The young Vulcan, he'd introduced himself as "Skywon", was once again putting away the mop and bucket after Rich's little mishap. Rich felt a little embarrassed at his less than glorious arrival aboard the Virgo -- no one on Star Trek ever threw up – but Skywon had reassured him that it wasn't an unusual reaction to a person's first transporter trip.
A Bajoran security guard leaning against the wall near the door chuckled and commented, "Just wait 'til you make your first EVA!"
Fully recovered now, Rich took a closer look at his surroundings. It was much as he imagined it would be, except for the ceiling. You never got to see ceilings on Star Trek -- the camera was always angled downwards.
Rich's wandering eyes returned to the Bajoran security guard, and suddenly Rich recognized him! He himself had done the character picture for the USS Virgo's web page - it was Sitto Lan! "Hey!" exclaimed Rich, startling the lounging officer. "I know you!"
"Don't say another word!" said Sitto, raising his hands in front of him as if trying to ward off Rich's words, and Rich clamped his mouth shut. "I've heard this routine already from the others we've beamed up, and frankly, I ain't buyin' it." Sitto folded his arms across his chest to emphasize his stubbornness and continued. "I gave up believing in the Prophets a long time ago, so I sure ain't gonna buy you as my creator." He suddenly realized he might have been a little rude to the new arrival, so he quickly amended, "No offense."
Rich shook his head, and looking bewildered at Sitto's reaction, simply said, "Don't worry about it."
Satisfied, Sitto moved on to official business. "The captain is occupied at the moment, so won't be able to meet with you until later. Lieutenant Commander Benton should be here any second to escort you to your temporary quarters.
At the mention of Benton's name, Rich grew even more interested. Sitto Lan was merely one of Rich's NPCs, and in fact wasn't even Rich's creation. He'd been the character of another player that had quit the game, and Rich had assumed control thereafter. But Lieutenant Commander Benton was his very first email RPG character. It would be interesting to see how the genuine article measured up to written facsimile. (Or was that the other way around....)
Just then, the doors of the transporter room hissed open and in walked a tall dark-haired man. He was handsome, carried himself with dignity, and there wasn't a single spot or wrinkle on his gold uniform.
Benton walked up to Rich and the two men exchanged a firm handshake. "Welcome aboard. My name is Lieutenant Commander Benton."
Rich nodded and said in return, "My name is Richard Merk. It's a pleasure to be here."
"Considering the alternative that was awaiting you on the surface, I'm sure that's true," deadpanned Benton.
Rich smiled at that. He knew Benton would say something like that. "You're just like I imagined you would be when I write the stories," he said.
"Ah," replied Benton, smiling. "Thank you kindly. And you are just as I always pictured you would be."
"Really?"
Benton lowered his gaze and fidgeted with his hands. "Um... No. I have to honest. I had no idea you even existed. Well, what I mean is, in an infinite number of possible universes, theoretically I knew you had to exist, err... I don't mean you, per se, but someone like you... That is to say--"
Rich held up his hands to stop the onslaught. He laughed and said, "I think I get the idea!"
"Good. Well, ah.... Shall we go?" Benton indicated the door with his outstretched arm.
"By all means."
After they had left the transporter room, Sitto turned to the transporter chief and muttered, "I don't know how many more introductions like that I can take."
The transporter chief just smiled in sympathy.
Benton deposited Rich in a spacious guest living area, promising that soon he'd be allowed to join the others of his century they were beaming up from Earth, and that the captain would meet with them all eventually. Then after briefly explaining how to operate the replicator and a few other mundane appliances about the room, he left Rich to himself.
Rich didn't waste a second. The instant the door slid shut behind Benton, he started poking and prodding everything in the room to see what it was like and how it worked. There were a million questions in his mind that needed answering. Were the windows that looked out onto space cold to the touch? Was the bed bouncy? Just where were the intercom speakers? What did a sonic shower feel like? Did it make noise? What did a replicated cheeseburger taste like? (It was good.) How 'bout a Coke? (The replicator didn't have 'Coke', but it did have generic cola. It was good too.) He knew that the water in the bathroom faucet came on if you held your hand under the spout, but how did you adjust the temperature? And millions of more questions.
A few hours later, finally satisfied that he'd discovered all the secrets this room held, he settled into one of the big chairs under the windows (they were not cold) with a contented sigh. But the look of peaceful relaxation on his face quickly turned into one of anguish and desperation.
Rich shot up from the chair and back into the bathroom, deeply regretting and fervently repenting of those eight glasses of generic cola he'd had, but when he got there, he stopped short and his heart fell.
He cocked his head at the ceiling in imitation of how he'd seen the actors do on Star Trek whenever they wanted to address the intercom and hollered, "Rich to the Bridge. I need for someone to show me how to use the can!"