G.A.S.H'ers - Caitlinn's End

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[link] - SIGN UPS OPEN 9/13, CLOSES 9/30

‘…eggs and bakie.’

She woke with a start; her knees bent at an awkward angle and her neck radiating a pain down her spine. Reaching up she touched her head, now fully aware of the headache pounding within her skull.

‘Ugh,’ she muttered. Her headache was compounded by the vibrating tapping behind her. ‘St-. Stop!’ She yelled, despite her headache. And then she realized that she wasn’t in a room, but a tube.

Reaching up she felt the curve of the tube surrounding her, its diameter just short of her arm span, but confining just the same. The tap, tap, tap behind her penetrated her ears again. Turning, she looked out beyond the glass tube at the figure below her.

‘Hello, Lieutenant.’

Lt. Caitlinn V’bran blinked two very tired eyes at the woman on the other side of the glass. She was wearing a green lab coat over her flight suit and her dark hair tied back in a low ponytail. Caitlinn looked around the room trying to figure out what was going on.

‘Do you know how you got here, Lieutenant?’

Blinking again, Caitlinn shook her head. ‘No.’ Her head began throbbing with an intense pain as she tried to remember. ‘Wait…yes.’

12 hours earlier

2:20:11 AM


The station's overhead female voice was now announcing that all human life head to the escape pods - to evacuate. Over and over again. The station had been taken by the creatures - they had finally come. The aliens that the UN suspected had been behind the years of abductions were now coming for the rest of them. In the display monitors all she could see were more and more creatures infiltrating the docking bays and corridors. Some red like the large one she encountered, some silver, covered with metal. Cyborgs.

**********

‘Oh…god.’ Caitlinn stood slowly, sliding her hands up the glass tube for support. ‘We need to get out of here.’ She pressed her forehead against the cool glass and closed her eyes. ‘Why am I in here?’

‘You don’t remember everything, Lieutenant. I think you’re forgetting the best part.’

Two hours earlier

Tip toeing over the edge of the disengaged bridge, Caitlinn peered down. All the way down. Looking back up and across she saw the bridge half extended and the controls on the other side to command it.

They were coming…coming fast.

Mumbling out loud, 'I can make that.' She turned around behind her and judged the distance. 'Well...I could maybe make that.' Caitlinn closed her eyes and listened to the silence. The alarm had shut off about ten minutes earlier. She wasn't sure it was a good thing. 'Fuck it'.

Walking away from the edge she turned back around the corner to find another way across. Disappearing around the corner the silence engulfed the evacuating space station hovering Mars.

Suddenly the chattering was deafening. Caitlinn ran full speed around the corner, slipping a little but regained her footing quickly since she was being followed by about two dozen of the invading aliens that had caused the high security breach and evacuation. She thought it was about two dozen, she wasn't about to look back and count.

With a grunt Caitlinn reached the edge of the bridge way and jumped. The aliens were milliseconds behind her but not as fearless. Caitlinn stretched her body and her fingertips begged to reach the half extended bridge way. She tucked and her shoulders banged against the metal archway, rolling out her body to almost over the left edge. Righting herself, she bent down and kissed the steel bridge. Looking back across she saw the none too happy, human like creatures watching her with dead and angry eyes. With a smile she turned and looked up.

A shadow stood over her. A shadow that made her suddenly question if what she ran to wasn't far worse than what she was running from.

Then there was nothing.

****

Caitlinn blinked and then looked back at the woman.

With a chuckle the woman nodded. ‘Yeah, now you remember.’

‘Let me out.’

The woman stepped forward and began tapping the control panel on the front of the giant tube that encased the Lieutenant. Suddenly a series of clicks and vibrating whizzes sounded off above Caitlinn and three small holes opened up at her feet. Seeping out of the holes was a thick green liquid.

Without looking up, the woman continued running her fingers across the panel as she gave an explanation of what was going to happen next.

‘Human beings are selfish snack bags, you know that? They exist only to further their species' position in the hierarchy of universe that doesn’t even acknowledge them as equals. Humans get lucky with their scientific discoveries and then go to great pains to perverse it, reinforcing the idea that Humans have no business ruling the universe.’

She looked up at pointed at the green liquid filling the tube. Caitlinn felt terror creep into her spine as she listened wordlessly to the woman.

‘I’m not going to spoil this for you and tell you exactly what that is in there with you, suffice to say that it is an example of that perverse science I was just talking about, only I made it better.’

Caitlinn fell to her knees and pressed her hands up against the glass tube. ‘ Please. Don’t do this.’

‘It’s done, Lieutenant, and someday…maybe someday soon…you’ll thank me.’

‘Who are you?’

The woman watched as the liquid completely filled the tube. She climbed up onto the platform and pressed her hand against the glass, opposite of Caitlinn's and had to yell for the woman to hear her.

‘I’ve waited three thousand years for this moment, Lieutenant.’

Caitlinn held her breath as the liquid reached her face and filled the entire tube. With the last breath she would ever take in the life she had always known, she watched as the woman stepped down from the platform and wave good bye.

‘My name is Elizabeth Duibne, but you can call me Ellis.' She paused and quietly added. 'All my friends do. I'll be waiting for you.’

And with that, Caitlinn V’bran died.