New Civilizations...

Posted on Thu Oct 23rd, 2025 @ 11:48pm by Ensign Talyn Daughter of Moya & Crewman Recruit R2 & Commander Zhora zh'Roothi & Lieutenant Commander Kuzos & Lieutenant Commander Sevek & Lieutenant Urvasi Elandorn & Lieutenant Rio Kholin MD & Lieutenant Amber Laurell & Lieutenant (J.G.) Dylan Blake

6,126 words; about a 31 minute read

Mission: Madre
Location: Runabout Sol & Tchema
Timeline: 2439-07-03, 11:15

Crewman Artoo stood at the control interface for the Runabout Sol completing final preflight checks. An A500 android, Artoo was half a century old and had seen much of the recent history in the galaxy. Constructed by the Daystrom Institute's Division of Advanced Synthetic Research for use as a shipbuilder at Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. Designed by Bruce Maddox and Estella Mackenzie, Artoo was brought online for the first time in late 2382 and was immediately deployed to begin work on Mars.

Like all other A500s, Artoo shared an identical, Human male appearance, and was identified by a code stenciled on his forehead that consisted of a combined letter and number. All the A500s appeared Human and friendly to help make them more socially acceptable to the other Yard Workers with all the basic locomotion, movement, and motor control of the typical organic, except each had enough physical strength to tear titanium apart with their bare hands.

All of which were on display during the attack on Mars in 2385. Many of his fellow A500s were compromised by the Zhat Vash and used to attack the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards, taking 92,143 lives and rendering Mars uninhabitable in the assault. When they were finally repelled the damage had been done and the Federation implemented a ban on synthetics that was only repealed upon the 2399 exposure of the Zhat Vash's existence and their role in the attack. Artoo had been refitted and returned to work building ships, but the A500s were never treated the same again.

While advanced, many believed that Artoo wasn't a sentient being. He, like all A500s, were developed by combining Bruce Maddox's expertise in cybernetics with Estella Mackenzie's work in bio-neural circuitry. The limitations of the bio-neural circuitry were the reason behind this assertation, plus his actions were highly regulated by the installation of a behavioral inhibitor that prevented him and subsequent A500 models from harming, or allowing harm to come to, humanoids.

Checking the final reports, he logged off and reached for his communicator, "Preparations complete. Service support ticket removed from queue."

Before the confirmation could come through, Artoo turned on his heel and exited through the starboard door into Shuttlebay 3. Seeing Commander zh'Roothi and the away team, the android walked right to her, "Hello Commander, preparations of the Runabout Sol have been concluded. If you find this support vessel in a state that isn't to your liking, please let us know."

"Thank you, Crewman," the Commander replied. "I'm sure everything is in order, and I promise to bring her back in scratch free," she paused as Lieutenant Elandorn slipped past to ready the shuttle for departure. "Unlike last time," the Andorian smirked at the memory.

While Artoo and the XO chatted, Urvasi went around the pair to head to the runabout. However, when she passed by Artoo, she said in a low voice, "Thank you, Artoo."

"Understood, Commander," the android answered in its usual monotone. "Existing tasks have a higher priority, resuming assigned duties." The A500 machine started walking away.

"Of course...as you were," zh'Roothi replied lowly as Artoo turned away without a second glance. With a slight shake of her head the Commander turned her attention back to the mission at hand.

Urvasi climbed into the runabout and sat down into the pilots chair to verify all readouts were in the green. While it was always nice to have a ready runabout for a mission and not having to bring everything up oneself, it was standard protocol to always double check and verify. After personally checking all readouts, she went aft to check the compartments for the extra medical gear and the weapons were in place. The actual checks of the equipment she would leave to the Doc and XO. With Equipment packs there, she returned to the pilots seat to load up scans of the Creature from the Enterprise. If she were a creature that was able to host lifeforms on board, where would she put an ingress/egress port to allow for materials as well as new life forms to get to that environment? That is where they would need to get to in the Runabout and let the creature let them on board, either via their own power ingress or tentacle wrap ingress.

The Vulcan science officer walked into the shuttlebay. He had a satchel across his body. Inside he had a tricorder, PADD, and some sample containers. Sevek approached the runabout and boarded. He made his way to the cockpit and saw that helm officer was already there. "Greeting Lieutenant." Sevek said taking a seat at one of the consoles towards the back of the cockpit. Checking the scans that she had already loaded, he was looking for a location to land.

Urvasi answered Sevek with, "Greetings and Salutations, Commander Sevek." She turned her head towards him as she added, "The scans are hopefully fully uploaded by now. If you don't mind my opinion, I think the entrance will more likely be along the side mass under the dome or along the side tentacles, in which their job is to help the incoming or outgoing craft into or out of the 'ship bay' storage so as to keep disruption to those already in the habitat to a minimum. The dome structure is too important for protection to compromise with an access port." She returned her attention to her myriad of course plots while keeping an ear focused on Sevek.

Kuzos entered the runabout avoiding zh'Roothi. He felt it was for the best for both of them if they kept their contact to a minimum as they seemed to grate on each other. He nodded to the others and moved to take a seat.

Amber arrived next, following on behind Kuzos as she took the next available seat. She was starting to feel a little more nervous now her enthusiasm had worn off. She just hoped she’d be of use to the away team once they got there.

Rio wasn't far behind Amber, still having a medcorder trained on the Chief Counsellor and still reading off the data constantly. She was so absorbed in the little machine that she almost missed the first step up into the shuttle and stumbled. Making sure that she hit her elbow rather than let go of the medcorder and her trusty med-kit that went everywhere with her - so much so that Kensington had once joked that it was surgically attached to her. Muttering a small and not too impolite curse as the pain from her elbow shot up her arm in both directions, Rio steadied herself and entered.

The doctor naturally went straight to the medical equipment in the rear of the shuttle and began to check it all over, pre-flight. There would be no chance to get anything faulty replaced or have anything misaligned reprogrammed once they had left so this was a critical time to get the pre-tests and checks done as soon and as efficiently as possible so as not to delay the flight but yet still be thorough.

Amber gave Rio a concerned look as she sensed the pain reaction from her injury. “Are you alright?” She offered Rio a polite smile as she got up and walked over to her. “I felt how much that hurt.”

"Oh yes, thank you for concerning yourself. It's clearing as I work, I'm just avoiding using that arm too much until the pins and needles clear." Rio explained. "How are you feeling now, Counsellor?" she asked, a little too busy to do yet another scan at this moment in time but with one on her list of things to do next.

Suddenly the rear of the shuttle became crowded as Commander zh'Roothi arrived to ensure all equipment was present as Crewman Artoo had confirmed. "Trouble?" she asked the two women with a crinkle upon her brow.

“Ohh, no” Amber shook her head. “We were just talking that’s all.”

"I took a slight blow to the elbow and the Chief Counsellor was just very kindly checking if I was alright" The CMO explained respectfully to the XO in response to her query.

"I see," the XO replied her eyes shifting between the two. "I assume you're still able to continue, Doctor?"

"Absolutely Ma'am, thank you." Rio confirmed. "The temporary numbness is already clearing away."

"Very good," the tone of the XO sounded lighter. "If you could, please take your seat as we're departing shortly."

Amber nodded offering both of them a smile before she headed back to her seat.

"I have checked almost all of the medical equipment and supplies so I can be in my seat in just a couple of minutes, Ma'am. I will hurry there." Rio complied, quickly finishing the last two checks on the list and sitting quickly back in her seat as promised, with the slightest possible delay, fastening her seatbelt in double quick time as well.

After checking all equipment and personnel were present zh'Roothi joined Elandorn at the forward stations and saw the pilot pawing over the sensor data from the bridge. Even on the small screen the life-form was beautiful and the Commander found it hard to draw her attention away. "Learn anything new about our friend?" she asked.

Urvasi nodded, "The Creature is not doing anything sudden, seemingly to be accepting of our presence to help with it's problem, that is, removing some of the annoying element of those within. Also, there is a tentacle that is coiling and seeming to await our arrival, as though knowing we are here to 'help'. I think that is our ingress to the interior."

"Well let's not delay any longer. Has the bridge granted our departure?"

Urvasi checked the communications panel, "Yes sir, we are cleared to proceed."

"Very good, take us out please Lieutenant."

Urvasi's fingers danced across the controls, causing the runabout to gently lift, rotate, and then move forward to leave the Enterprise. From there, the runabout shifted to head in a parabolic arc around the dome and to the tentacle waiting for them. As they approached, the tentacle moved to form a coil in space to await their entrance. Urvasi moved the runabout into that coil, which then slowly moved to contact the navigation shields, and then to guide them into the mass above it. At that mass, a sphincter opened into a chamber, closed, and then at the far end, another sphincter opened, in which the tentacle handed off its 'cargo' to another inside tentacle, which then transferred them to a grassy landing area by that 'rock wall' which closed up after placing them onto the ground.

Amidst the skies of the starjelly known as Tchema, a large, birdlike creature peacefully flew above the trees. Huge, butterfly-like wings jutted out from its midbody with a specialized layer of color-changing scales covering the wing's bones, their rhythmic flapping echoing in the air. While its eyes were calm and buried deep within the creature's rounded skull, several enormous horns sat atop its head accompanied by several rows of small horns running down its jaw. A few sharp teeth poke out from the side of its mouth and show a glimpse of the terror hiding inside.

Suddenly an arrow tore through the air toward the bird-like creature, narrowly missing as it arcs and silently falls back to the ground below. Standing not far away a young Vorta boy named Niyan stood angrily clutching his bow. Moving quickly, he pulled a second arrow from the quiver, lined it up, and fired into the air at the revun that was gliding through the sky. Only, he missed again leaving himself with only a single arrow left. Loading it, he shot his last chance only for it to miss as well.

Not far behind, Niyan's sister Nimivis, laughed. Lifting her bow, she fired her arrow then turned to face her older brother, confidently knowing that she didn't miss. The arrow made quick contact with the revun, slamming into its torso and sending out a spew of scales. It fell from the sky to the surface, landing not far from where they stood.

"Always remember that there's always a bigger fish," Nimivis teased.

Niyan let out an exacerbated sigh, "I would've had it if you didn't mess up my shot."

"I'm sorry, little one, I wasn't aware that my being here could control the arrow making contact. I suppose I should try not to influence things in the future," Nimivis laughed as she walked toward the revun. Pulling the arrow from its body, she wiped the blood off onto her trousers before sheathing the arrow in the quiver.

Niyan mumbled, "You shouldn’t even be here. Hunting is men’s work."

Nimivis was not amused, "Tell me when you find one."

"You think that you're some great hunter? You're only here because of father," Niyan taunted. "If he weren't our leader, you'd be with the rest of the gatherers. Hunting is not for you, sister."

"And apparently not for you either, brother," she said as she picked up the downed revun. Nimivis handled the creature with care as she gently slid the arrow out of its body and placed it back into her quiver. Picking up one of her brother's arrows, she looked carefully at it. "I know why you missed. Want to know?"

Niyan sighed, "Tell me oh great hunter."

"Well, if that's how you're going to act," she handed him the arrow, "ask someone else."

Before Niyan could say another word they saw something they had only heard of in stories passed down by the village elders. A large spacecraft gently crossed through the membrane and into Tchema. Under its own power, it gracefully landed not far away. Niyan couldn't help but stand in awe.

Nimivis, however, jumped to action. Shaking her brother, "Alert father!"

"It's," Niyan stammered.

"An intruder," Nimivis concluded.

The flight to the alien creature was relatively uneventful, almost as if the life-form wanted the away team to arrive without incident. Upon landing the amazing sight that was the creature was even more evident. The creature was made up of many vast chambers made of transparent walls that looked out into space. The largest chamber featured a large, lush forest that housed the descendants of the Vorta survivors. Treehouses and walkways were built into the forest for the Vorta, allowing their small civilization amazing views of space in comfort.

Urvasi announced, "We have landed, albeit via Tentacle rather than our own power." She got a mischievous grin as she continued, "Please be mindful of your carry on baggage and equipment, please exit the plane along the exit row upwards and to your left. Anything left behind will be confiscated by shuttle crew and held for 72 hours before disposal. Your captain of the flight hopes you had a good flying experience. Thank you for flying Enterprise Airways."

Amber grinned at Urvasi’s announcement. “I’m very much looking forward to this.” She looked to Zhora for permission to step outside the runabout. “May I head outside Commander? I’d like to get an actual proper feel for out host.”

"In good time," the Andorian replied rising from the co-pilot position to address the keen counsellor. "The Nitrogen rich atmosphere won't be pleasant unless you've had the Doctor's inoculation."

Amber nodded. “Of course, my apologies Commander.”

"Doctor Kholin, have all members of the party been prepped for departure? Are there any other symptoms we should watch out for?"

"All the party have been prepped. We have all been cleared for an away mission, none of us are contagious in any way that we might anticipate and only those with psi capabilities are vulnerable to what we might find here - so far as we know or could possibly predict based on the data that we have. Everyone has had their standard prep vaccines and all have been given the information that we have so far, Commander." Rio confirmed, matter-of-factly handing over a data-rod of all the members of the party and any notes the leader of this expedition might need, from a medical point of view.

Nodding with satisfaction Commander zh'Roothi then relayed data she'd received en route. "The Enterprise has recommended modulating our comm badges to channel seven to open communications to the creature. For now, however I'd like to keep comms chatter to a minimum while we identify the situation and establish contact with the locals."

Urvasi grabbed her PAD and setup her combadge to channel seven, with a triple tap to switch between channel 7 and an emergency comms channel with the Enterprise for just in case.

In response to these instructions Kholin made similar adjustments to her own Comms Badge and shouldered her Medical backpak in readiness.

Sitting in the main section, Ensign Talyn was waiting for permission to setup the defensive perimeter around the runabout like the Commodore had ordered. While they were a guest of this creature, the indications were high that the alien had been inhabited by a group of Vorta. While the Dominion were their friends now, who knew exactly what would come of all of this if they decided to get rowdy. She wanted to get the sensors in place and ready to go.

Glancing out the window, the Klingon woman was not happy by what she saw. A group of Vorta were approaching the runabout from its port quarter. Looking carefully, she noted that they appeared to be armed with bows and quarterstaffs. Turning back, she called for Commander zh'Roothi.

"Company's coming in!"

At the urgent call zh'Roothi swooped to peer at the view, quickly clocking the arrival committee and their armaments with a grimace. The atmosphere would be the least of their concerns if they were skewed with arrows or bludgeoned to pulp within moments of disembarking. "Kuzos," she directed her attention to their resident Vorta. "Options?"

Kuzos had been watching the approach of other Vorta silently as zh'Roothi called to him he turned to her. "Allow me to go and make contact with them, explain why we are here unless you wish a potential conflict. You can come as well to hear what is said."

"Commander, Starfleet General Order 15 prohibits flag or command-rank officers from entering potentially hazardous areas without an armed escort. If you go, you need a Security Officer with you," Talyn interrupted as she rose from her wall mounted chair. Opening the weapon's locker, she began handing out Phasers to the members of the Away Team.

Urvasi was standing aside to see who/what/how for the away team. She received the Phaser from Talyn and placed it upon her waist at her left hip. She added, "Hey XO, on Commander Kuzos and Ensign Talyn, I can extend the navigation shields over them when they chat... that would easily stop arrows and quarterstaves. Or, at least, keep at the ready to do such a maneuver. And, if I might suggest, as a show of goodwill, Commander Kuzos go without a weapon as the representative while Ensign Talyn has the weapon to show guard and protection over the representative. Thank you for listening."

Stowing the phaser in its holster zh'Roothi signalled for Kuzos and Talyn to accompany her to the door. "Extend the shields Urvasi," she ordered. "Standby for anything."

Urvasi nodded as she setup the nav shields to key in on the away party's comm badges until max range was reached, which was 100 meters. She replied, "Shields following comm badges. I will setup emergency transport procedures back on board the runabout for just in case, just remember there are only two pads..."

Kuzos stood and moved to the door, he was ready to meet these Vorta. They were kinsman he didn't need a weapon to talk to them. "Shall we go?" he said to no one in particular.

Amber stepped up offering a smile, she wasn’t used to Vorta but she wanted to learn more about them, she made a mental note to ask Kuzos once the current situation was taken care of. “I’d like to help if I can, though in this case you are the expert Commander.”

"Why thank you Counselor. I am glad you think so and I am sure any assistance you offer will be gratefully appreciated and valuable."

With an irritated roll of her eyes zh'Roothi stepped between both Kuzos and Laurell before holding out a phaser Kuzos had failed to retrieve from the locker or from Ensign Talyn. "That silver tongue won't work well if you're dead," she said pointedly. "Nor will you be permitted to leave without correctly arming yourself."

Kuzos looked at the phaser and then at zh'Roothi for several seconds he just stood there silently weighing the consequences of not taking the phaser. After a few seconds he took the phaser all without saying a word.

Had Kuzos' deliberation continued, stretching the Andorian's patience beyond tolerance she was ready to order him back to his seat and tether him into position. Forcefully if necessary. Thankfully the Vorta had the foresight not to argue the matter. Turning sharply upon her heel the Commander keyed the hatch and waited for the door release to complete the cycle before stepping out into the forest.

Amber made sure her phaser was set before she stood ready to step outside.

Kholin wondered if she should offer to go out in the welcoming party as well but she hesitated at the thought that more than the initial choices might just weigh the party into too many in number for the inhabitants to view without suspicion. She accepted the Phaser from Talyn and immediately checked that it was set to stun only and then she waited with Urvasi until such time as she was invited to join if such were to become appropriate.

For her entire life Nimivis had heard stories about the galaxy and the aliens that made it. Stories had been told to her of the Dominion, of its members, and their efforts to spread peace and order throughout the galaxy. At times the stories went that the Dominion had faced opposition to their efforts, that enemies came seeking to stop them from bringing about peace. In all that time Nimivis had never expected to see an alien and the stories that had been passed down were just that: stories. As she looked upon the alien vessel, for the first time, they truly seemed real.

Though the question remained: were these newcomers friend or foe?

She stood to the side, close enough that she could see and hear, but far enough away as not to spook her own people. While she was agile and able, her people would never have allowed her to be close to the aliens. It was the work of the men of their community to defend, even though she was far more capable with a bow. She had hoped for many years that father would change that, but all he did was went along with the status quo. It sickened her.

A flash of light appeared around the craft, shimmering and crackling with an imperceptible energy. The door to the craft opened, allowing a group of the aliens to walk out. There was one with skin of blue, another with a ridge across her forehead, and a Vorta? How was that possible?

Shifting her weight, she listened.

"My name is Bedran," the leader of the Vorta refugees greeted, "how did you find us and why have you come?"

Amber stood back letting Kuzos take the lead with his people, now she was outside she was flooded with images from the creature they now stood inside. If she was getting the impression right, it wanted the Vorta gone. Though another opinion on what she was picking up would help to make that determination.

Kuzos took a step toward the other Vorta. "I am Kuzos, this is Counselor Laurell and Commander zh'Roothis." he answered as he he introduced his companions. As to how we found you, it seems your host was sending out a telepathic message the good counselor was receiving and they were causing her an enormous amount of pain and we , well followed the trail to here."

The Andorian's eyes flashed slightly as Kuzos mispronounced her name, again. A deliberate act to undermine her authority following the stalemate on the shuttle zh'Roothi summarised. She was about to add clarity to the reasons behind their arrival, however the Counselor spoke first.

Amber looked towards the others as her name was mentioned. “It seems this life form isn’t happy with everyone being here, it wants to be left alone, at least that’s the impression I get.” She looked at Kuzos knowing he’d have the job of convincing everyone to leave.

The antenna on zh'Roothi crown twitched suddenly as if wincing at the wording choice, judging by Bedran's reaction Amber had quickly put the landing party on thin ice.

"We have lived here for almost five generations," the leader of the Vorta explained, "and the life-form, our Tchema, has never asked us to leave before." Bedran crossee his arms, "You are trespassers, wanting our home for yourselves!"

"I am Vorta, like you and I can assure you we are not here to take your home. As for not asking you to leave perhaps just perhaps your Tchema was sending you messages and you didn't understand them?" Kuzos proposed.

Bedran crossed his arms and protested, "My wife is part of our community that is able to commune with Tchema and she has never indicated that our home is upset with us, let alone wants us to leave!" The leader of the Vorta looked around the soldiers that were with him, "I was born here, I raised my children here, my ancestors came here. No one can make me leave. No one can make US leave!"

Behind him the other Vorta began to cheer.

“Please…I didn’t mean to cause unrest between us” Amber offered a warm smile. “Would your wife be willing to show me how to commune with Tchema? It may help me better understand what it is that it’s been trying to tell me.”

"I am Vorta, we are kinfolk, I have no reason to lie to you." Kuzos replied patiently. "Allow the counselor to 'speak' with Tchema. So, we can learn more about the situation we find ourselves in."

Bedran stood firm across from them, the forcefield of the runabout Sol's shields shimmering and flickering between them. He considered what was said carefully, knowing full well that the other resembled a Vorta did have some weight, but it had been a long time since they had been amongst the stars. Who knew if this Vorta could be trusted. The Dominion, the Founders, they were worlds away after all. The Vorta could have been conquered for all they knew.

"You said that Tchema wanted us to leave. If you can speak to Tchema on your own as you say, why do you want to speak to my wife to learn how to speak with Tchema?" He stepped back from the forcefield.

Kuzos reframed from sighing, "The reason the counselor is asking for your wife's assistance is that she may be misinterpreting what Tchema is requesting and with your wife's assistance there will be no room for any chance of getting the wrong perspective."

"She is communing with Tchema now," Bedran relented, "in a secure location where Tchema's central neural cluster is located. Only our High Priestess, my wife, is allowed there."

Still remaining a pace behind Kuzos and Amber as they spoke with the Vorta leader zh'Roothi had been holding her breathe while the discussions continued. The admission of his wife's title and location had been a surprising development considering his earlier track of stubbornness things felt upon the knife edge till now. Apparently Kuzo's presence bore more weight than zh'Roothi had anticipated and was mildly grateful she didn't have to confine him to the shuttle.

The CMO could hear what was happening through the Comm Badge communicator system as could Urvasi beside her. "This is going sideways fast" Rio whispered very softly, having first signaled to Lieutenant Elandorn to cut the volume on their two Badges. "Do you think we SHOULD or even COULD do anything to try to help? I can't think what though. Any ideas?" she asked Urvasi.

With their two comm badges temporarily out of the loop, the two who remained inside the shuttle were able to discuss this situation freely but it wasn't discussion that was needed, but some miraculous idea as to what might help?

Urvasi thought for a moment, then replied, "Counselor Laurell needs to reiterate that she was receiving impressions from Tchema and not actual communications. There is a huge difference between guiding impressions and actual communications. That is the disconnect. Umm, did you want me to try to contact Kuzos and Laurell on this information?" Urvasi thought a moment, then added, "Umm, it may help that someone not attached to the dominion or Federation is involved... if you think prudent, I could show myself momentarily at the runabout door to allay that other races are involved with those who are here on the 'shuttle'." Urvasi waited on the Rio's thoughts and directions.

"I don't suppose it could hurt" Rio shrugged. "Can we get some kind of message to the Counsellor that the impressions are an important difference? Do you think I should go out there and try to mention it, either to her or in the conversation? Or can we get a message to her through her badge but in a less obvious way?"

Urvasi looked over to Sevek to see if the Science officer had any suggestions. She was going to mention that she could telepathically contact Amber as she was within 75 meters of Urvasi, but if the counselor decided to not accept, that would be the end of that. So, Technology and Science for the win.

Urvasi listened as she kept an eye on the monitor. She saw the commotion, and then further talking between the landing party and the Creature's live in Vorta. She now said, "We might want to turn up the volume on our comm badges to listen in. It seems the landing party has made inroads with the natives."

"Ooh really? That would be a real breakthrough, lets listen....!" Kholin responded with relief. They put their communicators back into the main channel and began to try to pick up what was happening.

Nimivis kept listening to the back and forth between the aliens and her father, her own anger welling up inside of her. She had lived here her entire life, true she had heard the stories of the off land, but the more she listened the more she felt like the aliens were going to try to force them from their home. It sickened her, but not as much as the possibility that Tchema was trying to force them from their home. They had long known Tchema was alive, mother could speak to it, but the threat of having to leave was far too painful a thought.

"Are you hearing this?" Niyan asked.

Turning, Nimivis was surprised to see her brother standing there clutching his bow. Glancing down she turned back toward the aliens, "I'd assumed you were down there with father."

"I was," he answered, "but Yergad told me to leave."

Father's second in command had long been one to try to limit father's influence and control. It was actually something Nimivis applauded. "Better that you are not there. These aliens may not be friendly."

"It's looking that way," the younger answered. "I can't believe that Tchema wants us to leave."

Nimivis corrected, "We don't know that!"

"The aliens seem insistent," the younger answered.

"True, but they may be lying," the older added.

"It's too bad that we can't just stop this," Niyan said. "If Tchema couldn't think anymore then this would all be over."

The older Vorta child paused as she thought about the consequences of that. Tchema was their home, that was true, but they were the masters of their home. Tchema needed to respect that and their dominance. "Do you think you could use that bow to protect me?"

"From what?" Niyan asked.

"I think I know a way to stop all this," she started into the forest. "Follow me!"

Ensign Talyn, Daughter of Moya, stood not far from the rest of the delegation listening carefully to the discussions going on back and forth. While Commander Kuzos was the Security Chief for the Enterprise, she would do what she had to do to defend and protect the crew of the ship. That was what led her to distribute the Type I Phasers as soon as they landed, knowing full well that the crew would potentially need to defend themselves. They may have limited options defense wise - either stun or kill - but it was enough to get the job done.

Taking in a breath, she was surprised by how well the medications were working to help them process the strange atmosphere within the life-form. It was amazing that the Vorta had survived here as well as they had considering the higher than usual concentrations of nitrogen in the atmosphere. Then again, really, anything that they encountered on this creature was surprising. To think a full civilization was living inside a squid the size of a starbase that lived in open space. It was wondrous, but few things in space weren't.

If only it weren't as hot as Gre'thor. When they first arrived Talyn was comfortable, almost cold, but things weren't as tranquil as they once were. At first she thought it was the fires of her Klingon blood awaking from their slumber for potential combat. Instead, she wondered now if it were something else. She wondered how the kids of the Vorta handled the temperature fluctuations, having seen two run off only a short while ago. Klingon children would never have run from their parents in a potential fight, but not everyone were Klingons.

"I understand your custom and I have no desire to upset your ritual, however any assistance you can offer to Counselor Laurell would be immensely appreciated." Kuzos replied.

Amber offered a nod of her head. “I only wish to be sure that what I’m sensing is what I think it is. I have no wish to offend anyone.”

"I can appreciate that," the leader of the Vorta refugees answered, "but I cannot allow you to go in. It is against our civilizations oldest, dearest laws to disturb Tchema or her Priestess while they are in communion. I will allow you to wait for her to return, either aboard your ship or in our village, but you cannot go to Tchema now."

Amber nodded. “That’s fine, I will wait.” She nodded to Kuzos before suddenly pausing and massaging her temples.

Kuzos noticed Amber massaging her temples, "Counselor, are you alright?" His voice full of concern.

“It’s the Tchema…” Amber paused. “It’s reaching out to me…it’s in pain…I can feel it.”

As the Counselor announced her pain the world around them started to shake and change. Leaves rustled in the trees, the life that filled the sky grew angry as the ground began to quake. The world around them started to glow in a glorious white light as the nearby star grew closer.

"It is Tchema," Bedran called as he drew his weapon, "She's crying out in pain because of these interlopers!" Motioning to his warriors, he called out, "Attack!"

The Vorta army charged toward the defense shield of the runabout, striking at it with their weapons.

"Stop!" Kuzos called to them. "You are mistaken. It is you who is causing harm to Tcbema, not us. We want to help you and Tchema. I am Vorta like you, I want to help you. Listen to me."

"Enough," zh'Roothi shouted over the din. "They'll not listening, pull back to the shuttle," she instructed. Though the shield would keep them safe from the primitive weapons the sudden change to their surroundings and to Amber's condition needed further investigation. "Laurell, have the Doctor check you over," the Commander continued to give orders. "Talyn, ensure everyone is accounted for." she glanced again to Kuzos.

Holding her phaser, Ensign Talyn acknowledged, "Yes Commander. Let's move out!" It was strange for the Ensign to be issuing the order, but she brought up the rear as the away team returned aboard.

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