Night Whispers
Posted on Thu Oct 3rd, 2024 @ 8:55pm by Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren
Edited on on Thu Oct 3rd, 2024 @ 10:36pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Quarter of Alyssa Maren - Deck 2 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD001 0200 hrs
Alyssa slowly became aware of a tension in her head, like something was pressing down on her mind. It was accompanied by a hissing sound that reminded her of a teakettle. Or a gas leak. She heard something like it once before, on Meritus II. Then it had been a pocket of gas that was escaping to the surface after a minor earthquake. But she wasn't anywhere near Meritus II, and she was pretty sure if there was a gas leak in her quarters, there'd be an alarm to tell her to evacuate.
Something touched her arm like a gentle, non-corporeal caress. It sent cold shivers down her spine. She was suddenly aware of being in a dark nothingness. It was accompanied by the faint scent of earth. "This is only a dream," she told herself. It had to be. She wasn't even on a planet.
The darkness wrapped around her like a thick fog, melting into her pores. It should have been cold and clammy, or thick and oily, but it didn't feel like anything familiar. Not anything physical. It penetrated without any odor or texture. Just the fact that the darkness was and wasn't real caused her stomach to tighten and her hands to tremble.
Enough of this, she told herself. She was on the Pioneer, so this had to be a dream. But as she reached to pinch herself, the whispers began. They didn't speak in words or phrases, but in echoes and emotions. And those emotions, most of all, were pain. A soul-deep miasma of agony and fear that made her sweat cling to her like clammy fingers. A swirling fog emerged from the darkness through which she could almost see faces, or partial faces. More like skulls where the lower part of the face had melted into the neck.
This had to be a nightmare. Was it because of Malificus? He was gone, but she still had to be certain. The entity had posed as Jek'Lar in the pocket universe and was driven away by her thoughts of the Klingon. Now that she'd been with him again, her feelings would be stronger. If, for some reason, the entity had returned, surely thoughts of the Klingon would make this go away. She thought about their dinner together, but nothing changed.
She spun around, listening for the mocking presence, or the reassuring feeling of her Jek'Lar, but there was nothing but the whispers that echoed through the mist that danced around her, reaching for her. The feeling was different than before. This wasn't the feeling of one entity. It was the whispers of a large number of…she couldn't tell. There was nothing but the silence. And the whispers that made no sound. And the terror. It permeated the fog and sent a hundred tiny shivers running over and through her.
She woke with a shudder. It didn't feel like her quarters. It felt…uncaring. Like it had seen a thousand visitors and no longer cared who came or went, or what their lives were. And it was dark. But in the back of her mind, she could still hear the whispers that had no voice, knew no words, but penetrated into her being with an alienness that left her shaking. They wanted something, but she couldn't tell what.
“Computer, lights.” She looked around at the familiar objects in her room, her mementos, her books. It was just a dream. For a moment she almost called Jek'Lar, but he was on the station, and she didn't want to bother him. So, she got out of bed and padded to the replicator. “Cinnamon tea, hot and sweet. And an 8 inch pan of chocolate and walnut brownies.” She wasn’t going to get back to sleep soon, so she might as well have a snack and read a book until it was time to get up.
Slowly, the whispers faded, but she had a feeling they wouldn't stay away.
Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
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