Telsia had only been to earth once, and that was during her terms in Starfleet Academy. And although that had only been three and a half years, she could see how much her history had evolved and developed over the past four hundred years. Everything here seemed so�primitive.
The one thing Telsia could identify with here were the children and homeless people inhabiting the streets. She could see the hopelessness in their eyes, the longing to be safe, to be secure. She used to have that look in her eyes. It had been there, even in Starfleet. It had finally disappeared when she joined the Maquis.
Bringing herself back to the present, she looked at her team and began to evaluate each and everyone one of them from the time she had spent with each. The one she knew best was Mitch, but the other three she was well acquainted with because of the Hazard Team.
Of course, Tuvok would have chosen Austin for a mission as this even if there was no need for a demolitionist. Austin was one of the most level-headed members of the Hazard Team. Being of low social life and extremely shy, he had the ability to remain calm in a crisis, and knew when it was wise to intercede to help other people.
Juliet was generally chosen to accompany Austin on away missions, mainly because of the explosions he was responsible for. Though incredibly careful, there were sometimes injuries involved. Juliet was needed to tend to these injuries so no further damage could be done. But Telsia had recently begun to notice some kind of tension between the two, perhaps an attraction of some sort.
Mike Jaworski was the one Telsia didn�t feel too settled with. Though generally an all-around nice guy, he used to have hostile feelings toward the former Maquis. After a fight he started with Kenn Lathrop, he had resolved his differences with all the Maquis, except for Mitch. Telsia didn�t know why, but Mike had a tendency to ignore him greatly and showed him a lack of the respect that he held for the former Maquis now.
Mitch was aware of Mike�s lack of respect and never questioned it. He was his own person and decided to live by his own standards. Everyone knew he was an eager young man, but too much of a gambler at times. Telsia remembered several incidents with the Maquis when he took the greatest risks involved in missions and almost didn�t make it out alive. Sometimes he was a risk in itself for any mission he went on.
Telsia looked at every one of them, knowing they should discuss their current situation. They had been walking around for at least an hour now, and they still had no idea what to do. Being the leader, Telsia knew it was her motive to decide what to do. She stopped everyone.
�All right.� She said. �I�m clueless, and I don�t know what to do. Do you have any suggestions?�
�Maybe we should get off the streets.� Mitch suggested. �I think maybe seeing five adults walking around not knowing what they�re doing is looking a little suspicious to some people.�
�There�s a restaurant right there.� Juliet pointed to a building with the word �Tibby�s� painted in the windows. �I don�t know about you, but I�m getting a little hungry.�
�Alright.� Telsia decided. �Let�s get something to eat and discuss the situation from there.�
She led the away team into the restaurant. It was fairly empty, only two men in business suits were seated at a table sipping coffee. This seemed like a good place to talk.
�Hello.� A waiter approached the team. �My name�s Frank. Can I show you to a table?�
�Yes, please.� Telsia said.
�Follow me, please.�
He led them to a round table with six chairs and removed one. Then the team sat down and Frank showed them the chalkboard with the special items for the day.
�Our special for today is the borscht.� Frank informed.
Telsia couldn�t help but grimace at the menu. Everything on the menu seemed like things the Bajorans had to eat during the Cardassian Occupation. Beans, coleslaw, borscht, split pea soup, bread, and little else made Telsia crave even Neelix�s cooking.
�I�ll try the borscht.� Mike spoke up bravely.
�Very good.� Frank wrote the order on a pad of paper. �Would you like anything to drink?�
�What do you have?�
�Water, lemonade, milk, coffee.�
�Coffee sounds good.�
�I�ll have a coffee too.� Austin ordered.
�Anything to eat?�
�The soup, I guess.�
�I�ll take some coleslaw and coffee, please.� Juliet said.
�I�ll just have coffee for now.� Telsia said. �I�ll order something else later.�
�Can I get some beans?� Mitch asked.
�Certainly.�
�Mitch�� Telsia tone held warning.
�Don�t worry, I won�t use �em like I did that one time to scare off Neelix.�
�Anything else?� Frank asked.
�We�re fine.� Telsia confirmed.
Frank went to the kitchen, and Telsia leaned over the table.
�All right.� She said. �First things first, we need to find a place to stay so we know where we can regroup after searching for this ship. Juliet, can our tricorders pick up readings?�
Juliet shook her head. �Not unless we�re within ten meters of it. We�ll have to search this entire vicinity.�
�Unless there�s a quicker way.� Mitch suggested.
�Can any of you think of any?� Telsia asked.
No one said anything, and Telsia felt her stomach sink. How were they going to do this? They had six more days to find the ship and destroy it. Would that be enough time?
The door opened and two young men and one young woman entered. Telsia glanced at them and observed for a few seconds. One man had blonde hair and spectacles, the other had brown hair and very bright blue eyes that had a rather superior look to them. The girl was a brunette who was clinging to the blonde boy�s arm as they all sat down at a table.
Frank came out and his face brightened when he saw the three. He walked over to their table.
�Hello newsies, what�s new?�
The girl laughed. �Nothing much, just some odd story about some strange light that appeared over High Street.�
The away team heard and listened closely. Telsia knew that somehow this strange light that girl spoke of had to do with Keptik�s ship.
�You think it�s the same one?� Juliet wondered.
�We should investigate.� Telsia said.
�Hey wait, I got an idea.� Mike spoke up.
�Let�s hear it.�
�Frank called those kids newsies. I spent some time reading about history last night and I remember something about newsies.�
�What about them?� Austin asked.
�Newsies were kids who sold newspapers. They were the most informed people in the towns, and they covered a lot of territory in the cities.� He lowered his voice. �I think maybe we should try to work with these newsies. They would prove to be quite useful for us.�
�But�you said they were kids. We aren�t kids.� Telsia said.
�I don�t think they would really care at all. We could probably pass off for nineteen if they didn�t ask our ages.�
�Only if you�d shave.� Mitch suggested. �Then you�d like seventeen.�
Mike frowned and covered his upper lip with his hand. �I like my mustache.�
�I�m just saying that if you shaved, you�d look more like a kid. I don�t think a lot of these kids will have facial hair.�
�I have to agree.� Telsia muttered. �You would look more like a kid if you shaved.�
�I don�t think I can pull this off.� Austin spoke up.
�Why not?�
�I�m the oldest out of all you.�
�You�re only a year older than me.�
�But if I masqueraded as a kid, I could never pull it off. You four could.�
�So where would you go?� Juliet questioned.
�I was thinking about that.� He looked at Mike. �You said that these kids sold newspapers. Where would they get these?�
�I think I remember that they got their papers at a distribution yard.�
Austin nodded. �Maybe I could find a job there. That way I could examine the headlines beforehand and let you know what I�ve found out.�
�How?�
�Juliet and I. We can communicate telepathically when we�re close enough.�
�Sounds good,� Juliet said, �but would it be safe for you to be by yourself in this situation?�
�I�ll manage. I can meet up with you here around mealtimes.�
�I still don�t like it.�
�But I�m in charge.� Telsia rose to her command position. �I think we can give this a try. We�ll try to work with these newsies. Mike, Mitch and Juliet, you�ll be with me. Austin, I want you to keep your communicator open at all times so we can contact you or vice versa. That goes for all of you. If anything you think is important occurs, contact me immediately.�
�Understood.� Austin confirmed. �I should get underway immediately. I�ll let you know of my progress.�
�Be careful.� Juliet translated telepathically. �You know as well as I that if we meet up with Keptik, you and I are most vulnerable because we�re also telepathic.�
�I�ll be fine, Juliet.� He assured.
�Good luck, Austin.� Telsia offered.
�Yeah, good luck.� Mitch and Mike echoed.
Austin nodded the team, then left the restaurant. By then, the plates of food had arrived, and Telsia's stomach turned. Whatever this "food" was, it certainly didn't seem appealing at all.
"Enjoy!" Frank called as he left.
"Ugh." Mitch muttered. "I think right now I'd kill for some of Neelix's Enaren algae puffs."
"Or his Bolian souffl�." Mike added.
"Look, I know this is somewhat�primitive," Telsia said, "but it's what this timeline has to offer. You guys eat, I'll go speak with those newsies over there."
"Oh sure, you're gonna leave us to eat this�this�this?" Mitch wondered.
"As the leader of this mission, yes!" she grinned teasingly. "I'll be back."
Telsia watched the three newsies as she strode toward them. She sensed their background was similar to hers; being orphaned in a strange place, having to fend for themselves and find ways of surviving any way they could.
She was only six when her parents were killed in an explosion while boarding a ship for Risa. The planet of her birth, Bellatrix V, was what she would consider the garbage dump of the Alpha Quadrant. Women were treated as nothing more than possessions for men to use whenever they wanted. Age didn�t matter to the Orion men. Any woman, no matter what her age or size, was to be conquered and dominated.
Human women were generally rare on Bellatrix V; therefore, Telsia was quite the target for the Orion men. She learned quickly to avoid them first by running away. But sometimes, she was caught. Those few times she was caught, she had managed to escape with little bodily harm. Through this, she taught herself how to fight and defend herself against men nearly twice her size.
She had been forced to seek refuge within the slum regions of towns. The only means of surviving was to linger near marketplaces at steal when the sellers weren�t looking. By the time Telsia was twelve, she had mastered the art of thievery. She had also become quite good at being able to hide and sneak in and out of heavily guarded places. Her knowledge of such things had been highly beneficial for the Maquis.
It was when she turned thirteen when she had finally been caught. Cornered by an elderly man, he offered her a home and to mentor her to read, write, and learn the history of the galaxy. Through much encouraging, Telsia eventually agreed cautiously and entered the home of this man.
Xander, as he had requested she call him, proved to be true to his word. He presented her with many books on history and science and many other sources of information that Telsia never would have guessed this planet would have. For a year, Xander instructed and taught her many things, and she caught on quickly.
Her skills with being able to fight impressed Xander much. After her fourteenth birthday and nearly a year after he took her in, Xander suggested she join Starfleet Academy. He said her fighting skills would provide her with a good record and she would be accepted right away.
Within two months, Telsia left Bellatrix and Xander for her home planet of Earth. She had never been to Earth before, so the experience was simply fascinating. Yet Starfleet was much more extreme than she had expected.
Strict rules were set, ones that Telsia wasn�t used to following. She had difficulty adjusting to such a life throughout her three and a half years there. Constant fighting with instructors and students was having a bad impact on her record. Xander often contacted her, but with inspiration and hope that she would graduate with honors.
The only honors she would be receiving would be for her mastery with weapons. The moment she picked up a phaser compression rifle, she knew the weapon and was in control. Her proficient skills in sniping impressed even Admiral Paris and Jean-Luc Picard. She had even been commemorated by Captain Picard, one that Xander was proud to hear about.
Still, the firm ways of Starfleet weighed heavily on Telsia. She had tried her hardest to adapt to terms, but they only seemed to toughen against her. With less then a year left before she graduated, she notified Xander that she had dropped out of Starfleet. He was quite disappointed with her and wondered where she would go next. She had no answers right away and lived in New Chicago on the Moon for two weeks to re-evaluate her life�s directions.
Within those two weeks, Telsia met Garren, a Bajoran no older than she who was on his way to defend his home planet of Bajor against the Cardassians. He told her of the Maquis, former Starfleet officers who were holding this defense against the Cardassians. She decided to join him, despite the fact that she had heard of the Maquis being referred to as terrorists among Federation Space.
Telsia found herself welcomed warmly at the Maquis base, for another cadet she had been familiar with had dropped out earlier and told the Maquis of her skills. Chakotay was the most impressed and asked her and Garren to be assigned to his crew.
Telsia shook her head. She could no longer focus on the past. She now realized that meeting young men and women who had similar pasts to her own was stimulating the memories of her younger years. Now was not the time, not when Earth�s future was in her hands.
She reached the table the newsies were seated at. She smiled softly.
�Hello.� She said. �May I sit here?�
�Sure!� the brunette boy said, scooting over. �Have a seat.�
She seated herself and folded her hands. When the girl smiled at her, she suddenly felt shy.
�Hi.� The girl said. �What�s your name?�
�Telsia.�
�Telsia?� the blonde boy repeated. �That�s a weird name. Pretty, but I ain�t never heard it before.�
�Not many have.� She inhaled. �I heard that waiter refer to you as newsies.�
�That�s right! M� name�s Dutchy. That�s Snoddy sittin� next t� ya, and this�s my girl, Cyanne.�
�Nice to meet you.� Cyanne said.
�And you. I was asking that because I�m interested in becoming a newsie.�
�Really?� Snoddy asked.
�Yes. So are my friends over there.� She gestured to where the away team was seated. �We�re all interested in becoming newsies.�
�Whoa.� Dutchy muttered. �Looks like Snitch �n� Itey won�t be th� only ones doublin� up on a bunk.�
�Excuse me?�
�Ah, we got two newsies who share a bunk cuz we ain�t got th� room. Unless Jack leaves Swifty in th� refuge. Then we�ll �ave �n extra bunk open.�
�So�how do you become a newsie?�
�I guess ya are one, now.� Snoddy said. �But ya gotta wait for Jack t� come by. �E�s th� leader, so we gotta let �im know we got new recruits.�
�Very well.� Telsia rose. �I�ll call my friends over.�
