Child of the Stars (Part One)

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:50am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Sasha Vieers (Deceased)
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 6:02pm

Mission: The Evils Within
Location: Hesiod Green

ON:

Running, alone. Jumping from one rocky plateau to another. The air is thick, it hurt her lungs. But she couldn't stop.

Sasha wondered just how she got out there - alone on this toxic, alien planet, searching for an Away Team that might kill her on sight, hoping to infiltrate a top secret Starfleet facility. This morning she was safe in her cell; protected, covered. She'd had a path ahead of her that was dark and unending, but she wasn't at risk. She was safe. Now she was running across the surface of this barren world on what could only be a suicide mission.

Still, she ran. She could feel a sense of humming coming from the ground whenever her feet would touch down for long enough. It was as if the planet was calling out to her. Amongst all the desolation, there was a quiet song urging her closer. She tried to block it out at first, but it was the only other sound to be heard except for her heavy footsteps and loud panting.

Sasha only had a small marker to guide her across the wasteland; a little blip of the first light beacon left by the Away Team that was her constant aim. The terrain was unstable and hazardous; forcing her to take detours around crushed rocks and tight allies between steep cliff faces. The earth crumbled beneath her foot if she landed too hard; entire boulders would move and give way at the slightest touch. Sometimes she would go half way around a hill, so sure it was the right path to take, only to be confronted with a sudden sheer drop into a deadly chasm that could not be crossed, and forcing her to backtrack around to find a safer route.

Every twenty minutes she would stop to inhale some oxygen from the tanks provided to her. Her lungs were tinged with burning but the canned air gave her some relief. It compelled her to move faster, get there quicker. Finally Sasha found the first light beacon. It was a small victory; but an important one. The facility could not have been much further ahead.

Vieers looked down at her PADD and saw the next beacon was directly ahead of her. She took in a deep breath from the inhaler and kept going. However, she hadn't gotten more than a few meters when her PADD beeped loudly.

The beacon disappeared from her map. "What?" She cursed aloud to herself.

A few moments later and it appeared again, this time in another location. "Frack!" She cursed freely.

She started to fear that she was going insane; that the isolation and the conditions of Hesiod Green were starting to play tricks on her already fragile state of mind. But the beacon was there and she had to find it in order to get the coordinates on the next one, so Sasha kept moving.

Another twenty minutes passed and Sasha suddenly found herself within a patch of softly glowing crystals. The humming was the loudest now, indicating the crystals were responsible for the siren song. It felt almost welcoming to her; a sign of Hesiod's life. She reached out with a gloved hand and touched one of them, feeling the strong vibration coming off in waves. Sasha smiled.

As she moved through the crystals, they began to get taller and taller, towering above her height and into the dark sky. The humming was intense, and it caused her to gasp emotionally. Amongst this stark world, she had found a sight of pure, natural beauty. This touched her, brought a tear to her dusty cheeks.

The sound and moment was so intense that she didn't hear the footsteps coming closer.

Sasha was so focused on the crystals that she didn't see the figure moving towards her.

It was only when they were right behind her did Sasha realise she was not alone. She blinked heavily and called out, "Hello?"

And suddenly, she felt herself drifting to sleep. The humming overwhelmed her, and she lost consciousness.

~~~~~

Sasha awoke sometime later, quietly at first, as if from a deep sleep. But then she suddenly remembered she hadn't user her inhaler recently and she sat up frantically, looking around for her supply pack. She was frantic, believing every breath could bring her closer to a painful, burning suffocation.

"Relax." Came a quiet voice from somewhere nearby. It was gravely, old.

Sasha continued to panic, pawing around at the old, woven blanket she had been covered in. She realised she was inside of a cave, the rock walls surrounding her. She started to cry. "I need my inhaler! I NEED IT!"

"You are fine, child." The voice said. "Relax."

"I can't breathe without it!" She declared, looking around the makeshift abode. There was a bed, a small kitchen, a table with a pile of blankets, a few items of home-made decoration. But no sign of her pack.

"The air is fine in here, child." The voice replied. Sasha realised it was coming from the table and she noticed for the first time that it wasn't a pile of blankets, but instead there was a hooded figure sitting down with their back turned to her. "You can breathe normally. We are below the surface and out of harm's way."

Sasha took in a deep breath, and realised they were right. Clean air. It filled her lungs. This started to calm her down and she breathed in again, enjoying every moment of the pure relief.

After she was able to relax again and calm down, Sasha spoke, "What happened? Where am I?"

"You became lost in the crystals, child. A fool's end. Though you are not the first to fall for their charm." Sasha noticed it was a female voice, clearly aged and laboured. "Many have died this way. Some.... have choose to."

Sasha wasn't sure if she was comforted by this information, but at least she was able to gather the old woman had saved her from certain death. If she had lost consciousness out in the elements, she would have suffocated and died from the toxic air. The woman had come at the right time.

"Where am I?" She asked again.

"My name is Ja-Bo. I am a prophet." The host replied, though she had not yet turned around. "This is my home, child."

"Well I... I am... I'm..." Sasha stammered to find herself a suitable alibi. She was uniquely aware that this mysterious woman was part of the planet's indigenous species and that she herself was in violation of the Prime directive if she didn't come up with a convincing lie. "I come from across the land... A different settlement."

Ja-Bo turned to face Sasha. She was cruelly weathered, face damaged by years of exposure to the harsh winds, eyes puffed, her brown skin burnt and raw in places. Still, she smiled sweetly at Sasha.

"I know who are." Ja-Bo stated. "You are a Child of the Stars."

Sasha shook her head determinedly, "Ohh no, no. I just come from another uh village. That's why... I look different and you've never seen me before."

Ja-Bo smiled even more. "But I have seen you before, Child. I am a prophet, remember. I've been expecting you."

Sasha's mind was racing, she didn't know what to make of this old woman's words. She couldn't think of a suitable answer, and merely asked, "Why have you been expecting us."

"Because," Ja-Bo replied with incredibly joy. "The Children of the Stars are the Carriers of our Death."

Sasha's eyes widened with fear and surprise.

OFF