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Sci-Fi Horror Story _ The Lagrange Structure _ Space Creepypasta · INSPIRE STORY

0:04
Speaker 1: The structure was first discovered by telescopes in high Martian orbit.
0:09
Structure was an estimated eight hundred to eleven hundred meters
0:12
in length, located in the third lagrange point relative to
0:16
the Sun and Earth. First images suggested the structure was
0:21
artificial in origin and not a natural formation. Our initial
0:26
assumptions were of American origin. However, NASA denied any prior
0:32
knowledge of the structure or where it came from. Over
0:36
the space of two years, further images seemed to verify
0:40
the structure as man made. Again, NASA, CNSA, and Ross
0:45
Cosmos denied any additional knowledge of the structure or who
0:50
built it. The object is located in lagrange point three
0:56
relative to the Sun and Earth. This point is signific
1:00
as the structure shares Earth's orbit but is precisely on
1:04
the opposite side of the Sun. Due to this, the
1:08
Sun is always between the structure and the Earth. To
1:12
place an object of that size in a location that
1:15
remote would require significant effort from multiple space agencies.
1:21
Speaker 2: It is our.
1:21
Speaker 1: Opinion that the Lagrain structure is neither natural or coincidental.
1:27
It is our intention to launch an international expedition to
1:31
assess the nature significance and potential origin of the Lagraine structure.
1:38
Speaker 3: Johan H. Wells, director of European Space Agency, May twenty eighth,
1:44
twenty eighty nine, twenty kilometers enclosing, Aram looked up from
1:53
the instruments and spotted a faint glint of metal against
1:56
the inky backdrop of deep space. Dean usted the velocity
2:01
and the others crowded against the viewing port to the
2:03
nose of the IRV Blackwater. The onboard cameras brought the
2:08
structure into frame, and a hushed gasp filled the cabin fourteen.
2:15
The structure was long and slender, with two rings attached
2:19
to the center fuselage, underneath a canopy of solar panels
2:23
facing the sun. Hayward's breath fogged against the glass. A
2:27
bead of sweat dotted Ram's forehead. It was right there. Eight.
2:35
Dean pulled back further five Oram gulped easy. The structure
2:43
was easily three times the size of the International Space
2:46
Station three two. The Blackwater matched the orbital speed of
2:54
the structure, and the crew stared in silence. Bring us
2:58
in Closa. Dean. Hayward ordered we tether at eight hundred meters,
3:04
then bring us there. For a moment, the two ships
3:09
seemed to hang motionless in space. Lincoln and Keys waited
3:13
in their spacewalk gear. Deploying tether. Arim directed an anchoring
3:19
cable to the structure. Well, looks like no one's home, Hayward, commented.
3:25
Speaker 2: Lincoln case search for a way in.
3:29
Speaker 3: A pair of faint trails of exhaust followed the two
3:32
bodies as they drifted through the exposed vacuum of space,
3:36
aided by thrusters and held by nothing but the teathers
3:39
attached to their suits. The atmosphere in the cabin seemed
3:43
to thicken. Lincoln's hand reached out and grabbed a ladder
3:47
rung along the side of the fuselage. We've landed, the
3:52
cabin breathed a sigh of relief.
3:55
Speaker 2: Give us another ten.
3:57
Speaker 3: The cable whirred and slackened their tethers.
4:00
Speaker 2: What can you make from the structure over there?
4:02
Speaker 3: Nothing much, Brown replied.
4:05
Speaker 2: Seems to be a little bit of everything I'm seeing,
4:08
alloys and composites. Looks a bit like our stuff.
4:12
Speaker 3: The structure certainly appeared to be a vessel of some
4:15
sort from the blackwater. Brown and Lincoln appeared as little
4:19
more than white specks against the dark superstructure.
4:24
Speaker 2: I've never seen anything like this. It looks advanced, but
4:29
there were no markings or writings. It appears to have
4:32
been built modularly.
4:34
Speaker 3: Heyward shook his head. It's enormous. No one could have
4:38
launched this in the twentieth century. Right. The structure always
4:43
remained on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth,
4:47
but satellites in orbit around Mars were able to relay
4:50
transmissions to the Earth based mission control. While Blackwater wasn't
4:55
entirely alone, it surely felt that way.
4:59
Speaker 2: Lincoln, if identified a potential entrance one hundred and twenty
5:03
meters down from the fuselage along the curve to your right, please.
5:08
Speaker 3: Confirm oram panned with a surveillance drone, and a hole
5:13
in the wall of the structure appeared on screen. Checking now,
5:18
Lincoln and Brown converged on the breach, entering the brake.
5:23
Brown moved first and disappeared inside. Lincoln followed. The radio
5:28
buzzed and their vitals flickered on the monitors and then
5:32
cut out altogether. The crew stirred in alarm.
5:36
Speaker 2: Lincoln Brown come in.
5:39
Speaker 3: There was no response from this distance. Their tethers appeared
5:42
as thin lines plunging directly into the breach. After a moment,
5:47
one of the teathers shook and a ripple rolled up
5:49
the lone cable. Heyward frowned oram piloted the drone, but
5:56
it was larger than the breach and unable to enter
5:58
after them. The camera feed alternated through infrared exposure and
6:04
f l R readings, but failed to penetrate the ship's hull.
6:09
What's happening in there, Dean asked, Lincoln.
6:12
Speaker 2: Come in?
6:13
Speaker 3: Heyward asked again. Keys and Jones hurried into their spacewalk gear.
6:18
Dean flipped through the communication channels, but the feed was empty.
6:23
They've disconnected. I'm not getting a signal in there. Heyward
6:28
set his jaw firmly. I don't like this case. Jones
6:33
with me. They hurried into their complex equipment and gathered
6:37
at the airlock. Keys was the first to exit and
6:41
Jones waited to follow. The airlock was only single capacity
6:45
and took two minutes to pressurize.
6:49
Speaker 2: Blackwater.
6:50
Speaker 3: Come in, Lincoln's voice crackled through the calms. Heyward and
6:54
Jones pushed away and hurried back to the bridge. Hayward
6:58
returned to the window and saw two dotsy merge along
7:01
the structure.
7:02
Speaker 2: Lincoln Brown, what did you see? The breach directly access
7:08
as a corridor, but about twenty meters down the corridor
7:11
is sealed. The plasma cutter might be able to get through,
7:15
but we've no idea how heavy the seal is. We
7:18
suspect it is not a dual air lock, so our
7:21
primary concern would be purging the atmosphere upon the structure.
7:25
I don't know what material they use in the hole,
7:28
but our radios have no signal.
7:30
Speaker 3: In there, Lincoln explained. Heyward pondered for a moment. Jones
7:36
came to his side, while a Ram and Dean waited
7:38
for direction.
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Speaker 2: All right, Lincoln, Keys, Dean, Jones, and I are going
7:44
to come down with the plasma cutter. See if we
7:47
can't get inside.
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Speaker 4: Entering now, Heyward announced, you have three.
7:58
Speaker 2: Hours of oxygen forty five minutes on emergency tank.
8:02
Speaker 4: Aram replied, don't get lost, it's a big ship.
8:07
Speaker 3: Brown entered first, disappearing into the dark chasm. Hayward waited
8:13
at the rear while the others followed. Looking back over
8:16
his shoulder, Heyward saw a rom silhouette behind the viewing
8:20
window of the Blackwater God be with you. Heyward nodded
8:26
and wriggled through the jagged opening. The eerie silence and
8:30
complete darkness pressed in with a suffocating sense of claustrophobia.
8:36
The head lamps of the other crewmen formed beams through
8:39
the silt of floating debris inside the corridor, pushing against
8:44
the walls. Heyward moved to the rear of the group.
8:47
As they approached the seal cutting now, Lincoln announced over
8:52
the closed circuit Calm's channel. An arc of light flashed
8:56
in the darkness, but no sound followed the tension as
9:00
Lincoln directed the cutter along the perimeter of the seal.
9:05
Speaker 2: What if there's atmosphere on the other side, Dean asked.
9:09
Speaker 3: Heyward turned his gaze until his head lamps illuminated Dean's
9:13
narrow figure.
9:15
Speaker 2: Well, that would be unlikely, but the decompression would blast
9:19
the seal straight onto us.
9:21
Speaker 3: Lincoln stopped cutting. The other crewmen looked at one another
9:25
and then to Howard.
9:27
Speaker 2: The structure could be decades or possibly centur result, the
9:31
chances that it retained atmosphere through all this time are
9:34
slim to none.
9:36
Speaker 4: Howard paused, everyone should retreat behind the breach.
9:41
Speaker 2: If there was a high velocity decompression, then the seal
9:43
will be ejected through the breach.
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Speaker 3: Heyward nodded, and Lincoln proceeded. A minute of silence passed
9:51
before Lincoln's voice entered the channel.
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Speaker 2: The seal is beginning to flex. This could be due
9:57
to the expansion of the metal during the cutting process,
10:00
but likely means we've got atmospheric pressure on the structure place.
10:04
If they might charge on the seal and retreat to safety,
10:07
well wait out the decompression from here, Heyward ordered, decompressed
10:12
safely and then proceed with the expedition.
10:15
Speaker 3: Lincoln's headlamp appeared as he rounded the corner and joined
10:19
the other crew members. Each man fastened his tether inside.
10:23
As Lincoln prepared to detonate.
10:26
Speaker 2: Charts in three two.
10:29
Speaker 3: One, A tremor rumbled up the corridor as the seal broke,
10:33
Loose debris cascaded down the passageway invaulted into the vacuum
10:38
of space, followed by the dark shape of this seal
10:42
thumping down the corridor and tearing free sheets of paneling.
10:47
The atmosphere sucked at the crewmen and pulled them toward
10:50
the breach, but their tethers anchored them safely to the structure.
10:54
Their head lamps illuminated this seal as it drew near
10:58
and then sucked up into the breach, lodging itself in place.
11:03
The roar of wind raised in pitch as debris knocked
11:06
free from the seal became wedged in the breach. Likewise,
11:11
more debris continued to accumulate on the breach, and the
11:15
air flow steadily dropped until it was hardly noticeable away
11:19
from the breach itself. Heyward seemed satisfied and was the
11:24
first to look up and point his head lamp down
11:26
the path ahead. Sediment filled the corridor and lowered the
11:31
visibility to twenty meters.
11:34
Speaker 4: Well, that wasn't supposed to happen, Dean piped up.
11:38
Speaker 2: Our time is limited, let's keep moving.
11:42
Speaker 3: Heyward led the way, jetting along slowly with his thrusters.
11:47
Speaker 2: What if the blockage freeze itself, that.
11:50
Speaker 3: Would be unfortunate, Heyward replied with a smug grin. After
11:55
a slight hesitation, the others followed. Dean took up the rear.
12:01
The passageway straightened and formed into a spacious central line
12:05
with numerous corridors branching away into darkness. Heyward paused to
12:10
release a trio of sonar drones to aid in mapping,
12:14
and showed the central line to be over two hundred
12:17
meters in length. As the drones reached the end of
12:20
the central line and then turned down side corridors, their
12:24
signals disappeared from the feed.
12:26
Speaker 2: Well, it looks like our radio systems will only work
12:29
line of sight. Don't wander off From.
12:32
Speaker 3: The outside, the structure appeared massive, but never would they
12:36
have anticipated such a dizzying labyrinth of corridors.
12:40
Speaker 2: Hey I found something.
12:42
Speaker 3: Keys piped up, headlamps turned to focus on him. By
12:45
the far wall. He lingered at a small window in
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what looked to be a closed door.
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Speaker 2: It's a closet. Everyone, activate your video record. We need
12:56
to document everything.
12:58
Speaker 3: The door was locked. Dean found a control panel nearby,
13:02
powered with an emergency auxiliary lever. After a dozen cranks,
13:06
the panel blinked on, and following some trial and error,
13:09
the door swung open. The controls were surprisingly intuitive. Headlamps
13:16
washed over the room, and Keys was the first to enter.
13:19
Various items hung suspended in zero gravity, boots, a rag
13:25
and what looked like a candy bar. Lincoln and Brown
13:28
exchanged looks of concern.
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Speaker 2: Look at the boots.
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Speaker 3: They were disturbingly unremarkable, indistinguishable from any ordinary human design.
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Heyward tried to reconcile what he was looking at with
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his eyes. Maybe whatever built this place looks like us.
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The fascination seemed to fade, but the boot was stuffed
13:52
into Key's bag to be analyzed. Back at the Blackwater,
13:57
Dean's attention shifted to the surface of the court. A
14:01
dark material covered the walls, floors, and ceiling. Hayward was
14:06
the first to notice it back at the breach, but
14:08
it seemed more concentrated. At this part of the ship,
14:12
Dean noticed a cluster of needle spines protruding from a
14:15
concentration of the material at the edges of a ventilation shaft.
14:21
Dean adjusted his calm's channel to address only Howard Hayward.
14:26
Speaker 2: Come take a look at this.
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Speaker 3: Hayward separated from the others and examined the odd cluster.
14:34
Speaker 2: It almost looks like a growth formation. Can you secure
14:37
a sample of that? It looks like a building component.
14:41
Speaker 3: Dean nodded and reached for the cluster of needles his
14:45
fingerprints gripped the sides of one of the thicker spines,
14:48
and he proceeded to snip the base of the material.
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The needles were not as brittle as they looked, so
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Dean twisted with his hand for leverage, but in doing
14:58
so stuck his thumb with another needle in the cluster.
15:02
Heyward looked over as Dean grunted in pain.
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Speaker 2: Were you all right, Yeah, I just poked.
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Speaker 3: Myself, Dean dismissed.
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Speaker 2: Should be fine as long as I don't get space aids.
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Speaker 3: He pulled the spine free and collected it in his
15:17
research bag. Examining his hand, Dean spotted a dot of
15:22
blue from where the suit was punctured and sealed itself.
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His thumb itched everyone together.
15:30
Speaker 2: We are on board an unidentified vessel which we know
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nothing of. We have roughly two hours of oxygen, and
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it is our priority to locate two things, the bridge
15:41
command and the power source. To accomplish this, we're going
15:45
to separate into two groups. Lincoln, Brown and Jones will
15:49
search for the power source, Keys Dean and I shall
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search for the bridge. We have exactly one hour to
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search before we reconvene. We need to find a new exit,
15:59
as we cannot use it breach from which we entered.
16:01
We will likely lose contact with one another, so be
16:04
sure to video record your directions. It will be profitable
16:08
to compile a comprehensive map of the structure once we
16:11
returned to Blackwater. That's all, let's get moving.
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Speaker 3: Navigating the dark, sediment ridden corridors of the structure was
16:25
a surreal experience. The silence was broken only by the
16:30
faint sound of breathing over the communication channels. Away from
16:35
the central line, the corridors were tighter and unable to
16:38
navigate via thruster. The men were forced to move single
16:42
file and pull themselves along the walls by their hands.
16:47
The Blackwater had identified the bridge command from outside before
16:51
the excursion began, but maintaining bearings inside the structure was
16:55
an entirely different endeavor altogether, especially with no conct to
17:00
their ship.
17:01
Speaker 2: You ever been deep sea diving, He's.
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Speaker 3: Asked over the radio. No one answered, but Keys felt
17:08
led to continue.
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Speaker 2: I dove the s s Antila in Aruba twice once
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that night. That's what this feels like. The silence, the darkness,
17:21
the eeriness.
17:23
Speaker 3: Keys trailed off and no one spoke for a few seconds.
17:31
Speaker 2: I don't like it.
17:33
Speaker 3: Keys was right about the eeriness. The tension was nearly overwhelming,
17:38
and the excitement or wonder seemed to be quelled by
17:41
the looming sense of dread that hung in the atmosphere.
17:45
Speaker 2: Obstruction at thirty five.
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Speaker 3: Meters, Deane announced, monitoring his radar.
17:49
Speaker 4: Instruments, thirty now and closing.
17:54
Speaker 3: Their headlamps pressed into the walls of the passage, like
17:57
the feelers of an ant through a tunnel. The corridor
18:01
widened to over a dozen feet across, but a large
18:05
reinforced doorway barred their path. The black material crossed the
18:10
surface of the door in a regular fractal pattern, more
18:15
growth like than a deliberate construction pattern. Dean examined more
18:20
of the needle clusters and a large growth at the
18:22
edge of the doorway.
18:24
Speaker 2: The bridge is on the other side, Keith, see if
18:28
you can operate the control panel. If not, we have
18:31
the plasma cutter.
18:32
Speaker 3: Keys found another auxiliary control and powered up the control panel.
18:38
After some trial and error, the door rolled back with
18:40
a reluctant groan. Their headlamps dissipated into the empty darkness
18:45
before them. Broken spines and black material drifted freely in
18:50
the atmosphere.
18:52
Speaker 2: Wand the debris. We can't afford to damage our suits,
18:55
not this far from safety.
18:58
Speaker 3: Dean was the first one to enter. Sediment and growth
19:01
covered a series of massive display screens along the wall.
19:05
A vacant chair sat to the front, facing a window
19:09
barred by a solar's shield from the outside. Hayward followed
19:14
and searched the other side of the room. Keys approached
19:18
the small pillar at the front of the vacant chair.
19:22
Speaker 2: Is it me or does that look like some sort
19:23
of outbreak? Dean took a sample. We'll conduct tests back
19:28
on blackwater. Is that a good idea? It could be hazardous.
19:33
I think it looks more like a benign growth that's
19:35
just gotten out of hand. Whoever would have been cleaning
19:38
this place left a long time ago.
19:41
Speaker 3: Keys cocked his head to the side and dusted off
19:44
the top of the pillar. To his alarm, a light
19:47
blinked on and a soft tune chimed. Hayward and Dean
19:51
turned instantly and waited for something to happen. A blue
19:56
light flashed and scanned the room in multiple directions. Keys recoiled,
20:02
Hayward reached into his bag and drew out a translating
20:05
computer designed to decode unknown languages in minutes. Mission control
20:11
demanded it in the case of an extraterrestrial encounter. The
20:16
blue light focused on him as he approached Hello. Lincoln
20:25
paused at a junction, unsure which path to take. Brown
20:30
superimposed their estimated position on an external map of the structure.
20:34
Speaker 2: Blackwater picked up a heat signature here. If there was
20:37
an internal power source to the structure, it would likely
20:40
be located there, and that would mean go right.
20:46
Speaker 3: Brown pointed. Lincoln turned right and led the way. A
20:50
grouping of doors appeared and lined the corridor on all
20:53
four sides. Brown gasped, it's a bunk.
20:59
Speaker 2: Doesn't look all that different from what we've got on
21:01
the Blackwater.
21:03
Speaker 3: Lincoln made sure to record several videos of the rooms
21:06
through the port windows in each door. Twenty meters down
21:09
the corridor, a door appeared, which led to a dark kitchenette.
21:13
Not much further, a cafeteria came into view.
21:17
Speaker 5: Seems like this is the living area of the structure,
21:20
Lincoln announced to the video recording.
21:22
Speaker 3: The corridor stopped and took a dog leg left.
21:26
Speaker 2: I'm on the turn. Don't catch a sleeve on the spines.
21:31
Speaker 3: The dark materials seemed to grow more concentrated, and clusters
21:35
seemed to become more plentiful and large. The reactors should
21:39
be just a straight shot ahead. A long, narrow utility
21:44
corridor plunged away into the darkness before them.
21:47
Speaker 2: It's just nothing on Geige.
21:49
Speaker 3: Jones noted the spines slowed their progress, but at the
21:53
end of the long tunnel a door with a simple
21:56
turning wheel at the center appeared. A square diagram with
22:00
a symbol sat at the center of the door, probably
22:04
radiation warning. Brown pulled on the wheel, but it held fast.
22:11
Speaker 2: A focused charge of thermite should melt the locking mechanism.
22:14
Are you serious detonating a charge near a potential energy sources? Reckless?
22:21
On's dangerous for everyone on the ship. It's not an explosive,
22:26
it's a burning agent. I don't care. We don't need
22:30
the multen steel floating around in zero gravity. Just use
22:34
the plasma cutter. Plasma milt steel too.
22:38
Speaker 5: Just use the plasma cutter, Lincoln ordered, we don't know
22:41
what's on the other side of that door.
22:43
Speaker 3: Brown begrudgingly obeyed and activated his plasma cutter, while Lincoln
22:48
and Jones lingered back. The cutter flashed brightly and made
22:52
a soft fizz. The wheel drifted away, and the door
22:57
swung open gently. Jones's guy bigger counter began to click bingo.
23:09
The blue light scanned Hayward from head to toe. The
23:12
others waited, unsure what to expect. After a moment, a
23:18
voice responded from the pedestal in a foreign language that
23:21
sounded vaguely familiar. Hayward held the computer and it projected
23:26
an image of a human. The pedestal turned its focus
23:30
to the computer. The pedestal spoke, and the translating computer
23:35
alternated through various images. After a moment, the pedestal's voice
23:41
increased pace tenfold, and the computer word and a struggle
23:45
to keep up. Pictures of planets and fruits and cities
23:49
flashed in a blur. As the computers exchanged information, The
23:54
crewmen watched in wonder. The light on the pedestal suddenly
23:58
turned and focused on on Heyward. Hello. Dean reached down
24:04
and powered down their translator. The pedestal had already learned
24:08
their language in seconds.
24:11
Speaker 2: I am Lieutenant Commander Michael James Hayward. This is Petty
24:15
Officer Franklin Michael Dean and Senior technician Jacob Martin Keys.
24:21
We are members of an international effort to explore and
24:24
collect information on this structure.
24:28
Speaker 3: The blue line remained on his face.
24:31
Speaker 2: What is the purpose of this structure?
24:34
Speaker 3: The pedestal hummed. I am the Spirit of Consecration. My
24:39
purpose is classified. The voice was the ship.
24:45
Speaker 2: What do you mean it's classified.
24:47
Speaker 3: Key's asked.
24:48
Speaker 4: Hayward frowned, Spirit of Consecration.
24:52
Speaker 2: Who built you?
24:54
Speaker 3: I was built by the Hagar Space Coalition.
24:57
Speaker 2: When were you built?
25:00
Speaker 3: My construction was completed in the year thirty seven eighty one.
25:04
Hayward and Dean shared a look of confusion. That can't
25:08
be right.
25:09
Speaker 2: How long have you been here?
25:11
Speaker 3: Dan asked, I am the Spirit of Consecration. I have
25:15
always been here.
25:17
Speaker 2: What year is it?
25:18
Speaker 3: Hayward regained control of the inquisition. It is the year
25:22
eleven two fourteen. Heyward looked at the others. Dean's eyes widened.
25:29
Speaker 2: Is that in years?
25:31
Speaker 3: Yes? Hayward was at a loss for words.
25:36
Speaker 2: Where did you come from? Where can we find the
25:39
Hagar Coalition?
25:41
Speaker 3: Dan asked, I do not understand. I have always been here.
25:47
I have never moved, and my builders they are gone.
25:52
Speaker 2: Where did they go.
25:54
Speaker 3: They destroyed themselves. Only I remain, Hayward, we.
25:59
Speaker 2: Don't have time for this. We found the bridge.
26:02
Speaker 3: We need to rendezvous with the others, Keys reminded. The
26:07
light flashed over to him the others. How many are
26:11
you six? Keys replied. A chill crept up Heyward's spine.
26:18
Something felt wrong. How did you get here, the pedestal asked.
26:24
No one answered this time? Are you from earth? A
26:29
cold chill filled the room. That's impossible.
26:34
Speaker 2: Why is that impossible?
26:36
Speaker 3: The light flashed over to him. You should not have
26:39
come here, Heyward.
26:41
Speaker 2: I don't like this.
26:42
Speaker 3: We need to leave, Keyes said no. The doorway rolled
26:47
closed before they could move to escape. I cannot allow
26:51
another annihilation event. Not again.
26:55
Speaker 2: Whoa, whoa, what the hell?
26:57
Speaker 3: Dean backed away and drifted to the heavy door. Hayward
27:01
stared with the blank gaze. Heyward, what the hell is
27:05
going on?
27:06
Speaker 2: Spirit of Consecration? What destroyed the Hagar coalition?
27:11
Speaker 3: Heyward asked the pedestal. Word, they were destroyed by the parasite.
27:17
The parasite consumed everything in its path. I will not
27:21
let that happen again. Heyward felt his stomach twist. Dean whimpered.
27:28
Speaker 2: Holy shit, it's the black stuff.
27:32
Speaker 3: He swallowed nervously.
27:34
Speaker 2: Hayward, get the plasma cutter. We need to get the
27:37
hell out of here.
27:39
Speaker 3: Heyward was visibly shaken. The light flashed from one man
27:43
to the other. Heyward moved for the door and drew
27:46
out the plasma cutter. You cannot leave. The structure began
27:50
to shake. A rumble echoed through the darkness, and the
27:54
bridge command suddenly filled with light. Hayward turned on the
27:58
cutter and pressed the arc to the door. Guys Deane's
28:03
voice trembled. The solar shield was receding. The spines grew
28:14
larger and more pronounced. As they neared the reactor core.
28:18
A space appeared over a dozen feet across, descending into blackness.
28:23
Jones's Geiger counter clicked and whined. Their headlamps washed over
28:28
thousands of needles collected on the walls of the reactor
28:31
and throughout the room.
28:33
Speaker 2: I think we found the power source. The spine seemed
28:37
to be related to the reactor mechanism, perhaps to distribute
28:41
power throughout the structure.
28:43
Speaker 3: Jones drew close to the spines, some grew five feet
28:47
in length, now along the reactor wall.
28:50
Speaker 2: The reactor seems to have been inactive for quite some time.
28:55
Speaker 3: Brown searched the far side of the room. A metallic
28:59
glint caught his eye. He picked his way over the
29:02
spines to draw nearer. Jones drifted up with the thrusters
29:07
and moved to inspect the exhaust vent. Brown paused as
29:11
he found the metallic glint to be a reflective insignia
29:15
on a strip of fabric. Lincoln scanned the room with
29:18
his headlamp for the video.
29:20
Speaker 2: Recording Hey Lincoln.
29:25
Speaker 3: Brown's voice trailed off the strip of fabric was a
29:28
sleeve attached to a twisted and contorted body jammed into
29:33
the cluster of spines. Lincoln's headlamp turned over and settled
29:38
on Brown, and then the entire ship seemed to roar
29:42
to life. Jones hovered over the exhaust vent and was
29:46
melted instantly. As superheated steam blasted through the coolant pipes.
29:53
The spines began to ripple and shake.
29:55
Speaker 2: What's happening?
29:57
Speaker 3: Lincoln cried out, Sediment blasts into the atmosphere as the
30:01
room awakened. Brown hurried for the door. As the engine
30:06
room writhed and squirmed around him. A figure came tumbling
30:11
down the corridor from the direction of the crew quarters,
30:14
a jumbled mess of limbs and splinters, contorted beyond recognition.
30:20
Lincoln looked back just as the figure slammed into him
30:24
and ripped into his suit. Lincoln let out a blood
30:28
curdling scream that struck Brown to his core. Both bodies
30:33
were sent careening across the engine room to land amidst
30:36
the clusters of spines with a sickening squelch. Lincoln's scream stopped,
30:43
but his body continued to thrash and twist. Brown looked
30:48
away and turned in time to see another creature barreling
30:51
into him. The solar's shield lifted as a ship's power returned,
31:01
filling the room with rich sunlight. The spike clusters began
31:06
to vibrate.
31:08
Speaker 2: Hayward, get us through that door. Now used the cutdamn thermite.
31:13
Speaker 3: Lincoln has the thermite, Heyward snarled, You cannot leave. The
31:19
voice spoke again in an eerily calm tone. What the
31:23
hell is that, Dean asked, Pointing across the room. A
31:27
shape began to stir, as if absorbing the sunlight.
31:32
Speaker 2: Is that a body?
31:34
Speaker 3: Hayward keys roared. Condensation began to collect inside Hayward's helmet
31:41
as he focused on cutting through the door. The other
31:44
men's cries became more fevered as the body awakened.
31:48
Speaker 2: I'm almost there.
31:49
Speaker 3: The body began to shake and convulse more frantically. Hayward
31:53
finished and pulled the gap of metal away from the
31:56
door so they could escape. Was the first through, but
32:01
before Keys could flee, the body came barreling into him
32:05
at full speed, slamming both men into the door. Keys
32:10
managed to throw the body off and make it through
32:12
the opening across the room. The body righted itself and
32:17
launched for Hayward, this time moving quickly. Hayward lifted the
32:21
peace of the door just in time, and the body
32:24
landed with a wet thud. The corridor was now illuminated
32:29
by light, and the walls all around began to vibrate
32:32
and hum. The parasite was awake. Keys cried out in
32:37
pain and looked at the spines protruding from his arm
32:40
where the body had struck him. Blue sealant poured out
32:44
from the suit in a futile attempt to close the
32:47
numerous punctures. Are you all right, Dean asked. Key's cries
32:52
grew in pitch.
32:54
Speaker 2: Oh God, it burns.
32:57
Speaker 3: His finger suddenly twisted with a snap, and then his
33:00
elbow turned at the joint with a pop. Hayward and
33:04
Dean recoiled in alarm. Ron Keys screamed in agony. Hayward
33:10
and Dean moved at reckless pace back to the direction
33:14
they came. Trying to backtrack the labyrinth of corridors would
33:17
have been difficult, but Heyward had traced their headings with
33:20
a line of cable Inhuman noises echoed through the hallways
33:24
of the ship as unimaginable abominations closed in on them.
33:29
They passed the closet Keys had spotted on the journey
33:32
out and turned down the corridor to the breach. The
33:35
blockage had grown over their escape. Cutting through it with
33:38
the plasma cutter would be an impossible task. We're trapped,
33:43
Dean said, hopelessly, his eyes turned up past Hayward and
33:46
filled with alarm.
33:48
Speaker 2: Oh my God, is that Lincoln.
33:52
Speaker 3: Hayward turned back as a mangled figure launched into him.
33:56
Burning spines tore through his suit and bored in to
34:00
his flesh. Dean cried out and backed away. There was
34:04
nothing to be done. Hayward groaned in pain and pushed
34:09
Lincoln's body away the thumbind Thinking quickly, Hayward turned on
34:15
the plasma cutter and lifted it as Lincoln launched into
34:18
him again. The plasma arc pressed against Lincoln's bag and
34:22
ignited the charge, releasing a flash of light and intense heat.
34:26
Heyward kicked off Lincoln and pushed his body into the debris.
34:31
The debris melted, and with a sound of wrenching metal,
34:34
was ejected into the vacuum. Dean cried out as he
34:39
was swept away, with the atmosphere tumbling uncontrollably into space
34:44
no tether, But suddenly his radio came to life. Dean
34:50
Aram's voice echoed through his.
34:52
Speaker 4: Head said, well done, I've got you.
34:55
Speaker 3: Maneuvering the surveillance strone Oram was able to catch Dean
34:59
and carry him back to the air lock. As soon
35:02
as the cabin was pressurized. Dean tore off his helmet
35:05
and began sobbing. Dean, where are the others? A Ram asked,
35:11
They're gone, They're all gone. What's happened down there? We
35:16
have to go back for them. Aram said no. Dean pleaded,
35:21
we can't go back. Please don't go back. Aram's concern increased.
35:29
Take us home, Dean sobbed. Dean, you're hysteric. We need
35:35
to wait for mission control. No, we're leaving now. Dean paused, Wait,
35:42
where's my bag? What are you doing? Aram asked, what's
35:47
in there? Dean removed his bag and placed it in
35:50
the airlock. We can't bring it back. We need to
35:54
destroy it. Well, it's in the bag, Dean ejected. The
35:59
airlock fired the spine sample off into oblivion, before slumping
36:03
into the glass. Good Lord, Dean, Oram complained, you're not
36:08
making any sense. Please God, don't make me go back.
36:14
Dean whimpered. Ram shook his head in unbelief. You need
36:19
to rest, all right. I'll review your video recordings and
36:22
send them to mission control, but right now I need
36:26
you to relax. You can do that for me. Dean
36:30
nodded weakly. Good, go get yourself cleaned up. Dean moved
36:38
over to the living quarters. Pausing at the mirror, he
36:41
looked at his reflection. His face was pale, a bead
36:46
of sweat lined his forehead, and his stomach felt uneasy.
36:53
Ram's right, I just need to rest. Retiring to his bunk,
36:59
Dean designed himself to sleep we're going home. Dean smiled
37:06
and thought little of the itch in his thumb.