Well, this is my first Star Trek Fanfic, I hope I have done it justice. I do not own any of the fantastic Star Trek characters, just my own OC. I hope you enjoy.
She regretted getting that cheap and spontaneous tattoo, the needles sting had clung to her for days afterwards. She also regretted not going for a drink with that sweet, but somewhat timid, guy from that dating app on her phone. She really regretted not patching things up with her brother, the estrangement from their mother weighing heavily on their own relationship.
Charlie regretted a few other things in her life, but naively leaving her vehicle that night was top of her list. She knew the level of stupid it had been and yet she had done it anyway. Because who honestly would have guessed that this would have been the outcome?
Glancing around the dim room, Charlie had raked her eyes over every portion of the room available for her to see as she laid strapped down on some sort of metal bed, her position currently upright at an angle as if she were simply in a Hospital. She was thankful that she remained in her own clothes, the thought of those disfigured beings undressing her caused an embarrassed primal urge to keep herself hidden. Unfortunately for her, Charlie's hands and feet were bound by metal, keeping her mostly immobile.
Bright lights flood the room as a door beyond her vision opens, the whooshing sound accompanies a set of footsteps. Panic and fear rise sickeningly in Charlie's chest as she twists and turns her body, to see a horrifyingly familiar face brought into her peripheral, its brow ceased in what Charlie could vaguely describe as concern. Her memory of the encounter with the figure standing over her looms in Charlie's mind, the hazy recollection of the not-quite-human man causes her to pull at her restraints, the raised ridges on the grey skinned being reminding her from a Sci Fi show she had watched as a young child.
"Remain calm." He tells her, his voice deep and authoritative, as he pulls a nearby trolley over to Charlie's side. She notices that he appears to be wearing a dark blue coat, somewhat resembling what doctors wore. But the rattling noise of metal instruments divided her attention, sending a cold shiver up her spine and her heart raced as she attempts to crane her neck to get a better look, not sure if she would like what she sees.
"Let me go, let me out of this place, just let me go." Charlie babbles to her captor, her words a jumble of fear and confusion. What the hell was happening, where was she? Was this an alien in front of her, with its stone coloured skin and elevated creases? Part of her wishes this was all some horrific nightmare, one of those ones that make you wake up drenched in sweat. But Charlie had known since waking up in that dreadful place that this was no dream. A living nightmare was a more adept name to call the situation.
The man (or not-Human man as it appeared to her) reaches for something from the tray beside her, panic swiftly floods Charlie once again as she witnesses him picking up a large syringe filled with some sort of amber liquid. She pulls harder at the restraints, determined to avoid whatever fate had in store for her. Charlie's back arches of the bed as she tries to pull one of her hands away but the motion only causes pain to shoot up her wrists. The man, or alien or whatever this hell he was, grabs Charlie's shoulder in retaliation of her desperate attempts to remove herself from her bindings. His grip is painfully firm, pinning her shoulder in place as she laid upright on the bed, and he glances at the syringe full of liquid, pausing momentarily as if unsure. Charlie takes the paused moment to beg, bargain or make any request in this absolutely crazy situation. But before she could speak, the syringe is plunged deep into her right shoulder, and she could not help the gasp that evolves into a hiss in response. This was not helping her mild fear of needles, whatsoever.
As he empties the syringe into her pricked flesh, he appears to grunt in satisfaction as he pulls the needle out from Charlie's now aching shoulder. He then pats her head in what he probably deems a compassionate gesture but the patronising action fuels her with an unsuspected rage. In a last attempt Charlie flexes her back off from the bed but immediately stops, a sudden intense pressure feeling as if a fire was spreading through her veins, causing her to cry out shamefully. He regards her from above, watching her gasp in shock and pain as she feels her nerves painfully react to whatever the hell was in that syringe.
Charlie's body flexes on its own accord against the restraints, desperate to end the intense pain working its way through her muscles, twitching and spasming involuntarily. Her gasped cries echo in the bleak room, the feeling of her skin on fire needing release but she was unable to have any. She could barely move, pinned down through this traumatising pain currently coursing through her body. As a fraction on the pain begins to lessen, Charlie finds herself slick with sweat, feeling it matt the back of her head as she thrashes weakly. Her breathing is ragged and her chest burns as her heart rate eventually slows down to somewhat of a normal heart rate. All throughout this reaction, the inhuman man regards Charlie with a renewed interest, its eyes having watched the effects of the torture her body had just been put through.
"Please…." Charlie is able to say, her voice barely a whisper and her mouth suddenly so dry, "Stop." She had never thought she would have had to beg for her life but she knew that dying was definitely a realistic conclusion in this surreal situation. She tried to lick her dry and cracked lips, the ordeal making Charlie feel as though she had become severely dehydrated, heat still lingering in some parts of her body. Her chest hurt with such ferocity, Charlie couldn't stop herself from the meek spluttered coughs that attacked her body in the aftermath.
He looks at her again, dark hooded eyes glancing over the state of Charlie in a sense of morbid curiosity, as he reaches above her head and attempts to place what appears to be an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. She reflexively moves her head in a fashion so that he is unable to place it securely over, dreading what fresh ordeal this grey ridged figure had in store. Unfortunately, with one hand he holds Charlie's head in restraint under her jaw, and with the other he is able to pull the mask securely over her face, the cool apparatus uncomfortable on her face. She hears a switch flipped somewhere and the hiss of a gas as it enters the mouthpiece. She is barely able to react to this turn of events, fighting her eyelids threatening to close. She loses, defenceless and sore, succumbing to unconsciousness.
The stars were shining brightly as Charlie ventured to her car, grateful to finally be leaving work. She stops, her hand on the car door handle and peers up at the sheer vastness above, the silent skies soothing her clouded mind from working the last 9 hours.
"Earth to Charlie, anyone there?" A voice broke through her thoughts and she looks over and see Paul, the Chief of Security, giving her a cheery wave as he laughs. "You alright there dear?" She smiles back at him, opening the door to her small hatchback."
It's a beautiful night Paul, can't help but appreciate it!" And with that she gives him a goodbye wave, reversing out of the Office complex where she has been a Security Guard at for a little over a year now. The money was good and the social aspects of the job were low, Charlie's ideal career. The fact that she could work the graveyard shifts and leave before the Sun rises was a big perk for her.
As Charlie drives the desolate streets, the radio tuned into some obscure channel with cheesy 90's music, she is able to appreciate these small moments where it feels as though all of the world is asleep. The car's dashboard informs her that it is 03:47am as as she turns off the main roads and travel down a quieter lane, rolling black fields of grass meet a tree line and the sight of several figures standing a few meters from the trees urges her to slow down.
There were 4 silhouetted figures emerging from the trees, with several lights shining on the grounds around them. As her speed slows to an almost crawl, she pulls the vehicle to the side of the road and cuts the engine. Charlie was curious as to whether they were trespassers in the area, not that there was anything to steal in the nearby area, the nearest building a mile or so down the road. Perhaps they had lost something, or even someone? Against her better judgement she exits her car, the closing of the car door seeming to echo in the pre-dawn morning. The noise had made the figures glance over in her direction, although it was hard for Charlie to see any details of the figures.
"Are you guys okay out here? Do you need any help?" She asks, her voice sounding too timid as she approaches the figures. There was no response from them, however two turned to each other in a motion of conversing but she could not make out any words. One of the figures directs their light towards Charlie, dazzling her vision and abruptly stopping her in her step. As she lifts a hand to shield her eyes, a gnawing feeling in the pit of Charlie's stomach keeps her rooted to the spot.
"Hey, do you mind turning that light o-" The light is turned off with a distantly faint click and she attempts to gain her vision back, blue and white spots currently dancing across her eyes. She could suddenly hear the oncoming footsteps and she makes an involuntary step backwards, aware of her heart rate quickening in slight panic. Trying to blink away the dancing spots in her vision, Charlie holds both arms out in front of herself in what she hopes looks like a defensive stance. One of the figures stops as it stands before her, dressed in a dark hooded cloak and boots. They pull their hood down and Charlie wonders if her eyes were playing tricks on her, the skin on the figure appearing to be a dark shade of grey, some sort of raised ridges on their face and neck. She sucked in a breath as she takes in the sight before her, the figure wearing a stoney faced expression.
Charlie had taken another step back, mentally calculating the distance to her car as she turns on the spot but collides with another of the figures who had slipped behind her. This figure in front of her appears taller than the other and more menacing, especially as it grabs at her arm. Instinct kicks in as Charlie draws her elbow up to the strange figures face, a satisfying groan of pain emits from it as its hold on her loosens momentarily, and she was running.
Her feet pound through the grassy field as she gets closer to her car. Hands trembling, Charlie fumbles for her keys, breathing heavily as she approaches her vehicle but a reflection in the window catches her eye. The grey skinned figure stands behind her, a grimace on its face and Charlie's heart sinks as she feels a sharp sting in her neck, the reflection showing a small syringe being held by the disfigured man behind her. She gasps at the sensation as her legs begin to give way, attempting to hold onto the car to keep herself standing but Charlie is unable to grasp anything, her hands no longer functioning.
The world turns on its axis as she falls, her body hitting the ground with a painful thud. As Charlie lay on her stomach, she was able to see the other figures coming closer as her vision eventually goes black, her mind still reeling over the last few moments.
The next time Charlie wakes, her entire body aches with a fierceness she has never known, even that one time as a teenager she had defended herself from a rather tenacious bully, getting her swiftly caught up in a rather brutal fist fight. She notices that the mask on her face was still there, though there was no gas present for the time being. Charlie tries not to make any noise as she attempts to get her bearings in the room, the dark metal walls were bleak and empty, void of any clue as to who or what these things were. Part of her inside screams: Aliens. It is the only logical conclusion Charlie can come up with, and yet she cannot bring herself to voice that particular science fiction.
She wasn't supposed to be here, she should be home, safe and warm in her own bed. She was not even sure where she was, or how how long she had been here. The not-knowing was causing the large pit in her stomach to widen, subjecting Charlie to more concern and fear than she thought was possible.
A monitor beyond her vision emits a whining beep and she tries to lift her head to see what the meaning of the noise was, the door whooshing open before she could even turn her head to get a good look.
A different creature appears to storm into the room, their footsteps heavier as they approach Charlie on the makeshift hospital bed and she inhales a deep gasp through the mask currently situated on her face. The grey skinned being that had entered the room was the one Charlie had sunk her elbow into, if the patch of slightly darker grey bit of skin was anything to go by. She briefly wondered if that was their equivalent of a bruise.
"You appear to be reacting rather well." His voice intimidates Charlie, disdain clear in his authoritative tone and the glint in his eyes making her heart lurch inside of her sore chest. This one wore a dark green cloak, metal clasps pinning it in place on his shoulder, hiding any other evidence of themselves under the cloak. She wanted to speak, to say anything but she is unable to find her words. With her mouth drying instantly, she sees him reach to his side, bringing a syringe full of a familiar looking liquid into view. He gives Charlie a discerning look as he releases a spurt of liquid from the syringe. She involuntarily splays her hands, the nerve-wrecking pain already pushing through in her memory, causing her body to lock in terror.
"We may have to up the dosage for you this time," Charlie sees him smile eerily at her just before he pierces her neck with the sharp sting of the syringe. The next few minutes were a series of gasps and involuntary thrashes from Charlie due to the searing pain shooting from nerve to nerve inside of her, feeling as though she was losing any and all control over her body.
In all honesty, she was amazed she didn't pass out any sooner.
Soft words soothed her as her brothers arms cradled around her head.
"Shhh, it's okay." He whispered into her hair.
They sat huddled against the Bathroom door, her hands cover her ears but she is still able to hear the shouts coming from downstairs. At 12 years old, Charlie knew that it wasn't her Mother causing the scene a floor below her. It was the bottle of cheap Vodka she had managed to get from the nearby store. It brought out something hideous and ugly within Charlie's Mum.
The distant sound of a plate smashing jolts her awake from the melancholy flashback.
Groggy with barely-remembered memories, Charlie wakes to the same upsetting room as before. The same unwakeable nightmare, the same ache in her bones and crushing feeling within her chest. It felt like days were passing her by, visitations from these stoic and passive Aliens had blurred her ability to create a timeline for what was happening to her.
A twinge in Charlie's arm brought her attention to the new addition to the horror show currently befalling her; a tube had been inserted a few days ago, or hours; she really was not sure anymore. Her energy levels had depleted over the first few visits and series of injections from her captives, Charlie believed the mysterious figures were determined to prolong this agony by maintaining her Health. Of course, she did not know what was currently being pumped in her bloodstream, but she could positively say that it was a damn sight better than whatever was in those hideous syringes.
On another note, at one point in these visitations, two of the dusky coloured persons had ventured into her room at the same time. It had intrigued Charlie as this was a first for them, her curiosity had been cut short however, by the rapid insertion of needle into her left arm. Over the course of pain inducing tremors and spasms, Charlie grit her teeth, determined to ride it out in order to hear the conversation they appeared to be having in the midst of her agony. She could only pick out a few words in their hushed tones: "other subjects" "unsuspecting damage" and "appeared promising".
Fading into the bleak oblivion that always concluded these reactions, terror rolled through her in a single wave upon hearing the words "failed experiments".
Charlie was 18 years old and adulthood was appearing to her on the horizon, barely able to taste the first sweet sense of freedom, endless possibilities. The world was her oyster and she would not be held back on claiming her small portion of it. She had expressed interest at a top rated University over 150 miles away from her hometown nestled somewhere in the south of England, the thrill of looking through leaflets of the English Literature course had given her what felt like a new lease on life. She was determined to further her love of storytelling, her reclaimed bookshelf featuring all of her favourite books had been a saving grace over the last few years.
She had been home, leafing through her well-read version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, when the two Police Officers had knocked on her door. Charlie had opened it to see the solemn expressions on both of their faces and she had ushered them inside, her reaction prompt but guarded. She was standing in her living room when they told her that her Mother had collapsed in the street, dying shortly after in the ambulance ride to the Hospital. They suspected a heart attack, but would need to wait until after the autopsy to conclude the cause of death.
The pang of sadness had burned inside of her, similar to that of a fire slowly going out. The Officers were asking if she was okay, was there anyone she could call? Charlie had tuned them out, their voices becoming white noise. Her brother was at work, the thought of having to tell him almost broke her. He had always been Mum's favourite, her darling boy that could do no wrong. Whereas she had her head in the clouds and nose in a book. Her mother had not appreciated her different tastes and personality, occasionally screaming that she was too similar to that useless Father of hers who had left before she was born.
Charlie had built herself a way for her Mother's words to longer sting; she had always had a fantasy to pretend to be on another planet, like on the TV shows her and her brother had liked to watch.
But now the fantasy was warped, images of disfigured beings and painful needles filtered through her dreams.
Captain James T Kirk had been involved in numerous situations over the course of his 5 year journey into Space, the most recent attack on his Crew and ship from Krall, as well as aiding several alien civilizations from the brink of extinction and even even coming to the horrifying realization of just how fast Tribbles are able to multiply. But what he was being told by one of his Crew was making the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up, which always they did whenever a certain situation seemed remotely off. It came in particularly useful when he needed to trust his various encounters with many races and individuals.
"It's a Cardassian trade ship, Captain. However there appears to be an anomaly." Sulu informed him, reading the scanners with severe interest.
"What appears to be the anomaly Mr Sulu?" Spock asked the helmsman, his arms crossed against his chest in his usual fashion.
The USS Enterprise-A had stumbled upon the moderately sized ship in one of the further quadrants, the sight of it so far from its homeworld had piqued Kirk's curiosity. The Cardassians were a recently encountered race, their views on other races only caused them to be extremely narrow-minded, their proudly biased and outdated judgment had even caused them to be a subject of several conversations within the United Federation of Planets.
Sulu tapped at his projected screens a few times, the expression on his face made Kirk glance over the Trade ship before them once more. The hull appeared to be damaged and the exterior looked as though it had seen better days. Kirk wondered if its Crew had been scavenging in this outer region, perhaps looking for trading posts along the way. Sulu then looked to his Captain, glancing between him and the First Officer Spock, his words causing them both to raise their eyebrows.
"There appears to be no items for trade aboard their ship, however I appear to be reading a varied amount of dangerously low life signs aboard."
Kirk let the words sink in, his thoughts already jumping to the explanation top of the list. Spock gave him an tiresome look that made Kirk feel as though there were much more reasonable explanations as to these readings.
"Captain, if I could just point out that we have not even established contact with this vessel. Who are we to say that the adverse life forms on this ship are in any danger whatsoever." His cool and clear tone irked Kirk to no end, however the Vulcan did raise a valid point. He sat upright in his chair, his hands gripped the sides as he studies the ship currently in front of his.
"Hail them."
It was sounds that woke Charlie this time, the struggle to fully gain consciousness made her clench her fists under the metal bindings. Not able to hear the whole conversations of people going past the room she was being held in, words jumped out at her. "Hailing", "Trouble", and "Starfleet". Panic starts to seep into the edges of her focus, her mind whirling from the last few hours, or days. God, she couldn't even say how long she had been here. For all she knew, it had been weeks. This place was already driving her insane.
Charlie's neck and shoulders stung from the previous syringe attacks. She didn't know what was in those injections they kept giving her, but she'd bet that it was nothing good, judging by how much pain had surged through her body at every reaction. Her insides felt like that had been set alight and her head throbbed so much that all she wanted to do was close her eyes to this unwakeable nightmare. But if she did, she wouldn't see the door abruptly open and witness one of the regular figures from her never ending nightmare enter, his heavy boots filing the quiet space of her room / cell.
Another visitation, another injection. The eternally-pissed off looking individual had loomed over her in annoyance, as though her continued existence was a bother to him. After tapping a screen out of her vision, fear curled up in her belly, its coldness reached up to her chest, which was where the creature plunged the usual syringe full of honey coloured liquid.
Charlie screamed this time, and let it be known that throughout all of this immobilization, torture and pain, she had never once screamed. It seemed to fuel the fire even more as it spread out across her four limbs with a newly founded rage. She struggled to take in any oxygen, her lungs barely functioning as her chest heaved and throbbed with vigour. Blackness threatened at the edges of her vision, her eyes watering as she tried to cling to consciousness. A thought broke its way through the pain as her vision went blurry.
Was this how she died; alone, not knowing where she was or what was happening to her?
The pain was causing her breaths to become shallow and ragged, and she heard the monitor that was somewhere behind her emit a high pitched noise. Another whooshing noise made Charlie faintly aware of the fact that somebody else had entered the room, causing her to sluggishly glance in the direction. She was greeted by the sight of the other charcoal colored individual in their blue lab coat. In one quick stride, he moved towards her monitor, muttering angry half sentences which Charlie wasn't able to hear. Bringing a hand to the ridges around his forehead in a contemplating nature, he flips a switch which allowed the mask situated on her face to fill with a gas substance, she presumed oxygen was currently filling her nose and half-open mouth but it all felt like a trick.
Bliss came in the form of passing out, but not before Charlie felt as though there was some sort of pressure on her shoulder, as though someone had placed their hand there. Then, she felt nothing at all.
With no response and warning bells ringing in his head, Kirk initiated the task of transporting himself, Spock, Lieutenant Uhura and his CMO Bones over onto the other ship. Their reluctance to initiate a channel of communication had only made his decision easier. Leaving Sulu at the helm, he readied himself in the Transporter Room, along with his trusted Crew members.
"Captain," Spock started, "must I remind you of Starfleet General Order 12? We have no established communication with this vessel, it also lacks any firepower to protect itself from our party arriving on board." Kirk had looked at him, pulling his phaser from where it was kept on his belt. Spock couldn't feel what Kirk felt, the pickles of doubt now spiked through his thoughts, justifying the hasty plan to investigate.
Turning to the three of them, Kirk felt like he always did when he made a spontaneous decision; like a Captain.
"Set phasers to stun." He reminded them, giving the nod to his engineering team as they beamed the four of them onto the Cardassian ship.
Dimly lit grey corridors met the Enterprise Crew as they stood defensively, Bones shuddered a bit to Kirk's right and he held his hand up in a 'I'll be fine in a moment' motion. The corridors were lit by an orange flashing light overhead, as if someone had raised an alarm. After a breath Kirk set off down one side of the corridor, the light not fully illuminating his surroundings. Bones was beside him as they glanced cautiously over entrances and doorways, tricorder in hand as he scanned for any signs of life aboard. Kirk looked over his shoulder as Spock and Lieutenant Uhura went in the opposite direction, their focus on the shadows as well. The ship appeared abandoned with no Crew in sight, and this did not sit well with Kirk.
Minutes passed as they delved deeper into the Trade ship, but there appeared to be no signs of Crew or Cargo. Turning a corner, pale lights illuminated the path in front of them, but what caught their gaze were the large floor-to-ceiling windows which looked into smaller rooms. Upon those beds were beings of varied races, lifeless and immobile sat up on what looked like Medical Bay beds. Bones went closer to the closest window, witnessing a Benzite male with deep purple skin looked almost gaunt, their eyes sunken. The tricorder stayed silent as the two of them came to the realisation that this individual was not alive.
"My God…" Bones managed, his voice sounding loud to Kirk's ears in the silent ship. But Kirk couldn't respond, he merely looked on in horror at the various figures strapped down in the other rooms, each one similar to the one before them. He could see an Angorian, their usually bright blue skin now faded to a dull complexion. He was also able to identify a Kristi, the cat-like features making their race easily recognisable, however this one appeared to have lost patches of fur over portions of its body. In the rooms beside them were several other species that Kirk could not remember names for at that moment, the sound of static crackles as Spock's voice comes in clear over their comms.
'Captain, myself and Lieutenant Uhura are on the ship's main deck. It appears that upon the Enterprise being in close vicinity, its few Crew members had abandoned ship, using some sort of veiled technology in order to make an unnoticed getaway. However, we are not sure why-"
"I know why." Kirk cuts him off as he looked around at the horrific scene he was bearing witness to, his tone sounding a lot harsher than he meant to. These people had been strapped down, tortured for all he knew, and left to die, upon the Cardassian Crew receiving his hail for communication. Kirk felt himself recoil at the thought that he may be the reason they had been left here, lifeless and alone.
"Captain," Uhura started, her voice cut off over the comms by a faint blip noise emitting from Bones' tricorder, alerting them to some hope within this ghostly ship. Kirk and Bones paced slowly over to where life sign was coming from, stopping in front of a window nearer to the end of the corridor.
They looked in to find a human-looking girl, in her early 20's or so, it was difficult to tell her age with her face looking so ashen. Her eyes were closed but the faintest rising and falling of her chest proving her to be the sole survivor in this corridor of horrors. As Bones read the signs of life on his tricorder, Kirk went about attempting a way to gain entry into the room, tapping at a nearby control system that lit up at his touch. Hesitantly, he pushed at buttons with various symbols on, no clear indication of how to enter the cell she was currently being held in. He silently hoped that he wasn't pressing any buttons that could cause her any more harm than she had inevitably already been out through. As Kirk tapped at a button with a green square on, the window lifted from the bottom, disappearing into the ceiling and granting them access.
The first thing they realised was just how cold the room was, as they were able to see their breath upon entering. The cold quickly escaped into the corridor, Bones rushing over to view her vital signs more closely.
"She's alive?" Jim Kirk knew the answer to his question, the faint beep on the Doctor's monitoring tricorder was evidence of that. But he needed his friend to tell him, verbally, as reassurance. And that's just what he did.
"It's faint, but she has a pulse and good brain activity." Bones' expression looked relieved, and he was sure he looked somewhat similar, which was surprising considering what surrounded them.
Kirk looked around the chamber again, with no other signs of life to reassure him. He communicated over to his ship, with Sulu at the helm, that there would be multiple teleportations required, several of those were to be fatalities.
The Captain glanced over at the girl again as Bones adjusted the mask on her face, ensuring she was safe to be taken aboard the Enterprise. Kirk wondered what this evolving situation would bring, and just how he would be able to inform this survivor of what she had left behind.