The Sausalito officers awoke to the sounds of yelling and metal clanking against itself. 

“Where are we?” inquired T’Shan as they looked around.

They appeared to be in some sort of courtyard, near some castle ruins. They began walking toward the sounds and quickly came upon a group of men that were fencing with rapiers, a straight-bladed, edged (often doubled-edged) weapon. Some of the men were wearing blue tunics and the others dawned red ones. There was definitely no love lost between any of them. There were only four men in the blue tunics, and they were easily outnumbered by at least two to one. However, they were holding their own. The officers ducked behind a huge rock and watched the action.

“A tricorder would be of some use.” said T’Shan. “We have no way of knowing when we are or even where we are.”

Fortunately, Ki was a history buff of old Earth. “I believe we are somewhere in Paris, France, sometime during the seventeenth century. And those men in blue were referred to as Musketeers. They were the Kings personal guards at the time, which was Louis XIII. The ones in red worked for the Cardinal. He was the religious leader and a trusted member of the King’s court.”

“Did the two groups often battle amongst themselves?” asked T’Shan.

“Yes.” replied Ki. “According to history, the Cardinal often plotted against the King and attempted to assassinate him on several occasions. The Musketeers thwarted those plans quite often. The Cardinal was eventually outed and arrested. The King lived a long and happy life. He ruled France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and was regarded as one of the most powerful rulers in Europe.”

“The…Musketeers, was it?” Hammond asked Ki. “They seem very well trained. They have already dispatched several of their foes.”

He had yet to remove his eyes from the action as the women spoke. He was totally entranced by the movements. It was as if the men were preforming a very well-choreographed dance. They would thrust and parry each other with such grace and ease. That was, until one of them would make a mistake and leave an opening and then they were dealt a death thrust. The four Musketeers had already removed four of the ten men in red. 

As everyone turned their attention back to the action, one of the Musketeers could be seen making his way up a decrepit set of stairs as he fought off two men in red. The other three Musketeers disposed of their combatants and had gathered in the courtyard just several yards from the Suasalito crew. They too were watching the action on the stair way. The Musketeer on the stairway had just stuck his weapon into the body of one of his opponents when the second was drawing back to swipe his own across the back of the neck. Hammond was so entranced, he couldn’t stop himself from calling out.

“LOOK OUT!” he yelled before he knew what he could realize what he was doing.

His crew mates suddenly looked at him in horror and the three Musketeers in the courtyard suddenly turned and drew their weapons. The Federation officers turned and ran back the way they had come with the King’s men in pursuit. 

“Halt. In the name of the King!” came a call from behind them.

Hammond and the others continued running. They had a good lead and, though they had no idea where they were headed, they were feeling confident in their escape. However, it seemed as if the fourth man had disposed of his second enemy and was now standing before them. They crew slid to a stop. They were suddenly surrounded.

The four men looked from the officers to one another. 

“Your tunics aren’t familiar to us. What regiment are you with?” asked the one that appeared to be their leader.

“We are Tercio.” quickly responded Ki.

“Terico? Since when does the Spanish allow women and blacks into their Army?” laughed one of the other Musketeers.

“It’s a new training program. We are here to observe the Musketeers and learn from you as well.” she answered.

T’Shan and Hammond just stood by and allowed her to lead the way. She was the historian here after all.

“And you have papers to prove this?” asked a third swordsman.

“Um, papers? No. Not on us. They are back in the barracks.” said Ki.

“You look sort of nervous. I tell you what. We will just go back to your barracks and get your papers. Then this will all be settled. How does that sound?” asked the leader.

The seven of them began walking with one of the Musketeers in the lead. The Starfleet officers had no idea where they were headed. The Musketeer that had done most of the talking stepped up to walk beside Ki.

“So what is up with the ears on the other female?” he asked with a nod toward T’Shan.

“She had an accident when she was a child.” responded Ki. “It was the best the surgeons could do.”

Ki picked up her pace and caught up to T’Shan and Hammond.

“What do we do when we reach the barracks?” asked Hammond with concern in his voice.

“I don’t know.” was all Ki could say.

“We could try to take them.” said T’Shan. “Then we could escape to a safe location until we can figure out how to return to the Sausalito.”

“I don’t know. They’re pretty good with those rapiers.” said Hammond as they continued walking.

A few minutes later, they were approaching what appeared to be the barracks and training ground of the Musketeers.

“Athos. Who do you have there?” called a much older man in a blue tunic.

“They claim to be Spanish soldiers.” answered the ones now known as Athos. 

“I think they’re spies.” called the heavy set one from behind them.

“You think everyone is a spy, Porthos.” laughed the old man. “Aramis? D’Artagnan? You two have an opinion you want to share.”

“Not really.” said the youngest looking one. “I just think their tunics are funny looking.”

“Any ways.” injected Athos. “They claim that their papers are in their barracks. Where is the Spanish regiment located?”

“We don’t currently have any Spanish within the region.” said the older man.

“See? Spies.” called the one now known as Porthos. “I say we throw them in the Bastille and sort it out later.”

“What’s this Bastille?” Hammond asked Ki.

“Prison.” she said earnestly.

“We can not go to prison.” Hammond replied.

“We may not have any choice. We can’t produce papers and we can’t prove who we are or why we are here.” she answered. “And I don’t think we would be able to escape from them right now.”

“Well. They said they were here to observe and train. I say we test them and see what they have learned.”

“That sounds like a terrific idea, D’Artagnan.” said Porthos. “We may not even need to waste the room at the Bastille.” he added as he laughed.

“We can’t run and we definitely can’t fight them.” said Hammond. “You saw what they did to those other men. We’d be no match for them. It would be over just as soon as it started.”

“Logic would dictate that I be the one to wield the weapon.” answered T’Shan. “Vulcans are a quick study and while I only observed them briefly, I believe I took in enough to learn their ways and have the best chance at survival.”

“Okay.” called Ki. “Our best swordsman against yours. And when we win, you set us free.”

“You mean if you win.” said D’Artagnan as he stepped forward and drew his rapier.

T’Shan took a step forward as well and one of the soldiers off to her side tossed her a sword. They presented themselves and took their stances. Hammond and Ki were quickly impressed with how well T’Shan was handling herself. The two warriors were going through all the motions. They each would take turns with the required steps and again, Hammond thought of it as a choreography. Slash. Parry. Lunge. Faint. Pivot. Dodge. It was a beautiful sight, even with them in danger. T’Shan dodged another thrust and spun around to avoid a swing but when she turned back, she dropped her guard. This allowed D’Artagnan a huge opening, and he took it. Ki and Hammond both gasped as they watched the rapier head straight for her heart. A bright flash of light took them just before the blade punctured her skin. A second later, the officers found themselves back on the Sausalito where they began.