As the three materialized, they were stunned to find that they were not where they had assumed they'd be. The chamber was dark. It was difficult to see five feet in front of them. There was a single light shining down from above that illuminated two sets of bunk beds. But there was no other light and no one else nearby.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Jenara said as she pulled out her tricorder. As she tried getting some readings, her tricorder refused to work.
"What's wrong, Tomme?" Commander Lataro asked.
"My tricorder... It can't seem to pick up anything. It's like it's dead."
Immediately, he and Benton pulled their tricorders out and tried them. Again, the same scenario played out.
"If I were to guess, I would say we're not near that asteroid," Jenara replied.
"I would say, you're right," Lataro replied. "But the question now, is how do we find out where we are. I can't see anything beyond the light."
Jenara thought for a moment. "Let me see what I can do."
Suddenly, her Human form melted away into the figure of a large predatory cat. She had changed herself into a Targelian Jungle cat with a dark coat of fur and eyes that could see perfectly, even in inky darkness. She could feel the man look at her startled for a moment. Changing her form was not something she did frequently anymore and hardly any of the crew had witnessed it. Their reaction was perfectly normal.
"Good kitty," Lataro replied. Inside Jenara chuckled.
Benton looked on with a certain amount of amazement. But without another moment's hesitation, she disappeared into the darkness. She walked another six feet before she came to a wall. Slowly, she followed the path it made looking for any escape root, anyway in and out, but there wasn't one. It was as if they had been placed in a room that could not be accessed except through a transporter. Then, something else caught her attention. A faint blue haze on the walls. One of the other advantages of being a Targelian Jungle Cat was the species was very sensitive to electrical current. In the wild, they avoided it, like a plague. As she drew nearer to the wall, the dark fur on her ears stood on end. Cautiously, she drew closer to it, but just as she reached an inch away, a flash of light blinded her and pain racked her body. A screech echoed from her as she was flung away from the wall. As she hit the ground, she had melted back into her natural form: humanoid.
"Jenara!" both Lataro and Benton called as they saw her still body at the edge of the light. Quickly, they were at her side. Benton took her pulse.
"She's still alive."
"Let's get her over to the bunks," Lataro replied, picking her up.
Jenara started to stir, but her whole body was racked with pain. Focusing all her strength, she tried to control the pain. "Commander," she whispered out. "We're...trapped here... What I... What I could tell...is that...there are no doors... No way in... No way out..."
Suddenly a wave of pain coursed through her and she cried out. "There's also...some kind of force field...covering the walls... I'm sorry..." she finished, crying with the pain. Within moments, she was unconscious once more.
As Lataro set Tomme on one of the lower bunks, Benton tapped his com badge, "Landing party to Virgo." There was no answer. "Virgo, come in."
"You don't really expect an answer, do you?" asked Lataro from where he crouched next to the immobile form of Tomme.
"No, but I had to try," said Benton. "How's Jenara?"
"Out cold, but I don't think it's serious," replied Lataro.
"Good."
Now that Tomme was resting comfortably, Lataro stood. He surveyed their dim surroundings and said, "We have to find a way out of here."
"Agreed, Sir," nodded Benton. "However, I'm at a loss. There is no stir in the air which would indicate that their are no air ducts, and the only footprints in the layer of dust on the floor are our own."
"Maybe we can cut our way out," mused Lataro. Being this helpless was getting on his nerves.
"I would advise against that, Sir."
"Why?"
"Well, for all we know, phasering a hole in the wall could open this room to the vacuum of space."
"True."
"Besides, our phasers didn't seem to beam over with us," finished Benton.
"What?!" exclaimed an alarmed Lataro as he frantically patted his side where his sidearm should have been holstered. "Things started happening so quickly, I hadn't even noticed yet."
"Of course, Sir," said Benton. "What do you think we should do?"
Lataro looked around the bare room again. There was nothing inside the circle of light except themselves and the two double bunks. Suddenly, he had an idea. He looked up at the pinpoint light source on the ceiling above. It looked high, but not unreachably so.
Lataro turned back to Benton and explained, "As soon as Tomme wakes up, we can try piling the bunks on top of each other so we can get a closer look at the ceiling."
As if on cue, a low moan issued from the now-stirring Tomme. The two men rushed over and helped her to sit up.
Tomme slowly shook her head, trying to bring her surroundings back into focus. She put a hand to her forehead and said, "What... What happened?" Her voice was still a little shaky, but she was regaining her strength quickly.
Lataro began explaining that she had blacked out after her brief encounter with the wall, but Benton's attention was diverted by something he thought he heard. It seemed to be coming from no particular place, as if it were all around them: a low keening whine. It was growing steadily louder, Benton was sure he heard it now.
"Shhh! Quiet!"
Lataro and Tomme were surprised by Benton's uncharacteristic outburst, but before Commander Lataro could object, Benton said urgently, "Listen!"
Then Lataro and Tomme could hear it too: a high-pitched whine that was growing louder and higher by the second. It was becoming loud to the point of being painful. The three prisoners had their hands pressed over their ears, but it didn't stop the sound. It continued to vibrate through every bone and fiber in their bodies, still increasing in intensity and frequency.
And it seemed to be changing location. The sound was almost a physical presence now, and it was centering itself on Benton. Benton staggered backwards away from Lataro and Tomme, seeking to escape the intangible audio attack.
But it was no use. There was no where to run. As Lataro and Tomme looked helplessly on, Benton was suddenly encased in a brilliant blue aura. Then, just as suddenly, the aura was gone, the deafening shriek was gone.
And Benton was gone.