Two Captains

Chapter 17

I wake up seated in a chair, but the chair is horizontal. I stare up at glass, and through the glass there is some chunks of...snow or ice on it. I can't see clearly through the glass, but all I see is a very light grey. I look over and see Jim next to me, he's just woken up as well.

"Natasha?" He squints over at me.

"Yes, Jim, it's me."

"Why are you here? Do you know where we are?"

"We're in Heaven and I'm the angel helping you through the holy golden gates." I say with plenty of sarcasm. "No, Spock did that Vulcan touch on me too, got us both off of the ship."

"Hm. Computer, where am I?" Jim asks.

"Location: Delta Vega. Class M planet: unsafe." The computer answers. "There is a Starfleet outpost 14 kilometers to the Northwest. Remain in your pod.."

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me."

He opens the door to the pod and we climb out. We're in a hole made of ice that is the exact width of the pod. We climb up to the top.

Thank God I never wear those way-too-short dresses from Starfleet, you can barely move in those damn things, so it would be much harder to climb out of a giant hole.

We finally make it to the top and look out in a barren, all-white landscape.

"Are you sure we're actually not in Heaven?" Jim asks, looking at me. "Planet with no one living on it-just us two. Besides, it's really, really white."

I roll my eyes.

"Well, where's Northwest?" Jim asks. "Any idea?"

"Yeah, that way." I say, pointing slightly to the right of us.

He looks at me. "I actually wasn't expecting you to know that. What did you-swallow a compass?"

I manage a small laugh. "Come on." I say. "Let's go survive and find that supposed Starfleet outpost."

"Yeah-and on the way you can tell me what's going on between you and Bones."

I look at him. "You've got to be joking."

"Do I look like a joker to you?" I raise an eyebrow and he corrects himself a second later. "Actually, scratch that...do I look like I'm joking?"

"I don't know." I say. "Are you?"

"Stardate 2258.42. For...for...whatever." Jim says as we slowly make our way across the landscape as a blizzard whips across. We are bundled in one of the warmest coats I've ever been in in my life. "Acting Captain Spock has marooned both Natasha Adams and I on Delta Vega. Which I believe to be a violation of security protocol 49.09. Governing the treatment of prisoners aboard a starship."

Then I hear something, over the sound of wind and particles of snow and ice whipping past us, I hear something...

"Uh, Jim..." I tap his arm.

"Yeah?" He looks over at me.

"Do you hear that?" I turn around and look off into the distance. It sounds like it's coming from behind.

"Yeah..." He says a moment later, and turns.

Then we see a large, fury white animal running towards us. It almost looks like a giant polar bear from this distance.

As it gets closer, I see that it's definitely not a polar bear.

It snarls and shows all of it's large white fangs in it's massive mouth.