Commander Eddie Johnson stopped short in his hurried tracks as he approached the cave system looking out over the lagoon. He felt a heavy heart as he knew he would be exploring the area alone, even though he had the rest of his crew along in spirit. He turned to face them, holding out a hand to halt their advance.

“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” he said to his crew with regret. “There isn’t any trouble in these caves. For a long time, you have been faithfully following my orders without question. I appreciate that. It’s nice to have such a loyal crew. But I think you should know that there has been an ulterior motive to all this.”

Eddie sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. “A few years ago, I lost my father. He disappeared from my life at a time when I needed him most. Every mission we have been on, while they have served the best interests of Starfleet and the Federation, has also been about finding my father.

“My father is Ray Johnson, the noted warp field specialist. He’s been working on a top-secret project to produce a more efficient warp coil generator. I believe he may have been on the verge of something critical when he disappeared. I don’t know if he met with foul play or if he has simply gone into hiding, but every mission we have been on in the last six months has allowed me to follow up on clues and rumors I’ve heard regarding his whereabouts.”

Eddie pointed toward the entrance. “I have every reason to believe he is in there. So, while officially we will be exploring the caves and creating a detailed map of the region for Starfleet records, unofficially, we will be looking for my father.” Eddie paused to allow everyone to ponder what he had just said. “I will understand if anyone wishes to return to the ship.”

Silence was once again the reply. Eddie broke out into a big smile. He had a good crew.

“Then why are we waiting? Let’s move out!”

The crew moved quietly through the caves for the better part of an hour. The only sound that could be heard was the echoing of Eddie’s heavy bootsteps. The journey inward had been uneventful for the most part, save for Lieutenant McGuiness nearly falling into a chasm. Some quick thinking on Eddie’s part saved her from a sad ending.

Eddie stopped for a moment and took in a deep breath. The much cooler, damper air of the caves filled his lungs and caused him to cough. He settled down on a large boulder and looked around at the craggy features of the ceiling and walls surrounding him.

A glance at his watch confirmed his worst fear. He had been in the caves for nearly two hours now.

His father wasn’t joining him.

He stood up, determined not to let his crew see the mixture of disappointment and anger in his face. He cleared his throat and prepared to make the announcement when something shining out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Eddie stepped slowly toward the glow, which seemed to pulse and emanate a low hum. It was coming from just around the corner, where Ensign Tomkins had reported as “uninteresting” just moments before. Eddie made a note to have a word later with Tomkins about the accuracy of his investigations.

Eddie stepped cautiously forward, wishing he had thought to bring his tricorder with him. As he moved into the next chamber, he caught the first sight of its occupant—a glowing orange-yellow ball of pulsing light that illuminated the chamber.

To Eddie’s surprise, it appeared to retreat slightly as he entered. Eddie stopped and watched for a moment, waiting to see if it would make a move.

Make a move? You should be the one making a move, Eddie Johnson, right out of the cave.

And yet he remained perfectly still, watching as the glowing light maintained an equal distance away from the boy. As Eddie took a step forward, it would move the same distance back and move forward as the boy retreated. Eddie wiped away a trickle of sweat that ran down the side of his cheek. The heat emanating from the creature, for lack of a better term, was sweltering.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, surprising himself as he said it. This thing looked powerful enough to take out most of the continent. Realization dawned on the boy. “Say, you’re not what’s causing all these energy problems on Risa, are you?”

As if in response to his question, the creature shuddered and Eddie’s torch suddenly winked out.

“Wow,” he whispered as he slowly put the torch down on the ground. “My name’s Eddie.”

The creature offered no acknowledgment.

“I come from a planet called Earth. We have a lot of energy there.” Nice move, Eddie. Come visit Earth, we’re ripe for the taking.

“Do you have a name?”

Again, the creature just pulsed in silence.

Eddie took another step forward. This time, the creature did not move.

“Starting to trust me?”

Eddie ran his arm across his forehead, which was producing rivulets of sweat that ran into his eyes, stinging them. He took another step.

“All right. You won’t tell me your name, how about where you come from?”

Another step. The creature’s glow began to increase. Eddie placed a hand in front of his eyes to shield the glare. It didn’t help much.

“Can you talk at all? How are we going to communicate?”

Every instinct in Eddie told him to leave quickly, but his curiosity and the serenity of the creature kept his guard in check. He stepped forward again.

The creature suddenly shifted forward, growing somewhat larger as it did. Eddie took a fearful step back and stumbled to the ground.

He fumbled with the combadge his father had given him. “D-d-dad! This is-is E-e-eddie! Come in!”

There was no response. He looked up at the creature. It was hovering close to him. “Drained the energy from that too, huh?”

The creature continued to advance on Eddie.

“Now look, just remember. I came here in peace. I want to go that way!”

It was less than half a meter away from Eddie now. The heat was becoming unbearable. Eddie thought he might pass out.

“I won’t even tell anyone that you’re here. I promise!”

The creature made one sweeping move forward, engulfing Eddie. He felt a momentary searing flash of heat touch every part of his body as the creature washed over him, but the heat quickly subsided as consciousness began to slip away from him.

Despite all that was happening and how dangerous the situation seemed, Eddie final thought before succumbing to the darkness was Wow!