"Searching the Sky Above"
Ensign Mercury

After a lot of tinkering, adjusting, and a few scrapes and bruises from all twisted metal Melissa replaced the panel where she had been working. "That's the best I can do with this sensor relay. How are you doing?" she asked her friend.

"Just about got it, give me another second," David assured Melissa. David was attempting to fix the damaged display unit for the sensors on the shuttle. After a final connection David had finished the repair. "All set here."

"Commander, we are ready," Melissa said as she turned towards the Commander.

"Alright Ensign lets have a look, start her up," Commander Coe said.

Ensign Boudreau switched the senors on, there was a slight delay before the monitor changed from blank to static.

"Mercury, can you clear up that image," Commander asked.

What image David thought to himself! "Attempting to confine senor beam now sir. I am unsure whether it is the interference or just that the senors are not working properly. Wait I think I have something. Melissa can you adjust the signal flow for me."

"We got it sir," Melissa said with a little excitement in hear voice.

"There she is, good work!"

"Sir, now that we know that she is still orbitting the planet, what next, we still can't get a communication through?" David was a little confused. The Galaxy is up there but nobody is answering our calls!

"Searching in Camelot"
by Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara

Back on Sigma II .....

The monitor in front of Lt Hutchcraft changed to show the inside of a barn. Standing nearby, Ensign Samara was pacing around, cursing in Klingon while a Vulcan scientist and a human nurse sat talking to a native man. Lt Cmdr Sterner walked past and stopped, looking at the monitor before laughing,

"Don't worry about Lt Chiron. I'm sure Ensign Samara will find some way to rescue him. Since she came aboard, the old Security Medieval Combat program has been getting a bit of use."

********************

The next morning, K'Eytyanna did a quick scout around the barn, finding no trace at all of Chiron. Heading into the barn, she called out, "Angus, time to go. S'Dan, you are in charge."

Angus lead Kiri-Jolith outside to where K'Eytyanna was checking her equipment. She climbed up onto the horse and motioned Angus to get up. He shook his head and asked, "You haven't had a squire before, have you?"

She shook her head and he said, "Squires don't normally ride."

She shrugged, "We have a long way to ride so get up here."

He climbed up and sat behind her. Without turning, she said, "Hold on tight. I don't want to waste anytime having to stop and pick your injured body off the ground." After he held on tight, she gave a Klingon war-cry before kicking her heels. Quickly, the horse got the message and start on a fast gallop.

********************

A few hours later, the pair reached the top of a hill. Stopping, they looked down onto a very large and busy city. Sitting on top of another hill opposite, a very impressive Medieval castle sat, overlooking the sea.

Angus smiled and said, "Welcome to Camelot."

K'Eytyanna looked on at the magnificent sight before her, mouth open in amazement, "This is definitly what I was not expecting. They could be anywhere in that place."

Angus shrugged, "I used to work in the castle and have a lot of contacts throughout the city and castle. Maybe if we try them, we might be able to find some leads as to where your friends are and the other items you are looking for."

K'Eytyanna turned her head towards him and replied, "The more I find out about you, the more I'm glad that I agreed for you to be my squire. Where do we head now?"

Angus thought for a few seconds before replying, "Try the South Gate. I know some of the stable-hands and they will be able to look after your horse for no cost. They owe me some favours."

Samara nodded before spurring her horse down the hill, the wind whipping past. Outside the gate, they dismounted.

Angus took Kiri-Jolith into the stables and returned a few minutes later. He handed her a token and replied, "You will need this to get your horse back, K'Eytyanna."

She nodded and tucked it deep into her right boot. Checking her weapons and helmet, she and Angus got into the line going into the city. As they were passing the guards, one of the guards noticed her and stepped forward, blocking her way, "Please remove your helmet, Sir Knight. It is part of the security means that make Camelot the wonderful place that it is."

She nodded and reached for her helmets as a few others guards put their hands on the hilts of swords. Neaby, she could see another knight heading over, wearing silver armour. Undoing the clasps, she removed her helmet and shook her head so her hair flopped onto her forehead to disguise her Klingon heritage. The silver-knight walked over and said, "Guards, I'll look over this. Lady, please come with me."

She looked to Angus, who nodded so she followed the man. He took her into a small room inside the castle gates and motioned her to sit. "If I may ask, what is a fine lady like yourself doing travelling by herself and a single servant, fair maiden?"

She growled and stepped very close to him, "Listen up. I'm looking for some friends, and I can look after myself, probably better then your guards even." Quickly, she drew her dagger and had the blade of it against his throat before he could reactly, "Evidently, better then you as well."

The man laughed and replied, "My apologizes, fair maiden. My name is Lancelot, captain of the guards of Camelot and Knight of the Round Table."

Her Klingon side growled mentally, 'I have to get out of here, before I end up breaking the Prime Directive by decking him.' She hissed, "Stop calling me that! My name is K'Eytyanna. Now, I have to go and find my friends. Good day to you."

He nodded and she put her d'k tahg back in it's sheath. Turning, she headed out of the door. Motioning sharply to Angus, she tried to calmly say, "Time to move on."

********************

A few hours later of checking contacts through the city, they were no further along the track to finding Chiron, Nilani or any 'damn stupid riddles' as K'Eytyanna put it. She turned to Angus, "No one here knows anything!! Got any more people who can give us leads?"

Angus pointed towards the castle, "If there is anyone who will know, the castle staff normally hear most things that go on. I didn't want to mention this, but maybe they have got in trouble with the law."

She shook her head, "Chiron wouldn't allow anything that would get either of them in trouble."

"We might as well check the castle anyway. The security at the gate is very tight, so you won't be able to get in that way. However, I can get us inside via the secret servant's back-entrance. First, we need to find something to cover up your armour, weapons and helmet from view."

After searching for half an hour, K'Eytyanna had been outfitted in servant's clothing over the top of her armour. Slowly walking to the entrance, she let Angus do all the talking. When they got inside, she slapped him on the back and said, "Congratulations on a good job. What do you reckon we should do know?"

"Well, it will be easier for me to get around if you wait here. It isn't anything personal, but you kinda stand out like a sore thumb in this castle. If you have to move, meet me back here in an hour or two." She nodded and he headed off.

********************

K'Eytyanna paced the room in frustration for about half an hour, every so often punching the walls of her semi-prison. 'How do we know we can trust him? So far, he acted helpful, but he could be out alerting the guards to us.' her Klingon side growled. 'He seemed trustable, Klingon. He took us all around the city checking with people who might know, and he got us free stabling for Kiri-Jolith. You just can't trust anyone, can you?' her Bajoran side retaliated. Her Klingon side spat out, 'How do we know he didn't take us on a wild goose chase and has sold Kiri-Jolith? Answer me that, and I'll think about trusting him. Anyway, he isn't even from our time. For all you know, he could also be arranging for us to be burnt alive at the stake for witchcraft. Maybe that's what happened to Chiron - that peta'q may already have killed the others, and sent people back for S'Dan and Kelly while I'm trapped here waiting.' Her Human side stepped into the middle, trying to calm down the two battling sides, 'Bajoran, if we let her take a look around, maybe she won't be suspicious. Anyway, it will be fun exploring.' 'Human, maybe Klingon will just bring down every guard in the castle down on us. If you want, she can, but don't blame me if anything goes wrong.' Eagerly, her Klingon side led her out of the room, after throwing away the servant's clothing.

*************************************

Slipping down the passage, she stopped at a corner and took a quick peak around it. Standing at the end, a single guard was leaning against the wall, about two metres away and turned away from her. Growling softly in annoyance, she head back to the last door she had found and slipped inside. Examining the contents, she found a ball of string and a block of wood that she reckoned was heavy enough to knock someone out and yet not too heavy to cause serious injury. Tying the string around it, she crept back to the corner and double-checked to find the guard still looking away, so she wound out two metres of string from the ball. Carefully out of view, she started spinning the block of wood around in a circle. When it had built up enough momentum, she jumped out and released the wood, which spun towards the guard and clobbered him before he could turn. She raced forward and grabbed him before he fell to the ground, since the clatter of his armour would give her away. He groaned softly, stirring slightly as she examined his body. Quickly, she punched him unconscious with her fist. Removing the set of keys from the man, she stuffed him in a small cramped room with a gag over his mouth and locked the door behind her. Opening the door that the guard had been posted at, she found a set of stairs in standard Medieval-style, leading down to the dungeon and up towards the higher levels. Quickly deciding, she heard down.

Halfway down, she picked up the sound of guards at the bottom, heading towards her. A voice called out, "That you, Sam."

Putting her back to the inner wall, she waited, hoping that the man would think it was a rodent of some kind. A few seconds later, she heard the sound of chainmail armour clinking as it came closer. Drawing her sword, she charged down the stairs and shouldered the man hard, sending him crashing down the stairs. One of the men down the bottom yelled out, "Intruder in the castle!!!"

Cursing in Klingon, she raced up the stairs and headed up into the higher levels of the castle as trumpets blared around the place, alerting the castle's guards. 'Bright one, Klingon! Now you've down it.'

********************

Back on Sigma II .....

"Oh my gosh!! Hutchcraft, your ensign just caused a big uproar. From the looks of it, she was found by some guards while infiltrating a Medieval castle of some soft."

Hutchcraft turned to look at the monitor and replied, "She's part-Klingon, so Samara will find some way out of it. I just hope her method doesn't involve violence."

"So do I, Lt Commander."

********************

K'Eytyanna sprinted up the stairwell, ready to attack any guards who happened to find her. Reaching a landing with an exit from the stairwell, she stopped when she heard the sounds of guards above her. Turning, her hearing picked up more from below.

"Down the corridor, Klingon!" her Human side suggested. Nodding, she headed down the corridor just as a guard came down.

"There's the intruder!! Get 'em." She growled and raced off down the corridor and turned. After a few more turns with guards in chase, she ran into a dead-end leading to a large oak door. Shrugging, she charged at the door, shouldering it open.

********************

Lancelot thumped his fist against the oak table and replied adamantly, "That is not an option, Sir Tor. Mordred has too much loyalty in that area, and we would lose too many brave loyal soldiers in the process. Arthur, you cannot allow this."

"Lancelot, Tor, this problem is too important for in-fighting."

Suddenly, the council chamber doors burst in and a young woman holding a drawn sword, her brown hair slicked down with sweat and her chainmail armour clinking, burst into the room. The woman growled deeply and called out something in an unknown language, as all the Knights jumped up and drew swords. They quickly formed a wall between her and Arthur as she backed further around the wall, eyes flicking around the room. Suddenly, Arthur heard the sound of one of his Knights laughing out loud and turned to see Lancelot holding himself on Galahad's shoulder as he broke up laughing.

Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara, USS Galaxy NCC-70637 Engineering Department

"The Riddle & The Monolith"
Lieutenant Troy Blair
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

"Hey Tr....James, take a look at this" AC said, handing Troy the piece of paper.

Taking the paper, Troy examined it, "A riddle? But what does this have to do......" Alan cut him off in midsentence

"I heard some people talking about riddles everywhere in the city, so this may have something to do with......you know"

"True, but we can't be 100% sure, until we find out what that monolith says." said Blair as he rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb

"Agreed, shall we find this Egypt expert?" AC started towards the museum entrance

*** Main Exhibit Hall ***

The large room was filled with Egyptian artifacts, from pottery, to gold, and even a mummy. Troy and AC were mostly interested in the items that taught about the translations of hieroglyphics. Cherry, the sidekick that seemed to never want to leave, was more interested in the Egyptian lifestyles area.

As they walked around the room, a man in a brown plain suit, entered and started to arrange some of the items on display. Both officers concluded that he must be the expert, so they approached him

"Uh, excuse me professor?" Troy spoke up, getting the mans attention

"Yes? Are you two young men interested in learning about Ancient Egypt?" the middle aged man asked, rubbing dust off of his hands.

"Not exactly sir, "Hewson began "..we need some help in learning about hieroglyphics."

"Ahh...an interesting topic. Well, there's two cat....." The professor started

"Doc, how would you like to study an object, unlike anything in here?" Troy asked flatly

"I would love to! Do you have it on you?"

"Not quite, it's in a warehouse"

Alan pulled Troy aside, "Are you crazy? Going back to the warehouse is suicide!" he whispered

"That monolith may be the only thing that can get us home, we're going to have to go back sooner or later."

"I hope you're right"

*** Warehouse ***

After several minutes of taking backstreets to avoid Capone and his goons, the group of four made it back to the warehouse. They crept inside, and began walking toward where the monolith laid, but the closer they got, they began to hear voices.

When they were within a few yards, Troy and Alan crawled up to a box and ducked behind it. The voices, fortunately, were only two gangsters packing wine bottles in crates. They were oblivious to the world around them.

"Hey, Snakes, where did dat stone thing come from?" the larger man of the two asked, pointing to the monolith behind him.

"Ah, I don't know, one day it wasn't here and dee next it was" the smaller man finished packing his crate and began another

Troy watched the two men for a few more minutes, before he came up with a plan. "Hey Alan, you said you had a phaser right?"

"Sure do" AC patted the breast pocket where he kept the phaser

"Good, can I have it real quick?"

"Ya, but what are you planning to do?" the engineer asked, handing the phaser over to Troy

With a grin on his face, Blair replied, "You'll see" with that he got up and approached the two men.

He held the phaser behind his back, it was set to maximum stun. He walked to within 20 feet of the gangsters, when they didn't notice him, he cleared his throat.

"Who da 'ell are you?" the shorter man asked

"I'm the new guy" the Tactical Officer smiled

"Dee new guy? I didn't know we had a new guy. Are you some kinda cop?"

"You could say that....." With a flash, Troy whipped the phaser around to the front, firing off two shots. Both gangsters were struck and fell to the ground, unconscious. Turning back to where his friends hid, he called out, "It's safe, you guys can come out now"

All three came from their respective hiding places, the professor and AC went straight to the monolith, Cherry (of course) went to Troy.

"You ok baby?" she asked

"Yes, I'm a lot better than they'll feel in an hour or so." Troy stated, pointing to the two gangsters.

Over at the the monolith, the expert began to study the stone structure in awe, "I've never seen any writing like this before! What part of Egypt did it come from?"

"A place that's farther than the rest" Alan responded quickly "Can you read it?" By this time, Troy had joined the group.

"Vaguely, it says something about a riddle, and entering the correct answer. That's all I can make out..... I wonder if this came from a tomb, and anyone that entered had to solve a riddle to keep from setting off a booby trap." the man hypothesized, moving closer to the symbols to study them better.

Troy turned to AC, "Well, how good are you at solving riddles?"

"Finders keepers!"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

The moonlight shone through the towering tree tops as Captain Price looked up at the stars. It was strange how foreign he felt while being stranded in this time period of the American Civil war, and yet, the stars and the moon were the only thing that offered any familiarity at all. This was Earth, but not the Captain's Earth.

Lee returned his attention to the blinking tricorder as the completion tones sounded out. "Ah, about time," the Captain stated under his breath. The purging of medical data had finally finished, leaving room on the tiny computer's memory banks to reinitialize the universal translator program. Carefully, Lee replaced the tricorders access cover and secured it into place.

"Now to see if this thing can make heads or tails out of the inscription on that monolith." The Captain activated the universal translator program and fed the recording Doctor Rousseau had made earlier of the monolith inscriptions. The machine's lights flickered for a moment as a gentle purr could be heard before it's view screen displayed the translated text:

'To find your way back to your home, In this period you must roam. Find the riddle, do not wait. Failure here may seal your fate.'

A puzzled look formed on the Captain's face. "Find a riddle? You've got to be kidding." Lee shifted his weight slightly, being careful of his wounded leg which was now completely numb. Glancing over he saw Jacqueline laying on the ground. The Doctor had not moved the whole time Lee had been reconfiguring the tricorder. A worried expression sank into the creases of his mouth. A feeling of deja-vu rushed over him. Memories of his former first officer, Commander Gael, plagued his thoughts. Shutting the tricorder, Lee looked back up at the stars.

"What to do? Where do I look for some ancient riddle, placed in this period like some sort of intellectual 'cheese' in some alien experiment?" After pondering for a moment, the Captain glanced down at the portable Holo-emitter Ensign Thomas had given him to evaluate.

"Humm, It's programmed with the persona of General Robert E. Lee. I wonder how complete his knowledge of this time period is..."

Reaching, Lee touched a finger on the control to activate Thomas' holo program of General Lee.

"Greetings, Sir." Robert E. Lee said turning to face the Captain, "Could you be so kind to tell me where I am at, and how I can get back to the battlefield?"

A small grin twisted onto the Captain's face. "Actually 'mate, I was hoping you could tell me..."

********

*** Ferengi Marauder "Delox" ***

"Daimon Pog!" an excited flight officer calls out from his station.

"What is it you incompetent twit? Why dare you raise your voice in such a manner and interrupt my... concentration?" Pog stated while leaning back in his reclined chair, a naked Orion slave woman rubbing his lobes gently, giving him Oo-mox. His content grin interrupted by his crewman's outburst.

"All apologies great one!, " the lower Ferengi said sincerely, "...but I think you will want to see this..."

Pog's expression turned from minor annoyance to major disappointment. "Oh there! Now you've spoiled my entire mood Nom." The Daimon said angrily. With a wave of his hand the curvaceous green woman seductively walked out of the room. A flirtatious smile glued to her lips. Pog admired her beauty even as she exited, sighing slightly.

"I don't understand what you see in alien women any way Daimon..." Nom comments, now standing besides Pog, also watching the Orion strut out of the room.

"HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY TASTE IN WOMEN!" Pog screamed, slapping Nom on the side of his head, catching his upper lobe.

Nom screamed in pain, favoring the ear as he cowered at Pog's feet. "AHHHH! I,... I am sorry oh might great one. I meant no disrespect of any kind Daimon. It,... it won't happen again, I swear!"

"See that it doesn't fool!" Pog said as he puffed up his chest and straightened his jacket lapel and then his red head guard, quickly licking a finger and running it down along the ridge of his lobe line while staring at himself in a mirror. "Now, what is so important that you would DARE to interrupt my,... concentration period?"

Nom slowly got up. The pain in his ear was still present, but it was slowly fading now. Still, his voice reflected the injury in his tone, which was nearly an octave higher in pitch. "I am sorry your greatness. But I detected a Federation Starship on the ship's sensors. A Galaxy Class Starship. She isn't responding to our hails to identify herself."

Pog's expression instantly changed from that of annoyance to that of curiosity. "That is not like the Fed-er-A-sion." The contempt for Starfleet could be heard in Daimon Pog's tone. "They are sticklers for protocols, and rules. You would think they would embrace the Rules of acquisition with open arms... Where is this ship now?"

"It is presently orbiting a planet in the Sigma system great one. The second planet. They are in a very low planetary orbit. Perhaps they can not receive our hails Daimon?" Nom glanced at his superior as if asking him a question.

Pog raises his hand as if to strike Nom again. He didn't have to. The motion was enough to have the Ferengi cower, clutching his already sore ear lobe. "Perhaps, you ingrate! Or just maybe they have discovered something of value on the planet surface... something they are trying to keep from us!"

Nodding in agreement, Nom says, "Yes great one! They are trying to keep it all for themselves."

Pog's eyes narrowed as he looked at Nom. The Ferengi flight officer began to look nervous, not knowing what the Daimon would do next. With baited breath, he watched while Pog thought for a moment. Finally, the Daimon spoke.

"Alter out course Nom. Bring us in closer to this,... Fed-er-A-sion Starship. I wish to know *why* they are refusing to return our hails."

"Yes. Yes great one. Consider it done your greatness." Nom groveled as he bowed several times before returning to his station and altering the "Delox" present heading.

"Bread, Cheese and Ham"
by Jurelle Tash.

"RUN!", Will yelled, and with the adrenalin running through her body, Jurelle leaped over the short picket fence at the bottom of the yard and ran like a madman down the hill. With Will close behind her they ran a short way until they got to a small deserted barn on the outskirts of the town. Hiding behind the barn door they looked back up the hill, seeing no signs of pursuit Jurelle breathed a sigh of relief and sat down.

As she caught her breath and the adrenaline rush wore off, Jurelle realised how weary and hungry she was. She couldn't remember when she had last eaten but it must have been days ago. She could remember the last time she slept, but it seemed a long time ago, and it certainly wasn't for eight hours. Jurelle looked at Will, her partner in crime, and found him almost asleep on his feet. She turned to the clothes they had just stolen and looked through them. There was adequate clothing for both of them and they changed out of the cold wet clothing they had on. Jurelle looked down at herself and smiled at how she must look in the skirt and blouse, but at least they were dry and they covered her sufficiently to pass without comment in this time.

Will looked uncomfortable in his trousers and shirt but they fitted better than the guards uniform he'd had on and would be less conspicuous. He sat down on some straw and fell asleep almost immediately. Jurelle walked out of the barn and looked down the hill at the town below her. It looked beautiful, the lights reflecting off the ocean, so calm and peaceful. Jurelle was almost glad she had this opportunity to experience this time of this world but then she thought of all the problems, hunger, illness, the wars to come. She hoped they would be able to figure out how to get home to her own time, and the Galaxy. She made her way back into the barn and spread out some straw close to Will. She settled down comfortably and was asleep before she could answer why straw on the cold ground should be so very comfortable.

*********************

She woke to sun streaming through the slats that made up the wall of thier inproptu abode for the night and wondered where Will was. Jurelle felt much refreshed but still had a tickle in her throat from the night before. She coughed and hoped she hadn't caught some awful ancient disease, and stood and looked out the barn's divided doors. Will was making his way up the hill looking excessively pleased with himself and carrying a small package in his arms. Jurelle's nose flared at the gentle aroma of fresh bread and she grinned with the prospect of eating. She wondered at Will's self control that he hadn't eaten all of the bread himself. "Good morning Jurelle, did you sleep well?" Will said as he set the small package down in front of her.

"I must have", she answered "I actually feel almost humanoid again, how about you, and where did you get this from." Jurelle was most impressed and set to opening the package which held a loaf of freshly baked bread and some cheese and what looked like cured pig meat.

"I offered to sweep up after the mornings baking in that bakery down there" he pointed at a building not too far down the hill "and the baker gave me this in payment. We should get going, the Monolith isn't far, and we still don't really know how it can help us."

Jurelle agreed, eager to find a way home, and quickly ate her share of the meal, hoping with the doctor part of her mind that the meat was sufficiently cured to be safe for eating. It tasted wonderful and Jurelle wondered how long it had been since she had eaten unreplicated food. She also wondered whether Will's interaction with the townsfolk was wise but she was certainly glad of the outcome.

They walked in companionable silence down the hill towards the town and hopefully, the way home.

There were a few people around the docks, and Jurelle was relieved that the ship they had escaped from the evening before was nowhere to be seen. They made their way to the monolith. It looked so obviously out of place it was easy to find and Jurelle was surprised that it wasn't drawing more attention. Maybe it couldn't be seen by people native to this time.

They walked up to the monolith which, up close seemed to be a smaller copy of what Jurelle had seen in the distance on Sigma II. It had egyptian symbols on it that meant nothing to Jurelle and she looked forlornly at Will who seemed to have no more ideas than her. "Okay, what do we do now" Jurelle wondered out loud.

"I don't know, its not very helpful is it?" Will sighed and glared at the monolith, wishing it could tell them what to do. Jurelle still had the paper that their breakfast had been wrapped in and smoothed it out to see if she could get any more information on this time. It was newspaper, and was starting to blacken Jurelle's fingertips when she noticed a passage that stood out from the headlines and stories around it. She read the passage out to Will.

"It's a riddle" Will stated, "Do you think it has something to do with the monolith?" he looked at Jurelle, wondering why she had picked it out to read to him.

"It's got little symbols before and after it that look a bit like the monolith, could mean something." She showed the paper to Will.

"Well, this is all we have to work on so, any ideas?" Will didn't look very hopeful. Jurelle wasn't sure, there were a few things she could think of that it might be but nothing jumped out and said, 'yes, this is the answer' in her mind. She was usually pretty good at riddles but this one was too ambiguous for her liking. She sighed.

"I don't know Will. It's pretty hard. I can't think of any obvious answer, hope you are better at riddles than I am." By the look on Will's face he wasn't.

"I'm not sure", he said, unconvincingly "let me think for a moment." They both sat down at the base of the monolith and started to think. Jurelle felt frustrated, and hungry again, and tired and sick and just wanted to get the hell out of here and back home to the Galaxy. She sighed and tried to keep her mind on the riddle, seemingly their only hope to get home.

A few minutes later, Jurelle was shocked out of her contemplation of the riddle with voices shouting in the distance. She looked up to see what could only be the victim of their crime of the night before talking to a man dressed in blue and pointing their way. Wondering for a moment how she knew it was them, then remembering she was wearing her clothes, Jurelle grabbed Will by the arm and they were running once again.

Dr Jurelle Tash, Medical officer, USS Galaxy.

USS Galaxy
Lt. Deiran Casey
"The Rays Of Enlightenment"

Casey had set his comm-link to beep at 6:31 a.m. It didn’t take much to reconfigure the link into an alarm clock. Casey was a sound sleeper, it took a storm to wake him up, but in this case he knew he had to be alert and set his mind to waking up precisely when the comm-link went off.

Casey awoke at 6:33 a.m. He had 4 minutes before sunrise. Casey stood where the rays of the sun would shine as it came up over the horizon. It would shine somewhere near the forest behind the monolith.

The great yellow ball peaked over the horizon at precisely 6:37 a.m. and its rays shined directly on a tree. Casey thought that was strange. It’s almost as if the ancient civilization knew he was a colonial history fan and would want to visit Washington. This seemed to be the clue he was needing.

Casey started for the forest and kept his eye on the tree he needed to go too as he walked to it. He never took his eyes off of it.

He reached the tree and was amazed at what he saw.

It was a metal plate that had been put on the tree. It was definitely not from this timeline. That was for sure, it was almost as if it had been welded to the tree. The tree would’ve burned if

they’d try to do this. In fact now that Casey thought about it, they didn’t have any welding equipment until another 90 years or so.

The metal plate had Egyptian letters on it. They represented the English letters

What does that mean. Casey searched his photographic memory for any word like Shonix in the Egyptian language. Nothing he could remember.

He had the clue on how to get back home, but what would it do for him.

This wasn’t easy. Those blasted ancients, if they’d just been peaceful. He would’ve still been on the Galaxy with Miran and the rest of the crew and not stuck here. The Galaxy would be losing altitude soon and had to be saved, or the Federation would lose another Galaxy class Starship.

"Shonix…what the hec is that?" he asked himself. Casey went over the entire monolith, looking for clues. He noticed a panel on the back of the monolith that contained 27 buttons. Now this was weird. It was what the English alphabet would look like in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Casey punched out the word Shonix on the panel and he was blown back about ten feet…

Picking himself off of the dirt, he dusted himself off and went back to the monolith to try again. Now he had to be careful because the second time might give out a worst shock than the first. Casey was glad he was tough or that shock would’ve severely injured him and he would have to go to sickbay once he got back to the Galaxy.

Casey never doubted he would return. It was just a matter of time.

To Casey nothing was impossible. He was a tenacious man, and would allow nothing to stop him from accomplishing a goal. But this was difficult.

"S H O N I X ?" he repeated outloud.

Is it a question? The name of a man in history? No! Their just letters of the alphabet.

But, what significance would that have?

Deiran got a stick and wrote the alphabet in the sand. He didn’t have any paper or a PADD. So he improvised.

He circled the letters, "S H O N I X." Deiran felt something crawling up his leg as he stared down at the ground. He pulled up his pant leg and saw red ants, he hurriedly brushed them off and moved away from them. They didn’t bite him. But he wasn’t going take chances.

As he got up to sit somewhere else, stick in hand, he noticed that he could see the letters upside down. Could it be that simple? No!

Casey then walked back around to where he had the letters written in the sand. That’s strange.

What other letters can you see as the same upside down?

Casey thought for a bit. "Z?" he said outloud to no one.

He got a branch and wiped the letters away and rewrote them with "Z."

S H O N I X Z

"Well", he said, "it’s worth a try."

Casey walked back to the monolith and typed in the letters.

A pink light engulfed his body and instantaneously he was on the surface of Sigma II.

He tapped his comm badge, "Casey Ti Miran this is Deiran are you back?"

His only thought was for his love. Was she okay? Is she even back? Was she alive?

There was no answer to his hail.

He met up with some others from the Galaxy. It was Troy, Ensign Thomas and Counselor Salshyar.

"Well, I must say those clothes are you Troy," Casey commented and laughed. "Where did you end up at?" he asked his friend.

"The 1920’s we were almost killed by gangsters!" Troy said it like he and Hewson just escaped with their lives.

"Where did you end up Counselor?"

"The Salem witch trials, just as they began. The dolts thought we were witches!" the Counselor said, still shaken by the ordeal.

"Where did you end up sir?" Ensign Thomas asked Casey.

"I ended up in 1783 right at the end of the American revolution. I had a lot of fun. I met George Washington and Alexander Hamilton and caught and cooked myself some delicious trout. Cooked it myself. I didn’t like gutting it though but it was good eating."

"That’s it? You just had a camping trip and met George Washington?" Troy exclaimed.

"Yes, that’s it. I had a lot of fun actually. But I missed Miran. Have you seen her?"

"No I haven’t," Dev answered.

"Does anything bad ever happen to you?" Troy asked in consternation.

"What can I say? I live a charmed life!" Casey said and laughed as he looked over Troy’s clothes again.

As Deiran was walking. Many of the crew were noticing him and acknowledging him, saying hello. As he was talking with some of the crew, asking if they’d seen Miran, he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around to see Ronni, smiling at him.

"Well, Deiran you seem to be in good spirits?" she asked him.

"Well, not really, have you seen Miran, is she okay?"

"Yes, she’s looking for you, I’m helping her."

"Where is she?" he asked excitedly.

"She’s that way, you can't miss her," Ronni pointed to the north.

"He started to run as fast as he could, "Thanks Ronni," he said as he ran away from her.

He saw Miran and his heart almost leapt out of his body. She looked fine. He ran to her. She turned to see him. She began to cry.

It was the first time they had been separated since their marriage. So, it was not easy being apart, they embraced basking in the relief they both felt. Deiran just held her in his arms. And was thankful she was okay. He wouldn’t be able to go on without her in his life.

He let her go and looked into her eyes, "Are you okay? What’s wrong?"

She couldn’t answer because she was crying.

He pulled her close to him again, holding her tight and stroking her hair, "I love you Miran!" he said softly into her ear.

She stopped crying and pulled back to look at him, "I love you too! I don’t want to lose you ever!" Deiran put his hand on her left cheek and leaned into kiss her. It was a passionate kiss, a kiss of all the love he had for Miran. It was gentle but evoking. The kind of kiss that would make a girls knees go weak. They held the kiss for a long time, enjoying each others embrace and glad to be alive and together again.

"Black Eye"
Lt. Casey Ti Miran

They were treated like cattle. The Bajorans were made to stand in a line while Cardassians inspected them. Miran was scared to death. A Cardassian that stood at least a foot taller than she stopped in front of her. He took her chin into his hand.

"This one is kind of pretty. I'll take her." Miran slapped his hand away. "Feisty too. I'll teach you." He backhanded her, splitting her lip. Darkness enveloped her with the next punch. She never saw the Cardassian that struck her fall dead.

***

Miran slowly opened her eyes. One eye wouldn't open more than a slit. She moaned when she sat up. Immediately, there was a presence at her side.

"Shh, they're looking for us." Miran was confused. How did she get to this almost dark room away from the Cardassians?

"They're gone," a voice called out many minutes later. A light came up, making her blink. She sneezed once.

"Where is this? What happened?" Miran probed the Bajoran in the same room with her.

"Nerut, the village where you were taken. I am a member of an underground who's purpose is to rid Bajor of Cardassians. We took back our people, including you, that they took yesterday. You have a beautiful black eye. I'm sorry we couldn't prevent your injuries." Miran sneezed once again and grimaced at the pain. Her savior smiled.

"And a bruised rib or two. Should be fine in a couple of days. I'm Riman Amie."

"Casey Miran," again she used her name without her Bajoran name included. If she was back at the village where she was taken, she could get back to the obelisk. The obelisk had to be her ticket home and back to Deiran, it just had to be. What did the old woman with the riddle have to do with it though? Was the riddle the key to the obelisk?

A clothe soaked in cold water was laid on her eye to help reduce swelling. They apologized for not having medical supplies to treat her injuries but it wasn't their fault but the fault of the Cardassians.

The next morning Miran convinced them to let her go out for a short time. She made her way to the obelisk. Now to figure out how this thing works and get home. She wanted, no needed to get back to the ship, to make the necessary adjustments to the helm, and back to Deiran.

"Deiran"
Lt. Casey Ti Miran

Miran was back. It was joyful feeling she had. She started to search for Deiran. Where was he? Was he okay? She got a few startled looks probably due to the black eye and split lip. Finally she found him. She threw her arms around him.

He let her go and looked into her eyes, "Are you okay? What's wrong? What happened?" He looked like he could go kill a Cardassian or some other fierce creature.

"I went to Bajor. I was caught by Cardassians and one of them did this." He gave her a look of pure agony. She could tell that if he had been there, he would have been the one to kill the Cardassian that did this.

"I love you Miran!" he said softly into her ear.

"I love you too! I do not want to lose you ever! Do not leave me ever again." She snuggled up once again onto his embrace. Then she pulled back suddenly remembering the Galaxy.

"Deiran, we need to get to the Galaxy. The orbit should be already decayed enough that it should be in the fringes of the atmosphere. I would say it has maybe two hours at tops."

After they got back to the Galaxy, Miran could have sickbay heal her and confirm her suspections. Deiran would be surprised when he found out what she had learned while on Bajor. She wondered if her brother was still alive and if she could find him. She would have family.

One of the other things she learned was that Bajor was matriarchal. Deiran should have been the one to change his name, but then again he was human and his a patriarchal society. Either way one of them would have been going against culture and anyway she was happy to have his name. Shen wasn't actually her father's brother but his brother-in-law. That's why Fala had been more upset at his capture than what Nalim had been.

Written By Kahn Nilani

As I told Chiron to get some rest I could here some noise from somewhere. I stood up to try and get a better listen the cell door opened and a guard came in to the cell, he cane over and ordered me out of the cell. I refused as I did so me grabed my arm and forced me out of the cell.

"Chiron" I yelled, but it was no use as Chiron couldn't hear me. I was lead up a staircase and was pushed through a door. When the door shut I heard the Guard lock the door, I looked around the room and saw a big bed in one corner and lots of closets with cloths in them. I walked over to the bed and sat down, as I sat down I heard the door unlock. He walked in but I couldn't see his face.

"Hello Pretty One"

Galaxy Log Written by Kahn Nilani U.s.s Galaxy Medical Doctor

"Absent conversations"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

*** Ferengi Marauder Delox ***

The Ferengi Marauder "Delox" soon entered the Sigma system, taking up a high altitude orbit around Sigma II.

"Oh mighty one," Nom groveled, "we have entered standard orbit about the planet. Still the Starship is not answering our hails."

Pog diverted his attention from his tooth sharpening. In one hand he was holding up a small mirror to better view his incisors, which he now places down at his side. After carefully running his tung over his newly sharpened teeth, feeling the razor sharp edge he'd just ground into them, Pog grinned slightly. "Open a channel. They will speak with me! Daimon Pog, Nagaus of the first order of Ferengar!"

"Yes,.. yes your greatness." Nom agreed, taping the controls which opened a channel. "Broadcasting on all frequencies your greatness!"

Pog stood from his chair, raising his ivory carved and jeweled scepter in his right hand, as if showing it off in some Ferengi display of prestige or power. "I am Daimon Pog, commander of the Delox, Nagaus of the first order of Ferengar. You will identify your selves and state your business here, or suffer the consequences."

Pog stood there expectantly. He was used to giving orders and having them carried out at once. After several long moments past, Nom finally spoke. "I do not think they are going to respond your greatness."

The color raced to Pog's cheeks at the flight officers observation. "SILENCE you fool!" Glancing around the bridge, the Ferengi Daimon added, "They would not DARE to insult the Nagaus of the first order in such a manner! Reopen the channel."

Nom nodded to the Nagaus.

"I say again. This is Daimon Pog, Nagaus of the first order. You will respond at once to my hails!"

More moments pass, and still no response from the vacated Starship. Nom opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it when Pog looked in his direction. An annoyed look resting on his face.

"Scan them. This must be the result of a Fed-er-A-sion malfunction or they would surely have responded to my hails." Pog says with confidence, sitting back into his chair and inspecting his finger nails for dirt.

"It is difficult to get an accurate reading your greatness." Nom stated. "They are in a very low planetary orbit and the atmosphere makes it difficult for our sensors to scan them. Their shields are raised as well, adding to our hardship your worshipfullness."

Pog's eyes narrow in suspicion. "SO! They cower in a low orbit in a futile attempt to hide from us. These Fed-er-A-sion Hue-mons are so pathetic! Prepare main weapon banks. We will teach them why they are not wise to ignore the hails of the Nagaus of the first order!"

"Yes your greatness! Preparing weapons now." Nom declared as he readied the phaser banks.

********

*** Chancellorsville, 1863 ***

"Then, shortly after refusing to take charge of all of the armies of the United States when Mister Lincoln asked, I returned to Virginia, and the South."

Captain Price nodded at the holographic image of General Robert E. Lee as he listened to him go on about his experiences. Ensign Thomas had programmed a significant amount of known historical facts into the holographic simulation. However, Lee was having a tough time getting that information out of the General in any sort of a concise way. The Southerner just seemed to want to babble on about himself.

"That is fascinating General, but I was more interested in learning about this area we are presently at 'mate. Can you tell me what happened here in your experiences during the Civil War?"

General Lee stroked his mustache as he looked around the dimly, moonlit area of the woods the Captain and Doctor Rousseau were held up in. "I can't rightly say I know where we are located son. Might you be able to direct me to the battle field sir?"

The Captain's eyes rolled up slightly. The program for this General Lee character was very good, but far from a completely accurate representation of a person. Lee had already run across a couple of looping algorithms in it's program. Asking for directions seemed to be an easy one to trip. "Maybe I can be of some help there General... A little ways back we crossed a sign post that said 'Fairview'. Does that mean anything to you 'mate?"

The General's face lit up. "Ah, Fairview, a tiny townstead near Chancellorsville. I recall the Union soldiers withdrawing to Fairview just prior to the battle of Chancellorsville where my troops and those of General Stuart converged on the Union army under Hooker's command. Some say it was my greatest victory..." the General said with a touch of pride in his voice.

The Captain nodded. "That may be of some help General. Can you recall what date that battle took place 'mate?"

Robert E. Lee nodded. "Why certainly Sir. In the early hours of May third, 1863."

The holographic image of the famous Confederate General began to flicker somewhat. An indication that the holo-emitter was beginning to run low on power. Captain Price reached over and began to deactivate it. "Thank you General, you've been most helpful 'mate."

"Why my pleasure sir. Now if you could be so kind as to direct me to the battle field, I ..."

The image of Robert E. Lee faded as the power was cut to the emitter. Captain Price glanced over to Doctor Rousseau. She was still laying on the ground, unmoving. "Don't have time for all of this." Lee said softly. "Got to get you back to that monolith before first light."

Struggling, Captain Price managed to get to his feet. After gathering up Doctor Rousseau's medical kit, he picked up the Doctor, resting her limp body over one of his shoulders as he slowly began limping on his wounded leg back towards the clearing where they had originally been deposited in this time period. "Got to get back to that monolith." Lee thought as he struggled to move. "Got to get back home."

Chiron slept soundly, despite the throbbing pain in his skull, and the circumstances. In his dreams, he saw the sword again, and the inscription in the side, but time seemed to stop right there. He read the inscription.

His dreams were interrupted by sharp feelings from Nilani. Repulsion... Helplessness... He concentrated harder. He could see a bedroom.... and a seething man attempting to undress Ms. Kahn.

'No!' Chiron yelled.... verbally again... A guard ran to the cell door. Chiron thought quickly, and started groaning in agony. The guard opened the door to enter, and take a closer look. Chiron struck the guard's mind. The human knight crumpled slowly to the ground. The Tamarian had not reserved any of his power, and the knight lay on the ground, dead.

Chiron jumped up, and ran through the door, stopping only to take the sword that was laying on the ground. He then jogged through the hallways, looking through the rooms for Nilani. He had to help her.

[---------The Schizoid Man-----------]

"Interference"
By Ensign Thomas and Commander JT Coe

Chris was waiting for the commander's response before attempting anything, since he was not sure what if of the planetary conditions had changed. He was on the Galaxy when he was whisked away so, he was unsure if there were any problems that had prevented them from getting back other than the lack of personal on the Galaxy itself.

"Ensign Thomas that the planet's ionization will interfere with all communications and transmissions to and from the ship. So make shift devices will not be of much help." Commander Coe stated as he considered the situation at hand they did have very few options left to choose from. His concern was mounting as that no one had seen or heard from the captain since being on the Galaxy.

"Ensign Thomas I do however have some suggestions of things that might be feasible, repairing / recovering the emergency transporter system in the wrecked shuttle craft. Repairing / patching the shuttle well enough to launch it off the planet surface. Fabricating some sort of a giant satellite dish to boost the shuttle crafts communications signal enough to reach the Galaxy when she's directly over head." Commander Coe though any of these options would require time.

"Commander considering the situation and the ionization in the planets atmosphere, I don't think building a satellite dish big enough is feasible given time constants and I don't we've enough material to build one to working size. We should focus on either repairing the shuttle and or getting its transporters back on-line. If we can get close enough to the Galaxy a small team might be able to transport onboard the Galaxy." Chris said as he looked around at the supplies they had. His engineering skill were good, but this would require lots of help.

"The shuttle is this way, if you're right then we don't have much time." JT said as he and ensign Thomas headed for the crash site of shuttle where two the Galaxy crew members were already examing the shuttle.

"Commander I wish Lt. Miran and Lt. Casey were here on the planet, because we're going to need the help to pull this off." Ensign Thomas spoke as they tacked the terrain to the site.

The commander just nodded to the ensign and said "So do I."

The reached the shuttle and started poking around looking to their fellow officers who had been over at the shuttle working. Chris considered the limited options and then consider his on of his ideas.

"Commander even if can only get close enough to transport on the number will be no more than three people judging by the shuttle's configuration. I volunteer to go either attempting to do so, via the shuttle or the transporters." Chris thought about his responsibility to Colby and to that of Starfleet. He was willing to risk his life to save someone else's life. He sat down and simple laid out a quick will, just in case it was need. He certainly hoped that it wouldn't be but better safe than sorry.

"Ensign I can't allow you to jeopardize your life, even if we can get either this thing flying again or the transporters operating again. What about Colby what will happen to him if something happens to you?" Commander stated more of it being a fact than a question.

"Commander I wrestle with that very question every day that I go to bad and wake up the next morning. Please believe me when I say that I have always considered this issue more times than I care to count, but I am volunteering for either way. I have prepared a will stating who I name as Colby's guardian should anything happen to me." Chris said as he faced the commander. He didn't want anything to happen to Lt. Casey and Lt. Miran the thought of what he went through was to much to bare. He started crying a little bit as he stood in front of the commander.

"Ensign are you all right?" JT inquired as he watched Chris crying, but only more like something had possible gotten into his eye.

"I'll be fine sir, this mission and the situation reminds me of something that happened to me a ways back, but I'll be fine." Chris explained he could've lied better but what kind of trust would that build between him and his superiors

Chris Patton

Nilani struggled, slapping the disgusting man's hands away. She was glad that she had kept her uniform under her disguise... It delayed him that much longer.

"Come, now, dear... Do you not know who I am?"

"I don't CARE!" She spat back.

"Ah, that attitude will change. I am Mordred. Enemy of Arthur, and..." He licked his lips. "Heir to the throne. And I would like you for my queen."

He advanced on her again. She had to stall until Chiron got there... he was the only one who could help...

"Now... for my pri.... oof!" Nilani's knee drove straight for his... pride... and he doubled over. She ran to the door, and started banging on it with her fists. "No use, my dear..." Did his voice sound higher? "'tis locked... and I have the key."

---------------

Chiron flew through the door, sword at the ready. About ten knights looked at him in surprise. Some of them rose from their seats, drawing their swords. Others just continued eating. Chiron bowed, and left the room again.

Back in the hallway, he sensed strong emotions from Nilani again. Finally, he stood before a large double-door setup. Through the floor, he felt vibrations stemming from the large doors ahead of him. He kicked the doors with all his adrenaline-charged rage, and they fell apart.

Chiron rushed at the evil Mordred, but then stopped. Was this man supposed to die at the hand of an enraged Tamrian 'wizard'? The moments' hesitation bought Chiron a heavy fist across his face. He wouldn't be able to concentrate enough to cripple this man's mind... Chiron returned the favor, and Mordred stumbled back a bit.

-Run, Nilani! I'll find you later!- Nodding to her rescuer, Kahn made for the door. Mordred saw the escape attempt, and intercepted Nilani. He held her still, drew a knife, and pushed it to her neck.

"I don't want to kill her, but I must have her! If you move, I will kill her."

Chiron stood as still as he could, wondering how he would get out of this situation without Nilani dying.

[---------The Schizoid Man-----------]

Colby sat on a cot in what appeared to be just a temporary shelter. After his little skirmish in Salem, he was extremely tired. He sat with a warm blanket around him, and a large cup of water on the floor next to his feet. He was quite cold; the air just seemed to be freezing in the room.

As he looked to the door, he saw Devlynn walk in, and come to him. She kneeled down to his eyes level and smiled. As she ran her hand through his soft hair, she said, "Feeling better?"

Colby nodded. "Better. I'm really tired..."

"Well..." Devlynn said, thinking a moment, "It's almost nightfall. Why don't you go ahead and go to sleep? When you wake up, we'll have a nice warm breakfast. How does that sound?"

Colby managed a smile. "That's sounds good."

"I thought that you might like that."

Colby suddenly thought about Chris. "Where's Chris? Why isn't he here?"

Devlynn sighed for a moment. "He's out with Commander Coe, trying to figure out how to get us back up to the Galaxy. It's quite a challenge, you know."

"I know." Colby yawned from sheer exhaustion and then sighed.

Devlynn tried to comfort Colby as she ran her hand through his hair again. "Don't worry, he'll be here shortly--I'm sure of it. You know that he would never leave you alone."

Colby meerly nodded and yawned again. This time with a small cough afterwards.

The counselor smiled. "As for right now, you need to get some sleep young man. We've had quite an adventure, and I know that you have to be tired. If you need me, I'll be right in the room across, ok?"

Colby smiled. "Ok. Good night."

Devlynn smiled. She pulled up the sheets to Colby's chin and tried to fluff the pillow. She leaned down and kissed Colby on the forehead and watched him close his eyes.

She didn't say a word as she left, just quietly closed the door as she exited.

Colby was exhausted, and close to falling asleep any second. He managed a tired, "...love you..." as he heard the door close softly behind the counselor.

"Out of the frying pan......"
by Ensign Hunter McKenzie

Mac stood squatted in front of the Monolith and scratched his head. He had been studying the Data pad and accompanying graphics. Mac was well aware of the sounds of the occasional disrupter blast from the direction of the science compound. He hoped he would have no more run ins with any Gorn passerby's until he had the monolith figured out, But just in case he had the deceased Gorn's disrupter close at hand. When he had first saw the data pad he had thought the writing had been a set of possible coordinates, but now it looked as if they had somehow changed. Mac thought back to the riddle that he had seen on the Gorn's chest.

"Dreams." muttered Mac aloud. reaching toward the pad.

The pad was arranged in 6 rows, of 4 so called letters apiece with two separate letters placed with at the bottom of the rows. Below the rows was a large button, which Mac was guessing had 'Enter' written upon it. Mac, guessing that each of the buttons coincided with a letter of the Terran alphabet. Mac began to type in the word 'Dreams.'

And was rewarded with massive electrical charge that resounded and knocked him back several feet. Rolling from his back to his hands and knees. Mac shook his head, trying to regain his senses.

"Great!" he muttered, "I try to solve the riddle and all I get for my trouble is stars flying around my head."

Mac stopped. That was the answer. The answer was 'Stars' not 'Dreams.' No wonder it didn't work. He quickly returned the monolith and quickly typed in the word 'Stars' and was rewarded with the same bright flash that had transported him in the first place.

"Boy, Am I going to have a story to tell When I get back to the "Galaxy." Mac smiled "I can't wait to get home to my own Quarters. I hope no one has moved in."

"Problem"
Lt Casey Ti Miran

"Deiran, we need to find a way to get onto the Galaxy. The shields were raised when I was taken and its not likely that they were lowered before the last person was taken. If the shields are up, we can not beam onboard nor can a shuttle approach the ship, even if we had a shuttle." Miran had a thought that might work but she had to find Ronni.

Miran went through the crowd that had started to gather as the result of people finding their way back to Sigma II through the monolith. Monolith, that is what she found everyone else was calling it.

When Miran had found her friend, she explained what she knew of the situation. Miran hesitated a moment before continuing. She didn't know if it would work or not.

"Could we somehow use the monolith to get back onto the Galaxy?" Miran asked of Ronni.

"Perhaps an End?"
By Ensign Alan Hewson

Alan's body cried out internally. It had been a long time since he had had anything to eat. The last thing he could remember in the way of food or drink was a glass of Abarion Wine he had in Ten-Forward before this whole mess unfolded. He didn't even want to think about the last time he had slept. "And a sonic shower would be nice too," he thought/sighed to himself as he ran his fingers through his hair. Cleanliness was always high on his list, especially when it came to his hair. To his dismay, it was rather thick and oily from sweat. But knew his partner-in-crime (or in time), Troy Blair, felt just as bad.

Troy sat on the floor near the monolith, trying to figure at the answer to the riddle. A riddle that had been written on a piece of paper that had mysteriously shown up in the wallet that Alan had taken from a gangster in New York. He looked up at the professor, who sat next to him, studying the monolith trying to translate the hieroglyphics that were written on it.

"This is total amazing! I've never seen such writing before. I wonder how old this is. Surely it isn't as old as the writing we found in…" He went on, talking to no one except himself.

Cherry slept with her head on Troy's lap. Alan had been grateful for the help that she had provided them. She had guided them around the city of Chicago, and seemed to be a fairly nice person. But that voice, that terrible voice…

Alan had spent most of his time looking at the bootlegged liquor that filled the wharehouse. Enjoying a glass (or sometimes a bottle) of good liquor was one of his hobbies (if you can call it a hobby), but he would never dream of drinking this putrid sludge. It was made so fast, so cheaply, and with so little care. He didn't want to think about the consequences of drinking such a fowl concoction.

There just wasn't anything for an engineer to do. He had examined, and re-examined the wiring system of the building, just to how strong a grasp the people of this time had on it. This only amused him for a while, though. He moved towards Troy, and took a seat across from him.

"How are you coming on the riddle?" Alan asked as he stifled a yawn.

"Not to well I'm afraid. I'm having a hard time thinking clearly, you know what I mean? This situation is just a little overwhelming."

"I know exactly what you mean, my friend. I'm dying for some sleep, but I don't think we can afford too, with the threat of the gangsters coming back. How's he doing?" Alan asked motioning with his eyes at the professor.

"I'm working as fast as I can son," the professor spoke up before Troy could. He too appeared to be very weary from exhaustion, but he continued on with his work.

Suddenly, the door was kicked in with a loud crash, as a dozen gangsters rushed in with their weapons drawn. "Over there!" A rather large goon shouted, pointing at the foursome sitting by the monolith.

Luckily Troy, Alan, Cherry, and the professor were able to dive out of the way before a barrage of bullets crashed into the crates where they had been standing. Alan drew his gun out, and fired

a few rounds into the crowd of thugs. He wasn't to concerned about disrupting the time line. It was either kill or be killed. Troy was quick with the phaser as well, leveling four gangsters in as many shots.

"Da boss wants 'em dead, boyz!" The lead mobster screamed over the sound of gunfire. "Dere's no way ya they're gonna get away…" He never got to finish the sentence as a bullet ripped through his chest, dropping him to the floor dead.

"We have to get out of here now!" Troy shouted to Alan from behind. "I'll cover you. Take Cherry and the Professor with you!" Alan nodded in agreement. He fired the last two rounds of bullets he had in his revolver as he grabbed Cherry by the hand. The professor followed right behind them as they ran out the back door, with Troy still inside.

Early in the morning, Colby was usually asleep. Peacefully. But, on this particular morning, he was asleep, but not in peace. He tossed and turned, constantly moaning and groaning. His stomach was basically turning flips and turning every which way.

Colby opened his eyes slowly. He looked around, trying to the almost zero light in the room. It was hard to make out shapes in the room, but most of them eventually came to him. Within a few seconds, he noticed that he was covered in a cold sweat. Only hours before, he was absolutely freezing. Now he felt as thought he was going to melt in his bed. He threw off the large blanket on his cot, and laid his head back on his pillow, hoping that maybe he could fall back asleep, waking up hours later to find Chris waiting for him.

Moments passed, but he couldn't fall asleep. Colby's stomach was bothering him, and he felt as though everything would drag on forever. He wiped the droplets of sweat that were forming on his brow. With every passing moment, the temperature just seemed to be rising and rising and rising. It was almost unbearable. Suddenly realizing he had no idea what time it was, he looked over to the corner of the room and squinted. On a tiny display above the relicator read the numerals 2:33. Only 2:33 in the morning?! No wonder he felt miserable. He must have lay awake for twenty minutes at the least.

Then, suddenly, it came. It started as a low growl in his stomach. Slowly, it worked its way up into his chest, burning as it made its path. It reached Colby's throat, and he could taste the sourness. He started to stand, but he was too late. It had reached his mouth and he couldn't take it a moment longer. He opened his mouth and the vomit hit the floor with a large splash. He was in a position that was extremely uncomfortable, and keeled over the side of cot, coughing violently. Within a few seconds, a bit more of the nausea found its way out of his mouth. Miliseconds later, the foul odor reached his nostrils. As soon as the stench had reached his senses, he felt another large wave pass through him. Out came what seemed to be the last of the vomit. Colby coughed violenty again, his body trying to force out of his throat what had caught itself there. Trying the catch his breath, he wheezed continuously as he still leaned over the side of his cot. He felt tears well up in his eyes, and watched as they fell to the floor.

Colby heard a voice outside of his door, apparently disturbed by the loud coughing coming from the room. "Colby, are you all right in there?" it was the voice of the counselor.

The door to the room opened widely, and Devlynn stood there. The odor hit her rather quickly, and tipped her off as to what had happened. "Colby! Oh no! Not NOW! Anytime but now!" She was obviously disturbed. The counselor carefully made her way across the wall, and to the console. She hit an illuminated button, and the lights of the room made theirselves known. Her eyes grew wide as they saw the mess on the floor. Devlynn's nostrils burned with the disgusting odor, but she tried to ignore it the best she could. She made her way around the mess and to Colby's bed. She immediately sat him upright and looked at him. His face was flushed, almost entirely red. His eyes were bloodshot, and obvious of a lack of sleep from the past days. His lips were a shade of purple in color, and he continued to cough and wheeze.

Colby's bed sheets had been somewhat soaked from the first attack of the nausea, and his shirt was also covered in the mess. Devlynn observed this and sighed in exasperation. Colby continued feel tears slide down his cheeks, though he was not making a sound. He attempted to say something. "I'm... I... I didn't... Mean to... I'm sorry... I I I..."

Devlynn immediately quieted him. "It's all right Colby, there's absolutely no need to apologize. It was an accident, and we all have accidents."

Without further ado, the counselor picked up the young boy in her arms and headed out the door. She down the short corridor, and entered the bathroom, shared by the three temporary rooms established in the shelter. She reached to her immediate left and grabbed a washcloth. She unfolded it neatly and placed her hand under the nozzle of the sink. In response, a rush of lukewarm water made its way out and onto the washcloth. Seconds, later, when the washcloth had been suffiently soaked, she placed it on the sink. She pulled out a small stool next to the small cabinet area, and placed Colby down on it. She noted that he was somewhat small, and indeed light for his age, and made sure to schedule an appointment with the doctor to see if he was growing as he should be. That is, if she ever saw the doctor again.

Devlynn wrang out the excess water of the washcloth and wiped Colby's face off. He enjoyed the coolness, and let out a small sigh. After doing her best of cleaning him off, she had him raise his small arms and slipped off his shirt. She then continued to wipe off his chest, and wiped his hands and arms off as well. Following the cleansing, the counselor held up the shirt and inspected it with her eyes. She decided that it would be too dirty for Colby to wear, risking of course, further sickness with the vomit covering the front of it. She reached to the cabinet area above the washcloths and grabbed a large, warm towel. She wrapped Colby up in it, making sure that he was warm, and comfortable. She slipped off his socks, hoping that he would relax with more open air coming in contact with his body.

Colby looked up with pleading eyes. "I didn't mean to..."

Devlynn couldn't help but smile at the sight. "Don't worry about it anymore. I'll tell maintenance and they'll have it all cleaned up. For now, you need to try to get some more sleep, ok?"

Colby nodded slowly and was then carried to the counselor's temporary quarters in the shelter. They seemed to be more cramped than his; they contained just a cot and a console, just like his own.

Devlynn carefully placed Colby down on the cot. She wrapped the towel around him tightly and felt his forehead. It was burning with fever. The sickness was something that could be easily taken care of, she knew, but realized there probably wasn't any medical crew around for quite a distance.

Colby coughed slightly, the color starting to recede from his face, and the purple shade of his lips coming back to a full red. He slowly closed his eyes, for the second time, and sighed.

Devlynn looked down on him, and then back out the door. She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. She needed to find Chris and tell him of the little 'accident'.

"Fundamentals"
By Ensign Thomas

"Commander we should get started soon, I'm going to need some of the equipment that I had brought and while I'm getting it I look for Lt. Casey and some of the other crew members that might be able to help us get this piece of junk working, Sir" Ensign Thomas said as he looked over the shuttle which by all standards wasn't flight worthy anymore.

"OK" Commander Coe said. He then turned and headed to check up on however everyone was holding up considering the problem.

Chris headed to where Colby and Dev where bunking at for the night. He needed to tell Dev what was happening and say good night to Colby. Chris was going to need a vacation, for spending more time awake and working than a sleep and dreaming.

*** Make Shift living quarters ***

Chris entered quietly so he didn't disturb anyone who was already a sleep in the building. He found Dev waiting for him. He was surprised by the fact that she was awake.

"I just came by to see how you and Colby are doing and tell you that I be working around the clock with anyone else I can find that can help repair the archeologist shuttle that had arrived here with." Chris whispered as he watched Colby sleeping in a make shift bed. This want exactly how he pictured raising Colby, of course not he was suppose to raising him with his wife Gywen.

Dev smiled but didn't saying anything she could read and see his feeling as plain as day. He was concerned about doing everything humanly possible to get them back to their home.

"I love you." Chris said as he left Dev and Colby behind, but he wrote a quick message to Colby telling him that, "I love you son and hopefully once we can get back to the Galaxy we can spend sometime together." He hated having to disappoint Colby but if they didn't get back to the Galaxy they'd be trapped here on this rotten planet.

*** The open night ***

Chris headed for where he had left his equipment, while looking and chatting with people to see if anyone had seen Lt. Casey and his wife Lt. Ti around, yet. He retrieved all of the equipment he had brought down with him which included two engineering kits and some additional supplies. He also packed up the power booster and the other AHE that was still sitting in its protective case.

He soon found someone who pointed him in the right direction sure enough he found Deiran and Ti sitting with each other. They'd decided to sit down and rest a few minutes while they caught on what happened to the other. They were truly in love and most happy being and seeing each other. Chris hadn't to interrupt their moment but he really need both of them to help with the shuttle.

"Lt. Casey and Lt. Casey am I glad to see you both of you safe and sound. I need your help the archeologist shuttle maybe our best way to get back to the Galaxy." Chris said as stepped closer to them not wanting anyone outside of them hearing the desperateness in his voice.

"Chris we're glad to see you, though it looks like you've put some metallic weight since we last saw each other. What do you have in mind?" Deiran said.

"Oh this, it is the equipment that I had brought down to maintain the AHE's but we should be able to use it to help us just as well." Chris said as sat down some of the items.

"The shuttle may or not be repairable but there are transporters in the shuttle which might actually be able to repair. Commander Coe also suggested that we may able to build something to boost the communications power of the Shuttle." Chris saw someone that he recognized it was Thomas Jensen the transporter chief. He quickly flagged him over to join them so they could continue their talk as soon as he joined them Chris suggested that should make their way to the shuttle, as time was of the essence. They agreed and also took some of the equipment off of Chris's hands. Then they departed for the shuttle's crash site.

Chris Patton

"All the Problems in the World"
By: Ensign Mélissa Marie Boudreau

The sensors on the shuttle had been repaired and now they knew why the Galaxy wasn't responding. Those were about the only things that were going right at the moment. Mélissa yawned as she re-examined the sensor readings. More and more of the crew were returning to the planet from their trips into time. Of course, that meant there were more people to get the shuttle's transporters, even the shuttle itself, in working order.

The young French Canadian blinked as new sensor readings were displayed. The Galaxy was getting closer and closer to the planet... and that almost seemed the least of their problems. She stood up and left the shuttle, searching for Commander Coe.

A few minutes later, she found the Commander talking to some newly 'returned' crew members. He looked as tired as she felt. "Commander, we have trouble."

"What's new Ensign?" Commander Coe was serious.

"The Galaxy is fine other than the fact that's it's being pulled down to the planet. Only it might not stay fine for long. I think that the shuttle's sensors picked up another ship in higher orbit, approaching the Galaxy. I can't figure out who they are until they get closer, but since they haven't tried to make contact with us, we have to believe that they aren't from the Federation. If we don't get to the Galaxy, someone else might." Mélissa paused to catch her breath. She was getting nervous. "As for the shuttle, I've looked it over and we can only do so much with the equipment and time we have. We can eventually have the emergency transporters working. In time, we can even have the shuttle able to take off."

As she began to began to explaing the problems, Lieutenant Casey and Ensign Thomas approached with some equipment. "Let me try to make this simple... We have a transporter which won't do us much good because it's not powerful enough to get through all the atmospheric ionization. Besides the Galaxy's shields are still up. If we get the shuttle to take off it would never be able to obtain even as low an orbit as the Galaxy's without overloading it's systems and causing it's reactor to simply blow after a few moments. Finally, we have this other ship which puts just that much time pressure on our repairs."

Mélissa stopped there. They were all smart enough to go through the possibilities. Now, the Commander just had to make a decision on a course of action.

Amélie - Aka: Ensign Mélissa Marie Boudreau Engineering Officer USS Galaxy NCC-70637

"Shields and Shuttles"
Lt Casey Ti Miran

Miran finished presenting her argument to Ronni. She said she would try and and find out. Miran and Deiran were as alone as they could be for the moment. They sat down and she huddled up against his arm.

"Deiran, I have something to tell you." Right then Ensign Thomas came up. She would have to tell him later. She wanted him to know first.

"Lt. Casey and Lt. Casey am I glad to see you both of you safe and sound. I need your help. The archeologist shuttle maybe our best way to get back to the Galaxy." Miran disagreed. The shuttle wouldn't be able to penetrate the shields.

"The shuttle may or not be repairable but there are transporters in the shuttle which might actually be able to repair. Commander Coe also suggested that we may able to build something to boost the communications power of the Shuttle."

"Ensign, even with the shuttle repaired, we could not get to the ship. To dock with the ship, shields need to be down," Miran added to his comments. 'He should know that,' she thought to herself. The ensign led them over to the remains of the shuttle.

The shuttle was a mess. She doubted that it would ever be flyable without help from a starship or docking yards. Personally, she still had a bet hedged towards using the monolith to get onto the ship. She didn't know if it was feasible or not though. She knew that the shuttle or transporters would be of any use.

"Allies"
by Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara

'Damn it!! You ran us straight into a guard room. Just our luck, Klingon!! Once again, you stuffed up.' K'Eytyanna's Bajoran side snarled in disgust. Her Klingon side snarled,

'Shut up, and let me get us out of here alive.' Backing around the wall, she cautiously looked around the room, ready for any attacks. As if from nowhere, one of the guards started laughing, causing the others to turn around. She started backing towards the door and stopped when the guards who had been chasing her raced up and stopped at the entrance. The man who had been laughing pushed his way through and she realised it was the knight from the gate, Lancelot.

"Everyone, it's alright. I know this woman, and will vouch for her. How she managed to get here, I have no idea. K'Eytyanna, you can put the sword away now." She smiled and gradually put her sword back in its sheath, still cautious though. He walked upto her and led her to the table as the other Knights sat down while the guards left, calling off their search.

"This is K'Eytyanna, a fellow warrior." Lancelot introuduced each of the knights, and she nodded to each of them in turn. Arthur stood and said,

"Welcome to Camelot. I am curious as to how you managed to get through the castle gates, and to this room."

"Some of my friends disappeared yesterday and I was looking for them. I recently aquired a squire, who managed to smuggle me into the castle as a servant while he checked with some contacts in your castle. I got bored so I went scouting." One of the knights looked up and said,

"Arthur, I recieved a report of Mordred's men nearby, but they were driven away. I don't know for sure, but they could have had prisoners." K'Eytyanna growled and asked,

"Where is this Mordred's place? I'm going to go and rescue my friends." Some of the knights laughed, and she snarled at them.

"K'Eytyanna, that is an unwise decision." Lancelot said.

"I don't care. They are my friends and I'm going in." Arthur put his hand up,

"Miss, I have an idea. Tor, you said that Mordred's forces were mostly controlling the area we mentioned. I believe that we would be able to strike directly at his castle while his castle defences are low. While they are distracted, K'Eytyanna and a small contingent of knights can break in via that tunnel we heard about."

********************

Angus raced down the corridor towards where he had left K'Eytyanna, worried for her as the intruder trumpets blew and guards raced around. Running in, he found the room empty. Leaning against the wall, he thought,

'Now where would I go if I was in trouble? The dungeon is a definite negative, since it only has one exit. She can't leave via the front gate so the only way is up.' Turning, he headed to the nearest stair well and went up. As he reached the first landing, he heard guards yelling,

"The intruder is heading towards the Council Chambers." He yelped and started sprinting up the stairs, pushing guards out of his way,

'Oh my god! My first time as a squire and I've already stuffed up.' When he reached the correct level, he pushed past a startled guard and charged down the corridor. Racing around a corner, he ran straight into somebody, knocking the person and himself down to the ground in a heap. He quickly tried to extricate himself from the heap when a strong hand grabbed his arm and yanked him up into the air by one arm, his feet dangling a few inches off the ground and his eyes closed in fright. Gulping, he opened his eyes and looked down into Samara's face as she helped the other man up. She smiled, put him down and said,

"Angus, meet Arthur, King of Camelot. For your sake, I just hope he doesn't mind being knocked over. I would hate to have to find another squire."

*************************

Angus followed behind K'Eytyanna as she talked to Lancelot about the rescue mission,

"If we keep the infiltration group to a small size, say around eight, it will be much easier to keep hidden for longer. I have two other companions who will most likely want to be in on this."

"I agree. Counting me and you, we will need four volunteers." Angus coughed loudly and said,

"Don't you mean you need three more volunteers?" Samara turned to Angus and said,

"This is very dangerous, and I couldn't let you go. There is a very high chance that none of us will get out of this alive. I don't want to see you injured because of my recklessness."

"M'Lady, I know the risks involved, and still volunteer. When I offered my services, I did so knowing that I could die because of it. I want to go with you." She took him by the shoulders and said,

"You can go then. However, I want you to be very careful and try not to get hurt." The sound of a staff tapping on the floor and someone coughing came from behind the three, and they turned. A second later, a very strong smell of herbs and other reagents wafted past K'Eytyanna, sending her instincts into readiness. Standing at the end of the corridor was a tall grey-haired man, wearing a white cloak and pointed hat with many many pouches tied to a brown belt around his waist. Quickly, Angus and Lancelot nodded and bowed towards the ground in respect. The man pointed towards her and motioned her with his hand before turning and walking away.

'Who the hell is that, and why are they bowing?' her Klingon side grumbled. Stepping forward, she asked softly to Angus,

"Who is that man?" Angus looked at her in surprise and said,

"You haven't heard of Merlin the Great?" She shrugged and replied,

"So? He doesn't seem so great, just some old guy with smelly pouches and bright white clothes." Lancelot gulped and ushered her forward with his hands,

"Just follow him and don't tell him that or he will turn you into a newt. He's the wizard of Camelot."

*************************

K'Eytyanna walked up the stairs behind the cloaked man, her chainmail armour clinking as her scabbard brushed against her right thigh. Eventually, they reached a thick iron-bound oak door that glowed with blue fire. Samara brushed her hand near it as the man looked on. A flash of white jumped to her hand, and she yelped, falling back against the wall. Realising quickly that it was a kind of force-field, she opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of a reply. Merlin spoke,

"It is what you think it is. I am a space traveller as well, and know you are not from this time. Have you heard of a race known as the El-Aurian? From your distinctive features, I would surmise that you have part Klingon, part Bajoran blood and some human blood mixed in. I picked up a subspace emission, probably you coming here, and traced you here." Her human side quickly chipped in,

'Remeber the Prime Directive applies to him as well.'

"You were right about my origins. I have some friends who have been captured by Morded. I can't tell you very much, but we are from the future and need help to get back, so we don't harm what we consider Earth's past. I know that the El Aurian have FTL transport and subspace technology. Can you help us?" He nodded so she continued,

"Apart from me and a human, there is one Vulcan, one Tamarian and a full Bajoran with me. How did you arrive on Earth?"

"I have a small vessel hidden away where no one can find it. We should talk inside." Pulling out a small device, he waved it and the field disappeared, allowing them inside. He closed the door behind and reactivated the field. She walked around the lab, examining the diagrams and equipment around the room. Stopping in front of one, she traced her finger along its complicated plans. Muttering mentally, her Bajoran side ran through the plans,

'He is so close to getting a working transporter that it isn't funny. All he needs is to increase power to the annular confinement beam and it will be able to met the lowest safe level for transporting a person. I could just snatch Chiron and Nilani out. I'm not going to do it. Captain Price, Commander Coe or Lt Hutchcraft would find some other way, and so will I. Damn the Prime Directive!!' His voice jolted her and she muttered,

"Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I was saying that you seem to know quite a lot about advanced technology."

"I work as an engineer on a big starship."

"Don't suppose you could help me with some of these plans?" She turned quickly as he removed a grey wig, replying,

"Sorry, but I cannot. You seem to know a fair amount as well, Merlin." He laughed and said as he held out his hand,

"That is only the name I use here. My name is Tolian Soran." She shook his hand,

"I'm K'Eytyanna Samara. All I can say is don't give up - you are closer then you think." He smiled,

"I think I have something around here that can help you." He started searching through a large wood crate and eventually pulled out a small green cylinder. Passing it to her, he said,

"This is bio-electric field inhibitor, set to human settings. It won't effect your Vulcan, Bajoran or Tamarian friends, and your Klingon DNA should protect you from its effects. The power source will allow it to run for approximately an hour, if you're lucky. I can also supply you with a supply of gunpowder, which should act sufficently as a distraction if needed. I will make sure it is carefully tied in some bags with your horse before you leave." She smiled and said,

"Thank you, Tolian."

Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara, USS Galaxy NCC-70637 Engineering Department

"Rescue Mission Part I"
by Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara

After saddling up Kiri-Jolith and another horse for Angus, K'Eytyanna rode out of the stables with her squire and joined up with the group of waiting knights. She smiled when she saw S'Dan and Kelly ready on horseback. Lancelot nodded and they headed out of the front gate. A few hours later, they reached the battlefield, where Mordred's men were already clashing with Arthur's footsoldiers. Lancelot called out to K'Eytyanna and the others over the din of the combat,

"Okay. All who are going through the tunnel, follow me. The rest of you can charge in and cause distractions. Lancelot led the charge towards the tunnel and K'Eytyanna relished the rush of wind against her face. A minute later, she brought her horse to a stop and got down with the others. Angus rushed forward to uncover the door and open it, while the others removed equipment. Removing her helmet so it wouldn't block her hearing, she checked her weapons and tied the pouches of gunpowder to her belt. Turning towards the group, she saw Lancelot give her the signal that she was in charge from now on. She whistled before speaking,

"Tor & Gawaine, you cover our backs. Lancelot, me & Galahad in the lead. Angus, S'Dan & Kelly in the middle. Light the torches and lets head in." As she was about to step inside, Angus handed her a bow and quiver of 12 arrows,

"I didn't know if you want this, but I brought it anyway."

"Good thinking."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelly held the small dagger that had to been lent to her from the Camelot armouries, her chest fluttering with nerves. A calm voice behind her spoke that she realised was Ensign Samara's squire,

"Miss, you are in safe hands. These are Knights of the Round Table, and your friend K'Eytyanna is very experienced." She nodded and tried to smile, but she was still a bit afraid so she tried to mentally reassure herself mentally,

'I came along to heal anyone who gets hurt, and they will all protect me. You are part of Starfleet. You are part of Starfleet.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Less then fifty metres away from the entrance, K'Eytyanna heard the sound of guards laughing, coming from a room with an open door. Putting her finger to her lips, she motioned them to stop and be quiet. Slipping the inhibitor out of a pouch, she slid along the wall, her back to it as she crept upto the door. Activating the device, she felt her strength waver, her human and Bajoran heritage causing her to be more affected then she thought. Quickly, she threw the device through the open door, hearing gasps before the sound of ten bodies slumping to the ground reached her. She moved to the opposite wall, turned and motioned the others forward as she closed the door. When they got close, she whispered,

"Stay along the far wall and don't be surprised if you feel a bit tired. It will pass." Quickly, they all got past the door and further down the corridor. Lancelot asked,

"What was that?" She quickly replied,

"Something Merlin gave me. He gave me something to give me a slight amount of immunity for a short time, but it didn't work well." Lancelot smiled and led them further into the maze of corridors in Mordred's castle.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Galahad crept back along the corridor to the others and whispered,

"Two guards to the left, facing away. Doesn't seem to be any signs of alarms or other means to alert anyone else." K'Eytyanna grinned and said,

"Let me and S'Dan take care of them. Stay here." The Vulcan and her slid quietly down the corridor. Removing a piece of rag from one of the pouches, she tied it around the edge of one pouch before lighting the rag with a torch.

"Throw this in a second to distract them." He nodded as she notched two arrows into her bow. She grinned,

"First time I've done this, so I hope it works. Throw now." Quickly, he hurled the burning bag down the corridor, landing it at the men's feet. The fire flickered over the gunpowder, igniting it in a ball of smoke and flashes. Jumping out, K'Eytyanna released the arrows with only a fraction of a second to aim. One of the arrows scored a lucky head shot, taking out one of the guards, while the other arrow buried itself in the remaining guard's left arm, burying its head into the bone. The man fell to the ground in pain and K'Eytyanna raced upto him and knocked him out with a fist to the head, dropping her bow in the process. Drawing her sword instinctivly, she listened carefully for any sound.

Suddenly, her instincts picked up someone stepping close and she heard the whistle of a sword. Rolling to the left, she stabbed backwards and twisted, taking out a third guard who had walked in to find her. The dead guard slid to the ground, his blood leaving a large puddle. Turning, she motioned to S'Dan to lead the others in. Kelly rushed forward as K'Eytyanna motioned to the live one,

"He'll live but the others won't." Wiping her blade on the shirt of the nearest body, she sheathed it and said,

"Take a quick breather and let's go on." Taking Kelly's arm insistently, she led the young yeoman away from the man,

"If we don't hurry, Chiron and Nilani could suffer the same fate as those two wretches."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Five minutes later, they reached an oak door. Lancelot whispered,

"There could be guards in there. It is the entry to the dungeon, from what we know of this place." Galahad replied,

"Let's go." K'Eytyanna and the knights moved to the front, while Angus and the other two Starfleet officers moved to the back. Ramming the door wide open, the Knights and Samara charged into the room, swords swinging. Thirteen guards gasped and quickly grabbed for their swords as their attackers waded into combat. Lancelot blocked a blow and called out to Samara who was next to her,

"I'll bet you twenty crowns that they need reinforcements." She laughed, stabbed a nearby guard and replied,

"I don't bet against certainties. I may be reckless in combat, but not in gambling." Quickly, the guards were dispatched with no serious injuries to the infiltration group. Lancelot led the way down the staircase into the dungeons.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ensign K'Eytyanna Samara, USS Galaxy NCC-70637 Engineering Department

"Fundamentals"
By Ensign Thomas

"Commander we should get started soon, I'm going to need some of the equiptment that I had brought and while I'm getting it I look for Lt. Casey and some of the other crewmembers that might be able to help us get this piece of junk working, Sir" Ensign Thomas said as he looked over the shuttle which by all standards wasn't flight worthy anymore.

"Ok" Commander Coe said. He then turned and headed to check up on however everyone was holding up considering the problem.

Chris headed to where Colby and Dev where bunking at for the night. He needed to tell Dev what was happening and say good night to Colby. Chris was going to need a vaction, for spending more time awa

ke and working than a sleep and dreaming.

*** Make Shift living quarters ***

Chris entered quitely so he didn't distrub anyone who was already a sleep in the building. He found Dev waiting for him. He was surprised by the fact that she was awake.

"I just came by to see how you and Colby are doing and tell you that I be working around the clock with anyone else I can find that can help repair the archeologist shuttle that had arrived here with." Chris whispered as he watched Colby sleeping in a make shift bed. This want exactly how he pictured raising Colby, of course not he was suppose to raising him with his wife Gywen.

Dev smiled but didn't saying anything she could read and see his feeling as plain as day. He was concered about doing everything humanly possible to get them back to their home.

"Colby had a little accident earlier." Dev said, and then proceeded to tell him about what exactly had happened. Colby had become sick and that wasn't good news. Chris depearted and returned a short time later caring several items 2 engineering kits, a power supply box, and a medical kit. Chris smiled as he handed the med kit over to Dev and told her that he loved her.

Chris departed with the rest of his load he wanted to be there for Colby, but he needed to be working on a solution to the problem. He headed back for the crash site and stopped when he spotted Lt. Casey sitting next to his wife. Chris wasted little time in reaching them he was going to their help, espicaly Deiran's help.

"Lt. Casey am I glad to see you, I could use both your help. The archeologist shuttle maybe our only way to get back to the Galaxy, before her orbit decays and she crashes to the planet's surface." Chris said as he got within ear shot of them, but had actualy waited until he was even closer to avoid cause any sort panick that wasn't already with the crew.

"You appear to have your hands full as well." Deiran noted as he helped take some of the Equiptment from Chris. They headed for the crash site of the shuttle as they plenty of work to do and time was running out on all of them.

Chris Patton

"Guilty feelings"
by Captain Robert Edward Lee Price

Captain Price struggled desperately as he limped along the darkened wooded trail leading back to the spot where they originally landed in this God forsaken time period. Back to the Ancient monolith.

Lee stumbled several time, cursing under his breath at the pain in his throbbing thigh. It had begun to stiffen on him and he was finding it more and more difficult to press on. His balance impaired from Doctor Rousseau's own weight as she rested over his shoulder. Beads of perspiration trickled down the Captain's forehead. The look of determination, in spite of the pain, was chiseled into his face. He was not going to stop until he reached that goal. The monolith.

But the trail was dark. The woods, thick and confusing. The under brush rough and spiteful. Fortunately, the battling seemed to of subsided some what as darkness fell over the landscape. Occasionally a gun shot would be heard, but the cannon, those cursed cannon had finally stopped their barrage of explosive destruction. It was the first time the Captain had been able to think straight since the day began.

Tired, and fatigued, unable to press on further because of his wounded leg, Captain Price reluctantly found a clearing and placed Jacqueline's unconscious body down. Lee massaged his shoulder for a moment, getting the circulation flowing from where he'd been carrying the Doctor's weight for so long. After a moment, he checked his bandage around his thigh. The blood had begun to congeal, and though it was sore and stiff, he was confident that it would be all right once he gets back to the Galaxy.

"Should be okay once we get back to the ship." The Captain spoke softly to himself. He then looked around, realizing he was stupid for having done that. Confederate or Union soldiers could be lurking anywhere in these woods. As he surveyed the area, trying to note any unusual sounds or signs that someone had over heard his absent minded out burst, Lee spotted a dead branch near the base of a tree. "That's interesting.." he thought. Slowly, the Captain managed to limp over to where the branch was laying. Picking it up, it was almost perfectly suited for use as a crutch. "Needs a little modification here and there, but this should be most helpful." Lee thought. Limping back to where Jacqueline was, Lee carefully sat down, swinging his wounded leg to one side as he landed in a plop. He immediately began breaking off the brittle trigs that were not needed for his make shift crutch... all the time watching and listening for anyone that might approach.

********

*** Ferengi Marauder Delox ***

The phaser banks of the alien Starship flashed with power as two beams shot out, striking the upper surfaces of the Galaxy's outer shielding.

"Direct hit your greatness!" Nom informed before adding, reluctantly, "However there was no damage caused to the Federation Vessels shields..."

Pog grip tightened on his scepter as he tapped it angrily on the ground. "Fire again you idiot! Keep firing until you manage to penetrate their shields."

Nom ducked his head down at the Nagaus' wicked response. "Yes, yes your greatness. Firing all banks now..."

Again the phasers from the Ferengi ship fired, this time maintaining their energy flow, causing the shields around the USS Galaxy to begin to glow a bright red color. The Starship's upgraded shielding systems held strong however.

After several seconds, Nom began to grow worried as he peered at the weapons station. "Your greatness, our weapons appear to be ineffective against their shields. If we continue to maintain..."

"KEEP FIRING YOU MORON!" Pog yelled as he clenched his scepter and shook it slightly at Nom. "That is a direct order for your Nagaus!"

Nom's expression dropped. He didn't much like the Nagaus of the first order. Particularly when he was being yelled at by him. The flight officer maintained the weapons fire, as the Nagaus ordered, even though it was overloading their own weapons array from the heat generated by having so much power continuously fed through the main coils.

"This will be a great day for me people. Why when I return to Ferengar with this Starship as my prize, the Grand Nagaus will be most impressed! He will have no choice but to make me Vice Nagaus. But a step away from my true and just position on Ferengar..."

Nom shook his head slightly as Pog ranted on. The indicator warning on his console began to beep. "Nagaus Pog, We must cease firing or our circuits will..."

"KEEP FIRING I SAY!" Pog snapped, his expression growing as evil as his tone.

In a look of bewilderment, Nom looked back at his console, just as the primary weapons array of the Ferengi vessel overloaded. Nom's own console exploding in a burst of sparks, burning his face and hands slightly as he pushes himself away from the controls, falling backwards in the tipping chair.

"What has happened you incompetent?" Pog snapped, not understanding why Nom's console had exploded under the overload.

Shakily, Nom checks his hands and feels the scorched skin on his face. It is painful, but he quickly surmises that his injuries are not life threatening. Finally, he begins to get up and answer the Nagaus' question. "Our weapons array overloaded under the strain of continuous power your greatness."

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUIP TO LET THIS HAPPEN!" Pog scolded. "You should of ceased firing before our systems were damaged."

Nom gave the Nagaus a double take, but as Pog's eyes narrowed and he carefully moved his scepter to one side, the Ferengi though better than to snap at one that could so easily have him killed, or worse. Bowing his head, Nom humbly replied. "Yes your greatness. I apologize for my incompetence."

Pog regarded Nom for a moment, letting his apology sink in with the rest of the bridge crew before he let it pass. "Very well. Don't let it happen again. What is our status now?"

"Weapons systems are out your greatness. We were unable to penetrate the Federation vessels shields."

"Humm, the Fed-er-A-sion has made some improvements to their shielding technology. No matter! Just something else we can add to our own technology when we have the ship dismantled at Ferengar. Have the Hue-mons responded to our attack? Are they hailing us?" Pog asked.

Nom checked the other station. "No your greatness. No hails. In fact, our attack did weaken their shields slightly. Enough to where sensors are showing no life signs on board."

Pog's eyes brightened. "Then they have abandoned her!" he said with a gleeful tone. "I claim this ship under Ferengi law as salvage. Nom, have the shields been weakened sufficiently to allow a transporter to penetrate their shields?"

Nom shook his head doubtfully. "I don't know your greatness. Perhaps, but it would be extremely dangerous. If the beam could not penetrate the shields, whomever beamed over could be lost in the transport. Their atoms spread across the galaxy."

"Excellent!" Pog declared. "You and an away team will leave at once."

"But.. but, but, Nagaus..." Nom stammered.

"QUICKLY YOU FOOL, before their shields have a chance to regenerate." Pog demanded.

Bowing his head yet again, Nom reluctantly agreed. "As you wish mighty Nagaus. I will go at once."

Rubbing his hands together, Pog smiled. "That's the spirit. And while you do that, I will begin preparing my acceptance speech for the Vice Nagaus seat on Ferengar..."

*********

*** Chancellorsville, 1863 ***

Lee had finished fashioning a make shift crutch out of a dead branch he'd found near a tree. He looked it over, satisfied with his craftsmanship. Putting it down to the side, Lee decided to rest a bit more before continuing on the last leg of the trail. The stop had done him well. He now knew where he was located at relative to the monolith, having recognized this part of the trail from earlier.

Reaching to the medical kit, Captain Price decided to have a closer look at that Bible Doctor Rousseau had taken from the wounded soldier in the hospital tent. The moon was directly over head, and it's light reflected onto the clearing, offering the Starfleet Captain more light than what was previously available under the canopy of heavy woods. Thumbing through the first few pages, Lee read a dedication. This book was given to this man by his grandmother. There were a few niceties written. Lee thumbed through the pages, when he came across another page that seemed to stand out. It was in different writing, and appeared to be Egyptian. Very similar to the writing on the Monolith that brought the Captain, Doctor Rousseau and Ensign K'Trall to this time period.

"What have we here 'mate?" Lee said quietly. He couldn't understand the ancient characters of the language, but was fairly confident that the tricorder would. Reaching, again for the med-kit, Lee whipped out the tricorder and scanned the text. After a moment, the translation popped up onto the view screen.

"What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?"

Captain Price scratched his head. "What an odd riddle." He thought. For a few minutes he pondered the question, but his thoughts were not focused. He was too occupied worrying about getting back to the monolith and saving Doctor Rousseau before she too died as K'Trall had.

"Guess I'll 'ave to think about that one." The Captain said. He then forced himself up onto his feet, using his newly crafted crutch the help steady his stance. Gathering his things, he then awkwardly managed to pull Doctor Rousseau back up onto his should before trotting off on the final leg of the trail towards the monolith.

**********

*** Sigma II, City Center ***

Lieutenant Commander Sterner was a little concerned over the away team's present situation. Concerned and a little bit bored at having no real way to help out the situation. He and the rest of the Security team had managed to sweep the area, finding no other life forms present. Still, Joerg continued to roam the many corridors of the inner Labyrinth. Not so much out of danger, as to keep his mind busy. He was angry at what had happened to Enquist. His mistaken touch on one of these little known about and even less understood control consoles had sent him back in time to meet his end in a brutal fashion.

Sterner's thoughts dwelled on the young officer as he walked the corridors for the hundredth time. His mind was not completely focused on what he was doing as an undeserved sense of guilt filled his soul. He snapped out of it when he accidentally stepped onto one of the symbols inscribed onto the floor. It was like the others he'd been walking on, only this time, as his weight shifted onto the tile, it sank into the ground, triggering an opposing wall to open up to a stair well descending to a lower level of the city.

"Lieutenant Mitchell! Doctor Currie! You'd better come have a look at this." Joerg yelled.

Within moment everone was standing near Sterner's side.

"What is it Commander?" Lieutenant Mitchell asked.

Joerg pointed at the flooring where he was standing with the tip of his phaser. His foot was still sunk slightly into the trigger tile. Then he pointed at the new opening in the facing wall.

"I stepped on this tile, and that wall opened up."

Mitchell turned to look, but before he could say anything, Doctor Currie was already walking down the stairs.

"Doctor wait!" Mitchell yelled. But it was no use, she was already descending. He drive to be first still ingrained in her personality as an archeologist. James glanced at Sterner for a moment.

Joerg just shrugged his shoulders. He knew how difficult it was to tell Doctor Currie how to do anything. "We shouldn't let her go down there alone..." Sterner managed.

Mitchell nodded. "Right. Common, I just hope she knows what she's doing..."

Thinking of Enquist, Joerg nodded. "So do I Lieutenant. So do I."

"Jury Rigged Trouble"
by Lt. Ronni Morris
Asst. Chief of Science, USS Galaxy

When Ronni found out that the transporters on the shuttle might be functional, she was excited. First of all, she asked several crewmen to go scavange for parts. Then she headed for the shuttle.

Miran was right, the shuttle would never fly again, but the transporters could work. Ronni scanned the controls with a Krabak regulator. There was a serious crack in the main redundancy controlers, but the backups seemed to be fine.

"Thank the Seas for Federation required fail safes." she said to nobody in particular.

First step to get this to go was to activate the shuttles scanners. Do to their limited room, shuttle transporters used the ship's scanners, rather than their own like on the USS Galaxy, to coordinated the information necessary to transport someone. She activated the scanners and sparks flew from the station. Ronni and Miran jumped back. Ronni landed on her backside but Miran bumped her head on the door frame of the shuttle.

"Great!" said Miran, rubbing her head.

"Well, just another thing to get working before we can truly begin." Ronni said rubbing her backside.

After about an hour, the two women got the shuttles scanners working as well as they were ever going to work again. "Well, let's start phase two."

Using some of the parts brought from the scientist labs, they were able to get the field coil generators working. With the sensors working at maybe half power, and the planet's natural interference, Miran and Ronni decided that they would only get two or three teleports out of this before it shorted out for good.

Ronni looked at Miran and said, "I'll go. I know more about the ship than probably anyone else. I'll stablize the orbit and then at the next available window, start bringing up the rest of the crew."

"Ronni, you're going to need a helmsman. There is no way that you can do it all by yourself. I'm coming with you." said the Bajoran staunchly.

"But Miran, you're just married. If something happens . . . ." said the Delphinian.

"Nothing will happen. Remember, we did this. We know it'll work." she said knowingly.

Ensign Carhill volunteered to operate the transporter. At the right moment, he transported the women to Transporter Room 1.

As the women were fading out, the sensors flaired to a little more power. He looked at the screen and swore. He decided he had better tell someone there was a Ferengi ship in orbit next to the Galaxy.

Ronni and Miran appeared on the ship in a twinkle of blue. They both quickly stepped down off of the transporter pad and headed for the bridge. As the exited the turbolift, they both froze. On the bridge were five Ferengis.

"Hold females. You're trespassing on Ferengi property." said the Ferengi seated in the Captain's chair.

Miran stepped forward and said, "Ferengi? This is a Federation ship."

"There was nobody on board the ship. We claim it undered Ferengi scavanging laws. As you hoomans say, 'Finders keepers, loosers weepers.'" he said with a jeer.

As three of the Ferengis drew weapons, Ronni grabbed Mirans arm and pulled her into the turbolift with her.

"I am really learning to dislike Ferengi." Ronni said.

"Ferengi on The ship"
Lt. Casey Ti Miran

"Ronni, you are going to need a helmsman. There is no way that you can do it all by yourself. I am coming with you." It was Miran's job to pilot the ship, she would be the one to do it.

"But Miran, you're just married. If something happens . . . ." Miran was a Starfleet officer. She faced dangers all the time. One couldn't just abandon duty when it was not convenient.

"Nothing will happen. Remember, we did this. We know it will work." It had to for the sake of the ship and its crew.

They rematerialized in Transporter One. The two officers left the transporter room, made their way to the turbolift, and then the bridge. A horrible site greeted their eyes. There on the bridge were five Ferengi. Miran shuddered. Ferengi were awful creatures.

"Hold females. You're trespassing on Ferengi property." said the Ferengi seated in the Captain's chair.

"Ferengi? This is a Federation ship." This couldn't be happening. Was this a really bad dream or what? Miran felt like screaming.

"There was nobody on board the ship. We claim it under Ferengi scavenging laws. As you hu-mons say, 'Finders keepers, losers weepers.'" he said with a jeer.

Three of the Ferengi raised their weapons. Ronni grabbed Miran and pulled her back into the turbolift. Now what to do? Miran tried to come up with an idea but nothing was coming to mind right off.

"I am really learning to dislike Ferengi." Ronni said. Miran sympathized.

"I never liked Ferengi, they are disgusting. Could we perhaps lock out command control, so that the Ferengi cannot take the ship? They have probably already started to fix the orbit problem." Thoughts and possible ideas started coming. "If the Ferengi keep the shields down, we can beam people up to help as soon as we can catch a window."

"Also, what about getting a phaser rifle from security lock-up and setting for wide spread? It will take them all out." Miran started sneezing uncontrollably. If they had to hide her sneezing would give them away unless it stopped for a while.

"Poppies... Poppies will make them sleep..."
Lt. Devlynn Salshyar (Dev)
Chief Counselor, USS Galaxy - NCC-70637

Devlynn stood vigil over the young Colby as he tossed and turned in his fitfull sleep. She could sense the anguish in his mind, and his body. His small stomach turning over and over, reeling with each passing minute. She could feel the heat emminating from his small form from the distance at which she observed. She sighed. It would be a long night.

Such is the life of a parent. But she wasn't his parent. Chris was. And where was he? Gone. Busy as usual. He was working with several others trying to get back aboard the Galaxy. She had heard something about the transporters on the archeologist's now defunct shuttle.

She didn't know if they were successful, but she could tell them if they weren't, there would be trouble. Not only because of the degredation in the Galaxy's orbit, but from another more serious occurance. The Galaxy had been boarded. Dev could sense that much. It was boarded by Ferengi, she had suspected. They were a hard species to read. But she could sense their presence. She told Commander Coe almost an hour ago, and she assumed that Chris and the other knew by now.

Holed up in her small shelter, she was isolated. Her compassion for Colby and her fear for his health had rendered her telepathy nearly dormant in these last few minutes. She could hear him breathing, too fast to be asleep, too slow to be awake. He was lingering in a torturous area that was neither. Where your whole being yearns to cross over, but something, his sickness most likely, was holding him back.

He moaned and rolled over onto his back. His eyes were closed, but he was definately not sleeping. Dev couldn't stand to watch him in such terrible agony. "Colby..." She cooed. "Colby, sweetheart." She paused. "Colby are you awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake," he said.

"How are you feeling, now?" She asked, though she knew the answer.

"Bad." That was all he said, probably all he could say.

"I know honey, but it'll get better. You've got yourself a nasty flu. If the doctor was here, we'd fix you up right quick." She smiled. "Chris is working on a way to get back to the Galaxy, if they succeed, I'll get you up there as soon as I can." She hopes they would hear from them soon.

"Why is Chris always so busy?" He asked. Kids ask the damndest things.

"He's got a tough job, Colby. He's got a lot of things to do, Colby."

"But why is he helping with the shuttle," he'd heard the conversation earlier, she sighed. He hadn't got even one wink of sleep. "he's not even in Engineering. That's not his job." Colby was tired, Dev could tell, too tired.

"I know honey, but Commander Coe must have known that Chris would have some unput. Maybe he was just directing the work." She was trying to calm him down, get him to sleep. "Colby," she added. "You have to sleep, or you'll never feel better." She handed him a glass. "Here," she said. "Have some of this, it'll make you feel better."

"What is it?" He asked.

"I made it from what plants I could find on the surface. My mother was a botanist in her spare time, she taught me about plants. I think that they should help you."

"But what if..."

"They're not poison. I tried it first. Just drink. It tastes good. I added some clover for sweetness." She smiled.

Colby tried the mixture. It didn't taste good, but it wasn't revolting either. It stayed down for the time. Dev smiled.

"There, that's a good boy. Now, you move over. I'm gonna lay down here with you. We'll go to sleep together, okay? You first." She layed down and slid into the bedroll beside him. It was hot in there, too hot, but she didn't dare uncover him.

They layed down and tried to fall asleep.

"Homecoming"
Lieutenant Troy Blair
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Galaxy

15%, that's all that was left in the power cell of the phaser that was in Troy's hand. With well over thirty gangsters searching the building, the terran tactical officer managed to find a secluded spot in a corner to hide in. His objective was clear, he had to get to the monolith and key in the correct answer to the riddle, but what was the correct answer? He had the slightest clue, with so much going on, Blair never got a chance to really concentrate on the enigma.

*** Outside the Warehouse, 3 Blocks Away ***

"We have to go back for him!" Cherry protested, while the group struggled to put distance between them and the warehouse.

"We can't!" Alan snapped back between pants, "It's too dangerous, besides he knows what he's doing!!" he added in his mind, 'I hope'

As soon as they turned a corner a car came to a screeching halt in front of them and four men got out, tommy guns in hand.

"Great." AC muttered

*** Warehouse ***

"I'm as small as an ant......is it literally speaking, or metaphorically speaking. Damn I hate riddles....." he mumbled to himself "what can it be....hmm... slow as snail, but from......" Troy's thoughts were broken by the sound of approaching foot steps.

"Did anyones cek dis erea?" Benito's voice echoed

"Of course you moron! Geez, dis guy has no brains er sumthin'!" Came the reply

The footsteps began to get louder, Troy was hoping he was going the opposite way. But his luck was not so, for the next site he saw was Benito's heavy set eyes staring down at him.

"Hey you're......" Without hesitating, Troy leveled his head and ran straight at the 300 pound man, striking him in the stomach. A loud crash sounded as the large man lost his footing and fell back into some crates.

>BLAM!< >BLAM, BLAM!< >BLAM!< bullets began to whiz past Blair's ears. With a duck and roll move, that was taught to all cadets, Troy was in a position to return fire. >BLAM!< another bullet whizzed by. With the push of a button, the officer sent an energy beam at the man who fired the shot, hitting him square in the chest. >BLAM!< another shot, another phaser blast

"I'm as small as an ant, as big as a whale!" Troy began to yell, returning fire as best as he could with a draining power cell. "I'll approach like a breeze, but can come like a gale!" Blair fired at a crate of liquor causing it to burst into flames, then it hit him "...Shadow....that's it!" the answer was found, now he had to get to the monolith, "By some I get hit, but all have shown fear! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Like a Klingon Warrior, with a blood oath to fulfill, Troy charged the barrage of gun fire.

Perhaps luck was with him, or perhaps someone was looking out for him, or perhaps smoke and flames from the raging fire made it hard to see, whatever the case was, as he charged not a single bullet struck him.

"Dis guy es crazy!" a man yelled

The closer he got to the monolith, the more shots he fired, until the cell was dry. He stood next to the monolith.... defenseless.

Upon examining the control panel revealed another riddle, how do you work it? He began to push buttons wildly, but was greeted with shocks and other unpleasantries.

"Come here you!" a tall goon exclaimed, grabbing Troy by the collar. Blair grabbed the mans hand, twisted his own body around, and threw the gangster over his shoulder, the man moaned in pain.

Thinking back to the ancient civilizations class at the Academy, Blair tried to remember the study of hieroglyphics. After much searching, the symbol for S popped in his mind. However, since these symbols were different, he had to find the closest one, which he entered and did not receive any kind of pain. It worked so far, now it was time to move to H....>BLAM!< >BLAM, BLAM!< bullets began to slam against the stone side of the monolith. Troy ducked as he pushed a button, apparently a correct one, because once again he did not receive any pain. Reaching around, without looking, he grabbed what felt like a wine bottle and hurled it in the direction of the gangster who was firing.

He returned to working on entering the correct answer. After several attempts, of both entering the correct symbol and the wrong one, Troy was down to the last symbol. By this time, the fire in the warehouse was so unbearable that everyone had vacated the building. Blair was pouring down sweat as he frantically looked for the last symbol. Running out of time, he began to wildly push at the buttons.....pain.....pain......pain......FLASH!

*** Sigma II ***

Troy breathed a sigh of relief as a desert breeze blew against his face. Although he was drenched in sweat, and covered in soot he was happy to see familiar faces.

"Thanks Troy..." AC shook the Tactical officers hand "It's good to be back"

"You can say that again!" Troy replied

"By the way, I gave Cherry all the money I had and told her to leave town. Then I was transported here!"

It's good to know she's going to be...er.. she was ok" Blair stated, brushing the ashes off of his sport coat.

"Well, well, well" came the familiar voice of Ronni "what did you do, fall into a camp fire?"

"Ya...Ya...Ya....I was in a burning warehouse trying to key in the correct answer to that cursed riddle." he replied, adjusting his hat

"Let me tell ya, the 1920's, man a lot went on then" Alan added

"I hope you boys didn't have too much fun." Ronni replied, giving Troy a wink before she walked off.

"What was that all about?" Hewson asked

"I don't know, but I'm sure I'll hear from Casey about it...."

"Findings"
by Lieutenant Commander Joerg Sterner
Chief of Security, USS Galaxy

Doctor Currie, Lieutenant Mitchell, and Lieutenant Commander Sterner descended the long and dusty stairway. It was a long walk down, but it took them even longer, because all of them busily scanned every inch they came across. After some time they all finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Looks like a dead end to me." Joerg said, as they saw no apparent exit.

The room they just entered was just like one of those from above, but the stairs seem to be the only exit to this room. Doctor Currie, still excited by this newly discovered part of the city couldn't believe that there was no second exit.

"I think there's a hidden mechanism somewhere in this room, like the one Lieutenant Commander Sterner found upstairs." she explained.

"You may be right, but what do you suggest Doctor? Stepping on each of those tiles to see if something happens?" Joerg asked her.

"I think we could solve this matter with some more scientific mean Commander." Mitchell replied.

"Do you remember what the tile looked like