AN: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! My muse appreciates it :)

Climbing the longest staircase I've even seen, Sulu thought. That's where I am. But he didn't say it out loud, because he needed to save his breath. Unlike the previous two tunnels, which had sloped up toward the surface, the one Trance's "feeling" led them to was a circular vertical shaft. A crumbling metal staircase clung to the walls and spiraled up into darkness. The structure creaked alarmingly when they put their weight on it and shuddered with every blast from the Caretaker's array. Occasional lights picked out small landings high above him; far below, the entrance to the tunnel was already nothing more than a dim glow. Starfleet Academy's physical training and hours spent sparring with the rapier had prepared him for this—but only barely.

The air was warm and stale, and the sweat beading his brow did not evaporate. Kes was in no better shape, but Trance, Sulu noted sourly, was barely out of breath. She was a few steps ahead of him, which put her rear at eye level. He wished Chekov was with him, so at least one of them could enjoy the view.

Sulu breathlessly described the location of the tunnel entrance. Kirk acknowledged his directions, and added, "The transporters aren't working. You're going to have to find a breach in the security barrier when you get to the top."

"Understood."

"We're a few minutes behind you. Kirk out."

Sulu craned his neck and saw a spot of light moving several turns of the staircase above him. At first he thought it was one of the wall lamps, shaking from the force of the blasts, but then he realized it was a flashlight. Someone was waving it feebly, trying to signal him.

"I see them!" Sulu shouted. He shouldered past Trance and ran up the stairs. After two flights his legs and lungs screamed at him, but he pressed on. Another blast rocked the tunnel, and he fell badly, scraping his hands and face against the corrugated metal steps. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled back to his feet and raced up the last flight.

Chekov and a strange dark-haired woman were slumped on one of the landings. They both looked terrible, their skin dusty and covered with weeping sores. It was a shock to see Chekov, always so bright and full of energy, lying listlessly against the wall, his eyes dull and his face slack. He managed a ghost of a smile when he saw Sulu.

"Took you long enough," he muttered.

Sulu slipped his arm under Chekov's shoulder and pulled the younger man to feet. "It's not my fault you ran off with a pretty girl and made me chase you down."

"Can you blame me?" Chekov groaned, staggering as Sulu pulled him along. "She is very pretty."

She was very pretty, Sulu noticed: perfectly beautiful in the same way Harrison was perfectly handsome. A little too perfect, he thought, as Trance helped her to her feet and wrapped a supporting arm around her waist. He put it out of his mind; they had more important things to worry about.

With his free hand he pulled out his communicator. "Sulu to Kirk."

"Kirk here."

"We found them, Captain."

"Good work, Sulu. We're at the base of the tunnel, but don't wait for us. Get them to safety."

"Acknowledged."

Kes slipped past Trance and Sulu and led the way up the staircase. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can get out."

The next few minutes crawled by in a blaze of aching muscles and burning lungs. Chekov was slender and tried to help, but he was mostly dead weight and climbing a staircase for two was twice as hard as climbing it alone. Behind him, he heard Trance panting for breath and felt some small satisfaction in the fact that she was struggling, too.

The stairs ended so suddenly that Sulu almost fell when he tried to put his foot down on a step that wasn't there. He caught himself against the wall and looked up from his feet. A narrow tunnel, blessedly flat but completely dark, stretched ahead a short distance and then made a sharp turn. Kes was already turning the corner, and Sulu hurried to keep up. After a few more turns, he saw a flickering light ahead. Chekov raised his flashlight, illuminating a force field that stretched across the tunnel. Along one side, a rockfall had created a narrow gap between the edge of the forcefield and the rock wall.

Kes pressed herself against the wall and began inching toward the forcefield. "Whatever you do, don't touch it," she warned. "We've been told it will burn your skin off."

She slipped easily through the small opening. One on either side, she and Trance helped Kati through, then Chekov. Trance went next, and then it was Sulu's turn. Sulu wasn't a large man, but the edge of the forcefield pressed uncomfortably close to his face and chest. He could feel it crackling centimeters from his body, like the universe's worst static charge. He wondered how well Kirk and Harrison would get through. Maybe, he thought wryly, they would just have to leave Harrison behind.

Once he was through the barrier, Chekov sat heavily on a boulder and leaned against the wall, panting and shaking. Kati managed to stay on her feet, but swayed unsteadily. Trance looked worriedly at them both and pulled Sulu aside.

"I don't think they can go much further," she said.

"Wait here," Sulu told her. "I'll scout ahead a bit."

He jogged down the tunnel, hoping the end wasn't far. The ground began to slope up again, but gently. His flashlight beam bounced off a jumble of rock head: the tunnel was blocked by a cave-in. He pushed off the first rush of panic and checked his tricorder. Only a few meters of rock separated him from the open air.

"This is it!" he shouted. "We've reached the top."

The others came stumbling up, Chekov and Kati supported by Trance and Kes. Sulu pointed to the ceiling. "Trance, get out your phaser. We should be able to punch through."

Trance leaned Chekov against the wall and pulled her weapon from her belt. Sulu set his phaser to maximum and together they fired at the top of the rockslide. Twin lines of red light lanced toward the rock, and were immediately obscured by billowing dust. A bone-rattling roar shook the tunnel as rocks tumbled and crashed to the ground.

When the rock fall was over, Sulu covered his mouth with his sleeve and inched through the blinding dust. His foot found the first boulder, and he began climbing by touch. Rocks shifted under his feet, his hands. He reached cautiously upward again and again, until his fingers felt nothing but open air. He dragged himself onto some unseen flat, gritty surface, and opened his eyes in a squint. Through a thick fog of dust, he could see hazy sunlight. He was on the surface.

With Trance pushing from below and Sulu pulling from above, they managed to get Chekov and Kati up the rockfall. Chekov crawled a couple of meters away and collapsed onto the dirt; Kati kept her feet, but leaned heavily against Trance. While Kes hurried to kneel beside Chekov, Sulu pulled out his communicator.

"Sulu to Enterprise. Can you get a lock on us now?"

"Affirmative," Spock said. "But I am only reading five signals. What is the captain's status?"

"The others are—" Sulu began.

"Look out!" Trance shouted, and threw herself at Kes.

Sulu flung himself down, but he was too late: a bolt of light lanced down from the sky and struck the ground a few meters away. The force of the impact caught him, and the next moment he was lying on the ground, his ears ringing and his mouth full of dust and the coppery taste of blood. He staggered to his feet and looked around wildly. The others were huddled nearby, shaken but unharmed. From the shaft they had just climbed out of, a cloud of dust billowed toward the sky.

He snatched up his communicator from where it had fallen. "Sulu to Kirk, come in! Sh'athylnik? ...Harrison, do you copy?" Silence. "Enterprise, prepare to transport everyone in this group except me."

Trance stood up, brushed dust off her lavender skin. "Are you going back for them?"

"Yes. I have to."

Her gold eyes, usually playful, were piercing. He thought she was going to demand to accompany him, but her gaze went distant and she smiled slightly. "Good," she said.

Sulu blinked, not sure what had happened but somehow reassured by it. "Enterprise, energize."

He climbed back down into the shaft, and did not wait to see them dissolve into light.