An Unwelcome Memory Part 3
Posted on Sat May 23rd, 2020 @ 11:19pm by
Mission:
Cruel Meridian
Location: LT JG Daniel Lawless's Dream state
Timeline: MD 6 - Immediately after 'An Unwelcome Memory Part 2'
1986 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure
Previously
'LT Lawless remained completely unconscious as he lay motionless on his bed. The room was now empty and he was alone. But this was unlike any normal sleep the Lieutenant had ever experienced before. His sheets were now soaked from sweat though the temperature remained unchanged. Breathing had become more shallow and irregular but his pulse was increasing rapidly.
Nestled at the junction between his neck and shoulder was a blemish growing rapidly in size and filling with puss. As if time was being accelerated it filled to bursting point and then rapidly healed and faded away as if it never existed.
Something was dreadfully wrong here.'
And now the conclusion
Danny peered into the cave ahead of him. It was completely dark, barely any light at all penetrated from the night sky and into its depths. He stood at the entrance observing his team take readings with their tricorders whilst also standing watch with his rifle. The enemy could be closeby, and they were about to stray from the optimal route they had planned. Initially, the team had reservations about altering the plan, as did Danny himself. Something inside him told him that he needed to do something different. He couldn't explain it and all he knew is that he had to explore that feeling.
"We're good here Cap looks like no one's home. But Y'all gonna need your night vision to see in there" piers exclaimed with his Texas twang.
Danny nodded as he withdrew his night vision visor from his backpack, attaching it to his head and powering the device. He felt a mild discomfort as the bright intensity of the display overloaded his retina briefly, moments later his eyes adjusted and he could see again as if it was daytime.
The cave, however, was still very dark, and to make matters worse, the aperture was on the opposite side of the ridge from where the moon was rising on this plane. It was surrounded by trees with just a small clearing where the team could prepare for their descent into darkness.
The team proceeded slowly, activating infrared lamps on the end of their rifles to stealthily light the way. The cave continued on a mainly flat plain deep into the mountain, where the air became cooler, damper, and staler with every step.
About an hour into their track Danny called for a brief respite for hydration and to give the team the chance to scan the next part of the cave. Danny was no expert in prospecting but he could tell from the look of the surrounding rock that they were heading deeper underground and the way ahead was getting more rugged.
They pushed on further into darkness every thirty minutes or so checking their instruments, looking for a potential exit path. Curiously the air became warmer now as they went deeper. The Tricorders indicated they were several kilometers below the surface now so the new source of heat was concerning. There were no active volcanoes on this world, and this lava flow was long since extinct so the source of this unknown heat was a mystery.
Eighteen kilometers into the trudge the temperature suddenly dropped without explanation but the air was now so stale it was barely breathable.
"Piers.....Tell me...We're making progress" Danny asked, panting to catch his breath.
"Can't be far now cap, I'm reading lower levels of silicate in the rock in this direction" Piers replied. Danny pretended to know what that meant and was about to come up with a witty reply but something caught his attention. He reached for his Tricorder and confirmed that they have been following a linear path. He glared at the screen confused, the data didn't make any sense. "Zach...What size boots are you?" he queried curiously.
"Size 12 why?"
"And your the only one with size 12 boots right?"
"Erm....yeah why?"
Daniel pointed at a duplicate group of boot prints in the dust continuing ahead of the party into the part of the cave they had yet to explore. "Then whos are those?".
The team looked in confusion at the tracks ahead of them, even stranger was the fact that the boot prints ahead matched perfectly with the path the group had yet to take, right up to the points where they stood. As if everyone had been walking backward their tracks appeared to have been made before they even set foot in the spot.
"Could someone else be here?" the Vulcan proposed
"Not unless they happen to have the same size Starfleet issue combat boots as us" Danny pointed out, highlighting the insignia imprinted in the dirt from the sole of the boot.
A disturbing silence befell upon the cave, Danny didn't notice it at first but after a few seconds, he grew more and more aware that something had changed. He turned around slowly, about to make a suggestion when he found himself starring at a wall of rock behind him and his team was nowhere to be seen. Taking out his tricorder only to find it devoid of any power or functionality, he threw the device at the wall in a brief loss of control.
Composing himself he decided to press on, oblivious to the fact the air just got warmer.
A short way down the trail Danny was contemplating what was going on but being a realist he assumed something as plausible as someone using transporter technology to capture his comrades. That seemed the most likely option, perhaps he had just stepped outside the beam before it energised. Whatever the case he had to press on and he was not about to let himself get overwhelmed with panic or any emotional state that was not focused on the mission completion. This was not unusual for him when lives were at stake, he had seen what can happen first hand when a marine loses his composure and stops focusing on the mission. More people die.
Danny continued to advance, visually scanning the route ahead with his rifle held at ready. Occasionally he would turn back and check his rear to make sure he wasn't being flanked or followed and for the past forty minutes the journey had been clear, then out of the darkness appeared an obstacle.
A wall of sheer rock stood in his path, and to share the load all his climbing gear was being carried by one of his comrades. "Dammit!" he muttered, taking a knee and composing himself. He was always taught to work the problem and consider all solutions and options. But just as he began to consider his predicament he noticed a cool breeze lick his face.
The air was rich with oxygen, something which had been in decline as he had trekked deeper into the cave. Following the direction of the airflow, he discovered a small crevasse under the rock face, just big enough for him to crawl through. Without hesitation, he unclipped his pack and wrapped the strap around his boot. Sliding onto his chest he proceeded to slither under the rockface dragging his pack behind him, he knew that if there was fresh air flowing there must be a way out.
On reaching the other side he was delighted to see star-light, but also devastated to realise he was now at the bottom of a very deep chasm. A feeling of dread came over him as he realised he might have to turn back, but this was short-lived because a more potent feeling began to take hold.
The hairs on the back of his head began to stand up, sending chills down his spine as he realised the breeze had changed into an intermittent damp warm breath just above his head, coupled with the sinister rumble of some huge vocal cords.
He was not alone.
Slowly with his trigger finger, he unlocked the safety on his rifle, and with his thumb, he reached on top of the weapon and altered the setting to the maximum before securing a firm grip around the backstrap. He turned his head slowly to the left to identify his enemy.
His eyes scanned as his head turned, making note of the anatomy of the creature poised above his head. One long hairy leg with an exoskeleton. Two legs... no three...
Rotating completely about he could now see the creature in full, a gigantic arachnid with mandibles about a meter long dripping with secretions. The beast was as big as a runabout and it was hungry.
The beast discharged an ear-splitting screech as its jaws opened with excitement that prey had so foolishly wandered into its lair.
Danny brought his weapon to bear on the eyes of the beast and gently squeezed his trigger releasing a brilliant pulse of orange energy that illuminated the chasm like a flash of lightning before blinding the beast.
Danny ducked and rolled, his boots struggled for traction in the loose soil as he made a break for the other side of the chamber to line up a second volley. The beast was now more angry than hungry, as hit screamed in pain and frustration as its wound smoldered.
Another shot followed, then two more and a forth desperately trying to find their mark they flew across the chasm and left smoldering craters in the beast's flesh. But the beast plowed through Danny firewall like it was shrugging off nothing more than an annoying bug.
It lashed out with its mandibles slicing into Danny's abdomen and opening it like a zipper. He didn't feel the pain initially just a warm feeling as the life faded out of him. He closed his eyes and accepted his fate, as the last remnants of light in his peripheral vision signaled to him that the beast was closing for the kill.
He braced himself but the killing blow never came. He opened his eyes slowly only to discover the beast had left, there was no trace of it other than his gaping wound that was now burning as if a strong acid had been poured on him. His immediate reaction was to look up in case the beast was preparing to attack from above, but to his surprise, there was now a roof on the chasm. Poly-Duranium with light fittings attached.
Danny looked around confused and found himself sat up in his bed, the room was empty but it looked like everyone had left in a hurry. He could vividly recall everything that had just happened and struggled to make sense of it all before his most recent memories returned.
He tried to stand up but the sharp burning pain from the wound the beast had inflicted still lingered, gripping his belly in pain he looked down at his pajamas and found them torn and soaked in blood. Somehow the wound was real and for the first time in Danny's existence - he began to panic.
He frantically reached to his footlocker and slapped the Comm-badge laid on top of his freshly ironed uniform. "Lawless to sickbay. Medical Emergency!" he shouted as he began to succumb to the effects of shock. He could feel his consciousness slipping away as he stared at the torn flesh just above his waistline. Before he could do much more he found it increasingly difficult to fight the effects of gravity.
With a dull thud, his body crumpled and hit the deck followed by a sharper more metallic thud accompanied by the crunch of bone as his skull bounced off the corner of his footlocker. He lay motionless and unconscious at the foot of his bunk as his gaping wound rapidly healed and disappeared much like the insect bite before leaving only a tattered pajama top behind and a nasty head wound from his fall to the floor.
LT (JG) Daniel Lawless
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
