Random: Look who's back~! :)
Victoria: Just get on with it…
Random: Ouch! Harsh much?
Victoria: Yeah.
Random: Pfft, what's got you so— *snatches Victoria's IPad from her*
Holy Shit! *Jaw drops*
Victoria: *Grabs her IPad from Random and smirks*
Random: Where did you get that picture? Is that for real? *censored*!
Victoria: Well…
Random: *smirks* you're a McKirk fan, aren't you? I KNEW IT!
Victoria: Oh shut up.
Random: *Grins* If you wanna know what the picture on Victoria's IPad was go to this link: (vivid – moment . dream width . org). But beware, it may or may not scar you for life.
You have been warned.
I don't own Star Trek or Pokémon.
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[•◊•||Chapter 10: Home||•◊•]
Green
"Are you sure there is no way for us to beam them back up?" Green asked, the Transporter room bustling with Engineers trying to find a way to find the landing team left stranded on Saturn V.
"I'm sorry, Green. We don't know their coordinates, no heat signatures, we don't even know if they—" Emerald began, but was interrupted by their sleep-deprived acting captain.
"They're alive" Green snapped at the young blonde, knowing what he was going to say.
"We don't know that, Green. We have to at least be prepared to have lost—" Emerald tried reasoning with him but Green absolutely refused to believe him.
"There were no Klingons on the planet, they're alive" Green insisted, slamming his enclosed fist onto the table.
Everyone stopped and stared at Green, his eyes wild and wide with fury.
"What are you staring at?" He growled, glaring at them.
Everyone ignored him and returned to whatever it was they were doing.
"Calm down, Green. They're fine. You – on the other hand – need to sleep" Yellow said, hovering by Green's side to calm him down.
"… It's raining down there, you know? Blue doesn't like rain. And Red doesn't like it when he doesn't know what's going on in the ship" Green said, his posture going slack as he collapsed into a nearby chair.
"Don't worry about it, Victoria is awake. I'm pretty sure she'll want to talk to them anyway…" Yellow reassured him, smiling lightly.
Green chuckled and ran a hand through his mussed up hair.
"Yeah, she's learned a lot from me like that" he mused, snatching a glass of water from a nearby table and downing it quickly.
Yellow took a step back and nodded.
"I'll go check on Victoria" Yellow informed before running out of the Transporter room.
Green looked at the control panel, his comm. piece ready to receive coordinates from their missing landing team.
"I know you're there, Red. And if you are I know you'll find a way" he laughed quietly as the engineers slowly left the room, finding the situation hopeless.
He turned and saw that Emerald didn't leave yet, and Amethyst was still standing next to him supportively.
He smiled and went back to his own search, his comm. piece still dead silent.
"It's time for you to come home…"
•◊• ~ Star Trek ~ •◊•
Pearl
"I'm almost done, I just need that satellite…"
That's it. We're so close to home. Just one satellite and we'll be back on the Enterprise. With Arya too, of course… Pearl smiled, turning to look at the girl.
"Arya! The electricity!" he screamed, seeing sparks crawling across Arya's pale skin.
She looked up at him from where she was tweaking the radio Gold brought back for her.
"Oh, that? That's nothing. I don't feel it at all" she said, brushing the blue sparks of electricity off her shoulder.
"W-what?" Diamond's jaw dropped, bits of chewed cookie falling out of his mouth.
"Dia, close your mouth!" Crystal winced in disgust, earning a sheepish apology from Dia.
"Uhh… remember what I said about them enhancing us? Well, I have the power to use the nervous activity in my body to create electricity. By nervous I mean the activity in the nervous system not nervous as in anxious…" she explained.
"How is that possible?" Crystal asked, looking like she was taking note of everything Arya was going to say.
Is she nuts? It sounds like she wants to replicate the formula they used on her… Pearl thought, his eyebrow rising questioningly.
"Oh, a combination of different Chemical Formulas. I can't tell since I was asleep for most of it. Why?" Arya said, sticking her head back into the large box-shaped radio to connect a pair of open wires.
"Just curious I guess" Crystal shrugged.
Arya surfaced with a battery in her right hand and an inquisitive look on her face as she regarded Crystal.
"What's your name?" she asked, surprising the crew from the Enterprise thoroughly.
"My name is Crystal" she answered, blinking confusedly.
"Hmm… I've never heard of you. In fact, I've never met you" Arya said, looking rather surprised herself at the revelation.
"Wait… so you never met Crystal in the future?" Gold interrupted, a frantic look on his face.
"No. I-I've never met any Aunt Crystal. But I've heard mom talking about her before. Something about not giving her child to the—" Arya froze, her hand sparked with electricity as it charged the battery in her open palm.
"Oh my God…" Arya said, her eyes widening.
Before anyone could ask for answers another transmission from the Enterprise caught the crew's attention.
"Berlitz to Away Team. Hey guys, it's Tori" Victoria greeted, her disposition more cheerful than they expected.
Red scoffed at how similar her greeting was to Green's while the edges of Blue's mouth tilted downwards in disappointment.
"I just wanted to see how you guys were. You're still not answering and Green has been going a little nuts especially when Emerald said you guys could be dead" Victoria laughed lightly but her laugh turned into a sob as she leaned onto someone.
"It's ok, Tori… Keep going" Yellow reassured her Junior, encouraging her to keep talking.
"Sorry. I guess I've been going a little insane too. One of the patients died yesterday and Emerald and I didn't know what to do. The other doctors said you knew how to save him, Pearl, but you weren't there and he died. I said I was sorry and he smiled at me and forgave me. Then he was just… gone." Victoria was silent for a moment and Pearl took his ear piece out so Arya could hear the transmission too. Arya frowned and put down the battery so she could listen to what Victoria had to say.
"I… I'm being awfully ridiculous, huh? I mean, I can't even pull myself together and it's only been… two days since we lost contact. Wow, two days? It… It feels so long, you know?" Victoria said, sighing.
Everyone nodded in agreement – except Ruby and Sapphire who had gone out to get that satellite that Arya needed.
"I… the ship is doing great, Captain. The only casualties are the two dents on the ship's outer covering. We've only lost that one patient, everyone else is recovering. Acting Captain Green is waiting in the Transporter Room for coordinates he's convinced you will send him soon. He's convinced you'll find a way despite the signal distortion and while that's possible I still wonder if any of you have the capability to send those coordinates via a radio and a… let's see, a satellite? That's a possibility. You could send it directly to the satellite up here." Victoria tapped her fingers on the table thoughtfully.
"So even now you're still a smart-ass, Aunt Tori. I thought so…" Arya shook her head, her voice sounded mildly nostalgic.
"Uh-huh… she's way too smart for her own good" Pearl nodded in agreement, gaining the attention of the away team.
"What?" he asked, raising a brow as his crew-mates rolled their eyes and went back to listening to Victoria.
"I wonder what it must be like, stuck down there, in the middle of the huge storm I hear is brewing down there" Victoria said, informatively.
Arya's head snapped up as she craned her head to get a look at the mouth of the cave.
"Well, what do you know? It is raining. I hope Ruby and Sapphire get back ok" she frowned worriedly, pulling her sleek black scythe free from its hiding place.
"How is it you have a scythe when you were marooned here by the Klingons?" Gold asked.
"I snuck it into the ship" she shrugged, smirking while stroking the flat end of the scythe's blade menacingly.
Crystal eyed the scythe warily, a shiver running down her spine as she backed away and ended up bumping into Gold who sat there grinning at how intimidated she was.
Crystal frowned and crossed her arms but it looked more amusing than frightening so Gold ended up laughing.
"But knowing Senior Blue you won't be particularly bored since her match-making habits often end up gleaning hair-brained schemes to get people to hook up. I expect she's targeting either Ruby and Sapphire or Gold and Crystal since everyone else's significant others are up here in the ship. Who knows, maybe she's found someone to pair Pearl up with…" Victoria laughed, genuinely this time, along with Yellow who high-fived her younger crew-mate.
"That's not a bad idea…" Blue grinned knowingly, directing her gaze to where Gold and Crystal sat side by side.
"…but do you seriously think Pearl wants to be paired with anyone other than you?" Blue japed, earning a glare from the doctor and laughs from everyone else.
"We're back" Sapphire said, all eyes turning to the mildly soaked duo carrying the satellite about the side of cardboard box and dropping it beside Arya.
"Turn your comms on, Aunt Tori is talking" she informed them and nodded gratefully at the two who turned their comms on and sat down.
"I gotta admit I've been a little unwell for the past two days, it's… unsettling. I feel like I've come down with something but I don't want it to go away. I-I can't eat or sleep. I'd ask Blue or Crystal but you're not here. And as embarrassing as it is to say to all of your faces I really miss you, I mean I miss all of you but one of you guys more so than everyone else…" Victoria said in a hushed voice that told them she was really nervous about saying it.
All eyes – except Arya who had gone back to work with the radio – turned to Pearl who fidgeted under their gazes.
"What?" he asked, clueless.
The rest of the crew face-palmed and concluded that trying to convince Pearl that he was that one person Tori missed more than the others was useless.
"In English; I really really miss you, Pearl. Yes, you. If you thought I meant Red or Diamond you're extremely disturbed" Victoria laughed again, making Pearl blush.
"Shut up, Tori" he muttered, amusing his crew-mates.
"Ten bucks says you just told me to shut up" Victoria was silent for a moment, as if imagining what they would say if they were with her.
"You did, didn't you? Oh God. You're so predictable" Victoria was in near hysterics as a loud thumping sound informed them that she'd fallen off her chair laughing.
The shade of red that adorned Pearl's face deepened as everyone else started giving him knowing looks.
"No comment" Pearl said, handing his comm. piece to Arya and lying down on the damp cave floor.
Arya looked at the comm. piece in her hand then at Pearl before connecting the ear piece to the radio and putting it on speaker so Pearl could still hear what Victoria was saying.
"Now… trace the signal and link the radio to the satellite..." Arya muttered, biting her lower lip.
"Can't get lost in the storm… have to make a clear path so the transmission will reach…" she continued to whisper to herself but Pearl shrugged it off and relaxed while Victoria composed herself.
"I like you, Pearl…" Victoria confessed.
Pearl's eyes widened as he sat bolt upright like he was struck by lightning.
"I mean, I like you like Sapphire likes Ruby" she admitted, laughing a little.
Pearl idly noted how Sapphire protested loudly and waited to see if she had anything else to add.
"And I think I love you…" Victoria said confidently causing Pearl's breath to catch in his throat. He had to swallow the lump in his throat first before speaking with as much confidence as Tori had.
"I love you too, Tori"
Everyone was silent.
"Pearl?" Victoria said, choking on a sob.
Pearl turned to look at his crew-mates to see if any of them wanted to talk but Red was wide eyed, Blue was confused, Crystal was in denial, Diamond looked frozen, Ruby looked like he expected Pearl to answer, Sapphire was frozen, and Gold was busy grinning at Pearl.
Pearl looked at Arya, his final hope to avoid the awkward situation, but she mouthed that she was 'supposed to be a secret for now' before winking.
"Tori?" he answered, sheepishly, groaning inwardly.
"I…" Victoria began but their reunion was cut short by Green's strict interruption.
"Pearl? Is Red with you?" Green asked, his fingers tapping on the keys of the computer he was using in the Transporter room. They could head Emerald calling for medics in case anyone was hurt.
Red stood up and approached the radio so Green could hear him.
"We're all ok, we're in a cave five miles north of the hot springs we reported about four days ago. None of us are injured and everyone is here" Red reported as Green adjusted the Transporter to beam them out of the planet.
"How many to beam up?" Emerald asked, readying the Transporter.
Red looked at everyone then at Arya before coming to a decision.
"Nine" he said, adding Arya to the head count.
"Nine? Red… what—" Green tried to ask but it was too late, Emerald already hit the switch.
"Energizing" Emerald said as a bright white light shrouded the away team and Arya, transporting them onto the ship.
•◊• ~ Star Trek ~ •◊•
Green
Nine…
Not even the arrival of his missing Captain and crew could distract him from the fact that they brought a ninth person with them.
"Green! Long time no see…" Red greeted, clapping him on the back.
He's trying to make me forget about the ninth person they brought on board… Green thought, gritting his teeth.
"Who—" he tried to sound menacing and ask Red who the stowaway was but his Captain gave him a sharp look and cut off whatever it was Green was going to say.
"I'll explain later. But for now, I am your Captain so when I say don't ask... Don't. Ask." Red said firmly, his gaze not wavering.
Green broke their stare first and sighed.
I trust him. I mean… he's RED. There must be a reason he brought this stranger on board…Green thought, reminding himself that Red had good judgment.
"Ok. So, who is this ninth person you've brought?" he asked, turning his gaze to the only unfamiliar face there.
Green immediately regretted his suspicion when he saw her.
The girl was fourteen in appearance, pale, and really thin. Her clothes were standard issue Starfleet uniforms which meant she served on a Starship once or that her parents did. True, she was holding onto a dangerous looking scythe but she looked like she could barely hold it up let alone swing it.
And then there was the threadbare Starfleet Command Gold shirt…
"Hi, my name is Arya" she stepped closer to Green – making sure the scythe was far away from him since he seemed wary about it – and held out her free hand.
Green's steely gaze focused on her eye patch and at the whip marks Pearl wasn't able to heal before shaking her hand.
"I'm Green" he said, a kind of worry replacing his earlier suspicion.
"I know" she smiled, despite the fact that there were signs of abuse all over her small form.
Green looked up to see that Dia, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold, and Crystal had filed out of the room leaving only Red, Blue, and Pearl who was once again checking his med kit.
Blue opted to stand by Green as he regarded Arya – who moved away to talk to Amethyst and Emerald – and looked questionably at Red.
"It's a long story, Green. We'll tell you as soon as possible though" Blue said in that overly cheerful way she does just about everything.
She knows too? Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on here? Green groaned.
"Just… don't be harsh on her. We know you're suspicious but for God's sake she's fourteen, Green! I know you saw the whip marks. She was whipped in front of her own parents!" Red said, determined to make sure Arya wasn't treated with hostility.
Whipped in front of her parents? How did she end up on Saturn V.? And how long has she been there? Hundreds of questions plagued Green's mind as he tried to sort through the possible origins of the beaten fourteen-year-old but before he could ask any of them Victoria burst into the Transporter Room, not really surprising Green.
"Pearl!" she yelled, throwing her arms around the doctor's waist and burying her head into his chest much like what she did right before he left.
"Stupid! I was worried sick! You ass! I like you too much to hit you any harder but you'd better not worry me like that again or I'll kill you, you hear me? You scared me you big jerk!" she cried and pounded on his chest with her enclosed fists exasperatedly, but Green and everyone else knew they were tears of joy.
"I'm sorry" Pearl said, laughing amiably while he looked down at the girl in his arms affectionately. His left arm was wrapped around her, tracing lazy circles on her back while his right hand settled on the back of her head. He pulled her in closer – if it was possible for them to get any closer than they already were – and just basked in the scent of her, of her very presence.
"I…" Victoria tried speaking but she found no words to explain just how relieved she was so she just withdrew and aimed a kiss at Pearl's cheek.
The doctor, being the ever surprising ass he was, tilted his head so that the kiss that was previously aimed at his face ended up hitting his lips. And before they knew it they were in the middle of a very entertaining make-out session.
At first, Victoria seemed surprised but as the fact that she was kissing Pearl sunk into her subconscious her eyes drifted closed and smiled against the good doctor's lips.
"Yeah, it's all lips. No tongue." Amethyst confirmed silently and Emerald muttered something that sounded like 'fucking psychic' before giving the grinning Arya a ten dollar bill.
"But you gotta admit, it's pretty hot for no tongues" Blue nodded approvingly as Red handed her a twenty dollar bill.
The couple seemed content as they pulled away from each other, flushed and out of breath. They both just stood there grinning like idiots, ignoring the fact that the people currently in the room were betting on their relationship.
"So… does this mean we're—" Pearl said, trying to sate the erratic beating of his heart and get more air at the same time. The term 'boyfriend/girlfriend' felt too mushy to him and he knew Victoria never liked anything cheesy.
"Yeah, if you want to put it that way" she blushed, looking down in embarrassment. But Pearl quickly remedied that by simply raising her head and leaning his forehead against hers.
"How's your arm?" he grinned at the annoyed expression on her face and pouted when she pulled away from him completely, stomping away with her arms crossed.
"I'm fine! You are not using a hypo on me! I refuse to be hypo'd!" she insisted, walking away.
"But Tori — darlin' – you need it" he said, letting his southern accent show just to annoy her but instead she turned around and planted one on him. She tilted her head and ran her tongue along his bottom lip making the doctor shiver. Then, she slowly… but surely… snatched the Hypospray right out of his hand.
"Hah!" she shouted, pulling away and making a run for it.
"Honey, be careful! You might bump into someone!" Pearl sighed and chuckled, running a hand through his hair before leaving with a two-fingered salute.
"Tori, you know I have more of those in the med bay" they heard him shout as he walked down the hall.
"But you're going to chase me anyway. You're predictable like that, doctor…" Victoria answered.
Everyone left behind in the Transporter room just listened until Pearl and Victoria's voices could no longer be heard.
"That was certainly entertaining" Blue winked –effectively breaking the silence— high-fiving Arya. The two grinned as they stuffed their well-earned cash in their pockets, indulging themselves in a contented nod.
"What did you two bet on?" Green asked, genuinely curious.
"I bet that they'd kiss, no tongues" Arya said, motioning to Emerald who replied with a half-hearted 'I said there'd be tongues'.
"And I bet that he and Tori would hook up once we got back up here" Blue laughed before skipping out the door.
"Come Arya, you can hang out with me and the girls. We'll have a sleepover!" Blue said invitingly, grabbing Arya's hand and pulling her with her.
"Yes ma'am. Bye Emerald, Amethyst. Bye Red. Oh, and you too Green!" she laughed, letting herself get dragged out and in the direction of the Cafeteria.
Green let out a laugh that surprised both him and anyone else who heard him.
"What?" He looked at Red, Emerald, and Amethyst when he stopped laughing and asked.
"Nothing" Red said –grinning at him— leading him to the bridge and away from the Transporter Room.
"So… you finally realize you had feelings for Blue?" Red prodded on their way to the bridge, earning Green a couple of knowing stares from a couple of passing cadets. Green was pretty sure if he had been drinking something when he heard that it would be all over his uniform (seeing as he never seemed to spit like people did where it just comes out in a straight line). He gave Red an incredulous look that obviously meant he still hadn't let it sink in.
"I see. It's there, but you still haven't sorted it out. It's fine" Red snickered, finally knowing something Green didn't
"And… if I did have 'feelings'—" he raised his hands, air quoting at the word feelings. "—for Blue. How do you know I'm not doing anything about it because she could have feelings for someone else?" he asked, trying to sound as unaffected as possible. But Red didn't buy it. He actually knew Green, thank you very much.
"Because you just told me" Green gave him an annoyed look, but Red just shrugged it off and pressed on.
"She has no feelings for other people, Green. You're the only one who doesn't know, it's a little funny how dumb you can be when it comes to these things" he laughed as Green gave him what he knew was a confused look.
"What do you mean?" Green asked, feeling a little stupid knowing Red knew more about something than he did and that Red needed to teach him.
"I mean, you know Ruby and Sapphire?" Green nodded.
"They like each other, right?" Green gave him an 'I'm not stupid' look but answered anyway.
"Yes" he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You know Gold and Crystal?" Green nodded again, gesturing for Red to get to the point soon.
"They like each other too, right?" Green resisted the urge to roll his eyes or let his head fall back as he groaned impatiently.
"God, yes" he said, exasperated. He wished Red would just get to the damn point.
"That's how we see you and Blue" Red said, causing Green to freeze and watch surprised as his Captain entered the bridge with Yellow greeting him as he returned to the Captain's seat where he belonged.
Green considered going to the cafeteria to see Blue but thought better of it and just entered the bridge.
"Get it together, Green. You have a job to do" he reasoned with himself, arguing that it was illogical to brood over this when he had worlds to save.
But no matter what he did he couldn't get the thought of Blue out of his head.
→ To be Continued… ←
Random: Ugggghhhh… I need to put in some more Frantic Shipping. But now that I've got Special (almost), OldRival (almost), and Gutsy Shipping (finally) out of the way I can focus on Frantic and Manga Quest.
Victoria: Well, with Arya joining the mix you can totally amp up the Frantic and the Manga Quest.
Random: But that also means the climax is nearing. I had hoped to have more time or more chapters (-_-) I'm gunna be sad when this ends. I swear… I will cry. This is the best fanfic I have ever written.
Victoria: I agree with you there, all your other stories are trash.
Arya: I concur, I think it's because she's been reading Game of Thrones so the writing is rubbing off on her.
Victoria: She has a point.
Random: Don't start with me. These next chapters will center on normal life on a Starship before we go back to the theatrics so I gotta chill and watch a couple of chick flicks for inspiration, Or maybe I'll read "Switch" on "Archive of our own" again. I swear it's the best McKirk fanfic ever.
Anyway. I don't own Game of Thrones and thank you for the Reviews, Mi-Chan!
I'd also like to thank CrimsonSnowScarletFate for Favoriting the story and adding this to your Community. I really appreciate it. C:
Damn, I'm really feeling the love now *cries a little*
A don't have a Beta-Reader (Dammit I am a Beta-Reader :D) so if I made any mistakes (which I certainly hope not!) please tell me. Ok? C:
Read and Review! :D
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Keep it RaNdOm! ;)