The three Romulan soldiers stood watch as the rest of their contingent studied the rock formation before them. The readings the scientists were getting were confusing, to say the least. One minute there were unknown radiation signatures with a strength off the charts, the next there was… nothing.

The lead scientist approached the subject of their study- an oddly mishapen, vertical, circular stone formation- and narrowed his eyes in concentration. It was frustrating not being able to decipher the readings. But he was convinced the readings were a critical clue as to what happened to the survey team that had been sent months ago and who disappeared. And this specific formation was the only thing on the entire planet that was out of the ordinary. But whatever this was, he was at a loss as to figure it out.

He was about to order a subordinate to conduct yet another test when the formation began to glow and the center of the circle lit up. Before them was a scenic vista: beaches, crystal clear water, and towering cliffs. The entire team recognized it immediately: Sha’halu, the sacred cove of the goddess Mahin. As they watched, figures appeared on the far side of the beach, running towards them. As they got closer, one of the scientists yelled in recognition “That looks like D’tral!”, that name belonging to one of the missing surveyors.

As the figures approached, the view shimmered and flashed brightly. The scientists and guards instinctively closed their eyes and looked away. When they opened them and looked back, the view was gone… everything was as it was before.

The lead scientist and his team immediately ran every test possible, but to no avail. The anomolous radiation signatures were nowhere to be found. After several hours of testing, he called a stop. “Enough of this distraction. We are moving to the next quadrant and will begin the survey of that area. Pack up everything and put in the shuttle.”

D’tral nodded and began to load the equipment.

GM