Enigma (Part 5 of 5)

Posted on 29 Jun 2014 @ 3:53pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Commander Luke Wyatt & Cadet Sophomore Grade Alenis Taban & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Riley Cameron & Corynn'tha M.D., Ph.D. & Verity Thorne

2,169 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: Lyshan III - Uridium Mine, Section C13-D50
Timeline: MD 05 - 1240 hrs

Previously, on Enigma (Part 4)...

Many minutes had passed during which the away team had cautiously pursued the unsettling scream and fleeting footsteps. Intermittent tricorder readings and a few scattered footprints in the muddy earth below their feet had given them the only clues as to which direction to follow, and the Starfleet entourage was now much deeper into the mine when they slowly rounded the corner and came across a T-junction. What they then saw was not for the feint of heart, nor easily describable by any scientific means.

A female Cardassian appeared to be half-embedded in the uridium-lined walls of the tunnel. The left side of her body was materialized within the rock, while the right side convulsively twitched in shock and agony. A faint gurgling noise could be heard coming from her mouth -- what was left of it -- and a coarse mixture of bile, blood, and lung fluid dripped freely from the side of her lips while her body attempted to breathe. Her one eye which was outside of the rock was tearful and wide with horror, for the death she was experiencing was beyond any semblance of proper.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Verity moved quickly to her, trying to keep the horror from his features, even his heart was thumping heavily in chest with nausea and fear of what the poor woman was going through. He reached to take her free hand, holding it firmly as his other hand went to touch her hair in a strangely tender manner. "Alright, it's alright, we've got you," he said, in what he hoped sounded like a calm voice, in case she could still hear and understand. He looked to his team mates with dark eyes. "Can we use any kind of transporter technology to help?" he asked, even if he knew, deep down, that there was probably nothing they could do.

Luke stepped past the group and examined the cardassian further before looking around, up along the walls and down to the floor. Walking back to the group he spoke in a hushed tone so that the cardassian couldn't hear what he was about to say "If we transport her I am worried that with all the uridium the transporters wont lock onto the half of her body stuck inside the rock, we'd only get the free half and I'm not at all confident that the other half is even recoverable"

Jacob quickly moved up to the situation and tapped his Commbadge, "Science lab, we have a serious situation here. An apparent female Cardassian miner looks to have been beamed, either by voluntary or involuntary means, into the rock formation at our location. Are your sensors recording this?" He began to look for fractures or weak spots in the rock to try and get her even though he already knew it was too late to save her life, they still needed answers.

Unfortunately for Pendleton and the rest of the team, his tap on his commbadge produced nothing except a null chirp which signified that the communication hadn't gone through.

Corryn'tha took a step forward. "She is alive, but not by much. This is recent. Normally you would only have approximately twelve seconds of agonizing pain before dying from such an event. This has happened within that time frame, without question."

Verity frowned, his eyes dark as he watched Corryn'tha at the blunt words. He glanced to the others, shaking his head. "Knock her out," he said quickly. If they couldn't save her, they could at least make sure she didn't suffer any longer than she had to. He linked his fingers with hers as he held her hand, pressing his hand to her cheek, his thumb stroking her temple softly, in case she was aware enough to know he was there. "It's alright," he said softly, close to her ear. "It's alright, we've found you."

"Och dammit there's nothing we can do - the uridium is scattering our scanners even from this range - the ship's transporters are going to have even less chance of getting a definitive lock. I'm having a hard time finding where her body ends and the rock begins."

Cameron had already resigned himself to the situation being hopeless. Even if they had managed to beam her free of the rock, the damage was already done - every organ in her body would have been destroyed almost immediately upon reintegration. Instead of focusing on helping, the engineer decided to try and find an answer to what happened.

"I'm not reading any of the usual signs of transporter activity - there is an energy signature around the site but it doesn't match up to anything we or the Cardassians use. I dinnae think this was a beaming accident."

Corryn'tha snapped her fingers. "Damn, I believe that we are looking at this from the wrong point of view. In theory, if the terraforming device was not using a completely stable power substance, the effects could be unstable as well. Perhaps, the terraforming is unstable and what we are seeing is the results of an unstable matrix, causing the planet to shift in and out of phase, along with whomever was present when the event happened?"

Jacob looked at Corryn'tha and replied, "Very nice deduction Doctor, very nice indeed... are you sure you aren't a bonafide research scientist?" He smiled at her. "Ethically; however, we should put this poor woman out of her misery... she should not have to suffer any longer... it is a regrettable thing but a humane thing..."

Corryn'tha raised an eyebrow at Jacob's comment. "I am a scientist and medical doctor, Mister Pendleton." She found humor an interesting, yet illogical concept. The Vulcan knelt down and strategically placed her fingers upon the woman's face and closed her eyes. While entering the meld, she felt as it she were was being sucked into something. The woman's mind was present, but her memories were so scattered that they were incoherent. No matter, Corryn'tha was never one for the extraction of memories, but she instead learned to calm a mind in pain, and subdue the reflex to pain. The conscious of the woman began to calm. Corryn'tha could again feel a sweeping sensation over her body while calming the woman and to eliminate the pain while bringing peace to her mind.

Corryn'tha finally felt the lifeforce of the trapped woman silence, then the world around the Vulcan went dark. Only the echoing of distant voices were audible, but she could not make out what, or whom was speaking.

Luke stepped away from the body with a sigh "Lieutenant Pendleton please get in touch with the Galileo let them know the time and passing of the cardassian I'm sure there's someone who will be sad from the loss and deserves to know." Thinking whether they should turn back or continue he came to a compromise "From now on keep a good distance from these walls and I want erratic spacing between us if the worst happen's I dont want to loose us all in random unexplained terraforming, paranormal screw up and if you get the slightest feeling something is about to happen I want to know" Luke wasn't losing anyone today.

Jacob nodded, "Yes Chief, Let me try and contact them again." Jacob moved to several different spots in the mine but none of his attempts worked. "Well Chief," He said with resignation, "We are not getting through. We might have to go back to the surface for contact."

Still nothing occurred as Jacob tried several different wavelength changes and modulation changes as well. He shook his head again. "We will have to get back to the surface to transmit anything."

Jared sickened by the sight of the poor miner, did what the Chaplin suggested he knocked her out.

Corryn'tha stood and shook her head. "I recommend that we attempt to leave as expeditiously as we can. My emotions are becoming harder to control."

Turning to the group Luke nodded "I Agree its become a little to uncomfortable down here and not having communications with the Galileo I feel exposed. T'Paruu please if possible take some samples of the walls here and leave a marker so we know where its 'safe' if the captain decides to send us back down the mine. The rest of you make sure you're suits are still working fine and get ready for the walk back don't let your guard down until were safely out the mine"

Verity climbed slowly to his feet from where he'd been sending a prayer for the head, tired with grief as he straightened up. He checked his suit as ordered though, all too eager to get out of there.

Corryn'tha put a hand on Verity's shoulder. "She felt no pain in the end, Mister Thorne. I compliment you on your compassion for others. It is a trait no often found anymore. I find it...refreshing."

Verity looked to her with surprise before giving a small but grateful smile. "Thank you. That is...reassuring to know at least," he said softly, but genuinely. It was only a small comfort, but a comfort all the same.

Luke deciding not to dwell on the moment any longer began leading the team back through the caves they had previously navigated. The atmospherics coming of the group was certainly not the same he had been faced with when they first arrived in the system. The thought of the cardasian female still burnt a stifling image in the back of his mind, which had not only made Luke remember previous images he had seen during the dominion war resurface but put his focus off.

Turning corner after corner the team continued along the pathway carved out for them. Besides the shuffling of feet and the static from the communications which Luke had left on for when they came back into contact with Galileo there as nothing but silence. Luke half hated it and half enjoyed the time to think to himself. The silence was quickly broken with a crunch as something underneath his boot shattered, lifting his leg he couldn't tell straight away what it was until disturbingly one of his team members did.

"My belt clip..." Verity crouched to double check it with the beam of his torch, frowning with confusion. "It fell off earlier, but..." he shook his head at the impossibility of it. "...that was...back there...."

Looking at the puzzled faces in the group Luke turned to face the way they had just come "Leave you're belt clip Mister Thorne, I would like to see if what I am thinking is exactly what is happening here" With that he continued past the group and down the cave towards what was presumed the exit.

Verity let out a shaking, uneasy breath as he walked with Luke, shaking his head with a deepening frown at the implications. It shouldn't be possibly though. This place...it was becoming a nightmare.


Rendezvous Point

Scarlet waited with growing anxiety for the length of time it was taking for the second team. George had been laid out respectfully on the ground as they waited, but it was a constant reminder of the danger they faced down there. She glanced to Abbey and gave her a reassuring smile. Luke was capable and experienced, he'd get his team back.

Luke was almost now at a jog when he rounded the corner and saw the other team standing there. Heaving a sigh he turned around and held out his hand to the others and pointed down the hall as each one began to trickle in. Trying to find their way back to the rendezvous seemed to nightmarish and only when they realised if they used a single person each time they moved a corner they were able to stop the caves form changing... much. "My god it it good to see you Commander" He said between heavy breaths as he bent over, the screen to his EV suit fogging up as a result.

"And you, Wyatt," Scarlet nodded, watching him with relief, knowing a certain young crew member who would be thrilled to see their return too. She motioned down to George, shaking her head with a frown. "Not everyone's been so lucky. He's from the other away team. Come on, let's get out of here. Help me get him home."

[OFF]

--

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

Corynn'tha M.D., Ph.D.
Xenobiologist
USS Galileo

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

PO1 Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

SCPO Luke Wyatt
Security Officer
USS Galileo

CA Abbey Wyatt
Scientist Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Wyatt]

LT Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

LT Jared Nicholas
Linguist
USS Galileo

CDT(SO) Alenis Taban
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

WO Riley Cameron
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Holliday]

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