It Begins

Posted on 15 Oct 2017 @ 6:20pm by Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

480 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Crossing Over
Location: Cargo Bay, Deep Space 15
Timeline: November 12, 2388

The large cargo bay on the Presidium class station was bustling with activity as the Black Hawk-A would be departing soon and crate after crate was being loaded onto the cargo transporters and beamed over to the Federation ship before it's departure. Two crewmen were overseeing the transporters when one suddenly stopped before his hand touched the transporter activator.

"Woah! This has do not transport on it," he said as he checked it against the manifest. "Some things just can't be transported but hey, I won't be the one flying it over."

The officer next to him removed it from the cargo transporter pad and marked it for shuttle delivery and had it sent off for the last shipment that couldn't be transported. "I think they just want to make our lives a little harder, Ben," he said.

"We work in a cargo bay, Ralph," the other pointed out. "How much harder could it get?"

While the two men went back to transporting, something else was happening in the crate that had just left the cargo bay. A couple small furry creatures with far too many legs stirred inside of it as their nest was disturbed and they crawled around inside of it quickly but couldn't find a way out. After a few minutes of attempting to seek freedom, they settled down to wait to see what would happen.

A short trip later, a crate sat in the cargo bay of the Black Hawk-A where a weary Ensign checked the manifest against the numbers on the crate, then deactivated the seals on it and removed the top. A yawn escaped the young woman and she decided to get a cup of Raktajino before she got to unloading yet another crate full of things that would vanish into the bowels of the ship.

When the human walked away, one of the creatures sensed the fresh air and scurried to the top of the box where it saw freedom. The smells were different, but it wasn't confined to its nest now. It gave a shrill sound and its partner came up from where it had been resting. Moments later, both of the tiny creatures were out of the box and moving rapidly between the other crates and into a open hatch.

When the Ensign returned, she started to unpack the items in the crate with a sort of mindless tedium that helped pass the time, but stopped when she came to a box that looked as if it had been broken into. A small corner had been ripped off and some of the contents had spilled out. She sighed. "Another report," she muttered to no one. Grabbing a PADD, the young woman documented it, then set the spoiled box aside for Operations and continued back with her work.

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