Story:Silent Running

(This story is a work in progress, and you probably don't want to read it now since it has a spoiler at the end).

I'm writing this to keep myself from going insane. Right now, everything is off, except for a battery pen light which I'm using so that I can see what I'm writing. It's very quaint to use pen and paper. No tricorders, no computers, nothing that draws power. We've turned off everything. No instruments. No lights. No life support. Even the oxygen generators are off, and I'm watching Myra in the corner staring at the CO2 sensor. No electricity. No power. Just a vial of chemicials that is green now, but will gradually turn yellow, and then red as we run out of oxygen. I'm glad she is looking at the oxygen sensor, because I'm afraid to look at her face to see what she is thinking. It's probably a very, very dirty look. I'm starting to find it difficult to breathe but since the sensor is still reading green, it's just my nerves.

Right now, we are in a container module orbiting around Gamma Ceti IV, right inside the Romulan neutral zone. Outside there is a Romulan patrol ship or at least there was three hour ago. It would be nice to know if it is still out there, but we turn on the mains, and the patrol ship is still out there, then we are dead. that is of course assuming that we are lucky and the ship just wants some target practice. If we unlucky, then we get boarded, tractored to the nearest penal colony, and we spending the rest of our lives working the dilithium mines. Myra just held made the sign for two. We have two hours before we run out of oxygen, and yes, she does have a dirty look on her face. So we are just beyond the neutral zone, in a shipping crate with no weapons, almost no propusion, and no way out except to hit the switch marked "vent." So imaginary reader, you may ask how we got here. Well it has to do with the book right in front of me.........

(to be continued)