"Guess Who's Coming For Dinner?"
[Previous post: "Keeping Both Eyes Open", written by the watchful Mark Hutchings]
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Setting: BLACK PANTHER, Lower Deck
Susan followed her friend, not that she had a choice. Lea had grabbed the Cns by the wrist and pulled her into a dark corner of the ship. Susan had quickly figured out that something had not been right, so she said nothing.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" Susan asked. The Cns had seen several sides of her friend's personality, but never expected her to be this paranoid about anything.
"There is something strange on this ship," Lea replied. The CMO seemed overly nervous that their conversation might be overheard by someone or something. Susan tried to calm her friend by placing her hands on Lea's shoulders. That did little to stop the CMO from twisting her neck as far as it could go so that Lea could look around.
"Something strange," Susan grinned. "You mean other than the way you
are acting right now?"
"I'm serious," the CMO snapped back which quickly made Susan realise
that this had been serious. At least as far as her friend had been
concerned. "Did Maya speak to you about her observations of the crew?"
"Extensively," Susan replied as she stifled a sigh. The CSciO had never
been known to explain anything in just a few words or sentences. "Why?
Did you notice something more?"
"Help me out on this one," Lea said in a whispered voice. "Imagine a
world populated by a race that has had *no* contact with any other race.
Now image that another race, one that looks very different, crashes on
this planet and meets the first race. How do you suppose this
indigenous race would react?"
"It would depend on a lot of things," Susan replied after having given
the question some thought. "Based on their culture, beliefs and way of
life, the second race could be seen as friends or foes. If they
appeared as something from the local lore, they might even be revered and
feared. Imagine if Humans back in the days of sail ship had seen something
that resembled a netherworld demon. They would have feared it without
asking a simple question as to where it had come from. Likewise, if the
alien had appeared as some sort of angelic creature, they would have
admired and worshiped it."
"In both cases though the first race would have displayed some sort of
surprise. There would have been a cultural shock to seeing something
that they had never seen before. Right?" Lea asked.
"But these people didn't," Susan nodded having figured out where her
friend had been going with all of this. "They referred to Uxtar as a
Troll when the Captain and he boarded this ship. They reacted to Uxtar's
different appearance as they should have."
"But they did not react to *ours*," the CMO finished. "Since we have
come onboard I have noticed this crew looking at us with curiosity. Not
in the sense that we are *aliens* to this world. It is more like they
are trying to figure out why we are here. It is as if they are expecting
us to do something, the question is what?"
"We'll have to wait until dinner," the Cns whispered. "Maybe then we
will be able to learn more. The question is now *where* have they seen
Humans before?"
"There is something else," Lea interrupted. "I know that you will think
me nuts, but I feel like there is a dark presence on this ship.
Something is hiding in the shadows and keeping an eye on us."
Susan immediately began to scrutinize the shadows around them, not
entirely certain as to what to expect. Maybe if the Cns had found a set of
glowing eyes staring back at them, Susan would have supported her
friend. All that Susan found though had been wooden crates and lifeless
shadows. "I think that you are just overly nervous, but it may be wise for
us to stick together, or in pairs at the very least."
Lea nodded and followed her friend as the Cns headed back for the upper
deck. On the way, both women looked back over their shoulders into the
shadows. Just in case.
A few seconds after Lea and Susan had left, a dark figured stepped out
of the shadows. She had been there for the entire conversation and had
heard everything. That had not been the reason why she smiled though;
enjoying the fear she had created in the CMO far more.
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Lt. Lea Summers 2006 post #259
Stardate: 61036.1700
Tiffany Rose {lady_tiffany_rose@mail.com}
Chief Medical Officer
USS ANUBIS
