Going Underground
Posted on Sat Sep 6th, 2025 @ 3:35pm by Lieutenant JG Kurumi Hatanaka & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Nezuko & Lieutenant Takina Inoue
1,477 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Preserving The Past
Location: Anerind - Preserver Obelisk
Timeline: January 25, 2397- immediately after "Amerind"
Previously on Star Trek Tokyo:
The console illuminated and Anton Kurakin looked through the different commands, the alien language not understood but at least vaguely interpreted. “I think we can isolate a frequency which will open each door, but it would need to be inputted each time you needed it opened and the process might take between ten and thirty seconds, depending on the functionality of the door. Or we can remotely force all doors into a permanent open state.”
Nezuko nodded to Chisato. She agreed with the kid’s assessment.
Shauna held out a hand and shrugged. "Give it a try. We don't know anything about this place. So try everything is my guess..."
And now the continuation...
As instructed by the senior officer, Nezuko, under the guidance of the young Russian archaeologist, activated the right control path.
Groaning could be heard deep in the complex as heavy doors, many of which probably weighed thousands of kilograms and had not moved in millennia, slid sideways into their recesses.
The away team quickly congregated around the entrance and gazed out into a darkened passageway that not even James Kirk had trod.
"It's like we're peering into King Tut's tomb," Chisato gasped in amazement. "And to think we're probably the first organisms in millennia to witness this..."
"Now you can see why we love this sort of work," Shigeru grinned as he rummaged through his pack before retrieving a palm beacon. "Now, as a man far wiser than me once proclaimed... "Let there be light!"
The corridor wasn't very long, only about twenty to thirty feet. The walls were mainly rock with smooth greenish marble-like beams holding up the roof. At the end of the corridor was a set of stairs leading down into the depths of the planets crust.
As soon as the doors opened lamps attached to the beams illuminated casting yellow/greenish light.
Shauna ran a scan on her tricorder. "Looks like these stairs are the only way down," she stated. "Lets proceed slowly and with caution. This place is millennia old, it might not be as stable as it once was."
"From what we've managed to glean from Commander Spock's report, the Preservers were a purely benevolent species and would've had no need to set up traps, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not there," Shigeru added as she shone the palm beacon along the ceiling. "However, the biggest risk to our safety is going to be ground subsidence and other geohazards; so if any of you happen to notice cracks, spalling, or visibly concave distortions in the ceiling, we mark the area as unsafe, log it in our tricorders, and avoid it like the plague."
"These people have built their structures to last, sir," Anton reported. "They would have been aware of the geology of this planet, and placed this facility somewhere where it would not be disturbed by shifting tectonics or soil degradation. I believe if it could collapse by natural processes, it would have done so long ago."
"They obviously knew what they were doing," Shauna replied. "Log everything in your tricorders, this is a huge archaeological find, even if it doesn't help us in the long run it's good to record down."
At the very bottom was an archway. It had similar symbols decorated around its edges. Beyond that was a huge cave dug out into the rock. In the middle was an underground lake where fresh water trickled from what seemed to be an underground spring.
In the center of the lake was an Obelisk on an island much like the one on the surface. A singular bridge made of rock and stone spanned over the water towards it. The cave expanded upwards into darkness and high above were capsule like pods lined into the rock. Rows and rows of capsules lined the upper walls of the cavern. A single console made of the same stone and marble stood in front of the obelisk. Lamps dimly illuminated the vast cavern casting green light over them all.
The entire cavern was deathly silent apart from the faint sound of running water lapping at the edge of the underground lake.
It’s beautiful, Nezuko thought as she took everything in. Her tricorder was set to collect data on energy readings in particular, so she could work out the computer system and connectedness of this place.
The young archaeologist from the Kanna stayed by her side. He was proving useful, his knowledge of symbols and writing helping to decipher whatever they were collecting.
Once they reached the console in front of the obelisk, they took a few moments to study it, awaiting clear instruction before activating anything.
"This is fascinating." Shauna said. "Is this their computer? Or the equivalent of a computer. I wonder what those capsules are, my tricorder can't penetrate them."
"Stasis unit, perhaps?" Shigeru speculated. "I'm just eyeballing it from here, but it looks to be about the right size."
“Possibly, but I don’t see a retrieval system,” Anton observed. “Like a crane or moving platform. The capsules are high enough up that anyone emerging from them would fall. Still, it could be that the Preservers used a vehicle to bring pods down first. So yes, they might be stasis units, but they could just as easily be computer processor cores.”
"What do you reckon the odds are that something in there could've managed to survive this long?" Chisato proposed, casting a glance over at Kurumi and Nezuko.
Kurumi shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm the computer person remember. Biology and all that is not my thing at all." She paused. "Speaking of which, I should check that thing out."
"Good idea," Chisato nodded before shifting her attention over to Nezuko. "Lieutenant, care to do the honors?"
Nezuko nodded and got to work bringing it online.
"If any of these are stasis units. The Preservers are said to have disappeared millions of years ago. I highly doubt anything of them would survive that amount of time in stasis." Shauna said. "And if they did, it's far more advanced technology than anything we've ever encountered in history."
"And who's to say that's an absolute, Captain?" Shigeru argued. "The Iconians were thought to have died off, and look how that panned out."
"A very good point..." Shauna smiled. "Right then. Security teams ensure that all exits and entrances are secure. Science teams let's get some scans of those capsules, the center obelisk and try to access any computers for information. Leave no stone unturned!" She ordered.
All the while that was going on, Kurumi and Nezuko were both hard at work attempting to access the computer terminal. Chisato, who was standing right behind them, could be heard adjusting comm badge.
"That's strange," she muttered. "The universal translator's having difficulty reading some of the heiroglyphs down here; some words translate to utter nonsense, and some words aren't translating at all... If I didn't know any better, it's almost like they're using an older version of the dialect."
"They seem to be a different dialect, or maybe a different but similar languages," Kurumi said as she frowned. "Its like Japanese compared to Chinese. Similar in styles yet different."
“Computer code?” Nezuko’s PADD said, voicing her suggestion. “Our systems use computer language written with Federation Standard characters, but it would translate into nonsense if examined as a language. Alternate: it is encrypted and requires a cipher.”
A moment later, lights began to activate and a gentle humming sound could be heard. The system was online. Nezuko gave her team a thumbs-up.
The sound of movement echoed around the chamber. A strange beam of light erupted from the top of the obelisk. It struck one of the nearby capsules, which started to glow white like scorching hot metal. Slowly the capsule pulled away from the wall, the beam lowering it down and placing it in front of the obelisk on the stone pedestal.
The light cut off and the capsule dissolved. There stood an alien, smooth pale peach skin, slight ridges along the nose and forehead and no hair to speak of. His clothing was simple, a gown like attire pure white seemingly glowing in the light. He stood there eminating nothing but pure elegance and peacefulness.
His hands rested at his lap as slowly he opened his eyes and looked at each of the away team in turn. "Hello my children. It has been such a long time, we have slumbered for millennia. Finally you have soughtvus out and we meet in peace and love. Tell me my children, how can we as your preservers help you?"
To be continued...
RSS Feed