Hunting "Cattle"

Posted on 07 Sep 2019 @ 1:54am by Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari

Mission: Mission 1 - In the pale moonlight ...
Location: Aidan and Emme's quarters
Timeline: MD5, 0300 hours
2038 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Despite the medication he was taking to help him rest, and get some decent sleep, Aidan still wasn't free of the nightmares he suffered. And each night, it felt they were getting worse even if they somehow did resemble some part of his life. His face was contorted into an expression of fear, his eyes darting left and right between his closed eyelids, a soft moan escaping his lips.


Aidan walked across the decks of the USS Republic, whistling to himself. Today had been a very good day, he actually felt pleased with himself. His sister, Kesha, too had expressed her pride in him, now that he finally seemed to lose his fear of the vampire commanding officer. In a way, he actually found himself admiring the man, looking up to him. Aidan knew he owed the man, especially for the training program he'd been provided with.

Brand stood just around the corner, his face was in the shadows and his arms draped casually behind his back. He stood with his head cocked to one side, as if he were listening for something specific. He saw the boy coming, smelled him first bit now he was within his reach. "Hello Aidan," he said, his voice deep and his tone quiet. And yet despite their tone, the way these two words were spoken was very menacing.

The menace beyond him, Aidan turned and smiled. "Hello captain," he replied more formally. He hadn't expected to encounter anyone, but to see his captain certainly was a pleasant surprise. "How are you?"

"Hungry," Brand replied, "and I feel like a little hunting." He hadn't moved an inch, but it was clear he was tense. Ready for a fight, a run, perhaps a little sport. He hadn't made a decision yet, but he was pretty certain he would have a nice little hunt within a matter of minutes.

"Well..." The young Trill hesitated, then pointed down towards his right. "I believe one of the holdecks is vacant sir," he replied, backing up a pace or two just in case. "And uhm... if you're hungry you uhm... maybe you should eat?"

"I'm planning to..." Brand didn't say the word, but he was hungry for something living for a change. "The young ones were always the best in taste," he mused, "so innocent, it was a real delicacy you know." He smiled as if in thought. "Did you know that?" he finally addressed the teenager standing across from him.

"No sir, no I didn't..." Aidan packed up another pace or two, until his path was blocked by the bulkhead behind him. Something didn't feel right, and he wanted to create some distance between himself and his captain. "Young what... exactly?" he dared ask.

"Cattle, of course." Brand shrugged, speaking as though he was referring to a favoured pet.

"I wouldn't know sir, I don't think I've ever had any cattle sir." Naive as ever, the Trill shrugged then cast his friend a puzzled look. "What cattle?" As far as he knew, there wasn't any cattle aboard the Republic. Or was there?

Brand smiled. "Oh but there is," he said nonchalantly, "there's plenty of cattle. I can smell it everywhere, I can smell you." He took a step forward and took a deep sniff, breathing in the scent of the 'cattle' before him.

Breath quickening as he felt more and more uncomfortable with each second that passed, Aidan pressed himself against the bulkhead behind him. "Me sir?" He looked up in sheer wonder. "I did shower," he murmured, certain he wasn't smelling all that bad at all. He had even used the water shower... and some mildly scented soap.

"Run..." Brand told the boy. "Run, as if your life depends upon it, which of course, it does." He pulled his lips back into a growl, his teeth clicking into place. "I said run!"

Aidan stood frozen. Run? His mind didn't seem to want to connect to his body, because it failed to comply to the order to move. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, but he couldn't get himself to move. Run? Run where, exactly? He felt his heart beat wildly inside his chest as he stared. Was his friend earnest? Run? Then, staring up at the man, it clicked and he bolted into a run. Left, right, dashing around corners, shooting up a Jeffries Tube. His fear of heights forgotten, he darted across the ship as fast as his body would let him. Across the deck, up again, left and right, then down once more. Did he lose him?"

As though within a flash, Brand stood before the boy, blocking his path and looking bored. "Oh you can do so much better than that, do try harder boy. I'd like to build up a nice appetite before I eat you." There was no more pretense, the hunter had awakened.

The boy's hand flew up to his mouth in fright, stiffening a very unelegant squeal before breaking off into a run again. How could he lose someone, who had such keen senses? How could he escape, when there really wasn't an escape at all? Yet, he couldn't just surrender, he refused to just give up. He ducked past the vampire, racing across the ship without looking back, across sections he had never ventured to before.

Feeling his heart slam against his chest as he panted for breath, he grimaced as he felt a cramp in his legs as he forced himself to keep running. "Why?" he whispered to himself.

The Vampire captain was behind his charge in seconds, not a bead of sweat on him. To a spectator, he might've just been out for a walk across the decks, if one didn't take the fangs and the hisses into account. "Run, little piggy, run!" he called after the lad.

Piggy? The Trill's confusion continued to grow with each passing second. "Why!" he called over his shoulder, "why me? Why turn on me, I thought you were my friend!"

"A vampire has no true friends, only his maker, his prodigy, and his prey. Run I said, I'm getting bored!" As if to encourage his prey, he darted forward, backhanding his prey into the bulkhead.

It connected hard, sending the Trill crashing to the deck in a daze as he panted for breath. "I can't," he whispered, "there's nowhere to go..." He started to crawl back to his feet. "I'm not food, I'm your friend. Please Brand... I'm your friend."

As he started to move again, the corridor suddenly blended into a dim woodland, shafts of light stabbing through the canopy and dead leaves on the ground. "Now you can run," Brand said, as though the sudden change of location was all down to him. Somewhere, a wolf howled, the wind picking up and whistling ominously through the trees.

The boy felt the wind pull at his hair and he shivered involuntarily, cringing at the howl of the wolf. "Please," he begged, starting to draw back, away from the man he considered to be his friend. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of choice though, so he started to run again, trying hard not to trip over the underbrush. He had no idea where to run, having no sense of direction whatsoever, so he ran blindly, away from the vampire, as fast as his legs could carry him.

Again, Brand was before him in mere seconds, having overtaken him just as fast. A shadow in the distance, a spectre in the half-light. A mist appeared, reaching to chest height, diminishing visibility to mere meters. Yet, the vampire was clearly visible in the distance.

Aidan skidded to a stop, changing direction just as fast until he came to the end of the ground. It steeped down at a fair angle, giving him no choice but to go down. There was no going back, there simply wasn't. He slipped and slid down the slope, trying to keep his footing. Rolling to a stop, he found a burrow and he crawled inside, hoping to hide, and survive.

"Ahhh Aidan, this is no fun if you make it so easy. Do at least try to give me a far game, and I promise I'll make it quick." Brand was stood on top of the slope, looking down at the hovel the boy was trying to hide in. This wasn't any fun at all!

Instead of replying, the boy held his breath, making himself as small as possible. He hoped that, if he just remained still, Brand might just be fooled.

Sighing, Brand looked around. He wondered if there was any water nearby, it was always an incentive. And, just as he thought it, so it did appear. He smiled and reached down, grabbing the boy by the throat and flung him into the pond. He watched as the boy landed a good twenty feet from his little hiding place.

Aidan screamed as he sailed through the air, then choked out water as he resurfaced. Arms flailing, he tried to keep himself afloat, trying to get to the side. Still coughing, he crawled into the shore, slipping in the mud several times as he tried to get to his feet and run. He was shivering with cold, despite being used to colder climates. Cold, wet and scared beyond reason, he ran for his life, certain now he wouldn't survive this.

The vampire was on him in an instant, grabbing him and pulling his head back. Fangs sunk into the soft flesh and the teenager tried to scream. The trick was to get it just right in one go, and so far he had never failed. Brand knew he would get nothing from this, other than to feel the life draining from the boy. He would hear his heart slow as blood was drained from him. He was bored now, so it had to end. It had to end, so he could go and find himself something more interesting to do.

However, his prey didn't give up so easily. He fought, clawing at the strong hands that held him. Kicking with all his might, trying to find a weakness in the man who held him. Searing pain went through his body as life drained from him. He reached back, clawing at the face which was pressed against his throat. "Brand!" he screamed, trying to get through to him. He was weakening, quickly, yet he refused to give in.

Brand felt as if he was in a blood rush, a blood high for lack of a better description. It mean this was his sole focus, nothing else mattered to him now. It was at this very moment, the five or ten minutes of feeding, where a vampire was both the most vulnerable and the most dangerous. He roared to the sky, a scream of pure ecstacy and superiority. A call to the others to let them know he had fed, a warning and invitation at the same time.

He looked down, the light was already fading from the boy's eyes. "The young always taste the best," he murmured, regretfully snapping his prey's neck before lowering him, almost gently, to the floor. "Even cattle deserves to die quickly," he added in his native tongue.


Aidan woke with a scream, cold sweat covering his body. His eyes darted wildly across the room, as he trembled in fear. He moved his hand to his throat, almost as if to inventory himself. Staring down at his hand, he was relieved to find it clean, he had not been bitten after all. Yet, as with his other nightmares, it had been so vivid, so real! Sitting up, he drew in a few deep breaths, looking sideways in the hope he hadn't woken Emme.

Sherlock crept up to him, crooning softly, wings flicked back against his body. Aidan sighed softly, reaching to caress his loyal pet. "I'm fine dear one," he murmured, "go back to sleep..."

---

●● Lieutenant Aidan Datari
Chief Science Officer
USS Andromeda

Brand written by:
Commander Aoalbrandr 'Brand' Arnketill
Former CO USS Republic

(OOC: This is an old post, from one of Aidan's prior assignments)