Labyrinth
Chapter V
The deeper he dove, the lighter it seemed to get.
Archer had had to return to the surface of the well a couple of times for air, but this time, he had dived in, the extra momentum getting him further.
There was lichen or some such fungus on the walls which helped him along and it was getting brighter.
In fact, he thought that as his lungs were starting to burn, that the light was changing. He kicked even harder than he currently was, and the burst of speed propelled him out of the water. He gasped for the precious oxygen, clinging to the walls of the well that he'd come up in at the same time as registering a scream from the room somewhere nearby.
"Captain!"
Archer wiped the water from his eyes and opened them.
"Hoshi!"
She ran to the well which wasn't five meters from the bottom of the steps she'd come down and grabbed his arm, helping him out of the well.
"I'm so glad to see you!" She said, smiling happily.
Archer smiled back at her, agreeing with the sentiment exactly. "And I'm glad to see you too! In fact, I'm glad to see anything- I've just come from a pitch black room with nothing but a well in it. How are you- you're not hurt?"
She shook her head whilst assessing Archer at the same time. "Not a scratch on me Captain." She indicated the steps she'd just come down. "I just appeared in that room up there- it's the most colourful cathedral, but I only just found that out. It was pitch black too to start with."
Archer frowned, trying to work it all out.
"Captain, why are we here?" Hoshi asked.
He shook his head. "I've no idea. But we are going to get to the bottom of this." He held out his hand which she took. "For now though, I don't want us splitting up- it took this long to find you and the fact that we're both here makes me think that others are too."
Hoshi nodded in agreement. "Were there any other doors in your cathedral?" He asked.
"No Sir, just the trapdoor leading down."
"There was only one way out in my room too." He looked around their new room.
It was yellowy stone but with no dust or sand. It looked quite clean and well-used actually. There were lush green vines growing all over the walls and trailing across the floors and there was a small fountain splashing into the well that he'd just surfaced from. From the well, tributaries split out to seemingly water the vines all around. The water channels went in and out of the walls and the light came from flamed sconces on the walls.
The overall effect was beautiful, although that was lost on Archer as he searched for answers.
He started walking, Hoshi following him. The room where they began was wide and large, but it narrowed to a wide corridor that took them around corner, up staircases and through archways, the vines, light, and water channels following them all the way.
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Malcolm had stuck his head through the door and when he saw no immediate threat, he went through it. He came to a winding corridor which split off into three directions. They all looked identical. Frustration coursed through him. At least there was sound and light now- flaming sconces, vines, and water channels making a very pleasant sound. It reminded Malcolm a little of a zen garden.
For lack of any other reason other than it was the first one, he took the lefthand corridor.
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Not long after he'd chosen that corridor, Archer and Hoshi appeared out of the middle.
"Great," Archer said, his frustration brewing. "How long were we winding through that lot, and now what- a fork in the road."
He turned to Hoshi. "Any guesses?"
She shrugged helplessly. But she let go of Archer's hand to kneel and examine the door in the floor. The room was beneath her with steps spiralling downwards, but no other likely-looking exit.
Looking down, a thought occurred to her. "Captain, this is another room with only one exit. Maybe someone else was trapped in here and found their way out?"
Archer ran over to see. "I think you're right Hoshi- it definitely looks that way." He made a frustrated noise. "How many of us are trapped down here?"
He stepped away to face the three tunnels in front of him. "HULLO!" He yelled, hoping that someone- anyone- would hear him.
They both listened intently.
"Captain," Hoshi said, barely above a whisper, "I think someone's coming." She listened again. "They're running," she added.
She stood up and went to Archer's side to take his hand again, both of them tensing.
Suddenly, a figure came out of the lefthand lane. Archer relaxed. "Malcolm!"
The surprised look on his Tactical Officer's face made him laugh, a brief moment of joy.
"Captain- Sir! Ensign! It's damn fine to see you both!" The relief in the air was palpable.
Malcolm ran over to them. Instinctively, Archer held out his hand that wasn't holding Hoshi's to shake Malcolm's.
As soon as their hands met, they were in another room. It wasn't even a blink of an eye.
Again.
"This is getting rather tiresome Sir," Malcolm said.
"And yet, it is most agreeable to be reunited," said a voice from behind the three.
They spun around and were greeted with the smiling faces of Trip, T'Pol, and Travis.
"Son of a gun Cap'n," Trip said, coming forwards and grabbing Archer in a bear hug. "We've bin watchin' y'all this time and haven't bin able to do a damn thing."
Travis had straight away come forwards and had given Hoshi a hug. "You did just great in there! That room was so big- it could have taken ages to work that one out!"
"So what exactly happened?" Malcolm asked.
T'Pol turned to the room that the three had suddenly appeared in. There was an enormous holographic viewing station which at the moment had three screens. Everyone gathered around her as she explained. "We have been transported here from the Bridge of the Enterprise- we were the only people on the Bridge at the time, and so we are the only people here. Ensign Mayweather, Commander Tucker and I were transported here to watch these three screens- one for each of you so that we could watch as you completed supposed tasks. You were transported here when you made contact with each other."
"Wait a minute," Archer said, raising a hand. "Are you telling me these were tasks, like games?" He looked around for clues though there weren't any obvious ones. "Are we on Thriamar?"
T'Pol inclined her head in thought. "It would appear so Captain."
"And have you had any contact with the people here?" Archer continued.
Trip shook his head. "None yet Cap'n. Not heard a peep from Enterprise either. Hopefully they're sortin' this out."
Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Trip, T'Pol, and Travis disappeared from right in front of Archer.
"Captain, look!" Malcolm said, pointing towards the three screens that the others had watched them from.
Sure enough, T'Pol was alone in the left hand screen, Trip in the centre, and Travis had the right hand one.
"So I guess it's their turn," Archer said.
"At least they have light," Hoshi said from his side.
Archer had to agree. "Malcolm," he said, turning to his Tactical Officer. "Try and find a way out of here or controls for these games- something!"
Malcolm nodded and instantly started around the room taking in every minute detail, nothing escaping him.
"Hoshi," Archer said, "watch them," indicating his officers on the screens.
Archer moved to the back of the room and looked up towards the ceiling, hoping to find something like a camera or a microphone. "I'm sure you can hear me," he said loudly to the room. Hoshi looked back at him briefly before continuing to watch her friends.
"You've clearly been watching our every move," Archer continued, trying to contact whoever was holding them captive. "I want to know why you took us, and for what purpose." He tried to maintain a friendly tone, though at that moment, he felt as if he had every right to be more than a little put out. He didn't even know if they or Enterprise were in danger. "We come in peace," he started again. "My name is Captain Jonathan Archer of the starship Enterprise. We are explorers from a planet called Earth. We mean you no harm."
Archer looked around at all of his officers, both in the room and on-screen. No one made any indication that they had been contacted or that they had heard any response to Archer's hails.
"We just want to see you and talk. And I want to know if all of my people are alright."
Archer blinked to find himself suddenly standing in a large auditorium filled with a warm pink light from the sunshine outside. A semicircle of stone thrones were before him, all empty except the one right in front of him in the centre.
Someone entirely covered by a grey robe sat there, the hood pulled so far over that Archer couldn't even see the chin- if the being even had a chin.
"You are Archer," the being sitting on the throne stated, the dusty voice cracking as if it hadn't been used in centuries.
Archer came forwards a few steps, stopping a metre or two before the throne. "Yes, and I need to know if my people are well and safe."
"Your people are safe, as is your ship," the being assured him.
"Then why are we here?" Archer asked.
"We wanted to understand you. Everyone on this planet and who enters Thriamar takes part in the tests. Too many times have we suffered from visitors attacking us."
Archer felt a bit put out. "You could have just asked."
"Would you have told us the truth? And if you did, how would we know?" The being rose from the throne and stepped forward to meet Archer face-to-face. "But you are one of the only ones to realise that we could be spoken to. The Vulcans managed it also. They are very logical after all," and then an asthmatic wheezing began.
"Are you okay?" Archer asked, fearing for the being's health. This only increased the wheezing and Archer realised that this was some sort of laughter. He straightened up. "Are you satisfied that we are telling the truth now then? Will you let us go?"
The being stopped and stared at Archer, even though he still couldn't see any features, he felt as if surprise was emanating from it.
"Go? I thought you wanted to explore?"
"I-," Archer felt surprise, though he wasn't sure why. This was indeed what he wanted. It was just that the reception they'd had didn't feel very welcoming. "Yes please, we would like to explore your world and learn more."
"Captain!" A series of voices came from behind him.
He spun around and there were his five officers.
"Where the heck are we now?" Trip asked. "Only a sec ago I was in a room doing a loada puzzles with mirrors and glass.
Archer smiled at having his officers back.
"Thank you," he told his host. "These are my officers-" but before he introduced them, the being spoke up.
"Yes, I know. I know all of you,"
"Creepy," Malcolm said under his breath to Trip standing next to him.
"Yeah," Trip agreed, "'Specially with that voice o' his."
Archer continued, "And this is..." he broke off from introducing his host. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to his host, "you didn't tell me your name."
The being cocked it's head, looking past Archer momentarily. "My name? We have no names here. We are nameless."
"Er, alright," Archer said, for lack of any other response.
"You are all free to go wherever you wish. There are no limits here."
"None at all?" Archer asked. They'd yet to visit a world where there weren't any limits.
"There is no need for any- you will come to understand," the being said.
The being turned away and sat slowly back down on his throne.
"You're not coming?" Archer asked him.
"No, no," the being said, sitting back and seeming to take a deep breath. "I'm reaching the age where I would only hold you back. As with the Labyrinth, if you have any questions, just ask and I'll hear. If you wish to travel anywhere in particular, just ask and I will transport you as I have been. I understand that you don't have the same ability. A shame. My people always found fast travel quite advantageous." The being gestured towards the left side of the room. "Through that door there is a remarkable view of the city which you are now in. I suggest taking the opportunity to view that before going anywhere."
Archer nodded his head slowly in thanks and then turned to his officers. "Shall we?"
