Do You See What I See? (part 2)

Posted on Sun Oct 12th, 2014 @ 9:53am by Lieutenant JG Rami Miral & Lieutenant Jensen Foster

1,263 words; about a 6 minute read

[CONTINUED]

Jensen had been in sickbay since the away team had beamed back from the Edmorn, working late, pouring over the data sent from the Edmorn.

Mostly he'd been able to determine causes of death for each member of the Edmorn. Most of which were not pleasant or for the weak of heart. He shuddered at the remembered images and vids.

Once he'd completed that task, he'd set out to discern if there were any physiological effects that the gas cloud may have wrought upon the crew of the derelict vessel; and whether the crew of the Ranger might be succumbing to those same effects.

At the moment he'd found only the expected amounts of gases found in most other gas clouds. Basically, his results were inconclusive at best. Turning away from his computer, he rubbed his eyes and then checked the time. Way to late the send Lt. T'kaarch a message now. He figured he would see if the Science Chief had found anything helpful in the morning.

Stretching he got up from his chair and rounded his desk, intent on getting to his quarters for some sleep.

Heading down the corridor to the turbolift, all was quiet.

He stopped dead in his tracks. Way to quiet. He paused, realizing that he couldn't even sense anyone on Deck Five. Which was odd, for those crew members' emotions that he was in close proximity to would always be buzzing in the back of his head.

Now, there was nothing.

Feeling slightly unnerved, he quickly told himself it was because of lack of sleep. Continuing down the hall, he reached the turbolift and entered it. As he entered that's when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. And not in a pleasant way.

Turning around slowly, he took in the corridor outside the turbolift. The lights were dimmer than he remembered and there was a strange, almost fog-like quality to the air. It billowed, undulating into and out of itself. It rolled down the length of the corridor towards the turbolift, almost as if it were searching for something. Or someone.

Music came floating along the fog. Mysterious, ethereal, and hauntingly. The voice accompanying the music was an alluring, mesmerizing baritone that sang in a whisper:

"Suddenly lost inside a fantasy,
Everything not quite what it seems to be.
Slipping and falling through the looking glass,
Catching a glimpse at all that lies behind the masks...

You disappear with the dawn,
You only see what you want...

When you’re out with the birds of prey...

They watch and they feed,
They take what they need.
They bite as you bleed..."

He wanted to tell the turbolift to head to Deck Two, but found himself frozen. Immobile. His eyes were glued to the shadowy figure that had appeared suddenly, down the corridor towards the turbolift. He could tell that the figure was masculine in form, but beyond that, he couldn't make out anything else.

And then the singing stopped and figured spoke, its voice just a mere whisper:

"You know what happened. All you have to do is let it in. Let me in. Look into my eyes, Jensen. We've met before."

He had no choice but to comply. Jensen's eyes, so black and dark, met glowing eyes of pure white.

Bloody visions of torture and horror passed before his eyes. His own hands as the culprit to the heinous acts. He felt himself falling, sadness and sorrow overwhelming him. All from the people in those visions.

And then the voice, so silky and seductive, spoke again:

"Join me, Jensen. Indulge in what you're capable of. Bask in the glory and power of your own twisted potential..."

The shadowy figure smiled, so heartbreakingly handsome, and then exploded in a swarm of ravens and crows. The birds raced towards Jensen. He cringed, expecting the oncoming attack.

After a few seconds, when nothing happened, he slowly opened his eyes and found that everything was as before. The corridor was lit normally, any trace of the figure, the birds, the fog gone, and the familiar buzz of everyone's emotions on Deck Five was there in the back of his mind.

Shaking slightly, Jensen took a shaky breath, saying, "Deck Two." He planned, the moment he entered his quarters, to put on some Celtic music, meditate, and attempt to sleep. Handsome shadowy figures aside.

~*~*~

Miral read the report from Sammi again, still not sure what she thought of a plush pig sending her reports. It was a little odd, but then, so was the sight of a Scottish Claymore on the wall behind the Commander's desk. A copy had also been sent to security. She wondered, briefly, if she should contact ch'Valri, but he had been illusive and likely would not appreciate a visit at this hour.

Miral looked up to see what time it was and shook her head. Later than she though. Midnight. The bewitching hour, or so the Terrans believed. She stood and stretched. Tomorrow would be time enough. "Computer, save files and secure computer, Rami 972 bravo delta."

She secured her office and stepped into the corridor. She hadn't gone far when she heard the sound of boots. Very familiar boots. Cardassians, on the Ranger. She tapped her combadge. "Intruder alert!" But instead of the usual sound of a communication, she heard a strange, squishy sound. Looking down, her combadge was missing, replaced by a little red bug that looked up at her with big, sad eyes.

That startled her enough to make her step back. Something was wrong. She had a combadge. "No, you didn't," the bug said.

"Shush," she told it as she quickly ducked into another office just in time to see four Cardassian soldier come around the corner, weapons drawn. She swore Bajoran and pulled out her knife. At least with her knife she was confident she could take on all four of them. They didn't know she was there. She could take down two of them before the other two had a chance to retaliate. Two to one. Not bad at all.

The four marched past her and she slipped out behind them, raising her knife to slit the throat of the one on the left. Suddenly, her knife began to move. There was a hiss and then something bit her on the hand. She cried out in surprise, dropping whatever it was to the ground. A black snake slithered under her feet and into the room behind her.

It was enough of a distraction to cause the guards to turn. The one nearest to her fired his disruptor and Miral feel to the ground.

She woke a short time later, surprised that she wasn't dead. A quick exam told her there was no damage at all, except for a bump on her head where she hit the ground. Her knife lay on the ground next to her. She picked it up and looked around. The corridor was empty. "Computer, where did the Cardassians go?"

"Please specify which Cardassians."

"The ones who were just here. Four Cardassian guards with disruptors."

"There is no record of Cardassian guards on this ship."

Miral rubbed her head. Okay, so she was seeing things. There had to be something going on. Tomorrow, she'd stop by and visit the doctor. For now, she went back to her office and locked the door. Maybe sleep would help.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Jensen Foster
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant JG Rami Miral
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer

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