Campfire Tales
By: bluespace
Disclaimer: This story is set in the star trek universe which doesn't belong to me, told by the Enterprise crew who are someone else's property, and played out by original characters on a unique storyline which I now claim. In other words, star trek, not mine, story, mine. Oh and I'm not paid a penny.
Travis Mayweather leaned forward; he was really getting into this scary story business. Trips last story had given them goose bumps and, though they all knew such things weren't true, it was fun to be back in a childlike mindset. There was something comforting about having such ties to your youth.
He glanced over at T'pol. It was almost sad, the lack of emotion. He couldn't imagine a life without laughter or, in this case, chills. It seemed almost empty to him.
"Ok Travis your turn again." Charles 'Trip' Tucker III said having wrapped up his tale. Elizabeth Cutler was poking the fire with a handy stick and Ethan Novakovich was looking at him uneasily. Travis could tell he had been one of those kids who had been easy to scare. What this group needed was a truly scary story, one that was close to real and detailed in its strange happenings. And he was just he one to give it to them.
"Ok I have a great one." Travis started. "It happened about fifty years ago I hear. It was in a time when all there was of humans in space were cargo vessels and research station, and both were fairly sparse. It was a lonely scary time for captains and scientists alike. Most vessels weren't even manned by that many crew, so the bonds were pretty tight.
That was the case with the crew of the Forethought, they were alone in a sea of black, or so they thought.
The planet spun in silent innocence below them. The entire surface seemed completely devoid of any life. Crystal cobalt blue and iridescent to its watery depths. It was a true water world; no land marred its pristine clarity. It seemed, in fact, that only one thing remained on its surface for any length of time, a tiny research station from the little known planet Earth, and only two people remained in it.
Captain Isabel Tanyae gazed out the slender slit of a window that showed the planet from their high orbit. From this distance it was hard to humanize the violent crimes that had occurred on that very surface.
She glanced down at her report for the third time.
The Forethought is to go directly to planet C1425 and pick up the surviving members of the scientific research station. Be advised that these personal have been exposed to acts of violence and are the only personal out of seven originally assigned to said post. The perpetrator has been apprehended and already removed from post. Unfortunately the long-range law enforcement transport had only one stasis chamber and no room for passengers. Simply retrieve the surviving victims; they are to be released to the authorities at Kessik Prime for transport back to Earth.
Safe Journey.
End transmission.
Isabel sighed, leave it to the company to be vague when helping the government.
She turned to face the window once again. There the 'cargo' waited with baited breath for release from its nightmare. She couldn't even imagine their thoughts at this moment as they awaited the shuttle sent to retrieve them.
She was startled from her thoughts by the door chime.
"Come."
Vilula Green, First officer, entered the room with a swivel of her hips. It was much easier to have a first officer who was also your best friend; formalities on this ship had long ago been laid to a peaceful rest. On Vilula's normally smiling face, though, rested a sour frown. She crossed the quarters in silence and dropped in to the chair in front of Isabel with out a word. This from the talkative little blond was itself warning something was not good.
"Is everything ok?" Isabel asked.
"No." she signed. "We are having a hard time getting clearance for transport. Their computer systems were damaged in the skirmishes and so processing is taking an extraordinarily long time."
Isabel sat thoughtful for a moment.
"Do they match the descriptions supplied?"
"Yes."
"Then try to bypass clearance for now. Over ride the protocols if you have to. Lets get them up here and cleaned up, then take them directly to Miguel." She said referring to the ships surgeon.
Vilula nodded, her smile returning.
"I knew you would understand, Isa." She threw over her shoulder as she walked out to see to the instructions being carried out.
Isabel stared at the closed door through which her friend had just left. It was amazing to her exactly how much power that one smile held. A smile tilting of the lips from Vilula and all seemed right with the world. She sighed and straightened her top, now came the hard part, dealing with the individuals. There was a reason she had sought a job as the captain of a deep space cargo vessel, and it certainly wasn't because she was a people person.
She arrived at the docking bay the same time the shuttle did. She stared blankly at the closed doors and listened half-heartedly to the docking clamps as they engaged.
When the door opened she was first greeted with a familiar face.
Jerome, ships pilot, wore his usual serious face, though it seemed somehow more so today. After him came the two 'survivors'. They didn't look like statistics, just ordinary everyday people.
The woman was tall and slender. She had rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes that seemed somehow very lonely. A kindred spirit no doubt, to have accepted a post here in the middle of nowhere. Her once beautiful blond hair was streaked with sweat and what much have been blood. Isabel wasn't surprised, who could think to wash after such a thing happening.
The man beside her was stocky and strong. He wasn't particularly tall, about as tall as Isabel herself. He had deep black hair and an Asian face that revolved around his light hazel eyes. He to looked unkempt and dirty.
In both their eyes though, there was something more, a total lack of care. They weren't glancing around nervously or hesitating in their steps. They didn't look frightened or traumatized, simply worn out. If you didn't know any better, and if it weren't for the blood, you would think they had just come from a boring seminar on the fate of the collective world government.
It chilled Isabel to look in to such empty eyes.
"Welcome." She greeted them as warmly as she could without hesitation. She reached out and the woman shook her hand, followed by the man. "I'm Isabel Tanyae, captain of the Forethought."
"Elisa." The woman spoke up. "My name is Elisa Regert and this is Aden Chow."
Isabel didn't try to hide her surprise. "The company report said it would be a Elisa Regert and a Nicolas Mandrake."
The woman looked down, seemingly composing herself.
Aden instead spoke up. " Nicolas was taken two days before you arrived."
Isabel nodded, yet another example of stupid beaurocratic mix-ups.
Vilula then exited the shuttle and came to stand beside Isabel.
"I'll take them by the showers before we go see Miguel."
Again Isabel nodded, smiling reassuringly at the pair as they were gently herded off by Vilula to get cleaned and treated.
She caught Aden's eye as he walked by and the look there in made her shiver again. She hoped that look would soon pass.
Travis took a drink and cleared his throat. Trip was arranging himself more comfortably to take in the rest of the story and Ethan had huddled closer to the fire. Elizabeth was all but tapping her feet waiting for him to continue. At the edge of firelight he noticed that T'pol had paused her work, she wasn't facing them, and she certainly wasn't joining them, but she wasn't lecturing either.
"Well, continue." Elizabeth said impatiently leaning forward.
Travis smiled, ah the power.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I already have this one almost completely written but I'm checking for inconsistencies, still it should go up fairly quickly.
By: bluespace
Disclaimer: This story is set in the star trek universe which doesn't belong to me, told by the Enterprise crew who are someone else's property, and played out by original characters on a unique storyline which I now claim. In other words, star trek, not mine, story, mine. Oh and I'm not paid a penny.
Travis Mayweather leaned forward; he was really getting into this scary story business. Trips last story had given them goose bumps and, though they all knew such things weren't true, it was fun to be back in a childlike mindset. There was something comforting about having such ties to your youth.
He glanced over at T'pol. It was almost sad, the lack of emotion. He couldn't imagine a life without laughter or, in this case, chills. It seemed almost empty to him.
"Ok Travis your turn again." Charles 'Trip' Tucker III said having wrapped up his tale. Elizabeth Cutler was poking the fire with a handy stick and Ethan Novakovich was looking at him uneasily. Travis could tell he had been one of those kids who had been easy to scare. What this group needed was a truly scary story, one that was close to real and detailed in its strange happenings. And he was just he one to give it to them.
"Ok I have a great one." Travis started. "It happened about fifty years ago I hear. It was in a time when all there was of humans in space were cargo vessels and research station, and both were fairly sparse. It was a lonely scary time for captains and scientists alike. Most vessels weren't even manned by that many crew, so the bonds were pretty tight.
That was the case with the crew of the Forethought, they were alone in a sea of black, or so they thought.
The planet spun in silent innocence below them. The entire surface seemed completely devoid of any life. Crystal cobalt blue and iridescent to its watery depths. It was a true water world; no land marred its pristine clarity. It seemed, in fact, that only one thing remained on its surface for any length of time, a tiny research station from the little known planet Earth, and only two people remained in it.
Captain Isabel Tanyae gazed out the slender slit of a window that showed the planet from their high orbit. From this distance it was hard to humanize the violent crimes that had occurred on that very surface.
She glanced down at her report for the third time.
The Forethought is to go directly to planet C1425 and pick up the surviving members of the scientific research station. Be advised that these personal have been exposed to acts of violence and are the only personal out of seven originally assigned to said post. The perpetrator has been apprehended and already removed from post. Unfortunately the long-range law enforcement transport had only one stasis chamber and no room for passengers. Simply retrieve the surviving victims; they are to be released to the authorities at Kessik Prime for transport back to Earth.
Safe Journey.
End transmission.
Isabel sighed, leave it to the company to be vague when helping the government.
She turned to face the window once again. There the 'cargo' waited with baited breath for release from its nightmare. She couldn't even imagine their thoughts at this moment as they awaited the shuttle sent to retrieve them.
She was startled from her thoughts by the door chime.
"Come."
Vilula Green, First officer, entered the room with a swivel of her hips. It was much easier to have a first officer who was also your best friend; formalities on this ship had long ago been laid to a peaceful rest. On Vilula's normally smiling face, though, rested a sour frown. She crossed the quarters in silence and dropped in to the chair in front of Isabel with out a word. This from the talkative little blond was itself warning something was not good.
"Is everything ok?" Isabel asked.
"No." she signed. "We are having a hard time getting clearance for transport. Their computer systems were damaged in the skirmishes and so processing is taking an extraordinarily long time."
Isabel sat thoughtful for a moment.
"Do they match the descriptions supplied?"
"Yes."
"Then try to bypass clearance for now. Over ride the protocols if you have to. Lets get them up here and cleaned up, then take them directly to Miguel." She said referring to the ships surgeon.
Vilula nodded, her smile returning.
"I knew you would understand, Isa." She threw over her shoulder as she walked out to see to the instructions being carried out.
Isabel stared at the closed door through which her friend had just left. It was amazing to her exactly how much power that one smile held. A smile tilting of the lips from Vilula and all seemed right with the world. She sighed and straightened her top, now came the hard part, dealing with the individuals. There was a reason she had sought a job as the captain of a deep space cargo vessel, and it certainly wasn't because she was a people person.
She arrived at the docking bay the same time the shuttle did. She stared blankly at the closed doors and listened half-heartedly to the docking clamps as they engaged.
When the door opened she was first greeted with a familiar face.
Jerome, ships pilot, wore his usual serious face, though it seemed somehow more so today. After him came the two 'survivors'. They didn't look like statistics, just ordinary everyday people.
The woman was tall and slender. She had rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes that seemed somehow very lonely. A kindred spirit no doubt, to have accepted a post here in the middle of nowhere. Her once beautiful blond hair was streaked with sweat and what much have been blood. Isabel wasn't surprised, who could think to wash after such a thing happening.
The man beside her was stocky and strong. He wasn't particularly tall, about as tall as Isabel herself. He had deep black hair and an Asian face that revolved around his light hazel eyes. He to looked unkempt and dirty.
In both their eyes though, there was something more, a total lack of care. They weren't glancing around nervously or hesitating in their steps. They didn't look frightened or traumatized, simply worn out. If you didn't know any better, and if it weren't for the blood, you would think they had just come from a boring seminar on the fate of the collective world government.
It chilled Isabel to look in to such empty eyes.
"Welcome." She greeted them as warmly as she could without hesitation. She reached out and the woman shook her hand, followed by the man. "I'm Isabel Tanyae, captain of the Forethought."
"Elisa." The woman spoke up. "My name is Elisa Regert and this is Aden Chow."
Isabel didn't try to hide her surprise. "The company report said it would be a Elisa Regert and a Nicolas Mandrake."
The woman looked down, seemingly composing herself.
Aden instead spoke up. " Nicolas was taken two days before you arrived."
Isabel nodded, yet another example of stupid beaurocratic mix-ups.
Vilula then exited the shuttle and came to stand beside Isabel.
"I'll take them by the showers before we go see Miguel."
Again Isabel nodded, smiling reassuringly at the pair as they were gently herded off by Vilula to get cleaned and treated.
She caught Aden's eye as he walked by and the look there in made her shiver again. She hoped that look would soon pass.
Travis took a drink and cleared his throat. Trip was arranging himself more comfortably to take in the rest of the story and Ethan had huddled closer to the fire. Elizabeth was all but tapping her feet waiting for him to continue. At the edge of firelight he noticed that T'pol had paused her work, she wasn't facing them, and she certainly wasn't joining them, but she wasn't lecturing either.
"Well, continue." Elizabeth said impatiently leaning forward.
Travis smiled, ah the power.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I already have this one almost completely written but I'm checking for inconsistencies, still it should go up fairly quickly.