InsaneJournal

Peggy stood up and crossed the small office that the Enterprise senior staff had set up for her traveler liaison program when she saw Mary appear on the other side of the transparent door. It slid open with an automatic whoosh without either of them pressing a button and without a handle. She smiled at the bewildered woman before her. "I'm Peggy Carter," she said, a friendly tone coating her clipped British accent. She held out her hand in greeting. Peggy hadn't adopted any sort of Starfleet regulation clothes as she wasn't Starfleet. Neither has she been ready yet to give up the style and fashion of her birth decade, so she was comfortable in a pair of wide leg trousers, the boots she had arrived in, and a blouse the didn't hug her curves but also wasn't billowy and baggy.

"I know this must be very, but I want you to know I'm here for you with any questions you have and anything you need at all." She motioned to Mary to take a seat on the long sofa against the wall. "Would you care for some tea?" she asked. She had read over the initial report given to her by Dr. McCoy, so she had some background on Mary to go with. She hoped that their nearness in years and the fact that they were both British might make this go a little easier.

"To begin, this is the starship Enterprise and you've been brought here quite inexplicably to the year 2264. While I don't know everything, I like to think I've been brought up to speed well enough. I came from the year 1948, which I believe isn't too far off from where you're from, am I correct?"

---

Mary was currently feeling a lot of things, though the word that came up to describe it best in her mind was overwhelmed. She had gotten over her initial shock and fear, though she knew that things would probably continue to shock her for as long as she was here. Doors opening automatically just because she stood in front of them? She knew that it was just one of many small things that would surprise her over the coming days and months. Dare she even think about being stuck here for years?

Mary put her hand in Peggy’s and then sat down where requested. “Lady Mary Crawley,” she returned. “And yes, tea would be quite nice.” It was something that might make her feel at ease and remind her of home. At least Peggy’s accent was familiar as well.

“1925,” Mary said, trying to remember her manners and start some form of conversation. “I’m sure the questions that I have you would not have answers to. How long have you been here?”

---

Peggy walked over to the tea kettle she had requested and set up. With a touch of her finger, the water began to heat, and she carried it and two mugs over to where Mary was sitting. "There's this blend that was suggested to me, from a planet called Risa, that I enjoy. It's not quite earl grey, but it's something." She sat down opposite Mary and pressed her hands down her thighs for a moment.

"I'll do my best to answer them though," she insisted. "I've been here just about two months." She had been pulled in to a remote space station though, not like travelers now who woke up here on the Enterprise. "As far as I know, I was the first. There are about a dozen other travelers on board right now, so you're in good company.

---

She gratefully took the cup of tea. Mary couldn't imagine being the first here. Even being one of many was terrifying enough for her. When Mary was scared, she was usually irritable, but there was something about Peggy that made Mary let her guard down a bit. She sighed.

“I suppose you have no idea why we're here or how to get home?”

---

There was nothing Peggy could do then but frown and shake her head. "Why we're here? No. There's no explanation for it, really. There's some sort of rift in the space-time continuum and the United Federation of Planets, which is a very large organization in this time, has its best scientists studying the rift, but there's not been many answers yet, no. And so far, no one who's come through it has returned home. I suppose there's always the chance that if the rift brings you here, it can return you, but there's no way to force that to happen, no. I'm sorry."

---

There was so much in that answer that was foreign to Mary. She could hardly wrap her head around the fact that she was no longer on Earth. It didn't surprise her much that Peggy couldn't answer the one question that she had.

Mary sipped her tea and sat on the couch, for once her flawless posture slumping a bit, almost in defeat. “What about the crew of the ship? Have they any ideas? Who is in charge?”

---

"The Enterprise has a full crew. It's part of Starfleet, an arm of the Federation. Captain Kirk is in charge," she said, and a flush spread across her cheeks because even Peggy Carter couldn't deny that the captain was attractive, even if she did like the briskness of Dr. McCoy better for the most part. "They haven't been tasked with the investigation, just the room and board. Though I'm certain that some of them have their own theories as well."

---

Mary noticed the blush and wondered what that was about. She pushed it off for now though, more concerned about finding her footing here and feeling less frightened. “Perhaps I ought to see out this Captain Kirk,” she said. “Maybe he will have some sort of explanation for why we are all here, or at least a theory.” Mary tended to be the type of person who went right to whoever was in charge. The authority ought to have answers. If they didn’t, then she was truly in trouble.

---

Peggy arched an eyebrow. "You can request an appointment with him," she said, "if you'd like. Or try and seek him out when he's off duty. He can usually be found in the Deck Five Lounge on off hours." She wrapped her hands around her mug of tea and sipped it. "But I'm afraid he won't have any better of an answer than I've given you. I've been fully briefed on everything that the Federation knows thus far. So unless he's received some other communication since 0600 this morning, I'm afraid he'll just disappoint you."

---

“I should like to speak with him anyway if he is the one in charge,” Mary said. She wondered if she should bother him with questions while he was off duty. Would that irritate him? Honestly, her entire existence here irritated her, so he might be able to deal with a little bit of interruption. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “My apologies that I am not more engaging. I am afraid that I am still in shock.”

---

Peggy waved off the apology. "It is shocking, I know that. But I assure you that the Enterprise isn't all that bad as a home away from home. You'll be given quarters and access to all public areas of the ship. There's a mess hall with regular meals, the lounge that I mentioned, recreation rooms, a gym, library - that sort of thing. I'm sure that it'll take some getting used to for you, as it did for me. Everything is straight out of some science fiction novel." She laughed a little at that and then sipped her tea again. "You'll be issued a standard ID as well, so don't lose it. It gets you into your room and access elsewhere. And, if we ever dock somewhere, it will allow you to come and go from the ship as you please."

---

Mary listened, agreeing that this was like a science fiction novel come to life. She had never wanted to live in one of those, not like she'd wanted to live in Austen. Why couldn't she have woken up in one of those novels?

“What sort of places does the ship dock?” She asked. It occurred to her that they were in space. Did that mean visiting different planets?

---

"We made a stop at a planet for peace negotiations shortly after I arrived here though we weren't permitted to leave the ship at the time. It was a beautiful planet though, incredibly green from the view up here. I believe there has been talk of scheduled ship maintenance coming up at a space station, but I'm afraid that's all the information I have on that."

---

“This ship goes to different planets, then?” Mary shouldn’t be surprised. They were in outer space, after all. “Places that are safe, where we can breathe? How is the ship able to travel so quickly?”

Mary had a lot of questions that Peggy probably wouldn’t be able to answer.

---

Peggy nodded. "The Enterprise is tasked with exploration of deep space, seeking out new lifeforms and new civilizations, that sort of thing. Some planets, from what I understand, are more hospitable than others. I haven't yet visited any besides being on solid ground on Earth before I came here. But I'm sure that once you get to know some of the members of the crew, you'll learn more. There are more than just humans around, after all." She smiled lightly. "As for the mechanics of the ship, I'm definitely not the person to ask." She may have her background in the sciences as part of the SSR, but that didn't mean she knew a whit about quantum mechanics and space travel.

---

“More than humans?” That bit hadn't even dawned on her yet. “You mean… there are aliens here? We have met such creatures?”

Mary felt both fascinated and frightened at the idea of that. What did they look like? Were they dangerous?

---

Peggy nodded. "Aliens, yes, though I'm sure to each of them, humans are the aliens." Peggy grinned at her own little joke. She had to keep things like, didn't she? "The second in command, Commander Spock, he's from a planet that was called Vulcan. And there are a few crewmembers who are Orions - they have green skin. There are others as well."

---

Mary sat back in her chair, cup of tea held delicately in her hand. She never slouched, but all of this was so exhausting. “I am afraid that I will not know how to use any of the machines that they have on board. Even the doors are surprising.”

Really, Mary was afraid of a lot more than that, but that was as much as she would care to admit to. She was terrified of the unknown, of someone or something hurting her, of getting lost on the ship, of never seeing her family again. Mary couldn’t be irritated at Peggy, not when she was being so helpful, but it didn’t mean she was going to reveal how scared she truly was.

---

Peggy handed Mary a PADD - a personal computer device. "Everything you'll need to know is on here. There's a handbook put together for new arrivals and a ship's map and mess hall times - pretty much everything you'll need. Now obviously this itself is very far ahead of anything you might know of technology wise, but it's like reading a book. You just need to use your finger, and you can set a password." She showed her quickly how to use it and hoped it might not be too overwhelming. "Let me get your ID card and then I can show you to your quarters, if you'd like, as long as no one else is waiting."

---

Mary stared at the thing, dumbfounded. There was a typewriter, but it was on glass that responded to your touch, and images that moved like the cinema, except they were crystal clear and in color. She hardly would have been able to figure it out without Peggy’s help, and even still, Mary didn't think she would remember everything.

“Yes,” she replied to Peggy’s offer of showing her her room. “That would be helpful.” Poor Mary was still dazed and confused by everything that had happened to her.

---

"Of course," Peggy said. "We can go now. Hopefully I won't be pulled away. You'll be able to communicate with other travelers with this device as well, which will be helpful, I'm sure." She smiled and gestured toward the door. "And I'm always available if you need anything."