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“Ah.”

In a quick move that startled Saloniemi, Emalra’ehn crossed the distance between them and extended his hand. It took the ensign a moment to realize this was an offer, not a threat. “Call me Cron.”

“Um. Thank you.” He shook the man’s hand, then fell silent. “I’m Antti, by the way.”

“Yeah. Wet day, isn’t it?” By way of demonstrating this, Emalra’ehn shook his head, splattering Saloniemi with rain.

“Um, I guess so.”

“I quite like the rain. Helps me relax.”

“Ah,” was all Saloniemi said. He heard a distinctive beep emanate from his controls. “The computer’s found something. I’d better check.”

“Yeah.” Emalra’ehn moved to the back of the shuttle.

Saloniemi didn’t believe it. The computer had found a few phrases matching the Mu Arigulon language in an Orion database the Federation had picked up used in a deal with the Haradin. The Orions had traded with the representatives of a distant world for some rare metals. They hadn’t known the location of the planet, but they had known it was somewhere within this sector, and they had also known its name: Farrezz.

He reached for the communicator to call Mister Spock.

Chekov and Kirk were exploring another subterranean structure. Chekov’s preliminary readings—interference made getting a full picture difficult—indicated that the network of tunnels they’d found extended underneath the entire city. They’d already gone up one of the tunnels to find themselves in a building on the surface.

Thanks to the airtight seals, there was no dust. If something had taken Yüksel down one of these tunnels, it was impossible to know which one.

There were pictures on the walls down here, round pieces of unknown material with very realistic renderings of landscapes and machinery. No natives, however—at least none they’d seen so far.

Taking a tunnel that angled down, they made good use of their flashlights and proceeded at a decent pace. No traces of artificial lighting, no light shafts to let the sun in. The natives either had very good eyesight, or they’d all carried their own personal light source with them. Or, it occurred to Chekov, maybe they didn’t even need light.

After a number of curves and bends, they emerged into a large chamber, the largest yet, but all it contained was a round metallic structure, cagelike, in the center. A platform in the middle of it covered most of a hole in the floor. The cage was taller than they were, almost reaching to the ceiling, and large enough to accommodate ten humanoids.

The ensign wondered, Could this be an elevator? Or was he applying familiar functions to alien tech? As Captain Kirk walked up to the device and began running his hands over it, Chekov pulled out his tricorder and began scanning down the shaft.

The shaft led down about fifty meters and emerged into a large cavern so vast it took his breath away. “Bozhe moi,” he whispered, unable to contain his amazement. From the look of it, the cavern ran beneath both the city and the spaceport complex. Could this be where Yüksel had been taken. The exobotanist could be down there somewhere! “Captain, I have found something!”

Kirk turned around. “What is it, Mister Chekov?”

“An underground cavern beneath a large part of the city, sir. Enormous, but scans aren’t detailed enough to tell exactly how big it is.”

“Good work, Ensign.” Kirk smiled for a brief moment, then pulled out his communicator, summoning the rest of the Columbus party.

Chekov continued to scan. It wasn’t easy to get decent readings of the cavern, with the rock around them impeding his efforts. This wasn’t the only shaft; similar ones dotted the entire area, the closest about half a kilometer in either direction.

Seconds later, Giotto burst out of the tunnel, with Seven Deers, Rawlins, and Tra behind him.

“Report, Ensign,” the captain ordered.

Chekov explained what he’d uncovered to the rest of the team. “Yüksel could be down there.”

“Don’t assume, Ensign,” snapped Giotto.

With a mix of disappointment and frustration, Chekov could see that nothing he could do would please the security