Unscrupulous

Chapter 19

Tam Elbrin waited patiently and with some concern as the pretty new arrival named Roberta regained consciousness. He scolded Gumtu for frightening her by appearing as her friend, and knew she had the mistaken idea that the creature had swallowed her as well. The creature agreed to apologize to her as soon as she recovered enough to not be scared of him. They both sensed her fear more intensely as she came to. She was lucky to be alive. If she had remained in Gumtu's nasal cavity, she would have suffocated.

"Young lady, please don't be afraid. We won't hurt you." Elbrin implored as gently as he could. He soon grew aware of why she was so frightened and sympathized with her. He began to hear her thoughts and learned that she thought that Gumtu had eaten her friend Pavel and had taken his essence from him. "Gumtu did not eat your friend, Roberta. What you think he did is impossible in real life. It was achieved only in that silly movie you're thinking of."*

As Roberta became more aware of her surroundings, she saw that the stranger who had spoken had incredibly dark eyes. Obviously, he wasn't human, but probably a Betazoid. She had only met one other Betazoid before, but she reasoned that this alien might be as nice as the previous one she had met. However, she was still very uneasy.

"Who are you? How do you know my name? We have never met before. Where am I? How did I get here?"

Elbrin smiled gently and smoothed her bangs.

"I know...I know. Your mind is filled with questions. Please relax, Miss Lincoln. You're among friends. I won't hurt you."

Roberta, still bewildered and baffled by her surroundings, looked back up into his deep dark eyes as he helped her sit up.

"If...if you won't hurt me, then what have you done to Pavel? What is this place? How did I get here?"

"I will answer your questions one at a time, dear girl. I have done nothing to your friend. He was never here. As far as I know, he's safe and sound in the previous century. By the way, Miss Lincoln...how could you possibly know someone from the twenty-third century? You are obviously not from around here."

"I work for the so-called men in black in the latter part of the twentieth century. Pavel has been helping with my training as a new agent. How do you know my name? I've never seen you before."
"I'm a telepath." He watched as she grimaced, closed her eyes and laid back down on the bed that Gumtu had made for her.

"Oh, that's just great! Not again."

Elbrin was confused for a moment, seeing an image form in her mind of someone who resembled her friend Pavel. "Please don't hurt me."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Roberta, not all telepaths are evil. I have been called a jerk sometimes, but I am not a killer like that creep Bester you are thinking of. Who is he?"

"He's a slime ball from another dimension who almost killed Mr. Chekov. Who are you? What am I doing here? Did this creature eat me?"

"My name is Tam Elbrin. As you have figured out in your mind, I am a Betazoid." He paused for a moment and smiled. "You have met Deanna's mother. She is eccentric but very sweet. Deanna and I are good friends. By the way, this creature is also a friend of mine. He is sentient and friendly. His name is Gumtu." Elbrin looked up at the ceiling. "Gumtu, she is calmer now. Please speak to her."

"I am very sorry for frightening you, Roberta. I thought that seeing your friend's face would make you feel more at home."

Roberta scowled at the ceiling.

"The only way I am going to feel at home, Gum...Gumtu, is when I'm actually there. That appearance of Pavel's face had the opposite effect. It scared the living crap out of me!" She paused for a moment and then sat back up. "However...I guess I can forgive you. Why was I brought here? Where and what is this place?"

"I see that you have a history of jumping to erroneous conclusions, Miss Lincoln. We are as much in the dark as to why you suddenly appeared here as you are. You are aboard a living spaceship near the galactic barrier, now known as the Bad Lands."

For the first time since her arrival, the girl from the twentieth century looked down at herself and began to realize that she was covered with a thin layer of slime.

"What is this stuff?"

"It's snot, Roberta. You materialized inside Gumtu's nose."

"Ew...gross! This is disgusting!" She made a face.

"It could have been worse, dear girl."

"How could it have possibly been worse?!"

"You could have appeared in his ass and he could have farted you out into space."

Roberta couldn't help but smile and realized that he was trying to make her feel more at ease. It was working, and she was now beginning to think that the Q, who had been hampering their efforts at retrieving the stolen articles and blueprints at every turn, had probably disguised himself as Jackson Roykirk and somehow transported her here so she would not be able to do her job...wherever here was.

"Now that is entirely possible, Miss Lincoln." Elbrin said gently, obviously picking up on her thoughts. "Welcome to the twenty-fourth century."

"Thanks."

Roberta then remembered that she had placed her servo inside her Avon sample case. She now had hope that she would be able to contact Mr. Seven if she knew where it was. Elbrin smiled, reading her thoughts about posing as a seller of cosmetics and toiletries. He now knew why she was dressed like someone from the late nineteen sixties. That was, in fact, where she was from.

"Gumtu, please find and retrieve Miss Lincoln's sample case."

"Mr. Elbrin?"

"Yes?"

"How could a creature like Gumtu possibly exist in outer space? It's a vacuum." She watched in amazement as her sample case rolled into her view and stopped at her feet. She picked it up and began to search for her servo as Elbrin answered.

"Good question, Roberta. We have learned in our time that space isn't a total vacuum. There are creatures, although rare like Gumtu, that can survive out here."

"How is it keeping you alive? Also, what does it eat? Is there a way I can freshen up and get this snot off of me?"

"It's complicated, but Gumtu and I have a sort of symbiotic relationship. We are near a Federation star base named Deep Space Nine. You can freshen up there. As for bathroom facilities, Gumtu supplies that need for me by adding my waste to his. I am not sure what he eats, but he is pretty self-sustaining."

As they conversed, Roberta had found her servo and set it for communication mode. However, she was soon disappointed to find that she was out of range. Then, she recalled that she had been able to contact Mr. Seven during a previous assignment on Deep Space Nine. She suddenly remembered her necklace of Spican flame gems that the Q named Quinn had given to her and wished she had taken it with her. It somehow magically protected her from harm. However, she had had no idea that the Q was going to pull this stunt on her while she was on Earth and whisk her away to God knows where. As she thought of the necklace, it appeared around her neck in a tiny flash of light.

"You've been on Deep Space Nine before?"

"Yes, sir, I was. When I was here last, I ended up being transported into a makeshift shooting gallery. The folks on DS9 were preparing for a possible invasion by creatures from the Dominion."

Elbrin smiled.

"You do get around, don't you? I see. Gumtu, show Miss Lincoln where we are in relation to Deep Space Nine."

Gumtu complied quickly and Roberta noticed something appear that looked very familiar.

"Is that the infamous Doomsday Machine? If so, it really does look like a giant Bugle snack."

Elbrin grinned and chuckled.

"If you tried to chew on that, you would not have any teeth left. It's made of solid neutronium. Yes, that's the Doomsday Machine all right. It is completely inert and no longer a threat. I find it strange that it appeared here in this century. History records that Captain Kirk had repaired it with the help of the Klingons and used it on the Romulans in retaliation for destroying Federation outposts along the neutral zone. Now, however, the damage done to it by the galactic barrier is irreparable."

"Thank God for that." She continued to stare at it out the window and then saw a large structure nearby that looked like a giant alien arachnid on a mirror. "Is that Deep Space Nine? I never saw it from the outside before."
"Yes, it is. So...you are the famous Roberta Lincoln who works for the mysterious Gary Seven."

"You know about me?"

"Yes, believe it or not, you and your boss are famous and required reading at Starfleet academy. However, until today, I did not know his name. Because of security concerns, your boss's name wasn't mentioned. You are part of the Enterprise's Five Year Mission in the last century."

"I doubt I'm that famous, Mr. Elbrin. In fact, I get the distinct impression that you never heard of me either until I was whisked aboard your living ship. By the way, why are you with him?"

"He is a respite for me, Roberta. My telepathic abilities are quite powerful and are uncontrollable. When I'm around a lot of people, I get all their thoughts and emotions all at once, whether I want them or not. It's a bit much for me. It is only on special or rare occasions that I leave him and go onto Federation star bases or when it is absolutely necessary. Gumtu supplies most of what I need, but it is nice to meet a pretty young lady like you."

Roberta smiled gratefully. She was still a little mystified as to why the Q chose to bring her here.

"You are welcome. I will let you transport onto the space station."

"Thank you, sir."

"I hope you are successful at contacting your supervisor. Good bye and it was a pleasure meeting you."

With that, Gumtu teleported her right into the OPS section of Deep Space Nine, as much to the crew's surprise as it was to hers.

* "The Little Shop of Horrors"