To the outsider's perspective, Commander Riker and the rest of the away team stepped on the raised platform, authorized the beam and froze in place for a second as their molecules were taken apart piece by piece. To Riker, that time was the difference between breaths. Unlike most away missions, due to the planet's frozen and hostile nature the away team wore large cumbersome EV suits. These suits, meant to handle any extreme environment, were not unlike hazmat suits of the 21st century, with the outside of the suits utilizing a form of silicone and metal to create a shield able to withstand all the radiation a sun can put off. "All team, sound off." Riker said, his voice sounding muted to himself as the sound bounced of the plastic viewpiece inches from his face. "Jeremy Aster, sounding off." A gruff voice came from the speaker at the back of the helmet, the marine clearly annoyed at the situation he was now in. "Ensign Sherbourne, all good." A shaky female voice was next. It wasn't surprising, the intimidation the planet held from above was nothing like what it felt to actually stand on the planet. Even surrounded by the highest tech suit the Federation had to offer, he felt as if he was still just in his Starfleet uniform. The winds seemed to cut right through the suit even as it was impossible for outside currents to penetrate it. "Lieutenant Adams, present." Another male voice rang through his helmet, the usual joviality gone from the lieutenant. Even with all his experience, nothing could have prepared him or any of them for what they now saw. A crater spread out in front of them, storms thousands of miles long swirled above, and the wind picked up the dust, making it seem as if there was movement on the edges of their visions. The wind was deafening, a shrill whistle even through the reinforced helmet. Because of the rocky terrain, Riker couldn't shake off how the voices sounded eerily like whispers, just out of hearing range.
The dread grew for the away team as they descended into the crater, following the commander's tricorder towards whatever it was that could generate the energy they had detected on the Enterprise. The darkness of the planet, with the only natural light coming from the sun whose system the planet had left close to half an Earth day ago, but it never touching the ground gave the team an eery feeling. The only light on the ground was from the high powered torches the team had, stretching every shadow into long fingers of darkness, reaching from further within the abyss. Making there way down a seemingly endless pit, they finally reached the bottom plateau. The ground was oddly flat compared to the treacherous climb they had just partaken. The wind had died down so far from the surface, the lightless sun still above in the sky, only seen enough to be seen like the Earth's moon so many light years away. In this suffocating darkness, the lights from the Enterprise could even be seen, so small compared to the monstrosity of the planet. Riker heard the speaker bark a little as it activated. "Just how big is this crater?" he heard Ensign Sherbourne speak in awe, as the entirety of it was now seen by the away team. What had merely been thought of as a large crater was in fact, the opening to a truly massive cavern system, large enough to possibly house an entire fleet's worth of starships. "However large it is" Riker heard Adam's start to speak, "our unknown power source is somewhere inside." Riker turned, forced to turn his whole body in order to face the rest of the team. Their illuminated faces pale, from the light and the shock of how truly insignificant they were compared to the might of this world. "The signal isn't too far in, maybe three hundred meters tops." He turned back around. "Let's find out what's down here."
Captain Picard sat back in his chair in his ready room, once again studying his screen intently. This time, there was no feigned interest, but full fledged fascination. This planet still puzzled him, and he mused on what Data had said to him on the way back to the bridge. "Captain," the android had started, after pulling him aside. "The odds of finding a rogue planet are 1 in 73 billion. Not only this, but to have an infinite energy source," he cocked his head to the side, and raised his eyebrows, "we can only assume that its discovery was intentional." That was all he said before moving past the captain to assume his duties. Picard mulled over these words again. "Could it be you again Q? Are you testing humanity again?" he mumbled under his breath. It was then that the room chirped, and Riker's voice could be heard. "Captain," he started. His voice quavered a little, something that happened only very rarely. "I think we found it."
The object was large, at least four meters in height. The artifact was a deep black, as if mined from pure obsidian, with ridges marking itself all the way up to the top. It shaped like a double helix, starting thick at the bottom wrapping around and thinning before splitting at the top, giving it two distinct points. Engraved in the obelisk were symbols that appeared organic rather than created by a machine, rounded edges and seemingly random patterns. Even in the relative silence of the main cargo bay, it seemed to hum slightly louder than the rest of the Enterprise. "Do you have any idea what it could be Ensign?" Captain Picard said, slightly turning his head to the left to speak to Ensign Sherbourne. His eyes never left the obelisk. "No idea captain" She said, shaking her head, "but whatever it is it marks the next step in electromagnetic power for the galaxy." Turning to face her fully, Picard asked "Do we have a name for it yet?" Sherbourne shook her head again. "No captain, but I do have one idea." She turned to the captain, a gleam in her eyes. "I do like a good pun, and considering the importance of this discovery, I call it the Marker."
Riker stood alone in the crew ready room, his head spinning and his skin crawling. Ever since he got back from the planet he hasn't felt right, constantly itching and with a headache to boot. After hearing that wind for so long, he swore he could still hear it, those whispers constantly on the edge of his hearing. Shaking his head, he closed his locker before turning around and nearly walking into Jeremy. "Woah there commander," the Ex-marine said stepping back. "Just trying to get to my locker." Riker looked in his eyes, and saw the slight tremble in the pupils, the micromovements his eyes made as if he were a frightened animal. Riker noticed all this because he saw it in the mirror, ever since they got back from that world. "You feel it too." It wasn't a question Riker asked, but a statement. He saw the marine tense, before relaxing slightly. "You mean this infernal headache, and still hearing the wind as if we were still on that damned rock? Yeah I feel it." The marine suddenly seemed tired. "I've felt something like this before. After serving on the front lines for so long, losing so many of your comrades, you can still hear the weapons and the screams even as you sleep." He finished putting his gear in his locker before turning around. "I'm going to go see the Doctor, get some sleeping medicine. That stuff will knock you right out, won't even have the nightmares." The door closed behind him, and Riker turned back around. Despite what he had said, he doubted he would get much sleep tonight.
It had been two hours since The Marker had been brought on board, and Geordi was still working on the technical problems that seemed to plague the ship. He now stood in the main engine room, on the second floor trying to fix a fused circuit in the engine computers mainframe. "Hey Barkley," he called down to the bottom floor, catching the attention of the slender engineer. "Mind throwing me a spare power coupler? This entire system may need to be replaced." The Lieutenant nodded, before his face became one of concern. "But sir, what are we going to have to tell the captain?" Geordi shrugged, and let out a small exhale. "I don't know. But with all these malfunctions I really don't feel comfortable moving around this far out in deep space. The last thing we need is for something to be broken and for us to become stranded." He walked over to the ladder and begun to climb down, continuing speaking. "The crew is already tense. Ever since we left civilized space the feeling even in ten-forward has been one of fear. Everyone's afraid under the surface. We can't have a breakdown now." Barkley opened his mouth to say something, when Geordi's combadge chirped on. "Chief, this is Sherbourne. You got a second?" Geordi sighed again, something he had fallen into the habit of recently. "This is Geordi. What do you need Ensign?" The badge chirped again. "Can you come to the main cargo bay? I've been studying The Marker, but i'm starting to feel a bit ill. I have a bad headache, I was wondering if you could come take a look at the thing while I make a quick stop to the infirmary." Geordi began to head towards the door, giving Barkley a look, or as much as he could wearing the visor, to fix the engine problem. If he was honest, he was dying to get a look at the mysterious artifact himself. "Of course." He replied to the badge. "I'm on my way."
The captain was sitting in his chair on the bridge when his badge toned again, twice in as many hours. "Captain this is Beverly." A voice came through, feminine and carried a slight air of panic. "Captain whatever it is you brought on the ship, I think it's affecting the crew." Picard's face began to frown, this was most certainly unwelcome news from the doctor. "What do you mean Beverly? It's already been scanned and probed. Nothing about it is psychological in nature, I even had Councillor Troi scan it for good measure." He could almost imagine the doctor as she took a deep breath, her shoulders raising and her head shaking slightly. "Well I think it's affecting them somehow. I've had a three hundred percent increase in headaches, and some of the crew are even behaving," she paused for a moment. "Violently." Picard sat forward, before coming to his feet, his frown deepening. "What do you mean Beverly? Are the crewmembers attacking each other?" He could hear her sigh. "I think so. I have a few with concussions, one with a black eye, and one with some broken ribs. I called Troi, all she said was that she'll look into it. Security has been unhelpful, and the patients are complaining about a headache. Some of these wounds even look self inflicted Jean-luc. I don't know how to handle this." Picard turned around and started to head toward the turbolift. "I'm on my way. If my crew are getting into fights among themselves I need to know about it."
Geordi stepped off the turbolift onto the main cargo bay, and began to walk towards the center of the room where the marker was set. Standing at the door was Councillor Troi, a surprising sight to him. "Councillor?" he asked, watching as she turned around to face him. "What are you doing down here?" She smiled, a smile filled with joy that he rarely sees unless she's around Riker and thinks no one will notice. "I had to see it Geordi, I had to see its wondrous design." He creased his brow, showing evident confusion. "Wondrous design? I mean I understand the appeal of limitless energy but I don't understand why that would truly fascinate you beyond curiosity." She beamed that smile again, unsettling Geordi in how misplaced in the situation it was. "It's not everyday you discover a God." Geordi took a step back, confused and unnerved by this sudden change in the Councillor, before he began to step around her to go into the part of the bay that held The Marker. "Okay Councillor, whatever you say. Maybe take some rest, all the crew's emotions have to be running pretty hot right now. You might be confused." Turning back around, his visor caught the full view of The Marker. Searing pain went through Geordi's head, his visor seeing all the electromagnetic waves in an instant, the atomic structure of the obelisk, everything. For that moment Geordi felt as if he were seeing with his eyes instead of through his visor, before everything went black and he fell to the floor comatose. The last thing he thought was of Troi's smile, and the religious fervor in her eyes as she called it God.
