Captain's Log - Stardate 2261.016
The station looks abandoned and by more than a few days. I left Bones and Spock to search the computer records while I took Security with me to check outside. No signs of disturbances in the immediate area, but before I could expand the search, Spock called to inform me that the last records they located were three months old. Then an odd noise came over the communicator, followed by silence.
Rushing back, we found no signs of either Spock or Bones beyond the dust that they had disturbed. Someone is going to die.
When he was nudged awake by kirk, it took McCoy a minute to remember where they were and another minute to figure out what was missing. The howl of the winds that he'd gone to sleep to was gone. That was an immediate positive. He hadn't wanted to start his day by being sandblasted on the way to the research station.
Kirk was already awake, of course. He had been the one doing the nudging - obviously. Nudging wasn't really a Vulcan thing and both Security men had enough self-preservation instincts not to touch any of the three officers without permission.
"Come on, Bones. Let's get to the station. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Though not hungry enough to eat protein nibs if I don't have to. Spock, check your settings and lead the way. Mitchell - Franks, bring up the rear."
With the winds calm and a cloudless sky, the remaining two kilometers to the station didn't take them long. It took longer to remover the debris that had been blown in front of the entrance. The entryway itself was small - not even the shortest of them could get through it without the dual movement of stepping high while ducking down.
Kirk ordered Franks to remain outside and Mitchell to stay inside the entryway while he, Spock and McCoy took the narrow spiral staircase down to the main floor of the station. Taking a look around as he descended, McCoy shook his head.
"Either these guys are worse housekeepers than my ex was or nobody's home."
Looking at the layer of undisturbed dust, Kirk was inclined to agree.
"Bones, find the food replicator while Spock and I check out the area."
"Right, Jim."
A quick check of the storage area, sleeping area and small head area showed the same thing - plenty of dust, no obvious signs of struggle and no bodies. McCoy had cleaned the dust from the small dining table and had food waiting as well as coffee for Kirk and tea for Spock. McCoy was sipping on his own coffee as he motioned toward the small galley.
"I checked over the replicator settings before I used it. It hasn't been used for about three months even though it's in perfect working order. And I checked the food output. Usual replicator output. Perfectly wholesome and the proper amounts of nutrients."
Eating methodically, Kirk's eyes continued to roam over the small station.
"No loss of power. No lack of food or water. The shelter isn't compromised and the equipment all seems to be in working order. Insanity, perhaps?"
McCoy did give that thought consideration for a second, but then shook his head.
"One man? I could buy that, but not two. And if only one went mad, I'd expect to see some sign of trouble. Hell, looks like they just got up, went to take a stroll and never came back."
"Spock?"
"I find nothing to dispute Doctor McCoy's conclusions. Perhaps the men were somehow mentally coerced to exit the building, but I cannot imagine why anyone would have done so and yet left the station itself alone. There are no indications that anyone beyond Linke or Ozaba have touched the equipment."
Finishing up his plate and his coffee, Kirk pushed his plate aside.
"Still, we need to check it out. If there are hostiles in the area, I'd rather know sooner than later. Bones, make up a couple of sandwiches for the Security team. I'll take them with me and check the perimeter of the area. while we're doing that, I want the two of you to check the computers, the logs, the security tapes - anything that might give us an idea of what happened here."
Less than five minutes later, Kirk, Mitchell and Franks were beginning their sweep of the area. The two men, recognizing the signs of impatience in their Captain, had quick wolfed down their sandwiches and coffee so as not to add delay to the list of annoyances.
The initial sweep was a hundred yards in every direction from the entrance. After the wind storm, they couldn't expect to find any sign of violence, but they still should have found a body if there had been one in the area.
Inside the station, Spock and McCoy were going over the computers methodically. They had quickly divided the tasks between them - McCoy would view and listen to the Security tapes and logs while Spock would examine the computers themselves in greater detail to verify that none of the systems had been tampered with. They had barely been working for ten minutes when McCoy called out.
"Spock, I have something but damned if I know what I'm seeing. Come here and see if you can make any sense out of this."
Normally Spock would have been irritated at having his own work interrupted, but something about the doctor's tone tweaked the Vulcan's curiosity. As he moved to McCoy's side, the doctor was making an adjustment to the viewer.
"Security tape. Stardate stamp indicates this happened about four hours after the last time the replicator was used, so three months back."
As the visuals started, Spock saw a much cleaner version of the room they were in. Two Terrans, one dark skinned, who was watching the same monitor they were currently viewing, and one pale, who was studying a set of gauges and entering the numbers into his PADD. The pale one was grumbling loudly about being sick of the planet they were stuck on. As if in response, a small earthquake shook the structure and nearly knocked the man off of his feet.
Shaking his head in amusement, the seated man laughed.
"'In his hand are the deep places of the earth'. Psalm ninety five, verse four. You alright there, Linke?"
"Fine, but you're going to get in big trouble if you don't stop quoting that book. The Admiralty takes the banned book list pretty seriously. I'm just hoping we get evacuated from this rock while there's still some of it left."
"For the most part, I've discovered that the books that have earned a banned are the only ones worth reading. But fear not, my nervous friend. The Empire might not care whether or not either of us are recovered, but they spent too much time and effort not to want the data we've gathered for . . . Are you messing with a gauge? What's that noise?"
Linke was wincing and looking around.
"I didn't touch anything, Ozaba. Trust me, if I knew what that was, I'd shut it off. That pitch hurts."
Hand pressed against his left ear, Ozaba got to his feet and staggered toward the stairs. He was having to raise his voice to be heard over the noise now.
"Keep looking to see if the noise is coming from the gear. I'm going to check topside."
Only a few steps up, Ozaba gave a pained cry and then there was a flash of light as Ozaba disappeared. Eyes wide in shock, Linke yelled out Ozaba's name but was soon stumbling in pain before disappearing into a flash of light as well.
The replay continued, but the odd noise had stopped the second Linke had disappeared. Stopping the recording as it became apparent there wasn't anything else, Spock glanced toward McCoy.
"On one hand, it seems we have evidence that the two men were taken against their wills, but we have no indication as to who might have done so or for what purpose."
"It didn't look like any teleport I've ever seen."
"I will contact the Captain at once."
McCoy was only half-listening as Spock spoke to Kirk.
"We have not found any activity more recent than three months ago, sir. As to what happened to the researchers -"
Whatever else Spock had been about to say was interrupted as the sound they had heard on the recording suddenly sprang to life again inside the station. Listening to it on the monitor, the sound had merely been annoying. Listening to it in person was an entirely different and very painful experience. Spock immediately grabbed his tricorder to see what he could learn, but with his sensitive hearing, Spock released his hold on the device within seconds and pressed his hands against his ears. A light flashed and McCoy found himself alone.
Before the doctor had a chance to react, the noise seemed to close in on him. Even with his eyes shut, McCoy saw the flash of light seconds before his consciousness fled.
Kirk didn't hesitate. After the communication from Spock suddenly stopped, he ran back to the entrance, Mitchell and Franks close behind.
"Spock! Bones!"
There was no answer as Kirk came down the stairs at breakneck speed and it only took a few minutes to verify that both officers were gone. Seeing the barely contained fury of their Captain, both Security men wisely gave him wide berth as he made his log entry. Neither doubted his words as he stated that someone was going to die - they just didn't want that someone to be them.