Chapter One: Listen

Another planet scan outside known space. Two M class worlds yet one was as small as it could be and had too low of gravity, it could likely never be settled by families. The other with such violent and constant storms human life would never flourish, though it could be survived. Neither seemed to hold life above the intelligence of perhaps a canine. It was this one little dead moon around the second planet that had something strange trigger the ship sensors.

"An anomaly?" Riker asked the android that sat in front of himself working away at a console on the bridge. They were on grave shift time at the moment, skeletal crew as they assumed nothing interesting would be scanned on the moons around these two planets.

"I believe it is an electromagnetic wave with a frequency fluctuating between nine hundred and one thousand hertz."

"Interference from something on the surface, or our sensors bouncing back off unknown material?"

"The likely hood of the latter is under three percent," Data had often been scolded for giving an exact on these matters and found in this moment it was not needed thus he did not give it, "however, I believe the former would be more accurate."

Data, the walking computer, hardly made errors when it came to his namesake: data. Riker did not question anymore save for the lieutenant commander's opinion, "What do you think it is?"

"These same kinds of waves were once used as a form of long-distance communication on Earth. I believe we may be encountering a similar functioning device."

"A radio?" He had to double-check.

Data nodded his head, "It appears so."

That could not have been right; even if a radio was somehow on this dead moon, it would not reach this far would it? Leaning back in the command chair Riker thought for a moment, "Can you tune in?" He likely did not have to ask as Data seemed more than happy - of course, the android could not feel that - to investigate.

With alarming speed and accuracy Data programmed a way to run the sensors to allow audio feedback, informing Riker of the task as he performed it.

With no screen to pull up, it stayed black and blank. The eerie hiss of white noise static and occasional popping crackles flooded the bridge. Riker watched as Data tilted his head slowly, his yellow eyes moving from left to right to right to left and so on. He knew that face, the android was hearing something his human senses could not pick up. Data tapped more on the console again fine-tuning the sensors.

Riker still could not hear anything even after Data finished, "I don't hear anything, are you sur-?"

Data had turned around in his chair holding up his hand for Riker to be silent. The other two men working on the bridge were looking at each other and making gestures like they had no clue either.

Then it came, a grainy mess still but it sounded exactly like a rotary landline ringing. It was answered. A languid male voice crackled and sounded a bit like it was overlapping itself, "Void Emporium," there was a pause with nothing but static filling the moment, "how unfortunate. Have you tried just not looking at it?" Another long pause of static, "Hm, there is no need to yell sir. There is nothing we can do, you were warned there are no returns. Have a pleasant day."

Riker could just barely make out a click as the phone call was finished. The one-sided conversation over. Then the radio static resumed, growing on volume as if it was tuning and he looked at Data, the android showing a quizzical look himself as he was doing nothing on the console.

-.- - ..- / ... . .- .-. / - ..- .-. / .- - .-. -.. ... / -... ..- - / -.- - ..- / ..-. - .-. -. . - .-.-.- / ... - - .-. .-.-.-

The most important of the ship crew were awoken and gathered in the war room just behind the bridge. They maintained an orbit around the dead moon but kept the sound off as it was making the bridge crew jittery.

"Alright," Captain Picard took in a breath wrapping his brain around what he'd just been informed of, "So what you're telling me is there may be a radio or some device putting out a frequency like one, on a dead inhospitable moon. And this broadcast is probably not a prerecorded signal," he looked at Data whom nodded to confirm, "and when our sensors tuned in we caught the frequency of some place calling itself an emporium, answering a phone?" Data nodded again. "Could it be Q?" Picard looked to Riker, concern and exhaustion upon his face. They had recently dealt with the menace once again.

"It..." The second in command shrugged one shoulder and gestured up a hand surrendering to the fact he had no idea, "it could be, but, I don't know." Riker gave a shake of his head and his hand fell back to the table. He really just hoped not.

"I think if it was Q we might know by now Captain." Troi spoke up sensing the tension at this all being an elaborate trick. She at least did not feel anything from the moon, though dealing with Q and their emotions was tricky.

"Hm, yes he does have a thing for grand theatrics and dramatic entrances," Picard agreed, pausing a moment as if expecting that white flash of light and the being in question to present itself, "for now let's assume it is not Q."

"Should we send a team?" Riker looked up, he was not thrilled about being on a team that would require space suits. Even so, he suggested one of the choices they often went for.

"Captain, I would first like to investigate further before we send an away team." Data stared. The crew had this notion he was always interested in everything and as true as his curiosity proceeded him, he had not been sure of something he thought his hearing picked up after the phone call ended the first time. Data would be against a ground team and the risks low to no atmosphere presented until he had more facts.

"We certainly have the time to," Picard mused, "very well. See what you can figure out from someplace other than the bridge. It's making the crew nervous. We know there is basically no atmosphere and low radiation levels on that moon so if we wanted to send a team down we'd require suits." He spoke the obvious knowing both of the things they worried over without them saying it aloud, "I'd rather not increase the risk of injury until we're sure something or someone is down there."

The table seemed to agree. Though it was unlikely they would protest on a matter of safety in this case.

.-. . .-. . .- - / - ... . / .- - .-. -.. -..- / .-. . .-. . .- - / - ... . / .- - .-. -.. ... -..- / .-. . .-. . .- - / - ... . / .- - .-. -.. .-.-.- / -.-. - .-. -.- .-.-.- / ... - - .-. .-.-.-

Hours later Data had run the sensors that could pick up the signal into someplace where there would be no one else. His quarters. The static was making his fellow crewmates anxious to the point even Troy was having mild panic attacks from it and others aboard were acting strange when exposed for too long. Something about it was unnerving apparently, he did not notice, otherwise the static was harmless according to all their instruments.

Data was trying to fine-tune the signal so there was less interference. It was proving difficult as it did not seem like it was staying on one steady frequency. Sometimes he could hear that phone ringing, other times he heard the male voice speaking in a garbled haze of crackling. Once he leaned back and stopped attempting to chase the signal is when static whined with an electric whirl that turned into clear ringing.

The same male voice as every other time answered, "Void Emporium," a long pause, "hello?" Another long pause followed by an audible sigh, "first time I suppose. Please hold. Let's see," a loud thud echoed in the static and Data's sensitive ears picked up slow page turning for several minutes, "... Interesting. U-S-S Enterprise, Mister Data, are you still there?"

Data immediately tapped his badge intercom, "Data to bridge."

.. ..-. / -.- - ..- / ... . .- .-. / .- / .-. .. -. -. .. -. -. / -.- - ..- / ... .- -.. / -... . ... - / .-. ..- .-.. .-.. / - ... . / -.-. - .-. -.. .-.-.- / ... - - .-. .-.-.-

The static had waned to grainy pops again by the time the crew gathered together once more. They removed all non-important personnel from the bridge and tuned in. Data sat at his console making adjustments like the ones he'd made in his quarters trying to get the frequency back. Picard, Riker, Troi, Doctor Wesley, Worf and two other engineer crewmen waited in the growing tense silence. The radio sound hissed, crackle-popped, white noise fizzed for a moment as if overlapping itself. Then ringing just barely among it all.

"Void Emporium." It was incredibly distorted.

"Hello, I am capta-" The captain had been cut off.

"I see, and have you tried ripping off your ears to no longer hear it?"

"I do not believe they can hear us, captain." Data informed the obvious. That was not what the other crew was worried about at the moment. Had they all heard that correctly through the garbled static? Who suggests so apathetically to rip off one's own ears?

"Sir, there is no need to holler. You're likely to hurt your throat doing that, though I suppose you can no longer hear me," a noise like a sigh into an echoing microphone followed by, "you were warned. There are no returns. Have a pleasant day." And click.

Yet, there was no long pause of static as the phone rang immediately again.

"Void Emporium." They stayed silent for a moment listening to low gain noise, popping as this man sighed, "again? Hm..." the signal began to tune itself, Data held his fingers away from the console turning to look at the others, "I am rather amazed you were ever able to call in." The garbled voice was suddenly very clear yet it retained all the elements as if they used a radio to speak from, "Please note I do not often nor enjoy to repeat myself, U-S-S Enterprise, you have reached the Void Emporium." The voice was patient with them apparently aiding their sensors to hold onto the right frequency, though as Data turned his head and watched the values changing in ways that made absolutely no sense.

Finally, Picard straightened his shirt out of habit and spoke, "Hello. I am Captain Picard, of the USS Enterprise, we are explorers and have come across this frequency while investigating. You said we have reached the Void Emporium, what is that?"

There was a moment of pause before he spoke, "It is... the edge of understanding, the border of the known, the breaking point of reason where logic is dethroned. A place where entropy is not offensive and every dream rings our phone." Another loud voice squealed happily in the background when the man finished and was addressed with a low, "Hush, Meredith."

"I don't think we quite understand." Picard was indeed confused and sought clarity.

"First-time buyers hardly do."

"We are not b-" he started yet was cut off by a roar of high-pitched whining static.

Followed by it tuning back in, "... My apologies, you were saying?"

"Where are you, exactly?"

"Down."

"Down?" Again a habit, probably formed from dealing with the Q, caused Picard to literally flicker his eyes down as if half expecting the floor to vanish. He was growing cautious about all this.

"Not down there, down here."

"Down here?" He questioned looking to Riker with a face that told the crew he was skeptical, it had to be the Q right? They were all thinking it at this point.

After a moment their viewer turned on like an old television set might have with a poor signal. The edges of the screen crackled and fizzed with white and black, the image resolution was in the best of terms terrible. The moon they had been scanning displayed, "Down here is the cord line you have pulled."

A similarly happy squeak as before and muffled in the background, "New customers?" Was barely heard followed by an: "Ooof." And a thud.

"There is nothing down there." Picard mused aloud though if anyone else wanted to correct him he would gladly be wrong.

The grainy image flickered, it got closer to the dead moon. Flicker. Closer. Flicker. Closer. Flicker. Closer. Each time with a noise like a dial being clicked to the next channel. Until a point where an object could be seen. An ominous brutalist architecture of a single medium-sized steel door encased in cement appeared on the grainy filtered screen. Data turned to look at his console the values of the radio signal were indeed no longer logical, in any way. He pressed once on the console to try and perform a scan of the object they were viewing. It did not exist according to them.

"You won't find it that way," The voice yawned, "you're flying machine cannot begin to compute. You see there is the strangest correlation observation will present. In the systems you can witness and the signals they have sent. What you see is a door and it is nothing but, your mind is not playing tricks upon you, well, not as of yet-"

There was a fuzzy noise again and the clacking of something upon the radio's end. The screen was flickering changing the image of the door to different angles each time it did. There came shuffling and a loud but surely distant yell, "Meredith!" Before the voice of a bubbly woman came through very clearly, "What he means to say is you should come inside! Take a tour, you won't regret!" She invited chipperly.

With quick wit, "Can we think about it?" Riker pipped in, he wore an amused smile for the antics that seemed to be going on.

"Yes but of cours-" She made a noise akin to a sheep 'eeping' in surprise, next came footfalls creaking upon what sounded like wood then a thud. Silence and static. The image corrected itself on their viewer after a few flickers. Once more the voice of the male broadcaster returned, "My apologies, my assistant is overly excited. The door will not stay long. If there are no more questions," -

"We have many." Picard was talked over by the man.

- "then it is time I hang up. You have our number and can call again. Have a pleasant day."

Befuddled the bridge crew stared at the viewer and listened to the static begin to roar until it became too much for some of them to bear.
It was muted.