit, Apple had nothing on that. McCoy nudges me forward and I stumble to follow the Captain, my eyes adjusting as he says,'
'Lights to 75%'.
I suppose I can add that to the lists of things the future let you do.
'Spock, status report,' Jim says, flipping open the thing that I now recognise to be a Comm. I look around the room that we're in as a steady voice replies, 'Nothing as of yet, Captain'. It was a living room and a kitchen combined, with dark walls, grey floors, and generic colouring throughout. There was nothing that particularly yelled personal about the room, but from the picture frames all featuring the blonde haired Jim Kirk with other people, I could assume this was his room.
'You alright with talking to an Admiral from Starfleet?' Jim asks me, and I tear my gaze away from a picture of a pretty blonde woman with a man who looked like Jim Kirk. He gazes at me levelly, as Doctor McCoy sighs and walks to the area that resembles a kitchen. There was the sound of running water. 'I've filed a full report, both on what you told us and what happened to initiate us rescuing you, but there's a few simple questions they want to ask, first'.
I am, once again, nervous. Rubbing a pale hand over what was sure to be a heavy bag under my green eyes, I nod. 'Sure'. It is then that a glass of clear water is shoved into my hands, and I blink at it, before looking up at the Doctor.
'You drink it,' he grumbles.
I pull a face. 'You're funny,' I reply, before downing half the glass in one. Huh. I hadn't even realised I was thirsty. 'Thank you-'
Suddenly, a voice crackles through the quiet, and I whirl around to look at a screen, placed on the wall above a wooden table, holding the face of an aged, dark skinned man with serious brown eyes and a tight jaw. He was sitting, from what I could see, with his hands clasped in front of him and wearing some kind of military uniform. 'Captain Kirk,' the voice greets, and the man nods.
Jesus. Here we were, in space, and they were getting a better signal that I would get in my own damn house.
'Admiral Akachi,' Kirk greets, walking to stand closer to the screen. He turns to me, blue eyes blinking, and nods for me to follow. Fuck, he could have given me a little warning. I swallow my water hastily and shove it into the hands of the Doctor, who grunts, affronted. 'This is June Adams'.
I stumble to stand beside Kirk, cheeks warm, and nod. 'Hi'.
...Hi? Jesus.
The man, Admiral Akachi, bows his head. Jesus, first a Captain, now an Admiral? I was in way over my head. 'Miss Adams, I wish to apologise on behalf of Starfleet for the hardship of which you have endured. We stand apart from those who brought you from your time, and we will do everything we can to figure out how they did so, and with what purpose. Punishing those responsible and returning you to your own timeline is our main concern'.
I nod, shoulders sagging. But how long would that take? How could I even go back, after such a short amount of time of being here? 'Thank you, Admiral. I know...I know it wasn't any of you. Jim, er, Captain Kirk has explained that much to me'.
Again, the Admiral nods, eyes flitting to where Jim stands beside me. 'It is for that reason that I ask you to tell only those that need to know, Miss Adams'. Next to me, Jim Kirk sighs. 'It would do no good for Starfleet to be associated with such actions, and we aim only to do good. Captain Kirk has informed me of those he has told, and that they are trusted Officers. I implore you to do the same'.
Gotcha. This is why they wanted to talk to me. So I don't blab about being the time travelling twenty-four year old Bio-Engineer from 2018. Shit, that would make a good book title. I cock a brow and nod. 'I got that much, Admiral. Thing is, I think others will clock on pretty quickly that I'm not from around here once they see me trying and failing to turn a damn light on-'
A lie. It didn't really seem that hard to do, but they must get where I was coming from. I was used to know things and here...I knew nothing.
Jim Kirk cuts across me. 'Admiral, a background story for Miss Adams is already underway, sir. I assure you, we will keep this under wraps. Only a select few of the Bridge crew know, as well as my CMO and Chief Engineer. I have informed the Enterprise crew that we are attempting to find the ship of rogue Science Officers after rescuing a woman of whom they were experimenting on, sir, for unknown means and reasons. Although I do not enjoy lying to my crew, they won't ask questions beyond that'.
'I'm glad to hear that, Kirk,' the man replies. 'Godspeed to you and your crew. I will inform Starfleet. Keep us updated'. With that, he nods, and the screen goes blank.
Kirk looks at me, a frown on his face. 'What?' I ask, crossing my arms. 'I was joking'.
Doctor McCoy scoffs. 'Admiral's aren't exactly the jokiest of individuals, darlin' - trust me on that'. He places the glass of water on the counter to his left, and eyes the Captain. 'Can I finally request that my patient get her rest now, Captain?'
Captain James T. Kirk waves a hand. 'You discharged her, but yeah. I need to get back to the Bridge, anyway'. He looks to me, then, as I shift nervously. Where to now? From what the Admiral had said, no one other than who the Captain had told could know about me. What did that leave me to do? What did they want me to do? 'I've assigned you quarters on this floor. Unheard of, as this is the Officers floor, but I would rather have you closer than further away, given...' He waves a hand at me. 'Well, given the fact you're-'
I nod. I sigh. I shrug. 'Yeah. I get you'.
He nods. 'Good. Good'. I am, once again, led by the two men from yet another room and into the brightly lit hallway. I grimace, swallow voicing my dislike for how damn bright the ship was, and look from Captain to Doctor. 'Bones,' Jim Kirk says. 'I need you to take her to Quarters. Down the hall - 167. Next to yours, you being CMO and paranoid as hell, and all. There's a PADD and Comm in there'. He turns to look at me. 'It's pretty self-explanatory, like a tablet. I want you to research anything you can that can jog your memory. I've given you full access to Starfleet's person files, to a certain extent. Look through the Science Officers and see if anything jogs your memory. We know who a few of them are, but not all'.
I blink at him, attempting to process this information. My mind, apparently on the brink of falling out the shock faze, was suddenly going a centimetre a minute. With that, he nods to the spluttering McCoy, and turns on his booted heel.
'Dammit, Jim!' yells the Doctor, making me jump. 'I'm a Doctor, not a babysitter!' He grumbles and turns to me, and I suddenly feel like telling him that I'm neither a baby nor a fucking invalid. 'C'mon,' he grunts. 'I'll take you to your quarters'.
Once we reach said Quarters, a two minute walk down the corridor, where we pass a few people dressed in yellow who slide uneasily passed the grumbling Doctor, McCoy points roughly to the black pad to the right of the door. 'Touch that,' he grunts. I throw him a look, to which he rolls his eyes dramatically. 'Thumb-print recognition. Only the Captain, First Officer and the CMO can override it. Now, press your damn thumb to the door so I can get back to my Med-Bay'.
Anger coils within me, and I want to shout at him that I don't need some grumpy man being damn rude to me right now. I was upset, tired and damn fucking homesick, and he was not helping. Instead, I bite out a, 'Fine,' and press my shoddily painted thumb against the pad. It dings and, like with Jim Kirk, the door slides open.
I step in. The room, whilst smaller and without the two sofas the Captain had, is far bigger than the room in the house I had shared with my friends in Oxford. It's the same dark colour scheme, with the same screen, the same small kitchen (with smaller counters and, yet again, without a stove or oven - how did they cook?), a smaller table, and a door which must lead to the bedroom and bathroom.
I blink, my stomach clenching. It smelt unused.
'Bathroom,' McCoy points roughly toward the door on the far right. 'Bedroom. Kitchen, where you'll find your replicator to make your meals. Only Officers get those in their quarters, so be thankful for that one'. I blink from both him, to the square contraption he had pointed at, that sat on the kitchen counter. 'Tell it what you want, and it'll make it,' he explains with a short eye roll. 'But keep it basic. And this,' he marched forward. 'Is a PADD-'
I dart forward and yank the black, light tablet from his rough hands. 'Oh! Like an iPad or some shit. Swanky'. I study it, as he studies me. I look up at him. 'What? Is Apple not a thing anymore?' He furrows a brow, that moody look dawning his features once again. 'Y'know what - forget what Jim - Captain...whatever said. I can figure out how to use this thing on my own-'
He grunts, uncrosses his arms, and cocks a brow. 'Gladly, darlin' - also, figure out how to use the Comm. Good luck with that'.
'I will!' I snap. 'I wasn't some idiot, y'know. I was an Engineer - I still am-'
He clucks his tongue, rolls his eyes, and waves a hand at me as he stalks from the room, his boots slapping loudly against the floor. I hear him, as he leaves, muttering about time-travelling infants and damn stupid Captains.
The door swishes shut, and then he is gone.
And I am all on my own.
We're finally getting somewhere! I love moody Bones. Please, review! I have a busy life, so reviews make me update faster! Thank you to those who already have.
