Disclaimer: Still don't own it.
A/N: Still rewriting! Here's the redone chapter three (made exclusively in the night with only a laptop screen to see by!)
*** Identity Crisis ***
Chapter Three - Mind Meld
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Finding himself halfway across the ship in Dr. McCoy's body was a slightly more unnerving situation than Roberts would have liked to find himself in. It didn't even register in his shocked brain that the memories and headache were gone; all that he understood at the moment was that he was suddenly in Dr. McCoy's body.
He stood, staring at down at himself, his mouth working without producing any noise. 'Slightly more unnerving' was a serious understatement. This was... there wasn't a word to describe what this was. Who, oh why, had he joined Starfleet?
Apparently Doctor McCoy had been talking to Nurse Chapel, for she had asked "Doctor? What happened?" and looked at him with concern. What had they even been talking about? Roberts wondered. Some of those memories might come in handy now.
Okay. Just explain. "This may sound weird, but I'm n-" Roberts couldn't force the words out. He couldn't say, "I'm not Doctor McCoy." Such a simple phrase, but yet.
Try it again. "I'm n-" Why couldn't he tell her?
"Doctor?" Nurse Chapel looked truly concerned now.
"I'm fine. Probably just some after-effect of the headache," he said. If he couldn't say who he really was, then he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.
Of course, nothing else was simple. What had happened? And how would he get his body back? Would he have to pretend to be Dr. McCoy? If so, how the hell was he supposed to do THAT?
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Doctor McCoy was no less confused. He was also halfway across the ship, and in a different body (Ensign Roberts', of course). He spent less time gaping, as his experience as CMO of the Enterprise had shown him things nearly as alarming; nearly, but he was feeling at the moment that this topped them all.
But there was one thing he would definitely have to do. He had to tell Jim. He didn't know how this had happened, how he had ended up in Ensign Roberts' body, but he couldn't stay there. It must have had something to do with those strange dreams, and then the memories and then the headaches... but he would probably need Jim's help to figure it out.
He walked over to the nearest intercom, which was on the other side of the hallway Roberts had been standing in, somewhat surprised at the strength and agility in Roberts' body. There was good reason for this strength, however, as McCoy was almost twenty years Roberts' senior.
McCoy hit the intercom button, saying "Jim?" It sounded strange coming from this mouth. Roberts' mouth. McCoy rarely heard anyone else call the captain 'Jim.' (Except Spock when he was feeling emotional. in other words, very, very, rarely.)
"Uh. who is this?" Kirk responded hesitantly.
"Something strange just happened, and this is--" but he couldn't forse out the name. He couldn't say "McCoy" or "Bones."
"Who is this?" Kirk asked again.
McCoy gave up for the mean time. There was something strange happening, no doubt, but for now he would have to act as Roberts until he could find someone to tell. "Ensign Roberts, sir," he said.
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The switched four didn't get to meet again until luch (or rather, Roberts' dinner-like meal). None of them had been able to tell anyone about the strange happenings.
They somehow managed to gravitate to the same table. After all, they needed to talk. To the outsider, it would have seemed that Chekov spoke first, though in actuality it was Spock.
"Obviously, we have a problem. We are trapped in the bodies of others, and are unable to speak about our difficulties to anyone, excluding, apparently, each other." Without its usual Russian accent, Chekov's voice sounded alien.
"No, really?" McCoy couldn't help retorting sarcastically, "I somehow get stuck inside of Roberts here and I can't tell anyone about it and you think we have a problem?"
"Yes."
McCoy rolled his eyes. Even in a Chekov shell, this was unmistakably Spock."I don't know why I even bother." Why was he even arguing? he wondered vaguely. They had a problem, that was for sure, and it would probably best be solved if he didn't spend his time bickering with the First Officer.
"Like I said," Spock continued, ignoring McCoy for the moment, "We have a problem. The only 'plus' is that, at least for me, the memories of Mr. Chekov as well as the headache that accompanied them are gone. It is, though this phrase is certainly not accurate, that we had to puch our way through the memories to get to the bodies we currently occupy.
"In any case, the logical conclusion is that we must discover a way to remedy this problem without help outside this group."
"Ve're doomed," Chekov murmured to himself, only half-joking.
"Spock. can't you try a mind-meld or something? I mean, Chekov has your body but you should be able to just use your mind, right?" McCoy said. It made sense, at least to him, that this should work.
"Possibly," Spock appeared to be thinking this over. Rather, Chekov appeared to be thinking this over. "Yes. I shall attempt a mind meld. That was a loical idea, Doctor."
"Right here?" Roberts pointed out, "You do realize you look like Chekov, and most people would be confused if they saw you doing a mind-meld in the mess hall even as Mr. Spock. This might freak people out a bit." He paused, then remembered, "Sir."
"Logical, Ensign. Where do you suggest we attempt the mind meld?"
"Ve could try it en Sick Bay. I em sure Joe Bob can get us en."
Spock was looking at Chekov in what could have been alarm and McCoy was watching him in amusement. To anyone who didn't know what had happened, it would look as though Spock had adopted a Russian accent...
"Mr. Chekov," Spock said dryly, "I suggest you work on your accent if you wish to impersonate me until we can discover the means to switch back."
"Yes, sair."
"So we're actually going to impersonate each other? We're not going to try to tell someone?" McCoy asked. He had thought they might have had to do this, but he certainly wasn't looking forward ot it. And if there was any other way...
"We have tried, Doctor. I believe we have already gone over this. We cannot tell anyone. That much has been made clear. Now we have a choice of either impersonating each other, or ending up in, as you would say, the 'loony bin.' Our sanity will surely be doubted if we did not. If we were in fact deemed insane, we would lose most of the resources we have now. Without those resources, we will be unable to do research and experiments and it is unlikely we will ever switch back." Spock's voice was like ice. Cold but clear. And very logical.
"Well then, 'Doctor', lead us to Sickbay so Spockov can try the mind meld," McCoy said sarcastically to Roberts. "Just... while you're impersonating me, you will have to be very careful not to get yourself stuck doing any medical work. You may be a good security guard, but that does not make you a good doctor. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," Roberts said. Then they went to sickbay.
You had to hand it to him, Roberts was a good actor. He fed the nurses some cock and bull story about checking out the headache victims from earlier because the hypos hadn't worked immediately, and they believed every word.
Soon they had a whole room in Sickbay to themselves. Spock sat down on a biobed- no, it was Chekov, it just looked like Spock. This was confusing, and it could probably only get worse.
The real Spock put his fingertips to Chekov's temple. He first muttered a few things that McCoy and Roberts didn't hear, then acquired the glazed look that came from mind to mind contact.
"I wonder if this is going good," McCoy commented. He didn't expect an answer from Roberts and he didn't get one.
Suddenly Spock straightened up and clutched at his head.
"What the.?" McCoy breathed.
Then Spock's knees buckled underneath him and he fell.
McCoy took the few steps that brought him to Spock's side. He picked him up with a small bit of effort and lay him down on a nearby biobed. (If it had been Spock's body McCoy wouldn't have been able to do this. Be as it may, it was Chekov's body and the Russian was smaller and lighter than Spock. Also, McCoy was now Roberts, and stronger than he would have been had he been himself That was one good thing about this whole business).
"Roberts, hand me that hypospray." It felt odd to order himself (at least his image) around, but Roberts obeyed with a 'yes sir.' McCoy applied the hypospray to Spock's shoulder.
"Spock. are you all right?"
"Doctor, I believe I have failed," Spock said, not answering the question, "I encountered a. presence in Mr. Chekov's mind. It was blocking me from attempting anything useful. When I tried to get past it, I was... thrown out of his mind."Spock sounded disoriented, but McCoy didn't exactly blame him.
"Vhat sort of presence? I mean, I vant to know what is een my head."
Spock seemed to wince at the accent, but it may have been McCoy's imagination. "It was a powerful presence. I was unable to determine much more, because at that point it stopped me from coming any further."
"Is it in our minds too, Spock? Or is it just Chekov?"
"Doctor, in order for me to know this, I would have to do a Mind-meld with you or Ensign Roberts."
"Then do it. We need to know what this 'presence' means. And what we can do to get rid of it if it's what turned me into Ensign Roberts. And will SOMEONE get ready to catch him if he falls again?"McCoy finished, looking pointedly at Chekov and Roberts.
Chekov and Roberts both hastened to the task. McCoy couldn't get over the fact he was watching himself and Spock stand by to catch Chekov if the Mind- meld was disrupted again.
Spock's fingertips found his temple. McCoy's eyes closed as he tried to follow the Vulcan though his mind. He could sense Spock in his thoughts, could sense him trying to dig deeper into McCoy's consciousness. And then suddenly something in his mind rebelled. But not quite his mind. The presence? Then Spock was no longer there. McCoy's eyes snapped open.
There were Chekov and Roberts, looking like Spock and McCoy, supporting a one more unconscious Chekov-looking Spock.
"What are you waiting for? Give him the hypospray!"McCoy snapped.
Spock awoke for the second time to see three faces staring down at him. He got to his feet, if somewhat unsteadily (Chekov had been supporting him), rubbing his head. He had a headache for the second time that day.
"The presence was certainly there," he said, answering the unspoken question. "And Doctor, I seem to have a headache."
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Reviews are wonderful!
A/N: Still rewriting! Here's the redone chapter three (made exclusively in the night with only a laptop screen to see by!)
*** Identity Crisis ***
Chapter Three - Mind Meld
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Finding himself halfway across the ship in Dr. McCoy's body was a slightly more unnerving situation than Roberts would have liked to find himself in. It didn't even register in his shocked brain that the memories and headache were gone; all that he understood at the moment was that he was suddenly in Dr. McCoy's body.
He stood, staring at down at himself, his mouth working without producing any noise. 'Slightly more unnerving' was a serious understatement. This was... there wasn't a word to describe what this was. Who, oh why, had he joined Starfleet?
Apparently Doctor McCoy had been talking to Nurse Chapel, for she had asked "Doctor? What happened?" and looked at him with concern. What had they even been talking about? Roberts wondered. Some of those memories might come in handy now.
Okay. Just explain. "This may sound weird, but I'm n-" Roberts couldn't force the words out. He couldn't say, "I'm not Doctor McCoy." Such a simple phrase, but yet.
Try it again. "I'm n-" Why couldn't he tell her?
"Doctor?" Nurse Chapel looked truly concerned now.
"I'm fine. Probably just some after-effect of the headache," he said. If he couldn't say who he really was, then he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.
Of course, nothing else was simple. What had happened? And how would he get his body back? Would he have to pretend to be Dr. McCoy? If so, how the hell was he supposed to do THAT?
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Doctor McCoy was no less confused. He was also halfway across the ship, and in a different body (Ensign Roberts', of course). He spent less time gaping, as his experience as CMO of the Enterprise had shown him things nearly as alarming; nearly, but he was feeling at the moment that this topped them all.
But there was one thing he would definitely have to do. He had to tell Jim. He didn't know how this had happened, how he had ended up in Ensign Roberts' body, but he couldn't stay there. It must have had something to do with those strange dreams, and then the memories and then the headaches... but he would probably need Jim's help to figure it out.
He walked over to the nearest intercom, which was on the other side of the hallway Roberts had been standing in, somewhat surprised at the strength and agility in Roberts' body. There was good reason for this strength, however, as McCoy was almost twenty years Roberts' senior.
McCoy hit the intercom button, saying "Jim?" It sounded strange coming from this mouth. Roberts' mouth. McCoy rarely heard anyone else call the captain 'Jim.' (Except Spock when he was feeling emotional. in other words, very, very, rarely.)
"Uh. who is this?" Kirk responded hesitantly.
"Something strange just happened, and this is--" but he couldn't forse out the name. He couldn't say "McCoy" or "Bones."
"Who is this?" Kirk asked again.
McCoy gave up for the mean time. There was something strange happening, no doubt, but for now he would have to act as Roberts until he could find someone to tell. "Ensign Roberts, sir," he said.
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The switched four didn't get to meet again until luch (or rather, Roberts' dinner-like meal). None of them had been able to tell anyone about the strange happenings.
They somehow managed to gravitate to the same table. After all, they needed to talk. To the outsider, it would have seemed that Chekov spoke first, though in actuality it was Spock.
"Obviously, we have a problem. We are trapped in the bodies of others, and are unable to speak about our difficulties to anyone, excluding, apparently, each other." Without its usual Russian accent, Chekov's voice sounded alien.
"No, really?" McCoy couldn't help retorting sarcastically, "I somehow get stuck inside of Roberts here and I can't tell anyone about it and you think we have a problem?"
"Yes."
McCoy rolled his eyes. Even in a Chekov shell, this was unmistakably Spock."I don't know why I even bother." Why was he even arguing? he wondered vaguely. They had a problem, that was for sure, and it would probably best be solved if he didn't spend his time bickering with the First Officer.
"Like I said," Spock continued, ignoring McCoy for the moment, "We have a problem. The only 'plus' is that, at least for me, the memories of Mr. Chekov as well as the headache that accompanied them are gone. It is, though this phrase is certainly not accurate, that we had to puch our way through the memories to get to the bodies we currently occupy.
"In any case, the logical conclusion is that we must discover a way to remedy this problem without help outside this group."
"Ve're doomed," Chekov murmured to himself, only half-joking.
"Spock. can't you try a mind-meld or something? I mean, Chekov has your body but you should be able to just use your mind, right?" McCoy said. It made sense, at least to him, that this should work.
"Possibly," Spock appeared to be thinking this over. Rather, Chekov appeared to be thinking this over. "Yes. I shall attempt a mind meld. That was a loical idea, Doctor."
"Right here?" Roberts pointed out, "You do realize you look like Chekov, and most people would be confused if they saw you doing a mind-meld in the mess hall even as Mr. Spock. This might freak people out a bit." He paused, then remembered, "Sir."
"Logical, Ensign. Where do you suggest we attempt the mind meld?"
"Ve could try it en Sick Bay. I em sure Joe Bob can get us en."
Spock was looking at Chekov in what could have been alarm and McCoy was watching him in amusement. To anyone who didn't know what had happened, it would look as though Spock had adopted a Russian accent...
"Mr. Chekov," Spock said dryly, "I suggest you work on your accent if you wish to impersonate me until we can discover the means to switch back."
"Yes, sair."
"So we're actually going to impersonate each other? We're not going to try to tell someone?" McCoy asked. He had thought they might have had to do this, but he certainly wasn't looking forward ot it. And if there was any other way...
"We have tried, Doctor. I believe we have already gone over this. We cannot tell anyone. That much has been made clear. Now we have a choice of either impersonating each other, or ending up in, as you would say, the 'loony bin.' Our sanity will surely be doubted if we did not. If we were in fact deemed insane, we would lose most of the resources we have now. Without those resources, we will be unable to do research and experiments and it is unlikely we will ever switch back." Spock's voice was like ice. Cold but clear. And very logical.
"Well then, 'Doctor', lead us to Sickbay so Spockov can try the mind meld," McCoy said sarcastically to Roberts. "Just... while you're impersonating me, you will have to be very careful not to get yourself stuck doing any medical work. You may be a good security guard, but that does not make you a good doctor. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," Roberts said. Then they went to sickbay.
You had to hand it to him, Roberts was a good actor. He fed the nurses some cock and bull story about checking out the headache victims from earlier because the hypos hadn't worked immediately, and they believed every word.
Soon they had a whole room in Sickbay to themselves. Spock sat down on a biobed- no, it was Chekov, it just looked like Spock. This was confusing, and it could probably only get worse.
The real Spock put his fingertips to Chekov's temple. He first muttered a few things that McCoy and Roberts didn't hear, then acquired the glazed look that came from mind to mind contact.
"I wonder if this is going good," McCoy commented. He didn't expect an answer from Roberts and he didn't get one.
Suddenly Spock straightened up and clutched at his head.
"What the.?" McCoy breathed.
Then Spock's knees buckled underneath him and he fell.
McCoy took the few steps that brought him to Spock's side. He picked him up with a small bit of effort and lay him down on a nearby biobed. (If it had been Spock's body McCoy wouldn't have been able to do this. Be as it may, it was Chekov's body and the Russian was smaller and lighter than Spock. Also, McCoy was now Roberts, and stronger than he would have been had he been himself That was one good thing about this whole business).
"Roberts, hand me that hypospray." It felt odd to order himself (at least his image) around, but Roberts obeyed with a 'yes sir.' McCoy applied the hypospray to Spock's shoulder.
"Spock. are you all right?"
"Doctor, I believe I have failed," Spock said, not answering the question, "I encountered a. presence in Mr. Chekov's mind. It was blocking me from attempting anything useful. When I tried to get past it, I was... thrown out of his mind."Spock sounded disoriented, but McCoy didn't exactly blame him.
"Vhat sort of presence? I mean, I vant to know what is een my head."
Spock seemed to wince at the accent, but it may have been McCoy's imagination. "It was a powerful presence. I was unable to determine much more, because at that point it stopped me from coming any further."
"Is it in our minds too, Spock? Or is it just Chekov?"
"Doctor, in order for me to know this, I would have to do a Mind-meld with you or Ensign Roberts."
"Then do it. We need to know what this 'presence' means. And what we can do to get rid of it if it's what turned me into Ensign Roberts. And will SOMEONE get ready to catch him if he falls again?"McCoy finished, looking pointedly at Chekov and Roberts.
Chekov and Roberts both hastened to the task. McCoy couldn't get over the fact he was watching himself and Spock stand by to catch Chekov if the Mind- meld was disrupted again.
Spock's fingertips found his temple. McCoy's eyes closed as he tried to follow the Vulcan though his mind. He could sense Spock in his thoughts, could sense him trying to dig deeper into McCoy's consciousness. And then suddenly something in his mind rebelled. But not quite his mind. The presence? Then Spock was no longer there. McCoy's eyes snapped open.
There were Chekov and Roberts, looking like Spock and McCoy, supporting a one more unconscious Chekov-looking Spock.
"What are you waiting for? Give him the hypospray!"McCoy snapped.
Spock awoke for the second time to see three faces staring down at him. He got to his feet, if somewhat unsteadily (Chekov had been supporting him), rubbing his head. He had a headache for the second time that day.
"The presence was certainly there," he said, answering the unspoken question. "And Doctor, I seem to have a headache."
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