The Sector of Disappearance, Part One

a roundrobin!

It was a hectic day onboard the Christa. The crew was monitoring the ship with Goddard and everybody seemed to be pitying themselves.

Harlan was whining to Goddard about not having enough privledges or recieving enough credit for manning the helm. Goddard snapped back his complaints about being lost in space with a bunch of failing space cadets.

Davenport was yelling to Suzee that she didn't give her the respect that she deserved and Suzee protested that she was smarter than the teacher anyway.

Bova complained to Rosie that her optimism was leading the crew into danger and Rosie shouted at him, saying that he always made fun of her because she was different and his pessimistic streak was making her go against her culture.

And finally, Radu retorted to anyone near him that she crew was hurting his ears.

After yelling at Thelma for the third time, Radu picked up a strange screeching sound from outside the ship, loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear if they weren't screaming. "Guys," Radu said in a voice that was considered a shout for Andromedans. "I just heard some screeching outside. I think that something's wrong."

Oddly and fortunately enough, the crew heard him and stopped yelling. "Screen on," Harlan commanded.

When the screen clicked on, Davenport gasped. "Look!" she said shrilly. "There aren't any stars out..." her voice waned away as she fainted.

The crew turned to the view screen and sure enough, the ship was surrounded by a black nothingness which was so deep that the crew could only see in two dimensions. The sight seemed to lure them in and they only snapped out of it when Rosie called for their attention.

"Guys! Look!" she cried, gesturing to the spot next to her where the ship board android had previously stood. "Thelma has disappeared!"

All heads shot towards where Rosie was poiting. "What?" Harlan gasped. "How could she be gone?"

"I don't know," murmered Goddard.

Rosie brightened. "Perhaps she just left on her own! Afterall, she can move really fast."

"But not that fast," argued Bova. "I was looking at her the whole time. OK, I took my eyes off her for half a second but still..."

"There's a better way to figure this out," cut in Suzee. "Let's call her. If she's onboard, she'll come as she always does."

"Excellent thinking, Suzee!" Goddard congragulated her. Facing the doorway he called, "Thelma!"

There was no response, even after 20 minutes, and Thelma usually came in one second.

Rosie wasn't convinced. "She could have sut herself down!" she persisted.

"That's true," Goddard said in a voice that sounded like he didn't believe it. But it's still worth a try, he told himself. "Harlan and I will stay at the helm. The rest of you, split yourselves up and look for Thelma."

Bova wandered down the halls grumbling to himself. Everything was going wrong today. So far they had gotten sucked into a strange, starless void and mysteriously lost Thelma. On top of it all, everyone was in an incredibly irritable mood. Everyone was at each others' throat. In fact, Bova was incredibly glad that he was told to search alone. Of course, the search was obviously a moot point. Thelma wasn’t on board. She was probably gone forever. Bova turned a corner and wished he had some pockets to shove his hands into. Yet another thing he could add to his list of mental complaints. Suddenly his feet began to tingle. Looking down, he was shocked to see them flicker in and out of nothingness. Quickly picking up his pace, Bova dashed into the lounge. A horrified expression crossed his face, and he opened his mouth to say something. Suzee looked up just in time to see him vanish.

Catalina’s stomach twisted at the expression that she had seen on Bova’s face. //Bova!// she shouted. //Suzee, do something!// she cried. //Go tell the others!//

“Suzee, watch where you’re going, will you? I’m trying to conduct a search here!”

“Shut up, Harlan. Bova just disappeared!”

Harlan raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“He just disappeared! As in vanished right in front of my eyes! Come on, we’ve got to get going!”

“Going? But we’re in the middle of a crisis. Someone’s got to stay at the helm!”

Catalina sighed in frustration. //Oh, for Pete’s sake! We’re stuck in the middle of a void with no way out! What’s he going to pilot?// Suzee cast an annoyed glance over her shoulder.

“Cat’s right! What are you going to pilot? Come on!”

Harlan looked at the empty space next to Suzee and nodded. “Fine, come on. The Commander’s in Engineering.”

Harlan and Suzee raced up to the Engine room, nearly knocking eachother over to get in there first. Once they got situated, they only had time to look at the startled commander before he himself dissapeared too. "Oh no," Harlan whispered.

Rosie was checking the galley for signs of Thelma. After looking under the tables, she stood upright to check in other places around the room. She was startled to find Bova and Thelma in the room, holding hands and looking lost. Bova called out, "Hello? Hello?" in a wairy voice, that didn't sound as bored and tierd as his usual one. Thelma mimicked Bova's words in the same wairy pitch.

I must have not heard the door open, thought Rosie, paying no attention to their strange behavior. Anyway, I have to stay on target. "Bova!" she cried, running up to him. "I see that you found Thelma! Let's get back to the ComPost and tell the others-"

At this time, Rosie had reached her crewmate's side and grabbed his arm. As she did so, the two completely vanished.

Rosie stumbled backward, realizing that she had not felt Bova's skin when she touched his arm: just air. "Oh no!" she yelled in panic. "They're holograms!"

Suddenly, a hologram of Radu showed up in front of Rosie, and she had a terrible feeling that Radu had also disappeared. The holograms stood still,like dummies, or manequines. What was going on here?

Radu looked around. Where was he? Suddenly, he saw Bova and Thelma. "Bova!" he called. Bova looked up. "Radu!" Bova called back. He grabbed Thelma's hand and dragged her over to their Andromedan friend.

"Where are we?" Radu asked, looking terrified.

The place that they were in was cold and damp. There wasn't much light, but the trio could see four dark stone walls with chains attached to them. On one of the walls there was a large metal door, probably steel, or iron. On each wall was a small torch, barely lighting the room.

"It looks like a dungeon." Bova said. "A dungeon from old Earth!"

“Well, whatever it is, it’s freezing in here.” Radu replied, wrapping his arms around him.

Thelma approached him. “That is an invalid statement, Radu. The temperature is precisely 63.2 degrees Fahrenheit. The standard freezing point is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Radu rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know Thelma. Listen, does anyone know how we got here? The last thing I remember is looking for you two.”

Bova shrugged. “We probably got transported here by some hostile alien force, and now they’re going to dissect us or something.”

Radu shook his head. “I hope the others have more of a clue than we do. Have you tried the door yet?”

Thelma nodded once. “Yes. The door will not open. It appears to be rusted shut.”

“And I can’t blast it with all this water, or I could fry both of you.” Bova added.

“But if the door’s rusted shut, then how in the Universe, did we get in here?”

Bova shrugged. “Good question.”

Back on the Christa Rosie was staring at the holograms in mute shock. They looked solid, yet she could walk right through them. All three of them were standing stock still, their glassy blank eyes wide open and staring straight ahead. None of them so much as blinked. When Commander Goddard’s image suddenly appeared about six feet from those of Radu, Bova, and Thelma, Rosie wasted no more time gaping. Hitting the Intercom button, she cried, “Miss. Davenport, Suzee, and Harlan! Get up here, now!”

Within seconds, the three other crew members were back at the Com Post. “What is it, Rosie? What’s. . .” Miss. Davenport’s voice trailed off as she saw the four images.

“They’re holograms.” Rosie said quickly, her face glowing in concern. “I don’t know where they came from, but I do know that we’re the only ones left on board.”

//How is that possible? There isn’t any holographic equipment up here!//

Suzee shivered. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re ghosts?”

//Knock it off, Suzee. You sound like Bova now!//

“Sorry.”

//I’m just wondering why the Commander’s hologram is so far away from the others.//

Suzee was just about to reply when Harlan stepped up behind her. “Um, does Cat have any ideas?”

Catalina looked up in surprise. //Is he serious? He wants _my_ help?//

Suzee shrugged. "That's what the guy said. So, do you?"

//Well, since you ask. . .//

Back in the dungeon, Radu, Thelma, and Bova stared at Commander Goddard. He was unconsious, and chained to the wall. Radu quickly rushed over to him and broke the chains with his Andromedan stength. The Commander withered to the floor.

"What happened to him?" Bova asked.

"I don't know." Radu said. "Maybe he wasn't strong enough to be transported here without blacking out. Humans are much weaker, physically, than most alien races."

"Maybe he's just playing dead." Bova said. "You know, like we were taught in survival class, back at the Starcademy. Or, with our luck, maybe he really is dead."

"Bova, humans aren't THAT weak." Radu said, rolling his eyes. But, just to be sure, Radu checked the Commander for a pulse.....

Meanwhile, on the Christa, Suzee was playing telephone, so Cat's words could reach Harlan's ears. I believe that if these images of Bova, Thelma, Radu and the Commander are indeed holograms, then Suzee would be able to pitch herself into their minds, Cat proposed. Suzee repeated this to Harlan, smugly.

"What good would that do?" Harlan asked quiclky, anxious to find fault in the plan. "Suzee has to establish eye contact with them to get into their minds. They don't seem to see us, so how can they look at her directly?"

Cat rolled her eyes. Suzee would be able to catch one of thier eyes. Do you see how they're moving around? They're definitely not in a dummy state. One of them will at some point turn their head in Suzee's direction and once the others see his or her eyes turn purple, they'll catch onto what is going on, Cat replied tartly, forgetting that Harlan could not hear her.

Suzee gave her friend a thankful glance and repeated her words to the crowd. Harlan groaned. "She'll always suggest for you to be the hero since you're best friends, huh?" he asked Suzee.

"Yep," Suzee and Cat said in unison.

Rosie giggled. "Harlan feels bad 'cause he's not the hero," she taunted and immediately repremended herself. Mercurains weren't supposed to find fault in others, especially those who were their friends! Where did this sudden change of personality come from?

Harlan, noticing nothing but himself being put down, gave the younger girl a pointed glare.

"Enough of this!" cut in Davenport, nearly in hysterics. "We've got to save the others!"

"Right," Harlan agreed, finding comfort in his moment of control. "Suzee, follow through with Catalina's advice."

So Suzee did. Goddard surveyed the room, looking in her direction, and Suzee made eye contact with him. The others saw his purple eyes and knew that Suzee had come to rescue them. "Thatta girl, Suzee," Radu said in a Harlan like mood. "I knew ya could do it!" Even Bova seemed upbeat.

Suzee wasn't finding out a thing. She combed the commander's mind, but all she could find was fear. He was obviously in so much shock that he didn't take notice to his surroundings. Now how could she help them?

Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to think about that, for suddenly, her mind was thrust out of Goddards and back into her head! Suzee toppled to the ground, seemingly unconcious. "Suzee!" Harlan called, desperate for the safety of his friend. He gave her mouth to mouth just in case and put his ear to her heart for a heart beat.

But what he heard was not a heart beat. It was-

a scream. A loud, heart-wrenching scream that rent the very air around them. Harlan leapt back, eyes wide. “My God.” he whispered. “What was that?”

Suddenly Suzee’s eyes snapped open. “No.” she whispered. “NO!”

Her eyes flashed with some kind of dark light. A scream, just as loud as the last one, tore through Suzee’s throat before her muscles relaxed, and she fell back into oblivion.

//Suzee!// Catalina screamed, close to tears. Something terrible was happening to her friends, and she couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t even communicate, now that Suzee was unconscious!

//This can’t be happening!//

“Oh, but it is,” replied a voice laden with dark mirth. “And no one can stop me!”

As a sinister laughter filled the room, Mrs. Davenport and Rosie crept closer to Harlan. “Who. . .who do you think that was?” Rosie asked nervously.

Harlan shook his head. “I don’t know. But whoever it was must be able to hear Cat."

//How do you know that?// Catalina asked.

Her words were shortly echoed by Mrs. Davenport.

“Because,” Harlan replied. “It was responding to someone. And none of us said anything.”

The dark laughter echoed around them, and a black haze filled the air. Suddenly, the remaining crew members were able to see Catalina kneeling down next to Suzee.

“Cat?” Harlan asked incredulously.

Catalina’s head snapped up. “Harlan? You can see me?”

“Yeah, but how? What’s going on?”

Catalina shook her head, tears beginning to fill her eyes. “I don’t know!” she cried. “I don’t know if I’m even here, or if I’m just going to have to watch while all of you are. . .”

Catalina finally broke down, and Harlan reached over Suzee and touched her arm. “Cat, it’ll be all right.”

Just then, Mrs. Davenport disappeared. Rosie’s face began to get brighter, as she started to panic. The feelings coursing through her were so alien to her nature, that she could barely keep them in check. Harlan got to his feet and carefully put an arm around her heat-insulated shoulders. “Rosie, take it easy. We’ll be fine.” Catalina looked up and forced a smile on her face, just as Mrs. Davenport’s hologram appeared next to the Commander’s. “Harlan’s right, Rosie. We’ve been through worse, right?”

Rosie shivered and nodded slowly. Deep inside, however, the three of them shuddered to think of what could have happened to make Suzee scream like that. And all of them wondered if they really wanted to find out.

Back in the chamber, where Bova, Commander Goddard, Radu, Thelma, and now, Miss Davenport, were Radu's head snapped up. "Cat?" he questioned "How did th-, well what ever it is, get You?"

"Radu? You can see me?" She responded.

"Yeah..." He answered, unsure of what she would say next.

"But I'm not here... I'm on the Crista!" She exclaimed.

"Bova!" Radu called. "Look here." he pointed to where Cat was supposidly standing.

"What's so exciting? It's just a wall"

Radu turned to Cat. "They can't see you!"

"Which means we have a way of communcating!" Radu exclaimed.

"It must be when I got pulled through diminsions, A rip in the dimensional fabric caused me to be able to talk to you." "But why me?" Radu questioned.

"I don't know Radu. I don't know."

"What's happening on the Crista?" Radu asked. Cat quickly filled him in.

***

Harlan turned to Cat, and offered her his hand. "Thanks" She said as she grabbed it and pulled her self up.

***

"Cat!" Radu yelped. She had suddenly disappered. She re-appeared, and turned to him.

"You just disappered for a second." He told her.

"Harlan just helped me up." she told him.

Then, an idea struck her.

"Radu", She said, "give me your hand." She grabbed it.

***

"Oh No!" Rosie cried. "They got Cat!" "No they didn't" Cat said as she let go of Radu's hand and re-appeared.

"Then... What happened?" Rosie asked.

"Well..." Cat began to fill them in.

-Lauren

"That's simple," came a voice from behind them."your friend was pulled through a rift between this world and the one the colorful young lady was communicating from. The rift is an unforseen after-affect of my teleporting a ship with two girls speaking to each other across dimensional barriers into my realm. Of course that's a moot point now since I sealed the rift."

The crew turned around to see the source of the voice. It was a strange purple colored creature wearing blue robes.It had no eyes that they could but several tendrils came down from the back of its head.The creature wore a large smile that revealed several rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Who are you?" demanded Harlan "and what're you doing on our ship?"

The alien's smile got wider "a multiple-part question,my favorite kind. I have no name that you could prenounce with out me having to rewire your voice box, but you can simply call me Inquisitor. As for what I'm doing here, I am an explorer, I seek out new life and new civilizations and study them. That's why I'm here, I detected your ship not to long ago and decided to run a few tests. In the first one I used my telepathic powers to manipulate your minds so you would be more hostile to eachother in order to find out how'd you react.After that I brought to my home-made dimension to see how you react to the unknown, and that's when things got interesting".

"When I probed your thoughts I discovered that while you were curious you also were experiencing an emotion I'd never encountered before: fear. Inrigued I began transporting your crew to a 'frightening place' to see stimulate more of this emotion while at the same time I created situations that would cause these Goddard and Suzee people to enter a state of near-death to see if that would create more fear and it did."

Everyone was appaled when they heard this. "Release us and leave our friends alone now you monster" spat Catillina.

"Oh but then you'd miss the fun part of this experiment" replied Inquisitor. He waved his hand and instantly each member of the Christa crew was transported into their own worst nightmare to enter a state of

-Bgray

fear. Fear that plummeted down to the very core of each member of the Christa. Fear that took over their minds and thoughts and beings.

The Inquisitor watched the crew keenly. Thaere was no way for them to escape these terrible nightmares. No way at all except if they-

-Cassiopeia

Quickly the Inquisitor stopped his thoughts and chuckled softly. “Hello, Little One.” he whispered. “I see you have found my thoughts once again. No, you will not find the key to your release within my mind. With nine new captives under my control, you may have a chance of escape. I’ll enjoy watching your attempt. Oh, and don’t get any ideas of telling them what is happening, or I will have to. . .revoke your privileges again.”

As the Inquisitor faded out with an amused chuckle that would make a snake shrink back in fear, the air shimmered slightly, and a tall wispy figure took his place. It was tall and willowy, and seemingly transparent, as though it was made of glass. The figure looked around with an expression of sorrow, and then became a wisp of smoke again, flowing into Harlan’s forehead.

Harlan was running through a shadowy maze, surrounded by noises of battle. “Dad!” he cried out. “Dad, where are you?”

Suddenly he was approached by a strange being of a species that he’d never seen before. It was tall and slender, with pale blue skin and straight black hair that cupped its elfin chin. Delicate, upswept ears came to a point just below the top of its head, completing the picture. Raising long hands in a reassuring gesture, it smiled.

“Do not fear me, Hairline Band.” it said in a soft voice. “I am only here to help.”

Harlan looked up sharply, fear in his eyes. “Who are you? What do you want? Where am I?”

The being bowed low, its sea-green robes swishing about it. “My name is. . .

-Catarina

The figure paused, frowning, then continued. "Well, in order for you to pronunce it right, I would have to rewire your vocal box. So I guess you can call me..." She paused again, a look of thought crossing over her pale face. "Elfinyana" she finished with a slight smile.

Harlan nodded to himself, than said "Well, you answerd one of my questions, but what about the other two?" Elfinyana laughed, a high, magical laugh that rung through the darkness in the maze. And with her laugh, the sounds of battle seemed to cease.

"I am here to help you." She answered. "Ae, I was once a mortal like yourself. But one day," a look of pain crossed over her face as she continued. "Inquistor came to me. He told me that I could become an immortal like himself, if I wanted. I was young and naive, and agreed to his foolish ways. But, I didn't know that I would be trapped in my own mind, as not an immortal, but as a ghost that would never be at rest.

You, Hairline Band, are in a figment of your own imagination, your worst nightmares come true, As are your friends. Inquisitor is testing you, for he needs new blood to serve, as I am. You and your friends must over come your greatest fears, and work together to save yourselves from the wrath of Inquisitor."

"But-" Harlan began.

Elfinyana cut him of as she began to fade away. "Remember... None of this is real... tis just a figment of your imagination..." Then, in a puff of smoke, she was gone.

"A figment of my imagination." Harlan said to himself as a smile grew on his face. "Just a figment of my imagination."

-Lauren

As she slipped from Harlan’s mind, Elfinyana began to quake with fear. If the Inquisitor had been paying attention to what she told Harlan, then she would be taken from this ship and trapped within her own body again. Ever since her foolish decision to join the Inquisitor, he had sealed her body in a stasis chamber. Inside the chamber, all five senses were completely shut off, and her mind reverted to a state of near-insanity. Elfinyana shivered again, and began to flow into Catalina’s mind. She had to help these others, or they would never be able to help her. Suddenly her heart began to pound. The Inquisitor was coming! Quickly she dumped all of her thoughts and memories into Catalina’s mind along with a brief plea for help. She felt the girl receive it all, and begin to break out of her death-like slumber. Satisfied that she finally had a chance of rescue, she turned to face the mocking face of the Inquisitor.

“Oh, Little One. Whatever am I going to do with you? You disobeyed me again. It’s a shame, really. It would have been so amusing to watch you play with their nightmares! Oh well. Back to the chamber you go.”

Elfinyana felt the all-too familiar paralysis grip her mind. “Catalina, Harlan, you and your friends are my only hope!” she whispered, her voice tinged with fear. And then, all her senses failed, and she began to scream.

-Catarina

Catilina looked around at her surroundings with horror, the scream she thought she'd heard completly forgotten. She was in an office of some sort however the large picture window to her right revealed a veiw of an endless ocean.

"Oh Grozit! Not here!" she yelled but knew it wasn't any use Inquisitor had sent her back to the Catillina had lost her parents. 11 years ago they'd gone on a diplomatic mission to Neptune to put an end to a series of terrorist attacks. Catillina was brought along because she wanted desperately to "see the fishies" as young Cat had put it.

The night the family arrived though,the Neptunesse terrorists had attacked the embassy the family was staying in and...

Before Cat could finish that horrible thought. The door behind her was broken down by a pair of blue skinned Neptunians, one male one female, both had webbed and clawed hands. Both had the bodies of Olympic swimmers. Both carried vicious looking swords and guns and both were looking at her menacingly with their dark red eyes.

"Get her!" screamed the female terrorist.

-Bgray

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