The Blue Zone was very hot. We traversed on foot across the desert beneath the blue dome until we reached a small camp just outside what looked like the entrance to an underground temple.
The camp appeared to be deserted and so we began an exploration of the tents. Each and every tent was found to be well-ordered with everything packed away. However the inhabitants left, they did so unhurriedly and in good order. Each tent was also found to be free of any technology (including surveillance technology).
The temple entrance was fronted by a cartouche carved into the ground. Mr Singh observed that it was unusual for a Romulan cartouche as it depicted some kind of insect. Thavliss suggested that the cartouche may show the insect emerging from something to devour a world!
In breach of Starfleet protocol nd the uniform code of justice, I gave Thavliss orders to kill K'ren and Almak if we ran into them again. He did not seem completely at ease with these orders.
As we were investigating the camp, Mabrin cried out as the ground literally disappeared from under his feet. One minute it was there, the next he was at the bottom of a pit! We used the tent rope to haul him out of there. Fortunately he was unharmed. Thavliss carefully advanced towards the temple entrance using a tent pole to test the ground ahead. Without warning he disappeared, although we could still hear his tapping on the ground.
I picked up a few rocks and threw them towards where we last saw Thavliss. Thavliss cried out and asked why I did that. When I explained to him that he had become invisible, he looked down and did not see his own hands!
Ana ran some scans and determined that there were random localised dimensional distortions that were affecting reality in the area. Ana had the idea to cannibalise a couple of tricorders to create a jury-rigged distortion detector. She successfully constructed one and was able to guide us away from various distortions as they popped up.
As we advanced, K'ren emerged from the temple. She explained she had transported into the Blue Zone using some kind of advanced personal transporter. She only required the force field to be briefly opened to transport through. She also explained that her foot had become inexplicably stuck in the rock as she entered the temple. She had released her foot and heard us approach which is when she came out of the temple.
In his invisible state, Thavliss was able to relieve K'ren of her sidearm. This did not seem to perturb her. She even acquiesced when we insisted that she give her personal transporter to Ana for examination. She seemed more amused than concerned.
The interior of the temple was pitch black and so we used the light on our tricorders to see. As we began to move into the temple, disruptor blasts came from the corridor ahead of us, narrowly missing us! I took the initiative and ran towards the source of the blasts. I discovered two Romulans who were shouting at us "unbelievers" violating the temple of Ram'laza. Using K'ren's disruptor and the bladed weapons that we had, we were able to disable one of the Romulans. We momentarily distracted the other by making him question whether or not we were allies. This seemed to confuse them and they asked if we were there for "the sacrifice". Our deception did not last long, and he attacked again, but we were able to disable him too.
Mabrin patched the Romulans up so that we could interrogate them, but as we began the interrogation, both of them cracked lethal Hydrozine capsules concealed in their molars and they died.
We carried on exploring the temple further. We discovered evidence that the temple, although about 200,000 years old had as recently as 5,000 years ago, been occupied by at least one group of Romulans who were probably not the original temple builders.
As we headed further into the temple, Ana detected a massive dimensional distortion. We carefully headed towards it and discovered an alien creature the like of which we had never seen before. As I opened my mouth to greet it, we were all instantly transported to a different place 200,000 years in the past.
We suddenyl found ourselves cast as the bridge crew of an Iconian vessel. Our thoughts were scrambled and we were only partially aware of the Iconian time period and only partially aware of our native time period. We understood that our mission as the crew of the vessel was to stop a Doomsday Machine from destroying the planet below. We knew that this was key to contacting the only people ever to have faced the Marauders and survived.
We were on a suicide mission.
And the adventure continues...