taxonomites | 001 [holo] veh

This was a room he had never seen before, and hardly where Spock had been expecting to turn up when he had stepped onto the transporter pad. It hadn't been all that long since the crew had formed itself around the incorrigible bravado of James Tiberius Kirk, but there was that element of trust among all of them that only a massively traumatizing and life-threatening encounter could create.

This just rang too close to sloppy work done far too quickly. Hardly what he had come to expect and surprising enough that he spoke to someone not there without remembering that he wouldn't be heard if he didn't say it into a communicator.

"I believe you may have missed, Mr. Scott." It was only after he had spoken the words that he realized that the lack of communication devices would make it impossible to speak to those on board the Enterprise, and yet, when he searched for his, it came up missing (he had been certain that he had put it on his belt next to the phaser that was also gone. It was supposed to be standard equipment after all).

The next logical thing, then, was some kind of practical joke, though he had assumed that the crew members would know better than to try it on him as he would not give them the reaction that these kinds of things always seemed to call for. He arched one angular eyebrow over his alien eyes and spoke again to invisible people that might well have been listening from behind the strange metal walls.

"This is no time to make a vain attempt at humor." This mission was supposed to be important and they were wasting time-

-but there was no response. Hardly unexpected, though still almost-frustrating in that way that only a Vulcan could understand- emotional and not all at once.

"I am afraid that I fail to understand the joke." Hadn't he mentioned that these kinds of things escaped his understanding once before? Illogical and unnecessary, all of it. These things served no purpose, and yet humans seemed entirely fascinated by them. It was rapidly becoming apparent, though, that this was no prank, and that perhaps there was no Enterprise nearby to hear him- even if he had his communicator with him.

All he could do, then, was explore this strange room that he had ended up in. Metal. Nothing he had ever seen before, and his scientist's hands itched to be holding his tricorder and find out what it was. What this was.

He took a few steps and nearly tripped over an object at his feet- his lyre, strange thing to have in the room with him. It served no purpose now and he had left it behind in his rooms. It would have been illogical to bring it with him. Still, he cared for it as much as he could care for an item, and he bent down to retrieve the fragile, stringed thing from the floor where it was certainly unsafe.

"This is entirely illogical. Cease these actions immediately and return me to the planet's surface."

A last ditch effort, perhaps. The feel of wood beneath his fingers as he cradled his instrument gently in his hands made it fairly certain that this was no prank. In which case, his first priority was survival in whatever place this was. And that meant leaving this room.

Though the means to accomplish that were hardly apparent.

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"I've been here for three months and I haven't even managed to contact my ship."

She'd tried every trick in the book and quite a few that she'd picked up during her time with the Maquis. Nothing. And Voyager had contacted her, either, which was just as worrying. Her disappearance would have been noticed.

"Then he'll be able to explain the details."

"If, indeed, we are located underground, it is probable that contact will be difficult or even impossible." It wasn't that much of a stretch, after all, that the frequencies they used to communicate were blocked by the nature of being beneath the Earth. Beaming became more dangerous- to the point downright impossible- the deeper one wanted to go into the planet, imprecision making the act too dangerous to attempt. But then, it was also possible that the ships weren't even there, considering their strange location. That, however, was a possibility that he didn't want to consider, though his logical mind certainly did anyway.

"What we need is a way to get through their barriers and out of the city," she conceded. With Aximili's help, she'd given the problem a lot of attention. No luck yet.

Although B'Elanna was willing to concede that Voyager was an impressive distance away from Taxon, she refused to accept that it would be impossible to get back. If the technology existed to bring her here, the technology existed to send her back.

That was the fascinating part of the conversation- the one he'd been waiting for without realizing he'd been waiting for it. The talk of escape was what they needed to focus on now. Perhaps find the methods they had used to abduct the individuals here and find a way to reverse the process...

"Should you require any further assistance, I will place myself at your disposal."

B'Elanna gave him a look of frank astonishment. Commander Spock - the Commander Spock - had just offered to place himself at her disposal.

What would Tuvok say about that?

"I'll let you settle in first," she said, "I do most of my work out of the Delta Flyer - the shuttle that arrived with me - but it'll be good to what you've brought."

Her expression earned only a raised eyebrow for his part. Emotion. While it might have been entirely fascinating in some aspects, Spock didn't precisely believe that he would ever understand it or that it even had a purpose.

"I imagine that a shuttle will prove far more useful for study and research than an instrument. Though, I am given to understand that a part of the Enterprise is here as well."

"The bridge," B'Elanna confirmed with a nod, "And that depends on what sort of instrument."

She assumed, for a moment, that he'd been referring to some sort of scientific instrument. But then she remembered the lyre.

"You've brought a ... a lyre?"

In his place, she'd have been furious. A musical instrument might be a piece of home but it wouldn't be much use in a dangerous alien city.

Spock nodded once, efficiently and in true Vulcan style before he answered. "So it would seem. Hardly the object that I would have brought with me had I been given a choice, however, it would appear that that is not the case." Maybe he'd be calm here, but beyond that there wasn't much use for a musical instrument. A phaser would have been much more appreciated, but he didn't have that either.

This whole place was nothing but strange and illogical.

"Well, we'll adapt," she said, "We've got the bridge of the Enterprise and the Delta Flyer. The hatches can provide everything else. Has anyone told you about the hatches?"

"Briefly," he acknowledged, with a single, efficient nod, "though the specifics were left somewhat vague."

"From what I've seen," Leela explained, "They work a lot like replicators. You put your hand on the panel, think about what you want to create and there it is. I haven't been able to isolate the power source."

"Fascinating." It seemed almost too good to be true, and, doubtless, it was. Still, the concept was intriguing.

"I assume there are limitations on what may and may not be created."

"Not that I've seen," she said, "Apart from the size restrictions. If it's small enough to fit in the hatch, you should be able to make it."

Although she'd only ever hatched food, clothing and electronic equipment.

Perhaps his nod in response was slightly distracted as Spock tried to determine the logistics of the device, deciding unltimately that he would have to make the time to physically examine one of them rather than hearing about it secondhand.

"I see. My thanks for your assistance."

The only thing that restricted what they could replicate on Voyager, apart from the size of their equipment, was their energy reserves. In Taxon, they obviously didn't have that problem. Theoretically, they could hatch whatever they wanted. Except for a way home.

"You're welcome. Let me know when you've settled in?"

The sooner they could start working together, the better.

A study was definitely in order, then. Doubtless he would have the time for it without all that Starfleet duty to occupy his time with, even if he knew that he would hold hard and fast to it anyway.

"I shall. Again, my thanks for your assistance."

001 [holo] veh

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[Visual] Pretend this isn't a mirror icon >>;;;;

[Visual] ... but where's the beard of evil?

Re: [Visual] On another one that doesn't get any use outside of actual mirror-i-ness

[Visual] As long as it's somewhere!

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[Visual] There is no gun /jedi handwave

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