Ad Astra Per Aspera
Una Chin-Riley x OC, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Chapter 1: The Stanger
Enterprise had been floating along in deep space for going on two weeks now. With no orders to dictate what they ought to do, Captain Pike decided they should take 'good ole fashioned exploration for a spin'. Nearly two weeks in and the most interesting thing they had come across was an asteroid which, if you looked really close, sort of looked like a cabbage. According to Pike. Morale was a combination of low and rambunctious. Basically bored.
"I never realized how little there is to actually do on this ship", Lieutenant Ortegas groaned, leaning forward on the console.
"There is always work to do." Una piped up from her spot next to Pike on the bridge, wagging a PADD toward Ortegas.
"Or languages to learn!" Uhura smiled from comms. Ortegas rolled her eyes and dramatically groaned, wheeling around in her chair. Pike smirked. "Hang in there Lieutenant. You just might jinx us and then we will all be dreaming of these rare down days on the Enterprise."
"Captain. I am sorry to interrupt, but it seems Oretgas has perhaps already 'jinxed' us, as you say." Spock said, bringing up an image of a damaged shuttlecraft, alone.
"Well now, what do we have here?" Ortegas shot upright, interested and eager.
"Spock, life signs? Status?" Pike demanded.
"One sir. Species unknown. The shuttle is severely damaged and will break down if left unattended."
"Well then, I guess we will have to beam them aboard! Number One, La'An, Uhura, please join me in the main transporter room." Pike said, maneuvering out of his chair. La'An frowned, but the four of them all moved into the turbo lift.
"Captain, I strongly advise against beaming an unknown species aboard with no precautions. Our sensors are still weak against the Gorn. We don't know what is on that ship."
"Agree. I advise we put a containment field around the transporter bay and come armed and prepared." Una chimed in.
"Agreed." Pike nodded. "Computer, place a containment field around the main transporter bay, maximum strength. Pike to M'banga."
"Yes, Captain?" M'banga replied through the computer system.
"We are beaming aboard an unknown species off a broken shuttle craft we just encountered. Could you or Nurse Chapel join us in the transporter room immediately."
The two shouted back, "Yes!"
The Captain smiled, "Woah, I get it we are a little bored. But we don't know what we are getting into down here, so keep your wits about you. Could be dangerous."
"Got it. We will meet you there."
"What is a shuttlecraft doing out here, carrying just one person–"
"Or monster" La'An interrupted Uhura mid-thought.
"Right. I'm just saying, we are in deep space. Few from the Federation have been here."
Just then, the turbo lift doors opened and the four command crew members spilled down the corridor toward the transporter room. M'banga and Nurse Chapel filed in from an adjoining corridor.
"What have we got!" Chapel energetically asked.
"You all know as much as we do." Pike replied. They turned into the transporter room.
"Computer, confirm containment field." The containment field glowed blue around the transporter pad.
"Containment field initiated, maximum strength" The Computer hummed back.
"Alright, whenever you're ready Ensign, beam them aboard." Number One said, turning toward the Starfleet officer manning the transporter station.
"Beaming aboard" He said, pushing the transporter instruments forward.
The classic shimmer of the transporter chimed and delivered the body of a small–what appeared to be human–woman. She sat balled up in the center of the transporter pad.
Everyone was stunned.
"Uh, hello!" The Captain said, looking around at his crew. The woman looked forward at him, clearly disheveled, hurt, and uncertain. Her dark hair was tangled and long, her eyes were dull, her skin harsh. She was wrapped in torn material, what appeared to be blood and dirt coating parts of the cloth, and upon closer look, parts of her skin. She said nothing, but looked critically, evaluating them.
"Captain, recommend lowering the field so the medical team can assess." Una urged softly.
"Um, agree Number One. Computer, lower the containment field." The blue glow shuttered as the field dissipated. La'An stood with her arms crossed, skeptical, and moved forward to standby in case the newcomer turned on them. Una moved forward too, positioning herself in a way that implied she meant to monitor La'An, and protect the woman. She had a gut feeling about this.
M'banga and Chapel moved forward and the woman shot up, limping toward the back of the room. Everyone froze. "Uhura, you got any tricks here?" Chapel asked.
Uhura opened the universal translator and began speaking, "We mean you no harm. They are doctors, we want to help."
The woman frowned. "I can hear you." She said, "I just do not trust you." Una smiled at this funny honesty. The team looked around at each other. La'An lowered her arms from her defensive stance. "I can understand that. I was once rescued from a shuttle floating in space. Actually, she was the one that saved me." She shrugged over toward Una. The woman looked over toward her, as if noticing her for the first time and softened, only a very subtle amount, but softened. "Had someone captured you?" La'An asked–nervous the woman could be infected by Gorn. The woman nodded. "We need to know who."
"La'An." Una warned.
"We need to know she is not infected by the Gorn. Our ship's safety comes first." The woman seemed to understand this. She nodded.
"I have not been prodded by the evil lizards. If that is what you are meaning?" They all noted the funny way she spoke. If she were human, surely she would have had to have been raised on an alien colony.
"You know of them?" Una pressed further.
"Yes, I have heard of them. They ate another ship we ran next to." They all stood a moment, trying to discern what this meant. "We saw them and heard them–on the screen. A recording. They never touched us and we did not help the ship."
La'An nodded. At any rate, she must be clean.
Nurse Chapel and the doctor moved forward, the woman now allowing scans.
"Where did you come from then? You got separated from your ship?" La'An pressed.
"I escaped. I come from far away. Further away than you would understand, I assume from those I have encountered so far." Her voice was sweet and bright though she was clearly wounded, emotionally and physically. "I left my home world. I was captured and enslaved. I escaped."
"Well, you are safe now." Uhura glowed warmly.
Chapel helped the woman up, directing her toward sick bay. The woman unlodged from her touch and moved toward Una. "You will be my bedmate?" She asked with an open and excited tone. Una froze, unsure of how to proceed. Everyone did the same, looking in shock.
"Uh, um, I'm not sure–we don't…um, well, what–" She stumbled, clearly uncomfortable and uncertain.
"Oh!" The woman shrunk in, "I am sorry. I am not sure your customs. I have not met but my imprisoners. In my world, we, um, well, when we are in distress or bad things have happened, we procure a bedmate to recalibrate. Co-regulation. For nervous system recovery. I am sorry. It is not…how do you put it? Sexual? It is an act of recovery." She stumbled, shy and nervous, tweaking her hands and fidgeting.
"Oh." Una replied.
M'banga shrugged, "There is science behind that. Makes sense. Probably aids greatly in the recovery from PTSD. If our society were more open to plutonic co-regulation, we would probably be better off."
"Well, why me?" Una crossed her arms, unsure.
"It is a wordless thing." The woman replied.
"Well, why don't I accompany you to sick bay and get you comfortable, see what the doctor says and go from there."
"It is okay. I understand now the customs are different in your world. I am disappointed, but I will be alone." This comment and openness also sort of took Una and the others aback. Emotional vulnerability was clearly a value in their world. Una sort of frowned. She did not want her own culture to get in the way of accommodating someone who had clearly gone through so much. She made a mental note to discuss this with Chris. Maybe she could submit to being the woman's "bedmate", at least for one night.
The lights of sickbay glared above them as they assessed her. Uhura and Una both stood by while the others returned to their stations.
Chapel ran the tricorder over the woman–she seemed to study every action and space carefully, but subtly and quietly. She'd make a good starfleet officer. Una found herself thinking. Resilience, acute awareness, consideration of other customs and cultures…curiosity and openness.
"Well," M'banga said, coming around the bed, "you are malnourished, and have some minor wounds we have fixed. I see a history of unmended broken bones, other minor to moderate internal injuries. We fixed those as well. I am sorry–you must've been in so much pain." The woman shrugged, but said nothing. "Malnourishment will have to be addressed over time, though we did give you some boosters to raise your vitamin levels."
"Thank you. I can eat here?" She asked, still a bit unsure of their arrangement and weary.
"Yes, of course." Uhura piped up.
"But don't go crazy and binge–you could get really sick." Chapel chimed in.
"Ideally, someone would sort of watch over you and take care of you. I suppose you could stay in sickbay…"M'banga thought out loud, turning toward Una as if asking, unless you'll do it…she seems to trust you. Una sort of bristled and then heard herself saying, "I'll do it." Her tone resigned. "You can stay with me tonight and I will watch you and take you on a ship tour tomorrow if you feel up to it. We will also have to sit with Uhura and the others later and get a report from you, if that's okay. But for now, my shift is up. We can head to my quarters and you can shower and rest and I will make you something to eat. Well, I won't make it. The Computer will. I'm not like Chris–Captain Pike. I can't really cook that well. But still. It's something. I think I have some fresh strawberries from our last stop. Maybe you can have some of those. They're real." She said, sort of awkwardly. Unsure if she really wanted to get into all this. What happened to checking in with Chris about all this, Una? She asked herself. Too late now. M'banga smiled while Christine and Nyota stood looking between each other, stunned. "Great!" He said, "I will send you with some meds. Call me if anything changes. Thank you, Commander." Una glared a little at the doctor. This is all your fault, M'banga.
The countenance of the woman hardly shifted, but she gazed at the Commander with a depth of openness and pleasure–something along the lines of a silent "Thank you–thank you for regarding my customs."
Uhura returned to the bridge the medical team went about their business after handing Una the medicines with some small instruction on how they ought to be given. Una inched forward toward the small and sheepishly smiled, widening her arms in a 'well, here we are' gesture, and letting them fall to her sides. "Bedmates it is!" She said, trying to appear cheerful and friendly, still uncertain of herself and her own comfort with her choice.
"You did not have to negate your heritage of distrust in order to please me. I understand well the cultural dissonance now." The woman said in a low, soft tone.
Una sighed, "No, I am sorry. You have clearly been through a lot. I was just surprised by your request. It is not distrust. It's–well, I don't know how to explain it. It's just, we aren't so…open, or vulnerable, or touchy here."
"Isn't hesitance toward vulnerability a marker of distrust?" The woman turned her head in curiosity.
Una paused in thought. "Um, well, I suppose that is true. I just–I guess I always think of distrust as more extreme, but you're right. It's a spectrum. This will be good for me then. To help me grow out of my comfort zone. Good for diplomacy. Unless of course you kill me in my sleep. Then I think we should analyze your way of doing things." She smiled playfully. The woman laughed gently, a sweet hum in Una's ears. She felt pleased she could make her laugh, after a long stint in hardship. She held out her hand to help the woman off the bed. "In all this craziness I don't think anyone even asked your name, or your species–you came up unknown on our scanners. We will debrief more when you give the report too–I don't want to overwhelm you."
"My..name?" She questioned as they walked into the nearest turbo lift.
"My quarters please, Computer" Una chimed. The woman looked around. The turbo lift whirred.