Checkmate

Posted on Sat Sep 28th, 2024 @ 9:22am by Lieutenant Ame Solis M.D. & Lieutenant JG Astrja Kyan

Mission: Into the Qniverse
Location: Through the Looking Glass
Timeline: After Curiouser and Curiouser
1781 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Emerging from the wood, they found them in a place of apparent order, everything neatly organized and the buildings painted either red or white. Everything was divided up into neat squares by red or white paths.

"I hope this is the place," said Astrja, she paused and added, "or Palace, as the case may be."

“Well it's red … I guess that’s a start,” Ame answered before leaning forward to peer down the pathways in all directions. The sounds of marching could be heard in one direction and her elongated ears twitched towards the sounds of chattering and laughter, not as cordial as she’d expect to hear but it sounded conversational, to say the least. The occasional protest of a honking bird could be heard, causing the Bajoran to flinch at the thought of Jubjub birds.

“I don’t hear any snoring. He’s supposed to be asleep right?” She asked again looking back at her colleague.

"The Red King? Yes, the question is are we in his dream or is he in ours?" asked Astrja moving forward. "If there is a Red King, I think he will represent the Q."

The Doctor raised a brow at the comment from the Lieutenant, it was almost as confusing as the ramblings of the hare and the caterpillar. “It's a nightmare. An omnipotent ‘supreme’ being is using us as its entertainment for whatever psychotic reason.” One of the ears atop her head flopped over out of frustration and she batted it from her field of view.

Ame kept pace with Astrja stopping at the edge of a neatly trimmed hedgerow, her unwanted appendages perked and swivelled like radar dishes. A sharp, melodramatic voice pierced the air.

"What do you mean it’s not the right shade of red?" the voice huffed with exasperation. "I asked for Risan Sunset Red! Not this… this dull, Terran brick travesty!"

There was a murmur of panicked apologies from someone on the other side before the voice cut through again: "Honestly, if I have to explain one more time what true elegance looks like, I may as well do it myself. I can’t be expected to host a royal event with anything less than perfection!"

Astrja tried to look under the hedgerow. "I see . . . feet. Should we go around or just flee?"

“Well, I’m the Herald of the court. So this should be where I need to be right?” Ame answered watching the Andorian look under the bush.

“Oh, for the love of my royal crown! You fools! If you dare bring me another mistake, you’ll be repainting yourselves next!” The voice was unmistakable—sharp, dignified, and utterly unimpressed. A rustling sound came from the hedge as the figure bent down, her voluminous gown brushing against the grass. A perfectly manicured hand pushed the branches apart slightly.

Lwaxana Troi, regal in every sense, peeked under the bush, her eyes narrowing as they landed on Astrja.

"Well, well... what have we here?" Her lips curved into a knowing smile as she stood upright again. “Guards!” Her voice rang out, louder and more imperious than before. “Seize the intruders!"

Ame tensed at the screamed command, helping her colleague up from the floor if she needed it. “I don’t think we have much of a choice …”

Astrja gathered her skirts and dashed away. "Come on!" she said.

The tromp of marching feet sounded from the other side of the hedge but it did not seem very coordinated. "Come on, Guards!" said a masculine voice. "No, not that way . . . that way! Get going!"

“WHAT! But-” Ame protested briefly most confused by the whole situation, she was looking ahead for the source of the voice, a Klingon with a plume of dark hair and armour similar to her own attire. The Bajoran followed more quickly than her colleague, the path guiding them to sharp corners and dead ends.

“I said this way, you useless fools!” His heavy boots thudded as he emerged from around the corner, looking rather unamused by the lacklustre coordination of the guards behind him. His imposing figure, clad in red and black armour with an over-the-top royal flair, dampened his intimidating presence.

As the Klingon caught sight of Ame and Astrja, he grumbled under his breath before shouting, “Halt, by order of the Queen!” He raised his hand with authority, motioning for the guards to block the path.

From afar, Lwaxana's voice cut through the confusion, dripping with her usual regal disdain. “Oh, Knave, darling, do try to keep up! They're practically strolling away. A warrior of the heart should have a bit more... passion, don’t you think?”

“He’s a Klingon! And she was a Betazoid … are they from the crew too?” Ame asked starting to get short of breath.

"Not ours! But I think that is Captain Worf or an echo of him," Astrja said as she ran. "From the Enterprise," she added ducking under a grab from a suddenly appearing guard.

“From the- what-” Ame stumbled with her words before sweeping out her leg toward the clumsy guard and pushing them back toward the others. The Bajoran skidded into a firm hedge and braced her arms inside the thick foliage. The trip-trap heavy footfall didn’t stop, clattering around their fallen comrade.

“We need to move.” She reached out a hand toward Astrja, being separated would be the worst option if it was a maze. Part of her pined for her chair-leg club she had abandoned with the caterpillar. If it wasn’t real it didn’t matter about the concussion level, right?

Astrja grabbed her hand. "I saw a door this way," she said dashing away and leading Ame. "Here!" she said, flinging the door open and running through a kitchen in a state of chaos. People midway through baking various things, a crying baby, and flour everywhere.

"Excuse us! Pardon us!" she said maneuvering through the kitchen and out into a hallway. "This way?"

Astrja's taking the lead was a shock to her system. While her attention to detail and fine manipulation were a thing of beauty, her acrobatics and cardio endurance were lacking. The clatter of the kitchen and the bump of a hip against a table sent a poof of flour up into the air momentarily covering their tracks. “Sorry!” Ame called back as a feeble apology. Why was she doing this in such a fever dream? The Andorian was rubbing off on her.

"Come up!" said Astrja pulling Ame down the corridor. The way out was suddenly blocked by a squad of guards pouring through the front door. "Blast!" cursed the Andoria looking around. "Up!" she said bounding up a narrow staircase. She pounded up she stair stopping at the top to wave Ame on. "Hurry up."

From the kitchen came a mighty cough and a cloud of flour as the Klingon Knave stormed through into the corridor. "Stop dawdling and get them!" he shouted. The guards nearly tumbled over each other in the haste to charge up the stairway.

Astrja opened the nearest door and ducked into a bedroom pulling Ame after her and shutting the door. "We need to get out, check the windows," she said wedging a chair against the door handle.

The Bajoran skidded across the tile floors as she trailed behind her colleague, ears swinging awkwardly as they moved. She had to let go of her hand as she clambered up the stairs almost on all fours to stop herself from falling. Astrja was nimble, that was for sure. The door block bought a little time to find an alternative exit.

She leapt to another set off curtain and open them as Ame did the same for the other curtains. The windows revealed were more like stacked portholes, multiple small round windows set in a sturdy looking iron frame work. She looked to Ame and her windows and back to the ones in front of her. "Bugger!"

Just then a pounding started on the door, which ceased with a bellow of "Out of my way, you imbeciles!" With a mighty crash, the Knave stormed through the door in a shower of splinters. "I've got you now!"

Ame found herself ner to Astrja in a corner of the room with a full length mirror set against the wall. "This does not look good," said Astrja.

The Doctor rifled through the fabric of the curtains frantic at the lack of exits, “What kind of building is this …” An instinctive raise of her arm blocked the shower of splinters to protect herself, turning away from the onslaught of armed guards now matching in formation to surround them.

Her ears dropped lolling at the sides of her head in fear, the sound of her heart pounded in her chest, much faster than the marching step of their captors.

"But the orders of the Queen, you are sentenced to summary execution by beheading!" announced the Knave who produced a truly massive headsman's axe from . . . somewhere.

"Even worse," said Astrja pushing Ame behind her and against the mirror. But Ame found the mirror was not solid, more like jello and she simply fell through it. Astrja last her balanced and tumbled through after . . .

With a further scramble and backed into a corner, Ame took Astrja’s hand again. She had been pushed back by the smaller Andorian, even if she held rank. There was no way out and she expected to feel the cold of a glass against her back but instead, she was swallowed by the thick silvery liquid.

"No! Grab them!" shouted the knave but his words were already fading.

Astrja bounced onto the bed in her room on the Athena, still wearing the blue and white dress. "How curious," she exclaimed.

The chaotic world faded around Ame and she fell with a jolt, much like the feeling of falling in a dream, her body bracing from the imagined impact. The surroundings this time were much more familiar, the partially unpacked boxes of her quarters, however, she was still dressed in the pompous attire of her encounter.

Instinctively her hands reached up to check if her new appendages were still there. A pleased sigh of relief as she found only mussed hair. The Bajoran pulled her knees to her chest and closed her eyes, this was not the introduction to the crew she had hoped for but it seemed to be over, for now. She didn’t even know the woman’s name to check she was okay.