Chapter 3 – Who Doesn't Like Surprises?
After McCoy had probed her body with his fingers, however gently he meant to be, Dorthea began wincing with every movement. The once dormant bruises now pulsed and throbbed even when she sat still. And she currently sat very still.
People dressed in yellow, blue, and red loitered around the mess hall the captain had directed her to, shooting her confused looks that made her unconsciously stiffen. It seemed that the harder she tried to fade into invisibility, the more glances she received. The more glances, the harder the bruises pounded. She desperately wished for the captain's shawl of protection. But he was sliding his way through the line with two trays, one for himself and one for Dorthea. During the medical inspection her stomach had growled embarrassingly loud, and when she thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. Her body felt incredibly weak and tired, she just wanted to sleep. But this captain insisted on nourishing her before she could collapse. He returned in minutes, one loaded tray in each hand, and sat down across from her. The plastic made a smooth hissing noise when he slid it under her nose.
"Thank you," she muttered automatically.
"Just eat," he ordered. "You look like I could snap you in half with my pinky."
She flinched inwardly but raised her hand to pick up the triangle of bread, coated in red paste and a white, gluey substance. Maroon slices of meat scattered the surface.
"Um… what…?" Dorthea couldn't bring herself to finish her question, it somehow felt rude. She held her tongue and bit into the tip of bread.
"Oh." The captain struggled to contain a fit of laughter as he watched her chew, contemplating the new food thoughtfully. "It's pizza."
She couldn't help but grimace, wrinkling her nose; she didn't like the food too much. It burned her tongue with a strange, prickly heat. The captain couldn't help but laugh at her expression.
"I take it you're not from Earth?"
Shaking her head, Dorthea swallowed so she could answer. "Um…. I'm half-human, half Mari. But I've never been to Earth before." She hesitated. "You have… strange… food. Does it always burn?"
He chuckled again. "It's the pepperoni. It's sort of spicy."
Dorthea nodded and braved another bite. The pepperoni heated her tongue more drastically than before and she hurried to swallow. The captain held up a roll of bread.
"Try this: it'll take the spice away."
She took it gratefully and bit down eagerly. He was right, the spice dulled considerably. As soon as she could, Dorthea picked the circles of meat off her pizza and set them on the paper plate.
"Thank you…" she said again, pausing before addressing him. She still didn't know his name. "… Captain."
The man blinked, dazed, and then smiled. "I forgot. I'm James T. Kirk. Captain of USS Enterprise." He extended his hand.
Dorthea set down what was left of the roll and held out her right hand, as her left was buried under a solid cast McCoy had fitted onto her wrist.
"Thank you, Captain Kirk," she rephrased.
He nodded and leaned back in his seat. "So. Let's hear it. How did you end up on this ship without anyone detecting you?"
Dorthea froze. Was she in trouble? Would she be kicked off? She had nowhere else to go!
The sudden patter of feet saved her from answering. Swiveling in her seat, she and Kirk faced the newcomers. It was the group she'd encountered before minus two; the chalky non-human called Spock, the radiant female, the short man with the funny accent all directed themselves toward where Kirk and Dorthea sat. Their thoughts were riddled with curiosity, stunning Dorthea's head again. The two extra origins were present once more, making her feel off-kilter.
"May we join you, Captain?" Spock's perfect pronunciation rang like a bell in Dorthea's ears.
"Sure, grab a seat," Kirk insisted, dragging back a chair in a gesture of encouragement.
"Thank you."
Spock and the female and the other male sat down simultaneously, making it impossible for Dorthea to trace the extra minds.
"Captain, we have received instruction from the Federation to proceed from the Delta Quadrant and around to Qo'nos, but I requested that Sulu restrain from doing so until you gave the orders." Spock spoke with what felt like the utmost respect for his captain, his words still clear as glass.
"Thanks." Kirk's laid back speech dimmed in comparison to Spock's impeccable sentence structure. Like a dying star crossed by Halley's Comet. "Did you say anything about our guest?" The pause before the word 'guest' was barely noticeable, and if Dorthea hadn't been captivated by his honest thoughts she wouldn't have detected it. His uncertainty frightened her.
"No, Captain. It seemed as if you would not approve of me doing so."
"You're a good man, Spock," Kirk commended, patting the non-human jovially on the back.
Spock allowed himself a small twitch of his lips, a smile that shocked Dorthea. He didn't seem the type to smile. Kirk focused his attention back to her, pushing his tray a little ways out so that he could lean in with his elbows on the table.
"Now, you were going to explain to me how you got on this ship."
This was it. She was going to be kicked off. Somehow, Dorthea would have to convince him to let her stay. She picked his brain for anything that would help her achieve her goal. Deciding to only state the necessary, she too shoved away her tray. Her hands fell, folded, into her lap and she stared down at them rather than meet Kirk's intense gaze.
"I jumped onto the ramp as it was closing." The reply was short and sweet, answering his question for what he'd asked. "No one was there to see."
"Is that how you broke your wrist?"
"No."
"Will you explain?"
Dorthea hesitated. "I fell and landed wrong."
Spock's unusually slanted eyebrows furrowed almost unnoticeably and his deep brown eyes scanned her face for signs of falsehood. As did Kirk's, but he let the lie slide.
"Did you break it on board?"
"No."
"So… while the lift was closing, you pulled yourself up with one hand?" Kirk's tone was doubtful.
Tilting her head to the side, Dorthea frowned slightly. "Not exactly. I sort of… kicked myself up."
"Why did you board?"
At this, Dorthea's jaw clenched shut with an audible snap. Kirk and Spock exchanged the smallest of glances before standing up. The thoughts that flashed through their heads appeared and disappeared so fast that she didn't have time to register what they said.
"Well, until we can get you your own quarters, you should stay with us in the bridge." Kirk held out his free hand, the other suddenly balancing both of their trays. With no reason to object, Dorthea clasped his hand and steadied herself to stand. An arm fitted a loop into hers and she looked to the left to see the short human male with the silly grin and odd accent beaming at her.
"Right this way, ma'am," he instructed, tugging her away from the captain and Spock.
The man—who went by the name Scotty, he was pleased to inform her—had a chipper disposition, nearly skipping the way to said bridge. Being near him was a pleasant thing, made Dorthea feel happier even in such an uncertain environment. His thoughts, like Kirk's, were very innocent and honest, as happy as a clam. He so obviously enjoyed what he did.
The two of them, Dorthea and Scotty, reached the bridge five minutes ahead of everyone else. He took the liberty of showing her around, only brushing on the functions of each control like he knew how baffled she'd been upon her first step in the Enterprise, and introduced her to the other two people in the room. Both males, both young. One, a pale boy named Pavel Chekov sat as navigator. The other, Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman. Scotty had just touched on phaser control when the rest of the group filed in. Kirk immediately strode to the big, blue chair raised on a platform in the middle of the room and settled down, shifting his weight to find the maximum comfort zone. The female took a seat as communications officer, slipping on a headset as she did, and Spock managed to disappear without attracting Dorthea's attention to where he disappeared to. With no specific place for her, she hesitated off to the side of the room, out of the way.
"Sulu, take us out to Qo'nos," Kirk directed from his chair.
"Yes, sir."
"Uhura, do you know what Federation wanted from the Klingons?"
"Sorry, Captain," the female replied somewhat disdainfully, her waist-length hair swishing sharply as she turned her head to face him. "Ask Spock."
"Spock?"
The non-human's crystal voice answered instantly from around a corner.
"The Federation didn't elaborate."
"What the hell are we supposed to do if we don't know what the hell we're supposed to do?" Kirk growled.
Spock's pale face appeared around the corner, his face scrunched like he was unsure about something.
"Would you like me to contact them and inquire for further instructions?"
Kirk deliberated, a vein in his jaw pulsing, then shook his head. "No. We'll just see when we get there." He turned to face Dorthea, who gave him a bewildered expression. "Besides. Who doesn't like surprises?" He winked.
In the millisecond after, three things happened:
First: the extra sources of thought that had been toying with Dorthea's head since her arrival finally made sense. The structure of the origins were too similar to be different entities, and they weren't. They formed one highly developed, unusually spacious mind. They connected together like an intricate web, spun into each other by silky strands of thought.
Second: a smashing, grating noise seared Dorthea's eardrums, throwing her palms to her ears to mute the agonizing groan that came from the underside of the USS Enterprise.
Third: She, along with young Chekov, tumbled to the cold, hard floor as the ship tipped, thrown off balance by collision at warp speed four.
A/N: hey! so i'm excited. lol. this chapter took me awhile to think through, but i have to because i already know what i want to happen and i won't let myself write it until i get there, so... lol. this will keep me updating. can't wait! i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and i'll update soon! please read and review, thanks!
