Chapter Five

Nat Kapoor sighed and leaned back in his chair, away from the console's glowing screens. The archaeologists' main control room seemed a hive of concentration – his colleagues Tu'Pari and Freja Anders working busily alongside their Starfleet visitors Picard and Riker. But Nat could sense an unspoken tension simmering just beneath the surface. A tension the impatient human felt compelled to voice.

"So, what are we supposed to do after you ditch us?" he said, swiveling his chair to face the Starfleet officers.

"Come on, Nat," Riker said. "You know that's not—"

Nat waved his words away. "Don't give me that," he said. "Your ship's due to arrive here in two days. And then, what? You just leave us here as sitting ducks for the next violent creep who decides to raid our site?"

"Nat…" Freja winced, weaving her long, blonde braid between her fingers. "Please, let's not—" But, Nat was too agitated to listen.

"Look," he said. "I get it, OK? Their visit to our dig was only meant to be a two-week shore leave. And under normal circumstances I'd be glad to say thanks and good-bye. But, these circumstances aren't normal!"

The archaeologist stood, fixing his dark-eyed glare on Picard.

"We've made some deeply significant discoveries here, and I'll be the first to acknowledge how much of that progress is due to you and the android, Mr. Data. But," he said angrily, "we've also been attacked – repeatedly! In just the past week, we've been terrorized, had our camp infiltrated, our people kidnapped and impersonated, our data hacked by a chameleon spy! One of our colleagues – our friends – was murdered in a raid by some goddammed smuggling ring, you've lost your android officer. We only have vague theories as to who's behind any of this or why… And your plan is to zip away in your starship and leave us to it!"

"We already told you," Riker said. "Security officers will be—"

"More strangers," Nat snapped, kicking his chair in frustration. Freja looked away and shook her head. "More prying eyes! Tu'Pari!" he exclaimed, and strode over to his colleague's station, where the Vulcan scientist had kept working with unbroken focus despite Nat's outburst. "Please tell me you've found something that can get this floundering kerfuffle of an expedition back on track!"

Tu'Pari's composed expression didn't waver as he said, "If you mean to inquire whether the energy source beneath the Stairway remains active, or whether we will be able to reopen the quantum tunnel to attempt to recover Commander Data, I won't have a definitive answer until Kurak submits her analysis. I have, however, made an unrelated, yet significant, discovery regarding the robot Howard."

"Howard?" Picard furrowed his brow and leaned in closer to the Vulcan's work station. "What do you mean?"

Tu'Pari indicated his busy screen, moving his chair a bit to offer the captain and the others a clearer view.

"As you know, Howard – the Orion-manufactured HDD-421 Series duotronic robot Commander Data recovered when he rescued the three kidnapped children from the smugglers – was damaged aiding Dr. Anders, Counselor Troi, and Kurak's escape from the chameleon spy's ship," Tu'Pari stated in his flat, matter-of-fact way. "As Commander Data is currently…missing… I volunteered to enact the necessary repairs. It was while I was running a final diagnostic that I came across this foreign object lodged at the base of Howard's skull."

Picard frowned. "That looks like…"

"A spybot!" Freja finished, her eyes wide. "But, Howard was fully scanned when he arrived at our compound. How did we miss—"

"Embedding the device at the base of the robot's brain would effectively shield its components and any electronic activity from our sensors," Tu'Pari explained. "Fortunately, the device has not been activated. Howard, himself, was completely unaware of its existence. Given these observations, I believe it would not be an illogical inference to presume the smugglers intended to activate the spybot only after Howard had been purchased and begun his domestic duties inside the new owner's home."

"How horrible! Poor Howard, to be used like that!" Freja said, but Nat snorted.

"So, what's the big deal?" he said. "If the spybot was never activated, it hasn't been storing up our conversations at research data, right? Just destroy the thing and—"

"I don't believe destroying the spybot would be the most prudent course of action," Tu'Pari said calmly. "A covert device like this is designed, not just to collect and encode data, but also to transmit that encoded information."

"Yes, I understand," Picard said approvingly. "You think we can use the spybot to identify where that stolen data would have been sent. Perhaps, pinpoint the location of the smuggling ring behind these attacks?"

"If not their primary headquarters, then at least another active outpost," Tu'Pari said. "It might give us an idea just how widespread this operation is."

"Excellent work," Picard praised. "How might we assist—"

The doors to the control room slid open and Troi and Kurak rushed into the room, their faces flushed and their hair and clothes disheveled from the turbulent winds outside the dome.

"Counselor," Picard started, but Kurak cut him off with a frustrated snarl.

"Ishta has run off. With my daughter," the Klingon announced, and Picard swore under his breath.

"There's a sandstorm outside," Troi reported, shaking out her hair and batting dust and sand from her jacket with her hands. "It's starting to ease up, but it's been interfering with scans and communications. We couldn't get through until now."

"How long have the kids been missing?" Riker asked.

"At least half an hour," Kurak said angrily. "I have no doubt Ishta instigated this. She has repeatedly threatened to run rather than face the social worker the Federation has dispatched. She refuses to leave this planet until Commander Data has been found."

Troi took in a slow breath through her nose, trying to let the Klingon's buffeting waves of aggravation and worry wash through her mind.

"Both the social worker and legal advocate are due to arrive within the next few hours," she told the group. "They've already secured permission to beam down, but the sandstorm may delay them."

"Headstrong fool," Kurak snarled, showing her teeth. "Kahlestra should have known better than to follow the lead of that—!"

"We'll find them, Kurak," Troi tried to assure her, but the Klingon shrugged her off.

"Don't touch me, Counselor," she warned. "I told you, I have no need for platitudes. Only action." Striding toward the central controls she said, "The sandstorm will have slowed them down, forced them to seek shelter. It's possible they have not yet left the compound. We must scan—"

"Kurak," Tu'Pari called, busily tapping at his console's control panel. "I believe I may have found them."

"Where are they?" Freja asked, leaning over the Vulcan's shoulder.

"There is still a great deal of interference," Tu'Pari said, "but I am detecting two life signs, apparently moving in the direction of the Stairway."

"Yeah, and at a pretty good clip," Riker observed.

"Damn," Kurak snarled and slammed her hand against the table. "They have taken the speeder. We cannot follow on horseback until the winds die down! If those two—"

"Three," Tu'Pari corrected, and looked up at the group, one sharp eyebrow raised. "It would seem Ishta and Kahlestra are not alone."

"Slow down, Ishta!" Kahlestra exclaimed, gripping her seat so hard her knuckles turned pale. "I thought you said you knew how to drive this thing!"

"So, I'm learning as I go," Ishta snapped, wincing as the speeder shuddered and bumped through a particularly rough patch of stormy turbulence. Coarse sand buffeted the hull and windows like hail, the swirling wind pushing and pulling at the vehicle like a strong current drawing a small canoe through the rapids.

"By Kahless!" the young Klingon swore. "I am not prepared to die today! Howard, do you know how to pilot a speeder?"

Howard had followed the girls to the stables, the sudden appearance of his lumbering form through the shrieking winds giving them both a terrible fright. Ishta had been furious, but Kahlestra found his presence reassuring. Howard wasn't Data – not by any means – but he did serve as Data's representative, in a way.

"I am Howard, your helpful Home Domestic Droid," Howard said in his chipper-announcer voice. "Master Data ordered me to keep you safe. How may I serve you?"

"You can serve me by getting the hell up here and taking the controls!" Kahlestra said, squeezing her way into the back seat as Howard lumbered awkwardly to take her place in the front.

"I don't need help from that damn robot," Ishta snarled. "I know what I'm doing!"

"Do you know how to shut up?" Kahlestra snapped back. "I've listened to you enough today. I'm not about to let you wreck this speeder!"

"I'm not going back to the compound," Ishta shouted. "You can't make me!"

"We're not going back, you idiot!" Kahlestra said. "We're going to the Stairway, just like you said!"

"Then let me—"

"No!" Kahlestra exclaimed angrily. "We can't find Data if we crash and die! Howard," she said, "can you get us to the Stairway entrance?"

"Please stand by," Howard said in his cheery way.

"Please stand by?" Ishta repeated. "What the hell does that mean!"

"Please stand by," Howard said again, and Kahlestra let out a frustrated cry, the speeder shaking and juddering all around them.

The robot seemed to be taking his time staring at the blinking controls. Ishta risked a glance at him, then a longer one.

"Howard?" the young Orion demanded. "Howard, can you drive this thing or not?"

"Processing complete," the robot said, and activated the co-pilot's console, his silvery-green fingers tapping efficiently at the controls. "I am Howard. I am here to keep you safe."

"He can drive it!" Kahlestra cheered from the back, the jostling becoming a little less tooth-rattling as their course evened out.

"Look," Ishta said, her attention fixed on the window now that she didn't have to concentrate on figuring out the controls. "That lump – that's the entrance to the tunnels. It's all blocked up by sand!"

"No way can we dig that out. Even with Howard," Kahlestra said grimly.

"Is there any other way in?" Ishta asked, shifting her position to kneel on her seat.

"That's the main one," Kahlestra said, "but there could be a back or side way. Howard, take us around the Stairway. Look for anything that could be an entrance."

As they came around the far side of the vast structure, the wind seemed to die down almost completely.

"This must be the lee of the structure," Kahlestra said. "The side that's protected from the wind. Howard, stop the speeder here. Let's see if we can find a way in!"

"Since when are you in charge?" Ishta challenged as the robot parked up close against the sand-colored bricks.

"Since I spent all summer exploring this site and you've only been here, like, a week," Kahlestra countered, opening the door and hopping out into the deep, rough sand. "Come on, let's look around! The sandstorm's still roaring on the other side, but I think it's starting to lessen up a bit. If we move fast, we might still be able get back before my mother and the rest realize we're gone."

"Hey, there's some steps," Ishta said, not bothering to wait for Howard to catch up as she jumped out of the speeder and raced across the sand. "They kind of zig zag up to that landing. Maybe we can find a way in up there!"

"Worth a try," Kahlestra said. "Do you still have that data chip thing with the codes?"

"Right here," Ishta said, reaching into her pocket and holding up the narrow device. "And I brought a padd too, to play the file."

"Good. Howard," Kahlestra ordered, "you say here and guard the speeder, OK? We'll be back in a few minutes."

"It is my function to keep you safe," Howard said, his cheery voice seeming to hold a hint of protest.

"You can keep us safe by making sure nothing happens to our ride back home," Kahlestra told him firmly, already following Ishta up the brick staircase. The steps were very narrow and so tall the girls had to climb their way up with their hands as well as their legs. "Besides," Kahlestra called back to the robot, "you wouldn't be able to make it up these stairs!"

It was true. Howard wasn't exactly bulky, but he wasn't nimble either. Try as he might, he couldn't manage to scrape and scramble his way up to the first high step, and neither girl climbed back down to lend a hand. Defeated, the robot returned to the speeder, standing still, like a sentry, his glowing gaze fixed on the girls as they climbed.

The landing was much higher in reality than it had looked from the ground. Ishta inched cautiously forward, keeping one hand pressed against the sandy brick wall, until she felt—

"A crack? No… Kay!" she exclaimed. "Kay, look at this. I think I found a door!"

"Whoa, it's totally camouflaged," Kahlestra said, feeling the subtle crack in the wall for herself. "Do you see any way to open it?"

"There's no panel, or even an old-fashioned keyhole," Ishta said, giving the bricks a tentative push, then a harder one. "I can't tell if it slides open or what."

Kahlestra glanced up at her. "Think we should try the codes?"

Ishta's uncertain eyes took on a mischievous gleam, and she plugged the little device into the padd.

"OK, I found the file," she said. "Ready?"

"Go for it," Kahlestra said, staring at the wall.

Ishta pressed her finger to the padd. A jumble of noises – a garble of singing, half-audible voices, and static interference – sounded, and Ishta quickly turned the volume up to maximum.

"Nothing's happening," Kahlestra said after a moment. "Maybe we should head back to—"

The landing rumbled beneath their feet, sand and dust cascaded from the looming brick structures high above. The girls shrieked and pressed close against the rough bricks…only to gasp as the camouflaged door receded into the wall, then slid to the side, revealing a dark, rectangular opening.

A cold, musty smell hit them, and they shared a wide-eyed look, inching closer as the rumbling faded away.

"Looks like a way in," Kahlestra said, her voice echoing in the dark space.

"After you?" Ishta challenged.

Kahlestra shot her a look. "Just a second," she said, scrambling past the taller Orion to grab a broken chunk of ruined brick and jam it against the opening. "Grab some more bricks," she said. "This should help keep the door from closing all the way. You know, just in case…"

"Yeah," Ishta said, and shoved a few heavier chunks into place with her feet. "OK," she said, brushing the sand and grit from her hands. "Let's go."

To Be Continued…

References include - TNG: Suspicions.

Sorry for taking so very long to update this story! So much going on! But, thank you so much for the nudge to get me working on it again. I hope you liked this chapter! :D

Next Time: What will Kay and Ishta find inside the Stairway? What must Data learn in the future? Stay Tuned, and Please Review! :D