Unscrupulous

Chapter 7

The time pod materialized inside a darkened and enclosed Area 51 hangar in the year 1969. It was used exclusively by the era's Men in Black. Chekov checked his readouts carefully to make sure he was in the right time period and on Earth before he stepped out into the pitch black recesses of the building. The smell of spent rocket fuel and dust assailed his olfactory nerves and he coughed. 'It's twentieth century Earth, all right.' he whispered softly. Switching on a flashlight he made his way to a hidden trap door in the floor. As he descended down a metal ladder, he approached a transporter booth fashioned to look like an ordinary old fashioned enclosed phone booth. He smiled as he got to it, reminded of a comedic television show from this era which used a phone booth like this one for fictional secret agents Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. However, as amusing as it was to think of that show, he became concerned that Mr. Spock was becoming more suspicious of his activities while away from the Enterprise. He knew that it would be just a matter of time before they discovered his little secret. Pavel was glad that the Men In Black had taken such elaborate measures to keep the general population in this era from discovering Seven's advanced technology on twentieth century Earth. The fact that he was a Russian and his people were considered evil enemies of the United States did not escape his thoughts either. If any civilian of this time period were to discover this MIB base, it could cause great harm to the time line. A primitive from this era may come to the erroneous conclusion that he was working for the KGB or some such nonsense. The MIB chose this particular location carefully and wisely. Since no civilian was allowed access to Area 51, MIB agents such as himself could come and go as they pleased, virtually unobserved or apprehended. As he pressed the secret controls in the booth, he soon materialized inside the chamber made to resemble a large walk-in safe. As the brown vault door opened, Seven greeted him with a scowl.

"Welcome back to the twentieth century, Ensign." Seven said without inflection, his facial expression stern. "Where is Christopher and have you secured the time pod?"

"The time pod is secure in Area 51. As for Mr. Christopher, I arrived too early. He was still recovering from a suicide attempt in sickbay. I felt it was imperative to bring the time pod back into our possession so it would be harder for Rasmussen to mess with history."

"You forgot about the Q being, Pavel." Seven responded, his expression softening. "They have the power to travel through time easily. Also, you didn't have to take a servo with you. It would have been ineffective against the Q. However, I believe he's up to something. Do you have any idea what that might be?"

"No, not really, but he seemed very sincere when he said he wanted to help Mr. Christopher get back home. I was more concerned by the unknown element of that Rasmussen guy. We know little about him, except that he is a sneaky, shady kulak. The Q was probably very amused at the sight of the servo as well, which kind of works in our favor. That one is very unlike Roberta's friend and I don't want to get him angry. Also, Christopher doesn't want to go back to the twenty-first century yet. He is not ready. Also, as you know, it would have been against the temporal Prime Directive to force him to come back with me."

"I see. You did the right thing. However, you don't have a lot of time left on your three day pass on Wrigley's pleasure planet. You should return to your era soon. A shuttle craft is waiting for you on that planet when you return. It would arouse further suspicion on Spock's part if you just suddenly appeared on the Enterprise seemingly from out of nowhere. You must make a normal approach."

"I am aware of that, sir. How is Miss Lincoln's training coming along, by the way?"

"Just fine, Pavel. I will tell her that you asked about her. She is presently getting a new arrival from the planet Bajor settled in our century. She will be living with Miss Lincoln as she adjusts to twentieth century Earth."

"A Bajoran is on planet Earth?" Pavel asked, a bit startled. "I hope she is in disguise."

"Yes, she has had the necessary cosmetic adjustments to her facial features, and she will not be making the adjustment to life on Earth alone. Her mother is also here and will be living with me until she can find gainful employment."

"May I ask why they are here?"

"All I can tell you is that they are refugees, fleeing the violence and barbarism of the Cardassians. They will be safe here in the United States of America in this time period."

"But, sir...isn't it a bit risky to bring extraterrestrials to this era? What if one of them gets sick or injured? There is a danger that the primitive doctors of this era will overreact and contact the authorities. They could end up on a slab in an alien autopsy video."

"There is little chance of that, Pavel. If they get sick or injured, a Starfleet doctor will be dispatched by the MIB. Even though they will be safe here in this era, they will have to be briefed by the hazards involved with posing as humans. Don't worry about that. They will be all right."

"Very well. I should be getting back to the Enterprise."

"Good bye for now and try not to blow your cover as a mild-mannered Starfleet starship navigator."

Pavel smiled.

"It will be difficult, but I will try, sir."

As Rasmussen was being escorted by Captain Kirk and Spock to the briefing room to talk with a newly released Christopher, a yellow alert klaxon sounded while they were still in the corridor. They all paused as Kirk went to the nearest wall intercom.

"Security, this is the captain. What's going on?"

"Humboldt here, sir. The time pod just vanished."

"Captain Kirk," Rasmussen interrupted. "There are two possibilities as to why this happened. The first is that I did not successfully power it down so it would stay here."

"And the second?" Kirk asked, ordering the security officer to shut off the alarm. Scotty had probably ordered the yellow alert.

"That little Russkie took it. The one I told you about who appeared in my guest quarters. I was so startled by his appearance that I don't recall his name." The Q had vanished before the yellow alert went off, saying in a perfect Arnold Swartenegger impression that he would be back.

"Interesting," Spock said. "Describe him."

"A little short dark-haired young man, dressed in a Starfleet uniform like the captain's."

"That sounds like our head navigator, Pavel Chekov. Of course, we know that is impossible."

"Is it, Captain?" Spock asked. "The fact is that we do not know where he goes or what he does when he is on his 'special assignments' or on shore leave."

"A point well taken, Spock. I will have to have a talk with him once he returns to the ship."