All In the Same Boat
Posted on Tue Jun 14, 2016 @ 6:56pm by Valkris of the House of Inagh & Civilian 'Key Holder' Dorian Gabriel & Maekhav D'Aerrol & Civilian Melvyn Raddon
2,710 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Pangaea
[ON]
Maekhav D'Aerrol couldn't see. It was darker in here than the cave from which he'd come. His instincts told him that he was in a similar place. It was cold, and as he knelt down to feel the floor it was much like stone, except smooth. He resisted the urge to call out for someone. Until he had more information he didn't dare invite danger. Those Fae were at work. It would be surprising to discover it was anyone else. He remained still for a moment, and listened.
"Damnit!" Dorian swore under his breathe as he managed to climb down a steep incline that leveled off right into a darken cavern. As soon as he had regained his footing he immediately turned and began to assist his elder employer as he made his way down the same hazardous path. He immediatey signaled for Mr. Raddon to stay back as he aimed his flashlight into the direction in front of him, directly into the eyes of the Romulan Ambassador.
"Oh. ..it's just you." Dorian said less enthusiastically.
D'Aerrol clutched his chest over his heart, having been startled by the voices and suddenlight in his face. "Where are we?" He hissed.
"Deeper underground," another voice said, in the artificial, androgynous tone of a Tholian. The crystalline alien skittered over from somewhere unknown, still clad in its environmental suit.
"Where exactly, Ambassador?" D'Aerrol asked.
"I am not the Ambassador. I am Tozrax the adjutant," the Tholian explained.
"Whoever you are, what do you know?" D'Aerrol said impatiently.
"We are now approximately seven kilometers deeper underground," the Tholian said, referring to the computerized instrument attached to its limb. Obviously the Tolian equivalent of a tricorder.
All at once the illumination in the room went from a pitch black to a dim amber. They could now see the place where they were standing was a vast underground grotto. Markers and columns adorned it at several points. Each had writings or hieroglyphs inscribed upon it.
In the middle of the grotto was a sentinel, much like the one encountered by the first away team several weeks ago. It was made of polished granite, stood 15 meters tall, and had the look of an ancient warrior covered head to toe in armor. In one hand it held a spear. Audibly it drew in breath. Its eyes took on a glow as it looked directly at them. "Góshé śatam?" ["Who enters?"]
D'Aerrol knew the phrase. He had read it in Starfleet's debriefing report from their first away mission to Pangaea; the one that had resulted in the deaths of two of their own. He took a defiant step forward. "I am Maekhav D'Aerrol, Ambassador of the Romulan Empire, and if anything happens to me I swear I will be avenged! This planet will be laid waste!"
Dorian and Melvyn shared the same grimace as the Romulan Ambassador addressed the granite creature. Dorian began to take a step towards the Romulan to silence him; however, Melvyn grabbed his arm and stopped him before he could fully react. Instead, he addressed the creature in a full, but deferential tone.
"We are here on behalf of the Federation and its allies. We wish to explore this planet in order to understand it and what life currently exists." Melvyn said as he stepped and stood beside the Romulan Ambassador. "My name is Melvyn Raddon, I am not an member of Starfleet, but I do represent its civilian interests." He said.
"I've been waiting for you," the sentinel replied, unperturbed by D'Aerrol's threats. With its spear it gestured to the narrow cave behind it. "I am the guardian of this gateway. My instructions are to allow you passage. No more than five may pass. Once five have gone no one else may enter. Also, once the doorway is opened it will remain open for only one rotation of this planet. You must return before then or it will close. Proceed when you are ready."
"Do you think you can handle that, or do you think you'll need to call in reinforcements?" Dorian said in an antagonizing tone to the Romulan Ambassador.
Valkris emerged from the mouth of a tunnel, mek'leth drawn and ready for attack. She snorted seeing the ambassadors talking to what appeared to be some form of automaton.
The Romulan and the human squabbling like Ferengi, she thought.
"What are we waiting for?" she asked loudly.
Only Tozrax, the Tholian, moved right away, thinking that perhaps this was the way out. He/she moved down the tunnel and was soon gone from view.
Maekhav D'Aerrol was reluctant to move. Not so much because of fear but because he didn't want to be perceived as following the instructions of a Klingon. He knew he couldn't just stand around, though. Seeing no graceful way out, he cast a scowl at Dorian and said, "this way," He went the same way as Tozrax.
Dorian returned the scowl back towards the Romulan. please...just give me a reason to wipe this surface with that smug face of yours... Dorian mumbled under his breathe as he and Mr. Raddon began to march further into the cavern.
Seconds later they found themselves in a desert. The heat was intense even though the low sun indicated that dusk was approaching soon. The sand under their feet was a deep orange-red. In the distance, maybe 10 or 15 kilometers, was a mountain range. At the foot of that were the lights of a small city.
From somewhere unseen a sehlat growled. Perhaps it had caught the scent of intruders in its territory, and was warning them away. D'Aerrol turned quickly in that direction, startled, then did a full 360 to take everything else in.
"I know this place," D'Aerrol said. "I've been here many times. This is Vulcan."
Melvyn struggled to catch his breath as the intense heat and humidity rushed across his body. The lack of a breeze did nothing but make the environment that much worse.
"My God...how would the aliens of this world know of Vulcan or any other Federation world for that matter?" Melvyn asked.
The Tholian, Tozrax, took a moment to study the sky above. A few stars were already visible in the fading light. "Are you sure? The stars do not appear in their correct positions."
"And how would you know?" D'Aerrol scoffed.
"I am a qualified navigator," Tozrax replied.
"Then how the hell did we navigate across the Alpha Quadrant and into a desert?" Dorian asked directly. "More importantly, why did they choose a founding Federation-member planet to demonstrate its power?" Dorian continued. He knew that the powers behind the Pangaea planet were trying to prove a point to the off-worlders.
"Someone is approaching," Tozrax said. In the distance a group of men sitting on the backs of vai-sehlats were approaching. They kicked up a good amount of dust behind them. The animals were moving fast.
D'Aerrol nodded his approval. "Good. If they can get us to those dwellings over there we can make a subspace call to Deep Space Five. The embassy staff will be concerned that they have not heard from me." He walked forward to meet them.
The Vulcans were dressed in armor made of iron plates sewn together with leather straps. The chest plates were decorated with elaborate tribal designs. Their helmets were also made of iron with decorative copper inlays. Each one held a bladed lirpa in one hand while holding the reins with the other.
D'Aerrol raised a hand in greeting. The peaceful gesture went unrecognized, however, as the lead rider leapt from his animal and fell upon him with a warlike howl. D'Aerrol fell to the ground and when he tried to scramble to his feet, the rider struck him in the back of the head with the blunt end of the lirpa.
The other riders surrounded the group, lirpas at the ready.
The leader of the group spoke. "In the name of Queen Vemaith, most excellent and beatific sovereign of this domain, thee are enemy!"
Valkirs drew back her lips and snarled. "Vulcan K'pekt."
Dorian merely watched as the Romulan was felled by the Vulcan. It made him smile briefly; however, the smile changed as he realized that the group before them clearly had hostile intentions.
"We are from the Federation," Dorian announced, certain that the Vulcans would cease their advancement once they realized that they were allies. "We were brought here by some unknown alien device. Where is the nearest Embassy?" He asked.
The leader lowered his weapon slightly, and he studied them with a quizzical look. "Aliens? Aliens are not welcome here. We have enough trouble on this planet without your kind adding to it."
With the sharp end of his lirpa another Vulcan pointed to D'Aerrol, who was slowly picking himself up off the ground. "This one isn't alien. He's one of us."
The leader grabbed D'Aerrol by the collar. "Who are you? Are you one of Surak's followers? Attempting to dilute our purity by bringing alien filth to settle here?"
D'Aerrol shook his head. "This is a mistake! I'm an ambassador of the Romulan Empire. What kind of Vulcans are you?"
Before the leader could answer another Vulcan sprinted towards Tozrax the Tholian. "Stop!" His weapon was at the ready.
Tozrax had been taking readings with his/her tricorder, trying to be surreptitious about it. One of the Vulcans had noticed, however, and had instantly taken it for some kind of weapon. Tozrax dropped the device while stumbling backwards in retreat.
The Vulcan warrior's blade came down on Tozrax's helmet, piercing the shell and fracturing the faceplate. The Tholian shrieked in agony as superheated gas escaped from the damaged environmental suit. An electronic alarm went off from the suit's environmental controls indicating that it was losing life support. Tozrax fell to the ground.
The attacking Vulcan wedged his blade loose and brought it down again on the faceplate. This time shattering it. Tozrax screamed again and thrashed about as the temperature inside his/her suit came down to lethal levels. The Vulcan stood back and watched in fascination. Seconds later the Tholian froze, then shattered.
The Vulcan leader walked over to take a closer look at the now lifeless, multi-legged corpse. Then he picked up the tricorder and shook off the sand. The little device was still scanning. It emitted a low hum. "What is this?" he asked D'Aerrol.
"It's a scientific device," D'Aerrol replied. "The Tholian meant no harm. You didn't have to kill it."
"Tholian?" the Vulcan repeated back to D'Aerrol. He had never heard of that species before. He brought the tricorder over and showed it to the Ambassador. "What is this so-called scientific device doing now?"
D'Aerrol studied the readings with a frown, then looked up at the sky. "Analyzing this planet's astrometric position by observing the stars above us."
"Why?" the Vulcan leader asked.
D'Aerrol looked him in the eye. "The Tholian probably thought that determining the current stardate might answer an important question."
The Vulcan looked at the tricorder display, then back at D'Aerrol. "What is a 'stardate?'"
D'Aerrol heaved a weary sigh. "Perhaps that answers the question."
"We have time travelled?" though Valkris voice was sceptical she kept it low, "Or are you in league with them?" she asked D'Aerrol, "a holodeck ruse."
D'Aerrol dabbed the blood away from his lip, the most visible evidence of his run-in with the ancient Vulcan. "Madam, if only the latter were true."
The Vulcan dropped the tricorder and drew a dagger from his belt. Holding it to D'Aerrol's throat he said, "Yes, spare us the outlandish tales. Tell us who you are and where you're from. Or we'll continue killing you until we get the answers!"
D'Aerrol decided to try a different track. "I cannot speak for these others, but I am from those beneath the raptor's wings." He hoped it would make some connection with these savages.
"Rihannsu," the Vulcan said. "If that's true then we fight the same enemy, and you will have earned our regrets for your treatment. But if you're lying..." He didn't finish the statement. The look on his face communicated it well enough. "Recover your mounts," he said to his men. Then to D'Aerrol and the others he said, "You're coming with us. Vemaith will want to meet you in person."
"We didn't come here to meet your leader!" Dorian exclaimed to the Vulcans as they mounted their beasts of burden. "Whoever your damned enemy is, has nothing to do with us. How do we return to where we came from?" He demanded as he approached the lead Vulcan.
Dorian had learned long ago to stay out of battles that did not benefit or directly endanger his life and well-being. Clearly, this was a Vulcan/Romulan internal matter that had nothing to do with the Federation. More important, Dorian was not even certain where or even when they were.
Another Vulcan blocked Dorian's approach with the pointed end of his lirpa. From his mount the leader smiled and said, "I suppose it would be just as well to let you die out here. There's a sehlat lurking somewhere about. If he doesn't get you then the heat will." He leaned down slightly. "Or, you can come with us to see our Queen. Your tomorrow is not guaranteed but I'd say your chances are better."
While they were having that conversation a different rider had steered his mount away from the group. Something unusual had caught his eye. "What is that?" He asked, pointing.
A short distance away, partially covered by the shifting sands, was a flat, circular stone slab. Even from here they could see that it had engraved markings around its perimeter. Without being prompted the rider who had seen it kicked his vai-sehlat to take him there. The animal sprinted that way, its paws kicking up the dust as it went.
"What do you see?" the leader called out to him when he got there.
"I am uncertain," the other man said, walking his animal around it.
"Let's go," the leader said to his other riders, motioning for them to bring the prisoners along.
Ever the hunter Valkris tracked their gaze, "That's it," she hissed under her breath, "Its like the design that brought us here. We need to get to it," she told her companions.
D'Aerrol silently agreed. That stone marked the very spot where they had been standing when they first arrived here. It must have been buried by the sand to have escaped their notice. "I would advise your man to be careful," D'Aerrol said to the leader as he walked alongside him.
"Why? What is the danger?" the Vulcan leader asked.
"It marks the gateway to Shariel," D'Aerrol replied in a serious tone. He wasn't certain of his recollection of history, but he was gambling that the ancient god of death's name meant something to these Vulcans. Maybe a bluff would buy some time.
The Vulcan leader scoffed at that. "Shariel, eh? I suppose you know Shariel personally?"
The rider who was nearest the stone jumped off his mount to study the inscriptions. He frowned. There was nothing recognizable to him. Just an old relic, he decided, nothing important. Using the blunt end of his lirpa he absent-mindedly brought it down on the inscriptions like a hammer.
A bolt of white-hot electricity arced from the stone and up through the steel blade, then into his body, killing him instantly. He dropped to the ground like a rag doll.
On the other side of the stone the portal opened like a curtain revealing a hidden room. The darkened caves of Pangaea appeared just beyond. The sentinel was waiting there. Its eyes glowed red in the dark.
The Vulcans cried out in panic at their dead comrade and at the sight of this phenomenon that they had never experienced before. To them it was like sorcery. "Shariel," they murmurred to themselves, holding the reins of their animals away.
"Run!" D'Aerrol said to the others.
Valkris of the House of Inagh
NPC by Louise
Maekhav D'Aerrol
Romulan Ambassador
NPC Bert
Dorian Gabriel & Melvyn Raddon
By Thom
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