The 13th Jump to...nowhere
11 Aug 2021Maecsen
Stepping off my ship's ramp to the FC's flight deck, I was assaulted by the worst smell anyone could dream up in the worst kind of nightmare imaginable.. A mix between organic flesh, burned to a crisp with an oily undercurrent of putrefied guck to the sweet smell of freshly cut gravediggers, those sulfurous egg like conch plants so common among the stars.. A definite rotten egg smell with dead meat in the mix.. Gagging, I quickly slip on a rem-lock mask, to preserve my nose and sanity.Where can that be from? pulling out my genetic sampler, not sure I can even take a sample of the odor, I fire it up and hold the collector nozzle in the air. To my surprise, it actually registered some DNA samples in the air, so strong is the smell or presence of some unknown organic plant life.
"Alien life detected" purrs my collector, "more DNA required for complete analysis" the automated system tells me.. Alien life ? how.. it's just a smell, just a bad odor..
How did that get aboard? better yet, how does that have anything to do with my missing crew ?
I head to the concourse, no one there.. Check Vista Genomics.. no one there either, bar, supply shop and offices empty... I head down to engineering someone has to be somewhere.. all the while taking new samples with the inevitable Collector 'more diverse DNA required' shpeel.. Once I hit engineering, the collector chimes "second DNA sample acquired.. more DNA required for complete Analysis" Exiting engineering, I take the main corridor towards the engine room.. lights here are flickering on and off and a strange feeling comes over me, like the old saying 'someone just walked on my grave'. I shiver and keep walking... the main door to the engine room seems to be partially open, the top left quadrant stuck about 6 inches open. Seems to be fingermarks on it, in dirty brown.
That's when I see it, or feel it.. I am not sure.. something tickles my senses, auditory, visual, tactile, both or all three or none, not sure, can't be sure... it seems I can smell that odor even through my rem-lock.. it's more pervasive, more powerful, like a musk..
I can..hear..something, a voice.. my voice ? -"Your attention please.. everyone please make your way to the engine room, we have a guest and we need to welcome him appropriately.."
What ..? how..?
To be continued....!