The Nothingness of Dreams
Posted on Tue Nov 26th, 2024 @ 12:33am by Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhara Rynn
Edited on on Tue Nov 26th, 2024 @ 12:39am
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: The Quarters of Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhara Rynn - Deck 3 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD003 0130 hrs
Zhara woke to a silence so profound it echoed in her head. She couldn't even hear the normal sounds of the ship humming around her. She put it down to being at Empok Nor, but it was a little disconcerting. So was she, generally, but with her own emotions in turmoil, she wasn't going to sense much today.
She made herself get up and dress for her shift, mentally going over the day's to do list. That task usually helped refocus her thoughts when she would rather go back to sleep. She was so intent on the exercise that she didn't notice the silence around her. It continued to build as she made herself a cup of vanilla chamomile tea and a honey oat muffin. She rubbed her temples to each the pressure and took a sip of tea. She stumbled and almost lost her balance as she put Sophia's food in her bowl. What was wrong with her today? She felt…odd.
Breakfast, she told herself. She would feel better after she ate something. But she didn't. She was not sick and there was nothing wrong with her other than a headache, which would go away once she woke fully.
She saw no one in the corridors on her way to counseling. But it was shore leave, so she convinced herself that it was only because everyone had gone to the station.
She and Sophia walked into her office. "Computer, play Zhara mix 2." At least, she thought she'd spoken aloud. She heard nothing. Not her voice, not the computer's response, and not the music.
"Computer, turn the volume up." Again, she heard nothing. Zhara turned a full circle, looking for some reason for the silence. She went to her computer and entered the command manually. It showed that the volume had increased, but there was still nothing but silence.
Was there something wrong with the computer in her office? She ran a diagnostic, but it said everything was working properly. Okay, she thought. There were a number of medical conditions that would cause temporary deafness. There were also a few that caused permanent deafness, including a stroke. She closed her eyes for a minute, listening to the absolute nothingness of her office. No waterfall. No music. No Sophia getting comfortable in her bed. She clapped her hands. Nothing.
Time to go to sickbay. Jordan Spencer was on duty and he would find out what was wrong so she could get back to work. She gave her dog the hand signal to get up and follow her to the door. Only then did she notice that she wasn't picking up any emotions, either. Even if they weren't strong, she could always feel the undercurrent of emotion on the ship, but not today.
She picked up her pace, shaken by the loss of her empathic ability. But when the door opened, she froze. Standing in front of her was a humanoid with a large head. Its eyes were sunken to the point that they looked more like empty sockets. And the mouth…wasn't there. The being had folds of skin instead.
As she opened her mouth to scream, she was inundated with a wave of fear so intense she doubled over, forcing her lungs to expand and take in air. Once. Twice. Then they seized up again with pain as if she was being squeezed by a giant vice grip. She was dying. No, they were dying. Calling out to her for help. She sucked in more air. "Who are you? Why are you dying?"
But all she heard was a silence that reverberated louder and louder in her head until she lost consciousness.
She woke to the ringing of her alarm. Her head throbbed as if someone was playing it like a steel drum. She replicated a glass of chamomile tea to take some pain pills and curled up on her couch to wait for the pain to ebb.
Sophia whined and leaned against her. "Thank you. I'll be fine in a few minutes." She rubbed her dog's head until the pain eased enough for her to get ready for her shift. She needed to stop by sickbay. This was the second night in a row she slept poorly, and she had no idea why.
A Post by
Lieutenant Junior Grade Zhara Rynn
Counselor, USS Pioneer
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