Ghost Story

Posted on 28 May 2016 @ 8:27pm by Crewman Draia Thero

953 words; about a 5 minute read

Timeline: Towards the end of Season 2, Episode 6: Legend of Souls.

[ON]

Communique excerpt from Draia Theroh to Trisant Myrddin:

Thank you. Truly, I thank you. You listened to me. You were curious enough to listen to what I had to say. You even noticed the way I said what I wanted to say. That’s not… that’s not a common trait. That kind of curiosity about others. That’s not common in the least. The other miners digging uridium out of Lyshan are mostly older than me. They’re mostly older, and they’re not much for listening. They tell me —some of them have literally told me— I should never question them. I should never question their decisions and I should literally never ask them questions. I should trust in their experience. I should trust that their age brings them wisdom. I should trust in what they have to say, and so I shouldn’t question them. Even if I tried, they would never listen.

Even that skinny science bitch from your ship… (What was it called again? The USS Galway? Galilee? Galileo?) That skinny science bitch took me aside and she asked me questions. I’ll grant her that. Her statements were posed as questions. She asked me about the fluid rockwalls and the ghosts, but she didn’t pause to listen. She asked her questions in a way that she answered her own questions before she finished talking. I just had to say yes or say no.

You paused.

Thank you.

Oh! Oh, I forgot to tell you! About this other time! Back when I was working on the refuelling station, everyone talked about a cold patch in one of the maintenance ducts. No matter how much anybody fiddled with the environmental controls, there was this one section of the duct that was always ice cold. They say it was in the exact spot where a worker killed herself, two years earlier. And, do you know, every time I crawled through that section of the duct, I thought about my favourite song from two years earlier. It happened every time.

Do you think that means anything?

Communique excerpt from Trisant Myrddin to Draia Theroh:

You’re captivating, Draia. You really are. Your voice is pleasing to hear and, more than that, you tell a story well. You’re a natural, you really are. You convey a story in a manner that easily evokes the mind’s eyes. I can visualize anything you say. I can see it in my head. You don’t complicate your stories with purple prose, but your hone in on the key details that strike fire to the imagination. Everyone should listen to you; not just me. You should start your own pirate radio station from Lyshan Three. You’d have one dedicated listener in me. I can tell you that for free.

And I’m not just saying that. I’m not boosting your ego here. I know what I’m talking bout. I’m a writer. …Or, maybe I used to be a writer? I haven’t written much lately. I haven’t had anything to say. Does that make me an ex-writer. …No, a writer is a writer is a writer. It’s like being an alcoholic. You never really get over it.

I usually need to be miserable to write. Usually. Living on Galileo doesn’t make me miserable. Not even close. It doesn’t make me miserable. Maybe it just makes me numb.

Communique excerpt from Draia Theroh to Trisant Myrddin:

Oh, you sweet boy, I can make you miserable if you want me to. You can trust me on that. My mother used to say that was my full-time job until… until I stopped speaking with her. (Maybe she still says it now?)

Send me something you’ve written. I want to read one of your stories. We lack for intelligent conversation in the canteen, and I could use something to read when I’m eating or on the toilet.

There was this time. There was this other time. I remembered something else. I meant to tell you about this before your ship left orbit! There was this time, back when I was living on Volan Two, when I met a witch. She didn’t tell me she was a witch, of course. She smelled like somebody who sold her body for money. I don’t remember what she said she was, but she was a witch. Her name was Rummy or Romar or something. She said she was from the Argelius system. She told me I had a ghost inside me. That I’d had a ghost living in me from childhood. Maybe… maybe she didn’t call it a ghost, not exactly, but that’s what she meant. I had difficulty. Difficulty communicating with my environments, all my life I did. She said it was the ghost that did it, and she expelled it. She expelled the ghost. And now I can talk better. Now I can talk good, and you listen.

Communique excerpt from Trisant Myrddin to Draia Theroh:

You don’t have to tell me ghost stories every day. You can write to me about anything you want. Anything. And I’ll read it, and I’ll write back. Every day.

Communique excerpt from Draia Theroh to Trisant Myrddin:

All right, then. I’ll tell you another story. I’ll tell you about the time I stumbled upon an orgy. On Vulcan…

[OFF]

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