Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26867018-20151106152505

“With that said team lets get ready to go home.” said Captain Griskoe as she raised her glass of scotch to the rest of her team. Pilot Escobar, Technician specialist Rambish, Doctor Joplin and Engineer Kovaks. They all stood up and began walking to their stations to prepare, The Helios, to go back to Earth after 9 months of studying the moon known as Aphrodite's Eye.





Down in the Engine Room, Kovaks and Rambish began work to make sure that they didn't explode when they tried to take off. Rambish looking over technical reports looked at one reading and leaned back before shouting.

“Hey Kovaks?” shouted Rambish across the Engine Room. Kovaks poked his head out from behind the engine and raised his blast shield helmet.

“What can I do for you?” Kovaks asked, wishing to finish making sure the engine was tuned up before lift off.

“Water valve 6-3 is too tight on the pressure,” Rambish said smiling “do me a favor and loosen it up.”

“Yeah sure.” Kovaks climbed ladder 6 to valve 3, he tossed his blast helmet down to the ship's floor causing a loud crashing metal sound to erupt as it hit the ground. He took a look at the valve that look like it belonged more to a garden hose and less to a space craft. He grasped hard and began turning, the valve didn't turn at all. “Huh,” Kovaks whispered to himself “decided to be a tough little fucker huh?” Kovaks grabbed the valve and pushed all his weight onto it. Suddenly Kovaks slipped and fell smacking the ground with a loud thud he was then covered with water. Rambish ran down to check and saw Kovaks on the ground with the valve in one hand and covered with water as he saw the broken valve.

“CHRIST!” shouted Dr. Joplin who ran in to check on the noise “Kovaks are you ok?” She sat Kovaks up as she saw a large cut on his head.

“Ow!” Kovaks groaned as he held his hand to his head. “Did I break anything?”

“Yes,” Rambish nodded “the valve, and now we lost the rest of our water supply.”

“Let me get you to the medical wing so I can patch that up.” Dr. Joplin escorted Kovaks out of the Engine Room to go to the Medical Wing.







On the Bridge Capt. Griskoe was sitting next to Escobar in the cockpit, as they sat playing go fish. “Have you got...”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Rambish to bridge someone respond.” Rambish's voice was crackling over the intercom.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“What is it?” Griskoe muttered into the intercom.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Kovaks injured himself, and in doing so emptied the ships water supply.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Oh shit,” Escobar sat, “is he ok?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Yeah, but now we need to find a new source of water.” Griskoe looked mildly annoyed at the inconvenience.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“So what will we do?” proclaimed Escobar.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“We will condense the atmosphere to make water.” Griskoe ordered.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Do you think it is safe to take water from the planet's atmosphere?”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“I think it would be better than having no water and dying before we reached home.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“But we don't...” Escobar was interrupted by Griskoe

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“We will do this, end of discussion.” With this final order the Helios spent 3 hours creating water before the ship blasted off into the reaches of space to begin returning home.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Well Escobar.” Griskoe ordered, “why don't you relax?” Escobar stood from the pilot's seat after setting the ship to auto pilot.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“I guess I could go for a shower.” Escobar left the Bridge just as Joplin entered.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Well,” Joplin sighed “Kovaks will be ok, he just got a cut that looked worse than it really was.” Joplin sat next to Griskoe.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">In the Medical Wing Kovaks woke from his dazed confusion. He leaned his head to the right and saw that he had a large white bandage wrapped around his head. “I did a number on myself, did't I?” As he sat up he stumbled out of bed onto the floor. His vision was blurry and he stood up in the dark room as he made his way to the doctor's fridge. The Medical Wing was illuminated by the fridge as he opened it he grabbed a bottle full of red liquid. “Huh?” he opened it and gave it a whiff before taking a sip. “Oh!” his eyes widened “Cranberry juice, yummy.” he began to gulp it down.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">Joplin was walking back to the medical wing as she saw a large amount of steam leaving from Escobar's room. “Hey, Sweetie?” Joplin shouted. She heard no response. Joplin entered the room and walked over to the shower, leaning over to the door she knocked again. She opened the door to the shower and through the mist saw a horrific sight. Escobar was laying on the shower floor dead. Her body was shriveled up like a piece of dried fruit, and her mouth was wide open, her body lay contorted with her legs bent against her chest, her arms were also in the same position. Joplin opened the shower and pulled out the corpse. Joplin was crying and screaming while holding her dear friend.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">Griskoe ran into the bathroom immediately screaming upon seeing the horrifying sight. “Holy shit NO!” Griskoe kneeled down next to the body which the doctor had layed on the floor. She placed her hands on Escobars chest and began trying to pump life into her. As She pumped a third time Escobar spat crusty, dried blood from her mouth, landing in Griskoe's eye. Joplin pulled Griskoe back as Rambish ran in.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Shes dead Captain.” Joplin shouted. “There is nothing any of us can do.”

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Send a distress call Rambish.” Griskoe ordered. Rambish nodded and left the room with Joplin crying holding the shriveled bloody mouthed corpse of their ship's only pilot.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">Now the Helios was floating through the infinite blackness of space without a pilot and the only help is 135 lightyears away. Their Engineer's cuts are now getting infected for unknown reasons.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“What do we do about Kovaks?” Rambish asked. Dr. Joplin was still paralyzed after seeing the shriveled dried corpse of her friend.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“We can store him in cryofreeze.” Joplin explained. “It will stop the bleeding until we are found and then we can get him full help.” With this plan Rambish and Joplin left the bridge to tend to the wounded Kovaks, leaving Griskoe alone by herself to ponder the loss in the ships bridge.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">As Joplin and Rambish placed Kovaks' unconscious body into the cryotank Joplin still was quiet. “She was In the shower, yet she was dry as a bone.” Rambish said.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“I don't get it either.” Joplin was confused.

<p style="margin-bottom:0in">“Hey Doc.” Rambish shrugged. “Why don't you go to the bridge, I can take care of Kovaks now.” Joplin nodded and left the medical wing. “Don't worry buddy,” Rambish patted Kovaks on the head. “you'll be ok.”

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">Rambish spent the next two days in his chamber alone, avoiding the stench of Escobar's mummified body. He was glad Kovaks was ok and that the rest of the crew could figure out why this happened. With 2 days alone he decided to go talk to Captain Griskoe and Joplin. His first stop was the Medical Wing. The room was still dark and the only person that was in the room was still Kovaks. Captain was also not in her quarters. So Rambish walked down to the bridge. As he got closer he heard distress beeping growing louder and louder. As Rambish reached the bridges door, he was shocked to see it was powered down and not opening. He grabbed the emergency handle and using all his strength opened the door straining to get inside.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in">It was here that Rambish saw what had happened. Dr. Joplin and Captain Griskoe were both dead. Bodies Mummified and contorted with Griskoe in Joplin's arms. Rambish ran over to the bodies, looking at the Griskoe's dried raisin like eyes. He decided to close them in respect, only for them to crumble into flakes of dried skin when his hand came into contact with her eyes. Rambish became angry with grief as the only thing he could let out was a weak but loud scream.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0in"> Two weeks passed, Rambish was dead of starvation and dehydration. Now the only crew member left was Kovaks, locked in cryofreeze and floating in space. The Helios had only one member of its crew left and he was off in deep sleep, waiting for rescue. <ac_metadata title="Horror On The Helios"> </ac_metadata>