Confusion

Month 6 Day 10

Kolla

1658 Hours

There was no mistaking the narrow passage the redhead found herself crawling through. This is a service corridor, that much is obvious. But what does it service? What is this facility? How did I get here? Who are these people? They look like us, but they are obviously not... us. Especially not the one with scales.

She stopped crawling, looked ahead and behind, and sat down. I don’t know how long I can stay here without being found. Service corridors exist for a reason, and it’s only a matter of time before someone needs to use this one. She studied her strange clothes again, particularly the transparent stuff covering her legs. Okay, so they don’t run around with their legs exposed, but this stuff hardly seems likely to protect their legs. And the men wear regular trousers, not this stuff, so what is it for?

She thought she heard a strange buzzing, like an insect, but she couldn’t locate one. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, tried to gather her thoughts. I need to find someplace where these people won’t find me while I try to figure out what to do. But they know this place, and I don’t.

More buzzing by that pesky insect she couldn’t find. Even louder now. This looks like my body, feels like my body, and yet... it doesn’t. The skin is... too dark, the clothes strange. It’s sluggish. She was surprised when the body - apparently on its own - scooted a little further down the corridor. Her hand reached out, opened an access panel, felt around among the equipment and finally pulled out a bottle. And apparently, it has a mind of its own.

That brought back a memory of a news report she’d read of the latest endeavor of scientists trying to transplant the consciousness of one person into the body of another. They claim the theory is solid, but their results, so far, haven’t been good. Their subjects tend to go- She realized she was drinking from the bottle of brown liquid. What am I doing? I don’t know what this stuff is!

Would you relax?

I’m in a strange place, in a strange body, all alone, with no idea what’s going on. It’s not a situation that lends itself to relaxation!

Did you finally hear me? She stopped drinking. Almost half the bottle’s contents were gone. Then consider this. You aren’t exactly alone. The body took another swig.

Who... are you? I must be going insane. Now I’m talking to myself as if I don’t know me.

I’m the owner of this body. And since we’d never met before you... got inserted in here, you don’t know me. How did that happen, anyway? I was working on the bridge, and then... you were with me, but not listening to me.

I don’t know how it happened! I don’t know where I am! I was supposed to meet S’thym at R’ston Station for our next assignment, but instead, I found myself... here! Wait, if this is your body, then where is mine?

I have no idea. Look, this must be some kind of major... accident. We don’t usually kidnap members of other species and shove them into our own bodies. I mean, really, what would be the purpose of that? What you and I need to do-

What about the strange one? The one with scales?

Scales? Oh, you mean Takor. I’ve gotten so used to him, I hardly notice the scales anymore. He’s a member of the crew. An officer. He’s from-

Crew? Crew of what?

Oh. Uh, where you’re at is on a spaceship. We’re explorers. Bottle raised half-way to her mouth, her head suddenly turned to look the way she had come.

What is it?

The body hurriedly capped the bottle. We need to get out of here. She resumed crawling, at a faster pace, but quietly.

Are these people not your friends? It seems odd you would try to avoid them.

If I were by myself, I wouldn’t. Probably. Sometimes I prefer to be alone. But didn’t you notice the flashing yellow lights?

They aren’t yellow, they’re brown.

There’s no such thing as a Brown Alert. Wait, you see the lights as brown?

Of course.

To me, they’re yellow. Your brain must see in a slightly different spectrum than mine does.

If you are not from my world, it would make sense that we are different. Do your people communicate using their mouths?

Yes. That’s one thing we do with them. How do your people communicate?

Also with our mouths. Mostly. I have seen your people’s mouths move. It looks like they are talking, but I have heard nothing. We must hear different wavelengths, also.

Kind of makes you wonder what else is different, doesn’t it?

Kolla made the body stop as it neared an intersection with another service corridor. She could feel an impatience urging her to hurry, but she carefully poked her head out to check the cross-corridor. She didn’t see anyone, and the body suddenly turned to the left and hurried on. Where are we going?

You wanted a place where you could think, right? Where chances were good you- we wouldn’t be found? A place to try to figure out what is happening?

Oh, good, you know of such a place.

I know of a lot of places. Like I said, sometimes I like to be alone. Just do me a favor. The body paused to hold up the bottle briefly. Keep drinking this stuff. Apparently, it helps you hear me.

Ah. Then if I get tired of listening to you, all I have to do is stop drinking that stuff, whatever it is. It tastes very strange.

Either our taste buds are different, too, or your people don’t have whiskey.

I don’t know that word.

Oh, we have a lot of stuff to sort out.