The Stone of Amun-ta

[A Davis 0]

<<This takes place a few days after the last sim.>>

A Leilani - Amanda Joint Log

Aegis’ resident psychologist, Amanda Davis, puzzled over the message in her hand while waiting for Leilani to answer the subspace communication. Why a woman so devastatingly beautiful had become a science officer in Starfleet was beyond her. She thought Leilani would have sought a career in modeling or performance, but she was fully capable of succeeding in any field and, in any event, Amanda was thankful to have such a friend out here, on the edge of nowhere.

She had been semi-stranded on the planetoid known as TKR-117 for several months, tending to the psychological needs of the Deosi after their relocation: helping them blend in and adjust to life in a new colony. That was back in mid-October, and here it was, well into November and creeping up on Christmas. What with the attack on the station and all the strangeness going on lately, there was so much to catch up....

“Leilani!” The hard copy she held in her hands dropped to the desk and Amanda’s Welsh accent came full blown as the colony’s logo was replaced by that of her friend. “It’s so good to see you! It’s been ever so long. How are you?”

In her lab on Aegis, Leilani looked up from the holo-novel she was reading and answered the comm on her terminal. She pressed the button and smiled. “Hello, Amanda. It’s good to see you as well; it’s been much too long. But, I’m as fine as I can be over here. How are you doing?”

“I’m well, thank you, and I’m glad you’re all right; I was ever so worried about the Breen. When we go on alert here we often have no way of finding out why, and this last time all our communications went down for quite a while. But...” she brushed a strand of hair away from her face, a diversion for her emotions, and took a deep breath. “...forgive me. I’m babbling again.”

“Heh, that’s not a problem. I’m not sure why that happens from time to time. That’s something probably best answered by Commander Chirakis, or Engineering.” Leilani answered rather truthfully -- she was but a scientist after all. Communication issues weren’t exactly her forte.

“I’m a bit puzzled about your message,” continued Amanda. “What is this about the Athra and a stone? What exactly did you want to know?”

“The Athra? Yes,” recalled Leilani. “Basically, I’d like to know as much as I can about them. As you can imagine, there isn’t much to go by in the Federation databases. Aside from the basic knowledge, i.e., their civilization, societal and technical information, I would be most curious about their history in particular something called the ‘Stone of Amun-ta’.”

Amanda consulted the message again, wondering where she should start. “Well, Leilani, as for the Athra, there isn’t much in the Federation databases because there isn’t much anyone anywhere knows about them. In fact, Rami... Doctor Nagi, that is... has been pursuing the facts behind the myth for years. That’s one reason he applied to lead excavations here when Dr. McDowell had to leave. They’re as mysterious and elusive as the Greek gods, if you know what I mean. And terribly powerful - we learned that when they attacked the station the first time, just after we moved into this system.

“I’ve heard nothing about a ‘Stone of Amun-ta.’ Rami has found a statue that he believes is a fertility goddess. The runes that accompanied it he’s translated roughly as something to do with a goddess named Amun-ta - our pronunciation of course - but nothing about a stone. And he insists his investigation into the civilization of the Athra is still more myth than fact.

“Is this stone something you’ve heard about? Something you’ve seen?”

“Something I’ve seen...” Leilani let the sentence trail as she recalled the occurrence when she left her post on the Control Tower. “I suppose one can say that. Something I experienced could also be a rather apt statement as well.”

‘Experienced?’ thought Amanda, perplexity clear in her expression.

The doctor paused to ponder how to explain the situation clearly, then retold the story of how she and Dr. Belar ended up in the main concourse area of the station, via a telepathic message that compelled her to head down there. She added the strange out-of-body experience they both had after they subsequently passed out and she described the details of the examination centre in the dream as vividly as she could remember.

She also recalled the headache-type symptoms she experienced not long after that first incident. “It wasn’t just me or Lillian either. Apparently, it was affecting the other telepaths on the station, and not just Betazoids. It seems all of us had messages to ‘return the Stone of Amun-ta’. I remember it well, but it seems to me like another out-of-body experience. I remember leaving Sickbay and instinctively being able to locate the Stone in a merchant’s shop.

“I remember asking the merchant to relinquish the Stone and pointing a phaser at him to hand it over again when he didn’t comply. But, I felt that the logical part of my brain was detached and unable to control my actions, something I’ll bet the other telepaths experienced as well when we all surrounded the man. But that wasn’t even the weirdest part. Once it was in my hands, the Stone was transported away. I wasn’t able to detect any ships in the vicinity when it happened, so I don’t know where it went,” said Leilani.

“Oh, my.” Amanda’s murmur of astonishment underscored the bizarre nature of Leilani’s tale.

“Therein lies why I wanted to communicate with you. Perhaps you or Dr. Rami can provide some insight into the significance of the Stone or the Athrian people, or how advanced they are. My feelings are that the Stone might have been stolen and they wanted it back. A logical reason to attack us earlier. If they’re advanced enough or telepathic themselves, they could have easily blocked their presence from us and sent us those messages to retrieve their stolen property. I certainly would appreciate any assistance you and the doctor can render, so we can decide our next course of action.”

Amanda sat staring at the screen for a long moment, Leilani’s suspicions and the complete strangeness of the story slowly sinking in. “Of course, Leilani. I’ll speak to Rami as soon as he’s up from the site. Have you any images? The security tape, perhaps? And if you do, could you send them along? Also, I’d like to allow Dr. Nagi to view our conversation, if it’s okay with you. The story you’re telling me is... forgive me... quite bizarre, Leilani, and I’d like to have him review it first hand.”<br class="kix-line-break">

“Yes, I have images and I can ask Lt. Dabi for the Security tapes of both incidents,” answered Leilani. “I’d appreciate Dr. Nagi’s insight on the matter, so letting him see our video conference is fine with me. Send him my regards and thanks for brunch once again. If you need anything else or have any other questions let me know, and I shall endeavour to answer them as best I can.”

“Thank you, Leilani. I’m not sure when Rami will emerge - he’s several layers into the buried city - but I will speak to him as soon as possible and get back to you - hopefully soon.

“Leilani, I do hope you can visit again soon - you and the rest. We’ve made some marvelous discoveries, our fields are positively overflowing, and business is brisk with the help of the Deosi. Until next time.”

Amanda waved and the logo of Alastair I dominated the screen.

Several days later, Dr. Nagi emerged from the dig site. As Amanda approached the open door to his office she caught the tail end of his conversation with Dr. Sa’atak, the colony administrator. Neither one seemed happy.