[video / action]

[candothat]

[There's little light to see by when the video feed begins. The sky's just now turning pale with the approaching sunrise, the stars are still bright overhead, and the City Square--this is a fine video of that most central of locations--is dimly lit and far quieter than it was the day before.

This peaceful, near-silent recording is interrupted by a burst of inaudible off-screen mumbling, immediately followed by the buzz of static and a flickering video. It only lasts for a moment. Image and sound quality are restored and a very awake Chekov, looking immensely pleased with himself, prevents the morning's peace and quiet from making a comeback. What's he doing out in the Square at this ungodly hour? What "improvement" did he make to his network device this time?

Don't ask. He'll happily tell you far more than you want to know.]

There! If that works...

[A hand obscures the video momentarily.]

Nonono--yes, good! That should cover all bandwidths, I think.

[And, as if wholly oblivious to this prelude, Chekov comes back into view and addresses the network.]

Is there anyone at all from the Enterprise here today? Who was not here before, is what I mean. The Academy? Moscow University? If you are here, I would like to talk with you, please. The City is very nice, for a time, but I would give away everything I own here for a decent conversation about transporter theory. Astrophysics, any kind. Rudimentary stellar cartography, anything.

Sulu, Uhura, Mr. Scott--have you been sent to visit?

[Politely, as an addendum:]

Or, if you are not from when I am from, I would not mind meeting you, either.


[ooc: Fourth wall post!  Anything is lovely--castmates, face doubles (although I think that I may play all of those...), other Treks, any character ever, what have you.  Tell him he's fictional or that he doesn't look a bit like Walter Koenig if you like; anything too brain-breaking can be conveniently forgotten, I'm sure!  Sorry for any delays, as well; I just remembered that sleep is a thing.]

Comments

voice, placeholder

[nofavouritism]

What I'm doing up at this time, I have no idea, but I'm here.

voice, /holds place perpetually

[candothat]

Uhura! Where are you, specifically?

[He needs to attach himself to you. v_v]

voice,

[nofavouritism]

By the fountain. Quite busy, here.

voice,

[candothat]

One moment!

[And, in what can't be more than a minute, Chekov has found Uhura and is hugging her. Hugs, normally, are too informal and not the sort of thing that he thinks his shipmates particularly appreciate, but he has been here for one-hundred twenty days and misses her.]

voice,

[nofavouritism]

I won't go anywhere for a while.

[ She's perhaps a little surprised when he arrives and hugs her, but not unpleasantly so. She doesn't hesitate for long before hugging him back. ]

Hello, Pavel. [ If they're hugging, that seems appropriate. ]

voice,

[candothat]

[Does that mean he can call her Nyota? No, probably not. He lets go of her and doesn't look the least bit apologetic for hugging a superior officer, in spite of what he might say.]

Uhura, apologies for the informality. [Nope.] Have you been here in this city long? Did you see Dr. McCoy or the captain? What is it like, now, at home?

[nofavouritism]

[ No. That name has to be offered. ]

It's all right. Is everything okay? [ The hugging is a little, well, disconcerting perhaps. In that she doesn't think he'd have done it if everything was in fact all right, but then again, he doesn't exactly look sad. ]

I haven't, to all of the above. [ Home is— ] The Enterprise is just about to set out again.

[candothat]

Yes--no. Yes, relatively, given the circumstances, but you are going to think that I am insane if I explain this to you.

[At least she hasn't stumbled across McCoy or Kirk yet. Who knows how they would attempt to explain the City, and Kirk isn't even from the right time.]

[nofavouritism]

After everything that's happened, I'm not sure what I'd think is insane anymore. [ She didn't think alternate universes were possible until reality went and proved her wrong. ]

action;

[faito_o]

[Kumiko is fairly certain this isn't Tokyo. Where are all te Japanese people?

More to the point, where are all the people?

She finds one young man talking into some kind of strange device, and hesitantly taps him on the shoulder.]

Ah, excuse me? Do you... [Tch, her english isn't good enough for this! She gestures around, trying to indicate the area around them.] here? Tokyo ja nai desshou? [This isn't Tokyo, right?]

action;

[candothat]

[Chekov is more than happy to set the device aside and play the broken language game with her. It's one of his favorites!]

City, not Tokyo. [Japanese would be a language he only knows in the smallest of fragments, but that, at least, wasn't so hard to muddle out. He gestures towards his network device.] Do you have one of these? There is a translator equipped with most, I think--oh! No, wait--chotto matte kudasai.

[He proceeds to mess around with his own device before holding it out to her.]

Kataru... eh, gomenasai. Talk at this--kore--and it will translate into English.

action;

[faito_o]

Eh? Doushite?

[She has no idea why he's holding that computer out to her, but she takes it.]

What am I supposed to do with this?

[She doesn't realize it's now translating for her.]

action;

[candothat]

[This particular translator works more like the universal translators that Chekov is familiar with than more twenty-first century friendly versions. The speakers sounds the same to themselves and they hear others in the language they are best equipped to understand regardless of what language they're actually speaking.

For some reason, Chekov's accent manages to make it through to Kumiko in spite of the fact that he's speaking English and she's hearing Japanese. There may still be some kinks to iron out...]

You only need to speak at it. Provided you are within a meter or so of it and I am, as well, it will make it so we can understand each other. Hai?

[Needless to say, the translation program makes no attempt to do anything with Chekov's continued attempts at Japanese. He's just pleased to have an opportunity to call on the very little he knows.]

Re: action;

[faito_o]

Oooooh! You're speaking Japanese now!

action;

[candothat]

Only to you I am, and to me, you are speaking English.

[And the translation program is working, which is always gratifying when testing something that has been done for some time but has never been through a trial run. Now that the language barrier is out of the way--]

I am Pavel Chekov and you are in the City, which is not near Tokyo, or in the same dimension as Tokyo, or even operating within the same temporal restraints as your home, but try not to worry. For you, this should be temporary.

action;

[faito_o]

Eh?

[Your translation program may be working, but Kumiko didn't understand a single word you said.]

action;

[candothat]

[Chekov brings his hand to his forehead in an overwrought gesture of embarrassment.]

Ai, sorry! Let me try again? My name is Pavel, this is the City, and you do not need to worry. You will get back to Tokyo.

audio;

[deus_ex_cadet]

[Sulu... Uhura... Mr. Scott? He certainly knows those names.]

The Enterprise... NCC-1701?

[As in, without a letter?]

audio;

[candothat]

Yes, sir! [Shut up, Wesley, you can be a sir right now.] You are familiar with it?

audio;

[deus_ex_cadet]

You could say that.

[Sir? Gosh, he hasn't even finished at the Academy, and you're talking about the legendary, original Enterprise. Jeez.]

I'm also with Starfleet. Cadet Wesley Crusher.

audio;

[candothat]

It is a pleasure to talk to anyone from Starfleet! I am Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov, and you sound very young to be a cadet, Mr. Crusher.

[Like Chekov has any room to talk.]

audio;

[deus_ex_cadet]

I probably sound younger than I am, sir. I already served a few years aboard a starship before entering the Academy.

[Chekov? Of course you get a "sir" out of him, even though you sound even younger than him.]

So this place - The City - it's like a... dimensional nexus of sorts?

audio;

[candothat]

What starship? What class was she?

[Chekov thinks everyone sounds younger than him. He doesn't always remember that he's sewenteen.]

It is more a dimensional nexus than a pocket universe, which is what others insist on calling it. I have explained that it can't be a pocket universe, as those are only subdivisions of a single universe and incapable of transcending dimensions as this city does. I think that this is likely an artificial environment, maybe made by a previously unknown race that can manipulate time and space. It is not unheard of.

[He's just so excited to have people around who know what he's talking about!]

audio;

[deus_ex_cadet]

Well, I guess most people here don't have as much experience with interdimensional transit as a few years in Starfleet can provide... and certainly not dealing with races that can manipulate time and space.

[Wesley could relate, and he's only been here a day.]

The temporal aspect is pretty apparent - most of the technology I've seen looks like late twentieth, early twenty-first century? Is that right? And even in answering your question... I'm from what's the 24th century on Earth. I served on a Galaxy Class starship, which, if we come from the same or even similar timelines, doesn't exist yet where you're from.

audio;

[candothat]

Not everyone in Starfleet has much experience with interdimensional transit. That field is still being pioneered.

It is the early twenty-first century, yes, and you did say twenty-fourth century? I am only from the year 2258! Same dimension or not, your ships and technology must be very different! Has transwarp beaming been perfected yet? Mr. Scott was capable, of course, but we--he and I both--are cowriting a dissertation on the theory in the hope that it will become more common, and simplified, so that others might use it.

[He's so pleased to meet someone from the future, timelines be damned.]