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

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"You got zapped from your time and place in your particular universe and timeline and ended up in the future. Or, some people it's the past, and others it's a totally different universe to begin with, because that's how Q rolls. Oh, Q from the Q continuum, they're, hah, interesting."

She doesn't sound noticeably out of breath by the end, despite how fast she talks.

"So, now you're on the USS Enterprise- NCC-1701-D, which is captained by Jean-Luc Picard. I, uh, can't remember if you used stardates by when I think you're from, but it's the year 2336 as most of Earth uses that dating system."

She smiles. As if he isn't suspicious, as if she isn't wondering how much of it is because he's been zapped here and how much of it's because she's Orion.

"Welcome aboard, Commander, right? I'm Ensign Gaila betIlley."

[tript]

"Uh," is all he managed to all of that. It wouldn't be the first time he'd time travelled, but that sort of thing usually happened to the captain, not him. And 2336 was kinda close.

"You're in Starfleet?" He sounded as if that was the most unlikely part of what she'd said. But then he remembered his manners. "Commander Charles Tucker." He had to put his communicator back in his pocket, so he could hold out his hand to shake - although whether touching an Orion was a good idea was another thing altogether. "From 2155."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

The look she gives him over his questioning is...well, it's unimpressed. Her uniform is grey, the grey of an acting [insert rank here], but it's still a Starfleet uniform with a communicator.

The uniform, she suspects, isn't the problem at all.

Still, she pointedly puts the smile back on and shakes his hand.

"You'll have a bit of a time-culture shock, I'm afraid. Starfleet's part of the United Federation of Planets now, not just Earth. And there's lots of different cultures and species involved in that. And that's not even counting everyone else who Q's winked here. But we're trying to get people back to where they originally from, if that's feasible. In the meantime, typical Starfleet hospitality, you'll be assigned a room after a medical check, and you're free to pitch in where you can if you wanted some duties, as long as the captain signs off on it."

There's a pause.

"You might need to study to catch up, though. But classes are starting soon to help with that."

[tript]

The uniform was unfamiliar, but it was her species that he was finding the bigger problem. And Starfleet let Orions in! They must know what they were like, from Archer's report, if nothing else. But he'd be better off pretending he didn't know, but keeping an eye on her.

"I've heard of the Federation." From Captain Archer, who'd heard about it from Daniels. "We've just been at a conference to set up the Coalition of Planets." Which helped him believe that Daniels was right and the Federation of Planets was in their future.

"Catching up," he said thoughtfully, running a hand across his face. "Warp engines must have changed quite a bit. What's the top speed these days?"

[writes_with_digital_ink]

One day (or rather, about five minutes after this conversation ends), Gaila is going to put Commander Tucker's name together with his ship of origin, and the start of that infuriating rumour that there are no female Orion slaves. It will not improve her initial impression of the man at all.

Ordinarily, she'd say something to his comment about where he's been. Something cheerful, intrigued, a little laughter as she warns him to be careful of people who might drag him over to a corner and pick his brains about historic occasions. She's a nice girl, most of the time.

Most of the time.

But there's a streak of petty in her that being a slave had only fostered, and while he hasn't done much to really provoke the true depths of that, she's not going to be as helpful or welcoming as she could be. She'll say the facts, because no one will ever be able to accuse her of not doing her duty.

"It's complicated," is what she says, but for a moment, her expression was thoughtful rather than bland. "The speed designations got overhauled, so now warp ten is considered infinite velocity, but back in my day, warp ten was doable, but not safely. It depends on the ship and how you're converting the designations."

[tript]

Now they were on the subject of engines, Trip was starting to forget who she was. Or at least not concentrating on it so much. He'd seen some of what the Orion women said and did to the crew and she didn't seem to be doing any it. But perhaps she was just more subtle or was taking a different approach on him.

"Warp 10, huh?" He looked excited about the idea. Imagine how far out in the galaxy you could get a Warp 10. "I guess Warp 5 must seem like a crawl to you."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

He's not the only one more comfortable talking about engines: this smile is a bit more genuine, a bit more warm rather than just pointedly polite.

"Mmmm, more like a jog. Nice travelling speed if you're not dawdling, but not trying to break your neck, metaphorically speaking."

[tript]

"For us warp 5 is hard work." He smiled at her description and at the idea of thinking of warp 5 being a nice travelling speed. "I'd love to get a look at the specs for a warp 10 engine."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"It'd be in the archives, or theoretical papers if you mean ideas for the current conception of speed..."

She stops. Shifts her weight from one foot to another and back.

"But you can't take the technology back with you. Violation of the Temporal Prime Directive, and trust me, those guys play hard."

[tript]

He sighed. "The Temporal Prime Directive is an ass." And something he had every intention of getting round at the first opportunity. "What's the point of being in the future if you can't learn anything useful?"

[writes_with_digital_ink]

Not being dead?

She doesn't say that. It just invites too many questions, and she's really not in the mood to get into what happened to Vulcan and Starfleet in her timeline. Certainly she doesn't feel like getting into her ship exploding around her.

Particularly not to a guy who is probably putting her into a Syndicate dancing girl outfit in his head.

"Uh, so you don't go back and split the timelines or cause paradoxes or try and take over a few star-systems with the new technology?"

She likes the Prime Directive. Both of them. They protect.

(Congratulations, Trip, you've run into the local Orion idealist.)

[tript]

He frowned. They were bad things, he didn't disagree with that. Although they seemed ephemeral in comparison to learning how to make engines that went at higher warp. And if he'd been talking to someone he trusted he might have gone along with it. Hell, he might even have gone further towards accepting it if it hadn't been an Orion telling him this.

"Why do you care?"

[writes_with_digital_ink]

She fixes him with a long, slightly scornful stare.

"Have you ever had to fight future technology, Commander Tucker?"

[tript]

He shrugged. And then winced when that pulled at his shoulder. He wasn't bothered by that stare. He'd had Orion women look at him in different, but worse ways. Maybe pissing her off was the best way to make sure she didn't turn those pheromones on him.

"Kind of, yeah. But it wasn't the technology so much as it was the aliens." And their genetic enhancements, but mostly their attitudes.

[writes_with_digital_ink]

Kind of, yeah.

"So, no, is what you're actually saying. Okay. I have. There was nothing, technology-wise, we could do to beat them, and so billions of people were murdered."

It still makes her upset. Still. Always will. Dropping out of warp into sirens and explosions, and then learning what happened to Vulcan...

Her posture has shifted, without quite her knowing it. Stiffened into formality.

"So. Yeah. I take the Prime Directive, and it's temporal variant, very seriously. And so should you."

[tript]

He clenched his fist around his communicator. She could talk about billions of people being murdered as much as she liked, but he could talk about the millions of humans murdered, due to future knowledge. Not to mention the whole race nearly being wiped out. But he wasn't, because this was an Orion and she was hardly going to care.

"I bet they weren't your people, were they?" His tone was definitely argumentative. With anyone else he might have got a bit closer, tried to loom a bit, but that was a bad idea with her.

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"Excuse me?" She barely draws breath. "Yes, they were! Starfleet. Federation. I'm a Federation citizen, and an officer of Starfleet, and seven ships were blown up as soon as we dropped out of warp. And Vulcan-"

Gaila stops as quickly as she started, her hands clenched into fists.

"Or wouldn't you care what happened to Vulcan? They're not human. Not your people. Is that what you mean?

Or, oh, is it because I'm Orion? That's your problem, isn't it?"

[tript]

He did care about Vulcan - he'd like the place (at least the bits that were less deserty) and he liked some Vulcans. He looked a little worried about what might have happened, until she mentioned her species.

"Yes, it is," he said frankly. "I've met Orions before and I know what you're like."

[writes_with_digital_ink]

"What we're like? Right. Yes. Congratulations, Commander, you're a bigot." She could stay an argue - although it never does any good - or stay, and be icily formal and correct. If she was more in practice at dealing with his kind of attitude, she would. But here, people rarely are this upfront about it, and she's out of practice and she hates, hates, hates talking about what happened at Vulcan. So instead, the next thing Gaila snaps is, "And you can find your own damn way to the temporary living quarters."

There is a side-effect of Orion pheromones that is little known: their emotions can spill out into a room. It's not empathy, it's just that the air starts to taste a little like anger and unease along with the distinctive Orion scent.

That's why she should leave; it's not why she does.

No, Ensign Gaila betIlley turns sharply on her heel in a parade-perfect gesture and stalks off for the simple reason that if she stays any longer, she's going to start to yell.

Admiral Pike would probably be disappointed in her if she did that, and he's not an officer she ever wants to disappoint.