Snippet #2606237

Particles of dust flickered in the intense blue beam that glared out from the flashlight mounted atop the M-7 Lancer clutched in a pair of nervous armored hands. Footsteps clamped on the floor and echoed hollowly as the small group advanced ahead into the hallway of the abandoned ship, apprehensive about what it was that they could find.

Dr. Hennessey hid behind the larger crew members with the weapons and crept along behind them quietly, her large dark eyes open wide and searching for any movement, anything at all, to signify that anything was amiss. She raised the nose of her M-5 Phalanx toward the ceiling as she stepped forward softly. A blanket of silence stifled the entire ship, leaving a stillness beneath their feet that felt entirely different from either the shuttle or the Bailey. Her omni-tool blipped quickly as they approached the shadowed outline of a doorway. "In here."

The door hissed open. The faces of the group gathered all wrinkled tight as a distinct smell curled their nosehairs. "What is that?" someone coughed raggedly.

Dr. Hennessey shoved a sleeve up to her face to block the stench from further invading her nostrils. It was hard to tell what it was; dead vermin, perhaps?... that had to be it. Clearly, the ship had been quite stuck for some time. The idea of what might be alive among the stillness formed a hard ball in the middle of her chest. She kept the pistol pointed upward, then glanced back at the screen at her wrist. There was indeed a thermal point in this wing of the ship... not too far away. She gestured wordlessly ahead.

Finally, after meandering through a couple of hallways, deeper into the ship, and without the stench, the thermal detection radar toned again. Without warning, a bullet bounced from down an open hallway, hazardly zinging from wall to wall until finally connecting with the chestplate of the crewman holding the flashlight and sent him flying backwards. WHOMP!

"Doc! Get back!" a voice screamed as the light beam spindled up clumsily toward the ceiling and swiveled around wildly as the rifle dropped down upon the ground. A couple of errant rounds popped off with a few bursts of light. Dr. Hennessey felt a rush of air blaze close to her shoulder as she resigned herself to paralleling herself down upon the floor.

The rifle clattered down noisily on the ground, finally, after several suspenseful seconds. Dr. Hennessey lifted her head up and pulled her elbow behind her head to shove her long dark locks out of her face, and began to crawl toward the downed crewman. He lay sprawled out on his back, dazed, while the others sprang to their feet and took off running down the hallway, sidearms drawn, to investigate the source of the gunfire. She propped herself up on her knees next to him as she reached an arm behind herself to grab a hold of the knapsack strapped about a shoulder and thrust a hand inside of it to grasp a small attachment to affix upon her omni-tool, pacing along at a brisk and efficient speed.

A gloved hand raised up as a tired laugh emitted sheepishly from the downed figure. "Hey, Doc," he sputtered as he pointed toward his chest. Dr. Hennessey blinked, fingers still clutching the palm-sized piece she'd retrieved seconds prior. A little smile broke out of the corner of her mouth when his knuckles rapped on the soft superalloy mesh beneath his uniform. She breathed a sigh of relief as she quietly reached out a hand to clasp one of his. She pulled him up to a sitting position and blinked at him, boring her eyes into his to check the dilation of his pupils. Nothing abnormal.

"Doc!"

The crewman tilted his head toward the sudden outburst of voices and cracked a grin. "I'll be fine. Just a little bruise."

"Respectfully, Ma'am, NOW!"

Dr. Hennessey nodded to him, quickly patting his shoulder as she left him to sit up against a wall to catch his breath. She was relieved that he ended up being all right, after all, but the urgency of the others' tone was indeed alarming. She picked up the pace as she wound through a set of dark corridors, the only light being a faint illuminary shimmering along the floor. Finally, she met the trio that had scouted ahead at an open door. "What's wrong?"

One of them nodded and lifted a finger to indicate a pair of red feet slacked limp. In an instant, Dr. Hennessey dashed toward the figure, nodding idly as two of the three announced that they'd continue to explore around the ship. She plopped her bag next to the unconscious man's shoulders and dropped down next to him, her knees planted on the floor against the side of his right arm, and carefully lay a softened corner of the omni-tool against his forehead to check his vitals... low pulse; dehydration; undernourishment of an extreme nature. His complexion looked ashy even in the dim light. She quickly took a breath and fixed the back of her right hand against his cheek. The bumpy ridges of a massive scar scraped against her skin. His felt cool; not even clammy. Poor health.

"Doc! Doc! Doc!" came the panicked cry, "DOC!"

Dr. Hennessey gasped frantically and jerked her head in the direction of the fearful shouts, then stumbled forward on the heel of her hand, face-planting upon the floor. What had they found?

"Doc! There are bodies!"