Captain’s
Log, Stardate 52319.0:
While
on patrol in sector 287-H, the Dauntless has received a hail from a planet in the Oriaphus
system, which on the star charts is called simply
Koester, out.
“Mister
Bloom, what can you tell me about this planet?” Fleet
“Well,
Commodore,” Bloom said, reading information from the LCARS display. “
“What
is it the Corporation does there?” Koester asked, looking at the main viewscreen where the small brown and green planet was just
becoming visible.
“Computer
records do not indicate, Commodore,” Bloom responded, standing up from the Science
console and walking around to stand behind the First Officer’s seat. “However, it is believed to be some sort of
corporate resort or research and development facility. JP InGeneering has
regularly scheduled space flights to and from Earth every three weeks.”
Lt
Commander Phillip Winters, who had been busily tapping information into a padd he held, looked back toward the command chair and
Koester.
“Skipper,
we’re being hailed by JPI”
“On
screen,” Koester ordered.
Winters
nodded, and a moment later the view of the nearing planetoid was replaced the
image of a man wearing a business suit.
“This
is Commodore Peter J. Koester of the Federation starship Dauntless,” Koester said as he stood up and took a few steps closer
to the screen. “How can we be of
assistance to you?”
“Good
day to you, Commodore,” the man on the screen responded. “I am Dale Vondra,
Vice President in charge of Marketing for JP InGeneering. I’m sorry to have interrupted whatever
mission you were on...”
“No
problem, Mister Vondra. We were simply patrolling the sector against any Cardassian
or Jem’Hadar vessels.
It’s been a tense but quiet week,” replied Koester.
“Excellent,”
Vondra said, a bright smile
filled with shiny white teeth covering his face. “Our purpose for calling you is rather too
complicated to explain long distance like this.
I would like to invite you and at least five of your crew to join us
here at our main facility. Perhaps we
can help reduce your stress a little.”
Koester
glanced toward his First Officer, Virgil Kane, who sat in the seat in front of
Bloom. The human-turned-Bajoran man nodded at his C.O. Koester looked back toward the viewscreen.
“My
First Officer and other members of my staff would be delighted to take you up on
your offer, Mister Vondra. Just send us the transporter coordinates.”
“Certainly,
Commodore,” Vondra responded as he pushed a button on
a panel on the desk in front of him.
“Coordinates
received,” Winters confirmed.
Virgil
Kane stood up from his seat and started moving toward the nearest turbolift door, saying, “Have the coordinates sent to the
transporter room. Carrie, you’re with
me.”
Lt
Commander (Carrie) K’danz nodded, turned the Tactical
Post she had been manning over to one of her subordinate crew, and joined Kane
in the turbolift.
“Have
Lieutenant T’Cah meet me in Transporter Room 2,” Kane
said as he stepped into the lift. “Deck 11.” And the
doors swooshed closed behind him.
Space, the Final Frontier…
These are the voyages of the starship
Dauntless!
Its ongoing mission;
To seek, to
chart, to explore…
Slipping the surly bonds of Earth,
Going where none have been before!
Star Trek:
Dauntless
“
Based
in part on “
Down
in Transporter Room 2, Virgil Kane and K’danz joined
Lt T’Cah and three more of K’danz’s
Security force on the transporter pads.
“These
coordinates are supposed to beam you down to a transporter system in the main
complex building,” Transporter Chief Ray Daniels commented as he readied the
system.
“Very
well,” Kane said, tapping his combadge. “Kane to Bridge. We’re ready down here, Skipper.”
On
the Bridge, Koester tapped the intercom button on the arm of his command chair
and said with a smile, “Don’t have too much fun down there, Exec. We’ve just achieved orbit. Energize at your discretion.”
Koester
looked back up at the viewer, which again showed the deeply forested planetoid
spinning below.
“We
have achieved synchronous orbit over the JPI facility, Commodore,” Lt Commander
Kevin Fry reported from the helm.
“Very
well, maintain orbit,” Koester ordered.
“Sir,
Transporter Room 2 has completed transport,” reported Commander Winters from
his seat at Fry’s left at Ops. A moment
passed, then an alarmed look appeared on Winter’s
face.
“Sir,
I’ve lost my link with the Away Team.”
“Skipper!”
exclaimed the Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Ga’gh. “An ion screen has just been erected over a
majority of the hemisphere where the JPI facility is located.”
“What
the...? Winters,
hail Vondra,” Koester ordered.
Winters
hailed the Corporate facility on the planet, and a
moment later Vondra appeared on the screen.
“What’s
going on here?” Koester growled to the corporate executive.
“As
I said earlier, Commodore, your crew has been invited down to relax and relieve
some stress,” Vondra said, a somewhat forced smile on
his face. “They have been chosen to be
the first test group to tour our very special park which we soon hope to open
to the galaxy.”
“Skipper,”
interrupted Chief Pono R. Kyman,
the Dauntless’ Command Master Chief,
or
Koester
stood up and walked over to the Mission Ops station where Kyman
sat, looking over the El’Aurian man’s shoulder to
read the screen while Kyman explained.
“According
to a materials transfer permit issued five years ago,
“An animal sanctuary?” Koester said, puzzled. “For what kind of animals?”
* * * *
The
Away Team materialized in a small clearing in the jungle. As soon as they realized they were not in the
JPI facility building as promised, the four Security Guards; K’danz, Rodriguez, Guinness, and Hopey,
all drew their phasers while Kane tapped his combadge.
“Away
Team to Dauntless.... Dauntless, respond.”
“Mister
Kane,” said T’Cah as she scanned her surroundings
with her tricorder.
“I am registering an ionic dampening field covering the area we are
located for at least five kilometers in all directions. It is disrupting communications, and I highly
doubt that the Dauntless has been
able to maintain a transporter lock on us.”
Kane
looked around at the thick undergrowth surrounding them, as well as the tall
fern-like and deciduous trees all around.
“I
seriously doubt we were beamed here accidentally,” he said. “Those coordinates they gave us must have
been a ruse. Any signs
of civilization nearby?”
T’Cah slowly scanned in a circle around herself,
then pointed off in one direction.
“I
am registering buildings 5.2 kilometers to the west of us. I recommend we proceed in that direction.”
“Maybe
someone there can give us some answers,” K’danz said.
“Alright. Let’s all
head in that direction. And everyone
stick close together,” Kane said. “You
never know what may really be in this jungle.”
And
as the six member Away Team started heading deeper
into the jungle, no one noticed a pair of gold-colored eyes watching them.
* * * *
“Commodore,
we’ve completed our initial scan of the planetoid,” Jeff Bloom reported. Koester rose from his Command Chair where he
had been brooding the last few minutes and joined Bloom and Ensign ‘Spot’ at
the Science Console.
“Results?”
he asked.
“Sensors
register a small cluster of buildings in the vicinity of 20 degrees north latitude,
075 degrees west longitude planetary local.
We’ve determined the coordinates Mister Vondra
gave us are actually five kilometers from those buildings,” Bloom said,
sounding somewhat chagrined. “I’m sorry,
Commodore.”
“For what, Jeff?” Koester asked, puzzled.
“I
should have thought to double check those coordinates before Virg and the Away Team beamed down.”
“If
anyone is to blame for that, Jeff, it’s me,” Koester said sadly. “It’s not your fault.” He looked back down at the readings displayed
on the panel. “Are the buildings also
shielded?”
“Negative,
Commodore,” responded the mechanical sounding voice of Ensign ‘Spot’ through Koester’s combadge. The noncorporeal lifeform, who
appeared as nothing more than a small circle of red light sitting on the
console, quickly moved toward another display and added, “We have determined
the communications signal from Mister Vondra
originated from the largest building in the cluster, the one closest to the
east.”
“Very
good,” Koester said, standing straight. “Have
Ga’gh, Q,
and a senior Security Guard meet me in Transporter Room 1. I’m going to have a little face to face with
Mister Vondra.”
* * * *
“I’ve
never seen growth so thick!” K’danz commented as she
and Rodriguez cut through the underbrush with their phasers. “Back in
“Mister
Kane!” Rodriguez called out, causing the First Officer to increase his pace and
catch up. He stepped out of the jungle
into bright sunlight. Across a vast field
filled with long grass, buildings could be seen in the distance.
“That’s
our goal,” Kane said with a grin. “How far, Lieutenant?”
“Direct
line of sight places the complex 3.6 kilometers away. We should be able to make the journey in less
than one hour,” T’Cah answered.
“Well,
the sooner we get moving again, the sooner we get there,” K’danz
commented, and started heading through the tall grass toward the JPI
facility. Rodriguez, Kane, and Hopey started to follow as well, but Guinness hesitated as T’Cah continued to scan with her tricorder,
her usual Vulcan unexpressiveness momentarily
irregular. It took a moment for Kane to
notice the Vulcan Science Officer was not alongside him. He turned to look at T’Cah.
“What’s
the matter, Lieutenant?”
“I
am registering life forms, Commander,” T’Cah
answered.
“People at the JPI facility?” Kane wondered.
“No,
Commander. Animals. Very close.
But I have never seen readings like this before...”
Suddenly
a scream drew all their attention, and Kane realized
that Hopey was no longer standing among the rest of
the Away Team.
“Ensign Hopey? Hopey, where are
you?”
Without
warning, Kane was suddenly rammed to the ground by a large bipedal
creature. He barely missed having his
arm, which he had thrown up to protect his face, latched onto by a mouthful of
sharp teeth.
The
creature snapped at him again, Kane ducking his head to the side to avoid the
carnivorous predator, when it was quickly knocked off of him with a phaser beam, landing lifelessly a few meters away. Kane barely had time to nod thanks to K’danz before she aimed her phaser
at another of the attacking creatures.
The Bajoran-by-choice drew his own sidearm and
took a kneeling stance, defending himself against another pair of the murderous
creatures. Phaser
fire could be heard all around him.
A
few minutes later it appeared the Away Team had killed or scared off the last
of the creatures. Kane stood up to
assess the status of his team.
“Is
everyone alright?” he asked breathlessly.
“I
have sustained a minor injury,” T’Cah said, a line of
green blood moving slowly down the side of her face. “But I will live.”
“Just
a few scratches,” K’danz said as she walked closer to
one of the dead creatures and looked at it with a mixture of fascination and
disgust. “It almost looks like some
ancestor of the Gorn.”
“Rodriguez? Hopey? Guinness?” Kane
called out.
“I’m
okay,” said Rodriguez as he joined K’danz to look at
the creature, still warily scanning the horizon at the same time.
“I’m... I’m not so good,” said the voice of Guinness
from somewhere in the grass. T’Cah moved toward where the voice had come from and found
the security guard holding his leg, a pained expression on his face. “I...
I think it’s... broken,” he said
in obvious agony. Blood dripped down his
abdomen and leg.
Kane
looked down at the injured guard, then started looking
around again.
“Hopey? Ensign, where
are you?”
“I
found him, sir!” K’danz called out a moment later,
her expression turning darker. “Or at least, ...what’s left of him.”
Kane’s
own expression grew grim. He reached
down to Ensign Guinness and removed the injured man’s combadge,
then walked over to where K’danz stood. She was right. There wasn’t all that much left of the
security guard. Kane placed the combadge onto the remains and stood up.
“We’ll
beam Mister Hopey up as soon as we regain contact
with the ship,” he said. “In the
meantime, K’danz, Rodriguez, cut us down some
branches from the trees in the jungle.
We’ll make a litter and carry Mister Guinness the rest of the way.
“Aye,
sir,” K’danz replied and the two of then quickly ran
back to where they had exited the jungle.
* * * *
Two
hours later the grassy plain gave way to more open country. A few trees and boulders dotted the hilly landscape
between them and the buildings less than a kilometer distant.
“Now
this reminds me more of home,” K’danz said as she and
Kane manhandled the makeshift litter Guinness laid upon.
“Commander,
I believe I have made a startling discovery,” T’Cah
said, moving up quickly beside the weary First Officer. “This may sound like fiction, but I believe
those creatures that attacked us were dinosaurs.”
Kane
stopped short, almost causing K’danz to drop Guinness
to the ground.
“Lieutenant,
dinosaurs have been extinct for over 165 million years,” Kane said scoldingly. “And lived only on Earth.”
“I
realize that, sir, but my analysis of the creatures we killed correlates with a
species known as Deinonychus, a member of the Raptor
family.” She held up her tricorder for Kane to see.
Kane
simply stared in silence at the Science Officer, until a loud bellow filled the
air. The entire Away Team turned to stare
in wonder as a herd of Triceratops came stampeding up the hill past them. Kane and K’danz
quickly moved Guinness’ litter into a safe, out of the way spot behind a
boulder and watched silently as half a dozen Parasaurolophus,
or duck-billed dinosaurs, quickly brought up the rear of the stampede.
“Lieutenant,”
Kane said to T’Cah, voice barely above a whisper, “I
will never doubt you again.”
“How
did they get here? And what do you
suppose has them so spooked?” Rodriguez asked, while he nervously fingered his phaser.
“I
don’t think I really want to find out,” K’danz
answered.
However,
the Security Chief’s hopes would go unanswered as two Tyrannosaurs came
bounding over the hilltop, one of them catching a Triceratops off guard and
downing the large animal very quickly.
The other T-Rex attacked two of the duck-bills who had paused in fear,
watching the first Tyrannosaur bite huge chunks of flesh from the dead
Triceratops, mortally wounding them both before losing interest in the slowly
fleeing animals and turning its attention toward the other T-Rex’s meal. However, the weakened duck-bills did not get
very far before a large group of Ornitholestes, tiny
meat eating scavengers, overcame them.
“Commander,
we have a problem,” T’Cah said, scanning once again
with her tricorder.
Kane continued to stare in silence at the two gigantic meat-eaters as
they tore at the Triceratops carcass and occasionally took nips at one another,
his mouth agape. “Commander?”
T’Cah repeated.
Kane
shook himself out of his stupor and looked at the Vulcan woman.
“What
is it, Lieutenant?”
“Those
two Tyrannosaurs are blocking our most direct path to the JPI facility.”
Kane
stared once again at the huge dinosaurs, then said, “We’ll
just have to go around them. Can we sneak
by down this steep side of the hill?” He
pointed down toward the sharp incline.
“I
cannot see as we have any other choice,” T’Cah
agreed.
“K’danz,” Kane whispered sharply, indicating to the Security
Chief to resume carrying the injured guard.
The two officers hefted the litter onto their shoulders and the Away
Team started climbing down the side of the hill, attempting to remain out of
the sight of the two huge predators.
Half
way down the hill, the wind shifted, and K’danz said,
“Thank God. The smell of those things
eating was too much for me.”
“Commander,
this is not good,” T’Cah said, her voice emotionless,
but her eyebrows rising sharply. She
glanced over her shoulder to see one of the Tyrannosaurs glancing down the
hill, curious about the movement it had seen and the smell of blood that now
filled it’s nostrils.
The T-Rex let out a bellowing roar and charged toward the Away Team.
Kane
and K’danz could not draw their weapons in time
without throwing the litter that carried Ensign Guinness to the ground, and the
huge beast was on them in seconds.
Rodriguez tried shooting at the creature, but his phaser
setting had little effect on the T-Rex other than making it madder. It knocked it’s huge
head into both Kane and Rodriguez, knocking the Security Guard over and
flinging Kane into the air, landing hard on his back a few meters away. Guinness screamed as the T-Rex turned it’s
attentions on him, and with a snap, clamped it’s jaws
on the helpless security guard. Pieces
of the litter flew as the Tyrannosaur bit down, cutting off the hapless
security guard’s scream with a unpalatable gurgle.
The
action drew the attention of the second T-Rex, which quickly joined in the
skirmish.
“Set
your phasers to maximum!” Kane shouted as loudly as
he could, watching the two carnivores circle the other three members of his
team. He then fired his own phaser, which burned into the tough hide of the first
T-Rex. The creature screamed in agony.
T’Cah and Rodriguez used the distraction to adjust their
own phasers and fired at the newly arrived
Tyrannosaur just as it bent to attack, one phaser
beam disappearing into the creature’s maw, the other hitting directly between
the eyes. The T-Rex fell, shaking the
ground all around it.
The
first T-Rex, seriously injured, turned to attack Kane, who still lay on the
ground. Another phaser
strike from K’danz make the creature pause
momentarily, confused and hurt, before it resumed the attack. Another shot from both Kane and K’danz finally stopped the huge beast.
“Are
you alright, Commander?” K’danz asked as she, T’Cah and Rodriguez all came running over to him.
“I’m....
(huff) fine....
(puff)... Just
had... the wind... knocked out of me,” Kane said trying to catch his
breath. He collapsed back onto the
dirt. “Remind me.... the next time.... someone offers me a free
vacation... to say... No!”
* * * *
Fleet
Captain Koester and his Away Team materialized in the center of the room,
startling Vondra and the two lab technicians he was
consulting with.
“Why,
Commodore!” Vondra said, his expression changing
quickly to the consumer friendly grin he used on screen. “Welcome to
“Well,
you see, Mister Vondra, there’s this little problem
of you having raised an ionic shield over those coordinates,” Koester said with
exaggerated sarcasm. “And while we’re on
the subject of coordinates, why did the ones you sent us beam our first Away
Team five kilometers from here and not here?”
“As
I explained, Commodore, your first team is a test group for our new theme
attraction. Let me show you around our
rather remarkable facility.” Vondra attempted to place his arm around Koester’s shoulder
and lead him around, but the Commodore shrugged it off. Vondra cleared his
throat and simply lead the new Away Team into a nearby laboratory door.
“Just
what is it you do here?” Dr. Lotus Q,
Chief Medical Officer aboard the new Dauntless
asked. But rather than simply answering,
Vondra pressed a button and a large viewer flashed to
life.
“Welcome
to
Koester
glanced over at Q, who returned the
worried glance and looked back at the monitor.
The presentation video continued with a scene inside the laboratory.
“Here,
in these very labs, fossils from Earth’s Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous
periods are scanned at the atomic level, looking for strands of DNA. Those DNA strands are then replicated, injected
into specially engineered eggs, and in a short time we have actual dinosaurs.”
Looks
of horror covered the faces of all four members of the Dauntless Away Team.
“What
was fiction a mere 400 years ago is now scientific fact,” added the video. “Welcome to the real ‘
“Have
you lost your mind?!?” Koester shouted, turning on Vondra. “You can’t simply replicate these huge wild
animals and set them free on a group of unsuspecting and unwilling tourists!”
“Not
replicated, Commodore, engineer....”
“I
don’t give a blast what you call it! You
named this place
“The
purpose, put quite simply,” said Vondra, “is
safari. Depending on our client’s
intentions it could be as simple as a tour among the animals, to as complex as
a hunt. Have you ever read the story ‘A
Sound of Thunder?’ Your Away Team is our
first test group consisting of people not from JP InGeneering
staff, to certify the thrill of the park is adequate. The shield we use is to both protect the
animals and to prevent you from beaming back your team before they could
experience the true thrill of the park.”
“Lower
the shield, Vondra,” Koester demanded.
“Commodore,
I simply can’t...”
“Lower
the shield or I’ll have your entire company shut down so quickly...,” Koester
threatened.
Vondra sighed, then turned toward
one of the nearby technicians who had been watching the confrontation and made
a hand gesture.
* * * *
“Run!”
Kane shouted as he glanced over his shoulder.
Rodriguez
and T’Cah were helping Kane hobble along on his badly
injured leg while K’danz took shots with her phaser to try and scare away their attackers as a T-Rex, a
small pack of Deinonychus, and a half dozen Troodon chased after them, occasionally taking bites toward
one another.
The
T-Rex lead the pack, and was almost on top of the Away
Team when one of the raptors moved too close to the prey. The Tyrannosaur quickly turned and bit,
tearing the Deinonychus in half before resuming it’s chase. The six Troodon paused to look at the fleeing Starfleet crew, then dove onto the meal the dead raptor provided.
“Look!”
called out Rodriguez, pointing toward the buildings becoming visible over a
small rise.
“The
facility is only 500 meters away,” T’Cah informed as
she glanced at her tricorder. “But I am registering a shield between us and
the buildings.”
“We’ll
just have to get as close to the shield as we can and make a stand there,” Kane
ordered through gritted teeth.
The
four Away Team members could feel the electric charge in the air as they neared
the shield. It was apparent to them that
the pursuing dinosaurs were aware of the shield as well, as they all slowed and
stared at their intended prey, stalking but not approaching too near.
“What
do we do, sir?” Rodriguez asked.
“Pray
for a miracle?” was Kane’s only suggestion.
Until a small triple beep on T’Cah’s tricorder caught their attention.
“Commander,
the shield is down,” T’Cah whispered.
Kane
looked nervously at the T-Rex, who sniffed at the air as if knowing something
had changed but not yet comprehending what it was. The Deinonychus
likewise stalked closer, spreading out slightly to avoid the Tyrannosaur’s huge
jaws while surrounding the Away Team.
“How
far do you figure to the buildings?” Kane asked the Science Officer.
“100
meters at best,” she replied.
“On
three, go for it,” Kane ordered. “One...
Two...”
* * * *
The
viewscreen inside the JPI Headquarters building
showed all inside the horror taking place just a few hundred meters away.
“Q, get your medikit
ready. They’re going to need it when
they get in here,” Koester said. “Vondra!”
“Yes,
Commodore?” the JPI executive said, shaking from fear and frustration at how
badly things had suddenly turned.
“We
need to get out there and help them.
Where’s the exit nearest their location?”
“Th... the emergency exit, one... one level down and on the
east side of the building in the storage garage,” the VP replied, now on the
verge of tears.
“Get
it open. Ga’gh,
* * * *
“Look,
that door just opened!” K’danz shouted out as she and
Rodriguez half-carried Kane between them.
T’Cah glanced back at the once again charging predators She paused
for a moment to let the other three catch up, then grabbed Kane by his uniform
front and hefted him onto her shoulders.
With her greater Vulcan strength, she darted ahead again and into the ajar door, followed closely by K’danz.
Rodriguez
turned to fire one last phaser shot at the
approaching dinosaurs and was taken by surprise when one of the raptors leapt
into the air and landed on him, throwing him hard against the door and
battering it open, the dinosaur’s razor sharp hunting claw slicing into the man’s
stomach. Blood and guts poured out of
the huge wound as the raptor began to eat.
The other few Deinonychus left the one to it’s kill and warily followed the Away Team into the
building. The raptor which had slain
Rodriguez looked up at the approaching T-Rex and dragged his meal into the
building, causing the door the body had blocked to close behind it.
The
Tyrannosaur was enraged by the disappearance of both its prey and
competitors. The huge beast began
battering the building with it’s large head and
tail. Chunks of concrete, plaster, and
brick started collapsing under the pounding.
* * * *
T’Cah with Kane met Koester and the others in the stairwell
between floors.
“How
is he?” the Commodore asked.
“His
life is not in danger,” T’Cah said. “Though he needs medical
attention as soon as possible.”
“Q’s waiting in the main lab
upstairs. And Exec...,” Koester said,
looking at his battered and beaten First Officer. Kane glanced up at his CO with a pained
expression. “I thought I told you not to
have too much fun?”
“Oh,
har har, Skipper,” Kane
said as T’Cah started up the stairs once again and
Koester, Ga’gh and Ensign Taylor ran down. Koester burst through the lower stairwell
door, into the garage area, phaser ready.
Before
him, Lt Commander K’danz was trying to hold off four
raptors who circled her menacingly. But
if one took a step closer, she would raise her phaser
toward it, and another on her opposite side would try to gain the
advantage. The Security Chief was in a
no win situation.
“Commander,
take the one in front of you!” Koester shouted as he and his team took
position. A couple of the raptors hissed
menacingly at them, but continued to circle K’danz
until all four people started shooting.
The Deinonychus all fell as one.
“Thank
you, sir,” K’danz said as she joined the others, out
of breath and shaking violently. “I
thought I was done for.”
Just
then, the building shook to it’s foundations. K’danz and Taylor
stared at the far wall of the building, eyes wide with fear, as cracks started
to form. The roar of the T-Rex outside
could be heard clearly.
“Come
on,” ordered Koester. “Let’s get up to
the lab.”
The
first sight that greeted the team when they emerged from the stairwell was the
pair of raptors who screeched at Lt T’Cah, bleeding
badly and backed up underneath a lab console.
Bodies of the lab technicians were flung around the room.
The
Vulcan woman tried to raise her phaser to the raptors
when one swiped out with it’s claws and knocked the phaser across the room, then reared to attack. Two phaser beams
towards each creature from Koester’s team disrupted the attack, and the
creatures fell dead to the floor.
“Lieutenant,”
Koester said as he kneeled down to assess T’Cah’s
wounds. “Where are the others?”
“I
do not know, Commodore,” T’Cah said weakly. “The dinosaurs surprised us with their
attack. Everyone here tried to flee
while I fought back. I lost track of
Commanders Kane and Q.”
Just
as the Vulcan finished speaking, a nearby wall panel slid away, revealing a
large hidden storage closet filled with lab coats, cleaning supplies, and Q, Kane , and
Mister Vondra, who appeared pale as a ghost.
“Q! Thank God!” Koester said, giving his CMO a
quick hug. The hug was interrupted by the another violent shake of the entire building, and the
sound of collapsing masonry as the T-Rex outside finally broke through into the
building.
“I’ve
done as much as I can for the moment for Virg,” Q said.
“He can walk on his own, but I really need to get him back to the ship.”
“We’ve
got to get out of here!” Vondra screamed. “We’ve got to get out of here or we’re all
going to die!”
Koester
looked at the executive with contempt, and said, “I’m going to get us beamed
out of here. Koester
to Dauntless.”
Before
the starship could respond, a screech from the ceiling drew all stares in that
direction. From a hole in the lab
skylight, three more Deinonychus looked down
hungrily, then one by one dropped into the lab itself. Ga’gh and K’danz tried to shoot the invading dinosaurs, but for every
one they killed, another two would drop down through the skylight.
“We
have to get out of here,” Koester ordered, and quickly followed Vondra who ran screaming down a hallway.
“Dauntless. Bloom,” said the voice of the Chief Science
Officer through Koester’s combadge as the party
rushed through the building halls, closing doors and overturning furniture in
an effort to slow the pursuing creatures.
“Mister
Bloom,” Koester said between breaths. “We
need an immediate emergency beam up. Eight people.”
A
moment passed before Bloom responded, saying, “The Transporter Room is having
problems locking onto you, Commodore.
Could you possibly stand still for a few moments.”
“Uh... no,” said Koester without mirth.
By
the time Koester and his crew caught up to Vondra
through the twists and turns of the JPI building, a trio of lab technicians
were running with the executive as well.
“Can
you lead us outside?” Koester asked the terrified VP.
“Are
you crazy, Commodore?” the man said with wide eyes. “There are more of them outside!”
Right
then the entire group stopped short. The
hallway opened into a large lobby area, where company gatherings would have
taken place. But instead of a large
gathering of people, the room contained a single large, hungry, and angry
Tyrannosaurus Rex. The two lab
technicians who had been leading the entire group did not stop quickly enough,
and the T-Rex swiftly closed it’s gaping maw around
them, the sickening sound of rendered bones and flesh filling the air.
“This way! Quickly!” Vondra said, seeming to
regain some of his senses in the face of the new attack, and backtracked
the group down another hallway. “This
will lead to the sheltered gardens between the complex buildings.”
Vondra lead the group down one long hallway, and then
around a corner. He almost started to
laugh as they neared another turn in the hallway.
“It’s
just around this corner,” Vondra said. “The door’s are
right...”
Vondra stopped and looked in dispair
at what the group faced. Instead of an
access door, the hallway was cluttered from floor to ceiling with shattered
debris, remnants of the T-Rex’s violent entry into the building.
“We’re
doomed,” Vondra mumbled with dispair.
“We
have to backtrack again,” said Kane as he turned back around again. “Come on this...”
Kane
stopped when he saw the six Deinonychus slowly
stalking toward the group, hissing lowly.
They tapped their clawed toe on the floor as they closed the distance.
“Mommy...,”
Vondra whimpered, and the raptors leapt to attack....
...Landing
hard and painfully in the debris as the group dematerialized in a transporter
beam, out of reach forever.
* * * *
Koester
sat motionless on the edge of the biobed in Sickbay
as Q ran one final scan over
him. On other beds lay Virgil Kane, the
EMH wrapping bandages around one of his legs, and T’Cah,
who recuperated on the main surgical table.
K’danz and Taylor had already been released.
“What’s
the status of the JPI employees?” Koester asked his CMO.
“The
Transporter Chief managed to lock onto five of the staff who were
hidden in other areas of the facility, but from their records it looks as if
they lost about twenty people,” Q
said.
“Plus
three of our own,” Koester commented.
Q read off the analysis from her tricorder, and as she packed it into a medikit,
commented, “You’re perfectly fit for duty.
I need to head down to the Brig and check in on Mister Vondra now.”
“How
is he recovering?” Koester asked as he slipped off the biobed
and walked with Q toward the
corridor.
“Still catatonic. We
have him resting as comfortably as we can,” she answered as the two paused near
a turbolift.
“Well,
do all you can to see he recovers. I don’t want him getting out of this
situation that easily.” Q nodded and entered the lift. Koester watched the doors swish shut and
stood there pondering a moment, shaking his head in utter disgust, before
resuming his journey to the Bridge.
Captain’s
Log, Stardate 52321.1:
USS Dauntless en route to Starbase 139 to drop off the remaining JP InGeneering staff, and where Mister Dale Vondra will be placed under arrest, to face charges of
negligence and multiple counts of wrongful death.
In
the meantime, I have recommended to Starfleet Command that Oriaphus
IV, also known as
Perhaps
there are some things man was not meant to play around with. God made the dinosaurs extinct on Earth for a
reason. Who are we to second guess Him?
Koester, out.
The
End
Return to 2375.
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