[IC] You are alone

[Markofkri]

You awaken on the cold metal floor you have no clothes on. There are three jump suits with different names on each. You find yourself in a metal corridor. From the view you can see the earth covered in thick clouds. You know you are in space and that you are alive. No harm has befallen you except for a mild head ache.

[BeanieBaggie]

Dorothy groaned, bringing a hand to her head as her senses came to her.

The hardness of what she was laying on came first, followed by the cold, followed by the sense of nakedness. Her eyes snapped open, finding her surroundings blurry and unclear. Blinking a few times, she slowly got to her knees, feeling around for something; finding a pair of glasses nearby and instinctively putting them on. Everything turned clear, leaving her aware that she was sitting in a room, fluorescently lit and made of what she assumed was metal.

Racking her mind, she couldn't find a clue of where exactly she was, how she got there, why she was there... and, even who she was. She blinked a few times, finding it a slight bit alarming.

Shakily, she stood up, looking around the room for something to clothe herself with. Her nakedness set her on edge, and allowed the cold to affect her more, and she knew that nothing good would happen until she found something.

Luckily, she didn't need to go far. There were three jumpsuits laid about, one smaller than the rest. She read the names on all three, not a single bell ringing in regards to who any of the names belonged to. Unwilling to handle the briskness of the room anymore, she put on the smallest suit, and approached the window.

She was captivated by the view for a moment, before deciding that she needed to find some kind of help, or information on everything she was missing, searching for the door. She found it after several minutes of looking, figuring out to open it with a scan of her hand.

"...Hello...?" She called, feeling as if her voice echoing in the halls was a bad omen. "is.. Is anyone there?" She looked around, starting a quiet, nervous walk through the halls. She had no idea why, but something about her situation brought feelings of fear to mind, causing her to be warey of the ambient sounds of the station.

[Markofkri]

The scanner turned green to your palm. Beyond the door you could see a vast storage bay with machines and a lot of caution signs. The lighting here was poor and no obvious main switch present for lighting left the area in a maze of shadows. On the inside of the area and to the left of the door you walked through, was a label "Main Engineering". Chains and cranes hung from the high ceiling and various containers littered the space. The crates were labeled in a bar codes and serial numbers. There was also a *heavy lifter parked in the corner. The smell in the room was grease and the air was colder here.

as your eyes adjust further to the lack of direct lighting there is a console directly ahead. There is no power to it and a railing separates you from the floor below. You are on a platform over looking the area and a small set of metal stairs to the left would allow you to go down. On the far side you can see a short range *shuttle. The ship has a serial number designation of "U.E.F. 0091623-A" printed in bold on the side. There also seems to be a light on inside the craft.

Heavy lifter/shuttle

[BeanieBaggie]

With a shiver, Dorothy began to regret opening the door, as handling the cold was not one of her strong points, and the dimmer lighting only added to her ominous feeling. Resigning herself to what she was about to do, she walked in, shutting her eyes for a few moments to help her adjust to the levels of lighting, and went to the steps, analyzing the room.

The smell helped set her at ease; it was familiar, but she had no idea why, and the sight of the heavy lifter made her feel a little bit safer, for, again, reasons beyond her. The ship didn't ring any bells, however... But, there were lights on in it. She felt like she needed to find someone, though she had no clue as to why, and started, one step at a time, down the steps. She would pause every now and then, listening to the noises of the spacecraft she was on, occasionally thinking she saw something move in the dark. She blamed the former on her glasses, continuing on until she reached the ground floor.

Looking around, She decided to walk as quietly as she could to the ship, approaching the crew door. She was about to knock, but hesitated, instead going to open it carefully and quietly, peeking in as she was able to. She had no idea what to expect, but... She hoped it wouldn't be anything to give her bad feelings any merit.

[Markofkri]

The metal steps were cold under your uncovered feet. As you reach the shuttle you felt uneasy. Something from your memory was trying to tell you, something. You opened the side door after walking up a small stair case. The smell was bad, like something rotten. The familiar feeling grew stronger. As you stepped inside a chill ran down your spine. There was a small trail of blood on the floor and a dead naked man in the pilots chair. He had been stabbed in the torso perforating the spleen and bled internally. The body, was old. You weren't sure how you knew this but you guessed a month at least. The ship was powered on that munch was clear but all of the controls looked unrecognizable. Then a piece of memory came to you.

You sat here in the rear left seat. He was the pilot. Jason. His name was Jason! You remember leaving earth in this to come here. You saw the station from the front window and the entry onto the station. Jason said. "Its going to need a lot of work. We're lucky to have made it. Think you can do it?"

"Watch me. I'll have her up and running in no time." Your words your voice. Why? What was it? No answers came. You felt familiar like a dream just after waking then you felt it fade just like the dream from your mind. Then like a jolt the thought hit you. The environmental. something about the environmentals being off in some of the sections. Why? It would save power but how did you know that. More information came. The power grid conservation there were faces of shadows that told you to cut them to save power. It was going to be a long stay. In the bridge. Some of the lay out came back to you. Not how to get there but locations and rooms. It felt like trying to look at a picture that was all jumbled up. Pieces of a puzzle no one put together.

[BeanieBaggie]

"Oh.. Oh god..." Dorothy brought a hand to her face as she observed the body, trying to filter the rancid smell of human decomposition from the air. She felt dizzy, and leaned against a wall for support, eyes locked on what was once Jason. "w..What the fuck..." She backed away, trying to make sense out of what had just come to her, and how she knew it.

She found herself, by the time she decided to leave the blanks be, sitting, and rubbed her forehead nervously. From what she could tell, her foreboding feeling had a justified reason to be there, but the exact cause was in the many, many blanks she had in her memory. Swallowing her own fear, she stood up, deciding to leave the foul-smelling ship to find something she could use to defend herself. She stepped out of the ship, letting her eyes adjust for a moment before carefully tip-toeing back up the stairs, keeping an eye out for anything that could be used to protect herself with.

As she got to the door, hanging on the wall beside it, if the number of jumpsuits she'd found in the room where she woke up was the same as the number of people that had been on her ship. Considering the fact that she'd woken up naked, and that Jason's body was naked, it would make sense. She just hoped that whoever owned the last jumpsuit was ok; something was definitely wrong, and she worried about being able to figure out what she needed to do alone.

With her moment of thoughts and concerns finished, she peeked out the door, and upon finding no-one around, went back to the room with the jumpsuits to learn the names of who she should be looking for, and maybe to find something to help her feel safer.

[Markofkri]

The hall way with three now two suits as you are wearing one. The names are Jason, Dorothy, and Chris. The suit that has Jason's name tag is unharmed. No puncture hole no blood. No under garments or foot wear. There is a magnetic key card in Jason's pocket. Stamped into it like a credit card are the words Beta access. There is nothing in Chris's pockets except a USB data stick.

[BeanieBaggie]

Biting her lip, Dorothy removed the contents of the suits' pockets, and put them in her own, separating the keycard from the USB. So, next on her list was Chris... She tried to remember who he was, but found nothing. She assumed that the suit she was wearing was actually hers, and finally learned of her own name. Dorothy. It sounded strange to her, but no stranger than how Jason's suit was unharmed, but his body was decomposing in the ship. How long had these suits been left unworn? Why was everyone naked? Why was she fine, but Jason was in a state of advanced decay?

Feeling a headache from over thinking threatening to appear, she decided that she needed to drop it, and stood up. She began to move down the halls, finding a mop that had been abandoned in a now-dry bucked. She unscrewed the stick from the bottom, already feeling the slightest bit safer with it in her hands. It was taller than her when placed on the ground, made of thin metal tube with plastic gripping on one end and a sharper screw-like end on the other. She held it close as she began her search, deciding on trying to locate the rooms she'd remembered.

Feeling tempted to call out again, she paused at an intersection, looking around for any sign of life. She didn't call out, feeling like it would be a very bad idea. Maybe whatever, or whoever killed Jason was still lurking about, maybe it had been dealt with; She didn't know. All she had to rely on were the feelings in her gut and what she was slowly learning about her situation.

[Markofkri]

Some of the corridors were sealed making the search easier. Using the terminal at the door you learned that they were non responsive. The The light above told you that the environmentals were off as well as the air. Finding Chris was going to be a long trip. You stood there for a moment to reflect on the small piece of information and the alternate route that followed like a trail of bread crumbs in your mind. A larger of the crumbs was your skill set and how you were the project scientist which would make Chris the engineer. Chris was an engineer! The trio complete except for Chris's face. You also blanked on what type of scientist. The lab. You had access to a lab priority one. The answer to who you were must be there. The knowledge of how to get there helped reaffirm this hypothesis.

[BeanieBaggie]

"..." Science! Dorothy remembered her job after thinking for a few moments, taking a turn into the new hall to what she remembered as her lab. Not knowing what laid in store for her, she figured that her best hope for remembering anything more was in there. She kept her stick from dragging along the ground, keeping two hands on it, though she rested it on her left shoulder as she walked.

She was slightly happy that the halls were warmer than the room where she found the body, finding her feet to have grown too cold for her liking. She wondered, as she walked, about maybe finding some shoes, or at least socks, to cover her feet with, or if she'd even be able to find them in her size. Judging by the jumpsuit, Chris likely had bigger feet than her, and form the body, she knew for a fact that Jason's shoes wouldn't work, so she either had to go without or find her own.

Her mind also wandered to the decomposition of the body she'd seen. It was cold in the room, but the body look ed as if it had gone through even the liquid state of decay. It sent a shiver down her spine every time she thought of it, but it made her wonder how long ago he had died, why his body was still there, how long she'd been naked, and why she couldn't remember anything.

Before her thoughts could move on to the next thought, she arrived at the lab; or, at least, what she remembered as being the door to the lab. She tried putting her ear to the door to hear if anything was going on, but upon hearing nothing, she opened the door, staying close to the hand-scanner as it opened, and peeking in.

[Markofkri]

The room was warm and most of the lights worked. In the center room you found yourself was the stock room chemicals and various lab P.P.E.(personal protective equipment) with spare tubes, beakers, and more lab equipment. Your office was through a door to the left. Across the room, and though a door the cryostasis room. To the right a R&D lab with dead lab mice.

The R&D room had dead mice on the electronic boards a few various chemical formulas that coincided with subject numbers and DNA patterns. Studying this data you are able to extrapolate the discovery of the next stage in human evolution. You didn't know what that might be but spending more time in the lab you discovered your hypothesis all over again. The dinosaurs were not wiped out by the comet that struck earth millions of years ago. The comet was carrying a catalyst that triggered global evolution. The dust cloud was a air born trigger that affected everything it touched. Except creatures in the water. It explained why turtles and aquatic life never evolved but dinosaurs became birds and chimps became humans. They didn't die they evolved! Some of that element was believed to have remains on the moon. Since life couldn't interact with the elements due to the protective space suit it would be hard to prove. The world built this station just for that sole purpose. You exposed your subjects to them and they died. Something was missing.

You rushed to your work station in the office to discover the computer terminal damaged beyond repair and the case housing with a laser hole and burn marks. The no electronic pads no anything. You walked to the Cryo room after donning the suit to keep you from freezing to death. There were three containers all with direct feeds to the station core. One was your twin, alive in perfect hibernation. The cryo tube was retro fitted to incubation unit. The other two were off line and unusable. All of the data was deleted and the personal logs. Chris if he was still alive was the only one that could restore the system. You might if your could get to the Main bridge and spend a few months learning engineering.

[BeanieBaggie]

Dorothy pulled her arms close to herself as she examined the two unusable cryo-tubes. She couldn't remember what she had been doing with them, but something in the back of her mind made her think that it was extremely important. She eyed her clone again, wondering if she'd made the clone not need glasses before leaving the cold room, taking off the protective suit, reluctantly parting with the warm boots. She was tired of having cold feet, and knew she shouldn't be walking around the lab barefoot, but the suit seemed like an important thing to keep together. Finding that her office was the warmest, she decided to go there to think.

Her eyes turned to the computer, trying to discern what had happened and why. Who would've done that? Though she couldn't recall her coworkers' personalities, she felt that they'd not be the kind to do that sort of a thing. Carefully running a finger around the laser hole and burns, she figured that she would need to find another computer, somewhere. Taking advantage of the warmth of the room, she allowed herself time to think of where to go next. According to her dream-like memories, there were chances of other computers being in the medical bay, engineering bay, and in the bridge/forward control room. Feeling that her best bet was the control room, she left the office,entering the hall again as she set out to try and find the bridge, deciding that later, she'd return to her lab for safety, and to try to recall more about herself, like why she had a clone. Maybe, if the DNA from Jason's body was salvageable, she would see if she could make Jason a clone as well. Something in her told her it was the right thing to do.

[Markofkri]

Someone had welded the door shut to the control room the access tunnel from the floor sub panel would have to do but as you lifted the plate the smell hit you first. Jason was staring up at you. He was dead.Looks like he was burned from some type of electrical surge. His skin was melted and his mouth was open in a pain filled expression. He was naked and fried but still recognizable. How did this happen? How may were there? No answers came. This Jason decomposition was more advanced. Say six months. You closed the panel and decided that the ventilation shaft would have to do.

Inside the control room you found more questions then answers.The enviromentals and power was a there peek here. There were navigational diagrams and mathematical equations to put the station in orbit around the moon. It would consume a tremendous amount of power the station would need to be on minimal support and take about, six months. The propulsion system was locked. All command functions were locked. Only accessible by the AI who was off line. Chris was the only one who knew the delicate system. You could access the logs and ship current readouts and functions. The sensors told you Chris was in the command deck and as you looked around you saw the GPS chip everyone was implanted with on the far console covered in blood. You scanned for you and Jason. Jason was in the shuttle and you were in cryo!

[BeanieBaggie]

Dorothy blinked, trying to understand what was going on. Two Jasons? Why were both of them dead and naked? Did she try to clone him before? Why was Chris's chip out? Why was hers in the cryo lab? Why was and who soldered the door to this room shut? Why was the AI offline? Why were they all naked? She sat in the control room against a wall, hands to her head as she tried to comprehend her situation.

Nervously, and with a stress-induced headache, Dorothy got up and looked at the screens again. The data on them was mind-numbing to her, though she could barely understand it. She didn't dare fool with it; she knew that programming wasn't her strong suit. She then went to observe the chip, the blood old and dried, causing her to wonder, for a moment, how it was removed, and how long she'd been out. There seemed to be so much time for the bodies to decompose, that it didn't make sense for her to be as unharmed as she was.

Assuming, from the blood, that Chris would have needed immediate medical attention, she made her way back out of the air duct, and started towards the medical bay- she hoped. As she passed by where she'd found the other Jason, she mumbled "R.I.P." quietly, trying not to look at the spot as doom started to pool in her stomach.However, she did make a mental note that the bridge, if she was in an emergency, could also make a decent safe-room. One entrance, it seemed, as the duplicate Jason was blocking the way, with all of the environmentals in top shape.

She clutched the stick she found close to her as she thought of several situations that could have happened. Maybe the AI went insane- that would explain why it's off. Maybe one of them went insane; it would have to be either her, or chris, since both Jasons' were dead; But that idea made her sick to think about. The last thing that could have happened is some experiment escaped from her lab, but... She didn't find any evidence for that. Any way she could think of, She had a feeling that she'd need her staff, at least until she could find something better. Maybe the Medical room had some other tools she could use?

[Markofkri]

Using the few consoles that worked you used the console to light the path to medical. It was a slight maze since medical was in the center of the station for everyone to have equal access to. The command center was at the top of the stations core. Some one welded the doors to the most direct route and the elevators were controlled by the AI through a sub processor. You needed to take access shafts and ladders to sub floors. It was tedious.

Dropping down to the floor you stood in front of the medical bay doors. They were opaque acrylic and you could see the blood on the hand panel and the flickering lights from inside. Inside was a mess of blood and stuff everywhere, like some one had frantically searched for something. Some of the lights were damaged and you saw laser holes. The patterns made it seem like some one was shooting up into the ventilation system while another person shot into the floor and wall to the right of the door. No weapons left behind and the laser would mean no blood but there was blood. The Doctor program was a sub program to the AI so was useless. The screens showed an arm x-ray and the chip that was implanted for the GPS system. Your arms were unscarred and you felt sick as the memory surged to the front of your head.

You looked out from a cryo tube at yourself holding an electric tablet checking numbers. You were floating in the solution and cold. The outside you waved and walked away. You felt the rush of something putting you to sleep. Then you awoke to the sound of rushing water and hitting the cold metal floor. You saw Jason leaving you struggled to chase after him but your legs were so weak all you could do was crawl to the hall out side and pass out.

[BeanieBaggie]

What...What? Dorothy put a hand to her head, trying to understand what was going on. She.. Was in a tube? And there were three of her? What in the hell had she been doing...? Was she a clone? And... Was there a living copy of Jason around? She remembered one, and.. There's no way either copies she'd seen dead were the one she had seen alive in her memory. She couldn't have been laying in that hall for long enough; there were basic needs that needed to be attended to.. Which brought to mind a thirst that was growing in the back of her mind, and an empty belly in her core.

The blood made her feel ill, but she decided to keep going, leaving the bloody room for a moment, trying to piece together what she now knew... There, somewhere, was another copy of herself. She didn't know is she was good or bad, but she knew the answers to everything Dorothy was trying to understand; so if she was encountered, dorothy would have to be careful. Deciding to give her copy a different name to make things easier, She decided to call that version from her memory Dorothy Prime. It was a cheesy name, and it almost made the girl snicker.

She stacked a rolling chair from the room to the air vent, deciding to crawl through it again to get out of the medical bay. Pausing in a corner, she decided to think on where to go next. Engineering seemed like a good idea; Maybe Chris was there, or someone... Anyone alive?Her mind stuck on the word alive, and she returned to the medical bay, scavenging any medical supplies she could find, before resuming her exit of the room and beginning her trek to the last possible room with a computer. She wondered for a moment if the USB had the files from the destroyed computer, or any information that could help her.

She felt lonely as she walked through the halls, forgetting, temporarily, about how cold her feet were. She hoped that someone was alive on the station, or that there was something other than her broomstick to talk to. She caught her reflection in the corner of her eye, feeling a disappointment when she realised that it wasn't anyone else.

[Markofkri]

In engineering you get a brief case of vertigo while your nose drips some blood. You hold onto the railing and steady yourself as you look around only to find things out of place. The heavy lifter was now in the center of the bay with an open crate. The crate is empty the bar code over some serial numbers tells you nothing. The shuttle lights are also off. To the far side of where you entered is the working terminal in the master control room for the entire bay. The light is on something you would of noticed before.

After climbing the metal stairs to the room you find the computer is operational and powered on. Seems someone remotely worked the heavy lifter. The red eye for the AI is dark. The shiver runs up your spine as you sit in the chair to find its still warm. Inserting the USB into the slot the computer pulls up the files. The data Reflects the genetic code to successfully clone one Dr. (last name) Dorothy. The DNA pattern has an alteration on the seventh and Ninth pairings with an unknown compound. A brief journal entry was recorded.

Entry dated four years ago.
An image of yourself appears. You look tired and wore a lab coat and glasses resting on the top of your head. "I have found a correlation with the T-72 compound but I am out of animals to test on. Breeding was not a part of the accepted parameters of the study so I received all sterile specimens. I am too close to be stopped now. There is only one option left to me. With a Cryo tube converted into an incubator I can clone myself and kill two questions with one subject. I am sure the results are worth the risks."

Entry dated two years ago.
You look frustrated and your hair is out of sorts. "Test subject number eleven has failed due to unstable mutation that developed further complications involving a terminal case of death. Chris is starting to fight me on jettisoning yet another subject. He says its giving him nightmares. I have no choice to continue this without his help I just hope the sex keeps him from telling Jason.

Entry one year and six months.
You look happy but a little strange. "Test subject 17 is a success. I've had to take over using the medical override to the AI. I didn't know the company had it reporting the progress of the experiment. They terminated my human testing just when i made a break though. I am leaving the final project data in the files."

"On a personal note Chris has abandoned me and reported to Jason. I had no choice but to seduce Jason and jettison him from an air lock. I made a replacement but highly unstable clone. The memories and personality don't match the original at all. Seems they don't have the exact faculties as the original. I'm not a neurologist. He is becoming too unstable I'll have to make a new one and implant a kill switch."

Final entry six months ago.
"Without the AI I can't continue the experiment the mathematical computations are just taking.. Hello? Jason is that you?" You get out of the chair. Leaving the cameras visual range. A thud can be heard of a body hitting the ground.

A male voice is heard. "It's over Dorothy. Your going to sleep until I can get the shuttle ready." End of log....

My Hider

[BeanieBaggie]

Dorothy blinked, bringing her hands to her face as she watched the logs. There was still blood dripping from her nose, but it was the least of her troubles at her current point.

She... Was a cloned test subject? What would her genetic alterations lead to...? And Dorothy Prime, despite the goofy name she'd given her... She sounded more and more like a bad person. But, someone had to be alive on this ship, as they'd put her in cryo, and let her out... She still didn't know when she was let out, but... The thought of someone being alive raised so many feelings. She looked to the loader bot, then to the ship. Someone'd stabbed that Jason, yes, but... She could take the other one she'd found as an accident. Whoever was on the ship with her now very much did not like Dorothy prime, and though Dorothy knew she would need their help- to get more answers, to just not be alone and to help deal with Dorothy Prime and her hideous actions, she'd need to convince them that she... was nothing like the Dorothy she saw on the videos. Not comfortable with cloning herself for science, or killing people at all.

But, there were problems. She needed glasses, and she couldn't remember... No, didn't have memories of anything that she knew that Dorothy Prime wouldn't do. She looked to her suit, down at the nametag, sadly reading her name over again. It was the only name she'd ever known, but... It didn't feel right anymore. But lacking a better name to give herself, and lacking the supplies to change the name tag, she let it go, standing up. The seat was warm when she arrived in the room, and in the dark, she looked around.

"If.. If anyone's here.. I...I am Not that Dorothy," She called, holding herself close and wiping her blood from her nose. "She's still in Cryo...If you can get through the air vents, You can see that in the bridge." She started for the door, taking the USB with her, pausing as she opened it. "I.. I don't know what turning the AI on will do, but if anyone is in here," She called back, holding her broomstick close. "I think it might be a good idea to turn it back on, unless it would let her out. I'd do it, but... I have no idea how to work it." She shivered once more, leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Maybe, just maybe, whoever was around was testing her? Trying to figure out if she and Dorothy Prime, despite the DNA alterations, were the same. She just wished that whoever was doing this would just leave a note, or something, directing her what she should do to pass the test, or otherwise earn the right to see someone that wasn't dead, or... Dorothy prime.

Blood flow from her nose slowly stopping, though leaving some drops here and there from time to time, she wandered through the halls, wondering if a bedroom held any answers, or shoes, or socks, for her, and praying to not find another dead body. There was a bad feeling in her gut, but... There was nothing else she could do, besides sitting in one place and hoping that whoever was around would come to her.

[Markofkri]

On the monitor in front of you came a message from terminal number forty three. (Where ever that was.) "The AI can only be reinitialized from the command deck by the medical officer's override code. .....good luck. Session terminated....

[BeanieBaggie]

"Medical... Override code...?" Dorothy blinked, pushing her glasses up and rubbing her eyes, frustrated. "I have no idea what that even is...!" She spoke to the screen, sighing as she brought her glasses back down and leaned her forehead on the cool metal wall near it. She felt frustrated, putting a fist on the wall as she tried to remember anywhere the code could be. She wished that she had more memories, though, she suspected that her blank-slate state was for the best, if she wanted to differentiate herself from Dorothy Prime.

After staying like that for a few moments, she collected herself and pulled away from the wall, pushing her hair back. "Ok. Um, Thank you...?" She called, not sure if whoever was at terminal forty-three could hear her. She then thought, moving away from the screen, about where her best chance at finding the code without waking up Prime would lay. Her mind flicked through the rooms she remembered, picking the lab, medical bay, and whichever room was hers as likely places for the code.

Deciding to go to the most obvious place first, she made her way back to the lab, grabbing the protective shoes from near the cryo-room,and using them for walking in the lab. She looked through the papers, scanning for any kind of code she could find, and went through the drawers and cabinets, looking for a USB data stick, card, or other item that looked like it would hold data, and work with what she'd found in the bridge.

The dead rats unnerved her... Cringing every time her eyes touched them, she paused her search to take several papers and lay them over the rats so she wouldn't have to look at them again. She'd already had her fill of death and decay with the body of Jason she'd found in the ship and the other body she'd found on her way to the command bay, and really, really hoped that there wouldn't be any more death around.