Stjärnorna glimmade ovanför hans huvud, gav mörkret bakom dem en stänk av ljus. Framför honom svävade en asteorid, mörk och död men med ett vulkaniskt inre. I den totala tystnaden som omgav skeppet var datorernas surrande det enda som hördes.
Han satt i en sjö av ljus, omgiven av tre ljusblå skärmar. Resten av kommandobryggan låg fullkomligt sänkt i mörker. Han kände sig ett med skeppet, det silverfärgade massivet som sakta gled genom rymdens mörker. Han var ensam, fullkomligt ensam - de två andra i kommandotruppen sov, och resten av skiftet utförde sina arbeten i en helt annan del av skeppet.
Han var skeppets styrman. Då han arbetade var bryggan oftast tom - då han sov arbetade kaptenen, navigatören och själva skeppet med att nå deras mål. Det var endast vid speciella situationer som bryggan sjöd av liv, som alla tre i kommandogruppen samfällt var på plats...
Hon sprang gråtande genom rymdskeppets kala, metalliska korridorer. I mörkret bakom henne rörde sig någonting. Hon kände det. Hon hörde det. Och ibland, i utkanten av synfältet... Såg hon något som bara inte borde vara där.
Strömmen var utslagen sedan länge. Ibland genomriste skeppet däremot av oförklarliga kraftströmmar - ljusen tändes, sken starkare än någonsin tidigare, alltmedan ett metalliskt ljud ekade genom korridorerna. Hon hatade det. Hatade det, nästan mer än hon hatade det annars allområdande mörkret, mer än hon hatade honom...
Hon ville bara komma hem.
All is dark, I’m drifting through time and space. Have you ever had a dream of falling? It feels a bit like that, but you see no bottom. Suddenly you hit ice cold water. There is light again, your eyes hurt. It’s too bright, make it go away! Where am I? It’s cold! Why can’t I move?! My body is aching, I can feel it twitching and shaking from the cold. Let me out! I want out! Suddenly I feel air in my lungs again, it stings and burns, but I keep breathing. My eyelids flash open. Aargh! The light! They close as quickly as they opened. I start to fumble around, what is this? Where am I? I feel something protruding from my arm. A tube? Why is there a tube in my arm? I slowly extend my arms, I feel a round cold metallic surface. Am I trapped inside something? I open my eyes again. This time it doesn’t sting as much. All I see is the inside of a round capsule, with a lot of tubes and wires, some of them going into my body. Why are they there? What are they doing? Let me out of here! Suddenly I hear a loud pang as the pressure against my eardrums increase and a loud whoosh sounds through the capsule. My legs give away under me, as the capsule opens. The front slides upwards as I fall face forwards. Something yanks at my waist and I stop falling. Seems to be some kind of belt I’ve been wearing. It too snaps open and I hit the floor. It’s freezing cold, I’m shaking uncontrollably now. Where am I? What is this place? Why am I here? Thoughts flash through my mind, images I have no recollection of ever seeing and a name... My name... Who am I? I know I should know it... It’s... As I lay on the metal floor I hear a voice inside of my head. “Stevens.” It’s Steven! My name is Stevens. So I am Stevens, and I just woke up. Weird, that I can’t remember going to sleep. And where. Or why I need to wake up. Suddenly I remember the tubes sticking out of my arms and body. I turn over, seeing some of them already hanging from the capsule. Must’ve come of when I fell, but two are still sticking out of my right arm. I slowly pull them out. The feeling is so strange and disgusting I have to stop half way just to remember breathing. With one last yank the tube comes out, squirting a weird blue liquid out of the needle-end. I feel sick and throw up, then I simply lie on the floor for a few seconds, just focusing on breathing and stop my head from spinning. After a few minutes, I look around me. The only light source is the light at the top of the capsule. My capsule. I can’t see very far, my eyes haven’t adjusted yet. I’m still shaking, but not as much anymore. I look at my hands as I sit up. I see something on the inside of my left arm. Strange letters and some numbers. E1C2P4-S7813. What do they mean? Why is it there? Is it something important? I try to rub it, to make it go away. Nothing happens, it seems to be there for a reason, so I leave it be. Another flash! I see a locker with a bag inside. Where is it? Where is the locker? And am I supposed to open it? Is the bag important? I look around. I see something in the distance resembling the image of the locker I just saw. I start to crawl over to it. There are several lockers, not just one. My eyes are getting used to the dim light now. I can actually see quite well, even though the only light source still is my capsule. As I reach the first locker I see a line of text and numbers on it. C1C2P4-S6381. I put my hand on it and try to stand up. It’s a slow process, but eventually I manage to get up. I’m wobbly and light headed, but I’m standing. There is a panel on the door, I know I’m supposed to put my hand on it, so I do. A red light flashes in front of me. Why? I know I’m supposed to do something with that panel, it’s supposed to be green. Why do I Know all this? I stop and think. The numbers and letters! They must match! I start walking along the wall, leaning on the lockers as I search for the one with the same numbers as my arm. Almost at the end I reach it. I put my hand on the panel and a green light flashes on the panel, and I hear a soft “click.” I open the door and look inside. There is a bag inside, and a holograph on the door. I ignore the bag for a second, and pick up the holograph. There is a woman in the holo. Who is she? I know I’ve seen her before, but where? And how do I know her? I grab the bag and open it. Clothes! A suit! I put them on in a hurry, and put the holograph in a side pocket. I rummage through the bag and find a flashlight, a toolkit and a bottle. The tools seem familiar, like meeting an old friend. I feel them in my hand, the weight seems good. I feel confidence growing as I grab the pliers. Pliers, I know what these are. I must be able to use them. So why can’t I remember why I can? A small note falls to the ground. “Side effects from Cryo-Sleep may include: Various stages of confusion, short to long term amnesia, nausea, headaches, irregular heart rhythm, hyperventilation, hypoventilation and/or mental problems such as depression, paranoia etc. Please go to the infirmary to have your mandatory check-up, before reporting to the command-central. You may feel fine now, but you might not know or recognize the more subtle symptoms of an illness you may have contracted during your time in Cryo. Please go to the infirmary now.” The infirmary? A doctor? Yes, I remember. Go see the doctor. Strange however that I can’t remember where the infirmary is. And where is everybody? I look back at my capsule. It is now that I notice other capsules beside it. I couldn’t see them before, since they weren’t lit. I see some are open, but not all. I walk up to one and peek inside with my flashlight. A grinning skull greets me, and I topple over backwards. Oh my god! What was that? My curiosity takes the better of me and I take another peek. I know it is a human corpse, a decayed one at that. Why would there be a corpse in a capsule? I check the next one. This one has a man inside. I can’t see if he is alive or not, but I check the door and find another of these mysterious codes: S2C2P4-S1153. A memory flashes through my head. A name. “Johnson” This is Johnson. I don’t know who he is, but his name is Johnson. I try to bang the door with my hands. Another flash, I can’t open the door by banging on it. I need to go... I need to go somewhere to open it. I feel frustrated over not remembering where I need to go, but relieved that there is someone here who might be able to help me, if I can get him out of his capsule. Ok, priority one: Find out where I am. Number two: Go to the infirmary. Number three: Get Johnson out of there. And then we’ll improvise on the way. I walk towards the ladder at the end of the room with confident steps as my goal is set. If I do this, we can both figure out what to do later. Let’s go find out where we are!
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