Because A Vision Softly Creeping
Posted on Tue Oct 15th, 2019 @ 11:05pm by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Commander Larim Myles & Lieutenant Elen Diari & Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke & Lieutenant Junior Grade Mignon Mejia
Edited on on Tue Nov 12th, 2019 @ 3:16am
3,251 words; about a 16 minute read
Mission:
Episode 8 - The Silence
Location: Unknown Station In Orbit of Wren IX
Timeline: MD004 1130 hrs
"I hope you aren't planning on having me sit around in this shuttle by myself, Commander." Ingrid said as she piloted the craft toward the station. "I'd be much more useful with the team.
"Wouldn't dream of it, lieutenant." Myles said, nodding at the lieutenant. "Secure the shuttles systems and grab your gear."
Mignon was only half listening. She was once again going over what data they had on the station so she wouldn't need to review it once they arrived. She was excited to be part of the away team and for the chance to have a good look around.
El was nervously checking her equipment over and over. Making sure the two tricorders worked, the first aid kit was complete and the dermal regenerator was charged. She was on the third check of her small toolkit when the shuttle turned.
The shuttle glided straight toward the mysterious station's airlock and then connected on the reverse end. Ingrid worked her console to secure the docking clamps and power down the engines and then she grabbed her gear."
Myles did a visual sweep of the immediate area. He couldn't see anything. That's what worried him. In his mind a federation starship in orbit and away teams should've ilicited some kind of response. "Ok. First off I'll take point. Who wants to take the rear? He asked.
"I'll take the rear." Hermia volunteered.
"I'm opening the airlock."Ingrid said, her left hand touching her phaser even as her right hand moved across the console. With a hiss, the airlock slid open behind the shuttle, revealing a dark airlock beyond.
"Ok, would you mind if I set the shuttle's sensors for a passive sweep of the station every few minutes ? Something doesn't feel right to me, just want to know if it's just normal paranoia or something worse" Elen asked, her head buzzing with random telepathic hisses and burps like static.
By Ingrid's calculation, she was second in command on this away team due to rank and position. She didn't pulled any punches or hesitate after she figured this out, but instead turned to Elen and responded to her inquiry.
"Go for it, Lieutenant. A little extra data never hurt." She said, her finger pointing toward the computer with interest.
Someone was here, not just a person, but a group. Can it be the ones who came before? They do not look like the bringers of hate, of harm. They are worthy of observation not instant destruction. Maintain low power, keep the field active. They must not know the sound of thunder, the silence in the dark. We are The Silence and silence is golden, but our eyes see.
What?. Myles said telepathically "Note to self, head on a swivel." He said, more or less to himself. His grip tightened on his phasers as he led the group
There was something odd about this place. Nothing Mignon could pick up on her tricorder, but more a feeling that they weren't alone, and an odd buzzing in the back of her head. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, but it made her uncomfortable, wary, and cautious. She swept her tricorder around again, just to be sure, as she followed the others. She was happy to have people in front and behind her because it gave her the opportunity to study the station and trust the others to keep her from wandering off.
Something triggered Larim. And he couldn't very well say "weird voices". But he felt a little wary none the less. So he reached for his tricorder. "Ok. I'm reading a faint power source in this direction.," he gestured. "Can anyone confirm?"
They have a scanning device. This was unknown to us. They have a telepath this too was unknown to us he will prove best. Scan their mothership and find out what else we is unknown to us. Yes... Yes... We already know their ships are not too dissimilar to the ones that came before. But further investigation is needed. Direct observation authorized and initiated. Once we learn what we can, we will remember and they will not. They must not know the sound of thunder, the silence in the dark. We are The Silence and silence is golden, but our eyes see. This was the communication among the Silence. Although they were individuals they acted in unison, as a group. For the moment two members of this group had their eyes on the Away Team and followed closely behind.
Larim spun around. "Doc. Everything ok back there?" He asked. He shook his head. "Could be my imagination. But..." he trailed off in thought
"Nothing I can see or read on my tri-corder, but I can detect a presence. Though I can't make out anything about it." Hermia said. "I'm afraid my Betazoid gift has faded due to lack of use." She added.
"Ok. Thank you." Larim replied. He continued down the dark passageway. "The...Silence?" He mumbled as he went along.
Mignon watched the Chief of Security. He was acting strangely. At the same time, she could not deny that she could hear voices in the back of her mind. The minute she thought she understood what they were saying, she lost her train of thought. She felt like someone was following them. "Hello? Who is here?" she asked telepathically, looking around.
She is a telepath as well. Perhaps they all are. They must not know the sound of thunder, the silence in the dark. We are The Silence and silence is golden, but our eyes see. Thus far the Silence was contented watching the Starfleet team attempt to make heads or tales of their surroundings. A return to the shadows was needed for the time being.
"No one is here." Ingrid stated decisively, more to convince herself than the people around them. She felt a pang of anger for Myles and Mejia for stirring up the quiet fear that lived inside her.
Ingrid walked behind Myles, her eyes roaming back and forth in the eerie darkness. She removed her tricorder as well, focusing it in the direction he had indicated. "Confirmed. Possible power source up ahead."
Mignon turned around. There had definitely been something there, behind them, but it was gone now. She shivered and turned back. She wondered if the power source would mean a computer, and information.
The Starfleet team made their way through the station. The layout of the station was unlike any the crew had been to before. The corridors doubled back on themselves numerous times giving the image of a maze more than a station. The corridors were dimly lit and the lights flashed similar to the way they did when a starship was at yellow alert. They passed through some sections that were open to space and yet the fields held and kept the atmosphere within the station. The walls and floors were covered in grime and ice that came with years of exposure to open space. Within short order the group arrived in what seemed to be a docking bay. However, it was much to small to land and ships of significant size. At the edge of the Bay two humanoid bodies were sprawled out.
The archaeologist was fascinated by the maze. It wasn't the most efficient layout, but it was interesting. And puzzling. She kept taking readings for research and for analysis. The voices she'd heard earlier were now nothing more than a vague memory. She was a little slower than the others, as she didn't want to miss anything. But she still managed to keep close to the group.
El gripped the top of her nose " Larim, Mignon are you guys getting headaches or is it just me? feels like a psychic hangover with none of the fun stuff beforehand"
"You too? I thought I was hearing things." Larim replied. "Weirdest feeling."
"Yeah. I thought I heard whispers earlier. But I can't remember what they were," Mignon added. "Could have been residual memories from the dead." She didn't believe it, as she'd never heard them before, but nothing else made sense.
Ingrid said nothing, but only became more uncomfortable as her mind began to play tricks on her. She'd suffered tremendous trauma recently and it had gone completely untreated. To say she was feeling paranoid lately was a considerable understatement. She jumped, but didn't make a peep. Had she really seen something out of the corner of her eye or was it just lies of the mind. She clung ever tighter to her firearm.
Stations like starships had an incessant hum about them. In fact on stations it was usually louder as the power core supplied power to the facility. However, here it seemed that the incessant hum that they had gotten used to did not exist. There was an eeriness a metaphysical fog of sorts that hung about the place.
"Everybody watch out then." Larim said
The team having stopped at the docking bay, Hermia caught up with them. "Commander, cover me." She said as she raced forward to examine the two humanoids.
Larim leveled his phaser. "Exercise caution, Doc.'
Before getting close, she looked for potential threats such as exposed power cables or caustic chemicals.
She didn't need her medical tricorder to tell her the humanoids were Cardassian and military, she was familiar enough with them. The higher ranking of the two, a Gil was male and his subordinate, a Dalin was female. Both were dead and had a series of self inflicted cuts on their right arms. Their faces were locked in images of pure terror.
The tri-corder results did surprise her though, all they the visually appeared to have died recently, scans showed they had died 25 years earlier. That wasn't the only surprise apart from being otherwise healthy, their entire nervous systems were missing, including their brains.
This left her with more questions than answers.
Moving back to the rest of the team she said. "There's nothing I can do for them, they're dead and have been so for 25 years, despite how they appear. They have been artificially preserved, and this may just be the Marine in me, but I believe they have been displayed here as some kind of trap or warning, and that bothers me."
"Considering they're the only bodies we've found so far," Mignon said, "I think you're right." What bothered her was, who would have done this, and why?
"First whispers then this. Preserved for what? I find it odd that they'd save them just to warn us." Myles thought out loud.
They have discovered the others. Yet they do not heed the warning that is left for them. Only one among them cannot hear us. The test will begin with her... First she must be isolated... Allowed to see... We are The Silence and silence is golden, but our eyes see. For those who could hear them the Silence did not sound as one voice, as before. It was now a group of voices talking with each other. Different inflections and pronunciations. Their voices were stronger as if one was closer to them. When they spoke their final sentence for those who could hear it the sound in their mind was intense, almost shrilly. It caused a debilitating pain. The sentence would be repeated until the Silence had what they wanted.
Mignon felt the presences again. Not ghosts, definitely not ghosts. Their words were clear now. Their voices seemed to echo in her mind. And then they again spoke as one. The sound reverberated through her mind, growing into a shrill harsh tone that drowned out everything, even thought. With a cry of pain, she lost consciousness and fell to the deck.
Hermia couldn't hear the voices, but she was suddenly overcome by a wave of fear and pain. They weren't hers yet, she was unable to block them out and collapsed under the pressure.
Larim could hear them again, and he was almost immediately hit with a debilitating headache. "Holister. W..watch..ou.." he trailed off as he fell to one knee. "Aaahggh" he cried out before everything went black.
El dropped to her knees, clutching her head, nearly in tears. She was breathing heavily, "Guys,... can... we... get...out..." before falling forward, out cold.
Ingrid looked on at her falling crewmates with wide eyes, then she began to look about wildly to see if she could spot the source of this attack. She made no sound, but the feeling of sheer panic began to well in her breast. She wouldn't be captured again...
Without any indication of where they came from three cloaked figures could be seen standing in a circle around the Cardassian bodies. Within the shadows of their hoods Ingrid Hollister could make out some of their facial features. Their skin was a purple hue however, the exact color could not be seen due to the shadow of the hood that they wore. Their eyes were oval shaped and deep set into their skull with an inky black color to them. The lower portion of their face was composed of a series of wrinkles, with no mouth or nose to discern. The three looked at the Cardassian bodies and then turned to face Hollister. In unison they raised one long bony finger and beckoned her to come to them.
Ingrid's full lips parted and from the eminated a loud, echoing scream which vibrated off the walls in the bay. She began to shake with cold fear feeling both the desire to attack and to run away. The contradictory impulses locked her in place, causing her hands to raise into a panicked jerking wave at her sides, accompanying her constant, unrelenting screams. Such a strange reaction it was that anyone from the team, had they been watching, would have known how unstable she was. She looked on in dread and then advanced with an offensive posture, clearly meaning to use her weapon. She didn't take three steps before she collapsed to the floor. She fell to the ground shaking, her screams giving way to the most intense and fearful sobs one could expect from a six year old girl. She curled into a fetal position as tears poured from her eyes. Those creatures were terrible and she was perhaps the worst person to see them.
This one is afraid, and there is much to be afraid of in her head.... The Silence spoke among themselves briefly as they cocked their heads in unison and watched Ingrid intently. They leaned into her as they observed in some cases getting so close that she can feel their breath but they dared not touch her. In her feared state there was not much Ingrid could do. She is not ready for contact none are. Restore the field...
Just as quickly as it began the pain stopped, the fear stopped the figures our gone. The Away Team was left on the floor with the two dead bodies and no memory of what just happened.
El woke up, the tricorder broken under her hand. Her headache had cleared somewhat, but she still felt groggy as she looked at the cracked broken screen. "Oh great, would never have this with the 600 series". At least it hadn't broken the skin.
She started to feel the others again in her thoughts, so decided to wake Hollister first.
Ingrid wasn't asleep, but was still very-much shaken. She opened her eyes, her gaze shifting slowly as she took quick breaths. She said nothing, but mere sat up straight on the ground.
Elen pulled a chocolate bar from her pocket, and passed it over "Here, you look like you need this."
Mignon opened her eyes and looked around. "Why am I on the deck?" She sat up and looked at Elen and Ingrid. "What happened?"
Ingrid pulled herself off the ground and stood, her knees still shaking. She didn't take the chocolate nor did she respond to the questions which had been posed. She simply stood there in silence, a hazy look on her face.
Hermia got to her feet puzzled at why she needed to do so. Seeing the others had a similar looks on the faces of her companions, she asked. "Is anyone injured?"
"I'm fine," Mignon said. "Hollister looks like she might need some help." She got up and checked to be sure she still had her tricorder with her. Then she scanned the area to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
Larim came to, feeling weak as a kitten. "Hmm..injured? What are you talking about, Doc?"
The are not communal, not like us, not like the others. When one is hurt all are not... This is a new development. There is another group in the city on the firmament. We must warn the others... We are The Silence and silence is golden, but our eyes see.
"Well, Commander, we all seem to be waking up from something, and although I have no idea what happened, I find it hard to believe, we all just decided it was time for a kip, so I assumed some outside influence, and therefore the possibility for injuries." Hermia replied.
"I recommend we all get checked out when we get back to the ship." Larim said. He rose to his feet, with a slight wobble. "What were we doing? Oh right, the signal. This way, phasers ready, just in case." He said.
He led the group into what could be considered a fighter bay of some kind. The remains of sub-light orbital ships were strewn about the bay. "Those with tricorderS, scan. We don't want...whatever happened to happen again."
The Starfleet crew continued to explore this installation and scanned away. According to their instruments there was a power source and they were heading right to it. However, the absence of familiar sounds was gnawing at their brains.
They seek, and they will find. It is inevitable... Indeed inevitable... Then consensus is reached. They shall be eliminated as the ones who came before them were. We have consensus... Elimination at the end of their journey. For now the one who cannot hear is the key we continue to experiment on her. We are The Silence and silence is golden, but our eyes see. The Silence spoke among themselves, and four out of the five member away team heard their voices, heard them loud and clear. However, they would only remember it as memory. As for the fifth member of the team Ingrid Hollister was about to learn why seeing is believing.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Elen Diari
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Ingrid Hollister
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Pioneer
Ensign Mignon Mejia
Alien Archaeologist/Anthropologist, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Hermia O'Rourke
Assistant Chief Medical Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Larim Myles
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Pioneer
The Silence
Silence Will Fall
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