Well that could've gone better, thought Captain Kirk as he leaned over the arm rest of his chair.
His head pounded inside his skull. A few alarms were still going off over the intercom system did very little to ease his headache.
"Status report, Mr. Chekov!" He requested, still unwilling to open his eyes.
"Ze Klingons are... gone."
Who the heck is talking? Captain Kirk thought as he listened to some little kid speaking to him. He forced his eyes to open as he slowly raised his head. The room smeared together in a streak of hazy white light. He blinked several times, trying to clear his bleary vision.
The bridge became clear as his vision began to focus. Everything seemed in surprisingly good condition, considering the damage they had sustained. They still took quite a beating and it showed even in the interior of the ship.
However, that wasn't the thing that made Captain Kirk's stomach drop. His crew was gone. In their place, several children sat at the various stations, looking down at their oversized Starfleet uniforms in shock. Captain Kirk swallowed as fear rose in his throat. He forced himself to look down at himself, the large yellow sleeves slipping over his arms.
"Mr-" The Captain's voice was small and strangely high pitched. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Mr. Spock... ?"
A skinny kid with pointed ears and straight black hair stood from Mr. Spock's science station. The large science officer shirt draped over his thin shoulders. "It would appear there was some sort of complication." The kid reported, somewhat uncertain of the words himself.
"I can see that."
The Vulcan clasped his hands behind his back and stood straighter. "It would seem the crew has... reverted to an earlier stage in their current life cycles."
"What he means is we're all kids again." A much younger Uhura translated as she rose from her station.
Captain Kirk looked around at the bridge and at the various crew members that were now children. Sulu stared at him beneath a mop of shaggy black hair. Mr. Chekov, having already been considerably younger than most everyone else on the vessel, sat with his short legs folded up on his chair, his big eyes watching the captain. He looked to be no more than five, perhaps six years old. A great deal younger than everyone else in the room.
Captain Kirk stood, almost stumbling when he found that the floor wasn't quite at the distance from the chair it usually was. He turned to his science officer. "How did this happen?" He demanded.
Spock uncharacteristically shrugged. He hesitated, realizing what he had just done. It was a human gesture he had observed his mother replicate on many occasions when he was a child on Vulcan. He had believed it was an appropriate response to unknown variables, however when he began Vulcan training, he quickly learned to never do it again. "I do not know, sir." He replied.
"Great." Captain Kirk mumbled, hoping this was all just some weird dream.
The communications suddenly beeped and Captain Kirk returned to his chair.
"Damnit, Jim! What the hell did you do now?!" A cracking voice demanded.
Captain Kirk was shocked. "Uh... Bones, is that you?"
The voice muttered something unintelligible before responding. "Well I've got a whole sick bay full of a bunch of kids, and that ain't even the half of it!"
Captain Kirk chewed on his lip, not sure how to respond. "Yeah we sort of an into some problems." He said. "Don't worry, though. We're sorting it out."
"Yeah you better!" Bones replied, his voice breaking.
Kirk quickly shut off the communications. "Uh." He looked around at his crew, uncertain of what the next step should be. He stood, feeling awkward standing on the bridge in his oversized Starfleet uniform. "Mr. Spock!" He said, trying to retain whatever little commanding presence he had left. "With me. Sulu, you have the con." He stood there for a second, uncertain of what else to say. He awkwardly turned and began to head to the turbolift.
"I'm hugry. Can I come with you?" A small voice asked. Chekov rubbed at his sleepy eyes with the backs of his oversized sleeves.
"Yeah come on." Captain Kirk mumbled as the small ensign jumped off his chair and headed to the turbolift, struggling with his now greatly oversized clothing.
The doors slid shut in front of them and then lift began to descend.
"What are we going to do now?" Captain Kirk asked his first officer.
Spock's gaze dropped to the floor. He was unable to think of any solution at that moment. "I do not know."
"Maybe Bones has some sort of idea." Kirk suggested in a hopeful voice.
"That is highly unlikely."
The captain shook his head, pulling his communicator out of his pocket as the turbolift came to a stop. "Uhura, have Bones and Scotty come to the meeting room as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
Captain Kirk flipped the communicator closed and shoved it in his pocket, swearing as he tripped over the ridiculously long pant legs. As he looked around the halls, several other crew members stood outside their doors, looking at their changed bodies in confusion. Somewhere, someone was sobbing in a small voice.
The captain shook his head. "This is a nightmare."
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