SYMBOLS

CHAPTER 40

It had been nineteen hours since Lieutenant Carlson ordered the crew to lock a tractor beam onto the drifting Delta Flyer and haul it back into the shuttle bay. The Flyer had been gliding on autopilot and was devoid of any crew. Once it had been retrieved, Carlson studied the shuttle records to ensure the away team had made a successful transport to the surface.

Only moments later, another plasma pulse had been fired from the space station, but it was ineffectual. Carlson had already instructed the helmsman to go to warp, moving Voyager well out of harm's way and, to all appearances, out of the vicinity of the Anawin space station.

Sensors showed several bronze ships in pursuit as they traveled through Anawin space. The bronze ships had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and they had to fight them off for some time, before Carlson ordered Voyager into a nearby nebula. There they had stayed, undiscovered, until the necessary time had elapsed.

Carlson glanced at his chronometer and wondered if the captain's away mission had been successful, if the away team had located the Dimar colony, and if they'd found Commander Tuvok. He hoped all had gone well.

The captain had chosen a twenty-hour time frame to complete the mission and had said that, regardless of the outcome, the away team would be ready and waiting for transport at that time.

Now there was only one hour left and there was still a substantial portion of Anawin space to cross. However this time, Carlson had no intention of taking Voyager anywhere near the space station or its plasma emitter. Instead, as previously discussed with the captain, he ordered that Ensign Hamilton and Seven of Nine pilot the Delta Flyer back to Anawa, with the goal of retrieving the away team.

***

Harry stared down the long corridor as he stood beside B'Elanna outside the solid wooden door. Together they checked to make sure no one was watching them. Then B'Elanna planted her foot down hard on the metal bar at the base and the heavy door swung open. Harry instantly felt her heave on his purple robe and pull him into the darkness with her. The door rapidly shut behind them.

When the door closed, the room was pitch black. Harry couldn't see anything, although he could hear B'Elanna moving about, not too far away, and tried to follow the sound of her footsteps.

"We should've brought a lantern with us," he said as he fumbled and felt his way around in the dark.

B'Elanna lifted out her tricorder. Standing still, she allowed it to dissect the layout of the room. Harry could clearly see the light from her tricorder; it was the only thing he could see in the darkness. He stepped closer to B'Elanna.

"There's something in here with us," B'Elanna said, her voice hushed. "It's over there."

Harry watched her tricorder begin to float away and realized B'Elanna was moving away from him. Quickly he reached out and grabbed a handful of her robe, making sure they didn't get separated in the darkness. He walked forward slowly and carefully behind B'Elanna until she stopped walking.

"It's in front of us," she said and repocketed her tricorder.

Taking a few careful steps forward, Harry felt his knees collide with something hard.

"What do you think it is?" he asked running his hands over the solid object. He raised his arms above his head to trace the curvature of the structure and felt B'Elanna's fingernails travel over the back of his hand. She too was brushing her hands over the object. "Do you think it's the old archway from the painting? It feels cold like stone and the shape reminds me of an arch," Harry said. But B'Elanna didn't reply. Instead he felt her fingers smother his mouth. He fell quiet, wondering what she'd heard.