Disclaimer: Star Trek and all associated characters and situations are the property of CBS studios. Star Trek Online is the creation of Cryptic and Perfect World. Tomb Raider and the situations therein are the property of Square Enix. All are here used by myself for entertainment purposes only, without permission or intent to profit. Stardates were calculated with the help of the TNG Stardate Calculator available on TrekGuide .com and may be slightly out of sync with those used in the game's lore.

Legend of Yamatai

USS Nautilus, Senior Science Officer Carlin Agran's Log, Stardate 81624.0:

We've completed our initial scans of the Dragon's Head Nebula and the surrounding systems. There are definite signs of the isotope we're looking for, but only inside the nebula itself. The question is, how did an isotope unique to one of the most impassible nebulae in the quadrant wind up on Earth over 2,000 years ago?

Captain Sokar took his place at the head of the briefing room table. "Before we get started, Doctor Mor, I'd like you to tell us about the archeological find, and what theories you have as to its origin."

"Thank you, Captain." The Ferengi stood and gave a toothy grin. "The find was a stash of pottery found on the main island of the Earth archipelago called Jahpan. Most of them had been smashed to dust by the ravages of time, but one was fairly well preserved. This is what I was able to reconstruct of what it looked like." He produced a palm-sized holoprojector and switched it on. A clay vase appeared, ghost-like, over his hand. Though pieces of it were missing and there were visible cracks even in the reconstruction, a design could clearly be made out on one side: it was the image of a woman in flowing robes, with rays of light shining all around her. "This was the piece that most definitely contained concentrations of laracite-OFT."

"Any idea who the female figure is?" Drel asked.

"Ah, you noticed her." Mor gave another toothy grin. "Yes, I believe she is Imego, the Sun Queen of Yamatai, a figure of ancient Japanese mythology."

"It's Himiko, actually," said Sam, looking annoyed. "And there are some scholars who believe she was a historical figure."

The Ferengi huffed. "And how would you know, hew-mon woman?"

"I have a xenoarcheology degree from the Academy—"

Mor snorted. "And you're going to pretend that makes you qualified?"

Sam ignored the interruption. "Also, I'm from that Japanese archipelago, or at least, my ancestors were. My grandmother still lives there, and she's the one who first told me the story of Himiko."

Carlin looked up from her PADD. "Yes, and I remember you told it to me a few times too." She smiled. Those were some of the good days from back in the Academy. "She loves telling this story," she explained to everyone else.

"Would you mind sharing it with us, Lieutenant Hayashi?" asked the Captain.

"Oh, I don't believe this!" said Mor.

Sokar gave the Ferengi a stern look. "Doctor, you will have the floor again as soon as the Lieutenant has finished. I advise patience."

Mor grumbled and took his seat. Sam smiled broadly and sat up straight in her chair.

"Well, believe it or not, a couple thousand years ago Queen Himiko pretty much ran things in Japan. She ruled from the island of Yamatai, whose exact location has never been found, though several theories exist." Sam sat back, wistful. "Himiko was beautiful, enigmatic, but also ruthless and powerful. Legend says she had shamanistic powers."

"And that is where she always lost me," Carlin confessed.

Doctor Howard shrugged. "There's always some truth to myths."

But Sam was really getting into the story now, and continued, "Himiko commanded an army of Samurai warriors, her magnificent Stormguard. They rode the very winds into battle, laying waste to all who opposed them. They say the sun rose at Himiko's command and she ruled everything its rays touched, from the mountains, to the sea, and beyond. They called her the Sun Queen, and the reverence people had for her was tantamount to worship. But one day, Yamatai simply vanished without a trace, and the Sun Queen with it, forgotten in time."

"And Doctor Mor, you think the artifact you found may be referring to this Queen Himiko?" asked Sokar.

The Ferengi nodded. "It's from the right period, positively dated at 2,200 years old. That puts it right in the middle of this Himiko-person's supposed reign."

"I take it you don't put stock in the legends, then," said Doctor Howard.

"Oh, I admit, there's probably some truth to it, but it's probably more diluted than the synthehol you serve aboard this ship," said Mor. "There is one thing I've always found interesting about the legend, that the hew-mon didn't mention." He leaned forward. "They say, that Yamatai was never found or ever assaulted because it was located in the clouds, beyond the stars. It's a direct reference to early space-travel, and my find backs it up, proving that pottery made its way to Earth in ancient times from a world somewhere in this region of space."

Sokar turned to Sam. "Your opinion, Lieutenant Hayashi, as a xenoarcheologist?"

Sam shrugged. "The presence of the laracite isotope is pretty clear evidence for extraterrestrial origin. Supposing it isn't a fake, it means someone used space travel to bring either the clay or the pot itself to Earth about two thousand years ago."

"And how does the legend of Himiko fit into all this?" asked Doctor Howard.

"The fantastical descriptions of Yamatai, Himiko, and her Stormguard could all be attempts by a primitive culture to understand advanced technology," said Carlin. "Interstellar spacecraft, climate control technology, maybe even light attack craft or drop ships."

Sam nodded. "We could be looking at an early warp-capable society that didn't have any of our compunctions against coming to a bronze-age Earth from Yamatai and trying their hands at ruling the place. We know there were several species with warp capability at that time, including the Vulcans, the Romulans, the Menthar, the Promellians…it could have been any one of them or another species entirely. We know the Greek gods were based on interstellar travelers, though the last of that race died in the 23rd Century."

"But if they could use their advanced technology to rule Earth through Japan, what happened to them? Why did they stop coming?" asked Antori.

"We won't know the answer to that question until we actually find Yamatai," said Mor.

Sokar nodded. He turned to Carlin. "Have you made any progress on that issue, Lieutenant Agran?"

"Yes and no," said Carlin, standing. "We completed our resonance scans of the surrounding region, but I don't think you'll like the results." She pulled up the display on the briefing room's monitor. "As you can see, the only significant amounts of laracite-OFT are inside the nebula itself. Our artifact had to have originated from there."

"That's absurd!" said Mor. "No warp-capable civilization could have developed inside the Dragon's Head Nebula. It's worse than the Briar Patch in there!"

Carlin sighed and rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, Lieutenant T'Paie came to her defense. "When one eliminates the impossible, whatever explanation remains, no matter how unlikely, must be true." She turned to Carlin. "Is there any chance the distribution pattern of the isotope could have changed in the past, allowing some to settle on nearby worlds?"

She shook her head. "If there had been, we'd still be able to detect the isotope in the planet's crusts, but the resonance scan didn't pick any up."

"Then logically, we must look inside the nebula," said Lieutenant T'Paie.

"I agree," said Carlin, changing the display. "So I took the liberty of running a gravimetric analysis of the nebula, in order to scan for astronomical bodies inside. This is what I found." A G-type star appeared, circled by seven planets. She tapped the second-closest one. "The mass and radius are Earth-like, as is the rotation period. It's also well within the habitable zone of the star."

"You're saying it's M-class?" asked Sam, sitting up.

"Possibly, but I won't know for sure until we run a spectrographic analysis of the atmosphere. We can't do that from here, so I recommend we launch a class-5 probe. That'll let us know what we're looking at without placing the ship in any danger in the nebula."

"This could be what we're looking for, sir," said Sam. "This could be Yamatai."

"Prepare the probe for launch," said Sokar. "The probe should establish planetary orbit by tomorrow morning. Until then, dismissed."

Carlin rose to leave, but before she or anyone else could take a step, Mor shouted, "Wait! Wait! There's something else we need to discuss."

Sokar arched an eyebrow. Sam rolled her eyes.

"It's the matter of documentation," said Mor. "I want to make sure I get the credit I deserve for this find, if it does turn out to be Yamatai."

If he was anyone else, Carlin would have said Sokar looked annoyed. "Our ship's computers and sensor records should provide adequate documentation, and I assure you, you will be credited for your work, as will the Nautilus crew."

"That's…that's not what I meant."

"What he means is he wants to put it all on holovid for his show," said Sam.

"I see," said Sokar. "If you have the equipment with you, you may use it to make your own recordings, of course, provided Commander Drel reviews them before publication, to assure that no sensitive information about our ships systems is accidentally disclosed."

"Ah, that's not quite what I had in mind either," said the Ferengi, smiling nervously.

If it were possible, Sokar's expression grew even more blank and emotionless than before. "Perhaps you would like to tell us what you did have in mind?"

"I need a holocamera-crew," he said. "Someone to operate the equipment while I narrate and make discoveries."

Sokar shook his head. "I'm afraid we don't have the time to go back to Starbase 24 and pick up your associates, nor to wait for them here until their shuttle arrives."

"But you don't understand! Yamatai could be the discovery of a lifetime!"

"What you also don't understand is that the network cancelled Dr. Mor's show," Sam added, crossing her arms. "He doesn't have a holocamera-crew to call on anymore."

Mor rounded on her. "And what would you know about this, hew-mon?! Your kind doesn't even use money anymore! You don't have the lobes for business!"

Sam studied the ceiling. "Actually, some of us still do."

Carlin suppressed the urge to laugh. "It might interest you to know, Dr. Mor, that the hew-mon you're talking to is among the 100 richest people in the Federation. Her annual income is—what?—50,000 bars of gold-pressed latinum? It's enough to buy one of these ships outright every year."

"It's around 67 thousand, actually, and not quite enough for a military vessel any more, even a somewhat-dated one," said Sam. "The war's driving the prices up."

Mor looked at Sam in awe. "Who are you?"

Sam sighed.

"You'd better tell him," said Antori. "You know he won't sleep if he doesn't find out, and I don't want security to have to deal with a sleep-deprived Ferengi."

"Aye, aye, sir," said Sam. She turned to Mor. "For your information, I am Lieutenant Samantha Hayashi."

"Hayashi…Hayashi…I've heard that name before…I should remember it!" said Mor.

Sam rolled her eyes. "You ought to. Hayashi Industrial Group owns a 78% share in the media conglomerate that runs your network. That's why I know your show got cancelled."

Mor's eyes went so wide Carlin swore they were about to pop out of their sockets. "You're Samantha Hayashi! The Sam Hayashi! The lost Belo girl?!"

Sam smacked her palm into her forehead. "I really hate it when they call me that."

Mor ignored the remark, turning to Sokar. "Captain, you simply must give me someone to operate my holo-recorder. Yamatai or no Yamatai, the chance to appear beside the youngest Belo-Hayashi sister is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Only if I kill you afterwards," Sam muttered, so low that Carlin thought she and Antori were the only ones who caught it. Then she said aloud, "Sir, I won't disobey a direct order, but I do not want to appear in a holovid show."

"I am not ordering you to do so," said Sokar, folding his hands. He almost appeared to be smiling.

"But, but—!" Mor protested.

Sam rolled her eyes and turned to him. "Look, I'm the only girl in my family who isn't a celebrity, so I wouldn't help your ratings that much, certainly not enough to convince the network to pick you up again. I'll agree to a compromise, though, if it'll keep you quiet about me: if we find Yamatai, I'll run your holo-recorder equipment—I have some experience from working with my sisters."

Mor took a deep breath and weighed his options for a moment, then he extended his hand. "It's a deal." They shook hands and the Ferengi turned to Sokar. "My concerns are quite satisfied for now, Captain."

"Very well," said Sokar, rising. "Dismissed."

Within a few minutes, everyone had filed out. Antori and Carlin were the last to leave, but as she turned, she noticed Sam still sitting at the table, staring at the hand Mor had shaken. "I'm going to regret that deal, aren't I?"

"Judging by what I've seen of Dr. Mor, and what Carlin tells me?" Antori gave her a sideways grin. "I'd say if you're smart, you already regret it."

USS Nautilus, Senior Science Officer Carlin Agran's Log, 81625.3:

We've launched a class-5 probe into the Dragon's Head Nebula to chart the star system we discovered inside yesterday. Of particular interest is the second planet, a possible M-Class world. If it is capable of supporting life, or was two thousand years ago, this could be the planet we're looking for, the one that—according to Sam's legend—was once called Yamatai…

The next morning, Carlin stood at the science station on the bridge. "We're receiving telemetry from the probe," she reported. "We even have a visual."

"Onscreen," said Sokar.

Carlin pressed a sequence into her console and the image of the blue-green nebula on the viewscreen was replaced by the image of a planet, its sphere sparkling blue beneath swirls of white clouds. "It's definitely an M-Class planet," she reported. "Oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, indications of plant and animal life, standard gravity." She looked up. "The surface appears to be approximately 89% water. Most of the landmass is a series of archipelagos—and I'm definitely detecting significant levels of laracite-OFT in the rocks and soil."

"Where are the ruins?" asked Mor, trying to peek over her shoulder at her console. Carlin shooed the Ferengi away.

"Are there any signs of past habitation?" asked Sokar.

"Or current, for that matter," Antori added.

Carlin keyed in another sequence. An image of an archipelago from orbit appeared on the viewscreen. "There are extensive ruins on many of the islands, especially this group of islands in the north-eastern hemisphere."

"They're Japanese!" said Mor.

Sam nodded, studying the image themselves. "Looks like architecture from the Yayoi Period—the time of Himiko's reign—but they're much too well-preserved."

"There's some more recent activity, too," said Antori. He pointed to a gray object on the screen. "That's a cargo ship's hull, badly damaged, and that's a small Romulan warbird. There are several other wrecks on the islands and in the water, but I can't make any of them out from this image."

"Could there be survivors?" asked Sokar.

Antori shook his head. "It's impossible to say without closer inspection."

"I'm not picking up any identifiable power sources," said Carlin. "If there are survivors, they're laying low."

"Whether there are or aren't, there are ships down there from every era," said Antori.

"It's the find of a lifetime!" Mor shouted, having trouble keeping still.

"It's a graveyard," said Antori. "And if we don't take due precautions, we'll wind up in it too."

Sokar steepled his fingers. "Suggestions?"

"There are several ion storms in that part of the nebula. It's far too dangerous to take the Nautilus in, but a shuttle should be able to make it," said Sam.

"I insist on being aboard that shuttle!" said Mor.

"You will be, I assure you," said Sokar. He turned. "Lieutenant Hayashi, you will serve as the shuttle's pilot."

"Of course, sir."

"Lieutenant Agran, as the one who discovered this planet, you will have the honor of accompanying the away mission, if you choose."

"I do, sir," she said. She was not fond of shuttle travel, but this definitely looked worth it.

"They'll need a security escort, in case there are survivors from previous crashes and they turn out to be hostile," said Antori. "I volunteer."

"I expected nothing less," said Sokar. "You launch in Shuttlecraft One at 1300 hours."

Author's Note: Like the Tomb Raider game itself, this chapter contains a curious mix of real history and complete fiction. Yamatai and Himiko are believed to be historical figures of ancient Japan, during the Yayoi Period (300BC-300AD), though no one is quite sure who Himiko was or where Yamatai is located. From there, the story Sam tells is almost complete fantasy, based on a nearly-identical story told by Sam Nishimura in the Tomb Raider game.

Sam's comment about the Greek gods is a reference to the Original Series episode "Who Mourns for Adonis," wherein the Enterprise encounters a powerful psychokinetic alien posing as the Greek god Apollo. He claims that all of the Greek gods were once aliens like himself, but that they left Earth and died out from lack of worship, a fate to which Apollo himself eventually succumbs.

Sam's family background is more fully explained in "Airborne." When it comes to her annual income of 67,000 bars of latinum…well, for reference, Rom expected to buy Quark's Bar for 8,000 bars in "The Dogs of War." Her xenoarcheology interest was hinted at by the ancient pottery on her desk in chapter 2 of "Airborne."