Chapter Text
Captains log, stardate 2260.19
The Enterprise is maintaining an orbit around Maltec 3, an M-class planet with signs of a previous civilisation. Current estimates place the remains at over 8,000 years old, and survey teams are analysing one particular set of ruins on the northern continent for more information. Nothing so far matches anything in our databases, and the science departments excitement over the possibilities is infectious.
The transporter deposited Chris on the grasslands outside the ruins. It wasn't a long walk to the base camp the scientists had set up on the outskirts of the ruins, but he took his time and admired the scenery and the sensation of walking on uneven ground again. This part of the planet reminded him of one of the more temperate regions on Earth with the thick forest and mountains at the edge of the grassland. The temperature was mild, and he relished in the light breeze on his skin and the subtle smell of all the plant-life and occasional animal. He reached the table where Mirales and Baro were discussing a readout, and he nodded and smiled as they snapped to attention. He kept walking until he saw Una in the doorway of one of the few intact rooms, and the unease in his stomach settled at the confirmation she was still with them. She was busy looking down at her tricorder, and he could see her communicator clipped to the strap as she talked. She'd been talking to Spock when he left the bridge, and as he got closer he could hear she still was. It felt like such a return to normality after the hellish time of her arrest and trial that he couldn't help but smile.
She looked up as she noticed him approach, and she gave him a look of amused reproach. She covered the comm with her hand. "Feeling the need to supervise?" It was said with a smile though, and he could hear the wry humour in her tone.
He shrugged his shoulders and tried to look innocent. "I was curious."
She gave him a sideways look that told his she was barely resisting rolling her eyes at him but she let it slide. He was grateful, even though he knew she would give him one of her assessing looks when they got back to the ship and there would be a conversation.
She dropped her hand and took a step inside. He followed behind her, and he was too busy looking around the room to make out clearly what she said to Spock. It was a beautiful space, and he could see the craft and work that had went into the stonework to make the functional beautiful.
He looked back at her when her communicator snapped shut.
"There is some slight interference in here, Spock is running some analysis on the readings while I investigate further." She explained without him having to ask.
He stilled as possibilities natural or deliberate ran through his mind, but as always she anticipated his thoughts.
"It appears to be natural in origin, possibly the construction materials as it became apparent when we entered this room."
He relaxed slightly but not completely. "Anything to be worried about?"
She shook her head. "Not at the moment. At the moment it's only slowing the connection to Enterprise, not stopping it." Her expression was more curiosity than concern so he let down his guard a little more, and focused on the ornate panel in the centre of the room.
There was light streaming through the empty windows, but the windows were only on one wall, the other internal walls, and the light only reached halfway into the room. The roof was also intact enough to block light from above, and the total effect meant he couldn't make out all of the eroded symbols carved into the stone. He shone his torch over the surface, and the carvings were revealed where the beam caught the indentations. Soft curves separated angular symbols and he could see enough repeated symbols in different combinations to guess that it was the language of whoever had lived in this region. The symbols didn't look at all familiar to him, and he was looking forward to seeing the linguistics report.
He reached out to touch the carvings and feel if there were any makers marks, but he paused with his hand above the surface. He glanced over to Una.
She looked up from her tricorder screen and smiled slightly as she took in his posture. "Reading no power to the panels, and nothing harmful in the stone or crystal. It should be safe to touch."
He grinned back at her and dropped his hand. The stone was cool to the touch and rough under his fingers in a way that told him it had faced the elements for a long time. He traced some of the symbols, marvelled at the precise lines in the recesses where they had been sheltered slightly. He heard Una move, and she stood beside him, hands still on her tricorder as she looked at the panel and pedestal with a soft look of interest.
"It's gorgeous, you can really feel the people here valued form as well as function."
She hummed in agreement, and looked a moment longer then lifted the tricorder up. "The stone is all that remains unfortunately, otherwise we might get a better idea of the function."
He watched her out the corner of his eye as she lost herself in the readings, and he tried not to smile. He loved that look of concentration. He saw the instant she snapped back. "What is it?"
"The interference is total here. I can't get a signal through to Enterprise." She frowned as she tried different settings. "Still nothing." She looked at him then around the room. She took a few steps towards the doorway, and he followed. "I think it's the stone, I'm starting to pick up the signal now there is less stone between our equipment and the ship."
Just then his communicator crackled, and there was an aborted shout from outside. Without words they ran to the doorway, and he answered the hail.
"Captain!" Chris could hear the urgency in Spock's voice, and Una jerked her head towards him as she evidently heard it too.
"Pike here." They made it to the doorway but nothing obvious was amiss. His hand strayed close to his phaser anyway.
"Orion Syndicate raider closing in fast, weapons charged. They beamed down a party, five lifesigns."
Una unholstered her phaser as his mind sprinted. "Beam as many crew back as you can then raise shields." Last he had seen, everyone else was out in the open. He heard phaser fire outside, then sparking on the communicator from the ship that indicated a direct hit.
"Shields up, all other crew accounted for. Several direct hits." Another phaser burst, this time aimed at the doorway and both he and Una jumped back behind the wall.
"Evasive action, disable the raider."
"Aye, Captain." There was a crackle in the signal. "Transporters cannot properly lock on to you or Number One."
Another phaser burst and a glance at Una had him understanding. The interference.
"Do what you have to, we'll evade down here." Another burst, but he was loath to go deeper into the room where he would lose the signal. "Enterprise is your first priority, only come back once the raider is neutralised."
There was another crackle "…tain." Damn. Whether it was the shots fired or the interference he couldn't tell but the signal went dead.
Una fired a shot, and the cry from whomever it hit was closer than he would have liked. There was another shot, directly through the door this time as the Syndicate members moved to get a better angle. Stonework fragmented and sent shards flying inwards, and he shifted instinctively further into the room. He heard Una move, and he looked over to find her pressed against the wall trying to see out the doorway from her new position.
Another shot cut off her attempts, this time taking the edge of the door with it. She looked at him, and he could see she had the same thought as him. This position wouldn't be tenable much longer the way the Raiders were firing, with the roof likely to come down on their heads sooner rather than later.
"Is there another exit?"
"On the other side of the building but we hadn't time to map the layout." She paused, clearly thinking, and they both winced as another shot widened the doorway and the whine of the disrupter sounded closer than before. "But through the doorway and head right will take us in the right direction."
He trusted her sense of direction and familiarity with the building. They both moved before another shot could be fired, hugging the walls all the way to try to stay out the line of fire. The door was slightly closer to him, and he swore his heart stopped as he watched her dart across the room to join him. He felt he could breathe again as they both made it through the doorway and ran along the corridor.
She easily kept pace with him, and she tried the tricorder again as they came to a junction. She huffed and let it hang loose again. "Too much interference to detect anything outside."
He could see her thinking as she explained, and she took off running down the left corridor. He followed again, trying to fix their location with where they had started from to try and give him some inkling of where they were.
Another corridor, another junction, their brief pause broken by shouts somewhere behind them.
Shit.
They ran again, down another long corridor. This time, however, she slowed as they approached a doorway, and she smiled as she glanced in. "Window."
The room was smaller than the one they had been studying, but he didn't notice anything else as he headed straight for the window. A quick glance revealed the drop wasn't anything to worry about and the climb out would be simple. He gestured to her first, and she didn't argue.
She had the tricorder in her hand again before he landed. "Less interference." She started scanning. "The forest and mountains are our best option for cover." She pointed, and he followed her gaze with a sinking feeling.
"Damn." There was a lot of open space before they could get to cover. She looked just as thrilled by the thought. She glanced at the tricorder again.
"There are some undulations in the ground to the east that will help if we stay low, but otherwise we'll just have to be fast and evasive."
He nodded in agreement. A faint shout echoed along the corridor and out the window, and he knew they didn't have much more time to get a head start. "Let's just hope they have lousy aim." He couldn't help but try to relieve the pressure of the situation.
She rolled her eyes as she secured the tricoder, but she did look faintly amused for a second before they started running.