Transporter Chief Anari sat at the controls of the captain’s yacht, having just completed transporting the last of the away team to the strange alien structure discovered on the nearby asteroid.

“Transport complete,” Anari announced, her voice steady despite the lingering sense of apprehension. “All away team members have been safely transported to the alien structure.”

Up on the dark and powerless bridge, Captain Day rose from her command chair. “Thank you, Chief.” Day to away team…” A cold silence was her only reply. “Commander Mehta, come in…” her voice tinged with urgency as she awaited any sign of a response from the away team. But the only reply was the static-filled emptiness of the void, leaving Captain Day with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. They knew it was possible they would lose communications with the away team, but leaving her people alone out there was difficult.

“Bridge to Lieutenant Valis, report.” Captain Day’s brow furrowed in concern.

“Engineering here Captain.” came the prompt reply from Lieutenant Valis. “We have done everything I can think of to regain power. We are still dead in the water. I have been able to reroute what little emergency power we have to life support and critical systems; life support will begin to fail in approximately 2.7 hours.”

Captain Day listened to Valis’s report, without power, they were vulnerable, trapped in this harmonic field with no means of defense or escape. Every second that passed without contact from the away team only added to the weight of uncertainty pressing down on her.

“Understood, Lieutenant,” Captain Day replied, her voice steady despite the growing sense of unease gnawing at her insides. “Continue your efforts to restore power.

As she ended the communication with Engineering, Captain Day turned her attention to the viewport, currently dark and without power like the rest of her bridge. With each passing moment, the sense of isolation grew more pronounced, a stark reminder of their vulnerability in the face of the unknown. All they could do now was wait, hope, and pray for the safe return of their away team.

As the alien’s piercing violet eyes swept over the away team, there was an unmistakable sense of inferiority that washed over them. They stood frozen, like prey in the gaze of an apex predator.

Mehta, recognizing the futility of resistance, raised a hand, signaling for everyone to stand down. “Hold your positions,” he ordered, his voice firm but tinged with a hint of fear. “We mean you no harm.”

Rax, his hands trembling slightly, knelt at Amir’s side with a medkit in hand, frantically attempting to stabilize his injured comrade. Amir’s arm was gone, only charred flesh remained where it once connected to his shoulder. Amir drifted off into unconsciousness as Rax administered a powerful anesthetic.

The towering alien paid little attention to the away team; her movements deliberate as she approached the nearest glyph-covered wall. With a graceful motion, she extended her hand, her fingers tracing intricate patterns across the glyphs and crystals. The glyphs responded to her touch, glowing brighter as if in response to her command.

Mehta stepped forward cautiously, attempting to establish some form of communication. “We mean you no harm,” he called out, his voice echoing slightly in the vast chamber. “We only wish to free our vessel from the harmonic field trapping us here.”

The alien paid him no heed, her focus solely on the task at hand. She continued to manipulate the glyphs and crystals with an air of authority, as if she were completely unaware of the away team’s presence, or simply indifferent to it.

Kellan exchanged a worried glance with Vex, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. “Commander, what do we do?” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackle of energy in the air.

Mehta hesitated; his gaze fixed on the enigmatic alien before them. “We observe,” he replied finally, his tone grave. “And we gather as much data as we can. But we do not interfere, not until we understand what we’re dealing with.”

“Commander, there is now a breathable atmosphere,” Vex stated softly keeping a cautious eye on the ethereal alien still gliding across the chamber, stopping at various sections to manipulate what must be some type of controls.

As Vex’s words echoed through the chamber, Mehta nodded, his gaze flickering to the environmental control readings displayed on his wrist console. “Acknowledged,” he replied, nodding to the other members of the away team, a silent indicator they could remove their helmets.

With cautious movements, the away team began to unseal their helmets, their faces emerging from the confines of the environmental suits. The air felt strangely foreign, heavy, and oppressive as they took their first breaths of the newly created atmosphere.

Kellan took a moment to adjust to the change, her senses overwhelmed by the pulsating sensation of the room on her bare skin. She had expected an industrial odor but was surprised the chamber smelled of flowers and the sea, sensations incompatible with what her eyes were seeing before her.

As the away team acclimated to their surroundings, the alien’s actions grew increasingly purposeful, her movements fluid and deliberate as she manipulated the controls with otherworldly grace.

Mehta watched her closely, his mind racing with questions and theories about the nature of the installation and its mysterious guardian. “Why have you trapped us here?” he asked, his voice low but commanding. “I am Commander Arjun Mehta of the USS Vallejo. We are on a peaceful mission to deliver medical supplies. We only came to this asteroid field because we detected xirdalium.”

The alien, seemingly indifferent to Mehta’s inquiry, continued her intricate dance with the glyphs and crystals, her movements ethereal and graceful. The room hummed with energy, the pulsating lights casting shifting shadows across the chamber’s walls.

Mehta exchanged a worried glance with Kellan and Vex, uncertainty weighing heavily on his shoulders. “I’m open to suggestions…”

“Commander, perhaps if we can’t communicate verbally, we could try a different approach,” Kellan suggested, her voice barely audible over the hum of the room. “Maybe there’s a way we can interact with the vibrations in this chamber.”

Mehta nodded thoughtfully, considering Kellan’s suggestion. “It’s worth a try,” he agreed, his gaze drifting back to the alien figure.

Vex walked over to Kellan and Mehta, “What if we have our tricorder direct a low-frequency pulse? If nothing else it should get her attention.”

“Let’s give it a try,” he replied, a hint of optimism creeping into his voice.

With Vex’s guidance, Kellan adjusted the settings on her tricorder, configuring it to emit a low-frequency pulse that opposed the subtle vibrations resonating throughout the chamber. As she activated the pulse, a gentle hum filled the air, blending with the ambient energy of the room.

The alien, still engrossed in her intricate dance with the glyphs and crystals, seemed unaffected by the initial pulse. But as Kellan adjusted the frequency slightly, a subtle change rippled through the chamber.

The alien paused mid-motion, her head tilting slightly as if sensing something new in the air. Slowly, she turned to face the away team, her piercing violet eyes locking onto theirs with an intensity that sent a shiver down their spines.

Mehta held his breath, his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for the alien’s reaction. For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the soft hum of the tricorder pulse echoing through the chamber.

Then, to their surprise, the alien raised her hand, her fingers moving with a fluid grace as she mimicked the rhythm of the pulse. It was as if she were responding in kind, acknowledging their attempt at communication.

Excitement surged through the away team as they exchanged hopeful glances. “It’s working,” Mehta murmured, a sense of relief washing over him. “Keep it steady, Kellan.”

With renewed determination, Kellan continued to adjust the frequency of the pulse, her tricorder emitting a steady hum as it sent out waves of energy. The alien’s response grew more pronounced, her movements mirroring the pulse with an otherworldly precision.

Mehta took a cautious step forward, his eyes fixed on the alien. “We only wish to free ourselves from this field. We mean you no harm,” he said, his voice steady despite the lingering sense of fear.

The alien regarded him for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, with a graceful motion, she gestured toward the central pillar of the chamber, where a bright white pulsating crystal stood surrounded by a network of glowing conduits.

“It seems she wants us to follow her,” Vex observed, her voice tinged with excitement as she watched the alien’s movements.

Mehta nodded in agreement, gesturing for the away team to proceed cautiously. With the alien leading the way, they followed her through the chamber, their senses on high alert as they navigated the labyrinthine corridors.

The alien approached the pulsating crystal with a sense of reverence, her hand hovering over its surface as if communing with some ancient force. She then pulled out a small sliver of clear crystal and placed it in Mehta’s hand.

Mehta observed her closely, his curiosity piqued by the alien’s connection to the mysterious artifact. “What is the purpose of this crystal?” he asked, his voice echoing softly in the chamber.

The alien turned to face him, her eyes locking onto his with an intensity that sent a shiver down his spine. For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the steady hum of the energy conduits. The crystal began to disintegrate, first turning into a small clear puddle in Mehta’s hand, then absorbed into the glove of his EV suit glove, then into his skin…

Then, to their surprise, the alien began to speak, her voice resonating in his mind with a strange, melodic cadence that seemed to fill the chamber. Though the words were unfamiliar, Mehta sensed a profound sadness in her tone, as if she carried the weight of centuries upon her shoulders.

“She’s trying to communicate,” Vex observed, her eyes wide with wonder as she too felt the alien’s haunting melody.

“We… we are Velenia,” she communicated, her voice resonating seemingly from deep within his skull with a haunting beauty. “Sentinel of Sharnak. We have watched… for our people.”

Mehta focused intently, his mind absorbing Velenia’s words. “Why have you trapped us here?”

“You are death… you are pain… the young infected our realm. We left to be free of you.” Her words echoing in his mind; painful, sad, and regretful.

“We didn’t mean to bring harm,” Mehta replied, his voice laden with remorse. “We came here seeking only to explore and understand.”

Velenia regarded him with a mixture of sorrow and apprehension, her thoughts swirling with centuries of longing and despair. “You bring chaos… you bring change… we cannot allow. We found the young eons ago… at first we watched, but the young were a virus. We couldn’t allow corruption, Sharnak purity. We built this spire. Made the great crossing. I waited for the far Sharnak. They never came…”

“We never intended to cause harm,” Mehta reiterated, his voice tinged with empathy. “We are from a region of space far from here. Our people have not met before.”

“All young are danger. I must end the spire, erase last memory of Sharnak. We remain pure.” Velenia began manipulating a small cluster of crimson crystals, each brightening with her delicate touch.

“Commander, this is an ancient race, I don’t think she means we’re younger than her, I think she’s referring to younger races,” Kellan stated, wrapping her mind around the cryptic communications, trying to make sense of Velenia’s story.

Vex added, “This Spire is focusing harmonic energy to rip a hole through subspace, that’s what these readings are!  The field that has us trapped here is just a side effect.”

“Then this crossing is the Sharnak leaving this dimension through a subspace tear.” Kellan theorized. “They just didn’t want to be around other sentient life forms…”

“And now she will destroy this spire and us to keep any knowledge of her people secret,” Mehta felt a wave of helplessness wash over him; he knew they were powerless to stop Velenia from fulfilling her mission.