"No no no no no! Who are you people?! What's happening?! Stay away from me! Please!"
The young woman stands on the transporter pad, back against the wall, like she can't get far enough away from the people in front of her. There's panic in her voice and she's breathing like she's just run a marathon.
"Okay. Okay, we won't come any closer. It's alright, we aren't here to hurt you." The security officer raises his hands in the time-honored signal for surrender, and his subordinates follow suit. He makes eye contact with one of them and jerks his head in the direction of the door. The officer closest to the door exits slowly, and the commander relaxes slightly. Help is on the way. He continues to move away from the woman, very slowly so as not to frighten her further, only stopping when he runs into the transporter console behind him. And he waits.
Finally, the door slides open to reveal Doctor Culber and the ensign who was sent to fetch him. He looks around the room, taking in the silent security team and the young human woman in civilian clothes who is now sitting against the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest. She's so young, maybe around Tilly's age, or a bit younger. Her eyes are wide and bloodshot; there are tear tracks on her cheeks. She'd begun to calm down a little, more from exhaustion than lack of fear, but with the arrival of another person her body goes rigid once again and she presses herself into the wall like she wants to disappear into it. She's shaking.
"What happened, Lieutenant?"
"We don't know, sir. We beamed up from the planet, and suddenly she was just… here."
Culber nods. "Thank you, Lieutenant, you and your team are dismissed. Ensign Piper, stay here please. Take a look at those transporter readings."
He approaches the girl slowly, telegraphing every movement. He stops at the edge of the pad, crouching to be on her level. "Hello there. My name's Hugh. What's yours?"
There's a long pause before she answers.
"C-Caitlyn."
"Caitlyn. I know you're scared right now, but I need you to try to breathe. Can you do that? In… and out... And in… and out... That's okay, keep trying... you're doing great. Just focus on breathing."
Her breathing is still erratic, exaggerated slowness interspersed with panicked struggles for air, and she's staring at Hugh like she doesn't dare to hope he can help her. She's so scared. She doesn't know what's happening, this place, these people. She wants so badly to trust someone, to be able to feel safe, but her brain isn't cooperating.
Apparently satisfied that she's no longer hyperventilating, Hugh asks, "Could you tell me the last thing you remember?"
"I-I was at home. I was making dinner, and then there was this- this tingling feeling and I couldn't move. Then… Then I was here. Hugh, where am I?"
"You're on the USS Discovery, and I promise no one here means you any harm. We're going to do everything we can to get you home."
"This is... a ship? How did I get here?"
"A starship, yes. We'll know more once Engineering gets a look at the data, but right now it looks like a transporter malfunction brought you here."
A look of utter bewilderment crosses her face before being replaced by something like dread. "...S-starship? Transporter? Did I pass out and hit my head? Fuck, this is the weirdest nightmare I've ever had," she laughs, a sound of shock and disbelief and more than a little panic.
Culber's expression becomes, if possible, even more sympathetic, his voice even more gentle. "You don't have those where you're from, do you?"
"Not even close. It's like something out of a sci-fi movie!"
Internally, Hugh winces, hating that he'll have to shatter the illusion for her. "Caitlyn, what year is it?"
Her voice shakes as she says, defensively, "What kind of question is that? It's 2021. You're awfully coherent for a dream, I'll give you that."
"I know this is hard to hear, but you aren't dreaming." He takes her hand and presses it against the cold metal floor, letting her take in the solidity of it. "Can you feel that? The cold metal? The texture? The warmth of my hand? Have you ever had a dream this detailed? ...Caitlyn, the year is 3189."
She freezes, her entire body tensing up. "No. No, that's not possible. That would break so many laws of physics…" Her voice is rising in pitch as she starts to panic again. She doesn't want to believe it, she can't; it goes against everything she knows about the rules of the universe. And it would leave her horribly, horribly alone.
"Breathe, sweetheart. You're going to be okay, I promise. Do you know how I know? Because I've stood where you stand. I know what it feels like to find yourself in a world you don't understand, and I won't let you go through this alone." And he pulls her into his arms, and she clings to him like she's afraid she'll fall off the face of the earth. She clings to him until she can breathe again, until the world has finished crashing down around her, until she's too exhausted to keep her eyes open. Slowly, her breathing evens out, her body goes limp. She falls asleep with her head on his shoulder.
Hugh sends Ensign Piper to explain the situation to the Captain. He'd do it himself, but he can't leave Caitlyn alone. If she woke up somewhere strange, alone or with a stranger, she'd panic again, and she's already going through more than anyone should ever have to. He tucks her in on the couch in the quarters he shares with Paul. Then he shakes his partner awake.
"What? Hugh, what time is it?" Paul groans.
"Around midnight. I'm sorry to wake you, love, but something's come up."
That wakes Paul up very quickly. "What is it? Are you okay, is Adira okay?"
"I'm fine, they're fine. It's just... There's this kid." As he speaks, Hugh leads his partner to the doorway of their room, so he can see the girl passed out on their couch. "There was a transporter accident, and somehow she just… appeared. Paul, she's from the 21st century. She's all alone here."
Paul gasps, "My god. She's barely older than Adira. How's she holding up?"
"...It's not good. She had a panic attack the moment she got here; she cried herself to sleep on my shoulder. I couldn't leave her; there isn't anyone else she knows."
"You did the right thing, Hugh. You know what she's going through better than anyone."