==/-\== USS Gott - Main Engineering ==/-\== The flickering light from the hallway cast intermittent darkness along the corridor, alternating the view between a blood soaked hallway and complete darkness. Strangely the Xchi carcasses were no where to be seen. Before the marines had taken the engineering room the floor was literally covered with bug guts and body parts. Now all that remained was the blood and the smell. Cortez himself had no problem with the blood, it was something that if one wanted to, you could easily push it to the back of your mind. It was the smell that was impossible to get rid off. It was the type of odor that could haunt you for the rest of your life, if you let it. "You think the bugs came back to get there dead", Tremain said in a low voice as the two men cautiously made there way to the far side of the hall. Cortez remained silent. He had taken point and Tremain followed about two meters behind and to the left. On the ground in front of him was a thick trail of blood leading further down the darkened hallway and disappearing around the corner. Approaching the bend that led to the area of the deck where the crew quarters were located, Cortez peaked his head around. He could see several sets of doors cascading down both sides of the hall, some were open and others were closed. The trail of bug blood continued all the way, as far as Cortez could tell, to the far end of the corridor. Quickly reaching the first door Cortez stopped and leaned back against the wall. The door was halfway open leaving a gap big enough for one person at a time to slide through. Motioning for Tremain to cover him he then peaked his head inside the room. He saw nothing, there was complete darkness. He then pulled his head out of the crack and put his left leg inside followed by the rest of his body. Flipping on the torch that was mounted to the top of his rifle he quickly scanned the room for anything that looked like it might want to kill him. Satisfied that the darkness was devoid of 10 foot tall arachnids he began rummaging through the room. Approaching a dresser that had been tipped over he lifted it back up and opened the drawers, they were all empty. After a few more minutes of generalized searching he moved back towards the entrance and exited the room the same way he had entered. "Any luck", Tremain asked as Cortez appeared through the half closed doors.. "Nothing", Cortez responded and began moving towards the next door. "Your turn", he said to the Marine. "Aye" Tremain responded and shone his flash light into the room. Cortez watched as Tremain disappeared into the darkness while he kept watch over the entrance. It was dangerous to split up like that, but it was even more dangerous to not have someone covering the escape rout in case more of those pesky bugs showed up. They had proven to be smarter than anyone really gave them credit for and being trapped inside a small room with a bunch of Xchi blocking the only exit would certainly spell disaster for the two marines. A few minutes later Tremain's figure appeared in the doorway. Cortez didn't have to ask for the results of the search, Tremain shook his head before he was able to ask and quickly lead the way down the hall to the next room. They were forced to bypass the next three doors because they were all locked shut. Finally reaching the next room Cortez took the lead. After taking a peak inside like he had before, he then slowly and deliberately entered into the dark space. Flashing his light in all directions he saw what looked like the outline of a human being standing near the back of the room. Directing his light on the figure and slowly approaching it he saw the gruesome remains of a badly decomposed body hanging from the ceiling. Stepping even closer he noticed the rank of Ensign on what remained of his shirt. Upon even further examination it appeared that this man had committed suicide by hanging himself. Under neath him was a knocked over stool. "Shitty way to go", Cortez mumbled to himself. Turning back around towards the nearby closet he slid open the door and looked inside. Noticing a small rectangular box on the top shelf he reached up and grabbed it. Lifting up the lid revealed small individually wrapped chocolates. "Bingo", he said as he quickly replaced the lid. Stepping back from the closet he made his way over to a large chest next to the bed. The hinges squeaked as he opened it up revealing a pile of clothes. Searching through the clothes he found an unopened MRE at the bottom. "Beef Ravioli...my favorite", Cortez grinned as he read the lettering on the outside of the pouch. Stuffing both the box of chocolates and the MRE into his cargo pockets on his leg he turned to head towards the door. Tremain's figure could still be seen crouched down by the entrance. "Alright I found some food, lets head back", Cortez said as he stepped into the light. Tremain nodded and the two men made there way back towards Main Engineering. ==/-\== End Log ==/-\== Corporal Richard Cortez ODA Weapons Specialist USS Chimera