Star Trek: Constellations
Westfall/Star Trek TNG Crossover Fanfiction #1
Scene 3
A shimmer of light and a residue of sparkling energy slowly faded into the air as the four Starfleet officers were beamed to the planet Braecia. It took only a moment after beaming for all four to fall into defensive stances.
Lieutenant Commander Data pulled out a tricorder and immediately began to scan the area for signs of life. Dr. Beverly Crusher, clad in a medical jacket over her blue and black uniform, had also donned a tricorder of her own and held it at the ready. Lieutenant Gemini Inova wielded a phaser in one hand as white light pulsed in the other, ready to defend if necessary. Commander William Riker stood tall in the center, watching his team members carefully.
The dirt street was empty, and rows of two-story facades lined either side. Paint was chipped, windows were broken, and a thin layer of dust seemed to cover it all. Even the air seemed dull, and thick cloud cover blocked the sunlight and cast the street in an almost rusty hue.
“This looks like an Old Western ‘ghost town’ to me,” Commander Riker’s lips skewed as Gemini straightened and dropped her guard.
“I highly doubt we will discover apparitions here,” Data commented as he continued to sweep the tricorder from side to side. “In fact, I am having difficulty locating any life forms at this time.”
“We may need to split and search the old-fashioned way,” Dr. Crusher’s red hair brushed against her shoulders as a cold wind blew past them.
Will gave one last glance up and down the road before giving a short nod. “Go ahead. Alert the team when you’ve found something.”
“Aye, sir.”
Bundling one of her arms against her uniform, Gemini started to the east while Beverly went west. Will followed Data a moment longer as the android found a road leading south.
“Picking up anything?” The commander asked.
“Inconclusive,” Data looked up from the tricorder, “however, the information I am receiving indicates that the lack of plant life in this area is due to poor soil quality.”
“Could be part of the reason these folks need help.”
“Indeed. Without the ability to grow crops or feed livestock, a town so far removed from outside aid would not be able to support themselves for very long.”
Will frowned. “Let’s hope these seventeen life forms can still be considered survivors.”
“This is a very similar to the situation in which we discovered Gemini,” Data turned back to his commanding officer. “We did not believe anyone was still alive when we discovered her in the ruins on Aravast.”
“A very good point,” Will eyed Data with the hint of a smile. “There is always hope.”
Further away, Beverly had taken to scanning up and down one of the buildings that still seemed to be in use. She slipped her tricorder into her jacket and knocked on the door. “Hello?” She called, though she was met with no reply. She even opened the door, finding a small, run-down cafe devoid of customers and servers alike.
Brows furrowed, she closed the door and glanced across the street. “Where is everyone?” She mused aloud.
Lieutenant Inova had had similar luck: finding no one inside any of the buildings she had passed. She was quickly losing hope when she caught a glimpse of a dusty-white chapel looming over the street in the distance. As she approached it, she noticed one of the doors was open.
Her eyes narrowed. Were there voices inside?
Her black boots scuffed up the stone steps that led to the double wooden doors of the chapel, and she stopped short when she reached the threshold.
Seventeen heads turned in her direction; most over their shoulders from their forward-facing pews, though one—an older man with gray hair and a full beard—stood at the far end of the room behind a simple wooden pulpit.
Gemini scanned each face: some holding fear and worry, while others were blank with shock. She snapped out of her own surprise and stood straighter. “I am Lieutenant Gemini Inova of the USS Enterprise,” she announced. “We received your distress call, and we have come to give you aid.”
At last, one man stood from pews. His blond hair was combed back on his head, and wide moustache covered his lip. His skin was weathered, despite only appearing to be in his late twenties. A worn blue-gray shirt and vest was topped with a turquoise bolo tie held at his neck. The others around him were dressed similarly in old-style dresses, coats, shawls, and jackets—all showing signs of wear.
“Yeh got our message?” The man was almost too surprised to speak.
“Yes, sir.”
“I can’t believe it—it actu’lly worked.” The man glanced at the preacher behind the podium before stepping out of the pew and stepping toward her. “I’m Thomas Hiller—Mayor of Westfall.”
She found his hand extended toward her, and she accepted it firmly. “It’s good to meet you,” she shook his hand before looking over his shoulder. “Is this everyone?”
“All that’s left of us,” he offered somewhat glumly.
Behind him, the townspeople were beginning to rise and creep forward. Their fear was turning to curiosity, especially when one small boy darted forward out of his mother’s arms.
He stopped and stood at Gemini’s feet, wide-eyed, without saying a word.
The Aravasti met his eyes with similar interest, studying his ruddy hair and freckled complexion. His simple white shirt had already been patched in a few places, and his jeans had worn through at the knees.
When she glanced up to find his mother, she instead met the gaze of a tall, black-haired man in a work shirt beneath a tattered tweed jacket. His dark eyes, though guarded, held a glimmer of hopefulness.
The communication badge on her shirt chirped. “Riker to Inova: any luck?”
She tapped the badge as Thomas and the boy shrunk back at the sound. “Yes, sir, I’ve found them; we’re at the chapel at the eastern edge of town.”
“Excellent—we’ll be there shortly. Riker out.”
“What was that?” Thomas’s blue eyes were wide.
“I was communicating with the rest of my team,” the woman explained. “We have a doctor with us, and our ship is in orbit overhead if we need anything else—or if we determine it best to bring you aboard.”
“Bring us?” A brown-haired woman repeated.
“But where?” Another spoke up.
Thomas turned back to the room. “Y’all don’t start—we discussed this plenty already. You know we can’t live here anymore. And Preacher Gandy was just talkin’ to us about how our home can be anywhere.”
“As we strive for our eternal home,” the man in question stepped away from the pulpit at the far end of the room, coming up the aisle to join the gathering group. He seemed to be the one of the eldest of the group, using the pews as leverage to steady himself as he walked.
“Lieutenant!”
Gemini glanced out the door to find Will and Data hurrying up the steps with Beverly close behind. “Commander—This is Thomas Hiller, the Mayor of Westfall,” Gemini promptly introduced the two men. “This is our ship’s first officer, Commander William Riker.”
“Is anyone in need of medical attention?” Dr. Crusher peeked around the commander’s arm.
“At the moment, I think we’re fair enough, though Ms. Lillith could tell yeh more,” Thomas gestured to a chestnut-skinned woman with tight black curls stepping out from behind him. “She’s our town doctor.” He then turned to Will. “I s’pose need to talk to you.”
“Of course.” Will gestured aside.
Gemini scooted out of the way as Will and Thomas retreated down the steps and Beverly met Lillith further inside the chapel. She leaned closer to Data as he narrowed his gaze at his tricorder. “What are you doing?”
“Verifying that there are seventeen individuals here,” Data replied simply before closing the device. “I am intrigued that I was not able to detect them before.”
“Maybe this building is made of stronger stuff than it looks,” she tapped on the wooden doorframe with her knuckles.
“Away team: status report.” The captain’s voice rang out from their communication badges.
Data tapped his and stepped aside. “This is Lieutenant Commander Data. We have located the survivors...”
While the other members of her team were busy with their respective work, Gemini stood alone near the doorway of the chapel. She noticed the scrutinizing gazes of many of the residents; understanding she was possibly the first outsider they had seen on their planet in over two-hundred years. While she herself appeared different from them, by way of her Starfleet uniform, her two-toned hair from her “alien” heritage, and even the way she spoke compared to their own accents, she could still sense a familiarity in their eyes. She, too, had abruptly met a team of outsiders when they pulled her from the wreckage left on Aravast, and she understood their feelings of bewilderment when met with the reality of leaving their homeland behind.
She caught a glimpse of the tall, blacked-haired man from the corner of her eye, standing with his tan hands clasped together at his waist. He seemed both expectant and hesitant as he rocked on his feet. A dusty collared shirt was tucked into even dustier jeans, and his worn tweed coat covered his broad shoulders. His black hair was short and parted to one side, and peppering sideburns ran around his cheeks down to his chin.
“Hello,” she made first contact.
He perked up upon being noticed. “Are y’all really from a spaceship?” He asked with subdued enthusiasm. His thick eyebrows were peaked.
“Yes,” she paused. “Have you ever seen a spaceship?”
“Oh, no,” he shrugged. “But I’ve heard stories of ‘em. Our ancestors came here on ‘em, too.” His dark eyes drifted aside. “Always dreamed of seein’ one.”
She smiled at him. “Well, you may get your chance.”
His lips tugged before he somewhat nervously backed up a step. “Oh—gosh—I’m Hudson, by the way,” he shot his hand out. “Hudson Rowlett.”
She took his broad, tan fingers into her hand. “Gemini Inova,” she answered. “It’s good to meet you.”
Hudson grinned almost embarrassedly when he returned his hand to his coat pocket. “What do you do on the ship, Ms. Gemini?”
She grinned at his formality. “I’m an assistant to the Chief Security Officer.”
“Gosh, that sounds mighty important!”
She found a laugh. “It just means I help defend and protect my team. How about you?”
“I’m just a mechanic,” he said dismissively, “though there’s not been too much to work on anymore. Not a lot left that can be repaired, and not a lot left to repair it with.”
She noticed his demeanor shift, frowning as he spoke. “Is it that bad?”
Hudson again resorted to a shrug, and he almost couldn’t find words to go along with it. “It’s been real tough,” he admitted softly as he wrung his fingers together. “We’ve all lost friends ‘n family. Some days it’s real hard to keep enough goin’ for the ones still left.”
Their conversation fell to silence as her brows arched in sympathy, though it was soon interrupted when Will and Thomas returned.
“Dr. Crusher,” the commander called for the chief medical officer. “Mr. Hiller would like to speak to his people alone for a moment.”
“Of course,” the doctor gave a comforting smile to the brown-haired woman in front of her before she bent down to retrieve her medical kit.
Gemini watched as Beverly and Thomas switched places, with the mayor taking the woman gently into his arms. Gemini met Hudson’s eyes one last time before he, too, turned and rejoined the sixteen other residents of Westfall. Then, she followed Beverly outside.
“Mr. Hiller wanted time to present their options,” Will began once the four officers regrouped in the road outside of the chapel. “Though, it sounds to me like there’s very little that could be done for them here.”
“I would have to concur,” Beverly commented. “While they’re relatively healthy, every one of them is affected by malnutrition to some degree. They also have very little in the way of functional medical equipment; even their doctor is worried for when another medical emergency arises,” she ended with a sigh.
“I was talking to one of them, and he confirmed it’s not been easy. They’ve lost so many people; family members and friends...” Gemini trailed off.
“I informed the captain of my findings on the lack of viability of this planet,” Data added. “He awaits the rest of the team’s assessment.”
“I think we have more than enough evidence to present the idea of relocation to the captain and to Starfleet,” Will glanced among his team. “Since Earth set them up, they’ll be the first we contact about the situation.”
Data’s brows furrowed. “Question: why would Earth cease contact with one of their own settlements?”
“There’s no telling,” the first officer set his hands on his hips. “Two-hundred years ago, it’s possible the group setting up the colonies ran out of money and had no way to financially support their mission. It’s also possible they weren’t expecting the difficulties of maintaining a settlement at such a distance, and losing one of their towns to a natural disaster could have given them cold feet.”
“‘Cold feet’, sir?” Data blinked as the phrase was processed. “Ah—a loss of nerve preventing the completion of an action. A fear of carrying out an action. A sense of—”
“Data,” the three glanced at him.
He closed his mouth.
Beverly shook her head. “Either way, it’s imperative for their survival that they not stay here. I can cite a number of medical reasons if necessary.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Will gave her a short smile before tapping his badge. “Riker to Bridge,” he began.
“Go head, Number One,” the captain replied.
Will’s words were delayed when Mayor Thomas appeared in the doorway of the chapel. His expression was heavy with determination. The others were huddled at his back, peeking through the best they could.
“Whatever y’all decide... we’re ready.” He said firmly.
“Number One?” Jean-Luc’s voice came again.
Commander Riker nodded to Thomas. “Captain, the away team has much to discuss with you.”
“Understood. We’ll meet in the conference room upon your return. Picard, out.”
Will then squared up with Thomas. “Mayor Hiller, we’ll be in touch very soon. Transporter room: four to beam up.”
The townspeople of Westfall were wide-eyed as the four officers faded into beams of light, leaving sparkles dissipating into the cold air of the planet Braecia.
Scene Notes
- This story only briefly touches on those who lived in Westfall in order to keep focus tight on the "main players" - we're trying to stick to a single episode of Star Trek, after all!
- In Westfall, Hudson becomes the preacher, but to keep things a little simpler, he didn't in this timeline. Maybe something else happened that swayed the outcome of certain events 🤷