Author: 0Devoid
Date: 2024-06-21T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fanworks; Teen And Up Audiences; The Unreliable's Light; Ensemble Cast - TUL; Alternate Universe; Gen; Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Description: When Johannah, a new crewmember arrives on the newly upgraded Unreliable 64 years too late with mystery surrounding her, can Breezie and the crew help them out and adjust to the new era the ewe has arrived in?
Publisher: Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive

Preface

New Ewe On Deck
Posted originally on the Ad Astra :: Star Trek Fanfiction Archive at http://www.adastrafanfic.com/works/1807.

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

The Unreliable's Light

Character:

Ensemble Cast - TUL

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe

Language:

English

Series:

Part 7 of The Unreliable's Light - The Main Adventures

Stats:

Published: 2024-06-01
Completed: 2024-06-21
Words: 9,259
Chapters: 7/7

New Ewe On Deck
by 0Devoid

Summary

When Johannah, a new crewmember arrives on the newly upgraded Unreliable 64 years too late with mystery surrounding her, can Breezie and the crew help them out and adjust to the new era the ewe has arrived in?

Notes

Aslo written by Fateweaver

64 Years Too Late

The Unreliable sat in spacedock. After 2 months, the ship had undergone a major upgrade of the systems, whilst still keeping the aesthetics intact. It was ready to launch, but a few checks needed going over before the ship could fly once more.
“And as we explained to the others, we’ve given the Unreliable more power so the shields and weapons can be stronger. After all, there’s no knowing what’s out there.” Lieutenant Geordi La Forge explained to Alex as the 2 strolled down to Shuttlebay 2. “You’ve done a good job. I believe Breezie will like what you’ve done with the place. New tech, but same old ship.” Alex replies.
Geordi chuckles. “Well, we didn’t want to do anything too drastic. I know Captain McKormic likes her retro aesthetics.” He replies.
“Glad you could come from the Valkyrie to help oversee this renovation. I hear those Galaxy class ships are hell to maintain.” Alex says, placing his hand on Geordi’s shoulder.
“Someone had to do it. I’m just glad you let me help out. We managed to fix your transporter, by the way. That thing was a nightmare to repair.” Geordi replies as the 2 enter the shuttlebay, the type 6 shuttlecraft Galileo from the Valkyrie waiting for Lieutenant La Forge to enter.
“I suppose you should be going.” Alex states.
“Indeed I must. The Valkyrie is going to continue her mission and I assume the Unreliable will continue hers too.” Geordi says.
“Thank you, Geordi.” Alex states as Galileo’s hatch closes and the shuttle leaves the Unreliable.

Alex then walked to Shuttlebay 1, where Breezie was working.
Breezie had been working there over the entire upgrade period and was just finishing up. She took a donut shaped piece of Starfleet Hull and locked it over the starboard nozzle right as Alex walked in. “Oh, Alex. Hi. Good to see you.” Breezie says, sitting on the floor next to the recently upgraded Type 10 shuttle.
“It’s good to see you too, Breezie. The upgrade team has just left and Lieutenant La Forge has left you a list of the upgrades to the ship in your ready room.” Alex replies.
“I’ll… I’ll read them later. I just got done with this!” Breezie breathlessly states, presenting the newly upgraded shuttle.
“Hm. what’s all this?” Alex asks.
“It’s our new Battle Shuttle. I renamed it Tyson like the old Earth boxer, Mike Tyson, and it has an upgraded power supply, a few phaser arrays, a micro-torpedo launcher at the top and these fancy weapons a couple buddies at Starfleet Tactical have supplied me.” Breezie explains, pointing to the 2 nozzles at the front of the shuttle at the last point.
“What even are those?” Alex asks.
“Well, they call them ‘Hyper-Focused Phaser Cannons’, but I call them Phaser Lances.” Breezie explains.
Alex walks over, bopping it with his foot and having a look of surprise “Well, holy shit! This thing is a war machine in itself.” Alex notes.
Sally comes in to see the Tyson. She stares at it with surprise and a mischievous grin as she eats a PB&J. “I have so many ideas for that.”
Breezie glanced at Sally. “Don’t get too feisty, we don’t know what it’s capable of just yet.” Breezie replied.
“We’ll need to head to the Fleet Museum to collect the rest of the crew though, they’ve been serving there during this upgrade and I'm sure are dying to get back on board.” Alex states.
“Fair point. I’m sure we can get this ship to Athan Prime with just the 3 of us. Let’s get to work.” Breezie states.
Sally, Alex & Breezie make their way out of the shuttle bay and walk to a turbolift, soon making their way to the bridge.

As the 3 make their way onto the bridge, with Sally at the helm and Alex at comms, they prepare to begin their mission once more. “Alex, contact Starbase 152 to prepare for our departure.” Breezie commands once she sits in the Captain’s chair.
“The starbase has responded and authorised departure. They wish us a safe trip.” Alex replies.
“How nice of them. Sally, engage impulse engines at ¼ power and set a course for the Fleet Museum.” Breezie states.
The drydock around the Unreliable shuts down any lights, allowing for the ship to illuminate itself. The ship soon leaves drydock, flying away from the starbase.
“We’ll be clear in 20 seconds. Shall I prepare the ship to warp?” Sally asks.
“That’ll do, Warp 3 preferably. I don’t suppose it’ll take much time to get there so we shouldn’t put that much pressure on our warp drive. Blast Off.” Breezie commands.
Once the Unreliable was clear, the ship went to warp.

The ship soon arrived at Athan Prime, near the Fleet Museum.
“Alright, contact the Museum to prepare the crew for transport. I’ll be in the transporter room.” Breezie commands.
“On it, Breezie.” Alex replies as Breezie leaves the room.
As the signals were sent to prepare for transport, one of the exhibits, the USS Excelsior, the prototype of its class, locked onto the Unreliable alongside the Fleet Museum.
Breezie walked into the transporter room and beamed in her crew, who thankfully fit the maximum payload of the transporter.
“Good to see you again, crew.” Breezie states, before looking at the console. “Wait a damn minute, did I leave someone behind?” She asks, looking between the console and crew.
“I don’t think so, we seem to all be here.” Sutaba replies.
Breezie, now curious, beams in the extra signal… It was a mobian. A mobian ewe, to be exact. With vibrantly violet eyes and a rather red uniform last seen 50 years ago.
“Lieutenant Johannah Jackson, reporting for duty. Captain… Wait, you’re not Captain T’rakk.” The mobian states.
“Indeed I’m not… I’m Captain Breezie McKormic.” Breezie replies, confused. That confusion spread across the crew members within the transporter room.
“We should get her to sickbay. Something’s not adding up.” The EMH states.
“Indeed we should. Devoid, I suggest escorting her.” Breezie commands.
“On it, Captain. Come on, Lieutenant.” Devoid replies, escorting the new mobian to sickbay.

Dead Sheep Walking

Johannah lay down on a bed in sickbay whilst the EMH scanned her, Devoid & Breezie standing beside the bed.
“So, tell me Johannah, what do you last remember before arriving here?” The EMH asks.
“I had recently been promoted to full Lieutenant and Captain Sulu had me transferred here, to the Reliable. They said they needed a navigation officer there.” Johannah replies.
“Do you recall the stardate then?” Devoid asks, wondering if they could get a timeframe.
“I could never get the hang of stardates, I just know the regular date… August 21st, 2302. I transferred after about 4 years on the Excelsior.” Johannah replies.
“There must’ve been a transporter malfunction on the Excelsior. Locking Johannah in the pattern buffer until we came along.” Breezie states.
“Explains why she isn't any older. The constant refresh rates likely kept the pattern from degrading.” The EMH replies.
“How long has it been? What year is it?” Johannah asks, looking up at the people around her.
“It’s been 64 years since you beamed away from the Excelsior. The year is 2366.” Breezie states calmly.
Johannah is shocked. “64 years… That’s ages. Is the Excelsior ok?” She asks.
“It’s a museum exhibit now, I think it was retired… sometime 40 or so years ago.” The EMH states.
Devoid couldn’t say a word and calmly left sickbay.
Sally was just outside, leaning on a wall & drinking a slushie she got from the newly installed replicators. “So, who’s this Johannah?” Sally asks.
“Possibly someone I know… Let’s head to the TARDIS Historical Database. We might be able to find something there.” Devoid states.

The TARDIS Historical Database was large, a room with a large panoramic window viewing directly into the database, with computer terminals dotted around for easy access.
Devoid walked up to one of them and searched up ‘Johannah Jackson’.
“What is this? The Wikipedia room?” Sally asks, looking around.
“You could call it that, but it stretches across the past and future. Now, if I remember correctly, Johannah was part of a space program in the mid 2290s. Far before I was born.” Devoid says, as he scrolls down to ‘Adult life’ and there it was.
‘In 2295, Johannah Jackson was part of the SONIC Space Program, part of the first shuttle SONIC-01. Said shuttle was deemed lost after sensors lost track of it soon after launch’ the database said.
“They continued on for 5 more shuttles, but by the 6th, they had given up as the Warp Project began.” Devoid explained before shutting off the terminal.
“So you’re saying Johannah is another one of your kind?” Sally asks.
“Indeed, she’s likely part of the first Mobians in Starfleet.” Devoid replies. “And from a more civilised age too…” He mumbled before walking off.
Sally was quick to follow out of the TARDIS Historical Database.

“Well, according to the medical scans, you’re good and healthy. The holding hasn’t affected you one bit.” The EMH says, looking at the scans of Johannah’s body on a small monitor in sickbay.
“However, there is a slightly slower heart rate we may need to monitor and the brain is looking rather unique..” Johannah sat up.
“That’s normal. At least, the doctor on the Excelsior said it was normal…” Johannah states, looking at the EMH.
“We’ve progressed in medical technology in the over half a century you’ve been gone.” the EMH replies.
Johannah was uncertain, but just sighed. “Ok then.” She says, getting up. She begins to walk out, fear entering her veins while she believes she is the last member of the Excelsior’s crew. She walks into the hall, wondering what has changed over the decades she has been gone. Johannah’s head began pounding, a splitting headache hitting her like a wrecking ball. Her breath became unsteady. She would hear voices, conversations long past… she looks up to see Devoid coming down the hall, along with someone she hasn’t seen before.
A Mobian Coyote with cargo pants, a tank top, a denim jacket, and some hiking boots. He is right on Devoid’s heels, noticing Johannah as well as she begins to pass out due to hyperventilation. The coyote appears to tap on Devoid’s shoulder, making him look over and see Johannah.
“Oh god!” Devoid shouts in a panic, holding Johannah’s shoulders. “Are you alright? Do I need to get you a drink?” He asks.
Johannah’s eyes darted between Devoid & the coyote. “Wh-What is… Who…?” She asks before trying to catch her breath, seeing the coyote indicate to take deep breaths. She steadies her breathing, looking right at the Coyote, who seems translucent when she looks at his feet. Something isn’t right with this new guy. He looks at her confused before asking “Y-You can see me?” and pointing at himself.
“Johannah, what are you looking at?” Devoid asks, confused. She points at the person at Devoid’s side
“Th-there is someone-” Her hand goes through the Coyote’s chest, and he reacts in surprise.
“Holy crap, she can see me!” He cries in joy as Johannah screams bloody murder in fear falling onto her backside and crawling back.
“OK, we are getting you right back in there.” Devoid says, getting Johannah up and walking her back into sickbay.

“Something’s up with her, she’s seeing things that aren’t there.” Devoid states bluntly, as if he personally doesn’t believe it.
The EMH notices the two coming in again after Johannah just left, and he sighs “And what seems to be the problem?”
Devoid gets her into a chair, and looks at the doctor “She seems to be hallucinating, or something of that sort.”
The Hedgehog and The Hologram begin having a conversation, while the Coyote looks with concern “Well,” He states “This is awkward, you’re Johannah, right?”
Johannah nods, as the Coyote shrugs before giving her a small, nonchalant salute “Well, I’m Jacob, Jakob the Coyote” He states, a bit chill, a bit cheeky.
Johannah responds “Well, it’s nice to meet you Jacob.”
“It’s odd though, I can check the brain scans, but I don’t think any of them have any links to any symptoms that could cause hallucinations.” The EMH states, checking a computer terminal at his desk. As the scans of Johannah’s cranium appeared on the monitor, the EMH had an idea. “Computer, search for any abnormalities within these scans.” He states. With a few beeps, some analysis began.
The computer began looking through matches in Starfleet Medical databases, before coming up with a match. “Abnormality detected. Subject has symptoms of Exspiraloquisis.” The computer spoke.
“Exspira… what?” Devoid asks.
“Exspiraloquisis… The ability to communicate with spirits.” The EMH states, still looking at the computer terminal.
“So you’re saying Johannah saw a ghost over my shoulder?” Devoid asks.
Jacob then states “Did you know the scientific word for butt crack is ‘Intergluteal crease’?”.
Johannah looks at Jacob, confused about his statement. “Why… How is that relevant?”
Jacob shrugs with a “Big confusing word I guess.”
The EMH takes out a regular tricorder, this one adjusted to scan for noncomporal objects. He scanned throughout the sickbay before finding the ‘object’ near Johannah’s shoulder. “Of course… A ghost. We can’t see or hear them, but Johannah can!” The EMH states with wonder in his voice.
Jacob thinks. “Yeah, you can’t… so I can say all the out of pocket stuff I want.”
Johannah sits there, concerned “So, I can see ghosts now? That’s something I’m gonna have to get used to.” She states with a groan of irritation.
Breezie leans over to Johannah. “Perhaps we can test this power out… But we’ll need a familiar setting for you, like the Excelsior.” Breezie states.
“Are you saying we’re going back?” Johannah asks.
“Yes, I’m taking you back to the Excelsior to see how these powers might work, cause if they are how I think they are, they would’ve worked great at the Rainbow Factory…” Breezie states.
“The what?” Johannah asks.
“I’ll explain later, let’s just get to the Excelsior.” Breezie replies, leading Johannah to the transporter room.

The Spirits of The Excelsior

Johannah & Breezie beamed aboard the Fleet Museum, seeing the Excelsior dead ahead. Johannah looks at the ship she used to help work in a museum. It looks wonderful, the paint job looks like it might've when it was first properly launched, every part seems to be in tip top shape. It is like it is in its prime, like a pinnacle of human achievement. Memories come back to her, both good and bad… It's been a long time, starcatcher.

Breezie spotted the transporter pad to access the Excelsior… It was empty. “Hey, look at that. We can go aboard undisturbed.” Breezie points out.
“Oh, that’s good. We won’t freak out anyone else.” Johannah stated as she noticed the lack of people around the Excelsior’s exhibit, walking to the transporter pad.
Breezie did so too and almost automatically upon stepping onto the transporter, the 2 got beamed from the museum onto the USS Excelsior. “Wow. Must be a free day.” Breezie states as the 2 materialised aboard the Excelsior’s transporter room.
Johannah looks around, running her hand on the wall of the ship… it’s just as she remembers it. It’s like she never left. She looks around, curious about what lies in this ship. She walks through the door and around the nearby corridor a bit, looking for any spirits or people to talk to that are native to the ship.
“I don’t suppose they’d be in a random corridor, y’know?” Breezie suggests. “You know this ship, what was a popular hangout spot?” She asks Johannah.
The ewe thinks “We have a lounge, near the front of the ship. We called it The Rec Dec.” She begins going to The Rec Dec, wondering who is there. She enters in, noticing plenty of spirits chatting away, ignoring Johannah before she says “You’re all here… You’re all here!” The spirits notice her and rush over to one. “Carol! I-It’s good to see you again! I can see you, I can see everyone else!” Johannah cries.
The spirits murmur, excited to be seen again.
“Hold on, wait. Jo?” Carol Miller asks.
Johannah rushes in for a hug but phases through. “O-Oh..” Johannah sighs disappointed.
“Oh, don’t worry that happens often.” the junior grade lieutenant remarks.

Johannah begins going to another crew member, excited to see her old friends. Johannah hears a familiar voice. “Johannah?” She turns around to see the now retired Captain Dimitri Valtane sitting at a booth, surrounded by spirits. She runs up to him, giving him a hug. “D-Dimitri… It's me… I’m here!” He hugs her back, shocked to see her here.
“J-Johannah, It’s been so long but you haven't aged a day. What happened?” He asks.
Johannah sits down in an unoccupied space.
The spirits made way for her as they did their crewmate.
“It’s a long story… But I brought a friend!” Johannah explains, indicating to Breezie.
Dimitri smiles, looking at Johannah with nostalgia. “It has been a long time, way too long,” he says.
Johannah smiles, happy to see him again “I’m glad to see you too! Is there anything I missed?”
Dimitri smirks, leaning on the table “That’s a whole new can of worms… still the memories I have here are good. Discovering anomalies, meeting new people… most of them I wanted to know better. To know a few of all those who made this place function, I just wish I knew more of them.”
Johannah looks around at all the spirits as he speaks
“But even though that’s gone now… they are still here with me. A set of good times to relive.” Dimitri states, his hand over his heart.
“I agree, sometimes the flow of time is never as nice as you think it is.” Breezie replies, lamenting the times she lost thanks to Benn.
Johannah nods. “Well… I think you see me as crazy, but I can see them… and Janice wants you to scoot over a bit to your right. You’re in her favourite spot.”
Dimitri nods, he is sitting in her spot. He scoots over and he feels less weight on his shoulders. “Was she sitti-?” Dimitri tries to ask before Johannah speaks up
“The stare.”
Dimitrti knows what she means. “Ah, that one that feels like she is burning a hole through your skull?”
Johannah nods as they both have a laugh, Janice’s spirit rolling her eyes as she observes.

Johannah gets up and looks at Dimitri “It’s good to see you again, Commander.”
He shakes his head “Ex-Captain, I’ve retired.”
Johannah smirks “Well, mostly the whole crew is here, so if you have any stories, they will listen.” She states.
Dimitri looks at Johannah, trusting her as he says “I’ll be sure to tell them everything.”
She asks one last question. “Do you know what happened to Captain Sulu?”
Dimitri shrugs “I don’t know, we drifted apart since I was transferred to another ship.”
Johannah, a bit bummed out, nods. “Well, until we meet again.” She gets to the entrance to the Rec Dec along with Breezie and turns around “I’ll see you soon everyone, especially you Jeremy!” She shouts blowing a kiss at a spirit. She walks off as everyone says goodbye, and one soul yells “I BLOODY KNEW IT!!”

As Johannah & Breezie walk out of the Rec Dec, Johannah instinctively begins walking to a turbolift.
“I’d like to see the bridge. At least one last time.” Johannah says.
Breezie walks in as well, looking at Johannah. “Of course. Besides recreation rooms, the bridge is where all the events happen.” Breezie states.
The two of them ride the turbolift up to the bridge, exiting it to see it empty, but alive. It felt melancholy to Johannah, walking around the bridge and running her hand on the railings. She recalled the place being filled with the senior staff, either going about their daily business or discussing how to deal with the latest threat, but now… the bridge was empty. Despite the spirits & Dimitri enjoying themselves down below, it felt like a stark reminder that those times had gone past and she hadn’t appreciated them before it was too late. Johannah couldn’t help but start to tear up, sniffling as she gripped the armrest of the now empty Captain’s chair. She shivers a bit, gripping the armrest… she looks around, tears in her eyes. All the adventures controlled through here, it was really something.
Breezie goes up next to her, also looking at the viewscreen.
“What am I to do?” Johannah asks, “What am I to do in a new time, knowing I can’t go back.”
Breezie looks at her, a warm smile on the Captain’s face “We remember them for the good times, and use them to look towards the future. I was in cryostasis for 150 years, you’re not alone,” Breezie says pointing at herself.
Johannah wipes away her tears, smiling and remembering. “I would like to go… but first.” She checks the captain’s chair and snickers.
Breezie looks to see a stain in the chair’s fabric.
“One time, Captain Sulu was eating some chicken tenders with some tea.” Johannah explains “And he was clumsy enough to spill the honey mustard sauce and tea in the same place.”
Breezie smiles, laughing with the ewe as they chat on the way out of the Excelsior, and back home to the Unreliable.

Mobian Unification

Back on the Unreliable, the brief joy gained from the chicken tenders story had run its course, with Johannah now sitting in the mess hall, back to feeling sad about missing the lives of her crew members aboard the Excelsior. Johannah wondered what she could do to help mitigate this when she spotted Devoid entering the mess hall. The hedgehog seemed to notice the ewe and went up to her.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” He asks.
Johannah raises a hand “Not really, I’m just thinking about the past… and stuff.” She seems shy, not knowing what to do or say to Devoid.
Devoid, seeing her like this, sits across from her, and looks at her, and says “Hey, do you want something to do? I got a few things we can try or even talk about.”
She looks up at him, nodding in silence.
He gets up with her, ready to show her a fun activity that would hopefully lift her spirits.

The 2 of them make their way to the Tranquillity Lounge, which was on the rim of the saucer on Deck 3.
“Welcome to the Tranquillity Lounge, Johannah. It’s where we spend a lot of our free time if we don’t have anything to do. I helped gather a lot of these things. It’s quite hard to find pre-World War 3 items that aren’t in a museum, yknow?” Devoid states as the 2 enter the room.
Johannah looked around in awe, this area was a lot more decorated than what she had on the Excelsior.
“So, what do you want to do? Play a game? Watch a movie? Have something to eat? The choice is yours, Johannah.” Devoid states, walking around the room.
Johannah looks over the game collection, all the consoles, as well as the movies. She spots a film that appeals to her by its name alone. She pulls it out. “Can we watch this one, ‘Forrest Gump’?”
Devoid looks at Johannah, confused. “Forrest Gump? That film? I didn’t really like it, I'm gonna be honest.” Devoid replied, shrugging.
She puts the movie away and pulls out another movie that piques her interest. “How do you ‘Die Hard’?” She asks “Is that a condition or an effect?”
“It’s a Christmas movie, you’re a bit late in watching it.” Devoid states bluntly.
Johannah was baffled, looking at the cover and wondering what it had to do with Christmas. “What.” Johannah states, her eyes wide.
“I’ve explained this to Sally, the whole reason the plot happens is because John McClane is going home to see his family for Christmas. No Christmas, no reason for him to be there.” Devoid explains.
Johannah looks at him like he is insane, asking “Does he get there and is there a thing where he saves Christmas?” She asks, very confused on how an action movie is a Christmas movie.
“Watch the movie around Christmas time to find out. But just put it away for now.” Devoid states, not wanting to cause an argument that lasts 7 centuries.
Johannah searches again, picking up a movie that has the most bat shine stimulating cover. “Spaceballs? Is that an option?” she asks, holding it up to Devoid.
“It’s… An option. Certainly better than those doltish Star Wars films. It’s just… Ugh, I won’t go on. It’s essentially a fantasy story with space racism.” Devoid states, not wanting to talk about Star Wars.
Johannah looks at Devoid, wanting to speak up, but begins to put it back, looking scared and afraid.
“Nononono! Spaceballs is fine. Unlike that other film, it’s somewhat funny. Even if Breezie says otherwise.” Devoid states, not wanting to make her upset.
Johannah takes the film out again, looking at it. She opens the case to find a Blu-Ray copy of the Movie she selected. She takes the disk, and puts it into a Xbox One they have on board.

After the movie, the 2 mobians just simply stared at the screen, both somewhat baffled. Johannah raises a finger, still looking at the screen “I get how it would be good… what did I just witness?”
Devoid sighed. “Believe me, I thought the same. I’ve just gotta feel bad for the guy with a weak connection to the Schwartz. His must be rather sad and floppy.” Devoid states.
“I was more interested in ludicrous speed, how fast even is ludicrous speed?” Johannah asks.
“Closest thing I can think of is Transwarp, but we can keep our artificial gravity on.” Devoid answers.
“You have a functioning Transwarp drive?! How?” Johannah asks.
“Long story.” Devoid states, not wanting to get into it.
Johannah looks at some other things in the room, noticing some drawing utensils and paper. “Want to draw?” She asks the needlemouse beside her.
Devoid smirks slightly. “I’m not much of an artist, y’know?” He states, heading to the table where they were stationed.
She sits down, getting some paper and pencils, looking out the window at the Fleet Museum and the many ships surrounding it. She looks at the USS Light of Man-A and begins doodling it. The rather round shape of the ship made it rather easy to doodle. She looks at what Devoid is doodling, hoping it’s something cool, only to find the hedgehog tapping the pencil on the side of his noggin, not knowing what to doodle. She picks up another paper, and begins doodling again.
Devoid glances out the window and sees the ship he and Wally visited, the legendary NX-01 Enterprise. Devoid immediately got to doodling, drawing the distinguished starship that forged history as it went.
Johannah would look up again, seeing Devoid doodle the NX Class ship. Jo keeps her doodle hidden, feeling a bit of fear as she expresses her emotions through her drawing.
Devoid, however, is curious about what she is hiding. He raises upwards to catch a glance at Johannah’s paper, wondering what she’s drawing. The drawing is of a pink, TV-headed, feline robot with a butcher’s knife, looking in nullified pleasure at a victim. The victim being a cow mobian reaching up for hope that they will never get, as the robot already has the cleaver up for a decapitation.
Johannah quickly hides it after she notices him peeking over her shoulder. “I-I-I’m sorry. I-I’m so sorry. I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She curls up into a ball after backing away from Devoid. She shivers, tearing up “D-Don’t take me! I don’t w-wanna go! I don’t wanna go to that room! Please!”
Devoid’s eyes widen, rushing to Johannah with concern. “What’s going on? Are you alright? Should I get the Doctor here?” He asks, genuinely worried for the Mobian Ewe.
She shivers, cuddled up and shivering in fear and panic. “G-Good meat! I-I’m a good m-meat! I don’t wanna die!”
Devoid was confused and was about to ask the Medical Hologram to turn up… only for said Hologram to waltz through the doors and see Johannah in this unhealthy state.
“Devoid, what happened to Johannah?” The EMH asks.
“I don’t know, she’s talking about being ‘good meat’... What dark period is she from?” Devoid asks as Johannah panics.

Fear & Butchers

Johannah was in sickbay, yet again. She had significantly calmed down from the initial outburst, but was still not OK in the slightest.
“You seem calm, Johannah… Would you mind explaining what happened?” The EMH calmly asks, not intending to make her go through such a flashback again.
“I-I don’t know, I just remember being back… there.” Johannah states, on the verge of tears.
“Back where?” Devoid asks.
Johannah takes a breath before explaining it “Momma had me while she was on the run from… it. It caught us when I was a baby, and took us to… to… a slaughter house. We were well fed, but oppressed. It had a special room it went into that I didn’t know what it did. It took my friends in, but they never came back. Eventually, it went cell by cell, one per day to take everyone in there to the room. Momma made a hole for me to escape, but she couldn’t come with. I crawled through the tunnel into the vents, where I got to see the room. And Momma… Momma… M-M-Mmmmmm…” She begins to weep, crying a deep state of despair that has lied within her for many years on end.
“I see. I don’t know what I can do, I’m a doctor not a therapist.” The EMH states solemnly.
“This might be the ‘it’ she was talking about, Doc.” Devoid states, showing the picture to the holographic Doctor, who had a major look of concern on his face. This concern quickly turned to hatred, with him slamming the drawing onto a console, making both Johannah & Devoid jump. “Whatever that thing is… I don’t want to see it EVER again.” The EMH coldly states, before turning to Johannah. “I assume this… thing explains your ear.” He says, back to his regular demeanour as he points at the missing chunk of Johannah’s ear.
She feels it, shivering again “I-I… yes.” She curls up in a ball again, tears still streaking down her face as she tries to keep herself from going back into an outburst.
Devoid felt sorry for her, walking to Johannah and giving her a hug to try and comfort the Mobian Ewe. “Look, it’s OK, Johannah, whatever it is, it can’t hurt you anymore. I promise.” Devoid says, holding the ewe close.
She slowly hugs back, crying into his shoulder. She looks at Devoid, a small smile on her face. “I-I wanna go to my room now.” She requests, expecting an immediate no.
“I don’t think you have a room just yet. But, we’ll find one of the empty ones and you can stay there, ok?” The EMH states, seeing the state Johannah is in.
Johannah nods, laying back down on the bed. And just waiting for the feelings to subside.
“Or you can lay there. That’s perfectly acceptable too.” The EMH states as Devoid looks at the drawing… Seeing a very familiar symbol on the chest of what Johannah drew.
“I need to go do some research, make sure Johannah remains OK while I’m gone. Play a game or two to keep the mind busy.” Devoid states, leaving sickbay.

Devoid walks through the corridors of the ship, looking for the computer core when he encounters Gary.
Gary was working on some of the wiring in a replicator. He is soldering two wires together and checking a control panel and nodding. “There we go,” he says softly as Devoid approaches.
“Hey, Gary. Do you happen to know where the computer core is? I need to look up something.” Devoid asks, looking at the engineer.
He looks at Devoid with a smile and says. “Any reason why? Regardless, it’s two lefts to the turbolift, down 2 decks, an immediate right and the signs should take you the rest of the way through.”
“Alright… Mind coming with me though? Might need some company.” Devoid states, his hands in his pockets.
Gary shrugs “I don’t see why not, I’m still somewhat sober.” He states, before he and Devoid make their way to the turbolift.
They go down to the terminal on deck 4 to access the computer core, and Devoid steps up to enter any inputs into the machine. A QWERTY keyboard pops up, allowing Devoid to type in ‘Ivo Robotnik’. “He’s got to have something to do with this… I just know it.” Devoid states as he hits enter.
‘Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik (1957-2104) was a robot obsessed dictator who was slain by Sonic Maurice Hedgehog (1976-2104) during an act of transitional martyrdom. Although the Doctor is deceased, an artificial intelligence network seems to have activated in his stead, throwing all laws of ethics and The Prime Directive into the pits of hell in its pursuit to carry on the legacy of its creator. From illegal meat processing to mass solariside, as of 2366, only 8 of the robots (all of the K.A.R.C.A.A.L. type) running on the network still exist. (Excluding the AI server core)’
Devoid and Gary read the text, with the latter being rather confused.
“Who the hell is this Robotnik guy?” Gary asks.
“Ancient history, but somehow still affecting us today.” Devoid states.
Gary scratches the back of his head in concern “Guess we keep this in our back pockets then?” He asks, curious about what to do as of now.
“I don’t know… Johannah suffered because of them and now that I know that he’s responsible but long dead, I’m not sure what to do. I should likely inform Breezie.” Devoid says, walking out of the Computer Core Terminal and heading to a turbolift, going straight to Breezie’s ready room.

Breezie sat at her desk, looking at a PADD displaying what the crew did at the Fleet Museum during the 2 month period the Unreliable was receiving upgrades when Devoid spoke through the door.
“Breezie… There’s something I have to speak with you about.” He says, rather solemnly.
Breezie looked up, confused. “Come in, Devoid.” She says, the hedgehog stepping in soon after.
“We discovered a bit more about Johannah’s past. She was raised in a slaughterhouse, but escaped before harm could come to her, the Slaughterhouse was being run by a robot originally made by the late Dr. Eggman. Something called a ‘K.A.R.C.A.A.L.’. Presumably, it was the one butchering its captives after fattening them up.” Devoid explains, trying to convey a kind of careful severity to his captain.
Breezie seemed disgusted at the concept of a slaughterhouse, especially for sentient creatures. “Is she OK?” Breezie asks, turning to the hedgehog after standing up.
“She’s recovering in sickbay from a major set of flashbacks… The Doctor is helping her recover.” Devoid states.
Breezie still seemed somewhat unpleased at such a thing. “I can’t have a crew member of mine suffer like this.” Breezie laments, clenching her fist.
“What do you plan to do then?” Devoid asks.
“I intend to help. It’s what a good captain does.” Breezie says confidently.

Recovery

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 43056.79. After hearing of what happened to my new crew member, Lieutenant Jackson, in youth. I have decided to help her recover. I’ve scheduled some time in the Tranquillity Lounge for her and I to relax together. Sally has also expressed an interest in joining, which I have allowed in order to make this feel more friendly and less confrontational.”

Johannah walked into the lounge, seeing Sally and Breezie chilling as the TV displayed the menu of Mario Kart Wii Deluxe, a modded version of Mario Kart Wii.
Breezie spotted Johannah walking in and sat up. “Good to see you, Johannah. Please, have a seat.” Breezie states, patting a spot on the couch.
Johannah nervously sat down, looking at the screen as a Pink Wiimote was placed in her hand by Sally.
“Alright, they say some Mario Kart is a good way to exert some energy. What track do you wanna go on? The sky’s the limit.” Breezie states as she selects Multiplayer - 3 Players on the main menu.
After the controllers got calibrated, Sally immediately selected Funky Kong, chuckling to herself.
Breezie rolled her eyes before selecting Waluigi.
Johannah though, was conflicted. The ewe stared at the character select screen, not knowing who to choose. She eventually picks Koopa Troopa.
Breezie and Sally turned to her with confusion, before she spoke up.
“They look nice.” Johannah states.
Sally raises a finger before stopping herself, looking around, and nodding in agreement.
The track select screen came up, with Breezie scrolling through the cups.
One track did catch Johannah’s eye though, that being Wii Mario Circuit.
“Mario Circuit? From the base game?” Sally says, slightly baffled.
“What about it?” Johannah asks.
“Nothing, just… Not my first choice.” Sally replies, covered and decorated with Waluigi merchandise for a brief moment as she speaks. The race soon loads, ready for the 3 of them to compete on the rather simple racecourse.

3… 2… 1… GO!

Waluigi, Koopa Troopa & Funky Kong speed off the starting line, crashing through the first set of item boxes.
Funky Kong was given a fake item box, a mischievous smile on Sally’s face tells everyone what she plans to do with it.
Waluigi gets a green shell, and Koopa Troopa gets a banana.
Koopa Troopa drives in front of Funky Kong, a blank stare on Johannah’s face as she places the banana right in Funky Kong’s path, making him lose the fake item box.
Sally, in disappointment sighs in regret right before she is hit by Waluigi’s green shell.
Breezie chuckled to herself about this act. Funky Kong quickly recovered though with a quick wheelie, catching back up with Koopa Troopa & Waluigi who was firmly in first.
As they went around the turn, they hit another set of item boxes and Funky Kong was given 3 red shells.
The mischievous smile reappeared on Sally’s face as the other 2 only got mushrooms. The Ape launches the two shells at Waluigi and Koopa Troopa while speeding into first place. The other two try to catch up after being hit while Funky holds onto the third shell for later usage.
Breezie didn’t seem to react, but Johannah gripped her wiimote tighter as a large straight section came up…
When Luigi, in 8th place, fired a blue shell.
Suddenly, Sally’s pride shatters and is quickly replaced with panic.
Funky launches the red shell back in Sally’s desperation to get the other racers further back in the race before getting hit with the blue shell, causing him to be stunned as Koopa Troopa speeds by and Johannah chuckles. It was only the first lap, however, so things were still in flux.

A few highly stressful minutes later, it’s the last turn on the last lap. It’s all or nothing, all three competitors racing to the finish line, and despite it being a stupidly close match, Funky Kong wins by 0.01 seconds. Sally sits there normally and calm even though she was frothing at the mouth and about ready to commit a genocide seconds earlier. She turns to the others with a simple “Good Game.”
Johannah sat there, her body smoking from the tension of the race as she slowly turned to Sally. “How?” She asks.
Sally notices this right away, raising her finger… and then bolting out of the room with Johannah in hot pursuit, thinking she has horns.
Johannah would quickly return though, laughing. “She’ll be runnin’ around the deck for a good while.” Johannah says before sitting back down.
Breezie laughs as she heads back to the Wii menu.

Breezie then took out a rather blue game, Tetris Party Deluxe. “How about this? I am rather good with puzzles.” Breezie says, displaying the game to Johannah.
“A Tetris Party? Is there a Tetris Cake?” Johannah asks, with Breezie laughing soon after.
“No, but now I’m hungry.” Breezie replies as she puts the disk in. “Boot up the game while I go get a snack.” She says as she heads to the fridge to get a bag of Candy Cables.
Johannah starts up the game, navigates the menus and gets the game ready to play for her and Breezie, when the latter comes back with her candy cables. Johannah selects VS Battle mode, setting it to 2 players as 2 Tetris tables appear. With a short countdown, the game swiftly began. The game goes as normal, starting slow,
Johannah lagging behind a bit as Breezie does 1 & 2 liners masterfully and rapidly.
However, the pieces began to speed up, faster and faster at a quicker rate than anticipated. Breezie began to panic, the pieces moving faster than she could handle.
Johannah used that to her advantage and stayed steadfast, making sure she could find where pieces fit despite the rapidly increasing speed of the game.
In the end, Breezie went out of bounds and lost the game, while Johannah was halfway to the top. Breezie was astounded, looking between the game and Johannah. “How?!” She says, looking at the ewe. “I was doing so well, but it got way too fast…” Breezie lamented as Johannah took off her uniform jacket, revealing an ochre yellow turtleneck sweater underneath.
“I wasn’t really paying attention to the speed.” Johannah stated as she draped the jacket over the armrest of the sofa.

“Y’know what? Maybe we need something more active. I know just the game.” Breezie says, heading back to the Wii main menu and taking out Tetris Party Deluxe from the console.
Johannah watched as Breezie returned the game to its case and got out another game. “Ah, here it is. Wii Sports Resort.” Breezie says, showing the game to Johannah.
“Sports? In this room? Shouldn’t we go to a cargo bay where there’s more room?” Johannah asks.
“No, not sports. Wii Sports. Andy & Devoid play this game all the time when they use the Wii so they should have it set up. Thankfully, all our Wiimotes have that motion plus thingy installed so no change is needed.” Breezie explains as she takes the Wii Sports Resort disc out of the box and into the Wii. She then booted up the game from the menu. With little time to waste, the joyous title screen music began playing whilst the tv displayed a view of Wuhu Island, the location of the game. “You likely don’t have a Mii, so you can use one of the other-” Breezie says as she hits start, spotting a Mii of Johannah at the bottom right.
“So that’s what he meant.” Johannah states.
“What?” Breezie replies, confused.
“Andy did mention he made a Mii, but I didn’t know what he meant at the time.” Johannah elaborates.

The 2 select their respective Miis and are met with the main menu, displaying 12 sports.
Breezie selects Table Tennis and then Match. “Just something simple to warm up. You get what I mean?” Breezie says as the game boots up a 6 point match.
“Better this than Parrises squares. That is never my thing.” Johannah replies as she stretches.
The game started and Johannah was first to serve. Johannah serves the first shot, it being a simple starter to get her and Breezie warmed up and ready to play. They went back and forth, over and over for about a minute.
Breezie then pulls a redirect and hits the ball to where Johannah would be unlikely to hit back… fortunately for the ewe, she hits back in clutch and gains a point, causing Breezie to miss her shot.
Breezie thankfully didn’t screw up her footing and was able to avoid falling. “Good shot, Jo.” Breezie states as she cracks her knuckles. “My turn.” Breezie was next to serve, focusing intently on how Johannah felt at that moment. Breezie serves the first shot quickly, not wanting to start slow.
Johannah hit back equally as fast. Their back and forth continued in a more rapid fashion for about 30 seconds, the ball building up momentum before Breezie hit the ball high, sending it flying over Johannah’s Mii and gaining a point.

Eventually, the 2 came to the final round. Both Breezie & Johannah were at 5 points, with both needing one more to win.
“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you.” Breezie says as she was ready to serve.
Johannah stayed silent, focusing on what Breezie was going to do next.
Breezie served first and fast, wanting to keep Johannah on her toes.
Johannah retaliates with a quick shot of the ball back, Only for Breezie to launch the ball across the table again, Johannah missing her mark.
Breezie wins, smiles and says “Now, we’re even.”
Johannah smirks, feeling a connection with the captain.
As the results screen shows up, Breezie powers off her Wiimote. “I’ve got to do something important, Johannah. You can stay here until you’re needed, ok?” Breezie states, her hand resting on Johannah’s shoulder.
“I understand, Captain.” Johannah replies. Breezie smiles and leaves the lounge, leaving Johannah to play Wii Sports Resort on her own.

Reintegration

Johannah sat in her newly claimed quarters, staring out the window at the blank expanse of space. In only a few hours for her, she had been sent over half a century ahead in time, saw her old ship as just a museum piece and had gotten introduced to a far different crew than she was expecting. She was about to go to the mess hall to eat when she heard a chime from the door. “Come in.” Johannah states, with Andy walking in soon after.
“Hey, Jo? Breezie wanted me to bring you to her ready room.” Andy says.
Johannah nods, grabbing her red uniform jacket and putting it back on. “Lead the way, Andy.” Johannah replies.
The two of them make their way to Breezie’s ready room, which is only a short distance away from the bridge.
Johannah follows Andy up to the ready room, Johannah stepping into the room where Breezie sits behind her desk.
“Come in,” Breezie requests “Please, make yourself comfortable.” Johannah steps in and sits down, in a chair across from Breezie.
Breezie smiles, looking at Johannah, warm and calm. “I’ve been in talks with Starfleet Command, who have thankfully allowed me to continue the transfer Captain Sulu started all those years ago. As of right now, you are a crew member aboard this ship.” Breezie says, heading to Johannah and crouching down, removing Johannah’s late 23rd Century Starfleet badge and replacing it with a more modern 2360s Combadge.
“If you wish to keep your original badge, I can provide a display for your quarters.” Breezie continues.

Johannah gets up to go leave, but Breezie stops her.
“Hang on, we’re not finished! I’ve planned something special for you, Johannah.” Breezie says as Johannah turns back around.
“What do you mean, captain?” Johannah replies, confused.
Breezie puts her hands in her pockets and sighs. “During my talks with Starfleet Command, they informed me that Hikaru Sulu is actually still alive and well. He’s retired and lives in a nice condo in San Francisco.” Breezie explains, a statement which makes Johannah ecstatic.
“He’s alive?!” Johannah states in shock and glee.
“Very much so. In fact, before I called you here. I just finished talks to meet with him at his condo. He’s very happy to know you’re alive and well, especially as your supposed death worried him for the rest of his time aboard the Excelsior.” Breezie states.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Johannah states, rushing to Breezie and hugging the captain.
“Will I need my dress uniform?” Johannah asks, confused.
“Oh no, it’s just a casual meeting. Otherwise, I’d be preparing a suit.” Breezie replies, the human and the ewe laughing before soon calming down.
Johannah smiles and looks at Breezie “Well, I guess I might need to go cl-”

Suddenly, there is a banging at the door before Sally opens it. “I heard someone partway through saying “clothes shopping”. Who said it?”
Johannah pointed at herself as Breezie stepped back, allowing Sally to grip Johannah with a toony wicked smile.
“WE’RE GOING TO BRAZIL!!” She says, Picking up Johannah and running off with her, leaving a puff of smoke behind.
Breezie, only partially surprised, sits back down and thinks… What is Sally up to now?
Sally bolts down the halls, going to her shared quarters with Devoid and spinning Johannah into a boutique she set up in a kind of Hammerspace way. Sally with some measuring tape to measure a dizzy Johannah’s bodily dimensions. “Johannah, what would you say you like to wear?” Sally asks, while taking measurements.
“Look, I don’t need anything. I’ll just go in my regular uniform. It’s only a casual meeting and it might bring some nostalgia to my former captain.” Johannah replies, stepping away from the boutique.
Sally drags Johannah back in, patting her head quickly “It’s okay, I know it’s casual, I just want to make something that will fit you.” The Toon states as she looks through a book.
“Wait, why?” Johannah asks,
“We could get something from a store.” Sally takes a deep breath and turns around “You won’t believe how many stores we went to, and I couldn’t find anything that would fit Devoid comfortably or at all. I tailor anything new he gets, and measure him each time. I don’t want you to feel baggy or pinched in anything you wear, I’ll give you some wonderful casuals, something that you will love.”
Johannah smiles, hugging Sally. “Thank you Sally.” She says.
Sally hugs back “It’s no big deal, It’s a hobby of mine. So, what do you like wearing? Is there anything you’d like to wear? I can do it all!” She states.
Johannah responds “Well, I like my uniform, It’s comfy and rather fitting.”
Sally nods, flipping through her book and finding a page before getting to work. She works with black denim, red and black cloth, and some patches and pins. After only a few minutes, Sally gifted Johannah an outfit. A pair of black jeans, an ochre yellow long sleeve shirt that goes just past the elbows, and a red vest with a few pins of self help messages, and an embroidered image of The Starfleet Delta with a ghost coming out of the star, winking on the back. “So, what do you think?” Sally asks “I did my best based on what I know.”

Johannah looked at it and whilst happy, felt like something was amiss. “I… hm.” Johannah tried to say, looking at the outfit with a rather confused expression. “I’m not too fond of the pins, they’re rather tacky, plus I think the ghost can be its own thing so I can still put my combadge on and not have 2 starfleet logos.” Johannah states, not particularly too fond of the details she stated. “There was this vest Captains used to wear, if I can find a photo of it…” She says as she heads to a terminal and looks up information on Starfleet uniforms during her era, finding the red vest with black sides that she meant.
“Oh yeah, I did use that for inspiration. Would you prefer it if I stuck closer to it?” Sally replies.
“Or you could tailor up one of those bomber jackets. I always wanted one of those.” Johannah states, remembering the bomber jackets she always dreamed of having.
Sally looks at the database, which has the bomber jacket a bit below the captain’s vest. “A bomber jacket… That’s new. Welp, it’s something worth trying.” She says before taking a photo and getting back to work. Working with leather and buttons, taking the pins and finishing quicker due to the lightened work load. She presents a bomber jacket, similar design to what they wore back in the day but with the addition of a cute ghost on the front below where Johannah’s rank insignia would go, and also with a few internal pockets for concealing things. “Okay, anything you want to alter with the outfit? I can change anything you want, lickity split!” Sally would say, presenting the jacket.
Johannah would take off her regular uniform jacket and put on the bomber jacket with a big ol grin on her face. The jacket feels comfortable, a perfect fit, and it looked amazing on the lamb. “Nope, this is perfect! Thanks Sally.” Johannah would say before heading back to her quarters, taking both jackets with her. Sally smiles, happy to do this for the new crew member.

As the Unreliable makes its way to Earth at Warp 4, Johannah sits in her quarters once more, back in her uniform jacket while her bomber jacket rests on a hook set up by the door of her quarters. Unlike before, Johannah was happy as she read ‘Terrible Old Games You've Probably Never Heard Of’ by Stuart Ashen, the horrible ancient software humouring her. After what would’ve felt like so long for her former captain, they get to meet face to face once more. Her door would chime again, diverting Johannah’s attention from the book. She placed a small steel bookmark in and put the bookmark down. “Come in!” Johannah states as Breezie & Devoid walk through the door. “Oh, it’s you two. Thought you’d be busy on the bridge.” Johannah says with mild surprise as Breezie chuckled.
“Oh, we’ll be at Earth soon. Andy knows when to drop out of warp.” Breezie says.
Devoid looks at Johannah and asks “How are you feeling?”
Johannah smiles, stating “I feel okay, I actually feel welcome and happy to be with you all. I’m also excited to meet Sulu again! I missed him.”
Breezie then asks “How are you handling the Exspiraloquisis?” Breezie asks.
Johannah looks to Jakob, who is peeking through a wall and reading the current page in her book before stating. “This game was janky… but not that bad In my opinion,” Johannah chuckles, looking back at Breezie “It’s okay right now, it’ll take some getting used to though.”
Breezie feels better about this, leaving.
Devoid was about to leave when Johannah grabs his hand to stop him
“Devoid…” She looks at Jakob again, looking at her back…
He smiles “Just tell him that it’s okay. It’s not his fault, I would have had the same reaction… also I’m here so that he wouldn’t have to kill himself by accident.”
She turns back to Devoid “Jakob says hey, and that he would have done the same in your position. And that he’s your guardian angel… unofficially.”
Devoid seems shocked at the mention of Jakob’s name. “I-it was him?!” Devoid says.
“Yeah, were you buddies?” Johannah asked.
“He was the closest I had to a friend before Sally… But it’s good to see he understands, even after death.” Devoid replies as the Unreliable arrives at Earth. “I should go, I believe an old friend is waiting for you, Johannah.” He says, the two of them walking out of Johannah’s quarters as the ship arrives at the blue marble many call home…

Afterword

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Table of Contents

- Preface
- 64 Years Too Late
- Dead Sheep Walking
- The Spirits of The Excelsior
- Mobian Unification
- Fear & Butchers
- Recovery
- Reintegration
- Afterword