Lost Relics Chapter 3, a startrek: the next generation fanfic

Chapter 3

"Entering system Gamma- ZX330." The computer's lifeless voice echoed through the cabin of his small Pakled ship. It had not taken much effort to break through and reprogram the Pakled computer's patchwork of diverse coding styles. In fact, he found it an engaging activity as it gave him new knowledge and skills in dealing with alien computer coding.

"Computer, what planet is this we're approaching?"

"Gamma-ZX330-B. There are four planets in this system, two of which can maintain life; one is inhabited by a humanoid race." Lore put on the main view screen and the sight that met his eyes stole the breath from his chest. A planet, with vast blue oceans, was cast into the red glow of the sun. Lore decided to put his ship in orbit so that he could take a few readings to add to the small amount of data that he did have on the planet.

After a few hours in orbit, a sharp alert sounded from the navigation control. He was being pulled too close to the massive planet. He looked out through the view screen and it felt as if he were gazing out over a large, blue desert; the curvature of the surface was notably decreasing. He assumed it was due to a natural disturbance in gravity; there were serious gravimetric irregularities near the poles of the planet which could bring lesser ships to their demise. He adjusted the controls on the navigation panel to compensate.

"Warning. Hull temperature exceeding design limits. Failure to regulate planetary orbit will result in system-wide malfunction."

To Lore's dismay, several large ships decloaked on the port side of his ship. He took several readings of the specifications of their ships. He was far outgunned; their ships were superior in every way. The small Pakled ship he had adopted was not built for open combat… it was built for stealth. He was not expecting an envoy to meet him in his journey and was unprepared. Their tractor beam caught on to his ship and pulled him in. A docking station also appeared as he was pulled alongside the small fleet of ships. A small level of panic gripped him when he realized he might not be able to break the hold on his ship. He would need to formulate a plan to escape if he came into direct contact with this race. He began programming his ship to intercept and translate all subspace messages emanating from the ships and the planet. Their language was similar to most humanoid languages and, with the exception of the script, strongly reminded him of Vulcan.

As his ship was pulled into a docking spot, Lore began trying to break into the clearance systems of the station. Unsuccessful, he decided he would try his chances on the small station rather than simply waiting for his ship to be boarded. He gave the automatic transporter the coordinates, and beamed off his ship into a small hallway. He noticed several guards standing near the end of the curved hallway, so he dipped through a randomly chosen door. He found himself standing in a control room. The guards on duty turned around, shocked at his sudden appearance and Lore whipped out his hand phaser in a flash. With both guards down, he scanned through the station's logs, looking for the lightest and fastest ship he could find. Port 7, access 0449044129. Lore dashed out of the control room and walked briskly down the halls. Reaching his destination, he punched in the 10 digit access code and was granted entrance to the ship. Marveling at its advanced design, he clamored inside, stifling back laughter at his new found toy. He revised his attempts to break into the clearance systems and weaved his way out of the station's docking port. Lore's new craft launched in the direction of open space, but failed to advance. The largest vessel latched hold of the ship in a white haze. Caught in between the tractor beam of the large vessel and his own ship's engines, Lore was pulled into the range of the gravity disturbances on the massive planet.

An alien alert system blared through the cabin, warning him of his collision course with the planet's atmosphere. Lore silenced the system with a flick of his hand and continued punching in commands into the main routing panel. The heat from the increasing hull temperature began to affect the environmental controls; he estimated it to be somewhere near 60 degrees Celsius inside the cabin.

As he frantically skimmed through all the specifications on the ship, he ran across some very interesting information on a special kind of shielding used solely during vortex travel. He had never heard of vortex travel but the theory of the shielding looked much more promising in holding up against the atmosphere than the other shielding systems integrated into the design of this vessel. Running out of time, he initiated the ship's vortex procedures and fastened himself into his seat.

Lore wrestled with the safety restraints tangled around his body, struggling to free himself. His ship was planted upside down in the surface so he had to break through an emergency hatch near the aft of the small vessel. The sun met his eyes with such a blinding intensity that he reached up instinctively to cover his face from the light until they had the chance to adapt. The temperature of the air was not much cooler than the inside of the battered ship. As his eyes adjusted, he observed that his ship had crashed on a flat, desert landscape. After assessing the damage of his ship, he resolved to continue on foot. Gazing across the scorching wasteland, he sighed with dismay at the long hike ahead of him.

"Sir, we're picking up a signal from the northwestern sector of the desert. Our sensors show that a craft crashed there about eight hours ago."

Commander Ilyn sighed. Finally. They had been searching the area for nearly a day, and to be honest, she was not expecting to find anything; she believed it was far more likely that the ship was destroyed upon entering the atmosphere. "Send out a scout ship to pick up the fugitive."

"Sir, they've already gone down to the surface and scanned the area. They found the missing science vessel but they found no evidence of the fugitive." The young lieutenant appeared nervous in the face of his commanding officer and his lack of confidence only proved to irritate her further. Her dark eyes scanned his comm station.

"Advise them to keep searching, he cannot have gotten too far on foot."

"Yessir."

Hours later, the sensors from an Idhaman ship picked up on Lore's positronic signature. He was wandering dangerously close to the Forbidden Lands, drifting towards the mountain range in his area. The Forbidden Lands were the southern portion of the southern desert, which occupied seventy percent of the continent's land mass, and were forbidden to set foot upon by any sentient being.

Lore reached out to his brother instinctively, his hand trembling. Amazing... they were identical in appearance; right down to the golden irises. He found himself smiling as he wondered what else they might have in common. "You may call me Lore."

Lore marched through the desert, letting the mirages on the horizon play tricks on his mind. He had been walking for nearly seven hours and the sun was beginning to set to the east of his path. After a while, the sun's heat had dissipated into a dull warmth which was carried by the wind. He was content with the idea of being stranded here for the remainder of his years, walking towards the mountain range.