Find the Founders IV

[Nickswitz]

Im not sure enough to vote for anyones execution, so I say we wait.

[Sionnach Glic]

Teaos glared at the three crewmen who had sided with Stitch. He knew there was now no way of doing anything to the suspected Founder, he had the majority of the crew's support.

"Fine then." He said quietly. "Have it your way. But don't say I didn't try to warn you all."

It was at this point that the crew, calming down from the tense and almost fatal argument, began to realize just how bitterly cold it had become. Looking at the setting sun rapidly retreating beneath the horizon, Nick suggested they should get back inside the relative safety of the ship. After a while it became clear that the crew were falling asleep and, after a few brief arguments, a watch detail was sorted out in the hope that they would be protected through the night.

As the crew slept and the last slivers of light pouring into the ship from the rents in the hull faded to nothingness, an eerie silence decended upon the ship.

Unseen to the eyes of any of the humans, a pair of shadows slithered silently away from the group, preparing once more to kill

[Sionnach Glic]

Teaos jerked awake as something heavy prodded him in the ribs. Reaching for his phaser, he relaxed when he saw it was just Bob kicking him awake, grinning slightly.

"Your shift." Bob informed him, and wandered off to a corner of the mess room they had chosen for their dormitory to sleep.

With a muttered complain, Teaos stood up, stretching. Making sure his phaser was clipped to his belt he set off to find the nearest working replicator to get some coffee. He didn't totally trust himself to stay awake otherwise.

After a brief argument with the replicator which resulted in him being served a drink that was almost, thought not quite, exactly unlike coffee, he wandered back to the mess hall the crew had decided to use as their makeshift dormitory. Seeing faint sunlight streaming in through the tears in the outer hull, Teaos realised that dawn must be approaching.

He spent about ten minutes or so wandering aimlessly around the mess hall, trying not to knock anything over and wake the others up. I need a piss. He thought to himself after a while. He was the only one currently on guard, however. He'd be leaving the others defenceless for a while if he left.
Then again, he'd only be gone a couple of minutes. No one would miss him.

His search for a functioning toilet took more than that, however. It seemed that all the ones on the ship were no longer functioning. There was just one thing for it, he decided, and he headed outside into the crisp morning air of the world they were stranded on.

As he wandered around towards the aft of the Athena, he thought he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, phaser drawn, he carefully looked around the landscape. There was no one there.

You're getting paranoid. He told himself.
He had only taken another two steps when someone stabbed him sharply in the lower back.

Gasping in pain, he stumbled forwards and fell over, the phaser falling from his hand. He looked up at his assailant, whose arm was no longer that of a human's, but was instead a long, sharp blade, dripping blood.

"You!" Teaos gasped. He didn't give the Founder time to reply, however, as he staggered back to his feet and began running back towards the safety of the ship. He didn't get far before he felt the Founder's blade stab into his back again. With a cry he fell forwards, blood spraying across the sand. He tried to lift himself up again, but the Founder stabbed him a third time, this time severing his spinal chord. His arms and legs all went limp.

"Still alive?" The Founder hissed to him. "Good. I'm not finished with you yet."

Grabbing him by the neck, the Founder lifted Teaos up and dragged him further away from the ship. After a short while, when they were a couple hundred metres or so away from the hulk of the Athena, the Founder stopped. Then, without warning, he slammed Teaos' head down into the soft sand, forcing it down into the ground until his entire head was submerged in the fine sand.

Screaming silently and unable to move, Teaos died as the grains of sand poured into his mouth and throat, choking and suffocating him.

It took another four hours until someone on the Athena woke up and found Teaos missing. It took the six remaining crewmen another hour to find the body.

[Tsukiyumi]

He's over here!!!

*turns Teaos over*

Dammit... He's been dead a while, guys. That's it, we have to take action soon...

[stitch626]

Look at all this blood.
Holy nadions, that is sick!
Of all the things I've seen during the war, this planet has brought the worst.

[Mark]

:::comes jogging over:::

Aww hell. Not again.

:::looks around:::

Hey, where's Stitch?

[stitch626]

Over here, throwing up.
:: walks back over to Teaos, where most have collected ::
Sorry about that. Remember what I said about making mistakes. Well, I guess I made one.
:: to Teaos ::
I'm sorry man. I should have protected you.
:: to the others ::
If anyone needs me, I'll be in the ship.

[Tsukiyumi]

I think this time, we'll all bury him.

*a half hour later*

...and his fondness for his wool blanket is something else I'll never forget. He was either very child-like, or very odd. Most likely, a mix of the two. He was a good guy, either way.

*places last stone on the cairn*

All right, let's head back to the ship, and all of us need to talk about this.

[stitch626]

Hey guys. So, what do we do now.

[Tsukiyumi]

Now, we talk. Stitch - he was quite open in accusing you of being a founder. It sure doesn't look good for you that he ended up dead the next morning. Of course, the Founders might be trying to mislead the rest of us by casting suspicion on you.

[stitch626]

Yeah, I know.
I should have protected him. I knew he was a likely target, yet what was I doing? Protecting myself!
Argg!
:: throws phaser on the ground and begins to weep quietly ::

[Mark]

Well, I have to say, I'm pretty well rattled. All I know is that Teaos accused Stitch, Stitch got off, and now Teaos is dead.

:::closes eyes and starts to shiver:::

When I joined Starfleet, I understood I could die. A subspace anamoly, a freak accident, or even a first contact gone bad. I thought about every way I thought of that I could get killed. Shot down and crashed, trapped on some uncharted world, getting picked off one by one, and getting butchered like animals never came to mind though. I never imagined anything like this before.

[Mark]

OR, if Stitch is the Founder, he could have realized how close Teaos came to exposing him. He would have seen Teaos as a threat and a liability. I mean, Teaos had already called a vote against him.

[stitch626]

I had won that vote. Killing Teaos at this point would have been stupid, even as Founders go!

[Mark]

I don't know, it seemed like the discussion would have carried on over today. Tsu, what do you think?