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Darkness
by Lilithangel
“Place doesn’t have an official name, just the designation XLK-11547. Nicknamed Darkness for obvious reason.” Spike pointed to the location of a small asteroid orbiting a small sun, too far away to receive more than a hint of light. “Turns out to be the mother load for some gas vital to Starfleet.”
He was briefing Captain Picard and Commander Riker about his mission since Starfleet had decided the Enterprise could escort him there and bring him back afterwards. Picard hadn’t been happy about the situation but couldn’t ignore the directive or his curiosity about what sort of mission Starfleet would send a vampire on.
“Who nicknamed it Darkness?” Riker asked.
“The first scientists and workers who landed there. Starfleet didn’t really care about their opinion so it stayed XLK-11547,” Spike replied. “They stopped sending status reports about a year ago but the gas kept coming so Starfleet didn’t bother investigating,” Spike continued.
“Why would they do that?” Riker asked.
“Place only exists to mine the gas,” Spike said, “no heat, no light and no oxygen. Manned only by vampires, what did they care so long as the gas kept coming?”
Riker bristled at Spike’s words but Picard quelled him with a look.
“What makes them think that the crew haven’t simply left?” Picard asked.
“No way off the rock. Shuttles that take the gas off have no place for even a body to hide and they were on remote so no detours until you got back to Starfleet,” Spike said.
“Why have we never heard of any of this?” Riker demanded.
“Why would you?” Spike replied. “It’s just a mining rock manned by non-citizens. Starfleet’s not exactly going to advertise the fact now are they?” Spike’s irritation was evident as he racked a hand through his hair and turned back to the display.
Riker finally realised what was making him so antsy, aside from knowing Spike was a vampire. He could see his and Picard’s reflections in the display but Spike was notably absent, it was disconcerting and Riker didn’t like being disconcerted.
“So the gas stopped coming and Starfleet decided to send me,” Spike continued. “Didn’t think it was too urgent hence the shuttle you picked me up from. Never was any good with electronics so I couldn’t fix the navigation computer. Sounds like it just got urgent by my last communication and your new orders.”
“Did they explain the urgency?” Picard asked.
“Of course not,” Spike said with a snort.
“So this asteroid doesn’t have a breathable atmosphere at all?” Riker said.
“And barely enough light for me to see by,” Spike agreed.
“So you fly down and we wait for you to return,” Riker said.
“Pretty much,” Spike said. “Either something wiped them out or they’ve simply gone to ground. They have to know Starfleet would investigate at some point so that seems unlikely. I just have to confirm what happened to them and report back as to the status of the mining operation. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.”
“Sir,” Data spoke up for the first time, “I would like to accompany Spike to the surface.”
“That’s not part of the mission briefing Data,” Picard said.
“I am the only logical person for the Away Team,” Data said.
“Commander Spike is simply making a reconnaissance sweep,” Picard replied with a frown.
“He may need assistance,” Data said, “being that we have no way of knowing what is down there and our sensors will not pick up anything on the surface. Spike is my friend, Captain, I wish to accompany him.”
Spike looked at Data with startled pleasure at the title.
“Very well, Commander Data,” Picard agreed heavily.
“Thank you sir,” Data said.
“It could be dangerous,” Spike said.
“I am at no more risk than you, Spike,” Data replied.
“We will reach XLK-11547 in a few hours so you had best get prepared,” Picard said, ending the meeting.
“You don’t have to do this,” Spike said to Data as they left the room.
“I am aware of that,” Data replied, “I wish to accompany you. Do you not wish me to?” he stared at Spike curiously.
“Be nice to have company,” Spike admitted, “but it might not be pretty.”
“It is a mining asteroid, I do not expect it to be pretty,” Data said in puzzlement and Spike laughed.
“If I let anything happen to you Picard will just leave me down there,” Spike commented, “will your friend Geordie look after my cat?”
“We will do our best to ensure that is not required but I am sure Geordie will be happy to look after Angel while we are away and beyond if needed,” Data said.
Two hours later and Spike was pacing the shuttle cockpit waiting for permission to go to the surface of Darkness. Picard had insisted on one last attempt to raise the mining station.
Data walked in and pressed his communicator. “Landing party requesting permission to depart sir.”
“Very well Commander Data,” Picard’s voice replied, “good luck.”
Spike threw himself into the pilot’s seat and fired up the shuttle before Data had even sat down. Data buckled in and watched as Spike launched the shuttle with the minimum of pre-flight checks.
“Nobody taught me how to fly, figured it out myself,” Spike said after they had launched.
“In which case you are doing admirably,” Data replied.
“If I had been taught then I was doing really badly?” Spike said with a laugh.
“I am still finding it difficult to process your stories,” Data said, “there is much that matches my own experiences with Starfleet and humans, and yet you are or were human.”
“It’s the were that makes all the difference,” Spike said, “just like you, I appear human but aren’t. Some people don’t handle that well and the military doesn’t like different.”
“Starfleet aren’t just military.”
“They are where it matters.” Spike shrugged. “Got used to it centuries ago. Got me out here anyway.” His eyes were drawn to the outside where the stars streamed past and the asteroid grew closer. “Don’t get me wrong,” he added, “I’ve met lots of folk who get over the whole undead thing. Just bureaucracy that gets in the way of a quiet life.”
They entered the orbit of Darkness and Spike navigated towards where they could make out buildings and a landing area. The asteroid was living up to its name with only dim landing lights to mark the way.
The landing was hard due to Spike coming in fast and stopping short, but Data didn’t comment. Spike then proceeded to arm up with several weapons Data knew were not standard Starfleet issue and several that he had only seen in holo displays.
“Always be prepared,” Spike said at Data’s interest, “never know what might be down there and if all else fails…” he morphed into vampire features.
Data was still intrigued by the physical alterations of Spike’s features. He could see them happen but couldn’t establish where they came from or went to. Spike had called it magic, but Data couldn’t quantify magic. Spike didn’t seem to mind his enquiry, and seemed to enjoy the physical examinations. Spike was remarkable tactile and Data enjoyed cataloguing his responses.
It was still and silent on the asteroid as they made their way to the airlock. Spike was on edge, glaring at every shadow. Spike overrode the entry codes and they slipped inside. It was pitch black inside but they both moved confidently in the darkness. Spike’s eyes glowed yellow and Data’s switched to eerie silver.
They found nothing in the main rooms of the mining base. There was an equipment room stocked with a few suits for the rare times conditions got too extreme even for vampires, and a few mining tools but not as many as there should have been.
Next they found a small communication room that was completely destroyed. “That explains the communication break down,” Spike said, toeing through the debris on the floor.
“There is nothing to suggest yet that there was an outside attack,” Data observed.
“No dust piles either, so where have they gone?” Spike took the lead as they explored the rest of the base.
They found a small recreation area in a similar state to the communication room. Leading off were two large barracks. The bunk beds were all piled up against the large window as if they had been trying to keep something out. Still there was no sign at all of the inhabitants, and no clue as to what happened.
“They would have been able to see the universe spin by,” Spike said, looking at the size of the window. “No sunlight to avoid.”
“That would leave the mine itself to investigate,” Data said and Spike nodded.
“Just want to check one more thing,” Spike said, heading back to the recreation area. He found the replicator units and pulled one out of the wall. “Doesn’t look like its been used in months,” he said, tossing the unit to Data for confirmation.
“What is the likely outcome of vampires not feeding for several months?” Data asked.
“If they’re still alive it will be pretty messy,” Spike said grimly, “some will have fallen into a coma, some will have tried to feed off their own blood, others will most likely have fed off the ones in the coma. Vampire blood isn’t very filling but it will do at a pinch. Unless it’s family blood and that’s highly unlikely. That’s assuming they’re not all dust.”
They found the path to the mine entrance by following the pipeline. The entrance was wide open and they finally found signs of the workers. With no atmosphere every imprint on the ground remained as perfect as the day it was made. There were definite signs of a struggle at the entrance and the big doors were torn away. Piles of dust marked the spots were some had died as did the scattering of makeshift weaponry.
Spike pulled his gun and motioned for Data to get out his phaser. They moved in slowly, back to back wary of sudden attacks.
Spike stopped and motioned Data closer. “Down there, maybe six of them,” he said softly, knowing Data would be able to hear him.
Data nodded and they continued carefully. Data was finding it quite interesting how easy it was to be at full strength around Spike. Normally Data was careful not to appear to robot-like around humans, not wanting to scare them. With Spike it didn’t matter, their strength and agility matched and Spike never cared.
Right at the back of the main drilling cave they found the six surviving vampires. All six exhibited the signs Spike had warned about and none were capable of more than a snarl.
Spike crouched down beside the least sickly looking. “What happened here?”
“Communication stopped,” the female vampire said weakly, “Nobody came. The voices warned us the blood was tainted. Killed them. The gas would give us strength to fight against the others.”
“What others?” Spike said, but she had slipped back into a coma. “Shit,” Spike swore, “we won’t get anything more out of her. I’m surprised she even lasted this long.”
“Isn’t there something we can do?” Data said, “We need to find out more about these others.”
“Only one thing we can do,” Spike said. He pulled out a stake and plunged it through the vampire. She exploded into dust but Spike had already moved to the others, dispatching them dispassionately. Most would have been fooled but Data was learning to understand Spike.
“I am sorry,” Data said when the last was dusted, “that would not have been easy for you.”
“Didn’t know them,” Spike said without denying Data’s words.
Data laid a comforting hand on Spike’s arm. Spike looked down at the small piles of dust and placed his own hand over Data’s.
“They were human once, but Starfleet couldn’t even be bothered to save them until the gas supply was threatened. Nobody deserves that,” Spike said.
“Things are changing,” Data said, “you said yourself my case changed things for you.”
“You still defend them?”
“They are the only family I have,” Data said solemnly.
“Family are important,” Spike said. “Right. We have to find out what this was all about.”
“There appears to be nothing to indicate these ‘others’ she referred to,” Data said. “We can hypothesis that the communication gear was damaged by an insider given the lack of damage to the outer hull of the base.”
Two hours later and they were no closer to discovering what had happened until Data noticed minute changes to Spike’s behaviour. He analysed the air and found compounds from the gas that seemed to affect Spike.
“The gas drove them mad?” Spike said after he cleaned up in the shuttle.
“It would appear so,” Data said, admiring Spike’s naked form.
“So Starfleet will have to re-staff the operation with non-vampires,” Spike smirked, “that’s going to be expensive. There’s not a lot that can poison vampires, who would have guessed?”
“No doubt they will use robots next time,” Data agreed, “it will still be cheaper than making the base habitable for air breathers.”
“How long before we have to report back to your Captain?” Spike finally noticed Data’s appreciation.
“We agreed to regular a check in at two standard earth hour periods,” Data replied, “or for us to return upon discovering what happened.”
“So we’ve got two hours to play hooky with,” Spike said moving closer to Data. “Enough time for another lesson I think. Where were we up to?”
“I believe you had declared me ready for third base,” Data said, “I must advise you that I have researched this bases and home run terminology. I do not think it was meant to be used in the manner you have chosen.”
Spike laughed and kissed Data. “Now you are discovering the joys of vernacular and slang. Once it was about baseball, then it became accepted use for what we are about to do.”
“Then I can hypothesis that third base will involve more nudity and the touching of genitalia.”
“More than just touching,” Spike grinned, “I think it’s time to introduce you to my favourite number… sixty nine.”
END