Twenty Thousand Leagues - Part 2

Posted on Sun Mar 14th, 2021 @ 11:47am by Lieutenant Commander Melanie D’BrooNi- Haistro & Senior Chief Petty Officer Jonathan Stoun

1,295 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 2 - Echoes Of An Empire
Location: Sub-Aquatic Facility
Timeline: Mission Day 9 @ 10:03 Hours

ON

Brodie rushed to the Commanders side and scanned her with the tricorder. " The blasted thing implanted something into her head! she's alive but out cold." He picked her up in his arms. " We need to get back to the shuttle and contact the ship! Weapons at the ready and keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary."

At that moment the speakers around the room crackled to life. "Alert" the Captain's voice sounded distant, hollow. "Intruders detected in multiple locations. Senatorial Parliament military coordination centre. Weapon research facility city of Trey'Tan'Dur. Biological Weapon Research cold storage facility Gret'Oar'Zhan Coast. Genetic Biolab Julanth Trench, Oar'Zhan Sea... Counter measures deployed. Main computer system and power generation activated, main processor operating at seventeen percent, further psionic input and interface required!"

"Keiben ...." Mel said coming round confused. She was in the security officers arms it seemed. "Put me down Ensign. I'm groggy but there no need to carry me."

As she was righted back standing up she did lean on him a little for balance as she touched the back of her head. "It injected me with something." She pulled her tricorder out and started scanning. "Not a substance on the Federation database. It looks like ... well its similar to some Betaziod and Vulcan Psy drugs. But I don't have ... well I shouldn't have ..." she looked confused at the machine. "You said it responded to those sort of ... abilities," she swallowed nervous. Keiben had sold this Imzadi thing as soulmates. He had never said she would get abilities like that.

Her mind flashed back to what Keibens voice had said. It couldn't be him. How would he be the voice of a T'Kon alert. A millions of years old alert.

"Chief," she said happy to see Stoun. "Get me an understanding of this if you can please, or just as much data as possible," she indicated the interface and the whole room. Then there was a flash of activity right past them.

It was keeping to the shadows, using them as a shroud, but still the entity that felt familiar and strange all at once knew it was here. The other beings its prey but the one with spots its target. Retrieved the machine had ordered and take it to the processor.
It clung to its hiding spot, watching and waiting for its moment to feast.

Jon attached the tricorder that he had been holding onto the phaser rifle that he had slung forward from his back. "Ma'am, still scanning, tricorder is losing its mind. Good to see you." He nudged the rifle into his shoulder. "Please tell me you all saw that by the way." The rifle whined indicating full charge. "I've got a lock on all of us from the shuttle."

Brodie looked up in surprise. " You've a lock on us? If that means you can get us onto the shuttle, That would be a far sight better for the commander and we'd have access to the medical supplies."

Yelena moved forward, her own tricorder still frantically taking whatever readings it could and it was screaming at her that something was near, so near it was as if she could feel its breath on the back of her neck creating gooseflesh.

"Commander, we need to go..."

Her words stopped as abruptly as they had started, a pained look flashing across the blond womens face as her chest started to move of its own accord. Violently, blood starting to stain the teal undershirt almost black, the tell tale red bubbling up from her throat and escaping from her lips before a five taloned claw finally burst through the womens chest, a spray of blood covering those standing close.

Yelena's body slumped to the floor, her eyes lifeless and cold as the creature lowered itself down and out of its shadowy retreat, tasting the sweetness of the beings blood... it wanted more!

"RUN," Mel said loudly. She didn't need to be a doctor to know the other woman was dead. "That's an order." She shoved Brodie as hard as she could towards the corridor looking round wildly wondering if they could trap it in here.

Before the creature with the spots could escape it rounded the room at double the pace she could muster, facing her head on and advancing towards her slowly its mouth quivering in anticipation and slavering at the thought of its first meal in millenia.

It had advanced so far that the being was pressed against a wall, turning her head from it, but it did not relent. It pressed its snout against her cheek and inhaled deeply leaving a black tar like smear across her skin. It could sense her fear and it was exhilarating but this one was not for it.

Mel had been suddenly looking at something out of a nightmare. It was like time seemed to slow down for her. It made towards her and her knee jerk reaction was to retreat back. And then she was against a wall. Nowhere to go. Panic started to build up as she got a clearer look at it. Teeth and a black sludgy oily something over its epidermis, if it had one. The black seemed to shift round it. She swallowed hard and all sound apart from her own heart beating faded away. Even her hosts were too stunned to comment it seemed.

It locked eyes with her, if they were eyes. There was an anger, a danger, an evil behind them. Then it touched her, putting its face right into her cheek, she involuntarily jerked pressing herself even harder against the surface she was trapped against. Frightened beyond anything she had ever experienced she assumed she was a gonna. Hers and her symbionts life ended in a T'Kon facility metres and metres under the water. She could only think of her children and Keiben as she prepared herself for the next move to be to eat her or rip her head off. But then it didn't.

It stepped back keeping its face on her, and she saw a shift ... an emotion. There was confusion. Some of the black oil was left behind dripping down her cheek. Its confusion at her, had saved her. Her heartbeat thudded louder and louder in her head and chest as it stepped away and then disappeared as fast as it had been there. "Run," she ordered again when her brain had commuted she really was still here. "We have to get out of here."

Brodie quickly adjusted his phaser and put it on max setting and watched for any telltale sign of the creature. He wanted to stop this thing and fast. He glanced about for any signs of movement and then nodded at Commander BrooNi. " Aye Ma'aM. Joint maneuver 7734. Alright people, you heard the Commander. Let's get the hell out of here !! "

It had however taken to the small crawl space above the conduits above the small group. Silently following in the shadows waiting for its moment to separate one from the main group and have its fill.

"Commander, might I suggest a defensive formation with all weapons at the ready? " Brodie asked.

"Yes its still close. I can .. .I just know it," Mel said her eyes flicking around the room. "Its watching us. Learning."

It dropped down from its dark shroud above the group, raising a clawed hand above its head ready to strike when it stopped like a weeping angel statue, unmoving and unresponsive.

Mel knew something had shifted but she couldn't put a finger on what. "Move now. Right now," she said firmly literally pushing Brodie out of the door. She raised her phaser wondering if they could do enough damage to seal it in.

END

 

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