LOWER DECKS by Crissie-chan U.S.S. EXCELSIOR-C 2675 A.D. The thing had been a monster. What-ever those Romulans had done to it, it hadn’t been good. They’d figured that it must have been civilized at one point in time, but after all the testing and torture it must have undergone, there hadn’t been much left. It had held a form that proved that it could have been of any race, Klingon, Cardassian, or even Changeling, but it had mutated so extensively that no one could tell, nor decide. They’d decided that it should be taken to Starfleet Medical for treatment, but on it’s presumably secure voyage to Earth, something had gone terribly wrong. * * * Warning klaxons sounded though the corridors of the ship. The passengers had gone into a frenzied panic despite the captain’s efforts to keep things calm. Security teams stormed down to the lower levels in hopes of getting them sealed off before it could get very far. Despite their training and reputations of remaining calm in such situations, most of the officers were just as scarred as the civilians. “I said they should have killed it,” one officer uttered as his team crammed into the turbo lift. One of his companions adjusted the phasar rifle in her hands. “Yeah, well we can finally put it out of its misery.” The corridors were dark. It must have damaged the power cells. Only the red alert lights served as lighting, giving off an eerie glow, and not helping the apparent fear of the officers. Things flew by quite quickly once it was found, though despite their orders, capturing the thing was quite out of the question. One bit of phasar fire triggered off more, which enraged the creature. It charged at the security team, slaughtering them all within minutes. Many good Starfleet officers died that day. As for the creature, no one did ever find out what happened to it. The rest is history. * * * U.S.S. EXCELCIOR-C 2899 A.D. There was much relief when we got back to the mess hall on the huge flag ship, or it seemed huge to me then. Lita Morteck and I, along with two other cadets had been chosen to stay on the Excelsior for five months. It was not turning out to be as exiting as I’d thought. We’d been there a week already, and so far it had been nothing but tours and lectures on the ships functions. It was interesting to some extent, but was beginning to get quite dull. The others agreed. “Well,” said one of the other cadets, a Bajoran named Tana Baral. “Now I know why they named this bucket the Excelsior,” he noted with sarcasm, settling into his chair. “It excels at being big and boring.” No one could disagree, except for maybe Verok. He was quick to note his contradiction. “I’m afraid you are mistaken, Tana,” the Vulcan protested. “Starfleet has been using that title for this model for seven centuries. I am certain that they did not name is with that aspect in mind.” Baral was quite annoyed. “Thank-you, professor,” he said, not at all sincere. Since we’d left Earth, the Bajoran and the Vulcan had not been getting along well. They obviously had never met before hand. Lita and I were the only two who knew each other. We had barely settled in before a voice sounded above our conversation. “Well, if it isn’t the new cadet lackeys come for an adventurous stay on Starfleet’s most prized starship,” the male voice announced, loud enough for all to hear. I looked over to see two officers, probably junior, a Human man and a Bajoran woman, sauntering over to our table. The Bajoran seemed quite pleasant, but I didn’t like the look of the other guy. “Forget his babbling,” the young woman suggested. “We just wanted to come say hi.” She slid a chair over from an empty table. Baral looked quite confused at the new comer. “And you would be..?” he asked. “Oh, sorry,” she apologized as she sat down. “I’m Lia Nerys, and that’s Brenen Micheli.” She motioned to the man, who was leaned up against the other table. Without hesitation, I introduced the rest of us. “I’m Cristine O’Dell, this is Lita Morteck,” I introduced. Lita waved. “And that’s Tana Baral and Verok.” Baral murmured a greeting and Verok merely inclined his head. Brenan advanced to our table, preventing any chance of our getting aquainted. “So, I hear you guys are touring the lower levels tomorrow,” he said. I hadn’t a clue how he knew, though didn’t see what it had to do with anything either. “We are,” Verok acknowledged. Lita seemed to share my feelings towards this Micheli guy. “Why?” she asked. “What’s so horrible about that?” He leaned on the back of Nerys’ chair. “Oh, so you haven’t heard yet,” he realized, a sly smile on his face. I still didn’t like him. “What is there to hear?” asked Baral. Nerys answered before her friend could. “Nothing,” she assured us. “It’s just a crazy story.” “I wouldn’t say that too loud, Ensign,” Brenan suggested. “Some awfully strange things have been happening down there lately.” I was curious. “So what is this story anyway?” I had a feeling I knew this routine. It was probably just one of those things some groups will do to make new comers feel out of place. It happens everywhere, the Academy not being an exception. “Well, as it goes,” he began. “Three hundred years ago, on the Excelsior-D, there was this monster they were taking to Earth... a mutated Romulan, they say.” Lia interrupted. “I thought it was Cardassian,” she noted. He shrugged. “Hey, this is just what I heard.” He got back to his tale. “Anyway, it got loose and got down into the lower levels -back by the warp nacelles and the cargo bays- and apparently mutilated all these security officers. “The thing is that they never did find the thing. Nobody or nothing. So they say that it still roams those decks of the Excelsior, looking for a way off the ship, and killing anything in its way.” Lita and I exchanged glances. “Don’t listen to him,” Nerys suggested, nudging Brenan in the arm. “He’s just trying to freak you out.” “It’s true, you know,” he added, trying to back himself up. “You can even look at the ships records if you don’t believe me.” A ghost haunting the lower decks in search of freedom and vengeance. It seemed almost typical of these sort of things. The next thing we knew, they’d be daring us to go down there alone or something. Even after centuries of use, these things still turn up all over. It was childish, and normally quite pathetic. Then why did I have the strangest feeling that this one was different? * * * Things were as boring as ever. We walked down the corridors behind the unfortunate Lieutenant who had been designated as our guide, only taking in half of what he was saying. At least there was one element that gave some interest to this section of the starship: Brenan Micheli’s story, the legend about the monster in the lower decks, not that I believed it. I just had a strange, gut feeling that there was, at times, something other than Starfleet officers in those corridors, like something was watching us. We passed an intersection with another hall, oddly darker than that we were on. It gave me the strangest feeling. Then I heard something, like a distant moaning coming from down that passage way. Confused, I paused for a moment, but tried to keep up with the others. “Did you hear something?” I asked Lita in a whisper. She gave me an odd look. “Other than our tour guide, no,” she replied sarcastically. “Why?” I shook my head in dismissal. “Nothing,” I assured her, and myself. “I must have just been hearing things.” Lita nodded, not bothering to ask anymore. We were turning down another hall when I heard it again, from behind me this time. I tapped Lita on the shoulder. “There it is again,” I told her. “Cristine,” she said. “It’s just your imagination.” I tried to make myself agree with her and forget the whole thing, but I couldn’t. Something was back there. I knew it, I could feel it. If only I knew why. As we continued on our way, I couldn’t stop glancing back over my shoulder. I could hear the moaning, only it was becoming more like a chorus of voices than one. It called to me, and I couldn’t help but follow. Silently, I stepped away from the others and tiptoed back down the corridor, As I inched towards the corner, the moans seemed to change to screams, a shouted warning, phasar fire, as if a part of the past was replaying itself in my mind. Reaching the corner, I leaned back against the wall, sliding a trembling hand towards the edge of it. I hadn’t realized that I was so scarred. It was one of those moments when I would have felt a lot better with a phasar in my hand. Finally I forced myself to look around the corner. Why was I so terrified? there was nothing there, wasn’t there? It was just my imagination. Standing there, looking down the hall, I relaxed and let out a deep breath. The corridor was empty, the only sound being that of the engines. Maybe I had just imagined it. The others were probably wondering where I was. Relieved, but quite confused at my actions, I turned to head back when I heard something else. It wasn’t the moaning I had heard a minute ago, but an angered growl. Startled, I looked for the source of the sound, which felt like it was really there, and very close. Deep in the shadows at the dead end of the corridor, two lights sat in the darkness. A pair of bright, threatening yellow eyes floating there, the creature that belonged to them smothered by the shadows, or was not there at all. I considered trying to find out what it was, being that sort of person, but considering what had just happened, the idea was not all that appealing. The sight made my skin crawl. My face must have been as white as a sheet. Am I really seeing this? I asked myself. Is this really happening? Could this really be the monster of the lower decks that Brenan spoke about? Could the legend really be true? I wasn’t about to stick around and find out. I was out of there faster than the ship could have jumped to warp. I’m not sure how far I had to go before I found the others. All I did was run, desperately trying to get as far away as I possibly could from that thing, the memory that lingered there. The others had been back tracking, looking for me. I soon found them, nearly running head-on into Lieutenant Ca’al. “There you are,” he announced as I stood there, hand on my chest, gasping for air. Trying to catch my breath, I blurted out, “There’s something back there.” It sounded crazy, I know, but I could find nothing else to say at the moment. I was too scarred. They were all quite confused. “What is it?” asked the lieutenant. “Where?” Still heaving, I tried to explain. “Back in the corridor,” I said. “I heard noises, and then there was screaming and...” Lita came over and put her hand on my shoulder. “Calm down, Cristine,” she told me. “Everything’s going to be fine.” Our superior seemed to have a different, more disciplinary opinion, but I agreed with my friend. Everything was going to be just fine. As we started back to higher levels, I heard Baral and Verok talking behind Lita and I. “I thought she seemed sort of odd,” said Baral. “But I never thought her to be crazy.” It was a disturbing comment, but a reputation I’d just have to live with. Verok was bit more supportive, thankfully. “I would not jump to conclusions, Tana,” the Vulcan suggested. “There is the possibility that O’Dell did witness something of extraordinary value.” Pure Vulcan logic, but it was true. Maybe I really had seen something back there. Even so, I never did find out what it was that I experienced back on the Excelcior that day. I must admit, though, I never felt comfortable going through that section of the ship from then on. I still think about it now and then, realizing that I probably did experience something in that ship; it was just another event in my life that foreshadowed what I would discover later on. But that’s a legacy in itself. Besides that, I haven’t really given it much thought. Though, as far as I know, the legend of the monster of the lower decks is still told to new comers of the Excelsior. I wonder if anyone has ever had the same experience as I. I suppose it’s just another of those things that I’ll never know.