I don't own the Trek...

The Forgotten Tomb

Prologue

850 years ago, Unknown Planet

Ferengi Damon Kartu sunk the fingertips of his left hand into the sandy slope, as the door up ahead continued to close slowly but steadily, and blackness threatened to overwhelm him. In his other hand, he gripped the piece of blade so tightly that it cut into his palm. His feet slipped on the bones of the dead. So many long dead fools, scattered around him. But none of that mattered. Only his immense failure would be remembered. Unless his entire story was instead forgotten, erased from history.

Chapter 1

2366 Risa

The lights from the outdoor marketplace made her face glow in a magical way. The warm early evening breeze blew through her hair, and for the first time ever he felt comfortable enough to stare at her up close without fear of guilt or rejection. It had been several weeks since Allen Harrow had plunged the Eve into a dying sun, leaving the crew of the Enterprise to contemplate those brief but traumatic near death events. Beverly had accepted his invitation to Risa, which to his dismay had resulted in several other crew members finding out and inviting themselves along. Resigning to the reality that his entire crew was in serious need of rest and relaxation he had announced an official shore leave and brought the ship planet side.

"I enjoyed dinner," she said, leaning in to speak softly into his ear. "But not as much as I enjoyed you...before dinner," she added, as he felt her hand drop to his hip. He pulled back to look at her, feeling a confidence he had rarely felt in her presence.

He didn't respond immediately, just took in her gaze. "If you recall, Riker wants us to stop by his room later," he murmured.

She nodded, bringing her nose closer to his. "I know...the Horgan...or whatever that gift was that he promised you. You never confirmed."

"No I didn't. But...I think whatever bizarre object he intends to give me, can wait until tomorrow."

Her lips parted deliciously in silent agreement, and he took her hand, gripped by a quickly mounting desire.

They began to hurry through the crowded marketplace, but then as an afterthought, he halted, and put his other hand into his pocket. She stopped suddenly too, eyeing him with surprise. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

He fished something out of his pocket, holding it up in the fleeing sunlight. It was the small black artifact he had dug up in the desert that afternoon. It had seemed to change shape when he first found it, but now it was just a small black shard, perhaps rock, perhaps metal of some kind. Light but solid. "Isn't it beautiful?" he whispered, suddenly unable to take his eyes off of it.

"It is," she admitted. "Would you two like some time alone?" she said with a slightly irked expression, when he continued to gaze at it.

He laughed. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to sound so distracted." He tore his gaze away from the artifact and looked at her. "I was going to mention that I'd like to have this examined by a local archeaologist." Her expression was now more than slightly irked, and she loosened her grip on his hand. Seeing his foolishness, he dropped the artifact back into his pocket. "Of course, that can wait until tomorrow as well," he said, squeezing her hand. He kissed her on the cheek, and she smiled and took his arm, as they made their way through the crowd.

Later that evening...

The knock on the door, was annoyingly precise. Geordi LaForge wrapped a bathrobe around himself, and shuffled barefoot to the door. He hit the door lock, and the door swished open. "Aww...come on. Data, look, I have someone-I have company," he said, taking in the android's consistently alert expression. "A woman," he added, lowering his voice as if Data understood how to be discreet.

Seeming to take his words literally, Data moved to the side and inclined his head to get a better vantage point.

"What are you doing?" Geordi sputtered.

"You instructed me to look, Geordi, therefore I am looking for the woman in your hotel room."

"Data, it was a figure of speech."

"Ah. As I was saying-"

"Geordi? Geordi?" a female voice called seductively from the background, making Data pause. "Come back! I want to hear more about the anterior engineering deck on your ship."

"Intriguing," said Data. "I was not aware that Risans had an interest in warp engineering."

"Risans have an interest in whatever we have an interest in. That's what they're known for Data."

"But, hypothetically-"

Embarrassed, Geordi stepped outside quickly and the door shut behind him. "What do you want, Data?"

"A local art dealer has been murdered," said Data, having no trouble changing the subject to something deadly serious.

"Murder? On Risa? That doesn't make sense. Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Data. "And Doctor Crusher has just reported that Captain Picard is currently missing. Commander Riker ordered me to ascertain if the captain was with you."

Geordi's forehead creased. "Well, as you can see, he's not. Wait here, I'll go throw on some clothes and we'll find him."