AN: Sorry for the hiatus guys! My job has crazy hours (like…twelve to fourteen a day. I mean, I've been getting off early, but soon :weep: ), anyway, for those of you that have pointed out certain errors to me (and have done so in a wonderfully constructive fashion), thank you very VERY much! (you know who you are ^^). Please continue to do so, and I will attempt to fix it when I can. And thanks again for those of you whom keep returning to read this pathetic story XD. I hope it entertains you…uh what else. OH! If you also want music to accompany your reading, look up "Beshem" on youtube and then look for "Epic Music" as a playlist. I am aware that if one puts urls in such a document, it gets strange, so yeah, I'll tell you this way. If you have any suggestions on music, lemme know ^^. Alright, I'll shut up now.
Chapter Three: Labyrinth
The four figures entered the shadow-stained halls; vermillion threads being the only light source that seemed to beckon them to their destination. The heat receded only slightly, yet that made everything far more uncomfortable, stuffy and quiet, which betrayed the visage of its sleek interior. Though the engineer appeared to have many doubts, Chekov seemed to feel at home on the Cygnus. Everything was printed neatly in his mother language, and it made him smile. To have known that his people had gone so far. His confidence soared even further knowing that at least three crewmembers of the enterprise would escort the injured engineer back to their ship. Blue eyes quickly glanced backwards. How difficult could things be? Sure, it was dark, and a little too warm (more so than he was willing to admit), yet what was the engineer afraid of? There had been no evidence of such terrifying and maddening entities wrapped in ebon fingers. Dehydration did much to torment its victim, with grandiose hallucinations, of whispers in the dark. He wanted to turn to Hannah and tell her that she was in good hands, yet the silence choked back his words. Then again, what reason had she to lie? She seemed trustworthy enough and even more so by the fear that seemed to cling most visibly to her form. Yet he had heard stories of such betrayals.
The only evidence of the doors sliding quietly shut was the industrious churning of the backup generator disappearing completely behind them. Though it was dark, a quick glint caught Chekov's eye. That hammer seemed to be an extension of her right arm, yet he was curious as to why she didn't use something that was a bit more technologically advanced. He didn't pay it much mind while he was advancing confidently through the hallway, albeit a bit loudly, as if everything were perfectly normal. Yet he stopped at the weight of a weak hand on his shoulder, nearly startling him. Hannah tried to pull him back, but she stumbled forward, bumping into him. Before he could answer the engineer quickly put a finger to his lips, shaking her head, as if the slightest sound would evoke something within the dark that had sharp and pointy teeth. The Russian ensign turned to her and softly smiled, almost as if to say, 'Now, now, there isn't anything to be frightened of'. Yet for some reason, she couldn't be consoled. The symptoms of dehydration entered his mind again.
Until a deep growl permeated the darkness in deadening throes.
A shudder cut through Hannah, both instantaneously and visibly. Her breath contracted, as her hands grew taut over the hammer, ready to strike anything in her way. A deafening silence invaded their pause, enveloping the four of them. Kirk, seeming to sense no immediate danger, whispered within the depths of the silence almost impulsively, "Now that didn't sound too friendly."
A sound, that was partially human and clearly something else, flung itself across the narrow hallway. Chekov's skin prickled at the horror that lay somewhere in its home of the darkened expanse. He noticed that the engineer had seemed to forget that they were there. She clutched at her head in seeming frustration, in a futile attempt to steel herself.
Whatever lay in the dark was now loping towards them, quick thuds against the scuffed carpeting. The Captain, though almost knowing it was fruitless, as he had his phaser drawn, tried to pull away the depths of the darkness with his gaze.
"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S Enterprise. Identify yourself. We mean you no harm" There was no pause in advancement, even as flashlights were turned on once more. Chekov though he heard McCoy make a sound of discontent, but wasn't too sure as the…thing suddenly stopped, hands going up to block the fastidious beams. It was hard to see within the shallow length of the beam, yet it appeared somewhat green and maybe had thorny protrusions or…something.
"What the hell is that thing?" A reply seemed to slip from the Doctors lips out of sheer curiosity.
"So much for negotiations." Kirk sighed.
The green light of a phaser snapped through the dark, flaring into the beast. It howled disparagingly in pain, as it still loped forward. A thorny arm lashed out at the engineer, attempting to either knock her to the floor, or to rend her throat open. Hannah was frozen to the spot, agape in fear, as a silent scream traced itself into the contours of her face. Chekov felt as if time were a slowly freezing ice flow, as tendrils of light grew weak around its icy perimeter. He quickly reached for the engineer, turning her into the protection of his lank form, as another bolt from a sleek phaser cut quickly through its hand. The engineer struggled fiercely in his grasp, seeming to be in shock, her cries resounding across the sleek interior of the hallway. A note of frustration cut through Chekov. He had just saved her life, and this was how he was getting repaid? He gently shook her; attempting to bring her back to reality, which seemed to be working, only too slowly.
The Captain cocked his head to the side, as if to address the Russian ensign "Chekov! See what you can do in the engine room! We'll take care of this!"
Though the engineer was still breathing erratically, Chekov had seemed to calm her down significantly. He yelled over phaser fire, attempting to make eye contact in the darkened corridor. "Hannah! Ve must get to ze engine room! Ju need to pull jourself together!" He realized how "encouraging" that really sounded, and shook the embarrassment from his conscience. That was the best he could come up with? Really?
He received a shaky nod from her in the dark, as if to tell her self to pull it together and took in a deep breath. She took off down the adjacent hallway, Chekov quickly following behind. She wasn't terribly fast, hindered by her injury, but she appeared to have a spryness about her that was comforting; if they were in a tight spot, he was sure they could escape.
With the captain's orders, he began to feel more like a member of the crew. He was entrusted with Hannah's safety, to make sure that she was left unscathed, unharmed. A proud swell beamed in his heart as they reached their destination. He would be certain to protect her at whatever cost.
As she inserted the claw end of the hammer in a plate on the side of the door, Chekov was rudely pulled from his proud reverie. A shriek that scraped the back of the ensign's throat cut across the length of the ceiling and dropped only a meager few feet away from them. He quickly pulled his phaser on the beast, as it loped in earnest towards them, his skin prickling with adrenaline.
"Hannah, please, ve do not have much in zee vay of time…" Chekov urged, feeling suddenly sick at the thought of combat. He attempted to keep himself calm as best he could, feeling he could break any moment.
"I'm workin' on it! Chyort voz'mi!" The engineer loosely fumbled with some wires, her breath quite clearly audible.
The Russian felt his annoyance with her was increasing rather quickly, to his dismay. Not only did he feel that being patronized wasn't helping, but he thought that maybe she could expedite things a bit more. After all, she had been working on a Russian starship for quite sometime. Illustrated well with the "Damn it". Chekov gritted his teeth as he could almost feel its base intents from its gaze shoot straight into his own dialated pupils. As a piercing scream from the beast cut sharply across the Ensign's eardrums, he felt a soft arm wrap deftly around his waist and pull him into the confines of the engine room. The doors quickly hissed shut in front of the agitated beast, howling in fury.
The Russian ensign leaned against the warm metal of the door, exhaling quickly in short pants, his heart sliding back down his throat. Hannah was pressed against a wall, doing the same, the red light a bit more intense, as was the sound of the backup generator. The engineer limped closer to him. He suddenly noted that she smelled not necessarily terribly…well, maybe a little. But sharp notes of orange and bergamot seemed to prick his nostrils deftly. Yet there was an overwhelming smell of fuel that was present about her. She looked up at him, a dubiousness crossing her features. The Ensign wished that the red light would siphon itself away into the blackness, so that his pounding headache would go with it. And he wished slightly to see more of her, more so for whom he was really talking to…and rescuing.
"So…I guess that makes us even. And you're welcome, by the way." A smile pulled at the corner at her lips briefly. He couldn't help but smile back, and decided to use a phrase that the Captain seemed rather fond of, "Don't mention eet."
An impact across the, now, fragile metal door, made the two jump and Chekov pulled quickly far and away, nearly stumbling over her. Hannah nearly seemed to jump out of her skin, yet she remained firm and unmoving. An air of frustration quickly took over her, as stared at the doorframe, her fear seeming to disappear in place of anger or annoyance. "C'mon."
They quickly launched down stairways, the engineer glad to have the support of railings. They reached their destination as she quickly knelt by a dormant turbine; her form still appearing to be a bit shaky. Chekov trained his phaser on the darkness, none too sure if he would be able to protect them both. Yet he knew he had to; he had to keep her alive, because the Captain willed it. He wanted to prove to the Captain, more specifically to that blasted doctor, that he was well worthwhile keeping around. The ensign ground his teeth and looked over his shoulder briefly down to her work. "How much time vill you need to take, Miss Hannah?" A surprised, yet nervous laugh startled him, yet the ensign still watched the darkness.
"Uh…just Hannah. And not too long, just gotta…" Suddenly they were plunged into a perfect blackness.
"Fuck" was uttered in that brief silence, and Chekov would have laughed at the iconic comedic timing had he not doubted that they were alone. His throat felt a bit tighter as began fumbling for his flashlight too earnestly, the quick effects of nyctophobia setting in. The young ensign suddenly heard a sharp clang resound across the floor, which he then recognized as the object he sought. A cross between a sigh and a gasp escaped his lips quickly followed by a sharp, whispered curse. Not only because of the loss of the object that would restore his visage, but of the level of volume that might cost them their lives. Saliva quickly dropped down his esophagus, as he sucked in breath desperately, feeling the sudden, cloying fingers of darkness wrapping about his throat. His skin prickled as he began to feel eyes on him from nearly every direction. Chekov heard her utter a couple of more curses, several in his mother tongue, before there was a clang of metal against boot and the turbine whirred magnificently. The light flashed on almost instantaneously as Chekov's headache amplified. It was like having a poker jammed through his ear, yet he wasn't aware of it. He drew his hand away from his face to look over to the engineer.
She was relatively short, and slender, yet had a crudeness to her appearance. The thick-strapped tank that she wore was assumed to have been white at…one point or another. It was now stained with oil and sweat, even some blood, yet he didn't question where it could have come from. The rest of her burnt red jumpsuit was tied off at her waist. She was somewhat tanned, and her dark hair turned out to be a bit more reddish than he had expected. He hadn't been aware of it, most likely because of the red lighting. She was actually rather attractive. Probably more so with a shower. A seemingly guilty smile tinged her lips and various smudges of soot on her face puckered "Sorry…didn't mean to blind ya."
The two stood looking at each other for a while, and the ensign wasn't entirely sure what to say, running a hand over his unruly hair. She made a curt noise as she proceeded to launch herself down the next few staircases. Was her face a bit redder? It was hard to tell, more so because from being so suddenly drawn from their last environment. Chekov made a few strangulated noises before a question formed itself from the tangled mass of his thoughts "Vhere are ju going?"
The ensign hurried after her, afraid she might fall at the rate she was hurtling down the stairs. Hannah turned quickly, her messy hair whirling about her shoulders as she turned to look at him "Just gotta get power back to some more parts of the ship. No worries." She smiled at him. Chekov felt a current run deeply in him, and he wasn't entirely sure what it was. He shook its ghost off quickly, as he managed to catch up to her. As she already seemed to be deeply imbedded within her work, Chekov began to wonder if this were all real or not. It was very sobering to have encountered such terrifying odds; he had personally never fought anything, yet he thought that he would be more than capable against any of these creatures, easily. And for this to have been a Russian ship, he almost wished that someone else to talk to. Shaking his head, Chekov would try a Russian conversation out of the girl when he had the chance.
Hannah groaned, suddenly slumping over the sleek turbine. A current of fear and urgency cut through him as he rushed over to her. The engineer wiped her brow, as she finished her work quickly "Ar ju alright?" Chekov suddenly found it pointless awaiting an answer as he pulled Hannah's canteen from her form, uncapping it, and handing it to her. She gratefully took down several gulps, and handed it to him, encouraging him to do the same, hazel locking with blue. "It's just…a little too warm in here."
A short laugh murmured from the young ensign, another picked up phrase from his American crewmates stumbling from his lips "Ju can say zat again…"
Hannah grimaced, getting to her feet quickly. A hand cut through her tangled locks briefly, assessing her work, as if perusing a letter. With a nod, she opened the power flow to the generator, turning a winch at the top. And then something large dropped to the floor.
Both of them halted and Chekov whirled around. One of those things was staring him in the face. A strong, grimy hand flew to his throat, and lifted him off the ground. The ensign, shocked and asphyxiating, merely struggled in mid-air. He thought he heard a scream, half in fear, half in frustration. He suddenly felt himself weightless, hurtling backwards into a none too soft wall. The ensign's head connected blissfully, and his spine arched, soon slumping down the sleek wall.
Dazed and lost amongst a flurry of dark stars, blue eyes slowly escaped their alabaster lids, blinking in confusion. A hand reached out…his hand, attempting to sway their demonic captor from his current pursuit. Must…protect…must…must keep promise. Chekov was afraid that she was not able to protect herself. He tried to tell her to flee and leave him behind, yet the words shriveled like ash in the back of his throat. He blinked his eyes, attempting to clear his visage, yet the world remained in abstractions. A dark shape cut in front of the blanket of bright pastels that was now his world, as he lay crumpled in a heap. A sharp crack resounded through the porches of his skull, yet it was muddied by…something. A profusion of sable exploded from an impact as something thudded to the ground. He felt something warm spray his face, like a slap to pull him closer back to reality, and it did somehow. The ensign's hand traced his face briefly to pull away something dark. Before he could form a series of thoughts, the dark shape whirled back around and knelt close to him. It happened all so slowly, as if his head were immersed in luke-warm water. Green-brown eyes stared into his face, concerned. "You alright?"
Hannah was slashed in ribbons of black, as was her face; a trail of it across her cheek, some dripping from her chin. Chekov wasn't sure how to react; yet swallowed and was thankful to have his sight regained. "Ju'we got…err…" a finger floated faceward, pointing on his person where certain things shouldn't have been. She didn't seem to care, as she began attempting her best to see if her new acquaintance was all right. She flashed her fingers in front of the ensign's face "…chetyre…" a tired response escaped his lips, and then for clarity "Zat's…"
"Four. Yeah, I know…" was her wry response.
This heat was really beginning to get to him, as was all the running…in the heat. His head lulled against the wall once more, reluctant to continue as if to say Go on without me. The engineer sighed through her nose, as if to look past the childish heroics "Look, if I'm able to get through this, you can too. C'mon…" A grimace crossed her features briefly before reaching for his arm to pull him up. Spots danced in front of his visage. His body suddenly reminded him thirty seconds prior of what happened. A hiss crumpled his face as a sharpness carved through Chekov. The boy leaned against the wall briefly before a wail flew through the space between them and…
"Dammit, Pavel! Move!" The equally shrill and panicked voice of the engineer reminded him of the mission he was given. As if awaking from a deep slumber, or finally getting a joke long after it was told, dull slate awoke to bright azure in an instant. He found those terrified eyes; a captive of fear for an eternity. He must not let anything happen to her. He would uphold her perspective of his people for her. His heart swelled with waves of hope, suddenly full, staring back into those eyes. Though there was little said between them, he felt they shared so much. Though urgency crossed her battle taught features, a sudden calm flowed into him. The kind of calm that surgeons suddenly go into when realizing they have to save their patient…or something like that. Suddenly rejuvenated, and phaser drawn, his eyes gazed calmly upon three new forms invading the space. At that very moment, he almost felt the boy in him drift away.
He grabbed for her hand as he tore them both down a stairway, metal jaunting under their boots. Before the question escaped his lips, she answered for him "This way!" An unwavering finger pointed to a lift at the end of the hallway. They both sped down, hoping to evade their horrific adversaries. As they reached the steely doors, Hannah quickly pulled out a key card, with a cable attached, and jammed it into the lift. Chekov had his back turned to the doors, phaser pointed down the hallway. He directed the occasional glance in her direction to see if she had completed her task yet. A screech propounded the open maw of darkness. His brow furrowed. There was naught but sparks as the creature's right knee collapsed under its own weight.
"C'mon…c'mon!" was Hannah's response to the device that was currently lodged in the bulk of the door. Another squeal resumed as the doors to the lift began to give way. Both she and Chekov pulled quickly inside as she desperately pushed the button for the doors to close. A dark shaped loped closer screeching, completely uninhibited. Thankfully the lift doors shut not a moment too late, as something heavily collided with the three feet of metal in front of them. A sigh of relief cut through them both and equally jumped at the sound of Chekov's communicator blaring. A sigh attempted the slowing of his racing heart. "This is Ensign Chekov…"
"Chekov…thanks for getting power back online. Meet us in the medical bay…there's…some really interesting stuff here. Ebonfield still with you?"
A wary hand brushed his damp bangs from his face, and nodded as he looked over to his compatriot. Chest heaving, eyes wild, brow drenched in sweat. "Yes, Captain. She's alright…we vill try to be zere soon as ve can…" The last of the Captain's message slipped from his mind as he watched Hannah's knees buckle. Chekov caught Hannah at the waist as she slipped back into consciousness. As if to answer his question she shook her head "I think I'm…alright…I…" As he let go and she maintained her balance against the lift wall, a concerned look clouded Chekov's brow. A thin black thread trailed itself from her right nostril down the length of her upper lip. The sable colour rang in his memory briefly before saying "Ve shouldn't be here too much longer…"
She nodded and the doors to the lift hissed quietly open. "Medical bay, huh? Not too far from here…" Though it wasn't as bright as the engine room, there was more light than before. And even though there wasn't any immediate threat perusing them, Hannah grabbed hold of Chekov's hand and pulled herself quickly down the hallway. "Almost there…" The ensign thought she murmured; yet he wasn't too sure, as they nearly collided head first into something. She stopped abruptly, hammer at the ready, sending Chekov nearly ground ward. He had his phaser pointed in earnest at the surprised doctor.
"What in the hell…?" Bones began. His face quickly fell to Hannah's, concerned. His eyes quickly darted back to Chekov "She alright?" Before Chekov could respond, the familiar scream filled the hallway once more. Bones quickly pulled Hannah and Chekov zipped in behind her before the doors shut.
AN: Sorry that took forever to finish…Just needed to get my head straight on a few things. Next chapter should be up…well…I dunno when…but I'll go up, I promise you.