Helldate January 12th, 2020.
A news report was on the television in the break room of the Hazbin Hotel. Surrounding the TV was Charlie, drinking some Coffee, Vaggie, reviewing some notes, and finally Nifty, who was cleaning the tables.
"...In other news today, witnesses reported of a large object high above of Heinrich City. They said it was circular, and when they fired upon it with grenades, the object quickly fled upwards; its current whereabouts are unknown." Reporter Katie Killjoy, the infamous Reporter of 666 news. The thin outline of a circular object above the city's clouds was shown as she was talking. The Three demons eyes locked in on the object, certainly mystified on the thing in question.
"It was an alien ship! I 'knew it, the aliens are com-!" A Black longhorn demon reported in a thick Texan dialect as a reporter interviewed him before Charlie's TV was shut off, carrying a remote.
"Why did you shut it off?" Questioned Vaggie, putting down the clipboard where she was completing her reports on Hotel spending.
"I don't even want to hear whatever that Bitch has to say." Charlie begrudgery remarked as she took a sip of her coffee.
"So... what do you think that was over Heinrich City? Knowing the demons who live there, it was probably a drugged-out hallucination." Vaggie Inquired.
"It could've been a Jet!" Nifty Called out, attempting to fit within the discussion.
"A circular Jet? I don't remember Circular Jets bombarding innocent civilians in jungles." Vaggie responded.
Charlie reflected on the Hotel as she finished her coffee. It's been almost 3 months since the Happy Hotel was open for patronage. Unfortunately for Charlie and the staff, not a single soul had entered through the doors, and the looby and the room laid barren and empty; consequently, its intent of housing and shelter was not being performed. But she didn't think about that; in her mind, the demon wanted to be redeemed was just around the corner, and she was sure as hell going was going to help it get redeemed.
"I'm going to the Lobby! This could be the day!" She cheerfully notified as she put down her mug into the sink of the break room. She then marched straight towards the exit door of the room.
Vaggie smiled as she went to the sink to clean the mug. She couldn't help but admire Charlie's optimism. She was presumably the first demon she had ever met that was this... human, particularly in hell. She was profoundly happy that she was in a relationship with her; Vaggie wouldn't know where she would be without Charlie's guidance or direction, but Vaggie didn't want to think about it; she was already happy where she was.
As Charlie exited the room, she took a concluding smile in the direction of Vaggie as the door closed. She straightened her suit downwards before strolling within the hallways of the comprehensive Hotel. The Hallway's wallpaper was a dark red with the golden royal coat of the royal family lining it extensively, creating a royal atmosphere to the Hotel. She chose that decoration style to show that they were under Royal Treatment to any potential demons seeking Redemption and treated accordingly.
Charlie entered the large room that was the Lobby. Although Alastor made specific alterations to it, the overall design remained the same. A fireplace rested on the wall in front of the front desk, with decorations and statues lining the Hallway leading to the front doors. Charlie took in the surroundings in admiration of herself. She and Vaggie had done this, no one else but them, and she couldn't be more proud of themselves. As Charlie took in the Lobby, Charlie then walked in the direction of the desk, and when arriving, she sat on the chair, which overlooked the entire Lobby. She picked up a newspaper, reading it before hopefully their next customers would visit the Hotel.
Outside of the Hotel's boarded-up remains of its front wall, it was quiet. Recently, there hasn't been anyone to come to the Hotel's doors, let alone seek Redemption. However, this was about to change. 5 hues of blue suddenly materialized out of thin air, generating a soft hum as five humanoid silhouettes began to take their appearances. Slowly, they began to take a more familiar appearance of people as they started to appear. Out of the five that materialized, four were humans, one with brown hair, two with blonde, and one with red hair. One of them had appearances similar to the Humans. However, this life form had pointed ears and black hair with pointed fringes overlapping its forehead. And the last one was different, so to speak, from the other life forms. This life form had a body height shorter than that of the other life forms. It had a distinctive snout and wore a bushy brown beard. Its hands were sometimes hoof-like in appearance. And lastly, of note was that its lower jaw usually possessed a pair of small tusks.
They all shared several features. They all wore a double-breasted red jacket worn over a turtlenecked undershirt with a golden arrow pointing upwards. The coat was closed by a clasp at the right shoulder and a sealing mechanism along a black stripe. They also wore black slacks with different colors running in the middle of their right leg.
The primary thing Edison saw after being rematerialized in this unique foreign world was something he didn't genuinely expect to see, a door with colored glass panes in the shape of a snake and an apple. Surrounding the door was makeshift planks, constituting a makeshift wall. It must've been placed after some kind of attack or blast. It wouldn't surprise him due to the aggressive nature of the residents in this new world. The next thing he noticed was the temperature; it was warm and humid, it was indeed not the ideal environment for wearing a dark maroon uniform and black slacks. Edison commenced studying his newfound surroundings. After looking upwards, he noticed that he was under some kind of tent, something where you'd witness in a 20th-century circus.
Looking to his side, the first thing he saw was Security Chief Xehrarv, gazing around his surroundings as well. But what he saw beyond Xehrarv nearly made Edison faint- a city. It was not just a mere city; it was a metropolis with towering skyscrapers encompassing the realm like mountains with streaks of lights down below in their underbellies. Edison was marveled by the municipality encompassing their surroundings; he had to speak about it to someone.
"Oh My God...!" Edison inaugurated while he was in the direction of Xehrarv, who was as equally impressed as he was.
"I've never seen anything like this outside the Federation!" Edison exclaimed as he took in his surroundings.
Edison began to look more deeply into the towers, and he started to perceive unusual peculiarities. First of all, it didn't seem like the architecture utilized in the Federation; it was black and red and very blockish, while Federation designs were much more fluidic and had white and blue values. Secondly, these new designs seemed very dystopian and foreboding in nature. Towers rose above the streets, engulfing many parts of the structures that appeared to be advertisements, displaying something that couldn't be recognized due to the considerable distance away, which were long since forgotten since the New World Economy was introduced in the 22nd Century.
You know..." Edison added as he tried to get a better view by squinting his eyes.
"The design of these buildings are similar to that of pre World War 3 Earth." He added, clearly mystified by his discovery.
"This... architecture is alien to me. I've never experienced or been anywhere similar to here before during my life." Xehrarv stated.
Edison shifted to his side to face Kylkuc and the security officers who were all studying throughout the new world, besides Kylkuc, who was carrying a tricorder in the usual cold, logical fashion assisted with Vulcans.
"What do you think of this, Kylkuc? I've never witnessed anything like this before; this could be a monumental occasion in the History of the United Federation of Planets!" Edison said to Kylkuc excitingly. The spirit of adventure and discovery in Captains such as Jonathan Archer, Robert April, and Philippa Georgiou was swelling in Edison's veins, longing to learn and explore the distinct world the Excalibur was now in.
"It is... Fascinating." Kylkuc, in a plain-spoken expression in the fashion usual of Vulcans. He was admittedly Fascinated by their newfound location; indeed, his stone-cold logical subconscious had to acknowledge that they were in a place that strange, even whimsical in a sense. But he was a Vulcan, and the aforementioned mission of tracking the source of the subspace interference was still at hand. He extracted up his PADD that was in his utility case and began to review its readings.
"The source of the interference is nearby. Its Heading is bearing 345 Mark 0 at approximately 14.45 Meters. I've relayed the coordinates to you, Captain, and the Security Chief." Bluntly Apprised Kylkuc.
Edison sighed, "Usual Vulcans." He pondered as he studied his PADD, which contained the coordinates that pinpointed the source of the subspace interference. His direction would soon come back to the door as he followed the signal heading. He then walked to the door before noticing its handle. He wasn't used to operating these types of doors before; the pulling handle type doors were phased out for the Automatic Opening Doors, advancing the argument that this world was stuck in a Pre World War 3 Mindest. Edison then put his hand onto the doorknob; it was surprisingly cold compared to the atmosphere.
Edison next pulled on the doorknob as he twisted it; however, it wouldn't budge from its frame. It's must've been locked from the interior of the building. Releasing his hand from the doorknob, he began to speak.
"It's locked," Edison informed in a frustrated voice.
"Hmm... shall I captain?" Xehrarv asked as he pulled out his Phaser and aimed it at the doorknob, hoping to break the doorknob so that the crew would be able to obtain easy access to the inside of the building.
Edison's eyes enlarged as he lunged out to grab Xehrarv and push it downwards. He didn't want to start a war between the Federation and this newly discovered civilization on his mission! It was against everything Starfleet and Federation stood for.
"Are you insane?! There might be someone inside; this could be first contact, not a First Campaign!" Edison informed as he let go of Xehrarv's arm. He didn't want to show any possible people living here that Starfleet wasn't as savage or prone to violence as particular residents were here.
Xehrarv sighed. "Sorry, Captain." He said as he returned his Phaser back into its holster. Xehrarv was committed to safeguarding his crew; he saw what these... people could do and had to do whatever it took to protect his crew in the name of the Federation.
As all of this occurred, Kylkuc observed their behavior from a distance. He witnessed Edison's order against violence, a far cry from his species' catastrophic world wars. It was improbable to see such a hateful race and warlike as Klingons transitioned to a peaceful and compassionate one in just 50 years.
"Look, we'll just knock, okay?" Edison finished as he clenched his right fist and laid it at the pane of the door.
"Keep Phasers on stun; we don't know what is in there or if it's hostile." Commanded Edison as he pulled back his fist. He didn't want to go in, guns blazing like a bunch of deranged cowboys, but he didn't want to take any chances from what they encountered with the populace here.
The rest of the crew followed his order, modifying their phaser calibrations to stun before putting them in their holsters, ready to be immediately utilized at a moment's notice.
Edison took a long breath; this could be the first contact between the Federation and an entirely new kind of species. Edison was nervous; this was the first potential first contact in his career. However, this one is under very peculiar circumstances than the ones he would think that he would be under. Far-flung from anything remotely familiar to the Federation and no permissible communications with it and in a new world that has never been researched or even known to exist at all.
He thought about this as he launched his fist onto the pane, hitting it and causing a knocking noise onto the door and the interior and pulling back somewhat, which he then repeated two more times. He waited for the door to open, and when it did, a new era would begin for not just him and the crew of the Excalibur but for perhaps the entire Federation itself. Whether the potential new epoch would be positive or negative, only the tales of time would acknowledge.