Dead Space Dissolution Chapter One: Lost in Space
Chapter One:Lost in Space There was nothing but darkness all
around me. Darkness, and the shapes that moved in the shadows. I couldn't
really see them, but I knew they were there. I could sense their malice, and I
could hear them as they moved. There were scraping sounds, like blades being
sharpened against each other. There were growls and shrieks, but their source
was no where to be seen. I felt a chill pass through my body.Where was I? What the hell was going on?My eyes shifted to the left. I could feel something moving
nearby. I could hear it. I felt my pulse quicken. I gulped as my breathing grew
shallow and rapid. I didn't have to turn to know it was there. I could feel
something looming behind me. I didn't want to move, didn't want to face
whatever this thing was, but my body seemed to move of its own accord. I still
couldn't see my own nose, let alone anything else in the darkness. I still had
no idea what I was facing. What the fuck was going on? Where was the damn
thing? What was the damn-I screamed in pain, but no sound came from my mouth. Nothing
but silence. It felt as though someone had just stabbed two huge blades through
my body; one through each shoulder. I struggled desperately, trying to pull
away, to fight back, but the blades only seemed to sink in deeper. I felt my
blood flowing out around the blades, running down my body to pool on the ground
below. I could feel the warmth seeping out of my limbs as my body started to go
into shock. It was then that I felt a pair of jaws clamp down over my neck. The
teeth punctured my skin easily. More blood started to flow. My blood. The
thought scared the shit out of me.The jaws pulled back and tore a ragged chunk of flesh right
out of me. Consciousness began to slip away as I lost my hold on what little
life was left in my body. It was then that one thought rung out clearly through
the agony. I knew in that moment that I was going to-"En! Enneth dammit, wake up!"My eyes snapped open. I was covered in cold sweat and my
heart was pounding. My throat felt coarse. I blinked a few times and realised I
was looking up at the familiar stern eyed face of a blonde woman. She was Mara
Brosson, the woman in command of our current mission. I looked around. The
other three members of our team were all starring at me as though concerned. I
looked back to Mara, confused. "Wh-what's going on?"From his seat opposite mine our team's communications
specialist, Donio Lezal, gave a hoarse laugh. "Well, you were just shoutin'
your head off like you were being murdered. Something about 'slasher'. I gotta
say, fear isn't particularly inspiring coming from one of our security guys."Mara placed a hand on her hip and gave Donio a hard look. "Stow
it Lezal. We don't need you being a smartass right now."Turning back to me she asked, "So what's wrong with you En?"I stood up and shook my head, trying to clear away the images
from what had apparently been a nightmare. "Nothing. Just a bad dream, that's
all."Besides me and Mara there was one other security officer on
our mission named Wardy Lesanch. He was the one at the helm of our shuttle-the
USG Defiant. As he turned away from me and back to the instrument panel he
said, "That sound like a dream from hell if you ask me. But, on a slightly
sunnier note, we're gonna be at Kreemar in just a few minutes."Kreemar. It was a planet in the Proxima Centauri system, and
it was known for being generally unremarkable. It was devoid of live and was even
considered to be unworthy of a visit from a Planet Cracker. Unfortunately, that
useless hunk of rock was where our mission was taking us. EarthGov had received
a distress signal from the planet, or more precisely from a ship that was now
orbiting the planet. The ship belonged to the Merchant Marines and flew under
the name 'Solar Spirit'. According to the distress signal, the Spirit had
suffered some sort of failure in their Shock Point drive that had resulted in
them coming out of Shock Space with only enough power to secure their orbit
around Kreemar. They were effectively stranded, mainly because they didn't have
the necessary parts to repair their ship.It was also suspected that the Spirit's long range
communications were down, as nothing further had been heard from the ship in
the two days since the original signal was sent out. So there we were on our
way out to some back water planet with a cargo hold full of parts to repair the
Solar Spirit. Along with the parts we had brought two repair specialists. The
first was Donio. The other was an expert engineer: Juster Barnand.Though he was highly qualified-and likely necessary to the
mission-I couldn't say I liked the guy in any way. He seemed to think he was
better than the rest of us. He spent the whole trip sitting away from the rest
of the team, and the few times he did speak it was with an unmistakable air of condescension.
But then, that was pretty normal for a Unitologist.Now though he was looking at me as though I were suddenly
worth his time. "This dream of yours...what was it, exactly?"I quirked a brow. "Why the interest?"He smiled and leaned in a bit. "I ask because I've often
believed that dreams-especially the negative ones-may be messages or warnings
from a higher power."I rolled my eyes and snorted derisively. "Right. Well, I'm
pretty sure they're just dreams, so I don't think I'll be sharing."Juster was about to reply-venomously judging from his
expression-when Wardy said, "Y'all best brace yourselves. We're 'bout to
de-shock."I returned to my seat and Mara took the one beside me. She leaned
in close and quietly asked, "Are you sure you're alright En? This isn't the
first time you've had a dream like that recently."I smirked, trying to portray confidence beyond what I was
feeling about the subject. "You must be worried to be showing concern for me in
front of other people."She pulled back from me with a haughty expression on her
face. "Well then, just forget I asked."I rolled my eyes and took one of her hands in one of mine. "Mara,
I'm fine. Really. Look, if it makes you feel better, after this mission I'll
try to get some time off and...I don't know...get some kind of psyche evaluation.
Okay?"She pulled her hand out of mine but her eyes softened a bit. "Okay."Donio cleared his throat to get our attention. "If you two
are done with that little display it looks like we've arrived."Looking out the forward viewport we could see he was right,
the pulsing silvery waves of Shock Space fading back into normal space. Ahead
was Kreemar and in a high orbit around it was the Solar Spirit.Donio snickered. "Hey, could someone explain to me why the
hell these military types insist on making their ships look so damn phallic?"I rolled my eyes. Donio and I had worked together before, and
I liked him well enough, but he could be a little high strung and was tactless
at times.Mara shot him a dirt look. "Now's really not the time Lezal."Donio held up his hands in plaintive gesture. "Hey, it's a
legitimate-"Wardy turned in his seat and cut Donio off. "Mara's right
Doni. Now shut your trap and git up here, I need you to try to get in touch
with the Spirit."Donio stood and shook his head with a sigh. "Touchy, touchy.
Fine. Time to get to work then."I watched as he trudged up to the front of the shuttle where
he started flipping switches. After a moment he started speaking into the comm,
trying to hail the Solar Spirit. "Merchant Marines ship Solar Spirit, this is
the USG Defiant. Please respond. We're carrying a payload of replacement parts
in response to your distress signal. Come in Solar Spirit. Please acknowledge."He tried for another minute or two with out any reply as we
approached the ship. Growing impatient Mara stood and walked up behind him. "What's
going on Lezal? Why aren't they responding?"Donio shook his head. "Damned if I know. Maybe their short
range communications are down. All I know is, I don't like it. They should have
responded by now unless there was some problem."I stood and walked over to join them. "Let's not get too
jumpy. They're probably just trying to verify our identity."Donio looked back at me. "And what if it's something more serious?
Like what if-"I held up a hand to stop him. "Calm down. Just give them a
minute."Donio looked to Mara, and she nodded her agreement with my
suggestion. Donio sighed. "Fine. But I still don't like it. And I reserve the
right to say 'I told you so'. Just don't blame me if something goes horribly
wrong."Wardy chuckled. "Doni, you really gotta learn to chill out and
not be so dang jittery all the time. It ain't good for you. It's like my momma
used to tell me-" "Oh would you please can all the southernisms and farm
stories? It's getting really damn old Wardy." Donio snapped at him."Hey now, if y'all got a problem with how I talk, just ask
nice like and I'll tone it down. No need to go jumpin' down my-"Wardy was interrupted as the comm crackled and a male voice
came over. "USG Defiant, this is the Solar Spirit. Glad to see EarthGov sent
someone out here for us."Mara sighed. "Finally."Mara leaned past Donio and activated out end of the comm. "Solar
Spirt, this is the Defiant. Do you have an approach vector for us?""Affirmative Defiant. Sending you the information now. You're
cleared to dock in Bay 2."Mara nodded. "Good. Wardy, take us in."Wardy did as ordered, and following the prescribed course the
shuttle approached the starboard side of the Spirit. As we neared it became
clear just how much damage the ship had sustained. It appeared as though a
significant portion of her drive and engineering sections had been torn open
from the inside by an explosion, exposing them to the cold vacuum of space.I let out a whistle. "Damn. Looks like you guys are gonna
have your work cut out for you. I can't help but wonder how many crewmen they
lost."Donio grumbled. "That's a bright outlook. Let's just get this
done quick guys. I've still got a bad feeling about this."I clapped him on the shoulder. "You've got a bad feeling about
a lot of things. It'll be fine.""I hope you're right En. I really do."The Defiant shuddered slightly as she was guided into the
Spirit's hangar, docking beside one of the larger ship's own shuttles. The
Defiant jerked one last time as it came to a stop and was locked into position.
A moment later the port side exit opened and the ramp extended, giving us
access to the Spirit's flight deck.One by one we got up and filed out of the Defiant. I was the
second one out behind Mara, followed by Donio, Juster, and finally Wardy. There
were two men waiting for us as we stepped out onto the flight deck. One wore
white armour and a serious expression; clearly a soldier or member of ship
board security.The other one was an older man in a pristine officer's
uniform with greying hair and a matching mustache. He smiled tightly and saluted
as we approached. "I'm Captain Ruce Bennes. Welcome aboard the Solar Spirit."