Maiden Voyage

Thirteen

On the outside of the institute, Gunny Cole, Sergeant Epps and first squad waited eagerly, completely decked out in tactical gear. They, too, noticed the lack of activity in the colony's square. This was quite a departure from their initial contact. It made them particularly diligent. Corporal Samira caught the sight of something out of her left periphery. A light was blinking on one holo-emitter. She found it odd, as all of them were deactivated presently. Still, there it was, blinking. As if it sensed her noticing it, it stopped. Then, in syncopation, the one to their front pulsed. Sam approached gunny quietly.

"Yeah, I see it too, Sam," whispered Cole. "Your friend?"

She shrugged. If Echo was dropping them breadcrumbs, Sam did not know.

The forward emitter suddenly stopped. Following that ceasing, the light above the door to the institute pulsed. Gunny looked over to Sergeant Epps, giving him the hand signal to move out. With the utmost stealth, the unit moved forward in a skirmish line to the front of the institute. They entered one by one through the front hatch into the atrium of the building. The next light that flashed was the classroom. No longer were the false walls that greeted the captain and Ensign Spock present. They continued with their forward movement.

#

In the chamber below, Captain Pike backed away from the party of three intruders. He still had the advantage, as only Vessey had an obvious line of sight. The escorts were still behind him in the room behind the false computer panel.

The captain unholstered his laser, pointing it at the Ovid Stone. "Stop right there, or I'll destroy your prize."

"Help me!" This time, it screamed out in Spock's mind. He reached out for the Ovid Stone, contacting its container. Instantly, he was flooded with images. An explosion in space, followed by a mass of rock amongst the stars. A sun glowed in the dark void of space, illuminating the rock. A group of space faring life-forms came into focus. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them. They were drawn to the newly formed planet. Wave-after-wave, these travelers descended on to the surface. Landing, they had sunken into the loam, one by one. This caused the planet to terraform rapidly. Plants turned into trees, rivers flowed into oceans, grass covered the ground, clouds filled the sky.

Too many to count sunrises and sunsets sped by. Then the shuttles landed. Architects and engineers began constructing buildings, followed by people. Humans. The view switched to first-person in his mind. A group of excavators had come across something. They unearthed it, bringing it back to the buildings. It was the Colony of M-114. He saw a group of faceless men above. Poking, prodding, experimenting. A bright flash of light nearly blinded him. A formless figure drifted over top of it. Its face read curiosity, then purpose. Suddenly, a familiar face came into focus, Cyril Vessey. He placed it into a container, coating it in liquid. They placed a cover over top.

"Help me!" it cried. "We are Vaxxar."

Spock broke contact with the container, turning to face the captain.

"Ensign, get out of the way. We're going to end this once and for all. I'll take pieces of that thing back to Admiral Rodgers if I have to," commanded Pike .

Spock calmly walked in front of the captain's laser pistol. "We cannot."
His science officer's sudden action shocked Pike. He wondered if he should have not rushed him in to this away mission. His psychological state was still suspect. Even he had admitted doubting the integrity of his memories. There was also the inability of Spock to understand how he knew how to operate the advanced equipment in the Ovid chamber itself. Finally, there was the slim opportunity at hand with the physical positioning of Vessey and his men. The window on that opportunity would close any second if he didn't act instantly.
"Get out of the way, ensign. That's a direct —"
"This is not a rock, captain; it is an organism."