Mission 25: Masque of Reality

[Carl Torek]

The Piper dropped through the low cloud layer, landing in a small a small copse. As the shuttle powered-down, Torek told everyone to get ready. After scanning the surrounding area he nodded to Lieutenant Young, who activated the rear door. Everyone waited ...

As the door completed it's cycle, the mist rolled into the Piper and swirled around their feet. Lieutenant Lu Yang stepped to the door and used his tricorder, then, satisfied, he nodded to Torek.

"No life-signs Admiral."

"OK, let's move out. There was a structure fifty three meters in that direction." he said, pointing out behind the shuttle ... They had only taken a dozen steps when Carl stopped. The ground beneath his feet seemed more 'solid' than the soil they had stepped onto originally. He knelt, wafting away the cloying fog with his hand, and was surprised to see a marble floor. He was about to speak when one of the Marines beat him to it:

"Sir ... I think you should see this." Scott said, pointing his phaser ahead of him. Everyone turned to look in the indicated direction and were shocked to see a corridor. As the mist vanished they could see they were indeed inside some structure, but how could they have entered unknowingly, and why didn't it show up on scans ? ... Carl looked around, wondering where he had seen the decor before as Epps spoke.

"Sir, the shuttle !" Torek turned. The corridor extended as far as the eye could see, as for the Piper .. It had vanished.

"Stay alert." Carl said, Looking back the way they were going. T set of ornate double doors had appeared maybe twenty meters ahead. Peers moved to the front alongside Torek, motioning for his Security personnel and the Marines to take up defensive positions to cover the Command Officers as they approached the doors. As they neared, they could hear 'music' coming from behind the doors. Lieutenant Young scanned the doors and almost shrugged.

"They're doors." he said, at a loss, "Sir the corridor is closing behind us." Epps informed them.

"Then it looks like we have little choice." Torek said, then, placing his hands on the two large handles, he pushed the doors open, and the group stepped into Star Fleet Command Headquarters, San Francisco ... Earth !

ooo000ooo

Music, dancing, flamboyant costumes seemed to be the order of the day. From Roman centurion, to American Indian, to Viking hordes, sixteenth century May Queens, a troglodyte, dragging his mate across the floor, Tibetan monks, and countless other manifestations from history. An Athenian temple woman fell to the floor before them, T'brel reached down to help her to her feet, but Carl pulled him back as the woman rose and moved into the throng. No-one in the room had taken the slightest interest in the newcomers thus far ..........

[Andae Blakus]

The Piper shunted, sending Andae's head forward into the console. The ambulance bucked, behaving as if it'd experienced a mid-air collison. He managed to stay in his seat and survey the damage, glancing at Marionette with a look of exasperation. This shuttle was proving impossible to land. The other shuttle personnel had been shaken off their feet by the collision.

"Well done you two." Carl said, looking at the buildings below them.

Andae glanced at his CO, irked but amused. "Glad to be of service, sir." He inclined his head and waited patiently while Marionette gave report, finding himself nodding. "Indeed, no explanation for how that structure directly behind us suddenly grew vertically by some 20 metres. It was 3-storeys... Now we're not reading it at all, sir," he frowned as he worked the console furiously, "It may as well have sunk into the earth."

* * * * *

The Earth indeed... He thought, as he stood mesmerised at the sight before him. The questions... how, why, even when... all enquiries seemed insufficient to describe what was taking place here. Figures from history - some of the stranger, more extravagant, notable and unique - all seemingly corporeal. Absolutely 'there', according to tricorder scans.

With a glance of bemusement at his nearby officers - partly out of a desire for reassurance that they were as uncomprehending as him - he started to pass between the 'lifesigns'. A large chequered floor area he couldn't remember from his last visit to the 'real' Starfleet HQ adorned the middle section of this thoroughfare. It had a look of marble, and past its roughly square perimeter, surrounding it on two sides, were sets of lower steps, where more forlorn figures of spectacular illusion regarded the proceedings with absent, quiet eyes.

Only when Andae went to the upper level, accompanied by Jamison, Marionette and one of the marines, did he realise that the black and white-chequered area was a chess board. Some of the bizarrely dressed clientele, guests, were playing, moving haphazardly and sedately from square to square, as they played out their lifesize game of medieval conquest encapsulated in the mathematics of the chess board.

"I can't work out if they're having fun," he said sideways to Marionette, leaning on the rail as they gazed in fascination at the spectral visages. While the... things were fully corporeal, something about their movement left Andae with a clinging disconcertment. They moved as if half-asleep, devoid of...

Their movements across the chess board seemed aimless, although they surely found their ways to legal positions. "Perhaps they're confused about the game," the marine Lieutenant Scott commented, leaning on the rail the other side of Marionette to Andae. He seemed disinterested, turning from the scene and looking at the wall, "I never did see the fascination. Nor the point."

Blakus ignored the marine and looked down the rest of the thoroughfare. It seemed the others had followed suit and split into groups. They were now three groups of four. Jamison and Blakus headed up the upper level group. Andae could see Torek below, directing his officers through the crowd, trying not to step too close to the guests - who in any case seemed uninterested in them. He saw his CO pull T'Brel away from a fallen lady from Earth antiquity. Valenti, out of sight at the moment, must be heading up the third group.

"Scott," Andae addressed the marine, "Search for a way out. We can't discount anything right now: If this is really Starfleet HQ, in some parallel dimension even - then it stands to reason we could get outside and find ourselves in downtown San Francisco. "Marionette, see if you can find a way to get a lock on the Piper, and attempt to contact the Raven."

<Tag Marionette>

"Parallel dimension?" Jamison smirked, turning to him once the others had gone.

"When we were in atmospheric flight, these structures - much smaller than they are now I might add - came from nowhere. We read nothing but microbacteria before then, and massive quartz deposits." And the glib of a possible dampening field that may be causing all orbital ships to lose power, he thought. "Then on our approach these buildings suddenly change dimension; we land and they envelop us, leading us inexorably to this door while closing our route out and evaporating the Piper." He sighed, pensively regarding the lower level, but he had to admit, with an eye of fervent fascination as well. "We may well have crossed over... into, something."

<Tag Jamison - Carl, Calli, ALL>

[Calli Valente]

After each of them had tapped their Comm badges and received no reply, it was obvious to all that they were, at least for the foreseeable future, on their own .....

Calli looked around the room with a critical eye. She had been thrust into situations before, and tended to use her skepticism as a barrier for the first few seconds. Given they had no route to withdraw, it was a given that they were 'expected' to move forward, and the fact no-one seemed to be taking the slightest notice of them, proved their sudden appearance caused no concern. As Torek and Blakus moved out to investigate, she pointed to the Marine Major, Lieutenant Epps, and Lieutenant Yang:

"You're with me. Keep your eyes open." she said, moving around the parameter of the ballroom. She spotted Torek preventing their Security Officer from helping a fallen woman, who seemed to ignore the offer and move away into the throng. Yang was falling behind as he was approached by a Nordic woman who snatched him by the hair and demanded he 'attend' her ... The Marine managed to pry himself from the woman's grasp and she headed off to target a Napoleon Soldier before re-joining the group.

She looked up at Commander Blakus, who seemed to be motioning towards a set of doors off to their right. Calli nodded and made her way over to that side of the ballroom:

"I could take this room if you like." Calli said, noting patrons using yet another door further round the wall. Blakus agreed, motioning at the second exit from the ballroom, "Though I'm not sure we should be splitting up at this point." she tapped her Comm badge:

=^= Valenti to Admiral Torek ..... =^=

=^= .......... =^=

"Comms are still out." she said looking around the room for their Commanding Officer. The door behind her opened slightly, "This is one of those occasions where the young innocent girl goes headlong into the darkness." she said, receiving a quartet of blank expressions from the others.

"Ma'am ?" Yang asked.

"Horror films ..... Never mind." she said, after another round of blank stares, "Major, Lieutenant, you're with me. Lieutenant Epps, find the Admiral. Tell him we've gone next door. Commander, chat soon." she said, grinning at Blakus before pushing the door wider and entering the darkened room, and before Andae could react, the door slammed shut on the three Officers !

ooooo

The screaming and cheering almost deafened her. Calli shielded her eye's momentarily until she became accustomed to the light, then she looked at her surroundings:

"What the .....!"

Jostled she looked down into the arena. People were stood in the center, frightened. The crowd, audience, spectators, whatever they were classed as, were screaming for action. Several people were sat in a shaded area of the auditorium. They seemed to her better off than the general public, who seemed to be waiting on some decision they would make. She looked at the group in the center of the arena, trying to recollect some long lost memory.

"Roman's ... This is an amphitheater !" Yang said suddenly, "Sir It's likely they wi ....."

His comment was drowned out by a collective roar from the spectators as iron gates were raised and a dozen lions were released into the auditorium. Calli couldn't believe what she was seeing, as the lion's circled the people, almost herding them into the center. They didn't seem in any hurry to do what Calli realized they were here for. Mutilation, entertainment, MURDER ! ... Two Roman soldiers, Centurions, apparently, entered the arena and began whipping the lions into a frenzy. They clawed at the whips, but soon realized their task and turned to the people huddled together in the center ..........

[Aeryn Tavik]

Aeryn, who had gone with Valenti, had kept her weapon at only half readiness. It was still pointed up, but something kept her from keeping it at full alert. Most of her senses were trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She hadn’t been to Earth in quite some time, but she was certain this was not home. Yet, it was everything about Earth that was on the surface, almost like everything that was going on around them was literally shallow, with no deeper thought than that which was at face value. As she observed the scene around her, Aeryn sensed the obliviousness of everything. It was obvious the crews of the other ships had no idea what was going on, but to be oblivious would be difficult, even when faking it.

Aeryn had taken the lead as they moved out of sight of the other groups. They walked cautiously into the main corridor, looking about to find anything that might give them a clue as to what was going on. So far, all Aeryn could tell was there was a big party going on at Starfleet Headquarters.

“We should check some of the other rooms out,” Valenti said. The commander stepped forward and entered the first room on the left. As the door slid apart, Aeryn looked in surprise. There were more of the other crew in this room in similar costumes as in the atrium, sitting motionless in various chairs around the room. It was an almost dead silence. Had the Raven crewmembers not been in the room, there would have been complete silence.

Valenti looked down at her tricorder. “I’m still not picking anything up. It’s as if they are here and yet not here at the same time.”

Aeryn shook her head. “This is a complete mind warp. Let’s check another room.” They exited and went directly across the hall. Entering that room, they found several of the crew walking slowly about, as if controlled by something. But Valenti confirmed the same scan result. Nothing. They walked out of the room and down the corridor several meters. They congregated outside of the third room before going in. Aeryn look at each crewmember in turn realizing Lieutenant Epps had not yet joined them outside.

“Epps!” Aeryn whispered loudly, so as to not arouse suspicion from the people who were already obviously ignoring them. “Dammit, this is why I take marines.” She quickly walked back into the room they were just in. The door opened to reveal those that were meandering around silently. Aeryn surveyed the room, locating Epps looking out the window. She was no longer dressed in her uniform, but in a golden ball gown as those worn by princesses of fairy tales. Aeryn looked back at Valenti, shocked. Aeryn walked over to Epps, and waved her hand in front of the new princess. She made no response. Aeryn looked again at Valenti. “Scan her.”

Valenti did so, and shook her head, informing Aeryn that their security officer had registered nothing on the tricorder. Suddenly, Epps let out an eerie laugh. The room came to life. All the people that had previously been empty vessels became alive just as those in the main atrium.

“We need to get back to the others,” Valenti said immediately.

[Calli Valente]

Before Calli could stop her, Aeryn had stepped forward and fired at the closest of the lions. It vanished in a spectacular show of incandescence. for a few seconds, the Roman spectators were silent, unable to understand what they had witnessed. Several threw themselves to the floor, preying to whatever god they thought would protect them, while others dropped to the floor in supplication. Tavik fired at the second lion with the same result, and Calli suddenly realized they were in trouble !

The crowd had moved back, leaving the Federation Officers alone, Calli looked at the raised plinth where what she assumed was the town's ruling dignitaries sat. They were speaking among themselves feverishly, then one shouted to a Centurion in the arena. He turned and located his intended target, then, pulling his arm back he took a step forward, releasing the razor-sharp spear in their direction. The Marine Lieutenant pushed her Commanding officer aside and the spear lanced through her right shoulder dropping her to the ground.

Valenti drew her phaser and fired into the arena hitting a third lion. As the spectators tried to put space between them and the Gods before them, Calli pointed towards an arch:

"That way ... NOW !" she ordered, snatching the fallen Marine and moving quickly, the crowd separating like a tide before them. Aeryn took the rear, firing indiscriminately into the air, each beam of pure energy drawing gasps of fear. As they neared the archway Aeryn caught up and looked at the spear protruding from her Lieutenant's back:

"Grab her shoulder ... Now Commander !" the Major said, snapping off the shaft in front before grabbing the shaft close to the metal tip. She took a second, then pulled the remainder of the spear out the Lieutenant. Yang fought back a scream of pain as Aeryn quickly sprayed the wound with gel, she would need medical help but would survive. The three knew they were in mortal danger as the crowd, urged on by hysteria and fear, were now closing on them. The rock struck her a glancing blow to her shoulder, the second hit the Major in the small of her back as she pulled Yang to her feet. Without hesitation, the three Officers dove through the arch .....

ooooo

The room was completely black ... Within minutes each of them became accustomed to the dark. The only light came from each wall. A rectangular bar of light on each of the four walls showed they were in a square room. The light, two meters by one meter, seemingly outlined a door, or access point within the wall itself, they estimated the room to be five square meters. Every two minutes, the thin outline of light would change color, first green, then blue, then red, before repeating the sequence ...

"Doors ?" Aeryn speculated.

"The color change could signify 'when' we are allowed to use the door maybe." Calli said, watching the changes intently, "Red would be a no no, while green is safe ?"

"Safe for what ?" Yang said, regaining her strength somewhat, "To be honest, I'd prefer to move than sit here. I'd guess with green being safe, we can't loose." It sounded plausible, so when the door ahead turned green, the three stepped through, and into an identical room ... Without speaking they waited for the door ahead to change to green and walked through, to enter yet another identical room.

"Well this could turn out monotonous." Calli commented the three leaned on the wall next to the door they had just come through, "What's the betting the next room will be exactly the same ?"

"They can't go on for ever." Lu Yang said, dressing her wound now she had time, "We just keep going in the same direction and we'll hit the outer wall at some point."

If they had been able to view their situation from high above, they would have seen the room they occupied was one of sixty four on that level, and there were eight levels. As the doors turned red, they seamlessly moved, reassembling themselves in a new configuration. Valenti, Tavik, and Yang were in a cube of over five hundred identical rooms ! ..........

< tag : All ... What's happening to you guys >

[Andae Blakus]

"Is this is a holographic simulation?" Blakus ran his hands over the walls. Tangible and real, exactly as he'd expect if the walls were truly here, but tricorder scans showed that not to be the case. They neither confirmed or denied the existence of the walls; there was no returned signal of any kind.

"Negative, sir. Or rather, unknown. We are not detecting anything."

An on rush of terror hit Blakus and he withdrew his hand, shooting looks at Jamison and Marionette. Then he found himself wincing, leant on the railing behind him and rubbed his fingers, warding off Jamison who thought he might have a medical issue. Andae glared at the wall - realising it was actually a large mural; its pattern, something in its structure, birfurcated lines that fizzled away in infinite fractalisation. There was something deeply unsettling about that miasma.

He turned again to take in the lower level and the supersized game of chess being played out. One team was on the verge of victory; the man Andae had identified as the king piece of the losing side turned on the spot, shrugging his shoulders as he searched for a way out of check; surrounded by his foes, he conceded by collapsing on the floor and was set upon by a haggle of Renaissance provocateurs.

"The only thing tricorders read are the supposed guests, down here," he observed. "Commander Jamison sir, Lieutenant, setting aside the impossibilities of this situation, do they read as human?"

"Uncertain..." one of them replied. "They're certainly present - but their biosigns prove nothing concrete."

"Is this some sort of game...?" Blakus spoke to himself more than to his companions. Memory deposited a flash of images into his mind. Recollections of long-ago studied missions about the fabled USS Enterprise under Kirk. The famous Admiral and his crew had encountered more than one Earthlike planet presided over by powerful beings - some claiming to be deities. Kirk and crew had been forced to play the sadistic games of their pretending captors.

"I recommend that we search for Lieutenant Scott," Marionette interjected. "He has exceeded his 15 minutes report time by 2.4 minutes."

Andae nodded to Marionette. "After you, Commander," he smiled to Jamison the temporarily installed first officer. Jamison took them down the upper level gantry - it seemed as best a course as any - and they soon arrived at a T-junction. They could continue straight ahead until the steps descended into an open bar/cafeteria type establishment (that Blakus recognised; although it was slightly different than he remembered, it was the Bar Ieppello of Starfleet HQ's promenade). Their other choice was a narrow corridor to the left that, all three officers agreed, should lead them closer to the edge of the HQ's interior complex.

The corridor grew in intensity. It was hard to put it any more aptly than that. Something clawed at Andae's brain, drawing his attention to the corridor that in the distance seemed to converge to an infinitesimal point. A 'buzzing' gradually built in his ears. No, in his very mind. The corridor had hardwired its essence into his mind. Tears filled his ducts.

"Commander... Commander!" Jamison, covered in shadow seemed on the verge of slapping him in the face.

"Sorry, distracted there a moment." They traversed the rest of the corridor, the passage's dimensions remaining constant throughout, to come to a duranium door. They flung the heavy door open, assisted amply by Marionette, and the purple-azure sky of early evening San Francisco greeted them. A cool wind was shooting in from the Pacific. Lights twinkling in distant Sausalito, the ancient bridge before them and the Presidio even closer.

"Ok, so what happened to GR 190821?"

Jamison and Marionette descended the steps to their right - a pathway into the gardens about this section of HQ - leaving Andae outside the duranium door. He again tried Scott on the comm with no success. What could've happened? Blakus was still - rather he hadn't even begun to understand what was going on here. Presumably they were still on the moon. The Raven must still be in orbit, along with the lifeless flotilla that they knew included the Emeritus and Sagan. So the same event that had befallen those two vessels could now well be happening to the Raven.

He gazed at the stars, searching for some sign, but there were no non-stellar objects... Nothing to betray the presence of the dead flotilla. It must've been around the other side of the globe. If he had reassurance the Raven was still up there, then maybe there was another way to send a message to them.

He watched with inquistive eyes the passage of Jamison and Marionette across the lawns, calling out Lieutenant Scott's name periodically. Their cries were drowned out by the roar of the sea from the left. At first unidentifiable, the very sound of it soon made the situation apparent: a tidal wave - at least 40 metres in height - was thundering in shore from the Pacific.

"Commander, Lieutenant! Inside now!" he cried out to Jamison and Marionette, who surely had seen or heard the wave already. The gargantuan wave was 10 seconds from impact on the coastline. From there it would perhaps be another 30 seconds til it reached Starfleet HQ. The heart of Starfleet would of course remain anchored in the chaos, but as for the surrounding grounds...

Blakus sunk to his knees as he returned to the corridor, feeling the curious presence, overlaid on the surfaces of the walls and ceiling, of the passage - all about him. Did the 'gods' of this place not wish their playground to extend beyond their mock-HQ's boundaries?

<Tag Marionette / Jamison>

[Deleted]

"Commander, Lieutenant! Inside now!"

Hearing the warning, Will grabbed the other officer and pulled her back in with him. They waited for the gigantic wave to hit their sanctuary but it never came.

"Commander." Will called addressing Blakus. "I didn't just imagine that did I?" he asked.

Blakus replied and Will stood shaking his head. "This is just too weird. There has to be something here that can give us some answers."

Will was getting frustrated. He hadn't been back on board the Raven but a couple of days. Hadn't been in any type of command since joining the Medical division. He was starting to think he didn't belong here.

He walked over to the walls himself and began running his hand down them while he tried to think.

"Okay. So this is suppose to be Starfleet. We've all been there. Let's see if we can find something to disprove this place. If we can do that, maybe it will disrupt something."


<Tag Blakus/Marionette>

[Andae Blakus]

The screaming of the waves, the devastation the tidal wave wrought as it swept across land, the forefront roiling in a seething white mass, and in behind a barren waste of previously fertile land about the western edge of the city centre. The wave dominated his vision, attracted all his attention; huge, immediate, an overflow of the senses.

He glanced away for a second to check the duranium door wasn't going to swing shut automatically, and put his body in the frame, waiting desperately for Jamison and Marionette to make it back up the steps. He looked back towards the sea and found himself stunned. All was clear, serene, a balmy evening in California on weather-controlled Earth. Without him realising it, all of that roaring energy, the crying of the gulls, the quiet apprehension of the nearby populace as it awaited fate, had zeroed out to silence.

"Commander." Will called addressing Blakus. "I didn't just imagine that did I?" he asked.

"It would appear we all did, Commander..." "Marionette?" he enquired. They reconvened at the duranium door and made ready to head back inside. Something gave them pause. "Is it wise we re-enter?" he asked, "There's something about that place. Trapping. A presence seems to crawl across the walls..." Andae scolded himself. Not particularly scientific.

"Those inside aren't mere apparitions," he went on, "They register as lifeforms, and from the looks of them they could be trapped like us. The question is, why are they attired in costume from Earth history? If someone is controlling this place, then they have knowledge of our culture, history, customs, and what our society regards as the most esoteric, extreme and progressive examples of humankind."

"Okay. So this is suppose to be Starfleet. We've all been there. Let's see if we can find something to disprove this place. If we can do that, maybe it will disrupt something."

Andae nodded. "Assuming indeed that this isn't Starfleet. Everything seems so convincing. But whatever is controlling this place seems to have the ability to create illusions, including ones of terror." Jamison indicated they should step back into HQ. Andae agreed reluctantly, muttering under his breath.

They entered the comparative darkness of the corridor, heading back towards the promenade. "One thing..." he stopped them, "I recommend we stay together, sir. We've lost Scott, and seeing as we have no comms I'd prefer we didn't lose another." He resumed the walk, leading the way. "Let's take a closer look at some of those guests. If we can study one closely we might even be able to - "

Andae screamed once, but was oblivious to the fact that he was being dragged to the side of the corridor. The others had no time to react as Andae was pulled through the wall that'd suddenly become porous. He vanished from sight, into the netherworld of spaces between these walls, leaving the two bewildered officers alone in the corridor.

<Tag Jamison, Marionette & All>

Hundreds of metres away, he emerged in darkness. Things went cluttering about as he tried to move around. This was a confined space, not much taller than himself with minimal room to manoeuvre on either side. He tried to step forward but came into contact forehead first, with something metallic. A dull clanging resonated around his box of blackness. This was... a cupboard?

There was a metallic thudding from the nearby weapons locker. Someone was knocking on the doors, from inside.

[Carl Torek]

Carl and the Security Officer, Young, moved slowly around the lower floor, Young glanced up at the balcony surrounding the dance floor, chess board, making sure he could locate Commander Jamison and Commander Blakus quickly. Torek looked at the 'guests' each seemingly in a world of their own, moving around as if in a daze at times and making little or no conversation.

"Do you play ?" Torek and the Lieutenant turned at the sound of someone speaking close by, "Chess ... Do you play chess ?"

Carl looked at the woman. She was holding tree champagne flutes, handing one to Torek then Young as the Security Officer looked her up and down, inching his free hand down towards his phaser. She was tall, almost two meters Carl guessed. She was wearing the sheerest red ballgown, thin straps over her shoulders, the garment clinging to her form like a translucent second skin. It left nothing to the imagination. Torek looked at the players, trying to decide on how to react:

"I've played, though admittedly not on this scale. It must be difficult."

"No ...." the woman said, watching him closely, "The players sit high on those stools, directing their pieces. You could challenge the winner ?" she said, still keeping eye contact.

"Maybe later." Carl said, sipping his champagne, "Do you have any idea where I might find our host, I'm eager to meet him. It isn't often I get invited to such elaborate functions."

"Oh I'm sure they will be around at some point." the woman said vaguely, "Now, I'm going to put your name on the list as next challenger, you never know, you may even win ?" she said, seemingly floating away into the throng around the board. Carl handed the glass to Young and began to make his way after the woman, but it was almost impossible to get through the spectators, and when he did, she was nowhere to be seen ... He returned to the Lieutenant. Taking his glass he took a sip, surreptitiously checking the balcony where Jamison and Blakus had been stood, but the space was now occupied by a little girl in a pale blue dress, a frilly underskirt, and a white pinafore. She was stood with a large white rabbit !

"We need to find the others." Carl said urgently.

The pair moved around the room, but the other members of his crew were nowhere to be seen. He knew Calli and Aeryn had gone into one of the anterooms off the ballroom, but he was concerned that Jamison and Blakus were missing. He moved close to the Security Chief, who had been watching the doors they had entered by:

"Commander. Anything ?"

"No Sir ... That door hasn't opened, and I'm a little worried that we're getting separated. I lost sight of Commander Valenti and the Major, now I can't locate Commander's Jamison or Blakus, Lieutenant Marionette is with them I assume." Peers said, eyeing a gentleman in a pin-striped suit and bowler hat, carrying an umbrella, "That man has been circulating the room since we arrived. He hasn't spoken to anyone, nor been approached, but at every circuit he glances at the door as if 'expecting' someone to come through any moment. To be honest Admiral this is all a little disconcerting. This room reminds me of the main function room, at Stat Fleet Command, apart from the balcony of course, and who the hell are all these people !"

"There's a woman here. Red dress ..." Carl began.

"Yes, she passed me a few moments ago." Peers confirmed, glancing around, "She went thro ....." he stopped speaking and pushed Torek to one side, both Security Officers fired at the suited man simultaneously as the tip of the umbrella passed Carl's face with millimeters to spare. The man vanished from sight in an incandescent flare of ruptured cells ... The room fell silent for several seconds, everyone eyeing the altercation, but then normality resumed as if nothing had happened.

Lieutenant Young helped Carl to his feet:

"Sorry about that Sir." he said apologetically.

"Forget it Mister Young." Torek replied, looking at the space recently vacated by the suited man ..........

[Calli Valente]

The group quickly decided to move in one direction through the 'rooms' ...

Unbeknownst to them, each room was moving on two plains every other minute, so while they were only one room from the outer wall in one moment, they suddenly found themselves eight rooms away. Call had been watching the lights as they moved, and after six rooms she stopped. The others had almost left her behind before the Marine Major noticed she was lagging behind them:

"Problem Commander ?" Aeryn asked, eyeing the doorway Calli was watching.

"Watch the light."

The group watched the illuminated strip change, from green, to blue, to red, then green once more, repeating the cycle every six minutes. After another six minutes Lieutenant Yang threw up her hands in frustration. Calli grinned, maybe it was her obsessive nature, or the fact she had worked in 'unusual' circumstances on more than one occasion, but she could 'see' it, where the others obviously didn't ... Patiently, she asked Aeryn to count off the seconds as the bars turned from red to green. They stood in silence as the Marine counted:

"One hundred twenty seconds, give or take." Aeryn said.

"OK ... Now, count them again as they come around ... Humor me, OK ... Major." Calli said, a wry grin forming.

"One twenty sec ...... No wait, that one took another second or two !" Aeryn pointed to the doorway to their left.

"Yes ! ... I have an eidetic memory, I had been going through the last few rooms in my head, and only just noticed the inconsistency. We were dead set on moving forward at every green, that no-one, including me, I thought, noticed the blindingly obvious. One of the doors remains green for a second after the other three have changed to the next sequence color. I think that is our way out of this maze .... Can we loose anything by trying ?" she asked, as the others looked skeptical.

"So just 'how' do we move through the correct door with only a second to decide ?" Yang asked.

Calli moved a few steps back, until she could see the door ahead, and the ones to her left and right in her near peripheral vision. She asked Yang to face her and the other two to face a door on either side of her. She waited patiently as the doors cycled through their colors, and then pointed to her left as that green remained illuminated longest. She did this three times, once on the same door, twice using two of the other options.

"OK, we go on green." Calli said. I'll tap the person nearest the object door and they will step through immediately, the rest of us will follow in quick succession."

"I don't suppose the longer green could be a blind, you know, we notice it, and fall into some bottomless pit for our cockiness ?" Lieutenant Yang asked.

"Well, if it's your door, you can step through, and if you start falling give us a shout and we'll hang back." Calli said, trying to keep a straight face as the others laughed nervously, "OK, let's be ready ....."

They got into position and waited. The green access illuminated and Calli concentrated on the bars. As she counted off the one hundred and twenty seconds, she readied herself to move. The frame to her right remained on for that one precious second, she tapped Tavik who stepped into the doorway without hesitation. The others followed in quick succession .....

ooooo

The music was loud, the lighting bright. It took them a few seconds to orientate themselves.

"That's a waltz. Mozart I think." Yang said as they watched people dancing around the massive live chess game that seemed to be the same one as when they left, "Here's a thought, let's not go running into any more dark rooms for the time being ?"

Calli wasn't listening, she was scanning the room for other members of the Raven crew ... Without success ..........

[Andae Blakus]

Andae decided not to waste time in breaking out of his confines. With the limited room available to him, he stepped back and rammed his knee into the hairline crack of the doors in front of him. There was a metallic clang and the doors flew aside, the figure of Blakus hopping out of the darkness grasping his knee in pain.

Two guests nearby the locker he'd exited scuttled quickly away on sight of him, past two murals of Federation starships and towards a viewing port that looked over San Francisco bay. Night had fallen now, 24th century Earth's lights inducing a glitter across the sprawling coastal conurbation. It was as real as real could be. He looked back at the cupboard realising that it was a weapons locker that was - somewhat menacingly, he knew not why - stocked full with phaser rifles.

The temptation to take one was alarming; the impulse sudden, overwhelming. The red glow of the power cell, the sheen of the metallic surface, the trigger, it ringed with a devastating energy. His hand twitched, an impulse rising within to take one of them. But he shrugged; why shouldn't he take one anyway? This was a dangerous environment. He'd become cut off from Jamison and Marionette and he needed to defend himself.

Prudence was the best course of action. Starfleet's mission was one of peace. He never let himself forget that - true to his moral fibre - even in his most testing moments, even when he'd arguably gone against the regulations and principles of the Federation. He ignored the weapons locker, turning purposefully on his heel and striding after the two meandering guests.

They were dressed as fancifully as the other visitors of Starbase HQ. One was dressed as an Egyptian goddess, the other as an Ancient East sage. They engaged lackadaisically in conversation, staring periodically out the window. The goddess erupted in laughter at some joke made by the sage, both pointing out something on night's far horizon.

Andae caught up to them, his earlier thoughts of the violence of the phaser rifle quashed... He stopped before the sage. Stunned momentarily as he gazed into the man's eyes. The man's aged face stared into his own, betraying not a hint of recognition.

"Gyrret? Commander Gyrret?" Andae said, almost feeling himself stumbling backwards such was his shock. This was Commander Tim Gyrret, first officer of the USS Sagan - at least judging by his appearance.

The man laughed, shaking his head; he shuffled about within his robes. He withdrew a scrap of real paper, forcing it into Andae's unwittingly outstretched hand. Andae who regarded the sage with a strange eye looked down at the proffered paper. It read:

"He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger."
Confucius

The guests remained standing there, bursting out in laughter again, before shuffling past Andae down the corridor. He watched them go, a frown besetting his features until they passed out of sight. They were following signs for what he recognised as the reception area where the giant chess set was situated. Bewildered, the Raven's CEO stowed the scrap of paper in his uniform trouser pocket and took off down another corridor. He tried comms again but predictably they remained down.

He knew his way around, however. He need only make his way back to near the location where he'd inexplicably lost Jamison and Marionette. Perhaps he would encounter some of the others en route. It would give him the opportunity to report his apparent sighting - in the bizarre role of the far-eastern philosopher Confucius - of the USS Sagan's first officer.

<Tag All>

[Marionette]

(Ketchup!)

"Car ... Park ?" Marionette repeated, puzzled for a moment until she accessed the term. "Aha, An area or building reserved for parking cars when not in use. Also called Parking lots in american parlance. Car parks went into decline - " suddenly the shuttle was slammed sideways with enough violence that it threw everyone apart from Marionette and Blakus off their feet. The Android reacted faster than the Pipers' controls could react, but the shuttle finally complied with her inputs and came to a hover less than twenty meters off the ground.

"What happened Lieutenant ?"

Her synapses were firing off so fast that they would appear to be steadily on, with no blinking. Sensors showed nothing physical, nothing that might indicate a cloaked object. As far as she could determine, there was nothing to impact on. "I have no explanation, Admiral." Marionette admitted.

With Torek's go-ahead, Marionette continued her previous spiral-course, now shifted 90-degrees. Landing in the car park. Marionette was absolutely not concerned with the fog; she did not need to breathe to begin with, and she was virtually immortal in almost every sense of the word.

scuff scuff scuff clop clop clop She looked down irksomely at the change in terrain, before the sudden change in surroundings.

"Then it looks like we have little choice." Torek said. Placing his hands on the two large handles, he pushed the doors open, and the group stepped into Star Fleet Command Headquarters, San Francisco .... Earth ! The scene before Marionette was nothing short of a whacked-out dream; Music, dancing, flamboyant costumes of every kind, and from every nation and era of history.

She waved a hand in front of the faces of the american indian drummers (of whom none of were actually native american, it seemed) beating their primal rhythm and singing in a lakota dialect, the rest of them dancing around an extremely obese individual leaning on a tall fence. They were all dressed in leathers and feathers, and were armed with bows and arrows, with afew various rifles of the era; mostly 4th-hand muskets that were in need of serious repair. She saw no accompanying firearm accoutrements (black powder flasks, ammunition pouches, string fuses, ect), and so concluded that they were from the era of mid to late american colonialism, around 1650 to 1700, but not much later than that.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6MOdjeeXZ8

Like the rest of the party-goers, the pow-wow group had not the slightest response to Marionette. Commander Blakus then turned to her. "Marionette, see if you can find a way to get a lock on the Piper, and attempt to contact the Raven." Stepping away from the strange pow-wow, she took and opened her tricorder, and began trying to tune in a signal that would pick up either the Piper or the Raven....

o-o-o

"I recommend that we search for Lieutenant Scott," Marionette interjected, still poking at her tricorder, to no avail. "He has exceeded his 15 minutes report time by 2.4 minutes." Concluding that the three of them would walk the corridors, she folded up her tricorder and stuck it in the pouch on her belt. Going To and fro, up and down stairs, and finally prying open a duranium door, Marionette looked to see a very faithful recreation of the lawns and gardens of Starfleet headquarters.... Almost.

During her tenure at Starfleet academy, the red cedar trees that should have been lining the main walkway were, back on the real earth, spaced about 2 or 3 meters apart, and were staggered. Boothby liked it that way, something about 'magical geometries'.... Here, the trees were northern white cedar, and were spaced to within 3 inches of exactly 3 meters apart, and were paired instead of staggered.

The rose bushes were replaced with clusters of holly bushes flanked by ficus mini-trees, the blue alcoran tulips in the central rotunda garden were replaced with texas bluebonnets, and the patches of foresty areas (where Boothby allowed his 2 apprentices, Greg Halley and Don Schumacher, mess around with their little projects to try to win his blessing as to who would become groundskeeper) was largely gone, replaced with otherwise blank lawn space.

Glancing upward, Marionette took notice of the stars; only the major constellations were correct. Secondary constellations, planets, and major Messier objects were either in the wrong place, on the wrong orbital trajectories, or were omitted entirely. And then the tidal wave reared up, like some wall-like water dragon. "Commander, Lieutenant! Inside now!" Commander Jamison grabbed her hand and they both sprinted back to the door they (she) had pried open.

"Okay. So this is suppose to be Starfleet. We've all been there. Let's see if we can find something to disprove this place. If we can do that, maybe it will disrupt something."

"I believe i have sufficient evidence to disprove that we are on Earth. The details are all wrong; plant species, plant spacing, and -" Marionette spoke, but was interrupted by Blakus's haggard scream as the wall seemed to slurp him up. All she (and jamison) could do, was look at each other. "Interesting." she said flatly, with a touch of almost-grim-ness.

[T'Brel Peers]

Vulcans even half-Vulcans believed in the power of logic. The universe followed certain laws that couldn't be changed. T'Brel understood that these laws could be manipulated and that certain entities held god like powers. Other than his one encounter with a member of the Q continuum, T'Brel had never met an alien that could have done this. As he surveyed the room, he knew immediately believed that the away team had been placed in an elaborate holodeck simulation, yet T'Brel somehow knew this wasn't the case. In front of him was Starfleet Headquarters littered with people from various cultures and time periods. If the site hadn't bewildered his senses, T'Brel would say this was one amazing costume party. A women dressed in temple vestiges fell near him and T'Brel felt inclined to try and help, but was pulled back by Admiral Torek. T'Brel's movement went unnoticed by the women as she continued to party along with everyone else.

"Admiral, I know where we are, but I want to make sure we are both seeing the same thing?" T'Brel said towards his commanding officer.

(Carl)

"Sir, what are your orders?" T'Brel asked awaiting instructions

(Tag All)

[Carl Torek]

"Admiral, I know where we are, but I want to make sure we are both seeing the same thing?" T'Brel said towards his commanding officer.

Carl straightened his tunic as Lieutenant Young and Commander Peers covered their Commanding Officer. He looked around, watching the 'guests' noting none of them seemed to be affected by what had just happened. Everyone continued in their individual pursuits.

"Sir, what are your orders ?"

"Our main priority is to find the rest of the Away Team, then reestablish contact with the Raven. Lieutenant, I want you to work on getting hold of the ship, with luck there will be some way they can get us out of here." he made a quick three sixty of the room before turning to his Security Chief, "OK .... T'Brel, we need to find the others. I have a feeling that won't be the first attempt on one of us. My worry is, why try to kill me rather than integrate all of us into this charade ..."

"Admiral, I'd like permission to check some of the anterooms, there may be communication equipment in one of them." Young said.

"We shouldn't separate Admiral." Peers interjected.

"I agree ... Try to find another way Mister Young, but under no circumstances leave the ballroom."

"Aye Sir."

Carl nodded toward the chess game and began to move. An understandably nervous Security chief in tow. He had drawn his phaser but made sure to keep it at his side as the two moved through the throng. He couldn't understand way no-one seemed to be taking any notice of them after the assassination attempt. Where they individually controlled, or was it a group consciousness, he simply didn't know ... Suddenly, he spotted the woman ! ... She was stood behind the white Queen, chatting to someone. Carl tapped T'Brel and nodded across the board. Peers acknowledged the Admiral and moved off to the right. Carl moved left and the two moved up the board. Once at the white end, they moved toward the King and Queen, trying to keep as many spectators between them and the woman as they closed the gap. Three meters, then two, then one. Carl was about to reach out when the woman turned to face him:

"Ahhh, decided to play after all." she said, a warm smile on her lips, "There is no need for that weapon Commander Peers." she said, still keeping eye contact with Torek.

T'Brel looked down at the phaser. It was millimeters from the small of the woman's back, but hadn't at anytime touched her, so how in hell did she know ... Carl smiled, making sure the woman concentrated on him. He stepped up to the Queen, who turned and smiled one of those 'vacant' smiles someone heavily sedated may give, she was about to step aside but Carl told her to continue the game.

"Pawn to D4." the man playing white instructed.

He watched the young woman move accordingly. The woman in red inched closer to him, as if sharing a confidentiality.

"Knight to C6." the black player countered.

"This shouldn't take too long. I don't think either of our players are very knowledgeable about the noble game of chess. It's centuries old you know. First thought to have been played in India, on Earth in the sixth century. Such an old game, but loved, don't you think ?"

"Pawn to F4." white played.

"Are you responsible for all this ?" Torek asked.

"Pawn to F5."

T'Brel whispered into Carl's ear and he looked at the board once more. There, in the middle of the game was Yvonne Epps. Carl tried to wave, to get her attention, but it was useless.

"Pawn to A3."

"Admiral, you seem to be a little distracted, do you see someone you know on the board ?"

"Knight to B4."

The black pieces player instructed, sitting patiently as the piece moved to his designated square. Both players checked the board for a few seconds.

"I think, that I shall play you in the next game Admiral." the woman in red was saying, "It would be a good match don't you think, especially if some of your friends were to play too ... Don't you think ?"

Queen takes B4." the white ordered.

The woman stopped speaking as the white Queen advanced across the board to her designated square. Unfortunately, that square was occupied by Yvonne Epps. The Queen moved slowly, as if in a daze, and as she reached the square occupied by Epps, the Lieutenant seemed to spontaneously combust. The Lieutenant had vanished from existence before the Queen placed her foot in the square !

"Don't go too far, Admiral. I would hate for you to miss the start of the game." the woman in red said, "Oh, I'll leave the choice of color to you, as our guest."

Carl and T'brel watched the woman walk away.

"Find our people. We need to get the hell out of here NOW !" Carl said ..........

[T'Brel Peers]

The callous nature of this chess game left T'Brel visibly shaken. Yvonne had just combusted in front of their eyes and unless things had changed since 6th century India, it meant that she was no longer playing this twisted little game. As T'Brel saw her walk away, his first instinct was to fire his phaser directly at her and end her miserable life.

The Admiral order to find the rest of the away team was easier said than done. T'Brel tried to focus on the job at hand, but it was difficult when every few turns another person stopped existing only to be replaced by an opposing person stuck in a daze. T'Brel quickened his pace, but once he did this the people in attendance finally began to pay attention to him.

"Ooh look at those spots, they are so cool," a women in her early twenties said," where did you get those tattoos. I've always wanted some, I'll get some after this party." T'Brel looked at her and pushed her away, which in hindsight was not that smart because it made her more persistent. "Come on, lets party, we can have a lot of fun tonight."

"No thanks, I have to find my friends," T'Brel said for the first time noticing that he could no longer see the Admiral. He could see the women, directing his chess pieces from a shrine overlooking the chess floor.

"Commander, you should party. Let your Vulcan side have some fun once in while," the women said with a distant smile," I'm sure your friends will be fine. Plus I think I need a new bishop."

T'Brel didn't reply, just continued to try and find the others. He hoped it would happen sooner rather than later.

[Andae Blakus]

Andae had soon tired himself out, growing frustrated with the homogeneity of the network of corridors. He took off right and left at random, until he was sure he'd doubled back on himself at least once. He stopped. He'd encountered nothing and no one, the silent corridors devoid of party-goers. The lifelessness of this place seemed to press in on him, even in the absence of the soulless guests who exhibited it in abundance.

He started to run again, heading towards where he believed the ballroom to be despite his disorientation.

A curious sensation set in; it seemed the faster he ran, the slower he traversed the corridor. It pulsed in waves around him, eventually becoming motionless as he began sprinting. His sense of time had warped; he was moving at incredible speed, yet his eyes told him he was stationary.

There was an object fixed on the wall ahead, an open maintenance panel providing access to a power conduit. He never gained on it despite his infinite speed. Finally he acquiesced, coming to a halt, and was slammed backwards. The corridor blurred out around him.

Sound and sight coalesced to an infinitesimal point and he was dropped into darkness. A sense of dread grew upon him: behind him was a source of light. He turned slowly, and gasped, collapsing to the floor in amazement. The light source belonged to the power conduit, rising kilometres above him.

Far in the distance he espied a group of people, spindly figures silhouetted against the conduit. They wavered in the heat haze. He picked himself up and ran, his feet slapping the sable surface with an eerie monotony. He was relieved to find that the laws of motion chose to obey Newtonian physics this time. He reached the figures: more party-goers, milling about the place of blackness illuminated only by hellfire. Walking amongst them, he saw only faces empty of expression gazing at him for an instant with vacuum in their eyes. There were about a dozen of them, dressed fancifully in ancient clothing of about the same timeframe. In the midst of the party was a table laden with platters of sandwiches, and china teacups adorned with blue flowers. It seemed he'd walked into a Victorian garden party - an atmosphere of charm in the long shadow of the power conduit.

He tried talking to the partiers, finding them incommunicative or else only able to spout irreverent or out-of-context nonsense. He recognised none of them, thinking that if he'd seen Gyrret in the guise of one of these oddballs then he might find other members of the Sagan's crew. Is this what'd become of them? Binded into a soulless party of cultural eccentrics?

A shadow passed amongst the Victorians, a tall figure, seeming to glide back and forth. Andae's sight of it was obscured as it moved between the partiers. Then suddenly he was before her.

It was Marionette. She cocked her head, "Commander, are you alright?"

He was lying on the floor, coiled up like an embryo. He saw two pairs of legs, and beyond the duranium door that'd protected them from the sudden storm which never came. He squinted against the light. "What happened?"

"You lost your balance, hit the wall and collapsed to the floor. Are you alright?" they repeated.

"I think so... I must say I'm slightly surprised to be here."

"Commander?"

"How long has it been?" he muttered, standing and dusting himself down. He was thoroughly bemused. Had he imagined, or dreamt all of that? Had he really seen Commander Gyrret, in the clothing of the famous Confucius, or might it have been a manifestation of his unconscious.

<Tag Jamison, Marionette>

[Calli Valente]

"Major, Lieutenant Yang, move around the room in that direction, I'll come around the other way, we'll meet around the other side of the room." Calli ordered.

The two Marines moved away cautiously, scanning left and right hoping to spot one of their team. Calli watched them for a moment then set off in the opposite direction. She moved around the chess game trying to look at the faces of everyone in turn, then she spotted Commander T'Brel moving away from the board. She looked in the direction he'd come from and saw the Admiral. with relief, she approached him but slowed to a stop as she noticed the woman speaking to him.

There was a sudden flash of light somewhere on the board, but she couldn't see where from through the spectators and dancers. The woman seemed amused, Torek less so as he watched the woman walk away ... Calli moved closer to her Commanding Officer:

"Who was your friend ?" she asked, eyeing the full length dress the woman was wearing as it seemed to glide across the floor ... Carl brought her up to speed on their situation, and what had happened to Lieutenant Epps. Calli was saddened to hear of their loss as she turned to look again at the woman, but she had disappeared from view, "You can't allow that woman to goad you into playing Admiral."

"I've no intentions of playing Commander. We're getting out of here as soon as possible !"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave, just yet ... Admiral." They turned to see who was speaking, and came face to face with the woman, who was suddenly standing close behind them, "You see, I went to a lot of trouble to set up the 'entertainment' for everyone. It would be nothing short of 'impolite' to leave before we've had a chance to get to know each other better !"

The room seemed to be darkening in their peripheral vision. The balcony, once brightly lit with colored lighting and bunting, was now almost invisible in the growing gloom that seemed to be descending. The music, one moment loud, bright, and entertaining, suddenly seemed more threatening in nature, dark, menacing. The other 'guests' dropped their talking to a whisper, then fell completely silent as they slowed their dancing, and turned towards the conversation taking place.

"You're vessel is large, Admiral. I sense almost eleven hundred people, and, children !" the woman said, seemingly excited by the prospect, "Oh I do love children, they enjoy games 'SO' much."

"Where are the other members of my team ?" Carl demanded, stepping close to the woman, who didn't back away one millimeter.

"They are all here, in this, room, Admiral. You only have to open your eyes to see." the woman said, her smile beginning to irritate Calli immensely, "But let's get back to your lovely vessel shall we."

"Leave my ship out of this for a moment. Who are you ?" Torek asked politely, suddenly realizing he should not intimidate this woman.

"Hmm, well ..... I think you can call me, Eris ..... yes, Eris, I like that." she replied, almost pleased with herself on her selection of name, but something caught Calli's attention, something from her schooldays maybe. She tried to recall where she had heard the name before, and almost cheered as she finally got it. She stepped forward, looking the woman up and down:

"Not very imaginative." she said simply.

"I beg your pardon ?" Eris said, looking suddenly confused and tentative at the confrontation.

"You're name. Not very imaginative. Makes me wonder who's mind you plucked that from." Calli continued.

"Commander ?" Torek asked, looking at Calli.

"Admiral, I am not sure why this young lady is so upset at the menti ....." the woman began, but Calli interrupted her:

"Eris ... So you could be referring to the dwarf planet 136199 Eris, or, more likely, given our current situation, you've picked the name because she was the mythological Greek Goddess of discord and chaos ..... Well ?"

"I fail to see why my name should cause so much annoyance Admiral. I have no knowledge of this 'dwarf planet' nor have I heard of your Greek Goddesses. I think your Officer is mistake in her accusations."

"I don't remember accusing you of anything." Valenti said, trying now to provoke a reaction from the woman in red, "If I was provoking you I'd be doing a better job. I was just curious as to how a name used to denote a planetary object in the Sol System, and a Mythical Goddess from the same System comes to light so far away from it's origins." she finished, smiling like an inquisitive student.

The woman looked at Calli for a long moment, as if weighing up what action to take regarding her interruptions. But then she turned to Torek once again, seemingly dismissing Valenti from their conversation. Calli took the chance to look around in the slowly diminishing light. The balcony had vanished, as had most of the chess board. She could see only fifteen or twenty guest's now, and not one of them was from the Raven. Twice she thought she spotted a uniform, but it was always in the corner of her eye, and had vanished once she turned in that direction. She had the distinct feeling that 'Eris' was preventing her from seeing something, something vital. She knew, if she could take the woman's word, that the rest of the away team were in this room with them. All they needed to do was to move closer.

She turned back to the conversation in time to see the woman place her hand on Carl's shoulder. She watched in shock as the Admiral's eyes glazed over, adopting a 'vacant' look as if trying to see something far in the distance. But before she could react, the room returned to normality ... Music, dancing, conversation. The woman was nowhere to be seen, nor was Admiral Torek ! ... Calli looked around, quickly scanning the faces of the guest's.

"Player's please take your places. The game is about to begin."

The announcement caught her attention, and she turned to face the board. Her blood ran cold as she looked at the players ... There, directly across from her were the black pieces, and in the place reserved for the black King ...

Was Carl ! ..........

[Alex Watson]

Alex lay on the beach, sipping his pina-colada thoughtfully. Q had conjured the drink for him and lay next to him on the sand, also staring out into the pre-Cambrian sea.

“It’s rather beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked Alex.

“Beautiful. Awe inspiring. Slightly terrifying,” Alex admitted. “You dream your whole life about seeing something, about being somewhere, and then when you’re there all you can do is…nothing.”

“I thought you’d enjoy it.” Q laughed warmly. “Has your curiosity been sated, or would you rather stay a while longer?”

Alex had spent a week on the planet exploring and observing. In essence it was a pointless activity – there were no life forms to survey, and the rocks and sand and water were all consistent with that of Earth. Alex, however, felt inspired, humbled even, by the thought that he had the entire planet to himself. He was living the Starfleet dream – to boldly go where no man has gone before, and where no man would go after. For all the advances in warp technology, Alex knew that intergalactic travel was a pipe-dream. The distances involved were simply too large. But not for beings like Q.

“I…I’m not sure. I must admit I rather like it here. It’s peaceful – I mean, so it should be – but it’s something else. I feel…alive. Really alive, for the first time, I think. All the time I was with other people, I had so much else to worry about that I never really stopped to think about what being alive meant. This has helped me to see that a little more clearly.”

Q smiled. “I you’d rather spend the rest of your days drinking cocktails on an uninhabited planet in a remote galaxy, Alexander, be my guest. But I know you better than that. You wouldn’t last. You’re a man of action – it’s one of the things I like about you. Liked right from the start. So resourceful, so dedicated. You could never live here without any adventure or another living thing.”

“Yes. You’re right, I suppose. Besides, I couldn’t abandon the crew, the Raven. I owe them more than that. I’ll miss this place, though. I think it’s the first place in my life that I’ve ever felt truly at peace – with myself, with the universe…”

“Yes, yes, it’s lovely,” said Q, starting to seem a little bored. “Your crewmates are in the middle of a rather sticky situation – not this time of my own design I must admit. You’re in for rather a treat.”

“I can hardly wait.”

“Oh believe me, this is quite spectacular. The daring and sophistication boggles the mind – as does the purpose behind it. The scale as well…” Q sounded almost awed. “I find it…impressive.” Alex had a feeling that this could mean nothing good.

“Now, I could just drop you back with your shipmates, but that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?” Alex’s face fell.

“For once, Q, could we stop the endless games? I’ve done everything you’ve wanted. I’ve jumped through every hoop in my path. I’ve sacrificed my life, even though through no fault of my own I survived. I’ve played every game you’ve come up with right through to the end from the very beginning. Could you just take me back without making it some kind of trick-play that needs to be worked out?” Alex sounded suddenly desperate, careworn, much more the man who had beamed down to the planet’s core and died than the relaxed, sunbathing man of a few minutes before. Q looked at him oddly.

“Are my games really so terrible, Alex? After all, they gave you scientific knowledge beyond the hope of any normal human. They gave you insight and a first-hand view into ages and times long past. They gave you this rather lovely sword, a fascinating artefact of a race long extinguished and a remnant of a scientific age long since passed. Are my games so dull that you could not bear to take part in one more, even for the reward at stake?” Alex sighed deeply.

“I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“No, you’re not, Alexander, but it’s through no ill will, I assure you. Think of it as the last move in a game of chess. Not the whole “checkmate” and “I won” side of things, but the part where both participants stand up, shake each other’s hands and say “well done, excellently played.” Think of it like that…if it helps.”

“Will it?”

“Probably not at the moment, but you’ll understand the analogy soon enough. Goodbye, Alexander, and enjoy.”

He laughed and transformed back into the hideous horse-dragon-bird-bat-goat creature that he had appeared as when he first arrived.

“You know, I like to think of myself, at least in this form, as Discord. But, alas, I am only male – and hell hath no fury like the wrath of a woman scorned.”

“You’re still talking in riddles,” said Alex with a raised eyebrow and half a smile.

“Always,” said Q, and vanished.

------
It was like being sucked through a giant hosepipe – black, white, nothing made sense – there was no time, no space, no matter, no consciousness. And then light – a blaze of sound and colour and joy.
-------

Alex tried to move, but found that he was unable. He tried to speak, but found that he was unable. He was unable to move any of his muscles, but he was standing up. Tentatively, he tried to open his eyes and found that he could. What he saw made Q’s last words about chess make instant sense.

There was a gigantic chessboard, with humans playing the role of the pieces. He scanned his own side quickly, realising that he was in the position of the White King. He looked over to the other side, and with a sense of relief that quickly turned to horror, saw his Commanding Officer, Carl Torek, in the opposite place – the Black King. Alex’s mind spun wildly. What on Earth was going on? What was this place, and why was he taking the place of a chess piece? Part of his question, at least, was answered when the next words rang around the room.

“It is considered very rude to refuse to play, Commander Valenti – so now you must choose. We seem to have here two people that you care about. Refuse to play and they both die. Play – well, only one of them will, and it’ll be up to how good you are to decide which.”

A maniacal laugh rang around the room as Alex saw Calli look across the board, first at Carl, then at himself, and he watched in horror as her jaw dropped and fear clouded her face.

<Tag Calli and anyone else around that area>

[Marionette]

She cocked her head to the side, a look of slight confusion on her face. "Commander, are you alright?"

He was lying on the floor, coiled up in the fetal position. "What happened ?" he asked. "You lost your balance, hit the wall and collapsed to the floor. Are you alright?" Jamison repeated.

"I think so.... I must say I'm slightly surprised to be here."

"Commander?"

"How long has it been?" he muttered, standing and dusting himself down. Marionette spat out the time "It has been 4 minutes and 23 seconds since we witnessed your.... Encounter, with the wall." She said flatly, not sure if they really did see him get sucked into the wall, or if he merely collided with it and fell down.

The three of them followed the small gaggle of party guests back to the main room, where the chess-game was about to commence - Where Admiral Torek was put to face off against Alex Watson. Marionette's eyebrows waggled, before her usually neutral face had a touch of a scowl to it.

Unseen, her positronic net went into overdrive thinking of solutions.

One idea that seemed reasonable was for her to join the game as a knight-piece. Then again, it was unwise to involve more people than necessary, in spite of the fact that everyone on the chessboard was a starfleet officer....

[Calli Valente]

"Please take your places, the game is about to begin."

Calli started at her Commanding Officer. One moment he was stood beside her, the next ...

She began to step onto the board, her intention, to drag the Admiral away from the game. They had already lost one member of the crew, and she had no intentions of standing by watching Carl vanish from existence. She had only taken the first step when a hand fell onto her shoulder:

"Madam, you should take your place, the game is about to begin, and white has the honor." Calli turned to see an elderly gentleman, dressed in what she assumed was an eighteenth century morning suit, sharp pinstripes, and highly polished shoes. He was motioning towards a high chair set back from the board at her end. She could see a woman climbing onto the opposite seat before eyeing the board.

"I have no intention of playing your gam ....." she began, but stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening, pure shock on her face. For there, stood quietly contemplating his surroundings, was Commander Watson !

"Commander ... 'ALEX' ...!" she almost yelled, realizing the Raven's Exec was more confused then she was. He obviously had no clue as to the conditions the game would be played under, so now her task was doubly difficult. She looked around, hoping to find the Security Chief, or Major Tavik, but neither could be seen. She pulled herself away from the suited gent and stepped onto the board, but this time the hand was firmer, more insistent ...

"Madam, please, you should take your seat and announce your first move."

Calli turned to face the old man. She had no desire to physically move him, but this was getting out of hand. She reached up and moved his hand, applying pressure to the thumb and middle finger. The resulting pain made the man wince:

"It is considered very rude to refuse to play, Commander Valenti, so now you must choose." Eris said, appearing from nowhere, "We seem to have two people that you care about. Refuse to play and they both die. Play well, only one of them will, and it will be up to how good you are to decide which." she finished, that sickly smile appearing once again.

Calli looked at her two friends again, and while Carl seemed to be in the same semi-conscious state as the other guests, Alex seemed to be aware of his location, and had assessed the situation quickly, either choosing, or being compelled, to remain in place, she couldn't tell, but she had to think quickly ... She turned to the woman and looked her up and down before replying:

"Just out of curiosity .... What are you getting out of this farce ?"

"Madam, I must insist you take your seat, or forfeit the game." the referee interrupted, holding his injured hand tentatively.

"What happens if I manage to force a stalemate ?" Calli asked quickly.

"Then your friends will both obviously survive the game, and we shall speak further." Eris said, nodding to the referee before taking a champagne flute from a passing steward and walking away ..........

[Andae Blakus]

The trio found their way back to the main reception hall. Andae leant on the railing besides Jamison and Marionette who stood watching the proceedings below. Andae's mind was elsewhere, obsessed with the thought he may have actually experienced something in that time which Marionette has described as only four minutes, but to him had felt like at least an hour.

In any case, if it'd been some wild dream then it was possible something in this place had induced it. The team had definitely established that this wasn't Starfleet HQ... There had to be some intelligence here that'd constructed this illusion, something that'd gone out of its way to deceive them or provide them with comfortable, familiar surroundings.

The vivid image of the power conduit towering over the garden party and its playful atmosphere came back to him. How could such a place seem so real and turn out to be the work of the subconscious? It had felt like an artificial construct, an unfinished holoprogram, as if its creators hadn't the time to complete it before their unwitting subject entered his dream.

He glanced at Marionette, aware of her attention to the game just beginning below. "Lieutenant, can you see a possible result?" It was then that he noticed one of the players - sat in the high chair at the far end of the board - was Calli Valenti. Andae shared a nod with the others and they hurried down to the ground level.

"If she's been forced to play, it's possible there are higher stakes than simply losing the match..." he said as they descended the steps.

They cautiously circumnavigated the chess board, taking in the current position of the players. Black had moved two pawns, leaving what seemed to be their queen piece with a route out into the board, and had also moved a knight in response to Calli's opening thrust. They reached the white side but couldn't approach Calli's chair, it being surrounded by a throng of excited lifeless onlookers, shouting enthusiasms at Calli and at the wilting monarchs and freaks swaying slightly in their misery on the chess board.

"Lieutenant. Force a way through the crowd to Calli. If she has no choice but to play, direct her moves."

"I don't think they'll allow that, Andae," Jamison cut in.

Blakus smiled. "We'll see. I think we might have some room to manoeuvre here. We've been allowed to wander this place unhindered. There's no harm in testing the limit." He nodded at Marionette who started moving through the vacuous crowd to Calli's chair, using minimal force where necessary to assist her passage.

"I'll attempt to mingle with the guests." Andae said shortly and took off through the groups lining the chess board's perimeter, leaving Jamison standing by himself. The dangers of being separated had ceased to worry Andae. He'd already crashed into a wall, spent an hour in netherspace and still been returned to the others.

He took the proffered drink from the passing attendant and approached the nearest gaggle of historical relics. "What brings you here?" a woman dressed as a Persian queen asked him. Andae sipped at his drink, chuckling, thinking of the Raven and the Piper. The group paused for a second, frozen as if this was a simulation, and then broke into laughter simultaneously.

"And yourself?" Andae murmured, finding himself fiddling with his commbadge.

"The reception," one of them confirmed airily. "The Federation's entry into the supercluster's Confederacy is a quite notable event, considering the humanoids' recent conquest of their entire Local Group." The others nodded sagely, sipping at their drinks. Andae blinked. He smiled and raised his glass, knocking back the whole of its contents, his eyes watchful of the others above the glass's rim.

"You don't trust the Federation," the first woman declared, leaning into him.

Andae paused, choosing his words carefully. "I believe they have a few things to answer for. The USS Sagan's taskforce, for example, was rather vigorous in its eventual pacification of Triangulum." He smiled and lifted his glass to drink again, but of course it was empty.

The group laughed uproariously, some nodding, some shaking their heads, searching about their robes and dresses. Eventually, after much fuss and bother, they settled into some sort of pattern. A monochrome quilt of disillusioned faces and collective dejected body language. They glanced about, listless, unsure of Andae's words or their own. Was it because they hadn't received the expected response? Or was it because they didn't know what he was talking about... what anything was, why it mattered and why it even existed at all?

A cheer went up from the chess board. White had just taken the opponent's rook. Andae glimpsed through a throng of spectators the squat castle figure dissolving into nothingness. He found himself amused. At least, until he realised that he recognised at least half a dozen of the other pieces.

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[Carl Torek]

Carl was the Black King. He stood on the white square at the far side of the board watching Calli climb into the player seat. She looked sick, as if it was taking all her will power to take her place. He tried to drop the paddle denoting his piece, but his arm's or hands wouldn't react. Frustrated, he tried to step out of the square, with the same result.

"Pawn to B4." Calli said hesitantly, her eyes never leaving Carl's.

"Pawn to F6." her opponent said, receiving a small cheer of approval from the spectators.

"You can do this Calli." Carl whispered, trying yet again to move from his square.

The game progressed slowly, neither 'player' wishing to make any mistakes. Carl couldn't turn his head to see behind him, but he thought he recognized the voice of the owner. It was the Commanding Officer of the Emeritus ... So he came to the conclusion that she too had crew as pieces on the board. He watched Calli make a move and knew instantly that it was a mistake. The Emeritus' Captain almost laughed before ordering her next move:

"Knight takes C5."

Carl watched the Black Knight move across to the designated square, a square occupied by white's Knight. The player evaporated in a ball of fire to be replaced by the Black piece. Calli buried her head in her hands, knowing she had send someone to their death ! ... He looked up at Calli, sat dejected in her seat.

"CALLI ... Calli listen to me." he said, waiting while she looked in his direction, "You have to play this game out. There's no options here, if you don't play Eris will call the game off and we're both dead."

She looked over to where the woman in red was seated enjoying the game. Eris raised her glass in a toast, mouthing that she should listen to the Admiral's advice.

"Coaching is not permitted ... Madam, it is your move." the referee interrupted.

Calli turned back to the board. Pieces were spread evenly now, with fifty percent of the pawns taken, there were ample opportunities for the major pieces to make in-roads towards their goal. Neither Queen had been moved thus far, and Calli could see a small opening. She moved her Queen to square E4:

"Check." she said, her confidence rising momentarily.

Black countered with Knight to D7, blocking the check. Now her own pieces were in danger of getting trapped. Calli had to think hard, she wasn't used to the one dimensional game, having only played three dimensional chess, and that only rarely. Carl could see her hesitation and mouthed her next move, but he was seen by the referee, who stormed onto the board, finger pointing directly at Calli while his eyes locked onto Torek's:

"Infringement. Receiving assistance ... This is forbidden ... Penalty is incurred !"

Calli watched in horror as one of her Bishop's erupted in flames, before vanishing from the board.  

"My oh my." Eris said in Carl's ear, "You're hardly helping Admiral. You're little pet Commander was doing fine there, albeit unsteadily, but at least she was making the effort to save you. As for Alex over there, I think she has made her choice to save you and forfeit his life. Alas, that is going to be somewhat harder now she has sacrificed a piece ... Don't you think ?"

Carl tried with every fiber of his mind and body to turn and face the woman, but to no avail. he was paralyzed to the square and would need to see the game out helpless. He looked back up at Calli, who was trying to regain her composure, then someone caught his eye. There, below her raised seat, Marionette was inching forward.

"Don't openly speak to her." Carl mouthed, hoping beyond hope that the Android would see his instruction ..........

[Carl Torek]

Carl watched the android inch toward the leg of Calli's chair and start to scrutinize the game. She could see that Calli had the slight upper hand, but was open to attack.

"Queenside castle." his player stated. Carl moved to his right two squares, the Queen's Rook moved past him to stand on his left.

Calli saw the move and a frown formed on her face. She knew the term, but had never seen the move made on a one-dimensional board before. It took her a few moments to regroup her thoughts, then she moved her King's Rook to the H5 square.

There were only five pieces left on the board now, and Carl was becoming increasingly nervous. Not for himself, but for Calli and the crew. He knew full well they would react badly to either Commander Watson, or himself, being sacrificed in the game, and that worried him. He looked at the positions of the pieces still on the board, wondering if Calli had got it right.

"King to B8." his controller instructed. Calli immediately counter-moved, King to B5. He and Alex were now only meters apart, but neither dared speak.

"King to A8." Black decided.

Calli looked at the pieces ... She was struggling, hoping the Black player wouldn't discover her motives for moving her King forward. She took her time as both sides maneuvered their remaining pieces to entrap their opponent. She had moved her remaining Rook.

"Rook to H8 ... Check !" she said, resisting the urge to grin.

"Bishop to B8." her opposite said, blocking the check quickly, but Calli had been waiting for the move. She took a moment, scrutinizing the board before she spoke:

"King to B6." she said.

The room fell silent as Alex stepped forward onto the square, Carl couldn't break eye contact with Calli as she sat immobile, unable to look at Eris, or anyone else. If she had got it right she would know soon ... The referee walked onto the board and nodded:

"Black is unable to make a legal move without placing his King in Check ..... Therefore, in accordance with international regulations, I deem the game ..... STALEMATE !"

The room erupted in cheers as Calli jumped down from her chair and ran across the board. Alex and Carl nodded to each other, both relieved that neither would be sacrificed. Calli threw her arms around both of them for a second, then instantly regained her composure. Marionette stepped onto the board and began to make her way towards the trio, confusion on her face ... Carl looked round to see where the others were. Relief rose within him as he realized he could see everyone, but their triumph was to be short-lived ...

Eris was stood on the Black Queen's square, watching them. People began to move away, leaving them in a circle of dark, foreboding faces. Eris began to slow-clap, attracting the groups' attention:

"Very imaginative my dear." she said to Calli, who's skin seemed to crawl with every word, "But I fear your celebrations are a little, premature."

ooooo

Everyone had to cover their eyes as the burning sun slammed into their faces. After a moment, each of the away team became accustomed to the brightness and began to move their hands. They found themselves in a vast desert landscape, the temperature was almost unbearable. The mirage effect of the heat rising made everything in a three hundred and sixty degree arc shimmer, as if on fire ... Eris was stood before them, still clad in the same full length red gossamer dress ... She looked around, as if appreciating the scenery for the very first time, then nodding in approval. She walked up to Carl and took his hand, pulling him a few steps away from the group:

"How did I do ?" she asked, like a child awaiting parental acclaim of a musical recital.

"You want what, approval, because you are going to be disappointed !" Carl shot back, pulling his hand away.

T'Brel was moving forward, but not towards Torek. Aeryn and Will looked in the direction the Tactical Officer was peering. The others soon joined them.

"Admiral." Calli said, not looking away from the far distance she was trying to focus on.

Carl looked around at the sudden concern in her voice. He moved back to his team and looked in the same direction. After a moment, he could see what the others were watching. In the heat haze of the parched desert sand, three shimmering outlines could be seen ... Whatever they were they were coming towards the group, fast !

"Tick Tock Admiral. Let's see how you do with this scenario." Eris said, waving as she vanished from view ..........

[Alex Watson]

Alex looked around at the faces surrounding him. Most were in a state of shock – Alex suspected that only part of that was seeing him alive. He felt more than alive though…freed from the shackles of Eris, Alex was able to see that his muscle tone had improved enormously – he suspected that Q had something to do with that. Looking into the distance again, seeing the three shapes moving closer and closer, Alex turned to the others.

“Shall we save the group hug for when we’re back on the Raven?”

“Or never,” chuckled Andae.

“Suits me!” laughed Carl, the three of them turning to form the start of a combat circle. The others joined them, Aeryn, T’Brel and Calli joining with the group so that they were back to back, protecting each other.

Alex drew his long sword from his back-scabbard with a majestic “SHWINNNNG!” and held it in a two handed grip. The others glanced at him, momentarily speechless at the sight of the weapon they saw their friend wielding - at once graceful and powerful – beautiful yet deadly. The light of the desert bounced from its mirror-bright surface, giving the blade the appearance of almost being on fire.

“I’ll stick with my phaser if it’s alright with you, Alex!” shouted Andae. Alex laughed.

“Be my guest!”

The outlines slowly started to become clearer, with more defined form. Whatever they were, they were big, and they were getting bigger.

“Any thoughts?” Carl asked the group.

“None, but whatever they are, they’re huge,” replied Aeryn…

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[Calli Valente]

Calli watched their Exec swing the ornamental blade expertly. She was less than convinced that it was going to make one iota of difference when those things reached them. She looked around, instantly realizing there was nowhere to hide. Carl had moved forward and was watching the mirage closely:

"Admiral ?" she asked.

"I'm using the prosthetic eye." Torek said, rubbing his temples, "Damn thing still gives me a headache ... I'm using ten times magnification. Those things are over two kilometers away, but coming at us fast. They're big too. So I suggest we come up with a plan of action, quick !" he finished, re-setting the prosthetic to it's default setting.

"OK, so we have what, nine phasers and the Exec's erm, sword." Calli said, trying to think, "There has to be something we can do. I don't fancy having to go 'toe to toe' with those."

Everyone began to talk quickly, each coming up with idea's in quick succession, but the fact remained, they had nothing solid, and their 'guests' were approaching too fast for comfort. Crouching, she tried hard to come up with a viable solution. It was while she was close to the sand that she noticed something out of place. She stood and moved to her left, keeping the away team in sight. Puzzled, she walked in a full circle around the group. She looked at the Sun then turned her back to it. The Security Officer was stood watching her in silence for a moment, then spoke:

"Commander Valenti, something on your mind ?" Young asked.

"Look at my feet Lieutenant."

"Ma'am ?" the man said, confusion and worry crossing his face.

"The Sun is directly behind me, right ?"

"Yes Sir." he said, glancing at the others for a second.

"So where is my shadow ?"

"Ma'am ?" the man said, obviously convinced the Commander was succumbing to heat-stroke.

"Lieutenant. There's a massive ball of flaming gas hanging in the sky, we're all, with the obvious exception of Lieutenant Marionette, perspiring from the heat emanating from that ball of burning gas, right ?" she asked the man, continuing before he could say Ma'am yet again, "So, we're on a desert plain with nothing in sight, yet ... No shadows !" she said, raising her eyebrows as if waiting for a five year old to answer 'what color is grass' correctly.

Everyone who had been listening to this conversation began to look down at the feet of those around them, realizing that the Commander was right ..........




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