The wind moaned faintly as it blew through the deserted corridors of Space Station Zebulon. A flaw like that in the ventilation system would normally be corrected immediately, but no one had been on board for several months. Only the decaying bodies of most of the crew remained. They could be found in small isolated areas throughout the space station leaving only faint clues as to what actually happened to them.
The sound of a transporter beam temporarily drowned out the moan of the wind as seven human sized figures materialized revealing the away team of the U.S.S. Voyager. Commander Jason Phillips was the leader of the away team. The others were Lt. Commander Kim Davis, Lt. Commander Scott West, Lieutenant Michelle Baker, Lieutenant Arnold Jones, Ensign Rachel Cobb, and Ensign April Roberts. Phillips straightened out his bright blue uniform and turned to face the others.
“Stay alert and keep someone with you at all times,” he warned. “We may have better weapons, but remember this thing took out 47 people in a matter of days.”
Davis began scanning the area.
“What exactly are we up against?” said West.
“It is believed to be a life form of unknown origin, though we had not ruled out the possibility that this is some new sort of weapon,” said Phillips. “Whoever or whatever it is has the ability to drain energy. Energy from the computer, energy from heating system, even energy from a living body.”
“How can we possibly defeat such a creature?” said Cobb.
“This creature can only drain certain types of energy,” said Phillips. “Our phasers have been set to a frequency that should be able to damage the creature.”
“Are you sure it will work?” said Cobb.
“No,” Phillips replied grimly. “This whole mission is risky but we can’t afford to let it leave the station. Who knows how many hundreds of people this thing has killed?”
“The trial is cold,” said Davis. “The creature has not been here for quite some time.”
“Any idea where the creature might be?” asked Baker.
“Not at the moment,” said Davis. “but I would guess it is resting somewhere where there is a large source of energy.”
“Engineering has plenty of high energy sources,” said Jones.
“Most of that energy has already been drained,” said Phillips. “This creature does not like wide open spaces. It is probably hiding in one of the transporter rooms.”
“What makes you think that?” said Davis.
“Just a hunch I have,” said Phillips.
The Ensign Roberts finally overcame her nervousness enough to speak.
“How many transporter rooms does Zebulon have?” she said.
“Three,” said Phillips. “One in the front and one on either side. Davis, you and Jones search the transporter room on the left. West, you, Baker, and Cobb search the transporter room in front. That will leave the one on the right for Roberts and me.”
“Are you sure?” said Davis. “Roberts has not been with us very long.”
“I can handle it,” Phillips assured her. “We need more people up front because the creature has more places to hide.”
Davis and agreed and the away team went their separate ways. Phillips turned to the young Ensign who just stared at him with a puzzled expression on her face.
“Come on,” said Phillips. “This is our chance to find the creature and make sure it never harms anybody else.”
“You seem obsessed with destroying the thing,” said Roberts. “Did you encounter it before?”
Tears began forming in Jason’s eyes.
“I was on board Space Station Zebulon when it was attacked,” he told her. “I was the only survivor. For nearly six days I was in a comma, and when I woke up I was told everyone else had been killed. When I heard the U.S.S. Voyager was going back to Zebulon to find the creature, I wanted to make sure I was on board so I could hunt it down personally. By pulling a few strings and asking a few people for a few favors, I even got to be leader of the away team.”
“We’re these your friends?” asked Roberts looking at one of the bodies.
“Some of them were,” said Phillips. “I suppose destroying the creature won’t bring them back, but it will make me feel better.”
Roberts was about to say something else when they heard a loud moaning sound. This time it was definitely not the wind. Phillips immediately began scanning the area then activated him communicator.
“We found the creature!” he said. “It is coming out of the transporter room and headed for us.”
Phillips readied his phaser. Roberts followed.
“The creature is going to get here before they will,” he said. “We have to be ready for it.”
The moaning stopped by Phillips and Roberts did not relax. They knew it only meant the creature was getting closer. Phillips cautiously eyed both sides of the corridor. Coming straight at them would be too easy. The creature liked to surprise its victims.
The first time he encountered the creature he tried to hide from it by locking himself in his room. Even so, the creature still got close enough to drain most of his energy. None of the others even had a chance against the creature. This time, however, things were going to be different. This time he was the one calling the shots.
“Do you hear anything?” he asked.
“No,” she replied.
Jason looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling. He could somehow sense a presence directly below him. His eyes were getting heavy. Roberts had already closed hers.
“FIRE! BELOW US!” Phillips yelled frantically.
The two of them fired cutting two small holes in the floor. The creature winced in pain.
“Where did it go?” asked Roberts coming to her senses.
“I’m not sure,” said Phillips quickly scanning the area. “That way.”
Phillips pointed behind them, away from the transporter room and toward the others who were rapidly approaching.
“We have to stop it,” said Roberts.
“I’m tracking it even as we speak,” said Phillips. “Follow me!”
He activated his communicator.
“We hit the creature. Our phasers can indeed damage it,” he said. “The creature is wounded and headed your way.”
They followed the creature as best they could. Somehow the creature always managed to stay out of sight. About a minute later they came across Davis and Jones.
“The creature is headed your way,” said Phillips. “Lock on to the creature and fire.”
Four phasers fired simultaneously. Three of them hit and Roberts did not miss by much. The creature tried to retreat. Again they fired. This time all four of them hit it. Phillips shot caused serious damage hitting it in the very center. The creature realized it could not run. It would have to fight.
The four of them watched in horror as the creature came out of the ventilation system. It looked like a giant jellyfish except for the very center that glowed a bright red. The four of them tried to fire again but they did not have enough energy even for such a simple task. Three of them collapsed to the ground. Only Phillips remained. While he hid in his room, the creature had killed the rest of the crew. He was not going to let it happen again. Using the last of his strength, he fired aiming for the red spot in the very center. He did not hit the red spot but he did hit the creature. Angrily the creature came rushing at him. It was immediately hit in the back by three phasers. Those three phasers belonged to West, Baker, and Cobb.
“Aim for the red spot,” said Phillips joining the attack.
The creature was still alive but not moving. It was trying to drain their energy but could not find enough power it do it. Davis and Jones recovered enough to join in the attack and the creature started to collapse. The red spot in the center got smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared. When that happened the creature fell to the floor, a quivering mass of transparent lifeless tissue.
“Are you alright?” Phillips asked Roberts.
“I think so,” she replied getting to her feet. “What was it?”
“I still don’t know,” said Phillips. “The creature had the ability to drain energy and use it the way we use food. For some reason it preferred the energy of a living body to other sources of energy, but how or why I do not know.”
“The ghosts finally have a chance to rest in peace,” said Roberts.
Jason Phillips looked at the creature and then at himself.
“I guess they do,” he said. “Commander Phillips to Transporter Chief, seven to beam up.”
The away team beamed up leaving Space Station Zebulon deserted once more.
Copyright 1999, Steve Lucky
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