Traga awoke several hours later. How many, he didn't know. But he knew it must have been a while because he felt rested in spite of falling asleep sitting in his chair at the console. He stretched, then it hit him all over again, the entire crew has mysteriously vanished with no record of how or why, not even a note pinned on a wall, nothing. The big grid was completely inactive now. A star system was just coming into approachable distance. Traga decided to go up to the command station and alter the course for this system.
These long corridors once held the hum and banter of his crew, and now they were silent. He could see how worn out the carpet was. Smudged handprints were clearly visible at the button for the elevator, Traga extended his hand to press the button but something was strange. He could hear the elevator already running. Someone else was still on the ship. From the command station he could isolate any other people onboard. He was excited, so many questions to ask. What happened? Where did everybody go? The elevator ride was very quick but seemed protracted, like traveling near a black hole. Every second seemed to breathe it's own breath. The door opened and Traga ran down the hall to the command station, entered and sat down at the systems desk. A few clicks and the biosystems monitor screen came up. Traga ran the proper protocols and the readout indicated that there was only one life form on the entire ship, and that was in the command station, that was Traga. He stared at the screen in disbelief. Traga began to weep.
He spun around in his chair and engaged the console directly behind him. Music began to fill the room. It was a piece composed almost 2500 years ago back on Atlas. Very emotionial but strong measures gave Traga a sense of hopefulness, but tears of confusion were still working their way out of his eyes. He bagan setting certain systems on auto and configuring others to watch for signs of life either visual or on the communications bands. |