@mythtold, for the Doctor (whichever incarnation)
Saithra would be lying had she said that the team on this ship were trusting of her. She could hardly blame them. After all, until her, they had never heard of a Dominion-raised Yuan-Ti being able to be reasoned with, much less willing to work with other species. And it was a bit of a stretch to say that she was fully comfortable living among these warmbloods. She had spent her entire life being told of their barbarism, after all.
But the Federation, in all their so-called wisdom, has decided to give her a chance. Which meant she was serving on a starship. While the captain was nice enough, everyone else seemed to... keep their distance. Prey always did know when to cower and flee, she supposed. Part of her wondered if it was the scales, the fangs, the way her eyes could go into slits, or the tail that unnerved them the most.
She was going through equipment in a storage room for Medbay, grunge work, but it beat hearing people stumble over her name as they attempted to pull themselves together, when she turned a corner. That was when she saw it. A blue box. By first appearance, she would say wood, but it was far... louder... than any tree byproduct she had ever seen before.
She looked around the room once, then twice, for a sign of some people waiting just out of view for some elaborate hazing ritual. But there didn't seem to be one. On it was... old Earth writing. Three hundred years old, if she had to guess, but she wasn't an expert on languages. It was still close enough to Federation Standard that she could make it out, though. Police was some sort of old law enforcement, simple enough. But what a Public Call Box was was beyond her. Still, pull to open. She couldn't tell whether that was a great idea or a terrible idea.
But her curiosity was winning.
Slowly, she stepped toward the thing, going on to her tip toes to attempt to see in, but... the windows must be for show rather than function, for she could see nothing. A hand carefully goes to the door and, slowly, slow enough that, if something dreadful were to pop out, she wouldn't have much space to close it again. But nothing happened. With one last ounce of caution, she opened the door fully and walked in, pausing. She was in a different ship. A ship made of wood? That seemed like a horrible idea.
