Holy wormholes, Pinnochio!
Strangely enough, mib_khan (and his defective clone, Pinnochio) made it safely to the Bajor system without being discovered. This was not what Khan had expected when the two of them escaped from the ISS Murgatroid. After doing some research, Khan figured out the answer.
Ships that fly faster than light tend to need warp engines. Warp engines are powerful and dangerous devices and their ownership and usage tended to be highly regulated. Ships tended to travel in convoys (so that they could be watched by the Empire) and the advent of molecular replication meant that trade among the stars was now more often information than actual atoms or molecules. Every so often, the shuttlepod's identity was queried by automated buoy systems, but when the buoy IFF systems read that the ISS Catamite was part of the ship complement of the iss_murgatroid, no further questions were asked. Whatever chaos Khan had left behind in his wake had been sufficient that the Imperium's "Identify Friend or Foe" systems were not looking out for him.
Khan took care to not fly close to Bajor on his way to the wormhole. Ship's systems indicated that the sector was very quiet on the subspace channels...this might have been one of the star systems "sterilized" by the Empire. Khan didn't plan to investigate, but instead intended to complete his escape and get back to sanity...or whatever passed for it on the uss_murgatroid. Without any difficulty, the shuttlepod found and entered the Bajoran wormhole...and then things got difficult.
Khan had done his best to reconstruct his incursion apparatus during their flight, but not everything he needed was available to him, even with replicator technology. He was able to successfully scan the wormhole, looking for the "hole" he expected to find that would lead back to his home universe...but had no success. That only left one option...an option that a Ferengi would approve of. Khan began searching for Prophets.
As if by magic, a planetoid appeared inside the wormhole moments after Khan had made up his mind to search for Bajor's gods. Khan landed the shuttlepod, noted the presence of an M-class atmosphere outside the pod, and exited with Pinnochio. Starfleet records about the Prophets were sketchy, but it seemed as if the Prophets appeared as people Khan would recognise. This made him both pleased and scared.
The two clones walked around the shuttlepod, looking for signs of humanoid intelligence. At first, none could be found...but soon a trio of humanoids walked out from behind some foliage. Khan noted the presence of a Jellico, a Storvik, and a Lothar. Khan's anxiety did not decrease at the sight of familiar faces. After spending what seemed like a lifetime in the grip of a notsonicekhan, familiar faces only made him wary.
The Jellico cleared his throat and said, "You ain't from around here, are ya, boys?" In unison, Khan and Pinnochio shook their heads. The Storvik nodded, then added, "Fascinating." The Lothar belched. The belch fumes were intoxicating...and more than a little tempting. Khan had been sober too long for comfort. Khan cleared his suddenly dry throat, then said, "O wise prophets, my clone and I would like to go home. We just don't know how to get there." In an unreassuring fashion, the Lothar belched again, fell over, and started snoring.
The Jellico winked at Khan, turned his head, and gave a wolf whistle into the bushes. A squad of green women hurried out, picked up Jellico, and carried him off over their heads. The only remaining (vertical) Prophet was the Storvik. That entity pointed at Khan's feet, which were no longer garbed in standard boots, but were instead sheathed in some sort of sequined soft shoe. It was a style of which Khan was unfamiliar, and was very red and sparkly. "Commander," began the Storvik, "you have had the power to go home all along. Simply return to your conveyance, click your heels together three times, and say 'There's no place like home'." Khan blinked in confusion, then opened his mouth to ask a question. The Storvik sighed an irritated sigh, then said sotto voce "What is it with these humanoids? Don't they know how to take a hint?" He tapped his combadge, and a security team emerged from the bushes behind the Storvik. They pointed weapons at the pair of clones and said in unison, "Get off our paradise." Khan and Pinnochio now took the hint and beat feet back inside the shuttlepod. The planetoid evaporated out from under the shuttlepod, and Khan looked at Pinnochio, who shrugged. Khan then clicked his heels together three times, said "There's no place like home" out loud, and flew out of the wormhole.
Having forgotten to turn the ISS Catamite's transponder off, the two of them were shot out of the sky by Federation-armed Bajoran forces within 15 seconds of emerging from the wormhole. Luckily for them, the Bajorans were good shots, and the disabled but not destroyed shuttlepod was towed to Deep Space Nine and its crew complement taken immediately to detention.
In their cell, Khan and Pinnochio looked at each other. Khan sighed and said, "Well, at least we're familiar with the interrogation procedures here. And the food's better...and at least not intentionally poisoned." Pinnochio giggled, then laid down on his cot and dropped off to sleep. Khan pondered Pinnochio's choice, found merit in it, and followed suit.
Ships that fly faster than light tend to need warp engines. Warp engines are powerful and dangerous devices and their ownership and usage tended to be highly regulated. Ships tended to travel in convoys (so that they could be watched by the Empire) and the advent of molecular replication meant that trade among the stars was now more often information than actual atoms or molecules. Every so often, the shuttlepod's identity was queried by automated buoy systems, but when the buoy IFF systems read that the ISS Catamite was part of the ship complement of the iss_murgatroid, no further questions were asked. Whatever chaos Khan had left behind in his wake had been sufficient that the Imperium's "Identify Friend or Foe" systems were not looking out for him.
Khan took care to not fly close to Bajor on his way to the wormhole. Ship's systems indicated that the sector was very quiet on the subspace channels...this might have been one of the star systems "sterilized" by the Empire. Khan didn't plan to investigate, but instead intended to complete his escape and get back to sanity...or whatever passed for it on the uss_murgatroid. Without any difficulty, the shuttlepod found and entered the Bajoran wormhole...and then things got difficult.
Khan had done his best to reconstruct his incursion apparatus during their flight, but not everything he needed was available to him, even with replicator technology. He was able to successfully scan the wormhole, looking for the "hole" he expected to find that would lead back to his home universe...but had no success. That only left one option...an option that a Ferengi would approve of. Khan began searching for Prophets.
As if by magic, a planetoid appeared inside the wormhole moments after Khan had made up his mind to search for Bajor's gods. Khan landed the shuttlepod, noted the presence of an M-class atmosphere outside the pod, and exited with Pinnochio. Starfleet records about the Prophets were sketchy, but it seemed as if the Prophets appeared as people Khan would recognise. This made him both pleased and scared.
The two clones walked around the shuttlepod, looking for signs of humanoid intelligence. At first, none could be found...but soon a trio of humanoids walked out from behind some foliage. Khan noted the presence of a Jellico, a Storvik, and a Lothar. Khan's anxiety did not decrease at the sight of familiar faces. After spending what seemed like a lifetime in the grip of a notsonicekhan, familiar faces only made him wary.
The Jellico cleared his throat and said, "You ain't from around here, are ya, boys?" In unison, Khan and Pinnochio shook their heads. The Storvik nodded, then added, "Fascinating." The Lothar belched. The belch fumes were intoxicating...and more than a little tempting. Khan had been sober too long for comfort. Khan cleared his suddenly dry throat, then said, "O wise prophets, my clone and I would like to go home. We just don't know how to get there." In an unreassuring fashion, the Lothar belched again, fell over, and started snoring.
The Jellico winked at Khan, turned his head, and gave a wolf whistle into the bushes. A squad of green women hurried out, picked up Jellico, and carried him off over their heads. The only remaining (vertical) Prophet was the Storvik. That entity pointed at Khan's feet, which were no longer garbed in standard boots, but were instead sheathed in some sort of sequined soft shoe. It was a style of which Khan was unfamiliar, and was very red and sparkly. "Commander," began the Storvik, "you have had the power to go home all along. Simply return to your conveyance, click your heels together three times, and say 'There's no place like home'." Khan blinked in confusion, then opened his mouth to ask a question. The Storvik sighed an irritated sigh, then said sotto voce "What is it with these humanoids? Don't they know how to take a hint?" He tapped his combadge, and a security team emerged from the bushes behind the Storvik. They pointed weapons at the pair of clones and said in unison, "Get off our paradise." Khan and Pinnochio now took the hint and beat feet back inside the shuttlepod. The planetoid evaporated out from under the shuttlepod, and Khan looked at Pinnochio, who shrugged. Khan then clicked his heels together three times, said "There's no place like home" out loud, and flew out of the wormhole.
Having forgotten to turn the ISS Catamite's transponder off, the two of them were shot out of the sky by Federation-armed Bajoran forces within 15 seconds of emerging from the wormhole. Luckily for them, the Bajorans were good shots, and the disabled but not destroyed shuttlepod was towed to Deep Space Nine and its crew complement taken immediately to detention.
In their cell, Khan and Pinnochio looked at each other. Khan sighed and said, "Well, at least we're familiar with the interrogation procedures here. And the food's better...and at least not intentionally poisoned." Pinnochio giggled, then laid down on his cot and dropped off to sleep. Khan pondered Pinnochio's choice, found merit in it, and followed suit.