Lieutenant JG Meris: Echoes of the Collective
Meris/Brian
((Inside Ero’doth Temple, Gathering Area, Sonoe))
In the uneasy calm that followed the administration of antivenom to Commander Saa, Meris had begun to believe they were all finally regaining control. They had steadied Taj’el, watched Saa stabilize in their J’naii body, and grounded themself in familiar stories of J’naii myth while studying the ceiling carvings above their makeshift campsite. It had almost felt manageable... until the light from their palm beacon caught the unmistakable shape of a Starfleet delta etched among symbols far older than the Federation. Now, as the realization settled over them, Meris understood that whatever this temple was, it was not merely ancient. It was connected. And whatever happened next might just reveal how deeply.
Saa (as Meris): ...what do you make of that?
Taj’el (as Saa): Starfleet? Does this temple seem much older than a few hundred years?
Meris (as Więcek): Commander Saa indicated that the Starfleet Archaeological Committee believes this civilization predated life in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants … though, I suppose it’s possible this temple isn’t as old as all that.
A long silence followed. The air felt heavier than it had moments before. The delta was not stylized or distorted. It was exact. Modern. Familiar.
oO This is not a coincidence. Oo
If the symbol had resembled some proto-Federation emblem, perhaps from the time of Captain’s Pike or Kirk, Meris might have dismissed it. But it did not. It was theirs. As real as the delta on Aleks Więcek’s chest.
Saa (as Meris): Let’s set up a safety perimeter around our encampment, then in seven hours we’ll wake to see if the translator has even a partial translation and figure out what the carvings depict... Taj’el you have linguistics training you might need to put to use.
Taj’el (as Saa): Not ancient languages but I will try Commander. I do think that is the logical course of action at this point…
Meris (as Więcek): Aleks, we’re bedding down for the night!
They called toward the Intelligence Officer in Taj’el’s voice, projecting far more confidence than they felt.
Saa (as Meris): Don’t push yourselves.
The irony of Commander Saa, who was the one injured, warning them not to overdo it was not lost on the pilot.
((Several Days Later))
The days that followed blurred together in a rhythm of recovery, routine, and restrained anxiety.
Saa had recovered steadily from the venom, though fatigue lingered. Taj’el seemed to have grown increasingly adept at managing the constant background noise of Betazoid telepathy. At first they had appeared to wince at every emotional spike, every stray thought brushing too close. Now they stood straighter. Spoke more fluidly. They seemed to be filtering things better with regular assistance from the Commander.
Aleks, however, had slipped into an inexplicable unconscious state inside Taj’el’s body. His vitals remained normal. Stable. But he did not wake.
Meris checked on him more often than necessary.
oO Wake up, Aleks. This is not amusing anymore. Oo
Adjusting to Aleks’s body had been... educational. The reach. The stride. The sheer amount of space their limbs occupied. They had walked into two stone columns and one crystalline outcropping before recalibrating their spatial awareness.
They missed their own balance. Their center. Their je ne sais quoi.
They also worried about Olive.
oO I hope Petty Officer Vren remembers to rotate Olive’s grow light and mist her leaves daily. Oo
The thought of their African fern sitting unattended in their quarters aboard the Thor felt strangely more distressing than mapping subterranean power conduits.
Meris had spent hours studying glyphs, tracing side passages branching from the gathering chamber. They had mapped the entire level and had discovered a passage that traveling downward in the ensuing days. They had not yet found the a path that could take them to the biological signal that had brought them here in the first place. But, at the very center of the level below the gathering chamber, they felt they were getting closer. What had once been one distinct signal had slowly become two and now three.
They did not like that.
As Meris returned to the gathering chamber once again, Taj’el was speaking.
Taj’el (as Saa): The ceilings presented complex, storied images, while the tiles themselves represented individual words. The difficulty lay, peculiarly, in determining which order words are to be read… however I think-
Meris slowed their pace deliberately, giving the Vulcan room to finish the thought.
Meris (as Więcek): Think what, Taj’el?
Taj’el flushed faintly, raising their hands to partially obscure their face before lowering them again.
Saa (as Meris): Did you two finally figure out the part of the translation we’re missing?
Taj’el (as Saa): Perhaps... The floor contains words, while the ceiling conveys stories. I believe the words correspond to those above. Additionally, their term for self is... plural. Instead of “I,” it is “we.” Whoever created this appears to conceptualize the collective as singular and the singular as collective. Do you comprehend?
Meris (as Więcek): ::frowning:: Like the Borg...?
The word lingered in the air.
Taj’el displayed a pattern-matching program linking ceiling imagery to floor inscriptions.
Taj’el (as Saa): Exactly translated, We Live, We Die, We Exist, Always, Before, Beyond. Giving it a bit more context, We live, we die, we exist as we always have, before and beyond. ::Then pointing to above:: This seems to go with the story above as Meris guessed Harmonist of Dawn. The guide of the we, the many. Seems more to be associated with this temple. So... in essence this is a school of sorts. Or a place of teaching, much like the early assumption of religion.
Meris studied the symbols again. The terraced seating. The raised lectern. It made sense.
Meris (as Więcek): A school...
The thought reframed everything.
Saa (as Meris): Response
Taj’el (as Saa): I prefer to avoid assumptions; however, they communicate as though both timeless and collective, yet also individual. ::they exhaled softly:: This location is intended to… advance? Instruct? Inform the subsequent stage?
Meris folded their arms, feeling the unfamiliar weight of Aleks’s musculature shift.
Meris (as Więcek): So if they are so timeless... where have they all gone?
oO And what are those three life signs? Oo
Saa (as Meris): Response
Taj’el (as Saa): I acknowledge that, although Vulcans possess a spiritual tradition, I am not adept in theology. I can only convey the literal content of the words, with perhaps a minimal indication of their intended significance.
Meris gave them a reassuring nod.
Meris (as Więcek): It is fascinating nonetheless.
Saa (as Meris): Response
Meris (as Więcek): Did you discover if they have a name for themselves?
Taj’el (as Saa)/Saa (as Meris): Response.
Meris then activated their own PADD.
Meris (as Więcek): Well, for my part, I managed to map what I believe is most of the next level down beneath this chamber. Following the power currents from that panel - ::gesturing to the crystalline control panel near the raised lectern:: - I believe I’ve discovered how this chamber still has the power to do what it did to each of us.
Taj’el (as Saa)/Saa (as Meris): Response.
On the PADD, a topographical projection rotated slowly. The gathering chamber appeared as a long rectangle with terraced steppes off each side. Behind the raised lectern, concealed by a thick structural stone spire, a hidden corridor curved downward. The ramp descended eight meters before branching into a lower level shaped approximately the same as the level above but with many more, smaller, rooms. At each end of the lower level sat two massive circular chambers.
Meris enlarged the eastern chamber.
Meris (as Więcek): At the rear of this this gathering chamber is a ramp that descends approximately eight meters before opening up into more chambers below. There are several rooms down there, but the largest are these two at the east and west ends. The energy flows from both of those locations to this control panel and throughout the temple.
Taj’el (as Saa)/Saa (as Meris): Response.
Meris zoomed in further.
The chambers appeared almost organic in layout. Dense clusters of crystalline formations filled the central floor space, radiating outward in interlocking geometric patterns like frozen lightning. Around the perimeter ran a thin ring-shaped trough. The rendering was crude, and didn’t do the actual chambers justice, but it got the point across.
Meris (as Więcek): Each of the large chambers contains a multitude of crystal aggregates that appear to have grown together in an engineered, interlocking, fashion. The chambers also contain several shafts which allow in sunlight from outside the mountain. Some have collapsed but, remarkably, most still allow in light at specific intervals of the day.
Taj’el (as Saa)/Saa (as Meris): Response.
Meris felt a spark of admiration despite everything.
oO This truly is an elegant design. Oo
Meris (as Więcek): The crystal aggregates are placed precisely to harness the light during the brief periods when sunlight enters through each shaft. This complex is solar powered. The light enters through the shafts and bounces off the crystals. The crystals in turn amplify the solar power and deliver it into some kind of liquid medium around the room’s periphery. And it is from this liquid medium that the power travels to this control panel and throughout the temple. ::a pause:: It’s really quite a marvel of engineering.
They let the topographic projection rotate between them, the hum of ancient energy faint but steady beneath their feet.
oO A school powered by light... built by a people who call themselves We... and marked with a Starfleet symbol. Oo
Surely, the temple was not finished revealing its secrets.
Taj’el (as Saa)/Saa (as Meris): Response.
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Lieutenant JG Meris
Helmsperson
USS Thor
A240207M14