Colin leaned against the wall of the turbolift and closed his eyes. His stomach growled softly, as if reproaching him for skipping breakfast, and he knew he would have no choice but to stop by the messhall for lunch. It would be a much needed diversion from his paperwork and from the constant stream of reports on the survey findings. He had reached the point where he no longer cared about the chemical compositions of planetary atmospheres, or what types of unicellular organisms resided within.
Suddenly his eyes flew open and darted back and forth across the turbolift. There it was again. That rustling sound. And the hushed whisper just above an audible level. It was the third time this morning and Colin was beginning to feel he could not attribute the cause to fatigue.
The turbolift doors swished open, the sound startling him.
<< Deck 8 >>
Colin cautiously stepped out and the turbolift resumed it's course, scurrying towards another passenger, four decks above.
He stood uncertainly in the hallway. The whispers became more insistent until he could finally make out the words.j
*Help. Me. Help. Me. Help me. Helpmehelpme.* The phrase was breathlessly repeated by a soft feminine voice. And it seemed to come from down the hall. No. No, it was inside his head.
Someone was tentatively tapping him on the shoulder. An Ensign wearing the blue tunic that denoted he was a science officer.
"Are you alright, Captain?" he asked.
"Can you hear that?" Colin demanded.
"Hear what?"
Colin was prepared to respond when he realized the whispers had stopped. The hallway was eerily quiet.
"Nothing, Ensign. Carry on." Colin said impatiently, and started in the direction of the messhall.
II
The first thing Daniel noticed after the disorientation of being transported had passed was the cold. He was prepared for the lower temperatures but he hadn't realized just how uncomfortable the chilly air could be. He could even see his breath forming in clouds around his mouth. Grateful for his parka, he took a step forward and looked around.
Kaled was a dry, stark world with predominantly mountainous features and a grey, dull landscape. But the sky was a brilliant pink hue, bathed in the bright light of Kaled's twin suns. It's beauty made up for the sheer ugliness of the terrain. That and the significant mineral deposits scattered amongst its mountains would make it viable---at the very least, it could become a successful mining colony.
"Daniel, look!" The exclamation came from Ariada D'all, who knelt on the dusty ground to examine a rust colored plant, resembling a small thorny bush. She glanced up at him, her eyes filled with excitement, then proceeded to remove a sample branch to analyze further once back in her lab. She did not see the way he blushed furiously and tried to shrink into his parka. He couldn't help it--Ariada D'all had that effect on him.
He'd nearly dropped his microscope when she'd asked to accompany him to Kaled. It was the first planet they'd found with evidence of plant life and the Deltan did not want to miss the opportunity to study it firsthand. Daniel could not say no, and now here he was with Ariada. And their security escorts--a friendly human woman with curly black hair and a cherul expression, and an imposing looking Klingon female who towered above them all.
Daniel met her gaze, and averted his eyes quickly when she glowered down at him. He glanced at his chronometer instead, wawiting for Ariada to rise with her sample safely stored in the large case she held.
"Where to?" Ensign Lear asked, pulling her parka hood tighter. Only Seyla seemed impervious to the cold, allowing her long dark hair to be carelessly whipped by the wind.
"That way." he pointed in a north easterly direction with his gloved hand. "I want to sample the mineral deposits in those mountains over there."
Seyla nodded brusquely. "I will follow in the rear. Proceed." she commanded.
*******
"Come." Colin called irritably in response to the buzz coming from his ready room door. Why culdn't evryone just leave him alone? How did they expect him to get any work done if they insisted on bothering him evry few minutes? If he could just get some time to himself, maybe the voices would disappear.
His first officer entered, approaching his desk with yet another pile of paperwork. For a brief moment, he would have gladly traded places with the XO to avoid it all.
"Thank you, Exec. Any word on our team?" He was, of course, referring to the scientific mission below on Kaled.
"Yes, they checked in recently. Everythings fine-they're going to investigate several mineral deposits..."
Mark's voice faded out as the now familiar rustling began again. It was always the same. First the rustling, then the whispers.
*Helpmehelpmehelpme*
There was movement--Colin caught it fromthe corner of his eye. A figure by the far wall....
Mark abruptly stopped speaking and his eyes followed Colin's to see what captivated the other man so. The wall was blank, aside from a framed picture of a seascape.
Colin frowned. The whispers had stopped as quickly as they had started. Again. "Commander, did you hear anything? See anything?"
"When?"
"Just now."
"I don't believe so, sir." Mark answered slowly.
Colin frowned again. "Hmm. Well. Will there be anything else?"
It suddenly dawned on Mark that the Captain probably hadn't heard a word he'd said since he walked in. He seemed quite preoccupied, distracted. Mark had only known him a short time but his behavior was out of the ordinary for what he had seen of Colin Becker. And he didn't like it.
As he left the Captain to his thoughts, Mark decided there was only one place to go to voice his concerns. Dr. Keset.
**********
"I understand your concern, Commander." Mirana said once she had heard Mark's version of his meeting with the Captain.
They were sitting in her office, she sipping tea behind her desk; he, sprawled out in the only other chair in the room with a mug of steaming black coffee.
"But it could just be fatigue." she said mildly. "He was under a lot of tension during our last missiion and it isn't at all unusual to be preoccupied or restless as a side effect."
Mark brought the coffee to his lips, swallowing the bitter liquid. "I understand that but he seems a bit too preoccupied. The crew has begun to notice. An Ensign saw him standing in a corridor, staring at a wall. Another said he stood at a replicator for five minutes without moving." He paused and met her gaze with quiet intensity. "There are rumors."
Mirana understood what he was trying to say all too well. She had read his medical files--psychological torure often times was more devastating than the physical. Starfleet's best psychiatrists had declared him fit to resume duty. But what if they were wrong? And the XO seemed to share her doubts.
"Why are you coming to me? Are you asking that I remove him from duty? I can't do that with only the information you have given me."
"No." he vehemently denied. "Just examine him. See what you think. I'd feel better knowing your medical opinion. Every CO needs a physical sometime, right?"
Slowly, she nodded in agreement.
**********
Colin entered sickbay reticently, the knot in his stomach coiliing further as the moment he had been dreading all day approached. He tried to think of an excuse, but realized he had none. What could he have said? A physical? No thank you. Although I'm sure you're a fine physician, you make me too uncomfortable.
His eyes fell upon the object of his discomfort, who had apparently not noticed his arrival. Mirana was hunched over a computer terminal, her arms folded, tapping her foot impatiently. Three PADDs were piled high against the side of the monitor and appeared to be in battle with the force of gravity.
Unsure of how to announce his presence, Colin cleared his throat. She jumped at the noise and flushed with embarrassement when she saw him. At that moment, gravity declared victory in its tug of war with the PaDDs as one by one, they clattered to the floor. Mirana winced at the sound of expensive equipment hitting solid ground.
As she bent to retrieve them, Colin said quietly, "No, please. Allow me. It was my fault. I shouldn't have startled you." As he placed the PADDs carefully on a nearby countertop, Mirana found it difficult to meet his eyes. Not only did she feel guilty for the true reason she had summoned him, but she couldnt help but react to his own obvious discomfort in her presence. There was an awkward silence as they looked at each other.
"Thank you for being prompt, Captain." she infused some formality in her tone to increase the emotional distance between them and grabbed a tricorder. Mirana ran it over him, its sensors flashing and buzzing softly. As her eyes flew expertly over the readings, she registered the data into the terminal. She didn't know whether to be disapointed or relieved that her scans had come up negative for any deviations or abnormalities. However, they still could not account for his mental state.
"You appear to be in adequate health, although your stress levels are higher than I would prefer. Please find an appropriate method of relaxation--and get some sleep. " she said reprovingly. "Your titers for Rigellian flu and Tholosian fever are low so I'll have to inoculate you again." she added.
Hesitating for fear of what might happen if she touched him again, she picked up a hypospray and reinforced her mental shields. She did NOT want a repeat of the incident on the bridge when they had first m etn. Although she sensed some anxiety, Mirana felt it could be attributed to the exam. As she pressed the device against the side of his nec, she flet...something...but this time she was prepared and when she broke the physical contact, the intangible feeling was gone.
Noting the way he had kept his fists clenched and muscles taut throughout his examination, she said, "It's over now so you can relax, Captain." She attempted a smile, and tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear as she shut off the tricorder.
"Thank you, Lieutenant...er..Doctor." he cleared his throat, eyes already straying towards the door. Their goodbye was an awkward exchange and it was obvious he was more than eager to leave. Mirana realized she had no business bringing up his mental state-he wasn't behaving oddly or inappropriate, and they didn't have the type of relationship where she could broach a topic so personal.
Once he was gone and the doors closed after him, Mirana sighed in troubled frustration. This was not the relationship she had hoped to have with her CO. And she didn't like it at all.
Colin hurried into the nearest turbolift, grateful that his physical hadn't been quite as dreadful as he had anticipated. He did, however, decide to follow Dr. Keset's advice on relaxation. Mark O' Conner had the bridge--perhaps he'd be able to steal away for some time in the holodecks.....
And then the rustling returned. But this time, it was different. The expected whispers never came. Colin felt teh hair on the back of his neck stand on end--as if there were someone behind him. He whirled around---and came face to face with a beautiful woman with long white hair and silver eyes. She moved her mouth, but the words appeared in his mind.
*Help me. Please.*
He blinked his eyes and she was gone. He was alone once more in the turbolift.
"Computer, stop turbolift."
<< Acknowledged. >>
Colin slid to the floor, his shaking hands wrapped around his knees. At first, he had attributed his hallucinations to fatigue, lack of sleep, stress. Any excuse would do. But now, now he wondered if he was begining to lose his mind.
"Becker to Dr. Keset." he said weakly.
< Keset here. >
"Will you come to turbolift 3, please?"
< Is something wrong? >
:"Just get here. Becker out." he sighed, and cradled his head in his hands.
**************** Daniel ran the tricorder over the craggy stone wall once more, registering the composition an dpercentage of precious metals and smiling as he glanced in Ariada's direction. She was examining an outcropping nearby around which a cluster of red fern like plants grew. Occasionally her voice rose with excitement as she discovered a new or unique adaptation the plant species used on this barren world.
There were no oceans or rivers to speak of--all the water seemed to run under ground using a complicated system to reach the surface. Ariada was collecting data on this phenomenon as well. Ensign Lear crouched beside her, watching her work with interest. Every once in a while, Ariada pointed soemthing out to her, allowing her to share in her discovery.
The other security officer, Lieutenant Ta'quith, stood rigidly at attention at teh base of the mountain, her hood dangling ineffectually behind her. She appeared to ignore the cold as easily as she ignored her companions, keeping her gaze at just above eye level. Daniel sympathized. He would probably have been bored too, in her place. A stiff gust of wind blew at his back and he shivered, glancing at the sinking suns. Once they had set, the temperatures woudl drop dramatically. By then, he had plans for them all to be back aboard Prometheus.
An ominous rumble in the distance drew Daniel's attention from his musings. Although Prometheus had detected no life signs, he noted both Security officers had their hands on the phasers attached to thier parka belts. The rumble sounded again. Daniel pulled himself up and onto the rock outcropping he had just been analyzing to get a better view, and his eyes widened in dismay.
"Oh no." he groaned softly.
******
Naeve frowned at her console, tapping in a rapid sequence of commands with no result. She repeated the sequence, again to no avail. Somehow, she had lost contact with the away team. One moment, she'd had a clear trasporter lock on all four of them, then suddenly they were gone. Not gone, precisely. She was still able to monitor thier life signs, she just couldn't pinpoint their location.
She swiveled her chair to the console behind her, which was running continuous surface sensor sweeps, an ddiscovered the source of her problem. A huge dust storm had suddenly appeared directly over teh coordinates the away team had beamed to--a dust storm with magnetic interference that precluded an exact transporter lock. She had no way of getting her people back until the storm subsided. And when that would be was anyone's guess.
"Commander." she said sharply, capturing Mark's immediate attention with her tone. "I think you'd better see this."
******* TO BE CONTINUED
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