Dot's Diner - The Aftermath
Commander Khetrha surveyed the scene around her. It would seem there was little physical damage to the Diner. Mostly, the damage was confined to soot blackend walls and a nasty stain where the Quadarite had been brewing his concoction. The room was still filled with a fair amount of smoke that seemed disinclined to settle or dissipate.
With a wry grin, she noticed a clear area of wall, directly behind where Sabaqwa Isth would have been standing at the moment of the explosion, that showed the unmistakable silhouette of the little feline bartender with his arms raised, as if pouring something.
The Aspect, floating above and behind Khetrha in the smokey gloom, became aware of a group of beings aproaching the Diner, and sent out a Compulsion to cause them to see the being below as a large version of a small, spine-covered creature it had come across earlier.
The Commander moved over to the corner of the room close to the Diner's doors, and squatted down to examine some of the debris from the explosion. As she sifted through the remains, the doors to Dot's opened with a soft, sharp "shhh". Khetrha paused for a moment and then stood up to peer through the smoke.
Three large, multi-coloured, Beachballs were bouncing up and down gently in the doorway.
To compound her surprise it this sight, as she stood, the leading ball spoke.
"What the heck is that?"
Khetrha squinted at the impossible sight. Another ball spoke.
:commbadge: "Lt. Krone, report to Dot's Diner! There's... there's a.. a... it's a.."
"Well, what is it?", came the reply. Khetrha recognised Krone's voice.
"Well, it's a... a mansized hedgehog sir!"
Commander Khetrha stared at the Beachball in disbelief.
The giant Hedgehog and the bouncing Beachball's regarded each other uneasilily for a few minutes. The stalemate was only broken by the arrival of Krone.
Krone moved past the Engineers, and the Aspect, still floating close to the ceilling of the Diner, Compelled this new arrival to experience the same vision as the others.
Khetrha was startled by the arrival of a member of a Mariachi band, who then raised a maraca in a threating manner. Her composure was at an end, and some part of her felt a deep need to respond to this new, inconcievable, situation. She leapt forward in an attempt to escape, but the Mariachi player moved backward at the same time. Khetrha, convinced, that these absurd visions were trying to capture her, lunged again in an attempt to break free of the confines of the Diner. Her efforts were rewarded with her colliding with Krone and a struggle ensued.
At some point, during her grappling with the black and silver suited Mexican, he lost his rather fine hat, and she was convinced that she also heard Morane say, "Sir! Are you okay?"
The Mariachi responded, close to her ear, and forced his words through clenched teeth, "I am fine, Ensign. Just... battling a giant Hedgehog."
"Understood, sir," Morane's, distant words, an acknowledgement, his voice even and unconcerned.
At the back of her mind, as she struggled with the Mexican Musician, a small voice spoke to Khetrha. 'Something is wrong here', it said.
That was the last thing she thought, as Krone caused her to black out with his mind link.
Krone's delusion, that he was battling a Giant Hedgehog, confused the information that he thought he had gleaned from the creature - Khetrha was just feeling hungry at the time and a number of fine meat dishes were close to her mind's surface.
Rakurai Stryker
"This is bad". Stryker said.
Four Harlequins with big floppy shoes ran towards Alice and Stryker; their clothes had black and white diamonds on top, black and purple squares on the bottom. They started bombarding cream pies at Alice and Stryker.
Stryker and Alice ran from this insanity. Alice was ahead of him by about 2 meters. Stryker moved to have the pies hit him. Next time they knew, Alice and Stryker got sucked into the Fun House by a giant red carpet tongue no less.
Stryker and Alice ended up in a room with mirrored doors. Stryker tried opening one, suddenly confronted by a marrionette. He fought the man sized puppet, and ripped off its arm with burst of strength. Alice went though the right door, then she was stuck with a blue tricycle with a flat tire.
Another Harlequin on a red tricycle was chasing her. Stryker tackled him off the tricycle.
Soon they are running again. Three Harelquins chased them. After dodging bowling pins and a gigantic bowling ball, they suddenly found themselves back on the Pretoria. Near the turbolift doors on deck 8. Dot's Diner was about 100 meters from the corridor from here.
Alice and Stryker took four steps backwards, as they encountered a pair of the apple sized energy/light balls had saw earlier.
Alice and Stryker was confused and unsure what to do now. Pausing for a few seconds, the encounter balls then moved through the walls towards the port bow.
Alice summoned the lift, "I hope we actually reach the bridge this time." Stryker told Alice. She nodded, chasing her breath. Stryker and Alice's minds in disbelief of the insane "Alice in Wonderland" adventure they just experienced.
Stryker waited, noticed the smell of sugar and lemon creme pie on his uniform.He ignored it. Alice noticed it too, she suddenly found herself feeling hungry again.
Demi - Sickbay
Demi watched Tiko dance with a smile she just could not suppress. Her mouth covered her snickers, but it wasn't very successful at hiding the fact.
"Tiko?" She said, daring to follow his neandering, twirling path through Sickbay, "Tiko! Please come here. We have to get you dressed and hopefully showered before that."
Thomas Black Wolf pirouetted in an elaborate spin and bowed before her, taking Demi's hand in his.
"Milady! The very flower of beauty and grace. There is no beauty in the brilliant realms of the world such as yours!"
Suddenly, Thomas spun Demi into a close embrace, holding her like a flamenco dancer, then just as suddenly flipped her in a deep dip. If she'd had a human's equilibrium, she would have been slightly dizzy. But instead she blushed very brightly and tried not to giggle.
Sabaqwa had been watching the whole thing from the safety of the CMO's office, the skin under his fine, thin fur a brilliant shade of orange pink, totally embarrassed for Demi. But there was a streak of absurd humour to all of this that was tempting him to chuckle. Especially when Tiko bent slowly to kiss Demi while she was held in this very revealing dip in the middle of Sickbay.
Demi's eyes go quite round as his lips near hers, the smell and feel of the cryo jell beginning to make Tiko's grip somewhat precariously slippery.
"Tiko, Thomas! No no no ... I don't think..."
"Milady, dare us not to speak.. when hearts doth speak with intense eloquence." And his lips finally meet hers, but only for about 1/10th of a millisecond before he looses his slippery grip on the hologram and they both tumble to the floor, Tiko's balance thrown completely off.
"Oh heavens! Please tell me this isn't some peculiar human mating ritual." Sabaqwa squeaks from Kiya's office his eyes hidden now in his furry and still very sooty hands.
At that very moment, Tiko and Demi, still struggling to get up from their rather messy spill, look up in shock to see Tammy Paquin, one of the many teachers aboard the Pretoria, her husband, Petty Officer Rubens Barrichello of Stellar Cartography, and their daughter, Meredith who is three years old, grace the front doors of Sickbay. A pair of shocked expressions on the adult's faces.
"Mommy? What is that nekkid man doing on top of the doctor?" Meredith asks quite innocently, her face now as baffled as her parent's.
"Uh-uuhhhmm.. oh my goodness!" Tammy splutters as she hurriedly covers her daughter's eyes, Meredith frustrated and trying to pry her mom's fingers off one at a time.
"Maybe I better handle this, Honey." Rubens states with a flat tone, his face drawing down in a confused frown. "Meredith, stop that, your eyes need a little nap right now."
"Daddy! I feel bad, my tummy's wiggwin'. Mommy? Can I look now, my eyes don't feel sleepy!" Meredith protests with a huge pout on her bottom lip.
Demi, in the meantime, is desperately trying to slip out from under a very amorous Tiko Black Wolf.
"Ooooh no!" Demi squeaks a little higher than normal, "Oh wait! Wait a minute Tammy.. Tiko! Stop that before I have to stop you!" Demi lowers her voice to a dangerous growl, "And believe me, you won't like the way I have to stop you Lieutenant!"
Thomas Black Wolf smiles an endearing smile, as suave' as any Don Juan of antiquity, and tries to kiss her once again, his expression changed to that of the legendary lover.
Instantly, there appears 6 reproductions of Demi's holographic form, and each closing in on Demi and the ardent Tiko Black Wolf. In only an instant later, the reproductions of Demi have Tiko by the arms and legs and hauling him off to the back of Sickbay to restrain more conventionally in a stasis room.
The first Demi, completely covered in Tiko's cryo jell, scrambles to her feet, trying not to slip in the gooey stuff. Demi futilely begins swiping at the stuff with both hands. She screeches in aggravation, as all this accomplishes is to spread the green goo everywhere. In further perterbment, Demi growls, realizing a little slower than normal, that all that is needed is for her to regenerate her image, and she'd be prim and proper as always.
She excuses herself from the trio in an exasperated sigh and reappears in micro seconds later standing near the front of Sickbay, medkit in hand, and still looking just a tad flustered, even for a hologram.
Tammy and Rubens look at each other with raised eyebrows.
"What is the medical emergency please?" Demi tries to put on a professional face, and a sunny innocent smile. But somehow her expression betrays her incredible embarrassment, her graceful aplomb no longer guaranteed. 'Please, someone delete me now.' Demi thinks to herself in wilting embarrassment.
Rubens looks at his wife and stammers, noticably uncertain of his words in light of the scene they'd all just witnessed. Witnessed all except for little Meredith, who was still trying to pry her mother's concealing fingers from her eyes, a screwed up lip of determination and willful curiosity just below her mother's fingers.
Tammy looks a little consterned at Rubens and rescues him, "Demi, we have a little problem, Meredith decided to eat six of the buttons from my dress! She apparently got up from her bed in the night, I hear all these weird choking sounds, run into the living room where I had layed my dress on the sofa, and found Meredith sitting in the floor, all the buttons picked off, and she'd pulled loose so many threads from the fabric that the dress in in ravels."
"And several of the threads were hanging from her mouth too, Honey. We even found what was left of one of the buttons in her mouth, we think she ate it all." Rubens blurts out, his voice found at last.
Demi looks quite calm, but inwardly thanks her programers that she is not capable of bearing children at anytime in her future.
"Alright, come with me young cadet Barrichello." Demi says with a very friendly voice, and she grasps the little girls's tiny fingers in her hand, "Let's go see what the buttons look like on the inside, shall we?"
Meredith looks up at Demi with an impish grin and blurts out, "You were under that nekkid man! Was he kissing you?"
Demi colours a brilliant hue of red and looks straight ahead, trying to not think of the very 'nekkid man', who is now in stasis and awaiting whatever scans and conclusions she can come up with. Perhaps none of them too painful. 'Oh Kiya, you have no idea what fun you are missing!'
Meredith stops and points over at an object sitting in the corner of Sickbay just under one of the supply cabinets, "Doctor? Wazzat rabbit doing there? Is it gonna play wiff me?"
Demi looks over in shock and gasps, not seeing Meredith's rabbit, but a Klingon targh crouching under the cabinet's shadowey bottom.
:commbadge: "Sickbay to Security... we have a... a Klingon targh down here!"
Up high in the ceiling of Sickbay is hovering a trio of the glowing Aspects, their colours quite hypnotic, were anyone to have looked up to notice them.
Main Bridge
Stryker and Alice stepped out of the turbolift, onto the ship's command center.
Where as Kiya had her Apache Black Eyes of Anger and warning to others, Stryker's would fix a powerful withering glare on anyone who would be foolish enough to look his way, cream pie stains on his uniform. The full uncloaked gaze, 'the splitter of fear' - would cause other people to look away immediately or should make their eyes on the ground.
Ensign Liz Archer quickly got out of her chair at the Helm, as another ball of light/energy, floated by and through her chair.
Ensign Belldandy knew better, but announced, "Sir, the Intrepid is hailing."
Alice and Stryker looked at the view screen, the Intrepid waited nearby. Stryker knew the ship come for basically one purpose only: to beam up one of the two power generating artifacts. But never before was a large object beamed up. The Trill Science Council had sent the Intrepid, the combined transporter power to the two ships, should get the object beamed to the Intrepid, who will return it to Trill for detailed analysis. If this is what the Council think it is, could mean the beginning of the Transwarp Era for the Federation.
"On screen." Stryker told Ensign Belldandy.
Commander Reiko Korner and his crew appeared on the viewscreen. Stryker opened his mouth to speak when Alice tugged on his arm. They looked at the Science console on the port side of the spacious bridge.
Stryker blinked, and Alice rubbed her eyes, trying to see if their eyes were deceiving them. The chief science officer, Lt. Krone was surrounded by, Stryker counted them, fourteen!
Fourteen Ensign Zetachi's surrounded Lt. Krone.
Commander Reiko muttered something, "Tell me I am not seeing this."
"You are not seeing this." Stryker replied, "Stand by Intrepid."
The view screen blinked off.
Krone - Bridge
Krone's eyes widened in suprise at being surrounded by these fourteen Zetachi's. His jaw dropped in astonishment, "Ahh, ahhhh! AAhh!"
But then he calmed down and just looked at them. They didn't seem to be doing anything really, except for one or two who waved politely.
"Aren't you going to freak out?"
One of the other Bridge Officer's asked.
"Nah," Krone
shrugged, "It is obvious something strange is going on around
here, so I may aswell accept it." He extended his hand and shook
one of the Zetachis'. "Hello, good to meet you."
"Lieutenant, what is the meaning of this?" The Captian asked.
"I can offer no explanations, sir," Krone answered as he shook another Zetachi's hand.
Suddenly, the real Zetachi walked onto
the Bridge and saw all this. "What the?" He jumped back in
sudden shock, "Ahh, aaahhh! AAHHH!" Zetach turned to
run, but bumped into a copy of himself.
"He is supposed to be
freaking out because of this," the copy said while referring to
Krone. "Why isn't he freaking out?"
"Huh? What
are you talking about? Why are you me?" Zetachi
squeamered.
"I believe I may have a light to shed on all of this," Krone said as he walked over to the original Zetachi. Why the Captian and crew had to watch all this, they did not know, nor did it offer any relevance to anything at all... anywhere! "You see, I had previously held an air of dislike towards you. As an honourable Lethean, I apologize. I now realize there are more important things to be concerned about, like the floating lights... the two power generating artifacts... and processed meat. Why out of nowhere fourteen copies of you appeared around me, I can only speculate it having something to do with my recent quam with you, Zetachi."
"Oh," Zetachi said, finally
understanding. "Captian, request to be transferred to another
ship?"
"Granted," Stryker said as Zetachi ran out
the Bridge.
"But" Krone stuttered. "Oh well.
I suppose there are fourteen more to work under me. To be honest, you
all do excellent work." He glanced over at them. "Please
report to the Science Lab to Lieutenant Thrrel. He will give you
further instruction on studying these power generating
artifacts."
"Yes sir!" They all said as they left
the Bridge.
"Krone, why did you just do that?"
Stryker asked. "We have to find out where they came
from!"
"Indeed, and I believe they can be scanned while
they do some work for us. It is like a win-win situation."
Stryker
threw up his arms in giving-up. He just didn't know what to think
about these strange situations sometimes.
CMO Kiya Black Wolf's Quarters
Kiya was weary. There had never been a day in the history of her life as bizzare or irritating as this one had been. Nothing she tried to do seemed to have gone right.
And now she still had all of her blank reports to do over, which was something she deeply dreaded. Nothing works worse than a tired and stressed brain. And she knew she was in possesion of one of those tonight.
She gusted a heavy resigned sigh and told the computer to fill her jaccuzi. She all but purred as she asked the computer to include a generous dose of Betazed's best bubbling emolient. The jacuzzi was an item she'd wished for since her teens, and now finally had aboard the Pretoria. One of the perks of being a CMO she supposed, but one she was very grateful for, especially after trying days like today.
She peeled out of her uniform and labcoat, that was very soaked with coffee, and were now sticking to her skin. This was exactly not the way she'd planned on enjoying her Capracian coffee, and unceremoniously tossed them to the floor. However, Kiya was very careful to lay her combadge as far from herself as possible.
'No point in making it too easy to get ahold of me tonight.' she smirked to herself.
She settled into the warm, swirling water, her head laying back and her eyes closed to the world, and every possible memory of the day. She smiled finally, a wide, luxuriating, sleepy grin that shone like the sun. This bath was making her feel like a queen. She sighed deeply and sunk down to her chin in the soft, warm bubbles of her bath, the smell as intoxicating as the jets blowing warm, bubbly water on all her acheing muscles.
An instant later, a swirling, glowing orb of energy arose from the other end of her jacuzzi, rising above the lathery bubbles and floating like a lazy butterfly towards Kiya's smiling face, her eyes stil closed. As Kiya began to hum a song to herself, still scrunching down deeper into a more comfortable position, the glowing Aspect began to bob in time with the beat of her humming.
In a few more seconds of consideration and observation, the Aspect also began to make a very similar sound as Kiya's, reproducing the little song in perfect harmony with her. Kiya's eyes popped open, the Aspect mere inches from her nose, and bobbing still in a rhythmic motion, making it's pretty rendition of the song she'd been so blissfully humming a few seconds before.
Kiya splutters, grasping at a nearby towel to cover herself. She tried stretching to reach her combadge, but it was far, far away, mockingly shining at her from the other side of her bath area on the counter.
Kiya wants to get up out of her jacuzzi, but knows that's just not an option, her being sans clothing. So she throws the wet towel at the Aspect, the towel hanging in midair as if caught on an invisible towel hook, still bobbing a little. The Aspect discontinued it's humming and hovered ever closer to Kiya, and she was already as backed up in the tub as she could get and not fall out.
"Security to CMO Black Wolf's quarters! Intruder alert!"
Somewhere in the back of Kiya's mind is the thought rolling around, 'Oh crap, I'm about to have a room full of security people and I'm sporting bubbles and a smile!', the absurdity of the situation making her smirk despite everything.
Security
Ensigns Zachary Patterson, Rachel Skarsten and Cadet Kira Tierney was the first team to arrive outside the CMO's quarters. The doors slid open after Rachael typed in the security overwrite.
The armed security personnel poured into the jacuzzi room, followed by two more teams not even twenty seconds later. Nearby, an Ascept was singing and humming, floating slowly through the room in a circle.
The five men, two humans, two Betazoids and a Bolian stood there, realizing Kiya's situation, who was trying, discreetly to hide her lack of clothing in the jacuzzi's few remaining bubbles. Ensign Zachary Patterson recovered first, he and Tierney had everyone removed from her quarters.
Meanwhile there was nothing anyone knew how to handle the apple sized balls of light, Rachel Skarsten was standing in the jacuzzi room looking royally pissed off while Tierney was somewhere between hickups and laughing at the whole thing.
USS Intrepid
Commander Reiko Korner and her Andorian XO, Emmer looked at each other. "You know" Emmer started, "I often heard of that ship's crazy reputation."
"Who else saw the dozen clones on their bridge ?" the tactical officer, Murray Walker asked.
"I did." everyone answered.
The younger Andorian, Talas, commented, "Their XO, that Mahri looked at me like she was wondering if she should charbroil me or something."
"She's scary." Murray Walker agreed with Talas.
"So is Captain Stryker." Emmer added.
"That is enough everyone." Commander Reiko Korner silenced everyone, "Back on your posts. Text message Pretoria. Tell them we will be ready to sync-up our transporters when they are."
Kel'N'agh watched the beings through his own, personal, Aspect. These creatures provided all the information it needed. Its conclusion: not one individual saw beyond its own limited existence. Not one laughed. Kel'N'agh instucted his crew to withdraw from the Incursion. "Pointless beings, engaged in pointless actions"
"There is no life here""""
"Ascendent, remove us from this location" Kel'N'agh instructed.
The black and silent ship left to other pastures. But it left behind chaos and confusion.
After a few hours the crew began to return to normal. Except Tiko, who callapsed from exhaustion.
Stryker, who was also affected, came to his senses.
Stryker : "Red Alert", he cried out
He turned to his love: "Was that what I should have done?". A small boy's question.
The ship itself, the Pretoria, cut its way through the Universe without the burden of thought or care.
Rakurai Stryker - Bridge
Khetrha and Captain Stryker was not impressed with the message the Ascepts left in the Pretoria's computers.
"Helm! Get us the Hell
out of here !" Commander Khetrha ordered.
"Aye sir,
initiating getting-the-hell-out-of-here maneuver." Ensign Liz
Archer replied.
Stryker and Alice smiled at each other.
Two days later, 08:45 hours (in the morning)
Alice stepped into Sickbay, dragging someone behind her by the arm.
"Ya ta hey Healer." Alice said, smiling at Kiya.
"Ohayou Alice-san ... Who's this ?"
Kiya asked.
Captain Stryker was pulling against Alice with a very
worried and embarrased look on his face, Alice trying to shoosh him
and talk to Kiya at the same time. Which was getting very confused.
Kiya took one look at Stryker's colourings, and the fact that he
seemed to be trying to hide behind Alice, and relaxed a bit.
"Alice, Rakurai, please calm yourselves. I have just gotten Sickbay returned to it's former condition of repair and calm, if you please." She smiled a soft smile and begins to scan the Captain with a medical tricorder, noting his temperature and general vital signs.
"Well, Kiya, what do you think is going on?"
"Alice, not here, not like this! We need to go, please!" Rakurai all but growled, already begining to pant in the Edenian fashion of sweating.
Kiya put her hand up and asked her Captain to please sit down on the biobed, and if possible, to lay down. For which Stryker just glared at Kiya pleadingly. Kiya nodded once and took Alice by the arm to her office.
The door to Kiya's office flared open and Alice breezed in, her emotions very raw and excitable.
"He's driving me insane! One emotion one second, another the next, his colour is all wrong and he's panting profusely at odd moments, mostly during the night. And he's insatiable! It's like he was a hormone-drowned teenager! He's happy, extreemly happy, then deeply depressed, hyper, then laughing out of his mind. And the sleep! He's been going out like he's been drugged at the strangest moments.. I am terribly worried! What did your scans reveal Kiya?" Alice instinctively covers her swelling belly with one hand and looks intensley into the CMO's calm eyes.
"Pon farr." Kiya states simply.
"Excuse me?" Alice whispers, trying not to become more aggitated.
"Like I said, 'pon farr'. Rakurai is in the early stages of the Edenian form of what Vulcans refere to as 'pon farr'. His seems to be running approximately six months ahead of his last cycle. Liet'nieer for the Captain runs about every 5.3 years appart. He's only a little ahead of schedule. Most likely a leaving from our recent experiences with Nagaia and daughters."
Alice's shoulders dropped. Kiya couldn't be sure from exhaustion or relief, but pondered the validity of both reasons.
"Oh my god... I never realised. I feel so awful forcing him down here now. No wonder he was so embarassed!"
The two peeped out of a slim window at the Captain and indeed he looked horrified for anyone to see him in his condition. Kiya choked off a snicker as she watched Rakurai peer longingly, calculatingly, at the door of Sickbay and slammed her hand over her mouth. She knew he hated being in Sickbay on a good day. This had to be like the Spanish Inquisition, just a small wait before the torture.
Kiya cocked her head closer to Alice and spoke softly.
"You remember what all you need to do to help him?" Kiya spoke quietly.
Alice nodded her head.
"Alice take some time off. The next few weeks he'll be needing you quite alot, and for more reasons than last time. He's far enough along in his adult life for the next few weeks to be the most intense. You both will need to eat very well, get plenty of rest. And above all else, relax!"
Alice looks at Kiya with a question burning in her narrowed eyes.
"Waitaminit... you didn't seem too worried right after your first look at him. Before you started the scan... you already knew didn't you?"
"Sure did." Kiya tried not to smile as she watched Rakurai trying to ease off the biobed unseen.
"No, Kiya, how did you know this before you'de even scanend him? I don't understand."
Kiya squelched off the temptation to tell her, 'That's my job! A good doctor always knows what to look for.'
Kiya drew Alice over to the window and noted the slight gasp as she noted how close he was getting to having his seat completely disengaged from the biobed. He looked for all the world like a 5 year old trying to sneak off before he got caught red handed at something naughty.
"Alice, take one look at his neck. Those colourings are almost 100 universal for most sapient and non sapient reptilians. The Captain's mostly embarrased because his neck is in full display colours for mating. He probably doesn't want everyone onboard knowing just how vulnerable he is right now. And he's fighting alot of emotions connected to his instinct to mate. Go home, take some time off. I will advise Commander Khetrha and everything will be fine. Really."
Kiya gave Alice's arm a squeeze, "Better go get him before he absconds to parts unknown." Kiya's eyes were twinkling as Alice gasped and muttered some colourful words, and jumped out the door, just barely catching her husband's arm before he took off.
FIN.
