[snip]

After another pause he continued, =/\= Right now though we found what seems like a crude control tube room, these circular holes seem to match binary coding we think, using crude metal rods of various colors to configure and change some kind of computer network we think. Nothing in the Avenger’s records seems to match this, not even what little we got on the Finite Stone. Anything on your end? =/\= He asked.

The NE at the science station asked if he should check and Glen indicated to the science officer to carry out a computer records image search.

Checks in their computer data banks actually turned up something similar, though not an exact match the tube/hole configuration with colors did seem similar in setup to those used by the Ancients during their trip to Andromeda those two years ago. While again not an exact match it might be possible they could provide, if they wished, Captain Roger’s some clues and help from their own databanks.

When the science officer relayed this information along with its restricted status to Captain Glen, he felt as if a shadow had passed over his soul at the mention of the Ancients. He tried to remain professional, but the shock ran very deep. His skin was cold and clammy and he felt real anger.

Glen’s initial surprise at the link with the Ancients, quickly subsided to a rather begrudging acceptance. It seemed that the Merrimack could never be free of the experiences during that time, and it could never forget the painful memories associated with it. John would now have to decide whether to share the information gained on those missions with Captain Rogers or not. It still irked Glen that Rogers had never thanked him for coming to his aid, and for saving his butt from the Orions, and he realised that he actually knew very little about him, except that he was a little gung-ho. On the other hand, his rank and the situation demanded that he should, at least, tell him something on a ‘needs-to-know’ basis.

=/\= Captain Rogers? We do have a partial match in the Merrimack databases. It comes from redacted top secret documents created during classified missions, for which you and your crew don’t have the necessary security clearances. There isn’t time right now to achieve all the necessary security clearances for personnel handling that information, however, we may be able to assist you by helping to decipher the tube/hole configurations and colours, as they do seem quite similar in setup to something that we’ve seen before. I might add that this discovery places the ‘Reality Stone’ in a completely different light now. I need you to understand that what we are dealing with here is possibly something of huge importance and danger, and I must advise extreme caution going forward. =/\=

=/\= I see Captain, well we all got our secrets I suppose a hazard of duty some might say. What information can you provide us? =/\= Rogers asked.

=/\= We’re working on that. I’ll get back to you but cracking the colour code may take a little time. We don’t have anything that is an exact match. =/\= Glen replied.

William stood and watched the Science NE do his job with an odd expression on his face but didn’t protest. If the Captain wanted it done this way then who was he to say no.

“William, that library information comes from before your tenure aboard the Merrimack,” Glen told his CSO. “I want you to investigate the links more closely to see exactly how similar, so I will give you full security clearance to do so.”

William nodded gravely. He wondered if it was before or after his first tour on the Merrie back when he was a non-commissioned crewman

Glen then turned to Kord. “This would be a game-changer! Don’t you think? I thought we had seen the end of the Ancients, Elders and Harvesters. We defeated them in the past, Starfleet defeated them in the future, yet they may still turn up in the present!”

Tia had been running all over the ship helping with issues here and there. She had finally gotten stuff under control and come to the bridge to be at ground zero for whatever was gonna happen. As she walked in, though, and looked around. She felt like she had intruded on a private conversation. “Ummm… permission to take my station, Sir?” She glanced from the CO to the others in the room wondering what was going on.

“Please do,” replied Glen. Then looking at her expression he added, “We’ve discovered that the Reality Stone may be linked to an old enemy we encountered once or twice. It means that it was possibly designed as a weapon rather than to make the universe a better place. It makes me very uncomfortable. We lost a lot of good crew fighting them. Some of the crew were tortured or suffered unspeakable acts, and we have never been officially able to discuss any of what happened. It has been a Cross we have had to carry. This news, if it is true, will stir up those old memories again among the longest serving crew members.”

William opened said files on his consoles and got to work.

Glen turned again to Kord, “Even if it is not built by the Ancients, this thing is looking more and more as if it was built as a weapon!”

Kord nodded.

“The ancient anti-colapsar device merely looked like a monument, but it had the power to neutralize black holes.”

“Well remembered,” replied Glen. “I’d forgotten that!”

Glen looked back at the main view screen which was now split in two showing Captain Rogers’ feed from his team in space and Tinga’s feed deep under the ocean. It looked like Tinga was now making her way inside the pyramid.

Glen contacted Tinga to update her. =/\= Tinga! Captain Rogers has informed us to tell you not to fire your phasers inside. That black rock simply reflects the phaser beam back at you. If you discover a control tube room for some kind of computer network, let us know. There will be circular holes in a binary coding system, with metal rods of various colours to configure and change. We are working on a solution for the code now. =/\=

=^=Acknowledged. I’d like to take a crack at that code myself if we run across it.=^=

Tia sat at her station and began the algorithms to try and figure out the coding. The information opened to her to access was added to the data already running and she started playing with the various combinations of sequences trying to see something, herself.

Glen found it peculiar that William and Tia would each work alone on solving the code puzzle. He thought it said much about the personalities of his two officers. He wasn’t going to make them collaborate; working independently might actually be the quickest way to solve this code if they weren’t just repeating the same methodology. Which officer would find the solution first? Now that was a question, thought Glen.

Meanwhile, Glen watched the split-screen views of the two “away teams” at work. That’s what the Merrimack had decided to call ‘landing parties’ now, and it seemed to be quickly spreading from Starfleet Academy to all Starfleet ships.

Until Tiastri or William came up with, at the very least, some partial solution to the code, then there was little more to be said. Glen watched the split viewscreen as Captain Rogers team fiddled with the control rods and Tinga’s team made further inroads into their own pyramid. He wished he was down there too. Sitting in the Captain’s chair while the landing party went without him was rather unusual.

“Helm and navigation,” Glen instructed, “don’t lower our state of alertness. Just because I turned off the noise and flashing lights, I want you to continue to monitor our long range scans. I have a bad feeling about this!”

-Glen, CO

”..Aye Sir..” The Helm and Navigators said.

Tia glanced at the others who were also working on decoding the markings. A thought hit her and she tapped into the older archives to see if it matched anything from old earth. If she could make just one connection… even if it was from some obscure alien reference from before light speed travel…

Tia CE

Checking things over by Tinga, no matches came up for her in the language databases. Their were partial matches like those of the Mayans on Earth or Aztecs but nothing definite. For Tia there was one finding of an old news article from Earth about a ‘crazy theory’ of a hidden planetary defense cannon somewhere in Syberia of old Russia but no one had ever found such things. Yet the ‘crazy’ article did go on to mention strange designs ‘hidden’ from the public at the time that did somewhat match many of the designs that Rogers had provided them about the Finite Stone, unfortunately ancient historical records of the time being what they were from World War 3 on Earth not much more was there to go on.

GM CockRoach

William growled quietly at his screen for not giving out any useful information yet. He cross-referenced any information in the old Ancients files he’d just been cleared for with any and all of the related information. He disliked not being useful immediately although in the back of his mind another him reminded himself that he was just being impatient and unreasonable.

CSO

-Glen, CO