Phantom

Sophie was on the floor. She must have fainted. She saw crewmembers looking down at her with concern. She slowly got up.

"Sophie, are you all right?" Captain Esteban asked.

"Yes, I think so," said Sophie.

"What happened to you?" said Chief Jeffries. "What did you see?"

"I...." Sophie shuddered. "I don't know what I saw. Something terrible. There's something terrible inside that room!" Coming from a Passive Observer, Sophie's terror shook the crew even more.

"Everyone stay away from that door until further notice," said the Captain. "Chief, can you figure out these controls?"

Jeffries scratched his head. "Maybe. Given time, through trial and error."

"Doctor, can you help him?"

"I can try," said the Doctor.

"No," said Sophie, still shaking. "Captain, we've got to get out of here!"

"Sophie, you're obviously upset. Go back to the ship," said Esteban. "Ramirez, help her."

"No, Captain! Please, we've all got to leave, right now!" Sophie cried.

Crewman Ramirez slowly pulled Sophie from the room, even as she looked thoroughly agitated.

The remaining members of the landing party were obviously tense. Esteban addressed him. "I'm not blind to what's happened. We've lost one crew, and we're dealing with very advanced technology. But we've got to find out what happened here. We're the Survey Service. This is what we do. So get to work, Chief."

"Yes sir," said Jeffries.

********

The Doctor spent several hours studying the holographic control panels and monitors. Alien symbols were written on them.

"Can you read them, Doctor?" Jeffries asked.

"Yes... and also no," said the Doctor.

Which is it, Doctor?

"Which is it, Doctor?" Jeffries asked. After clearing the checkerboard room, no one on the

Talent

seemed surprised that their Diversity Auditor had the ability to do anything.

The Doctor sighed and sucked on a girl ball furiously as he rubbed a hand through his curly hair. "The Survey Service had identified 14 basic Monumental languages. But those are only the root languages. The Service has also found some 73 varieties of the basic 14."

"Why so many languages, Doctor? Were the Monumentals made up of many races?"

"No one knows," said the Doctor. "It could simply be a matter that these monuments were built over a span of tens of thousands years. It's only natural that language would change and evolve over time." He looked at the holodisplays. "This one looks a bit familiar to me. But this one and this one does not."

"What does the one in the familiar language say, Doctor?"

"Either something about core processes being unavailable... or...."

"Or what, Doctor?"

"Or maybe that it's time for tea."

********

Sophie Astor heard a chime at her door. "Go away," she said.

The chime recurred.

"Go away," she said again.

The chime played again.

"Open," said Sophie grimly.

The Doctor stood in the doorway.

"I figured as much," said Sophie.

"May I come in?" the Doctor asked.

"If you must," said Sophie.

Sophie was wearing her standard issue Survey Service pajamas, blue and sleek and shiny and very form fitting. Her nuclear enhanced breasts stuck out prominently, with absolutely no sag, as they were firmly supported by her standard issue Survey Service breast control collar which was tied snugly to her front and back.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Doctor, are you attracted to her?

Absolutely not.

Then why are you staring at her-

"I'm fine," said Sophie, sitting up in bed.

"Sophie... do you mind if I call you Sophie now?"

Sophie thought about it and shook her head.

"Sophie. Really quite a beautiful name," said the Doctor.

"On second thought, please call me Lieutenant Astor," said Sophie, not liking something about his smile.

You

are

attracted to her!

The Doctor sat down by her side on her bed. "Sophie, I just want to know what you saw when you looked in that little window."

Sophie grabbed her arms."I... I don't know."

"Then why did you cry out? Why did you faint?"

"It... it was something terrible," she said. "I don't know what it was, but it was terrible." She looked at him. "Doctor, whatever you do, you must not open that door."

"I don't plan to," said the Doctor.

"You're working on the controls. One of those controls must open the door. You might do it accidently," Sophie said.

"Something killed the crew of the

Hudson Bay

, Sophie, and we have to find out what it was. The Captain wants the controls in the pyramid figured out."

"The Captain is not himself," said Sophie.

"What?" said the Doctor.

"He's changed."

"Since when?"

"Since we got back from shore leave," said Sophie.

"Changed how?"

"I... I don't know," said Sophie.

"You're a Passive Observer, and you can't describe what you've observed?" the Doctor asked.

"It's just a feeling," said Sophie. She looked into his eyes. "Be careful, Doctor."

The Doctor smiled. "Always." He rooted into his pocket, and came out with a girl ball. It was a redhead, which was quite rare. He put it on her nightstand. "This will help," he said, as he got up and left.

You showed touching concern for her, Doctor.

I always have a soft spot for women named Sophie.

********

The Doctor, Chief Jeffries and two other members of the engineering team were studying the control room inside the pyramid when suddenly Crewman Ramirez yelled, "Sir!"

They turned around, and saw a man in one of the four alcoves. He was dressed as a Survey Service officer, but he was glowing, and there appeared to be some kind of vortex in his chest, like a miniature black hole.

Chief Jeffries looked startled. The Doctor waved a hand for him to stand back, and slowly approached the figure.

"Why hello there," said the Doctor.

The glowing officer ignored him. He seemed intent on working the virtual controls. The Doctor watched as his glowing hands manipulated them.

The Doctor brought a bag out of his pocket. "Would you like a girl ball?"

The glowing man looked briefly at his bag of girl balls, then returned to the controls.

"I'm really going to have to ask you to stand away from those controls," said the Doctor.

The man continued to manipulate controls. The other holographic readouts in the room continued to fluctuate.

"I said, I'm going to have to ask you to stand aside," said the Doctor.

Chief Jeffries drew his compression pistol.

"No need," said the Doctor. "I have something even better." And he drew his Infinite Infinity Repeater. If he was right, and the apparition in front of him was composed of spectral energy, the Chief's compression pistol would be ineffectual. The Doctor aimed his IIR and fired it at the figure.

The beam went right through him. The man at least noticed what was going on, stopped manipulating the holographic controls, and turned and looked at the Doctor for a long moment. Then his neck slowly panned as if he was seeing everyone else for the first time.

Then he vanished.

"Doctor, what was that?" Jeffries asked.

"Chief, do you believe in ghosts?" the Doctor asked.

********

As the Doctor trudged back to the

Talent

in the company of the other men, Alanna communicated with him.

Did you recognize him, Doctor?

I did. You did too.

The missing crewmember from the Hudson Bay. Lieutenant Walter Nicholson.

It seems he's no longer missing.

********

When they got back to the

Talent

, the ship was in an uproar. Sophie Astor, who had returned to duty, gave them the news.

"There's been a fatality," she said.

They went to sickbay, where Doctor Spiva was examining the body of Crewman Roland Waters as Captain Esteban and Chief Jeffries watched. The crewman's face was contorted in terror, and his hands were above his head, his fingers outstretched, as if he had been trying to repel something.

"What happened, Doctor?" the Doctor asked.

Doctor Spiva turned to Captain Esteban, who nodded. "Tell him, Doctor."

"Crewman Waters failed to report for duty this morning. He was found in his quarters like this."

"What was the cause of death?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know," said Spiva. "There is no sign of external or internal trauma. His heart simply stopped beating."

"Well, there's your trauma," said the Doctor, pointing to Water's terrified face. "He looks like he was frightened to death."

"Really, Doctor?" said Captain Esteban. "Can a man be scared to death?"

"If the one doing the scaring is skilled enough, perhaps," said the Doctor. He told the Captain and Sophie what he had observed in the pyramid control room.

"It sounds like Lieutenant Nicholson has been transformed," said Sophie.

"But into what?" Chief Jeffries asked. "And what was he doing with the controls?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor. "But whatever he was doing was unsuccessful. I've had only limited luck deciphering the Monumental languages on the controls--and I am pretty sure there is more than one language being used. But it seems to be that whatever the purpose of this pyramid, it is kept under an enormous lock. My impression is that there have to be people at all four alcoves to unlock it."

"Can you unlock it, Doctor?"

"Given time, perhaps," said the Doctor.

"Well, keep at it. We appreciate your effort," said Esteban.

"Thank you," said the Doctor. "One more thing, Captain. I'd like to see the logs of the

Hudson Bay

."

"They were unrecoverable, Doctor. All except the last entry we saw together," said Esteban.

"Yes, well, I'd still like to see them. Sometimes I have a knack for recovering the unrecoverable."

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but those records were deleted."

"Deleted?" said the Doctor.

"We had no use for them," said Esteban, shrugging. "Focus on the pyramid, Doctor. That's much more important." He turned and left.

The Doctor turned to Sophie. "Your Captain seems remarkably uncurious about the fate of the

Hudson Bay

crew."

Sophie gave him a warning look, and walked off after her Captain.

*********

"Time for dinner, dear," said Yael, in her most musical voice. She had prepared a full five course meal of steak, potatoes, salad (which the Doctor hated), a cheese platter, and fine cakes and cookies for dessert. They were all smartly laid out on a small, intimate table in the corridor of the USS

Talent

.

"Benjamin, aren't you going to sit down for dinner?" Yael asked, a puzzled look on her face. Her beautiful face was only somewhat marred by the flames all around her. Her hair, arms and legs were on fire.

The Doctor just stared at her.

Doctor, what's wrong? Why are you just standing there?

Don't you see it?

See what?

"Dear, the food is going to get cold! Sit down and eat," Yael said, giving him a warm smile, almost as warm as the flames consuming her hair. Her firm round breasts, in the fine shape of Jewish harvest melons, beckoned to him.

"Yael," the Doctor croaked, reaching out with his hand.

Yael?

As the Doctor watched, the food on the platters changed. It turned into the heads of his friends: Wally, Mischa, Dorit, Marsella-

"Come, come and eat. Or would you like a hug first?" Yael's body suddenly turned into a skeleton, one that spoke with her voice. "Come, let me give you a great big hug."

"No!" the Doctor cried, shrinking back. "Get away! Stay back!"

Doctor, there's nothing there!

The Doctor blinked. Yael and the dinner banquet was gone. So were the heads of his friends. He was cringing on his knees. He saw two crewmembers staring at him curiously in the corridor of the

Talent

.

The Doctor slowly stood up. "I dropped something," he said, giving a fake smile as they gave him odd looks and walked on.

Doctor, what just happened?

Nothing.

Doctor-

It was nothing.

**********

The Doctor was sitting down for dinner in the

Talent's

cafeteria when he heard a booming voice. "Doctor! Please join us!"

It was Captain Esteban. He was sitting with the senior officers, including Chief Jeffries and Sophie Astor.

"Thank you," said the Doctor, sitting down next to Sophie.

"We were just talking about skirmishes we had in the last war with Ramada," said Captain Esteban. "Did you fight in the third Ramadan War, Doctor?"

"No," said the Doctor.

"Most of the action was on Ramada, of course, but there were some battles in the Middle East," said Esteban. "I looked at your profile, Doctor. I see you're from Israel. The Israelis had their fair share of conflict with those Ramadan savages, didn't they?"

"Yes," said the Doctor, being remarkably curt as he ate his food.

"Dirty savages. They all deserve to die," Esteban remarked. He noticed the shocked faces all around him. "Not a popular view, I know. But the only good Laquintan is a dead Laquintan, isn't that right, Doctor?"

"No, that's not right at all," said the Doctor. "The fundamentalists, the ones who want violent jihad, they have to be opposed, of course. But we can't wipe out an entire population, that would be genocide-"

"Nonsense! They are all savages, they all deserve to be wiped out," said Esteban.

Sophie Astor's mouth dropped open.

"Did you know, Doctor, that the Laquintans murder innocent women and children?" said Esteban.

"Some of them do, yes," said the Doctor.

"Why... there was even a time when they took over our embassy on Ramada, some fifty years ago. Did you hear about that one, Doctor?"

"I might have," said the Doctor. He sensed unease inside of him.

"They took over our embassy and held the entire staff hostage. Including the children of the embassy staff. They raped and murdered the women, and then, one by one, started executing the children."

Oh my God, Doctor, he knows!

"Little boys, and little girls, shot in the head, one by one. Can you imagine being a fly on the wall watching that happen, Doctor?"

"No, I can't," said the Doctor, in a harsh tone. "What is your point, Captain?"

"Merely that the Laquintans are killers, and we know how to deal with killers, don't we, Doctor?"

The Doctor played with his atomic corn off the cob for a moment with a spoon. "I wouldn't know. I'm not a military man."

"Of course you aren't. I must have confused you with someone else. Please, forgive me." Captain Esteban gave the Doctor a wolfish smile.

*********

"He knows about me, Doctor!" Alanna wailed. She was so upset that she was talking out of his mouth, in their quarters.

"Knows what?"

"If he knows enough to bring up the details of the embassy seizure, he knows I'm here. He can sense me."

"Who can?"

"Esteban! Or whatever

kalak

is inside him!"

"Can you sense a ghoul inside of him?"

Alanna paused. "No. But I'm not a ghost hunter. Can't you use your scanner-"

"If I press it against him. It only has the range of an inch, remember? I think I'd look mighty conspicuous if I did that," said the Doctor.

"He's a

kalak

, he must be!"

"So what do you propose? We go back to the cafeteria and I shoot him with my IIR?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes!" said Alanna.

"And what happens if the blast kills the dear captain as well as the ghoul inside of him, if indeed there is a ghoul inside of him. Do you think the crew will be so understanding after I've just killed their captain in front of them?"

"No," said Alanna. "I... I could go inside of him. If there's a

kalak

inside of him, I could deal with it."

"And what if there's not?" the Doctor asked. "How do you think the Captain will react?"

"Not very well," said Alanna.

"Not very well indeed," said the Doctor. "You can do it, if you like. I won't stop you, not that I could. But I'm putting you on notice that the next time you leave my body will be the last."

"What?"

"I will not accept you in my body again. I'll kill you or kill myself first," the Doctor declared.

"Doctor, don't say that," said Alanna.

"I just did," said the Doctor. He paused. "Listen. It is certainly possible that Esteban has a ghoul in him. But if there is, I want to find out why, and what's so important about that pyramid that an entire crew of a Survey Service ship had to die."

"Doctor, we know there's something nasty in that pyramid, behind that door! Isn't that enough?"

"For me, perhaps. And I know it is for you. But not for the Survey Service. If we leave now without getting all the answers, another ship will come here and disturb whatever shouldn't be disturbed. I'm more interested in finding out what's going on here. We need to convince the Survey Service to quarantine this planet. And in order to do that, we must find out more."

"I guess... I guess you're right."

"I invariably am," said the Doctor. He took a girl ball out of his pocket. But he had no one to hand it to. He put it back inside the bag, a bit sadly.

*********

"Time to play the drawing game, Sophie girl."

Sophie froze in her tracks. The corridor was empty. But that voice!

"Sophie girl, don't you want to play the drawing game with me?"

It was her!

Sophie shuddered and hugged herself tightly. She couldn't see Aunt Diana, but she could hear her.

"Come on, Sophie girl, it's time to play!"

"No Aunt Diana, no!" Sophie cried, trembling. "Never again!"

Suddenly Sophie heard footsteps. Footsteps, coming towards her. She curled up against a wall. She would fight for her life, if necessary, but she would never,

ever

play the drawing game again. She drew up her hands into fists as the footsteps got closer and-

Ensign Martin Zipperstein came around the bend. "Hello, Lieutenant."

"Ensign," said Sophie, relaxing her hands.

The voice of Aunt Diana had gone.

*********

The Doctor felt a breeze as he worked on the holographic control panels in the pyramid. He felt he was making slow if steady progress deciphering its meaning. He was more sure than ever that this was some kind of vault, locking whatever was behind that door with the little window in it. He also felt somewhat certain that it could only be opened by people working at the four alcoves, probably a security measure. Curiously, however, when he tried to manipulate the holographic controls in one of the alcoves, he had no success, as he did when he used the controls in the rest of the room. At first he thought that perhaps access was not granted until all four alcoves were occupied, and then he remembered when the glowing version of Lieutenant Nicholson appeared, with the vortex in his chest, that he seemed to be able to manipulate them just fine.

The Doctor was still trying to puzzle this all out when he felt the breeze again. He registered it without thinking about it when Sophie Astor appeared. "How is your work progressing, Doctor?"

"Shhh!" said the Doctor.

Sophie frowned.

"There. Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" said Sophie.

"A high pitched whine," said the Doctor. "There it is again."

"Doctor, I don't hear-"

At that moment they did hear a high pitched whine, and it grew louder and louder. Also, the breeze was getting stronger. They saw a shape heading down the corridor towards them. It looked like a miniature tornado.

"Get back!" the Doctor snapped, and the engineering team drew away, but there was nowhere to retreat to, just the door with the window set into it.

The little tornado entered the control room, and seemed to cover for a moment. The Doctor drew his Infinite Infinity Repeater. But instead of firing it, he started making adjustments on the side of it.

The whirling tornado made a small circle, and then charged Ensign Bruce Vitelli. "Bruce!" Chief Jeffries screamed as Vitelli was caught up in it.