She might have worn red at one time, but....

Uhura

Which cuts off by the usual means used in the show, delivered after a clatter of unshod hooves and a fierce neigh... My hooves and my neigh! God above, that red haired harpy's shrieking was like a spike being driven right through my skull! Don't think I'll EVER be able to get my ears to stop pulling back flush against my skull, now.

"Something you forgot to tell us about?" the female golem asks the one young woman called Betty. The speakers voice definitely has a waspish overtone to it, laced with a bit of pain. That and I swear that I hear more than a little bit of German overtones in Inquirer's irate question as well. Believe that is how she and her countrymen, while speakers of English (at least in the main) have had more Germanic influences on their tongue (at least in some places) than what had happened back in Uhura's world (and maybe those of her friends). Under stress one tends to backslide in their speech, I'm told.

....

Strangeness upon strangeness, really. As an aside I am of two minds of this golem named Inquirer. From my old life as the male human being known as Frederigo D'Honaire I know the magical constructs known as golems are treacherous, untrustworthy things to be avoided (and destroyed if possible). Rather provincial mindset, now that I look back upon it, but then again before what had befallen me in the Southern Caverns that was typical of a people who've never even heard of other worlds (much less travel in outer space). Provincial, but there were good reasons for that view, folks. From the change into the dark skinned human woman known as Lt. Uhura, crewmember of the Starship Enterprise (NCC-1701), comes a much more open and accepting mindset of welcoming new cultures and races (one that I find rather appealing, considering that I AM a new intelligent species from what I had been, never mind a different sex than I'd been foaled . . . . er . . . . born to). More metropolitan, if a bit naive considering the rather limited experience with magick (clearly, some events the Enterprise survived and encountered were from that province, but from the memories I got from the "original" Uhura none could accept such things in their worldview)....

My, I see that I'd better just drop that observation before I get anymore riled up at this centaur filly....

Bottom line is that I believe I'll trust this strange golem female for now, but keep a weather eye on her. Her and her friends for not only the safety of myself, but for the safety of my beautiful unborn colt within me!

....

Uh, yes. Things have gone a lot further for me than I very well expected. I always had expected, after my dragon slaying years, on bringing some new ones into the world, but as a sire, not a mare.

!

I mean as a father, not a mother. Sorry, the centauress in me was showing.

.....

Look, I'm being realistic here as well as . . . playing out the inevitable here. You can see that I've not gone psychotic here by now, so you can guess that I'd accepted the change at some level my change in gender. Had noticed, at some level, that I'd been finding Kirk increasingly attractive (and Yeomen Rand decreasingly so) as time went on while I'd been on the Enterprise. Hadn't wanted to admit to it, back them, fearing that it meant that a change back to "normal" would be getting increasingly difficult as time wore on. Throw in the change in species....oy!

The increase in mass alone from the magical spell (or whatever that Centaur Flu is) through it's energy/matter conversion phase of it alone makes the return VERY difficult. Do it wrong taking away that mass (again through the right magic process that I've NEVER heard having been created in my homeworld).... Bottom line, I (a neophyte at magic) know enough that I'm pretty much STUCK as a centauress.

Besides, I've. . . . come to LIKE being a centauress. That and I can rather . . . like the thought of having a foal....

Instinct, I know, but not something I can (or want) to deny, the call of motherhood.

....

Don't roll your eyes at me, human! Centaurs aren't just humans with the lower portion of a horse body, fused together. No. We're not as . . . free with certain choices and leave it at that.

Not that I mind, but...

Well, I guess that I might stand out from the rest of the herd (as it were) being that the "draft horse" version are not common on this "Terra Prime" place my sister, Frieda, comes from. But there are potential mates my size out there for me. I must. Instinct.

Wonder when my sister, Frieda will settle down. She's not getting any younger, you know. Long in the tooth.

....

Wait, according to her she's not aging because of being a Champion (or whatever). Well, whatever the case I've no say in the matter. She's decided to hold off and take her chances with "The Moment". Myself, I'm just happy with myself as it is and rather would like to keep the horse ears, thanks. Ears and....the other things.

It makes life more . . . simple and easy to understand. I'm rather looking forward to the simple life of the Herd and look forward to not having to handle these stupid things like technology. Will use the phasor and the tricorder, but only under protest.

Agrarian, nomadic life suits me....

But let's drop this, okay. Back to the golem. . . who's been speaking whilst I'd paused in speaking with you.

Inquirer

"Oh, so her screams melts metal," I mutter, getting my annoyance under control. "Interion females can do that, eh? So, what else in that scream allows it? It cannot be just simple noise!"

Yes, while I'm familiar with how harmonics from marching

"Nothing," Betty protests. "It's just sonic in nature. Nothing more, according to...."

"Heh," I laugh, interrupting (still a little testy from that scream's effects). "Look, there's more to the scream than just noise. Noise does NOT cause vibrations all over my endoskeleton, giving me the humongous bodyache I'm suffering from right now!"

I'll be fine enough for this Quest, but I'm not 100% right now. Give me an hour and I'll self heal, but....

Anyway, I find out that that little oversight on Ragan's (and Betty's) was the only thing. Guess that this background music (bloody annoying stuff), was getting her nervous so it slipped her mind or something.

Hey, she's only human. So am I, in a sense (meaning we all make mistakes).

Anyway, we get down to business quickly. Thankfully, Creator be praised, this Jool's scream hadn't messed up any of our metallic tools (scream melts simpler alloys than what we sport, folks).

After I duct tape our unconscious leather clad woman's mouth shut (so she doesn't scream upon waking up and seeing us again), we break up into teams (leaving one behind to hold down the fort). Need to in order to do two things quicker than we could both LOOK for our Key component AND get replacement parts for OUR Transport Pod. Like Jool's Pod, we need to get it up and running before we go anywhere.

One groups going directly to the Pilot's Den, hoping that the guy can be talked into healing use locate spare parts directly.

Another will go to places that Betty and Ragan recall the TV D'Argo and Crichton getting spare parts. Being that except for "our" Chiana only have a passing knowledge of Moya's layout, our young dragoness will be going on that detail. Besides, if things happen the way they had on TV (not a given, but with our luck it's VERY likely) our Chiana can calm down the native Chiana (who's probably run away in a blind panic after seeing her "twin" getting killed right before her eyes).

We're leaving behind "Uhura" to stand watch over Jool and the Pods. She's not too happy about that but she's less thrilled with the idea of going out and endangering her unborn to the PK zombies out there. We know they're here because the one dead one we found in the Bay (by what our tricorder scans show) are everything that Ragan and Betty tell us they are. Brains show extensive damage of some type, their neuron's are.... Let's just say what little neural activity their minds are capable of, it's just around the level of chimps. The PKs (twinned so many times) on this ship aren't people any more, but animals, period. With the automated perimeter defense system (phasor based) that our newest elfin Champion had somewhere in his rump sack, she'll be safe enough. We know the passwords to get by them, but they'll knock anyone else out who try to get by without permission.

Besides, while her being more useful than the average Redshirt (remember she wore red in uniform, folks) it'll kind of be nice getting....away from her for a while. She's been kind of abrasive like a lot of centaurs I've met over the years (Frieda being a obvious exception), alas. Yeah, she's rather like Uhura the pixie in her technical knowledge, I fear her instincts are causing behavioral changes within that filly and soon enough she'll forsake everything not centaur and be totally useless to us.

....

Has something to do with something in the air of Terra Prime (which we Champions seem to be carrying with us, somehow).

Don't ask me. It's a diagnosis that Sigin gave us over what's happening with our draft horse sized centauress.

Shit.

As it is, she's becoming almost insufferable. She and this red haired screaming "princess" should get along swimmingly....

....

Yeah, as for the PK zombies...

Killing them won't be a problem for my soul, thanks. But the thing we do need to do besides gathering Pod parts and Key components we need to find the "master" of this Living Ship. The one who keeps twinning the crew aboard, you see. Can't easily open the Bay doors, otherwise.

They closed up after we'd landed, natch.

Well, off we go!

Meanwhile, back in the Pilot's Den....

John Crichton groans, waking up from having been knocked unconscious by that "sick Hammer horror SOB" hearing what sounds like Chiana giggling (only in stereo) for some reason and....

1. ....a small, high pitched female voice demanding that they (?) snap out of it!
   

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