The Star in the Strings [Star Trek]

The Star in the Strings

        The U.S.S. Enterprise was flying calmly when Chekov and Sulu noticed a strange mass up ahead. Around it were several smaller shapes that were harder to see, and as the ship neared the large mass it was easier to see everything on the screens.

"Where are we?" Chekov asked. Kirk raised an eyebrow.

"If I knew the answer, Mr. Chekov, I would say it." Michaela Johnson stood behind Chekov and looked hard at the screen.

"That's odd."Everyone turned to look at her, and Uhura was the next to speak.

"What's odd?" Michaela took a few steps closer to the middle of the bridge before responding.

"Those things surrounding the larger mass in the center look like enormous string instruments." Spock looked down for a while, then straightened up and spoke suddenly.

    "Your statement is correct, Ms. Johnson. The mass in the center appears to be a starbase of some sort, certainly not Federation. The smaller objects appear to be starships designed in the  likeness of acoustic string instruments ranging from violins to double basses. The volume of      those in the likeness of four-quarter size violins and fourteen-inch violas is roughly equal to that of the Enterprise, and the volume of those in the likeness of four-quarter size double basses is roughly twenty times that." Michaela just stared at him.

"Holy cheese that's one big starship." Sulu gestured at the screen.

"Take a look." Michaela stepped closer and stared at the view. Those sure were some seriously impressive ships. They were accurate in every detail, including scrolls, pegs, pegboxes, fine-tuners on the violins, tailpieces, bows, end buttons, even strings - except they could seen on the ones that were flying that, instead of horsehair, the bows, which, on the violins and violas were half as long as they normally would have been, were attached to the bottoms of the instruments and on all of the ships there were large domes instead of bridges. The ones that weren't flying were parked in the bottom halves of cases.

Kirk broke the near-silence with a command.

"Lieutenant Uhura, open a hailing frequency. Attempt to contact the starbase." Uhura tried for several minutes without success.

"Captain, I cannot contact the base. All I'm picking up is the main communications lines from one of               the ships."

Chekov interrupted after having stared intently at the screen for a few seconds.

"Am I seein' things or is one of the strings on that violin ship glowing?" Michaela stared for a few seconds before answering his question.

"Unless we're both seeing things. What does it look like from your point, Spock? Spock looked down at the instruments.

"Fascinating. The A-string on one of the four-quarter violins is indeed glowing and vibrating,        seemingly in response to either our hailing frequency or a frequency from either another ship or even the starbase."