“Gomez!” Gold repeated the commander’s name several more times before giving up. Clearly, his crew was in trouble, trapped by hostile forces.

Kieran Duffy stood silently beside the captain, lending moral support since there didn’t seem to be much more he could do. McAllan was already running scans of the planet, while Ina was checking the planet’s broadcast signals. Gold began pacing the small bridge, unhappy that he could merely stand around. He had done it often enough to accept it, never to like it. Unfortunately, it was all they could do for the moment. The best tactical option—beaming them out—wasn’t available as long as the away team was still in the dig site.

“Captain,” Ina called from her ops station, “I’m picking up a series of media reports from all continents. It sounds like we’re being accused of some form of alien contamination. They sound angry about it, not scared.”

Gold began a reply before McAllan spoke up.

“All weapons fire has stopped,” the tactical officer reported.

“That’s something,” Gold said. “Life signs?”

“All present and accounted for,” McAllan crisply replied. “But the placement of the away team’s combadges doesn’t match the location of the four human life signs. They’ve probably been removed.”

“Not surprising. Get me Regent Cuzar.”

McAllan nodded once and began tapping at his controls. After a few moments he looked at the captain and said, “No response from the capitol. We’re getting through but they’re choosing not to answer.”

Gold paced some more, this time joined by Corsi, who had just arrived on the bridge. She kept pace while asking for an update. Once Gold finished, she asked, “Shall I assemble an assault team?”

The captain slowly shook his head. “Not until we know something for certain. There are too many unknowns for us to risk more crew.”

“Our reports indicate they have several star-worthy craft. We can outfly and outgun them, but can they outnumber us?”

Duffy shook his head. “All scans show there are no hidden starships or additional weapons depots.”

Gold added, “Cuzar has been scrupulously honest with us since we arrived. This is something way beyond her control.”

Corsi looked at Gold with a penetrating stare, one she usually used on interrogation subjects. “Then who’s in control down there?”

“I wish we knew.”

Gomez groaned as she rolled onto to her right side. Whatever was thrown at her clearly damaged a rib or two. Once she figured this situation out, someone was going to pay. First the monster shii tore open her torso on Sarindar, then the monster “Nat” had cracked a couple of ribs on Maeglin, now this.

First things first, though; she was in command of the away team and needed to assess the situation. Opening her eyes to slits, she looked about without moving her head more than a degree or two at a time. The armed Evorans had a small group of fellow citizens sitting in a small cluster near a storage unit. Guards were posted between her position and the dig. Abramowitz and Faulwell had been brought up to the surface and were seated by the still unconscious Hawkins, who of course did not have his phaser. None of them had their combadges, either. Interestingly, Rugan was seated between her and her fellow da Vinci crewmates.

“What’s going on?” she croaked through dry lips.

Rugan leaned over, passing along a small bottle of water. Gomez wet her lips, which hurt from the sun, and took several small swallows. The cool water made her feel better and she began to slowly sit up. She smiled at the relieved looks on her crewmates’ faces.

“I knew the Onlith were serious about avoiding cross-cultural contact,” the scientist said sympathetically. “I just never knew they would act like this, like barbarians.”

“Who…are the Onlith?”

“A faction that has wedged its way into our government. They’ve opposed every step we’ve taken off this world, which is why we have not been better neighbors. The Onlith have been very persuasive to our masses, indicating that our every way of life was going to be irrevocably changed if the Federation—or worse, some of the other races we’ve encountered—came to stay.”

Gomez nodded, having heard such fears before. With each passing minute, her head felt better and she was thinking more clearly. Not that this meant any immediate plans came to mind, but at least she was alert.

“I know your people have preached how you respect the way of life for each world,” Rugan continued. “I saw that when I toured your Enterprise. But it’s hard to communicate that to three hundred million people, a good number of whom are scared to death of change. Me, I always want to know the truth, to understand our place in the galaxy.”

The two sat in companionable silence for several minutes, just looking out at the Onlith followers. During that time, Hawkins roused and was allowed some water by a guard. He was slow to sit up but once he did, he winked at Gomez, so she was glad he was not concussed once more. One of the Onlith seemed to be in communication with a leader elsewhere, and when the conversation ended, she signaled to three people by the storage unit.

In short order, several small devices were removed and carried toward the dig. Gomez watched as Rugan stiffened and let out a small cry. “No, no, please don’t…” she whispered, but received no reply.

“Are they going to…?”

“Yes, my dear, they want to destroy that which they do not understand.”

Two guards gestured to the Starfleet crew and the Evoran scientist to move away, forcing them back several meters. Keeping their weapons trained on them, the guards seemed to be fearful of what was about to happen behind them, but Gomez saw no way to exploit that. She would have to continue to wait for time and opportunity. Gold, she imagined, was doing the same from orbit.

There was a muffled sound as the devices exploded, showering the area with clouds of dirt that hung in the hot, still air. Although the device had been destroyed, Gomez knew that the pipes underneath the ground were intact beyond the dig, which meant the alien presence continued on Evora. She wondered if these Onlith would try and remove that evidence of previous contact, as well.

“Sir, there’s been an explosion at the dig,” Ina called out, her voice high and excited.

Duffy was peering over the operations officer’s shoulder. “It seems localized, at the exact spot where the artifact was located.”

“All life signs accounted for,” Ina added.

Gold sighed with relief. “Destroy what you do not understand,” he muttered, understanding the nameless fear that seemed to grip a world.

“Message from the capitol, sir,” McAllan said quickly.

Standing up, Gold turned to face the viewscreen and nodded once for contact to be established. He was not overly surprised to recognize one of the people from the meeting chamber. In fact, he was more than a little disappointed to see it was the head of the security forces. To Gold, it was too predictable, and it made a sick sort of sense to him.

“Captain Gold, I wish to inform you of a change in government here on Evora.”

“A coup d’état? Why am I not surprised?”

Helanoman blinked as he tried to comprehend the French phrase but it was not translating properly. “You expected this?”

“Fear has led to rash actions more times than I can count,” the captain replied, trying to keep things conversational and not confrontational. If this was to be the new leader, he had to tread delicately. “My people. Are they unharmed? And your regent?”

“Your crew are fine although in my custody, as is Cuzar.”

“What next? Try her for crimes against the people?”

The Onlith leader shook his head. “She did what she thought was best for the people. The people think otherwise.”

“So you know what the people want better than Cuzar does? How so?”

“We listen to them, Captain. We hear them in the schools, in the workplace, in the home. She is so enthralled by the life among the stars, she is deaf to her own kind. I hear all and have acted to preserve our way of life.”

Gold whirled back to the screen. “And that includes obfuscating the truth?”

“I did what needed doing and will continue to act in the interests of Evora,” Helanoman said. His expression grew colder. “Pledge the Federation will leave Evora alone and not return. Do so, and I will release your people.”

“You realize that I do not act entirely on my own. I must consult with Starfleet Command and they must speak with the Federation Council. This may take some time.”

The Evoran looked appraisingly at the captain and Gold knew the man was shrewd. He was weighing the facts, imagining how he would act were their positions reversed. Was Gold merely stalling or was he truly unable to commit on behalf of the United Federation of Planets? Meantime, Gold took the pause in dialogue to look around the bridge. P8 Blue had arrived, and was looking at him intently. She clearly had something to share.

“Either way, Helanoman, I need time, as I suspect you do, too. Arrange to bring my people to the capitol while I speak with my government. Gold out.”

No sooner did the screen switch back to the planet beneath the starship than the captain began giving orders. “McAllan, send that conversation and my last three log entries to Starfleet. Send a separate signal to the Federation Council.”

“Same message?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Gold said tersely. “We just have to look like we’re holding up our end of the deal. Blue, what did you find?”

The insectoid engineer said, “Sir, their equipment checks out as significantly inferior to ours. They may not be able to track our signals or even tap into them to verify the content. And, they may not be geared to scan for transporter activity.”

Gold nodded and looked at Duffy and Corsi. “Good. Let’s make plans.”

Gomez managed to move over to where the others sat. Hawkins had regained his alertness and was watching the area with keen interest. Abramowitz was trailing fingers in the dirt and Faulwell seemed to just sit and stare.

“You okay, Bart?”

“You never expect it, do you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Violence. Destruction.”

She thought about it a moment and then realized he was in danger just hours after his partner was in a similar situation across the quadrant. “It’s always been a part of the package,” she said gently. “We take the oath knowing we might face such dangers. Our lives are on the line every time we undertake a mission. It’s no different at a starbase.”

“I understand that, Commander, but it seemed to rattle Anthony more than I’ve ever seen before.”

“Didn’t you two meet during the war?” Abramowitz asked.

“Yeah, when I was doing crypto work on Starbase 92. But that wasn’t exactly the front lines. Anyhow, I have some leave time coming, and I was hoping I could visit him to help…but now I’m stuck here with a bunch of fanatics.”

“This? This is nothing, Bart. I’ve faced down the Borg, Captain Gold fought back a Romulan incursion once, and heck, McAllan nearly lost everything during the Proxima Beta incident.”

Faulwell snorted derisively at the incidents, since after all, that was then, and now, well, now things did look a little less than wonderful. “He needs me, Sonya.”

“I’m sure he does, Bart,” she said sympathetically. “And you will be there for him. And if not, then it’s because you were doing your duty. Look at Soloman and how well he has adjusted to losing his life partner. We’re survivors. And we’re fighters. I have no intention of sitting here until the Onlith decide to make examples of us, or put us on trial or whatever stupid thing they think of. Right now, put Anthony out of your mind and let me figure out the next step. We won’t be idle for long.”

Faulwell thought a moment and with a slight smile added, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” she replied, and turned her attention to the movements of the Onlith guards.

Bart sat silent for a few more moments. While she felt for him, Gomez certainly didn’t want him distracted when she needed everyone focused on their current predicament.

“Look, if I’m going to have to sit here, can I at least use my tricorder?”

Gomez watched with interest to see how the Evorans guarding them reacted to Faulwell’s request. The dirt had settled a few minutes ago, coating everything with a thin film of brown. Whatever that item had been, it was now gone for good.

The three Evorans exchanged blank expressions and shrugs. Finally, the one closest to the linguist nodded and then settled in a chair to watch. Faulwell looked over to Gomez and shrugged also, then turned to his tricorder. He must have carefully recorded all the alien writing on the artifact and was looking it over.

Gomez looked around the area, figuring there might be an opportunity coming, especially if one of the guards was paying close attention to one of them. She continued to watch each Evoran, wondering if the trapped workers would fight alongside her if she broke free. She couldn’t begin to guess and it was then she missed having Corsi around for help. While Gomez could diagnose and fix just about any mechanical problem, tactics were not her strong suit. With a wry smile to herself, she realized that, after her chat with Faulwell, she might, at least, make a halfway decent counselor.

She continued to consider options but found it troubling to concentrate now that she noticed Faulwell humming quite contentedly to himself. At least one member of the crew was able to work on the original mission.

Abramowitz was also looking over Faulwell’s shoulder, nodding every now and then. Then her expression changed: her eyes went wide, her head cocked to one side, and her expression was one of revelation.

“Bart, that humming, it’s reminding me of something. I need to check in with the da Vinci.”

“Fat chance,” Faulwell said with a smirk. “What do you recall?”

Before she could reply, there was a low rumble that built quickly into a full-scale tremor. The Evorans seemed especially surprised and looked from one to another for guidance. As it rapidly built in intensity, Gomez determined that there’d never be a better time for action.

“Vance, now!” was all she managed to say before tumbling to her knees and then rolling to her sore side. The earthquake was causing everyone to fall, and it was intense enough to bring down the storage units. She could hear the cries from scared or injured people.

Still, she hoped it would end and was determined to have the upper hand when that happened. Struggling to her knees, despite the heavy gravity, she saw that Hawkins, better trained in these circumstances, was already wrestling with a guard to grab her weapon. He kicked twice, stunning the smaller Evoran, and ripped the weapon from the straps to her arm. Hawkins hefted it in both hands and shoulder-rolled to avoid two charging Evorans.

“Find the combadges!” Gomez yelled. She struggled to her feet, noticing the quake was beginning to subside.

“Where did that come from?” demanded Gold.

McAllan and Ina were feverishly working their stations, checking incoming data. “It’s registering 6.5 on the Richter scale, localized to a nine-square-kilometer range,” McAllan called out.

“Media reports sound panicked,” Ina added. “It’s like they’ve never seen one before.”

“Scan the planet. Are there any other incidents? Then scan deep, I want a geologic picture of this place.” He’d be damned if he was going to respect protocol when his people and possibly the planet’s population were threatened.

His people worked quickly but it was not fast enough for the captain, who remained frustrated that his away team was out of touch and that a fanatic seemed to be controlling the planet. But he was not entirely helpless. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at Corsi, who returned the gesture and turned for the turbolift.

As soon as she was gone, he signaled below. “Soloman, get cracking on the transmitted tricorder readings. See what you can learn.” As the Bynar acknowledged the instruction, Gold got restless with the waiting.