Damp Space - The Beginning of the End
Captain's Log 45,5 Quadrant 54.4 Star Date 978.28.03 Captain Michelle Richards, FDE, HDP The day was slowly ceasing us and progress had been slow. Communications with the colony had weakened significantly with the increasing static and array trouble. At that moment, there was little we could do. I had heard some strange reports of hysteria and attacks on staff by fellow workers of the colony. Our mission was our mission and I had to stick to it till the day I died. The colony had sent us pictures and messages of something they called the marker; it seemed to be a religious monument of some kind in connection with the faith of Lesbonology. I am a women of little faith however, and, consequently, I had my doubts about it... Nevertheless, the commander of the colony assured me that the marker is of use and is to be transported back to Earth by my vessel. He claimed the orders came from the 'higher authorities' yet, like the marker itself, I had my doubts. It seems I had to ignore my instincts and follow in loyalty and trust to my co-workers. ************************************************ The void of space always mesmerized me as I stood by the window of my office overlooking the crest of the great Yssup Nebula. The sight was awe-inspiring and it always warmed my heart to see the beautiful starlight that shimmered through it. Unfortunately, the sudden flare of my radio broke me from my dream world as I strolled back to my desk and fell back into my chair. Pressing the button on my desk, I found an image flash up onto my monitor. I greeted Commander Avangi Vlore with my usual warm-heart. She informed me that the removal of the marker and the extract of the artefact is on schedule and that we should be expecting it within the next few days. Although not thrilled, I confirmed my orders and wished her fair well before closing the communication link and taking another swig of my whisky... I don't understand it but something told me it wasn't right. Something was bound to go wrong and that the consequences would be dire... Yet an instinct was not the most important motive for me at that moment and I ignored it as quickly as the thought popped into my head. I was hoping the day would have been easy until I had received a call from the communications team. It seems a message had come through from the colony's medical centre and they wanted me and Doctor Kynel to check it out. I entered the room to find a distraught Doctor Kynel pacing up and down like she usually did. The communications team were hard at work trying to stabilize the signal. I approached the fuzzy monitor to find no image but only a voice. "This is Captain Michelle Richards," I called clearly through the radio link. A startled voice appeared on the other end of the radio and confided to me her name, Nicole Brenham, the Chief medical examiner of the colony. She told me of a mysterious sickness of one of her patience. The delirium of the workers was still present but they were now facing a new problem. A patient had been brought in by colony security running a fever of over 120oF with dilated pupils and intense restlessness. The person had not slept in four days and a dose of sedatives a dozen times the normal dose still was not enough to neither put them out nor stop their heart (which would have normally happened at such a high dose). The phrases 'the marker is the key', 'they are cumming' and 'make us whole again' were being repeated by the patient. I invited the distraught Doctor back to my office for a few glasses of whisker between colleagues. Me and Doctor Kynel had known each other for a far few years, working together on many ships before the USG Ishimushie. It seems the Doctor still held a friendly rivalry towards me since I achieved the rank of captain and the simple Doctor...kept to being a simple doctor. Like me however, her nerves were shot and her stomach held the same bitter ache. Even though I would never accuse the good Doctor of paranoia, I knew that she shared the same view as me; foresights without evidence was only showed that the job was getting to us. She told me of horrific nightmares, creatures of evil intent that dripping clear liquid and stalked those who they could turn. She told me he saw the crew being transformed. I told her that it was simply fatigue and that a good lay down would help her. She was a woman of logic so for this nightmare to affect her like that...it just seemed un-natural. ********************************************************** The morning came quite unexpectedly as I had a call from medical bay of a alarming nature. The medical team had received a patient complaining of insomnia and extreme migraines which developed into visions. It seemed that the situation had deteriorated and I was asked to assess the patient personally. Before I had even exited the tram car I could hear the whining of the patient, the intolerable scream of a being in inconceivable pain and anguish. I rushed to medical bay, down the grey corridor and sourced the noise to Operation Theatre 3. Opening the door revealed Nurse Richards and Doctor Kynel at the side of a rocking operating table, trying desperately to restrain what seemed to be a distraught skunk. I would never forget that noise; the eternal wail of agony that stung the ears. Shaking away my fear, I joined the pair. The patient's eyes were dilated, blood was seeping from any facial opening and communications had all but broken down. "THEY ARE CUMMING!!!" she cried, "THEY ARE CUMMING!!! MAKE US WHOLE!!!" With a final tug, her restraint snapped, her wild flailing sending the three of us flying like we were in zero g. The skunk then proceeded to punch herself in the head, breaking the skull with a crack. We jumped to our feet but, alas, it was too late and, with a final draw-back, she delivered the final blow. We stood over her, blood pouring from her mouth and eyes; minutes earlier she was ecstatic and full of life but now...no colour was seen in her eyes. That face...that pale façade burning deep into my soul. No matter where I moved, she still kept her sight on me. "Mrs. Carmella Roberts," sighed the nurse, "Time of death, 07:43." "Is," stuttered the Doctor in quite a shock, "Is this what happened on the colony?" "Commander Avangi Vlore," I called down the radio, taking another swig of my whiskey. The picture fuzzed onto my screen to show a nonchalant Commander on the other end. I reported my case of suicide and asked for a cross-reference to her case. The response I received was perplexing. "Suicide?" she questioned. She told me that she had not had a logged suicide at the colony for the good part of a decade. She went onto say that she prided herself in her perfect safety record. Returning to the issue about the Ishimushie's case, the Commander suggested that some were experience symptoms of fatigue and deliria through the approaching planet crack. "It's just excitement of a job well done," she proposed, "We have waited along time for this and worked for many months." Although I knew her reason was right, it was something about the eyes of the dead I experienced...that stare. I requested to see the medical files of the colony for the past week. "You have no right to that information, Captain. This is simply paranoia. Please don't lead me to believe you have fallen to this as well?" she snapped. I assured her I was mentally sound and excused myself from the conversation ***************************************************************** Never in all my years as a captain had I seen some much agitation in the crew, even through times leading to planet crack. Many complained of headaches and twisted nightmares with restless nights common among many. I too had begun to feel the effects. There were times when I returned to my quarters that I began to cough and gag in the corridors as if all the air had been removed. Yet my calls to the engineering team assured me that air flow was 100% efficient and hydroponics claimed that the air composition was at normal levels. Maybe these effects were just psychological, just a type of excitement; like when a child stays awake waiting for Christmas morning. I just hope that what I'm waiting for doesn't cost me my life or the life of my crew... The Yssup Nebula never seemed so dull as it did that night. My mind was troubled and heavy, plagued with anxiety of the suicide incident. I decided a good night's rest would calm my worries. However, when I turned to leave my office, I found a shocking sight in front of me. My sister, a haunting figure of her sat in the chair behind my desk, a loving smile on her face. She was only young, seven years of age and still in her pyjamas. "Mindy?" I called to the girl, "This cannot be..." Mindy was still back on Earth with my parents...there was no way she could be on the ship and never could she have voyaged this far out by herself... "Hello Michelle. I've missed you," she giggled, her sweet voice echoing through the room. Memories of summer days and happy times rushed through my head. The times in the park and by the creek. Me and Mindy always used to spend our days by the creek. We used to laugh and play together, watching stones skip merrily across the azure, gleaming surface while dragonflies flustered busily on by. I remembered her kite that I helped her make. It was made from thick canvas from an old easel our dad was going to throw out. Mindy painted me and her together, each with a smile on our faces. She was always a good artist. The fields by the creek were the perfect place to fly the kite, watching it swoop and sail through the air as Mindy giggled down bellow. Afterwards we would settle down under a tree and watch the sun slowly set. She would tell me of her dreams...oh what glorious dreams! She could fly and the starlight would be all around her, bathing her in white light. One day I would take her to fly and we would fly to the stairs together. It only took a blink and she was gone, Mindy was nowhere to be seen. The echo of her voice had long died away. Was it all a dream? Did I really see Mindy? ********************************************** That night was a harsh one, only the warm odour of my whiskey to keep me going throughout. I received a signal from the hangar bay about an escape pod jettison from the colony and that it had activated gravity tethers. It was strange for this to happen, especially since we had no warning of any movements of personnel between the craft and colony. However, I arrived in the large hangar bay to greet them nonetheless. The bay was a good mile squared in area with three docking channels and two bridge platforms to any perspective craft. We opened the hatch to the hangar bay, allowing the craft to make a precise landing. Joining the team at the control tower, I watched the ship enter for a landing. "Escape Vessel 916 this is Ishimushie Control Tower 3, sojourn your engines and allow gravity tethers to bring you in, over," called the control operator through the radio. The craft kept at it's velocity, moving too fast for the gravity tethers to lock. "Escape Vessel 916, sojourn your engines, over," called a slightly worried operator. Again, the ship continued at it's velocity. The craft soon passed the gravitation barrier and through the hangar doors. "Escape Vessel 916, kill your engines. I repeat, kill your engines!" cried the operator in desperation. It was far too late. The vessel had entered the bay and had to make a crash landing. Smashing into the side of the docking bridge, sparks showered the bay as the vessel torn through the bay, ripping apart and fragmenting hull dangerously close to my girls. The craft soon came to a halt as my hangar team leapt into action, using extinguishers to put out the fires. The landing bridge extended from the craft as a figure appeared from the smoke. A female wolfess of grey fur stumbled across and dropped to her face, rolling over and struggling to crawl away manically. I rushed with a rescue team in time to see another exit the craft, wielding a blade and jumping from the bridge next to the wolfess who held her hands as a shield. Before the figure could go for a thrust, my security team tackled him to the floor, removing the weapon from him. "You don't understand!" he growled, his arms pushed behind his back, "The girl must die!" I ran over to the cowering wolfess and knelt beside her, holding her hand and checking her for injuries. "It's okay. My name is Captain Michelle Richards; I'm here to help." "IF YOU CHERISH YOUR CREW CAPTAIN YOU WILL FINISH THE GIRL!!!" cried the other. I ordered the security to take him to the brig for further questioning. The girl shivered in my arms as I checked her and (apart from concussion wounds of the violent crash) she was fine. ********************************************************************* I opened the large metal door to find a large eagle on the other side of the cell. It was a male of American eagle plumage and a shifty look about him. His muscles bulged proudly through his feathers. "I am Captain Michelle Richards," I introduced to him. "I heard the first time, Captain," he snarled. He insisted the girl should not stay here alive. She should be sent off or killed outright otherwise 'the infection would spread'. "Infection?" I cried to his ludicrous claims. "Have you not heard what is happening down at the colony? The horrific murders and the screaming of staff members. I had to get out of there..." It seemed he had rushed to an escape pod and took off before he could be stopped. However, he found a girl had followed him on in search of shelter. He attacked her, trying desperately to kill her before setting down in the Ishimushie. It seems she carried the 'plague' with her and the marker was the key to that. When I told him of the plans for the marker, he became hysterical, grabbing my sides in a maniac rush. "It must be destroyed, hidden, buried...the fate of the universe depends on it," he implored.