Lost in You

Posted on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 1:29am by Enterprise Officer NPC & Commander Zhora zh'Roothi & Lieutenant Commander Kuzos & Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari & Lieutenant Amber Laurell
Edited on on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 9:19pm

4,429 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: 10. Rumble
Location: Iocarro
Timeline: 2439-10-20, 11:30

The Robert April was a distant, silver glint against the dark, basaltic rock formations, now nearly a kilometer behind them as the away team picked their way across the rugged floor of the primary cavern. The terrain here was a treacherous mosaic of obsidian glass and venting fissures. The air was heavier here, laden with the metallic tang of ionizing dust.

Barbax was lagging a few paces behind the group, his posture hunched, his hands darting nervously toward his Engineering Kit every time a loose rock skittered across the floor. He kept his Tricorder held close to his chest, the device chirping erratically as it struggled to pierce the dense, subterranean interference.

"I am picking up... nothing but background noise," Barbax muttered, his voice brittle. He stopped, peering intently at the small, flickering holoscreen. "The atmospheric refraction is worse here than at the landing site. It's like the walls themselves are generating a dampening field. If we stray any further from the shuttle, we're going to lose contact with the Enterprise entirely." He shot a glance toward the looming, jagged tunnels ahead, his eyes widening. "And I don't like being this deep in a 'dead' world when my equipment is basically a paperweight."

"You're overthinking the interference, Barbax," B'ree Thairtu chirped, her tone jarringly cheerful given the stifling, ominous atmosphere. She was hunkered down near a cluster of basalt pillars before standing, giving the wall a solid, affectionate pat. "It’s not a dampening field. It’s just... stubborn. Like an old Warp Coil that hasn't been cycled in a century. If you stop trying to force the signal through the static and just let it bounce off the obsidian veins, you'd get a much cleaner read." She tilted her head, her Orion eyes glinting in the dim light. "Besides, if we lose contact with the Enterprise, we just have to be more interesting than whatever is making all that noise. I've got a pair of modified signal boosters - they're as unstable as a Romulan Ale hangover, but they'll punch a hole through this interference."

Barbax looked at her, his expression a mixture of profound skepticism and genuine fear. "B'ree, those 'boosters' are not approved for seismic-sensitive environments. If you cause a feedback surge, you could collapse this entire cavern sector!"

B'ree just grinned, adjusting her pack. "Only if you're standing in the wrong spot, honey. Relax. Look at the way the dust is settling—this tunnel system isn't just venting; it's breathing."

Further ahead the rest of the landing party had begun their primary survey. The inky gloom of the cavern was punctured by portable lamps, illuminating the tunnels beyond. The pools of light cast around flickered occasionally as the stands trembled under the shifting surface caused by distant volcanic activity.

Consulting her humming Tricorder Commander zh'Roothi studded the labyrinth that was appearing on the interface opting to focus on something else beside the vibrations reverberating through her boots. The interference and density of the rock formations caused the readings to appear slowly akin to walking through heavy fog - only inches from disaster if left unchecked. "The subterranean levels are far larger than expected," she stated before turning towards the others keen to hear their initial observations.

Amber was deep in her own mental observations, her senses weren’t affected by rock density or anything of that description. “Commander I’m more sure than ever that there’s more here than meets the eye. It feels…heavily populated to me, and if it’s not coming from above ground then it must be below.”

"I'm not detecting any other life signs," Zhora consulted her scans. "They could be masked however," she continued not ready to dismiss the counsellor's natural abilities.

Amber nodded. “There’s definitely life, but whether it’s humanoid or animal life is another matter.”

Kuzos walked and listened not only to the other away team members but the cave walls themselves. After listening for a time he spoke. "The humming is not natural. The Counselor is correct, there is more than what we see." He stated with certainty.

Amber gave Kuzos a polite nod and smile as he agreed with her.

"Care to elaborate?" the XO probed.

Kuzo's violet eyes settled on the Andorian female as he spoke, "The humming is too set, too regular. There is a pattern a cycle to it. A mechanical quality. There is no variance to it to put it simply.


Barbax didn’t share the Counselor’s quiet confidence or B’ree’s reckless optimism. Every time the ground vibrated, he winced, his fingers white-knuckled around his tricorder. The "humming" the others spoke of sounded less like a discovery and more like a warning.

"It’s not just a pattern," Barbax stammered, his eyes darting toward the yawning tunnel mouths. "It’s a resonance frequency—subharmonic, consistent, and definitely artificial. If we continue, we aren't mapping a deposit; we’re walking into a pressurized chamber. If that 'heartbeat' shifts even a decibel, the structural integrity of these strata will fail." He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, his voice barely rising above the cavern's low, rhythmic thrum. "Commander, please, we have to establish a localized dampening field before proceeding any further."

B'ree shook her head, offering a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes, though her posture remained loose and unbothered. "We need to cut through this noise, not hide from it in a dampening field!" She stepped forward, patting the pocket of her pack where the signal boosters sat with erratic potential. "Commander, I can deploy signal boosters to punch a hole through the interference and give us a real map. We can stop guessing and start seeing!"

Kuzos stopped and looked at B'ree. "The noise is artificial as Mr. Barbax has stated and is below us. We need to discover the source of the noise not potentially bring the cavern roof down on our heads by deploying signal boosters."

"I'm with Kuzos and Barbax on this," Aidan said. The Trill was crouched near a pile of rocks and was taking detailed readings of the compositions. "I feel the vibrations too and I'm trying to find a pattern in it. For all we know it is a warning system we're very much ignoring." He turned his attention back to his readings and carefully chipped away a few flints before putting them in a sample container.

Overhead, staying close to the group and definitely watching over them, Sherlock was given off a show of aerial acrobatics. The little blue was very excited about being allowed to come and stretch his wings. But the blue was more than that, he was likely to see this from the air that the team wasn't from the ground. He swooped by Amber and chirped a happy greeting before gliding past Kuzos to do the same. Finally, he landed in his companions shoulders and nuzzled his cheek in affection. He chirped as he pulled a talon across the rock, leaving a deep score.

"The rocks are soft in composition," Aidan remarked as he got to his feet, "we need to be careful."

Amber nodded. “Understood. I wasn’t going by the noise, I was going by my own senses. There’s more life here than we think, and I don’t think it’s the native wildlife.”

"A cave in is the last thing we want," Zhora conceded. "Belay those boosters B'ree it's just too risky."

B'ree’s jaw tightened, and she let out a short, frustrated huff, though she obediently hooked her thumbs through the straps of her pack to signal she was standing down. "Fine, fine. No boosters. We'll do it the hard way." She kicked at a loose obsidian shard, sending it clattering into the darkness, her eyes scanning the cavern walls with a restless intensity. "But if those 'soft' rocks decide to come down on us, don't say I didn't warn you. This place doesn't feel like it wants to be mapped, it feels like it wants to be left alone."

Amber looked towards B’ree. “I agree, it just feels unwelcoming not to mention claustrophobic in places. Not that I’m claustrophobic.” She smiled.

"Besides, exploring the hard way is part of the challenge, isn't it?" Aidan smiled, "we just have to stick together and compare our scans frequently."

B'ree rolled her eyes, her frustration bubbling over. "Oh, sure, stick together, compare scans... nothing says 'efficient survey' like..." The sentence died in her throat as a violent, sickening jolt tore through the cavern floor. It wasn't the rhythmic tremor they had been feeling; it was a tectonic hammer blow that knocked the entire team off balance.

"What... what was that?!" Barbax shrieked, his voice cracking into a high-pitched register of sheer panic as he scrambled to regain his footing, his SIMs Beacon tumbling from his trembling grip and clattering onto the obsidian floor.

The jolt was merely the prelude. A deafening, deep groan erupted from the surrounding bedrock with the sound of unimaginable stone grinding against stone. The ground beneath their feet didn't just vibrate; it rolled like a turbulent sea. Dust, thick and choking, exploded from the fissures, instantly plunging them into near-total darkness as the portable lamps flickered and died. A terrifying, thunderous roar from the distance followed. Through a gap in the settling dust, a jagged, gaping sinkhole suddenly tore open in the cavern floor a kilometer back. In a matter of seconds, the ground vanished, and the Robert April, their only tether to the ship and their only path home, slid backward into the dark, churning abyss. The silver glint of the shuttle disappeared beneath tons of collapsing basalt, leaving them completely isolated in the throat of the dead world as the shaking rocked them.

Aidan gritted his teeth, biting back a cry as the was thrown from his feet, the deep rumble rattling his bones. The vibration that echoed through his body made him feel sick and the dust left him blind in the darkness. Even Sherlock shrieked as the group was isolated. He clung to Aidan's tunic, talons scraping his skin painfully. "Call out!" Aidan called, "is everyone alright?

Kuzos was thrown to the cavern floor by the sheer violence of tectonic quake. he barely had time to see the Robert April disappear under several tons of rock. he stayed down until the quake died away and an unnatural silence filled the air. Getting to his feet , he realized his left shoulder and arm hurt. Likely broken, "I am here." He replied to Aidan's call but did not mention his shoulder/arm. "Counselor?" He called out as Amber had been the nearest to him.

Amber had been just behind Kuzos when the rocking began, as the cloud of dust hit she’d completely lost her bearings stumbling trying to stay on her feet. Moments later she’d tumbled over loose rocks, falling and hitting her head. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been on the ground when she heard Kuzos call, coughing to clear her airway of the dust she raised her hand to stem the trickle of blood from her head wound as she sat up. “Over here Kuzos.” She cursed at the pain in her right shoulder, a brief check telling her it was most likely dislocated.

Hearing Amber's voice, Kuzos moved in that direction. He moved slowly through the settling dust picking his way over the rocks until he reached her. He knelt beside, "You've cut your head." He announced as he reached for his med kit with his right hand and pulled out some gauze and an antiseptic cream and gently cleaned the wound. "It doesn't appear deep or serious." As he placed a bandage on it. "Are you injured anywhere else?" He inquired even as he saw her wince and heard her curse.

“My right shoulder, I think it’s dislocated” Amber answered offering a brief smile for the medical treatment on her head. “Just my luck to go tumbling over the rocks.”

Kuzos looked at her shoulder. "We can try to set it back in place or immobilize it until we can get back to the ship. Do not worry about falling, we all fell. I am just glad you are not injured more seriously."

Amber nodded. “Enough to be a pain, my senses are as foggy as hell that’s not going to be a quick fix. As for my shoulder you’re going to need to set it for me, if we just immobilise I’ll be the one holding everyone up so just do it and get it over with.”

Kuzos gave a nod, "As you wish." he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I will reset it on three. To give you time to prepare. I recommend you take a deep breath." He looked at her and spoke, "One, Two " and on two he shoved her shoulder back into place hearing a 'pop' as he did so. He glanced at Amber. "I apologize Counselor for going on two. I was afraid you would tense up and make the situation worse.

Amber managed to stifle the yell as Kuzos set her shoulder, nodding her thanks as she got her breath back. She was glad her kit was still intact as she rummaged and pulled out a hypo for pain relief. “Thank you Kuzos” she offered a more relieved smile as the pain meds kicked in. She offered the hand of her good arm. “Would you mind helping me up?”

Kuzos extended his right arm, "Not at all Counselor and thank you for understanding." he replied as he helped her to her feet.

"I can't... I can't reach the Enterprise," Barbax’s voice was a frantic, high-pitched whimper emanating from the darkness. He sounded like he was hyperventilating. "The signal isn't just blocked, it’s gone! The Robert April is... it’s just gone, Commander! We're buried! We're absolutely, completely buried!"

"Barbax, get a grip!" B'ree’s voice cut through his panic, though it lacked its usual sharp, cocky edge. She sounded rattled, her breathing heavy. "The shuttle's gone, yeah, but that just means we have to find another way out. The sensors are down, but that doesn't mean we're dead."

"We're stuck in a tomb!" Barbax shrieked, the sound of metal scraping against stone indicating he was tearing through his kit, likely looking for a backup beacon that didn't exist. "A tomb that just swallowed our only ride home! The resonance... the heartbeats... they weren't mechanical, they were biological! This whole place isn't just 'breathing', it's waking up!"

"If you don't stop screaming, you're going to use up all the air," B'ree hissed back, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her. "Commander! We need a count! Is everyone accounted for?"

"Both of you stop it." Kuzos spoke evenly but firmly. "Mr. Barbax, surely you have had training in how to react in an emergency. Let your training guide you and you Miss. B'ree, stop arguing. We have plenty of air. if you had taken the time, you would notice there is cool air entering this cavern." he finished ignoring the pain in his shoulder and arm. " Aidan ask Sherlock if he can see a way out."

"He can't sir. In order to teleport he needs to know where he's going, and where to return to. Since we don't know he's as suck as we are. Best I can do is let him try to follow the current if air we're feeling." He paused, tilting his head to feel the cool flow. "If there is current, then logically, there is a way out. How much room do we have? We have palm lights right? We can map this cavern and perhaps we find a tunnel beyond."

"That is exactly what I would like him to do Aidan. Fly above us and see if he can see a way out by following the air current." Kuzos answered even as he got ready to activated his palm light to see where they were and what they were faced with. "It is worth a try is it not?"

“What do you think Sherlock?” Amber asked as she looked towards their small dragon-like companion. “Can you show us a way?”

Before Sherlock could respond they emerged: lithe, pale figures stepping silently from the shadows they had been scanning just moments before. As the dim light of their failing lamps caught the intricate, fan-like crests atop the aliens' heads and fixed upon their dead, ink-black eyes, B'ree felt her blood run cold. They had clearly been waiting for the away team to stop struggling. With plasma rifles that appeared to have seen centuries of combat leveled at them, the aliens surrounded the group with the chilling efficiency of those who considered their captives already dead.

Sherlock gave a warning chirp as he returned to Aidan's shoulder. The Trill raised his hands in response as a weapon he could barely make out in the semi darkness was trained on him. "I would suggest making no sudden moves," he observed calmly.

"Excellent and sage advice Aidan." Kuzos remarked calmly as he took in the aliens and their weapons. Even as he raised one hand to show he was not going to cause trouble.

Amber followed suit turning to look in the same direction. She showed her hands were empty unable to raise her recently dislocated arm very far for the moment.

B'ree stood frozen, her heart hammering against her ribs as she took in the circle of pale, silent figures. Her eyes darted across the formation, counting them one by one, before swinging back toward the center of their own group. She scanned the immediate area again, her gaze passing over Kuzos, Amber, Barbax and Aidan, but the familiar, sharp profile of Commander zh'Roothi was nowhere to be seen. She was right there just a second ago, coordinating the survey, she realized, her jaw tightening as she fought to keep her expression neutral under the unwavering stare of the aliens.

Amber looked around noting Zhora wasn’t present. “Commander” She looked towards Kuzos. “It looks like you’re leading first contact.”

Kuzos gave a curt nod, acknowledging Amber's statement. He made a cautious step forward so the aliens could see him better, maybe they knew about Vortas being the face of the Dominion and this was a Dominion world or had been. "I am Kuzos." He said simply.

Amber stepped forward just a little pausing to the side, but behind Kuzos. “We mean you no harm, we are explorers.”

"We come in peace." Kuzos added figuring it couldn't hurt to add that piece of information.

Aidan took a small step forward to Kuzos' other side but said nothing. His one hand touched Sherlock to reassure him and keep him to his shoulder, the other hand was still slightly raised and held a still open tricorder which made soft beeping sounds. He watched their captors closely, listening intently for any sound they might make.

Amber looked around concernedly. “What happened to Commander zh’Roothi?”

Kuzos didn't look anywhere but straight ahead at the aliens who surrounded them. he heard Anber's question. "If zh'Roothi is not in sight, she may have become separated from us. He was tempted to ask Sherlock to see if the little blue could locate the missing Andorian but until he knew the intentions of the aliens he held off making any sudden or provocative moves.

The lead alien guard stepped forward, the sickly glow of his plasma rifle casting harsh, angular shadows across his bone-white face. The weapon remained aimed dead-center at Kuzos' chest, steady as stone. He ignored the Vorta's greeting entirely, his pitch-black eyes devoid of warmth or curiosity.

When he spoke, his voice was a dry, grating rasp; harsh as grinding basalt, carrying a strange acoustic resonance that vibrated slightly against the cavern walls. The language was ancient, but the vocal pattern interface on the team's badges struggled for only a second before rendering a flat, guttural translation.

"Silence, surface-dwellers," the Guard Commander commanded sharply, gesturing with the heavy barrel of his rifle. "Your foreign chatter offends the deep. You are not explorers; you are trespassers upon the Sacred Strata."

Two more guards flanked the group, keeping their rifles raised while gesturing with sharp, authoritative jerks toward a dark, arched transit shaft leading deeper into the bedrock, a structural opening that had clearly been sealed before the quake tore the cavern open.

"Move," the lead guard ordered, his tone leaving zero room for debate or negotiation. "You will speak only when summoned before the Council. Let's go."

Amber did as told waiting for Kuzos to move ahead before moving on behind him. She did as their captors said and kept quiet not wanting to offend more than it seemed they already had.

Aidan caught up with Amber and lightly touched her good arm, silently conveying she could lean on him if necessary. He knew she and Kuzos were hurt, but right now there was nothing he could do for him. While carrying a field med kit, anything would have to wait until they had better lighting as he could barely see with current lack of decent light. His other hand covered Sherlock's tail, firmly planting the image in his mind of staying quiet and staying put.

Amber nodded her thanks opting to hold onto Aidan’s arm with her good arm, his support was appreciated.

Kuzos walked in silence yet even though he was silent he was thinking. where was zh'Roothi? Was she injured? Dead? and quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head. If she were either Amber would have felt it even in her weakened state. So that meant zh'Roothi was out there separated from the rest of the team. He ran through several options on finding the Andorian but knew that at least for now they had to be placed on hold and he wanted Amber and Aidan's input as well. he looked at their guards and wondered did they know of Vortas being the hands of the gods? If so there might be a silver lining to this.

Amber looked back hoping Zhora was alive out there somewhere, with her fuzzy senses she couldn’t tell right now. All she could do was hope.

B'ree marched in tense silence, her jaw clenched as her mind raced to reconstruct the chaos. One second Commander zh'Roothi was coordinating the survey, and the next she was gone, swallowed by the dark or pulled into the shadows before the guards even appeared. B'ree kept her hands visible, but her fingers twitched toward her tool belt. If these pale zealots thought they were holding a helpless team of victims, they had another thing coming.

Barbax stumbled forward, his knees knocking violently with every jarring step into the abyss. Staring down the glowing barrel of the alien plasma rifle, he clutched his dead tricorder like a holy artifact, convinced every passing second brought them closer to execution, or worse, a cave-in. Panic choked his throat, rendering him completely mute. He kept his wide, terrified eyes locked strictly on the back of Kuzos’ boots, too terrified to even breathe loudly.

Aidan didn't look back. Being virtually blind in the darkness he couldn't afford the distraction. However, with his other senses on alert, and partially on supporting Amber he was unable to suppress a yelp of pain when he painfully bashed his thigh into a protruding sharp rock. The jolt up his leg made him miss a step and he staggered, his grip on amber's arm tightening in reflex.

Amber paused giving Aidan chance to get his balance. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but their captors had insisted on silence so instead she gave him a concerned look and a gentle smile.

The lead guard gave a low, harsh grunt at Aidan’s stumble, but offered no reprieve. He prodded the air behind Aidan with the heavy barrel of his rifle, ushering the group forward through the threshold of the subterranean transit shaft.

The arched passageway swallowed the away team whole. As they crossed out of the rough-hewn cavern and into the structural tunnel, the treacherous obsidian footing smoothed out beneath their boots, replaced by seamless, dark stone carved into cold, geometric symmetry. Phosphorescent strips running along the baseboards flickered to life, casting an unsettling, pale blue illumination over the forced procession.

Four guards fell into a disciplined flank around them—two taking the point with weapons sweeping the dark corridor ahead, while the remaining pair trailed close behind to seal off any hope of retreat. The air grew perceptibly cooler and dense with humidity, while the low, rhythmic hum that had haunted them from the start grew stronger, vibrating through the soles of their boots with every step.

Buried beneath tons of rock, their shuttle destroyed, their commander missing, and their communicator signals dead, the away team marched in silence. They were descending deeper into the unknown heart of Iocarro—not as explorers, but as prisoners of the Sacred Strata.

Unaware of the actions of her comrades Commander Zhora zh'Roothi blinked into consciousness. At least, she perceived it to be consciousnesses - the blackness was absolute, devoid of sound and movement. A sudden coughing fit to dislodge the dust that had settling upon her mouth and face, followed by waves of stabbing pain throughout her lithe body confirmed she was indeed awake.

Cautiously she eased herself into a sitting position, grimacing as she did and took stock of her situation and potential injuries. Miraculously a SIM's light was still attached to her left wrist and stuttered into life, casting a bright glow around the chamber Zhora was now entombed in having been thrown into the crevice as it ripped through the cavern during the violent tremor.

Wincing as the light rebounded she felt instantly deflated at the confirmation she was both trapped and alone. A quick touch to her breast also confirmed her commbadge had gone astray in the fall added to her situation.

Next was the systematic check over her body. Aided with the SIM's lamp she was relieved nothing was broken in the fall and the blow to her head had stopped bleeding judging by how crusted both her hair and cheek felt.

Standing gingerly the Andorian began to study her new environment in more detail while she strained to listen for signs of the others hoping they were both unharmed and close by.

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