Vigilant (1 of 3)

Another piece of fiction from the past. This one is ten years old.

It's a bit long, so to save on mouse scrolling (and possibly build suspense) I'm going to post it here as a serial.

Part 1 begins here...

VIGILANT

by Glenn Davies

/// FILE PRINT ///
/// LOG TRANSCRIPT FILE D5V.HA.77821.231.099.412 ///

/// OFFICIAL LOG 231.099.412.001 ///
/// TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ///

[static]

[crashing sound]

[footsteps]

AH: Everyone OK? Bruiser?

BF: I'm here, Captain. Mace?

JM: Here, [static].

AH: Any injuries?

JM: No, Captain.

BF: Nothing serious, Captain. My [static] just got a bit of a knock, [static]'s all.

AH: Right. I'd better [static] this in the log.

/// TRANSCRIPT ENDS ///



/// OFFICIAL LOG 231.099.412.002 ///
/// TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ///

[static]

AH: -etter. It must've been knocked in [static] crash. 

BF: Red light's on now.

AH: Ship's log, Delta Five [static]. Captain Andrew Harmon speaking. Our craft has [static]. The Vigilant has suffered minor d-

/// TRANSCRIPT ENDS ///



/// OFFICIAL LOG 231.099.412.003 ///
/// TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ///

AH: Ship's log, Delta Five Vigilant. Captain Harmon speaking. The Vigilant has suffered minor damage in the crash. Lieutenant Ferris has fixed the log recorder, and it seems to be working well. How long do you estimate for repairs?

[something said in distance]

AH: Ferris estimates repairs on the rest of the ship will take several days. I will now upload atmospheric readings into the recorder.

/// TRANSCRIPT ENDS ///



/// OFFICIAL LOG 231.099.412.004 ///
/// TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ///

AH: Ship's log. Captain Harmon speaking. Day two.

[footsteps]

BF: Morning, Captain. Morning, flight recorder. [laughs]

AH: Morning, Bruiser.

[footsteps]

JM: Morning, all.

AH: Morning.

BF: Morning.

JM: Any news from the others?

AH: No, nothing. I can't get a signal out, and nothing's come in. There's no sign of the rest of the convoy, or any other scouts. How far did you get on repairs yesterday?

BF: It's better than I thought, in a way.

AH: Yeah?

BF: There aren't as many problems as I first thought. However, they're bigger problems, and will take a bit longer. With three of us, I'd say a day or two on the main systems.

AH: Let's get cracking.

/// TRANSCRIPT ENDS ///



/// OFFICIAL LOG 231.099.412.005 ///
/// TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ///

BF: Ship's log. Day three, Lieutenant Ferris speaking. Repairs are almost completed. Mason and the Captain are below now, making final adjustments on the landing gear.

/// TRANSCRIPT ENDS ///



/// OFFICIAL LOG 231.099.412.006 ///
/// TRANSCRIPT BEGINS ///

AH: Ship's log. Captain Harmon speaking. Everything seems about ready. Mason is running a final pre-systems check on everything. What on earth? Where's the camera?

[brief silence]

AH: Men, quick!

[footsteps]

BF: You recording this?

AH: S'far as I know.

[footsteps]

JM: What's up, Captain?

AH: Look out the viewport.

JM: What the [expletive deleted] is that?

AH: Language, please. This is being recorded for posterity.

JM: [expletive deleted], sorry. Oh, sorry, sir.

BF: You've got a point, Mace. What is that?

AH: Whatever it is, it's getting larger.

JM: Or closer.

BF: Both - the jungle's heading towards us!

AH: Mason, check the rear viewports.

[footsteps]

BF: I've never seen anything like this. You?

AH: Never in my thirty years as a scout. I've had some strange missions, and seen some strange things... but this is just...

[footsteps]

BF: Mace?

JM: It's not just over there, sir. It's coming in from behind. And from either side. The clearing's getting smaller.

AH: I'm going to go outside and get a better shot for the camera.

/// TRANSCRIPT ENDS ///



© 2003 Glenn Davies

To be continued...

Like the previous piece I posted on this blog, it was previously published in Dotlit: The Online Journal of Creative Writing. This story was published in Volume 4, Issue 1 (August 2003).