Episode 38: "The cave"

Part of Captain McMillan's mind wondered if he was becoming obsessed with finding Slade. He was eager to find her and bring her to justice, that much was true, but he was also taking all of this personally. Of course, with a woman like Slade, it was hard not to. She constantly mocked him and his crew, and always managed to outsmart them. So yes, perhaps he was becoming obsessed, a little bit. But if that helped in catching Slade, then why not?

The Gibraltar crew had managed to get out of DS19, by disabling the jamming device Slade had left for them. It'd been a difficult job, but it was clear that the crew was motivated: they too wanted Slade to be found. Or they just wanted to get off of the station, and back onto the ship. After the device was disabled, it didn't take long to find the DS19 crew, who had brought themselves to safety after Slade's attack. Confident that the DS19 crew could handle the rest of the repairs, McMillan and the Gibraltar crew headed out... towards the colony of Denolen IV.

Denolen IV had been their target before the Gibraltar was veered off course by the distress call Slade had sent out, in order to divert them to DS19. So it stood to reason, that Slade had wanted something from that colony. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late. But then again, Slade had a huge head-start. It was more than likely that they wouldn't catch up with her. That didn't mean they shouldn't try, though.

The USS Gibraltar dropped out of warp a few hours after leaving DS19, and the crew beamed down. Armed to the teeth this time, since they had learned from last time at the Station. Nevertheless, unlike then, there was nothing to fire upon. No sign of Slade anywhere. Just a calm, serene, almost paradise-like colony. Just one thing bothered the crew: there were no colonists. Had Slade arrived before them? Had all the colonists brought themselves to safety? Or had something else happened?

 

 

The crew started exploring the colony, but other than a cave, they found nothing. McMillan was just about to order the crew to continue searching, when the crew left behind on the Gibraltar contacted him. =/\=Gibraltar to McMillan,=/\= came the message over the Captain's commbadge, =/\=We are picking up some energy signatures in the atmosphere.=/\=

It soon became clear what those energy signatures were: small weapons systems, left behind in orbit of the colony. Pretty soon, the Gibraltar crew had to run for their lives, since phaser blasts and torpedoes hit the ground next to them. The cave was the only safe place to be right now, though Ensign Johnson reported that this would not hold out for long...

 

As the barrage continued outside, the crew explored the small cave. Someone had been here recently, that much was obvious: there was a campfire in the middle of the cave. There were no other signs that someone had been here though, at least, none that the crew could quickly see. However, Mr. Lang made an interesting discovery: the crystalline structures in this cave seemed to give off energy. A startling scientific discovery, which caused Lt.Cmdr. Braveheart to search more thoroughly. And indeed, more of such small structures were found. But what was their purpose? And could it be this, that brought Slade her?

 

Just as the Gibraltar signalled in that the weapons systems in orbit had been destroyed, and that it was safe to return to the ship, Captain McMillan found something else: an old looking artefact, and a piece of rock besides it. On it, there was a message, written in blood. It looked old, as if it had been there for many, many years.

It said: "You're too late McMillan... again."

The Captain bit his lip, took in a deep breath, and then ordered his crew to take this evidence with them on board the Gibraltar, to have it analysed. Slade had gotten away again. But the Gibraltar crew would find her, McMillan was certain of that. Sooner or later, they would find her. Someday... but not today. Right now, they had to make sure the colonists were safe, now that the weapons systems in orbit had been destroyed.

"McMillan to Gibraltar," he spoke up, tapping his commbadge. It would be easier to scan the area from orbit. "Beam us up."