Chapter Thirteen: The Snare
Acting Captain's Log, Stardate 4729.4. The Hood has been assigned to survey and contact the colonies along the Alpha Tau sector of space. There have been rumors of colonies being attacked or vandalized by an unknown alien adversary, but so far, all the colonies we've come across have been completely fine. It's possible this has been a ruse of some kind, but I'm keeping the crew on their toes regardless.
"Alrighty," Noon said. "Which colony is next?"
"We shall be arriving around Vega Wilco IV shortly, sir," Novo responded.
"Isn't that a farming community?" Noon asked.
"Partially," Banks said. "It's mostly a community of shepherds. Some textile processing I think."
"That so?" Noon said. "I've always wanted to know how to make a sweater."
"You will most likely get the opportunity," Novo said. "Coming in orbit now."
"Miss M'Ress, open a channel," Noon ordered.
"Aye, Captain," she purred. "Hailing frequency open."
"Colony control, this is Commander Atticus Noon of the USS Hood, we're conducting a survey of the colonies in this area and we'd appreciate your cooperation."
A few moments passed.
"No response, sir," M'Ress said.
"Hm," Noon pondered. "Give out a general call to any communication devices they may have down there."
"Aye," M'Ress responded. "…Still nothing, sir."
"What do we think, people?" Noon asked. "Some kind of subspace disturbance interfering with their communications or are they just being rude?"
"I'm not picking up any problematic sensor readings that would interfere with communications," Banks reported. "There is some ionic disturbance coming from some local weather patterns. I can't get a solid reading on lifeforms, but we should still be able to hear any communications."
"And all lines are clear, Captain," M'Ress said. "There's nothing wrong on our end."
"How many colonists are supposed to be down there?" Noon inquired.
"Records say… 2,910," Banks reported.
"That's a whole lot of rude people," Noon mused solemnly.
"No kidding," Vedra deadpanned. "You'd think they still have manners this far out."
"You'd think," Noon agreed. "Well we're not going to get any more answers up here."
Noon stood up from his seat and began walking to the turbolift. "Banks, M'Ress, you're with me. Vedra, you have the bridge. Give a call to Simmons and Dr. Chen, have them meet us in the transporter room with a team from each of their departments."
"Aye," Vedra responded, heading over to the Big Chair while Banks and M'Ress rushed to join Noon in the turbolift.
As the turbolift doors shut, Noon said, "If the colony is having problems with their communication systems, I'm going to need you two to fix whatever broke. Find out what exactly is going on."
"Aye, sir," Banks said. "And… if they aren't?"
"If they aren't… well, that's why Simmons and his team are going first."
"That's surprising," M'Ress said. "I would have thought you'd volunteer to go first."
"I would, as a matter of fact. But since we have no idea what's waiting for us down there, Simmons would sooner smack me on the back of the head with a phaser than let me go first."
"He's a true friend," M'Ress said with a wry grin.
The trio entered the transporter room only a few moments before Simmons's security team and Chen and two of his medical assistants arrived.
"Alright, gang, we have no idea what's down there or what the situation might be," Noon explained. "So I'll be sending Mr. Simmons and his security team down first to scan and secure the settlement area. Once we're clear, the rest of us will follow. Let's get going."
Simmons nodded and motioned for his four security officers to follow him onto the pad. Once they were in place, Simmons said, "Energize." The team disappeared.
"Noon to bridge," he said into his communicator, "Do we have the away team on comms?"
"Yes, sir," Vedra responded.
"Patch them through to the transporter room," Noon said.
"You're on, Captain," Vedra responded after a few seconds.
"Simmons, how's it looking down there?" Noon asked.
"Ghost town, Captain," Simmons reported. "No one in sight and the tricorders aren't picking up any lifeforms close to the settlement. No errant readings of any kind. You're clear to join us."
"We hear you, Simmons," Noon said. "We're heading down now."
"Loud and clear," Simmons said.
The remaining members hopped onto the pad. Noon gave the word, and they were transported down to the planet's surface. Simmons was right. The colony was completely empty. They stood just off-center of a large square located at the heart of the settlement. This place should have been bustling with activity at this time of day, but there was nothing. As soon as they arrived, Banks and M'Ress began running sensor sweeps and communication checks.
"Anything?" Noon asked them.
"Nothing," Banks said. "Exactly what Simmons said. Ghost town."
"There's a little static on the local frequencies," M'Ress stated. "But nothing so severe as to interfere with starship communication."
"Hmm. Alright then," Noon said, clapping his hands together. "Let's start a search. Everyone break up into teams, look for any colonists or signs of life. Simmons, Doc, you're both with me. We'll hit the outskirts of town. Banks, M'Ress, head on over to the communications center, see if you can find out anything more there. Take Ensigns Gonzales and T'Cord with you. Everyone else search the settlement. Every nook and cranny. Make sure to check in over standard intervals. happy hunting."
As everyone went their separate ways, M'Ress spared a moment to give Noon a reassuring smile that he reciprocated with a wink. Noon, Chen, and Simmons made a line for the outlying buildings and around the settlement. While they walked, Chen kept up a constant scan, making sure he didn't miss any signs of life.
"So what the hell is going on here?" Noon asked to neither man in particular.
"Alien abductions?" Simmons suggested.
"Don't be so fanciful," Chen chided. "There's a logical explanation for this."
"Doc, if the colonists packed up and moved by choice, they would have actually packed up. From what I can see… all these homes are still full of possessions."
"If an abduction had taken place, there would be signs of a struggle. Anomalous energy readings. You can't just take almost three thousand colonists without leaving some sort of sign."
"A sign like… say, a big crater in the ground?" Noon suggested.
"Is there a sign like that?" Chen asked.
"Yep. Right ahead." Chen looked and saw the crater Noon was talking about. A black gash in a street that separated a row of buildings from the fields neighboring the settlement.
The trio walked up, and Chen began to take readings off his tricorder.
"Faint… plasma energy? No way for me to tell what kind of weapon made this," he said.
"Nonetheless… phasers out. Highest stun setting," Noon commanded, pulling out his own along with his communicator. "This is the Captain. We discovered a small impact crater of some sort. Made by plasma energy. Everyone arm themselves, highest stun setting, be on alert."
"Captain, this is M'Ress," the Lieutenant's voice chimed over the communicator. "We made it to the comms station. Prrowwwrr."
"What's it look like?"
"It makes sense why we haven't heard anything from this station," M'Ress said. "Everything here has been smashed to bits. Banks is looking over the broken equipment now."
"I hear you," Noon said, giving a shake of worry to Simmons and Chen. "Stay on high alert. Contact us as soon you find out anything. Noon out."
"Looks like someone's been having some fun down here," Simmons said.
"Yeah. But not the kind of fun I approve of," Noon said. "But which direction now…?"
"Actually," Chen said, studying his tricorder closely. "I'm getting more of that plasma reading coming from outside of town, in the fields."
"Let's head out," Noon said. The three men walked out of town, following Chen's tricorder readings.
It was an idyllic sight. Green grassy fields rolled over the hills. Small barns, farmhouses, and patches of trees dotted the countryside. The terraformers outdid themselves here. The trio went up to a farmhouse, spooking some sheep along the way, and checked inside. No one was there. Lunch was on the table. Maybe half a day old. They continued their trek, following Chen's tricorder readings.
They were about three miles outside of town when the readings began to intensify.
"Whatever it is, we're getting closer to it," Chen said.
"Sir… did you notice the footprints?" Simmons asked.
Noon looked down and saw that there were indeed the faint indications of several sets of footprints on the ground. It was impossible to tell how many, but there must have been dozens. Maybe hundreds.
"I thought it was just a widely-used trail, but this is fresh…" Noon whispered.
"Sir… smoke," Simmons said. Noon looked up and saw a faint wisp of smoke rising beyond the next hill.
"The readings are coming from there," Chen said, already picking up the pace. Noon and Simmons joined him, jogging towards the smoke.
Then Noon began to smell something foul. A rotting stench.
"Sir…" Chen started.
"I know," Noon panted. "I smell it too." And he began to pick up the pace, running full pelt up the hill. Simmons and Chen kept on his tail as the stench became thicker and thicker. Noon broke over the top of the hill and looked down below.
He didn't quite know what he was looking at.
At first.
There was a lot of smoke, but through the smoke, he could make out shapes. The vague indications of bodies. Burnt to a crisp.
"Oh, God," Simmons swore, putting an arm up to cover his nose.
Chen was about to run down, but Noon caught his shoulder. Chen looked at him, desperation heavy on his face. Noon just shook his head. The Doctor looked back at the pyre and fell to his knees. Noon turned around and pulled out his communicator.
"This is the captain," he said solemnly. "We… found the colonists."
"Where are they?" It was Banks. He sounded distracted, busy. He must still be working on the equipment.
"Dead. A mile or so outside of the settlement. It's a massacre. They've all been burnt in a giant pyre."
"What?" M'Ress whispered, horrified.
"Whoever did this collected the colonists up in one group and marched them out here," Noon said. "They even cleared the farms." Noon looked up; the clouds were starting to break apart. "The weather is starting to clear. Hood, can you hear me? Have you been listening?"
"We… we have, Captain," Vedra replied.
"Do another scan of lifeforms," Noon ordered. "Whoever did this might have missed someone."
"We already did," Vedra reported. "Other than the away team, there are a few anomalous life readings down there. But we can't be sure if they're human or not."
"Understood," Noon said. "Start coordinating response teams, get them as close as possible to those anomalous readings. Make sure they're prepared for anything."
"Actually, the closest one to the settlement is about half a click to the west of your position," Vedra reported.
"We're on it. Away team? Regroup at the comms stations. Set phasers to kill. Noon out." He closed his communicator and turned back to the pyre. Chen was still on his knees, Simmons stared blankly, his arm still covering his face. Noon took in another sight of it himself. Then he sighed.
"Let's move," he barked. "Half a click west. There might still be someone alive to tell us what happened."
"Or someone to answer for this bloodbath," Simmons whispered venomously, tearing his eyes away and starting westward.
"That too," Noon agreed, flipping his phaser to the kill setting. "Chen, let's move."
Noon took a few steps before realizing Chen hadn't moved. He turned around and walked back over to the kneeling doctor. He crouched down next to the doctor, staring at the bodies.
"Chen," Noon said. "There's nothing you can do here."
"I know," the doctor said. But he still didn't stir from his spot on the ground.
"There might be someone out there who needs you. We can't waste any more time here."
Chen closed his eyes and visibly collected his swirling emotions.
"…Okay," he whispered. Noon stood up first and helped the doctor to his feet.
"We'll find out who did this," Noon promised.
"Revenge," Chen said, walking with Noon, "Is for the weak, Captain."
"Agreed. But so is mass murder," Noon said. "Either way, we're still going to get to the bottom of this."
The two caught up with Simmons and began the walk over to the life reading. After a while, Chen began to pick up the reading himself. It led them towards an outcropping of rocks atop a hill. They walked up and began to search the formation.
Noon pulled out his tricorder to try and follow a reading.
"Alright," he said, "split up and look around. This is close enough that if someone did get away, this would be a pretty good hiding place."
They each took a different section of rock and walked slowly through the croppings. Noon stuck out his tricorder with one hand, trying to follow the rogue readings while steadying his phaser with the other. It was dead quiet. No sounds. Nothing. Even the wind was dead. He thought about calling out to one his companions, but reconsidered. Whatever was here might not be friendly. He made his way to the outside of the rocks and looked down the hill.
Noon took this moment to shut his eyes and breath in deeply. Keeping himself together had been tough but knowing that he had to in the face of such horror kept him steady. His crew needed him to be strong. He would not break. Later, he'd definitely need some drinks to push away the memory of the bodies. But for now, he'd steel his nerves. Push away his emotions. Chen was right. Even the anger had to go too. Whoever did this had to be punished lawfully. Death cannot atone for death.
His communicator beeped, waking him from his thoughts. He flipped it open.
"Noon here," he said.
"Captain!" it was Vedra. "The interference has cleared up; we're reading two life signatures in your area! Definitely non-human!"
"Captain…" Something hissed behind Noon.
He turned around quickly, phaser raised, but something heavy slammed into his chest and threw him down the hill. He cried out as he flew through the air and smashed into the ground, rolling a few meters more until he was at the bottom. His head buzzed with dizziness, but he managed to get to his feet. Noon took a few unsteady steps towards the rocks, but then something strong wrapped itself around his neck. His hands flung up to his throat and felt something scaly. Clawing at it, he tried to get away, but whatever had him gave a sharp pull.
Noon then heard some more hissing speech and out of the corner of his eye saw some kind of device grasped in a clawed hand. He tried to reach for it but his hand was slapped out of the way. He then began to feel the tell-tale signs of a transportation kicking on. He had just enough time to hear Simmons crying out his name before the planet disappeared around him.
His surroundings came back into focus in the form of a dark room with hazy lighting. Noon fought hard against his captor but was thrown harshly at the ground. Attempting to get to his feet, something kicked him hard, causing him to flip over onto his back. He let out a loud "oof" and tried to stand again, only to have a large foot plant itself firmly on his chest.
He tried to grab at the foot, force it to move, but it wouldn't budge. He looked up at whoever the foot belonged to and saw the form of a giant reptile-shaped humanoid.
"Welcome to our ssshhhip, human," the thing snarled. "The Gorn welcome you with open armssssss…"
"What the hell is going on down there!?" Vedra exclaimed.
"Something got Noon!" Simmons yelled. "I don't what is was, something big and green! There was another one here, they both beamed away!"
"Transporter room!" Vedra barked. "Beam the away team back up here now!"
"Sir," Novo said calmly. "A ship has appeared on our sensors. It's beginning to warp out of the system."
"Shields up, load torpedoes and arm the phasers," Vedra commanded. "Move into attack position as soon as we have the away team."
"Aye, sir," Novo said.
"All away team members are back on board," the transporter chief reported.
"Chase them down, Lieutenant."
The Hood moved toward the enemy ship, preparing to disable it. But then the ship powered up and warped away. Vedra swore and slammed a fist on the armrest.
"Match whatever Warp that ship has gone to! Do not let it get away!"
"Right away," Novo replied. "Going into warp."
The Hood leapt forward into warp, giving hard chase.
The turbolift doors opened. Banks, M'Ress, Simmons, and Chen walked onto the bridge, relieving the crewmen at their stations.
"What happened down there?" Vedra asked.
"Like I said," Simmons retorted, "Something grabbed the captain. One of them pushed him off the hill we were on down to another one at the bottom. They both beamed away before I could do anything."
"Do you have any idea what they were?" Vedra asked.
"No, but they were big and green and scaly. Like giant lizards."
M'Ress turned around quickly. "Gorn?" She asked, worry thick in her voice.
"No, it couldn't be," Banks said, shaking his head. "Gorn space is close, but it's relatively far enough away that they wouldn't raid this area. There are much closer colonies and as far as we know they wouldn't even bother to go outside their territory."
"Here…" Simmons walked over to Banks' station. "Pull up an image of a Gorn. I could definitely recognize it if it is."
"Sir?" it was Novo. "We're losing distant from the enemy ship."
"Divert power from the phaser banks and non-essential systems to the engines," Vedra ordered. She pushed a comms button on the chair. "Engineering? Bridgette, you down there?"
"Yes, I'm here," she responded. Vedra considered Bridgette her right hand in all matters engineering.
"You give me every scrap of power these engines have," Vedra said. "We are not going to lose that ship."
"On it, ma'am!" Bridgette replied.
"That's definitely what I saw," Simmons confirmed, looking at Banks' console. "Unless there's another species that looks exactly like a Gorn, it's definitely them."
"That doesn't make sense!" Banks exclaimed. "They're vicious, they've cleared out colonies before, but only when territory was an issue! That colony was nowhere near Gorn space!"
"Looks like they're expanding…" Chen whispered, eyes glued to the view screen.
"We'll sort out their motives once we incapacitate that ship," Vedra said. "Until then, we keep up the pace. We're not letting them get away with Noon."
She then began to direct Simmons and the rest to come up with strategies to counter what they knew about Gorn ships.
M'Ress had kept quiet. She had heard stories of Gorn brutality and savagery. Her heart thundered in her chest. Her thoughts centered on Noon. They had to get him back. And soon.
They had to.
To Be Continued...
NEXT TIME ON THE CAITIAN'S PAW:
"THE SNARE, PART II"