Disclaimer : Tenchi Muyo! and all the characters thereof are the property of Pioneer/AIC and such. Star Trek : The Next Generation and all characters thereof are property of Paramount. None of the characters in this fanfic are being paid for their appearance here, nor is the author getting any profit from this work of fiction (as if!). Futher, if you wish to archive this fanfic on a publicly-accessibly site (be it Web, FTP, or whatever), I have no objections to that as long as such does not bring any profit to anyone (if I don't make money off of it, no one will make money off of it). All I ask is that you contact me and let me know where the archive location is so I can check it out. That said, on with the show... THE MIHOSHI INCIDENT Chapter 4 - Take Me to Your Leader ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wow." Sasami gaped, staring at the image of the approaching starship. "It's so big." Ryo-Ohki mewled noisily. "But you're cuter, Ryo-Ohki." she added, smiling. "Uh huh." Mihoshi muttered nervously. "It *is* big. Yukinojo? Do you recognize it?" "No, Mihoshi." the computer replied unhappily. "It does not conform to any ship design registered in the Galaxy Police Ships Registry." "There's writing on it!" Sasami cried, leaning close to the screen. "What's it say?" "The language is English." Yukinojo reported, a floating screen popping into existence. "NCC-1701D. USS Enterprise." "English?" Mihoshi asked. "You mean it's an Earth ship? I didn't know that they had starships, other than that shuttle-thingie." She paused a moment. "I guess that wouldn't count as a starship, would it? I mean, it can't reach any other stars, so it couldn't be a starship, or could it?" "There is not enough information to deduce the ship's origins, Mihoshi. There are many contradictions evident besides the existence of English on a ship not available to current Earth technology. Take this design, for example." The screen zoomed in on a peculiar-looking symbol on the hull. "There is no 'United Federation of Planets' in the Intergalactic Registry of Planetary Governments." "Aliens!" Sasami blurted. "I've always wanted to meet an alien!" "They could be dangerous, Sasami!" Mihoshi cautioned. "I mean, they might be pirates, or very warlike, or religious fanatics, or cannibals, or maybe even planet-to-planet salesmen!" She shivered violently. "Oh, those salesmen are the worst!" Sasami's expression fell. "You think so? Oh..." Mihoshi began to pace. "What do we do? What do we do?" --- "Three life forms are confirmed, Captain." Data reported. "Two humanoid and one small inorganic life form." The android called up more data. "It does not match any inorganic life forms currently known to the Federation." "Which is how many?" Riker inquired. "Seven, sir." "I see." Picard murmured. "Mr. Worf, maintain a constant sensor sweep of the area. I want to know immediately if any Romulan vessels enter the system." "Aye, sir." "Mr Data, can we hail them?" Riker asked. "Negative, sir. Their communication system is inoperative." Data paused. "However, I am detecting several small robotic devices performing repairs to their systems." Riker stroked his beard. "Data, can you estimate the amount of time required for them to repair their communications?" "Approximately one hour, Commander." Riker looked at Picard. "Too long." "Agreed, Commander." Picard nodded, turning to Troi. "Do you sense anything from the crew of that ship?" Troi thought for a moment. "There are three distinct personalities present on that ship. One is quite calm, almost amused, and very curious. If I didn't know any better I'd say it was the mind of a child. The second is on the verge of ... no, beyond the verge of panic. I'm having a hard time picking up distinct emotional impressions from that one. It's more like a jumble of images." "I doubt that having an accident in space easy for someone to accept." Riker observed. Troi smiled, adding "The first two are almost human in their emotional make-up. Or something very close to it." "And the third?" Picard asked. "Distinctly non-human." Troi admitted. "It's hard to make out anything specific, but I'm getting a distinct impression that it's hungry." "Hungry?" Picard said incredulously. "Hungry for what?" "I can't be certain." Troi said after a moment's thought. "But hunger does seem to be a major component of its personality." Picard nodded. "Well, we can't just sit around and wait for them to complete repairs. I'd hate to have the Romulans find us sitting inside the Neutral Zone, rescue mission or not." "We could beam over an away team." Riker offered. "Sir," Worf said, "I highly advise against transporting over to that ship. It *could* be a Romulan trap." "Then what do you suggest, Lieutenant?" Riker asked. "Beam them over here?" Worf nodded. "Yes, sir. That way we can keep a closer eye on them, and the transporter's sensors could detect and neutralize any weapons or explosives that they might be carrying with them." Picard thought for a moment. "Agreed. Commander, go down to transporter room two and meet them. Have Doctor Crusher meet you there - the crew might have been injured in their accident." "Yes, sir." Riker acknowledged, rising to his feet. "Mister Worf, have a security detail meet us in transporter room two." He began striding towards the turbolift. "Riker to Doctor Crusher." "Crusher here." "Meet me in transporter room two. We're beaming the crew of an unidentified vessel over, and there might be injuries." "On my way." --- "Why don't they *DO* something!?" Mihoshi bawled, burying her face in her hands. "They just keep sitting there!" "They're probably trying to figure out why we're not doing anything." Sasami pointed out. "I agree with Sasami." Yukinojo said. "The lack of hostile action from that vessel after so long points to the distinct possibility that they are not hostile." "Then why don't they *say* something!" Mihoshi cried. "Mihoshi, our communications system was damaged. It hasn't been repaired yet." Yukinojo replied. "Further, the system was more seriously damaged than first thought. It won't be functional for at least an hour." "An hour! We have to wait an hour before we can talk to them!? Is that what you're telling me?" Mihoshi looked at Yukinoko's articulated "head" with tear-filled eyes. "What'll we do?" "Mihoshi?" Sasami asked, but the distraught woman wasn't paying any attention to her. "Mihoshi?" "Meow?" Sighing softly, Sasami looked down at her feet and was silent for a moment. When she looked back up, her eyes were glistening with tears. "Mihoshi?" she said softly, her voice quavering, "I'm scared." Mihoshi's eyes flicked over the the young princess. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her eyes and glanced at the display, where the Enterprise was hanging motionless. "No need to be afraid, Sasami." she said softly. Then, louder, "I am a member of the Galaxy Police. We're trained to handle any situation with professionalism and calm!" She began to smile. "There's nothing to fear! Nothing at all!" A slight smile flashed across Sasami's features. "Really?" "Of course!" Mihoshi exclaimed. "I can deal with this! I can-" She glanced down at her tear-soaked uniform. "I can't meet any aliens looking like this! I've got to change into a fresh uniform right away!" She ran into the recreation room. "Be back in a second!" she called out. "Whew." Sasami nodded slowly to herself. Without warning, Ryo-Ohki jumped up onto Sasami's head, hissing angrily. "Ryo-Ohki? What's wrong?" There was an angry buzzing sound in the cockpit and a strange tickle began building in Sasami's stomach. "I detecting a beam of energy being directed at this ship!" Yukinojo said. Sasami ran over to the door leading to Mihoshi's room. "Mihoshi! Mihoshi! Something's happening!" "What?" came the muffled reply, followed almost immediately by a series of muffled thumps and crashes. "OUCH!" Before she could react, Sasami was enveloped in a glittering field of light. The tickle in her stomach grew to a pins-and-needles feeling that spread over her entire body. The cockpit glared bluish-white, then the light faded. Yukinojo was suddenly alone. "Sasami? Mihoshi? Mihoshi?!" --- "Lieutenant?" the transporter tech queried. "I'm picking up a weapon in the matter stream. Medium yield, about as powerful as a phaser." "Is it armed?" Worf asked as the two security men behind him stiffened. "No, sir." the tech replied, checking the readouts. "Charged, but not armed." Worf looked at Riker, who nodded. "Drain the charge from the weapon." Worf said. "Aye, sir." The tech manipulated the controls. "Ready." "Bring them aboard." Riker commanded. To Worf and the security people he said, "Don't draw your phasers... let's be friendly about this." Worf grimmaced, but nodded slowly. "Yes, sir." As the transporter field faded, they got their first look at the unidentified ship's crew. --- Mihoshi abruptly realized that she was no longer in her closet. A second later she realized that there was a crowd of strangers staring at her. Or, more correctly, trying to avoid staring at her. "W- w- what's g-going on?" There was a tug on her pant leg. Sasami whispered "Mihoshi! You're top's not on!" "What?" Looking down, she realized that Sasami was right. Then she remembered - she had been rooting through a pile of clothes, looking for a clean vest and shirt after taking off her tear-soaked ones... after taking off her... taking off... "AAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!!" Sasami jumped off of the transporter pad to get clear of Mihoshi's flailing arms. To Riker she said, "Hello." >From her position on Sasami's head, Ryo-Ohki blinked. "Meow." Riker cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Hello. Sorry for bringing you here on such short notice..." He glanced at the transporter pad. Mihoshi was a blur of motion as she attempted to both cover herself and pull on the shirt she was holding. "Oh my! Oh my! This is sooooo embarassing! Oh, God, why doesn't this fit? It fit last week! I can't have put on that much weight! Oh, my!" Averting his eyes, Riker continued, "... but we had no other way to contact you." He straightened. "I'm Commander William Riker, and you're aboard the Federation starship Enterprise." "Pleased to meet you." Sasami gushed, thrusting out a hand. "My name is Sasami." Riker took her hand in his and shook it. "Sasami, is it?" "Mmm-hmmm." She pointed to the cabbit sitting on her head. "This is Ryo-Ohki." Riker smiled. "Pleased to meet you, too." Ryo-Ohki smiled back. "Meow!" "Who's your companion?" Riker asked, motioning to the flailing female form on the transporter pad. "That's Mihoshi." Sasami answered. "She's a Galaxy Policewoman." Doctor Crusher looked up from where she was standing, near the transporter controls, running medical scans with her tricorder. "She's a what?" Before Sasami could reply, Mihoshi's wild gyrations brought her to the edge of the transporter pad. Her foot slipped over the edge, and she yelped a piercing "YAAIIEE!" as she lost her balance and tumbled off the pad. "Look out!" Riker yelled, grabbing Sasami and dodging to one side. Mihoshi tumbled past them, shrieking all the way, and crashed into a startled Worf and his two security men in a blur of arms and legs. The tangled mass of bodies crumbled to the floor in front of the door. From somewhere within the pile, a female voice muttered a single word. "Ouch." Riker jumped to his feet and ran over to the tangle of bodies. "Worf!" The two security men climbed to their feet, revealing the Klingon beneath, Mihoshi (still topless) lying face-down on top of him. He spat out a lock of blonde hair and grimmaced. "I'm here, Commander." "Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Doctor Crusher inquired, leaning over him with a tricorder. "That was a rough ride you had." "I will be, Doctor," Worf barked angrily, "As soon as you get this... this... woman off of me!" "Miss Mihoshi?" Riker asked, touching her softly on the shoulder. "Mmmm?" Mihoshi mumbled, raising her head up and looking around the room. "What happened?" Then she glanced down into a the face of an extremely irritated Lieutenant Worf and her face went pale. "Eeep." "Mihoshi!" Sasami said, pulling on one of Mihoshi's arms. "Mihoshi, get up!" She looked at Sasami, then back down at Worf. "What? OH! Oh, yes. I- I'm sorry, so very sorry." She climbed unsteadily to her feet. "Mihoshi." Sasami said simply, holding out Mihoshi's shirt and vest. Looking down, her face went chalk-white. Mihoshi snatched the clothing from Sasami's hands and clamped it to her breast. "Oh, this is so embarrassing." "Miss... Mihoshi, is it?" Doctor Crusher said softly to Mihoshi. "I'm Beverly Crusher, the ship's doctor. I'd like to take you down to our sick bay and make sure that you're not injured, if you don't mind." "Okay." Mihoshi agreed, nodding slowly. "Can I get dressed, first?" "Sure." Doctor Crusher smiled and turned to Sasami. "Would you like to come along, too?" "Can I?" Sasami asked, eyes wide. "Really?" "Of course." Doctor Crusher turned to Mihoshi, who had managed to pull her shirt on. "Ready?" "I guess so." Mihoshi admitted. Sasami waved at Riker. "Bye bye, Commander Riker." After Doctor Crusher had led her charges out of the transporter room, Riker turned to Worf - who was busy plucking strands of blonde hair from his uniform. "Still think that it's a Romulan trap, Lieutenant?" Riker asked, smiling. Worf looked at him for a moment before answering. "I haven't decided, Commander." He made a face and reached up, pulling a long strand of hair out of his mouth. "Although I find it difficult to believe that the Romulans would resort to such tactics. That woman, for instance. She's so... so...." "So... what?" Riker prodded. "Aggravating." Riker suppressed a smile. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens, won't we, Lieutenant?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments? Criticisms? Write me at : doppleganger@pipeline.com