22
To the Unknown
"You have some very interesting ideas," Boyce said as the two doctors toured the general hospital.
Tee'Pa Dus Do prided himself. "Yes, it has certainly made the wards more efficient without it being on the expense of great care for our patients," he replied.
The CMO was about to say something more when the communicator suddenly chirped. "Excuse me for a second," he mumbled.
"Enterprise to Doctor Boyce, please respond," Nicola called with a note of urgency in his voice.
"I am here," he drawled, knowing full well it wasn't a standard procedure reply.
"Doctor Boyce," Nicola confirmed. "Please stand by. The transporter room is locking on to your signal."
"What on earth for?" he asked sternly, a mild protest on his lips.
"There's a situation at Trehelios, doctor," the communications officer replied curtly. "Your services are needed. We're breaking orbit the moment you're back onboard."
Boyce huffed. "I guess I'll be back," he offered apologetically to the Circusian doctor.
OOOOOO
Lieutenant Jamila Amin broke into a triumphant grin and swiped her forehead clean of perspiration. "Ha," she said as she grabbed the edge of the top plateau that marked the end of her long and prestigious climb up the steep mountainside.
She was just about to pull herself up and admire the view as she felt the tingling sensation of the transporter. "No," she shouted.
One minute and 54 seconds later she stepped onto the bridge with a sour expression on her face, dressed in full climbing gear, complete with a harness, a helmet and a rope around her middle.
Louvier was barely able to hide his amusement as his lips curved upwards and he gestured for her to take her station. "I love your attire," he said.
Amin pointed a finger at him. "For your sake, this better be good," she replied.
"We found the Klingons," the chief engineer explained. "They are busy decimating our science team on Trehelios."
"All stations ready, sir," Nicola reported dutifully.
Louvier nodded. "Good, go to yellow alert and-," he turned to Amin once again, "-set a course. Maximum warp."
OOOOOO
Christopher Pike sat down at the controls of Copernicus, dressed in a golden spacesuit as Una took a step back.
"I really don't like this," Pike pointed out. "I can't abandon my crew at a time like this."
Una retraced her steps and sat down in the co-pilot's seat, locking eyes with him. "You are not abandoning anyone," she reasoned. "The Enterprise will be here within an hour or so but we still don't know where the Klingons are and I am not ready to see them try to kill you a second time."
His expression was unreadable as he listened to her words; her reasoning. While he understood that she did everything in her power as his XO, and also his friend, to protect him he didn't necessarily like it. "They don't know I am here," he said and then added in a lighter tone; "You don't know what awaits me on the other side of that thing. Maybe there's a second Klingon Empire-,"
Una harrumphed and offered him a smirk that told him she wasn't the least amused. "Very funny, Chris. There has been no indication of anything hostile on the other side; in fact, there has been no activity whatsoever. Perhaps, there is no one there?"
Pike offered her a faint dimpled smile. "An extinct civilization," he hoped.
She turned serious. "Remember; we haven't been able to establish coordinates to wherever this gateway leads so be careful-," she sighed and then continued; "We leave no one behind so if you don't come back within reasonable time, I'll personally come and get you."
"In that case I'll redouble my efforts to get back on time," he replied mischievously.
"I'll hold you to that," she said seriously and exited the shuttle.
He steered the Copernicus toward the gateway, hovered above it, until a camouflaging forcefield disengaged and he was looking at stars beneath him. Intrigued, he dove the shuttle into it and within the blink of an eye he was travelling through space with an enormous speed. He frowned in surprise as he watched the speedometer which had exceeded its maximum limit long ago. Then, with a flash, the shuttle hovered over an exact copy of the stone slab back on Trehelios.
Chris took a deep breath, then closed his eyes briefly and shook his head. He was feeling disoriented by the way of travel. He took a moment to listen to the howling wind outside as he activated the scanners on the shuttle, then moved over to put on the breastplate, boots and gloves to complete his space suit attire.
The planet was dead, a barren wasteland, just like the planet he'd come from, except for one important difference; everything was frozen and cold. There was nothing there anymore; no water, no air, no life. He wondered briefly what had happened on this world so long ago and then he glanced up at the sky and saw the most beautiful planetary nebulae there was to see. The sun had been dying a long time ago. In its final moments the star had released its gases into the surrounding space, expanded and created the most amazing colors that now painted the barren world in an eerie glow.
He searched for the three moons; willing for them to show so that he could at least confirm he'd finally found the right planet. Unfortunately, this planet, although beautiful in a way he could not explain, did not have any moons at all. Chris sighed. He wondered if he'd ever come to know the name of this planet or if he ever got to see what was left of Ichkamar in the future. He wondered what else was out there in the unknown for the Enterprise to find.
He walked back to the shuttle and saw the scanning cycle had been completed. He didn't know what to label it under but for some reason he wrote the name Arretan on the file and stowed it away in the memory bank.
At the same time, deep down, inside the planet, unknown to Captain Pike, something awakened from its slumber. The energy surged through the chamber far below the human's feet, trying to make a connection, but the mind of the 'child' walking on the dead surface was shielded from him. For a moment Sargon was bewildered to find something so powerful that it rivalled his own powers but soon let it go. Instead, he intensified his search for life close to his resting place. One day, someone would come close enough so that he could ensnarl that someone and find a way to be free again.
Pike grimaced and doubled over as the last of the Araxian lifeforce left him and hit the button to close the door behind him. His legs buckled and he gingerly made his way over to the pilot's seat. He discarded the parts of his spacesuit that he no longer needed; such as the helmet and the breastplate/backplate.
"You have to leave this place," He'tef's voice echoed in his head suddenly – forebodingly.
Chris turned his head to see the tall, lean alien in the copilot's seat next to him.
"There is something you're not telling me," he said through clenched teeth as he powered up the engines of Copernicus, lined it up and launched the vessel through the wormhole.
"There are powers in this galaxy who are not so lenient, not so caring of others, as you are," He'tef cautioned.
"So, there is something here," he deduced darkly as Copernicus arrived back at Trehelios.
He'tef nodded sadly as he shimmered out of existence. His voice echoed in the small vessel. "Please, Christopher, don't ever return."
OOOOOO
22/24
Note: The gateway from Trehelios leads to a planet called Arretan. It was the homeworld of Sargon; a being whom Captain Kirk, Spock and McCoy met in 2268 (episode 'Return to Tomorrow'). Sargon told them that the Arretans seeded the galaxy six-thousand years ago and Spock theorized Vulcan might be one of those planets.
You might wonder why Sargon is not able to contact Captain Pike here since he's got the power to bring Captain Kirk and the Enterprise to the planet. That is simply because Pike is shielded from his thoughts due to the connection with the Araxians. He's also alone, traveling through the gateway with Copernicus. However, he awakens Sargon from his slumber and have him start searching relentlessly for humans again and Sargon therefore searches for ten years until he, ironically, finds Enterprise.
