Star Trek - Zombies

Chapter 04: Only Option

"The situation may not be as grim as it appears," Spock cautioned.

"If you have an idea, I want to hear it," Kirk said eagerly.

"The full effects on the colonists took time to manifest, so we do have time before the environmental conditions begin to affect us," Spock explained. He flipped up the top of his tricorder and began scanning the undead outside the door.

"What is it, Spock?" Kirk prompted.

"During the initial attack, I noticed something quite puzzling," Spock answered without looking away from his tricorder's diminutive display screen. "The undead emerged from every building at the same moment. It seems highly unlikely they could all become aware of us simultaneously."

"Are you suggesting an outside influence is at work?" Kirk speculated.

"Doctor McCoy did refer to the attenuation of the individual magnetic fields responsible for the undead bodies' movement," Spock pointed out. He turned and scanned the severed arm on the floor before redirecting his tricorder toward the door again. "Fascinating. I'm detecting a stream of electromagnetic energy connecting the severed arm to the undead outside the door. Additionally, there is a stronger stream connecting the zombies to something deeper in the colony."

"If someone or something is controlling the undead, could these energy streams be the puppet strings?" Kirk queried.

"It's quite possible," Spock agreed. "If true, the largest concentration of electromagnetic energy will be where all the 'strings' come together. I'm detecting a sizable signature in the science block."

"Strange," Kirk put forward. "I thought it would've been in the environmental control systems because of the storm."

"A fair assumption," Spock agreed. "However, I am reading the strongest signal from the direction of the science labs."

"What good does it do us here?" McCoy challenged. "We're still trapped in a storage room. We can't do anything from here."

"Apparently, taking over the bodies of the colonists doesn't provide access to their minds," Spock stated. He moved over to a crate and shoved it aside with one hand. On the floor underneath where the crate had been sitting was an access hatch. "My scans aren't detecting any magnetic flux from the maintenance tunnels, so they should be clear of undead."

"Should," McCoy muttered.

"Our choices are few," Spock reminded. "We can either take a chance out there in an attempt to stop what has happened, or we can wait here for the magnetic field to saturate our tissue to the point where we'll be controlled as well."

"He's got a point, Bones," Kirk agreed, using McCoy's nickname. "Let's move."

The security guards still remaining split into two groups of three, taking up positions in front and behind the remnants of the away team. The guards in front dropped into the maintenance tunnel, phasers held ready. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy followed a moment after.

Power was out in the service corridor under the colony, leaving only the emergency lights active. Spaced every ten feet, the emergency lights only offered a slight glow to the surrounding area, leaving the rest shrouded in gloom. Blackness held dominance beyond the small radius of the emergency lights, hiding possible pitfalls and undead in the path of the away team.

Spock kept his tricorder out, performing a continuous scan to monitor their surroundings. In addition to looking for approaching enemies, he also compared his sensor data with earlier scans of the colony site to be certain they were moving in the right direction.