The Dreadnought Incident
Chapter I: Discovery
I slowly crept down the badly lit corridor aboard the Space Exploration Ship Dreadnought. There had been rumors of an Ares spy being on board the Dreadnought, and the guys down in the Security had finally gotten a faint picture of it in the service ducts. So, as a low-ranking Security member it was part of my job to go and check it out. Seichi, a slightly higher-ranking member of Security had joined me, just in case we did find the spy. As we walked down the boring grey corridors towards the engineering shafts, we talked about whether it was actually an Ares spy, or, more likely, just one of the guys a few decks down from the engineering base doing a practical joke. Usually, I would stay in the Security Office and do some paperwork, but at last I i've been allowed to go out on a "mission". I say mission, though the term is used loosely. It's just a way for the snobs in the upper ranks to stop us complaining about boredom and the like.
I and Seichi both stopped at the brightly-lit entrance to the dark and gloomy corridors of the engineering decks. We entered our security codes and passed through to the other side, the sliding door automatically closing behind us. I'd heard many rumors about what goes on in these dark passageways. Only a few weeks ago someone told me that one of the low-ranking newbies up on Flight Deck had been murdered here while exploring the ship, but it was hushed up by the high-ranking officers at the Admiralty. Silly rubbish. An eerie silence grew around us as we crept further and further down the dark passageway in the engineering shafts. The corridor also got shorter and narrower, until Seichi, being quite tall and muscular, had to bend his knees slightly to be able to walk without scraping his head on the hard metal ceiling.
Eventually, we reached a fork in the dark, narrow corridor. Seichi, being in command of the mission, gave the order to split up. I tried to talk him out of it, and request backup, but he stuck with the order. We kept our radios on, and for the next few minutes we talked about new 3DVideos and Anti-Grav Snooker matches. Suddenly, I heard a loud scream over the intercom and then, nothing. Stopping, I desperately tried talking to him, but no reply came. I turned around and quickly headed back towards the entrance to the service ducts. After a minute or so I reached the point at where the fork split, and continued back down towards the main part of the ship.
Suddenly, I heard a loud clicking noise behind me. I swiftly turned, only to look straight down the barrel of a large particle rifle, held by a muscular blue-skinned, 7-foot tall Ares spy. Before I had a chance to turn and run again, the genetically enhanced beast before me pulled the trigger. The blast left a chunk of my head missing, and a large scorch mark and blood stains on the wall behind me. I fell to the floor, dead.