It'll be a miracle if i get this up today..
for my first day of work at a night club yesterday/(today?) i worked from 10am a till 5am... on my feet the entire time. stayed up for over 24 hours and dealt with drunk middle aged people on a rugby day. was an absolute nightmare. couldn't even walk by the end of it
At least Wales one the match! (any Irish/Welsh people reading?)
anyway, enough with my complaining
Chapter 6
When she once again entered the bridge from the turbo lift, everyones head shot down to their desks. some suppressed giggles were heard.
she looked at Spock, whose cheeks were a bright shade of pink and looked all flustered.
ah man, they've gone and done it haven't they she thought to her self. She could only imagine with dread the round of playful teasing that Spock had just endured in her place.
She wouldn't have usually minded, the crew knew she could take a joke well, and they'd playfully teased her over her friendship with Spock before. She'd just laugh and tell them to piss off. But Spock had probably never been exposed to it like this before. the look he had given her when she walk in had been one of pure mortification.. Oh god, he was probably offended by this. She knew how illogical she was too him, the idea of him being with someone like her was probably insulting to him.
what if they made him think she had some kind of crush on him?
She awkwardly walked to her desk area and sat down, trying to seem oblivious to the atmosphere in the room.
She opened up some files on the computer to try and look busy doing more.. science things, when she could feel Uhura Looking at her. She looked up slowly to find He smiling at her, in a kind of bemused why.
"What?" was all she could muster blandly. dammit she thought that wasnt a very Spock thing to say
Uhura laughed and shook her head.
"You're just oblivious arnt you Spock" she raised her eye brow, very Spock-like and said
"oblivious to what, lieutenant?"
Nyota chuckled and turned back to her side of the desk
"Oh dont you worry, mister Spock" she said "just illogical human stuff" and she turned back to her side of the desk, smiling to herself.
She mentally thanked Uhura for not letting on what had been said in the room while she was out. She knew that Spock and Uhura were good friends and had known each other for a while, she was sure that she was one of the few people that actually understood Spock.
She wasn't really that close with Uhura herself, but just the both of them being female seemed to be enough for them to talk often, and they always had a laugh when they did talk. She made a mental note to make more of an effort with her.
The rest of the day seemed to go on uneventfully. When their shift was over Spock nodded to her to follow him into the turbo lift and told her he had gotten a message from Pike, and that he had some new information that may help them. They went to her quarters and set up a video call. She sat in her usual position on her chair with Spock standing beside her, happy to finally be able to relax. Pike answered the call quickly.
"Kirk, Spock" he greeted, nodding at them both, seemingly adjusting his own mind who was who.
"Spock said you had some information for us" Said Jane, getting straight to the point.
"yes actually" he began, looking at some paper on his desk "Its a bit of a long shot, but were thinking it may have something to do with the planet you were on. See, it has a bit of a history of 'soul swapping' in their mythology and major religions. Seems like the usual mumbo-jumbo at first.. but in this case, maybe not" he gestured for someone off screen to come over "look, i clearly don't know what im talking about, so im gonna leave you with an expert while i deal with a situation" he stood up "Good luck officers"
He walked away and a young woman sat in his place. She seemed pretty human apart from the striking huge blue eyes, her iris's taking up all of the space, leaving no whites. She also had some metallic baby blue symmetrical patterns on her forehead, but that could just be makeup.
"Captain Kirk, commander Spock" she greeted with a nervous smile "I am professor Olivia Gizzeppli. Its my job to study the history and culture of planets such as Bliozuno, and I believe that you're.. situation may be the result of an ancient science that the people of this planet often attempt, but have little understanding of. The current theory is that the species are telepathic, and the plant life and electromagnetic fields of the planet play some role in their rituals. We suspect that because of Commander Spocks abilities in telepathy, being Vulcan, and the effects of the teleporters, this could be the reason that you uh.. swapped."
"Thank you professor..Gizzeppi." Said Jane "But do you think there is a way we can revers this?"
"well, yes" Said Gizzeppli, "But its quite risky."
"Risky" Smiled Jane "just how I like it, go on professor"
"Well, As you know, the people of this planet can be.. unwelcoming to outsiders."
They shuddered at the thought. a few years ago a small escape pod had landed there after going missing. The bones of the travelers were later found on display in one of the villages, sacrificed in part of a ritual. The words 'sky people sky people' written everywhere.
"well the neighboring villages seem to get on well with each other" she continued "our suggestion is that you beam down to them, disguised as their neighbors and explain your situation. They should be able to perform a ritual to revers the switching"
"well that sounds easy enough" Said Jane
"But captain" said the woman worriedly "We cant predict how the villagers will react to you or if they will decide to help you. They can be quite unpredictable and we have minimal research on their culture."
"Im sure we will be able to manage professor" Said Jane, a new seance of hope filling her words. There may be a way out of this yet.
"we'll be sure to be extra cautious. Thank you for all of your help"
"You're welcome captain" she smiled "and good luck to you both" the transition ended.
"I cant believe you got me to do this with you" grumbled McCoy angrily as he pulled the fake animal skin over his uniform
"What if something happens to one of us Bones?" asked Jane, amused "we might need a Doctor"
"yeah well im sure you'll need a doctor when im finished with you"He grumbled under his breath. She chuckled and Spock rolled his eyes, for the hundredth time since McCoy had joined them. they walked towards the transporter room, looking ridiculous in their new outfits.
"Love the new look captain" Joked Scotty as they walked onto the transporter pad
"Thanks Scotty" she laughed back "I should make this the new uniform" Spock gave her a funny look.
Scotty laughed and pressed some buttons on the controls
"Ready to beam down?" he asked
"lets get this show on the road" she said
He slowly pushed up the dials, and they were suddenly surrounded by trees and darkness. dim light in the distance showing them the direction of the village
"you sure this is gonna work Jane?" asked Bones
"The odds of them believing our disguise are stacked heavily against us" said Spock
Bones then shot kirk a glare
"do you have any better ideas Bones? She said "I want my body back dammit. just have your phases ready on stun encase this goes wrong, Scottys on stand by to beam us up."
Neither of them looked particularity convinced
"it'll work, okay?" she said "Now come on"
The began walking towards the village, already sweating from their heavy clothes and thick atmosphere.
They walked through the main entrance, a large wooden arch with vines and plants running along it. There was a large fire in the center of the area, with people cooking and socializing around it. Dirt roads lead outwards from that area to peoples houses and other parts of the village. There was a large and well decorated building just on the other side of the fire, that's where they assumed the chief was, and where they needed to go.
People looked at them but carried on with their business after concluding they were just visitors from the other village. They polity bowed every now again to people who were staring.
"odds stacked against us huh?" whispered Jane to Spock, and he just gave her an amused look
They walked up to the large shelter where the chief was and two men were standing outside what looked like a large bed sheet deviding the two rooms.
They looked at them expectantly, waiting to state their business.
"uhh.." stumbled Jane "we wish to speak with your chief"
The men looked at each other and then pulled open the sheet for them to pass.
well that was easy she though. the three of them walked in to find an elderly man sitting on a large chair, being fanned with large leaves by two young girls.
He said nothing, just looked at them and waited for them to speak. an awkward moment passed before Kirk spoke up
"We have traveled far from.. our village in seak of help. We being gifts in exchange for spiritual cleansing." She held up a small leather bag and one of the women took it and handed it to the chief. He inspected the inside, which just contained some simple fruits and biscuits. jane had quickly thrown it together before they left.
He took out a biscuit and had a small bite. He once again said nothing, just kept looking at them.
"uh.. we have experienced and accidental soul swapping and-"
He held up his hand for her to stop talking and then pointed towards a small room to the side of them, still nibbling on his biscuit. They quickly bowed and made towards the room.
Inside the room it was dimly lit, with candles and strange scents in the air. and elderly woman was sitting on the floor at the front of the room, meditating with two a few other older people.
She looked up at them when they entered. They bowed in greeting and she stood up ad walked over to them.
She looked between Kirk and Spock with concern in her eyes. She tutted and shook her head, before shoeing everyone else in the room away. They grumbled but quickly left.
She gestured for them to sit down in front of her and they did so on their knees. Bones was about to sit beside them when the woman yelped a "ah-ah-ah!" and shooed him away with her hands. He reluctantly stood over in the corner.
The woman sat in front of them before finally speaking
"You seak to reverse your soul swapping" she said. Spock wondered how she had known, but concluded she had probably just been ease dropping.
"yes" said Jane "it happened by accident the other day"
"hmmm" the woman mumbled, shaking her head "you have been blessed by the Gods, yet you wish to reject thier wishes?"
"uhh.. yes." said Jane
"very well." she said "may you confront your choices apon judgment of the Gods"
She lit two large green candles beside her, their strange scent filling the room almost instantly.
I hope were not about to get high she thought. She looked to Bones, who was subtly looking at his equioment hidden by his costume, probably scanning the air for anything dangerous.
The woman roughly placed her hands on both of their heads and pushed them to face the floor. Jane glanced at Spock, who was looking at her. he didnt look worried so this relaxed her a little.
The woman began loudly chanting something that just sounded like 'mmmms' and 'aahhhs' for a few moments before turning to jane
"You have the gift" she said "Allow your minds converge as one" She gabbed both of their hands and placed them against each other, palm to palm. They had tuned to face each other now and Jane almost instinctively pulled her hands away, once again shocked by the physical contact, but the woman kept them pressed together and continued chanting. She then brushed her hands down both of their faces, signalling for them to close their eyes.
Hear heart rate had increased significantly and she was suddenly extremely conscious of the fact that McCoy was watching them just a few feet away. She didn't know much about Vulcan physiology, but had seen Spocks parents place their fingers together, in a sort of Vulcan kiss , she hoped that this wasn't something too intimate in his culture.
The woman kept chanting and put her hands on the back of their heads and pushed their foreheads together. Kirk tried to focus on the advice that Spock had giver her when trying to teach her how to mind meld. relax, breathe, concentrate. She was failing at all three, the physical contact being too much all at once, feeling trapped and unable to move away.
Her breathing had become more shallow and quick. She felt Spock gently brush his thumb against hers. Not enough for anyone to see, but enough for her to feel the gesture. She sensed his calming and soothing emotions being focused onto her and he could obviously feel her anxiety. She focused on this and it helped a lot. She felt cold water being pored on them and they goth gasped a little at the shock, then some kind of leaves and dust being sprinkled oven them. The womans chanting began to sound like one long echoy drone, the room had faded out and it was even hard to tell up from down. They were entering a deep trance now. It could have been hours, minuets, or seconds that had passed when they were jolted back to reality by the sound of manic shouting. Kirk opened her eyes, feeling blinded by the dull light in the room. There was a man at the entrance shouting and pointing at them,
"Sky people! Sky people!" she shouted. he held something in his hand.
It was Bones' communicator.
She looked to him, patting his pockets, eyes wide.
"shit" he said.
ahh im sorry if thit chapter was shit guys. im so frigging tired
the next chapter will be the last one, so pleeeeaaassseeee review! itll be up soon
thanks for reading