J. B. Tilton/Page 7

THREE

"Did someone get the number of that truck?" Paige asked, sitting up and rubbing her head. "I feel like I was run over and dragged for ten miles. What happened?"

"I think we were too close to that vortex," Phoebe said, sitting up next to her. "Its power must have caught us in it and…. uh oh."

"Where the hell are we?" Piper asked, looking around.

The three were lying in what looked like a corridor. But the walls, ceiling, and floor were all metal. To their back were what looked like doors to an elevator. Further on down the corridor, two men stood looking at them. The men wore some kind of uniform and one was holding what looked like a clipboard. The second man moved hurriedly to the wall and pressed a button.

"Intruder alert," the man called out, "deck seven, section J3. Intruder alert."

The two men didn't wait for the girls to get up. They simply turned and ran down the corridor as fast as they could go. The three stood up and looked at each other. Somewhere in the distance a shrill whistle seemed to be sounding.

"What's going on?" Piper asked. "Where is this place? It doesn't look like the underworld."

"Don't move," said a man rounding the corridor ahead.

The man held a strange weapon at them. Two other men, each with similar weapons, stood facing the girls. The one who had spoken to them spoke in a British accent.

"Who are you?" demanded the man. "What are you doing here?"

'Hold on, buddy," Piper said, taking a step toward him.

"Don't move," repeated the man. "I don't want to have to shoot you."

"Okay, just take it easy," Phoebe said. "Listen, we sort of got here by mistake. We're kind of lost. We don't mean you any harm."

"Likely story," said the man. "Okay, let's go. The captain will want to have a word with you. And don't try anything funny. I won't hesitate to use this if I have to."

Without knowing what else to do, the three girls followed the man down the corridor. They saw other people in the corridors who parted when they passed. No one spoke. The other two men followed close behind, their weapons at the ready. Soon, they came to a set of doors that opened as if by magic.

"You wait in here," said the man in charge. "Don't try anything. The captain will be down shortly."

The man left, leaving the two guards behind. They took up positions at the door, their weapons still at the ready.

"What's going on?" Paige whispered to the other two. "He mentioned a captain. Are we on some kind of ship? What would a demon be doing on a ship?"

'I don't know," Piper replied. "But have you seen some of the equipment we passed? I've never seen anything like it before. This is getting freaky."

"Well, wherever we are," whispered Phoebe, "we shouldn't have long to wait. I'm betting that English guy went to get this captain. Everyone here seems to be human. Whatever those weapons are, I don't think demons would be using them."

"Okay," Piper said. "Let's just take this one step at a time. First, we figure out where we are. And how we got here. Then we can figure out how to get out of here."

"I could orb us out," Paige offered. "If they aren't demons, they might not be expecting it."

"Not yet," Piper said. "There might be some enchantment on this place to prevent orbing. Besides, we don't even know where we are. I'd like to know where this place is before we leave."

"What about Leo?" Phoebe asked. "Do you think he's okay?"

"Yes," Piper said. "That wasn't a Dark Lighters' bolt that demon used on him. He should be okay."

"Maybe we should call for him," Phoebe suggested. "Maybe he knows what this place is and how to get out."

"Later," Piper said. "Leo is our ace in the hole. They may not even know about him. I'd like to keep it that way until we have no other choice."

"Okay," Paige said, "but I have a bad feeling about this."

"So do I, little sister," Piper said, "so do I."

Less than ten minutes later the doors opened and the Englishman returned. With him were three other people. One was an older man who had a very serious look on his face. This must be the captain the Englishman had mentioned.

Behind him walked a woman. But she was unlike any woman the girls had ever seen. She was just a bit shorter than the man, and wore a suit that was virtually skin tight. Her ears were extremely pointed, and her eyebrows arched up at the ends. Her skin appeared to be tinted with a green hue.

The third person was apparently a male. But he was obviously not human. He had a smile on his face that seemed to indicate he was laughing at some private joke. Some form of ridges ran down the sides of his face. He was carrying a small case with him.

"I'm Jonathon Archer," said the man with the Englishman. "I'm the captain of the Enterprise. Would you care to explain who you are and what you're doing on my ship?"

"Enterprise?" questioned Paige. "What are we doing on an aircraft carrier? And those certainly don't look like navy uniforms. Besides, when do demons serve on board navy ships?"

"Paige, please," Piper said. "Captain Archer, my name is Piper Halliwell. These are my sisters, Phoebe and Paige Matthews. We aren't sure exactly how we got here. We aren't spies or anything. It's a little hard to explain."

"Navy uniforms, Captain?" questioned the male figure.

"Captain," said the woman with the pointed ears, "I suggest that Dr. Phlox have a look at our guests. Perhaps if we determine what species they are we'll know why they are here."

'What species?" Phoebe questioned. "Boy, you have a lot of nerve. We're human, obviously. More than I can say for you. But Paige has a point. What is a demon doing on board a United States Navy aircraft carrier?"

"Aircraft carrier?" Archer questioned. "The Enterprise isn't an aircraft carrier. Earth doesn't even have them any more. The Enterprise is a star ship. What makes you think you're on an aircraft carrier?"

"Star ship?" Paige questioned. "Since when does the United States have star ships?"

"Uh, what's the date?" Piper asked uneasily.

"Excuse me?" Archer asked.

"The date," Piper repeated. "What's today's date?"

Archer looked at the people in the room before answering.

"It's November 6, 2151," he said finally.

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige just stared at him in shock.