And So It Begins

Posted on Wed Apr 17th, 2013 @ 10:07am by Commodore Samantha York & Master Chief Petty Officer Apu Barnum & Senior Chief Petty Officer Helga (Hel) Lowe

784 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: What Dreams May Come?
Location: CO's Quarters

ON

Damon coughed in his sleep, something between a bark and the sound Mr. Limpet made in the old 20th Century vid. HAROOM! His body convulsed as if the cough came from deep in his lungs. It was followed immediately by a flash of light and heat.

Sam pulled back the covers to see what happened and pulled back, muffling a scream. His skin was pocked and sloughing off as if he'd been through some sort of chemical explosion.

"Damon!" Sam screamed. She checked for a pulse, but the blank stare of his face made her realize it was too late.

Another scream echoed through her mind as she woke, heart pounding and limbs shaking. She reached for Damon, to assure herself that it really was just a bad dream, but the other side of the bed was cold and empty.

She collapsed onto her pillow, sobbing in fear for several moments. Then she slowly got control of herself.

"Computer, lights." She sat up and looked around her quarters. Everything looked as it had the night before. She wished Damon were here, but he was still at Athena Shipyards working with the Theta Fleet Marines. There'd been some sort of setback and his two weeks had so far been more than two months. At least Sam took comfort in knowing he wasn't fighting a war somewhere. She wasn't so sure her husband felt the same way. As much as he enjoyed the job with the fleet, he loved commanding the Ontario.

She got out of bed and slipped on a robe. The image was too fresh in her mind and she needed to distract herself if she had any hope of getting back to sleep. Padding into the living area she replicated a cup of cocoa with extra whipped cream, sat down at her computer and began to read through her messages.

====

Apu arrived to work early, as was his custom. He liked to do a visual inventory of his supplies before opening the doors to customers. Well, not exactly customers, or not usually customers. Usually it was the day-to-day needs of a Federation Starship, but occasionally he would sell one of his unique items.

He keyed in the access code to his private storeroom and called for the lights. To his horror the room was empty. A wall of cabinets stood empty, their doors open wide. A long counter also was devoid of boxes and items. "Computer, who was in this room last?"

"The room as not been accessed in a year."

"Computer, you are mistaken. I was here yesterday."

"I do not recognize your voice pattern. Please identify yourself.'

"Apu Ernest Barnum. Quartermaster."

An alarm began to ring through the corridor behind him. "Apu Barnum is under arrest for piracy. Please stay where you are until security arrives."

Apu woke with a start. "Computer, lights!" He got out of bed and hurried into his closet where he kept a small safe. Opening it, he was relieved to see that his most valuable finds were still there. It was just a bad dream. He sighed happily and secured the safe. A dream like that required Turkish coffee and a heavy dose of rum.

====

Helga knew that sound intimately. The movement of servos, the sound of a Borg footstep. They were back in sickbay and this time, she would not escape so easily.

"We are the Borg. Resistance if futile." The Borg turned the corner and she saw that it was Vance and she was now the Borg Queen. "But first, for your betrayal, you shall watch everyone in sickbay die because of you."

One by one, each patient sat up, screaming. Their faces began to rot away. Several dug at the decaying flesh, pulling it off in gobbets, splattering blood and gore across the formerly white sheets.

"This is all your fault, Helga," Borg Vance said. "And now you will pay."

Helga woke, screaming "No!" It took her several long seconds to realize that it had been a dream. "Computer, turn on all hte lights." Every light in her quarters turned on. She got out of bed and searched every nook, every cubbyhole, to be sure nothing was in teh room with her. Finally satisfied, she sat at her table, concentrating on breathing normally and calming her shaking limbs.

When she felt a little better she went to the replicator. " Tea, Lady Gray, hot and sweet." She wasn't sure how many cups of teac it would take before she could get back to sleep, but she meant to find out.

OFF

Commodore Samantha York
Commanding Officer

Master Chief Petty Officer Apu Barnum
Quartermaster

Senior Chief Petty Officer Helga Lowe
Nurse

 

RSS Feed