To: Star-Fleet Command
From: Captain Yirziad Ries, Executive Officer, Vaila Colony
Re: Vaila Colony
It is with deepest regret that I feel compelled to write this report. There have been a number of strange occurrences since we arrived to set up the colony here and certain matters have arisen which I must now bring to your attention…

Ries paused writing his message for a moment and took a swill from the glass of whiskey that he had been nursing for the past hour. As he held the old school handmade glass that his great grandfather had given him upon his graduation to his temple, wild images were still flashing in his head that he couldn’t ignore. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, knowing what must be done. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. In front of him stood his best friend, Cal, with a visible ligature mark around his neck.

Ries’ hand began to tremble and the glass clattered to the floor, tumbling across the deck before shattering against the bulkhead. He stood, frozen in place, shaking his head in disbelief at his friend who stood smiling before him. Still shaking, Ries pointed at his friend. “You…you…c…c…can’t be!” he quivered, his pulse racing and breathing shallow. “…you’re…d…d…” he stammered, shaking like a leaf.

His friend stepped towards him and put an ice cold hand on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. “Dead?” he offered helpfully. Cal’s skin was pale blue and his eyes sunken, there was no doubt he was dead, yet he seemed to be conversing remarkably well for a corpse.

With Yirziad’s hands quivering and his eyes still fixed on Cal, he nervously tapped his comm badge. =^= …Ries….Ries to…Lt Lazoh…he…he’s…here…here again… =^=

A softly spoken woman’s voice came back through the comm channel. =^= I’m on my way… =^=

Ries slowly sat down, not taking his eyes off Cal. He gripped the side of the chair and took some deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down.

Moments later the door slid open to reveal a young El-Aurian woman, the resident counsellor. She quickly came and knelt in front of Ries, careful to avoid the broken glass on the floor. She gently put her hands on his face and eased him round so he was looking at her. His eyes were wide with fear as he quivered and tried to focus on her. She spoke calmly and slowly as she looked him in the eye. “Yirziad, it’s me, it’s Nirim…you’re ok…” she said softly as he tried to turn back to look at Cal. “No, no, no, keep looking at me, you know he’s not there…” she added gently. “Just focus on my voice, can you do that?” the counsellor asked, making sure she kept her eyes fixed on his. This was the third time Captain Ries had reporting seeing their deceased colleague since his death a week ago but Ries and Cal had been extremely close friends and it had been a huge shock to them all. It was so rare to see a suicide in this day and age and it had hit the colony and in particular Captain Ries extremely hard.

Yirziad began to sob and leant his head on the counsellor’s shoulder. Nirim instinctively stroked his hair to try and calm him. “It’s ok, he’s not really there…” she whispered quietly. Just as Yirziad’s breathing began to slow and he started to relax, a tornado like wind materialised out of nowhere and objects started flying around the room. As the two frightened officers desperately clung to each other, Cal’s voice spoke on the wind. “No counsellor, you’re right, I’m not there…I’M IN HERE!!” his voice screamed in their heads like a siren as the wind picked up more and started to blow the furniture round the room as well. In the chaos, the two officers were torn apart but Nirim somehow managed to tap her comm badge.

=^= LT LAZOH TO ADMIRAL ALDRIDGE =^= she hollered over the wind and the voice in her head. =^= WE HAVE A SERIOUS SITUATION HERE, I THINK IT’S TIME WE CALLED COMMAND FOR BACK UP! =^= she added, her throat aching from screaming.

As quickly as it started, the wind stopped and Nirim breathed a sigh of relief as everything clattered to the floor. She winced as a chair hurtled from the ceiling and landed on her leg. Gritting her teeth through the throbbing pain in her leg, she turned back to Yirziad to make sure he was ok. About 5 feet away she saw him motionless and face down on the floor. She gingerly crawled up to him and put a hand on his shoulder to give him a reassuring pat. “It’s ok, it’s all over now,” she panted as she carefully rolled him over. A pair of lifeless, terrified eyes greeted her, his face frozen in horror and a huge gash across his neck where his throat had been slit with frightening precision. As a pool of blood slowly crept across the floor, Nirim sat in front of Ries with her mouth open in shock as a single tear rolled down her cheek. A medical team, followed quickly by the CO, Admiral Aldridge, frantically bundled into the room having detected a drop in life signs but it was too late to save Ries. Still motionless and staring at the body, her uniform now drenched in the Captain’s blood, Lazoh spoke in a barely audible voice. “Admiral, we need help…” she whispered as another tear rolled down her cheek.

From the far corner of the room, as soon as Captain Ries’ lifesigns terminated, a notification popped up on his console which simply read,

{Message Transmitted}

Mother Hen