"Condition Yellow" Part II (Continuing the "Hot Rods" story) 
By
Lieutenant Commander Brianna O'Shea, Chief Engineer/SEC
Lieutenant Michael Jamson, Operations Officer
Lieutenant Jiiles, Engineering Officer
Ensign Marcus Slayton, Engineering Officer
Ensign Richard "Ringo" Langly, Engineering Officer
Senator Ramir Omar, Romulan Ambassador
"'Commander O'Shea, may I interrupt?" Jamson rose from his virtual working station. "There a matter that requires your attention".
Anna looked over at Michael. She then looked back to Ramir. "Excuse me a moment." Anna said, then turned and walked over toward Jamson with a thankful sigh that only Michael could hear. Anna wanted to tell Michael how thankful she was for his interruption. The chaos of her life is playing heavy on the heart of someone who is a control freak herself. "What's up, Michael?" Anna asked, using his first name. Standing there beside him she waited for him to tell her what she needed to look at.
Michael was surprised to hear his first name instead of his last, in addition to his rank. It was unusual for him as no one called him Michael except for the ones close to him, most of them dead by now, or Karyn who tried to provoke him in the past. "As Lieutenant Jiiles pointed out...and from my latest scans, it seems like the Gel packs aren't reacting too well to the holographic matter conversion sub system".
"We figured as much." Anna said, folding her arms over her body.
Jamson nodded "Yes. Since Gel packs can't be replicated...and again, since these are prototypes-" Jamson glanced to the Romulan who was standing just a few meters away, "They can't seem to interact with the holo-replicator and matter system".
"Okay... let me think.." Anna said, pausing for a moment to reflect. "Which part isn't interfacing with the gel packs?" Anna asked.
"The holographic plasma power relays and conduits aren't doing their job, the gel packs simply won't accept them. Something isn't quite right..." Jamson said, and Jiles, who's voice grew quieter as he pondered through the options continued, "we could hook the gel packs up to a power cell." he ran the data through, the padd, "No!" he concluded shaking his head, "It would work but the energy drain is too much and too fast. it wouldn't hold long enough.. Humm. we could." his fingers darted over the padd and he turned sharply to the consol Jamson was working on. His hands flew over the consol as he brought up a verity of possibilities, dismissing them as quickly as he had thought of them.
Looking both at Michael and Jiiles ,she nodded and walked over and picked up one of the gel packs. "What about the option of splicing them into the Galaxy's system?" Anna asked, "don't like the idea, but I'm sure we can set up a partial containment to secure ship systems? No telling what could happen integrating new technology like this into the Galaxy which hasn't been retrofitted for it."
Jiiles stared at O'Shea for a moment "The gel packs won't accept anything from a replicated power source. The only way to get them working, and these tests underway, is to give them that energy. Power cells aren't powerful enough but the power from the plasma conduits would be prefect. I'm sure it 's not a recommended procedure, but it's the only one we have."
"I am against it for the reasons you have suggested, but as Jiiles stated, this is the only choice we have at the moment. Again, as long as we do not connect any of the new gel packs onto the real replicator, ODN fibers, power relays and distribution system, we should be in the clear. All we need is real plasma, and some of the conduits over there should offer a solution" Jamson agreed.
"Are you sound and sure about using plasma?" Anna asked, turning back now to look directly at Michael. "Won't that overload them?"
"No" Jamson said clearly." The EPS-Electro Plasma system is divided into several stages of conduits, each one performing similar yet more functional set of tasks. The level of conduit depends on it's location on the ship and function. Each location requires certain different functionality as I've stated earlier. The stage levels plasma conduits which connect to the holodecks are levels 3 and 4. The holosuite has two primary subsystems, the matter conversion and holographic imagery systems. These are based on the replicator and transporter main systems which require a lot of power. There are protective forcefields on those conduits, plus, we have constrictors on each junction and power grids to stabilize the plasma, so we shouldn't worry if anything goes wrong."
Anna nodded. "Good, lets get it connected and see how the tests go." She said, then tapped her commbadge. "O'Shea to M'kantu... be advised we are going to be running some tests in Holodeck IV." Anna said, then closed the channel and looked at everyone. "Okay, lets get to work connecting them up."
Marcus, from his vantage spot under the console, stopped working when he heard a Romulan-accented voice and then when he saw Ramir and Anna talking over in one corner of the "bridge", Marcus kept his eyes on his future wife and the Romulan. After Michael had gotten Anna away from the Romulan, Marcus slid out from underneath the console and walked over to Anna and gently placed a hand on her right shoulder, then leaned in and asked quietly "Anna, are you okay love?" with a tone of serious concern in his voice as he tried to be supportive of Anna.
Anna tensed up feeling Marcus close to her, she working hard at keeping -their- life out of work life. "Everything is fine... Ensign." Anna said, then looked at him giving him that look so he knew she was fine but she had to maintain a little professional distance to him while working.
"Michael, when will be ready to test?" Anna asked, as she looked at the Ops officer.
"Well..." Michael glanced around. "With all the engineers we have here...setting containments fields, modifying the plasma and connecting the Gel packs...rewiring fibers, running more diagnostics...shouldn't take more than an hour until we're ready to begin some testing".
"Hey man, what's this mumbo jumbo?" Richard said suddenly. He'd been checking out all the software related to the new systems and had not said anything. As soon as he was 'connected' to a computer he was gone so to speak, engrossed in the world where everything is measured in discrete levels. "Blasphemy! Pure blasphemy. It makes me think about the ancient 'spaghetti code' I read about. What were they thinking? They must've been in a big hurry."
'Hey man...' Jamson thought he heard something, but didn't want to believe it was a comment of that nature. And he wasn't surprised one bit it came from Ensign Langley. Calling a superior officer, 'man'? Not addressing formally using the rank and title? This was unheard of. Langley was lucky not having Jamson as his commanding officer. Michael was about to unleash hell, lecture some discipline and formalities into this Ensign, when he remembered Karyn's word of advice on how to socialize. Once again, he forgot he wasn't wearing 4 pips anymore, so he decided it would be only humiliating and non useful to expose Ensign Langley to such abuse. Not in front of all the crew members in the holodeck. He'll have a private chat with him later.
Marcus nodded to Anna and moved back to where he was working but kept a discreet eye on the Romulan that was in the room. He didn't know why but the presence of the Romulan was causing Anna some problems and that made Marcus wary of the unknown.
But none the less, Marcus went back to working on the console but decided that he was going to have to ask Anna about it later in her quarters but if the Romulan was going to bring hell on Anna's ship, then he was going to have to go through Marcus to do it.
Jiiles looked at Richard with a slightly amused look across his face. He could swear the man was on more than a healthy dose of racdjeno. Jiiles put his hand on Richards shoulder and directed him back towards a computer terminal, "Basically, in a nut shell; the gel packs are not responding to the power generated by the holo matrix, it needs power from a genuine source. So we are going to hook it up to the plasma conduits. But first we need to set up containment fields around the ODN fibers, power relays and distribution system. So lets get to it!" he said enthusiastically clasping Richard on the shoulder. There was always a way round, Jiiles smiled smugly to himself as he proceeded to help Richard set up the various containment fields. But Omar had seen the way O'Shea and that male officer had touched each other intimately, if only for a moment. Before getting irritated, he first had to confirm his suspicions, however.
He walked up to where O'Shea was working. "Look, Anna, I know you're busy, but don't I deserve a bit more of an explanation? Tell me, is this the man?"
He sneered at Slayton, standing nearby, with contempt as he noted the single pip on his collar - meaning he was a lowly ensign, nothing compared to a high-ranking member of the Rihannusu ruling class.
To be Continued.
"Looking For The Sun"
Lt. (jg) Naranda Sol Roswell, Engineer
Ensign 8-Ball Hunter, Science Officer
Lt. (jg) Saul Bental, Intelligence Officers
With Lieutenant Jasmine Heloi, Chief Science Officer
***Mirusa, Jericho expedition's central compound***
Nara had been staring at it for a moment with an intense look of concentration. Finally, she whispered, "Mural?"
8-ball blinked at the sound of Nara's voice. She had been completely zoning out there for a minute, and therefore had no idea what Nara was talking about. "Huh?"
"I think we should go see this mural."
Nara handed it to 8-Ball. "Something fishy about this." She looked at Saul, "So, Mr. Intelligence officer, we're definitely going to need your investigating skills."
"Let me see.", Saul snatched the PADD from 8-Ball's hands. It contained the notes of Doctor Langford, one of Jericho's missing Lieutenants. Her records were the most organized files when compared to the other archeologists' notes. She was also quite talented in drawing, assuming the drawing of sculptures, murals and inscription interspaced through her notes were hers and not drawn by one of the assistants.
"She hates Jericho, like the rest of them. Frisky.", Saul commented as he observed the drawing of the mural Naranda referred to. The paragraph before that was full of complaints about the expedition leader being, basically, a chauvinist hog.
Saul raised his eyes from the notes. "Doesn't it seem strange to you that nobody here seems to be too troubled or worried about three of the mission's top scientist disappearing? I imagine how the people on the Galaxy would react if Commanders O'Shea, Dallas and Corgan would vanish without a trace... and it certainly won't be the passive acceptance like here."
"I don't know," 8-ball said, thinking of Legate Curran and a few other choice members of the Galaxy's crew. "I think there are a few officers that could vanish without a trace and nobody else would mind too terribly. But yeah, you're probably right."
Nara smirked at 8-Ball's comment, "Regardless of my personal feelings about O'Shea, it's my duty to be her subordinate, and that includes protecting her and finding her if she ends up lost or something. Like I said, this is fishy."
Saul looked back at the file. Here was Nara's mural. Langford dedicated two pages for this 'Sun in Shadow' mural, including a half-page-wide drawing. She wrote that she thinks it holds the answer to the planet's ruins. It was a circular object surrounded by alternating light and dark rays with various hieroglyphs outlining the inner circle.
Saul pressed the page down button, and then the file abruptly ended with the words 'I found it!'.
"Found what?", Saul murmured.
"The holy grail, maybe," 8-ball suggested lightly. "Or, in this case, the Everlasting Sun Ball?"
"Question is, what was she searching for.". Saul sped-read through the last several pages, trying to find an answer to that query. None came up, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Doctor Steele also seemed to find something interesting, as his final pages mention. Why can't those archeologists just write down their theories?"
Saul was the one who read through Doctor Steele's notes, and they quite amused him. To say that Ogden Steele's notes were slightly messed when compared to Langford was like saying that the Neanderthals were slightly less advanced than the Borg. The eccentric scientist believed that all the other Archeologists were idiots, and crowned Doctor Jericho as the king of idiots. Nevertheless, what he did say was quite interesting. He had some strange theories about the purpose of some of the structures.
The most intriguing part was at the end, where Steele mentions an answer in the 'Shadow Room'. Needless to say, his notes didn't say where was this Shadow room and what answer did the room supposedly provide.
Saul quickly summed up Steele's notes to Nara and 8-Ball. "Maybe he's talking about the same thing as Langford's Sun in Shadow mural. I agree with Nara. We should get Heloi's approval and go sight-seeing."
"Ok, so where is she?" Nara took a step and looked around.
"I think they entered Jericho's tent when we began going through the Archeologists' files.", Saul offered. He tapped his commbadge lightly. "Bental to Heloi."
Nara nodded and handed the PADD back to 8-Ball. "Cheer up, buddy. This might turn fun for you afterall."
"If she lets us go," 8-ball muttered. 8-ball didn't know Heloi very well----kinda surpising, since Heloi was sort of her boss---but in 8-ball's opinion, anyone who made department head probably didn't have much in the way of sense of adventure. 8-ball wasn't really expecting a response that said, "Okay, pals, you go ahead and have some fun in the freaky temple."
Much more likely would be the response, "No, under the Starfleet Code and Honor Manual, Chapter 12, Verse 3, there are very specific guidelines for having fun on away missions; ie, you don't get to have any."
A slightly harrassed sounding voice replied to the summons, ["This is Heloi. What's your status, Lieutenant?"]
~Gee, she sounds chipper~ 8-ball thought to herself. ~Maybe she isn't in the best mood to be bothered with~ But she decided to let Saul do the talking.
"Lieutenant, we finished inspecting the lost scientists' records, and organize them. It seems that there are at least two intriguing leads."
Saul quickly summed up Langford and Steele's findings. He left out as many details as possible, knowing that the Hydrans will probably attempt to eavesdrop to the communicators network. In fact, the Galaxy's intelligence department was doing its best to do the same to the Hydran's communication networks.
"... therefore, we would like to ask for permission to inspect the 'Sun in Shadow' mural.", Saul concluded, his eyes meeting with Nara's as he mentioned the mural.
"Excellent. You have permission for a go, Bental. My team and I are investigating what sounds like your 'shadow room.' The mural is all yours. To be on the safe side, report back to me in two hours."
"Thank you. We will depart from the camp in twenty minutes. Bental out."
"Hey, nifty, it worked," 8-ball said, surprised. "We get to go play!"
"What do you know.", Saul flashed a tired smile at his old classmate. "Eight, Nara, can I please ask you to organize our equipment before we leave? I have something urgent to handle before departing... I'll meet you here in twenty minutes."
Nara looked at Saul suspiciously, "I probably shouldn't even bother asking what you're going to go do." She sighed and shrugged as she looked at 8-Ball, "Help me pack?" She had come to expect, if not be surprised, that Saul did this. That he always went off to do some mysterious thing.
8-ball was also looking at Saul suspiciously but eventually decided to sigh and shrug as well. She was curious about whatever he was up to now, but she didn't really care if he was doing anything illegal and otherwise bad as long as it didn't end up with her as some alien's snack food or something. "Sure thing," 8-ball said to Nara. "We always get the fun jobs."
"How to recruit an agent in 7 simple steps – Part IV, Got to Get You Into My Life!"
Lieutenant J.G. Saul Bental
Intelligence Officer / Lily Squad leader
SOUNDTRACK : 'Got To Get You Into My Life' – The Beatles, from the album 'Revolver'.
* * * Mirusa, Jericho expedition's encampment * * *
Saul's feet made deep footprint in the sand as he struggled to cross the short distance between the main compound and the tent which was given the original name of 'Tent C'. Despite the searing heat, he was grinning mischievously like someone who got a the universe smiling back at him.
Which he was.
Otherwise, how could you explain the fact that, when Proctor decided to send observers from her staff to the planet's surface, she chose one Lieutenant Chun Lin?
Yes, Saul did tell Nyoko only several hours earlier that he wouldn't be surprised if their 'target' will be dispatched to the planet's surface by the Admiral. 'If I were Proctor I would send someone who's on the outer circles, but can still be trusted to do this dirty work reasonably. Lin is matching that profile precisely.' Still, having Lin shipped to him, gift-wrapped, was a very pleasant surprise, and spared them from using a contingency plan where Nyoko would recruit Lin instead of Saul.
Saul entered the tent. Inside, several sofas were scattered in disarray. Two of them were occupied by the three observers sent by Proctor. The temperature was chilly, and yet the three men were sweating.
Saul paced directly toward the Replicator that was located next to Lin's sofa. He crouched next to it, then slanted his eyes toward Lin as he audibly asked the Replicator to get him a glass of cold orange juice. He already memorized Lin's appearance. The man 173 centimeters tall according to his file, but Saul didn't give him a millimeter over 170. His mustache was thicker than what the photographs showed, but still couldn't count as a serious mustache, and instead of making Lin looked older and more solemn, it made him look silly.
"Excuse me? I have a rather unusual question.", Saul began, standing up.
Lin shifted his eyes lazily toward the speaker. Obviously, he didn't have much on his mind right now, otherwise he might've ignored the officer. Saul wisely removed his rank pips from the desert fatigue, knowing that Lin might've ignored an inferior officer altogether.
"Go ahead, mister.", Lin said.
"It's a long shot, but… have you ever owned a subdermal Cyber bracelet?"
"And what if I have?", Lin replied suspiciously.
Saul's eyes lit at the answer. "Ah, I knew it!", He stated with a grin, and sat on the Sofa in front of Lin. He held his left hand before him, pointing at his left wrist with his right hand. "You can recognize people who had one because they keep doing this gesture, you know?"
Lin remained silent, but Saul didn't halt his charge.
"People who removed it keep glancing at their wrist, like this. It's very easy to detect at others once you realize you do it yourself."
Saul paused. This would be the chance for Lin to take the bait.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't shout about this next to the others.", Lin hissed at him. Then, he stalled for a second, and return to his regular voice. "Which model of bracelet did you have?"
Saul's grin grew wider. Welcome to my fishing net, sucker.
"I had MSK installed when I was 14. 'FireRing' model, with full features.", Saul stated proudly. It true – when he was younger, he had a doctor implant him with a subdermal cyber bracelet, that functioned both as a communicator, a computer, and a very neat street fashion accessory that every half-a-credit-crook owned on Utrecht III.
Chun Lin folded his arms. "I wouldn't allowed anyone to implant me with an MSK even if they pointed a disruptor at my head."
"Oh yea? Don't believe the advertisements, Lieutenant, My FireRing had performance about twenty percent better than my friends' parallel 'Specialized' models. And don't get me started about Adirem models, because…"
"I don't know which Adirem models you're talking about, mister, my Adirem 2400 did…"
For the next ten minutes (Saul was keeping an eye on the chronometer; He wouldn't want to be late, and he knew that leaving 8-Ball and Nara alone for too long could cause serious damage) Saul and Chun Lin discussed the various models of Subdermal cyber bracelets. Like true fanatics, both of them had very strong opinions about the various models, and phrases like 'Galactic crap' and 'A Waste of good Latinum' were mentioned more than once. When Saul had enough, he moved to the next phase.
"When did you remove your bracelet?"
Lin sighed. "Two weeks before the Academy entry exams."
Saul nodded with sympathy. "I had them removed two days before I actually started the Academy. Let's just say they strongly recommended me to remove it, and even offered to fund the operation for me."
"Yes, Starfleet does not encourage cyber implants for non-medical purposes.", Lin explained.
"I know. And I think it got worse after the Borg invasion. I was still young then, of course… do you know that on some worlds, wearing a cyber bracelet is actually forbidden by law?"
"Yes, the stupidity.", Lin shook his head with disgust. "Almost as stupid as sending me here."
Ah, now we're getting somewhere, Saul reckoned.
"Here with the admiral?", He inquired innocently.
"No, here on the planet. I don't understand why they chose me, of all the staff. It's that Commander Sheridan.", Lin muttered.
"I don't see anything wrong with being sent here as an observer.", Saul said, but made it sound more like 'They screwed you? Ah, too bad.'
"I don't know how is it for you Galaxy people. For me, well, it's just another straw added to the camel's back, you know? It's not easy being on an Admiral's staff."
"A viper's nest, eh?", Saul concurred, "Going down here instead of the remaining near the admiral is probably considered a dirty job for you guys."
"You said it.", Lin shrugged.
"But…" Saul proceeded cautiously, "You hardly seem to me like the most junior member of the Admiral's staff, and you seem like a serious person alright. Why would they send you and not someone else?"
"I have absolutely no idea.", Lin said, his frustration surfacing.
"I'm sure it's something small. You know, a little leverage and you could bring yourself above petty tasks such as this. You really seem to me like someone who's worth more. It might be just a first impression, but…"
"You're right.", Lin interjected.
"Listen.", Saul decided it was enough for now. "I would love to hear about it, but I got two lovely ladies waiting for me outside the camp. Tell you what – when I get back, I would love to hear about the whole Admiral-staff-politics issue."
"I would love to.", Lin agreed, and extended his arm. "Lieutenant Chun Lin, by the way."
Saul shook his hand. "Lieutenant Saul Bental, USS Galaxy, Secondary Intelligence Unit leader.". He purposely omitted the 'Junior Grade' part of his rank. "Hey, if you get back to the Galaxy before we get the chance to talk, you might want to talk to my best friend there – Nyoko Yuuri. She's an ensign, but she's an expert in these matters. Tell her Saul sent you; It won't be the first time. One day that girl will outrank ME."
Lin chuckled. "I'm sure she still has a long way before that. Good luck in your mission, Lieutenant, and…", Lin glanced at his wrist.
Saul tapped on his own wrist, where the bracelet was once embedded to his skin, and dodged out of the tent. On his way back to 8-Ball and Nara, he contacted Nyoko, and gave her the sign.
"GOT TO GET YOU INTO MY LIFE – completed."
"The cat's out of the bag... or at least out in the corridors."
Ensign Le'on Khatowren, Security Officer
********************
Somewhere Below Decks...
Le'on Khatowren went on his standard security patrol the best way he knew how to... he prowled the corridors on all fours. Normally, this would look strange if a Caitian did this. But it was not so strange when the Caitian in question looked almost exactly like a normal everyday housecat and was exactly the size of one. He didn't attract too much attention while on patrol since no one paid too much attention to the floor.
Being only two feet tall for the past couple of years certainly gave Le'on a new perspective on life... literally. But ever since Q shrank him when he served on the USS Armageddon, he had eventually come to realize the advantages of being the size of and acting like a housecat at times. People grossly underestimated him and dismissed him out of hand right up until Le'on has carved them to pieces and he was standing triumphetly over (or on as it was most times) his opponent. Of course, he constantly endured the multiple cat jokes that humans made. He had gotten them quite enough when he was full sized, they seemed to multiply tenfold nowadays.
Now, with the ship on alert, Le'on went on his rounds in the corridors. His eyes capturing each detail and noting if there is anything out of place. He had his TR-116 Projectile Rifle slung over his back (The same one he had on him when Q shrank him no less and so far only one of two weapons his size that he can use. The other being a minitaurized type 2 phaser). It almost looked like a housecat in a starfleet uniform had made off with a toy rifle. The uniform itself was confining as it was for a Caitian. He was thankful that starfleet didn't require Caitians to wear boots... it made for more comfortable prowling.
Crewmen on duty passed him by without second thought, although he garnered many double takes as crewmen were wondering if they were actually seeing things as they were. Le'on paid them little mind as he kept up with his job. He was due to relieve the guard on the bridge in a few hours. It was a job that he liked since it allowed him to watch over the Captian. He'd grown fond of Captain M'Kantu ever since he'd given Le'on a second chance. That automatically secured Le'on's loyality and Le'on went out of his way to make sure that the Captain was safe. It got on Le'on's nerves though that he had yet to go on an away mission. He was anxious to prove his worth to his new ship and crew.
Ah well... He'd endure the cat jokes and the nickname of 'sniper kitty' for now. Sooner or later his chance would come.
"Here Kitty, Kitty..."
Ensign Le'on Khatowren, Security Officer
Ensign Emily Fellbaum, JAG Officer (PCC)
********************
Somewhere below decks...
Emily Fellbaum was coming out of her office while reviewing some PADDs on a big upcoming case in the Judge Advocate General's office on Earth. She was so engrossed in her reading that she barely paid any attention to where exactly she was walking. Seconds later, she tripped and her arms went flailing about while her PADDs went flying all over the corridor. She let out a yell of shock as she totally lost her balance and fell hard on the deck. Emily thought that she heard a distinctive "ROWR!" as she tripped.
Now on the deck, she looked at what she tripped over and sure enough, it was a cat. He was sprawled out under the ground, trapped under her feet. "Oh my God!" she said aloud. "You poor thing! Who on Earth let you out of your quarters to roam around?" she asked the cat while scrambling to see if he was ok.
'The Cat' in question was none other than security's smallest guard, Ensign Khatowren. He'd been on his patrol and happen to cross in front of the JAG Office right as Fellbaum was coming out. He rolled his eyes and shook his head at her comments. Why did everyone assume that he was just a common cat wearing a starfleet uniform? Did pet owners actually have that sick a sense of humor on this ship or something? Right after he felt Emily's legs come off of his back than he felt himself being picked up.
"Jeez you're heavy!" Emily said, picking the cat up. "Lets take a look at you and find your owner, k?"
Le'on'd had enough and he let her know by hissing and swiping a claw at her, causing her to yelp, jump back and drop him. ~Perfect...~ he thought has he landed on all fours and started to walk over to where he had dropped his rifle. He ignored Emily's scolding of "BAD CAT!". Le'on merely hissed back at her and raised his hackles a bit. If she was going to assume that he was a common cat, then he'd act the part for her.
"Very bad cat!" Emily scolded again. "I'm only here to help. Now come here!" she commanded. The cat seemed to glare at her and growl. Emily dropped down onto her haunches and held her hand out. "Come here kitty..." she said in a friendly tone now. "We need to get you to your owner. Can't have you wandering the ship now, can we?"
~Ok, this is getting really pathetic now...~ Le'on thought. He picked up his rifle, stood upright and turned to her. "Give it a rest lady." he said in his thick russian accent that caused Emily to scream again and jump back so far that her back was now pressed up against the far wall of the corridor. She stared at him with wide eyes. "No wonder your species' pets are constantly running away and ignoring you. You humans are really a pathetic lot when it comes to pets, talking down to them as if they were inferior."
"W-What are you?" Emily manage to sputter.
Le'on gave a little mock bow. "Ensign Khatowren, at your service." he said. "I'm a Caitian and a member of Security here on the ship."
"B-But I thought that Caitians were... were..."
"Taller? Da." Le'on said. "We usually are, except I had a nasty run-in with Q. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to report to my post." he said, starting back down the corridor. "Das Vidania."
"Springing the Trap"
by Lt. Jasmine Heloi
Chief Science Officer
Cmdr. Karyn Dallas
Chief Counselor/Second Officer
& Ens. T'Ashaya
Operations Officer
--------
Sub-Temple Mirusan Ruins
Her friends had once shown her an old 2D vid called 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' One of the first things that struck her about that film, and the only one - besides the pleasant view of Harrison Ford - to truly stick in her mind were the booby traps in the ancient temple Indiana Jones was exploring. Jasmine Heloi found herself scanning the floors for 'pressure points' and the walls for holes that could only house poisoned darts. She even glanced at the ceiling wondering when a large boulder would barrel down at herself and the others.
Sometimes, like now, she was convinced that she had spent too long in the acting business. She was starting to think like a director, or perhaps a script writer. 'And here,' she mentally told herself, imagining she was reading a script, 'Is where the adventurers encounter the first skeleton of the missing archaeologists.' Smirking to herself, the Betazoid poked her head into another room and sighed, "You know," she said for the benefit of her companions, "We've been through around thirty rooms and none of them are completely barren save for a single statue. Jericho really needs to keep better notes."
To be honest, she thought grimly, he could have at least been thoughtful enough to draw a map. But no, he had simply said it was in one of the smaller temples, off to the side of the main pyramid. Very descriptive, she complained mentally.
T'Ashaya looked up from her tricorder. "This is a ten by ten room with two unremarkable urns to either side of the door and a towering statue of what appears to be the local god of the sea, based on the wavy lines at the base of the statue and the fact that this statue has the upper body of a humanoid and the lower body of a great finned serpent. The lines of the lower body remind me of the sea-serpents of Sulust's southern seas," she stated with a small frown toward her tricorder. "While there are signs of a highly technologically evolved culture, I'm not picking up any signs of working technology."
She circled the room with the tricorder. The Vulcan tsunami indicated the mosaics covering the walls. They showed scenes of a great catyclism, towering waves washing away whole cities, the oceans boiling away. "These mosaics seem to come from a later period than the majority of the other artifacts in this room. They seem to depict the destruction of this world's oceans. If they are indeed historical record and not simply of the typical religious apocalyptic prophesy, then we may have some indication of what happened to the oceans of this world. My current theory is that the residents angered Poseidon, here, and he got angry enough to storm off in a huff."
Karyn chuckled. "I'm not convinced that even God has that kind of power." She fought the urge to shiver as she looked at the mosaics. "It's certainly an ominous warning."
"It is only a preliminary theory," T'Ashaya stated with a half shrug. "I have not yet refined it to include a scientific explanation of events."
Jasmine smiled, "You're slipping Shay." The Betazoid gestured towards the door, "I'm going to try the room next door over and see if maybe that one matches our 'Shadow Room.' I'm not holding out much hope, though."
Dallas nodded. "Think positive thoughts." She turned to T'Ashaya and consulted her medical tricorder. "Still nothing resembling life signs. I'm not sure if that's good or not. This place gives me the creeps."
T'Ashaya nodded thoughtfully. "I would like to stay here and examine these glyphs more closely," the Vulcan woman replied. "They remind me of an ancient form of Vulcan Golic, one not used since before the time of Surak."
Heloi nodded, "Don't get out of earshot, Shay. And call if you need us. Counselor? Shall we?" The former actress lead the way out of the room. She could only hope that they could find the 'Shadow Room' soon. However, she wasn't certain if she could figure out if it was the cause of the disappearances. Shrugging to herself, the Betazoid entered the next room.
Karyn simply nodded and followed the actress turned officer. She. could only hope they were getting closer to their target.
The room was immense despite the appearance of it being as small as the other rooms in the temple. "'It's bigger on the inside than the outside'," she quoted from an old vid series that her agent had once insisted that she watch. The only light source in the room came from her small handheld torch and she cast the beam about the room. Unlike the Poseidon room, no mosaics, hieroglyphics, or drawings covered the walls and floors. Instead, plain dark marble covered the floor and ceilings making the single statue dominate the room.
The statue was huge - its head just brushed the ceiling - and one if its arms stretched accusingly towards the two Starfleet Officers. Jasmine felt a small shudder run through her slight frame as the beam lit up the statue's face. There was something slightly malevolent about it, she thought as she stared at the expression that had been carefully carved into the marble. "The Shadow Room," she proclaimed, wincing as her voice echoed through the chamber.
Still staring at the statue as if she expected it to somehow come to life, Karyn whispered, "She's unlike any goddess I've ever seen. Still, if the doctor named the room, it suggests he's been here at least once before."
Jasmine nodded, not quite trusting her voice to not echo. Somehow, it seemed as if their very presence was offensive to the room. Just how that could be, when there were no life signs - at least not according to the tricorder - she could not fathom. "I'm going to check out the statue," Heloi told her companion as she moved further into the room. The statue's pedestal was smooth as if time itself had ignored the statue and its resting place. It was rather eerie.
The Betazoid Science Chief never noticed, from her stooped position next to the pedestal, that a light had begun to show from inside the statue's eyes. She never noticed the light brighten in increments until a beam of white light hit the far wall. She did, however, notice the stone against stone sound of movement as the statue's arm began to move. "Run!" Heloi shouted as she grabbed Karyn's arm and attempted to usher her along. She had no idea what trap she had sprung, but she had no intention of waiting to find....
The clatter of a tricorder hitting the floor was the only evidence that Jasmine Heloi and Karyn Dallas had ever been in the room.
TBC...
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