[video/action]

[candothat]

Enterprise? Do you read?

[A curly-headed boy, almost certainly not out of his teens, frowns at the screen. His words are rendered somewhat incomprehensible by a thick Eastern European accent in spite of his obvious attempts to annunciate.]

Ensign Chekov to bridge. Uhura? Sulu? …Mr. Spock? Chekov to engineering. Mr. Scott, can you hear me? There may have been a... ah, a malfunction with the teleporter.

Can anyone hear me?

[He sighs and fiddles with something on his device. The video feed distorts momentarily before returning to normal. When the teenager speaks again, his tone is low and words less painstakingly produced as if he’s speaking himself.]

Ai, what is this? There shouldn’t be interference this far out from the magnetic anomaly. Eto piz`dets…

Comments

[candothat]

Ai, nothing has been invented yet!

[That was delivered with more than a touch of melodrama.]

I am Ensign Pavel Andreievich Chekov of the USS Enterprise. Is this your native year, 2012?

[haring_to_go]

[ he's not sure what he's gotten himself into here, but... ] No, I'm afraid I'm from a much different... place then this one.

So you're member of the navy then, Ensign? [ he didn't want to say Pavel looked young, but his enthusiasm was, well... a touch over the top. ]

[candothat]

May I ask what place?

[young? over the top? never!] Navy? No, sir. I am a member of Starfleet--spaceships, not sailing ships.

[haring_to_go]

[ excuse him; he really can't believe such a thing, even after all that's happened here. ]

Space? You must be jesting.

[ but after a brief, momentary laugh, he answers truthfully ] I am from a world that's a little less... advanced then this one. Have you ever heard of Reveille? It's the city where I hail from.

[candothat]

I would never joke about space.

[he manages to maintain a straight face for... oh, a handful of seconds]

I have never heard of it, no. Reveille--a French city?

[haring_to_go]

I see.

[ he doesn't, no. He's just confused. ] Then, what do you joke about? [ he's not even so sure he should be asking that ]

Oh, no. It's not French at all. I'm afraid I've never heard of them before. [ He's apologetic. He really does wish he could help Chekhov out. ]

[candothat]

Nearly everything that is not space. Ah--or drinking, or Russia's contributions to society. Those are three things I will not joke about.

[cheerfully oblivious to any confusion he might be leaving in his wake] You have not? You are from a significantly different dimension, maybe.

[haring_to_go]

Perhaps. I'm not used to everyone's turn of phrase here as of yet. [ especially the ones where all they do is swear. ]

I'll keep those topics fully in mind should we happen to meet again.

Do you drink often, then? [ he's a bit of a drinker himself. Marvelous constitution for it. ]

[candothat]

I am not, either... but I have only just arrived. There is time.

Not so often as others, no. ["Often" being a relative term, and of course he doesn't count the times when he drinks vodka for its medicinal properties.] And you?

[haring_to_go]

Not as often as I used to. My funds are a little limited, unfortunately. [ he misses it, but truly, his money seems better spent on copious amounts of coffee. ]