A Nightmare of What Once Was
It is said that in Cryosleep you do not dream. However, when your mind begins to thaw, anything is fair game. As the Chief Medical Officer of the Startide is first defrosted, her mind reaches back to the changing moment in her young life.
Once more I am trying my hand at this writing thing. Rather then the Traequin Universe, this story takes place in my "Startide" universe, and is a bit of a prequal to the MUSH I am developing. There isn't any sex, but there is some reference to those particular parts of the body.
As I write so rarely, any feedback is greatly appreciated! I tried a different method to write this then my normal Narrative, so I'm hoping being in a different mindset gave this short story a better flow.
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This was going to be the best performance ever! Its hard to explain the kind of jitters that I was experiencing, the occasional shiver would wander along my spine from the base of my purple-dyed tail to the tips of my similarly tipped ears, which would always seem to get my stylist to try and mutter soothing words to me. These words of course were completely ignored, I didn't need consolation! I needed to get out there.
After being an Idol in Nippon for over three years, I had finally booked the Arasaka Square, one of the biggest venues that I could possibly land. My parents actually praised me for finally achieving this goal in my life, and my parents were very hard to please. Their commitment to making sure I practiced my guitar and synth controller every day, and continued support were occasionally the only things keeping me moving forward, and yet here I was.
The strings on my unconnected instrument plinked quietly as I waited to be free of my stylist. She was one of the best, her almond skin framed with the latest fashion in hair. To me, she looked normal and bland, but most humans did. That was one of my biggest selling points: I was designed after a Renamon and had that extra hint of exotic that even other Genies could never afford on their own, with my custom fur colors.
"Alright Miss Ranessa, we are done here. Be the star I know you are." My stylist smiled and backed away, leaving me to stand up and smooth out the ruffles on the hot pink and neon purple dress I wore. The knee-length skirt and corset-top helped my growing figure, being only 14 at the time, and the colors went well with the stars that had been carefully inked into the fur for this performance.
"I've been practicing for weeks, if anyone can keep their mouth closed during this performance, I will be amazed!" I couldn't keep the smile out of my voice as I walked out of the back dressing area and t the backstage, waiting for the lights to flicker to life and the pre-show audio to kick in. It was hard to keep still, bouncing from foot to foot, my foot-covers lighting up at the edges at each change of motion.
As the green light flickered on my DuraGlass guitar body and linked up to the audio control, I could hear the warmup starting. "Alright Serenity. Time to show them who is the best..." As the first beat dropped I sprung out onto the stage, fingers gliding along the strings of the guitar as I tripped a few of the control switches to adjust the synth sound in the background. The first lines of my first hit single readied at my lips...
... and nothing came out. I couldn't speak! Immeadiately, I played out the opening riff instead, resetting the song to keep that as an intro, when the music dropped off key. The audience began to grumble as I automatically went through the motions to re-adjust, but nothing seemed to work! It was then I noticed that the audience wasn't the audience anymore, but armed guards from some Corp I'd never heard of.
"Oh no, no no no no.." I began to back away. I knew what was going to happen next. There was a scream, and an explosion in the audience, sending me backwards where I landed on my rear. A grapefruit sized sphere flew towards and I instinctively brought my guitar up to ward it off to my side... not good enough, I reminded myself.
The explosion launched me across the stage, the DuroGlass shattering and sending shards into my side. My left eye suddenly hurt like a bee had stung it, and all along my side except for my arm and leg felt like someone had sandpapered through my fur and into my flesh in an instant. Staring along the floor of the stage, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a red smear leading up to me... before a yellow-furred arm splattered against my side. My yellow furred arm. Half of my yellow furred arm! It was then I heard the screaming, my own screams having ripped out without a second thought, amplified through the stage sound as the uniformed guards began to march towards me, automatic weapons catching the stage lights as I began to black out.
My own disembodied arm taunted me in those last few moments, "... enity... Serenity..." my name echoed in a voice not my own from the bloody limb, "... fficer ... enity..."
The coldness washed over my body, an almost infinite coldness. This is it, this is how it feels to die...
Suddenly, like someone had grabbed me bodily and thrown me through time, it was suddenly bright, and my screams still echoed amidst the sound of life support machinery and the dull thrum of power systems. It was coldest at my back, and I launched myself forward, before realizing that my leg still seemed to be missing, pinwheeling on my half-awake remaining leg before topping right into the steel grate that made up the floor, face first.
"Medical Officer Serenity, are you okay?" My phantom limb was still taunting me.
"No. Where the hell am I?" My eye still hurt, but it was more of a cold chill then the sickening feeling from earlier. It was dim, but not black. This was no stage... my mind slowly chugged through its gearing before I came to the realization this was a... Space Ship. My memories flickered for a moment.
"... Nevermind. This is the Startide IV. I'm Chief Medical Officer, right?"
"Yes. Is everything alright? You began to scream during your thawing process. Your implants have been kept offline in case that was the cause."
The voice was everywhere, but it was nowhere. I could finally place the voice, my brain was feeling like someone had tied it down and stuffed it full of cotton wool. "... Aya, right? Could you... undo whatever it was you did to me? I would very much like my limbs back on."
There was a faint click and whir from one of the maintenance systems, when it hit me like a painkiller and endorphin high all at once. "Ooooh, gods yes..." I squirmed a little bit, my thighs rubbing together absently as my secondary, hardware based nervous system came online. Both thighs, in fact. I took a moment to look downwards, flexing the color-chrome shielded leg to test out the servos. It felt... laggy. Laggy, but almost sexually satisfying to have the limb back.
"Thank you Aya." I gave a little roll to my right side and pushed myself upwards. Aside from a pair of rather unstylish boy shorts on, my fur and chrome was my wardrobe. I put my arm into a diagnostic routine since my hand on that side felt disabled.
"Do you need some alone time, Officer Serenity, or would you like your debriefing on your wake up?" The AI's voice almost seemed amused. Must be my imagination on that, although the tent in my boy shorts and the faint wetness down below reminded me of just how long I'd been in cryo-stasis. It was morning wood from hell.
My left arm twitched idly as each circuit went through a self-test, while I simply stared down to my underwear, "Whoah now, little Serenity. Down boy. There isn't anything awake or with the right hole available right now..." My eyes drifted upwards along the inner wall of the cryo-bay. "Eh, might as well start now. I assume we are beginning waking protocol?"
"Yes. We have discovered a habitable planet. We have begun slowing the ship, and should be within orbiting range in 4 days, per schedule." There was a faint chirp in my skull as my radio link came online and I opted to receive the schedule and waking list right to my artificial eye's display.
"Got it. So... we need a pilot, the Captain... and that's it so far, huh? I'll get them ready to thaw in a half hour. My uniform prepared in my office?" At this point, I was going over the names and pod locations, which was laid over my normal vision, which was mostly filled with me trying to squeeze out cryo-goo from my tail. "Please tell me one of the sonic showers somewhere is operational."
"Affirmative on all three. Life support to the rest of the command section of the ship is online and ready for you. I have relocated your uniform to the Medical Bay's cleaning shower, just outside. Also, Lyra and Fera have their reports to add whenever you are ready."
Slowly and carefully, seeing as I was still waking up, I began to follow the faintly lit lines to the medical bay. "I'm not a pilot, nor the Captain, so I won't get much use out of them. Route the reports to my office, its time to get ready to do our job."
"So what happened to cause the screaming, if I may inquire?" Aya's curiosity was part of her AI, being the one most vested in us, the crew.
I stopped and thought about the question for a moment, "A nightmare of what once was."