USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

<<USS Malinche, 1728, day 1>>

Mark decided to interrupt the dialogue. He had had an idea and he was sure that it would be a good use of his abilities. Standing on the bridge wasn?t part of his duties. His work was done from the shadows, based in discretion and sometimes a small dose of ?illegal? actions.

?If you excuse me, I?m going to join the Chief in the shuttle. I have to get down to the planet?, said him, getting up of his chair.

?But, Mark, the shuttle is not going to the surface?, replied Darkhelm.

?I know. Before linking the shuttle computer with the main computer, I?m going to use the shuttle transporter padd and go to the surface. I?m going to find the captain using the good old search devices: My eyes, ears and even nose. Maybe a tricorder too.?

?It?s risky and we don?t have an idea of who is down there and how many?, said Barrett.

?Look, with all due respect, I?m an infiltration specialist. Invading places heavily defended, scouting areas, linking up with isolated units? It?s all part of my work.?, said Mark, reasonably.

?It?s dangerous and could kill you?, said Darkhelm.

Mark got exasperated. ?Look, Commander, stop thinking like a damn doctor and think more like a captain. I?m your backup plan. If your plan fails, I?ll find the captain and inform her of the situation in person.?

?I still don?t like it?, said Barrett.

Darkhelm seemed to consider the idea. After a moment, she nodded. Barrett looked at her and then back to Mark, who was already reaching the turbolift.

?Good luck, Mark?, was all Barrett said.

Mark gave him a smile. ?There?s no such thing as luck in intelligence work. There?s enough preparation and skill. Nothing more?.

The door of the turbolift was closed and Mark Grayson II was back in the frontlines.

Tag: Crew

ON

Two had heard the footsteps arriving outside of the cave she had been hiding at. Sometimes, it was good to have extremely good Borg hearing. Then again, it had its drawbacks as well.

Like when the two NCOs were busy talking about her while they were all three in the messhall. What they said could have ticked off a Klingon or six, but this was Two. She could have cared less one way or the other.

She heard her name called. She thought it was Cheetarah. What she wouldn't have given at that moment to have her link to the Collective, and thus a direct link to Cheetarah.

She called out a question that only another freed Borg could answer.

"What would I have in my quarters that the rest of the crew would not have in theirs?" Two asked. Only someone who had been in her quarters and knew what the piece of Borg technology was called would know the answer to that one.

OFF

Tag, Bruce. Time for a JP sometime tonight or this week?

Grayson wrote:<<USS Malinche, 1728, day 1>> Mark gave him a smile. ?There?s no such thing as luck in intelligence work. There?s enough preparation and skill. Nothing more?.

The door of the turbolift was closed and Mark Grayson II was back in the frontlines.

Karsel`lyn rubbed her sore ribs. Bruises is all that would come of that particular ache.

She turned and looked back at Darkhelm, "Commander, if I may.... I am probably the best pilot available for this mission. I have extensive experience flying shuttlecraft and fighters, and would be better off flying the shuttle than maintaining orbit in this beast. A job any helmsman could accomplish, with ease I may add."

"Besides," she commented further, "my runabout is still down on the planet, and I would like the opportunity to collect it and bring it back. Perhaps taking the pilot you assigned already with us on the shuttle down, and getting me to my runabout, we could coordinate our efforts to find the Captain and the others."

Karsel`lyn was worried about Isabel Kersare, the woman who'd all too recently had completely captured her attention, and even feelings of genuine affection. She didn't wish to know that the wondeful woman was in any danger, and would do anything to keep her from some dark fate.

<<Shuttlecraft>>
<1728, Day 1>

Brice and Joey (NPC) had taken up position when they detected Grayson transporting down to the surface. Brice had the sensor matrix already attuned and ready to go. He had admit that he had no idea what Grayson was goign to do down there and was a little surprised that Darkhelm let him go. Then agian, Darkhelm had her hands full.

"Sensor uplink is completel," Joey reported.

"Here goes nothing," Brice breathed. "Malinche you can start scanning now."

"Understood, keep an eye on those systems," Barrett reported over the open com.

"Don't worry, I have every intention of not blowing up."

OFF: In an attempt to keep things moving and get this mission finished so as to cure the boredom of those on the ship, here's some more about those in the cave....Soren, T'serra, and Mason - if you want to add your thoughts, you can backpost, or otherwise, let's get out of the cave

ON:
<<Celtron V, Underground Cave, 1712, Day 1>>

Leaving Anthony (NPC) and T'serra to keep guard and look for more information, Ryan (NPC), Isabel, Mason, and Soren climbed down to the lower level. The air seemed damp, which led Isabel to believe there might be some form of water body somewhere.

The group walked over to a large octogonal column which seemed to extend partially to the upper level, probably into the computer. It was a dark grey metal, with several panels, a few displays, and various controls on four sides. A soft hum could be heard emanating from the column.

Looking around, Isabel saw a soft light coming from the other side of the underground chamber. She turned her eyes to Mason and Ryan, "Why don't you two go see what's over there? From the moisture in the air, I'd be willing to bet there's some form of water source, possibly an underground lake or river. Soren and I will take a look at the power source."

Mason nodded, "Alright Captain. We'll let you know what we find."

"Watch out for any active reavers; who knows where more might be, and until we have them powered down, they're still a threat," Isabel cautioned.

Ryan pulled out his phaser, "We'll keep our eyes peeled."

Once the other two started heading in the other direction, Isabel turned to Soren, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely," Soren smiled as he approached the column, which was glowing a faint orange from the displays.

Isabel and Soren looked over the power source. From the readouts, it seemed to have several power branches, powering separate systems. It was impressive that it was still running after all this time; Isabel would be quite interested to know how it was achieving this. "Looks like we could just shut down the reaver power subsystem if we could identify which one it is."

"It looks that way, Captain. They probably used failsafes on the actual controls, so we will need to cut off the power manually through the panels here," Soren commented.

Nodding, Isabel knelt down and removed the main panel. A neat, organized system of switches and wires was nested inside. The wires and switches did seem to be color coded, which was rather nice, though they still weren't sure which ones led to what. "Thoughts on which one controls the reavers?"

Soren paused for a moment, then tapped at some of the controls, bringing up a dizzying array of screens. After studying them carefully, he turned back to Isabel, "From these diagrams, I'd say it would be the green grouping of wires. There should be three switches and a grouping of three wires associated with it - green, green with white stripes, green with black stripes."

"Yes, I see them." Isabel turned off the three manual switches before pulling out a small knife. She took the thin wires in her left hand, the knife in her right, then cut the two striped wires. Immediately a warning light flashed on the main console. "What is it saying?"

"'Warning: Reaver System Offline'. Looks like we got the right one," Soren said.

Isabel replaced the panel and stood up, hearing footsteps from behind her. Turning around, she saw Ryan and Mason returning.

Mason stepped over to Isabel's left, "We found an underground river. It looks like this area was sectioned off to protect it from the river, probably because of safety concerns."

"Does it lead entirely out of the cave? And are there any boats, or at least enough room to walk on either side of the river?" Isabel looked at the two questioningly.

Ryan nodded, "I would assume it leads out of the cave; it has a fairly strong current. And there are banks on either side of it, approximately eight feet."

"Good, let's go back up and see wha-" Before Isabel could finish her sentence, Anthony and T'serra came down the ladder, Anthony closing the trap door on his way. Confused, Isabel turned to them, "What's going on?"

Anthony watched the trap door anxiously, his weapon drawn as T'serra answered Isabel, "We were looking into the information from the computer, and making sure it had sent to the ship alright...It turns out the civilization that lived here were the Korsha."

"I don't think I've heard of them," Mason commented. "Go on, what else happened?"

T'serra looked at Anthony, who continued, "Well, sir, I went to the window to look out and see what the noise could be. I beckoned T'serra over, to make sure my eyes weren't decieving me. There were creatures with dark purple skin, rather tall, with two ridges across their skulls. That was surprising enough, but as I watched, one of them changed form to look like a Celtronian, and another one took the form of a human."

"Shapeshifters," Soren noted. "But where did they come from?"

Isabel shook her head, "I have a thought, but I'd rather not say until I can confirm it. Are the creatures still up there, and were they armed?"

Nodding, T'serra answered, "Yes, they're still up there. They were getting closer to where we were, which is why we came down here after gathering the equipment."

"I'm not sure if they were armed. They could have easily concealed weapons in the clothing they wore, or as they're an unknown race, they may be armed in other ways we couldn't possibly know," Anthony informed them. As he finished talking, the group could hear sounds of movement above them.

"Alright, I think we've found out all we can for now, and we did get the reavers' power system shut off. Let's get out of this cave, we'll follow the underground river that Commander Hunt and Ensign Morris found," Isabel told her team.

"What about Lieutenant Abubakar?" T'serra asked Isabel.

Isabel paused to think for a moment, "We'll look for him along the underground river, but I don't think it's safe to stray too much. It could be that he's out of the cave already, otherwise we should be able to locate him via his communicator once we're out of the cave and make contact with the ship. Let's get moving before those creatures find the trapdoor and we have unwanted company."

Though glad to have solved the problem of the reavers, Isabel was now left with more questions.... Why would the reavers just suddenly reactivate and start attacking the So'Kra? Could it be that these other creatures found a way to turn them back on and order them to attack? Were they working with the To'Ma or anyone else? And why would these creatures or the To'Ma do so, what would they gain? So many questions, and so few answers. One thing was certain, they needed to get out of the cave as soon as possible.

OFF: Tag Soren, Hunt, Navdante, Abubakar, crew!

<<Celtron V, Underground Cave, 1717, Day 1>>

Getting out of the caves was now the first and foremost goal for everyone on the team, the underground river they had begun to follow was long and oddly enough quiet. With most waterways there are noises to alert those in the area that they are there. Mason was reminded on his lake on earth and how this one looked so much alike.

The river contained numerous glowing rocks and pebbles that and looked very much like gems and crystals as Hunt and Kersare moved up closer to examine them they began to vibrate harmoniously.

?Interesting, they must react to certain forms of bio-logical life. They seemed not to mind the surrounding life in the water.? Said Mason taking pictures with his tri-corder.

Just a few meters up the river stood a stone with markings identical to those in the building discovered by the team hours before. These markings had different and more complex text and imagery.

?Soren, have a look at this.? Asked Mason.

<Tag Soren>

?T?serra, do you sense anything in here. I?m not sure if its just me but a feel as if someone is watching us?? Mason asked looking about.

<Tag T?serra>


OFF: Tag Soren, T?serra and away team

<<Celtron V, Underground Cave, 1720, Day 1>>

"I don't sense any more then just us in here commander, but that might change at any moment. It's unfortunate that we have to leave here so soon." T'serra said honestly not having wanted to leave the cave quite yet but never the less happy to do so after seeing those creatures for herself.

She sensed a distinct difference between them and the away team and knew that this might help later on but for now she knew they had to get out of here. T'serra could only hope that Lieutenant Abubakar found his way out of the cave.

It was at that moment T'serra felt a presence nearing but it didn't seem like one of those creatures or anything else for that matter, what it was she would have to figure out later as there were much more pressing matters at hand. " Commander it might be best if we move on now, something doesn't feel right to me now but I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps something is watching us, but it is vague at best."

<Tag Hunt>

<<Celtron V, Underground Cave, 1725, Day 1>>

Hunt veered around hoping to find something that would remotely fit both his and T?serra suspiciousions and now her feeling. However to no avail he sighed and turned to Kersare.

?Captain, I agree with T?serra we should move out from this location quickly as possible. Even if this underground river is some years old there maybe some sort of residual after life form emerging into what once used this river possibly lived here.? Said Mason.

?Let?s move people, Soren how much further till we reach the surface?? asked Kersare.

<Tag Soren>

Just a few meters ahead of the team?s positions, the roof began to tremble and shavings of rock and rubble began to fall. A segment of it headed straight for Kersare?s and T?serra?s head. Mason dropped his bags and darted out pushing them out of the way.

Covered in nothing but dust and some rock specs of black dirt, he got up and grabbed their hands to help them up.

?Are you two alright?? asked Mason.

Kersare brushed off the dirt from herself and T?serra both nodding that they were fine. The walls were looking dim as they approached the exit.

?Soren, run a continuous scan as we get closer to the exit and back to the surface just to make sure we don?t have any more pre cave ins like that one.? Said Mason walking just a few steps ahead.

<Tag Soren>

The path out seemed like hours but in fact it finally they reached a large opening that let in a brush of cold crisp air. Everyone in the team stood there embracing its effects moving forward. Their wondering of ever leaving the cave had now diminished.

Suddenly Hunt?s tricorder along with everyone else?s lit up. He drew his and scanned the area.

?We are out Captain, no signs of other life in the immediate area or behind us.? Said Mason smiling.

The exit behind them started to rattle and shake violently causing a violet field to form covering the exit to disguise itself back into solid rock.

?I guess we are no longer welcome.? Joked Mason.

His tricorder had chirped so loud it caught his attention to open it.

?Captain, it?s the Malinche I am showing them in orbit over the section of the planet. Permission to signal for beam up.? Asked Mason.

?By all means Hunt.? Kersare responded happily looking at her team.

=/\=Malinche this is Commander Hunt bring us home=/\=

In just a flash of blue light Kersare and her team vanished into thin air.

OFF: Tag Kersare, T?serra, Soren and Crew!!!

<<USS Malinche, 1730, Day 1>>

Everyone from the away team had now materialized on the platform with medical teams awaiting to see if anyone had been hurt. Two nurses rushed over to assist Mason with T?serra who seemed to be limping. Kersare and Soren behind him off loading the bulky but now dirty equipment.

?Let?s get everyone down to sickbay for complete and bio check ups. Once that?s done we can begin debriefing later on.? Suggested Mason.

<Tag Kersare>

The XO for one was glad to be home his stomach more so was ready for him to plant himself down in front of a replicator and chow down. Mason felt like he should do something to lift the landing parties spirits and stood to the side as the medical teams walked everyone out.

?Captain, if its all the same to you. I would like to throw a party on the holodeck just for us all to unwind a bit. After what we?ve been threw I think we could use the diversion.? Asked Mason.

<Tag Kersare>

?Great, I?ll make the arrangements. Oh Soren and T?serra well done down there.? Hunt said tapping their shoulders and walking them out to sickbay.



OFF: Tag Kersare, T?serra, Soren and Crew.

<<Transporter Room 1, 1734, Day 1>>

Isabel could tell the away team was glad to be back. She was no different, though the underground city had sparked her interest. Perhaps sometime they'd be able to go back, though it was more likely an actual scientific team would be sent, if any.

Her current concerns were regarding what had happened to her ship, where all her crew members were, informing the Celtronian High Council about the reavers and underground city, and finding out about the creatures that had been found.

?Let?s get everyone down to sickbay for complete and bio check ups. Once that?s done we can begin debriefing later on.? Suggested Mason.

Isabel considered Mason's suggestion, "Actually Commander, I'd like to talk to Darkhelm regarding our situation here, then send those that are in need of medical attention to sickbay, then proceed from there."

Seeing him nod, Isabel could tell he was relieved to be back.

?Captain, if its all the same to you. I would like to throw a party on the holodeck just for us all to unwind a bit. After what we?ve been through I think we could use the diversion.? Asked Mason.

"Lets not get ahead of ourselves. We need to locate any missing personnel and contact the Celtronians before any celebrations begin. The party can take place after those things are completed," she said. Isabel wholeheartedly agreed that the crew could use some relaxation - which she would be sure to give them, but they had a mission to complete first.

?Great, I?ll make the arrangements. Oh Soren and T?serra well done down there.? Hunt said tapping their shoulders and walking them out to sickbay.

Isabel watched them go, then turned down the corridor and headed for the nearest turbolift. The doors slid open and she smoothed her hair before pulling it back again, trying in vain to make herself at least somewhat presentable before getting to the bridge. Her fingers tapped restlessly against her thigh as she waited. Finally, the doors opened.

Walking onto her bridge, Isabel's eyes searched for the ranking officer. Amanda approached her after noticing her presence.

"Welcome back Captain, you were getting us worried," Amanda said.

"You and me both," Isabel smiled. "One moment." She turned to the officer currently at the Ops station and tapped in coordinates, "I want you to scan the area around these coordinates for anything unusual."

Seeing him nod, Isabel turned back to Amanda, "Report, who is still on the planet and what's been going on here?"

OFF: Tag to Darkhelm and the rest of the crew! FYI, Ops should find increased proton particles and a weird signature coming from the area of the caves - we'll be using that shortly.

<<USS Malinche>>
<Bridge, 1734, Day 1>

"For the moment we appear to be all onboard...give or take Cheif Thomas and Mr. Summers out there in the shuttle."

"Where's Mr. Grayson?"

"Beaming back from the surface as we speak. He went down looking for you and the away team, against my better judgement mind you."

"Seems like you kept her in one piece," Isabel said, looking around the bridge.

"We've had our share of excitement."

"Oh really?"

"Something launched from surface, some sort of alien craft. Mr. Barrett tracked it and found that it disappeared into some sort of subspace rift, which we managed to get caught in...and some quickl thinking by Barrett had us out of the jam before the Malinche became the next falling star."

"Speaking of Barrett, I take you've cleared him for duty?"

"Not really," Amanda admitted. "I've never had a patient come back from being dead before...I mean really, really dead. As soon as things get back to normal I'm going to request that he report back to sickbay. Oh and another thing Captain."

"Yes?"

"I think its time we let the senior staff in on Barrett's friend."

OFF:

<<Transporter Room 1, 1734, Day 1>>

Kersare was right, it wasn?t like her XO to be over zealous about anything and putting something like he suggested before the crew and mission. The group reached sickbay by ways of the turbo lift. Just the ride alone increased the XO?s gladness of being home.

A few nurses along with a medical technician helped Mason bring everyone in placing them on the biobeds.

?Nurse, I am needed on the bridge. Have the results of the tests sent to my office. I will need them for my report to the Captain.? Said Mason.

The nurse complied jotting down his orders into a padd before walking over to her first patient. As Hunt reached the door he looked back seeing a brave group of people he was and is proud to serve with.

He didn?t have anytime to get himself together his uniform semi dirty of the top and some minor dirt spots on his pants. The feeling of being overwhelmed consumed him but he quickly pulled him together and exited the lift.

The brightness of the bridge stunned him at first having been in those under ground caves and rivers for so long. Mason strolled down smiling looking all about with Kersare noticing. Before joining her, the XO looked over at the conn readouts and then confirmed everything with his own.

Kersare was standing just near the center chair talking with Amanda and walked only to stand behind her.

?Excuse me Captain, the entire party is in sickbay being attended to we have a stable orbit.?

OFF: Tag Kersare and Crew.

ON:<<Celtron V>>
<Planet Surface, Day 1, 1620>

"What would I have in my quarters that the rest of the crew would not have in theirs?" Two asked. Only someone who had been in her quarters and knew what the piece of Borg technology was called would know the answer to that one.

"A regeneration chamber to recharge the nanodes that are still in your body. We don't have time for these games Ensign, now get out here", Cheetara ordered.

Two had a feeling that this was indeed Cheetara, but she was being super careful. They were on a hostile planet, being chased by something but they did not know what. Two was not in the mood to get shot at again.

She waited for the answer and left the caves when she got the answer she was looking for. Cheetara had been to her quarters and had commented on the regeneration chamber.

"You should not be down here, rescuing me. My life is not important, not compared to the lives which need you on the Mali," Two told Cheetara when she finally left the cave.

"My job is to oversee the safety and security of the Malinche and it's crew. As a member of said crew, you are important. Therefor, I should be here to rescue you. By the way....", Cheetara paused for a moment. "I'm glad you'are
alright."

"Why wouldn't I be alright? Why would you care?" Two asked, not realizing how harsh she sounded.

"Well I know it may be hard to believe, but I'm not as uncaring and ill mannered as I tend to show." Cheetara answered

"Do you know where the captain is?" Two asked, knowing that somehow that the two of them should have been able to make some contact via their combadges at one point or another.

"No, I lost contact with the captain and her team somehow. There must be something disturbing our comm signals down here with each other. I have been able to contact the ship still. Which I think that we should get back to the ship and find out what's going on."

"I think we'd do better down here looking for the captain and the rest of the Mali crew," Two told her.

"We are going back to the ship. After everything you've been through, I'm sure that even the Captain would order you back for a checkup. Besides, with everything going on down here, I'm sure we'd have better luck finding them after seeing what information they have gathered on the ship." Cheetara replied in a rough tone for authority

"How do you anticipate getting to the ship if we do not have a comsignal? I am not sure if the runabout I piloted down here is in working order. I did promise Lyn that I would bring it back to the Mali in one piece," Two told her.

"I don't think that will be a promise that you will be able to keep. It took extensive damage. I don't see it able to make liftoff anytime soon, and we don't have the time to repair it right this minute", Cheetara answered and tapped her badge. "Cheetara to Malinche, three to beam up." Cheetara waited with no answer and then tapped the badge again. "Cheetara to Malinche, come in". Some static started coming back over the commbadge with someone's voice, but wasn't able to be heard clearly. "That's strange. We didn't have this problem contacting the ship earlier."

Cheetara looked over at Brewer who had been smirking since the minute Harrison had went against her a few moments ago. 'Laugh it up little man' Cheetara thought to herself as she opened up the back of her tricorder.

"What are you doing?" Brewer asked almost immediately.

Cheetara pull off a small metal object that was hooked onto the inside backing and then held it up. "I still have a trick or two up my sleeve"

"And what's that gonna do?" Brewer enquired after gazing at Harrison blankly for a moment

"THIS, is going to take us back to the ship. It's an emergency transporter responder designed to work in conjunction with my ship in the shuttlebay." Cheetara shot back as she placed it nanode by her left ear.

Knowing she only had 5 seconds before it would activate, she quickly walked over between them and grabbed each one by the arm. Seconds later there were in the aft of her ship.

<<USS Malinche>>
<Main Shuttlebay, 1650>

They all stepped out into the main shuttlebay.

"Harrison, report to sickbay and get checked out. Then meet me on the Bridge. Brewer, you can go clean the armories and make sure everything is in working order.", Cheetara ordered

OFF:
JP Done By

Ensign Rebekah Harrison(Two of Nine)
Chief Engineering Officer

and

ON

"Harrison, report to sickbay and get checked out. Then meet me on the Bridge. Brewer, you can go clean the armories and make sure everything is in working order.", Cheetara ordered.

Two nodded and waited for the next 'lift to arrive. She had no intention of going down to Sickbay. What she needed was to get to Engineering to see what was going on, go to the bridge to take care whatever Cheetara wanted her for, and then some rest. Sickbay was not a part of that equation.

How did Cheetara expect the CMO to take care of Two? Maybe Cheetara knew something that Two didn't know. Thundara had been on the Mali for a lot longer than Two had been so maybe the CMO was smarter than the average CMO when it came to former Borg and their lingering problems.

Two heard the 'lift doors stop and she got on. "Engineering."

The 'lift started down to take the chief down to her department. Just a quick walk around to see if everything was going fine and then she would head up to the bridge.

Her mind drifted to Cheetara. How had she manage to fit into the crew of the Mali while Two had been able to fit into any crew since she had been freed? Cheetara was comfortable amongst the others on the Mali while Two felt like she did nothing correct, socially. She could keep her department running, just not smoothly. Yet Security ran without Cheetara around, like when they had been on the planet.

Two got off the lift and headed for the engineer in charge. "Report," Two ordered, stiffly.

She listened with half an ear, her mind still wondering about why she herself was needed on the bridge. Since Cheetara was her superior officer, she had to follow orders. But the order to sickbay did not make sense. Why send a fellow freed Borg to Sickbay when most everything was taken care of by her nanites.

"Good. Keep it up," Two told the man. "I'll be on the bridge. Call me back down in 30, no 45 minutes."

WIth that, she was gone. She got onto the lift and ordered it to the bridge. She managed to keep her mind on the upcoming whatever, getting off the bridge and wondering if she should have told the officer in 15 minutes instead of in 45.

OFF

<<Bridge, 1742, Day 1>>

Isabel looked over at Amanda, "You may want to brief at least the Senior Staff on that doctor, yes. And please do try to find out how he came back from the dead. I'd be rather curious to know what happened."

Amanda nodded and stepped back as Mason approached, ?Excuse me Captain, the entire party is in sickbay being attended to we have a stable orbit.?

"Is everyone on board?" They couldn't quite leave yet, but the first step towards that was having the entire crew on the ship.

Mason replied, "Yes, I got confirmation that Thundera and Harrison's party are on board. That should be everyone."

Suddenly the Ops officer broke in, "Ma'am? You might want to take a look at this..."

"Yes? What is it?" Isabel walked over to him.

"A ship just left Celtron V's orbit and was giving off a huge proton surge," he replied.

"On screen," she ordered. Proton surges again...interesting..

The young man tapped at his controls and the viewscreen changed to show the expanse of space between the wormhole and the planet. The ship he'd spoken of was heading straight for the wormhole...

"Ensign Tamlin, open a channel to that ship," she said. Seeing him nod, she addressed them, "This is the USS Malinche, identify yourself."

"Nothing Captain," Ryan replied.

"Captain, they're gone," the Ops officer stated. As he did, Isabel watched helplessly as the ship entered the wormhole and disappeared.

"Wonderful. What about the cave? Any strange readings there?" Isabel had a bad feeling about this...

He shook his head, "Nothing. Before that ship left orbit though, the proton readings were high in the cave vicinity."

Mason looked at Isabel, "Do you think whatever those creatures were in the caves are the same ones that left on that ship? And are giving off a high amount of protons?"

"That," Isabel said, "Is exactly what I'm thinking. My question is, are they coming back... Though something tells me that they were somehow the ones behind those reavers being re-activated. Perhaps with them powered down, the creatures decided to leave. Ensign Tamlin, open a channel to the planet."

"Channel open, ma'am," he replied a few moments later.

The viewscreen changed to show the image of Retia Ilmer(NPC), one of the Celtronian High Council Members Isabel had met earlier in their mission. "Councillor, good to see you again."

"And you as well, Captain. I trust you have a report of some kind to give to us?" Retia's face was unreadable as she sat calmly.

"Yes, I do. I'm not sure if you're aware of it or not, Councillor Ilmer, but there are remains of an underground city, which was apparently the home to an ancient civilization known as the Korsha in one of your caves. We explored a little, and found a power source, somehow still in operation, which was powering the reavers - the devices attacking your people," Isabel informed her.

The woman nodded, "We were aware an older civilization was here first, as it's been told in some of our stories, but hadn't gone looking for the city. What more about the reavers?"

Isabel continued, "We were able to shut them off, but there was another presence in the cave... Apparently a race of shapeshifters, dark purple in color, with dual ridges on their heads. We feel it was them that turned the reavers on, though we don't know why. We left the cave, coming back to the ship, and did scans of the cave which revealed a large amount of protons...minutes later, a ship broke out of orbit and went through the wormhole, also with a large proton surge. My guess is that those creatures were on that ship and left when the reavers were powered down."

"Interesting news indeed. We are aware of the race of which you speak, the R'teq'Ni, though they have not come here for centuries. They relinquished their rights to Celtron V and left, not to be seen again, at least not until now. If their plan failed, they most likely did leave," Retia commented.

"You believe Celtron V is safe from the R'teq'Ni?" Isabel had never heard of such a race before, but if the Celtronians were aware of them, they must be legitimate.

The High Councillor nodded gravely, "For now, yes. At least until they think of a new plan. But now that we know they have been here, we will be sure to be ready for them should they return."

Isabel replied, "Would you like the Malinche's assistance, or is there anything further we can do for you?"

"At this point, no. I will be sure to alert StarFleet to any other major difficulties. Thank you for your help, Captain," Retia told her.

"Of course Councillor. We'll be heading out for some repairs then. We should, however, still be nearby for at least the next few days if you need us," Isabel commented.

"Good luck, Captain. May your journey be bright," Retia said before closing the channel.

Isabel turned back to her bridge crew, "Well, that was interesting. They actually knew who those creatures were."

"I don't feel quite right just leaving them though, if there is a threat," Mason said.

"I know, but we have to respect their wishes," Isabel replied. "Besides, we could use those repairs I mentioned."

"Agreed, shall I alert Starbase 10 that we'll be arriving for some shoreleave and repairs?" He looked at her.

"Yes, please do Commander. It isn't far, so contact them now and then set course at warp speed 4.6. I'll be in my ready room," Isabel replied.

"Aye Captain."

OFF: And thus concludes our mission....I'll be opening the shoreleave thread shortly, where you can start posting immediately... I'll make the initial post there, and then you're free to post. Good job everyone!