[snip]

Guy stood near the door looking out. He watched the miners who hurried about outside within their own world, uninterested in the Starfleet officers that he had been charged to protect. He felt that remaining on the surface was far less dangerous an assignment than had been given to Richard Sharp, who was going with the other party, down into the underground mining tunnels, but he still needed to remain alert for dangers above ground. Personnel and equipment had gone missing, and there was no explanation, at least none without some supernatural or magical element.

Guy might well be thought of as a coward by some; that Doctor Cross had accused him of the same, but he thought of himself as a realist. He was open minded about ghosts and spirits because he knew there were more things in the universe than could be explained by current science, but he also knew that most things could be explained, and that didn’t make them any more or any less deadly, it just made them unpredictable.

The Captain had given everyone in this team a job to do, and behind him, they were all making themselves busy. Guy’s job was protection, and he would do his job to the best of his abilities. He wasn’t a coward, but neither was he a hero. What was a hero anyway? Someone who cared so little about their own life, that they would sacrifice it for a cause. That wasn’t Guy. Sure, Guy was risk averse! being risk averse kept him alive, and it kept the people he was charged to protect alive too!

Lance sat crossed legged on a chair at a desk in the main building, he sat with the data the Captain had given him and a note pad, he looked over at the engineers busy doing engineering things. He wasn’t totally sure what they were doing he was deeply focused on what he had in front of him. The numbers looking for patterns and from the patterns possible reasons for what was going on. He hummed to himself tapping his foot, he was pretty glad he wasn’t required to go into the caves, he was much happier with this numbers.

He looked at his pencil scribbles so far and looked to see if he could distinguish any patterns around when people had gone missing verses energy spikes or dips.

Stella meandered around a bit outside for a bit after the captain had assigned her to come inside and work with the crew in this building. She had finally calmed herself down a bit after the run in with Hunter. Now all she wanted to do was to find some way she could help somewhere. Seeing Malone , she walked over to him and asked him. ” Hello Lieutenant. Having any luck with anything?”

Guy didn’t like it. Guy didn’t like this one little bit. It was far too quiet. It was like the calm before the storm that you got in the old 21st Century 2D films sometimes shown on History Evenings in the Forecastle Lounge. If he was honest, or as he like to think, a realist, they weren’t properly equipped for this latest mission of hide and seek. And then there was the Captain, bringing down this new officer on the landing party, you know, someone who would be like a real hero when given the chance. If he had overheard correctly earlier, Ashley hadn’t even had her medical yet.

Ashley had then stood there awaiting orders from the Chief Engineer. She had also stood there with the others. “So, what are we gonna do, guys?” She asked everyone else.

“We follow our orders from the Captain to the letter,” Guy replied to Ashley. “We stay right here where we are, and no one gets killed.”

“Faire enough.” Ashley replied back to Guy. She then decided to go right ahead and sits down on the ground.

“Sorry… Ashley? Is it? …but I have a wife and three kids and I want to get back to them… I’m going to keep you all safe. That’s what M’Mera put me here to do!”

“Yes it is. And it’s understandable that you just keep the rest of us safe. Having a family.... Is something I’ve always wanted. But I’m happy for you. Guy. Isn’t it.?” She asked him.

“Yes, Guy Fleegman. I’m from North America on Earth… Dayton, Ohio, if you’ve heard of it?” Guy replied.

“No I haven’t. I’m Ashley Walker North America on earth myself San Diego California.” She said looking at the crewman formally introducing herself to him.

“Well, I’ve never been to the West Coast either,” Guy replied. “I can’t really say that I’ve been to many places on Earth.”

“Well there would always be a good chance. Hopefully we got some shore leave saved up. I would love to show you around the West Coast. I’ve personally never been to the East Coast.” She said to him.

Lieutenant J.G. Ashley Walker
Engineering Physicist
U.S.S. Merrimack

“We might get some leave on Earth soon,” Guy replied, “The Merrimack has had a long tour of duty… it all depends doesn’t it, on circumstances and politics, and Galactic affairs?”

• Guy, Sec