The Menagerie

Posted on Sun Jan 9th, 2022 @ 12:09am by Captain Wilkan Targaryen & Patton O'Sullivan & Lieutenant Commander Lily Snow PhD, MD & Lieutenant Commander Cyrus Marner

1,783 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: 749148
Location: Talos IV
Timeline: 2430-09-09, 11:00

Admiral Willian Targaryen looked down the long corridor that lay ahead of him, his Away Team having traveled with him below the surface and into this Talosian's encampment. Enterprise had fled the scene with the emergence of the alien craft within the system and he hoped that the Talosian outpost would provide them with more than enough of a defense. The scene on the surface had, however, given him pause. Finding the Talosian Keeper, a person with immense telepathic gifts that could make anyone see what he wanted, was something he never anticipated. As they walked into the corridor he truly wondered if they would find anyone here.

The hallway was stark, utilitarian and outlined with a series of transparent windows that looked in on what appeared to be cells inside. Each cell was nearly empty except for an oddly shaped bed made of a sponge-like, plastic material. A silvery blanket lay atop the bed and a small pool of water were in the room as well. It was scarcely what he had imagined encountering for such an advanced culture.

Willian walked down the corridor a bit further to the next room and was surprised to find a creature there waiting. Sealed inside its cell, the spiderlike creature leapt toward the transparent viewing screen. It's horrifying fangs struck against the wall as it snarled at the Away Team in disgust. Having always had a touch of arachnophobia, Willian stepped back at the sight of the creature before turning back toward his crew, "Charming place."

"And this is a zoo." Snow said moving to scan the creature. She was also trying to avoid Doctor Marner from doing to much of a scan on her hand. She did have minor 1st degree burns on her hand, and numbness with her fingers.

The Admiral had wondered as much himself, walking among the menagerie of alien life. "I'm surprised we haven't come across anyone so far. The Keeper was on the surface dead, yet these animals are somehow still here perfectly alive and well. Anyone detecting them on scans?"

Cyrus was feeling slightly grumpy, as Snow was avoiding him from taking care of her wounds.

"Confound it Commander Snow will you just let me take care of your wounds? How am I supposed to do part of my job!" he groused.

Willian looked at his Chief Science Officer's hand and noticed the injuries, "Commander, you need to have that looked at."

"I'm fine." Snow said. "Some minor numbness." She added presenting her hand towards the Doctor.

Patton had a hand on his weapon though he hadn't drawn it. He was prepared to do what he had to but their was no threat to them at the moment. His eyes were traveling around the room. "It seems there would have to be someone else present or they would die off with no one to care for them." He said after a moment.

"You would think," the Admiral answered. "The 'distress call' only just came but who knows how many were still alive to tend to the Talosian zoo." He wondered for a moment at the diaspora of animals that they saw, creatures that had been trapped here for who knew how long. Were they animals even? The records indicated that Captain Christopher Pike had been taken to this place back on the old Enterprise. Could these be other victims? Perhaps the source of the alien assault upon them?

"You must not think that way."

Behind the Away Team they saw her, a remarkably beautiful young woman had managed to sneak up on them. She was tanned, barefooted, but had a graceful, if not animalistic quality to her. Her long, blonde hair was uncombed and awry, her make-shift dress tattered, but she was a remarkably beautiful young woman.

"Vina?" Willian asked incredulously at the sight of the woman. "How is this possible? You were alive in the 23rd Century."

"As was I," a male voice interrupted. They turned to see a tall, athletic Human man approaching them in an old school Starfleet uniform. Despite his age his face was youthful and his gaze piercing. His whole visage was complex, his strength hiding his sensitivity and warmth. "Things are rarely as they seem on Talos." He studied the Away Team for a moment, "From what you're wearing I gather you're Starfleet Officers. Coloring is a bit off from what I'd expected, but things change. I'm Fleet Captain Christopher Pike, Retired. This is Vina," he indicated his companion. "And you are?"

"Admiral Willian Targaryen - Commanding Officer of the Starship Enterprise," Willian answered, smiling at seeing one of his childhood heroes and having known who the man was before he'd even spoke. The Admiral paused though, considering the reality of what he was facing before him. "Is this possible?"

Patton didn’t think it was at all possible but he waited to see what the response would be. The admiral had asked a good question and he really wanted to hear the logic of it all. Was this some kind of trick? An illusion?

"That's a yes and no answer, Admiral," Vina was the one to answer him as she stepped alongside of Fleet Captain Pike. "We're more like echoes of those who came before. We are their memories, their experiences, but we are not them."

"The Talosians thought that seeing us may be more comforting than seeing one of them," Pike interrupted. "There are not many left and they need to know that you can be trusted."

"You know better than most that the Talosians can read our thoughts," Willian pointed out. "They would know our intent before anyone else and that our purpose here to help them is genuine."

Vina looked at Pike, resting her hands on his shoulders as she looked up at him. Their eyes locked as if they were probing the inner recesses of the other's souls. If they had them. She nodded to him crisply. It was like she had given him permission to share the very secrets at the heart of the galaxy wordlessly. He nodded back, sympathetically.

"The Talosians cannot read your minds. They are using all of their collective powers to prevent whoever is in orbit from finding us, from destroying what is left of this last refuge of their civilization."

"Who are they?" Willian asked compassionately.

Vina shook her head, "We really don't know. They came quickly, quietly. They didn't answer our hails, they didn't listen to our calls. We could not penetrate their minds and they just came for us. The minute they entered orbit they opened fire and ravaged what remained of the surface. Our Leader was killed in their onslaught. And they've returned."

"Our ship has left orbit," Willian divulged. "Most likely they were ordered to return to Federation Space. We are stranded just as you." He stepped back, "I want to help you, but I need to know everything I can about who we are facing."

"We've told you all that we know," Pike informed.

Willian looked to his Chief Science Officer and the Chief Medical Officer, "Do you believe them?"

Cyrus could only shrug his shoulders though something about them. "I am not certain, there needs to be more information gathered."

Patton didn't feel like he was being asked but he wasn't one to not speak up even so. "I don't." He shook his head. "My opinion is there has to be more than simply what we have been told."

"I don't blame you for that," Chris interrupted. His boyish features were lit dimly by the corridor, adding to the aura of the man. "I've been in your shoes, Commander. The Talosians made me a star attraction in this zoo of theirs. They made me see things, they made me think one thing while the opposite was happening." He pointed at one of the cells, "I blew a hole in the viewing window of that cell and didn't know it for almost a day. My crew had broken through the surface with a portable phaser cannon and thought that it was still stable. That's a lot to process and it makes the Talosians seem like they are omnipotent. They aren't. They're flesh and bone like you or me."

"Perhaps we should see the Talosians," the Admiral recommended from among his officers. "They could answer our questions just as easily as you."

Vina looked worried, "All of their energy is being used to keep us hidden from the enemy vessel and even that may not be enough. If you distract him we'll be discovered for sure!"

Pike relented, "We will take you to the Keeper, but you're not going to like what you're about to see." He turned and started walking, "Please follow me."

Admiral Targaryen watched as the centuries old Humans walked away and deeper into the zoo. Looking between his away team, Willian himself agreed. "Let's go with him. Keep alert, this could still be a trap."

Walking along with the ancient survivors, Willian was still surprised by the diversity that he saw within the Talosian's zoo. There were animals from throughout the galaxy here and they looked pristine. Were they real was the question? Was any of this real? The Talosians could have done all this as a trap.

When they came across the large bulkhead door, Vina and Christopher were standing on both sides. Chris lifted his hands, "Your weapons and scanners, you won't need those beyond this point. The Talosians are highly secretive. If you try to uncover their secrets you could irreparably damage them forever."

"We'll take our chances," the Admiral answered. "Open the door."

Vina nodded and the doorway instantly vanished from before them, taken away as if it were never there at all. Beyond the portal was a large, cavernous room with smooth walls and fire rising from nearby torches. There were no signs of technology and the room was cool to him. Willian could feel death here.

And before him it sat. In one of the many seats an older Talosian sat draped over the chair. His visage was full of fatigue and his body appeared broken. He was tired, tireder than Willian had ever seen someone before. His skin was wrinkly and withered. He looked like death walking.

"I am the Architect," the Talosian said, "the last of my kind."

Cyrus was shocked, he never thought he'd be seeing someone, the last of their kind.

Patton’s eyes widened a little. His first thought was what could they do to help save this species but with him being the last there wasn’t much. A part of him wondered if he truly was the one one left.

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