U.S.S. Merrimac [landing party]

[tomcat]

Jones looked at the doctor, "There is no coming back. What would we come back to?" She gestured towards all of the decayed bodies that littered the room. The animated corpse suddenly glanced up towards the ceiling of the botanical chamber, as if looking at, or feeling something. Blair then looked at Sorek, "They come again. It may soon be necessary for your crossing..."

She turned away and moved back over to where the stone was, sitting down upon it. "Your ship indicated trouble? The Kaytons have done nothing to create trouble or ill will towards your people. They live in harmony with each other and all other life." Again she fell silent, as if listening, and then, "The gateway to our realm was opened. Our forms were changed to become living energy. Unfortunately, it is the ill will of some of your kind that is also present and the Kaytons do not understand them. They were given leave to migrate to the new realm, but some did not."

[donimator]

"Again, what if we don't want to go? You say the time of our crossing is near. Who are the Kaytons to determine how we will live our lives? To force this change on a being against their will is not harmony, it is barbaric. It is slavery. These Kaytons seem to only want to conquer. To assimilate all life into copies of themselves. We will fight Lieutenant Commander Jones. We will fight back as your crew was unable to. As any Starfleet officer would have wanted to."

Sorek tried to stir emotion in the being to which he spoke. Was there anything of Lt. Cmdr. Jones left in there? Was there any spark that could give a clue to how they might act against these beings?

[BrianM]

Jones looked at the doctor, "There is no coming back. What would we come back to?" She gestured towards all of the decayed bodies that littered the room.

Following the gesture of the entity, Sherman surveyed the remains. His wishful need to bring back the others was, of course, out of the question. Where indeed would they go? "Are these people still 'alive' at all? Can we communicate with them? Or only through you? For all we know, their life force has simply fed your existence ... You have 'eaten' them to sustain yourself."

sorry this reply is likely a bit out of order

[tomcat]

To the doctor, Jones answered, "They all live. They all live within a new realm of existence." Then she turned to Sorek, "And they all went of their own free will. Some resisted. Some hated that life was at an end. Hated that their world as they knew it, would no longer be their own. Still they passed through so that they could survive, though they did not come with us. The Kaytons do not understand hatred or anger. They cannot fathom these emotions and so those that made the transfer, who harbored such thoughts, found a new existence but were not accepted." She looked away, as if something spoke to her or like she saw something, then she turned back to Sorek and Sherman. "I promise you Commander Sorek, the Kaytons are not here to take you, but offer you refuge. They are not here to assimilate species into their kind. They offer a chance for life to continue. You will not be forced to pass, nor will you be made to fight, but you will be offered a safe harbor from the slow decay of your current carbon-based form. I must go now... I am not sure that I may return... or that you will be here for us to communicate again."

The body of Blair Jones fell to the floor in a horrific heap as the presence within it departed. The Columbia crew stood in silence, the shimmering light of the object bathing the botanical atrium.

[donimator]

Sorek stood unsure for a moment. So much he could not control or affect. What of the Columbia? What was the situation there? What if this message from the Kaytons was true - that they were peaceful? What if these rogue entities were the crewmembers who resisted? Ones trapped in this altered state of existence? It was a theory.

"Doctor, if what we were told is true, could those who resisted the sanctuary offered still be here in an altered state of matter? Could the crewmembers have been transformed to some energy-based lifeform and left behind? Something killed Phillips. Let's regroup in the hangar and use our equipment only to try and identify such an occurrence. This atrium isn't...natural. I must contact the Captain."

Sorek quickly retreated to the hallway. He was surprised at the relief he felt at leaving the botanical atrium. The hall was sterile, more understandable. He keyed his communicator to the Columbia, "Sorek to Captain Stonn. Captain, we made contact with an energy based lifeform called the Kaytons who professed a peaceful nature. They say they rescued the Merrimac's crew from certain death by taking them from their carbon-based bodies to a new state of existence. They said those who resisted were still transformed but not accepted. Captain, is there any merit to the theory that former crewmembers, so converted, are the cause of the problems we are experiencing?"

[tomcat]

"It is indeed, Mister Sorek. If there is nothing that can be done for the Merrimac's crew, quarantine the vessel and return all boarding party personnel to the Columbia immediately. We are about to be intercepted by an Orion Syndicate vessel."

Stonn's orders rang through clear to the vulcan science officer and it was also received by other personnel aboard the Mac. The Galileo pilot called over his shoulder to the engineering crewmen, "All right, we have orders to bug out and to do it quick! Start re-loading and stowing all of your gear and get your personnel back inside. I am vacuuming the craft until everyone is back aboard so button up your EVA's."

Outside Galileo 042, the engineering personnel who were working on the Aladdin looked at one another. There was still no way to get the larger shuttlecraft off the deck, so it would have to be abandoned, at least until whatever the emergency was had ended. They left her sit where she was and began packing up their tools and moving towards the one operational shuttle on the Merrimac. As they did, they called and beckoned to the medical and science personnel to get back to the hangar.

[donimator]

Sorek ordered an orderly retreat to the hangar bay and watched for signs of distress that might manifest in any of the crew with him. He ordered the security ensigns to bring Phillips' body with along with them. The away team was trained for this. They would respond appropriately and efficiently. Sorek did a quick calculation on the number of personnel on the Merrimac and the amount of emergency space available in the shuttle. If it was impossible to fit them all, he would be one of the ones to remain behind.

[BrianM]

Doc squeezed himself through the door after the final away team member found a place in the crowded shuttle. It was a tight fit, and they were just going to make it. He turned around to face the door. Only Sorek stood outside, surveying the crowded interior. Doc caught a look in the commander's eye, and stated flatly "Oh no you don't. Nobody gets left behind on this dead ship." With a heave, the doctor shoved a couple of his medical staff further in, who tried not to grunt their disapproval too loudly when they saw that it was their commanding officer doing the pushing. Once space was made, Doc reached out for Sorek, pulling him inside and pressing the door control at the same time. "There we go. No problem." grunted Sherman, his medical bag pressing uncomfortably into his side.

[tomcat]

With the shuttle tightly loaded with all personnel, and now environmentally sealed, the pilot activated the ship's atmosphere and commenced the launch. Doc waited for the cabin green light to illuminated and then opened his EVA's face plate. It was good to breath air that hadn't been recycled through his suit's scrubbers over the last few hours.

All those standing grasped for hand holds, as the Galileo shuttle jostled in its launch and exit from the tail end of the Merrimac. It was only moments before the ship was free from the derelict and racing the distance to where the Columbia orbited slowly. A voice came over the interior intercom, "Gallileo 042, we have your track and the hangar is ready for immediate landing. Tractors will assist when you are in range, Columbia out."

"Acknowledged," was the quiet answer from the pilot.

Standing beside Doc and Sorek was the Andorian engineer, Telek. He spoke in a hushed tone, "It's a shame that we did not have more time with Jones. If she is really one of us, transformed into a new form of life, it would have been fascinating to learn more of what she now knows, or sees."

[donimator]

Sorek considered Telek's comments for a few moments, "Discovery and knowledge is our primary mission, Lt. Telek. It may have been fascinating to interact with these beings more, but the team and our ship is in danger. We may yet have a chance to find out more. We have plenty of hard data to analyse."

[tomcat]

"Yes, sir," replied Telek. He went silent.

[donimator]

Sorek nodded to Telek and looked around the crowded shuttle. A strange away mission to be sure and not wholly successful. Why even Lt. Telek seemed to share the sense of regret at underperforming in their duty. If they had more time and did not have the support problems from the Columbia perhaps they could have investigated further...But the physical problems of the Merrimac were the least of its problems. It would be interesting to correlate the data from their portable sensors with that collected by the Columbia. Hopefully there would be time to do so once they returned.

Sorek gave his head an imperceptible shake. He was lost in his thoughts again. He continued to sit straight and show the crewmembers the deportment of a Starfleet Officer. He scanned the faces again with what he hoped was a comforting look.

[BrianM]

A sour look crossed Doc's face. "Jones wasn't transformed into anything. She was murdered like the rest of them. That thing was just using her body to communicate with us." Turning to Sorek, the doctor's face turned more thoughtful. "You know Sorek, I've never thought much about an afterlife or wherever it is our souls go after death, but I definitely get the impression that whatever should have happened to the crew of the Merrimac after they died was interrupted by that thing we saw in the atrium. I wonder if the only way to properly send those folks on their way will be to destroy that device."