Wine Cellars: A call to Hunt!

 Another entry in the long Wine Cellars campaign, This time we find a small band of adventurers heeding the call of a fellow compatriot to seek out evil and face it down!

This game took place 9/5/21

Our players are:

Sal - El Muerte de Tijuana: the Luchador

Joe P. - Hagar the Sinewy Barbarian & Leonard the Mage

Steve - Rook the Thief

Will - Master Blaster (Dwarf) & Mister Blister (Dim-witted Fighter) 

Black Crag Mnts.

The adventure begins when El Muerte gets a solid lead from a Fur-trapper about a large Black-goat sighted in the foothills of the Black Crag mountains. The Luchador then summons his closest allies.. family.

Within 24 hours Master Blaster the dwarf of the Thirty One League clan and step-brother to El Muerte arrives with his faithful warrior companion Mr. Blister and a bonus, the ex-brother in-law Rook!

Rook was married to El Muerte's sister Rosalita but there was a falling out and we'll go into that another time.

Hagar the Sinewy Barbarian and nephew of the wrestler also arrived with his friend Leonard the Mage in tow.

With the party assembled El Muerte led them into the Black Crag foothills in search of the elusive Black Goat of Marqest.

As dusk approached the party began to grow weary as no sign of the goat could be found. But then the bleat of the creature echoed through the foothills! The group quickly found a small game trail and followed it up into the mountainous crags. 

With less than an hour of daylight to spare the party comes across a cave entrance with a small encampment just outside it. They watch three diminutive cloaked figures milling about doing chores when a fourth cloaked figure drives a Stone giant out of the cave by lash of whip! The giant proceeds to upend a pair of containers he carries into a pair of wooden wagons. The whip-master drives the giant back into the cave as the trio begin to prep the wagons for travel.

Master Blaster uses a large sack to create a makeshift disguise that just may pass him off as one of the cloaked figures below. With this hastily concocted plan the party carefully descend from the trail and creep towards the encampment.

Master Blaster emerges from the brush and approaches the trio, in common he says he's been sent to fill in for the night-shift and begins to make small talk. All the while he has his hand-crossbow ready just under his sack disguise. Meanwhile El Muerte has climbed up tree to get height advantage and Mr. blister & Rook have taken up positions to flank the hooded ones. Hagar and Leonard are hanging back just out of sight.

Common tongue seeming to get no response from the cloaked figures Master Blaster resorts to a word or two in Dwarf and instantly draws the ire of the creatures! They reveal obsidian daggers and rush to attack!! Blaster is quicker and falls back firing his hand-bow but misses! The Luchador leaps from his perch and delivers a fatal Elbow Drop on one of the knife wielding foes! Mister Blister emerges from the brush and clips the one chasing Master Blaster with his great club flipping it head over heels, this blow is followed by a crossbow bolt pinning it to the ground from Rook! The remaining cloaked figure attempts to flee into the cave but is stunned by Hagar using his Glistening muscles technique then cut down by the brawny Barbarian.  It is soon discovered that the slain creatures bodies have dissolved into a black goo, and the wagons are filled with raw silver ore.

Dark Gnome

Upon inspection of the wagons it is surmised that these fellows are most likely using the stone giant to mine the silver here. Master Blasters suggests they hitch up one of the wagons and head back to the village. El Muerte is conflicted as he wants to confront the Black Goat! Frustrated the Luchador attempts to get the party to look about for proof the Black Goat is here or nearby. After a few minutes of rooting about the camp nothing connected to goats is found, however Rook reports that he hears the sounds of mining work and the faint bleat of goat from within the cave itself!

Rather than dashing into the cave, a plan is concocted involving lantern oil one of the wagons laden with ore and a flaming donkey! 

Mr. Blister and El Muerte take up positions on either side if the cave entrance, Rook stands back crossbow ready as  Hagar and Leonard hide near the second wagon. Master Blaster astride the first ore wagon now doused in a good quantity of lamp oil ignites the donkey's tail with a torch then steers the careening animal straight into the mouth of the cave!! At last instant the surprisingly nimble dwarf leaps from the wagon setting it afire with said torch and takes his position strapped to Mr. blisters back and arms his hand-bow.

The flaming wagon & donkey barrel into the cave disappearing into the darkness. A few seconds later loud crashes, yells and a weird screeching are heard. This is quickly followed with billowing smoke and the sound of many feet heading to the entryway.

The sun has now set and the party have only the dim flicker firelight from inside the cave to see by. When the first creature emerges from the cave! The Wrestler hesitates with a camp chair held over his head to better see what his target is, Mr. Blister swings his large club and breaks the rear leg of a large bug-like thing that comes scittering out of the smoke! The thing begins spinning in a circle flailing about with whip-like tail ending in an odd bony protrusion. 

Beetle-us Giganticus!?

"What in the Hells is that!" cries Rook, bringing his crossbow to bear. 

"Hit it again!" commands Master Blaster to Mr. Blister, just as the pair dodge a flailing tail swing!

Muerte watches the cave wary of more targets emerging.

Rook yells "Clear!" and fires a bolt into the bug-thing putting an end to its screeching, "Well now we know what was making those noises..."

Just then a pair of cloaked figures emerge from the smoke, one wields a club and the other an obsidian dagger as well as a small brass trumpet. A scuffle ensues resulting in the club wielders gooey demise, but the second gnome sounds his trumpet and everyone especially El Muerte are taken quite by surprise!!

The sound from the trumpet is an unmistakable bleating that sounds just like the Black Goat! The group are flabbergasted as questions pop off around the table!! Are the gnomes in league with the Black Goat? Is the goat even here in the mountains?? Does the Black Goat command the Gnomes??? One thing is for sure though the party as whole agrees, THEY NEED THAT TRUMPET!!!

A brisk melee ensues with the Gnome deftly dodging incoming attempts to subdue him! He even resists the effect of Hagar's Glistening Muscle technique and sounds the trumpet a second time as he turns to retreat back into the cave!

El Muerte however is able to trip the gnome and break his ankle as well, allowing the party to capture both him and the brass instrument. El Muerte's blood is raging and he attempts to interrogate the captive gnome, but succeeds only in turning it into a gooey mess in his fists! Leonard however identifies the deceased bug as a "Beetle-us Giganticus, obviously." The size alone and the fact it emerged from a cave seem to be enough for the rest of the group to agree to the Mage's knowledge on such things. "And as for this," Leonard peers at the brass trumpet, "some sort of creature mimicry instrument, rather like a Duck call hunter's use I would say."

"See the Goat thing was a ruse to scare the curious away from their camp here." states Master Blaster, "Now we can make off with the other wagon, let's go!"

"Argh!" grunts El Muerte, stomping the ground! "I am duped, this was a waste of ...."

From deep in the cave a cacophony of stampeding hooves and horrid bleating is followed by sight of a half-dozen black goats charging out of the fiery cave!!!

El Muerte grins widely and bellows, "Not one but six black goats! Meet my fists you demon beasts!"

The party is bowled over by the charge of the Black Goats and a terrible battle ensues!!

Master Blaster was dismounted from Mr. Blister and the dim-warrior was severely Nut-busted twice by the hell-spawned goats!

Rook was head-butted near to death and saved only by the quick teamwork of Hagar and Leonard.

All the while El Muerte laid about himself with punches and kicks dealing death to his hated family enemy!

In the final moments of the battle Rook bulls-eyed a de-horned goat that Mr. Blister had sorely wounded, and Hagar who was down to his last breath protecting and KO'ed Master Blaster was aided by Leonard using his patented Magic Side-Winder missile to explode the final goat!!!! 

The wounded were quickly loaded onto the remaining wagon along with the carcasses of the slain goats and the party returned to town where much carousing was had, and Rook constantly griping about how he was almost head-butted to death by a goat!!

THE END

Wine Cellars: A tale of the Sisters of St. Brigid

 Word has spread amongst the people of Hemlock hamlet that a recently deceased adventurer has returned from the dead and has been prowling the countryside. Sir Atherol and the Vicar Osrin have summoned a couple of trusted men for an important mission.

Player: Mark E. - Gunther the Warrior & Brother Frederic an Adept of the Holy Saints.

Atherol Manor

 Gunther the Warrior a gruff man of late middle years, and Brother Frederic an Adept serving the Vicar directly are instructed to travel north to the Chapel of Saint Brigid and request the usage of a sacred weapon sequestered there by the Holy Sisters.

  "What is this weapon you send me to retrieve?" asked Gunther.

 "It is the sword Requiem Aeternum, a most powerful and holy item." stated the Vicar.

 The grizzled warrior made a face, "Requiem Ater- what kind of name is that?"

The young Adept spoke up, "It means Eternal Rest, in the common tongue." He smiled broadly.

"This mission is likely to put me in eternal sleep." grumbled Gunther.

"You may remember the sword by its more common name, Draugr-Doom." Sir Atherol remarked pointedly.

Gunther smacked the tabletop with his large fist, "Draugr-Doom! That sword was lost during the final battle with old Marqest's forces."

Vicar Osrin stood and raised his hands in supplication to the Holy Saints, "Not so much lost, as kept in readiness to be used against evil when the time called. Let us thank the Sisters of Saint Brigid who tended and buried the last Hero who used that weapon." The old man sat down and continued, "The two of you will take this request from Sir Atherol and myself to the Headmistress at the Chapel of Saint Brigid. The sisters will then turn the weapon over to you to be returned here for use against the Spectre that now haunts our hamlet."

"I trust you Gunther, to get the sword back here." said Atherol rising from his seat, "I hope there is no undue trouble that besets you, but there have been rustlings of trouble as of late. I want to be ahead of any steps taken by those who would follow darkness. Let us be proactive this time hmmm."

The following morning would see Gunther mounted on his trusty horse "Sally" followed by Brother Frederic leading a pack mule as the pair set of along the west road towards Watchtower Hill. Once the pair crossed the river bridge it would be a couple miles more until they would meet up with the road that would take them north.

Gunther leaves Athelor Manor

The weather was dreadful and both men suffered miserably as a cold drizzle drenched them throughout the day. By late afternoon the rain had finally ceased and a campsite for the evening was chosen. Gunther showed Frederic how to dry out their soaked clothing over a fire the way he learned as a young man in the army. After a hot meal the two men found themselves overcome with weariness and soon fell fast asleep.

Something poked Gunther and the warrior sat up quickly dagger in hand. It was Frederic bathed in the dim light of the glowing embers form the campfire. "Gunther, I heard something in the woods!" the young cleric hissed. 

His back ached from sleeping on the ground, it had been many years since campaigning had been a regular duty. "Ugh, I'm sure it was just some forest game moving about Brother. Anyway, it seems close to dawn why don't you get the mounts ready and I'll make us a proper soldiers breakfast eh?"

Bother Frederic

As the Warrior fried a pair of sausages over the fire, he thought about his old companions and smiled to himself. The lay Brother was no hardened fighter but he was a seemingly good and steady lad. Just then Frederic emerged from the brush with a severed piece of rope in hand and a pale face!

"Gunther! The mule has been slain and the horse is gone!"

"What! My Sally you say, gone!" the big man moved swiftly grabbing his gear and weapons. Then he stamped out the fire and tossed a sausage to the bewildered monk who caught it in his free hand and winced as the heat scalded his fingers. "Eat that and grab your bags, hopefully I can track whoever made off with my horse!" 

The day was spent following the trail of the horse thieves, and fortunately they had not even tried to hide their tracks. What bothered Gunther was that they had killed the mule and taken the horse. Both animals were valuable and killing one made no sense. 

It was nearly dusk by the time the pair caught up to the thieves. Frederic was nearly overcome with exhaustion from the pace the two had been keeping and Gunther was feeling spent as well but hid the fact from his companion. 

"I say Gunther," huffed Frederic "can we not rest a moment? My legs feel like lead!"

The grizzled warrior stopped and drug the young monk down behind a fallen tree. "Goodness, what are you doing?" cried Frederic.

A gloved hand covered his mouth, and Gunther whispered, "Listen brother!"

The pair huddled in silence by the downed tree and just as Frederic was about to comment when the panicked whinny of a horse was heard emanating from a copse of firs just ahead.

"That's my Sally," grunted Gunther as he drew his sword, "we have the scum now!" 

Frederic stumbled after Gunther as the older man moved like a wolf stalking prey. The young adept gulped in fear at the thought of physical violence, but was this not why he had been paired with the old warrior.

In the gloom of the setting sun the two men were shocked to see a pair of cloaked figures wrestling with Sally at the center of the copse. One of the pair drew a short blade and slashed at the horse! Red with anger Gunther burst forth from the trees and charged the pair as Frederic ran after hands trembling in a nervous grip upon his stout walking staff.

As the pair reached striking distance Gunther gave out a howl expecting to frighten the scoundrels who had abducted his horse, however the cloaked pair turned and revealed themselves to be cloaked skeletons! This threw poor Frederic for a loop and only Gunther followed through and entered combat!

"Bless my soul!" cried the young monk as he stumbled

forward. 

He watched in a daze as Gunther laid about with powerful blows and he practically shattered one of the unholy creatures. The second skeleton slashed Gunther across the thigh with a lucky blow, but this only served to enrage the warrior and he shoulder blocked the bone-man to the ground and proceeded to stomp it into grave dust!

Gunther bound his wound and then looked over Sally. "Poor girl, you'll be fine now." 

Frederic watched as the old warrior nuzzled his horse and calmed the frightened horse down.  The pair came to the conclusion that evil things were afoot and they would have to move as fast as they could muster and reach the Chapel as quickly as possible.

The night went by in a gloomy haze as Frederic staggered after Gunther in the darkness. He could tell the wound was bothering the warrior as his limp was getting worse and he leaned on Sally for support. 

At some point a thick fog rolled in and Frederic could not discern whether the pair was walking in circles or making headway to their destination. 

Gunther finally slowed his pace and came to a rest near a large tree. He motioned Frederic to sit and he handed him a flask and a hard biscuit. The fog was actually melting away as the morning sun was rising. 

"Goodness, we walked through the night!" noted the young man.

"Indeed we did Brother, and you kept with me. No small task that is." Gunther smiled and chewed on his biscuit. "We need to get our bearings, so have a look about and see if you can spot the road or landmark." The warrior motioned in the direction he wanted Frederic to go and he headed in the opposite, "Don't get lost!" he called out over his shoulder.

Weary to the bone Frederic leaned on his staff and began to look about. The brush was heavy here and there were many trees blocking view. The adept decided to see what lie beyond the thick foliage.

Gunther returned to Sally and rebound his thigh wound with some fresh linen from her saddlebags. It had been about ten minutes since he left Frederic and he wondered if the young fellow had wandered too far. 

"Gunther! Over here! Bring Sally."

Frederic called out, and there was no trace of fear in his voice. Gunther walked with Sally through the brush and after a few minutes he found his new friend. 

The landmark

"I suppose this would count as a landmark correct?" the young adept smiled at the Warrior. "We must be very close to the chapel."

"Good work Frederic, you found the road! The Chapel lies just up to the north of here. we should easily make our destination before dark."

Together the pair set off feeling better about not being hopelessly lost in the wilderness. 

Sally's wound prohibited anyone riding her, and Gunther was moving much slower as well. Frederic was doing all he could to not collapse from exhaustion himself. He had never been put to such physical exertion before, and found that he was drawing upon an inner strength he hadn't known he possessed. The party took a half dozen short rests and Frederic never let on that this was for any reason other than himself, though he knew Gunther was putting on a front. 

"Gunther, let me lay hands upon your wound. It is within my powers to do so." 

The old warrior grimaced, and kept limping along. "Bah, this is nothing and I've suffered far worse in my day. I'd rather you keep that for when we really need it than to end up lamenting later."

As dusk set in and a fog began to rise again, the pair sighted their destination just ahead. The Chapel of Saint Brigid was a welcome sight and the men were eager to rest and recuperate in the safety of its walls.

Chapel of St. Brigid

With Sally stabled and her wound treated, the men took refuge in the main hall of the Chapel. There they conversed with the Sisters and gave the letter to the Headmistress. 

"You shall rest for the night and have a hot meal. In the morning we can bless the sword and prepare it for travel." The Headmistress motioned for a pair of nuns to get food for Gunther and Frederic, "I have sensed a faint evil growing nearby, but nothing untoward has occurred here. The wards of St. Brigid should be more than enough to keep any bone-men from our doorsteps."

"Many thanks Sister," Gunther made the holy sign before tucking in to the bowl of hot stew that was set before him. Frederic did the same and both men began to relax. "Frederic and I are in your debt. We weren't sure that this place hadn't been already besieged by darkness after our encounters on the road."

"Your are both welcome, and may rest easy now. Finish your meal and rest here. We will speak more in the morning." The Headmistress turned and left with the sisters through a heavy side door that led out of the main hall. The sound of a heavy bolt being drawn followed the closing of the door, and Gunther smiled to himself. The nuns had locked the two of them in the Chapel itself, even though the men were of good nature the sisters rules were strict. The old soldier felt more weary than he thought he was and his leg ached terribly.

"Gunther, please let me heal that." Frederic stood and came around to Gunther's side of the table.

The soldier huffed but allowed the young adept to call upon the power of the Saints and heal the wound in his upper thigh.

Frederic was unsure how long he had been asleep, but something stirred him awake. Opening his eyes he could see the hall was dimly lit by a low burning lantern hung from the ceiling. He rolled to his right and could see Gunther laid out upon one of the long pews snoring away under a blanket. Again something caused the young man to feel alerted!

Sitting up and reaching for his staff, Frederic looked about the hall and saw that the door through which the sisters had left earlier were slightly ajar. He stood and began to move towards the open portal when a voice called out to him from a shadowed corner of the hall.

"What a strong young man you are Brother, you shall wet my appetite indeed!"

Peering into the gloom Frederic was surprised to see one of the sisters in her nightshirt moving towards him, her eyes seeming to pierce the young adept like a dagger made of ice. His heart thumped in his chest, a cold bead of sweat ran down the back of his neck. His arms and legs seemed locked in place and it was all he could do to hoarsely whisper his companions name in a pathetic warning....

The woman stalked closer to Frederic and he could feel waves of bone-chilling cold emanate from her. It frightened and excited him at the same time, he felt for sure she was going to do something far worse than just kill him. His eyes darted to the slumbering soldier and he whimpered through his clenched jaw! 

"The big one was drugged," the pale sister cooed, "we knew he was the stronger of you and we wanted no resistance from him. You however, are a servant of the Saints and we want to relish our chance to defile you!"

The unholy-nun raised her hands and bared her fangs as she lunged at the paralyzed young man! "I will bathe in your blood!"

Frederic closed his eyes and prepared himself for death when a deep growl and the sound of movement to his left made him peek through one eye! 

It was Gunther! The old soldier had flung his blanket over the vile sisters head and followed that up by smacking her in the face with the butt of his crossbow. The Nun screeched and fell back across the table tearing at the blanket!

"Snap out of boy!" Yelled Gunther at Frederic, as he raised the weapon to firing position. He pulled the trigger and the bolt shot directly into the center of the sisters chest pinning her to the table! 

The spell broken, Frederic reacted by knocking the lantern from its hook, catching it and smashing it on the creature that was squirming on the table! "FWOOSH!!" a cloud of flame burst in the room!

"May this fire cleanse your soul and by the power of Saint Brigid I rebuke thee!" Frederic brandished his holy symbol at the former holy-sister now engulfed in flame! 

Her screams seemed to pierce the night and she ripped herself from the table and turned to face Frederic. "Aaaahhhhhh!"

Gunther stepped between the two and with a single blow he severed the burning woman's head from her body! "Open the entry door!" Gunther commanded the young man. Frederic lifted the oak plank that barred the door and pulled it open. Gunther proceeded to then give the smoldering head a swift kick sending it out the doorway and bouncing down the steps of the Chapel. Frederic slammed the door shut and barred it again. He slumped to the floor breathing heavily and looked at Gunther... "Were you awake the whole time?"

"Not the whole time, besides I wasn't sure if I should've intruded on your budding romance." Gunther grinned and winked at him.

Frederic stood and brushed himself off. "Well I'm glad you did!"

Collecting his dropped crossbow Gunther moved towards the doorway of the chapel interior. "I suppose we best find that sword ourselves then, eh?"

The pair of adventurers delved deeper into the Chapel and soon found the desiccated remains of a handful of nuns in their cells. Soon the men found their way to the lower crypt and basement of the site and came face to face with the fallen Headmistress now wielding the fury of hellfire upon our heroes!

The pair faced off against the vile witch who summoned a Hound a hell and a Gargoyle to battle the men! 

A pitched battle was fought, scrolls of protection were read and vials of Holy water thrown about! In the end the men were victorious by the skin of their teeth.

The Holy weapon was retrieved and brought back to Hemlock.

More adventures to come in the haunted lands of Marqest.....

THE END  

 

Life, at what cost: A Star Trek RPG game session

 I finally ran a session of the Modiphius Star Trek Adventures RPG. A short little intro adventure that was inspired by the Intro-adventure in the Starships & Spacemen Rules by Goblinoid Games.

The crew of the USS RAKOTA (a Pioneer Class Ship) have been dispatched to locate, and if needed render aid to the USS ESSEX (a Deadelus class science vessel) that has gone silent while on a standard system survey mission.

Intro: Star Trek theme music plays as we see Captain Jack Roark sit in his command chair and begin a Log entry - and the USS Rakota flies through space.

Cpt. Roark

The crew are busy at their stations and everyone seems a bit tense.

"Captain's Log, stardate 2020.10.8 - The Rakota has been dispatched to the Zeta Herculis system to locate the USS Essex. They are forty-eight hours past due for standard check-in procedures with Starbase Six. My hope is that this is nothing more than an unfortunate technical difficulty, however out here on the frontier nothing is ever that simple."

The Rakota drops out of warp at the edge of the system and begins long range scans. While Captain Roark and First Officer Rodrigo go over what little info they have on the system itself.

The crew is able to determine that the outer most planetoid Zeta VII is giving off severe magnetic interference that makes scanning difficult, however the Essex had already registered this fact and gave information on how to compensate for this. Using this technique they are able to get a good reading and discover no trace of the Essex itself within the star system!

Emile Rodrigo

Emile Rodrigo, First Officer turns to the Captain: "From the last updates the Essex should have been about to start a Class II survey of Zeta IV - a proto-earth planet."

Captain Roark points at the screen. "Zeta IV preliminary data shows an atmosphere not capable of sustaining human life. Zeta V however shows M class but locked in a severe glacial state. If they had to crash-land or abandon ship that seems the most likely candidate." Moving back to his command chair the Captain flicks a button and speaks to the crew over an open intercom.

"All systems Yellow Alert, as of now we are considering this a rescue mission. We have been unable to contact or detect the USS Essex and will assume she and her crew are in dire need of our help. Captain out."

The Rakota then did a complete orbit and deep scan of the planet Zeta V. Upon completion they found no trace of the Essex or her crew there. The ship then turned its attention to Zeta IV, the last known location of the missing ship and this time they found something!

There in a decaying orbit with all but the barest of life-support functioning, the Essex was minutes away from burning up in the atmosphere! The question of using a tractor beam was quickly brought up by the Captain, while scans for life-signs were run and attempts to communicate directly with the Essex were also attempted.

Lt. Rogers, Engineer

"There is no response to hails." said Lt. Sanders.

"I'm getting no life-signs on board either." commented Emile.

At the Engineering console, Lt. Rogers calculated the data he was receiving from scans of the Essex. "At this stage our tractor beam and the gravitational stress would just tear the ship apart. We need to at least get her impulse engines going and we stand a better chance of saving her Sir!"

"Okay then, Rogers your with me. Emile you have the Conn get Dr. T'prel to meet us in transporter room one. We're going to save that ship." Captain Roark and Lt. Rogers enter the turbo-lift.

In the transporter room we see the Captain Roark, Engineer Rogers and a pair of technicians as they prepare to step up on the transporter platform. The doors open and the ship's Vulcan Doctor enters.

"Captain, our scans have shown no life signs aboard the Essex. I find it unlikely the entire crew is deceased as there are no adverse conditions apparent." 

"Exactly T'Prel, something is off over there and I want to know what." Roark looks over the away team and turns to the transporter operator. "Put us in the engineering room of the Essex, Energize!"

"Aye Sir, coordinates set. Energizing!"

[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

The away team materializes in the engine room of the Essex. Rogers and his men get to work immediately. Roark looks about and notices that everything seems in place and there is no damage or sign of a boarding action. The Doctor has unslung her tricorder and finishes a scan, her eyebrow cocked she turns to the Captain.

"As I suspected, we are the only five life-signs registering. Although the life-support systems are below general safety standards we will not be adversely affected."

"Any biological anomalies?" asks Roark.

T'Prel, Doctor

"None that our scans are aware of. If there is something unique to the Zeta Herculis system itself we may as yet be unaware of it, however I calculate we are 99.9901% safe for now aboard the Essex." 

Smiling at the Vulcan Doctor, Captain Roark turns to see how Rogers and the men are doing. " I like those odds Doctor. Rogers, how are we doing?"

"The ship has been shut down-systematically. I can get us impulse power but you need to get to the Conn to get us out of this decaying orbit." replied Rogers as he moved about the engine room from console to console.

Turning towards the engine room door Captain Roark motions for T'Prel to follow him. "Alright Rogers, the Doctor and I will head to the Bridge. I want you three to seal yourselves in here and stay in touch, communicators only."

 As the Captain and the Doctor made their way along the deserted halls of the ship, emergency

lighting would flicker from red back to standard. 

"Look at Rogers illuminating our path." Roark thought to himself as he kept an eye peeled for the turbolift. "Our ride should be just up here T'Prel... Doctor?" Roark realized suddenly that the vulcan physician was about fifteen feet behind him looking into a jeffries alcove. The Captain drew his phaser and cautiously retraced his steps back towards his crewmate. "T'Prel, what is it?" he whispered urgently.  As he approached T'Prel he noticed that she was standing stock-still, as if she was frozen in mid-stride. Her gaze was locked in the direction of the red lit alcove. Reaching out he touched her shoulder and queried, "Doctor, are you alright?"

T'Prel snapped back into motion at Roark's physical contact. "Captain, I thought... no I felt...something." Roark was surprised to see the look of uncertainty flash across the vulcan's face before it was quickly masked with a stoic look. 

"Scan again for life-forms, I have a feeling we're not alone on this ship." He turned and scanned the length of the hall, phaser at the ready and motioned her again to follow him towards their original destination.

As the turbolift doors closed behind them T'Prel snapped her tricorder shut, "As I noted before. There are only five life-forms actively registering aboard this ship."

"We'll see about that. Bridge!" The soft hum filled the lift as the pair began their ascent to the command section of the ship. "Doctor, you were frozen in sort of a paralytic state until I touched you. What did you see, or say you felt?" Roark looked at his chief medical officer.

Her brow furrowed slightly, "I have no recollection of being frozen, as you say. As we were heading along the corridor I had the sensation of someone being in the alcove. I glanced in that direction and saw nothing then you asked me what was happening. There was no time loss from my point of view."

"Hmm, some type of phased time-displasia? Something we should keep an eye on. Maybe this is symptomatic of whatever happened to the Essex crew." Roark holstered his phaser and drew his communicator. The gold lid opened as he flicked his wrist and the lift doors swished opened revealing a dimly lit bridge. "Rogers, we're on the bridge. What do have for me?"

Essex Bridge

The lighting flickered and the bridge came to life as power surged back through the circuits, Roark pointed the Doctor towards the Science station, "Find out what they were up to last, and start a data transfer to the Rakota. I'm going to review the Captain's logs." As the Doctor started the transfer Roark pulled out the last data tape and slipped it into the reader on the command chair. A flick of another switch and he was able to bring up a transcript of the dictated log on the main view screen, and he quickly scanned this. The Engineer's voice chirped from the communicator, "Captain, you should have helm control momentarily."

"Good work Rogers." Roark palmed the communicator and swiveled the command chair towards T'Prel. The last entries are referring to anomalies with Zeta IV and a few crew members having Blank-out spells." 

The Doctor leaned in closer reading data from the station screens. "It seems that the preliminary Bolian data on Zeta IV was not matching up with the survey data the Essex was getting. The planet below is not a Proto-earth, but a severely radiated wasteland. Captain it would appear that Zeta Herculi IV suffered a cataclysmic scale atomic bombardment over two thousand years ago." 

Roark moved over and scanned the data being transferred to the Rakota. "Why would someone have changed this information.." The captain pondered, "Is there anything here about the crew issues?"

T'Prel flicked a switch. "No, we would need to go to Medical for any hard information on that subject."

[ For a mili-second Roark thought he saw, or felt something..]

The communicator beeped urgently in his hand! "Captain, captain do you copy? Impulse is restored try the helm now sir!" Rogers sounded a bit frustrated. Roark sat in the single chair at the conn station, it had been awhile since he had logged some flight time and would need to correct that. He quickly plotted a course and engaged the drive. The Essex shuddered against the pull of the planet below and began to slowly climb out of the decaying orbit. The comm station of the Essex lit up and the voice of Lt. Sanders could be heard. "Essex this is the Rakota do you copy?"

T'Prel shifted comms to the science station and responded. "Rakota, this is Doctor T'Prel we hear you."

The voice of the First Officer then came over the link - "Jack, just a few thousand kilometers more and we can aid you with the tractor beam."

A few minutes later the Essex was settling into a safe orbit paralleled with the Rakota. "Emile, I want a thorough review of all the data we sent you on Zeta IV and start a life-form scan of the planet as well I have a hunch our missing people are down there somewhere." The captain looked at T'Prel, "Doctor, I think it's time we visited medical."

The pair entered the turbo lift leaving the bridge.

[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

The Captain and Doctor entered the sickbay, and T'Prel went straight to the medical computer. "There

should be all the information we need here." She said. "It seems there started to be reports of Blank-outs a couple of hours after they entered orbit."

"But they never beamed down, meaning something from the planet itself began affecting the crew?" Roark pondered aloud.

"Interesting hypothesis Captain, however I need to review the notes further before I can confirm anything." T'Prel began to scan the information for more clues. 

"While you do that, I'm going to have a look around. I have a suspicion we aren't alone." Captain Roark went to look around the rest of Sickbay.

Stepping into the recovery ward he found only empty beds, the sensation of being watched was overwhelming and he reached his phaser....

"Beep, beep.." the communicator at his side chirped!  "Roark here." he intoned as he spun on his heel to return to the exam room.

"Captain, Rodrigo here. We are getting readings that the transporter is being activated. What's going on!"

A cold sensation ran down the Captain's spine when he realized T'Prel was no longer in the Sickbay! "Emile, I need a reading on who is in that transporter room now!" Roark turned and ran out of the medical room heading for the teleporter. 

"Jack, it's a Vulcan life sign only! What is.." 

"Damn!! I'll call you right back!" A quick flick of his wrist and Roark contacted Rogers.

"Rogers here, Captain where have you been?" queried the Engineer.

"Never mind that, all of you meet me in the transporter room! Someone or something has our Doctor!"

Arriving in the transporter room the Captain and his men discovered that T'Prel had beamed to a location deep below the planets surface. Sensors were unable to penetrate the area where the Doctor had gone and Roark figured he had little time to waste. A pair of security guards were quickly sent over from the Rakota to accompany him in his rescue effort.

 The ships pulled back to a safe orbital distance, and prepared to transport any and all survivors from the planet at the moment Captain Roark called in. He hoped his intuition was right and that not only would he locate the missing Doctor, but the crew of the Essex as well in whatever destination he and his landing party were about to enter on the desolate world below.

[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

The hum of the transporter faded and was replaced by eerie silence. Wherever they were it had been fashioned by and for humanoids. There was air to breathe and the temperature was comfortable. This reinforced his hunch that the crew of the Essex and Doctor T'Prel were most likely alive!

A quick attempt to contact the Rakota revealed that whatever was preventing scans of this area was also blocking communication. "Set your phasers to stun, and follow me." Commanded the Captian as he ascended the stairs before him. There was only one way to go so the three men delved deeper into the bunker.

Within moments the trio entered a large chamber with half a dozen rectangular raised platforms, upon one rested the inert form of T'Prel! Roark approached cautiously and could see the vulcan seemed to be in state of calm rest. He reached out and touched her shoulder, "Doctor, are you awake?"

Sitting up and instantly alert, the vulcan took in her surroundings quickly. "Captain, we are no longer in the sick bay aboard the Essex," she stated flatly. "I was looking at the viewer and a motion made me look up and now I am here. Extremely odd?"

"A Blank-out no doubt, I think it might be visually stimulated. But by what I'm not sure." motioning her towards a door that exited the chamber the party started to move in that direction.

"A likely hypothesis Captain, determining the trigger would help us avoid any further inconvenience. Perhaps a robot or drone of some kind, as we have registered no other life-forms as of yet." 

That seemed likely to Roark and made sense. He had those sensations of being watched as if there was ... The doorway slid open silently before them and in the now open portal stood a large humanoid form topping some seven feet in height at least! On instinct Roark turned his head away and shut his eyes.

Humanoid (robot)

There was the sensation of a brilliant flash of light or energy. Roark opened his eyes and found that T'Prel and both security men were paralyzed!

"Stay back, we're not here to harm you. We just want our people back." said Roark sternly brandishing his phaser.

The large figure lunged forward grabbing at the Captain! Deftly ducking under his attackers arm Roark moved to the side away from his frozen crew. "I wish to speak with whoever is in charge, do not force me to use this!"

Again, the large humanoid moved towards the Captain and he could tell that it was only trying to subdue him. Rather than antagonize the situation Roark played a hunch and attached his phaser to his belt and allowed himself to be restrained. Which, to his surprise was done quite gently. The Captain was lifted off his feet and carried out of the room and back the way the humanoid had come from. 

 Roark was set down in front of large fluid filled tube. Inside he could see a brain with many wires and other connections floating within. A sort of buzzing robotic toned voice suddenly spoke from the tube itself. "I AM THE ONE IN CHARGE."

"Hello, I am Captain Roark of the Federation Starship Rakota. I would like to request you return my people as well as those you took from the other ship." 

"THIS CANNOT HAPPEN, YOUR BIOLOGICAL MATTER IS NEEDED TO PERPETUATE US." Some bubbles floated to the top of the tube.

"I see. What do you mean by that exactly, how can our matter perpetuate you?" Roark kept an eye on the hulking figure standing just to his left. Hands loose in case he needed to draw the phaser.

More bubbles swam to the top of the tube, "YOUR DNA IS 98.8% COMPATIBLE WITH OURS. THE DETERIATION FACTOR IS NEGLIGABLE. YOU WILL PERPETUATE US."

"You want to use our matter to what, clone yourself a body to inhabit?"

"CORRECT, YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE WILL REPLENISH THE DAMAGED STOCK IN OUR BODY BANKS. WE WILL THEN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF REINTERGRATION TO PHYSICAL FORMS."

Roark took a step towards the floating brain, but stopped as the humanoid moved in. "What about him," the Captain motioned towards the hulking figure, "Why can't you inhabit that form?"

"THE ANDROID IS ONLY A TOOL, IT IS NOT TRUE LIFE. WE HAVE BEEN TRAPPED TOO LONG HERE AND THE RADIATIONS OF THE SURFACE HAVE SEEPED THROUGH OUR DEFENSES. WE MUST RESTORE OUR BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY AND LIVE AGAIN AS WE DID BEFORE THE GREAT FIRE."

"The Great Fire?" Roark remembered what the scans told them about the surface of the planet. "At some point a few thousand years ago your planet suffered a planetary bombardment that irradiated the surface, your people were driven underground to survive?"

"CORRECT, WE PLACED THOSE WHO SURVIVED INTO STASIS WITH THE INTENT OF WAITING OUT THE DEVASTATION. OUR CALCULATIONS WERE INCORRECT, OUR STRUCTURES WERE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO OUTLAST THE RADIATION. OUT PHYSICAL FORMS WERE IRREPARIBLY DAMAGED, BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY WAS DECAYING AT A RAPID RATE."

"So you removed your brains from your dying bodies?"

"CORRECT, THOUGH MANY MORE OF US WERE LOST IN THE PROCCESS. OUR LIMITED RESOURCES WERE ABLE TO PROLONG THE STASIS OF JUST THE BRAIN MUCH LONGER AND AT A GREATER PROTECTION LEVEL. UNTIL SUCH TIME AS WE COULD FIND ANOTHER SOLUTION. ANOTHER WAY TO LIVE AGAIN...."

"My people can help you, we have broad knowledge in medical and radiation sciences. You don't need to do this."

"WE MUST LIVE AGAIN, IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG. TIME IS SHORT AND WE CANNOT LOSE THIS CHANCE. YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE WILL REPLENISH US. "

"I'll destroy this place and everyone in it before I let you do that." Roark stared intently at the Humanoid.

"YOU CANNOT DO THAT, YOU DO NOT POSSESS SUCH POWER."

"I do not personally, but my Ship does. If they do not hear from me in a few minutes, they will determine that my party and I have been eliminated. My crew will turn away from this world and deem it unsuitable leaving what little you have left to perish."

"YOUR SHIP IS OUTSIDE OF OUR ORBITAL INFLUENCE. WE CANNOT SEND A DRONE TO STOP YOUR CREW. WE MUST LIVE, WE MUST CONTINUE."

"Then let us help you!" Roark intoned, hands outstretched, "At what cost is life? To destroy us so you may live, would that be a life worth living? Knowing you willfully took that from another for yourself. And how long before you begin to sicken again from the radiation?"

"WE MUST CONTINUE, THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE."

"The alternative lies in cooperation. You've been alone for so long, your hope fading. In your desperation don't destroy this chance you've been given, let us help you."

 [ Later on the Bridge of the Rakota. ]

 

First Officer Rodrigo stands next to a seated Jack Roark. "Jack they might've really turned you into DNA soup. You took a big chance!"

"That's why we're out here Emile. To take the big chances, face the unknowable, and hopefully make a difference."

The turbo-lift doors open and the vulcan physician emerges. 

"The crew of the Essex will be staying on Zeta Herculi IV until a Federation Medical ship arrives. The remaining Zetans will survive as our remedies for the radiation levels they have can be cured." She steps down and stands alongside the captains chair.

"What about their physical forms?" asks Roark.

"Given time, their DNA banks can be de-radiated and the procedures reversed. I approximate the Zetans will be back in their bodies within a decade."

Looking at Emile, Roark smiles "I'll take that as a win Rodrigo!"

THE END