The Captain said: "All stop! Reduce magnification factor to four!" The object was like nothing he or his crew had ever seen. "Sensor readings, Mister Ahn?" Commander Ahn replied: "Sir... The ring's composition is unknown. Low energy reading."
     Captain Coburn stood from the command chair and strolled towards the viewscreen. "What a work of art!" he declared. "But why hang it out there, in the middle of nowhere?" The Captain pondered some more before noticing the glyphs on the inner ring. "The symbols remind me of our Milky Way constellations, wouldn't you say Mylensis?" The Trill remained quiet, leaving the question unanswered. When the Captain turned to meet her gaze, he could have sworn he saw her eyes flash during a split second. "Mylensis? Are you with me?"
     "I was merely contemplating Sir." she explained, still fixated on the viewscreen. The Captain tapped his commbadge. "Captain Coburn to Senior Staff. Meet me in the briefing room stat!" On these words, Gerrill Coburn headed out to the adjoining room, immediately followed by Operations Commander Dae Hyung Ahn and Chief of Security Kromek, of the House of Duras. They were already seated when Alhena Mylensis joined them.
     "We shall wait for Doctor Ludlum and Chief Engineer Suder before... Aahhh, speaking of the missing wolves. Grab a seat gentlemen." indicated the Captain as the last of the Senior Officers came in.
     "Wazzup Cap'n?" inquired Andrel Suder with his usual easygoing attitude. "All ah know is we came to a dead stop." he added while sitting next to First Officer Mylensis.
     "Computer. Display viewscreen." Instantly, the ring popped on the wall. Lieutenant Suder sensed the Doctor's astonishment, a general state of puzzlement and... envy? The Betazoid turned his head toward the Trill.
     "Here's what we've found." commenced Coburn. "It's big, it's circular and it has our constellations carved on it. What could it be?" he questioned. "A map?" ventured Wayne Ludlum. "Or a compass." suggested Kromek. "A portal maybe." hypothesized Ahn.
     Andrel definitely felt Commander Mylensis twitch on that last comment. She knew what that circle was but refused to share the information. As he was about to expose her, the First Officer spun her chair towards him and her eyes started to glow, unnoticed by the others since Andrel was sitting the farthest. The Chief Engineer felt a pressure around his neck, squeezing the voice out of him. The more he struggled, the less he could move. Perspiration began pouring down his temples. "Lieutenant Suder, are you ok?" pretended Alhena Mylensis.
     Doctor Ludlum stood up, as did the others. While their attention was focused on the choking Betazoid, Alhena carefully slipped away, thus releasing her grasp on Andrel Suder. Once inside the turbolift, she activated her commbadge. "Commander Mylensis to Transporter Room One. Lock on to my signal and beam me directly to Shuttle Bay Two." A feminine voice acknowledged: "Aye Ma'am!"
     The Trill disintegrated into subatomic particles and rematerialized seconds after in the Shuttle Bay, where she ran to a cargo box stored on a shelf. She pressed the unlocking sequence. Alhena plunged her hand inside the viscous fluid and retrieved the dialling device to activate the Stargate. Mylensis rapidly hopped in the shuttle Soteria and fled into space.
     "Captain! Major energy spike emanating from the ring!" declared Commander Ahn, back at his station. The inner circle of the ring began to rotate clockwise as the shuttlecraft was making a run straight for it. "Open a channel to Soteria." insisted Captain Coburn. "Channel opened Sir!" executed Ahn.
     "Alhena..." The Captain's voice trailed off. He didn't like what he had to say to his First Officer - to his friend - but he had to say it. "Return to the ship immediately. Otherwise, I will use force upon you." A deep and frightening voice came through: "Alhena... is a mere puppet. I am Mylensis, of the Goa'uld! Follow me and die!" Gerrill had no choice. "Activate tractor beam!"
     When the shields went down, a phaser blast from the Soteria damaged the beam emitter, leaving the only fire power in the capable hands of Kromek of Duras. A few shots later, Soteria was disabled. An injured Alhena was beamed over to sickbay, where Ludlum surgically removed her symbiont. "She'll never be the same." said the Doctor. "Let's hope not." wished Coburn.