Star Trek Bonaparte

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Episode Two

Nightmares in a Cloud

Chapter Three

Woods and Winn looked at each other, clearly confused at Kruge's sudden panic.

'What's wrong?'

'We just have to go. This place is dangerous.'

'How?'

'I'm your advisor now listen to me! RUN!'

Just as he said that, Woods felt a strange rumbling noise as if the building itself began to shake.

'Let's go,' said Winn, his voice as calm as possible, it was clearly the same voice he used when going into combat.

The two of them ran as quickly as they could towards the other group, almost colliding into them in a corridor.

'What's going on Kruge?' she shouted at him.

'This is a Sith tomb.'

'Sith?'

'I'll explain when we're out of here.'

Before they could even move a great groan filled the air as the corridor they were in shook harder than before and a great slab quickly began to descend at the end of it, leading to the front door.

'Run!' Kruge shouted and led them as they raced to get out but it was no good.

By the time they reached it the gap between the floor and the slab was only a few inches. When it hit the ground a great clang filled the air, a long noise which seemed to portent doom.

'Damn,' Kruge cursed and looked at Woods. 'It's not your fault.'

'Why would I think it is?'

'It only started after you read that damn inscription. You couldn't have known.'

Woods nodded her head and looked at the two marines.

'Try to cut through this door. We need to get out of here.'

'Understood,' one of them said and they both aimed their phaser rifles at the slab and fired.

The golden beams impacted against the slab and sparked brightly, so bright that Woods had to look away until, at last, they stopped and she looked again only to see that there was not a single dent in it.

'How the Hell?' asked Mainwaring.

'Your tricorder,' Kruge said and she handed it to him.

After a few seconds of scanning it he shook his head.

'Bad news?'

'Very bad. It's dura steel but Mandalorian Iron is worked into the alloy. We'll need a torpedo to get through it.'

'Damn,' Woods muttered and tapped her comm badge. 'Woods to Purs.'

'Purs here. What's going on?' the officer on the runabout responded.

'We triggered some sort of a booby trap. A doors trapping us in here. According to Kruge we'll need a torpedo to get through it. Return to the Bonaparte and get an engineering team to get us out of here.'

'Commander, it won't do any good. Some sort of forcefield has surrounded the structure. I can get away but we can't get to you.'

'Can you identify the source of the forcefield?'

'Yes. It's located at the top of the right hand side pyramid.'

'In that case, let's get going. It will take us a while to get there so I want you to get out of the interference area and inform Captain Lewis what's happened. I still want an engineering team when you return.'

'Yes Commander. Good luck.'

'Alright folks,' she said to her officers as they all looked to her for leadership. 'We head for the shield generator, get it offline and then return here. Kruge, I need answers. What is this place?'

'A Sith tomb.'

'What's a Sith?' she asked as they started walking.

'The Sith are an ancient order of warriors. There have been many times in history when they have fought bloody wars for rule of the galaxy.'

'And this tomb belonged to one of their leaders?'

'Almost certainly.'

'Which one?'

'I have no idea. The Sith had many rulers, and they were practically a feudal group, this could belong to any of hundreds of their rulers.'

'Why is this tomb in a gas giant though?' asked Mainwaring.

'The Sith have no concept of respecting the dead. They have a tradition of searching the tombs of Sith Lords long gone for knowledge or even just as a test of strength.'

'So they built the tomb on a planet and then scooped it out and hid it here?' asked Winn.

'Sounds excessive,' Mainwaring commented. 'Mad religions can do anything if they have enough motivation.'

'They are not mad,' Winn said defensively. 'On Bajor we do everything we can to respect our dead. If I was her, I'd have done the same.'

'Hang on,' said Woods and she looked at Kruge with concern. 'You said Sith went into tombs to test their strength.'

And so she saw his face darken with realisation.

'I did.'

SO THERE IS ONE AMONG YOU WITH WISDOM.

At the thundering woman's voice calling through the tomb everyone raised their weapons, ready to face this danger.

'Who's there!' shouted Winn.

THIS IS MY TOMB! THIS IS MY DOMAIN!

'Tell us your name,' Woods said calmly, aiming her phaser at anything close by.

DARTH IMPERTA! LORD OF THE SITH!

'How are you still alive?' asked Mainwaring. 'Are you an AI?'

HA. AN AI? YOU MISTAKE ME FOR A MERE DROID! I LED THE ARMIES OF THE SITH IN MANY CONQUESTS ACROSS THE GALAXY AND YOU CALL ME AN AI. YOU SPEAK TO DARTH IMPERTA HERSELF. MY ESSENCE REMAINS HERE FOREVER.

'How?' Woods whispered to Kruge.

'You've used the Force to keep your mind alive?' he asked Imperta.

WELL DONE.

'We are not here to fight you, or to steal from you. We just want to leave.'

IN THAT CASE, PROVE THAT YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO LEAVE. MY ACOLYTES SHALL TEST YOU.

At her words panels opened in the walls close to them and from them emerged the stuff of nightmares. Corpses, dried out and mummified, with cybernetics fitted to their limbs, each one carrying a long blade, advanced on the group.

'Pull back!' Winn shouted and started firing his phaser, tearing apart several of them.

Woods started running, firing at them as she went with her phaser pistol. As the phasers hit them they burst apart but there were so many of them. Woods looked over her shoulder to see the corridor packed with hundreds of them. Kruge was firing his large pistols into them, killing many, but one of Winn's marines was pulled into the mass and torn to shreds by the corpses. They turned a corner and everyone ran as fast as they could.

…

'So they're trapped in a tomb,' said Sunik as he followed Lewis into his ready room. 'It sounds like the start of one of your old pulp horror novels.'

'I still can't believe how much time I wasted reading them,' the captain responded as he stood by the replicator. 'Hot chocolate, large, no cream.'

When the large glass cup materialised he took it and enjoyed a long sip from it.

'Either way, I have assembled an engineering team. When Commander Woods is able to bring down the shields, they can deal with opening the door.'

'I just wish,' Lewis said as he sat down, 'we could talk to her.'

'As do I. While Commander Lewis and I are not exactly friends, she is a useful member of the crew.'

'Vital. Now, is Wilson leading the mission himself?'

'He demanded that he leads it.'

'Good. Just make sure he gets her and the others out of there safe and sound.'

'I do not intend to allow members of our crew to die.'

…

Woods and the others tumbled into a room, the corpses right behind them, and Kruge found a switch next to it, shutting the door behind them before firing a shot into the controls, sealing the door shut.

'That should buy us some time,' he said, getting his breath back.

'And you've trapped us!' Mainwaring shouted at him. 'You trapped us in a pyramid with a horde of zombies!'

'We need to rest,' she said and then looked at the gathered crew who made it in.

They were all there, except for both of the marines who had been killed in the chase. Winn's space suit had also been damaged in the fight, the arm torn open revealing his uniform beneath it. The room they were in was relatively plain without much decoration, except for a single carving of a Human skeleton made of a wall above a table. There was also another door which was closed already.

'Winn,' Woods said at last, 'secure the other door. Don't trap us in.'

'Understood.'

'Mister Kruge,' she then said to him, 'I need intel. Who the Hell was Darth Imperta?'

'She was a Sith lord,' he answered. 'Many of the records on the Sith were restricted when I was at the academy but I know enough.'

'Then give me a lesson.'

'She wasn't exaggerating. Darth Imperta led the Sith forces at the Battle of Norvon A. They attacked the planet and massacred its defenders before moving on to the civilians. They killed the old and the disabled, forced the rest into slavery.'

'My God. How is she still talking to us?'

'The Sith never liked the fact that their power ended when they died. Darth Imperta must have used some sort of sorcery to keep her essence living on inside of the tomb.'

'Sorcery?' she asked him, not caring if she came off as rude. 'Are you mad?'

'Not at all. The Sith had incredible powers, I wouldn't put it past them to find a way to keep their minds alive. There's a good reason why the Republic banned us from looking into these tombs without,' he then stopped himself, 'without specialist support.'

'You expect me to believe that this woman was a witch?'

'She was a Sith.'

'You do realise that all those stories are just that, stories. Made up over the years to scare children.'

'If you'd have seen the things I've seen then you'd know how dangerous the Sith were, and still are.'

'You mean there are more of these Sith out there?'

'At least one.'

'And what proof do you have that we've been dealing with an undead entity instead of a computer programme?'

'I can't say,' he said gravely, 'but just trust me, we are dealing with the mind of a Sith Lord.'

A TRULY INTELLIGENT MAN.

Everyone aimed their weapons out, forming into a circle in the middle of the room.

'Thank you,' Kruge answered, trying to not show his fear.

THE SITH BELIEVE IN STRENGTH, NOT JUST STRENGTH OF BODY BUT STRENGTH OF SPIRIT. YOU SURVIVED MY ACOLYTE'S ATTACK, CONGRATULATIONS, IN SO DOING YOU PROVED THE STRENGTH OF YOUR BODIES.

'Just unlock the door and let us out!' shouted Winn.

NO. I WILL POWER DOWN MY TOMBS SHIELDS UNDER ONE CONDITION, YOU PROVE THE STRENGTH OF YOUR SPIRITS.

'How?' Woods asked the voice.

ENTER THE NEXT ROOM. IN THERE YOU WILL FACE YOUR DEMONS. SURVIVE AND YOU WILL LEAVE, FAIL, AND JOIN THE RANKS OF MY LEGION.

The other door opened and everyone looked at Woods who, for a moment, wished she wasn't First Officer.

'Alright,' she said loudly, hoping the voice could still hear her. 'We'll do it.'

'Commander,' said Mainwaring, 'I advise against this. If we go through there we could suffer serious psychological damage.'

'I know the risk,' she answered. 'We have no choice though. We can't fight those monsters behind us. Our only option is to go forwards. Good luck.'

Everyone looked at each other for a moment before Woods took the first step, followed at once by Kruge and Winn as they entered a dark chamber and then the nightmare began.