[Backlog – Occurs Roughly Eight Months Ago ]
SUMMARY:
Captain Zane Akina, a ranking Starfleet Intelligence Officer/Operative, is investigating a series of unusual events on the Astate Colony. His investigations revolve around the suspicious deaths of two Starfleet Intelligence officers assigned to Astate, as well as an attempt on his own life by unknown assailants who were after how much information he knew about a specific, but unknown, subject. What information his assailants were after and who sent them remains a mystery to the Captain and thus his search continues for answers. His investigations have led him to a small unpopulated island chain in the planet's southern hemisphere.
<<Note: Astate is a Class M planet located within the Romulan Neutral Zone which is co-inhabited by both Federation and Romulan civilians and is hotly contested by both governments.>>
Astate Colony
Unpopulated Jungle Island Chain
"Into The Darkness"
His tricorder in his hand beeped furiously as he pushed his way through the dense jungle bushes of the deserted island. Captain Zane Akina stopped looking at his readings. This was the spot. His recent analysis of a Starfleet Intelligence outpost had provided him with valuable information. Someone had been scanning this area again and again, but the results were all negative. Someone with high grade intelligence authority had ordered an orbiting satellite, in orbit to monitor Romulan activities on the far side of the planet, into a different orbit in order to keep a closer watch on Starfleet movements at key facilities and spaceports with a particular focus on this island and this very spot.
Wiping his forehead, sweat dripped from his face in the high humidity of the tropical jungle. The area he found himself in was surrounded by dense jungle, brush, trees, vines, and the valley was enclosed on three sides by tall rocky walls. At the bottom of the valley was a small river that was spring fed which ran nearby providing a source of fresh water.
Scanning the area with his tricorder, Akina realized the rocky canyon walls were composed of mineral deposits and other heavy metals which seemed to bend, reflect, or distort normal sensor beams. He was having difficulty getting readings of the surrounding area, though he could accurately gauge his position on the island.
All of the data he had uncovered pointed to something here – here at this spot yet there was nothing but vegetation. Setting his pack down, Akina attempted additional scans to no avail – the interference from the local rocks was blocking all attempts to survey the area in any detail. This fact alone made him even more convinced there was something here. This seemed to be an ideal place in which to hide something. Dense vegetation, natural shielding from sensors, and a small island of little use or value to anyone could be the perfect place to hide something, but what?
[ Four Hours Later ]
Exhausted from searching the area by foot and by hand, Akina collected water in his canteen from the nearby stream. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. He had decided to pitch camp here for the night and renew his search again in the morning. Heading back to his equipment he unpacked his tent and prepared to stake its ends into the ground. After positioning the tent, he located his mallet and attempted to drive the stake into the humid wet ground when the mallet suddenly bounced back forcefully in his hand. Had he struck a rock? Digging around in the soft, earthy, forest floor, Akina felt no obstruction. Again he tried to drive the stake into the ground. It hit something – hard.
Unpacking his lightweight camping shovel, Akina quickly begin digging after removing several feet of top soil and earth his shovel struck something hard and oddly – metallic.
[ 30 Minutes Later ]
Zane had excavated the area and found solid tritanium plating spreading out in all directions. There appeared to be a structure submerged beneath the surface. More excavation had revealed a single hatch he had been unable to open which appeared to lead down into a hidden, subterranean structure. Decay, time, and rust appeared to have taken its toll on the hatch which appeared to have been sealed and buried for sometime.
A rusty hatch wasn't going to stop him – not now. Pulling his disruptor pistol from his shoulder harness, Akina increased its power output to maximum and took aim at the stubborn hatch. Squeezing the trigger a green beam tore through the air and impacted the hatch's exterior coating. Tritanium, expensive and strong, was resistant to weapons fire and was used extensively in Starship hull constructions and military installations. What it was doing here remained a mystery as his weapon slowly burned a hole into the metal which glowed red as the beam's energy slowly ate through the outer coating.
Within a minute the outer coating of metal had vaporized leaving the softer interior metal exposed. Akina quickly cut his way through the hatch revealing a dark shaft and ladder than led downwards into a dark and foreboding unknown.
The sun was slowly sinking leaving only traces of pink and purple in the sky as the light gave way to darkness. With adrenaline running through him and a strong desire to explore this underground facility, Akina's earlier sleepiness had vanished. Grabbing a flashlight and keeping a tight grip on his weapon, Zane Akina mounted the metal rungs that lead downward into a dark and potentially hazardous unknown.
[ To Be Continued … ]
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Captain Zane Akina
Starfleet Intelligence
(APB Tav)
