Title: Red Sand
Fandom Star trek 2009
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Star Trek characters or settings. The only one I can claim is Samantha and Pike's daughter Alex
240 years ago: and eight hours
This time it was different. The halls were deserted instead of filled with scientists. For some reason this scared her and she began to run. She ran to where they kept him first and he wasn't there. She tried the lounge and the yard, even the gym but he was nowhere to be found. None of them were and it was beginning to worry her. I mean it wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself but still he was her friend. She heard the banging and shouting and rushed towards it. The door to the hall opened as she neared it and she walked into the control room.
If there was one place that knew where he was it was here. She glanced around at the hundreds of monitors. She spotted them right away. They were locked inside some sort of tank. She vaguely remembered him saying something about tests to see how long they could hold their breath.
This one wasn't filled with water though it was filling up with some sort of gas. Some of them were banging on the glass trying to break it. She turned her gaze to the screen next to it and found the scientists having some sort of party.
She pushed the button for the audio feed.
"It should only be a few more minutes and we can call this project a wash" said one of the scientists.
She recognized him as Singh. She remembered that he hated that he shared a name with this horrible little man. Her stomach dropped. It wasn't a test they were trying to kill them. Fury flared and Sam searched for the door overrides. She found the ones for the tank and hit the open buttons. One of them flung open the outer door and the hall filled with smoke. They stumbled into the hall all eighty two of them. She spotted his black hair before he disappeared out the door.
The scientists didn't seem to notice that their quarry had escaped yet. She flipped the switches to turn on the fans to dissipate the gas in the hall. The smoke cleared and he looked up at the camera. He looked angry and so did the others. Same locked the doors leading to the outside and then one by one unlocked the doors between the scientists and them. She watched as they made their way towards the scientists.
Her gaze fell on the party again they still were oblivious. Sam locked the control room door and sat down. They reached the door and Sam held her breath. The door slowly opened and his followers rushed into the room. It was like watching an extremely violent movie in slow motion. She closed her eyes and shut off the audio. The bright spot of crimson on the screen drew her attention. He was staring up at the camera like he knew she was on the other side. She touched the screen right where the side of his face was.
"run sweetheart, I'll find you" said Sam
He seemed to have heard her or one of his friends said something to him. He turned away and nodded to whatever the man said. One of them started lighting fires and the rest left the room in search of more victims. It was time to leave. Sam stood and made her way towards the door.
She exited the control room into acidic smelling smoke and the smell of copper. As she made her way towards where she came in she noted the bodies. She tripped over one and screamed when she landed in his blood. She scrambled away. Footsteps were running in her direction. She wasn't sure if his followers would recognize her as a friend so she ran.
Someone shot at her and then she woke with a scream dying on her lips. When she sat up her room had a Smokey haze hanging in the room. Her door swung open before she could reach the window to air it out.
Samantha closed the door to her Volkswagen. The trunk was full to bursting and so was her backseat. With the exception of her crappy thrift store furniture everything she owned was in her car. She turned and looked back at her mother standing in the doorway. She looked sad with that shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Sam wanted to give her a hug but they were never the hugging type. Her stepfather was not home at the moment and it would make this a whole lot less pleasant if he was. Sam mouthed I love you and climbed into the driver's seat and cranked the engine. Her cat in the carrier next to her gave a frightened mewl.
"Easy Watson it's going to be all right" said Sam
The cat gave his equivalent of an indignant snort and curled up to sleep. Sam shifted the 69 bug into reverse and pulled out of the driveway. Drove it out of town and headed for the highway 44 heading out of Tulsa. It was going to be a long trip to Vegas. Everything was fine until she hit the outskirts of Albuquerque. That is where it all went south. She was driving across a bridge when suddenly it wasn't there and she was free falling. Sam screamed she knew she did because the last thing she remembered hearing was the dying echo of that scream.
5 years ago, awakening
The sound of beeping and muted voices greeted her as she finally opened her eyes. When she finally did she screamed because what was leaning over her was the biggest bug she had ever seen. The bug back peddled and hit a panel on the wall. Some guys in white came into the room but by this time she couldn't stop screaming to acknowledge them. One of the nurses stuck a shot into her neck and she was out again. When she awoke again she was restrained but the doctors she saw from then on were human.
She figured out it was a hospital on the third day. It wasn't until the fifth day that she actually found out what was going on. They released her after she talked to the psych guy, who asked her all about her hometown and a bunch of questions about her interaction with aliens. After she laughed her ass off at him, and he asked the year, she abruptly sobered when he said it was 2253 not 2013.
She sat there trying to process what he was trying to say and drew a blank. Her mind just refused to function. They put her in a padded room for a few days when she went catatonic. She could hear the doctors talking about her or to her but for some reason other than a slight twitch to her eyebrow she acknowledged nothing for the next few weeks. So they called in a specialist, a man with pointy ears that reached into her head and woke her back up. She blinked and slowly registered the being in front of her. Was she dead and if so what gives with the lord of the rings want a be staring at her?
For the next few days she went through the motions. Moving through this world as if stuck in a daze. On the third week they brought in the lady from social services and talked to her about her options.
"Level of education?" said the woman
Sam frowned at her
"Tenth" said Sam
"Tenth what you were tenth in your class, what" said the woman
Sam turned back towards her. Noted the woman's first name was Molly,
"No tenth grade" said Sam
The woman, no Molly, frowned at her.
"Tenth grade of what?" said the woman
Sam looked confused then irritated. It seemed to be her perpetual mood in this place. She didn't used to be this easy to irritate.
"High school, tenth grade of high school, I dropped out" said Sam
The woman tapped away at the tablet in her hands. Sam frowned at her wondering if the tablet thing was the replacement for the cell phone.
"Why?" said Molly
Sam sighed and bit her nails.
"I hated the drama" said Sam
The woman looked less than impressed and tapped a few things on her screen. Sam could care less.
"Okay, I set you up for transitional housing and got you a temporary I. D. I've enrolled you in classes so we can see where you are at academically. Please be advised there are several species that call these buildings home for months at a time" said Molly
Sam guessed she was saying this because of her less than favorable reactions to some of the alien species.
"My things?" said Sam
Molly hesitated.
"I will see what I can do" said Molly
"What about Watson?" said Sam
"Watson?" said Molly
"My cat he was in the car with me" said Sam
The woman gave her a sad look that was clearly pity.
"I'll inquire" said Molly
She walked out of the room with a swooshing sound as the doors opened to let her out. Sam watched her go for a few minutes then moved towards the window and stared out of it. A city stretched out as far as the eye could see, all glittering towers of glass with strange vehicles that looked like flying cars moving along multi- level highways. It was like some surreal artist's depiction of the future yet here it was. It still didn't feel real.
The apartment was a small studio sized apartment with a tiny kitchenette, bathroom and sitting area that had a fold down Murphy bed. Her bags were sitting on the floor along with a note that said sorry about the cat.
School was a strange experience. A thoroughly modern affair that involved electronic textbooks on one of those tablets that they called a PADD. Languages weren't limited to just earth ones and everyone seemed to want to make it into some place called Star Fleet. Sam was sitting in her first class waiting for it to begin. There was some giggling behind her and Sam guessed it was because she was dressed retro as one girl had put it earlier.
She ignored them and tried to see if there were any good games on this Padd thing. So far all her classes had made her feel stupid and she just wanted the day to be over. She really wanted a round of angry birds to let out some pent up frustration.
The door swooshed open and a woman walked in, she had pointed ears too. Sam stared at her in shock. Yeah she had seen a few aliens around the complex, which turned out to be some sort of home for war orphans too old to be placed with a family, but she really didn't interact with them.
The woman said something in her native tongue and looked at the class. Sam guessed she was waiting for a response. Sam thought about what she said. It sounded like one of the greetings the aliens said to each other. The woman looked right at Sam and she mouthed a very quiet
"Moi Loma" said Sam
Which she was sure meant good morning or something like that. The woman smiled and tapped her desk with her fingertips as she passed.
"Moi" said the teacher and thus began the only successful class experience she ever had.
It took her a year and a half to graduate. As she stood on that stage waiting to get the chip that said she graduated, she still felt out of place and she missed paper. Doing so well in the Vulcan class made others jealous, so she didn't make too many friends. Of the few she did make not one of them understood her.
"So have you considered it?" said Alex
She was a short dark haired girl with glasses who made a remark about her clothes on the first day. They had been friends ever since.
"No honestly I haven't" said Sam
Alex pouted.
"Well why not you've got the marks, seriously you should consider star fleet" said Alex
Sam rolled her eyes. Alex was forever going on about how great the academy was and that she couldn't wait to explore space. Sam balked at the idea. People were meant to be on the ground. Back home you couldn't get her on a plane to save her life and she detested those flying cars. No way was she even considering space.
All of this still felt surreal even when she saw footage of her dramatic rescue from underneath the ice flow. An earlier article talked about a sinkhole swallowing up half the bridge but search crews never found her car at least not back then.
Sam was still not sure why she didn't die back then. She should have, she knew that now but it still hasn't sunk in that she was really in the future.
They called her name and Alex rose to go forward to claim her diploma. They called Sam next and she walked towards the man. He held out the diploma to her with a smile on his face. Samantha took it and stood next to her friend with the other graduates. It took them a while to finish up. Sam wandered away from the festivities when they were done, while family members embraced their graduates behind her.
Sam had no one to do that here and it only made her feel more alone to see it. She headed for the exit and made her way to the public tram that would take her back to her place. She got a few strange looks because she was still wearing her cap and gown.
She did it she graduated now what? She got off at her stop and made her way up to her door. Made herself some noodle cup and ate it in front of what passed for television in this day and age.
She fell asleep on her couch and the buzzing of the com woke her. She hit the button to answer it before she realized it had visual.
"Yeah?" said Sam
It was Alex and she was so excited she was squealing
"Al chill it's... Six in the morning and I haven't had any coffee yet" said Sam
"I'm coming over I'll buy you coffee, get dressed you look horrible" said Alex
Sam just barely resisted the urge to flip her off. The com went off and Sam groaned, she had hoped that when Alex went off to star fleet that it would be the end of those early morning phone calls.
Sam wandered towards her bathroom and fired up the weird sonic shower thingy. She really missed water, what she wouldn't do for a real bath, in a tub with her loofah and bubbles. She turned so the spray could get her back. Learning to use the different cycles on this thing was just another of those things she had to get used to here.
She climbed out and reached for a towel then stopped not really seeing the need to bother with one at all. She walked to her closet picked out some jeans and a t shirt and threw them on. Her door buzzer rang and she called for it to open. Alex walked in.
"Where's the coffee?" said Sam
She grabbed a brush and attempted to tame her curly frizz of hair.
"I figured we could get it down town" said Alex
She was beaming and for some reason it worried Sam. She slid her shoes on and keyed in the code to lock her door. Alex grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the lift. Alex was still bouncing with excitement and Sam wanted to ask why. The lift stopped and Sam had to run to keep up with Alex's pace as she hurried to the bistro down the street.
She grabbed a seat and punched in their order on the table menu just as Sam sat down
"So what is going on?" said Sam
Alex dug into her bag and pulled out a chip
"We got in" said Alex
"Got in where and did you say we?" said Sam
"The academy silly and of course I said we, I got daddy to write you a recommendation" said Alex
Sam stared at her in shock.
"Daddy?" said Sam
Alex nodded and Sam vaguely remembered seeing a man in what looked like a military uniform.
"Why would he and who is your daddy anyways?" said Sam
Alex gave her a look that Sam instantly classified as irritated.
"Daddy is Captain Pike, and after I told him about your background, he wrote out a recommendation for you with no questions asked. Isn't it wonderful!" said Alex
Anger flared she hated it when people made decisions for her.
"Al... I thought I said I didn't want to go" said Sam
Alex looked hurt and Sam felt bad. Alex had been one of those painfully shy kids that didn't make friends easy either
"I just thought we could be roommates, I thought..." said Alex
She looked like she wanted to cry, so Sam held out her hand.
"Let me see it" said Sam
Alex sniffled and slid the chip across the table towards Sam.
She picked it up, inserted it into her PADD and started reading. Halfway through she teared up and had to stop.
"It's good huh?" said Alex
Sam nodded and wiped her eyes.
"Yeah I didn't... I've only talked to the man once" said Sam
Alex smirked
"Yeah but you made a lasting impression, he really does admire your independence" said Alex
Sam sighed.
"Then I suppose I should give this place a chance" said Sam
A week later they were waiting for a shuttle to take them to the academy grounds in San Francisco. Sam wondered if it was too late to follow her original plan and head for Vegas. Would she even recognize the place now? The shuttle was landing and Sam eyed the metal box with trepidation. Why couldn't the academy be in a place they could reach by train?
Alex was practically bouncing beside her. Sam wondered why she let Alex talk her into this again. The shuttle door opened and the group moved forward and got in some sort of line. Sam wanted to hang back but Alex pulled her forward.
"Letter miss?" said the guy at the door.
Sam held out her acceptance letter and the man waved her inside. He did the same thing to Alex. She tried to get a seat by the window and Sam almost sighed in relief when she noticed the only remaining ones were single seats. Sam quickly snagged two in the middle and Alex sat down next to her.
"This is so exciting!" said Alex
The guy on the other side of Alex gave her an amused look.
"She doesn't get out much "said Sam
He smirked and Alex hit her shoulder.
Sam shrugged
"What its true" said Sam
Alex glared at her
"I'm Alex and you are?" said Alex
"Charles Tucker the second" said the man
He looked at Sam
"Samantha Morningstar" said Sam
He smiled at her.
"First time on a shuttle ladies" said Charles
"Yeah shows that badly?" said Alex
Sam sat back and let the girl flirt, because it was such a rare occurrence that Sam was disinclined to interfere.
The ship tilted and the engines changed pitch. They were landing and Sam sighed in relief. They finally opened the doors and Sam quickly undid her harness and grabbed her bags. She had her clothes, her violin and journal, everything else she put in storage.
She could always retrieve it later when she got her own place if she got her own place. She was staring at the academy and wondering if she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.
"It looks a bit intimidating doesn't it?" said Charles
"Just a little" said Sam
She looped her guitar case over her shoulder and picked up her bag.
"Is that a violin?" said Chuck
"Yep and she plays real good too" said Alex
"I'd love to hear you play sometime" he said
Sam almost gave him a noncommittal grunt but Alex agreed for her. Sam rolled her eyes and headed for what she hoped was the administration building
"Where are you going we have to check in over here?" said Alex
She dragged her away from her lame attempt at escape and towards the sign in table. A box of chips like objects was sitting on a table in front of several older students. A line was forming in front of each table. When they reached the front the cadet behind the table asked her name.
The cadet compared it to a list she had and then dug through the box for one of the chips. She handed the chip to Sam and she verified it was hers in her Padd. She nodded to the girl and moved aside to wait for Alex. While she waited she went over her schedule. Most of the things it had on it were things she didn't understand even understand the title of. This was going to be a rough year.
Alex skipped to her side looking very chipper and Sam remembered that Alex was one of those people that got good grades without seeming to have to try. Whereas Sam had to work her ass off to just get average marks.
"Well what did you get, let me see" said Alex
Sam handed her Padd to Alex and took hers.
"Ooh great we have three classes together" said Alex
She was frowning though.
"What's wrong?" said Sam
"They have you in a different dorm building, damn it I was hoping to be roomies this year" said Alex
Sam shook her head and chuckled.
"Come on we should at least check out our rooms and see where we have to go next" said Sam
She wanted to get this over with because she was hoping who ever she was rooming with was one of those absentee types. They reached Alex's dorm first and Sam parted with her after giving her back her Padd. She really needed a moment to think. This was all very overwhelming and she felt very out of place.
Like she was some sort of imposter playing a part they never rehearsed for or even tried out for. She found her building and paused. She took a deep breath and walked inside. She had to wait for the turbo lift because a crowd of girls was already standing there. She waited for them to herd into the lift as it opened, grateful there had been no more room in that small car. She waited until it was almost to the last floor before she hit the button for it to return.
When it came back down it divulged another avalanche of girls before Sam was able to climb on board. She hit the close button quickly and sighed in relief that she was the only one in the car this time. It opened on her floor and she walked out looking at each door plate for her room number. She found it towards the end of the hallway and keyed in the code next to the room assignment on her Padd. It unlocked and she walked in. It wasn't particularly huge. Two desks on each wall. Two beds on different sides of the room a single bathroom, two wardrobe cabinets and a huge window. Both beds seemed unoccupied so she chose one nearest the window and set her stuff down. She opened the wardrobe cabinet on her side, shoved her bags and violin inside. Closed it and reset the lock to something she could remember.
She made up the bed to show that this side was claimed already and headed for the door. She could always do the meet and greet later. She picked up that Padd thing off her desk and went down to greet Alex. As she exited the room a green skinned girl was getting off the lift. She was carrying way too much luggage and Sam had to hold the lift door just to keep the girl from getting stuck.
"Thanks" said the girl.
"Any time" said Sam
She climbed on the now vacated lift and pushed the button. She lifted the Padd thing and read the next item on her schedule.
"Great orientation" she muttered.
The door slid open to another waiting crowd and Sam pushed her way through the press of people trying to get on the lift she just vacated. She was panting by the time she reached the door after nearly getting stampeded by the crowd.
She exited the building in time to see her friend walking up the steps with Charles in tow. He tripped over his own feet and nearly went down
"Easy there Trip Tucker, no need to kiss the ground we've already landed" said Sam Alex giggled
"Very funny" said Charles.
He tripped four more times on the way to the auditorium for the orientation. So the nick name looked like it was going to stick despite his protests. Alex thought it was adorable that he was so klutzy so he kind of let it go.
Orientation was a bunch of boring lectures and then they were shuffled off on a tour. Sam was paying attention to the class numbers and comparing them to her list. She had her classes mapped out by the time the tour guide asked if there were any more questions. One of the larger kids held up his hand
"Yes?" said the guide
"Where is the mess hall?" said the kid.
The man rolled his eyes and pointed down the hall. Sam raised her hand
"Yes young lady" said the man
"Where is medical?" said Sam
The man nodded
"It's this way and next on our list, if you all will come with me" said the guide
Several students gave her strange looks. They filed down the corridor and around a corner. The guide pointed out the doors to the mess hall and then moved on. He led them all through some doors.
"Everyone please pull out your data chips and line up. When you get to the woman hand her your chip so she can scan your medical files into the system" said the guide.
There was some grumbling but everyone did as he asked. The nurse asked a few of them to come back and Sam hung back. She really didn't want to explain why her birthdate said 1997 which in this time period would make her a very old lady
"Come on stop hiding" said Alex
She grabbed Sam's arm and dragged her into the line behind the large guy who asked about the mess hall. The kid stepped forward and handed his in. The nurse scanned it and handed it back to him. Alex bounced forward and held hers out. The nurse gave her a wry smile and took the chip.
She scanned it and handed it back to Alex. It was Sam's turn so she stepped forward and handed the chip to the lady. She plugged it into her scanner, then unplugged it and handed it back to her. Sam almost sighed in relief. She started to step away.
"Miss Morningstar please come back this afternoon you need an update on your immunizations" said the woman
Sam stepped aside and the woman took the next kids chip.
"Hypos yuck" said Alex
She gave Sam a sympathetic look as they rejoined the group that had already been processed. There was only a few people remaining to go and the nurses were moving quite fast. The last two finally came out and the guide moved them on towards the library. Sam was a bit disappointed to learn there were no actual books. After the library they were scheduled to go to the mess hall and then just to follow the schedule that appeared on their Padd for the rest of the day.
In Vulcan
Moi Loma- good morning
Moi- Good
