[Edit and Snip]

Her tail lashed once before settling. “Captain,” she said, turning toward Glen. “Engineerring is confirrrming the powerrr fluctuationss. They arrre not rrrandom.” Her fingers danced across the controls.
“Whateverr is beneath the city wass dormant. Now it iss drrawing powerrr frrrom multiple grrids throughout Vey’lan.”

“Understood,” replied the Captain, although he wasn’t entirely sure that he did understand the full extent of what was happening.

M’Mera rose from her station in a smooth, feline motion and paced a short circle behind her console, a habit that frequently appeared whenever she was deep in thought.

“Morre importantly…” Her ears rotated backward slightly. “The city’ss enerrgy output is adjusting itself to match ourrr prrresence.”

She glanced toward Elyss’s station before returning her attention to the engineering data.

“It iss almosst as if the entirre facility is rrresponding to uss. Not ourrr systems specifically. Us.” The Caitian’s whiskers twitched. “That docking berrrth ahead was not active beforrre. Neitherrr werre many of those powerrr conduits. They arrre coming online as we apprrroach.”

Her tail curled around one leg.

“If thiss Silent One is awakening, then I would ssuggest maintaining full powerrr availability to shields, structural integrity fields, and emergency propulsion.” A brief pause. Then her ears flicked forward again. “Not because I detect a threat, Captain.”

Her gaze returned to the massive berth waiting at the heart of the city.

“But becaussse whateverr is happening…”

She allowed herself a slow breath.

“…I suspect we arrre about to witnesss something no Starrrfleet vessel hass everrr seen beforrre.”

Lt. M’Mera CE

With an external guidance field now in place, the Canidin’s muscles seemed to relax ever so slightly. White paws easing gently into the vessel’s throttle. Ahead, a rounded platform awaited for her hull to meet the ground. If only the crew knew what they would be about to face.

He had read about objects phasing out of reality once before from an away mission starring Captain Pike’s crew. On a planet known as Vadia IX. Upon visiting an ancient temple which had separated six members from the landing party into different realities. This seemed to be the case with Vey’lan. Making Rynak’s blood run cold, even if just for a moment.

Vezda hadn’t been spoken about for centuries. But there was something about the glowing arches toward which their ship had been led that was causing growing anxiety to the junior officer. ch’Sorel stood from his seat, planting both paws against the navigation display. White muzzle pointing down in thought. Crimson rivers ran beneath Merrimack’s hull, flying a few kilometers the surface. Watching how the city behaved certainly reminded him of a breathing organism. Something ancient.

A shepherd’s lantern hung tense behind him, as crimson light came to illuminate the young helmsman’s eyes. The city had come to adapt to their ship’s specific harmonics. Leading that flight path down to a landing pad, the sensation was eerie all in itself before M’Merra’s voice filled the bridge. She wasn’t the only tense officer responding to the situation. Rynak’s ears were held flat against his skull as every conduit beneath them lit up once Merrimack flew by. He remained standing for as long as his body could allow before returning to that chair.

He took a shallow breath before beginning the ship’s descent, paws steady on helm controls. A nervous laugh escaped him.

“Look at me. Starfleet helm officer, terrified of a docking approach.”

The Merrimack drifted silently before him, massive and beautiful.

Rynak smiled despite himself.

“You know, they always say a ship’s just steel and circuitry.”

He shook his head.

“They’re wrong.”

His voice softened.

“You’re far too pretty for that.”

The ship jolted slightly.

“Ah—stars…”

He corrected the approach, gripping the controls tighter.

The landing grew larger.

Closer.

Closer.

“Please don’t let me embarrass myself.”

Glen ignored his Helm officer talking to himself. They were all under pressure on the Bridge and some people expressed that in different ways. Since no one on the Bridge was hearing the voices heard by patients down in Sickbay, maybe Dr. Grahams was correct, and if they wanted a conversation then they ought to bring one of them to the Bridge.

The bridge fell quiet as the Merrimack descended.

Ahead, the illuminated berth expanded across the main viewscreen until it dominated nearly the entire field of view. What had first appeared to be a landing platform now revealed itself as something far more intricate.

Concentric rings of copper-red light rotated beneath the vessel, each moving at a slightly different rate. Vast archways towered above the docking structure, their surfaces shifting between solid metal, crystalline latticework, and translucent geometric patterns that seemed unable to decide which state of existence they preferred. The city responded to the starship’s approach.

Across Vey’lan, rivers of crimson light brightened. Structures kilometers away awakened one after another. Like neurons firing or a heartbeat accelerating in anticipation.

At Science, sensor readings flooded the consoles.
“Captain,” came a startled report. “The entire city is reacting to our presence. Energy output has increased by over three hundred percent.”

“We are a tourist attraction,” replied Glen. “This experience is a new to them as it is to us!”

Another officer looked up. “And yet… there is still no detectable power source.” The statement hung heavily in the air as the berth beneath them continued to grow.

Closer.

Closer.

The external guidance field tightened around the Merrimack with impossible precision. Helm controls became almost unnecessary as the city itself seemed to take an active role in guiding the vessel.

Rynak’s displays showed no tractor beam, or graviton locks. There was no measurable force moving them.
Yet the ship settled exactly where the guidance solution predicted. As though the city simply expected reality to cooperate.

The final meters passed in silence.

Then—there was a pulse. Not the expected impact or a docking clamp in sight. Just a harmonic resonance.

The entire ship vibrated softly for less than a second
while every display across the bridge flashed.

CONTINUITY ANCHOR ESTABLISHED

PHASE STABILITY: SYNCHRONIZED

LOCAL STATE DRIFT: 0.00000%

The Merrimack had landed and for several seconds nothing happened. There were no alarms, weapons signatures or transmissions. Only silence.

Then the berth beneath the ship came alive. The concentric rings surrounding the vessel began rotating faster.

The great arches overhead illuminated in sequence, carrying waves of light upward into the impossible sky of Vey’lan.

Deep beneath the ship, something vast stirred. It was felt more than heard it. A vibration. Ancient and immense. The city was waking.

New sensor alerts immediately appeared.

SUBSURFACE STRUCTURE DETECTED

SIZE: UNKNOWN

DEPTH: UNKNOWN

CONFIGURATION: CHANGING

The readings expanded faster than the computers could catalogue them.

Kilometers below the docking platform, hidden beneath countless layers of folded space and overlapping realities, an object of unimaginable scale was beginning to emerge from dormancy.

The lights throughout Vey’lan brightened further. One by one and then all at once. The entire city illuminated.

And from somewhere below the Merrimack came a single signal. It was not transmission or in any known
language but a note as before.

One impossibly deep harmonic tone that resonated through the hull, through the deck plating, and through every living mind aboard the ship. The same tone that had echoed faintly through Sickbay,
that had been hidden within the mathematical messages and guided them here.

On the viewscreen, directly beyond the docking berth, a section of the city slowly unfolded while massive pathways separated. Ancient structures rotated aside.

An avenue opened that seemed to be leading downward. Toward whatever had just awakened.

And for the first time since entering Vey’lan, the city seemed to be inviting the crew of the USS Merrimack inside.

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare

Rana had silently paid close attention to what was going on around him. As a new XO he knew deep in his stomach, or what was left of it that once this was over there
would be more reports to be filed than was imaginable. He watched as the helmsman seem to be dazzled and somewhat confused. He supposed it was something very new to him. But from what Rana could see there was nothing at all amazing by the way the ship was being handled. The technology was certainly different and a lot more exact in its calculations but other than that it appeared the same as docking in any star base. The only difference being all seeming voodoo magic of a new technology.

It as only when the folds of this place began to open. As if on a flower. The image of a Venus flytrap flitted through his mind quickly. The image disturbed him. He considered that these people hadn’t tried to hurt them yet. Much. Perhaps they should be doing something to keep the crew on their toes. ” Captain?” he began as addressed Glen. ” Do you think our new friends would be annoyed if we went to a yellow alert until such time as we have docked somewhere? We don’t want to damage any of their technology by accident and all you know.”

Rana Singh Number One

“You’ll know by now that I’m not one for bells and alarms, Mr Singh,” Glen replied, “but continue to keep our ship’s defence fields energised, and the deflector shields at full power. I doubt that they will be bothered by that, though we still don’t understand any of this technology or how it works.”

Captain Glen asked,” Any progress yet on locating a detectable power source for all this technology, or for this city here, lit up like Christmas tree?”

“That curious harmonic note sounds like like a welcoming suggestion to me, similar to those notes that have already directed and guided us here.” Glen said. “And this display of unfolded pathways, real or not, they are a kind of ‘yellow brick road’. Anyone know those stories? They’ll be expecting a response from us. I guess that our next step is to follow that road and go and visit the great and all powerful wizard of Oz in his Emerald City to see what he has to say to us. That means I need volunteers for a landing party… or have we started calling them ‘Away Teams’ when, like this, we aren’t actually ‘landing’ on anything? Mr. Singh?”

Then Captain Glen added, “And to backtrack slightly, we should be sure that walkway is safe to… walk upon? Does it have any substance? Or a breathable atmosphere? Radiation levels within normal parameters? Make all those usual environmental safety checks? That’s probably the first step.”

“I hadn’t meant all the bells and whistles sir, but I get your point. Just a flashing light or two was all I had in mind. ” Rana replied to the captain. And as for the land of Oz I have seen that relic and thought the same thing. We know precious little of what they are doing and if indeed they even want us to go out. “

Rana knitted his brow then as he thought about the need or the necessity of leaving the ship. Thus far their friends seemed to have the power to come and go as they pleased. Why would they not come aboard to welcome them? If indeed it were a welcome, they were offering.

Rana listening carefully replied to the captain.” Sir, if a landing party is called for, I would like to volunteer. At this point you are far too valuable and with my experience I am easily expendable.”

None of Captain Glen’s previous Number Ones had prevented him taking part in Landing Parties so he wasn’t about to let Rana begin. That couched suggestion that he was too old only stood to make him even more determined of that, and was rather annoying actually.

Elyss had been fairly quiet during the last 15 minutes as the Merri made her way along the pathway set out for her. After M’Mera’s report, she’d agreed with the Caitian and told the CO so. She also kept them up to date on what her station reported as they made the transition from one end of the corridor to the docking port. “I’d like to volunteer also, Captain. This is what I signed up for.”

Lieutenant Elyss Zavey
Chief Science Officer USS Merrimack

Rana then walked to the science station. He asked her to continue with her in depth scans looking for all power sources. Also for new radiation measurements along with types of radiation and their location within the area closest to the ship. He also asked for measurements of gravity wells along with any sort of structure nearby that the people of the Merrimack could understand as a structure and scans for several hundred known metals and alloys.

Although he would love to get something resembling any sort of map of the area he doubted he would get much of any use. It seemed to be the way things worked anymore.

Rana Singh Number One

“I will certainly be a member of this Landing Party,” the Captain replied. “I’ll take Rana and Elyss, thank you. I’ll also need an engineer, maybe a doctor and security. I suggest M’Mera, Dr. Graham, Thalos and John Reeves, but I will also need someone competent to remain behind on the Bridge”.

• Glen, CO