[ WP ] A Derelict Spacecraft Turns out to be a Library

**Lost Athena** 
 
 Aria had her feet propped up on the center console, fast asleep, when the ships radar began to ping. She slowly sat up and began to rub the sleep from her bleary eyes, but she was soon fixated on the sight just beyond the cabin of her own vessel. Stretched out in the space before her was a massive steel titan, a relic from a lost age. Eyes wide she pressed her palms against her ships console, and moving her eyes, took in the size of the derelict cruiser floating in empty space. 
 
 She called out to her on-board AI, “ Edison! What exactly is this thing? ”, She was still drinking in the sheer size of the vessel “ Looks like its man-made. Could be old UIAC tech. ” 
 
 “ I ’ ll run a scan Miss Aria. ” The console below Aria ’ s hands lit up and soon a rendering of the ship before her was being broken down on-screen. Edison, her AI, began sifting through UIAC archives, searching for the ID of the lost ship. 
 
 “ Tell me Ed, are we free to scrap this monster? ” 
 
 “ The ship before us is The Athena. A UIAC S-Class Colonization Vessel and flagship of Starfleet Aurora. UIAC command received a lone distress signal from within the ship over 450 years ago. It has not been seen or contacted since, it was classified as MIA. ” 
 
 “ Edison, that doesn ’ t say what happened to the rest of the fleet it was a part of. What happened to the rest of Aurora? ” 
 
 “ The ship was lost to the rest of the fleet after a jump. The remaining ships continued to their destination. ” 
 
 “ Now that sure is odd. My gut is saying we shouldn ’ t go anywhere near this thing, but you know I can ’ t resist. ” 
 
 “ All too well Miss Aria. ” 
 
 “ Bring us in closer Ed, I want to get on board. ” 
 
 As the ship cruised along their headlights washed over the side of the colony vessel, the faded etching on the derelict colonizer ’ s side read *Athena*. Slowly a bridge connected between the two ships as Edison brought their vessel to a stop. From within the sky-bridge Aria called back to Edison. 
 
 “ Don ’ t worry Ed, I ’ ll be fine. I can ’ t let anything happen to me anyway. Without me what would you do? Just float idly out here in space? I couldn ’ t have that happen. ” 
 
 “ I can ’ t imagine you truly believe that to be the case, not with you having strapped that laser cutter to your thigh. ” 
 
 “ Don ’ t sass me robot. The cutter is just a little insurance. And who knows, if I find something valuable I may want to take it on board so I ’ d need the cutter anyway. ” 
 
 The airlock behind Aria slowly pressed to a close, leaving her only one path. To walk onto the bridge of the derelict *Athena*. 
 
 Inside of the Athena was pitch black, the small lights that dotted Aria ’ s suit and the small flashlight she had brought were the only sources of light. But even in the near-total darkness she could still tell the inside of the ship was massive. The bridge itself was cavernous, a gigantic echo chamber where each of her footfalls rung out within the metal interior. The place truly was desolate and it made Aria uneasy. 
 
 As she fumbled around in the darkness with only her small flashlight guiding her she struck something with her foot. The unknown item slipped underneath the railing and over the side of the metal walkway that spanned across the top of the bridge. Aria tilted her head as she heard the item strike multiple surfaces as it fell to the floor of the metal cavern. When it finally stopped she followed the sound with her flashlight and for the second time that day her eyes went wide. 
 
 All around her on the walls and even on the floor far below, were books. Millions, if not hundreds of millions of books. Spread neatly across shelves that were placed along the walls and floor. Books that were piled into neat stacks and rows. A seemingly endless see of old bound-leather and yellowed paper. An old-world librarians wet-dream. 
 
 Aria ’ s mouth hung open “ What the hell is this pl—, ” Her sentence was cut short by a sudden rush of cool air from somewhere far above, and the clanging of old metal pipes. 
 
 Aria let out a gasp as suddenly from the darkness materialized a face. A very large, masked face. “ You are in my library, my home, ” Said the face. The face was connected to a long snake-like neck draped in a red cloth shawl. Underneath the shawl Aria could see course brown fur. The mask it wore was a horrible grimace streaked with red. 
 
 “ Why have you invaded my home? ” Spoke the creature. 
 
 Aria tried to sputter an answer but the beast simply moved in closer. It craned and stretched its neck, looking Aria up and down. Suddenly excitement enter the beast ’ s voice, “ Oh! I see! You are a human! But I must wonder, how have you survived here after all this time? You look far too young to have been one of the original owners, you are a mere girl!'' 
 
 From the darkness came a shaggy arm tipped with long claws of cream-colored bone. The beast brought its hand to its face and curled a finger over the chin of the mask. “ The peculiar clothing, the youthful appearance, this can only mean one thing. You are a *new* visitor come to peruse my vast library, ” Aria did not speak, “ Allow me to introduce myself. I am Basaar seeker and purveyor of knowledge, and the curator of this great library. 
 
 Aria was still stunned but managed a few words, “ You… you speak English. ” 
 
 “ Ah, yes, I speak many tongues and dialects from all over the galaxy. Being confined to this library affords me much time, and the books provide me with great knowledge. ” Basaar motioned a hand around the darkness, and slowly, lights all across the bridge began to turn on. The collection of books was even more massive than Aria had originally thought. Basaar himself was also quite large, and now Aria could see that he was connected to a vast network of metal and tubing that hung down from the ceiling. 
 
 “ My Finders roam the galaxy searching for knowledge. The little beasts are not too bright, but they serve their purpose, and they are quite fond of me. ” He moved his massive head and neck from side to side, and soon small creatures had climbed up over the railing of the bridge walkway. 
 
 Aria swallowed hard as she looked at the small impish creatures, horribly skinny, their pale skin was mottled and covered with tufts of fur. Fur the same color of Basaar ’ s. One creature walked up to Aria and fell to its knees. It reached up and pulled at her arm, its mouth contorted into a horrible wordless scream. Aria came to a sudden and awful realization. 
 
 “ What happened to the crew of this ship Basaar, ” Aria placed one hand nervously over the laser cutter at her thigh. “ You tell me right *now*! ” 
 
 “ Many of the previous tenants had to be dealt with…quickly. But a few were afforded the opportunity to drink in the knowledge I had to offer. Of those few, most went mad. ” 
 
 Aria ’ s breath hastened as her eyes wandered to the small sickly creatures around her. Finally, her gaze met the poor thing sitting at her feet. In a flourish she drew the cutter from its place at her thigh and fired a charge at the librarian, the pale thing at her feet rose from its position and took the blast. Its head vaporized in a fine red mist that caused the others to recoil in terror. Their mouths contorted into soundless screams, the hollow pits that were their eyes closed in fear. 
 
 “ That is quite enough! ” Basaar swung a fur covered arm at Aria knocking her against the metal railing. She fell to her knees wheezing as she clutched at her chest, struggling to suck air into her lungs. The pale things gathered at Basaar ’ s feet and attempted to reach up to him. 
 The little creatures grasped tufts of his fur, but he began climbing back into his place above the bridge, calling out to Aria as he went, “ You will remain here girl, a slave to my knowledge until you either go mad, or die. The *Athena* will be your grave. ” 
 
 The Finders rose to their feet and looked to Aria, and as the lights over the library began to go out one by one, they made their slow approach towards her. Soon the only things to occupy the darkness of the library were books and the echoes of a girl softly sobbing.
