A Name in the History Books

"Get down, Keenser!"

"Those are not monkey bars!"

"Don't play on there, you'll break somethin'!"

Scotty slumps into a chair and puts his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples to alleviate the headache that is beginning to pound. He runs a hand over his hair and looks up at the sound of shuffling feet. His small green companion scuffles out from behind a stack of Starfleet record tapes. Keenser looks up at him with those beady black eyes and whimpers slightly in apology.

Scotty smiles reluctantly and motions toward his friend. The alien immediately takes the moment to wrap himself around Scotty's leg in a tight hug. He chirrups happily, like a grasshopper, as a cat would purr when it is happy.

"Ah right, tha's enough of that. I'm still not happy with you, ya know? I'm tryin' to take this work seriously. I can't have you runnin' around and causin' trouble. Understand?"

Keenser nods and pushes his goggles back over his eyes. Scott claps his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"There now, tha's the spirit! We've got only a few more days to prepare this presentation on transwarp beaming. I'm not sure I fully understand it myself, to be completely honest. I wish I'd asked Mr. Spock for more explanation. Not that I cannae figure it out myself of course."

Keenser snickers, and Scotty cuffs him lightly in the head before setting back to work. He starts with the idea that in transwarp beaming space is the thing that's moving, not the ship, and works backward on the theory and subsequent equations from there. It is an amazing process to him to work on something he already came up with in another timeline. For a moment it feels like cheating, but then he reminds himself that he was the one who came up with the theory in the first place, and common sense dictates that you cannot steal from yourself.

Even as his work on the transwarp beaming theory comes to an end, he suddenly finds himself coming up with other theories and ideas that branch from this one. Can he beam people from two different places onto a moving ship? Can he beam someone from one moving ship to another? What about time travel as opposed to space travel?

He tosses around ideas and throws out the idea about time travel telling himself that it's already been done before. Sure, he might be able to discover a new way to go about it, but compared to transporting it doesn't seem that important to him. He's already seen the dangers that time travel can impose. Nero taught him that lesson.

A sickening bang tells him that Keenser has fallen off of something again. He calls out to the alien who responds with a high-pitched gibberish before running off in another direction. The engineer grits his teeth and bends over his work, determined to finish on time.

---

Engineer Montgomery Scott is nervous, more so than he needs to be. He did already come up with this theory in another time, so it must be true, he reminds himself. The group he is presenting to surely can't have much to contend with in terms of his presentation. However, despite this half-hearted reassurance, Scotty is sweating bullets and wishing he had a glass of scotch to calm his nerves.

Keenser waves to him from off stage, preferring to take no credit for the miniscule work he did on dissecting the theory and its many parts. Scott is happy with this situation. He did after all do most of the work himself while baby-sitting his green alien friend. Reluctantly, but kindly, Scotty waves back just as the chattering audience begins to quiet down.

He steps toward the front of the stage to introduce himself as his theories and equations are projected up onto a screen behind him. He doesn't need to look at anything up there though. This, he decides, is his life's work, and he knows everything there is to know about it. If he isn't the expert on all things pertaining to transporters and beaming he doesn't know who is.

As he moves through the different parts of the theory, the mathematics behind each part, and the physical explanation to go with it (he uses grapefruits to illustrate these points) his audience's attention grows more rapt. In the pauses where he takes a breath before continuing he can hear the wheels turning in their heads as they comprehend everything he is saying, at the same time their stylus' fly across their PADDs in unison. It is a beautiful sight to behold for such an impassioned young man.

When the engineer finishes with a swift "Does anyone have any questions?" silence greets him, and for a split second he fears that he has failed in explaining one of the most important discoveries of the century. Then, all of a sudden, everyone erupts in a cacophony of sounds. Voices rise against one another as questions and comments are hurled at Scotty's ears.

He tries to pick people out of the crowd, but they are a roiling mass of excitement and curiosity. After a few minutes of well-ordered chaos things die down enough for Scott to be heard over the din. He points to an eager old gentleman in one of the back rows, recognising him as a lecturer he once had at Starfleet. The gentleman stands up shakily and peers at the young engineer through his thick glasses. He is smiling the widest smile the Scotsman has ever seen in his entire life.

"That was perhaps the most riveting and well-stated theory I have heard in several decades, young man. I'd certainly like to learn more about this transwarp beaming. Perhaps we could see it in action since it seems you have already tested this on human subjects. What did you say your name was again?"

"Engineer Montgomery Scott, Sir," Scotty says, beaming back at the old man, who nods approvingly.

"Montgomery Scott, eh?" the old man continues, shaking a finger, "Mark my words, young man, if you can prove this works with human beings, you'll go down in the history books!"

No amount of scotch or whiskey in the world could make Scotty feel more on top of the world than he feels at this moment.

Authoress' Note: Just to let everyone know, I've finished writing this entire story. All of the chapters are up on my computer, so it's just a matter of getting them up in an appropriate amount of time. I'll try to have at least one out every weekend, but unfortunately, some of the chapters need quite a bit of work, so it may have to be every other weekend. At any rate, you can expect more consistent updates. Thanks for keeping up with this! :) I love this chapter just for the fact that Keenser is in it. I'm so glad he was introduced in this last movie.