You step inside and automatic lights flicker on in quick succession. A wave of
nausea sweeps over you and you squeeze your eyes shut. After a moment, it
passes and you open your eyes, taking in your surroundings. It seems to be a
crew lounge, with several comfortable looking chairs and couches laid out
around the room. Unlike the corridor outside, the room is immaculate and
completely dust free. A row of cryo-tubes line one wall, all empty with the
exception of one. The cryo-tube is misted up, but you can see the
unmistakable outline of a figure within. You move closer, examining the
display mounted on the front of the cryo-tube. Life signs are stable and the
occupant is in a perfect state of suspended animation. For a moment you
think you hear Vanessa calling you on the communicator, but when you
glance at it, it is still in standby mode. You turn your attention back to the
cryo-tube, a green activation button blinking invitingly.
Activate Cryo-tube
Investigate the crew quarters further
“I’ll take the bridge.” You tell Vanessa.
“Been nice knowing you.” She replies acidly before trudging off
towards the crew quarters. You smile to yourself and turn left along the
corridor towards the bridge.
Your footsteps echo as you walk slowly along the narrow corridor,
exposed service pipes and conduit running along the walls, giving the ship an
old fashioned, functional feel. The air smells stale and there is a thick layer of dust on everything, adding to the archaic, museum piece aesthetic of the
ancient, pioneering Earth vessel. You glance behind you, noticing the tread
patterns of your boots in the dusty footprints trailing you. Life signs or not, no one else has walked down this corridor in a long, long time. You notice
the door to the bridge just ahead.
The bridge door creaks open, the mechanism labouring. You wrinkle
your nose as an unpleasant smell hits you before stepping inside. The bridge
is deserted, banks of screens and control stations laid out before you, all
covered in a thick layer of dust.
“Just reached the bridge.” You tell Vanessa over the communicator.
“Apart from a foul stench, there’s nothing to report.”
“Sounds like your boot locker.” Vanessa replies. “I’m nearly to the
living quarters. I’ll let you know what I find. Out.”
You notice a soft glow beneath the layers of dust on the consoles. The
screens are all still operational and you move to one, sweeping your hand
across it, wiping the dust from it. You study the antiquated systems read-
out. You should be able to retrieve the captain’s log from here.
Retrieve captain’s log
Investigate the source of the foul odour
You bring up a menu, running a finger down the options until you find the captain’s log. You jab your finger at it and the log screen opens. A video
thumbnail appearing for each one. You sit down in the dusty chair and bring
up the first one. Captain Meyer, a stout, balding man beams at the screen,
enthusiastically speaking of his honour at commanding such a historic
mission, his pride at serving on such a fine vessel with a capable crew and
his excitement at what they might discover in the unknown of deep space.
You skip through a few routine log entries as the captain describes new star
systems, planets and comets they have discovered. You are about to close
another mundane entry when the captain makes mention of a nebula:
“Our mission specialist, Doctor Maria Walsh is fascinated by a new
nebula and has requested a closer look. I have agreed that it warrants
further investigation and we should reach it in just under three weeks.”
You find an entry three weeks later, in which Captain Meyer, shoulders
hunched, his normally breezy delivery replaced by an anxious, tense tone:
“We have entered the nebula. Sensor readings within the nebula are
nonsensical and we seem to be drawn back to the same coordinates no
matter which heading and speed we set. Of further concern is some
anomalous behaviour from our star drive. The engineers are investigating
and we hope to be underway soon.”
You select the next log entry a couple of days later, a weary looking
Captain Meyer provides an update:
“We remain stranded within the nebula. Our engineers are at a loss to
explain the problems with the star drive which are occurring more and more
frequently. Several crew members are behaving strangely with wild bouts of
violence. Understandably, morale is very low and the whole crew is on edge.
Hope to have better news soon.”
You notice there are just two more log entries remaining. The next,
three days after the last shows the captain, eyes bloodshot, his face
unshaven and looking increasingly distracted:
“The situation is spiralling out of control. The star drive is off line. The
generator is still operational, but the power is not reaching the engines. We
have lost contact with the engineers. We sent a team to investigate, but
they have disappeared too. The crew seem to be descending into hysteria
and no one is willing to check the engine room. I would go myself, but I fear
for the consequences to the ship and my crew if I were to disappear too.”
You click on the final entry. Captain Meyer faces the camera, his teary eyes wide and wild:
“I’m the only one left. I have failed. I have utterly failed. I have failed
my crew and I have failed myself. I won’t go like the others, willingly into the abyss. I will remain master of my own destiny.” Your eyes widen as the
captain raises a pistol to his head and pulls the trigger, the gunshot ringing
out while the screen is splashed with blood.
“Shit.” You curse, turning from the screen and reaching for your
communicator. “Vanessa.” No response. “Vanessa?” Still nothing.
Make your way to the crew quarters and find Vanessa
Investigate the source of the foul odour
You move around the bridge, trying to locate the source of the smell.
It seems strongest to the back of the room and you make your way towards
a storage locker. You grimace with foreboding as you reach out, grasping the
handle of the locker door and pulling it open. You turn away, your eyes
watering at the stench, clamping a hand over your nose and mouth. The
corpse has been there for some time, but you would estimate years rather
than decades. As you bring yourself to examine the skeleton, the skin
shrunken around the bones, you notice the uniform of the Galactic Navy and
the badge of the Triton on his sleeve. You vaguely remember stories about
the Triton, a big warship, disappearing a few years earlier. Your initial
impression is that the man had been murdered and the corpse stuffed in the
locker, but there doesn’t seem to be any obvious trauma and from the way
the body is positioned within the locker, it looks like he climbed in himself
and stayed there until he died. You begin to regret your decision to split up
with Vanessa. What horror had driven this man to conceal himself and
waste away rather than face it?
“Vanessa.” You speak into your communicator. No answer. “Vanessa?”
Still no response.”
Make your way to the crew quarters and find Vanessa
Retrieve captain’s log
Your heart thumping in your chest, you exit the bridge and run down the narrow corridor, your feet kicking up clouds of dust in your wake.
“Vanessa?” You call out again into the communicator. Still no answer.
You pass the airlock to the Eclipse and follow Vanessa’s footprints in the
dust towards the crew quarters. You reach the far end of the corridor and
punch the door open control. The door opens and you step into the
darkness inside, fumbling for your torch. A wave of nausea passes over you
and you squeeze your eyes shut, grasping the frame of the door before it
passes. As you open your eyes, the automatic lights slowly flicker to life,
illuminating the room. It seems to be a crew lounge, with several
comfortable looking chairs and couches laid out around the room. Unlike the
rest of the vessel, the room is immaculate and completely dust free. Though
Vanessa is not here, you are not alone. A row of cryo-tubes line one wall, all
empty with the exception of one. The cryo-tube is misted up, but you can
see the unmistakable outline of a figure within. You move closer, examining
the display mounted on the front of the cryo-tube. Life signs are stable and
the occupant is in a perfect state of suspended animation.
“Vanessa.” You speak into the communicator. “I don’t know if you can
hear me, but I’ve found an occupied cryo-tube.” Still no answer. You stand
before the cryo-tube, the green activation button blinking invitingly.
Activate Cryo-tube
Investigate the Magellan further
There's something strange about this ship. Find Vanessa and get back to the
Eclipse
You turn away from the cryo-tube and cautiously stalk further into the vessel, walking down a long corridor. The door at the far side of the room
slides open before you and your jaw drops as you survey the sight before
you. The vast chamber is three storeys high and is a mass of vegetation. The
huge transparent dome overhead confirms that it had once been the
Magellan’s hydroponics chamber, but after two hundred years of neglect,
the plant life has run riot. You step inside, the floor, thick with undergrowth feels boggy underfoot. Exotic trees and shrubs grow everywhere and you
look about in wonder as you make your way through the dense vegetation.
You duck under branches and gaze up at the leafy canopy, the starlight
visible through the transparent dome. After just a few paces inside, you
wipe beads of sweat from your forehead, feeling as though you have left the
Magellan behind and entered a humid rainforest under a starry night sky.
As you progress deeper into the rainforest, you hear what sounds like
a whimper ahead. Your grip tightens on your blaster as you approach the
source, hearing it again. You burst into a clearing and for the second time in
the space of a few minutes, your jaw drops. A naked dark haired man is lying
on his back on the lush grassy ground while an equally naked woman with
long blonde hair sits astride him bouncing up and down in his lap. She is
perhaps in her late twenties while he looks four or five years older. They are
both athletically built and you find your eyes drawn to her small but pert
breasts and her erect nipples jutting proudly out. Her eyes are closed and a
blissful smile spreads across her face. Another whimper escapes her lips,
before she arches her back, throws back her head and cries out in ecstasy as
she reaches her climax. Her body shudders and jerks for a moment before
she straightens, panting for breath. Her eyes flick open, widening in surprise
when she sees you lurking at the edge of the clearing.
“We have a guest.” She murmurs to her partner. The dark haired man
glances in your direction.
“Welcome.” He grins, completely unabashed.
“You won’t need that.” The blonde smiles, her eyes flicking towards
the blaster in your hand.
“She prefers a different sort of weapon.” He quips, making her giggle.
“Who are you?” You ask, holstering your blaster.
“I’m Adam.” He tells you. “She’s Eve.”
“Really?” You reply doubtfully.
“I guess that makes you the snake.” Eve giggles, glancing at your groin.
“Why don’t you lose the clothes and join us?” She suggests, raising an
eyebrow.
Why not
Two’s company, but three’s a crowd. Make your way back to the cryo-tube
Find out who they are and then decide
“Tempted as I am, I need to get out of this nebula.” You tell Eve.
“Suit yourself.” She shrugs, turning her attention back to Adam. As you
turn away and retrace your steps through the dense rainforest, you can hear
him grunting and Eve moaning with pleasure as she resumes riding him.
You make your way back to the crew lounge and approach the
mysterious cryo-tube. You gaze through the frosted glass at the dim outline
of the occupant, wondering who it is and why the other cryo-tubes are all
empty. You stand there in the spotlessly clean crew quarters and the more
you think about it, the more you feel ill at ease on this ancient vessel.
“Pull yourself together Trent.” You tell yourself aloud. You’ve been in
space too long to be spooked by ghost ships. You turn your attention back to
the cryo-tube, the green activation button blinking invitingly.
Activate Cryo-tube
Something doesn’t feel right. Find Vanessa and get back to the Eclipse
You turn away from the cryo-tube and head for the door back to the corridor leading to the Eclipse. The door slides open and Vanessa is standing
just behind it.
“There you are.” You grumble. “Where the hell have you been?” She
opens her mouth to respond, but you hold up your hand. “I doesn’t matter.
We’re getting off this fucking ship. I can’t put my finger on it, but
something’s off here.”
“Getting superstitious?” She grins as you retrace your steps towards
the airlock.
“You can sneer all you like,” You reply, “But my gut feeling has got me
through some tight scrapes in the past and I’ve learned not to ignore it. I
wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand.”
“Someone like me?” She spits. Wincing, you pause a beat, glancing at
her and finding her glaring back at you.
“I didn’t mean anything by that.” You reply carefully, trying to diffuse
the situation. “You have many advantages over a real human, but even
those geniuses at Hyperion Cybernetics can’t program instinct.”
“Well, it was still a shitty thing to say.” She pouts, hitting the button to
open the airlock.
You climb into your seats in the cockpit and immediately retract the
docking tube, manoeuvring away from the ancient vessel.
“Another vessel appearing on scanner!” Vanessa tells you. “It looks
like it’s been hiding on the blindside of the Magellan.” You gaze through the
cockpit window as a strange alien vessel emerges from behind the Magellan,
the seamless, formless hull seeming to shimmer and shift as it is revealed.
Though dwarfed by the ancient Earth ship, it is much larger than the Eclipse
and begi
ns to manoeuvre towards you.
“Hyperspace engines are back on line.” Vanessa adds, gazing at the
console in front of her. “What do you want to do?”
Shoot the alien vessel
Escape to hyperspace
“Who are you?” You ask Eve as she continues to gently ride Adam.
“Does it matter?” She replies flippantly before rolling her eyes. “Very
well. We were part of the crew of a salvage vessel. We’d heard the stories of
all the ships that had gone missing in the Dark nebula and our late captain
decided it was a potential fortune worth the risk if we could find some of the
wrecks.”
“We found them alright,” Adam snorts derisively, “And quickly became
one ourselves.”
“The captain, obsessed with escaping the nebula, put the engines well
over the red line.” Eve continues, grinding her hips in Adams lap. “We just
made it to an escape pod before the whole ship exploded.”
“The Magellan was the only vessel with power, so we made our way
here.” Adam adds, clearly bored with the conversation. “That was three
years ago.”
“What’s happened in between?” You ask. “Have you been able to
make any progress with escaping the nebula?”
“We haven’t even tried.” Adam replies, reaching up to cup Eve’s pert
breasts. “Eve was a communications officer and I was the ship’s cook. We’re
hardly qualified.”
“What have you been doing all this time?” You ask.
“What else is there to do? We’ve fucked and fucked and fucked.” Eve
grins shamelessly. “Though, much as I’ve enjoyed Adam’s company, I’m
ready for some fresh meat.” Her gaze again drops to your groin. “So how
about it new guy?”
Why not
Two’s company, but three’s a crowd. Make your way back to the cryo-tube
“Why not?” You grin, quickly pulling off your clothes and joining them.
Eve grins, her eyes fixed on your hardening cock as it springs free of your
Lure of the Sirens: A Sci Fi Choose Your Own Erotic Story Page 19
