First Officer's Log: Stardate 2275.206
The U.S.S. Longbourn is currently traveling to Lantax II, a relatively small M-class planet located in the Gamelan system. Our mission is to start a dialogue between the Federation and the Collins, the only intelligent species on the planet, who have recently expressed a wish to join the Federation. The away team will need to travel to the planet via shuttlecraft, as naturally occurring electromagnetic whirlwinds will interfere with the ability to utilize many types of technology on their planet, including transporters. Their patriarchal society consists of approximately two thousand Collins, and given their inclination for tradition, it is rather surprising they reached out to the Federation at all. The away team will be greeted by the ruler of the Collins, a self-proclaimed king who goes by the name William. With our current speed of warp 3, we will arrive in approximately 56 hours.
U.S.S. Longbourn, Captain's Quarters: Stardate 2275.206 at 0747 hours
Captain Bennet sat at the desk in her living room, carefully going over some administrative forms. The walls of her quarters were a drab gray and worn from previous use, but were disguised fairly well due to Jane's decorations. Blue lights mounted on the wall created a calm ambiance, and bright knick knacks littered the room. A purple quilt sat on the sofa across from the desk, and artifacts from Lizzie's previous adventures dotted the wall.
Lizzie yawned and pushed the forms to the side as she glanced at the computer clock. She had woken up early to get ahead on some of her administrative duties before her shift started, but was currently regretting being proactive. The forms were so tedious she was falling asleep again. A flash of light to her left startled her, and she gaped as a teenage girl appeared in the spot. Quickly recovering, Lizzie jumped to her feet in what she hoped looked like an alert- and not startled- demeanor.
The girl clasped her hands together before bouncing on her toes in obvious excitement. "The star of the show! Captain Bennet, nice to meet you, I've traveled so far for this! Well not that far but far enough- not that travel's really a problem for my species but I'd like to think it was the thought that counted. But I am very excited to meet you and I'm kind of..."
As the girl rambled on Lizzie carefully surveyed the intruder. Her skin was a light brown color, and thick black hair cascaded down her back. A nose ring accentuated her thin nose and wide cheekbones. Her body was lanky; her movements made Lizzie think she just had a growth spurt and hadn't quite adjusted to her new height yet. Her shoulders hunched in a little bit even as she waved her hands wildly with each word. Lizzie put a hand on her shoulder to interrupt the teenager's babbling.
"What's your name?"
"Oh, humans can't pronounce my name, but I think I'll go by Eris," the girl nodded thoughtfully.
"Okay," Lizzie gestured towards the couch, "Eris, please have a seat."
Eris practically jumped onto the couch in excitement while Lizzie pulled up her desk chair to sit across from her.
"Eris, you keep saying 'my species.' What species are you? You look human to me."
For the first time she arrived, Eris went completely still. She looked sad, but apologetic. "I can't tell you that. My species isn't known to humans. Because of your history of violence, the elders thought that we shouldn't reveal ourselves quite yet." She looked down at her body. "And this is just the form I thought fit me the most, because I'm still pretty young, but we aren't usually humanoids."
"Why are you on my ship then?" Lizzie questioned in confusion.
Her liveliness returned as she answered. "Because I'm doing my school project on you! I thought maybe a day in your legs would be helpful. I would get to learn all about being a human captain in Planet fleet."
Lizzie smiled gently before responding. "While that is flattering, I have to tell you there are certain procedures to shadowing a captain in Starfleet. In fact, there are even procedures just for being on one of the vessels. I can get in contact with some of the administrators over at the nearest starbase and see what I can do. Also, the expression is 'to walk a day in your shoes,' not legs." Lizzie started walking over to the panel to contact security when Eris grabbed her wrist and winced dramatically.
"Wellll here's the thing. Since the whole 'humans don't know about my species' thing I can't let you do that."
Lizzie tugged her wrist again, but the girl's grip was stronger than she expected. In fact, Eris was much stronger than she looked.
"Also, legs would be more correct than shoes since I'll be adopting your entire body, not just your footwear." Lizzie jumped up and walked backwards, startled as Eris shifted into an exact replica of herself.
Eris noticed, and with what she thought was a reassuring tone, spoke to the captain. "There's no need to be afraid, I'll only be you for a couple of days. Three at max! And you won't remember me, so I won't have to worry about giving up my species' secret! It's perfect!"
"Securi-" Lizzie called out urgently before Eris knocked her out with a wave of her hand. The girl awkwardly helped Lizzie fall on the couch in an undignified heap instead of on the floor, and wandered over to the closet.
Eyeing herself in the mirror next to the closet, Eris turned from side to side. "For a human Elizabeth's pretty cute. Ugh, but this outfit is so hideous."
She quickly rummaged through the closet and pulled out an old uniform. "This is way cuter."
The Bridge at 0831 hours
"Here's the final list of the away team." Fitzwilliam gestured to a file on his console, and Darcy leaned closer to view the names.
"This looks sufficient," Darcy remarked after skimming over the short list.
"So Captain Bennet's running pretty late. Should I send somebody to check on her?"
Darcy glanced at the clock on the console, even though he knew the time to the second already. "This is very unusual for her," Darcy admitted before pressing down on his communicator. "Captain Bennet, please re-"
The door to the turbolift hissed open, interrupting Darcy, and a cheerful Captain Bennet flounced out.
Fitzwilliam smiled in greeting. "Good morning, captain! You had us a little worried."
Darcy observed Lizzie carefully when she failed to respond to his cousin's remark. Her hair had obviously been straightened, and her usually bare cheeks were covered in blush. Her uniform, a red dress, was a little tighter than normal, and paired with heeled boots that were definitely not regulation. However, it was the captain's expression that baffled him the most. Her wide eyes flitted around the bridge, carefully surveying the bridge as if viewing it for the first time, and while he did not consider himself proficient in human behavior, he knew this was irregular for her.
"Captain," Darcy noted after glancing at her upper chest, "your communicator seems to be missing."
Lizzie darted her eyes to Darcy before continuing to look around in awe. "It ruined the lines of the outfit, so I just left it in her- my room."
"Captain, are you feeling okay?" Fitzwilliam questioned gently, giving voice to Darcy's concern.
Turning to answer him, Lizzie did a double take. "Yeah, I'm fine. Great! You- how are you doing?"
Fitzwilliam replied slowly. "I'm good."
The captain laughed loudly, and Fitzwilliam flinched a little in surprise before letting out a weak chuckle.
Darcy interrupted the awkward interaction, looking back and forth between his cousin and the captain. "Why is that humorous?"
Lizzie coyly looked up at Fitzwilliam through her eyelashes. "Oh, you know, he's just a funny guy."
Fitzwilliam let out another embarrassed chuckle before an ensign tapped the captain on her shoulder.
"Captain?" the ensign insisted as she just continued to stare at the security officer. The captain looked over at the ensign sharply. "Captain Bennet," the ensign began nervously, "you asked me to remind you that Vice Admiral Webb will be contacting you at 0900."
"Tell them I'm not here," she dismissed the shocked ensign with a casual shrug.
"Captain," Darcy followed her as she walked to her chair in the middle of the bridge, "would you like me to discuss the new personnel with Vice Admiral Webb?"
Again, Lizzie shrugged casually. "If that's what floats your boat, dude," she agreed, patting Darcy on his shoulder before gingerly sitting in the captain's chair.
The crewmembers looked at each other warily, all wondering at the captain's behavior.
The Bridge at 1034 hours
The captain's legs hung over one of the chair's arms, and her head lolled as she whispered to herself. "This is so freaking boring."
"Did you say something, captain?" the helmsman, a tall, thin Bajoran woman, turned slightly to question the restless commanding officer.
"No, it's nothing," she replied in a petulant tone before suddenly standing up. "I have something I need to do; I'll be back in a little bit," she announced loudly before darting off to the turbolift.
The helmsman turned to the navigator, raising her eyebrow. "That was odd, right?"
Commander Darcy, who had been hovering next to their consoles, answered absentmindedly while staring at the closed turbolift door. "Yes, it was."
Captains Quarters at 1316 hours
Eris sat at the captain's desk, skimming through her personal logs. She turned to the couch, where Lizzie was sleeping peacefully.
"Ya know," Eris confessed while wagging her finger at the unconscious woman, "I thought you would be a lot more fun to imitate. I saw you on a news channel that my planet gets, and I thought, 'She's so awesome. Elizabeth Bennet is smart, a badass, and pretty at the same time!' And while you might be those things, you're also kind of boring. You're not having any grand romance like I thought you would, and your job isn't just saving people from bad guys. Oh, and now I'm feeling guilty because I'm calling you boring and you can't even, like, respond!"
Lizzie gave a soft snore in response and Eris crossed her arms to pout. "Fine! I'll be gone by tomorrow morning, and you can get back to your dull-"
"Commander Darcy to Captain Bennet," the communicator on the desk chirped.
Eris's hand hesitated over the object. She didn't really feel like answering, but if she didn't somebody from security might come knocking-again. She nodded decisively, pushing down on the communicator at the same time. "Yes?"
"Dr. Bennet requests your presence in the sickbay. Dr. Lucas and Ensign Patel sustained some minor injuries while repairing the tractor beam; they're currently undergoing treatment."
Finally, something interesting! Eris thought while popping a peppermint in her mouth. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute," she replied while trying to not to smile.
Sickbay at 1348 hours
"What happened next?" Jane inquired, her soothing tone having no effect on the man she was questioning.
Darcy answered in his usual brief tone. "Captain Bennet then claimed she had a responsibility that required her attention before leaving the bridge. I sent Ensign Lawa to confirm she was physically well, and she has not left her quarters since that time."
"It is unlike her to ignore her duties, but was there anything else that was wrong with her?" Jane started making notes as Darcy responded.
"In addition to her tardiness, several crewmembers have claimed the captain has been acting 'off.' Officer Fitzwilliam insists Captain Bennet was making romantic advances toward him, and three other bridge officers made passing comments about her odd behavior. I myself had not noticed anything particularly different about her conduct until I called to request her presence in the sickbay."
Jane looked up sharply. It was one thing for the human officers to notice issues with Lizzie, it was another for the commander to notice something. Although she had only known him for a couple of weeks, Jane could tell he was almost painfully oblivious to the nuances of human behavior. "What was different?"
"When I informed her of Dr. Lucas and Ensign Patel's injuries, the captain conveyed a rather excited demeanor." "
You mean she was happy about the accident?" Jane's normal tranquil voice rose in incredulity.
Across the small room, Dr. Lucas turned to Dr. Bennet. "What do you think is wrong with Lizzie?" Charlotte asked quietly as Mary held up the dermal generator to her shoulder.
Mary paused before venturing a guess. "Maybe she's feeling ill? You know how she used to deny it every time she was sick." Her usual monotone voice deepened a little with concern.
Jane walked over and wrapped her arm around Charlotte's uninjured side. "I'm sure she's fine. We'll figure out whatever's happening and she'll be okay. You know she always is."
The group turned toward the entrance as the door hissed open, and a disheveled Captain Bennet walked in. "Sorry I'm late," she huffed out as the small group continued to stare, "I got a little lost."
"Alright, that's it," Mary scolded as she pushed Lizzie towards a biobed. "I'm giving you a physical before Jane gets to interrogate you. There is absolutely no way you forgot your way around the ship."
The captain let out a little yip of protestation as Mary forced her to sit. "I'm fine! There's no need for this," Lizzie sputtered nervously as Mary waved around a medical scanner.
Mary suddenly stilled, and drew back from the captain. An alarming message glared from the scanner. "Unknown species."
"You're not my sister," she accused softly while stepping back from the impostor.
The creature dressed at Lizzie stood up with her hands out in a placating manner. "Don't panic, I come in peace. Wait- is that too cliche?"
"Security, report to sickbay-" Darcy began to speak into the communicator as the door opened again. Captain Bennet stepped through, holding a phaser in one hand and gesturing to the security crewmembers behind her to arrest the intruder with her other hand.
Eris grimaced as security surrounded her. "This has been very educational, but I'm gonna scram. And you all will forget now!" She snapped her fingers, but security continued to get closer. "Uh oh. I knew I should've paid more attention in my classes. Well, I apologize for the confusion, but I can't stay. Toodles!" the girl cried out before disappearing completely.
The various people in the room continued to stare in shock at the place where Eris had disappeared, but the captain rounded on her first officer. Her angry tone moved his attention quickly. "Commander Darcy, I want to talk to you in the hallway."
Once there, Lizzie paced back and forth a couple of times before rounding on the man standing resolutely in front of the closed sickbay door. "Six hours. Somebody impersonated me for six hours before you knew. And according to Fitzwilliam she wasn't even convincing!" Lizzie started pacing again after her declaration, frustration and fear clawing at her skin. "What if next time the person isn't so benign, huh? What if somebody kills me, then decides to take over the ship using my face?"
"Captain I-" Darcy began, but stopped as Lizzie held up her hand. "I'm not finished, Commander. I know you're Vulcan, and you have a harder time reading human emotion, but I will not put this ship and its crew in jeopardy again." Lizzie continued, her tone taking on a more apologetic tone. "I'm also aware that if somebody was pretending to be you I probably couldn't tell. But that's going to change. From now on, we will be spending a lot of our free time together, at least until we know each other well enough that this won't be a concern. I know code words would be standard in this case, but if the impersonator is from telepathic race then code words won't be sufficient. I'm not willing to take the chance, so starting tomorrow you will report to my quarters after your shift is over. Is that understood?"
Commander Darcy nodded, a hint of a thoughtful look on his face. "That is logical. I will report tomorrow at 1700 hours."
"Okay. Alright. I will see you then," Lizzie grumbled as she walked back into the sickbay, almost running into Fitzwilliam, who was walking into the hallway to talk to his cousin.
"That was crazy!" he gestured to the sickbay. "I thought maybe the captain just hit her head too hard, but that was a completely different person. So, what did she say to you?"
"Captain Bennet explained that she thought it prudent for us to 'get to know each other better,' in case an event like this occurs again. I believe-" The commander stopped talking as his cousin bursts into laughter. "Why is that humorous? It's a logical step to prevent any similar occasions- not that I believe it likely this situation will reoccur."
Fitzwilliam guffawed throughout his explanation, and finally quieted down to chuckles when Darcy continued to stare at him questioningly. The amused officer just shook his head at his naive relative. "You're so screwed. You don't know it yet, but you are! You poor bastard."