Breath of Light – 21003.01
By Lieutenant Junior Grade Roland
Breathing heavily, Davies turned his head in mid-run to see how close the massive sandstorm was to enveloping him. He tapped his com pin and kept running. “Copernicus, this is Davies. Do you read me?” No answer. It was near impossible to run in the deep sand, and there was no shelter in sight. Out of breath, he tried again, “If anyone can here me, this is Lieutenant Davies. I need emergency transport from my location.”
As he came over a hill, there was a sudden thinning of the sand as the terrain turned rocky. He was finally able to get some traction. Even at top speed, he knew there was no way he was going to outrun this thing. The only thing he could hear was his heavy breathing and the eerie swishing of the storm that was now beginning to choke out the light. The blazing heat had become debilitating. His face and hands were burned badly and his lips had split open. The looming menace of the heat was now overshadowed by a much larger one. He tried to wipe the burning sweat from his eyes, but only made things worse by getting sand in them. As he ran, the rocks turned into boulders and the terrain became very uneven. He suddenly became aware that the rocks and boulders were not a natural part of the terrain, but had been brought by something or someone. He squinted through the sand and sweat and thought he saw some sort of dwelling in the distance. If he gave it all he got, every last bit of strength he had, he could probably make it to the dwelling before the storm overtook him.
His lungs burning and his heart beating out of his chest, he launched into a full sprint towards the dwelling with cupped hands over his face. Through the small gaps between his hands he could see additional dwellings strategically built in a defensive line behind the rock and boulder line. It was harder to run on the rocks than he had imagined. He stumbled through the increasingly difficult rocky terrain, badly slicing his elbow and nearly choking to death on the sand before quickly covering his nose and face with his uniform. He didn’t see the rock that caused his fall, nor the one that knocked him unconscious.
“Davies! Davies, are you alright!” asked the concerned female voice. Davies slowly raised himself to a sitting position on the holodeck floor. “I was in a sandstorm and tripped over a rock,” said Davies, confused and trying to get his bearings. “Darling are you hurt?” asked the loving voice from his fiancé. Davies was too stunned to reply. The captain and other crew members on the other side of the holodeck had noticed Davies on the floor and rushed over. “Are you okay, Lieutenant?” asked the captain. Davies stood slowly. “I think so, sir. When I was out I had a terrible experience.” His head was pounding. The captain grabbed one arm and his fiancé the other. “Let’s get you to sickbay,” said the captain.
It was taking forever to navigate the corridors of the ship. Davies began to grow weary and let his head drop. There was nothing but blackness. As he began to regain some of his senses he was finding it difficult to breathe with the massive grit in his nose and airway. The pounding of his head was the last thing on his mind as the storm claimed its victim without a second thought.
