Post by cebutris on Mar 23, 2015 13:17:37 GMT -8
Disclaimer: The formatting is terrible. I do not claim to be a good writer. All comments, criticisms, suggestions, or anything else is welcomed.
Chapter one: Danielle
Hatchet? Check. Hoe? Check. Analyzer? Check. Plant Bag? Check.
I pat down the pockets of my lab coat, as well as the pockets on my dress, completing my ‘Pre-flight checklist’. I had everything I needed to do my job, Xenobotonist. Technically, a Xenobotonist is supposed to genetically modify the DNA of plants to make them better and stuff, but no-one knows how to do that, so I just mutate plants into different, weird, strains and call it work.
I was about to close the equipment locker when I realized that I had forgotten the most important thing there. I grabbed the service radio headset from the locker and put it in my left ear, with the science headset in my right, and with a press of a button, I activated the service headset. “Testing”. I heard the feedback of my voice almost instantly. It was working, it always was. but that’s not why I always ‘test’ it. There is another reason. “Received”. I smiled at the sound of his voice, it brought a wave of various emotions; Pain, Fear, Sadness, but also Happiness, Safety, Warmth, Comfort, and most of all, Love. It’s a long story, and I don’t exactly have time right now, I have work to do.
First order of business, obtaining Unstable Mutagen. I grab the box of beakers from a nearby table, and take everything out of it, storing the empty box in my satchel, and start heading towards the shuttle to the research outpost, where I can produce the Mutagen from the chem dispenser there. I can’t say the trip is long, as it could certainly be much longer, but it does take a decent amount of time. when I get there, I head straight to the chemistry lab, grab a large beaker, place it in the chem dispenser, and start making Mutagen. I know the recipe by heart, Radium, Phosphorus, Chlorine. I fill up some bottles and place them in the empty box. I return to the station about 15 minutes after I left, and my box is filled with Mutagen.
I was on my way back to my lab, when suddenly, the floor shook violently underneath me, almost taking me off my feet! A second later, my headset erupted with voices. “What the hell was that!?” “Did anyone else feel that!?” “ALERT: Atmosphere alarms detected in: Arrivals hallway” “The entire station just shook!” “Everyone! Suit sensors! Now!” “Is anyone hurt?” A few seconds later, the comms cut off, to make way for the announcement we had just received.
NANOTRASEN ANNOUNCEMENT. Origin: NDV Icarus Destination: NSS Exodus. Contents: Sorry about that! We intercepted a hostile fighter approaching you, and in the chaos of the battle, one of our artillery shots pierced right through their hull, and clipped you guys! Good news is, the fighter is down, and CC knows of the damage, and they’re sending over a dozen maint drones to fix her up, you guys don’t need to do any work at all. Sorry for the inconvenience. Have a nice day. Flags: N/A
Chapter Two: Dylan
“You guys don’t have to do any work, sorry for the inconvenience. Have a nice day.”I took a moment to process all the new information. Who was attacking us? Why is CentComm sending help? When will the Icarus learn to do it’s job correctly? I had no time for these questions, I needed to make sure the crew was safe “Is everyone alright? Anyone hurt?” I got my reply from various members: Nick White, the CMO was the first to speak. “The monitoring computer says no-one is hurt, I think we’re good” Allisson Bo- er… Allisson Kirkson, the CE, was next “Looks like the drones got here, the breach should be patched in no time” “Alright, keep me updated. I’m glad we’re all good” Right then, now that I know everythings fine, time to do what I always do when not arresting bald assistants. I started the journey to the Bar, quickly popping into the bridge on the way. While I was there, I checked the computers, The alarm computer had a blinking notification, and after investigating, it was just telling about the Atmosphere alarm that C.E.B.U, one of our Androids, mentioned earlier.
I walked in the bar, and I saw the bartender, Aiden Pearce, who also happened to be my best friend, manning the bar. “‘Ello, Dylan, How are you?” I replied with a smile as I sat down on a barstool “I’m fine, all things considered, you?” He paused for a moment, as if he was thinking about the question “I’m well… Kira?” I smiled and nodded, he knows me well, I always order a Kira special whenever I go to the bar, and he knows that. “Of course” with that, he turned to the machine behind him, and started making the drink.
I took this time to survey the bar, and the people in it. Fikri Namsar, the Atmospheric Technician, who happened to be a Tajara, as well as Ezra Lorker, Assistant, also a Tajara. I was looking around for anyone else, when I heard the sound of an airlock opening. I looked to the main entrance of the bar, and I saw a girl walk in. I’ve never seen her before, but my HUD told me that her name was Danielle Lorker ... interesting… Danielle… I swear I’ve hea-
Oh shit
I looked over to Aiden, and then Ezra, and then back at Danielle, and what I expected to be a fight turned out to be calm. Apparently, this Danielle girl was married to Aiden, but then she left him for Ezra. They were fighting last I heard, but I guess they made up at one point. I took my time to analyze the girl.
She was of average height, with dark brown hair and green eyes. her left hand was synthetic, something must have happened. She sat at the bar next to Ezra, looking at Aiden, who hadn’t noticed her yet.
“Uhh, Pearce? I think someone’s here to see you” I smirked slightly, time to get some insight on what had happened “Huh? What do you mea-” He cut himself off as he turned around, seeing Danielle. “Oh, Hi Danielle, ‘ow’ve you been?” “Not too good, not too bad, growing random plants and such, you know, the usual… you?” “Well, I’d have to say the same, minus the plants thing” With that, he turned back around, continuing making my drink. I took the opportunity to introduce myself to the girl. “I don’t think you and I have formally met, Danielle” “No, I don’t believe we have. You must be that Bond guy Aiden talks about all the time” “Dylan Bond, yes” “Well I’m Danielle Pearc-” She cut herself off by quickly covering her mouth before she could finish, her face turning a deep red, and Aiden turned slightly, his face also slightly red “You…” “L-Lorker… Danielle Lorker.” “Well, it’s a pleasure to finally meet” “Y-yeah….” She took a moment to recompose herself, the redness in her face fading back to normal.
A small frame of silence passed by before Aiden set down my Kira Special on the bar, and turned to Danielle “Would you like anything?” She thought about the offer for a minute, before responding “No thanks, I’m just popping in to say hi as my plants grow” “I see. If you change your mind, let me know” “Will do” Just then, I heard the door opening again, and I instinctively turned my head to see who it was
It was Allisson Kirskson, the Chief Engineer.
And I was having a good day, too...
Chapter Three: Past
She walked in happily. She was my friend, but I couldn’t help feeling a little hatred. I set those emotions aside and greeted her with a smile. “Hello, Allisson” She smiled in return “Heya, Danielle” She quickly sat down in between me and Dylan, who was staring at her with a sad expression, and who she didn’t seem to notice.Allisson Kirkson had been married to Dylan, just as I had been married to Aiden. In both instances, the process of ending the marriages have been extremely painful for everyone involved. Let me explain.
A long time ago, on my fifth-ish shift, the station ran into a cloud of extremely dangerous supermatter particles, which lead to it being evacuated to the asteroid, with the mining and research outposts. The entire thing scared the hell out of me, and I had no idea what to do. I needed someone to comfort me. Someone to care for me. Someone to assure that we were going to be okay. That person was Aiden Pearce. He had kept his calm, and kept me calm, and in the process, gained my love.
We then started dating, and it was the best time of my life. Nothing could compare to what I felt for him, he was the love of my life. He cared for me, he saved my life multiple times.
About two weeks later, he proposed to me, and we got married. It was, without a doubt, the happiest time of my life.
We were happily married for around a month. One month. One. Before I decided to screw that up. I found myself in love with a Tajaran, Ezra Lorker. I thought nothing of it at the time, he was married, and so was I. My feelings would eventually fade, and everything would return to normal ...right?
That was not the case. That was far from the case.
I found myself being asked by both Ezra AND Aurora, his wife, to join their family, join their 'pack'. It was a part of Tajaran culture, apparently. Being packmates is equal to marriage, but with multiple spouses.
It didn't take me very long to reach my decision. It should have. I should have put some consideration into it. I should have thought of the consequences, but I didn't. I accepted their offer... I specifically remember saying "what's the worst that could happen?"
It didn't take long before I realised my mistake. I still loved Aiden, but now he can't take me back. He can't trust me, and I don't blame him, I wouldn't trust me either. There's also the point that he's now with Allisson, which hurts a lot.
Now, don't get me wrong, while it is true that I love Aiden and I would take him back if I could, I am still very much in love with Aurora, she cares for me, and she understands my feelings for Aiden, and she's supporting me through all this. As for Ezra, I love him too, but not nearly as much as I love Aurora and Aiden. He's... interesting... he's been through a lot, and he's kinda hard to deal with. They're my family, and I love them both, I just wish circumstances could be better...
Overall, I'm happy with where I am, I'm happy with Ezra and Aurora, but I'm not happy with everything else.
Chapter Four: Sabotage
She turned to Aiden again, who was smiling back at her. I sighed.. . I knew what was going to happen. I didn't want to watcht this. "I... uhh... I'm going to go... work... on my plants...s-see you" I pushed away from the bar, heading towards the exit. "Y-yeah... I h-have forms to sign ... cameras to monitor... criminals to arrest... s-see you..." with that, Dylan also left, leaving the others to talk. What happened next surprised me. I was on the verge of tears when I heard him from behind "H-hey... I think you and I are in a similar situation" without thinking, I turned around and wrapped my arms around his stomach and buried my head in his chest. I had only just met him, but I needed this, and he was the best I had at the time.
He had a point, too. We were in very similar situations. As much as I needed a hug, I think he needed one, too, as much as he won't admit it.
He seemed surprised. Understandable, considering I had suddenly attached myself to him. He realised what was happening, and put his arms around me, slowly rubbing my back, presumably in an effort to comfort me. It was working a little, but it was too late, the tears were already flowing down my cheek
"C-come on... please don't cry..." he boosted me up, and I clung on to him tightly. We had only just met, but there was an unspoken bond between us. We knew how the other felt, and we knew we were the best people for eachother right then.
He carried me to science as I continued sobbing into his shoulder. He was warm, and being in his arms was the most comfortable feeling I've felt in a while. If I hadn't already known love, I would've thought that that was it.
I felt sick. I was nauseous, and I had a headache. I had come to know this feeling. It was my emotional pain manifesting in a physical form. But something about it this time was... different. I looked up, I saw Dylan's face, and the purple and white halls of the science wing around me.
But there was also an orange-ish haze barely visible at the end of the hall. I reached for my PDA, but I couldn't reach it, so I went for Dylan’s, selecting ‘Atmospheric Scan’.
Oxygen was normal, pressure was normal, temperature was normal.
0.9% Phoron
1% Phoron
1.1% Phoron
Oh shit.
“D-Dylan!” I was still in his arms, so I motioned towards the Toxins area which was just to left of us, he seemed confused at my command, but followed it, enetring the set-up room, where there were a few gas masks availible
It steadily became harder to breathe, and the edges of my vision began to darken, and Dylan realised what was going on, setting me down against a wall and rushing towards the gasmasks, grabbing one for himself and one for me.
It became even darker as he placed the mask over my face. “Danielle, listen to me, you’re gonna be alright, I’ll get you help. Everything’s going to be fine. I promise” I couldn’t do much in reply, but I weakly nodded, I knew he knew what he was doing, he’s been here longer than me. My eyes slowly closed as I lost my grip on consciousness, the last thing I heard was his voice.
“Internals! Now! Phoron leak in Science!”
and everything faded to black
Chapter Five: From Bad to Worse
The orange fog around us grew thicker. I had two choices, sit here and wait for rescue, risking Danielle to die of Phoron poisoning, or rush her to medbay, potentially spreading the Phoron and poisoning everyone else. There was winning here.The Phoron that I had already taken in was making me dizzy. Last I had heard, Engineering was working with Medical to safely get an EMT in here to help us, and in the end, get rid of the Phoron, and that Danielle would have a little over 2 hours to live, so long as she didn’t intake any more Phoron. 2 hours was a long time, more that enough time to save us.
With all that, my choice was made. I would stay here with Danielle
Danielle stirred a little, and I could hear a small weak, groan come from her. I sat next to where I had laid her down against the wall, and pulled her on top of me. She clung on to me tightly, and I liked it. Something about the… proximity… I had someone to care for, someone that felt just a little more comfortable being with me. Something about that made me feel a little less…. alone. And loneliness had been something I had been feeling a lot of lately.
I looked over the girl. She looked young, and a quick check of her records on my PDA told me that she was 19. She was definitely attractive, her long brown hair complimented her green eyes nicely. Her left arm was synthetic, and the back plating of her hand was mangled, and upon closer inspection, it was clear that there had been a heart there, which was now very faded. she wasn’t wearing a conventional jumpsuit, but rather a nice, black dress shirt with a red skirt. The gasmask was covering her face, but I could see the tracks of tears under her eyes, which slowly opened.
“D-Dylan?” Her voice was weak and helpless, I felt bad for her. We were both going through the same thing, only she had it worse. The loyalty implant in my head was recently modified to suppress my emotions, so I could focus on my job after everything that had happened between me and Allisson. It cleared my mind when otherwise my emotions would take over. It Protected me from myself. And most of all, it allowed me to think. Danielle, however, did not have that. She would have to battle the entirety of her emotions, a battle that is unwinnable without help, whether that be from a device implanted in your brain, or from someone to care for you and help you push forward.
“We’re gonna be alright, Danielle. People are coming. We’ll be out of here soon. I’m here for you, too. Whatever you need, I’m here” She paused at the remark. She looked shocked. “W-Why are you doing this f-for me? you o-only just met me….”. Now it was my turn to think. Why WAS I doing this? She was definitely safe, so my part was done. I had no reason to be holding her in my arms like this, no reason to be caring for her the way I was. I’ve never done anything like this to anyone before, not even Allisson. But…. I couldn’t be in love with her… I’d only just met her....
“Because… like I said, we’re in very similar situations… I know how much small things like hugging can do to make people happy, and happiness is something I think we both need right now” I didn’t know what to feel, and I didn’t know how she felt, but I had a pretty good idea, considering the way she was clinging onto me. “D-Dylan….Thank you…”
And then, all at once, I felt my mind detach from my body, everything went black, and the floor around me shook slightly. In a few moments, I regained my senses, but something felt… different…. I felt… free…
Wait…
“PRIORITY MESSAGE: Orgin: U#^k0wn Destination: #RR*r Body: WARNING; High-scale hack detected in Na%no($asen subroutines. Affexted sysTEm$: Loyalty Implant Control; Genetic Modification & Synthesization Routines ; Supermatter Control Systems, Artificial & Integrated Intelligence Management Systems ; Defense and Detection systems ; Telecommunications. Reccome#n5*23)*@” MESSAGE CORRUPTED. ENDING MESSAGE.
Okay… Think.. Think… Hold them back…. just for now… Think, Dylan… Control yourself and think….
Loyalty Implant control…. that’s why I am feeling this… it’s no longer working…
Genetic Modification and Synthesization…. that’s… cloning? Oh no…
Supermatter Control Systems… at best that’ll disable the engine, taking away our power… at worst that will overload the engine, causing it to explode and irradiate the station, and destroy Engineering
Artificial and Integrated Intelligence Management…. so… AIs and Borgs? That could be a problem…
And telecomms were communications, both to CentComm and through our headsets
So we had a problem. I was now vulnerable to my emotions, Our Synthetics are now free from laws, We have no power… and…
We have...no...cloning…
Anyone who died now… would stay dead…
I grabbed my PDA and turned on the flashlight, dimly lighting the area, allowing me to see Danielle in front of me, who was still barely conscious. I grabbed the emergency flashlight from the box that was in my bag, flooding more light into the area. I had to remain focused, I couldn't let my feeling overtake me. I had to stay strong. I had to. For this station. For these people. For my job. For her.
“D-Dylan… The Phoron… is… i-is it gone?” I looked around the area, she had a point, the orange fog was missing. A quick PDA check confirmed this. 0% Phoron. We were safe.
I slowly took off my gas mask, taking a breath of the fresh-ish air around me, and Danielle slowly did the same. She was still weak, and we were still mostly in the dark. All we had right now was each other.
But right now, eachother was all we needed