InsaneJournal

On a scale of one to ten, this was probably a holy crap. Kitty felt a little exposed in her leotard and dress and wondered at the cosmic sense of humor that would have her suddenly taken to the Enterprise while she was in a leotard. “Do you guys have anything I can wear? I wasn’t prepared for a sudden excursion into space. I usually like to pack a toothbrush.”

Of course, that was said after the squee at realizing where she was, but Kitty was going to retain her dignity and pretend that hadn’t actually happened.

Marian liked to take her four shifts a week in the evening hours. Sometimes it meant that the more interesting travelers came aboard, and that was certainly a boon. But mainly, she just wasn't a morning person. Nothing about her was readily able to sleep at night, and it hardly bothered her if she ended up working to midnight. Though things were fluid at the moment, with only three of them working.

Either way, it was one Marian Hawke who ended up walking up to Kitty Pryde that night. "Hello! Welcome aboard the Starship Enterprise, where we're sailing around the stars in the year 2264. But it seems like someone already gave you that speech, so let’s skip ahead to the part where I also tell you that a nebula did it, we don't know why, we don't know how to send you back. So... you're stuck here, but it's like a vacation."

She paused and added, "You can call me Hawke. And according to your new ID, you're Katherine?"

“Kitty. Just call me Kitty.” She wrapped her hands around her chest and studied the woman. Her initial assessment was of a fighter and a survivor, with a very broad smile. Kitty could work with that. “You’re telling me I got sucked through time, space and the very fabric of reality, into a nebula and onto the Federation Starship Enterprise that goes where no one has gone before?”

She nodded her head. “Must be Tuesday. Guess I don’t rate Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock. Not that you’re not lovely, but Spock.” Or Uhura.

Geeking out would happen and Kitty just prayed she didn’t make a huge ass of herself. Kitty would probably make a huge ass of herself. “Honestly a need a vacay. Last thing I remember was Ororo floating outside my window and when Ororo floats outside my window that means I’m getting dragged right back into the frying pan.”

"I... have no idea who Ororo is or why you'd be dragged back into any proverbial frying pans. Or how to use one of those, really, except as an impromptu bludgeoning weapon," Marian replied, sounding incredibly amused. "But I'm sorry, the crew is terribly busy and we've been assembled to ease the transition. I'm with the Liaison unit, and we've all got the designation of Traveler."

She handed Kitty her shiny new ID, "So that's yours, and I have to tell you that we here on the team understand that some of you come from a place where The Enterprise is a fictional universe and you know all about the crew and the ship and their stories - do not tell them that. It'll disturb something or other with the time line or make people upset and we've got enough of that with that evil shiny Darth Vader man roaming freerange."

After a pause she added, “And yes, we’ll see about showing you to the replicators so you can get out of those flimsy pajamas.”

“They aren’t PJs…” Kitty flipped the ID over in her hands. It looked like it should be flimsy but it felt pretty sturdy and it had the Enterprise arrowhead insignia on it which was exciting. “Okay so don’t tell the locals I wore Vulcan ears for halloween and have written Spirk and Chuhura fanfiction, got it.”

She was joking. Maybe. Then what Hawke said sunk in. “Darth Vader?! Holy crap!”

"I don't even know what fanfiction is, but yes. And that's... not the reaction most of us had when they learned he was aboard. There was a lot of arguing about what everyone should do. I mostly stayed out of it and went to destroy a punching bag instead." Hawke replied. She sounded amused, still, but she definitely looked a little more upset.

"I take it you've heard of him, as well? Try not to lose that, by the way. It allows you access into your quarters and other unrestricted areas."

“Uh it’s like… writing stories about people. It was a joke.” Kitty palmed the id and fidgeted it. “The thing he’s from is like. Really big. Hugely popular. Massively affected culture. It makes sense though.”

Still feeling really exposed, she bounced from foot to foot. “I’ve visited other realities before. Other universes. Got lost in the stream for a few months. Even met other versions of myself! If there’s an infinite number of them then it stands to reason that people like Darth Vader or Captain Kirk or Legolas exist. And if there’s an infinite number of universes there’s a chance there’s a place where they can meet and cross over. There’s even a place that’s kind of a nexus between realities called the…” Kitty trailed off. “Am I losing you? I’m sorry this is just really kind of exciting and also a little familiar and I’ll probably be a little pissed once it all sets in.”

She smiled sheepishly.

"You definitely are, but that's quite alright." Marian replied, with a wide smile. Unlike many of her smiles, this one actually reached her eyes. Kitty was young and excitable and energetic. She reminded her of another new arrival, "You should see about meeting a girl named Anna, recently arrived here from Arendelle. She's quite energetic and I think the two of you would get along."

"Though you may want to ease back on the multiple universes idea, as she only arrived last week. I've had a month or so to settle in and seen the multiple timelines here myself. For instance, we've got a Han Solo, but he's younger than Leia and not exactly her husband, though he was married to some Leia, somewhere. And their three children are aboard, though they aren't this Leia's children, and her two are aboard, though this Han has nothing to do with them. We've also got a Tony Stark who thought he died, and a Natasha who came in after those events who definitely still remembers having him around in the present."

But she had no idea who this 'Legolas' was supposed to be, or why one would willingly get lost in a stream, or how one visited other 'dimensions'. "The closest experience I think I can come to was the time I physically fell into the Fade. Time moves differently there, but it isn't really a ticket to other places, not like an Eluvian network."

"I'm gonna need to make a spreadsheet to keep track of all that," Kitty responded. She'd read some of the books when she was younger, but it had been a long time since she'd paid attention to anything more than the movies and a few other things. Being in charge of a school and then being on the run and then being in space could do that to a person.

And here she was back in space. She really should be more worried about that then she was.

"Wait, did you say Tony Stark? Natasha? Natasha Romanoff? Just what I wanted, Avengers. And you'll have to tell me about the Fade sometime, once I've settled in."

"Won't that be fun?" Hawke remarked, lightly. Discussing the Fade could go extremely poorly. She actually hated how often she'd had to bring it up lately, because it required serious discussion. And that ruined her reputation as a charmer. "And yes. Also a Bruce, I believe, from the same spot. And Captain Rogers is on our security team."

Hawke handed Kitty her PADD, "This is your magic glass, which they refer to as a PADD. You can communicate with other passengers aboard with it, read books, get maps. It's quite useful, I expect you'll navigate the use of it easier than I will."

"We've already equipped you with a profile for writing to people, so it's ready to go. The hours of the Lounge and the Mess Hall are on there. We've also got a gym, various recreation rooms and sparring areas, and Jadzia and I are working on a place to safely practice powers in, if you've got those. So... any questions? OH! You're in D-15, with Padmé. She's nice, so that should go well."

“Ugh.” Whether that was to Bruce or Steve it wasn’t exactly clear but Kitty wasn’t all that happy about hearing about either of them. She looked the PADD over, smiling to herself. “It’s just a really advanced version of something we have back home, so yeah, it won’t be too hard.”

Kitty made note of what Marian was saying. “I have some ideas if you want a place to practice powers.” Danger Room? Danger Room.

"Why don't you get settled in, and then we'll talk? You're likely eager to get out of those pajamas. Padmé's gotten great use out of the replicators - I dare say she's learned how to use them better than I. If you ask her I'm sure she'll show you the ropes. But you can also get ahold of one of us. Lady Mary's managed a great deal with them, as well."

Settling in sounded good, and Kitty nodded. “All the excitement is getting to me. I could use some real clothing at least.” Lady Mary sounded interesting too, but Kitty was really interested in meeting Padme, along with some of the people she was seeing on the passenger list. “Thanks Hawke. I’ll buy you a drink sometime soon?”

"Oh, I live for people buying me drinks. Why don't you run along, now? Plenty more people to process tonight. I hear one of them's crazy, and that's always fun." Hawke waved Kitty through the door, then turned back towards her work.