Cascading Echoes

Cepheid Matrix

GALORNDON CORE

Restless, Michael Burnham found it impossible to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Her internal clock, still synced with Discovery's midday cycle, seemed indifferent to her need for rest. As she stoked the campfire, she marveled at how it reacted within the Cepheid Sphere—solid here, though she knew the flames existed in two places at once.

Outside the cave, light rain fell, and the distant roll of thunder echoed across the barren landscape. The air, charged with ions from the thunderstorm, reminded Michael of the particle baths aboard ship. Tossing another pyro-disc into the flames, she watched it flare to life. Volthi'Cha, on watch, looked even more alien in his six-armed EV suit, his two lower sets of arms folded across his chest. He was practically camouflaged against the cave walls, his body distorted by the dimensional field.

Feeling the weight of the long day, Michael decided to relieve him early. As she moved closer, Ash Tyler and his team, asleep in their survival pods, appeared more solidified within the sphere, their forms blending with the surroundings. Michael took out her tricorder and began scanning the rock structures around her. She paused briefly over Tilly, who lay wrapped in a thermal cover, her vitals steady except for slightly elevated adrenaline levels.

"Sweet dreams," Michael thought with a smile. At least one of us is sleeping. I'm jealous.

Her eyes drifted to Ash, lying exposed in his pod, his upper body uncovered. Michael felt a flicker of annoyance—he hated thermal covers. As she stood over him, her hand hovered just above his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his skin. She hesitated. Scanning him felt intrusive, especially given their past, but it was necessary.

This is part of my mission duties, she reminded herself. I'm required to—

A loud clicking noise echoed through the cave. Michael turned sharply toward Cha, ready to reprimand him for disturbing the silence.

"Cadet, if that's an attempt at humor, I'm not amused," she began, but stopped short.

A deafening crash reverberated through the cave, shaking the ground. The walls trembled as large rocks and shards of obsidian spilled from the ceiling, passing harmlessly through the matrix sphere but crashing loudly around them. Five figures rushed in through the cave mouth, their movements swift and coordinated. Volthi'Cha, towering and alert, was already engaged with the intruders. He tossed one shadowy figure aside while grappling with another, his clicks and hisses growing frantic as he tried to wake the team.

"Everyone on your feet!" Michael shouted, drawing her phaser, though the dimensional distortion made aiming uncertain.

Tilly and Ash scrambled to their feet, reaching for their weapons as they adjusted to the dim light. Dr. Quilik, startled, fell out of his pod, fumbling to protect the transmitter.

Tilly, her voice panicked, screamed, "Volthi'Cha!" She started to rush forward, but Michael stopped her.

"Tilly, wait!"

"Ensign Tilly, hold your position!" Ash barked, grabbing Michael's arm. "We guard the transmitters!"

Cha, locked in combat, chopped a weapon from one of the attackers, but another jabbed a shard of rock into his EV suit, damaging his Atmospheric Regulation Unit. The third attacker leveled a plasma rifle, but a quick phaser blast disintegrated them instantly—Lieutenant Jo'til had taken the shot.

Jo'til fired again, hitting another shadowed figure. Michael noticed the flickering of the matrix field as the figures became more solid. Quilik had boosted the transmitter's output, solidifying Jo'til and Ash within the sphere.

Cha, after crushing the last assailant's head, collapsed to the ground.

"Michael, check on Cha!" Ash ordered, standing guard over the transmitters. "Tilly, help Quilik stabilize the devices. We can't afford another disruption."

Michael rushed to Cha's side, her tricorder flashing urgently as she scanned him. His EV suit was damaged, and his injuries were serious. "Stay with me, Cha. We're getting you out of here."

"Commander, the suit's alignment module is destroyed," Tilly called, rushing over with a repair kit. "We'll have to stabilize him manually and transport him back to the shuttle."

Working quickly, Michael and Tilly patched the suit and provided immediate medical aid, keeping Cha semi-conscious but stable.

"Check for more intruders," Ash ordered Jo'til. "We need to secure this location and reestablish communication with Discovery." 

MAIN BRIDGE

"As you were," Captain Pike said as he stepped onto the bridge. "What are we looking at, Commander Saru?"

Positioned at the Science Station, Saru turned to face him. "Captain, we are observing atmospheric distortions over Galorndon Core's western and southern hemispheres. They appear to be phasing in and out with the planet's electromagnetic fields, extending into the upper magnetosphere."

"Could they be stray environmental probes knocked off course by an electromagnetic pulse?" Pike asked.

"Highly unlikely, sir," Lieutenant Commander Airiam explained, her fingers gliding over her console. "Starfleet data collectors are shielded against non-ionizing radiation and designed to capture, recycle, and redirect high concentrations of electrons and protons."

"Thank you. I had to rule it out," Pike replied. "What do short-range sensors tell us, Lieutenant Rhys?"

"Very little, Captain," Rhys answered. "If it weren't for the probes Lieutenant Bryce launched, we wouldn't have detected anything below the planet's magnetosphere."

Pike turned his attention to the viewscreen. Galorndon Core appeared as a blackish-gray mass, its surface constantly flashing and popping as electromagnetic storms raged across its upper atmosphere. Dark clouds swirled violently, obscuring any view of the surface below. The storms, combined with low-level radiation, made the planet nearly impenetrable to long-range scans. Pike knew that every rescue contingency had been planned, with storm-tracker satellites in orbit detecting and anticipating launch windows within the 48-hour deployment window. The next extraction opportunity, should the Cepheid Matrix fail, was just under three days away.

"Could these disturbances be related to the experiment?" Pike asked, eyes narrowing.

"The distortion fields are not consistent with those observed during our initial test," Saru replied. "However, the matrix's introduction could have triggered this phenomenon. Quantum variance and displacement fields interacting with the mycelial spores may be creating the distortions. Without further data, it's impossible to be certain."

"Time until the next available launch window, Mr. Saru?"

"Sixty-four hours, twenty-three minutes, and fifteen seconds, Captain."

"Captain," Lieutenant Bryce interrupted, "I'm detecting faint audio distortions near the planet's southern pole."

"Mr. Rhys, what's the source?" Pike asked.

Rhys hesitated, eyes widening as he rapidly scanned his station's interface. "Warbirds, Captain," he announced grimly. "Three Romulan vessels, cloaked, positioned over the planet's upper axis."

"Red Alert!" Pike barked as he took his seat. "Shields up. Helm, back us off slowly. Weapons online. Saru, brief Lieutenant Stamets and Dr. Asana—tell them we need their experiment to succeed now."