Outlaw Star. Everlong. Chapter
Somewhere far off in space and some light years away from any stationary planet a red ship calmly floated through the galaxy.
"Ugh!" grumbled a red haired man. "This is so boring! I can't believe I am just sitting, trying to fins scrapes of ships!"
A nineteen-year-old looking boy with slightly long blond hair pulled back with some bangs covering his eyes, beamed his blue eyes right at his red haired friend. "Listen, Gene fricking Starwind. You hear that tiny little voice deep inside your head, telling you to pay back Fred Luo, even if it means taking on a crummy job like this?" said the boy.
Gene grumbled again. "...What I think I hear is a Tequila calling me...And it's not even FIVE yet!" he complained.
"You are a hopeless twenty-seven year-old." said the blonde boy.
"Like you're one to talk, Jim! Your how old now? Ninteen? And not a girl to claim as your own. How pathetic!" Gene laughed.
"Oh shut up, you ass!" Jim blushed and turned back around in his seat.
"You guys look!" A young woman inside a red tube-like vessel caught the two's attention towards something a little ways ahead of them.
Jim scooted up in his seat. "What is it?"
Suddenly a mechanical talking voice started explaining. "It appears to be some kind of ship. Though you could hardly call it that...would you like me to investigate it more Mr. Starwind and Hawking?"
"Sure, Gelliam. Good thinking." said Gene.
The crew waited for a while till the mechanical voice known as Gelliam began speaking again. "It appears to be a USSA experimental holding ship. It is dated back some 100 years ago..."
"100 years? Whoa!" said Jim. "Gene! Let's take a look!"
"Yeah," said Gene. "If this thing is worth anything, I'm sure no one is going to miss it!"
As the ship inched closer the bigger everything thing got.
"For such an old ship it sure is huge." said Jim. "Least we won't have to worry about running into anyone."
"Good," said Gene. "Then you can go inside."
Jim shot a nasty look at him and said, "The hell I am! I went last time I nearly got my butt shot off!"
"Erk! And who's fault was that?" said Gene.
"Yours!" Jim shot back.
Gene gave him an angry yet confused look. "How...?"
"Boys!" said the woman.
"What is it, Melfina?" asked Gene.
"Someone...or something is trying to get a hold of us from within that ship!"
"Are you sure, Mel?" asked Jim.
"Mhm! Positive! Should I have Gelliam send the message through?"
Jim looked at Gene and Gene look at Jim. "Curious enough to find out?" asked Jim.
Gene thought for a while and then nodded. "Yeah, send it through. I've done nothing but sit around for the past 3 hours. I wanna know what's up."
Jim turned back around and finally said, "Send it through Gelliam!"
At first all they could see and hear was static; then, within a few moments figures and voices appeared before the screen that sat high in the air for the three friends to see.
"Help!...We can't...Someone...It...fail...They have...no...!"
Still looking at the screen, Jim said, "What do you suppose...?"
"This is...a recording." said Gene. "This has already happened."
"Psh! Way to go smart one. Like I wouldn't have figured that one out when you said recording."
"Shut up!"
"Keep listening!" Melfina interrupted their fight." The three kept listening to the recording, trying to make sense of it. What they could make out was a woman talking frantically and some others in the background running around and screaming. Then all of a sudden the recording stopped and the screen went black.
"Is that it?" asked Gene. "Gelliam?"
"Sorry, Gene. I tried shutting it down as soon as the recording was done, but it seems that someone or something else is tinkering with it on the other side."
"Other side..." breathed Jim. "What should we do?" he asked.
"Stay here and wait for some damn answers." said Gene.
Jim sighed and placed his arms behind his head. Just then a quiet voice came through the other side. "Hello?...Is...out there?...Please...Scared."
"Gelliam," said Gene. "Is this another recording?"
"No. It appears that this is happening right now. It is a SOS."
"Gene!" cried Jim. "It's a cry for help!"
Gene got a serious look on his face. "Who would be sending an SOS from a ship thats 100 years old?"
"Gene...should we send a message through to them?" suggested Melfina.
Gene nodded. "We mind as well." Gene then cleared his throat and said, "This is the Outlaw Star. We have reached your SOS single. State your current situation."
"I...don't know...I am." said the voice.
Gene sighed. "Gelliam...is there any way to fix this static?"
"I shall see." said Gelliam.
"Help me..." said the voice again.
"Who are you?" Jim asked suddenly.
"My name is...Linnet...Dophenburger..."
"Dophenburg...?" whispered Jim.
"I don't know...where I am...I was...Part of the THRRE project."
"THRRE project?" said Gene.
"The Human Research Reserve Experiment." said Melfina.
Gene glanced at her and said, "How did you know that?"
"I've looked into the ships main interior and while doing that I found out some more information on it. This ship held the THRRE project. The main intention of this project was freezing the human body for years. Reserving it."
"That's just creepy..." said Jim.
"Anybody?" said the voice.
"Ah!...Right," said Gene. "We'll send be sending someone in right away. Hold on. Jim, go inside."
"WHAT? No!"
"Do it! Don't argue with me, kid!"
"Melfina! Talk some sense into this guy of yours!"
Melfina chuckled. "Gene...Maybe you should go inside this time."
Gene grumbled. "Oh alright!" Gene got up from his seat and headed back to get on his space suit.
After getting on his suit an ironed line was shot across to the ship and connected. "Ok. Here I go." said Gene. "If I die...I'm coming back to haunt you, Jim."
Jim's voice came through a tiny microphone attached to Gene's ear. "Ooh. I'm so scared. Get going, space cherry!"
"Shut up damn it! I am NOT a space cherry! That was eight years ago!"
"Be careful, Gene." said Melfina.
"Yeah...Thanks."
Once Gene reached the other ship and was inside it was nothing complete silence.
"This place is already creeping me out...And that smell...what is that God awful smell?" said Gene as he took off his helmet.
"Hold on, Gene...Jim is now messing with the controls over on your side...some lights should be turning on in just a second."
Within 30 seconds a few lights here and there flashed on. Some flickered and others had a dim light to them. "AHH!" yelled Gene.
"What? What's wrong?" asked Melfina.
"D-dead...Bodies! No wonder it smells!"
"Dead bodies?" said Jim.
"Yeah...though...most of them have already decomposed...the stench still lingers. I'm putting my helmet back on." Gene carefully placed his helmet back on and pressed a button on the side to blow in new air. "There. Now I can breathe."
Gene followed a trail of aged blood that was in splatters and some dead bodies here and there. "What the...Who the hell would do something like this?" Suddenly he came to a large door that read 'Main ship area'. He stood in front of it for a while and then it opened. When he stepped inside he saw no one. Only a single blue light that was illuminating from a screen over on a desk. Gene walked over to it, assuming that this was where the SOS call was being made, but when he got over there, no one was in sight.
"Gene...Do you see anyone yet?" asked Jim.
"No...But I found the room where the call was being made."
Gene heard Jim sigh. "Do you want to head back? Maybe this was just a fluke?"
"Seems that way. Yeah...I'm heading back."
As Gene made his way back to the door that opened for him again to pass through he stopped when he heard a clash back inside the room.
"What was that?" asked Jim. "Tell me that was you that made that sound."
"No...it wasn't me this time." Gene stepped away from the door and went back inside the room. He kept quiet, hoping to hear something move again and after a minute or so, he did. "Ah hah! Over there!" he quickly walked over to a desk that stood a few feet away from where the screen was and looked under it. "Hey," said Gene. "I see someone. Hey you! Who are you?"
The figure stood still. "Hey!...Say something damn it!" he reached for the person by the ankle and pulled them out from where they were hiding.
"Who is it, Gene?" asked Melfina.
For a while Gene couldn't talk. He was speachless.
"Hey! Earth to Gene Starwind! Who did you find?" said Jim.
"I think I found this so-called Linnet Dophenburg..."
"So it wasn't a fluke!" said Jim.
Gene said, "No. But what do I do now? She's too scared to talk to me."
"Bring her back to the ship, Gene." Melfina said.
"Alright. But first I have to find a suit that will fit her. Jim...Could you locate the room where may be some suits for us?"
"Sure thing. Just a sec."
In the mean time, Gene tried getting this Linnet girl to talk. "Hey...you're going to be alright now."
The girl held her arms around her and shook. "You're...you're going to help me?"
"Yeah. I mean...it be pretty stupid for anyone to just leave a helpless person here...Ah crap! Listen to me! I'm starting to sound like a softy!" The girl grinned a little. "Oh! Look, a smile! That's a good sign, right?" said Gene. The girl said nothing.
"Gene! I found a room where there should be some suits...It's in the next corridor over."
"Thanks, Jim. Alright, Linnet...I'm asuming thats your name, right? Let's go. I'm gonna get you out of here." He held out his hand and Linnet grabbed it slowly. He pulled her up and walked out of the room with her.
When they found the room where the rest of the suits would be, Gene found nothing but empty space suit cases. "Damn! They've all been taken." Gene said under his breath, not knowing what to do next. The girl, Linnet, then pointed towards a body that was laying on top of a suit. "Will this do?" she asked, pointing at it.
Gene grimaced. You want to where a suite that a man died on?
"Will it work?" she asked again.
"It should...Let's try it on." Gene picked up the suit and grimaced again at the sight of dried blood in front of the suit. He helped Linnet put it on and then the Helmet that had a few blood splatters on it as well. "How does it?" Gene asked her.
"It's a little bit, but it will do."
Gene tried hard not to think of the blood on her suit as he led her back to where he first started. "Jim...were heading back now. Linnet, hold on tight, ok?"
"Ok..." Gene held out an arm while he took hold of the ironed line. Linnet brought herself closer to Gene and held on tight as they were carefully brought back to the Outlaw Star.
Once inside and the air blew into the room, Gene removed his helmet and suit as did Linnet soon after.
"So glad to be out of there!" exclaimed Gene.
"Me too." said Linnet.
Gene scratched his head. "By the way...That reminds me...How did you end up on that ship?"
Linnet was about to answer Jim's voice sounded on a overcom. "Gene, take that girl to Melfina's room and then come back here. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. Questions can be asked later."
Gene grumbled. "Alright. Come on, kid." Gene led Linnet to Melfina's room on the ship and told her to sit tight; that they would be heading back to Sentinel III within a few hours.
Once Gene was gone and Linnet was by herself she looked around the room, noticing little cute things set all about the room: a tiny book shelf with a ballerina on of it holding a few books up. A mirror was placed a few feet away from it with some pictures stuck to it in the crevices of the mirror. Linnet walked over to it to get a better look at it. In some of the photo's she saw a young looking blond headed boy and an older red haired man. Probably the man from just before, she thought. But then in another photo she saw a woman, an older looking boy with blonde hair that was probably the same boy from the other photo and then the man who had brought her back to this ship. Linnet then focused her gaze on herself and lifted her hands to her cheeks, pressing on them. She could tell that she had gotten thinner, her hair looked finer and her skin more pale. She then looked at the thin white night shirt she was wearing and it was no wonder she was so cold. Linnet looked about the room some more and found a sweater to put on. She sat on the bed and decided to just take it easy. Falling asleep though was out of the question seeing how she had gotten plenty of that.