Mental Health Officer Log. Stardate: 2260.03.12
By this point, temperatures on the planet's surface were dropping rapidly with the approaching storm. Our landing party was stuck in growing jeopardy, including my sister. It was painful, but we couldn't risk beaming them up. Due to the ship's transporter malfunction, we knew that unexplained duplicates of myself and Jim definitely existed. The question was, how far were they willing to go with their dark nature.
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Luna squinted her eyes as she scanned the blurred horizon for what had to be the hundredth time. With every passing second, the severe weather grew closer. The beautiful mountains and structures of ice in the distance could no longer be seen, covered by a thick sheen of snowfall - courtesy of the oncoming storm.
"So let me get this straight," she began, twirling to meet Hendorff's eyes. "We can't beam back up and the shuttles can't come and get us either?"
The man's face broke out into a sarcastic smile. "Look at that," he mused. "You actually do listen to me from time to time!"
"Don't get used to it," Luna quipped. She looked around at the other members of the group. Everyone was cold but no one was shivering more than Pavel Chekov.
"They...they'll figure s-something out," he stammered. "They always do."
"Loving the optimism, Kid, but we should still prepare for the worst." Luna caught his eyes and sent him a sincere smile. One that she hoped would bring some form of comfort, despite their situation.
"Who put you in charge?" Hendorff scoffed from beside her.
"No one," she said with an eye roll. "I'm just stating the obvious."
"Luna's right. We should make a shelter," Sulu said. He took a step forward and assessed the equipment they still had with them. "We can use the waterproof sheets and emergency blankets to form some kind of tent. Plus, there's gotta be something out there to keep a fire going."
"I don't mind stretching my legs a little." Luna fumbled for her pack of cigarettes and lighter as she began to trek through the snow.
"I'll go with you," Hendorff called from behind. "That way I can keep an eye on you."
She turned and dramatically feigned offence. "Your lack of trust wounds me, Officer."
"Please be careful!" Benita urged before they were out of earshot. "I doubt Rupert is the biggest creature able to live in these conditions."
The Romulan's warning was one that Luna hadn't considered. Benita was right. There could be anything lurking in the valleys beyond their camp. Whether the storm would deter potential predators from attacking was another question entirely.
Hendorff acknowledged Benita's concern and caught up with Luna as she began to head down the slope back to the frozen rock pools. She retrieved another cigarette and attempted to light it but the wind was choosing not to co-operate.
"How many of those things have you had?" Hendorff asked, his voice slightly muffled by the wind.
"Three," Luna called.
"Aren't they bad for you?"
"They're bad for you," she corrected. "My sister and I have regenerative cells in our lungs."
Hendorff pursed his lips. "Fair enough."
Luna gave up and pocketed the cigarette before they continued trekking through the snow in silence.
The further out they went, the more difficult it became to see. Luna was trying her best to memorise the path they walked for the return journey.
"There!" Hendorff suddenly cried.
The brunette followed his pointed finger to see what appeared to be an opening at the bottom of a sheer cliff. A cave.
"There could be something useful in there since its been kept out of the snow!"
"Good call!" Luna shouted over the wind.
Their pace quickened as they headed for the shelter. The storm was definitely much closer than before. It was getting harder to walk in a straight line with the strong gusts becoming more frequent.
They were approximately twenty meters from the cave when Luna heard it. Something groaned and cracked beneath her feet. She came to a complete halt, almost slipping as a result. "Officer, we need to stop."
The wind was too loud for him to hear.
"Hendorff!"
"What?!" He paused just ahead as another loud crack sounded from beneath them.
Luna held an arm out, signalling for him to stay still, as she bent down and swiped through a thick layer of snow. Her hand came across something smooth and hard. Ice. They were running on something frozen.
"What is it?!" Hendorff asked.
"A lake, or river of some kind!" Luna straightened up and took several ginger steps towards him. The ice creaked with each movement. If it broke and submerged them in freezing water, hypothermia would set it. "Shit," she muttered, trying to come up with a plan.
"What if we just run?!"
"It'll break!"
As soon as the words left her lips, a section of ice just behind them cracked in two, allowing water to pool around the new opening. It only took one shared look of panic to throw caution to the wind. Both Luna and Hendorff launched into a run, keeping their eyes fixed on the cave.
It was impossible to ignore the ice's objections to their quickened movements. Every step was met with whines and groans. Luna expected it to break...but that never happened. Instead, they reached the safety of the cave and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
Luna rolled onto her back, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to catch her breath. The adrenaline was still there, providing a buzz that she hadn't felt for a while. The momentary panic dimmed and turned to laughter.
Hendorff grimaced and sat up, still recovering from the run. "What's funny about nearly falling through a frozen lake?"
"I can't believe we didn't," Luna chuckled. "Founders knows whether we'll be able to make the return journey without getting our feet wet." She remained on the floor and retrieved a cigarette from her pocket. Thanks to the cave's shelter, it was possible to light it this time. She shut her eyes, tucked an arm under her head and brought the cigarette to her lips with a contented sigh. "It's quite cosy in here."
"You might want to rephrase that."
Hendorff's tone made Luna frown. She re-opened her eyes to see him staring into the depths of the cave with a grim expression. After taking a long drag of her cigarette, she hopped up to follow the man's gaze.
Bones. There were hundreds of them littering the ground in piles stretching all the way into the darkness. Some nearby sat in a pool of congealed blood with flecks of rotten meat still clinging to the marrow. However, the most unnerving thing had to be the large, fresh carcass lying near the wall. Whatever lived in this cave had been here not long ago.
"Let's make this quick," Hendorff said. "Gather anything we can use to make a fire and get the hell out of here."
☆☆☆
Jim knew how it felt to be Captain. He knew the importance of decision making. How it could mean the difference between life and death for his crew. He knew that is was his responsibility to make the right call, no matter how dire the situation.
So, why was he finding it so difficult now?
Samsa stood beside the transporter console, staring at the floor with glassy eyes. She'd been like that since it was confirmed that darker versions of themselves were roaming the Enterprise.
"Captain?"
Jim was worried about her. He desperately wanted to hold her. Take her back to his quarters and have dinner as if none of this had happened.
"Captain?" Spock's voice caught his attention. "We were discussing your doubles, Captain?"
"Yes...yes, we have to find them," Jim stammered.
"We can't take a chance on killing them," Spock said. "We have no previous experience. No way of knowing what would happen to the both of you."
"Yes, that's right, we don't know." Jim took a moment to himself, thinking carefully about the best course of action to take. "The Security Officers will have to be armed. They are to be armed with the phasers locked on stun. There can't be...we...we can't risk them being killed."
"But what if she hurts someone," Samsa said, tears filling her eyes. "I can't...I can't let her hurt someone."
Scotty was at her side in seconds, putting a comforting hand on her arm. "How do we explain this to the crew, Sir?" He asked, softly. "Tell the search parties to capture...well...you?"
That was a valid point. These doubles could be anywhere pretending to be the true Captain and Doctor Gillian. People would automatically trust them without question.
"Tell them..." Jim trailed off. There it was again. The struggle to think. The struggle to resist panic.
"Captain, the search parties?" Spock prompted.
"Yes." Jim nodded and made an effort to pull himself together. "I'll make an announcement to the entire crew. Tell them what happened. That way, we can warn them to be extra cautious. They're a good crew. They deserve the truth." He made to leave for the Bridge but was forced to halt when Spock arrived at his side.
"Captain, no disrespect intended, but you must surely realise the risk involved in announcing the full truth to the crew," the Vulcan said, his expression grave. "You are the Captain of this ship, you haven't the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You cannot afford the luxury of being anything less that perfect. If you do, they lose faith, and you lose command."
Jim closed his eyes for a moment. Spock was right but keeping his crew in dark could have devastating consequences. He looked over and met Samsa's gaze. He knew that look. Fear. She was terrified. Terrified of what her double was capable of. Maybe because she was capable of those things too.
The Captain's decision was final. "Yes, Mister Spock, I...I don't know why I forgot that just now, but the crew should know to be careful around Doctor Gillian and I. If you see me slipping again, your orders...your orders are to tell me."
The Vulcan seemed hesitant but nodded all the same. "Understood, Captain."
☆☆☆
Luna began the search for useful materials, holding her cigarette between her front teeth as she rooted through the bones. Thankfully, there were occasional strips of what appeared to be some kind of drift wood. Dry and possibly flammable.
After several minutes of scouring the cave entrance, she and Hendorff managed to collect a good amount of materials for a fire. Just as the Security Officer removed his backpack and started stuffing their finds inside, Luna picked up on a rather strange sound.
Besides the howling wind, there was a tapping against the wall outside. It grew louder with each passing second.
No.
Not louder.
Closer.
Luna sacrificed her cigarette and dragged Hendorff to the side, giving him no chance to protest. She lead them to the fresh carcass and ducked behind it just in time to watch their host arrive home.
It scuttled in from the roof of the cave's entrance, snarling and snuffling as it went. At first glance, it appeared similar to a tarantula but considerably bigger, with long furry legs and a pair of lethal pincers protruding from it's mouth.
Luna counted six legs in total. The back ones were much larger considering what they had to support: a huge abdomen studded with an abundance of spikes. Several pairs of blood-red eyes rolled in their sockets as it crawled down the far wall and scurried towards the closest pile of bones.
A salvia-ridden tongue protruded from its mouth and curled around the remains, searching for any leftovers. Beside her, Luna caught Hendorff averting his gaze with a grimace. It wouldn't be long before they became dinner.
Luna scanned the ground for anything they could use to escape. The sight of the backpack still sitting where they left it made her cringe. Sure enough, when the creature was done guzzling on the bones, it noticed the new addition to its lair and moved closer to inspect it.
Something cracked beneath Luna's foot. The noise was only slight but the creature heard. It reared its head back to release a ferocious howl and charged towards them, leaving little time to react.
Luna grabbed Hendorff's arm and launched to the left just as the creature smashed into the dead animal they were hidden behind mere seconds ago. It whirled on them again, it's face dripping with strings of flesh from the crushed carcass.
"Run!" Luna cried. She broke into a sprint towards the mouth of the cave but stalled upon realising Hendorff was heading in the opposite direction.
The damn backpack.
He dived for it at the same time the creature lunged. Luna widened her eyes and darted towards them. She hooked her arm under Hendorff's just as he snatched the backpack, and used all her strength to pull him out of the way. Their was a flash of pain as she narrowly escaped a deadly blow from the pincers.
The wind whipped them harshly as they ran into the open. During the short time they spent in the cave, the weather had escalated significantly. Thick flakes of snow made it almost impossible to assess the options of escape. They had no choice but to brave the frozen lake for a second time.
Luna focussed on keeping her legs moving. Nothing else. Not even the ice breaking beneath their feet. Any step could be their last...but it never came. The sound of the creature's distressed screech from behind made them both halt and turn.
The ice had fallen through under the mass of it's body, plunging it into the freezing water below. It clawed at the ice, desperately trying to pull itself out but every attempt only ensured it sank further. Eventually, it was taken by the lake.
"I didn't even get to finish my cigarette," Luna scowled, stumbling slightly.
Hendorff stared back at her with widened eyes.
"What?" She scoffed. "They're hard to come by these days!"
"No, Luna..." He moved forward and gestured to her mid-section.
The pain hit her suddenly. Sharp and hot across her stomach. Luna looked down to see a rip in her clothing where a deep gash had been made in her skin. One of the creature's pincers must have just nicked her.
She picked at the torn fabric and groaned. "For the love of the Founders, I liked this top!"
"Luna, that...that looks really bad!"
"I know. It'll never be the same, even if I manage to stitch it."
"I wasn't talking about the top," Hendorff said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You gonna be okay for the walk back?"
Luna was taken aback by the concern in his voice. She tucked an arm around her stomach to stem the bleeding and nodded. "It'll heal soon. Only problem is, I'll be trailing blood as we go. I could lead anything back to camp. We can't risk it."
"True but I'm not leaving you here."
"Become too fond of me, have you?" Luna teased with a grin.
Hendorff narrowed his eyes but smiled. "That, and I'd have to remove your anklet, which is against security protocol."
"Why would you have to remove my anklet?" She frowned. "Surely that would help track where I am?"
There was no response at first. Hendorff stared at her as if the answer was obvious. "The proximity frequency," he chuckled, blankly. His amusement dimmed when she failed to grasp what he was referring to. "You...you don't know?"
A mixture of frustration and anger flooded Luna's veins as she gritted her teeth. "What don't I know?"
Hey readers, hope you all enjoyed this part! Thank you so so much for 11K reads on Second Chance!! It means the world to me and every vote and comment makes me so happy!! Much love to you all! ❤