Virtual_Space
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2006
- Messages
- 84
Joseph's dive ended in a flash, the terminal acting erratically from the sudden cut off. He was drenched in sweat and shaking all over, still in a state of total shock. Never before had he witnessed the death of another human being, let alone a hundred.
He slowly rose from the terminal, his legs still shaking. He held onto the side of the terminal for support, desperately trying to catch his breath. The screams of the people he had left behind filling his mind, eating away at his very soul.
He stumbled through the halls, his mind still not fully his own. The members of the screw quickly shifting to the sides to avoid him.
Eventually he reached his quarters. He sat down on the edge of his bed, trying to regain his composure.
“How could this happen?” he thought to himself. “Terrorism was supposed to be a relic of our past, one we had long ago abandoned. Who would be foolish enough to bring it back?”
Joseph spent the next hour sitting on the edge of the bad, going over the event in his mind. He could still feel as the crystalline rock crawled up his body, cutting off his vision an air supply. He could still feel his lungs running out of air, the slow suffocation unbearable. Never before had he experienced death, it was something he hoped he would never experience again, something he wished no one had to experience. The idea that every one of those people at the conference experienced the same thing was an unbearable notion.
Eventually he regained control of his emotions. He walked over to the small computer in the corner of his room. The glow of the computer screen filled Joseph's eyes. He sat down an began to type, this time without the aid of his implants. He wanted this to be personal, it needed to be.
To: Catherine Belotz
I wish to go to earth, it has been my dream since I was a boy. Now I seem to have that dream within my grasp thanks to you. Please, I will do anything to go to Earth.
I am well versed in the mechanics of starship engine systems and am willing to technical skills to your cause. I will do anything you wish.
End of Message
Joseph Keldan
Telmari Corp.
Detri Sector
Station 8231a
Joseph slowly reached out and touched the send key on the screen, unaware of how much the message would change the course of his life.
Joseph returned to his bed, ready to end the day. It was still the middle of the day, but that made no difference, he needed a break.
He layed down on the bed and drifted off into sleep wondering where the next day would take him.
Chapter 4
“Cut the door.” yelled the leader of the small survey team, his transmission barely going through the static. “Cmon, the door wont open itself, get on it.”
The three men that accompanied him slowly moved towards the door, hugging the wall for support in the weightless environment. The ceiling was covered in shards of ice, the water pipes had burst from the extreme cold in the depths of space. One wrong move and the ceiling would come crashing down on them, crushing them under a thousand year old ice sheet.
They reached the door, then slowly began work to remove it. The supports were slowly cut through, a shower of sparks erupting outward whenever the torch contacted the thick metal of the door. Soon the cutting was complete. With a quick shove, the door fell backwards into the next room.
“We are now proceeding into the main storage area, will contact when we make it through..” the leader said, his voice growing fainter the further into the ship they went.
All four men waked through the massive doorway together and surveyed the roomette was the first time it had been seen by human eyes in over a milenia. The artificial gravity in the room was still active, even after a thousand years of use. They slowly walked further into the room. Soon they saw the room for what it was. They were horrified by what they saw. Bodies littered the room, all floating lifelessly about the room. Worse was the sight in the corner of the room.
In the corner of the room lay a pile of bones. One of the men approached the bones and picked up a lone skull resting on the top of the pile. He carefully turned it over in his hands, examining it with deep concentration.
“Sir, I think you should take a look at this” the young man said, an air of uneasiness in his voice.
“What is it?”
“These bones, they all have teethmarks. These people resorted to cannibalism to survive, the poor bastards.”
“Don't dwell on it, stay focused on the mission,we have a job to do.”
The young man carefully set the skull back down to it's original resting place, the rejoined his companions.
The sound of their footsteps footsteps echoed throughout the gigantic room, just as the deceased had those many years ago. Never again would they walk among the ship. Never again would would they walk among the living They were gone from the world, never to return.
