The city was dark and silent. Spock and Lieutenant Gaines wound their way in the moonlight through the maze of ancient structures, and it seemed to Phyllida that a sense of loneliness and despair permeated the very air around them, as though the city had long forgotten the touch of people. The pair walked in silence through empty cobbled streets, past ornate stone buildings, some crumbling, some not, most being slowly overtaken by the forest, eventually to find themselves in a large courtyard paved with broad flagstones. One of the buildings that surrounded the courtyard was more prominent than the others. It was a large columned structure with wide, shallow steps that led from the flagstones to the first row of columns that marked the entrance to its dark interior. At the center of the courtyard rose the immense obelisk that towered above the rest of the city. Its smooth white walls shimmered in the moonlight, giving the impossible dualistic impression of newness and great antiquity.

They looked up at the structure. Phyllida's hand came to her head and she swayed subtly, but caught herself before Spock noticed. She walked over to the steps of the columned building and sat down. The strange pulsation she was feeling in her head began to abate.

Spock turned from the obelisk and walked over to where she sat. His eyes narrowed. "Are you all right, Ms. Gaines?"

Phyllida nodded, but could not meet his eyes. "I just need some rest. It's been a long day." She rose wearily from the steps and entered the building where she lay down in the darkness on the cold stone floor and fell at once into an exhausted sleep. The Vulcan looked after her in silence.

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Bright sunlight streamed past thick, white columns. Phyllida blinked groggily. Midmorning. She rubbed the back of her neck and scanned her surroundings. The building was immense. It could almost have been a Greek temple, she thought. Rows of massive white columns marched across the empty expanse of the interior as well as across the threshold. The other three walls were covered with colorful, delicately inlaid mosaics. In the center of the chamber was a large raised block of stone, perfectly hewn, resembling an altar, and along its sides appeared to be engraved lettering. Spock was nowhere to be seen. She drew herself to her feet and went outside. He was there, examining the strange structure they had found last night. And – she put her hand to her head – IT was still there too; the curious emanation she had thought she felt when they first approached the city. But no – now it was gone. She yawned and chalked it up to fatigue and an overactive imagination.

Stretching to get the kinks out of her back – what I wouldn't give for a bed, she thought – she looked around the courtyard. To her left, she noticed a narrow breezeway between two of the buildings that led in the direction of the lake, and it gave her an idea. "Mr. Spock!" she called. He looked up. "I'm going for a walk down to the lake – I won't be long." Spock nodded his acknowledgement and went back to studying the obelisk.

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For the twenty-second time, Spock slowly circled the structure, looking for that one thing he may have missed the last time around. The obelisk stood upon a stone platform about a foot high and six feet square. No mortar had been used to seat the base of the obelisk to the platform, yet it was a seamless fit. He ran his hands again over the cool stone. There were no openings, no engravings, no inscriptions, no carvings of any kind. It was exactly as it appeared to be – a smooth, white, seamless monolith reaching soundlessly toward the sky.

He drew his tall frame erect and looked up at the sun. It had been nearly an hour since Lieutenant Gaines had left and she had not yet returned. Spock was not overly concerned about her, knowing that she was quite capable of taking care of herself; however, she did say she would not be gone long and they had not yet explored the lake; it could harbor any number of dangers to which Phyllida may have fallen prey. Mentally berating himself for allowing her to go off alone, he stepped from the obelisk platform and headed for the lake.

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Delicious! Phyllida dove again under the clear, cool water. It felt absolutely, positively delicious to be clean again! She broke the surface and tossed her long blond hair from her face, water cascading all around her. For a fleeting moment she thought she probably should be getting back, but the water felt so good she was reluctant to leave. She laughed and dove again into the cool depths.

The first thing Spock noticed was her boots. Somewhat surprising, because Phyllida was not in them. Next to the boots, was a small pile of red and blue cloth. From the lake, he heard a splash and turned just in time to see Phyllida rising from the water. An eyebrow shot up in appreciation. Remote recollections of another pool returned unbidden. Feeling somewhat uneasy, he turned to go back the way he had come.

"Come on in! The water's great!"

Spock paused and looked over his shoulder. Phyllida's face was bobbing above the water and wearing the biggest smile he thought he had ever seen. She looked brilliant. The uneasy feeling would not go away. "I really don't think that would be appropriate."

"Ah, come on, Spock! It really does feel marvelous!" She laughed and dove again beneath the surface.

He wanted to get back to the city, but for some reason Spock's feet would not move. The water WAS very tempting... Yes, he was convinced it was the prospect of getting clean that tempted him.

"Spock! You coming in, or what?"

Looking back on it, Spock would wonder what came over him at that moment. He would later convince himself that it was simply logical that he took advantage of the lake when it had been so long since he had bathed. The warm sunshine, the cloudless sky, the peaceful surroundings, the beautiful woman, none of these had anything to do with his decision. He acquiesced to the logic of the situation and, divesting himself of his boots and trousers, made his way into the water.

Phyllida swam over to greet him and splashed at him playfully. "Isn't this great? Doesn't this feel absolutely wonderful? I swear I had bruises on bruises...this cool water is SO delicious!"

Spock had to admit to himself that even though the water was a bit chilly, it did feel good, and he allowed himself to relax in the moment, sinking beneath the surface to wet his hair. When he came up, he found Phyllida's arms encircling his head, hands coming to rest behind his neck. Startled, he tried to back away, but she would not relinquish her hold. Her proximity was unsettling and his body was beginning to respond in a quite human fashion. Spock swallowed convulsively and reached up to put his hands on her forearms. "Lieutenant Gaines," his voice was low and hoarse. "What are you doing?"

"Just this!" She pulled him quickly to herself and planted a playful kiss on his cheek, then released him and swam away, giggling.

Spock felt himself turn warm and wondered if he was blushing. He dove quickly into the cool caress of the water. When he came up again, Phyllida, her garments, and her boots were gone.

It was some time later that Spock returned to the obelisk courtyard to find Lieutenant Gaines sitting at the base of the monolith, regarding it intently, as if the swim in the lake had never occurred. He strode over to where she sat, determined to put the morning's events behind him. "There is nothing to be learned from this structure," he stated matter-of-factly. "It was probably built as a simple memorial."

Gaines' eyes were fixed on the monument. The lightheartedness she had exhibited earlier was gone. "No," she whispered. "No. There's something more."

The Vulcan's expression was unreadable. "When you discover what this elusive 'something' is, please do not fail to let me know, Lieutenant." He turned abruptly and walked toward the "temple" building without waiting to hear Phyllida's quiet response.

"Oh, I won't, Mr. Spock. I won't."

Spock stopped for a moment in the dim coolness of the "temple" to allow his eyes to adjust. He felt a twinge of what might have been regret for his brusque retort to Phyllida just now. The responses she elicited in him were quite perplexing, not to mention disturbing. Illogical. He resolved to put his mind on something other than Phyllida Gaines.

As normal sight gradually returned, he scanned the walls of the chamber and the ancient mosaics, their colors as vibrant now as they must have been when they were first created. He walked to his left to the wall nearest him. The picture delicately inlaid there depicted a humanoid creature riding astride what appeared to be a missile with orange-red flame spouting from it. Spock could not read the inscription beneath the picture, but was certain that, in time, the rune-like lettering would become clear to him. There were four mosaics on each of the three walls, each mosaic depicting a different scene. He moved to the second wall, ignoring the sound of light footsteps behind him.

"What are they?"

Spock looked over his shoulder at Gaines. Her hair was still damp, framing her face with unruly golden tendrils. He drew a deep breath and his dark eyes betrayed the barest flicker of response to the beauty that faced him. "If I am to understand your question correctly, this seems to be a pictorial history. Of course, any conclusion drawn from such a cursory glance and without benefit of translation of these inscriptions is purely speculative."

"Of course." Her expression was serious, but her wide blue eyes held a touch of amusement.

Spock ignored her somewhat acerbic tone and turned back to focus his attention on the mosaic he had been perusing. It depicted a great number of the humanoids in the construction of the city in which Spock and Phyllida now found themselves. The next picture contained the first reference to the immense obelisk outside. Wordlessly, Phyllida watched as Spock methodically studied each picture and worked his way to the third and last wall.

"Fascinating!"

On the wall, the four mosaics formed an immense mural in which the prominent figures were –

"Somari!" Phyllida whispered.

"It would appear so."

Spock's sensitive fingers traced the delicately inlaid tiles of the first picture, coming to rest at the representation of the base of the white obelisk. There, one of the city's inhabitants stood, his arms stretched toward the sky, where the light of a midday sun reflected off the wings of one of the Somari. The bird-creature flew away from the man, toward a towering mountain. Spock moved over to crouch at eye level to the next picture. The mountain dominated the scene and around it many Somari flew with unmoving grace, as if frozen in a moment of time. At the base of the mountain was another humanoid, in much smaller representation than before. Spock's eyes narrowed slightly as he moved to the third panel. The mountain sloped gently away, receding into a blazing sunset. Against the vivid orange-red hues of the tiles, small, blackened figures that could only be bird-people flew over the horizon, lending a certain air of finality to the work. One long, tapered finger tapped the inscription below the inlay.

"If only I could read this."

"Patience, Mr. Spock, is a virtue." Phyllida smiled at him.

The Vulcan merely raised one eyebrow as he turned his full attention to the fourth and final mosaic. There were no Somari in this picture; the strange, white obelisk again was the prominent subject, piercing the night sky like a shimmering knife. Two crescent moons, surrounded by stars, hung high above the monument and the extraordinary workmanship instilled into the mosaic made it seem as though one star, positioned between the two crescents, actually pulsed brighter than the rest. At the base of the obelisk, two beings, a man and a woman, raised their hands toward the heavens as though in prayer or supplication to some unseen deity.

"Most curious."

"Spock?"

"Do you recall what the Kamnke said when we were prisoners of the Somari?"

"About us being 'Ancient Ones' and some kind of prophecy?"

"Exactly." Spock held Phyllida's eyes with his own. "These murals show a definite reference to Somari. It is possible that the humanoids in these depictions are the 'Ancient Ones'." He looked back at the mosaic. "Of course, until the inscriptions are deciphered we will not know the true significance of what is depicted here."

"Do you think you can decipher them?"

Spock nodded. "Barring interruptions and unforeseen difficulties, I should be able to discern the key elements of the language within a few weeks."

Phyllida turned back to the final mosaic, to the woman whose hands stretched to the sky, and thought of home.

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A/N: Thanks to all who take the time to review. It keeps the story going! All reviews are appreciated.