Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [66]
He made himself focus on the Grissibian cake, remembering the explosion of flavor as the nocha detonated on the tongue. Kes would love it. He looked around, wishing she would come back. He knew not to appear overly protective of her-she hated that-but he couldn't help but be uncomfortable that she had so few compunctions about exploring this alien structure. There was no knowing what might be here. But Kes' curiosity always outweighed her fear, and nothing he could say or do would change that. Suddenly a fierce explosion rumbled through the underground tunnels, and all of the crew instinctively drew phasers. Tuvok came running from a passageway, weapon drawn and tricorder scanning. "They are firing from above. Trying to break through."
"That shouldn't take them long," Neelix replied, eyeing the ceiling of the structure with apprehension.
"We can't be certain of that. We're unfamiliar with the building material of this structure. It may be durable and quite resistant to weapons fire." Another explosion rumbled, then another. Dust and dirt began to fall from the ceiling.
Tuvok hit his commbadge. "Tuvok to all personnel. Regroup in the main staging area at once."
Neelix took this as his cue to hit his own communicator. "Neelix to Kes. Did you hear that, sweeting?"
Only silence answered him. He hailed her again, then hailed Kim, with whom she had left. No one answered. He turned to Tuvok in some alarm. "I wouldn't be concerned yet, Mr. Neelix. Ensign Kim informed me that they were investigating a stairway they had found. They may simply be blocked from communication."
"But-where are they? And if they can't hear us, how will they know to come back? I don't like this at all."
"Please don't succumb to panic. We must all do our best to think clearly. Are the wounded able to travel?"
"Yes, everyone's basically all right. Where are we going to travel to?"
"I want to locate a position that is strategically advantageous, one from which we can defend ourselves most effectively."
The rest of the crew was beginning to collect in the chamber, and Tuvok gave them orders. Soon, they all began moving collectively down one of the passageways, and Neelix hoped desperately they were moving toward Kes and Harry.
Harry and Kes were exploring the chamber in which they now found themselves. Harry estimated it to be perhaps ten meters square, with neither windows nor doors, and its walls were of a material significantly different from that of the underground tunnels and rooms they had seen so far.
It looked metallic, of a blue-purple hue which was the same color as the ambient light in the room. Harry scanned the room and read that the walls were composed of a metal that was unknown to the Federation database. No surprise there. But unlike the corridors they had investigated, Harry found no indications of an organic component in these walls. He glanced at Kes, who was looking around in puzzlement. "The clicking noise is gone," she said.
Harry was relieved that she was making rational statements; whatever trance had gripped her had seemingly released its hold. He continued to scan. "Now I'm reading energy signatures. There's technology of some kind at work here-was He stopped abruptly, for he had detected a more curious reading on his tricorder. Life signs.
Faint, delicate, like the heartbeats of tiny birds. But unmistakable. Where were they coming from? The room seemed to be empty except for the two of them. But he was most definitely reading the life signs of an alien species, throbbing gently.
They walked toward the wall. No seams were visible, no joints. The satiny surface was cool to the touch but not cold. They could find no mark, no pattern, nothing that gave them a clue as to their next step. "We were led here, I'm sure of it," said Kes. "I feltdrawn-here. By the clicking sounds, and by a... a need to come. I couldn't resist it."
"I know. I saw you.