"It looks like....a blimp?" The captain frowned. "Can we get that image enlarged? I don't want to get any closer until I'm sure its safe to proceed." Tara took additional readings, but shook her head.
"Lieutenant Thompson? Can you direct a probe to do a close fly-by? I'd like a closer look at those lines in its hull, and the rear. Also, can you use the on board sensors to detect radiation? Or heat signatures?" Thompson nodded.
"All those functions are now integrated within the standard probes we have on board." She pressed a button. "Probe launched. Directed to the ship, and to do a slow orbit." She pursed her lips. "No readings of any kind. No heat, no radiation, and no signal emissions detected." She looked at the captain. "Sir, its dead cold." He frowned slightly.
"How long would it take for that to happen?" Tara looked at her screen, and took a few moments.
"We've never run the numbers before, sir. I would hazard a guess, if they are warm blooded creatures like us, that humanoid bodies would take a few hours to cool, and that is after death. The hull itself would be cool as long as there were no internal heat sources, but a fusion based engine? Thousands of years, depending upon the fuel used, such as plutonium or uranium, it could take thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years to fully decay to an inert state. That ship could have been made impervious to standard scans like ours, or it could have lain dormant for fifty years, or five hundred thousand years. Even if we board that ship, we would have no way to unlock its secrets. This ship was not made for such an investigation." The captain nodded.
"Agreed. Take all necessary readings, and formulate a possible plan to recover that ship. Calculate possible tonnage, thrust needed to tow it through the portal, or push it, and get it home. Its a theoretical plan, and if we present it, and the possibilities, the brass will come up with their own answers." Tara nodded.
"I'll get right on it, sir. Time to do some system scans, and exploration before we head back?" He smiled.
"You're damned right! I want to know if the closest planet has life." But the captain kept his eyes on the most lucrative prize right in front of him. An alien ship that had something all explorers lust after.
Something new, and unseen by human eyes.
"Sir. It might be possible to link up with that craft right there." Tara pointed out a hatch that had a similar configuration to their docking hatchway. The captain shook his head.
"I would authorize a two man crew to take internal scans, and inspect that ship slowly, but only in suits. Limited search, limited time. Lots of footage. Understood?" Tara thought for a moment.
"Who do you recommend for the mission, sir?" He smiled. "What? Me?" He nodded.
"You, and Thompson. She would keep you safe as she is highly skilled in hand to hand combat, and completely professional." She thought for a moment.
"You are aware...." He held up his hand.
"I know of it. There is no reason to remove either you or her from that list. We need the rest of the crew here, but we can spare you for a short period of time." His eyes grew serious. "However, there are to be no foolish risks! We can not complete this mission without the both of you, so don't put us in that position!" She nodded, but couldn't quite quell her excitement.
"Aye, sir!" This wasn't what she was here for, but it was an incredible bonus. The first and second pair of human eyes upon an alien ship.
It was beyond a dream, but she knew that sometimes, dreams can be nightmares.
"Steady as she goes, Tara. Don't wander ahead of me, or fall behind." Tara smiled, and nodded.
"Understood. I'll use my brains and follow appropriately." They were already at the hatch, and looked for the panel that Sampson had spied early. It wasn't as easy to spot when they were outside the ship. When Daria finally found the panel and pushed on it tentatively, it moved inward, and was able to be pushed down.
"Captain, Sampson was correct. The panel is exactly as he expected. It pushed in, and down out of the way. There is a handle to pull, stirrup styled. I'd almost say that the beings who made this ship were humanoid by the way it was designed." Sampson spoke up.
"When you're inside, you may be cut off, so go carefully, and keep an eye out for panels with readings on them. Touch nothing, but if we can take a look, we may be able to send the information back for analysis, and have the next ship on its way before we even get home." Sampson rubbed his hands together. "I wish I was there with you, Thompson." She smiled.
"I'm sure you do. Cameras are on. Recording to thumb drives for security purposes. Pulling the lever now." She pulled it carefully, and at first it wouldn't budge. She pulled harder, and it creaked along its pivot point. "Frozen from lack of use. The door has moved as the bolts were disengaged. Manually moving the door now." Tara held onto a suction cup on the side of the ship's hull as the door opened slowly. "Oh fuck me." Tara peered inside and saw what her lover had seen. Three emaciated, and long since dead creatures were in the airlock. They had decided to vent the atmosphere, to kill themselves quickly.
"Captain. There are three alien bodies in the airlock." Daria didn't give the captain a chance to ask what she saw that made her swear. "Semi humanoid, quadraped, with a pair of humanoid arms mid torso. Skin is dried and sallow. These people either starved to death, the vacuum sucked all the moisture from their bodies, or this is their natural appearance. They have been dead for a long time, sir, but there was no atmosphere released when the door was cracked. It appears they vented the air." The captain took several seconds to reply.
"Understood, Thompson. Move the bodies out of the way, open the inner door, and continue to inspect the ship. If you find more bodies that are different, or more fully fleshed, take good footage of their appearance. The doctor will want a look at it. Do not bring a body back though. We don't know if they died naturally, or from a disease. Decontamination will be required." She sighed.
"Understood, sir."
"I can smell that from here, Thompson." Sampson smiled. Daria rolled her eyes.
"Then you're going to love the stain I left on this white suit, Sampson." A few chuckles were spread about on the bridge before Daria spoke again. "Entering the ship now."
Tara followed carefully, being sure not to jostle the dead aliens when she passed, just in case her movement caused the body to break. Daria spoke ahead of her.
"There are no lights in the airlock. Emergency lever....is stuck. Just a moment." She pulled hard, and it eventually moved. "Frozen from lack of use. The door moves much easier then the lever did. There is no telltale sign of atmosphere inside though. Might have been struck by micro-meteors in the time it was inactive though." She moved through the now open door. "There are no bodies in the corridor, and no lights." She focused on a panel. "There is no power to any panel within range. The symbols are unfamiliar, as we expected. The corridor is rather wide, to allow such beings to pass easily by each other without bumping into one another, and quite high. They must be really tall when they stand up."
They continued to follow the direction of the corridor to the center of the ship, then forward. It was indeed a ghost ship. Not one single living thing remained aboard, other then themselves.
"Power is a no go. We are heading to the forward part of the ship, just to see if that remains the truth." Tara continued to follow along behind her, remaining quiet, and keeping her thoughts to herself.
"There are other doors along the main, most likely living quarters. Nearing the front part of the ship. Its not much larger then our own ship, and doesn't have the signs that they had gravity problems. Might be artificially generated." Tara spoke. Daria nodded.
"Agreed." She turned towards her. "This bothering you?" Tara shook her head.
"Your assessment is spot on, so I didn't feel it necessary to speak. I don't expect that to last when we get to the bridge. " She smiled.
"Agreed."
"That was an experience." Daria said softly, and her eyes looked haunted.
"I need to make a report, Thompson. I'll forward my thoughts to both you and the captain. It might give you something to think about." She nodded woodenly. "Come to my quarters tonight. You need me." Daria nodded, and turned her head slightly towards her.
"You have no idea." She turned away, which made Tara shake her head.
"I do, love, but your mind can't see it yet." She went to her computer, and began to record her thoughts. "The bridge was a real nightmare. There were bones all over the bridge. Most likely the strongest of their crew ate the others as they began to starve. We found no indication of food anywhere on the ship, so they must not have been able to resupply. That gives us many questions, and not enough answers. Disease is out or they wouldn't have eaten each other, unless it was a mental disease. They were outside the portal, so they wanted to pass through. There is no sign of damage to the ship, so it wasn't an attack, but it might have been an attack on their home world. There is not enough data to say. Did the portal go offline for a period of time? If so, why? Might it be something they did, just as we did? Or is there a flaw in the system? It was quite smooth for us, and that is many centuries after this species' time. I have no conclusion, other then a recommendation that we study this portal thoroughly before we decide if we need a presence in other star systems. And the doctor is going to go ape over the information we have on this species. Absolutely apeshit!"
The captain looked at the report and nodded.
"Her instincts are top notch, and right in line with mine. We'll put in our recommendations, and let the brass make the decision." He put his hand over his eyes. "But I already know what decision they will make. Humans always jump first then ask for a parachute."
"Will this have the same result for us as it did them? Is it an elaborate trap, or something no one ever anticipated? Or is it much simpler then that?" He rubbed his chin. "Greed is common among humans, so maybe its just simple greed that allowed them to ignore the warning signs." He thought for a moment, then added his own thoughts.
"Message recorded, and set to transmit once we are through the other side." He clicked a button on the intercom.
"This is the captain speaking. First thing in the morning, we are returning to our solar system, and will allow the probes to continue on their journey, to map and record information for us. Once their journey is complete, they will return to the portal, pass through, and transmit their data. As for us, I plan that we should either be well on our way home by then, or sitting at our own table back on Earth. Get a good night sleep. Captain out."
Daria curled up into Tara's side, and wouldn't let her go. She hadn't been able to stop her tremors since she got into bed, and now that she could relax where she felt the most comfortable, she couldn't.
"We'll be going home in the morning, love. No more aliens. Just us." Daria gripped her hip harder.
"And when we do, that will be it, won't it?" Tara smiled softly.
"Still unsure, even after these last six months spent together?" She kissed the top of her head. "Where ever we end up, I want us to end up together." She looked up in surprise.
"Really? What if....they send me back up?" Tara smiled.
"They will. You are the first one to see an alien species and not be mentally ill, or have some sort of hallucination. You will have to insist that its a package deal." Daria smiled.
"And if you get sent back up?" Tara slipped lower in the bed and kissed her softly.
"As if that would happen without you. You belong to me, and I'm never letting go." Daria blushed, but smiled.
It felt really nice to be needed like this. To belong to someone special. But she couldn't stop the image of those dead aliens, and the piles of bones, from playing through her memories.
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