SD 08/16/03 Experiencing Star Trek aka "MiT - Men in Trek" #12 - Well, it's over.
There is still one last thing, but I have a few moments to relax before dealing with it.
The end of our mission did indeed take place at the "Hotel Hilton" and it's "Star Trek Experience." Apparently, the team got there before I did as the van was in the parking lot. Up close I also noticed what looked like a small church, "Graceland Chapel," advertising brief wedding ceremonies. I thought I saw one couple walking out of it. They were too far to make out features and were walking away, but I could see the guy had what looked like rabbit ears on. What kind of guy would wear something like that to a wedding?
Despite being knowedgeable about this time, some things still surprise me.
Or it could be another one of this alternate Earth's quirks, like this "Star Trek" thing. In any event, after I spotted the van, I heard some guy shouting to a policeman, saying something about "face-eating aliens." Why do I get the feeling Brundle had something to do with that? But before I could contact the team about what might have spooked him, they ran into me - litterally. I had forgotten about the "Men in Black" outfit I was wearing. Lynx was apologetic to the point of delivering kisses, much to Dammers' disconcertion. And Lera had to get into the act too, and then came some minor verbal sparring between the two. I wish they would get along.
But we didn't have much time to waste. Comming T'Kee, it seems they were mistaken for actors for this "Star Trek Experience" show in the hotel and taken to the set. We headed there, Brundle running ahead of us, and by the time Lynx, Lera, Dammers, and I got to the "Experience," it had already started. There was a very bad mock-up of a Starfleet bridge being "borded" by Borg. Lott, Tarra, and T'Kee were on the bridge. Brundle, in that suit of his, was a Borg. He was flying around on his sled, causing the show to unravel, and the audience was showing its disapproval with boos.
Then came an ominous whistling noise like something falling out of the sky, then a thunderous crash. The Freedom had come through the wormhole and ended up crashing into the hotel! The front of the bow was poking through the ceiling.
I thought the audience would freak, but instead, they began cheering. They must have thought it was part of the show. The "show" then took on a new turn when dozens of those "MiB" guys entered the room from various doors, and after a pause began attacking. They went after both us and the "Star Trek" actors, not being able to tell who was who aside from Lynx, Tarra, and T'kee. Most of the actors were subdued right away, "Hey, this wasn't in the script - Ow!," although a few stubbornly fought back. At first, the fight was limited to tackles, grabs, and punches, using their greater numbers to physically subdue us. Then someone fired a shot, and then more energy shots began flying. But as it was already a close-quarters fight, the punches and kicks continued. Lott was among the first targeted and got knocked out early. I couldn't find Lera durring the fight - she must have either sneaked out of the room or hid. It does seem she has a talent for disappearing during a fight. While this would have been okay for her in the past, as a Commander this could cause some problems for her from crew and new Captain alike. Brundle had slipped out as well.
I should note that on my way over to the hotel, I had been going through the laptop computer, looking through an electronic mail database to look for someone to notify the MiB about, by sending over the "adresses" of classified databases on their "Internet" as well as certain files in the computer summerizing who and what the MiB was, and what they were doing. I hadn't decided yet, and was wondering if it would simply be best to send it to everyone. I hesitated to do so, possibly because of wondering if Ironbottom would somehow use this against me as while technically this world does not fall under the Prime Directive - he'd look for a way.
But the decision was made for me. In a struggle with an "MiB" agent for the laptop while in the stage, it fell to the ground below, and the words "message sent" confirmed that within seconds, everyone in the world who gets electronic mail would be getting a very special message. Heh, heh, heh.
But the fight continued, with energy beams and fistcuffs going everywhere. I soon began noticing some of the actors surrounded by a transporter shimmmer. The Freedom was trying to beam us up, but couldn't tell who was who. Several of the audience got beamed up as well. Just as it became clear we were winning the fight, I got an unplesant surprise. Giving Brundle a comm, wondering what the heck he was up to, he mentioned a self-destruct mechanism on his suit had gone off! And as the thing had a warp core from a shuttlecraft, we were in serious danger of having this place becoming "Lake Vegas." Fortunetly, the Freedom was able to beam the suit (and sled) away from him, and into space where the explosion would cause no harm, but would be an unexpected light show for the people of this alternate Earth.
In the end, we were all beamed back on the ship, and were able to soar away, out of the atmosphere, and back through the wormhole after another energy surge from the ship. It seemed to close up after we left.
M'Rander called us to a meeting to discuss what happened, so perhaps a few loose ends will be answered. In all the chaos, I'm not sure what happened to this "Peice of the Treaty," although it's possible the "MiB" may have recovered it due to our help. What happens next to the world aside from being the place where two other worlds sign a peace treaty can only be imagined. I overheard a few of the actors and audience members. Naturally most were disoriented, but from a few, their immediate reaction was glee when finding out our ship wasn't part of their "show." With the "MiB" and the alien presence on the world exposed, life will certainly become a bit more complicated for the average person of this alternate Earth, but I think they will manage well. Given our own history, they can only do better than what we have.
In a way, this mission was like a vacation, seeing Earth or at least a version of it, about a year before the end of the short time of peace between the "Cold War" and the terrorist attack on New York City that would be the first of a series of calamities that would eventually result in the Nuclear War. Even though they lacked many of the convienences we take for granted, I can't help but feel nostalgic for that time, a kind of longing almost as if I was once there. I suppose I'm far from alone, as 20th Century media continues to be popular to this day.
But we can only dwell on the past for so long, and it's almost time to discuss what happened and what to do about Brundle and the actors and audience members who got beamed up.