STC: Have Starship, Will Travel: Chapter 2

2

H-Class Planet
February 22, 2270

Sitting like some gigantic marble on the desert sands, its black and gold surface gleaming in the light of three suns, Calypso extended a slim, narrow ramp out from its lower hull until it touched the ground. Each segment of the walkway locked into place one after the other, giving the impression of growth rather than simply being extended from the ship. A round hatch then irised open where the base of the ramp met the hull. From the outside it would have taken a very keen observer to spot where the hatch was located, so seamlessly did it merged with the surrounding hull plating.
    Cera stepped out of the airlock first (as was her right as captain of the ship and leader of the landing party) and was immediately followed by Nessa, who had her disruptor in hand. Cera walked along the ramp with a visible spring in her step; the result of the planet’s gravity and not youthful zest. After them came Garadun, Sajeen and Magik, the cat trilling eagerly. The hatch sealed shut behind them and the party made their way to the planet surface. As soon as she touched the sand, Magik gave a mew of excitement and scampered away to investigate a nearby rock.
    “Hey! Don’t wander off,” Garadun called and quickly went after her. Cera couldn’t help but chuckle as the cat stumbled slightly as she ran. She’d spent her whole life in a standard one gee environment and had no experience moving in lighter gravity, not to mention walking around while wearing a spacesuit.
    “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the new Magik,” Nessa remarked.
    “Just give it time,” Sajeen told her. “She’s a very nice cat.”
    “Literally one-of-a-kind.” Cera smiled and took her scanner from where it was stored in a pocket on her suit’s hip, and activated it. The scanners now being used by Calypso’s crew were advanced Cêtarii counterparts of Starfleet’s tricorders. They were smaller, yet even more capable.
    “It’s a shame the atmospheric pressure’s so low,” Cera observed. “The air would be quite breathable otherwise.”
    Nessa nodded. “And we could ditch the need for these suits.”
    “I wouldn’t go that far.” Cera showed the scanner’s readings to her shipmates. “See this? The planet’s magnetic field is much weaker than those of Earth or Orion. Combine that with its thin atmosphere and three suns in the sky, and a lot of harmful radiation is hitting the surface. Harmful to us, at least. Not to mention the heat.”
    Sajeen frowned. “Dammit. I forgot to bring my own scanner.”
    “Don’t worry about it.”
    Nessa pointed. “All right, where are they going?”
    Cera and Sajeen turned and saw that Garadun and Magik were heading away from the derelict spacecraft, making for a rocky hillside jutting from the sand. Magik was in the lead, zigzagging here and there to inspect assorted rocks.
    Cera activated her suit’s communicator. “Gar, where’re you going?”
    “Gonna have a look at these hills,” he replied, turning to wave at her. “If you wanna go examine the wreck, don’t wait around on our account. We’ll catch up with you later. This is a big adventure for Magik.”
    Cera grinned. “Understood. You two have a good time.”
    “Be careful, sweetheart,” Sajeen added.
    “Always.” He waved again and then followed after his cat, who was pawing the sand at the base of a round stone.
    “Come on,” said Cera, pointing. “Time to examine that ship.”

                                                                          *****

It wasn’t until she was standing next to the ruined spacecraft that Cera genuinely got a sense of just how big it was. Knowing it was over three hundred meters long and looking at a holographic representation on a bridge station viewscreen was one thing. Having it looming over you was something else entirely.
    The hull was scoured by millennia of blowing sand, and despite the planet’s minimal surface water, there was still enough moisture in the air to cause oxidisation. Streaks and patches of rust were everywhere, and in small crevices here and there she could see tiny bits of the original paint: blue and yellow and possibly white. She held her scanner close to a cracked hull plate and wondered what the vessel might have looked like when it’d been fresh out of whatever shipyard had birthed it.
    “Any idea how old it is?” Sajeen inquired.
    “My scanner says this ship is approximately three thousand years old,” Cera replied, glancing at her crewmates. “Isn’t that amazing?”
    Sajeen looked up in wonder. “I’ll say.”
    “So it’s an old piece of junk,” Nessa remarked. “It’s still just a piece of junk.”
    Cera gave her a look. “Where’s your sense of adventure?”
    “I left it behind in the wormhole,” Nessa answered dryly.
    “Oh, come on!”
    “I’m sorry, but I see nothing romantic or adventurous in an ancient, rusting derelict. The cost of salvaging it would exceed its scrap value.”
    “It’s not about profit,” Cera contended. “It’s about… science. History.”
    Nessa shrugged. “If you say so.”
    “Ignore her, Cera,” Sajeen interjected. “I understand what you mean.”
    Cera gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Sajeen.”
    “We just need to find a way in,” said Sajeen, looking around. “I haven’t seen anything yet that looks like a hatch or an airlock.”
    “Then let’s see if we can find one.” Cera gestured towards the stern. “We’ll walk around the entire ship, do a survey. Come on.”
    Sajeen kept to Cera’s side and a pace behind, while Nessa stayed three paces behind them. As they searched for hatches or other means of entry, Nessa kept her eyes peeled for danger. Sensors had detected indigenous biosigns and there was no way of telling what kind of lifeforms might be present. They’d walked perhaps a hundred meters or more when movement caught Nessa’s eye. She jerked her head around and instinctively brought up her disruptor, ready to fire.
    “Don’t move!”
    Cera and Sajeen froze in place, and then turned to see what had alarmed their chief of security. Sitting atop a large outcropping of rock was a creature that looked something like a cross between a centipede and a lizard. It was about a meter long, had two dozen clawed limbs, and a thorny, sand-coloured hide. There were six tiny, solid blue eyes on its head, which it was cocking at them in a jerking motion.
    “Fascinating.” Cera pointed her scanner at it.
    “Interesting little animal,” Sajeen noted. “Reptilian?”
    “No, something else entirely,” said Cera, checking her scanner. She looked up when she heard a hiss and saw the creature had opened its mouth to reveal scores of sharp teeth. It hissed again, the thorns on its body vibrating. Then, without warning, a green beam streaked past her shoulder and hit the creature, vaporising most of it.
    “What the hell did you do that for?” Cera demanded, whirling on Nessa.
    “It was going to attack us,” Nessa told her, lowering her disruptor.
    “You can’t know that! Maybe it was just a threat display to scare–”
    Nessa stepped close, putting her helmet next to Cera’s. “I’m your bodyguard. That’s what I do: I guard. You are my mate and captain. Nothing is more important to me than your life. Starfleet may train people to stand around like idiots and let themselves get killed before someone decides there’s a threat, but I’m not Starfleet. I’m smarter that that. If I see a threat, I eliminate it as quickly as possible. That way no-one dies.”
    Cera didn’t know what to say to that.
    “Garadun would agree with me,” Nessa added. “So would Jan.”
    “So do I, Cera,” Sajeen ventured. “That thing looked like it was going to attack us. Did you see all those teeth? And spines?”
    Nessa put a hand on Cera’s shoulder. “I know you’re a natural explorer, and a marine biologist in addition to being an engineer. But I tell you, as your mate as well as your chief of security and bodyguard, that you need to unlearn your Starfleet training. If you don’t, it will get you killed, my love.”
    Cera had been raised on Earth and taught to value life. Her years at Starfleet Academy had further imbued this philosophy: that a Starfleet officer and citizen of the Federation never took a life unless it was absolutely necessary. You didn’t harm the environment or ecosystem of any world, and you followed the Prime Directive. And even though she and Starfleet had proved to be extremely incompatible, these basic tenants of respecting life was at her core. It had nothing to do with rules and regulations. It had to do with her personal morality, her sense of right and wrong.
    Yet she was forced to admit that Nessa had made a valid argument. Killing to protect yourself or others from being killed was justifiable. The problem for her was in knowing when deadly force was required. Her phaser was always set to stun so that she could take out hostile lifeforms without killing them. Nessa’s usual disruptor didn’t even have a stun setting, and she thought Cera’s outlook on life was naïve.
    “All right, I see your point,” Cera admitted, reluctantly. “But you could have stunned it, you know. Or shot the rock and scared it off.”
    “There’s no guarantee a stun setting would work,” Nessa countered evenly. “Same for trying to scare something like that off. Killing it was the safest thing to do.”
    Cera sighed. “Fine. Let’s keep looking for a way in.”
    Sajeen and Nessa traded places, with Nessa keeping close to Cera. Sajeen took out her phaser and, splitting the difference between her shipmates, set it on heavy stun. The creature had seemed interesting at first, then just plain scary when it became hostile. To her mind it had looked like it was going to attack. They were on an unexplored alien world at the edge of the galaxy. There was no telling what lived out here.

                                                                          *****

It had taken some effort to climb up the uneven slope of the rocky hillside, but Garadun and Magik had managed it all the same. Their goal had been a relatively flat hilltop next to a high yet narrow outcropping of rock. Beyond this crest lay an uneven depression filled with sand and a scattering of rocks. Magik took in the view with great interest, then trotted into the depression, leaving prints in the sand. Garadun followed.
    Magik made her way over to a roundish, knee-high boulder sitting atop a small mound of sand and which was surrounded by several much smaller rocks. She hopped up onto it easily in the lighter gravity, and stood there and purred happily while taking in her elevated view. Garadun caught up with her and knelt down on one knee beside her, looking in the same direction she was facing. Behind them, all three of the world’s pale moons were visible in the sky despite the bright sunshine.
    “Another planet conquered by Spaceman Spiff,” Garadun noted humorously. His cat didn’t get the joke but mewed in cheerfully agreement anyway. It was at this time that his spacesuit’s communicator let off a double-toned beep.
    He tapped a button. “Garadun here.”
    “Gar, it’s Cera. How are things going with you and Magik?”
    “We’re having a great time,” he said and his cat mewed again. “You?”
    “We’re still looking for a way into the ship,” she told him. “I have to ask: have you seen any lifeforms yet? Anything at all?”
    “No, nothing yet. Why?”
    “I’m sending you some images right now.”
    Garadun activated the data slate built into his suit’s left forearm and studied the pictures of the alien creature he’d received, including the video recording Cera’s scanner had taken before it’d been vaporised. It looked decidedly unfriendly. He showed a still photo of it to Magik and she trilled curiously.
    “Nasty-looking little sod,” he opined.
    “If you spot one, kill it,” came Nessa’s voice over the comm channel. “Don’t hesitate, Gar. Just kill it. The thing was ready to attack just seconds after seeing us.”
    “That’s only her theory,” Cera countered. “But if you do see one, and it appears to be hostile, then I advise you to stun it, just to be safe.”
    “Stun might not work,” Nessa argued. “Better to kill it.”
    “Now look–”
    “Okay, okay, I get it,” Garadun interjected, trying to stop them fighting. “The thing’s dangerous. If I see one, I’ll deal with it. Thanks for the warning. Out.”
    Magik trilled quizzically.
    “See this?” he said, showing her the video clip. “Bad. Dangerous. If you see one, let me know. Don’t go near it. Okay, sweetie? Bad.”
    His cat stared at the video carefully, and when she pawed at his forearm he replayed the clip for her. She narrowed her eyes and whined in that feline way cats do when they’re upset or angry. Garadun nodded in satisfaction and turned it off. She understood that what she’d been shown was a threat. Magik jumped down off the big rock and mrowed, pointing her paw towards the opposite side of the depression.
    “Yeah, okay, let’s go see,” he said agreeably and they started off across the sand, both of them now wary of their surroundings. There was no way for him to tell what exactly was going through her Uplifted mind, but her body language had changed. She wasn’t quite so carefree anymore and her expression was more alert. Garadun took out his custom phaser pistol and upped the setting to maximum before putting it back in its holster. If he saw any lifeform that he thought was even slightly hostile, he’d disintegrate the bugger without hesitation and not even bother with questions later.

                                                                          *****

The high-pitched song of the transporter beam faded away with the last flickers of violet-red light, leaving Cera, Nessa and Sajeen standing in a large, dark space. The lamps on Cera’s helmet illuminated the immediate area in front of her; her crewmates activated their own lamps and glanced around.
    They’d surveyed the exterior of the derelict from bow to stern, but the only hatches they found were located at least ten meters above the sandy surface, well out of reach. Nessa had proposed cutting directly into the partially buried hull at ground level, but Cera regarded the derelict as some sort of historical artefact and didn’t want to damage it, if at all possible. So she called the ship and instructed Jan Koor to beam them into the interior of the spacewreck. After scanning the ancient alien vessel, he selected a spacious compartment with access corridors and transported them inside.
    “Be careful where you step,” Nessa warned. “And keep an eye out for… anything.”
    Cera looked around. “We’re most likely the first people to be inside this ship in three thousand years. Don’t you find that incredible?”
    “No.” Nessa stomped the deck beneath them. “Seems sturdy, though.”
    Sajeen began moving around, studying the large chamber. “Did Jan beam us into a cargo hold or something? There’s nothing here.”
    Cera checked her scanner. “You’re right. I’m not reading any kind of equipment. Not even lighting panels. No EPS or plasma conduits, no computers, no nothing.”
    “There’s a hatch over there,” said Nessa, pointing.
    Cera turned, checked her scanner again, and then walked across the room with her shipmates following behind her. She reached the open hatch and carefully stepped into the corridor beyond. Sand and dust littered the floor, but there was nothing else. The design of both the room and corridor were unusual. Something about them suggested to her that whomever had built this ship hadn’t been humanoid. She was an engineer and was familiar with the ship configurations of her part of the Alpha Quadrant. This looked nothing like them.
    Nessa stepped in front of her. “I’ll go first, Captain.”
    Cera didn’t want to start another argument, so she simply nodded. Besides, Nessa was her chief of security and she was doing her job. Sajeen brought up the rear as they began exploring the interior of the ancient, abandoned vessel; and despite her excitement at finally getting to do a bit of proper exploring, she was very nervous. The ship, all dark and empty and silent, was more than a little spooky. To say nothing of the possibility that it could be home to who-knew-what kind of indigenous lifeforms.
For the next hour or so the three women wandered through rooms and corridors, only to find all of them completely empty. From what they could see, the alien vessel had been totally stripped of its components. There was nothing left but the outer hull and the internal framework and bulkheads. Whoever had salvaged the ship in the distant past had done a remarkably thorough job of it. There were no weapons of any kind, no shield emitters, no computers, and where Cera guessed the engine or engines had once been was simply a vast, cavernous space with cracks in the outer hull that let in streams of daylight. After all this time, several meters of sand had accumulated on the floor.
    Nessa shook her head. “Even the Ferengi leave behind more than this.”
    “Who’re the Ferengi?” Cera asked curiously.
    “The galaxy’s sleaziest, most untrustworthy traders.” Nessa smirked. “Greedy little sprogs. I’m surprised the Federation hasn’t run into them yet.”
    Cera shrugged. “Never heard of them.”
    “You haven’t missed anything. They’re vermin.”
    Sajeen suddenly spun around, lifting her phaser. “What was that?”
    “What was what?” Nessa demanded as she and Cera both turned.
    “I thought I heard something,” Sajeen replied anxiously. “Back there.”
    Cera took out her scanner once more and began searching for lifeforms. While she did that, Nessa increased the illumination of her helmet’s lamp and searched for threats.
    “Anything?” Nessa asked softly.
    Cera frowned. “I’m getting… something. About thirty meters away in that direction. It’s hard to lock on, though. The readings are in flux. Like it’s altering its size and density somehow. But it’s coming this way.”
    Sajeen gave her shipmates a worried look. “Maybe we should get out of here.”
    “This is so bizarre,” Cera observed, studying her scanner. “I’m not sure, but it’s almost like…” She adjusted her scanner and glanced into the darkness. It was then that they heard it. A droning sound that grated on the ear.
    “Sajeen, fire!” Nessa suddenly yelled. “Go wide beam and fire!”
    Nessa set her disruptor to the widest setting it had (which actually wasn’t that wide) and fired directly ahead of them. Into that blazing green glow, and the lights of their EV suits, came the forward edge of what could best be described as a swarm of tiny buglike creatures, flying through the air. The disruptor beam instantly disintegrated any of them it touched; but there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in the swarm. Sajeen almost panicked, but Nessa’s training over the past weeks had done its job: she switched her phaser to wide beam and fired. Thousands were enveloped in its bright blue energy and knocked out of the air. But the evil-looking swarm still came on.
    Cera slapped her EV suit’s comm button. “Jan! Emergency beam out, now!”
    “Pull back!” Nessa yelled, firing her disruptor again. The whine of Sajeen’s phaser filled the air and she hurriedly back-pedalled. Cera shoved her scanner in its pocket and retrieved her phaser. Nessa grabbed her arm and urged her into a retreat.
    “Run!” Nessa fired again. “Move!”
    Sajeen turned and ran for it, flipping her hand over her shoulder and firing blindly behind her. Nessa and Cera did the same thing as they ran for their lives. But the droning sound only grew louder and more menacing.
    Cera yelled in fear. “Jan! Get us the hell out of here!”