Awakening

Posted on 20 Jun 2024 @ 1:44pm by Odin

871 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Miranda
Location: USS Odin

((OOC: Optional soundtrack: https://youtu.be/mQFPk8n97wk?si=AwhYsr_ARM6QIrFa))

Odin awoke to the sound of horns blaring in the distance.

When she opened her eyes for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she wasn’t aware of where she was at first. This disorientation was enough to disturb her, because she really she not ever be unaware of her personal details.

Once upon a time, she had been a Q. Now, she was a self-aware artificial intelligence bound to the heart of a ship. She was aware of all things and at all times, so what could make her feel this way?

She stood up. She had been laying down. That was unusual as well, because she never needed to lay down. And…

Grassy hills surrounded her, and a wooden village existed several meters ahead of her. She knew in an instant that the horns were coming from that village. Yet, as she looked at it closer, she didn’t see any people in it. Who was blowing the horns?

Flash.

Grassy plains were replaced with sterile architecture. She was staring down a ship’s corridor. It was a familiar corridor, but it didn’t feel familiar in the way it should. The difference she sensed had nothing to do with anything that affected her, but she realized in an instant that the ship was full of a toxic gas. This gas would kill the crew!

“Odin to Captain Eas—”

She didn’t get the words out before the hall vanished. She was outside the village again, but this time, she was closer. There was a building beside her, and she rested her hand against the wall. The wood was rough beneath her hand. Solid. Real.

Horns blared again. She felt the acrid taste of smoke on her tongue.

Abruptly, something dark flashed at the corner of her eye. She snapped her head around, but it was gone.

An unkindness of ravens took to the sky from the roof of the building beside her, drawing her gaze up. Now, she saw that the sky was red. It was the red of human blood. Blood that she’d have, if she were human. When she looked at her hand, however, she saw a trace of red from where wooden splinters had penetrated skin that she should not have. Frowning, she looked up again.

Flash.

Red warning lights were flashing along thin strips that lined the corners of the ceiling and floor of this corridor. Just ahead, she caught a dark figure slipping into a corridor toward the right. She hurried again and called after them, but there was no response.

That didn’t look like a uniform.

“Stop!” she shouted, trying to dematerialize and reappear ahead of them, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t take the time to figure out why, so she sprinted for that corridor.

The figure had not turned away, but they also acted like they hadn’t heard her.

It was humanoid, although with no discernible gender. They were covered from neck to fingertips to toes in a shiny, painted-on-form-fitting suit and a narrow bubble helmet.

They know about the gas, Odin thought savagely.

“Stop! Who are you!?” she shouted again.

Again, the figure did not respond.

Something dark moved at the corner of her eye again, and she whipped around to look. Again, she saw nothing of the dark figure, but far ahead were the silhouettes of longships on the red sea. The sun was setting over waves that were far larger and rougher than they should have been so close to shores.

Ominous clouds were moving in as the four ships struggled to remain upright.

Odin started to walk toward the water. Those crews needed help, even if she didn’t know what one would could do. Her walking steps began to pick up, and then she was sprinting toward the water’s edge. Even here at shore, the waves were violently throwing themselves against the sand.

She ran into the waves and dove into the waters…

Flash.

And surfaced on the ship, face-down on the deck. She blinked repeatedly, even if her avatar didn’t need it. She felt…wet.

Odin snapped her head up and looked down the corridor. The suited figure was still there, so she pushed herself up and hurried forward after them. She shouted, but they ignored her. They gave no indication that they had heard her at all or were concerned about her presence in any way.

“The ship is empty,” she realized after a moment, “except for this person. Who are they? They aren’t crew. We have no suits like that.” She spoke aloud, even if it was just to herself.

The suited figure had something in their hand. It was a device that she couldn’t recall ever seeing before, but she guessed that it was some kind of scanner by the way they were using it. How did they get on the ship? Where was the rest of the crew?

What in the name of Valhalla is going on?!

More horns of warning blared in the distance.

 

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