Graves stood there behind Tagg’s seat as he stared at the view screen in complete shock and awe of what just happened. With sensors boosted, they were able to keep an eye on the away team from orbit and they had just witnessed the most insane thing anyone on the bridge has ever witnessed before. A monstrous beast of a worm, emerged from the depths of the sand and gulped the entire cargo shuttle.

As of this very moment, they can see both K’Roll and Mizu board the ATV and make a run for the city as the storm grows closer to them by the second. From their perspective in orbit, it looked as though they might not even make it but the entire bridge was silent. Aside from the ambient noise of the consoles, no one said a word, no one moved, no one even breathed.

They could see the ATV had made it to the western entrance of the city and still the vehicle hauled down the road. As it appeared, they were headed for the temple and the storm was only gaining on them. The moment the ATV made it to the temple, was the moment the storm encompassed it and blocked their entire view. So much so, the viewer had to zoom out to reveal that the entire city ruins was just engulfed by the storm. Suddenly, the screen was enveloped by static before the display blinked out and gave them their standard view of space and the planet just off to the corner.

“Report,” said Maxwell. Maxwell’s voice pulled Graves out of his thoughts and he looked down to realize that he had grabbed the back of Tagg’s seat and had dug his fingertips into it. He mouthed an apology to Tagg as he let go of the seat and made his way back to his own.

“The storm,” Bazial spoke up. “It’s intensity grew. So much so that it even with sensors boosted, the interference is just too strong.”

“Did they make it?” Maxwell asked.

Graves was already on it when he sat down in his seat. He pulled the console over his lap and with various inputs, he brought the playback up on the main viewer. He then slowed it down to a tenth of a second, where they watched ever so slowly, that the ATV made it up the stairs and went right inside the Temple. Just a split second before the storm had reached them.

The whole bridge let out a sigh of relief, in unison, to where it practically felt like the entire ship just breathed for a moment. At least they know that the remainder of the away team was safe. For now. But Graves knew that it won’t be for long. He removed the playback to bring up the new simulation data on the storm. It was not good.

“As quickly as the storm moved,” said Bazial. “It had slowed down considerably. It will remain over the city ruins for at least a month.”

“They do not have a month,” said Maxwell. “We need options and we need them right now.”

“You’re right, Captain.” Graves said as he pushed the console away and then pushed himself back onto his feet. “They don’t have a month. They have roughly twenty-four hours.” Graves could see the look on the captain’s face, so Graves continued as he pointed at the view screen. “The numbers there. The storm may have slowed down, it has not decreased it’s intensity. In fact, quite the opposite. The storm has become so intense, so violent, that the city ruins underneath it will be completely destroyed in twenty-four hours. Or less.”

Out of the corner of Graves’ eyes, he saw Grak step towards them from the rear of the bridge. “I can get a team down to the shuttlebay, and work on installing a separate, redundant structural integrity field generator to the shuttle, to reinforce its current integrity field.”

Graves then noticed Tagg not at his station anymore, but had joined the three of them in this inner circle. Tagg quickly chipped in his idea. “We can also polarize the hull plating of the shuttle, rotate it’s polarity if need be, for positive or negative charges. Whatever it takes to repel the lightning bolts from the storm.”

“Can this be done?” Graves asked. “This is no storm that any of our crafts have ever been tested in. In fact, this storm could potentially be well beyond our limitations.” Graves then saw Grak and Tagg look at each other before they looked back at him and Maxwell.

“We can do it, Commander.” Said Grak.

“For Ruben Ortiz, sir.” Said Tagg.

Graves felt the tug of his heart but he simply clasped his hands together against the small of his back to keep himself from showing it. Although, a glance to Maxwell and he could tell that the captain had seen it already.

“How long can you two get it done?” Maxwell asked.

“Three…four hours, max.” Said Grak.

“You have two,” Maxwell ordered. “Go.”

Graves watched Grak and Tagg both disappear into the turbolift. A Ferengi and a Tellarite. A strange mix of species, who now work together. They could get it done then. Although, Graves’ thoughts on the whole mix of species was mainly due to his distraught thoughts of the fact that he witnessed his apprentice get swallowed by a monster.

“We’re going to get them out of there, Art.” Said Maxwell.

Graves looked to Maxwell. “They better. Or Ruben had died for nothing.” Graves then realized what he said and how he said it. With a vile tone, one of bitter and pain. With that, he did not wait for Maxwell’s response. He headed straight for the other turbolift and left the bridge all on his own.

Riov approached the ATV with haste. The vehicle currently rested on its wheels, what’s left of them anyway, with the mid section of the driver side bent slightly around the third left pillar from the main entrance. Both the tires of the driver side were destroyed, axles bent to hell and the vehicle basically leaned into the pillar.

“Mizu, are you okay?” Riov heard Elidia, while Riov went over to the driver side to check on K’Roll.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.” Said Mizu.

“K’Roll?” Riov checked the black furred Caitian, who eventually stirred away and begun to look around, confused look in his eyes. “You’re inside the temple. You had a bit of an accident.”

K’Roll looked at the pillar that was close to his face, then he looked around, saw the state the ATV was in and then he looked at Riov. “I apologize, Commander. I normally do not park this way.”

Riov was about to compliment K’Roll on his joke, which gave Riov a clear idea of K’Roll’s condition; but Mizu seemed to have beaten him to it and not in the best way. “Are you seriously joking right now?! We just lost our friend!”

Riov placed his hand on K’Roll’s shoulder to gesture that he did not need to respond to that. As K’Roll climbed out of the vehicle, Riov made his way around it and stopped at Mizu’s side. She had already climbed out of the vehicle, and stood there, where he could see how distraught and upset she was. “Lieutenant, I am sorry.” Before he could say much more, the sound of the storm grew more intense, which grabbed all their attention to the entrance.

They could see where the storm was practically at the front door and in a matter of seconds, the winds had shifted and the sand began to gust into the temple. It was not as intense and violent as the storm but it still stun and not something they wanted to face with eyes wide open.

“This way!” Riov shouted as he grabbed both Elidia and Mizu, only to bring them around and in front of him to push them towards the stairway. He even brought their hands together to make sure that they held onto each other, before he grabbed K’Roll’s arm and pulled him towards the stairwell with the others. As they made to it and down the stairs, they soon found themselves in a pitch dark corridor. That is, until K’Roll illuminated it with his torchlight.

“Fetched these out of the ATV’s equipment compartment.” Said K’Roll, as he handed out equipment belts to the rest of them.

As everyone grabbed one, Riov could not help but smile at K’Roll. “Commendable thinking, Lieutenant.” He said as he pulled out his own torchlight, and like the rest of the team, there were now four bright lights that illuminated up and down the corridor of the temple’s second level. Quite obviously the one beneath the main level above, that was now being filled with sand.

“It is incredible how violent and quick the storm had become.” Riov said as he watched some sand pouring down from the stairwell like a waterfall.

“What happened, Mizu?” He heard Elidia’s voice, and Riov had also become curious.

For a moment, the silence was deafening and Riov knew that K’Roll could of stepped in to inform them, but Riov was glad that he didn’t. Mizu needed to be the one to say and eventually, she did. She explained that Ruben had come to pick them up but was swallowed by a colossal worm. Mizu then pulled out her tricorder, activated the holoemitter and began to show everyone the skeletal remains.

“This is not has massive, but this is the chitin-exoskeleton of a sandworm of this world.” Mizu explained. “This exoskeleton is practically a very dense armor. Maybe as strong as the hull of our ships.”

“How come we never knew of its existence until now?” K’Roll asked with curiosity in his voice.

Riov was quick to speculate. “It is possible that it had no need to come up to the surface until now. Perhaps…it sensed our presence, either from sound or vibrations in the ground and in the sand.”

“Why outside the city then? We made plenty of noise inside the city.” Said Elidia.

Mizu then changed the holodisplay to one of the obelisks. “That explains these things. They emit some sort of frequency, as incredible as it is, I think the frequency is what that keeps the worm away from the city.”

Riov nodded his head. “And there are many of these obelisks along the perimeter wall of the city. Impressive. The civilization of this world were able to come up with some defensive structure, harmless at that, to keep the worms away. But why leave the city? Why have gateways?”

Mizu closed her tricorder and put it away. “Maybe there was more than just one city. Or perhaps, the civilization here were also explorers and wanted to explore the world they resided on.”

Riov sighed and then looked down both ends of the corridor. “Unfortunately, we are stuck here until the storm passes. Let us find a room, check the supplies we have and determine the next course of action.”

“And take a moment to mourn,” said Mizu as she picked one direction and began to walk down the corridor.