Someone to Watch Over Me

Posted on Sun Mar 29th, 2009 @ 6:56pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell

676 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: In The Dark
Location: Mess Hall, Deck 2
Timeline: Current

ON:

It was past 03:00hrs and Lane rolled back his office chair, planting his feet firmly on the decked flooring beneath him and stood up. Cracking the base of his spine to his relief, he rounded his desk, supporting himself with his open hand on its surface, and headed for the replicator.

The conversation with Commander Arkham and Captain Sheppard earlier that day had only intensified his feeling of unease, and working through the night brought him little comfort. However, it brought him slightly more than lying awake in his own bed, staring at the bulkhead above him with the darkness racing through his mind. It was in these black moments that Altir Kerr invaded his thoughts. The promise he had made to the Trill years before weighed heavily upon his conscious and with his health deteriorating, being tied up at Citadel Prime only worsened matters for them both.

As Lane stepped up to walk across the plain to his replicator, the intercom sounded and his ragged thoughts were interrupted by a loving, familiar voice.

=A= Mrs. Gray to Commander Lane. Rory has experienced her third nightmare since retiring and is insisting on you tucking her back into bed… with the carrot cake. =A=

Chuckling to himself, slightly, the interruption was welcomed with a smile. Tapping his combadge he said, "Lane here. Tell the little rascal that I'm on my way." He grinned to himself wider and turned on his heels. The carrot cake that Mrs. Gray had baked was most likely, if it had not have been devoured by the crew, still under a glass covering sat in the mess hall. Walking across the bridge, he turned to his duty officer and nodded.

"I'm wrapping things up for the night, Ensign. Inform me should you experience the slightest thing, understood?"

He boarded the turbolift and made his way to the mess hall. As he entered, the deck was in almost darkness. The galley chef had withdrew for the evening and, aside from the night shift-crew, all other hands were safely tucked up in their quarters. He made the short walk from the sliding double doors to the counter where the cake was. Heavily raped, but with a few slices still intact, he lifted the glass covering and placed it down with a clink beside the stand. He picked up two clean plates and scooped up two slices, placing one on each. The vanilla frosting was messy, but delicious, and as a 34 year old man, he still couldn’t help but lick his fingers with delight as he placed the glass cover back onto its stand.

From the corner of his eye, a dark shadow formed behind him at the edge of the room. Static but solid, the feeling of another presence overwhelmed him as he spun around to face it. "Who's there?" he commanded to no response. "Computer, lights."

The unusual silence that followed a direct command to the computer agitated the Trill. "Computer, lights!" The deck suddenly became awash with the light from the ceiling above to reveal a just empty mess hall. Only the Trill and the carrot cake occupied the room, much to his disbelief.

Commander Lane sighed in angst and swallowed hard. Something with the ship unnerved the Trill. Something was wrong. It was time his paranoid thoughts were shared, he considered. And it was time to trust the senior staff with his fears.

As the Trill left the mess, deactivated the lights and the sound of the swishing doors sealed the carrot cake in the room alone, a pair of twinkling eyes flicked from a compartment near to the replicator. As they darted about the room, the faceless shadow shifted their weight inside and gently applied subtle pressure to the panel, popping it from its frame as it silently wafted to the carpeted deck before it. Angling themselves out of the crawlspace, clutching the vital isolinear chip they had come to claim, the figure replaced the panel and vacated the mess swiftly.

OFF:

Commander Coltan Lane
Commanding Officer

 

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