Home on the Enterprise - An Old Man's War/Star Trek TOS Crossover

Day 19

3 Albion, 2270

Puvar approached Uhura the next morning in the rec room, nervously fiddling with her fingers. Her request was strange, but she hoped that the comms officer would understand why she was asking. She was fully aware of how long it had taken the Enterprise crew to become accustomed to her appearance, even though her consciousness had only been awakened later. Many still had something unpleasant to say about her unusual features. She did not want to make the same impression on Relva VII, especially since Kirk had said that there were others taking the Starfleet Academy entrance exams that day. Being so much smarter than other humans due to her BrainPal, Puvar knew that she was a target for sabotage – and the others taking the exams were more likely to try it if she came in looking as she did.

Thus, her request of Uhura: "Can you help me do my make-up?"

"You don't wear make-up," Uhura said, surprised by the question.

"I do not want to look green when we reach Relva VII," Puvar said quietly.

"Oh, but there may be other aliens on Relva," Uhura said. "Starfleet does take non-humans, if they apply and pass the exams."

"Exactly," Puvar responded earnestly. "I am not an alien. I am human."

Uhura nodded in understanding. They went to her quarters and she brought out her make-up bag. Puvar sat stiffly, trying not to flinch with every stroke of the brush and touch of Uhura's fingers, as her olive-green face was transformed into a rich brown colour. Puvar thought that it was probably the colour she was supposed to be, the colour that her human DNA, received from some deceased CDF volunteer, coded for, if not for the chlorophyll in her skin for extra energy absorption. This thought distracted Puvar from the uncomfortable touch.

Then there was a mirror in front of her face, and the face it reflected was brown. The hands that held it were brown. The hands that held it were Puvar's. The face was her own, as well. She looked almost exactly like a regular human, like one of them, but her eyes were still the exotic gold-and-green slit-pupil eyes of a cat that have no place in a human face.

"I can't change your eyes," Uhura said apologetically.

"Thank you," Puvar said quietly, and then she practically fled the room.

***

The quartermaster had what she wanted: a pair of ordinary coloured contact lenses. These were used on rare away missions when minor details such as the colour of somebody's eyes might be scrutinised and called into question. In some places, even something seemingly insignificant like the wrong colour eyes might be suspicious. Puvar selected a pair of green ones that matched the green in her eyes almost perfectly and slid them in. With her exposed skin being made up in the tone that humans think of as 'olive', rather than the colour of an actual olive, and her blue duty jumpsuit, Puvar looked like she could pass as an average Starfleet hopeful.

She passed so well that Kirk did not recognise her when she reported to the transporter room to transport to Relva VII. Only when she identified herself did he recognise her voice and instruct her to stand on the transporter pad.

"We were unable to beam your incubator on board, but I used your translator to program the transporter to your unique biometrics," Spock said. "This should work."

He slid the controls to transport Puvar to Relva VII. It took only a few seconds, but in those seconds, Puvar felt ready to vomit. She did so, much to the consternation of Lieutenant Stoker.

"I did not like that," she mumbled. Then she looked up. "Lieutenant. I'm Puvar."

Stoker held out a hand to Puvar, and her BrainPal unpacked the concept of handshakes. She grasped his hand, taking care not to hold it too firmly, and shook it once.