Chapter Text
The Star Beagle Adventures
Episode 13: Close to the Edge Part II - Total Mass Retain
Scene 11: Apart From Any Reality
As apart from any reality that you’ve ever seen and known…
13.11
Apart From Any Reality
“Not buying it. We’re not in Rhonda’s grotto…”
Captain Rhonda Carter slapped the stalactite, then flicked General Shrip/Krank’s nose.
“Come on, Stephanie, you can do better than that…”
Captain Carter looked around an unfamiliar sea shore as unfamiliar, slightly purple waves flowed in from an unfamiliar sea. Several giant tiger stag shrimp were sunning themselves just off shore, in the shallows.
“Let me guess,” Carter said. “This is your species’ home planet. It’s not even in this galaxy, is it? It’s a billion light years away in some other galaxy that has an opening into this one…”
“Just as you are a billion light years from your home planet,” Stephanie the Space Shrimp replied.
“And these are either your ancestors or your cousins,” Carter continued. “Either way, these animals are not your species. They look similar, but they’re not as intelligent, nor capable of space flight.”
“They’re reasonably intelligent. A social species,” the giant shrimp mused. “I think you would find them comparable with…”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Rhonda Carter said, calmly. She got up out of the command chair. “Yeah, I know this isn’t my real chair. I’m sitting in the real chair. And I can’t give an order to Maya to fire the phasers at your little land thorn…”
“You knew?”
“You’ve been so much smarter than us pathetic, tiny, limited, short-lived creatures. So much smarter and stronger than me. You want to know how I knew? Ask John Sevork. Oh wait… You have that strong young man wrapped around your… um… leg, I guess? Of course you’re doing this all at once, but you can only manage those experiences serially. so for us it’s simultaneous. But for you it’s sequential. Meaning the order is really important. You had to take the strong minds first…”
“I suppose you’re going to explain?” Stephanie the Space Shrimp was amused.
“Sure, why not?” Carter was equally amused. “You know my crew through me. And where I would place them, you also knew that through me. So you started with the crew who I thought were the toughest and went down from there. You were easily able to play General Krank’s philosophy against him. You had to take him down first because I have him at the transporter. And my most disciplined officer, Warrant Officer Seprek Harrison at weapons. I gave you an answer that he desperately wanted to know.”
Carter tapped her command chair with the little finger of her left hand. “I’m not sure why you chose Eva Mendez next. Of course she would be at the transporter, but I think you may have needed a fix. You definitely tortured her. Let’s see… Chief Roman Hess, the strong, silent type, trying to fix the nacelles so this ship could go to warp. Ensign John Sevork, our only telepath…”
She continued tapping the command chair. “Maya Davi, my star pilot, who would have the weapons just under her fingertips, Kara Garrity because there is also a transporter in sick bay. Then the ones you thought would be weaker. Like Zizira Gross. I was so disappointed with her because she was so completely taken over by those singing holy warriors. That was your first surprise. Zizira is bolian. More susceptible to low frequency sound than humans, but, what you didn’t know, far more resistant to telepathy than we are…”
“And then my lovely little Abra Kahen. Everyone underestimates beautiful women. Pretty face, nothing happening behind it. It was so easy to have you fall for that. Who would have thought that she would be the person with a core of steel? Someone you could never hope to fool? She is a fire spinner, after all... You don’t play with fire like that unless you’re really mentally tough. By the way, she is not my lover.”
The alien crustacean registered surprise. Something that Carter noticed.
“No, you were only seeing my lurid fantasies about her. I’m her captain. I don’t screw my crew.”
“You do love to hear yourself talk…” the space shrimp observed.
“You underestimated me, Stephanie. You thought I was the brawn of this operation and relied on other people to be the brains.” Carter caressed her collar. “They don’t hand this fourth pip out to just anyone…”
“Yes,” Stephanie replied. “You are a Star Fleet captain. Commissioned to seek out new life and new civilizations. I am both…”
“I’m not that kind of Star Fleet captain." Carter's grin was disturbingly wolf-like. "Perhaps if I were Captain Skip Howard, I might care. He’s the one who’s good at first contact. But he isn’t here… Oh, you are a sadistic bitch, aren’t you? I didn’t have to see what you did to Eva to know that… Making me piss my own bed. Twice. Playing with my blood pressure… You were having so much fun with me that I was able to hide someone from you. The strongest, smartest, most capable person on this ship. And I’ve managed to hold your attention just long enough…”
“You know that I am pregnant…”
If it was possible, Carter’s smile seemed to become even more predatory. “Oh yes. I know. You told me only a few minutes ago…” She pounded the left arm on her command throne:
“Now!!!”
13.11