The Wrath of Khat

"Three to beam up, Scotty." Jim said flatly, disappointed. Before himself, Spock and McCoy had beamed down, Spock had detected curious energy levels from a certain type of flower that grew along the edges of water sources, but as soon as they had gone to touch one, just one, they had all withered and died, leaving a strange, sweet scent all over their clothes.

"Aye, Cap'n."

Silvery swirls surrounded them and Jim felt the familiar twisting feeling in his gut as if he was falling. He cast a look back to make sure Spock and Bones were being beamed also -a few weeks prior Scotty had accidentally left two ensigns behind and it was recognized as a transporter malfunction- before they completely dematerialized.

When the bright rings had vanished, instead of the Captain, First Officer and Chief Medical Officer, three felines were standing on messy piles of clothes.

Atop the rumpled golden shirt was a tiny Seal-point Birman kitten. Its eyes were a soft, bright blue, ears, paws and the area around its nose a light brown that contrasted perfectly with its white fur.

Behind it, on the blue shirt to the first kitten's right, was a half-grown Savannah kitten. The fur along its flanks and paws was a silvery grey, black spots -and stripes on its shoulders- covering it from head to toe. The fur around its nose and ears and along its spine was tan and light grey. The two different colors of its face and the black that lined them made the golden brown of its eyes stand out.

The last, on the other blue shirt, was a full grown Toyger. Its fur was a glistening brownish orange, interrupted by tiger-like stripes. Its eyes were bluish-green, a perfect blend of both that looked sharp and soft all at once because of the tone of its fur.

"Mr. Sulu, Scotty here. We 'ave three wee li'le problems."

The Enterprise's team of Science Officers examined the three cats and determined that the change was not permanent and would last two weeks at the most -they had no way to change them back by artificial means without causing damage.

Sulu was given command of the Enterprise until further notice and, under inquiry from Starfleet, made up the excuse that Jim, McCoy and Spock had contracted a non-contagious illness from the planet and were confined to their quarters.

The three cats spent Alpha shift on the Bridge with Uhura, Sulu, Chekov and Everson, Spock's temporary replacement. The Bridge crew easily grew accustomed to finding a cat sleeping on panels or in the middle of the floor and Jim, the tiny, fluffy Birman kitten, was often found curled in someone's lap halfway through the morning.

The whole crew adjusted to the cats, being overly careful and aware of where they stepped out of fear of crushing one of them. They kept cat food -which the three surprisingly liked- on the Bridge, in the Mess Hall, in a few of the rec rooms and down in Engineering.

Everyone loved Jim and he often found himself being carried from place to place in someone's arms. Spock, the Savannah, and Bones, the Toyger, were never far from him, no matter what the situation or where they were.

Jim was stumbling about on his short, stubby legs, trying to catch Bones' tail. The large striped cat was walking in circles around the room, tail swishing back and forth, fur at the tip slightly wet and messy from the few times Jim managed to catch it. He stopped every few minutes and the crew laughed without fail every time as Jim pushed onto his hind legs and flailed his front paws wildly, smacking the tip of the orange tail back and forth.

After an hour of playing with the young kitten, Bones curled up beside Chekov's chair lazily, wanting to nap but forcing himself to stay awake so he could watch over Jim. The small, furry body stretched out in the middle of the floor, eyes closed and paws splayed wide.