From: Alternate Universe Today Archivist Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?I=92m_Everything_You_Expect_Me_To_Be?= Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 16:16:31 -0800 name = Alexandra J. email = KesAFloyd@aol.com title = I'm Everything You Expect warnings = none story = I’m Everything You Expect Me To Be Starfleet is known for its highly skilled officers and crew members. The Academy only accepts the very best. But in some certain areas of the sciences, they are lacking, and they found that out when the U.S.S. Enterprise received a very special visitor. “Captain’s log, stardate 72367.4. The Crossover Communicator proven to work, now allows us to explore other dimensions. In a few days, we are expecting an ambassador from a universe recently contacted, for a purely explorational meet. While some argue that it is a violation of the Prime Directive to share technology, even higher is the order to seek out new life and new civilizations.” Captain Kirk was sitting in the captain’s chair when he and Spock were requested in the transporter room. Kirk entered the room, and there stood a woman who looked human, though she wore a uniform that he didn’t recognize. “Who are you?” “Well,” she said cheerfully, “I’m glad to see the transport was successful. I’m Captain Susan Ivanova of the universe that your Earth has recently made contact with through the Crossover Communicator,” she explained as she stepped off the transporter pad. “You’re a week early.” “I am? I guess the transporter wasn’t targeted quite properly.” “Welcome to the Enterprise a week early then.” “Thank you, Sir.” “I’ll have you meet my senior staff.” “My first officer, Mr. Spock, my chief engineer, Montgomery Scott, Leonard McCoy.” Ivanova nodded. “Pleased to meet you.” “Hikaru Sulu, Nyote Uhura, Pavel Chekov.” Ivanova stared at Chekov. Almost instinctively, she put up a barricade of mind blocks and traps. She scanned him suspiciously. He might go by the name Chekov, but she wasn’t taking any chances with a man who looked exactly like Alfred Bester. “Is something wrong, Captain?” asked Kirk. “Nope. Nothing wrong.” “Alright. This is Janice Rand, Gregory Polk...” Pavel Chekov had always heard voices. He always assumed they were only figments of an overactive subconscious, because he was the only one hearing them. But now Captain Ivanova seemed to be sharing the mind talk, and he was curious. Chekov found Ivanova in the mess hall. “What?” she demanded when he walked up to her table. “Um, can I ask you something?” “What is it?” “Something personal, not business related.” “What is it?” she growled, growing impatient very quickly. “I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to Captain Kirk.” “Yes, yes, yes, WHAT?” “Do you believe that there might be telepaths?” Ivanova stared at the ensign. So bold to just ask her something like that on the first day that she was on board the ship. To ask that question, maybe so stupid. Still, for him to just ask her like that, well. “Telepaths, yes, possibly. Is that all? I have to go.” It wasn’t a natural response. “Yes, but-” Chekov started to ask, but Ivanova had already left. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder to know. She could feel Bester standing there. Chekov handed the pad over to Kirk. “Daily report, Sir.” The captain seemed surprised. “Chekov, your accent. You’re speaking like an American.” Chekov stammered. “I suppose so... It was her!” He pointed, almost accusingly, to Ivanova who was talking to Sulu. “She... thinks I talk like this... Wha-wha? I can’t explain, she thinks I talk like this, so I am talking like this, oh never mind!....” “Ivanova, can you understand what he’s talking about?” “He reminds me of someone I know. That’s all,” she claimed. “If there’s any problem, let me know. Now.” “No problem, Sir,” said Ivanova. “No, Sir,” agreed Chekov with an American accent. Once again, Chekov tried to talk to Ivanova in the mess hall. “Listen, I know I look like someone you really dislike, but I don’t think I’m him. He’s a sinister type, right? We may look the same, but don’t judge me against him.” “How can I not?” she asked, speaking low. “You’ve already acted like Bester. You’ve talked like him since this morning. You obviously aren’t the innocent mundane you think you are. You know too much about him than I’ve ever mentioned. That’s why I don’t trust you. Pretty soon, you’ll realize you’re no different than him.” “I’m insulted,” Chekov spat. “If you ever- ever- You’re blocking me.” “You noticed.” Pavel Chekov could no longer do this. The routine of his duties aboard the Enterprise were becoming unbearable. The idea came to him when he was sitting at his station. There was only one inter-dimensional transporter key. It wasn’t really a key, it didn’t literally serve that function, it was only something you had to have while you transported to make the crossover go through properly. The idea was like a child’s. He could run away and make a new life for himself. Just like that. The thing was, he was likely to be caught before he could get very far from the ship. That was, if he stayed in this universe. Captain Ivanova’s universe seemed to be bigger in a sense because it was harder to track someone. That was why he was going to use the transporter key. He was going over there. Ivanova was walking down the corridor to engineering. She wasn’t sure why she was heading in that direction, but as she got closer, a stream of thoughts hit her. Chekov’s thoughts. He wanted the transporter key. He was going to get the transporter key. He was no longer Chekov, either. He was Bester. But even as she though about the sinister Psi Cop, Chekov unconsciously seemed to grow more certain that that was who he was. The key was Shadow technology, there was no replacing it, and he was going to destroy it once he got to her universe. Down the hall, Ivanova saw Bester/Chekov slip out of engineering, carrying in his hand what could only be the key. She broke into a run. So did he. He was heading for the transporter room. He was getting away. Ivanova ran as fast as she could. Someone almost caught her to ask her what she was doing, but she pushed past him. Running, she couldn’t concentrate hard enough to give him a mind blow to slow him down. So she ran faster. Just as Bester/Chekov sedated the transporter operator, she tackled him and pinned him to the floor. He was a strong telepath, but she was stronger. It’s a big jump from a P12 to a P13, which was what had kept her safe all these years. He was not making it easy for her though. While he had surrendered physically, he wouldn’t let her through his mind. “You’re not thinking a P12 can block a P13,” she snickered, “You don’t remember this, any of it. We met in Kirk’s ready room that day, and it was a normal, safe first contact mission. You remember it all as if you were a mundane. Now I’ve gone home and you have the information the Federation expected to get from this meeting. Is that clear?” Ivanova snatched the key from Chekov/Bester’s hand. She tapped an automatic transport code into the console and lept onto the pad. She never saw that universe again. She didn’t think there was anything left of it in her life until she met Bester again. Yes, he was the same old telepath she’d known and hated, but something was taken out of him because he spoke with a Russian accent.