Chapter 1

And so it begins ...

Coal was sitting on his bed in the palace. He was really missing camp fires at the moment. He never felt cold, but he really loved fires, mostly because of the way he could start them. After a while he lay down, his eyes heavy. The moment he closed his eyes an odd cold tingle traveled down his spine. He jolted to a sitting position, his eyes flaring open. To his astonishment he found himself on some metal floor. There were odd flashing lights around him and the whirring of strange machinery. He noticed a boy around his age sitting a few feet away from him. He was studying him with solemn, but warm, brown eyes. He had dark, messy hair strewn across his forehead. But the first thing Coal really noticed was his strange clothing. He was wearing a red long sleeved shirt with a strange insignia over the left side of the chest. Not able to help himself, Coal let out a snort of derision at the lack of style, looking down at himself. Only to gasp in surprise and horror, ... he was wearing the same outfit! Red shirt, black pants, black boots, ... oh great.

"Where am I?" Coal asked. "And even more what am I wearing?"

The boy just shrugged, "I don't know, a submarine maybe. As for what you're wearing it looks like one of the shirts from Star Trek. I really have no idea why."

Coal looked at him inquisitively, "Submarine? Star Trek?"

The boy opened his mouth to explain, but then thought better of it. He shrugged, "Hey, I was asleep in bed when I woke up here."

"So what's your name?" Coal asked.

"Dustin, how about you?"

"Coal," he said simply.

"Coal? That's an interesting name. This may sound a little odd, but I don't suppose you're from Earth?" Coal just returned a blank stare. What was this boy even talking about? "I'll take that as a no." Dustin frowned.

"Earth ... like, dirt?" Coal wasn't sure what to think.

"No, Earth like, a planet."

"Oh." Coal suddenly felt very confused, but decided to just forget it. Obviously they were both lost, and not where they should have been, "So, do you have any idea where we are?" He felt stupid asking it.

"Not a clue." ... well, at least he was sure now. He stood up slowly, extending his heat sensitive magic around him. The results made him sway and grab the wall, abruptly disoriented.

"You all right?" Dustin's face had a touch of worry as he stood too.

"I'm not sure. ... There is heat ... everywhere. It's all over, running through everything. the same kind of spark heat that lightning makes. ... Why is it everywhere?!!"

"It's all right!" Dustin reassured him, while looking more confused himself, "You can feel heat?" In response, Coal merely nodded, trying to gather his scattered wits. It was true. Dustin was giving off life heat, or the heat of a living creature, but all around him, bright white walls were giving off the same kind of heat as lightning, which he'd only touched once. It had been the most exhilarating moment of his life (Not really, but in the top ten) feeling the power flowing around them, he finally spoke.

"I can feel a big bunch of heat ... like a volcano ... except more powerful." He pointed to the right, "It's that way."

"It's probably what's running this ship." Dustin mused quietly, then spoke up," We should go check it out, I think it's a power source."

"It's like a sun." Coal was in awe of the power that was all around him, but broke out of his reverie suddenly when Dustin's words caught up with him, he whirled suddenly on the surprised young man, "Did you say ship?!!"

"Uhh ..." Dustin looked unsure of how he should respond, "Yeah."

"How is this a ship?? Where is the wood? Where is the smell of the ocean? Where is the swaying?"

Dustin looked like he was having an internal dilemma for a moment, then finally responded slowly, "There's more than one type of ship in the universe, and I think this one might be far, far underwater ..." He paused, looking at his shirt before continuing, "Or in space, among the stars."

"Space?!" This was all very hard to take in, but Dustin didn't really give Coal time to anyway.

"Let's go find that power source, it's probably very important, ... plus, it might give us a clue as to where we are." Coal didn't move. "Come on!" Dustin grabbed his arm, only to pull away when it burned his hand, but then he just grabbed Coal's shirt. "Don't you want to get home?"

That broke through to Coal's overworking brain, and he finally nodded, taking charge, "It's this way." He led the way as they walked through wires (That's what Dustin called them, and Coal wasn't about to argue.) and metal, ducking and dodging and passing things that Dustin described as control panels. Finally, they made it to what seemed like the corner of the "ship", where a little glass door was set against the wall. Coal walked right up to it, and tried to pry it open.

"I don't think that's a good idea, ... that's a radioactive sign." Dustin walked up warily behind him.

"Radioactive?" Coal looked over his shoulder in confusion, and Dustin got an exasperated look on his face. Then he seemed to think hard about his explanation.

"It means that there's stuff in the air in there that will kill you."

"Oh." Coal looked back at the glass, for some reason wanting very badly to go inside.

"So that's where the power source is? Just a guess." Dustin sat down against the wall.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Coal sat down next to him, trying to ignore the urge of just melting the door and going in, it would kill him, after all.

"Lucky guess." Coal guessed that it was probably more than luck, but didn't push his own with his obviously slightly irritated impromptu companion. Dustin looked tired, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. Coal remembered him saying that he'd been in bed.

As Dustin appeared to go to sleep, Coal turned to look through the glass again. There was a small room inside with another door beyond it. Beside the glass door next to him, he spied a "control panel." He figured that it probably opened the door, if what Dustin had said about them was anything to go by. He was just about to start messing with it when said Dustin spoke up.
"What are you doing?"

"I thought you were asleep!" Coal whirled around guiltily, and tried to cover up the fact that he had been about to try and open the door.

"Just thinking." Dustin sat up straighter, giving him a suspicious look, "What were you doing?"

"Nothing." Coal sat down next to him, hoping he would drop it, but no such luck.

"Yeah right." Dustin gave him an oddly knowing look as he glanced at the control panel by the door, "You were trying to get in there, weren't you?!!"

"NO!" Coal defended, why would I do that?! I would die!! You said so!"

"Then either you didn't believe me, or you're just stupid, because you were trying to get in there." Dustin had stood up by now, and was crossing his arms in a way that reminded Coal of Cort.

"I wasn't ... " He paused before finally letting out his breath, "All right, fine. I was."

"Why?" Dustin didn't look angry, just confused.

"I- I don't know." Coal had stood up by now as well, "I just- so much heat, so much power ... I have to see it, ...touch it ... I don't know why!! I just really want to!"

"I wish I could say I understand you, ... but I have no idea what to say to that." Dustin shook his head, "Maybe it's your connection with the heat ... I don't know ... just- fight it, okay?"

"Okay." Coal kept his eyes downcast, chagrined, but suddenly they shot up again, staring right at Dustin, "Someone is coming!" To his immense relief, his new-found companion didn't question how he knew that, but instead looked around the room.

"We have to hide somewhere!" Coal agreed with Dustin's comment, but following his lead, found that there was nowhere to hide, and if there was, there was no time to hide there, because just then, a voice came from behind them,

"Wha' in the name of all good thin's are you two doin' in here?!!"

"Uh..." They both spun around. Lucky for Coal, Dustin was really quick on his feet for giving answers.

"I'm sorry, I know where not supposed to be here, but it's our break and, well, he just really wanted to study the generator in a little more depth."

Coal was about to object to Dustin pinning it on him, but he figured he was the one who wanted to go in the room, so he mumbled a simple, "Sorry".

"Wha' are yer names lads?" the man asked. Now that Coal was looking him over he realized that the man was wearing the same red shirt he and Dustin were, except his had something on the cuffs.

"I'm Private-" the man have Dustin a funny look. "Wow, did I really say that, I swear I was thinking Ensign. Sorry, I'm Ensign Dustin Chase, and this is..."

"Ensign Coal Cassell," Coal said following Dustin's lead.

Apparently the story was convincing enough, but the man still looked suspicious.
"Did ye jus' say generator? Or are ye meanin' the warp core?"

"Warp core generator." Dustin amended, looking sidelong at Coal, obviously this man was very particular about how you talked about it.

"Aye." The man nodded, then continued staring at them. Coal finally decided to do something, and hoping he was using the right phrases, he started pulling Dustin out.

"Sorry we intruded, It was my fault, I promise not to do it again! But we'd better get going, we're due back soon!"

"Due back where?" The man with the funny accent stood in front of them, obviously not quite believing them. Coal and Dustin both froze, and Coal could only think, 'We're dead!'

"Well?" The man continued to look at them, expecting an answer, "Chase?" He looked at Dustin, obviously judging him to be the more responsible of the two. Coal's mind was running quicker than it ever had before, he thought of just knocking the man out, but that would be stupid ... what would Kett do? Kett faced situations like this every day ... Cort too ...

"If ye don' answer me-" The man never finished his threat, as just then, Coal pulled a Kett, letting his eyes roll back in his head and crumpling to the ground.

"Wha' in the name of- Wha's wrong with him?!!" The man cried, bending down next to him. Coal kept his eyes closed as Dustin caught onto his plan.

"Oh no! I was afraid this might happen!" He felt a hand feel his pulse on his wrist and neck.

"He's still alive, wha' happened to him?"

"He's fainted! He got too hot!" Dustin was obviously hinting at something, and Coal caught on only a moment later, granting the heat in him that he usually tried to keep in check a little freedom. "I knew it was a bad idea to come down here. This happens every once in a while."

"Well, then let's get him to Med-bay!" The man was the one who picked him up, ... or so Coal deduced when his strange accent got closer to his ear.

"I hope he doesn't lose to much of his memory." Dustin sounded worried.

"Lose his memory?"

"Yeah. He gets really hot, we'll be lucky if he can remember his name! It all comes back eventually. It usually doesn't take that long, but I think he's especially nervous. He really looks up to you, sir. And, well, you caught us doing something we shouldn't." Coal quickly caught on to what Dustin was saying, and mentally applauded him. That would give him the excuse of not really knowing anything at all. Now if Dustin could just take care of his own lack of knowledge problem, they'd be home free!

"Does he do this often?"

"It's a family condition. It doesn't happen too often, but it eventually took both his parents one night in their sleep." Dustin sounded sad. Coal had to admit, this guy knew what he was doing, he only hoped he could help him find a way back home.

"Well, there's nothin' tha' Doctor McCoy hasna been able to fix yet, I'm sure he'll be able to handle this." The man carrying him started sprinting.

"Yeah, I hope so, It's a pretty hopeless case, from what I've seen."

"When'd ye meet him? The acadamy?" Both Dustin and his carrier were now out of breath.

"Yeah. He was like a lost puppy. No friends, family or money, along with an incurable disease." Coal quietly resented how he was being portrayed, but at least they were learning something now. The bumpy ride came to a sudden stop and after a wooshing sound, they walked into another room. Coal knew this, because suddenly, there was a new smell (It smelled very clean, and a lot like soap.) along with quite a few voices.

"Something we can help you with, Mr. Scott?" A woman's voice came as Coal felt himself laid on what felt like a soft table.

"Did Scotty blow himself up again?!!" An angry voice came from the far end of the room.

"No Doctor, nae this time!" Scotty was still out of breath, "It's Ensign Cassell, he's had a faintin' spell!"

"Ensign who now?" The Doctor's (presumably Doctor McCoy) voice was much closer this time, and he still sounded just as mad.

"Ensign Cassell sir." Dustin spoke up.

"And you are ...?"

"Ensign Chase, I think I can tell you what's wrong with him."

"You should go back tae yer job lad, you've already told me everythin' we need tae know."

"With all due respect sir, Cassell is my friend, and I'm basically the closest thing he's got to family, I'd rather stay with him. He's going to forget a lot, I can already tell, he's never fainted this bad before!"

"Forget?" McCoy spoke up.

"It's a family condition Doctor." Scotty explained, "From what Ensign Chase told me, he gets too bloody hot, faints, and wakes up wi' amnesia. Incurable, apparently."

"Yeah, well appearances can be deceiving." McCoy scoffed.

"Doctor, we're ready to run the tests." The woman's voice from earlier was back. Tests? Coal didn't like the sound of that, and judging by his next words, neither did Dustin.

"What tests?"

"To find out what's wrong with him! What did you think?!!" McCoy growled, then gasped, "My G- Chapel, get in here and draw some blood! His heat readings are off the chart!!"

"Yes Doctor." Chapel replied, while Coal began debating making a run for it. Draw some blood? That didn't sound good no matter how you thought of it!! He felt a hand pat his own, and Dustin's voice sent relief crashing over him, he wouldn't let them do anything horrible ... Coal could trust Dustin ... right?

"Are you sure that doing a blood test is necessary?"

"'Course it is!' McCoy sounded affronted, "We've got to get his temperature down! No wonder you said he suffers from amnesia, with a temperature like that, he's lucky to be alive!" Coal felt a cool rag on his forehead, and a couple blankets put over him.

"Ready Doctor." Chapel was back.

"Thank you Chapel ..." There was a pause and then an exasperated McCoy spoke again, "Don't give me that look Chase, I'm just drawing a little blood, it's not going to kill him! In fact, in his state, it's not even going to hurt him!" Coal felt Dustin's hand on his one arm, comforting him, as they rolled up the sleeve of his other. How did he always get into these situations. He certainly didn't ask for them!

He felt a sting in his arm, and something cold entered it. It was definitely metal, and it took all of his willpower not to jump up, clock the doctor and run! He felt the sting end finally and heard a gasp from the nurse, "The needle melted!"

"Like I said, off the charts!" McCoy sounded disbelieving, "But we've got the blood, so let's go!"

"Do ye thin' he's some sort of alien?" Scotty sounded more than a little cautious.

"I don't know." Coal was sure that Dustin was answering truthfully.

"Well, I'll let ye stay here then." Scotty, was obviously on his way, "But don' ye be comin' back tae the warp core, hear me?"

"Yeah, Cassell was just curious." Dustin's voice smiled, "Don't worry, I'll keep him in check."

"Ye had better, 'cause if I find him in me space again, it's gamma shift for him!"

"Yes sir!" Dustin's reply had a slight laugh in it. A moment and a wooshing noise later, Dustin's voice was whispering next to his ear, "Nice idea, when are you going to wake up?"

"I dunno, when it's safe." Coal growled back, "But if they stick me one more time-"

"You need to cool down." Dustin spoke seriously, "Literally, cool down, then wake up."

"Got it." Coal nodded almost imperceptibly, "And you need to get hit on the head."

"That's the thanks I get for saving your butt?!!"

"NO!" Coal hissed, "Get hit on the head somehow, and lose half of your memory!"

"Oh! I get what you're saying now!" Dustin had to lower his voice again, "But how?"

"You're smart! You'll think of something!" Dustin was obviously about to answer when McCoy and Chapel came in.

"What did you find?" Dustin asked with sincere curiosity.

"He's got some strange alloy in his blood ... " McCoy sounded distressed, "We don't know if it's entirely possible to get rid of it, but we can neutralize it. We've developed a serum."

"Won't it wear off?" Dustin questioned. Coal had no idea what they were talking about.

"Yes, it will," McCoy sounded disappointed, "And in this early, hasty stage, it will probably only last for four hours, maximum."

"So how are you going to make that work?" Dustin's questions usually helped Coal figure things out, but now, they were just making it more confusing!

"He'll have to come in for regular doses." McCoy sounded annoyed, yet intrigued, "I've never once seen anything like it. He's generating all of that heat ... it's just, unnatural!" Coal could feel his arm getting prepped again, he knew what was coming. 'More blood?' He thought, 'why do they need more?!'

He again had to focus hard not to run away when he felt the needle penetrate his skin. But this time, he didn't feel anything going out. He felt something go it. It was cold. So very cold. Why was it so cold?

"It should be spreading through his system now." McCoy sounded triumphant. Coal felt panicked however when he felt the coldness spread through him. He felt his heat going down on it's own, and that's when he got scared.

"He should be waking up any minute now." Coal listened to the voices with horror as he felt the cold go through his body. Now he felt kindof the same as when he had a cold, except not quite as sick.

"I think he's waking up." Dustin's voice clearly said, *hint hint*. Then he nudged him, only to pull away in shock, "He's freezing!" It was true. Coal was freezing, and his firepower was gone.

He allowed his eyes to flutter slightly open, "Whe- where am I?" He met the gaze of a worried Dustin and a confused Doctor as he started to shiver.

"Why in the blazes is he so cold?" McCoy finally spoke up.

"Who are you?" Coal had to keep up his act, although now he was unable to stop his teeth from chattering, "Who am I?!" He started to sit up, alarmed, when Dustin stopped him, giving him a meaningful worried look.

"You're Ensign Coal Cassell."

"Ensign?" Maybe now he'd get some answers.

Author's Note

If you read this, congratulations, you have a brain of steel. Continue if you would like it to become mush.

Reviews

[LunarSong]

How is this so long? Didn't read it, but I just have to comment... Whatever, I'm sure we were brilliant. I wonder if we can distinguish who wrote what. If people actually read this... Well your author's comment is amusing but slightly true.

[Calibaster]

It's totally true. :) you should be my proofreader/editor since I put it all together.

[LunarSong]

Haha, so, you want me to go through and point out all the errors I see? Because I can't edit the stuff.

[Calibaster]

I guess. That sounds fine.

[LunarSong]

Haha. And we probably won't be sure on whose errors they are. Because sometimes I really can't tell who wrote what. I really can't, and that's kind of strange, because I wrote part of it!

[LunarSong]

Well then... I was rather hasty in getting it started, wasn't I. Imagine how much longer this would be if we were writing it with the same amount of detail novels have!

When Dustin is specifying Earth, the comma needs to go after Earth, not like.

Fix 'Well there's nothin' that' Dr. McCoy "hasna" been able to fix." I believe you need an "e" in there.

Other than that, I believe our grammar is amazing. Our pacing is horrible, but the grammar is great. Also, you know, I swear most of this chapter was you after Coal pretended to faint.

[Calibaster]

I think it was. Thanks

[LunarSong]

Yep. Yep, yep.

[Calibaster]

Did you just quote Ducky from Land Before Time?

[LunarSong]

Haha, no, it wouldn't just let me put yep, I needed 10 syllables, so I put it three times.

[Calibaster]

Oh. Just checking.

[LunarSong]

Yep... I used to love Land Before Time though... I haven't watched that in ages.

[Calibaster]

I used to too.

[LunarSong]

Yep, should we watch it?

[Calibaster]

... that's actually not a bad idea ... but not the first one. ... I'll cry.

[LunarSong]

Hahah... is that where... his mom dies? I really can't remember them that well. I just remember some of their names and what they look like... maybe a little more, but not much.

[Calibaster]

Yeah, it's the one where his mom dies. Really sad ...

[LunarSong]

Yep, I do vaguely remember.