Star Trek: Erin

Part 59: Should've Started a Dream Journal

     Next I woke, I was feeling a lot better. Gabriel and Nowak were gone, having left a note that they were going to find local food. I stared absently out the skylights, craning my neck to make out details, when it hit me how familiar it looked.

     A familiar sky. Black grass. I smacked my forehead, which had the unfortunate side effect of restarting my headache. Is this the same place as that weird dream?

     I paced to the door, then back. "Don't be stupid, Cobos," I whispered. You're in unfamiliar territory. Wait for the others.

     To do what? Find a field? It'll just be a short trip. And if it isn't, you can always come back.

     You make good points, brain. I decided to scout it. I have my communicator too, especially for if I run into that asshole again. I flexed my arm. Besides, I've been training since they smacked the shit out of me. If I'm being honest, still probably can't beat them, but I'll give a good show.

     I headed out.

     Turns out that just outside the town was a field identical to what I'd seen. I wandered until I dropped into a small valley that obscured the surroundings, giving the impression of nothing being around. Poking around yielded the spot where I'd been thrown, although the soil was untouched there. So I know for sure it wasn't a dream. Was I brought here? Or more a vision? My fingers brushed my jaw. Part of it was definitely real. But who would gain from me being here?

     "Key to my fucking future," I muttered. I should never have come here.

     My face went cold despite the blazing heat. Have I caused something by coming? There are some damn powerful aliens out there.

     Fuck.

     I cast one last glance around, then at the sky. Trudging back towards town, nothing but disgust for myself lurked in my mind. And I thought I was pathetic before. Chasing dreams with no thought to what they mean. I just need to hope this was a dumb mistake.

     I beat Gabriel and Nowak returning by a couple minutes, and we enjoyed some cool round pastries filled with little spicy beads. The rest of our leave was mostly peaceful. It took a little time to chase away my self-disgust, but I gave myself permission to enjoy Blyve II.

     On the third day, I found myself alone with Gabriel, lounging in the sunslight at the establishment where we'd gotten drunk the first night. "Starbase 14," I said. "Want to talk about it?"

     Gabriel shuffled her hands, scratched her ear. "It started well. T'Ariik and I, we—T'Ariik was the other Chief Medical Officer. Vulcan. We worked well together. Then the pirates started showing up. We fought them off a few times. Security redshirts are talented there. One day I was working in my office, and then nothing."

     My breath caught.

     "When I woke up, it was zero-g. Found T'Ariik and ran some tests, and our working theory became that we'd survived vacuum." Her hand went towards her face, unconsciously it seemed. "Helped this redshirt, guy named Benney, make a little trap for the pirates that got onboard. Basically involved spacing them from inside. Whoever triggered it would get spaced too." She snorted. "I thought, 'this is how I die, doing something Cobos would do.' But I survived. It just felt cold, but I could still... live? I wasn't exactly breathing, but I could function. Overall, worked out pretty—"

     I grinned. "If you say 'well' again, I'm slapping you." I sobered quickly. "That's damn incredible though. So your eye thing. It's not just vacuum-activated, it's vacuum-proof."

     "They're still running tests on others from the station. But seems that way."

     I watched Gabriel for awhile after that, as we basked in the light. That story had less emotion than one of Nowak's. There's more here.

     Whatever she was keeping to herself, I didn't find out on Blyve II.

     Near the end of our stay, I entered the kitchenette one evening to find Gabriel and Nowak engaged in hushed conversation. Their faces brightened as they noticed me, and I joined them in discussing hat trends on different planets late into the night.