"Star Trek: Voyager: Q's Quirky Quest"

by Lenora McCoy

"Captain, I am reading faint human lifesigns in the cometary cluster up ahead," announced Lieutenant Tuvok.

"Human? Are you sure? Wait, never mind, I know. Feed the coordinates to the transporter room and have them beam the person aboard."

"Transporter Room to the bridge. Captain, the lifeform we beamed aboard is in a state of cryogenic suspension. He's already been rushed to Sickbay."

"Thank you Transporter Room. Chakotay, you have the bridge. I'll be in Sickbay, meeting our new guest."

Janeway walked into Sickbay to see a normal-looking human being laying on one of the biobeds. He was about six feet tall, she estimated, and fairly young -- in his twenties or thirties. His hair was curly, and long enough so that it had something of a fuzzy appearance. He was wearing a strange shirt, long-sleeved, with a panel in the front that was secured by eight white buttons. The odd blue shirt was paired with a pair of gray slacks that flared out at the very bottom. On the man's feet were white shoes with rubber soles -- gymshoes, she remembered from her Earth history class. The Holodoc was feverously working to revive the man.

"Doctor, what's this man's status?"

"He was beamed out of his cryogenic container to Voyager's normal temperatures and he began to thaw too quickly. I instated a forcefield so that I can gradually revive him. He should be awake within an hour or two."

Once the Doctor mentioned it, Janeway noticed the slight glimmer of a forcefield around the patient.

"Very good Doctor. I'll be in my Ready Room. Notify me as soon as he's ready to talk."

"Captain's Log, Stardate 49965.3, we have discovered a human being trapped in a cometary body in the Gammaris Sector. Perhaps if he can shed light on how he got here, we can use that information to discover a shortcut home."

Alerted by the Doctor, Janeway strode into Sickbay to see their visitor sitting up on a biobed and gazing around the room with some interest.

"Hello. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. Who might you be?" She held out her hand.

"Starship? I've dropped right into the middle of Star Trek! I'm Micky Dolenz. I don't suppose you get The Monkees out here?" He took her hand and shook it warmly. He had a huge grin on his face as he spoke.

Janeway shook her head, "I've never heard of The Monkees or Star Trek. What are they?"

"Television shows. Don't tell me you've never heard of TV!"

"Heard of it, yes. But television disappeared from Earth around 2046."

"You say that like it was a long time ago. What year are we in now?" Micky quavered.

"Twenty three seventy one."

"Woah, groovy man! Over four hundred years in the future!"

"What year are you from?"

"Nineteen sixty seven. The last thing I remember is trying out a quick home perm kit while stuck in a standstill traffic jam. What happened?"

The holodoc passed by at that moment, putting away tools he had used to revive the 20th century human. "That 'home perm' kit apparently had some chemicals that you are highly allergic to, which caused a quick, fast and highly deadly allergic reaction. You were frozen with primitive 20th century cryogenic techniques. Luckily, I have enough experience and skill to repair all of that damage, and I also inoculated you against any further allergic reactions to that particular chemical. However, I would not recommend you try and more 'home perm' kits in the future."

"Probably no longer made. I mean, it's a four hundred year old brand!" He laughed, but there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"No, and there are better ways to keep those curls than chemical concoctions like that. You'll get a chance to use them, as we have no feasible way to return you to 1967."

"You haven't heard of our show, but you know what a perm kit is? Wonders never cease."

"Well, Mr. Dolenz, as soon as the doctor gives you a clean bill of health, perhaps we can discuss a job for you on the ship."

"The holodoc passed by again, putting away some PADDs, "He's free to go whenever he's ready and make sure to turn my program off when you leave." He strode into the office and sat down at the desk.

"I'm ready, and please, call me Micky. So, Cap'n, when do I start?" Micky hopped up off the bed and landed hard, then lost his balance. Janeway caught him. "Woah, wha -- my legs! They're the same length! How'd that happen?"

Janeway frowned, "That's perfectly normal, Micky."

"Not for me. I had Perthese disease as a child, and one leg is 1/4 inch shorter than the other."

The holodoc stuck his head out of the office, "I corrected that for you. Simple lengthening of the bones in the shorter leg."

Micky stared into space a moment contemplating that. "I guess I'll have to adjust. What's the difference -- I'll be adjusting to tons of new stuff, it seems." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm ready to go now, I think." He took a few tentative steps around Sickbay to satisfy himself he could walk, stopped and took off one shoe, removing some foam pads, and put the shoe back on. "Where's the garbage can?" Janeway took the foam pads and threw them in the disposal.

"Computer, end Emergency Medical program. Come, I'll show you to your quarters first, then we'll discuss touring the ship and a duty assignment for you." She gestured for Micky to walk out before her.

"Awesome! Sounds good to me!"

Last updated 12 JUL 98

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