The eighth day after we started our investigations, Team Five makes the breakthrough. A larger town, filling a cavern almost a hundred meters across and a score high contains not only more plates, these with pictographs, but fossilized bones as well. I head to the lab about the time the stasis container with the bones arrives and Kia is almost giggling in glee. After making sure the containment room is secure, she uses remotes to shut off the stasis field then pulls one bone out and deftly slices it open with a laser-scalpel then begins scanning the core.
A gasp, and she's teasing out a sample and putting it into the genetic sequencer. "Be a few hours for the computer to process it, grá," she tells me, her face alight with the knowledge that we will be able to find out what one of the higher forms of life from this planet looked like. Might just be the equivalent of a pet, but on the other hand, it might be one of the builders of the underground cities.
"A million years, and there's still material there?" I ask.
She nods, smiling widely, "I don't know if it's the density of the bone, it's very solid in structure, or the manentite that's part of the fossilization. But while it's long dead, there are strands of DNA analog that are mostly intact. The computer, hopefully, can interpolate the various pieces and perhaps reconstruct an entire strand."
"We'll be able to see what it looked like in life?"
"A close approximation, but yes. We can use the algorithms developed for genetic cross-matching to build up a crude image of whatever this bone belonged to." She sighs happily, leans in with an arm around me and looks at the bone still lying on the table in the containment area. "To think that something a million years dead will, in a way, come back to life."
"A grand thing indeed," and I think to myself 'This is what Starfleet is all about, not guarding sectors against an invasion that might not come but exploring and gaining new knowledge.'
We go and have lunch in the Pub and then she heads back to the lab while I return to the bridge and review updates from Headquarters, including a reply from them that they've dispatched an Oberth with a full science team to thoroughly explore the planet. We've been given two more days here, then we're to continue our mapping and main exploration.
Just before 1500, second shift starts arriving and I've just handed off con to Zan when Kia comes onto the bridge beaming, "Want to see what the dominant life form on the planet looked like?"
The entirety of first shift stops and waits while second shift is almost squirming in their seats. Kia has the current science officer bring up a file and on the main screen is the first image of the builders of the underground towns.
Bi-pedal, a little less than two meters in height, bulky with no hair. I look at the image more closely then blink, "Couldn't determine gender?"
Kia huffs, "As far as the computer can tell, they didn't have one."
Chief Lathem, the second shift bridge engineer, speaks up, "Could they be like my people?" Sie's from Kelestan, human looking, but everyone there is inter-sexed, both genders in one body. They're fully capable of being both 'father' and 'mother'; though not with themselves.
Kia shakes her head, "No, Chief. Your N1 and N2 chromosomes are in balance so that your people express both genders at once. Other races that also have both sides of the chromosome pair, only express the male side of that, where as the females, like myself, double up one side, so we don't even have the other half of the pair in our DNA. These people didn't seem to have the gender-specific parts in their genetic makeup, so they expressed neither."
"Then how could they reproduce?" Vaire asks. "Budding, some form of natural cloning, or something even more radical."
"I don't know if this was even representative of the race as a whole, could be a genetic accident. We'll need more samples if we hope to solve it." Kia's thinking of weeks here trying to unravel the puzzle.
"Unfortunately, we don't have much time," I put out and she looks at me. "Orders came in, they're sending the Armstrong with a full team, and we're to continue on into the sector within two days."
She huffs at that, "It's our find here, Keiran. Can't you ask for more time to let us try and solve this little puzzle?"
"Unfortunately, grá, our orders were non-discretionary. 'Continue survey mission within forty-eight hours of receipt of this transmission.'" I glance at the chrono, "As of right now, we need to get underway in just under forty-five hours to be in compliance."
"Maorlathaigh damanta," she mutters and I chuckle. (Damned bureaucrats)
"I agree totally, but we still answer to them."
A sigh, then, "I hope the teams can come up with something before then, otherwise someone else will make that breakthrough."
"You got the start on it, so your name will be at the top, grá."
"Listen to Keiran, vresh," Vaire puts in, "this was just the first system in the sector, and there are fifty more systems to look at."
Kia seems a little mollified at that, "I guess we can't be the ones on top of everything."
"And if you tried, you'd never get anything else done," I say to her purse-lipped grin.
"I suppose you're right, it still seems a shame that we can't stay and finish the job though," she says, looking wistfully at the image on the screen.
We head back to our quarters for dinner and some music, then it's to bed as both my wives seem intent on getting as much as possible done in the next couple days.
I wake to an alarm blaring again, though I have to extract myself from between Kia and Vaire to com the bridge, "O'Connor here, now what's up, Sord?" I ask, still half asleep.
"Part of the tunnel system has collapsed, Captain. Team Four was investigating a new branch they'd found and are trapped either underneath or somewhere on the other side of the rubble."
I'm instantly awake, and Vaire is already out of bed and starts handing me pieces of clothing, "Status on the team?" I ask
"Unknown, the manentite is preventing communications or a sensor lock on the team. Engineer Stron is already preparing to beam down with a crew to examine the cave in."
I'm almost done dressing as Vaire continues to hand me items, "Ship to go to condition three," I notice Kia is also up and almost dressed herself, "Dr O'Connor will prepare sick-bay, I'll be on the bridge in three minutes." I was almost completely dressed by this time and Vaire was starting to don her uniform.
"Acknowledged, Sord out." The com clicks off and I'm already headed for the door, shrugging into my duty-tunic, Kia right behind me, also putting her tunic on. Vaire calls after us to let me know that she'll be on the bridge soon just as the Yellow Alert blare starts coming from all coms aboard.
When I exit the lift I immediately start passing orders, "Sord, boost the gain on the targeting scanners, maybe we can punch through the manenite interference with them," he nods and heads to tactical. "Ensign T'Vral, put us in forced, geo-synch orbit; I want us above the ground base at all times," she nods and begins altering the ships orbital path.
I look over at B'Shal; I can tell he's nervous, "Lt M'Rael is asking to talk to you, sir."
"Good, I want to talk to her as well." I hear the door swish and know that Vaire is here, but my concentration is on the com-link I just activated on my chair. "M'Rael, what the hell was a team doing in the tunnels at night?" I'm a bit peeved; there were orders in place to prevent things like this from catching us unaware.
"They did so against procedure and my orders, sir. Several of the teams wanted to split-shift; try to find more samples, but I told them that no one was to go in the tunnels after 2100 or before 0700."
"Do you know what caused the cave-in?"
"Ground sensors recorded a magnitude 2.4 quake approximately fifteen minutes ago. When we were woken by the alert, we discovered a team missing. An IRRD message was in my unit sir, marked as low-priority which is why my IRRD didn't wake me. Engineer Parker and PO Karshtam went into the tunnels for a quick search and that's when we found out about the collapse in a side tunnel, sir."
"How long ago was that message sent?"
"Time record indicates 0015, sir, so just under two hours."
I glance at the chrono and its just 0200; I've had barely four hours sleep. "Well, if they survive this little adventure, they'll almost wish they hadn't. Has the Chief arrived?"
A short pause, "PO Shraz informs me that Mr Stron and his team just entered the tunnels, sir; PO Vrash is with them."
"At least someone obeys orders around here," I mutter then, "Very well, keep the Exec in the loop."
"Aye sir, surface base out."
I look back at Vaire and she's not looking happy. Trying to get more info is a good thing, except when you purposely disobey orders. "While their timing could have been better, you can't fault them for wanting to get as much as possible done," she says.
"Exuberance be damned, Aine, they disobeyed orders of the senior officer on the ground and if they live, I'm going to do my best to make them regret it." She nods, one thing to show a little initiative, quite another to flaunt the rules.
I thumb a switch, "Captain's Log supplemental. Contrary to orders, one team returned to the tunnels for some late night exploration. While they were in there, a minor quake has caused a collapse in the tunnel they were in. Communications attempts with the team were unsuccessful leading to the conclusion that the team is trapped either under or behind the rubble. Ship is at Yellow Alert, in forced geo-sync orbit and Commander Sord is attempting to use targeting scanners to penetrate the manentite to locate the team. Engineer Stron is already on site with an enginerring-team to assess rescue methods."
I thumb off the recorder and look back at my Exec, she has her head tipped, listening to her ear-bug, "More information from the surface, Keiran. Seems they at least loaded in new storage vacuoles, so they had approximately twelve hours of air available to them."
"Won't help if they were caught under that mess, but it does give us more time if they did survive that. Least they followed that bit of procedure." She nods and goes back to coordinating the various departments.
I'm reviewing options that we have, anything from a phaser bore to drill a hole straight down and allow communications and transporter lock-on, to using the ship's main phaser battery to cut the top right off the mountain they're under when Kia comes out of the lift, hypo-spray in hand. "Just a little something to keep you and Vaire alert, grá," stimulant then, we'll pay for it later, but my first wife knows that neither of us will sleep till the missing crew is aboard, alive or dead.
She hits me up, a quick kiss then the same for Aine, and she heads back to sick-bay. Vaire just looks at me and shakes her head ruefully and continues to receive updates from the surface.
It's about an hour later when Stron finally gets back to me, "Captain, to bore through the original tunnel and place supports will take approximately nine point two hours."
"Your estimate is based on what factors, chief."
"We used a technique developed back on Earth, sounding readings. Impacts on the rocks at the close end reverberated through the blocked tunnel and our tricorders could measure the time differential to give us a distance of one hundred twenty meters, sir. While a phaser-bore could cut through that in a very short time, we need to proceed cautiously for two reasons. First, bracing must be installed at very close intervals and second is that someone might be trapped under the rubble, and running the bore at full intensity would defeat the purpose of trying to rescue them."
Right, the phaser-bore vaporized rock, turning the compounds into disassociated atoms. What it would do to even a suited crewmember didn't bear thinking about for too long. "Understood Chief, be aware that they have less than nine hours of breathable air remaining in their vacuoles, so time is of the essence."
"Acknowledged, Captain, I shall endeavor to reduce that time without sacrificing safety for either my people or those trapped."
He signs off and I look over to my tactical officer, "Any progress on the scanners, Mr Sord?"
He looks back at me and shakes his scaled head, "Nothing, sir; the scanners are unable to penetrate the manentite. It's a shame that it can't be used in ship's hulls to provide a sensor screen, but all alloy attempts have failed due to the inherent pentagonal crystalline structure."
"I know. Keep at it, and try to think up other ideas as well." He nods, baring his double row of shark-like teeth, then turns back to his console.
I review any progress being made, Stron thinks he can cut perhaps a half hour off his original estimate, but that's still a bit too long. Sord is still trying to fine-tune the targeting scanners while Vaire works on the main sensors and Zan, who arrived a little bit after I did, tries everything she can to punch a com-signal through.
I'm looking through reports and still trying to come up with a miracle when the turbo-lift door opens and I hear a rumbling. Turning, I see Ensign Vract coming towards me, "My pardon Captain, but I request to be beamed down, sir."
"Ensign, you were one of the first people I thought of, but after reviewing medical information I declined to recruit you. Do you know what menantite can do to your system?" Vract's our lone Horta, his people EAT rock, he could put a tunnel right to the trapped crew in an hour or less, the one problem being...
"Sir, I know the risk. While I might not be able to reject all the menantite, I still believe I can get a tunnel to them in short order. I looked over Commander Stron's status and he can't reach them before their air runs out."
Menantite is a systemic poison to Horta's, kind of like arsenic is to humans. If he takes in too much, it could kill him. Luckily, as he says, they're somewhat discriminatory in what they absorb, he can refuse to absorb most of it, leave a trail of menantite slurry in his wake, but some will get into his body.
The lift door opens again and Kia comes out and goes right to Vract. Kneeling next to him, she puts a hand on one of his sensory nodes, "Vract, I know why you're up here and I have to say no. I've read the assay reports, the level of menantite in the rock down there is too high and with the length of the tunnel you'd have to dig, there's a good chance you'd take in a fatal dose."
"Ma'am, you're correct that I could die, but if I don't do this, Torres WILL die." Belinda Torres is the engineer of the trapped team, seems the two of them have struck up a friendship. "I know I can reach them in time, and if I don't do this, I could never face my brood-mates again."
One thing that I remembered was that Horta's were very protective of their own. His 'mother' had sabotaged mining equipment, killed those she knew were intelligent because she was protecting her 'children' and didn't have any way to communicate that to the miners. Vract may be the only one of his people on Repulse, but it seems he'd adopted Torres as family.
Kia's still trying to reason with him, "Oh you crazy rock-eater, you're willing to risk dying to find people who might be dead already if they were in the tunnel section that collapsed?"
"Until we get to them, ma'am, we don't know that, and if we don't try, they will die."
She seems almost ready to invoke medical over-ride but I cut her off, "He's right, grá." A look full of tears to me and I smile sadly, "Stron can't reach them in time if they are still alive, Vract here can; and you or I would do no less for those we call family."
She looks back down at him, "You just take care and get your pancake self back up here and we'll see what we can do to clear you out, you hear me, Ensign?"
His rumble is softer, "Yes, ma'am," and she kisses her hand and pats a sensory nodule with it. Then after a look to me, heads back to sick-bay to prepare it for a poisoned Horta.
I look back at Aine, from the set of her antenna, she's about as worried as Kia is, but it doesn't touch her face. "Vaire," she looks at me, "do we have any of the old life-support belts in stores?"
Now her antenna go low, she knows why I'm asking, "You are not going down there."
