Chapter 4
Search
Mass speculation had already begun to spread through the crowd. No attempt was made to stop the circulation as it would have been impossible in such a situation. A good number had assumed the worst, that when Sha'Gra had failed to return it meant she had been killed by some of the extremists who had opposed entry into the Federation. While others took a still negative but slightly more optimistic view, that Sha'Gra had simply gotten cold feet and would return shortly. There was little anyone could do to contain the gossip so none tried.
Alec had immediately begun to take his frustration out on the officer that had made a crucial mistake. When Sha'Gra passed Lieutenant Davis' checkpoint he should have contacted the nearest exit post to inform them she was on her way, in failing to do so he may have let her fall into the hands of the extremists. "What the hell happened, Lieutenant?"
Reed was understandably nervous, his commanding officer was angry with him and with good reason. "I'm sorry, sir. With President Sha'Gra's personal guard with her I didn't think anyone would have tried anything."
They'd be stupid to. Alec knew what he meant, but this was no time for camaraderie. This was a rare time where his duty required him to remind his staff that he was their commanding officer first and friend second. It was not something he enjoyed, but it had to be done. "Regardless of the size of their muscles they're still vulnerable to a phaser set to kill, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir. I didn't think of that at the time. There's no excuse for my mistake."
"You're damn right there's not. My god, Josh. You're a good officer, but something like this could destroy your career."
"There's no excuse for it, sir. I accept full responsibility and deserve whatever punishment I receive."
Alec could see the fear and embarrassment in Reed's eyes. He could not help but feel sympathy for the young man, accidents inevitably happen. But that was not an excuse Starfleet would accept, no matter how many times it had been demonstrated in the past. Even little mistakes can lead to big consequences. "Now isn't the time for a tribunal, we have to find Sha'Gra. Get out there and help with the search, I'll do what I can to protect you but I can't make any guarantees."
"Yes, sir." Davis left the observation room, less upbeat than he normally was on the ship.
On the table in front of him, Alec had a complete layout of the building. There was currently a simultaneous floor by floor search in progress. Not only did they not know where Sha'Gra was but there were no witnesses to give an account of her location after she had left the main hall. So if they couldn't locate her in the building, Alec had no idea where to begin searching. This was not the way he was hoping today would turn out. He smacked the surface of the table. "Damn!"
After a shirt brooding period, Alec joined the search. He wasn't sure what he could add but he couldn't just sit around, his sense of duty-and not to mention his conscience-wouldn't allow it. He felt helpless, and he didn't like it. He took as much pride in his intelligence as he did in his physical ability, this defeat hurt him as bad as any physical assault ever could. Someone had beaten him and as a result Starfleet would likely not trust him to be in charge of something of this magnitude again. When Alec was scolding Davis for making a mistake and destroying his career, he was talking as much to himself as he was to the young Lieutenant. He was not looking forward to the coming days.
Alec was surprised by the number of rooms and corridors in the building. Once one had been inside the main hall it was difficult to imagine there being much more to the building. Aside from the seemingly endless corridors there were presentation rooms, offices, a large dining area, staterooms for V.I.Ps and a historical records room.
He had completed searching two floors with Lieutenant John Edwards when he started to get impatient. He was annoyed that they had not yet found Sha'Gra and that they even had to search for her to begin with. "Son of a bitch." he exclaimed.
"Problems?" Edwards opened the nearest door and looked inside. Nothing. Just a desk and chair.
"You could say that. We shouldn't even be here right now. We should be having celebrating with a glass of champagne like everyone else. But instead, here we are, because I screwed up."
"This isn't your fault, Commander. You couldn't have foreseen this."
"I should have had more guards patrolling the halls."
Edwards put his hand on Alec's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Then there'd be missing guards. I have a feeling this would have happened no matter what precautions were taken. It's one of those things that nobody saw coming. Like Pearl Harbor, and 9/11."
There's logic to that. And thanks for choosing such catastrophes to compare. Alec took some small comfort in his deputy's words, but he was still angry at himself. "Damnit, this place is too big."
"Feels like I've checked this room three times already." said Edwards after closing another door. "I want to have a word with whoever designed this place."
Alec opened the next door and looked in. "When we get back to the Enterprise I'll let you borrow my time machine."
"Could it be the Romulans?" asked Edwards.
"I don't see what they'd have to gain."
"What about Vesuvia's dilithium?"
Alec shook his head. The Romulans had no use for dilithium. Their ships were powered by artificial quantum singularities, they had nothing to gain by usurping the mines from Vesuvia. Unless they planned to use them as a bargaining chip, but Alec found that unlikely. If it was the Romulans then they were after something else.
The search went on for two more hours. The teams went through every room, every hall, Sha'Gra and her guards were nowhere to be found. Alec and Lieutenant Edwards however did find the necklace she had been wearing, it's clasp broken. Wherever she might have been at the moment one thing was clear: She did not go of her own free will.
The Vesuvian public was demanding answers. Their state of unrest was understandable, they were virtual prisoners in the main hall. Alec was relieved they had not yet started pointing the finger at the one in charge of security. Questioning twenty thousand people was not a fast process. There was no official announcement regarding the postponement of the ceremony or their subsequent containment but as before the mass speculation had satisfied the imagination of those in the hall.
Alec beamed back aboard the Enterprise in an attempt to find Sha'Gra with the ship's sensors. He was ultimately met with frustration as the sensors couldn't detect a trace of her. The only clue was the necklace found in the corridor. Alec couldn't put his finger on it but he knew it was important. The only thing he could think of doing was walking through the forum room by room with a tricorder but another search would most likely be futile and he doubted those in the main hall would be willing to stay put for any longer. He finally decided to release all but those that had been identified as members of the extremist movement. Of those there were only thirty-two, a significant number down from twenty thousand. Alec had Troi present during their questioning. Her experience with Vesuvians was limited but she was confident in her conclusion that they knew nothing about Sha'Gra's disappearance. Because there was no evidence against them, Alec had no choice but to release them. He was back to square one.
He went back to the plans for the building. He looked at the layout for each floor, certain that he missed something. The building was similar in its layout to ancient sports arenas on Earth. The different rooms surrounded the main hall in an oval, simple but efficient. But unlike the ancient arenas, the outer rim of the building was larger, giving more room for the functions of the government. A room, a hallway, a nook or cranny, something was amiss. And in the middle of a cup of coffee he found what he was looking for. In the area where Sha'Gra's necklace was found was a door in the blueprints, but it was not present in the building. A phantom door.
"Gotcha."
Alec summoned the senior staff to the observation lounge. Jobra was brought in as well, having been the ambassador for over a decade he would most likely be aware of any hidden areas that were otherwise not considered. They all looked curiously at Alec, knowing that he would not have assembled them unless he had found something.
Finally Alec spoke. "Before I get to the real reason for calling you all here I'll give an update of what has transpired just so rumor is separated from fact. Shortly after the ceremony began, President Sha'Gra left the main hall to go outside for fresh air. A lack of communication between checkpoints resulted in her apparent abduction. A thorough search of the building by my security team could not find her, however the necklace she was wearing was recovered."
"So because of a miscommunication our president could be dead somewhere?" Jobra was more upset about the events of the day than anyone. His close friend had gone missing and so far the only trace of her these Starfleet officers could find was her jewelry.
"First of all," said Alec firmly. He matched the Vesuvian ambassador's hard gaze with his own, only his was like diamond. "She's not dead."
Jobra scoffed. He was apparently not interested in diplomacy at the moment. They were all surprised to see this side of him, until now he had displayed an exuberance matched only by that of a hyperactive child. "How do you know that? You just said you hadn't been able to find her."
"Because if whoever was behind this wanted her dead we would have a body."
"That's speculation." spat Jobra.
"That's logic. They had a perfect chance to kill her when she was out in the open in the main hall. If you want a more public place to assassinate someone and make a statement you'll find no better one than in front of billions of people. But instead, they waited until her and her guards were alone before they made their move. Which means they want her for something. No, she's not dead."
Silence befell the room. Alec was right and they knew it, even Jobra. If those responsible wanted Sha'Gra dead they would have done so at a time where maximum panic and chaos could be achieved. Such an objective is not reached in a vacant hallway but rather in front of a large audience.
"Secondly," added Alec, a touch of venom spit out with his words. "You're not in a position to criticize my officers for miscommunication, Ambassador." He entered a command into the small panel on his right. The monitor on the wall opposite the windows activated.
"What are we looking at, Commander?" asked Picard, speaking for the first time. He was impressed with the way Alec held his own against Jobra. To be in the career that he is, the ambassador has to be an expert debater and Alec managed to silence him before he got going.
"This is the real reason why I brought you all here." Alec left his chair and walked around the end of the table to the monitor, pointing at it as he neared. "This is the layout of the floor where we found Sha'Gra's necklace. The layout shows every doorway, hallway, and office." He entered more commands into the console next to the monitor, the image magnified and centered on a single doorways. "This doorway is in the plans but it's not present in the building."
"You think it's a hidden passage?" asked Riker. He could see that Jobra was displaying classic signs of anxiety. Alec had scored a direct hit.
"That's exactly what I think."
"It could be a mistake in the blueprints." said La Forge.
"I don't think so." said Alec. "These plans are over a thousand years old. They've had a millennia to correct any discrepancies contained within the records. There's a door there alright. And I'm guessing by our good ambassador's mannerisms that he knew about it."
All eyes were now on Jobra. He was sweating, and his hands were trembling. If he was in the dark as to the door's existence then he was struck by a high fever. "Ambassador?" said Picard.
"Yes," said Jobra after a moment. "I knew about the door."
"Where does it lead?" asked Riker, now paying full attention to the meeting.
"To a series of underground caverns. They were dug out when the forum was built in case anyone ever lay siege to it. It would allow the president and the high-ranking officials to escape."
Picard leaned forward on the table and left no doubt in Jobra's mind as to his disposition. "Why didn't you share this with the security teams when they were conducting their search?"
"Because it's a secret, Captain. Only those who would ever be using it are aware of its existence. And only we have access to it."
"It appears someone was able to circumvent it." added Data.
"You should have informed us about this before we began the search," said Alec. "We spent all this time looking. We could have found her by now if we had known."
"I had no reason to think anyone else knew or had access to the passage. Otherwise I would have most certainly shared this information with you. I know what you're thinking right now but I assure you I had no hands in this whatsoever. I've known Sha'Gra since she was a child, I have no wish to see her harmed."
Troi believed him. The mere thought that anyone would suspect him of being involved hurt Jobra. "He's telling the truth, Captain."
Picard nodded solemnly. "Commander Wilson, beam down with a security detail. Conduct a search of the underground passages. Unless you have any objections, Ambassador."
"I'll open the passage for you." said Jobra.
Alec and his security detail materialized in the empty halls of the forum. He recognized it as the general vicinity of where he and Edwards found the necklace. To his left was the wall containing the hidden passage. He thought it only logical that there be a secret escape route in the building. Several others in history had concealed passages in case they were besieged: Countless castles in Medieval Earth for example, The Tower of Commerce on Ferenginar, and he was sure there was one somewhere at Federation Headquarters, although there had been no official declaration as such.
Jobra maneuvered his way through the Starfleet officers and positioned himself in front of the wall. He raised his left arm into the air and pulled back the sleeve. Around his wrist was a bracelet, it looked similar in design to the necklace that Sha'Gra had lost in the corridor. Alec had not noticed it before. That must be a remote for the door. He lowered his hand to his side and held open the flap of his tricorder in its holster. Jobra removed the bracelet from his wrist and turned over the rectangular plate that was centered between the clasps. He pressed the center and said something that must have been in his native tongue.
The entranceway appeared out of nowhere. The designers did a remarkable job concealing the door. Alec closed his tricorder. He could not see so much as a crease in the door. Open sesame. He saw stairs leading downward. Jobra began to head through the doorway, but Alec stopped him. "Hold it, Ambassador. We don't know who or what is down there. I think it best you stay here."
"It's easy to get lost down there if you don't know where you're going."
"We've got our tricorders. I'm guessing there's a dampening field down there and that's why I never detected the caverns during my sensor search for Sha'Gra. We might not be able to scan the area but we can at least map out where we've been and find our way back here if need be."
Jobra nodded and reluctantly stepped aside. "I'll leave the door open. The building is empty aside from essential personnel so there's no need to keep its existence known from prying eyes. One last thing: There are underground streams in the caverns. One in particular has a hallucinogenic effect on my people. There's no way of knowing what it will do to you."
And you're just telling us now? It took all of Alec's restrain to not yell at Bru'Dan for again keeping information from them. Evidently, being an ambassador didn't involve offering details.
"Understood." Alec pulled his phaser from his side and changed the setting. "Set phasers for medium stun." The three security officers he brought along followed suit. "Let's go." Before taking another step, he stared at the mouth of the opening. He could not help but draw a comparison to a certain door from ancient Italian literature. "Abandon all hope, those who enter here."
"Sir?" asked Edwards.
John, you've got to read Dante's Inferno. Alec took a step forward. "Nevermind." Level one. He wished he had brought Lieutenant McClary along, she would have enjoyed this.
It took nearly a minute and a half for them to descend the stairs. Alec estimated they were about a hundred feet below the surface. It was room temperature down in the caverns and the air tasted quite fresh. The caves must have an artificial ventilation system installed in the event of a prolonged stay. It wasn't extremely dark but it took a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the change in light. When his vision corrected itself Alec could see the cavern they were currently in branched off into three different sections. He had expected them to split up at one point, just not right away. The idea of separating at all didn't sit well with him especially in unfamiliar territory, but they would cover more ground that way.
Lieutenant Edwards came up behind Alec. "I know what you're thinking."
"I didn't know you were related to Deanna." Alec sighed. Here we go. "John, take the center tunnel. Lieutenant Davis, Lieutenant Ivens, take the right. Separate when you get a chance. Sha'Gra might not be down here but I want to find her as soon as possible if she is. Set your tricorders to continue scanning while closed."
The officers went to their assigned route and Alec found himself alone in the first cavern. He did not like isolation. Being alone was probably the least desirable thing to a person, and it was something that he had felt too much for his own tastes within his lifetime. He was determined to find Sha'Gra. Too much had gone wrong today already and he did not intend to have this incident written into his permanent record as a total failure.
He kept his phaser drawn. As fast a draw as he was he knew the old saying that 'there's always someone faster.' In the split second it took him to reach for his sidearm he could wind up with a smoking hole in his chest. That wouldn't sit well with Rene, or me for that matter.
The threat made by Alec's Vesuvian counterpart stuck in his head. Bru'Dan would have been well within his rights for vengeance if some twisted fate had befallen Sha'Gra. He could only imagine what kind of punishment system the Vesuvians had. Whatever it was he was confident he could take it, he withstood Borg torture. But that didn't mean he was eager to experience Vesuvian wrath.
The path that Alec followed was beginning to slant downward, taking him further underground. He wished he had brought a wrist beacon for although there were lamps installed in the walls throughout the tunnel system they were about as bright as the emergency lighting on a starship's bridge. At points where tunnels intersected there was no lighting at all. If he were to recognize anyone in this lighting he would have to be a few feet away. That was cutting it close when trying to determine friend or foe. The eyes could play tricks on one's eyes in this lighting. Alec's ears were starting to play tricks on him as well, he thought he had heard something, almost like an oozing sound. He only heard it for a split second, then shook it off as his imagination asserting itself. From lack of use.
Alec understood what Jobra meant when he said it was easy to get lost. If it weren't for the proverbial trail of breadcrumbs in the form of his tricorder it would take him forever to find his way back to where he started, but he didn't intend to head back there until he accomplished what he went underground to do.
He wondered how the others were doing, if they had found Sha'Gra or her guards yet. Alec hoped for Lieutenant Davis' sake that he was the one that retrieved her, at least one person should come out of this with a relatively clean slate.
The difficulty seeing in the darkness was beginning to frustrate him. And he imagined that oozing noise once more. The further he progressed through the tunnel system the warmer it started to get, and the air got stuffy. The ventilation system appeared to stretch only so far. Add some humidity and the Borg would be pretty comfortable here. He was beginning to long for the day he was a prisoner in Unimatrix 01, but only in the sense that he knew what to expect around each corner, and he could see.
Alec rounded a corner and walked right through a stream of water falling from the roof of the cave. That must be what was making the noise I heard. Damnit, I wonder if that was the stream with the hallucinogens. If I start hallucinating I'll know. The cool water was a welcome respite from the warm stuffy air of the cavern. Nothing like a cold shower to wake you up. He was tempted to stand there in the miniature waterfall to escape the heat but the search of the caverns had been put off for long enough.
Using his free hand he wiped the water out of his eyes. His vision was compromised enough without it being blurry. Alec chose the wrong moment to take his attention off the tunnel. A few steps after walking past the stream of water he stumbled on something and fell to the ground, his phaser flew from the his grip and landed somewhere in the darkness ahead. He cursed to himself for not paying attention to where he was going, it could have just as easily been a bottomless pit ahead of him. After spitting out the dirt in his mouth, Alec rolled over to try and get a look at the rock he had tripped over. At first glance he could see the form was much bigger than a rock. The closer he got, the more he was able to make out what he was looking at. It was not a rock that caused him to fall, but rather the body of one of Sha'Gra's guards, his partner lay beside him. Phaser wounds were centered in both their chests.
Am I imagining this? If it's not real than this is one of the fastest working hallucinogens I've heard of. Alec was relieved that it had not been Sha'Gra he had found but was dismayed that he had the apparent deaths of her guards on his conscience. Unless it really is her and I'm just imagining her guards. He derailed that particular train of thought for the time being.
The danger just got real. Using their body temperature to judge how long they had been dead would have been futile for he had no knowledge of Vesuvian physiology with which to make an assessment. He turned away from the site of death and began to look for his phaser. It was relatively easy to find. Its dorsal surface was facing the rockface, its setting lights illuminating the stone wall. There was a killer, or killers on the loose and he had no intention of facing them unarmed. He gripped his phaser in his hand as if it were the sword of Damocles, ready to strike down any who posed a threat to his or anyone else's life.
He was fully alert now, he wouldn't allow his attention to falter like that again. If the dampening field wasn't in effect he would have contacted the rest of the security team, but instead he would have to wait until they found him or vice-versa. Again Alec heard the oozing noise that he attributed to the underground spring. Must be another vent nearby. He entered a large cavern. Just opposite him was an opening leading to another tunnel. The endless cave system was beginning to grow tiresome. If he went the rest of his life without going into another cave he'd die a happy man. He was about to step forward when something caught the attention of his ear. It wasn't the oozing he had heard before. This was a crunching, and it repeated itself twice every second. Footsteps. Somebody was making their way through the tunnel ahead of him. The footsteps got louder, his stomach churned with each crunch of the dirt.
A silhouette stepped into view in the cave opening ahead. Damn, I wish there was more light. Alec raised his phaser. "Stay where you are."
The form froze. He was hoping to hear something along the lines of 'Commander, am I ever glad to see you.' But the only voice he heard was the subsequent echo of his own. His eyes might have been playing tricks on him in the low lighting but he could have sworn he saw the silhouetted shape of a Jem'Hadar soldier. Impossible, they were all sent back to the Gamma Quadrant after the war, it was one of the conditions of our victory. This has got to be the hallucinogen. The figure's left arm began to reach to it's side.
"Don't move. Identify yourself." His own vocal reflection was once more the only reply. Then Alec heard something he hadn't heard in over two years, something he thought he'd never hear again. He was positive he heard the sound of a polaron disruptor charging. Only one race used a polaron disruptor, the Jem'Hadar. The figure's arm rose from its side. Alec was sure he saw the shadowed outline of a gun. I can't take a chance. He aimed his own phaser, and fired.