Disclaimer: Don't own Star Trek, like anyone in their right mind would think I did…though wouldn't it be funny if some Paramount executive guy came on the site? He could put that he did own Star Trek and mean it…okay, no clue where these thoughts come from…
Stargazer: Yes, seatbelts are a good idea. Fell over and got stuck…must keep that in mind as something to happen to Jones…
Anna: Glad you've enjoyed. No past reviews? Sigh…oh well, s'all right. Not a bad idea, have to think how that could be worked.
Meredith: You're right, that was sane…relatively. Dangerous cakes…heehee. You ought to write these yourself, you know.
Keridwen: Yeah, Beethoven makes more sense…but again, who wants to be rational? And anyway, somehow the image of Spock listening to rock music and liking it is strangely amusing… The bottle song would have been funny. I definitely shoulda thought of that. Oh goody, more chapters soon…I hope? I'll manage with the cliffhanger. Have to say for the third time: "the devil looks exactly like Spock" is waaaay too funny! Heeheehee…
EmpressLeia: I'll read it relatively soon, I keep meaning to…[cringe] sorry. Glad you liked the chapter.
The ultimate evil is happening Monday: school starts. No, it's not really that bad. But it's not good either and it definitely means less writing time, not that I expect sympathy from people in, say, New Zealand, who have been in school, and probably a great many of you are starting also anyway. Was there a point in all this? Yeah, lost it a couple sentences ago…anyway, that's my explanation if I don't post as frequently. [sob and wail]
Finally, chapter fourteen. Try to stay in your chair, and above all, don't think rationally. You've been warned.
Part Fourteen:
Baggage Run Amok
Still at the airport, on Borelia II:
The group had successfully located their gate, and learned that their flight was a half-hour behind schedule. Interestingly, none of the Borelians seemed to find that at all unusual. They wandered through the terminals and found a slightly less crowded place to wait. As they did all this, the speakers warned them several more times to "maintain control" of their baggage.
"That whole control things starting to bug me," McCoy said idly. "What are they expecting to happen?"
Kirk shrugged. "Primitive cultures. Who knows? What do you think, Spock?"
"Not now please, Captain. There is a particularly fascinating piece with the guitars playing now," Spock said, putting a hand to his headphones.
Kirk and McCoy looked at each other. A comment from McCoy, at least, would have been inevitable if not for the distraction from Jones.
"Um…m-my bag, it's…" Jones stammered, holding onto a suddenly twitching piece of luggage.
"Is it out of control?" McCoy asked, joking.
"Yes!" Jones said, serious and scared. "It…it…"
With a sudden twist, the bag wrenched out of his grip and hovered in the air a foot from his head. The others stared at it with quite a bit of consternation. They were distracted even from that fascinating sight though, by movement from several other bags. Soon a dozen or more were rocketing around the area, apparently on their own power. The Borelians seemed acquainted with the phenomenon, and not overly fond of it. With shrieks and curses they fled the area, leaving only the Starfleet officers to confront the rampaging bags.
Jones, for one, would have been more than happy to flee. Unfortunately, when the bags first started moving he had backed up hastily and tripped over his own feet. Now it was about all he could do to lie on his back and shield his head from the wildly flying bags. The others had their own problems. McCoy was being chased by a large pink flowered bag. In desperation he finally dived under a row of seats. While this solved the problem of the moment, it left him effectively trapped with baggage dive-bombing him whenever he tried to move. Spock had another bag barreling down on him. He stood his ground as it approached, but had to duck at the last minute. After all, how does one nervepinch a suitcase? Kirk had the most success, managing to wrestle a bag to the ground. Once he had it down though, he realized he didn't know how to fight it.
Further detailed description becomes increasingly difficult as general havoc was loosed. Jones managed to get to his feet, only to be chased, shrieking, in a circle by a duffel bag. He finally was walloped in the head by a low-flying handbag. McCoy was still trapped, purses dive-bombing him if he made an attempt to leave the row of seats. Spock had to duck behind a potted fern to avoid a fast-moving briefcase. Kirk very quickly decided he'd had enough of this.
Kirk rolled to avoid a particularly venomous suitcase, grabbed his phaser as he went, and came up firing at the berserking baggage. It took a few minutes of wild firing, but when the smoke cleared there was silence…
"Nice, Jim," McCoy said, crawling out from under the chairs. "Blast at the baggage!"
Kirk shrugged. "It worked. And they're only stunned."
Stunned or otherwise, the bags were smoking, laying strewn around the area.
"And if there'd been any Borelians around we would have had a Prime Driective violation on our hands," McCoy pointed out.
"Well I didn't see you doing anything," Kirk countered.
"I'm a doctor, not a security guard. Speaking of which…" McCoy turned towards Jones, who was just sitting up.
"Did anyone catch that shuttlecraft…?" Jones asked blearily, clutching his head.
McCoy checked him with a tricorder. "You're all right, Ensign. No serious damage, just a headache."
Jones started to shake his head, and stopped at the pain that caused. "I don't think I'm gonna pull through, Doctor."
"It's just a headache."
"But what a headache! Ohhh…" Jones moaned, hanging onto his head.
McCoy rooted through his medbag, which fortunately had remained basically under control. He finally came up with some pills. "Here, if it's that bad take one of these. Ought to deaden the pain."
"Thanks," Jones said.
"You all right, Spock?" Kirk asked.
"Fine, thank you. I did, however, miss another song." Spock glanced around at the wreckage as he adjusted his headphones. "As there is phaser-inflicted damage, it would be wise to leave the scene immediately, to avoid suspicion falling on us. It is the logical thing to do."
"Logic or not, let's get out of here," McCoy advised.
"All right, let's go."
The airport security guards arrived a few minutes after the Starfleet crew had left, and surveyed the damage.
One guard shook his head in frustration. "Look at this! We tell them and tell them: maintain control! But do they listen?!"
Does anyone really need a scientific explanation? (I warned you about thinking rationally) Well, just in case, I do have one…on Borelia they have these creatures who are regarded similar to the way we look at rats. Nasty little reptiles with wings, they hang around under buildings, in the sewer system, etc. Also at airports. They have a fondness for crawling into small dark places, such as luggage, and if you don't keep close control over your bags, well…havoc.
The actual explanation? It was too funny a scene for me to pass up just because it was irrational.
Review, of course!
Next chapter: They actually get on the airplane!