{"sf1_id":879710,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Dead Space Dissolution Chapter Three: Complications","author":"LucarioZer0","words":1692,"posted_at":"2015-06-27T23:56:00.000Z","tags":["Bad Language","Gore","Horror","Human","Violence","Violence (not In Yiff)","dead space","necromorph"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/879710-dead-space-dissolution-chapter-three-complications","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/879710","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=879710\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nChapter Three:\nComplications\nAn almost reverent silence fell on\nthe bridge. As I looked around I could see that everyone was trying to process\nthe implications of finding a crucial element of Unitology on a backwater world\nlike Kreemar. Even I was more than a bit concerned and awestruck by it. \nAfter a few moments Captain Bennes\ncleared his throat. Speaking to the soldier whose image still showed on the RIG\nLink he asked, \"Are you certain? You're sure it's not something\nelse?\" \nThe soldier nodded. \"Yes sir.\nI can show you if you wish sir.\" \nThe Captain nodded, and the image\non the hologram shifted, shaking for a moment before becoming stable again.\nThere was no mistaking what we could all see. The screen was now dominated by a\nlarge object that appeared similar to the double helix of DNA. It was covered\nin strange symbols, and from what I could tell it was red in colour. \nCaptain Bennes nodded.\n\"Alright, you can revert it back to yourself now. I've seen enough.\"\nThe RIG Link shifted once more to\nshow the recovery soldier again. \"How should we proceed sir?\"\nBennes was quiet for a moment then\nsaid, \"Return to the Solar Spirit. You're going to leave that thing were\nyou found it. No one besides that team and the people in this room is to know\nabout it. I'd rather not mess with an artifact we know little to nothing\nabout.\"\nThe soldier saluted. \"Understood\nsir.  We'll return to the Spirit just as\nsoon as we can get back to the shut--\"\nThe soldier was cut off by the\nsound of gun fire. Then came the screaming. Someone could be heard shouting\nover the gun fire, though it was difficult to make out. It sounded to me like\nhe was asking, \"What the hell are these things?\"\nBennes eyes widened as he grasped\nwhat was happening. \"Soldier, what's going on? Who's attacking?\"\nThe soldier looked back and forth\nbetween Bennes and whatever was causing the recovery team so much distress.\n\"I...I don't know sir. They...they look like some sort of...mutated...mutilated\npeople.\"\n\"What do you mean?\"\nThe soldier never had the chance to\nanswer, as there on screen he was attacked by something with huge blades\nplunging into his body. There was a guttural, vicious growling sound and the\nsoldier cried out in pain. The last thing we all saw before the image cut out\nwas what looked like a monstrous skull-like face, its jaw unhinged, split and\ndripping with blood.\nSilence fell again on the bridge.\nNo one knew what to make of what we had just seen.  My mind worked furiously, trying to figure\nout how it could be. How it could be that the creatures from my nightmares were\non the planet below. What did it mean for me? For our mission to Kreemar?\nI was taken away from my thoughts\nby Captain Bennes breaking the silence. \"Report. Are we still receiving any\nlife signals from the recovery team's RIGs?\"\nOne of the bridge crew replied. \"No\nsir. We seem to have lost all contact.\"\nMara interrupted to say, \"Hold\neverything. First I think we should figure out what exactly we just saw. I\nthought Kreemar had no native life. So what the hell was that thing that killed\nthe recovery team?\" Nobody answered. Nobody seemed to have an answer.\n            But it seemed all too clear to me.\n\"It's what's left of the crew of that SCAF ship.\"\nEveryone in\nthe room looked at me as though I was crazy. Even Mara--who usually trusted my\njudgment--seemed doubtful. Bennes stepped toward me, scowling. \"What makes you\nthink that?\"\n            \"It's the only thing that would make\nsense. For one, we know that--as Mara said--Kreemar has no native life, which\nmeans it had to come from somewhere else. Also...there are no known humanoids in\nthe galaxy besides humans. Most importantly, that creature we saw looked like a\npartially decomposed human corpse. Heavily mutilated, but still human.\"\n            Bennes scoffed. \"So what, something\nis reanimating corpses down there?\"\n            I spoke slowly, clearly, if only to\nmake sure everyone listened. \"I don't know about any of you...but I've heard\nwhispered rumours...does everyone remember the Aegis VII incident?\"\n            I received a medley of confused nods\nin reply. No one seemed to know where I was going with it. \"Well...EarthGov\nclaimed it was terrorism...but what I've heard--again, all as rumour--was that it\nwas something else. I've even heard that there may have been a Marker involved.\nAnd when you consider what happened with all the cover up with the original\nMarker on Earth...it seems all too possible that these 'artifacts' are something\nfar more terrible than any knows.\"\n            \"So what then,\" the aged captain\nasked, \"You think the Marker is doing this somehow? Do you realise how crazy\nthat sounds?\"\n            I nodded. \"Yes, I do. But if you can\ncome up with a better explanation, I'll gladly hear it Captain.\"\n            When he gave no answer, I knew he\nhad--in his own way--accepted my theory.\n            A few moments of silence passed\nbefore he spoke again. \"Alright. Alright. We need to get out of here. We can't\ndo anything for the people down on Kreemar. I think that's clear. So, we\ncomplete repairs, and we get out of here as soon as possible. And no one--I\nrepeat: NO ONE--outside the bridge hears about what happened down there. We act\nas though everything is normal, and those who died on the planet will receive the\nsame treatment as those who died here on the ship. Is everyone in agree--\"\n            He was interrupted though, as we all\nheard one of the bridge officers say, \"I think it's too late for that, Captain.\"\n            Bennes turned to look at the\nofficer, who was pointing to something on her console's screen. Bennes walked\nover and his eyes widened. \"W-what doe that mean?\"\n            The woman licked her lips nervously.\n\"This pattern here sir,\" she said, pointing to a wave pattern on the screen, \"Shows\nthat the transmission from the surface was at least partially intercepted, and\ndirected to somewhere else on the ship. Possibly even multiple locations, sir.\"\n            Bennes looked stricken. \"So...someone...or\na group of people know about what jus happened?\"\n            The woman nodded. \"Yes sir. But it\nshouldn't be a problem, should it?\"\n            Lieutenant River scoffed. \"Depends\non just who overheard. If any one who heard that was a Unitologist, we could be\nin for hell.\"\n            From the other side of the bridge a\nman said, \"Captain, we just received a message from Medical. They say there's something\ngoing on with the bodies in the morgue. They all just started...convulsing.\"\n            All I could do was watch as Bennes\nrushed over to him. \"What? Get Medical on the line immediately. Find out what's\ngoing on!\"\n            Behind me I heard Mara whisper into\nher comm, \"Wardy, you and the others get to the bridge. Quick as you can. I\nhave a bad feeling that something is about to happen.\"\n            I could just barely make out Wardy's\nreply. \"Ten four Mara. We're up at the comm array now, but we'll set off fer the\nbridge.\"\n            My attention returned to Bennes, who\nhad begun shouting. \"What do you mean lost contact?! Am I supposed to believe\nthat every person in Medical is incapable of answering?!'\n            \"No sir, but--\"\n            \"Then get me in contact with someone\ndammit!\"\n            We could all see that Bennes was on\nthe verge of a total breakdown. Clearly he wasn't used to things being so far\nbeyond his control.\n            \"I still can't get in contact with\nanyone sir. I--\"\n            Bennes growled and stalked over to\nanother station. \"Get me the security feed of the Medical Deck!\" He ordered the\nman sitting there.\n            \"Aye sir.\"\n            A few keystrokes later and the\nrequested images popped up on screen. Mara, River and I all walked up behind\nthem. I took in a sharp breath. Every six seconds or so the image changed,\nshowing the feed from a different camera in Medical. There was no audio, but\nthe few people we saw must have been screaming in terror.\n            Nearly every image we saw included\nmore of the grotesque mutated beings we had seen in the feed from the soldier\non the Kreemar. But some were different. Though many looked like the one we had\nseen through the soldier's RIG--humanoid, with large blades protruding from the\npalms of their hands--some were more scorpion-like in appearance, and I could\nsee others that were spitting what seemed to be acid. And each and every one of\nthose creatures was ripping apart the Medical crew. Blood was spattered\neverywhere. Internal organs and limbs were strewn about like trash. All we\ncould do was watch as people were slaughtered.\n            Bennes was shaking, clearly out of\nhis depth. \"I...how...what the fuck is happening?!\"\n            \"Whatever happened on the planet, in\nthat SCAF ship,\" I said. \"We're under siege by our own dead.\"\n            River's eyes narrowed. \"But why?\nWhat would be the point of reanimating the dead, just to kill everyone on\nboard?\"\n            A male voice issued from River's\ncomm unit. \"I believe I can answer that, Lieutenant.\"\n            I jerked back slightly as my RIG Link\nactivated unexpectedly, bringing up the image of a man in a marine's armour. He\nwas bald, and one half of his face was badly scarred. I could see that everyone\nelse's RIG had also activated. We were all receiving the same transmission. I\nheard River ask, \"Sargent Riffost, what is the meaning of this?\"\n            The scarred man smiled. \"Ranks don't\nmatter any more Johnny. Just call me Jase now.\"\n            Jase spread his arms wide. \"As for\nthe meaning, why it's quite simple. I have sent the transmission out to every\nperson on board, so that you may all know of the great event that is upon us. Convergence\nhas begun, under the guidance of the great Marker. The Marker will make us whole.\nAltman, be praised.\"\n"}