Where in the World is Carmen, San Diego?

[Guest LtCdr Dacotah]

This wasn't right ... it didn't feel right.  It's not that anything had changed physically.  The walls were still the same natural battleship grey, the carpet was still that same blend-into-the-background color that no one ever took notice of, but it wasn't right.

 

   Hayden stood off to the side of the Bridge, tucked back against the wall, doing her best to remain out of everyone's way.  Medical emergencies had been handled, now it was Engineering and Science's turn at fixing what was wrong.  She took a deep breath, thinking that the reason for this feeling was the pain her ribs.  Gently, she pressed at her sides and winced.  Two cracked, possibly three, but she was luckier than most.  Their little experiment into how to be living crash test dummies had not gone exceedingly well.

 

   Alces had been sedated, he was so upset so distraught, about where they were.  She shook her head slightly as if to clear away the confusion that was building in around her.  It felt as if she were in the wrong skin.  Like when you put on an article of clothing that is so foreign to you that you are aware of it constantly.  Where, not where as in their coordinate, but rather which ... as in which dimension, because as sure as she was standing there it was becoming painfully obvious to her that where they were right now, was not where they were supposed to be.  Unbidden, a song from a game she and Hunter used to play as children sprang into her head, and she grinned, wryly, thinking that it was appropriate to think of that game right now.

 

  She saw Moose move up to one of the engineering consoles and tried to call out to him, but she felt as though her limbs were made of lead and her voice was lost deep in her chest somewhere.  She stood mutely, watching people move about, their voices sounding disjointed and garbled.  The pain in her chest was growing, spreading outward like hot wax being poured out of a still lit candle.  She welcomed the coming blackness, the blanket of unconsciousness that would take away the pain, the fear.  Without a sound, Hayden sunk slowly to the floor.  Her breathing was shallow and rapid, for anyone to glance at her they would have assumed her to be sleeping.  Only the growing ugly purple-blue bruise hidden under her uniform gave a clue to her injuries.

 

   However, this was the Bridge and under normal conditions, one did not sleep on the Bridge.  Of course on the Arcadia one seldom dabbled in the normal.