THINGS GONE AWRY IN THE UNIVERSE--PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

CHAPTER 2 - SURPRISES

"Ian, I—" Sara started to say. She paused as she unlocked the front door, then said, "I don't need a—"

"SURPRISE!!!!!" All of Sara's friends jumped out from hiding as the lights flicked on. At the front of the crowd she could see her rookie partner, Jake McCartey. Behind him stood the ghostly visage of Danny Woo. He waved at her, grinning devilishly.

"—party," Sara finished, wide-eyed.

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Once Sara had gotten over her initial shock, she began to enjoy herself. After everyone had left, Ian brought out something that made her rethink how much she had enjoyed this evening—a piñata. He insisted on hitting it—or, rather, on her hitting it. It was shaped like a coffee cup, complete with saucer, handle, and paper "steam" rising from the dark brown "liquid" on top. He finally convinced her, and he put his arms around her so that he might swing the stick with her. Just before the wooden pole came into contact with the coffee cup piñata—Sara had to admit that the shape appealed to her—both were overcome with a feeling of dizziness and disorientation. Sara noted that the Witchblade was glowing blindingly on her right wrist. They were swept up into a swirling maelstrom, leaving the backyard silent…and empty.

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Kathryn stood on her toes to plant a kiss on Chakotay's lips. Even after a year of marriage, they still acted like newlyweds most of the time. She giggled as he swept her off her feet, one arm under her knees, the other around her back. He carried her all the way down the corridor to the turbolift, where he set her down. He stepped off the lift and bowed deeply, grinning.

"Good day, my love—" Before he could get another word out, she thrust a hand out, grasped a handful of his tunic, and yanked him inside just before the doors closed.

"Bridge," Kathryn ordered, still chuckling. The turbolift began to move upwards. She had just calmed herself down when she glanced over at Chakotay and broke into a fresh round of giggles. His eyes were crossed, and he was wiggling his ears up and down in that queer way of his. The giggles turned to laughter, which then gave way to a full-blown belly laugh. Kathryn had just wiped away the last of her tears of laughter when the lift slid to a silent stop. She stepped out onto the bridge and froze, her good humor evaporating. In the center of the command level, a swirling mass of colorful light was forming, spinning faster and faster until it began to coalesce into two humanoid forms. The colorful whirlwind faded away to reveal a human man and woman, the man's arms around the woman, and their hands joined in the grasping of a pole that hit a small structure that had appeared with them. The impact caused the object to break, sending out a shower of small, hard spheres—Kathryn's nostrils flared; she had picked up the unmistakable scent of coffee. First things first, however—she needed to find out what threat the pair posed. One of the spheres hit her directly between the eyes. She took several deep breaths to keep from screaming.

"Who are you?" she asked. Without her having to give the order, the bridge crew had trained their phasers on the intruders. The man stood up, extended a hand to the woman, and helped her up, despite the fact that she was glaring at him. He turned to face Kathryn.

"My name is Ian Nottingham. This is my wife—"

The woman cut in. "I'm Sara Pezzini. I work at the New York Police—"

Kathryn held up a hand to halt her. "What are you doing on my ship?"

Ian and Sara exchanged glances. Sara cleared her throat.

"'Scuse me, but can I get your name and—and the year?"

"I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway, and this is my husband and First Officer, Commander Chakotay. You are on the Federation Starship Voyager, and the year is 2378." Before Sara could reply, Kathryn moved forward so that she was eye-to-eye with her. Blue eyes searched green for a long moment, and then the redheaded captain turned to Ian and did the same. Finally, she stepped away.

To the crew, she said, "Put away your weapons." Her eyes met Sara's. "They mean us no harm."

Sara breathed a sigh of relief as the phasers disappeared. "I think I may know how we ended up here." She pulled up her sleeve, revealing a bracelet. It was made of silver, with an intricate, yet simple design of curves and swirls. In the center was a round scarlet stone. It glowed eerily, giving off an unearthly light. "This is the Witchblade. I believe it brought us here. If I'm right, then we have no way to get back to where—and when—we're supposed to be." She sniffed the air, her brow furrowing a little. "I smell coffee."

"I know, me, too," Kathryn said. She turned to Ian. "What are those?"

Looking down at the candies she'd gestured to, he replied, "They're coffee cup candies—you know, kind of like root beer barrels—" He didn't get a chance to finish as both women dove for the treats with simultaneous cries of "MINE!!!" Ian and Chakotay just shook their heads, everyone on the bridge chuckling at the two coffee fiends.

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