Yeah, I got to watching the Alien movies, and this sort of came to mind.
Considering there wasn't a whole lot of information on the Derelict, I decided to give my view on it's last trip.
Pronunciations:
Bryggl : Brig-gle
Chizzrik : Chez-reek
Margrll : Marg-elle
Tryg : Try-guh
Klirrkt : Clirkt
Hope it's at least entertaining.
I had fun writing it up.
Last Voyage of the Derelict
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
The pilot frowned, staring at the screen before him. He was sure he had refueled before he left. Now, the Derelict was telling him he was low. Turning his head, he motioned for one of the crew to step forward. The pilot pointed towards the screen, and the second crew member began to express his concern.
'We refueled before we left!' He cried.
'I am aware, klirrkt.' The pilot hissed, annoyed at his comrade's scream. The crew member glared at the crude word, before deciding against any physical.
'Shall I go check the fuel levels?'
'That would be preferable. There should be some canisters down in cargo.' The second Space Jockey nodded before turned and heading away. The pilot frowned, and returned his stare to the screen.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Something in the pilot's gut told him the lunar cycle was going to be a long one.
[00]
Below deck the crew member rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and wanted nothing more than to check the fuel levels and hurry back to his station. Sliding down the ladder, he walked over and examined the systems. A low growl emitted from his throat.
'Great. How the tryg did we use up so much fuel?' He tossed his hands in the air in exasperation. Now he needed to go down to cargo and retrieve the fuel canisters the pilot was talking about.
The thought of having to trek down to the cargo hold alone made the young Space Jockey nervous. It wasn't the thought of being alone that made him nervous, it was being around those things. The pilot hadn't told him - or any of the other crew members - what they were. He had just told them to not go near them.
The Space Jockey was going to try his hardest to do as instructed. As he descended the levels to to cargo bay, his mind went to the objects, and he wondered what kind of creature came from eggs like that.
[00]
The young Space Jockey carefully walked along the path of the cargo bay. His eyes found themselves staring down at the thin blue haze; it was all that separated himself from the eggs. He did his best to assure himself the field would suffice, as long as he didn't slip down. He just wished he couldn't see the blasted objects.
'Hey!' The young one nearly fell over, the scream echoing in his head. He turned, catching himself on the path, one leg hanging down below the haze.
'What do you want, Chizzrik?' the young one asked, doing his best to slow his heart. The Space Jockey that had called, Chizzrik, smiled, and hopped onto the path. She held out a hand and the young one took it.
'You look tense, Bryggl. Is everything alright?' She asked, pulling the young one up.
'No. The pilot told me to get down here and fetch the fuel canisters so we can stay functional.' Bryggl brushed himself off and Chizzrik stared.
'Fuel canisters? I don't remember any fuel canisters.' Bryggl nearly fell into the haze once more.
'What?' He cried 'But the pilot! The fuel!' He began to panic, and Chizzrik grabbed his shoulders.
'Bryggl! Calm down! There might be some. I just don't remember there being any.' She said, soothingly. The young one took a few deep breaths, and Chizzrik smiled. 'Now, come on. Let's get across and see what we can find.'
Bryggl wasn't going to lie to himself and say he wasn't pleased with the company. As the two walked down the path, smiling and conversing, neither paid any attention to the eggs below the haze; the eggs that began to writhe.
[00]
The pilot kept a close eye on the screen, doing his best to keep the Derelict going on minimum power. He continued to glance back at the fuel levels, hoping that he'd soon see them full.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
The pilot glared at the message repeating itself. What was he supposed to do? He had sent the young one to check and to refuel if needed. There were only two others on board; a navigation officer and a medical officer. He growled, drumming his fingers on the chair's arm. He looked down at himself, and remembered the pain of getting grafted to the chair. He had known it would happen if he managed to succeed his classes. All pilots were grafted to their ships to minimize a hijacking.
Of course, realizing what was going to happen did little to help the pain. He had cried and prayed to every deity he could remember, but once it was all over, he felt proud.
The pilot smiled, gently caressing the arm of the chair - his chair. Closing his eyes, he allowed the Derelict to float aimlessly for a while. The power cells died, and all energy went to the interior lights. The pilot decided the crew would let him know the fuel caps had been filled to the brim. Until then, he decided he could afford to relax.
[00]
Chizzrik and Bryggl made it across the platform and began to look through the items in cargo. Most were boxes of ore, some were empty. No fuel canisters.
'Perfect. The Gods hate us.' Bryggl spat, crossing his arms. Chizzrik placed a hand on his shoulder.
'We'll just send out an S.O.S. Someone will come by and I'm sure they'll help us.' Bryggl gazed at the medical officer, who offered a reassuring smile. He took it, and they began the walk back in silence. Bryggl kept his head down, and his eyes wandered to the haze. He froze.
'Chizzrik! The cargo!'
'What about it? Did you remember somewhere else we didn't look?'
'No! The cargo down there! The egg-things! They're moving!'
Chizzrik followed his finger and nearly screamed. They were moving, the lips quivered. Chizzrik felt her blood run cold and quickly raced down the side towards the nearest egg.
'Chizzrik!' She was only partially aware of Bryggl calling after her. The young one looked around, before quickly racing to the older female's side. Chizzrik gasped as the lips slowly parted, drawing outward like a flower in bloom. Chizzrik and Bryggl exchanged glances and they both carefully arched their heads forward. Inside was a mass of tissue pulsing with life. Both crew members' mouths were forming a small o as the tissue seemed to be sucked under by a creature. Only Chizzrik would see it was pale yellow in color, three inches long and had eight bony digits. A long tail wrapped itself around Bryggl's throat and the young one screamed as the creature latched onto his face. Chizzrik also screamed, racing forward and began to tug at the creature.
She was so caught up in trying to help the poor young one, she failed to notice another egg had bloomed and a similar creature was crawling towards the lip, prepared to strike.
[00]
Margrll looked up from his nap. He yawned, stretching his arms and stood. He stepped towards the door and exited his quarters. A frown greeted his features when he didn't see Bryggl walking towards him. Checking the clock, he began to worry more. Bryggl always showed up at this time, complaining about back pains and longing for rest. Margrll couldn't help but panic. He broke into a sprint and ran five feet before slowing down. What was he doing? Bryggl was probably just running an errand for the pilot. 'Yeah. He's running an errand. I'll see him later, yeah. Yeah.' He nodded to himself and continued on the way.
'Hello, pilot.' Margrll smiled as the pilot's eyes opened. The pilot looked over and gave a curt nod. Margrll looked over at the screen and frowned.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
'Looks like we're low on fuel.' Margrll pointed out. The pilot looked at the screen, and his eyes widened.
'Bryggl was supposed to take care of that last lunar cycle!' He cried, fingers digging into his chair. Margrll looked over at him, his own eyes as wide as the pilot's.
'You mean you haven't seen him since then?' The pilot shook his head.
'And to top it off,' the pilot wished he would stop remembering these things, 'Chizzrik hasn't reported it, either.' Margrll stared.
'Okay, maybe she overslept. And Bryggl went to get the fuel canisters.' Margrll tried to reason, 'Then something happened and he slipped and fell into the pit.'
'I hope to tryg he didn't!' The pilot roared, wishing he could stand from his chair and check on the two, personally. Margrll backed away.
'I'll go check out the cargo area.' He left, leaving the pilot to sit alone with his thoughts.
Dozens of "what if" options flooded his mind. What if they did fall into the pit? What if they were injured? What if ... What if ...
The pilot fought away the images. They would be fine.
'But, if they did fall into the pit ...' the pilot squeezed his eyes closed.
He then began to pray to every deity imaginable, praying that they were fine. He also prayed his prayers would be answered.
[00]
Bryggl groaned, pushing himself from the ground. He opened his eyes, and looked around. 'Chizzrik?' Another look around and the young one found his comrade laying on her stomach. He quickly crawled over and shook her shoulder. 'Chizzrik? Wake up!' The female groaned and opened her eyes.
'Where is it?' she cried, a hand going to her throat. She could still feel the tail cutting off her airflow. She should be dead, but she wasn't. Neither was Bryggl.
'Bryggl! Bryggl, where are you?'
'Margrll?' Chizzrik looked up along with the young one. Margrll stared and laughed.
'Chizzrik! Thank the Gods! Come on, let's get you two out of there.' He lowered his hand through the haze, and both Space Jockeys took it, grateful to be out of the pit.
'I'm thirsty.'
'So am I.' Chizzrik rubbed her throat, and Margrll laughed.
'Let's get you two some liquids, then.'
[00]
Bryggl laid in his quarters, eyes fixed on the ceiling. He and Chizzrik had nearly cleaned out the cafeteria, their appetites ravenous. Even now, Bryggl was still hungry, his throat was dry and he had a headache.
He closed his eyes, and took a deep intake of breath. A sharp pain hit him in the chest. He gasped, throwing a hand over his ribcage. Another pain, and he cried out in agony.
'Margrll! Chizzrik!' He screamed, more pain erupting in his chest. It felt like his lungs were on fire. No. It felt like something was pushing against his lungs. He bit his tongue as another wave of pain hit him, more violent than before. He felt a crack, and groaned in pain. Bright lights exploded in his vision as the pounding became more frequent. Finally, with a roar of pain, he felt his chest explode. Before darkness took him, he heard a high-pitched squeal.
[00]
Chizzrik's experience wasn't any better. She was in the medical bay, checking over her equipment when the first assault began. She had screamed and fallen to the floor, beakers, papers and a microscope went clattering to the floor. She arched her back and cried out in pain as the pressure continued. Violent thrusts inside her chest, she felt her lungs were about ready to burst. She squeezed her eyes closed, begging for death.
Death came in a spray of bone, muscle and blood. She was dead before her back dropped onto the floor. The embryo she had been incubating turned towards her carcass and growled.
[00]
Margrll nearly lost everything in his stomach again when he entered the medical bay. He had rushed from Bryggl's quarters to check on the young one and had found a blood bath. He had doubled over and emptied his stomach right outside the young one's quarters before racing down the hall, legs feeling like wet noodles, screaming for Chizzrik. When he found the second blood bath, it was too much.
Margrll fell backwards and crawled away, his brain couldn't handle it. He felt like it was freezing up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'Pilot!'
[00]
The pilot closed his eyes as Margrll raced into the room. Tears ran down his face and he was panting.
'Chizz'k! Br'gl! Dead! Blood! Holes! Chest! Dead! Dead. Dead...' The pilot stared, Margrll was completely swarmed with emotions. The pilot figured his brain had been broken. He didn't need to understand everything. The repeated 'dead' was enough. Chizzrik and Bryggl were dead. He closed his eyes to drown out the navigation officer's sobs. He heard a 'gak!' and opened his eyes. Behind him was a tall black creature. A large oblong head raised and it emitted a low hiss. The pilot tensed more when he saw a second creature appear, this one flicking away a transparent sheet. The pilot stared at the sheet, and realized it was shed skin.
The two creatures looked at each other, and hissed, clicked and growled. It was as if they were conversing. The pilot noticed the features around their mouths closely resembled his own. Long black tail curled from behind them, ending in sharp barbs. Their shoulders broad. One raised a hand towards the pilot; the other raised his towards the door. They seemed to be arguing, but stopped, both heads turned towards the pilot.
They backed away, slowly, but did not leave the room. The pilot watched them before feeling something wrap itself around his throat. The pilot gasped, fingers digging into his chair as something moist came into contact with his face and something forced its way into his mouth and down his throat.
[00]
The pilot awoke. The creatures were gone; as was whatever had attacked him. Looking over, he saw Margrll was also gone. The pilot looked over at the screen.
Warning: Fuel Levels are Low.
Please Refuel.
Danger! Fuel Levels are at 2%.
Please Refuel Now or Evacuate the Ship.
Danger! Fuel Levels are at 2%.
Please Refuel Now or Evacuate the Ship.
Alarms rang out around him. The pilot knew what was going to happen. They should have never harvested those eggs from the planet. He saw what had happened to the others. But the pay from a company from Earth, Weyland-Yutani was it?, it was too good an offer to pass up.
Now, a pain hit him. It was dull, but he knew it would grow. The eggs, the monsters, they were on the ship. One would emerge from him. Closing his eyes, he set a crash course for an uninhabited planet. A wasteland so barren no one would ever want to colonize.
Another shot of pain, this one greater than the last. Warning signals blared. He cried out in pain.
Danger! Fuel Levels are at .0856%.
Please Evacuate the Ship!
Warning! The Ship's Coordinates Are Incorrect.
Please Fix the Coordinates.
Five Minutes Until Ship Crashes.
Please Evacuate the Ship!
His chest ached. The pilot cried in agony. He would die. He knew he would die. But by the Gods, he was going to take every last one of these monsters with him! In the last moments of his life, the pilot recollected on his past. His thoughts lingered on his Grafting Ceremony. He had cried, he had prayed. He thought he would never feel a pain greater than that. He was right. This feeling was nothing compared to his Grafting Ceremony.
The pilot's chest stretched forward. The warning alarms rang in his ears. He closed his eyes and screamed in pain. As the monster finally was expelled from his chest, the pilot gave one last thought for himself, and one for the computer systems.
I am the Derelict. I feel it's pain. When it dies, I will die. I am Derelict.
[00]
The Derelict crashed. Sand, rock, dirt, and debris flew in every direction. The alarms inside rang out loudly. In his quarters, Bryggl's body lay flat, eyes wide; staring at the celing before being tossed carelessly out the large window. Where it landed was unknown. In the medical bay, Chizzrik's corpse rolled slamming into a wall. Chemicals rained down on her body and began to eat at the flesh. Down in the cargo bay, Margrll's body shot forward, a hole plowed through his chest. The monster that had just claimed its freedom was squashed under his mass. The other two monsters roared as their bodies flew forward. One creature was cleaved in half by his comrade's tail blade; the other fell on his own, acid mixed with acid and ate away at the floor below them.
In the cockpit, the body of the pilot laid still. A fresh hole in his chest. Ivory bones curved outward, blood splattered against the screen, his face, clothing and floor. His face was contorted in horror. The broken monitor flicked in it's own dying life. It sent out a signal, the last signal sent by the Pilot.
Warning! Do Not Enter Planetary Zone!
Quarantine In Effect Until Date: 4098.
Stay Away! For the Love of the Gods, Stay Away!
Blood. Death. Death. Pain. Death.
Death...
With a choke, the screen turned black.