Planet: Theta 295
‘Fort Haven’ Research Outpost
The planet which had been designated Theta 295 was on the outer reaches of the galaxy in a region that was newly discovered over seven years ago, it took four years to build the research outpost which was named ‘Fort Haven’. The outpost was placed there to study the planet and learn everything they could about it they even set up a massive drilling platform to mine the deep into the ground for ore and rock samples. Oliver Cartwright was Fort Haven’s director he stood on one of the viewing platforms looking out to the massive circular hole that had been carved out of the ground going down over a mile into illuminated darkness, around the circumference of the quarry vehicles and diggers worked tirelessly along with the workers scurrying around like ants. Cartwright turned his gaze up to the drilling platform, several long square columns held up the round platform where the drill operators worked high above the quarry, it also acted as protection from the weather since Theta had intense acid rain although advanced warnings gave people time to get indoors. A woman came up behind him holding a clipboard he smiled at her but kept looking at the platform “Evening Evelyn and how are you going to interrupt my day today?” the woman smirked jokingly “Good evening Director, there isn’t much to report other than we have a digger that has shut down so the crew have agreed to work late to make up for lost time” Cartwright nodded “Give them payment for the overtime, they have been working hard lately they need to compensated for it” Evelyn jotted it down then continued “And the only other information is that the new O-SEC officer and four relief workers are due to come on the next rotation” Cartwright looked to his aide “Only four? We’ve got seventeen leaving at the end of the week” Evelyn replied “There is more coming, the O-SEC was needed to replace the deputy chief role after what happened to…after what happened to Jennis” Cartwright was silent for a moment “Things seem to be getting worse here lately, I swear this planet has been cursed since day one” Evelyn nodded in agreement “It’s what happens when you are on an alien planet so far from home” they both turned from the platform to find a tall thin Egyptian man wearing a very elegant suit, Cartwright dipped his head in greeting “Mr Blackman?” the bearded man smiled in return “Director, I have some news, apparently the workers have uncovered something in the mine” Cartwright was confused and followed Blackman as he led them to venture down into the depths of the quarry.
Cartwright and Blackman had to put on safety gear for protection as they board one of the trucks used to transport rock, it rumbled down the pathway which spiralled towards the bottom Cartwright looked to Blackman “So what did they find down at the bottom?” Blackman replied “The call came into the platform a few days ago that something had been found but after further excavation, they believe they have found possible evidence of civilisation” Cartwright turned quickly to Blackman upon hearing that “Civilisation? But we’ve never found anything to suggest life on this planet” Blackman smirked “That could very well change my friend” the truck continued its descent.
At the bottom of quarry was dark from the depth but was surrounded by dim floodlights, the truck stopped just short of the slope and Cartwright and Blackman climbed down and was met by a couple of the miners one of them welcome the arrivals “Director, Mr Blackman we thought you needed this as soon as possible” the miners led the way towards the far side of the quarry. The large drill bit loomed over them as they walked one of the miners looked up at it “We stopped drilling about four days ago when the drill struck something hard, the survey came down to check it out and found some type of structure” Cartwright was curious to what they had found “Why didn’t anyone call it in?” the miner replied, “At first we didn’t think it was anything of concern just a piece of hard bedrock but the more that was uncovered the more they found something unbelievable” he pointed to the far wall and before them standing over a hundred feet high was stone doorway Cartwright was stunned as he amazed at the size “Oh my god” Blackman smiled his eyes beamed with affection “Beautiful” the miner spoke “We thought you would have an interest in this” Cartwright nodded taking a step forward “You can say that again” he turned back taking a radio and called one of the labs “Dr West…Dr West are you there?” a voice crackled from the speaker “I’m here Oliver what can I assist you with?” Cartwright grinned “I think you and your team are going to want to see this”. As Cartwright explained what he was seeing Blackman slowly approached the doorway glancing at the carvings and symbols that covered the massive stonework, he placed a hand upon it and he closed his eyes and felt the rough surface upon his palm, he looked again and felt a sense of grandeur and importance “Truly beautiful” he smiled again.
Up in the civilian block, a frail looking old woman was wandering about the corridors, her name was Eunice Garvel she was the mother of one of the miners often referred to as Lady Garvel since see ran one of the many chapels on the outpost, she had a pleasant and friendly demeanour the worker's children mainly avoided Lady Garvel thinking her of something like a witch especially with what her chapel was about. She was often caught wandering the station rambling about crazed and impossible things, things that she called ‘The Great Old Ones’ despite the near lunatic ramblings when she focused her sermons she had many that followed her words about the Old Ones. She reached one of the labs muttering to herself “The star shall upon and the gods break free into this plane and take rule once more”, she looked at the people who were busy studying samples from excavations and expeditions out onto the planet’s surface, she rambled again “Soon we shall all feel the embrace of the Great Dreamer”. Dr West was gathering equipment with his team he called over to one of his assistants “We need the coring kit I want to try and see if we can figure out the age of the thing down in the mine” the woman nodded at took the coring drill from one of the cupboards, as West packed a backpack he jumped when a voice called out “The Great Dreamer is waiting for us to call out and speak to him” West looked to Garvel and began moving around the table “Christ Mrs Garvel you nearly gave me a bloody heart attack” he placed a hand on her shoulder and took her arm gently “Let’s get you back to the residential block shall we? Lewis can you carry on with the packing I would be long” West led Garvel out of the labs she spoke despite her frailty she had a strong voice “Was I rambling again?” “It’s alright but you need to be careful wandering around this you’re going to get hurt” Lady Garvel looked up to him and patted his hand “You are a sweet boy, yes, yes I do wonder sometimes” West gave her a smile as she spoke again “Everyone seems so busy what is going on?” the Dr seemed to be excited of the news he had heard “Well we have heard that the miners have discovered rather incredible, a large stone doorway” Garvel turned upon hearing the words “A doorway?” West nodded “Yes we are heading down to study and eventually open it” Garvel stared ahead and spoke “He waits dreaming” West heard her speaking “What did you say?” Garvel looked up to him “The door leads to the corpse city, where the Great Old One will rule of the cosmos” West rolled his eyes and muttered to himself “Here we go again” before they reached the residential block Garvel stopped and made West turn around, he blurted out “What the hell are you doing?” Gravel took hold of West’s face with a crazed look “You don’t believe in him but soon you will, you will gaze upon his might and your mind will be opened to the stars and the depths beyond reality” West took her hands and lowered them slowly “I think you need to get some rest Lady Garvel” she smiled and spoke a language he had never heard before “ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn” West gave a smile of sympathy and left Garvel at the door to residential and made his way back to finish preparations.
Cartwright and Blackman had returned from the mines and found West in his office “Director I thought you’d still be down in the mine?” Cartwright replied “After a discovery like that I would love to stay and observed the artefact more…however the work of Director is never over, I have some things duties that need finishing” Blackman nodded “I have matters that I must attend to as well, I shall speak to you later Cartwright” he gave a slight head nod to both the men that left the room Cartwright looked to West “Keep my updated and I will try and make my way back to down to see how the survey goes” West replied “Of course Oliver, let’s hope this is something groundbreaking” Cartwright walked West out of the lab who joined his team as they made their way to the mines.
The team disembarked from the trucks and West looked upon the massive doorway, he stood with mouth agape “Holy shit” the other were also frozen in awe of the monument. West heard the words of Lady Garvel in his head but they were disjointed “He waits dreaming” the voice was deep and unnerving as it spoke “Cthulhu fhtagn…fhtagn” West stared at the doorway looking upon the carvings of the creatures that lay upon it, similar to fish and cephalopods of Earth, however, these appeared to have become twisted and malformed something truly grotesque it made West’s stomach churn slightly, as he stared he was certain he heard a voice right by his ear whispering “The door must be opened” he spun around quickly but there was no one behind him however the chill of fear remained. His attention returned when one of his colleagues spoke “West? Are you alright?” West turned back and nodded “Yeah…yeah, I’m fine, come on let's get started” they began setting up the equipment ready to get to work.
Cartwright was sat in his office typing away at his computer replying to correspondence from corporate headquarters back on Earth, he always hated communications back to Earth since it would take a couple of days for the signal to reach home from the relays placed across the galaxy and then a few more days to come back, so he could be waited a week for replies so when it came to certain matters that needed immediate attention he would follow his own initiative. He stopped for a moment sliding the glasses from his eyes which he rubbed from the strain of the glare from the computers holographic interface, a voice spoke from behind him “Oliver” Cartwright turned around in his chair to face the large window which looked out to the jagged landscape but there was nothing, Cartwright then heard footsteps running behind him and the laughter of a child he got to his feet to face his office and again was met with nothing. Cartwright felt a bit uneasy since he came back from the mine, he thought he needed rest when suddenly there was a loud and rapid banging coming from his office door. As the banging continued Cartwright began to approach quickly as the door opened he was left with an empty corridor “What the hell?”, when he closed the door and turned back the door knocked again but gently this time upon opening it Cartwright found Mr Blackman standing there he looking at the suited man with confusion, Blackman raised an eyebrow “Are you alright Oliver?” Cartwright closed his eyes and shook his head “I’m not sure, did you see anyone coming away from my office just now?” Mr Blackman pouted and shook his head “No I haven’t seen anyone” Cartwright wandered back into his office “I swear someone was just hammering on my door seconds before you arrived but there was no one, I swear it’s this place sometimes there’s always been reports and cases going on since the station became operational” Blackman followed behind tilting his head “Being out in the far reaches of space and being so isolated can have effects on the human mind after extensive periods, how long have you been stationed here Oliver” Cartwright sat on the couch at the side of his office rubbing his forehead “I was on the first transport to arrive at Fort Haven” Blackman stood in front of him always standing rigid like he was standing to attention “Maybe to need to go on the next rotation head home for a well deserved break?” Cartwright looked up to Blackman and let out a relieved sigh “Maybe you’re right, three years away from the wife and kids is a long time” Blackman nodded “Why not go and unwind at the leisure centre? get a long break away from work” Cartwright agreed “That sounds like a good idea…Thank you Blackman” the tall man smiled and bowed slightly in reply, Cartwright was led out of his office as Cartwright glanced to his colleague “Actually I’m feeling rather hungry would fancy grabbing something to eat at the dinning area” Blackman nodded with a grin “That sounds like a wonderful idea my friend, I have a quick meeting with an associate in a few minutes but if you head there and grab a table I shall join you shortly, have a glass of merlot waiting for me for when I arrive” they reached a junction in the hallways and the two men parted ways. In the dining area Cartwright walked in an found a table by one of the large viewing windows that overlooked the quarry, he looked down into the abyss and could see the faint glow of the floodlights where the doorway was hidden, Cartwright stared at the darkness feeling uneasy again but also an unusual sense of captivation as well
Lady Garvel wandered through the mechanics workshop luckily no one was around, making her way around large wheeled heavy duty vehicles and numerous smaller jeep style cars Garvel kept muttering to herself about dark gods lurking in the sky, cosmic entities and the worshipers who praised their glorious and horrifying return. Eventually she came across one of the many work benches which had numerous tools and devices which were attached to the back board of the bench, Garvel picked up one of the tools she closed her eyes gripping the tool tightly, she swiftly jammed the tool into her eyes she screamed as she ragged back and forth blood beginning to stream down her face.
A figure moved almost silently through the workshop and came upon Garvel who was kneeling on the ground which was spattered with her blood, Garvel smiled even with the bloodied black sockets where her eyes used to be she looked up to the figure that stood before her “My Lord, I wish to offer you my servitude” the figure spoke with a grumbled inhuman voice “Blessed disciple, you will serve the Great Dreamer well” Garvel held out her hand which was covered in blood in the palm was her eyes which she had removed. A black obsidian coloured hand picked up the eyes and Garvel heard a guttural gulp as the figure ingested them “The call is coming, when it does gather them to your congregation the madness will take the others” Garvel bowed her head her frail looking body shaking from the pain “It is my honour to serve you and He who shall rise again” she was alone as several workmen yelled in shock “Holy shit!…some get medical down here!” two men crouched next to Garvel who was still smiling.
The team in the medical were trying to subdue Garvel who was chanting and squirming around one of the doctors gestured to her “Hey can you hold her arms, I need to sedate” an O-SEC guard grabbed her arms “How the hell is she still conscious?” the doctor began prepping a syringe as Garvel continued chanting “The Star Spawn shall rise from his slumber, all will worship The Great Dreamer as he blankets the world in darkness” the O-SEC guard listened to Garvel’s words “What the fuck is she saying?” one the doctors replied, “How the hell should I know, the woman ripped out her own eyes” the other doctor spoke, “There’s been way too much weird shit since we arrived on this planet” they finally managed to sedate Garvel who seemed to pass out. They managed to clean away the blood and the doctors began working on the injury inside and around the eye sockets a nurse asked “Where did they put her eyes I couldn’t see them on the table” the O-SEC guard paused for a moment “We couldn’t find them” the lead doctor looked up “What do you mean?” the guard replied “Her eyes are missing” the was a moment of silence from hearing what the guard had said. They continued working and the lead doctor finished healing the wounds “Ok I’m done here, start prepping the bandages” as the nurse grabbed the bandages there was an eye splitting sound almost inaudible to the hearing of humans but enough to make then clasp their eyes in pain. When the shrill sound ended there was a loud rumbling roar that bellowed shaking the entire compound, the people in the room looked all around as the roar dispersed into a deep rumbling growl the O-SEC guard spoke “What the fuck…was that?!” the lights went out quickly followed by the red emergency lights which were then followed by the sound of someone screaming. From outside the medical bay, the air seemed to fill with not just one voice but multiple screams and shouts, one of the doctors looked to the doorway “What’s going on outside” the O-SEC guard took out his sidearm and began heading outside “Stay here” the guard left leaving the two doctors and the nurse standing in front of the bed where Garvel lay, as the screaming continued the lead doctor turned to see Garvel standing in front of him “The Call has been sent” the doctor didn’t have time to react as Garvel began stabbing him repeatedly in the throat, he fell to his knees as the others screamed and ran away, Garvel caressed his cheek “And he has heard it” the doctor slumped to the floor as Garvel got up and walked out the room into the chaos that was beginning to spread across the outpost.
To Be Continued...
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