Huge thanks to my lovely alpha/beta Insanity-Red for all the help.
Chapter 3
Stardate 2260.350 — Starbase 5 spacedock
The five-person flight crew buzzed with nervous energy as they finished performing their maintenance checks and pre-launching procedures. It was a small vessel that they'd been given for the test—only slightly bigger than a shuttle.
"Impulse manifold purged and clear," stated Harry as they moved into the pre-flight checks.
Given that his primary speciality was Security, he'd been put in charge of the tactical station for the duration of the mission. He'd also help with any engineering needs should Raix Hoss, the mission's flight engineer, require any assistance.
"Dock control reports ready," said Krell, the mission's communications specialist—it was clear from her voice that she was barely holding in a sigh, or perhaps a yawn.
"I couldn't sleep last night," she admitted, using one hand to press the transceiver more firmly into her ear, and the other to tug at the whiskers on the left side of her face.
From what Harry had heard, she was one of the best comms officers-in-training, and her skills rivalled those of Nyota's. Krell's physiology was no doubt a bonus, since Caitians were well-known for being able to hear within frequency ranges beyond that of most humanoids.
"Me neither—initiating impulse pre-start sequence," said Shev Ek'Noor, looking up from the helm, his never-still antennae swaying right and left. "I mean, it's a big deal, isn't it? We're really lucky to be at the Academy as it celebrates its centennial anniversary: we got a special exam and a bunch of special events. Plus the newest Constitution-class starship that's been commissioned just in time for our graduation!"
"A starship we might never see the inside of if we don't win this treasure hunt," said Krell glumly.
"Microfusion generators online," said Hermione, seated at a console next to Harry.
She would be the mission's sensor operator, as well as tend to any medical needs of the crew should they arise.
Hermione rose to her feet and headed towards the terminal located at the far side of the cockpit to check the environmental controls.
"Opening antimatter injector ports," said Shev, following Hermione with his gaze and ogling her behind as she went. " You probably don't have to worry, whatever the outcome, right Granger? How does it feel to be famous? The Saviour of the Curie! The inventor of a super-duper shield generator! I'm sure you'll have any starship of your choosing."
He swivelled in his chair to fully face her. "Actually, forget that. They might just give you your own ship if you asked. Honestly, I don't even know what you're doing here."
"Eyes on the instrumentation, Shev," reprimanded Harry. "Collimate the shield emitters."
He gave Harry a dirty look but complied. "Collimation sequence in progress."
"It's not that simple, Shev," replied Hermione, throwing the Andorian a quick glance.
"Seems pretty simple to me," said Shev, shrugging.
"I sure hope you aren't implying anything," said Hermione with a pointed look at Shev. "I intend to have my future assignment judged like everyone else's."
With that, she went back to her work.
Outwardly, she looked calm and composed, but Harry knew better than that—she was absolutely furious for the implication. Just like back at Hogwarts, Hermione worked hard, and many professors and instructors respected her diligence and effort. To some like Shev, who didn't know her very well, that respect might have looked like favouritism; in reality, there was none of that—she'd earned each and every one of her rewards on merit. The assumption otherwise would naturally gall her.
A tense silence, interrupted only by the beeping of the instrumentation and tapping of the controls, settled around the small craft. It was interrupted when Raix emerged from the engineering compartment.
"Dilithium matrix is aligned and calibrated," he reported, taking a seat at the engineering station. "Antimatter containment fields at 100%."
Harry had crossed paths with him quite often during classes, and knew him to be brilliant, but rather quiet male of very few words.
Krell let out a sigh. "Autonomous guidance system initialized and active."
She continued brightly, no doubt attempting to diffuse the tension: "Imagine we do win this thing, though. We could all be working on the bridge of Lexington after graduation! She's a beauty, isn't she?"
"She looks exactly like the Enterprise," said Shev flatly.
"That's why they call her a sister ship, Shev," Harry pointed out dryly.
Shev threw another dirty look in Harry's direction but didn't say anything.
"Anyway," continued Krell, stroking her whiskers, "this mission is really important. And it's scary. I mean, we'll be graded as individuals, of course. But there's also the collective grade, and I don't want to let any of you guys down."
"Much appreciated," replied Harry with a small nod. "Shields on standby."
"Field stabilizers online," said Raix.
Shev sighed. "Can't wait to just get all this over and done with and go to Risa on a much-needed break."
He pressed a few buttons, before saying: "Synchronizing warp plasma flow."
He then turned to Hermione and grinned. "Hey Granger, did you know on Risa the word 'library' means 'pleasure dome'?"
Krell snorted, and Hermione let out an exasperated sigh.
"I highly doubt it," Hermione said flatly. "Emergency life-support and damage control systems standing by."
She finished her work at the terminal and went back to take her seat next to Harry.
Shev winked at her flirtatiously. "Come to Risa with me and find out for yourself."
Hermione rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything, focused on her work.
Shev smirked, apparently oblivious to the annoyance that was coming off her in waves.
"Nacelles holding at pre-warp threshold," he informed.
"Well, looks like we're all set," Harry said, glancing at the chronometer. "Just have to wait for Barnett to make his speech."
"It should be happening any second," said Hermione. "Verify the astrometric database."
"Datasets loaded and verified," confirmed Krell.
Her console began to beep.
"And here it is," she said, pressing a few buttons to bring up the image of Barnett on the viewer.
The Academy commandant began by greeting the cadets, congratulating them on successfully completing the theoretical portion of the final exam and reaching the practical one. He then launched into a long and boring speech that usually accompanied occasions like this one—about the duties and responsibilities of Starfleet officers, the standards and values that had to be upheld.
Harry glanced at the chronometer once more, wondering if Barnett would go overtime, but the admiral, as per usual, was punctual.
"Now, as you depart," Barnett said, finishing up his speech, " remember that you follow the paths of some of Starfleet's earliest explorers. Men and women dedicated to the expansion of knowledge and peace amongst worlds. Honour their memory and respect their sacrifice. And most importantly, come back safe. Barnett out."
The admiral's transmission cut out and was replaced by another.
"It's our first clue, guys!" Krell exclaimed excitedly, bringing it up on the viewer.
The screen fizzled and cleared, revealing an image of an oddly shaped hunk of rock that reminded Harry of a gigantic mushroom. It was obviously a geographic marker of sorts.
"What the hell?" said Shev indignantly. "This sector contains three systems with dozens of planets, hundreds of moons and planetoids and asteroids! How exactly are we supposed to find that !" he finished, pointing at the screen.
Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. The mission had barely begun, and Shev was already annoying the bejesus out of him. But as a Security officer-in-training—and the acting captain, starting from now until the next leg of the mission—he had to restrain himself from hexing the Andorian. Apart from emergencies, they weren't supposed to use their abilities during this mission, anyway. Not only because Starfleet Command wanted all the teams to have an equal chance of winning the treasure hunt and the main prize—an automatic assignment to the Bridge crew of the Lexington or any other ship of their choosing—but also because magic was something revealed only on a need-to-know basis. Naturally, the higher-ups claimed it was for Harry and Hermione's safety.
Of course, there was still the option of physically hogtying the sod—which was a notion he was reluctantly keeping at bay . . . for now.
Harry's only saving grace in the whole thing was that he didn't have to be captain for the entire mission. The position was taken in shifts for each part of the hunt, so that each team member could gain command experience. Useful, should any of them be assigned to the Bridge crew on their future starships.
"I take it a saying 'Patience is a virtue' doesn't exist on Andoria?" Harry said calmly. "You're overreacting and jumping to conclusions, Shev. I'm sure there's more." He turned to their communications officer. "Krell?"
"Hold on, please."
She feverishly worked at her console for a few moments, before announcing: "There is more. Just a sec."
She brought up a string of symbols on the viewer.
"I don't recognize this language," Krell confessed. "Inputting it into the translation matrix now."
"It's one of the languages in ancient Axanar," Raix piped in shyly. "Nowadays it's a written-only language, preserved solely in sacred scriptures of the Jetali monks."
"And how would you know that?" Shev questioned.
"I'm interested in xenotheology," Raix replied, averting his gaze as his cheeks turned bluer. "It's a rather fascinating subject. And the Jetali monks, in particular, have a very unique outlook on life and death."
"And so you learned their language?" Krell asked incredulously, looking up from her work.
"Not really—the language is extremely difficult to master. I just recognized it."
Krell hummed thoughtfully, turning back to her console. "Give me a few minutes to decipher this."
"Take your time, but hurry up," said Shev, looking out one of the viewports. "One of the teams is already leaving."
"So what?" retorted Harry. "You know that each team has its own route and set of clues—and some of them will take longer to figure out than others."
A few moments later, Krell sat up straight.
"I got it!" she announced happily.
"What does it say?" Shev asked impatiently.
Krell sent him a glare. "It is a set of coordinates. Plus, it has a single word that could be translated either as 'beast' or 'diarrhea.' "
"Well," said Harry, a wry twist to his lips, "unless someone had diarrhea that was famous enough to make it into the history books, I'm pretty sure our word is 'beast.' "
Shev crossed his arms. "And what exactly the hell is it supposed to mean?"
"Why don't we look up the coordinates first?" suggested Harry, withholding a sigh as he began typing them in.
"Could this be a reference to the time when Captain Hernandez and her crew rescued an Axanar ship from a planetoid? I believe that took place somewhere around these coordinates," mused Hermione, a small crease appearing on her forehead. "They'd claimed they'd been attacked by a snake-like beast and stranded there."
"Planetoid GP-127?" asked Raix, beginning to type on his console.
"Yeah," confirmed Harry. "And the coordinates match exactly."
"Except, there's now an asteroid field between us and that planetoid," Shev cut in, analyzing the star charts. "But not to worry, you have one of the best pilots at the helm. I'll get you there in a jiffy!"
"How about you get us there in one piece?" retorted Hermione.
"No problem!"
"But why write the clue in this ancient language?" asked Krell. "Is there any significance to that?"
"There is," confirmed Raix, consulting the information on his monitor. "Among the crew of the stranded Axanar ship was a group of Jetali monks on a pilgrimage to a several dozen protostars in the Eudana Nebula."
"And what about this 'beast'?" asked Krell. "What if it's still out there?"
"The Axanar crew had claimed the beast was trying to eat them, and they ended up destroying it, sustaining heavy damage in the process," explained Hermione. "Since then, the planetoid has been mined extensively, and no one ever encountered another one of those beasts. So it's possible that it was the only one—at least on that planetoid."
"I don't think Starfleet would send us there if there was a danger of us encountering the beast," said Raix reasonably. "They just put that in the clue to make it more clear for us where to go."
"Agreed," said Harry.
He turned to the helm and ordered, "Shev, set a course for Planetoid GP-127."
"Course set," Shev confirmed.
"Take us out."
"Airlock is sealed. Releasing docking clamps."
As Harry watched Shev manoeuvre them out of the spacedock, he had a single thought: winning the treasure hunt would be great and all, but he'd also be plenty happy if they didn't end up murdering each other by the end of the mission.
"Well done, Shev. I think you managed to graze nearly every asteroid in our path," said Harry, unstrapping himself from his seat and shakily rising to his feet. "Would you like to go back and finish the job?"
The Andorian glared at him. "I lost navigational sensors halfway through and had to rely only on my sight!"
"Which wouldn't have happened," snapped Hermione, "had you not executed unnecessary manoeuvres in an attempt to show off! You could have killed us all!"
"But I didn't!"
Hermione threw him a withering glance, looking like she wanted to punch him again, and carefully stood. She looked very pale and nearly fell on her way to the rear of the cockpit to check on the consoles located there.
"You alright?" asked Harry, concerned.
"I'll be fine," she replied, bracing herself on the wall and taking a slow, deep breath. "I don't think I felt this sick since the EV simulator at Lunaport."
"You mean the Vomitorium?" pipped in Krell, grinning. She didn't seem to be affected by the bumpy ride at all. "I've witnessed quite a few accidents there."
Hermione groaned. "Please, spare us the details."
"Alright, team," said Harry, clapping his hands together and using his best 'command' voice. "What's our status?"
"Thankfully, the shields have done their job," said Hermione, having consulted her readings. "So apart from sensors that had been knocked out, we're in good shape."
"I recommend I stay behind and conduct repairs," suggested Raix, "while the team goes looking for that geographic marker."
Harry nodded. "I'll give you a hand."
He hadn't thought they'd be conducting repairs this early into the mission—if at all. Hopefully, he and Raix could fix the problem relatively quickly, and prevent Shev's little stunt from throwing a wrench into their entire mission.
"All right, ladies," said Shev, rubbing his hands together as he rose to his feet. "It's time to suit up and—"
"Hermione will be in charge in my stead," Harry spoke loudly, making it clear he didn't want Shev taking point in this. "Find the marker and the next clue, as well as take soil samples and tricorder readings of the atmosphere and anything else you find. This is still a survey mission, no matter how it's organized, so we still have to do our job."
Just before Hermione, Krell, and Shev—all clad in EV suits—prepared to leave the vessel, Harry instructed, "Maintain radio contact at all times."
Shev scowled and Krell smiled, nodding in response.
Hermione was the last to exit the ship. Harry placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her an apologetic look.
"I'll do my best not to throttle him," she promised in response to his unspoken request.
As it turned out, keeping her promise to Harry was a lot harder than Hermione had thought. Even though Shev had been able to land their vessel only several hundred meters away from the mushroom-rock and they didn't have to go very far, it took them a while to reach it on foot. The terrain was very rocky and uneven. One misstep could easily cause a sprained ankle— or worse, given that some of the rocks were razor sharp. Additionally, they had to analyze the atmospheric composition, and take ample tricorder readings of everything they encountered in their path in order to get full marks for this leg of the mission.
And Shev simply wouldn't shut up the entire time—worse, half of his blather was more attempts at flirting.
They were only about a hundred meters away from their destination, when Krell bent over and stretched out her arm to a nearby rock, saying, "Hey there, sluggo."
"Krell, don't touch that!" Hermione warned. "Remember, we're not supposed to interact with any biological life we find. Observe and scan only."
As if to demonstrate her point, she turned her tricorder on the slug native to the planetoid and began scanning it.
"I'm sorry," said Krell. "I was simply curious."
Curiosity killed the cat, Hermione wanted to reply jokingly, but thought better of it—given that Krell was a Caitian, jokes like that would possibly not be well-received.
"How much longer?" asked Shev, sounding a little put out—probably because the two women were talking to each other instead of him.
"As long as it takes to complete the scans," Hermione replied evenly.
"We've already collected and analyzed air, soil, and rock samples. Do we really need to scan this slug? Let's get to that marker, get the clue and head back to the ship!"
"Do I have to remind you yet again, that we're to scan everything—"
"That we encounter in our path," finished Shev. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Well, I'm saying we could just say we didn't encounter anything and—"
"Let's not," said Hermione tersely, snapping her tricorder shut and turning away from Shev to start in the direction of the mushroom-rock once more.
"There are more of them," said Krell, pointing out more slugs in the terrain. "It's really amazing that any life forms at all are able to live in this atmosphere."
Hermione smiled. "Yes, the planetoid does have a most intriguing mix of inert gases, doesn't it?"
And they began discussing animatedly the planetoid's atmospheric readings. Despite having communications as her speciality, Krell was rather knowledgeable in other fields as well. She'd mentioned before that her family were scientists, and growing up in such an environment had cultivated a love of learning that made her great company for Hermione.
"You two are so weird," muttered Shev, walking past them. "Getting all excited about inert gases."
He reached the mushroom-rock first and found a grey case with Starfleet insignia at the foot of it. He carefully opened the case and pulled out a small, glass vial containing yellow powder of sorts, and a small box.
"What's this?" he asked, retrieving an oddly-shaped piece from the box.
"It's a piece of a jigsaw puzzle," replied Hermione, hoping that the nostalgia in her voice wasn't too obvious. "They're not very common anymore."
In fact, there was only one place she'd found them in this universe so far—a small, nondescript antique shop, tucked away on one of the quieter streets close to Academy grounds. James had taken her there shortly before the Enterprise had departed for her shakedown cruise, claiming she'd love it. And she did. It was a little bit like being transported back to the time she'd come from.
"I can't believe they went there," said Krell excitedly. " They used an actual jigsaw puzzle as a clue!"
"A cumulative clue," added Hermione, eyeballing the number of pieces in the box. "I bet we'll have to collect a few boxes like this throughout the mission."
"I've read about them," said Krell. "We're supposed to put the pieces together, and they'll form a complete image—a map, perhaps?"
"Looks like it," Hermione confirmed upon a closer look at the puzzle piece. "A map that will either be our final clue or lead us to it. I guess we'll find out the further along we get."
"Great," said Shev, placing a hand on his hip and nearly dropping the glass vial he was holding. "And our next clue—"
"—is going to be lost if you break that vial," said Hermione, holding out a hand.
He sighed but handed the vial over.
"Harry, how are the repairs coming along?" Hermione asked over the radio.
"We're making a lot of progress," Harry replied. "I estimate we'll be done in the next 30 minutes."
"That's actually unheard of for this type of damage!" Raix interjected, a hint of excitement in his voice. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Potter's a magician or something."
Hermione stifled a laugh.
You have no idea, she thought to herself as she began packing the vial and the box back in the case.
"We're done here," she said. "Heading back to the ship now."
Back on the ship, Hermione ran an analysis of the vial.
"Our next destination is Archer IV," she said, emerging from the makeshift lab/sickbay that was set up in the rear of the vessel.
Harry looked up from his console. "Elaborate?"
"The vial contained pollen produced by psychotropic flowers native to Archer IV—the very first planet visited by Captain Archer and the Enterprise NX-01 crew."
"Didn't they lose a crew member there, and that away team nearly all went insane because of this pollen?" questioned Krell.
"The pollen is toxic and contains large amounts of tropolisine, which causes paranoia and hallucinations, yes," confirmed Hermione. "But there's an antidote for it now—which I will synthesize en route. So, we will all be fine."
"Call it, then," said Harry. "You're the acting captain from now and till our next departure."
Hermione nodded and took a breath, her gut twisting uncomfortably. While some people, she knew, greatly enjoyed being in command, she wasn't one of them. She'd take research and such over command every day. And if that were ever to change, it was apparently not happening today.
"Shev, set a course for Archer IV."
He grinned at her. "With pleasure."
"So where should I set us down?" asked Shev as they approached the planet. "We can't very well search the entire planet for our next clue."
"We won't have to," replied Hermione, her hands flying over her terminal. "Although rapidly-changing weather patterns and fast-moving storms can spread the pollen to virtually anywhere on the planet, the psychotropic plant itself grows only on the Northern continent. And since we didn't receive any additional information that might help us determine the exact location of our next clue, I'm going to go completely on a hunch here and say that it would be in close proximity to the place where the NX-01 crew first set foot on this planet."
"Makes sense," agreed Krell, "since they're pretty much having us retrace the footsteps of the earliest explorers."
"Shev, I'm sending you the coordinates now," informed Hermione.
"Got them."
Thankfully, no longer trying to show off, Shev smoothly piloted their vessel and set it down in the coordinates that Hermione sent him.
"No EV suits, right boss?" asked Shev, grinning wickedly at Hermione as they prepared to leave the ship in search of the clue.
"Don't need them," confirmed Hermione, collecting her medkit and her tricorder. "The atmosphere on this planet is very close to that of Earth, and we've all received the antidote against the pollen."
She opened the hatch and was the first to step outside. The bright sun accosted her eyes. She blinked several times, and while she waited for her eyes to adjust, she took in the sweet scents of blooming trees and flowers that filled the air—something that reminded her of magnolias, and lilacs, and lilies of the valley. The scents were different, to be sure, not exactly what she'd been used to back on Earth. But they were close enough.
"Well, it's spring here," stated Harry, gulping in a lungful of fresh air.
"It's beautiful," gushed Krell, observing the luscious, green landscape.
"Let's not forget that we are not here to enjoy the sights," Shev pointed out, walking past the group that took a moment to enjoy themselves.
Hermione thought that for someone whose homeworld, by human standards, was a frozen wasteland, this would be a welcome sight. But perhaps it was the contrary—perhaps it simply didn't register as something beautiful or refreshing because his home was so different.
"You don't have to be such a killjoy," Harry quipped, but sighed and followed after him. "I know we're on a mission, but it's ok to stop and smell the roses every now and again. Besides that, this isn't exactly a race—better to be thorough than fast."
"Guys, look!" exclaimed Raix, pointing to a spot in the middle of the meadow. "I'm assuming that's our next clue?"
There, on top of a big, white rock, sat a grey case identical to the one they'd picked up on Planetoid GP-127.
It didn't sit well with Hermione. The clue was practically offering itself to them on a silver platter.
"It can't be this easy," she said, frowning.
And it wasn't.
A moment after she finished speaking, Raix made to grab for the case. A millisecond later, Hermione felt the familiar tingle that told her that her molecules were about to be disassembled and reassembled.
They materialized in a huge, metallic box, and Hermione immediately noticed that Harry was missing.
Stay calm, you've gotten yourself out of worse places, she told herself.
As though wanting to contradict her, the walls of the box began shrinking inward.
Shev swallowed hard, eyeing the walls rapidly closing in on them and driving them to the centre of the box.
"Guys," he said, his voice slightly shaky, "is this a bad time to mention that I don't do very well in confinement?"