AN: Alright, I've returned (again) to this website. There must be a reason for doing so, none too sure why. Anyway, Chekov is not mine (as we all want him to be XD), yet the OC is, so yeah. Special thanks goes to St. Valentine, for her support and her wonderful Beta-ing skills and The Angel of Damocles for helping me structure this a bit better. This fic wouldn't have been possible without you guys. Another thank you goes to "Two Steps from Hell" and "Immediate Music" for helping me with the intense fight scenes. Okay…here goes. And also, the title, I feel, is temporary. So if anyone has suggestions, please lemme know ^^.
Dead Space
Chapter One: Languishing
______________________________________________________________________
The steely interior of the ship was, sadly, a good conductor of heat. It radiated from the walls, from the floor, and the metal entities around her, slowly, like a kiln. This news was hardly good for Hannah Ebonfield. Sweat coursed its strange lines down the young face, now haggard with doubt, to the dry riverbeds of her cracked lips. Her hazel eyes, once vibrant by working on such a glorious ship, now were dull, listless orbs perched in her pallid face.
Yet a flicker of something would spark in them every now and again, whenever a
Noise flared up and bounced across the walls and into her now all too sensitive ears. This would have been hard to see, of course; the only source of light coursed up the long walls in vermillion hues, darkness lay thickly across the vast expanse of the docking bay. The heat wasn't so bad when stationary, especially seated or crouched in the cavernous husk of the docking bay, yet it made her panic even more. The heat made her feel trapped, made her remember that she was trapped. For three long, staggering days, she desperately wanted a breath of cool, fresh air. Of course there was plenty of strangling ribbons of cold outside the ship's hull, but that would be suicide.
Would that be such a bad thing now?
She shook her dark, sweat, ridden locks; as an affirmation to herself. No. Suicide was not an option. It was cowardice. She was the only one who could report to the Federation about the misfortunate fate of the crew. Her insides crumbled. The crew. And anyway, whom could she report to? No one had received the distress call that she had sent out weeks ago. Maybe it wasn't assembled well enough. She was lucky enough that the crew of the USS Cygnus to have accepted her as young as she was. Her trivial eighteen years seemed to not look on her in a favorable way at the moment. The young engineer had sent it, not through command, but from one of the shuttles. The bridge was too dangerous, far too dangerous. She raked a vein-laced hand through her hair, panic beginning to clamp its steely jaws over her racing heart.
Hannah had stationed herself behind a few crates, somewhat in the open. It was the best place to do so; no one really expected someone to hide there in the first place, and, if anyone found her, she could easily get away. Of course, this was the best she could do right now. The engineer had narrowly escaped an untimely end in her quarters, but that now seemed like years ago, like a terrible dream that she had nearly convinced herself it wasn't real. Only that it was. The cracking fissures lining the tremulous glow of her overhead lamp, the near jumping out of her skin, their screams, her own screams.
The fear was still fresh, and not so easily forgotten. She gulped down whatever saliva she had left, hoping in vain it would quench her thirst. For comfort against her new environment, she had unzipped the top part of her jumpsuit and had tied it around her waist. A grease and sweat-stained tank lay underneath. Her head lolled back against the crates, her brow clouded in despair, her mouth partially open to calm her panic.
The thought of escape had often crossed her mind. She had tried to hack into the computers system to gain clearance, and would have easily guided a pod out into the dark waters of space. Her efforts failed, partially on account of the fact that she was not too good with hacking. She had thought of sneaking into the command center and manually doing it. Too risky. Too much noise and she might have disturbed the crew. Her eyes gauzed briefly against the abandoned shell of a shuttle. One of her crewmates had attempted to pilot out of the bay, and was unsuccessful. The doors hadn't opened; he tried to maneuver around them, yet to no avail. The stench of dead human didn't really help.
So, she was now a damsel in distress, which she regretted to the highest of her morals. This new line of thought would have brought tears to her eyes, if her body had the water to produce them. A shaky sigh slipped through her, knowing that she had failed to produce the need for her body. She didn't remember the last time when water had graced the cavern of her mouth, which was now bone-dry. Her tongue lazed across her lips, like rough sandpaper. The engineer had to try, if it meant her very life. She was trapped here, and no one was coming to help her. Hannah listened for a moment, both to steel her and to see if she was alone.
Alone. Good.
A sweaty hand reached for her long-necked hammer. It had proved its use in the not too distant past. Her phaser had shorted on her, and without the necessary parts, she had to make due. She looked at it briefly, cradling its slender, yet devastating head. Fighting was not one of her strengths, even though she wished it to be. Especially now. Being quiet was also not one of her strengths. Being called a klutz would have suggested such, but she had no other choice. Hannah finally stood shakily. The darkness held many mysteries unbeknownst to her, yet she had seen some of its terrifying faces. She slung a water canteen that she had salvaged from one of the shuttles, and presently, as stealthily as she could, made her way to the door. Her footfalls probably wouldn't have given her away, but her breathing would. Her heart raced erratically, and combined with the heat, made it all the worse for her.
The steely door awaited her in a reddened glow; almost foreshadowing what events would lie beyond its papery thin partition. She sucked in a breath as she stood, entering the claw bit of the hammer into a panel, and rending it forth, pressing a few buttons, as the doors seemed to pucker and then slowly open, seamlessly as the slowly yawing passageway showed the darkness ahead. She slowly wiped the sweat from her brow as she stepped in slowly, her lip crammed between her teeth.
The dark seemed to swallow the young engineer whole, as the doors sighed shut behind her; a horrifying maw. It wasn't too far from the canteen, but it would take what felt like years to get there, she knew. Hannah slid along a wall, hoping she wouldn't encounter any horrifying faces in the dark. The sound of the backup generator immediately disappeared behind the mask of silence. She pulled through corridor after corridor, her breath attempting to slow itself down. She reached the proximity of the canteen, her hands slippery with sweat, and puckered fingers, that were in a strangulating like clutch around the neck of the hammer. The engineer could feel her heart exploding in her head, the stench from her and the stale ship churning her fragile stomach. A thought burst in her skull, like a bubble reaching the surface of calm waters. When was the last time she had eaten anything? Her stomach growled defiantly and her brow furrowed deeply, shushing its cries.
A sharp crash echoed from her left, and a gasp choked itself from her throat. Hannah stumbled into a wall and held herself there, for fear of revealing herself. The red light made distinct and simplistic shadows across the expanse of the hallway, her heart hammering against her ribs despairingly. Hannah pulled herself into a crouch against a wall in shadow, her breath coming out in short rasps. Another crash came again, yet not as loud, a grunt slowly trawling its way to her ears. She quickly peeked around the closest corner, gritting her teeth. A dark silhouette encompassed in shades of carnelian brusquely flung something heavily across the room, a dissatisfied snort emitting from its being.
Hannah pulled herself from the floor and doubled back, nearly tripping over herself. She inwardly cursed, knowing that was the most direct way to the canteen. As another growl resounded across the fragile metal walls, she assured herself that there was another way, yet it would take longer to get there, and she didn't want to have to be in this area of the ship much longer than she really had to be. The engineer shook her head, whispered a few words of encouragement to her and took off down another corridor.
The time Hannah had to take to inspect every few feet ahead seemed to take hours. Staring into the blackness gave her more of a headache that she slowly recognized. The engineer ignored it as best she could, crouching against the wall, the door to the canteen on her left. The small of her back pressed against the wall, as she repeated the same routine with the door of the docking bay. It swiftly opened, and shut behind her. She didn't seem to notice, as she stared out of the three meters of poly carbon ahead of her. The stars peppered the blackness like grains of sand, and a calm began to flood her body. Don't worry, you've got this. She nearly smiled to herself as she began to head behind the counter that was to her left. The smell of stale food permeated her nose, which added to the strange patina of smells that already plagued the engineer. Hannah quickly pulled behind the counter, clamping down on her nausea, her heart leaping in joy as her visage took in the darkened utility sink.
"Perfect" she whispered. She almost ran to it, seeming to forget the dangers around her. She quickly turned on the water faucet, placing her hands underneath it in hopes for cool clear water to emerge.
There was a brief gurgling, and then nothing. Her brow clouded "No…" a whisper cut through the dark. She had come so far, only to be rewarded nothing. A deep current of anger pricked her veins. The engineer shook her head nearly laughing There's gotta be some…bottled water somewhere? I dunno… Pulling herself together against the deepening throes of desperation, she carelessly walked to the door behind the counter, proceeding with the claw end of the hammer, when suddenly she felt a deep gaze behind her.
The engineer froze; hammer still in the wall ahead of her. A deep, reverberating growl, plucked at the little hairs on the back of her neck, making her inadvertently shudder. She quickly sucked in a breath as she turned. Yellow eyes glowered at her in the admonishing dark; a shape crouched haphazardly on the countertop.
"Shit" she whispered to herself, in wide eyed fear.
A sound that was distinctly human and yet not so, rended through the fragile silence. The mass of the creature that was perched on the countertop ripped forward through space, deadly arms pulled forward capture his prey. Hannah attempted to pull the hammer from the wall, and in desperation, cried out and gave a final pull. A deadly pirouette from her and her extended hammer cracked into the skull of the beast. A cry launched itself from its degenerate lungs, yet she had no time to look where it landed. Shocked at what she had done, she ran as fast as her fatigued body would allow. She quickly skimmed through the metallic doors, and pushed necessary buttons to close it.
Her breath hitched violently as it did nothing. "C'mon! C'mon!" She breathed huskily, attempting one more time. Something inside the canteen began to move, drunk with injury. A roar of pain and anguish signaled the coming of her unwanted opponent. She drew in a breath to attempt to calm herself, yet she shook deeply with each move. The door finally managed to slide shut. Hannah stumbled away, in relief, as she was suddenly safe. A tremor from the metal made her start and she ran again, none too sure if it would hold him, or if their little skirmish had disturbed others.
Her lungs were none too happy with her as she pulled around corner after corner. She almost seemed to skid after each turn, the metal appearing slick against her boots. She quickly skidded to a halt as three shapes loomed ahead of her. They paused, as they appeared to ascent to one another that this, indeed, was prey. She cursed under her breath, tears pricking themselves into existence at her eyes. She turned quickly, struggling against the sluggishness of her body. Her hands slid across the slick surfaces of the walls to steady herself. She could almost feel their hot breath on her back as she pulled across one last corridor. A despairing smile cut her face.
There it was. The door to the hangar bay.
Something sharp rended itself deeply into her back. A gasp exclaimed itself from her throat as she crashed into a wall, tripping over her own feet. Her head bounced off the plastic wall, confusing her. The engineer felt a quick snap as she fell to the floor. The strange euphoria of shock flooded her mind, as hitched cries of pain and panic escaped her throat. Her dizzying sight trailed over to her hammer in a far corner near the door. She struggled to pull herself up towards her weapon, her hands slipping in the blood that dripped freely from the new made wound. Strong arms grabbed her from behind attempting to pull her backwards. A deep strain of panic flooded her head: she only knew one that thing and that was to flee with every cell of strength she had left in her body. She screamed, kicked, did just about anything to wrench herself from the painful grasp of her captor.
Hannah felt sharp teeth graze against her shoulder, and a mere fact did her mind. She quickly reached into one of her many pockets, as attempting to struggle free. Thankfully, her sweat acted as a grimy lubricant as she pulled itself nearly free from its grasp. Hannah quickly moved her arm, and gritted her teeth against the sharp pain of her leg. A spark of hope filled her eyes as she procured the grey remote control. With one last pull, she freed herself in the direction of the door. She gingerly, in spite of her leg, pressed herself against the doorframe, and pressed the button as hard as she could. Red phaser fire erupted from above the left and right corners of the wall. Screams of pain flung themselves out of the beasts. The young engineer nearly felt her heart erupting with the phasers. One by one they loped off in defeat, the last of them screaming at her in rage before heading off with the rest.
A frightened sigh cut through her, pressing the button once more when they were finally out of sight. Her head lolled back against the metal exterior of the door. The engineer's gaze eventually landed on one of the phasers; she was glad to have rigged them there. Yet a tinge of sadness and frustration pulled at her. Again, she had failed to procure precious water. An angry fist pummeled the ground, as tears mixed with her blood, her sweat. Hannah had given everything she had; yet it still wasn't good enough. She was going to die here, she was sure of it. "Dammit, Hannah. Think of Andrey…"
Another deep breath exhumed itself from her as she attempted to stand. Tendrils of pain flared in her leg as soon as she put weight on it. A strangulated cry flung from her lips as she pressed against the door, frustrated tears gently coursing their way through the grime. She shook her head, seeing the black spots signaling her body attempting to shut down. Her fingers feebly pressed the buttons for the door as she entered, and continued the same routine.
The engineer practically dragged herself across the room to a shuttle, more or less flung herself at the floor, and the vermillion faded into deep hues of black.
______________________________________________________________________
AN: Don't worry our favourite crew will be in the next chapter ^^. Also…for das fight scenes, I believe "Brand X – Unstoppable", "Two Steps from Hell – Sons of War", and "Trailerhead – Emoyrean Mercenaries" are good to listen to. Lemme know if you find anything else.