Both Ensigns Green and Dravid took a moment to study what they’d accomplished in less than twelve hours of work.  No one would ever call it a work of art, far from it; this thing had been cobbled together from various parts the two officers had gathered from around the USS da Vinci.  The majority of the work was done on board ship; with help from various engineers and technicians.  They’d used one of the Cargo Transporters to beam the apparatus down to the planet’s surface, prior to final assembly.

At its base sat the lower half of the heavy lifting crane from the Shuttle Maintenance Bay, normal used when any shuttles required extensive repairs or refits.  The jib part of the crane had been removed and replaced by a Type-VII Phaser Array.  Behind that sat a pair of portable generators borrowed from the Science Department, because they had the finest adjustments on their power settings.  On one side, anchored just above the pivot point were a small seat and a control box mounted on a swivel arm so it could be pushed out of the way, whilst someone sat down.  It looked both impressive and menacing; the question was, would it do the job it was intended for?

“You have honestly got to tell me how you thought this one up?” Ensign Green asked her companion. “I mean ok you knew we’d got the spare Phaser, you would have filed the requisition.  Turn it into a cutting drill.  That is not in the handbook!”

Ensign Dravid merely shrugged. “Ready to fire her up?”

The young engineer took a step forward and was about to bring the generator online; when the faint sounds of a transporter beam caught her attention.  The shimmering glow dissipated, leaving behind the figure of their Captain.

Commander Anacostia-Bolling walked towards them, admiring the fruits of the two Ensigns hard work.  “It looks even more impressive once built, than it did on the plans.” She commented honestly. “Is it ready?”

“We were just about to start with a low power test.” Green replied.

“Well don’t let me stop you.” The Command gestured towards the apparatus.

Ensign Green set the power dials on the two generators a 15%, a soft gentle hum permeated the air.  Whilst she was doing that, a technician passed everyone a pair of goggles which he’d collected from a box they’d brought with them.  Looking at the point where the phaser struck the rock, once it fired, would very likely cause considerable damage to a person’s retina without them.

Once sat in the makeshift seat, the engineer put on her own pair of goggles, and swung the control box into place.  Ensign Green went through the instrument check list, calling out each part of the process as she did it. She then set the focus width of the beam at 5mm, and the power at 7%.  “Fire in the hole!” The Engineer called out, pressing the final button.  The air shimmered and crackled, as a tiny section of the rock blocking the tunnel entrance began to glow.

Counting down from ten; the phaser was shut down at zero, leaving only the generators to hum away. Ensign Dravid moved cautiously towards the rock, examining the point of impacted both visual and with the aid of a Tricorder; before giving a thumbs up.  The test had proved a success and only a minor alteration was required on the pulse setting, before they’d be ready to start cutting for real.

This time the generators were at 80% and the power setting for the phaser at 30%.  The beam would now be cutting a circular hole; one metre in diameter, roughly that height above ground level.  Now the noise was more pronounced.  The generators throbbed and the air around the beam and that of the target area hissed.  Slowly the rock within the radius of the beam dissolved under the intense bombardment, whilst the edges around it fused together holding the rocks above in place.  Ensign Green and the Technician both kept a careful eye on the depth to which the phaser was cutting and how much collapsed rock lay beyond it.

With two metres to go until the point where their scanners had registered an open space, the engineer shut off the power.  Going any further could potentially find a gap, and if that happened the chances of either injuring or killing someone trapped inside the mine, was pretty high.  Ensign Dravid pointed his Tricorder through the hole.

“I’m registering 28 life signs.” He shouted out happily. “Picking up five human, a Saurian, Tellarite and the rest are indeterminate.  Also residual heat, indicating phaser fire directed at the rubble from their end.”

“Well if they are trying to cut their way out, hopefully that’s a good sign.” Anacostia-Bolling commented.  She tapped her combadge.  “This is the Captain to away team, do you read me?”

It was Lieutenant Beriev who answered, sounding a little surprised at hearing the Commanders voice, but more than happy to relay the information regarding the rescue attempt to everyone else.

**********

Inside the mine tunnel the away team were visibly relieved to be almost free of their confines; just a relatively small section of rock needed to be removed, then they could crawl out.

“Well 17, we’re almost free.” Alara Ley commented as she tapped the Bio Unit on the shoulder, sending a small cloud of dust up off his jacket.

“That is an acceptable outcome, Master Alara.” Was the reply she received.

The Trill gave a small smile; she felt exhausted after the hard work, as she could tell the rest of the crew were.  The XO also regretted not getting any sleep; even the ever vigilant Lieutenant Grav had managed to get a couple of hours of rest.

When they finally broke through the last section of fallen rock that had blocked their path, the Lieutenant-Commander sent her fellow science officer through first.  Crawling on hands and knees the Saurian made his way along the smooth bored tunnel cut by the large phaser, which was the first thing his eyes focused on as he came out into the open air.

One of the two ships nurses rushed over to help him along with one of a half dozen other crew members who had formed up around the tunnel exit to render assistance. Both of them were instantly coated with some of the dust that covered Beriev’s uniform from head to toe.

Slowly, one by one the rest of those that had been trapped overnight; crawled their way to safety.  Each one of them was coated with the fine rock dust from either the initial collapse in the case of the Starfleet officer and Kilcannon, and from working down there and clearing the rubble.  Ghost like, they emerged into the sunlight; both the living and the dead alike.  For the Bio Units, as they had been called by their creators and addressed themselves, it was an odd experience to have actual be cared for by humans like they had been designed to serve.  Last to immerge from the mine, Lieutenant-Commander Alara Ley, Lieutenant Grav and Bio Unit 17; who’d insisted without question, would be the last to crawl out.

Commander Anacostia-Bolling stepped forward shaking her head, but also smiling. “Two missions in, on a new ship and you’ve managed to get yourselves trapped both times!”

“I will try not to make it a habit Captain.”  Her XO replied sincerely. “It’s good to see you to.”

“I’m going to be spending the rest of the week in a bath, trying to get clean.” Grumbled the Tellarite.

“You can always go jump in the river.” The Commander commented pointing in the direct of the watercourse that divided the mine and warehouse area from the now abandoned village.

“Don’t tempt me.” He answered in his typical gruff manner.

Presently Bio Unit 17 stepped forward, representing those of his kind as he’d done from the very start.  “You must be Master Alara’s master.” He said, bringing himself to attention after making a small bow. “May I, on behalf of myself and fellow units, I apologies for our condition.”

“That is quite alright considering the circumstances you have been in.” The Commander answered. “I thank you for adding Master Alara and her people.”  The glimmer in her eye showed how much she was going to enjoy rubbing that in for a while.

“It is our duty to help and protect.  Master Commander.” 17 replied.  It was then that he realised virtually every part of the complex which should have sat just over Anacostia-Bolling’s shoulder had been decimated.  All that remained; macabre twisted metal, jagged sections of wall and craters were only the day before several buildings had sat.

She noticed his concern and look of disbelief.  There may have been a positronic brain giving commands to an organic body, but these expressions were far from artificial.  “What’s wrong?”

It was a perfectly ordinary question to ask a fellow sentient being, but not something Bio Unit 17 had ever encountered during his service life; at least not directed at him. “I regret the viability of myself and all remaining units may be short.”

The Commander understood what was meant by that.  Whatever equipment had been in one of those now destroyed building, was vital for sustaining the organic bodies these artificial brains occupied.  Without them, those bodies would decay, just like any other dead body.  Whilst Anacostia-Bolling was no expert on the right of a synthetic lifeform as they currently stood, she realised something had to be done about them.

“Those things are the Property of the Hana Corporation!” Kilcannon yelled, finding his voice after being silent for so long.  “I demand you wait for a company recovery team to arrive and do not attempt to remove anything from this planet.”

“Somebody shut him up!” The Commander called out.

“With pleasure, Captain.”  Her Tellarite Security Chief answered; who grabbed the man under one arm, whilst simultaneously tapping his combadge. “Two to the Brig.”  The maintenance engineer looked genuinely shocked, as he was whisked away to the USS da Vinci.

As the first of the group started to be beamed up to the ship, the Commander took Doctor Sunny to one side.  “Well doc, what’s your prognosis?”

“As experiments go, this has got to be the most twisted I’ve ever witnessed.  I never thought I’d ever see someone try to take a leaf out of the Borg book of artificial adaptions; not in this way at least.”  His voice sounded angry and frustrated, which he had every right to be.  His job was to preserve life wherever and whenever possible.  These Bio Units did not fit the definition of living, ever though their bodies were organic.  Yet having spent several hours trapped with them, he couldn’t help but feel some pity for their plight.  “I’m afraid our new friends have only days left.”

“Is there anything you can do?” Anacostia-Bolling enquired.  Doctor Sunny shook his head in response in response; he’d try though, that the Commander could count on.  She then approached her XO, who was watching Ensign’s Green and Dravid start to dismantle their contraption.  “Come on Master Alara, I think we can leave the kids to tidy away their toys.”

The Trill XO turned and glared, but her eyes gave away the lack of malice in the stare.  “Oh shut up.” She smirked as the transporter locked on to them.