Stardate 75774.2; October 09, 2398
Episode 91
Edited by Peter Bossley
Written by Chris Adamek
ADDITIONAL CHARACTERS
Justin Reinbold
Prologue
Day 01
High above the delicate coral glades of Zirat, hell was being
unleashed. Dark clouds roiled in the
ominous sky, and sonorous cracks of thunder echoed deep within the treacherous
depths of the distant storm. The angry seas washed ashore with incredible
might, reclaiming the shores into its murky depths; driving rains flooded the
glades, and powerful winds uprooted the broad-leafed palms with ease. Giant tendrils of vivid lightning arced
between the billowing clouds…
Powerful typhoons were not rare occasions on Zirat. At any one time during the summer months,
two or three—perhaps more—raging storms wreaked havoc on the wide-open
seas. Many of the storms would drift to
the south and interact with the lush archipelagos, but it was rare for such a
powerful tempest to unleash its fury here.
The unfavorable trade winds typically sheared the billowing clouds to
pieces; a passing frontal system would sweep the storm away…
But not today.
The brutal, howling winds screamed death. Tree limbs were now lethal projectiles,
impaling the floundering palms and killing anything in their path. The winds churned the seas, rattled the coral
formations, and ripped flowering plants from the flooded sands.
A wicked, angry wind suddenly surged from a dark wall of ominous
clouds in the distance. The intense
rains whipped around the mighty gusts, gradually ushering a churning funnel to
the seas. Plowing ahead without rhyme
or rhythm, the waterspout spewed foam and fish and seaweed into the raging
maelstrom. Increasingly powerful winds
whipped around the immense vortex; thunder raged as lightning crackled, and a
deafening roar fell upon the earth.
Sand and sea flew high into the dark, thunderous atmosphere. Shadow fell upon the coral glades, and
nature’s wrath soon followed, tearing the delicate features from the earth and
casting them aside like toys.
* * *
The twin suns of Zirat climbed slowly above the crimson horizon,
the warm golden rays shedding first light on the night’s destruction. The white sandy beaches were covered with
broken palms and branches, and dead fish littered the shore. The coral glades were weathered and beaten,
many of them covered with seaweed and other debris. An immense gray whale lay beached on the distant shore; it was
not dead, but the day was long, and the beating sun, combined with the whale’s
incredible weight, would ultimately take its toll. By nightfall, death would become it—and the predators would
rejoice.
Erosion had also proven a mighty nemesis. The typhoon’s ceaseless rains and tidal
waves had not only reclaimed more than a meter of beachfront, it also
destabilized the sand and rock formations further from the shore. As the ashen sands shifted in the waning
hours of the night, so too, did the cliffs near the shore. Some had collapsed, others merely shifted,
but they were all of them weak—and as the day progressed, gravity did its job
effectively…
Many of the mighty stones settled into place, but one particularly
storm-ravaged area suffered a far more destructive fate. Over the years, floodwaters had angrily
rushed through the caverns below, eroding the walls until finally, this mighty
storm brought about their demise.
There, beneath the pale violet skies of Zirat, the entire cave had
collapsed, creating what would one day become a sunken forest. But this was no ordinary forest, for at its
heart was a treasure beyond compare.
Already, the rains had revealed the tips of three spires—great
ivory monstrosities that arced inward like the tusks of a mammoth… And from deep within this buried monument
called the voice: “Seek me out…”
Megan Reinbold bolted upright in her bed. Her skin and clothes were damp with cold
sweat, and her beating heart thundered in her chest. One would think a flurry of confusion clouded the woman’s mind,
but as she concluded the experience was little more than a dream, the thoughts
running through Megan’s mind were crystal clear: “I intend to…”