The wrong Enterprise (open)

[tript]

Anyone familiar with the history of Starfleet - at least when it came to uniforms - would recognise that the man who appeared in Ten Forward was from two hundred years ago. His uniform was a lot like a blue boiler suit, with red stripes, three pins denoting his rank of Commander, and a lot of pockets.

Commander Charles Tucker III was confused. A moment ago he'd been on Enterprise and now he was somewhere else. It looked like it could be a bar, but the stars outside and the feeling beneath his feet of a warp engine, told him it was a starship. So this was a mess hall, perhaps. He didn't feel like he'd been transported. And if something had wiped his memory his shoulder would have improved. He moved his left arm experimentally in its sling. No, definitely no memory wipe and he'd definitely just been on Enterprise.

Trip unzipped a pocket and came across a hyper spanner. "I wondered where that went," he muttered to himself. He put it back and pulled out his communicator. Flipping it open he said, "Tucker to Enterprise." There was nothing - not even static. It was as if Enterprise was not in range, but if that was the case how did he get here? If only he had two hands free and the right tools, he'd take the communicator apart to check it was working. He tried it again, not really expecting an answer this time. "Tucker to Enterprise."

Comments

[orions_shadow]

Is everyone going to be asking the same stupid questions in this stupid ass space bar? Suddenly Trip has a young black lion looking at him from the opposite side of a couch, peering at him like he just said something offensive.

More annoying than anything, but he can't sit here for ten minutes without some other person poofing in out of nowhere asking about where they are. At least this one was on the dot.

"Yes. This is the Enterprise. Don't panic."

[tript]

He wasn't panicking, just concerned. But he was distracted from it by the alien who looked like a black lion. He'd never seen a species look so much like an animal before.

"The Enterprise?" he asked, coming closer.

[orions_shadow]

Briefly, Trip might notice that he flinches slightly when the older man nears. Not terribly comfortable with strangers. A low rumble is heard, and he might even notice that physically he is like a half way point between human and lion. Hardly a diversion of cosmic evolution, but if someone spliced the two species together instead.

"This is. Yeah. Or so they told me."

[tript]

"Okay." It's the rumble that brings him up short, wondering if getting close is really a good idea.

"Are you half human, half alien?" One day he'd learn not to just blurt out what was on his mind. That was not this day.

[orions_shadow]

"No, I'm human fused with lion. Magicly. Don't ask how." No way is he going to explain it to a stranger. At least he wasn't being rude about it though.

[tript]

"Right." He didn't believe a word of it, so there wasn't a great deal of point in asking.

He smiled and introduced himself. "I'm Trip Tucker." Offering his hand to shake didn't seem like a terribly good idea. "This isn't my Enterprise, unless something very strange is going on."

[orions_shadow]

Sometimes you gotta believe in a little magi

Trip? Then there was his story, a bit weird, but then Shadow shrugged. "Multierse'll do that to you ya."

[tript]

"Not usually." He put his hands on his hips. "Imagine the chaos if people appeared and disappeared at random."

[orions_shadow]

"Which is exactly what's happening." Isn't that funny?

[tript]

"I guess." Trip frowned, not finding it funny at all. "Is there more to this ship than just this place?"

[orions_shadow]

"If it was just this place it'd be a space bar, not a ship. I first showed up in the engine room." How would he think this was the only place? Why?

[tript]

"The engine room." Trip's eyes lit up. "What was that like?" It was a starship, therefore the engines were the most interesting part of it, to Trip anyway.

[orions_shadow]

"Big and loud." Too bright, too many people and suddenly? A lion. They got spooked and phasered his furry ass down for the count.

"You know I don't know anything about these ships, right?"

[tript]

He did now. But it was a pretty good description of Engineering for someone who'd never been there before. "I'll go look for myself. Do you know how to get there?"

[orions_shadow]

"They're not gonna let you wander around their ship." He just shakes his head, because he's been stuck between here and his guest quarters for a day or two now.

[tript]

"I guess that makes sense." It wasn't as if they ever let anyone just wander around Enterprise either. It wasn't going to dampen his enthusiasm, though. "I'll find a crewmember to escort me."

[orions_shadow]

"Good luck with that mate. They won't let you." He wasn't allowed anywhere an the Doctor said they were all quarantined.

[tript]

"Watch me." It wasn't as if he disbelieved him, exactly, it was that he wasn't going to be sure until he'd tried it. And he was pretty sure he could find the way to engineering if he tried. So he gave a little wave and walked out of Ten Forward.