Meanwhile in the Hromi Sector

"Report."

"Standard asteroid class D, devoid of atmosphere or any signs of life despite being the remnant of an exploded planet formerly known as Neural. Nothing was left of the ecosystem or the civilization that once lived there except what the USS Lotus saved before the Azimuth Horizon anomaly expanded to this sector and destroyed it."

In the command chair of the USS Asimov, Captain Jamie Ross grunted.

"You're just reading me the Phoenix' report, Commander."

The Vulcan typically raised one arched eyebrow at this.

"I can only give you available facts, Captain. The negative energy field is nullifying our sensors as we attempt to penetrate this planet's surface. Once our probes enter it, they show failure in propulsion and sensors as power is drained and can barely land as programmed on the surface... and that only because the modification specs given by the Phoenix' Chief Engineer prevents total failure altogether."

Ross sighed.

"Can you at least confirm the original data?"

“What the hell’s warming that rock up?” wondered the woman in the command chair. "I'm no scientist but I went to the Academy too; cosmic background radiation within the universe is placed at around negative two hundred and seventy Celsius. There,s no star or anything near enough to affect that pebble like this."

"Spectral analysis of the probes failed to ascertain the cause as they fell victim to the field at fifty-three point eight kilometers from the surface... and they brought back little more once they recharged their batteries seventy point one minutes later, enough to escape it's effect back to us," Seekal reminded her.

"Speculate... and don't tell me again that Vulcans do not. We're here to get answers."

It took a moment for the First officer to bring himself to pass over his own nature and obey his commanding officer.

"The most logical hypothesis would be an internal energy source."

"A space body that size can not have an internal molten core."

"The next logical assumption then, following both statement, would be that this energy source might be artificial in nature."

Ross looked at Seekal and grunted again.

"We know what is down there, Commander."

"Actually, Captain, we don't know exactly what is down there... and especially how and why it is there. The Phoenix had even better instruments and more personnel to conduct the research but they did not have the time nor authorization to pursue investigation further."

"That's why we are here. Anything else?"

"Same preliminary data from the probes that the Phoenix initial survey gathered, Captain... including some images."

He showed them to her on the main viewer. It was a hazy view of an apparent large volcano-like mountain near what appeared to be a series of deep valleys. Obviously, these were the remnants of the original planetary surface this piece of rock had retained after the disintegration of the entire solar system that had once been here. Of particular interest was a plateau between a deep valley and a rugged mountain region. Closer shots showed it as a small flat surface beside an enormous mountainous region ending abruptly as if cut cleanly by a Titan's axe and a smooth basin area away from all obstacles and geological formation and seemingly upheaved from deep within the crust of this portion of a now dead world that looked definitely artificial in nature.  

"Any data from surface samples?" the captain inquired at the conclusion of the last image.

"Because of the negative energy field, no such data being transmitted. Even the number of captured images is far less than we anticipated. The low power condition in which the probe was left did not allow it time and ressources enough to gather physical samples either before it's programmation sent it back to us."

Ross called down to the shuttle bay on the small research vessel.

"Shuttlebay," came the response from a rough voice that could only belong to a Tellarite.

"Lieutenant, how are preparations going with the shuttle?"

"Sir, we have shuttle Robbie and Daneel just about ready for departure. You'll just need to let me know if there is any additional equipment or materials that will be accompanying the away teams. We are also preparing shuttlecraft Isaac as back up."

"Standby for launch," finished the captain before opening another channel. "Bridge to sickbay; Doctor Shenayam, everything ready for planetside operation?"

"Well as far as medical considerations go, this is rather simple. All away team personnel will be in full EVA suits because of the outside conditions so contamination risks are exceedingly low. Accidents are still possible however so people should be careful not to rip their clothing."

before Ross could acknowledge, the CMO voiced other concerns.

"Captain, I do not recommend going down in a shuttlecraft just yet. Navigational hazards, crash landings and very slow deployement and retrieval of personnel and material, multiply risks to away team safety in case of danger or emergencies. Vehicles should be used when transporters are inoperative or too risky to employ, not the other way around. Transporting down further add the benefit of computer molecular examination on both their way out and their way back in, safegarding in the best possible manner against any foreign element being introduced aboard. Moreover, a transporter alcove is easily isolated with a forcefield in case of any detected unknown agent and this agent can be isolated and removed in beam transit for safe containement, study and disposal."

"Don't patronize me, Doctor! This might be my first command mission, but I know my job! Despite our many attempts to penetrate the surface of this planetoid with both orbital  probes and ship sensors, we have thus far been unable to complete even a  basic scan of its surface. Therefore, we have no coordinates to lock a transporter onto. We could transport someone a thousand feet or more above the surface or inversely they could end up merged into a solid object within its surface. And if we did either of these, we currently have no way of even knowing the outcome."

"Beaming in transporter enhancers would be both cheap and easy... and safer," objected the woman at the other end of the channel.

Ross grunted something like "doctors... why do they all have to act as objectors of conscience..." or something like that with an expletive toneunder her breath and after a moment, it's her Exec who answered.

"Doctor, our class III planetary probe configured for this intention, among its other features, embedded within it to relay information about this enigmatic surface to us. Unfortunately, we lost all contact with the probe at approximately fifty-three kilometers from its estimated surface.  Even that distance itself is uncertain. It is one of the primary objectives of our away teams to neutralize what exactly is blocking all signals to or from this planet. based on the intial survey done here, the only backup that we'll initially have is the probe itself; which can be sent to relay information from orbit to the surface, and then from the surface back into orbit by the away team itself. Other than that, Lieutenant Parkis has our last shuttle prepared as back-up as well. We will have a retrieval team assembled and prepared if needed."  

On the other end, a grunt sounding like "Vulcans... why do they have to make a lecture out of every answer?" before signing out.

On the bridge, an imposing blonde man stood up his full two meters of height and squared his enormous shoulders before adressing his commanding officer.

"On my way to the shuttlebay, M'am. For security reasons, I am going to want everyone carrying a phaser. I am also going to want at least two rifles and a contingency weapon.  Engineering, ops and security personnel with us will all have tricorders and will also scan constantly and reporting on anything out of the ordinary."

"Carry on, Mister Tritter."

Once the massive man left the small bridge, Captain Ross inquired about him to her Exec.

"Isn't that one from Lotus Fleet as the Phoenix is?"

"Affirmative, Captain; but after his initial selection, the lieutenant failed to keep up with the high standards of this elite division of Starfleet. He served on board the Asimov adequately since then."

"We need to be more than just adequate to do our job here," grumbled Ross obvioulsy not happy with being dumped an officer with a history of failure. 

"Bridge, this is shuttlebay; we are ready for launch."

"Proceed," ordered Captain Ross.

And so, things started out routinely enough.

*     *     *

"Away team 4 to Asimov."

"Go ahead Mister Tritter," Captain Ross said as she just entered the bridge from her ready room to sit in her command chair.

"We have found the portal to the underground facility with the hyeroglyphs recorded by the Phoenix expedition; they are indeed the same as those of the spires and ajustment of phase variance has allowed detection and opening. We are proceeding to enter the underground area"

"Commander Seekal; has the universal translator decrypted those symbols, Lieutennant?"

"Not yet, Captain," answered the voice of the Vulcan First officer. "The decryption algorythms are still struggling with the symbolic nature of such..."

"Keep the details for your report, Commander. Are the transporter enhancers secured?" 

Affirmative; Mister Tritter's idea of firing them with modified subprobes of a class IV probe to create a safe landing beaming zone has proven as effective as it was safer than risking an initial shuttlecraft landing. Away team 2 is guarding the zone as per his recommendations. Away team 3 is currently working on the spires and translating the symbols. I am currently approaching Away Team 4's position with the rest of Away team 1."

Ross was as usual a bit annoyed by the Vulcan's characteristic thoroughness; but this was a scientific expedition and such thoroughness was mandatory. She mused again briefly at the fate that had given her a science vessel as her first command and her upcoming assignment, at last, as the Strategic ops officer of the next Lotus class starship and thus in command of her integrated escort starship. She couldn't wait for this mission to be over with.

"Alright; proceed with caution but do not loiter around. We're here to gather data and samples. Record everything for a preliminary report to the Science Council."

"Acknowledged, Captain. We have reached the portal and confirm all preliminary data from the Phoenix and Away team 4. Implementing complete scanand recording."

Barely a second after Seekal became silent, the dull, flat low voice of security chief Tritter was heard again.

"Captain, Tritter here; we have used the activation code used by the Phoenix away team and an entryway has opened in the rock face. Currently proceeding inward... We have passed a kind of hallway carved out of the living rock by obviously very advanced tools, judging by the perfection of the cutting and building arrangements... We are now standing twenty meters away from the entrance, in front of the second entryway described by the Phoenix report."

"The entrance is closing..." then calmly reported Seekal as a low rumble was heard over the comm.

"The one before us is opening... followed Tritter's voice; " as expected once we used again the activation code... slower than the first, as reported... We are proceeding in the next area; the door should close behind us after moving about five meters inside... confirmed, as expected."

Ross listened to the exchange between the away teams, despite herself starting to get caught in the moment.

"Lieutenant; switch your helmet lights to 245 nm upward and ajust your visor's reception frequency into the ultraviolet range."

"Aye, Commander; complying..."

There was a moment of silence before the Vulcan's voice was heard.

"Report, Lieutenant."

"Sir... this place is... much larger than expected..."

"Switch to viewing mode, record and transmit over here," ordered Captain Ross.

On the main viewer before her, the image of the dark asteroid was replaced by that of a huge chamber made of six walls each of rectangular shape, making it all look like the inside of a huge prism. Each wall was brigthly luminous and colored under the ultraviolet light in all the tones and hues of blue and obviously etching out panels, monitors, displays and controls of alien configuration and obscure nature, enhanced by the same kind of mysterious symbols found outside. There was nothing immediately recognizable in all those instruments... except that they were apparently in some sort of standby status.

"Ensign Hernandez; where are you now with this translation of yours?"

On the screen, one of the suited figures in the huge chamber turned halfway the helmeted face invisible behind the darkened faceplate to the nearest wall of glowing controls and hieroglyphs.

"Only in the preliminary stage of associating forms and structure redundancy, Captain. These are symbolic representations like the old Terran Chinese writing rather than the visual phonetic signals of our current language. It will take a few minutes more to get a first inkling as to what they could..."

"Lieutenant; tell me something!"

"Well... M'am... these symbols here are much more numerous, varied and complex than those outside. If i were to offer a hypothesis, these here are specific description and identification symbols...  This is just pure conjecture at this point, M'am."

"And what about those outside?"

"Much simpler in shape and structure, M'am, like... pictograms of ideas rather than abstract symbols of an actual language."

"But what could they all mean?" sighed Ross with mounting frustration.

"Well, M'am... if we go with simple logic, and base our logic on previous knowledge of ususal communication patterns, these here inside near what appear to be controls and monitors would be like a set of precise technical instructions... or it might just as well be some philosophical discourse..."

"And outside?"

"More like a general message to anyone approaching this location."

"What, like... welcome?"

"Or... beware..."

The sour, low tone of Tritter suddenly made the moment as cold and silent as the strange alien ruin around them.

*     *     *