Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [32]
As Tuvok approached, he realized that a circle of earth had collapsed, not haphazardly, but symmetrically, as though triangular quarters of the circle had given way from the center. A series of gentle ramps was formed, which Tuvok now descended carefully to join Kim, who was standing at the conflux of the triangles, which had deposited him in the center of a huge and cavernous underground vault.
"This must be the tomb. We can use it to take cover."
"Quite right, Mr. Kim. I'll get the others."
Tuvok climbed to the surface once more and hit his commbadge. "Tuvok to all hands. Regroup immediately."
At that moment, he saw Neelix and his group emerging from the forest. He could tell they had wounded among them, and Kes was already on her way to give aid. They were a motley-looking group, hair full of twigs and leaves, uniforms covered with mud and slime, faces bloody. A few were limping; Ensign Kale was carried by Neelix and LeFevre; all bore the signs of trauma. What had they endured?
"This way, Mr. Neelix. We've found cover." The Talaxian gave him a wan smile and herded his group toward Tuvok. Kes was scanning Ensign Kale, assessing her condition.
"We've had quite an adventure, Mr. Vulcan," Neelix began. "I'm sure you'll want to hear all about it-as soon as we've taken cover, of course."
"Of course." Tuvok did not look forward to another of Neelix' endless discourses. The Talaxian had somehow gotten the impression that Tuvok looked forward to hearing him describe his many adventures, in tedious and incessant detail. Even Tuvok's great store of patience was tested by the Talaxian's congenial wordiness.
Tuvok insured that everyone made it safely into the underground cavern, then approached Kim, who was scanning the carved rock wall of the chamber. "There must be a control apparatus down here to close this thing up. There's one on the surface, pressureactivated. It was disguised in the stonework, but its gravimetric signature was different from the surrounding matter." He moved his tricorder systematically over the wall, looking for any anomalous readings or energy signatures.
"Funny," he mused as he scanned, "I can't figure out what these walls are constructed of. It looks like some kind of stone, but I'm getting strong organic readings from it as well."
"The Delta Quadrant possesses many materials which are unknown to Federation science," offered Tuvok.
"I just hope, whatever it is, it's strong. Strong enough to keep the Kazon out."
"Let us also hope they cannot activate it as we did."
Most of the others had begun to fan out, scanning and exploring. Neelix' group simply sat down, clearly exhausted. Kes moved among them, tending to the injured.
"Ah," said Kim with obvious satisfaction. "Stand back, everybody, I think I've got it." He put his palm on a particular panel in the wall, andwitha whoosh of air the ramps began to lift quietly, fitting perfectly together to form a ceiling piece, inexorably shutting out the sunlight. It was pitch black. Wrist beacons began to snap on, and Tuvok spied magnesite, which he infused with phaser energy for light and heat. Others did the same. A warm glow began to illuminate their new surroundings, erasing ominous shadows and creating an environment that Tuvok hoped would soothe his team. For the moment, they were safe, even if safety lay in the mysterious underground vault of an unknown alien species on a planet sixty-eight thousand light-years from home.
In that way, they waited for the Kazon.
CHAPTER 8
THE GROUND WAS ROUGH AND ROCKY; A JAGGED STONE BIT into Kathryn's leg as she lay, facedown, at the top of the stone quarry, peering at the swimmers below. The sun was high overhead, but unlike the muggy summers at home it was never hot on Mars. She turned her head toward Emma North, lying next to her; Mary O'Connell was just beyond. All were in swimmers and shirts, and carried bags jammed with music and games, snacks, sun protector, and other items designed for an afternoon of swimming.
"If they