Chapter 5
The shuttle touched down on the featureless surface of the desert planate.
"Sir, I'm picking up some sort of energy signature 1.5 kilometres to the west." Bates said.
"Captain, I suggest we use the Arga." Brown put in.
"Very well." Decker stood and went aft to the dune buggy that the small craft held.
The buggy covered the ground to the sight in no time and they were in an equally bland area of the desert, with no sign of what could have caused the energy signature.
"Sir the signal is still present, in fact it's increasing," Bates called, "exponentially!"
"What the hell is going on here?" Shouted Decker over a motorised whining, that had over the last couple of seconds built to a crescendo.
Suddenly a black metal monolith shot out the ground just 3 meters away. Lt. Commander Brown swung her phaser rifle to cover it.
"Hold fire!" Decker called over the now ear splitting noise.
A read beam of energy shot out from the top of the monolith toward Brown. It swung across her, as thou it were some sort of scanner. Then moved on to the others scanning each in turn.
A crack opened in the sand right under Decker's feat and he jumped out the way to avoid falling.
The stood back as the giant doors opened to reveal a tunnel.
"Lets go." Decker said.
Admiral Jane way sat in her ready room on Voyager, as along with the rest of rescue party it closed on the Romulan Neutral zone.
She was brought from her musings by the door chime.
"Come in." She called.
"Captain we are approaching the Neutral zone." Her first officer tolled her walking in. "And Captain Pickard wants to speak with you."
"Thank you Commander." She said as he was walking out.
"Admiral." He said.
"Captain what is it you want?" She asked.
"Why are you having the Enterprise stay back at the neutral zone?"
"Because if we get in trouble I want someone back here to go for help."
Although this was perfectly reasonable the captain of the Enterprise took it personally.
"Admiral the Enterprise is one of the best ships in the fleet so it would it not be better used in the strike force?"
"Captain, I am not going to discus this with you, you are staying and that is that." She snapped, just as the ship rocked.
She cut the channel and ran out onto the bridge.
"What the hell is going on?" She yelled above the klaxons.
"Three Romulon ships just opened fire on us Captain." Harry Kim called from his station.
"Shields are collapsing." Tuovck called from security.
More impacts rocked the ship.
The Argo rolled down the dark tunnel, the only light came from the buggies headlights and the wrist beacons the officers were using. Decker shone his torch over another of those giant quarts crystals; they had past dozens of them at regular intervals down the walls.
"Hold on a minute." Decker said remembering something from one of his geology classes.
"What is it?" Amy asked.
"Pass me one of the hand Phasers?"
She tossed him one which he caught and amid at one of the giant quarts crystals. He fired and as it heated up the crystal began to glow they looked down the wall as the heat was conducted and all the crystals began to glow, it gave them more than enough light to see by.
"And who says Thermoluminesance doesn't have any practical uses?" Decker joked.
They all jumped back into the Argo and carried on down the shaft into the colony.
"Sir! I'm picking up Romulon ships on the long range sensors." Lt. Crusher called.
"How many?" Quiche asked.
"Two no wait, three."
"Understood, all hands battle stations, go to red alert, repeat, all hands battle stations, go to red alert." He called into the com. In response the lights went down and the read pulsing bars illuminated the bridge. "Can we raise Captain Decker?" He asked Crusher.
"No sir," She replied, "the interference that stopped us using the transporters is stopping communications.
"Is there any way we could warn them?"
"Not in the time we have."
The chamber was massive, Decker looked up and up. It must have been at least 100 feet high. The quarts crystals glowed brightly, illuminating the room? No chamber was defiantly the right word.
"Wow." Amy said cambering out of the Argo.
"Indeed." Decker agreed with her.
"Um sir, I think you should take a look at this?" Bates called from the Cockpit of the Argo.
"What?" Decker asked cambering back in to look at the small screen. "Oh. Shit."
"What?" Amy Asked.
"Romulus." Decker said.
"We'd better get a move on then."
The all jumped into the Argo and sped of into the next chamber.
"Sir I'm picking up a power signature ahead, it matches that of the Atlantian artefact recovered from Earth."
Following Bates' directions they soon reached the source.