Aboard the Enterprise the ship's powerful scanners and computers detected and subsequently registered a strange frequency emanating from the planet, coming from within the facility. Shortly after the frequency appeared on radar a second wave of energy overwhelmed the same facility, completely blocking and finally severing any and all contact with the investigating away team.

All attempts to make contact with the team failed. No response, no signal, no life signs...

"Mr. Sulu, any changes on the planet's surface?" Captain Kirk asked as he impatiently sat in his chair, his brows knitted together showing his mounting stress. "Report the last confirmed known location of the away team."

"No changes, Sir." Sulu confirmed with a heavy tone. "Last known coordinates of the away team match the location of the facility. No residual transport beam activity, no shuttlecrafts landing or taking off from the planet's surface... It's as if the team never even set foot on the planet."

"Do what you can to trace their signals. We're not leaving them behind."

"Yes, Sir." Sulu continued to scan and analyze the data being constantly streamed and updated on his display.

"Mr. Chekov," Kirk turned his attention to the younger but reliable helmsman who had taken over Uhura's communications. "anything to report?"

"No, Keptain." His Russian accent was low and disappointed as he answered. "No other frequencies have been detected. No distress signals, either."

Kirk ran a hand down his face to wipe away the tension filled sweat from his face. "Keep checking. Be sure to check all channels, frequencies and listen for any interstellar 'gossip' that might give us a clue about what's happening down there."

"Yes, sir!" Chekov continued to monitor the ominously quiet channels, waiting for any little change to help locate the missing crew members.

Turning on the com on his chair Kirk addressed his chief engineer. "Scotty, give me some good news."

'Sir, we're still in safe radiation level parameters...' There was a palpable hesitation in his voice that was audible even over the soft hum of the typical ambience of engineering.

"But...?" Kirk pressed Scotty to finish.

'But our time estimate for safe planetary orbit was a wee bit off.'

"How far off, Mr. Scot?"

'About... four hours.'

"Four hours? Four?" Kirk repeated the number emphatically.

'Aye...'

"So we have only five hours before radiation levels reach critical?"

'Aye.'

"...And we have to leave orbit."

There was a pause before Scotty answered in the same, his voice now hollow as the grim reality set in. 'Aye, that we do.'

"Thank you Mr. Scot. Do what you can to buy us more time."

'You can count on it, Sir!'

Clicking the com off Kirk sighed with an exasperated huff and leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and pressing his chin against his woven together fingers. "Where are you when I need you, Spock?" He asked himself feeling mentally exhausted. "Where are you?"


A sense of isolation, coldness and silence filled the perpetually black chamber. The chamber appeared to be circular with no doors or windows to permit entrance or an exit. A strange lighting that seemed to come from everyone and somehow nowhere gave the chamber a dim but acceptable glow. In the center of the large, circular chamber was a single bench with a orange colored padding over its top.

The three members of the away team were laying unconscious on the floor of the chamber, all unaware of the bizarre events that they had been a part of. The first to stir was Dr. McCoy, who pushed himself up from the ground and off of his chest until he was sitting on his knees. He put a hand to his head as the lingering pain of the high pitched sound left behind a dull headache.

Looking around the doctor first spotted Lt. Uhura laying on her side only a few yards away from him. "Lieutenant?" Clumsily scrambling to his feet he moved over to his downed colleague and pressed the back of his hand against her neck. "Lt. Uhura?" She didn't respond, even as he took the tricorder from his belt and began running a scan over her unconscious form. "Nyota, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered briefly as she became aware of Dr. McCoy now kneeling beside her. "Doctor?"

"Yeah. You alright?"

"I'm... confused. Where are we?"

McCoy shook his head. "No clue. I don't know how we got here or who brought us." He reached out a hand and helped her to sit up. "But I do know we need to get out of here, fast."

"You're right." She ran her hand over her smooth hair which was pulled back in a ponytail. She felt a sharp pain and retracted her hand. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, you have a small cut on your forehead." Dr. McCoy informed her as he examined the injury. "Must've struck your head when you passed out. Try not to touch it."

"Right. Where's Spock?" She asked as she slowly stood up on shaky legs, using Dr. McCoy as her guide.

"You're the first one I saw when I came to. But he can't be far."

Uhura glanced around the room quickly, disturbed by the darkness and quiet of the chamber. Her eye was drawn to the bright orange fabric of the bench, which led her gaze to a swatch of bright blue on the floor on the other side. "Spock?" She recognized the blue as Spock's uniform shirt.

McCoy turned his focus to follow Uhura's line of sight and soon saw Spock as well. "Spock?" Walking over to the unconscious Vulcan McCoy and Uhura helped their colleague to regain consciousness. Spock was laying flat on his back, not moving.

"Spock, can you hear me?" Uhura asked gently as she put her hands on the sides of his face.

McCoy ran a tricorder scan over his body, just as he did Uhura. "Vitals are normal, at least they are for a Vulcan. That frequency must've hit him especially hard thanks to his enhanced hearing."

"Spock, look at me!" Uhura spoke louder and with more insistence.

Spock's eyes twitched before opening and focusing on Uhura's face. "Nyota."

"You're okay!" She sighed in relief. "Can you sit up?"

Spock looked around the room in a brief moment on confusion before returning his gaze to Uhura's. "I appear to be unharmed." He remarked as he sat up from the floor. "Are you injured?" He saw the small cut on her forehead and showed only a glimpse of human worry in his brown eyes.

"It's nothing, just a scratch."

Spock turned his attention to Dr. McCoy who was kneeling beside him and uncharacteristically quiet. "Doctor, has something preoccupied your attention?"

Dr. McCoy was looking past his two colleagues and toward the far wall of the chamber. His intense hazel eyes were focused on something trying to hide in the darkness. Standing up slowly Dr. McCoy turned off his tricorder, reattached it to his belt and proceeded to walk over to the wall slowly. He held out his hand and spoke in a soft, warm tone. "It's alright. We won't harm you."

Spock and Uhura turned their attention to the doctor as he calmly walked toward the wall.

"Please. Don't be afraid." Dr. McCoy spoke with a sincere welcoming lilt in his voice. "Take my hand."

From out of the shadows a pale humanoid hand reached out hesitantly, ready to retract at any moment.

"Curious." Spock observed. "It appears we are not alone."

The hand fearfully rested itself in Dr. McCoy's outstretched palm, allowing him to take a firm but gentle grip. "That's right, you're safe with us." He reassured the unknown fourth occupant. "Come over here."

From out of the darkness the figure stood up, revealing herself as the reluctant prisoner she was. A woman with short brown hair, warm brown eyes stood beside the doctor timidly. Wearing a pale purple jumpsuit with a long multicolored scarf around her neck, the woman silently allowed Dr. McCoy to escort her to the center of the chamber where Spock and Uhura were still sitting.

"Do you have a name?" Dr. McCoy asked politely.

The woman didn't answer. She only stared into his eyes with an almost tangible fear.

"My name is Leonard McCoy. I'm a doctor." He continued, doing his best to ensure that the woman felt safe. "These are my friends. This is Spock," he used his free hand to gesture toward the Vulcan. "and this is Nyota Uhura."

Uhura nodded politely as she and Spock stood up from the floor beside the bench. "Hello."

The woman saw the cut on Uhura's forehead and tilted her head with concern. Taking her hand from McCoy's the woman reached out with her two forefingers and gently pressed them into the cut.

Uhura didn't flinch or try to pull away. From the look in the woman's eyes she knew that the woman wasn't a threat.

As the woman pulled her fingers away the same cut that had once marred Uhura began fading into view on the woman's forehead, in the exact same location and the wound was of the same severity.

"The hell?" McCoy remarked as he watched the odd transference of wound from one person to another. He again used his tricorder, this time to scan the woman.

Before anyone could say anything else the cut on the woman's head faded away just as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind absolutely no mark or scar.

"Fascinating." Spock remarked as his scientific curiosity piqued.

Uhura was relieved that her injury had been healed and grateful for the woman's generous gift. "Thank you." Uhura whispered. "For helping me."

The woman smiled but kept her silence.

McCoy slipped his tricorder back to his belt after analyzing the results. "I don't believe it. She's an empath!"

Spock arched an eyebrow at McCoy's conclusion. "A truly empathic lifeform has not yet been identified in Federation space. If you are correct, and this woman is an empath, then perhaps her presence may yield a clue to our current situation."

"Empath?" Uhura was unfamiliar with the term.

"An empath," McCoy explained excitedly. "is a being who has such a strong and intuitive nervous system and brain chemistry that they can synchronize their own bodies to that of another with a simple touch. And through this physical connection combine their feelings, their emotions and even their immune systems into a single functioning process."

"Correct." An unfamiliar, unseen voice confirmed from somewhere in the chamber.

A flash of white light filled to room as two new beings, both of alien origin, appeared in the room along with the four prisoners. These two men were humanoids in appearance as well, but unlike the woman they were much taller and had enlarged, bald craniums. They were much paler than the woman, almost pure white and their hollow gray eyes were far from harmless.

"Your assessment of our 'Gamma Vertin' subject is quite accurate, and astute for someone of such limited intellect as that of a human." The same alien who had spoken before spoke again.

McCoy cocked an eyebrow and muttered to Spock despondently. "And I thought you were critical of my observations."

Uhura was growing impatient with their mysterious 'hosts'. "Who are you and why have you brought us here?"

"We are Vians. The two remaining inhabitants of the now abandoned planet you have dubbed 'Minara II'. I am Thann. This is my colleague Lal." The first Vian, Thann, continued to speak with an arrogant manner.

Lal finally addressed the four captives. "You have been selected to take part in a series of experiments."

Spock put himself in front of his colleagues in a protective stance. "We have not volunteered to take part in such experiments, nor will we cooperate. We are here to locate two missing scientists and nothing more."

Thann sneered at Spock's resistance. "You speak as though you have any choice in these experiments. Let me assure you, you do not."

Now it was McCoy who was on the defensive. "Now wait just a damn minute! You can't just abduct people and use them as your lab mice! The Federation won't-"

"The Federation cannot reach you here." Lal interrupted. "And now, doctor, we will begin our tests. We will start with the Vulcan."

In a flash of light both the Vians vanished, and so had Spock and the woman.

"Spock?" Uhura looked all around for any sign of her lover and felt her heart skip a beat when she could no longer see him. "Spock?! They took Spock!"

"But not for long." McCoy put his hands on Uhura's arms as a means of support, his own concern for Spock and the empathic woman were undeniable as he tried to ease Uhura's fears. "We're going to get him back. And we're going to get out here, all four of us. Somehow..."

...to be continued...