Horror Of Memories

[Serpentis]

//This story is a setting story, a Theme story for my Special RP character Metus.In.Memoria//

The Horrors of Memories

It was a good flight for the Freelancer, Hannah Simone, her ship and crew of her Explorer class Gunboat vessel had been extremely bored as of late, there had been nothing going on for the last few weeks. They had been surveying a, until recently, unknown part of Sirius, where only a few pilots had been in. The entire area felt a little to scary for Hannahs taste, but hey it was the unknown, the real reason why she, started together with the crew of the Explorer Star Seeker, to venture far into space.

When she entered the system, the first things that she noticed were the dark clouds of a nearby nebula and the unnatural silence that was in the system. She had heard it was scary, but this was just unnatural.

Miss Simone, the initial scans show nothing out of the ordinary, besides the freakishly large nebula in the system Oh and we got some interesting mineral readings from a planetoid in the area, but the planetoid itself seems to be a dead solar body, that would also explain the nebula.

I understand, well set a course to take readings of the nebula first, and then we can scan the planetoid.

Alright, setting course to the edge of the Nebula

The Star Seeker engaged impulse and headed toward the edge of the cloud, Hannah started to get bad vibes from the nebula, she was thinking back to all the stories that her father used to tell her about Ghost Ships.. She snickered to herself, thinking of how pathetic she was of being scared of this natural phenomenon.



As they closed in on the huge black and purple cloud the science officer, Clarice, activated her console and started to tap several controls. The ship shuddered as a green lightning bolt was seen inside the cloud, Hannah stared at the science officer, she wanted answers.

Captain, the cloud is a composition of unstable plasma and some other unknown elements, Im trying to determine what the they are. But so far all I can say is that the nebula isnt safe for this ship, we need stronger shields if were to enter.

Hannah nodded at Clarice as she took a look at the console where she was sitting.

Another bolt of plasma shook the ship and the tactical officer, Christopher Hansen, announced:

Maam, Im getting something on the scanners There seems to be an object within the cloud, metallic and quite large. Perhaps a Star ship His voice was unsteady.

What? Youve got to have read the scans wrong

No Maam, I have the scans confirmed, its a destroyer class ship Kusari Design.

How far into the Nebula is it?

Only a few K Maam, I dont think I like what you are about to say.

Were going to investigate that derelict destroyer, Im sure that the Kusari government would like to know about this and more detailed information of what had happened to its crew.


Hannah, smiles as she nodded at the navigational officer, Kit Connor, a young man with a lot of skills piloting the Explorer class gunboat, he understood what he was to do. He activated the engines of the Star Seeker and headed into the Nebula. The ships shields started to flicker as they entered the strange nebula and it seemed that there was some power loss as they went further into the cloud, Christopher looked a little on edge. And the rest of the crew looked nervous as well, but the captain held her calm expression, although she was probably as nervous the others. If not more

When the ship entered visual view, she shuddered at the sight of it. It was darkened and had scorch marks on one side of the hull. Hannah directly remembered an image of the wreck that her father had been in when he died; she had seen the digital photos of the wreckage of the armored transport, the photos of the corpses that they had dug out of the wreck. Of how her father lay, missing a leg and the image of his face, her fathers blue eyes, now cold, blood all over his face The eyes looked so scared, his expression was that of a person that knew what was going to happen to him, knew that he was about to die, and the fear was visible. She almost vomited, but managed to control herself, but she noticed that everyone looked almost the same as her, scared and queasy.


They closed in on the derelict and saw a docking port on the starboard side of the Destroyer, the Explorer softly attached itself to the side of the wreck and the captain stood up and announced;

Alright everyone, suit up and prepare for an adventure. And bring a gun with you

Everyone looked at her then at each other, and Kit spoke up his concerns.

Maam, why do we need guns? Isnt everyone dead on that thing? He almost looked a bit angry when he said it.

She smiled at him and softly said:

You never know Kit, you never know

They all left to their quarters to get equipped and to suit up, Hannah on the other hand went to the armory, to get her old carbine rifle out. She didnt know why she felt that she would need it, but she had the tendency to trust her gut instincts. They all felt the same thing, they all were afraid, truly afraid of what was waiting for them on that ship. Too bad for them, that they didnt know what was waiting for them on that ship, or they would have left right away.



Onboard the Derelict ship
A figure had been standing by the observation window and had watched the ship that had entered the system, it had been sensing its crews feelings and thoughts ever since it came close to the nebula and it enjoyed to play with their memories and fears. It was now thinking of how to make them regret their existence and to remove their reasons to live. It had been awhile since it had toyed with a human this way, it was starting to get excited.



Inside the docking hatch of the Star Seeker

They had decided to walk together to the command deck and try to figure out what had happened to the vessel and its crew, the only person that was staying on the Star Seeker was Mellissa Anderson, the young female engineer that had been down in the engineering section since they had arrived in the system. She didnt like the whole exploring thing, it always ended with that the ship being damaged and that was something she didnt appreciate. Although she did enjoy spending time repairing the Star Seeker, she didnt like the idea of damaging it too much, too often. She now sat on the very small bridge, holding a cup of coffee and a .45 caliber old pistol that she got from her grandfather in his will. She started to shudder at the memory of her grandfathers death, she held the pistol as her heart stopped for a moment, she saw the image of her gramps sitting in his favorite chair, a hole in his forehead and the gun in his hand. She started to cry as she sat on the bridge, to sad to hear the damp footsteps that where approaching.

The group had packed up and was equipped with all the tools they could use on the derelict vessel, Hannah had her carbine flung over her shoulder and a backpack on her back, they all had oxygen masks, just in case they would need them. They all nodded at each other as they walked into the hatch, the large metal doors on their side of the hatch cranked closed as the doors on the other side cranked open, in front of them where a pair of large rusted doors which seemed to need some help with opening up. Kit had the plasma torch in his hand and slowly walked up to the door and began to weld it open, the others stood behind him, waiting for the darkness that was inside.

After thirty minutes of forcing the door open, they entered a dark hallway, the interior of the Kusari Destroyer were surprisingly filthy, Hannah wondered what had happened, the floor was damp and the walls covered in a dark greenish substance. They all got chills as they walked down the hallway, the eerie sounds the vessel made had them on their guard the entire way, as they came to an intersection they looked at Hannah for orders.

She took a moment to look at her Data pad with the information she had on the destroyer class ship, she pointed to one of the hallways, the rest started to walk, but Hannah stayed for a moment, absolutely sure of what she just had seen in the hallway leading back to their ship, two shadows moving within the darkness. She shrugged of the image and told herself it was her mind playing tricks on her, but as she continued after the others she couldnt help but feel that something was wrong. Or that something was going to go wrong

Back on board the Star Seeker, Melissa had stopped crying and as she wiped her eyes dry she was sure she saw a shadow move in the corner of her eye. She turned her head around and looked around the bridge, it was darker now then when she had entered the bridge. She didnt see anything as she was looking over her back, as she turned back to take a sip of her coffee she saw a figure crouching by her legs. She gasped as she saw the person down at her legs, it wasnt normal.. Not one way, its skin was white and bluish and it was missing a part of its skull She screamed as the corpse started to grasp her legs and the shirt she had on, she suddenly remembered the pistol in her hand and aimed it at the corpse. She shot once.. Twice.. Three times She had blood all over her and the Corpse lay on its back.. Still She started to scream and cry as she noticed that it MOVED The frikkin thing moved yet again! She fired three more rounds into the body, whichs blood was now all over the floor, she jumped of the chair, to run out of the bridge, but tripped and fell on the floor, the gun she dropped and she had the unmistakable feeling that this was the last few seconds of her life, all she saw in front of her was the image of her gramps She jumped up, adrenaline pumping; she wasnt going to die like this! She started to run towards the door from the bridge, then she felt a hand holding her arm and she span around to see the half rotten face of a man Her entire body froze, she felt how the corpse looked at her, with one eye, and fear took the better of her and she screamed, but not out loud, in her soul, she had never been as scared as she was now. And then she felt the excruciating pain as it took a bite out of her neck Then there was darkness and nothing else




Hannah walked down the corridor that led to the bridge, Clarice started to move her flashlight more nervously as they approached the doors.

Clarice? Whats wrong? Hannah said as she looked at Clarice.

Nn Nothing Hannah, I just thought I heard something. Clarice looked as frightened as when the Star Seeker had seen the Nomad Battleship that one time, she had started to sweat.

Hannah looked at Clarice with an concerned look in her eyes but she decided to be quiet and just get going, the doors to the bridge opened Now.. What? Wait now a minute There isnt any electricity online Hannahs eyes widened as Chris and Kit went inside the doors, into the bridge. Guns drawn and as scared as Clarice was, now Hannah felt the strange feeling that they were observed, studied. She started to look back into the corridor they had walked trough only moments ago and she couldnt let go the feeling that something else was on the ship besides her crew. It was not just the gut feeling that she had But also the feeling that someone was close by, the noises, the small glimpses she had when she looked behind them.

Maam, there is electricity online, besides the basic functions, there is; Engines, Life support and grav-drive. And it seems that the doors and emergency lighting is functional as well. Chris smiled as he had got a console online and was reading the data.

Hannah smiled, at the first good news shed heard since they entered the system.

Alright, check the engine systems, see if we can get them up and running to 100% capacity, we may not only be able to give the Kusari Naval Forces information about the destroyer, but the entire destroyer.. Heh. Hannah snickered.

Chris and Kit both sat at some computer consoles tapping in commands, as Hannah and Clarice looked around the bridge. Searching for something that may indicate what had happened to the crew and the ship itself, because they hadnt seen any corpses nor anything else out of the ordinary, besides the strange sounds and how they felt while they walked through the corridors. They had just completed a complete search of the bridge when Kit yelled out:

Maam, we got a problem The engines are functional, but there seems to be a problem with the intake valves and the H-Fuel injectors, we need to go down to the engine room and manually repair the problems.

Hannah grimaced at the statement. Someone had to go down there and do it manually She looked back at Clarice and then back at Chris and said.

Chris, you and Kit go. Me and Clarice will stay up here



Chris and Kit nodded and got up and walked out of the bridge, to start their descent to the engine room. They had the data pad with the schematics of the ships interior in hand, they had to climb down some emergency ladders since the elevators werent functioning. After some time they came to the emergency ladder hatch, which they opened with ease. Kit smiled at Chris as to say: This is easy When a hand grabbed a hold of Kits collar and pulled him down the hatch. As Kit fell down the very long whole, Chris panicked.

KIT!! Chris screamed as loud as he could, only to hear the muffled screams of Kit, Chris heard crackling and snapping noises . Chris stood up and closed the hatch as he pulled up his gun and held it toward the hatch, he was hyperventilating and was in chock, he didnt know what to do. What happened? What was that? Is Kit alive? Whats going on! Chris only stood there, watching the hatch, for what it seemed as minutes as he thought about his brother and how he had been killed some months back in a skirmish between the Liberty Security Force and the Xenos, he had been a agent for the LSF and a good pilot. Chris mind raced, he had to get back to the bridge and warn the others.. His Com! He quickly pulled his gun up and as he was to press the button to speak when in the corner of his eye he saw the rotten carcass of a man, mouth opened and arms held up high, jumping on Chris, he started to scream and hit violently at the corpse with his gun. Hoping to hit it enough so itll let go of him, he raised his gun and hit it. He got a perfect hit in, the side of the corpses head cracked and brain matter spilled out on Chriss shirt and dried blood splashed all over Chriss face. Chris stood up as the corpse flew down into the metal floor, he didnt know what to do, the com lay on the floor, broken, as he realized he had to run back and warn the others. But as he turned around toward the corridor leading to the bridge he saw a pair of red glowing eyes, surrounded by darkness. And as Chris was about to shoot it he felt his legs giving up on him, he fell down to the floor, his body given up, it felt as if it was asleep, he couldnt move a muscle. Not even the eyes. All he saw was the floor and two dark feet coming towards him and then he heard the echoing voice, so dark and terrifying that it felt as it was feeding upon his soul.

~Death.. Will.. Come.. To.. Those.. That.. Wishes.. It.. Now.. Close.. Your.. Eyes.. And.. Embrace.. The Darkness..~

Chriss eyes closed and he felt so scared that he knew that his heart stopped He was And then darkness..




On the Bridge of the Destroyer

Clarice had been checking trough the Computers regarding the destroyers fate, trying to find the logs of the ship before its demise. As Hannah had tried to get in contact with the Star Seeker and Melissa, only the onboard computer was accessible and it hadnt been of any help, kept stating that there was no crew onboard the starship. Damn computer.. She thought to herself, then it was the loss of contact with Chris and Kit. They should have reported in when they had arrived at the hatch, but they hadnt.

Maam, I found something.. The Logs of the captain Said Clarice with an excited tone in her voice.

Well, show me them then Said Hannah as she walked up to the console where Clarice sat.

Logs of the Kusari Naval Forces Destroyer Hiraku, Captain Korla Sitaru.
We have been out on our exploration mission for one month now, Kusari Naval command was wise to have sent this ship and its crew. We have been doing scouting and exploration for 4 years now and we never grow tired of it, we do find much delight in exploring the unknown.
Now we have entered the unexplored Kumamoto system, in which we will stay in until we have scanned every inch of it. Which I am sure that KNC will be happy to have the information about, we will continue to Nagano afterwards. My Science officer informs me that there isnt any visible nebulas in the system nor any debris that we can see, I will be continuing this log during our time here. Captain Sitaru out.

Log Nr 24821

We have discovered a temporarily stable wormhole in the system, we shall investigate it further. My Science officer informs me that it will remain stable for at least another week.
Captain Sitaru out.

Log Nr 24822

The senior officers and I have agreed to take the Hiraku through the jumphole to investigate further, we will depart from this system tomorrow morning. Lets hope this will be worth it.
Captain Sitaru out.

Log Nr 24823
We have entered the jump hole and found ourselves in a thick previously unknown kind of nebula, the plasma storms in it are violent and may endanger the ship and its crew. We have decided to take some more scans and also to take some samples back with us. We will stay here for another hour, until then ive placed the ship and its crew on standby.
Captain Sitaru out.

Log Nr 24824 [WARNING LOG FILE HAS BEEN DAMAGED, ENTIRE FILE IS AFFECTED]

Nebula .. . Systems . . . we.. . .deaths.. . . offline . . signal. . .. attempt .
.. . .. . .
.. . .. jump hole.. .
Endanger.. . . .
[LOG FILE ENDED, TO MUCH DAMAGE TO FILE]

End of Logs

Hannah took a moment to think, what had happened to the destroyer? Did it have something to do with the nebula? Or was it something else? Clarice had stood up about halfway through the log to take a walk around the bridge, now she was standing by one of the observation windows. She was frozen solid, after what she now saw

H Ha Hannah I think you better see this.."

Hannah looked over her shoulder to see Clarice staring out of the window into the nebula, her body was shaking. Hannah ran over to her and took a look herself, what she saw was a corpse.. Flying past the Star Seeker, not far from the observation window, its legs gone and its face blooded and bruised. It was Mellissa Clarice started to cry in panic and Hannah was shocked.. What the hell had happened? As she stood there holding Clarice in her arms as she was crying, tears was running down her own face as well. She had known Mellissa for ten years and Clarice had for 12, they all were good friends. She heard a noise behind her, and as she turned her head to see what it was Clarice fell to the floor, her body void of life. And she saw blood flowing freely out of her throat, Hannah stood there In shock As she heard a voice in her head

~Do you Cry?... For your Friends?... Do you Fear? For your Life?...~

Hannah tried to move but she felt how she was frozen solid, her mind was filled with images of death, countless millions dying She could see how people, over thousands of years where dying and where scared of dying, she could see it.. IT.. A Thing, a shadow that moved across the body of a man.. A Handsome man, a Kusari man Then she saw the eyes in front of her.. Two bright red eyes, staring into hers and she could feel the pleasure it took from her fear, it was enjoying it. It was Feeding on it Then she felt a pain in her abdomen and she fell into darkness, but the last words she heard where these:

~Metus In Memoria~



//Comments, recomendations or anything at all can be sent to me by PM. Or add me to Skype: risenancient//

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