Bridge, U.S.S. Atlas
Stardate: 38338.2
“Scans are detecting what looks like an assortment of buildings on an island off the southern continent,” Lieutenant Xan Na-Gharii reported.
Captain Bruce Keller rose from his seat and approached the main science console. “Any lifesigns?”
The Efrosian looked over the sensor results and looked back at him with a shake of his head. “I’m not detecting anything in or around the structures. It looks as though the city is abandoned.”
“Any way to determine when the inhabitants left? Or why?” asked Commander Celan, stepping closer to them. Though on the surface his first officer appeared to be just as she always was, Keller had known her for six years so he could see that she was more reserved after what was quickly being dubbed the ‘pollen incident’, where the alien substance had caused her pheromones to go into overdrive and affect many on the crew in a very…Deltan way.
“Not from here, Commander, we’d need to get some scans from the surface and run some tests.”
Keller paused for a moment. This was the first planet they’d discovered to have evidence of an ancient, possibly now extinct, civilisation which hinted at the pocket of space deep inside the Theta Maelstrom could have home to intelligent life for far longer than he’d imagined—given the fact that the Anaxi and Ohmaron, two species they’d encountered so far, were both in the early period of warp development.
“Wait, are we only picking up one settlement on the whole planet?”
“Yes Captain.”
“So, this isn’t likely to be an indigenous species then, but more likely a colony.”
Na-Gharii nodded. “That would be a fair assumption, sir.”
“We may be looking at a remnant of one of the first warp capable species within this region,” he mused to himself, seeing the obvious excitement on his science officer’s face. “Commander, assemble an archaeological away team and see what you can find.”
“Aye sir. Xan, get your team together. Ydaris, you’re with us. Celan to Htennak, report to transporter room one for an away mission.”
* * * * *
Transporter Room One, U.S.S. Atlas
Upon reaching the transporter room, Lieutenant (j.g.) Ydaris Maq’on headed straight for the equipment locker and removed a tricorder and type-two phaser for herself and then to Commander Celan—she’d quickly come to know the first officer’s preferences when beaming down to an unknown planet. The Deltan accepted them with a nod though didn’t say anything, which definitely wasn’t like her—but then again she would have a lot to deal with after what had happened after the last planet they’d beamed down to.
Making a mental note to speak with Celan once they got back to the ship, she focused back on her duties once more and took out four type-one phasers for the rest of the team, given the outpost appeared to be deserted they weren’t likely to need the more powerful sidearms. The rest of the team filtered in, Lieutenant Commander Htennak was next in, so she handed him his weapon and a tricorder. He accepted and got himself kitted out, though she noticed him looking at Celan as he did so, a frown forming on his horned brow—it was good to see she wasn’t the only one with concerns about the XO.
Na-Gharii, who had made a detour to the labs to pick up his gear, entered with Ensign Moll Idahn and Crewman Ishaan Randhawa the ships only two experts on archaeology. All of them already had a tricorder and a case or two of equipment for use in the field, so she handed them their phasers.
“Alright,” Celan began, “we have a cluster of old buildings, the exact condition of and purpose we’re still not sure about. So, this will be a standard survey to get a picture of just what it is we’re looking at down there, we won’t be hanging around for any longer than necessary. Once we’ve gone over our scans and samples then we can decide if it needs a more thorough investigation. Clear?”
The away team quickly confirmed. Celan led them up onto the transporter pad and looked at Chief Phillips.
“Energise.”
As they dematerialised, Maq’on gripped the handle of her weapon, ready to draw in seconds as they rematerialised on the surface. As soon as the transporter beam released them, a wave of crisp Spring air washed over her bringing with it the gentle hint of ozone. She looked around in the direction of the wind and spotted dark clouds on the horizon, rain was on its way.
“Commander,” she said, gesturing towards them.
“It looks like the weather is against as well, so let’s get this done quickly.”
“You got it, Commander,” Na-Gharii replied and led his crew towards the buildings.
They had beamed down just on the outskirts of the settlement, on a slight rise giving them a clear view of the open plains where only a few bushes broke up the sea of green grass. In the distance, she could just make out a small heard of deer-like animals, whilst overhead a flock of golden birds cried as they flew away from the incoming weather.
“It’s not a very large colony,” Htennak commented. “That could signify it was either not long established before the inhabitants abandoned it, or it was only ever meant to be a small outpost of some kind—perhaps for agricultural or scientific purposes.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” said Celan, her voice oddly monotone, before following the rest of the team into the village.
Maq’on cast a glance at Htennak before they both looked back at the Deltan. Something definitely wasn’t right there, but after the incident a lot of the crew had had to deal with the effects, with more than a few strained relationships—as well as a few that had become far more intimate. She had come through unscathed, though from what Doctor Yuen had said that wouldn’t have lasted much longer, given the different metabolisms and biochemistry of the seventeen different species on the Atlas they all would’ve been affected eventually—some were just more vulnerable to Deltan pheromones than others.
The counsellor went ahead of her, as she took her place at the rear of the group, watching their backs. Stepping amid the buildings she was surprised to see them all mostly intact, some had a few cracks in their structure that could either be from poor construction or seismic activity, whilst grass, shrubs and flowers had built up at the base of each structure, with a few even having ivy-like vines crawling up their walls.
She pulled out her tricorder and began to scan. Having only the basics of the social sciences, from her first year at the Academy, she wasn’t quite sure exactly what she was looking for but on a mission like this then more tricorder data was never a bad thing. A scan of the building materials showed it to be some sort of ceramic, not the first thing she thought of when it came to construction, but many different species used a variety of materials that others would find strange.
As the scientists worked and the others on the team began to check out the interior, Maq’on made her way around the perimeter of the small cluster of buildings, only one of which was three storeys high with the rest being either one or two, all of them having a domed roof, curved corners, oval windows and arched entryways, it would appear whoever the architect was they weren’t a fan of angles.
Once her sweep of the perimeter was completed, she made her way further into the village, though as she walked the streets she found them feeling more like corridors, none of them were wide enough to enable any means of transport other than walking, not that she had seen any vehicles not even an alien bicycle. Whatever this place was, it had the feeling of being somewhere the inhabitants had no desire to leave and venture out across the rest of the planet, though just what it was used for was far from apparent. After mapping out all of the grid-like streets, she picked the nearest building and headed inside.
* * * * *
Bridge, U.S.S. Atlas
From his place at ops, Ensign Tathar could monitor everything that was happening onboard the Atlas and with the away team, or at least he could up to a point. Despite the Rigel System having spawned eleven sentient species (though the exact level of sentience regarding the Rigellian-Kalar was still debated) none of them possessed any sort of telepathic or ESP abilities, his own race, the Dervan, were known for their size and strength more than anything else. He would’ve gladly traded them in to be able to understand just what others were thinking or feeling, if only to know what to say to make things better.
Even though Ruben de Boer, the man he sat beside for every shift had been a fellow classmate at the Academy up until just over a month ago, when they’d both been assigned to the Atlas, the human could barely seem to look at him anymore. Since the morning they had woken up in bed together, along with Ensign Idahn, the flight control officer had barely said two words to him as they worked, and he hadn’t seen him during their off-hours. He and Idahn had managed to speak about it, though they didn’t remember much about it neither of them felt any sort of shame or regret, it was just sex after all—he’d had more than a few drunken one-night stands when in San Francisco that were just as hazy in his recollections. De Boer on the other hand…well, he wasn’t really sure what was going on there. One thing he was sure about was that he had the humans’ scent, just like he did with Idahn.
The sensor panel chirped drawing his attention, the readings immediately making him frown. He turned back to the captain.
“Sir, I’m tracking an intensifying weather front moving towards the settlement.”
“How bad is it?”
“Wind speed and static charge are increasing, it looks like it could be quite the storm, sir.”
Keller tapped the companel on his chairs armrest. “Atlas to away team.”
“Celan here, go ahead.”
“Commander, it looks like you’re in for some rough weather soon, I want you back on the ship before it hits.”
“Acknowledged. Our estimates give us another hour until it’s on top of us, we’ll return to the ship in forty-five minutes.”
“Understood. We’ll keep you apprised of any changes. Atlas out.” The channel closed. “Mr Tathar, monitor that storm like a hawk, I want to know the moment anything changes.”
“Will do, sir,” he confirmed and turned back to his station. As he spun he caught de Boer looking at him, before swiftly focusing on his controls once again.
He just wished he knew what to say to help out his shipmate, but that would have to wait until later—that was if he’d be able to find him to try and talk things out.
* * * * *
Stardate: 38338.2
“Scans are detecting what looks like an assortment of buildings on an island off the southern continent,” Lieutenant Xan Na-Gharii reported.
Captain Bruce Keller rose from his seat and approached the main science console. “Any lifesigns?”
The Efrosian looked over the sensor results and looked back at him with a shake of his head. “I’m not detecting anything in or around the structures. It looks as though the city is abandoned.”
“Any way to determine when the inhabitants left? Or why?” asked Commander Celan, stepping closer to them. Though on the surface his first officer appeared to be just as she always was, Keller had known her for six years so he could see that she was more reserved after what was quickly being dubbed the ‘pollen incident’, where the alien substance had caused her pheromones to go into overdrive and affect many on the crew in a very…Deltan way.
“Not from here, Commander, we’d need to get some scans from the surface and run some tests.”
Keller paused for a moment. This was the first planet they’d discovered to have evidence of an ancient, possibly now extinct, civilisation which hinted at the pocket of space deep inside the Theta Maelstrom could have home to intelligent life for far longer than he’d imagined—given the fact that the Anaxi and Ohmaron, two species they’d encountered so far, were both in the early period of warp development.
“Wait, are we only picking up one settlement on the whole planet?”
“Yes Captain.”
“So, this isn’t likely to be an indigenous species then, but more likely a colony.”
Na-Gharii nodded. “That would be a fair assumption, sir.”
“We may be looking at a remnant of one of the first warp capable species within this region,” he mused to himself, seeing the obvious excitement on his science officer’s face. “Commander, assemble an archaeological away team and see what you can find.”
“Aye sir. Xan, get your team together. Ydaris, you’re with us. Celan to Htennak, report to transporter room one for an away mission.”
* * * * *
Transporter Room One, U.S.S. Atlas
Upon reaching the transporter room, Lieutenant (j.g.) Ydaris Maq’on headed straight for the equipment locker and removed a tricorder and type-two phaser for herself and then to Commander Celan—she’d quickly come to know the first officer’s preferences when beaming down to an unknown planet. The Deltan accepted them with a nod though didn’t say anything, which definitely wasn’t like her—but then again she would have a lot to deal with after what had happened after the last planet they’d beamed down to.
Making a mental note to speak with Celan once they got back to the ship, she focused back on her duties once more and took out four type-one phasers for the rest of the team, given the outpost appeared to be deserted they weren’t likely to need the more powerful sidearms. The rest of the team filtered in, Lieutenant Commander Htennak was next in, so she handed him his weapon and a tricorder. He accepted and got himself kitted out, though she noticed him looking at Celan as he did so, a frown forming on his horned brow—it was good to see she wasn’t the only one with concerns about the XO.
Na-Gharii, who had made a detour to the labs to pick up his gear, entered with Ensign Moll Idahn and Crewman Ishaan Randhawa the ships only two experts on archaeology. All of them already had a tricorder and a case or two of equipment for use in the field, so she handed them their phasers.
“Alright,” Celan began, “we have a cluster of old buildings, the exact condition of and purpose we’re still not sure about. So, this will be a standard survey to get a picture of just what it is we’re looking at down there, we won’t be hanging around for any longer than necessary. Once we’ve gone over our scans and samples then we can decide if it needs a more thorough investigation. Clear?”
The away team quickly confirmed. Celan led them up onto the transporter pad and looked at Chief Phillips.
“Energise.”
As they dematerialised, Maq’on gripped the handle of her weapon, ready to draw in seconds as they rematerialised on the surface. As soon as the transporter beam released them, a wave of crisp Spring air washed over her bringing with it the gentle hint of ozone. She looked around in the direction of the wind and spotted dark clouds on the horizon, rain was on its way.
“Commander,” she said, gesturing towards them.
“It looks like the weather is against as well, so let’s get this done quickly.”
“You got it, Commander,” Na-Gharii replied and led his crew towards the buildings.
They had beamed down just on the outskirts of the settlement, on a slight rise giving them a clear view of the open plains where only a few bushes broke up the sea of green grass. In the distance, she could just make out a small heard of deer-like animals, whilst overhead a flock of golden birds cried as they flew away from the incoming weather.
“It’s not a very large colony,” Htennak commented. “That could signify it was either not long established before the inhabitants abandoned it, or it was only ever meant to be a small outpost of some kind—perhaps for agricultural or scientific purposes.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” said Celan, her voice oddly monotone, before following the rest of the team into the village.
Maq’on cast a glance at Htennak before they both looked back at the Deltan. Something definitely wasn’t right there, but after the incident a lot of the crew had had to deal with the effects, with more than a few strained relationships—as well as a few that had become far more intimate. She had come through unscathed, though from what Doctor Yuen had said that wouldn’t have lasted much longer, given the different metabolisms and biochemistry of the seventeen different species on the Atlas they all would’ve been affected eventually—some were just more vulnerable to Deltan pheromones than others.
The counsellor went ahead of her, as she took her place at the rear of the group, watching their backs. Stepping amid the buildings she was surprised to see them all mostly intact, some had a few cracks in their structure that could either be from poor construction or seismic activity, whilst grass, shrubs and flowers had built up at the base of each structure, with a few even having ivy-like vines crawling up their walls.
She pulled out her tricorder and began to scan. Having only the basics of the social sciences, from her first year at the Academy, she wasn’t quite sure exactly what she was looking for but on a mission like this then more tricorder data was never a bad thing. A scan of the building materials showed it to be some sort of ceramic, not the first thing she thought of when it came to construction, but many different species used a variety of materials that others would find strange.
As the scientists worked and the others on the team began to check out the interior, Maq’on made her way around the perimeter of the small cluster of buildings, only one of which was three storeys high with the rest being either one or two, all of them having a domed roof, curved corners, oval windows and arched entryways, it would appear whoever the architect was they weren’t a fan of angles.
Once her sweep of the perimeter was completed, she made her way further into the village, though as she walked the streets she found them feeling more like corridors, none of them were wide enough to enable any means of transport other than walking, not that she had seen any vehicles not even an alien bicycle. Whatever this place was, it had the feeling of being somewhere the inhabitants had no desire to leave and venture out across the rest of the planet, though just what it was used for was far from apparent. After mapping out all of the grid-like streets, she picked the nearest building and headed inside.
* * * * *
Bridge, U.S.S. Atlas
From his place at ops, Ensign Tathar could monitor everything that was happening onboard the Atlas and with the away team, or at least he could up to a point. Despite the Rigel System having spawned eleven sentient species (though the exact level of sentience regarding the Rigellian-Kalar was still debated) none of them possessed any sort of telepathic or ESP abilities, his own race, the Dervan, were known for their size and strength more than anything else. He would’ve gladly traded them in to be able to understand just what others were thinking or feeling, if only to know what to say to make things better.
Even though Ruben de Boer, the man he sat beside for every shift had been a fellow classmate at the Academy up until just over a month ago, when they’d both been assigned to the Atlas, the human could barely seem to look at him anymore. Since the morning they had woken up in bed together, along with Ensign Idahn, the flight control officer had barely said two words to him as they worked, and he hadn’t seen him during their off-hours. He and Idahn had managed to speak about it, though they didn’t remember much about it neither of them felt any sort of shame or regret, it was just sex after all—he’d had more than a few drunken one-night stands when in San Francisco that were just as hazy in his recollections. De Boer on the other hand…well, he wasn’t really sure what was going on there. One thing he was sure about was that he had the humans’ scent, just like he did with Idahn.
The sensor panel chirped drawing his attention, the readings immediately making him frown. He turned back to the captain.
“Sir, I’m tracking an intensifying weather front moving towards the settlement.”
“How bad is it?”
“Wind speed and static charge are increasing, it looks like it could be quite the storm, sir.”
Keller tapped the companel on his chairs armrest. “Atlas to away team.”
“Celan here, go ahead.”
“Commander, it looks like you’re in for some rough weather soon, I want you back on the ship before it hits.”
“Acknowledged. Our estimates give us another hour until it’s on top of us, we’ll return to the ship in forty-five minutes.”
“Understood. We’ll keep you apprised of any changes. Atlas out.” The channel closed. “Mr Tathar, monitor that storm like a hawk, I want to know the moment anything changes.”
“Will do, sir,” he confirmed and turned back to his station. As he spun he caught de Boer looking at him, before swiftly focusing on his controls once again.
He just wished he knew what to say to help out his shipmate, but that would have to wait until later—that was if he’d be able to find him to try and talk things out.
* * * * *
