Chapter 2

What had been observed, a herd of elephants, posed no threat to their unseen craft, but the momentary inattentiveness of the pilot did. The loud sickening sound of metal against rock registered on everyone's shocked face as sparks flared upward, observable through the port side and front windows of the suddenly de-cloaked vessel. And then came the explosion. With the sudden noisy release of energy the formerly sedate herd of pachyderms fled the area, trumpeting wildly as they ran.

K'nel was the first to regain consciousness. He immediately checked for life signs and was relieved to discover not one casualty. No injuries appeared life threatening - but as he looked at his instrument panel he could not draw the same conclusion about his ship. Small fires still burned around the clusters of exposed wiring. Following standard protocol, K'nel began a series of tests to determine the ship's worthiness. The first test was to the communications system, was not promising. Repeated attempts resulted in static only. He then checked the radiation levels inside the craft and was instantly alarmed into action. There had been no warning signal to alert them of this dangerously high reading. It was imperative that they evacuate the ship immediately.

Reaching for a wall mounted medical kit, he swiftly prepared hypodermic injections for each member of the crew. As he administered the anti-radiation serum, all the while shaking and striking his patients, the group-regained consciousness. They were then instructed to disembark as quickly as possible, the urgency in K'nel voice indicated the need for their immediate compliance. The possibility of another explosion was uppermost in each passenger's mind as they hurried to exit the crippled ship, but it was the near lethal radiation level that caused K'nel's rising concern.

Fortunately, each Romulan shuttle was well prepared for any emergency. Food, clothing, shelter, water, medical supplies and tools were provided in abundance. The cargo hold was triple insulated and thus their supplies remained radiation free.

Drawing their attention to the left of the wrecked craft, K'nel pointed to a series of outcroppings in the near distance. Perhaps these could serve as shelter; and they would still be close enough to their present location to insure easy transport of their supplies. Once no longer out in the open, they would continue to try to contact T'liss Ckl'ah, though as of now, their mobile comm station seemed to be ineffective in reaching the mother ship, for each attempt was met with static.

Shouldering the bags of supplies the group, bruised as they were, made their way cautiously to the rock formations they had observed. Upon arrival they were relieved to find shelter from the blazing sun and a refreshing coolness on the cave's rocky ledges. As they listened, they heard the sound of water from within the interior of the cave.

The group huddled in a circle each one ready to voice their observations. The first matter to be addressed was the possibility of radioactive poisoning. Dr. Lon'tok, the group's only female and a physician, stated any readings taken right now would prove deceptive, it was best to wait at least until the next evening to begin monitoring such information. She also instructed that the crew remove their uniforms, spray their naked flesh with decontaminant spray and put on non-regulation clothing which was also contained in the supply kits retrieved from the cargo hole. To insure no further exposure to the radiation, she further advised that the removed garments should be vaporized outside using their disrupters.

The engineer's observations were exceptionality grim. The large gash on the side of the ship had compromised the integrity of the craft. It was no longer space-worthy. The only option for return to the mother ship would be a beam up to her present location. In order to accomplish this, the war bird would have to decloak. In addition, a very dangerous situation had been observed while they were entering earth's atmosphere, Orbiting earth were multitudes of artificial satellites. To beam up from this planet unobserved would be a technical nightmare, bordering on impossible. He also thought that the problem with their communication is connected with these technical static producers circling the planet. In addition, their damaged shuttle craft was the only one aboard with cloaking ability.

The voice of reason and reality was next heard, High Centurion Va'duk states, "There is a distinct possibility that they do not believe we have survived the destruction of our ship and thus they have given up any further attempt to communicate with us."

The possibility that that last statement was their new reality, dawned on each one as they were seated in a circle, on rocks, in a cave, on Terra, many light years from their home world.

The group examined their cargo packages, ans were able to locate a high powered dedicated scope with locating devices and after a short while were able to not only locate the mother ship but were able to add to the magnification and attach a video screen so that all could see the mother ship.

What they were not privy to was the happenings onboard the ship. Their eyes remained fixed on that image and each one formulated their own scenario. The common denominator of each one's thought was, 'The situation appeared grim.'

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On board the Romulan Star Ship its communication officer signaled the captain and advised him of what her readings were communicating to her-the shuttle had crashed. This conclusion was reached as she examined her screen to determine if there was any other type of air craft observed. None were within the ship's view. The seven life signs pulsed on her screen, they were strong.

The ship's science officer expressed his concern about transporting the crew from the ground. But, as had been the conclusion when they first were going to survey the planets surface, there was so much in orbit around the planet that could interfere with the transporter's signals.

Just then the communication officer's life signals for their comrades stopped, went totally silent. Unbeknown to the crew, the away team had taken refuge in a cave whose mineral composition prevented the transmitting of any data, the metal infused earth presented a terrifying conclusion for the T'liss Ckl'ah's crew. The away team was lost.

All eyes turned toward the captain whose son, the young K'neack, was among the team. They saw his hands gripping the arms of his command chair. His knuckles were white and his body tense. Within seconds he regained his composure.

"Prepare the memorial volleys," was his command. The entire ship stood at attention as seven columns of black smoke pierced the sky. Because the ship was cloaked their source would remain unknown to the inhabitants of that small planet. But seven humanoids looked in disbelief as the mother ship went into warp. K'nel whispered, "Nouhha a deleth mne-vher" (The gods protect us) and all resumed their solemn watch as they observed the black smoke dissipate into the planet's blue and white sky.

The look of disbelief was a common denominator on the faces of the seven Romulans. The physician, Dr. Lon'tack had secreted herself toward the rear of the cave. She was a mother of three adult children and expected to see her first grandchild upon her return home. Her husband, who was also a doctor was eagerly awaiting her return. This was to be her last posting on a star ship. Her solitude was an indication of her great loss.

Their youngest member, the captains son, was completely in shock. His eyes had a madness about them. An emotional meltdown was in the makings. K'nel decided that he would take on the task of reasoning with the youngster immediately. He did not see the same look of hopelessness in the eyes of either the warrior, biologist, scientist, or the engineer. These three were like himself, unattached males. The loss was indeed great for the hope of returning to their home was as dark as the black smoke that had been ejected from the mother ship before it went into warp drive. But they were alive and perhaps could still do service to the Empire.