001 | [voice]

[hypospraying]

[After finding her clothes and things, Christine is tiptoeing through the ship, expecting an enemy around every corner. But when she comes to the hatch that leads out, she feels a rush of relief. Slipping outside, she takes in her surroundings, and then tries the communicator in her hand -- one that looks so much like one from the Enterprise that she assumes she can reach her ship.]

Chapel to Enterprise. I'm at an unknown location. I was captured and placed in some sort of stasis pod. Requesting you beam me up immediately.

[She waits, and nothing happens. Nor is there any response from the transporter team. Uh oh.]

Enterprise, come in?

[More silence. Sighing, she begins to move away from the crashed ship, wondering if there's something about it that's blocking her signal. She looks curiously at the domed city in the distance, and the landscape surrounding her. Then she speaks to herself.]

Where am I?

Comments

[video]

[did_i_say_percy]

[And there may be excessive blushing. When he has a coat for her he runs out the building, not slowing until his feet are on the path to the ship. He hadn't been back on it since he arrived.]

I'm coming now, mademoiselle.

[video]

[hypospraying]

Merci, monsieur.

[video] ==> [action]

[did_i_say_percy]

[When he comes into sight at a distance, he's running again, carrying a bundle in his arms. He lifts a hand to wave to her.]

[hypospraying]

[Oh, dear. He didn't have to run. It's not like her lips are turning blue or anything. But she waves back, still walking at a clipped pace to meet him.]

[did_i_say_percy]

[It keeps him warm, and Armand is victim to that really old-fashioned kind of chivalry. He's forced to slow to a walk as he finally gets close enough to talk.]

You came a long way on your own.

[hypospraying]

[She looks back up the path at the ship, then back to him.]

I guess I did. It didn't feel as far when I had lots of people introducing themselves to me, though.

[did_i_say_percy]

[He shakes out the coat and holds it out for her. At the same time, he's turning his head away and trying to suppress a blush.]

This should be warmer, Mlle Chapel.

[hypospraying]

[She figures he's not used to someone showing off so much leg, so she quickly wraps herself in the offered coat.]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And you can call me Christine, if you'd like.

[did_i_say_percy]

Only if you call me Armand. [He's a bit relieved when she's covered up, for multiple reasons.]

It isn't really that much farther.

[hypospraying]

All right, Armand. Do you know where the hospital is? I'm supposed to meet my friend there.

[More like her boss, but friend sounds nicer.]

[did_i_say_percy]

Yes, I do. I've never been in, but I know where it is. [He starts off back toward the Old City.]

[hypospraying]

[And she falls in step beside him.]

Great. He gave me a map, but this way I'll be absolutely sure not to get lost.

[did_i_say_percy]

Who are you going to see? [He spoke briefly to Bones in the last week or so.]

I don't mind being a tour-guide. People we good to show me around some when I arrived.

[hypospraying]

Dr. Leonard McCoy. D'you know him?

[She'll probably end up doing the same.]

[did_i_say_percy]

[At least I thought he did.] I might have heard that name. [But he's shaking his head.] There are more people here than it's easy to remember.

[hypospraying]

That's okay. He's not really a... people person.

[She finally sees the city in better detail as they get closer.]

You said you hadn't been here long either?

[did_i_say_percy]

[He keeps pace with her, even though he's obviously a bit winded. He's young. Exercise is good for him.]

Ah, then it's just as well then.

I have been here nearly a month now. I haven't been outside the city at all since then, except to some of the farms on the outskirts, looking to see who needs help with their big animals.

[hypospraying]

That sounds interesting. Do you enjoy working with animals?

[did_i_say_percy]

It isn't so much that I enjoy it, though I don't hate it. It's that I don't have many skills that are useful in a place like this.

I hadn't even been to university.

[hypospraying]

Oh. Well this city looks like it needs people with more... practical experience, than scholars.

[did_i_say_percy]

[He brightens a bit. His lack of education plus his confusion with modern technology bothers him quite a bit.]

It might. I know a bit about horses--I'm no farrier or hostler though--and I can drive a team of four. I haven't seen any coaches or carts yet. I probably should ask about them. They must be practical on some level if not the fastest method of travel.

[hypospraying]

Right. Goods have to travel from one place to another somehow, don't they?

[She takes in their surroundings, noting the bombed out places.]

The people from the dome did this?

[did_i_say_percy]

They do. I don't know how many not-horse-drawn conveyances are around. I assume there's something because there's a big ship that flies through space, but I don't know what kind they are.

[Armand watches her glumly, then nods.]

That's what I heard. It happened before I arrived. They don't like anyone living out here.

[hypospraying]

[She doesn't like seeing the devastation, and she looks away, towards him instead.]

I don't see how people living out here harms them in their domes. Anyway, are we close to the hospital?

[did_i_say_percy]

It isn't very far from here. [Near a corner, he stops to look at the building tops, then chooses a new direction.]

I don't see what harm it does either, but there was a terrible war here long ago. Maybe they're afraid that the people on the outside would automatically side with their opponents. Still, I'd think dropping bombs on us might make us want to side with anyone who isn't doing that.