"All That Glitters, Chapter 1: A shuttle is found." By Bram Peeters.
June 5, 2386, 19:00 - Din'ghes VII Outpost, Tiber Station
It had been two weeks since the small outpost on Din'ghes VII had been completed and a small team of scientists had moved there. Dr. Francis Moebius was looking at the reason for their presence on the small inhospitable planet: a green crystal in a containment field. The crystals on the planet seemed to contain all the chemical elements that the rest of the planet's soil was lacking. The crystals also emitted various toxic gasses, including methane, sulfur, naphthalene and at least two gasses he and his colleague from Starfleet, Lt. Commander Seth Kane, hadn't been able to identify.
The doors to the lab opened and a male Trill, Dr. Jalen Krel, entered. "Frank, the away team has returned. They brought something you probably want to see."
Moebius got up. "What did they find, Jalen?"
"Well, it seems we are not the first visitors on this planet," the doctor said. "You better come and see it yourself."
Moebius followed Krel to the outpost's storage bay. On the floor lay several sheets of corroded metal.
"What's this?" Moebius asked.
"Hull plating," Kane said. "Or what's left of it anyway. Someone must have visited this planet before we did, but it seems they never left..."
Moebius looked at the remains of the shuttle. There hadn't been any records in the Starfleet database that indicated someone had been to Din'ghes VII before. He looked at the Starfleet officer. "Where did you find this?"
"Seven kilometers south of here. And we also found something else... The crystals in that area contain traces of Duranium and several other metals that seem to originate from this shuttle."
"So they absorb other materials? That was one of the theories I had for the absence of chemical elements in the soil..." Moebius said. "How long has this shuttle been here?"
Kane shrugged. "I haven't been able to determine that. My best guess would be something between 30 and 70 years."
"Were there any traces of the passengers?" Krel asked.
"Nothing," Kane said. "I don't think they will have survived long in this toxic environment. The density of the crystals wasn't very high in that area, but spending a few hours there without protection... Even if they didn't have any food rations, they didn't starve to dead."
"Did you take any samples from the crystals in that area, commander?" Moebius asked.
"Yes, we have, Dr.," a female in a Starfleet uniform said. Petty Officer Tanya Chernyshev had just entered the storage room, carrying a small container. "I have them right here. Shall I take them to your lab, sir?"
Moebius nodded. "Thanks, Ms. Chernyshev."
"Have you thought about a name for these crystals yet?" Kane asked. "You didn't seem to like the name I suggested."
"That's right..." Moebius said. "I don't want to name it 'Moebium', at least not yet. We still don't know enough about it. For all we know it can be used as a weapon... I don't want my name associated with that. At the moment all we know is that it's toxic to most humanoids..."
"What do you think of 'Tiberium'? I've heard this area reminded you of the Tiber Valley on Earth," Krel said.
"I'll think about it, Jalen, it is a nice suggestion though," Moebius said. "We could also name it after one of you," he said, looking at both Krel and Kane.
"No sir," Kane said. "You are the leader of this expedition. And you are the expert on mineralogy and petrology here. If it should be named after a person, it should be you."
"Your Starfleet file says that you took several additional geology courses when you were in the Academy, Mr. Kane, and Starfleet wouldn't have assigned you to this mission if you didn't know anything about geology." Moebius paused and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I wouldn't have let you join this mission if you hadn't been interested in geology."
"We should also have brought an archaeologist," Krel said. "Are you going to try to find out what happened to the shuttle's passengers?"
"I think we first should find out if there have been any missing shuttlecraft in this area during the last hundred years or so," Kane said. "If we find any remains, we should know how to take care of them."
"If it weren't for the crystals, I'd suspect a body would be mummified by the dry winds on these planet," Krel said. "But if the crystals indeed can absorb materials from their surroundings, we may not find anything at all."
"Gentlemen, if it's alright with you then I would like to continue this discussion tomorrow," Moebius said. "I doubt you want to send a team out tonight, and there is no reason to hurry."
"You're right," Kane said. "But I will check the Starfleet database before dinner though, who knows how long it will take to get some results back. I'll see you later." Kane turned around and left the storage room.
"Do you know what's for dinner tonight?" Moebius asked.
"I believe it was T'Pek's turn to cook, the last two times when it was her turn she made Plomeek soup," Krel said.
"Excellent, she's a great cook," Moebius said.
"Indeed, but I have some bad memories about Plomeek soup," Krel said. "One of my former hosts was allergic to it and it almost got her killed."
"That's right... You told me that once. It was Nara, your third host if I remember correctly."
"Yes, and no," Krel said. "It was indeed Nara, but she was my fourth host. My third host was Lania."
"Oh right... The musician," Moebius said.
"Indeed," Krel said. "Shall we go to the mess hall now? I believe that was where we were going."
