Sleep Over On The Bridge

Posted on Fri Nov 1st, 2019 @ 5:16am by Leiddem Kea (*) & Dixoho Saa (*) & Chief Engineer Michael Burnstein & Chief Helmsman Eden Bowers

Mission: Mission 10 - Temperance
Location: USS Temperance, Main Bridge
Timeline: MD 05 19:00
1978 words - 4 OF Standard Post Measure

"Right... This place is not creepy at all." It sounded bad if he was honest with himself for security to announce that as he stepped onto the bridge and looked around taking in the suspicious looking patches where he was sure bodies had been a few hours before. It was still dark and dingy with lanterns as the power still had not been restored enough. He looked a bundle of nerves and the atmosphere was putting him ill at ease.

"You are always honest anyhow aren't you?" Dixoho commented as she looked up from where she was working on the nav console trying to figure out where the ship had come from. He ignored that. Fidgeting with his fingers only made him nervous as he started to pace. He hated he was spending the night there.

Burnie shrugged, chuckling to himself at their reactions. He'd been places *far* more creepy. Not there wasn't an element of spooky here... but that only inspired his normal approach to such things, which was somewhat off-kilter humor. So as he opened a panel at the engineering station, he paused to stared into it. " 'Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing...' " He intoned in his best 'quoth the Raven' style, and widened his eyes, as if in horror. Then he directed a light into the hole and chuffed. "And I was right to fear. Half of these connections are fried."

"The horror." Eden replied with a grin. It was just a ship, she didn't see anything creepy about it. Really, she was never creeped out by anything. She always had a child like curiosity that was stronger than fear. Besides, the way her old ship was treating her, maybe moving onto this one wouldn't be so bad. "No cloud monsters, no malfunctioning turbolifts, no goo all over me . . . " she quietly listed to herself.

"No giant possessed Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man either," Burnie joked, glancing over at her; then pulled a moue. "Unfortunately. We really should have roast marshmallows for spooky story stuff."

"No doublegangers, No virus waiting to kill us all this is practically a fun zone," Dixoho spoke up as the console she was working on burst to life and she let out a cheer and muttered something under her breath that it was about time.

"Do we have to tell stories?" The Betazoid man asked as he passed behind the Captain Chair. He really did not do well with scary situations since the mirror universe.

"No. How about scary limericks?" Burnie suggested, as he began removed ruined chips from the panel.
"There once was a blob from outer space,
That grew at a ridiculous pace.
It would grow and grow.
'til it could swallow you whole.
And leave a trail of goo in your place."

Eden couldn't quite believe he'd said all of that in jest. It really wasn't something to joke about, at least not the cloud monster but she knew he didn't really mean it so she kept her mouth shut about that. "Have any of you ever actually seen a ghost or believe in them?"

"Betazoids do." Lieddem piped up as he finally stopped pacing weapon in hand and sat down in the Captain's chair. It was relative comfortable and allowed the nervous feelings to start lifting from him.

"My aunt used to claim that the drafts in her house were really the ghost of her cat trying to rub up against us. Could have been, I guess." Burnie shrugged. "It seemed to make my aunt happy to think so, and honestly, my sister and I had fun making up stories about Ghost Kitteh."

"Hmm, yeah people often like to do things like that. It makes them feel better. But I've never seen a ghost. I'd like to think people could come back if they really wanted to, but I've never seen any proof of it." Eden looked around at the others.

Leiddem nodded. He had been brought up with faith but at the moment he wished he did not believe in ghosts, fates and muses, it was making him feel on edge. There were just too many things going bump in the night. "So moving on from the ghosts that obviously haunt this place what time we going to sleep?"

Burnie pulled a scorched board out of the terminal he was working on and sighed. "Not real soon. At least not if we want this station operating again."

Eden suddenly shivered and then chuckled. "Guess I'm a little cold. Not as if someone stepped on my grave. Okay, so while we work, anyone got any good ghost stories? I mean we are on a creepy abandoned ship. We should do something to pass the time right?"

Liddem bowed his head and leaned back. He wanted to go to sleep even if it was a on a creepy bridge with barely any lighting. "Fine... I know one from Marine School. A girl in a pretty white dress and embroidered sweater flags down an old man for a ride. He gives her a ride to her great-grandmother’s house and they have a lovely conversation, talking about the old days, and the elderly man shares some great stories with her. He drops her off at her nan's house and he goes home. The following day when he gets into his car to pick up some milk and the paper, he realises the sweater is still in his car. He swings by the young girl’s Nans house to drop off the sweater, and her nan answers the door. He explains why he’s there. “I’m sorry Sir. I think you have the wrong address. My great-granddaughter died many, many years ago, wearing her favourite white dress, after a night out dancing.” See it is an awful story but kinda sweet." Leiddem piped up. He did not want to listen but he wanted to keep the conversation going, keep some noise going.

"I dunno, that sounds more like a pocket temporal displacement than a ghost," Burnie said. "And not even as bad as some of those. It's not really spooky, just a girl out of her timeline."

"Okay then story from you." Leiddem challenged. That was as scary as he could tell it but he was willing to hear others.

Burnie shook his head. "I don't think you'd want that. Both my parents are historians, so all the scariest stories I know are true." He rubbed his chin, thinking a moment. "But if you just want creepy old spacer stories, do you know the one about the Giant Vampire Spider, or the Demon Flesh-Eating Tribbles? Or any of the ones about ghost ships or haunted containers that turn out to be some version of dybbuk boxes?

"Ooooh, a ghost ship. I mean we are on one right? Who knows what happened to these people, they could still be here." Eden sat down on the floor and crossed her legs. She loved a good story, especially of a mystery and if it happened to be spooky, then all the better.

As if the ship knew it had to cause some trouble something rumbled out in the corridor through the open door making the Security detail jump up and point his rifle in that direction. "What was that?" He demanded.

Under most circumstances Burnie would have taken that line as an excuse to say something like 'Eh, probably just a blood-thirsty demon', but the rifle changed the equation. The engineer was quite comfortable around firearms, but nervous people handling rifles made him nervous. "Whoa there," he said, lifting his hands and taking slow, cautious steps toward the guard. "I don't think we need any spooky stories right now, 'cause someone getting spooked with a rifle is the start of a bunch of real life scary stories."

"Maybe it was just . . . the ship settling." Eden replied though she didn't look at all like she had faith in her answer. She was suddenly wishing Jake was around, though she didn't really know why. Eden had never relied on anyone else to calm her fears before.

The Betazoid looked at Eden and rolled his eyes. He did not have much faith in the answer either. "Just stay there," Leiddem said pointedly as another noise sounded. He was not nervous if anything he felt sharper at the second noise.

"Probably good advice." Burnie returned to his work ...until he heard a skittering sound from further back in the console. "Gah!" He jumped back in surprise, and immediately mentally chastised himself - who was being jumpy now? He pulled at the back of his neck, chagrined. "I think we might rats, or maybe giant cockroaches." He grimaced at the idea of the latter. "Big radiation-resistant roaches could certainly explain why the crew abandoned ship."

"It's just a little bug. Poor thing is probably scared to death of all of us." Eden poked her head down under the console to see if she could coax it to come out and carry it to a safer spot.

The top of a hooked leg slipped out from under the console. "Hook spider!" Burnie shrieked in a tone maybe a little higher than normal for an adult male, and jumped back, reaching for his laser welder. "Get back so I can fry it!"

"No," Eden shielded it with her body, which she admitted was probably rather stupid. "It's a jumping spider, they are harmless. Poor thing is scared to death, it won't hurt you." She glared at Burnie and went further back into the mess of the console.

"Jumping?" Burnie asked, thoroughly aghast. "I hope it doesn't jump. Talarian hook spiders can get to 2 meters, have a mouth full of fangs and corrode isolinear circuits!"

Leiddem came running back in from investigating the corridor. "What? What is going on?" He demanded his rifle pointed at the floor as he heard the shrieking from a male voice.

"It's just a spider," Eden said calmly, "don't shoot anyone or anything. " She looked up. "Did you find anything that caused the noise?"

Burnie rolled his eyes. "Just a spider that's probably responsible for half the circuit damage in here, along with some others who are likely the source of the noises. Spiders with half meter long legs can easily knock things around."

"I seriously doubt that." Eden frowned. "The poor guy is probably starving though. I should find him something to eat before he turns into a vampire," she was joking but wasn't sure the others were going to appreciate it. Still, Eden had never downplayed herself to please others.

Leiddem shook himself free of just staring at the spider and shrugged. "Lots of stuff all over the corridor out there could have been anything." He admitted glancing back wishing he could secure the door some how.

Feeding hook spiders.... Eden might just be the scariest thing on the ship based on attitude alone. Burnie shook his head and turned to the others. "Well, if we're going to bed down in here, I suggest sealing the door. We can at least limit access for the big bugs who might try to get in once they hear we're serving dinner."

"I am going to find somewhere else to sleep I think," Leiddem said softly. "I truly cannot stay around that." The man was not hanging around with a huge spider on the loose.

"I'm with you," Burnie said. "Anyone who wants to cuddle spiders is welcome to it, but I'm thinking Auxiliary Command would be just as good for fixing stuff and then sleeping."

OFF::

Eden Bowers
Chief Helmsman
SS Mary Rose

Michael Burnstein
Chief Engineer
SS Mary Rose

Dixaho Saa
Chief Navigator
SS Mary Rose
(PNPC Gregnol)

Leiddem Kea
Weapons Master
SS Mary Rose
(PNPC Gregnol)