Where the Fun Begins, or, The Gorn Identity
Posted on Fri Oct 31st, 2025 @ 10:03pm by Captain T’Kal & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose & Lieutenant Commander David Erickson & Lieutenant Commander Valerie Novis & Lieutenant Commander Clay McEntyre & Lieutenant CASTIEL 'Cas' Johnson MD & Lieutenant JG Annika Johnson
1,075 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
ARYL 1X05: Nightmare on Ark Royal Street
Location: Lounge
Timeline: SD 8983.3 (31 October 2290, 22:10 hours)
Last time on Star Trek: Ark Royal
The Captain knew how to make an entrance.
The music stopped and the lights were restored to how C’Hira had them. T’Kal nodded to her quartermaster, who handed her a glass of punch. “Good evening ladies, gentlemen, those outside the binary, and invited monsters and ghouls,” she said, her voiced pitched to be heard across the din. “Welcome to the first Ark Royal Halloween Party. Since we left Spacedock nearly four months ago, your service to this ship has been exemplary. And so tonight, in the traditions of Halloween that I have come to understand during my time among Humans, I encourage you all cut loose and enjoy yourselves. But keep an eye out for monsters.”
She nodded back to C’Hira, who restarted the background music and resumed mingling.
And now the continuation…
Annika grinned as she approached T’kal. “Looking good there Captain. I don’t suppose you’ve seen my husband on your travels have you?”
"Counselor, or shall I say, Countess," T'Kal replied. "No, I have not yet seen him. Oh, no here he is." She pointed to the lounge entrance. She stepped aside to speak with C'Hira.
Walking in, still reading reports, Cas looked up. The music wouldn't do his concentration any good, so he put his padd away. Taking his prop out of his pocket and placing it around his neck. Walking up to Annika, "So what do you think?" he gestured to his white doctor's coat and the stethoscope from centuries before. "I decided to come as a doctor."
“A doctor? What’s so scary about that!?” Annika grinned as she looked at her husband, her fake pointed vampire fangs showing.
"Hey, its a costume you enjoy at home. You play nurse, I play doctor."
Annika blushed bright red as she looked around to see if anyone else had heard that. “That’s for us to know, not the whole room!”
Clay knows how to enter a room unseen. Using the captain's flashy entrance as cover, he slips into the crowd 'til he was standing with the rest of the Senior Staff. To those who would observe his costume, he was dress rather archaically as a Colonial Marine from the old earth movie "Aliens".
Emmanuelle in her best Morticia brought a cup of punch to the newest arrivals, Clay and Cas. "Glad to see someone here to keep us safe from the xenomorphs," she said as she handed the first drink to Clay.
Clay nods and takes the drink, downing it in one gulp.
"Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I love the Corps!"
A green, wheezing Gorn, standing over six-foot with bulging eyes, approached the four officers, looking at each of them, positioning himself so that Annika's back was to the bulkhead. "Are you all enjoying yourselves?" it wheezed, its voice coming out of a translator on its belt.
Emmanuelle jumped backward away from it, never having seen a Gorn up close before and spilling the drink she'd gotten for the doctor.
Annika let out a surprised gasp before smiling. “That’s quite the costume you have there!”
"You like how I appear?" the Gorn said, stepping closer.
Quickly, without hesitation, Cas grabbed Annika and pushed her aside. "Cas to Security, full security team to my location right now. Bridge, scan for Gorn vessels," he replied as he tackled the intruder.
"Security report to main lounge, Intruder Alert!" Clay moved in front of Cas and Annika and pulled his phaser from where he had it conceled in his costume.
"Don't think about it!!" He yelled at the Gorn. "Let 'em go!"
“What!? That’s a….real Gorn!!” She would have backed away but there wasn’t anywhere immediate to go.
The gorn grabbed Cas and threw him off, standing up quickly and regarding him with confusion before turning and rushing back into the crowd, ducking down and getting lost between two crewmen. The doors to the lounge opened and closed as a few people came in and out, and the gorn was gone.
Annika was quick to check on her husband, her heart was pounding at the thought of what might have happened.
On the bridge, the call from the lounge came in immediately. "Bridge, scan for Gorn vessels," the Chief Medical Officer's voice said, sounding extremely agitated. There were a few screams of shock and then the comm channel cut.
"No sign of Gorn vessels anywhere," the officer at Navigation said, looking to the science officer at the rear and receiving a nod of confirmation. He looked at Valerie and shrugged.
Valerie glanced back and forth, "Make a scan of the ship for Gorn lifesigns, too." She stood from the center chair and walked up to the navigation station just to verify.
The Science officer took a few seconds, "No Gorn signs on board the ship either."
Valerie reached out and touched the comm, "No Gorn ships in the area, Doctor, or any Gorn lifesigns on board. I don't know what you saw, but it isn't here anymore if it ever was."
The Captain was among the crew who had scuffled with the Gorn, helping one who had been pushed to the ground back to his feet. A silence blanketed the room, which she was compelled to break. "Well, that was unexpected. Seems a crewmember decided to get into character with their costume. A reminder that we are here to have fun, and that other species and cultures should not be appropriated for Halloween." She lifted her glass of punch to the crew. "As you were."
Cas remained silent, brushing himself off before turning to Annika. "I will be at our quarters, you enjoy yourself. Keep an eye out for more Gorn."
“What? You’re leaving?” Annika gave Cas a worried look. “I’ll go with you.”
Cas paused, "No, I will stay." He turned back to Annika, "Perhaps I am not as over the Gorn as I thought I was."
Annika offered a loving hug before letting go. “I just thought it was someone in a very well designed costume, I didn’t think it was a real Gorn.” She shivered. “Just thinking about what could have happened…”
To be continued…
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