Dead Space: Arrival

"Good morning. This is your CAPTAIN speaking. Ship is at 99.452% working capacity, and our engineers are currently working on that last, tiny percentage. Also, we picked up a stray vessel recently, within was a man that appeared to have been undergoing severe mental trauma. We are currently holding him in one of the vacant rooms in the sleeping quarters. Have a good day and let's everyone do a good job!" The transmission ended. Everyone groggily got up and started off for work. They were aboard the USR Radiance, a retrieval vessel sent into space for exploration. Recently, the ship was presented by a CEC Construction-Class ship, and talked to the CAPTAIN. After a small ordeal, a decision was made and several attachments were made to the ship, including gravity tethers.

"Ugh... another day," Security Officer Ralph Orion said getting up. He grabbed his Divet and slid the clip in. "Another day without any crime." He got out of bed and swung his RIG on, walking outside and down to the Lounge Deck. He went over to the Shooting Gallery like he did every day.

"Welcome. Please input your name." He complied. "Ralph Orion. Your current high score is Level 4, killing all but 2 targets." He scowled. He'd never gotten those last two targets. "Enter the Virtual Reality chamber." He stepped inside and the small cords attached to his head, arms, legs, and Divet. His vision blurred and became the large, open room that was the Shooting Gallery. "Begin." He immediately took cover, which he learned was the key to beating this level. There was gunfire around him. He looked over the cover slowly, looking around, identifying all of the targets. He fired three rounds at a target, killing the target. That made one. He took cover as the gunfire continued, then jumped and rolled towards the next bit of cover. He reloaded his Divet and watched as one of the targets turned the corner, only to be shot once in the head. He jumped out from behind cover, spraying several targets with bullets then jumping back behind cover. Six targets down.

Suddenly, the world around him collapsed and everything was dark. He opened his eyes to find the Virtual Reality chamber opening. His partner, Melissa Parker was waiting, dressed in her full security attire.

"We got something," she said, smiling. He nodded and followed her down to the sleeping quarters, to the edge of the inhabited area. There were the areas that were taken by people, then a large area of open, vacant apartments. The last apartment, one that was normally vacant, was now not. There were two guards outside that looked at them as they approached.

"Clearance?" one asked. Melissa flashed her badge and the man nodded, moving aside. They entered to find an engineer with a Mark 5 RIG, still dressed in full attire, despite being in his apartment.

"Who's this?" Ralph asked. The man looked over from his writing on the walls. "And what the hell is that?"

"They're coming back," the man mumbled. "I... I stopped them, didn't I? I mean... The Marker is back where it belongs... the Hive Mind is quiet... And Nicole... Nicole is fucking dead... I didn't see her back there, that was just... some kind of hallucination..."

"This guy a nutjob?" Ralph asked.

"We found him in a pod coming from the area we're headed towards, Aegis 7." The man looked up.

"Why? Why in the fuck would you be going to Aegis 7, WHY?!" He jumped up, revealing the long, sprawling messages he'd written on the walls, in peculiar, unrecognizable symbols.

"Calm down, sir," Ralph said. "I don't want to have to put you down." Isaac paused then nodded.

"I don't want my body going to them. When they come back up here, I'll be ready. Just like I was last time. I've got my arsenal. I'm ready, even if you're not. I'm ready..."

"What is it you're ready for?" The man looked up at him.

"The zombies. They... take human bodies and infect them. They become something peculiar and horrible. They've got claws and teeth and they will FUCKING KILL YOU."

"And what're you writing here on the walls?"

"Directions..."

"For?"

"For killing them." The symbols covered the whole back wall.

"Can you tell us what they say?" The man nodded.

"It says, 'From Isaac Clarke: These things are going to kill you if you don't listen. You must take off their limbs, it seems to work best. After taking off their limbs, you shoot them as much as you can. Use whatever possible.'. That's all I've got so far."

"I see."

"Wait, Ralph." He looked towards Melissa. "These are Unitologist symbols."

"Hey... yeah, you're right, they are. Are you a Uni?"

"No!" Isaac said, backing against the wall. "Not after what they did to me, to my Nicole. No, never ever Unitologist.... Never ever..."

"Ralph, Melissa, we got a psychiatrist in here. You two can leave." Ralph nodded and the two left.

"What the hell was all that?" Ralph asked.

"I don't know. But I have a horrible feeling we're in for something. I don't think we should go down to Aegis 7."

"Neither do I. None of us know what the CAPTAIN is up to, or what the CEC wanted when they built those gravity tethers." Melissa sighed.

"I'm going to go back to bed for a bit. See you in a while," she said, walking off. Ralph nodded and walked down to the Lounge Deck. Someone was curled into a ball on the floor.

"Sir, are you alright?" he asked. The man growled and lashed out at him, curling back into the ball. He was surrounded by a ring of those peculiar symbols that Isaac had written. Ralph paused, then sprinted back to Isaac's room and brought him to the Lounge Deck.

"Isaac, can you tell me what those say?" Isaac's head tilted slightly as he read the words.

"It says the same thing over and over in a circle."

"What does it say?"

" 'Altman be praised. Altman be praised. Altman be praised.' "

CAPTAIN's Log

Entry One

We are staying the course towards Aegis 7. There is something the CEC wish for us to retrieve on the planet, and we can apparently only do so using the gravity tethers. This would mean that the planet has already been cracked or they would have updated our ship with planet cracking technology as well. It makes me wonder what we're going to get.

Also, the condition of our newest passenger, Isaac Clarke, worries me a bit. He seems to be in the farthest phases of depression, including, but not limited to, paranoia, depression, and hostility when presented towards the subjects of "Unitology", his late girlfriend "Nicole", and the artifact we are to retrieve. He continues talking about "Necromorphs" and the "Hive Mind" but presents us with no details about such. Just "take off the limbs" and "use whatever you can".

I fear the worst for Isaac, but the venture must continue. As for the civilian in the Lounge Deck that has gone crazy late this morning, I am not sure what to make of it. Perhaps he is suffering from whatever has caused Isaac's depression, perhaps they are unrelated. I'm not sure, but I will look into it.

CAPTAIN out.