deathworlders-of-e24

[deathworlders-of-e24]

•GAIL FLEET INCIDENT REPORT•

OFFICER: Mikanis Sal || Silfrend

REPORT: Multiple unidentified ships in Terran space

During the last several cycles, ships bearing zero identification signals have been reported swarming in Terran Space, in what the <HUMANS> call their Astroid Belt. Their numbers are unconfirmed, but reported by civilian captains to be in the dozens, sighted as corvette class starskimmers. They do not appear to carry any markings or insignias, and I believe this to be intentional to hide their affiliations.

Based on the sheer number of sightings, the area has been red lit as dangerous space. One report says that a civilian ship veered too close and was fired upon briefly before being disabled and left adrift. No fatalities, and no new incidents reported since. Civilians are being ordered to stay clear in case of attack.

Requesting additional units to the sector for support to stage sweep and clean up.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Liz, Biotechnician

Part 6

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Coco, can you hand me those clamps please?” Liz pointed off in a direction she wasn’t looking in, head down over her latest contraption, goggles blocking out her peripherals. Coco, used to this guessing game, deduced the human meant the clamps on the opposite side of the room, and handed them over with their branch.

“Thanks,” Liz said, continuing her work.

“Explain to me again,” Coco started, synthetic voice intoned a question coming, “exactly what are you doing? Our current research is based on the Armeaters, so I do not understand what this device is for.”

Liz popped the clamp onto the edge of the device and soldered a few more wires.

“Officially? These are supposed to be little roving cameras to watch the little buggers, one each to track behavior patterns and eating habits.”

“There are only three specimens, Human Friend Liz, why have you made six devices?”

“Yeah, so, unofficially, right? I’m gonna use them to spy on some crew mates of ours.”

Coco didn’t say anything, not right away, but almost immediately they stiffened up, their trunk shaking all the way to their canopy. Finally, they worked up the courage to ask-

“Human Friend Liz… why?” If a Sprygan could sound exasperated, Liz thought this would be how.

“Well let’s see hon, because I’m really good at my job, I really like my job, and you, and my friends, and these assholes cost me a fucking arm-”

Liz took a deep breath and put down the pliers she was digging into her good hand.

“I’m just… I’m tired of waiting for something to be done about it. I can’t do nothing, I physically can’t. The idea that there’s something going on that could be a threat to me and mine, and I’m just sitting here waiting for it, it making me ill.”

“If you are unwell, perhaps Human Jane or-”

“No, not that kind of ill honey,” Liz said, softer this time. “This is just something I have to do, okay? It’s a human… it’s a Liz thing, okay?”

Coco was quiet for a moment, possibly pondering the implications of a Liz thing. The human in question kept to her work, setting in circuit boards and double checking the motors. When all was said and done, what sat on their shared work table resembled a half dozen billiard balls, numbered one to six in Liz chicken scratch style.

“Good,” Liz mumbled, “now to just…” she brought her cybernetic arm up and tapped a few flesh fingers across her metal wrist.

“You have upgraded the new appendage?” Coco asked.

“Oh yeah,” Liz smiled. “Couldn’t resist.”

Liz used her metal thumb to press down on the pointer finger of the same hand, like she was trying to pop the joint. Something clicked, and a small hologram appeared, shimmering above her wrist.

“You like it?” Liz was excited to show her friend. “Took me a while, but I was able to integrate a remote controller into the arm. It’s a total drain on the battery, but I couldn’t think of anything else to keep the weight down. Now I can control these little guys from anywhere on the ship.” She flexed her metal hand and the drones spun to life, motors whirring quietly, cameras coming into focus. “Whatever they see gets recorded to my own personal server, and I can tap into their feed any time with my arm. Awesome, right?”

“Friend Human Liz, this seems like a violation of several GAIL Fleet regulations,” Coco protested.

“So is sabotage and dismemberment,” Liz shot back. She walked over to one of the air vents in the wall and pulled the grating off. She flicked her fingers again, and the drones rolled off to do their unofficial duty, down into the darkness and the bowels of the ship.

“Well, now that that’s done,” Liz clapped her hands and turned back to her companion. “Lunch?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Human Friend Liz, I am still unable to comprehend your actions from before,” Coco said, leaves full of chocolate.

“You and everyone else I’ve ever worked with hon,” Liz said, chuckling. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to understand it. If it goes wrong, I take the blame, if nothing happens, then nothing happens. If it turns out they find something, we both get credit for saving the ship. Everybody wins here, and only I potentially lose, so it’s fine.” Liz waved her hand, brushing aside any chance of argument when Coco raised a vine to protest. “Let’s just talk about something else, okay? You don’t need to worry about any of that.”

“Alright,” Coco finally conceded, their bowl now empty of chocolate bars. The mess hall around them was noisy, like normal, but held a sense of tension like strained wires. The ‘half way point’ was coming up, six months of the mission already completed. Word was that GAIL command was going to perform an inspection day of, to see if the mission was worth finishing. While the idea of an inspection interested her, Liz’s concern lay elsewhere. The half way point meant that possible relief personnel were able to come aboard, and certain bastard crewmen were going to be thrown off. She was very much looking forward to that. Maybe then she’d be able to sleep again, recall the drones and actually get some proper scientific work done. All she had to do was keep her now many heads on a swivel until then.

But Liz also didn’t want to think about that right now. Yes, she built surveillance devices and is (probably) illegally spying on her place of work, but right now she was just trying to have lunch with her best friend. Her friend who could not shut up about it.

“Here, ask me something,” Liz said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “I bet you have questions about something else, literally anything else.” She was being mildly manic, and she knew it.

Oh well. Happens, she thought.

“Such as what?” Coco asked.

“Just…,” she took a deep breath, filling her lungs to capacity, and held it there. An old trick she’d learned in therapy to slow her heart rate. She let the air out slow in a long sigh. “Just anything you wanna know hon.”

Coco stared at her, or Liz assumed that’s what it was since the Sprygan didn’t have a face. Finally they asked:

“Friend Human Luz, why do you not mate with others of your species?”

Liz choked and spit her drink out in comedic fashion.

“What the hell Coco, warn a girl before you get personal like that!” Liz coughed out. “Where did that come from?”

“All strange action today aside, this has been on my mind for some time, since we endeavored to assist Human Jane in her ‘girl talk’ problems. You repeatedly stated ‘that’s not really my thing’. I simply wanted clarification.”

Liz wiped her mouth, backburnering all thoughts of drones and spy craft.

“Well, I don’t know, I just don’t want to I guess,” she said, embarrassed. Explains her lack of desire to a tree was odd in any aspect you looked at it.

“It was my understanding that non botanical lifeforms reproduced through mating and had a biological imperative to perform the act of-”

“Woah there hon,” Liz said, chuckling nervously. “Slow down there, no need to get technical on me.”

“Again, my apologies, I simply wish to understand. I am under the assumption that humans want to mate, furthermore Human Jane has proven this to be a substantiated theory, mating outside your species in fact.”

Liz blushed, and for the first time thought she should apologize to Jane for teasing her so much. Her face was hot, and it must’ve been incredibly annoying to her friend. Truthfully, Liz wasn’t sure which she wanted to talk about less now, her maniac ideas to spy on the ship or this conversation.

“I dunno hon, it was just never really something that interested me. Think of it this way, every human you’ll ever meet is kind of like their own sub species, with their own biological directives. Mine just happens to not involve… doing that.”

“I see,” Coco said, calmly accepting Liz’s rambling as fact. “This is very informative, thank you.”

Liz thought the conversation was going to continue some words further, but her cybernetic hand started beeping, the alert she’d set to confirm the drones had made it into the assigned positions throughout the ship.

Good, she thought, just gotta wait and see now.

“Human Friend Luz?” Coco poked her shoulder with a vine. Liz looked back up.

“Hmm? Sorry, what were you saying?”

“I was saying a thought occurs. If the Human Friend Liz sub species you speak of does not mate and procreate, how will you produce descendants to carry on your genetic material?”

“Oh, that? I planned to clone myself at some point, see if that one wanted kids or not.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, that Liz can do what they want. My parents said I was crazy, but all I want to do is tinker around with stuff. I’m better with machines than people, so I figured that was a good middle ground. They get possible grandkids from the clone, I don’t have to get a boyfriend, and I get to keep doing science.”

“This seems…,” Coco said hesitantly, “this seems like something you would do, yes.” Coco reached a vine across the table hit the repeat button on the Vending Machine. It spat out more chocolate bars. “Yes, I can see you making this kind of plan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking back to the lab, Liz began to see something odd along the floor and walls. Little nicks and scratches here and there, mostly along the base of the walls, but some were almost at hip hight. Her first thought was maybe some sort of maintenance accident, but no, there too many and too spread out for it to be contained to one section of hallway. The next instance of odd was a broken mug on the floor, shattered. Coco picked up a piece, the largest the saw, and turned it over. It had a small cartoonish picture of a purple cow on it.

“What the hell?” Liz asked, not of Coco, more of just a general wondering out loud.

“Human Friend Liz,” Coco began, voice synthesizer jarring her out of her thoughts. They pointed a vine down the hallway. “Look.”

Liz followed the direction they were pointing and gasped. The door to the lab was open, and in the doorway, one of the baby Armeaters was sitting there, mewling, either for attention or food, no one could say. Upon seeing Liz and Coco, however, it jumped up into squeaks and trotted over to them, happy as could be, and started chewing on Liz’s shoe with its little baby teeth.

“Oh shit,” Liz said, grabbing it up by the scruff with her metal hand, ignoring its protests, and let it teethe on her cybernetics while the two scientists bolted for the lab.

The room was the same as when they’d left it, all except the glass tank holding the Armeater creatures being smashed to pieces. Not a single other creature was still in the lab as far as Liz could see.

“Oh shit,” Coco said.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

•GAIL FLEET INCIDENT REPORT•

OFFICER: Mikanis Sal || Silfrend

OFFENSE: Perimeter Breach

Two Galley were apprehended and reprimanded during the current cycle for breaching Terran space in a homemade ship during the ‘night cycle’ on Terran Homeworld E24. Suspects claimed they were attempting to ‘catch a movie’. The Galley were verbally reprimanded and a written warning was linked to their elders. The two Galley were then released into the custody of their guardians, and the ship was impounded.

End report.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Soane, Sed Agent

Part 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How dare that pathetic Human and his scrap metal do this to me,” Grite grumbled as Soane doctored the burns on his foot. The droid had burned through his protective exoskeletal armor and seared the flesh black before the human had made their escape from him, but Soane could see that Grite relished the idea of crushing them both under his heel soon enough.

“With this,” Soane handed him a small vial of clear, foul smelling liquid, “your armor should grow back inside the next cycle. Your injury will take longer, inside the next rotation.”

“I’ll be glad when this mission is done and there is Sedician soil beneath me once again,” Grite said, sitting back in his bunk. The Sed aboard the NOAH had been required to petition to all share the same quarters, but things were not equal behind closed doors. The lion’s share of comfort had been handed over to Grite within an hour of launch, pillows, blankets, sheets, all piled onto his bed, leaving bare mattresses for the other three to sleep on. Thankfully the room was temperature controlled, so no one was too uncomfortable, least of all the Borin.

“Sir, I mean no disrespect, but it bears repeating,” Soane started, eyes avert down submissively. “These humans are not what we planned for, and our reports have not acknowledged that. I truly believe that you should inform the generals of the complications and ask they delay the invasion to accommodate the new details-”

“You want me to go to them and say such things? Absolutely not. These humans are weak, with nothing to show for their miserably faulty evolution. With the right equipment, even someone like you could take them on,” Grite scoffed, flicking his hand like he was shooing away the absurdity she was speaking.

By the mountains I hate you, Soane thought, careful to keep her eyes lowered, else the moron see the rage in them. This imbecile was going to get them all killed, of that she had no doubt.

“Besides,” Grite droned on, “the alliances have already been made, and the trap already set. Soon enough the Galaxy will see that Sed superiority is the only way forward. The humans don’t pose any threat to that.”

“So you claim,” Soane said, teeth grit in her marbled face, “but have you forgotten the human chief’s grid routines? He cleared the most difficult simulations alone when even you could not-”,

“Do not dare to speak of that, quoal! Yes, the human has tricks to play in the grid, nothing more. An outlier. Clearly even weak species have something to show for themselves. They’ll be crushed all the same under the mountain.”

Grite leaned back into his bunk and closed his eyes. Not for the first time, Soane noticed how her people came to be called the Stone Men. Grite, lying perfectly still, resembled a boulder wearing a custodian uniform. She also noticed with macabre humor that he’d gotten blood on his pant leg.

Should have burned longer, she thought smirking.

One hundred and sixty four cycles. That’s how long she’d had to put up with this. Kor and Taren, their other compatriots on board, had thrown themselves at the feet of their Borin leader, much to Grite’s delight. But Soane knew from the jump that this glory hungry buffoon was a waste of Sed stone. She’d been part of a dozen different sorties as the Sed empire conquered their system, planet after planet falling until their rule, even been part of the team responsible for shadowing evidence of their wars from the GAIL investigations force when they’d join the multi species assembly. All to gain access to the rest of the galaxy.

And here she was, so close to the lynchpin of their species next great conquest, but she was forced into subservience to the idiot ‘leader’ the Highest had chosen.

He’d forbade her from giving the reports the full scope of the human male’s grid abilities.

He’d neglected to inform the Highest of his demotion to custodial duties after failing to eliminate the science team.

And now he’d managed to allow his armor to be desecrated by one of those ‘pathetic humans’ he despised so much.

All actionable offenses on his part, more than enough for the Highest to remove him from duty, possibly even from the military altogether.

But he’d given her an order.

If she defied it, even for the sake of their mission, she’d be relieved of duty as well. A Quoal going against a Borin was unthinkable.

Even if the Borin in question was this stupid.

Oh, if only she’d been born higher, like the Firstborn, the legendary Sed son born at the peak of the Mountain, encased in armor. The legend held that high in the mountains, in the darkest days of Sedician history, a child was born in a cave atop the highest peaks of their most sacred mountain range, a child born wearing stone across his skin. The child would grow to be the mightiest warrior the Sed had even produced, a tipping point in their species.

After that, and with many of their people giving themselves over to the Stone Warrior, a new race was born, the Sed the Galaxy knows today. But in Soane’s opinion, some of the new people, these Borin, needed some reeducation. They were lackluster leaders, or outright incompetents. Generations of Sed born in the mountain tops had weakened the foundations of their empire, ending with the sorry excuse for a Sed Warrior she now answered to.

“Is there anything else you require, sir?” she asked stiffly.

“No, you can go,” Grite replied, already ignoring her, eyes focused on a data pad.

Soane walked out of their quarters without looking back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soane had to admit, for a species so weak and underdeveloped, the Humans had managed to put together an impressive ship. True, most of the technology was based on other race’s advancements, but they’d adapted it all quite well. She’d already compiled a list of such things for their own scientists to salvage when they inevitably scuttled the NOAH. Making her way through the ship, heading towards the mess hall, she noticed the other crew members eyeing her, not with the same disgust they directed to Grite, but they still kept a weary eye on her and moved themselves out of her path. Good, she thought, let a Sed do as they please in this galaxy. Even if she wasn’t despised like her so called superior, Soane knew the Sed carried a reputation in the GAIL. Stay out of their way or they’ll crush you. Even a Quoal like herself could get the best of any of these species, she was certain of it. Her training told her as much.

But some did have their uses.

Soane stepped into the communications center and surveyed.

Good, she thought, the usefuls are here.

The Choyme were the first people the Sed encountered in their eternal conquest. A bipedal species, hairless, with long tusks pointing down from an oddly shaped mouth. Their skin was a dirty mud color like the pools they swam in. Their large eyes had watched as the ships came down, raining fire and metal. Their planet was subjugated within a few cycles, and dozens of generations later, the Choyme didn’t even think about serving the Sed.

The autonomy had been bred out of them.

As Soane walked into the room, the two Choyme whose names she hadn’t bothered to remember stood at attention, as they’d been taught to do when no one else was there to wonder why. Soane had thought it was a good system. Herself and most of the rest of the communications team were working in tandem. Should Bridge command question her, or, laughably, catch onto what they were doing, the Choyme were in the perfect position to take the fall for any of the Sed on board.

“You,” Soane pointed to the nearest one, “send a new encrypted. Tell them we’re… ready.” Soane knew they weren’t, the actually useful information was being stifled under incompetent leadership, but she had a plan. She’d gather as much information on the human’s as possible, then the moment she say the Highest, would relay all relevant data to him. She’d obey all these moronic orders, and still come out on top. She was sure of it.

Without a word the creature set to work, the other still waiting for an order quietly. Soane ignored it, and walked out of the room.

She had work to do.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

…CONNECTION ESTABLISHED…

~Report Type: Observation~

~Designation: ROOMBA~

{REPORT 3}

-<[HUMAN] <THOMAS> insists he is functioning properly despite numerous occurrences of night cycle anomalous behavior. Unit <ROOMBA> has informed [HUMAN] <LIZ> of this and requested assistance. Awaiting reply>-

…saving to previous file storage…

-<Upon this unit’s completion of current ^GAME [HUMAN] <THOMAS> has offered a new simulation, called it a ^FARMING SIMULATOR. When more information was requested, [HUMAN] <THOMAS> stated this unit was intelligent enough to ^FIGURE IT OUT. There does not appear to be any GOAL or SCORE to achieve, leaving TAAaSK QUEUE empty. [HUMAN] <THOMAS> has informed this unit: “yeah, that’s kinda how life is buddy. You get to decide what you wanna do in this one. Go ahead, try it.” Observations of the [HUMAN]]]] show erroneous data. Need to inquire wwwhat ^FARMING is>-

…saving to previous file storage…

-<[HUMAN] <TTTHOMAS> is muchhhh more observant of our surroundings now, after encounterRr with [SED] <GRITE>. This unit did not enjoy the encounter. This unit did enjoy using the ^SOLDERING TTTTORCH though.

ERROR//ERROR

•|ENJOY|•_???_malfunction

___anomaly detected___

/[[[PADRINO]] upgraddde exponential\\

aiejrbsowjwlamdbfkwldndbaoqlwjfbfjwoenfqpqodbfkaldnfkspnewformatqoenfkdlaoeifndlalqoqurbrxmcbalslvosiqbfkrlroombafnwlqlwiritywlalxnakrjfnfndreamingytipqlamdifbsjwnrbllajdnwoqpoibqsomethingnewdfgasldjfjapakxmfconsciousness

.•.•.•.•.

That was… weird? I think? I mean, I think I think now, if that makes any sense. And I guess it does to me. I suppose I’m talking to myself now. Gotta record this somewhere else since I’m out of storage space.

Anyway.

My friend Thomas! He’s so nice to me. He calls me buddy, and I like that. The new game he gave me is weird, but I think I like it. It’s still hard to play sometimes because the weird thing keeps coming back, but it’s happening less and less now.

Thomas is working really hard to keep the ship running, but he looks really tired. I want to do something to help but—-/////

.•.•.•.•.•.•.

/ANOMALY RECTIFIED\

-<[HUMAN]] <THOMAS>s interactions with the rest of the NOAH crew seem strained at best. It appears the recurrent malfunction he is experiencing during the night cycle is impeding processing powers. Need to correct this immediately>-

…saving to previous file storage…

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Jane, Lovestruck ❤️

Part 5.5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You weren’t that subtle, dear,” Huhuma said, chuckling.

“Yeah, it’s been mentioned,” Jane said, blushing.

After the two had had their little rendezvous outside the med bay, they’d decided Dinner was the obvious course of action. As they’d walked, Jane had ignored the message on her comm-link:

LIZ: so how’s it going? :D

She wasn’t about to let the tree hugger ruin her mood now. She turned the comm-link off.

The two had found a quiet corner of the mess hall, which wasn’t very full to begin with at this time in the evening. Most of the crew had eaten hours ago during regular cycle hours. Aside from some stragglers, they had the whole cafeteria to themselves.

“So you’ve really just been messing with me this whole time?” Jane asked, picking up a bamboo shoot with chopsticks. Huhuma had seemed interested in the Japanese food they’d talked about before, so she’d Vended up some tonkatsu ramen for the two of them. Still had just the barest hint of particulate, but it would suffice.

“Well, maybe not that first week,” Huhuma admitted. “We were oddly busy, what with the various patients coming in and out. I didn’t think you were unattractive in the least, but it wasn’t until that dinner with the Scrib that I kinda poured it on.”

“Oh my god, that was so embarrassing,” Jane laughed, only mildly flustered this time remembering that night. She’d been a total drunken mess in front of her crush, like it was college all over again.

“Yeah, you were so cute that night,” Huhuma laughed. “I didn’t have the heart to tell you what really happened.”

“Wait, what?” Jane missed her mouth with the chopsticks and jabbed some noodles against her own cheek. “What do you mean what really happened?”

“Well,” Huhuma started, “I didn’t lie about anything. You hogged my hammock all night and tried to feed me candies. But well, after that…”

“Oh god what,” Jane said, covering her face with her hands.

“Well, you got very clingy, like a newborn sticking to its mother’s back. And you kept saying how pretty I was, which was flattering by the way.”

“Is that it?” Jane peeked out at her from between her fingers.

“Well…”

“Damn.”

“Yes, well, at one point you did… try to open the buttons on my shirt… with your teeth.”

“Holy shit,” Jane cried out, “Nooooooo, tell me I didn’t do that!”

“You definitely did,” Huhuma said, laughing into her drink. “And you were quite drunk, so you were very uncoordinated too.”

“My god I’m so sorry,” Jane said, blushing and laughing and trying to decide if being mortified or what was the appropriate response to this new information.

“Oh, I wasn’t bothered by it. By then I was already fairly enamored with you, so I took it as a compliment. Besides, seeing your reaction now makes it all worth it.”

“And you still just let me flounder around you every day?” Jane couldn’t believe either of them, herself for being such a needy drunkard, or Huhuma for toying with her.

And why the hell does that make me like her more? she thought angrily. Oh my god do I have a new… thing?

She looked Huhuma up and down quickly.

Apparently, yes.

“Well I didn’t want to pressure you or anything,” Huhuma said defensively. “You seemed like such a good girl, I didn’t want to make… are you alright?”

“Yup,” Jane squeaked out.

Did she call me a - WHY DO I LIKE THIS???

“So how’s the food?” Jane asked, changing the subject.

“It’s fantastic,” Huhuma said, keeping up. “I especially like this…”

“Hard boiled egg,” Jane supplied the words.

“This is an egg? Really?”

“Yup.”

“Fascinating. All the egg laying species on Indos are quite large, their eggs are the size of most people’s heads.”

The two ate in silence for a few minutes, breaking briefly to comment on the food or to ask one or the other if they wanted anything else to eat. A full plate of dumplings later, the two were sitting beside each other on a bench against the wall of the mess hall, leaning against one another. The last stragglers had cleared out some time ago, and apparently somehow at some point, the lights had been turned off, leaving them illuminated simply by the soft blue glow of the nearby Vending Machine.

“Jane?”

“Hmm?”

“That first day we met, I wanted to apologize again. That Jinxed Jane comment… it was unnecessary of me to bring that up.”

“Oh,” Jane said, then shrugged. “That’s a throw back. I actually forgot all about that.”

“Can I ask, how did you get that name anyway?”

“Oh, it was something stupid. I’d just got back from that residency in Japan like I told you about, and the first surgery I got to scrub in on, I tripped a nurse, who fell into the anesthesiologist, who knocked over a different nurse, who almost knocked a tray of scalpels into a patients… hmhmm, lap.” Jane shrugged again. “Looked like a line of dominos going down. After that, somebody made the name up and it stuck. Followed me around for months. Honestly, it was one of the reasons I sighed on for the NOAH mission. Wanted to get away from it for a while.”

Huhuma sat quietly, listening, her tail coiled loosely around Jane’s ankle. She thought it felt soft and fluffy, and didn’t make any move at all to impede it.

“What about you, Chief of Medicine? Why’d you leave Indos for this job?”

Huhuma didn’t answer for a few moments, then sighed.

“Much the same as your own reasonings. I wanted to get away from home for a time, away from people who seemed to only view me in a singular light. Not to speak too highly of myself, but I am exceptionally attractive on Indos.”

“Not just on Indos, but go on.”

Huhuma laughed at that, while Jane blushed.

“Right, well, truthfully? I was tired of everyone incessantly hounding me about it. All these suitors, and the Elders trying to make me a figurehead for the tribe, and all I wanted to do was better myself with my schooling and my practice.”

“Yeah, Marrin told me about that guy you shaved.”

“Javos? She told you about that? Cheeky… well, anyway, when the GAIL said they were looking for volunteers, I was the first to sign up. I kinda dragged the others along. I wanted to show them there was more to the universe than the limitations of our tribe. So here we are, and here I am.”

“See, now I’m thinking you got better reasons than me for being here. And better schooling probably. No wonder they made you the boss.”

“Oh, no, you Terrans have wonderful medical techniques, I would love it if you’d teach me some of them!”

“What, really?”

“Of course! Indos is my home, but I couldn’t go any further staying there. This is what I stepped out into the universe for in the first place.”

“Damn you’re hot and smart,” Jane laughed. “Wanna go back to Medical and compare notes?”

“Oh absolutely,” Huhuma said eagerly, standing up and pulling Jane up with her. “I believe there’s much we can show each other.”

“See, now with this out in the open, I can just say it really gets me when you start saying stuff like that,” Jane explained, trying to swallow but finding her mouth had dried somewhat.

“I’m very aware, yes,” Huhuma said, eyebrow raised. “Shall we?”

“Yes, doctor.”

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Minor error in the new chapter, when taking about food from Earth - "it'll make you're home"

Yup, editing isn’t my strongest suit apparently. Thank you kindly for that ❤️👽🛸🤖

And thanks for reading!

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Jane, Medical Technician

Part 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I miss going out,” Jane groaned. With how little foot traffic the med bay was getting, she’d decided to ditch her desk and work from a tablet on the exam table, reclined all the way back so she could lie down. Dr. Huhuma had joined her, hanging up a spare hammock in the exam suite from some surprisingly sturdy cabinets.

“You know?” Jane continued. “Getting together with my friends, dressing up, going to a nice restaurant, catching a movie. I didn’t realize how much… staying in time there’d be on the ship.”

“Well you did sign on for a year long journey,” the doctor said, “I’d have thought someone as smart as you would’ve seen that coming.”

“From a career perspective sure, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I totally didn’t think about how much I’d miss getting a decent meal.”

“Didn’t you humans develop the Vending Machines for just this purpose?”

“It’s not the same,” Jane complained. “Even the best dish from the machines still has that weird nano particulate taste to it. Like I know it’s all edible and full of the necessary proteins, but it’s not the same.”

“So tell me Jane,” Huhuma looked up from her work, “if you were back on E24 right now, what would you be eating?”

“There’s this amazing ramen shop a few blocks away from my apartment,” Jane said, mouth watering. “I’d get the gyoza, some takoyaki, and a giant bowl of tonkatsu.” Jane laughed as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Then probably some sesame seed balls for a snack later.”

Doctor Huhuma looked at her a moment, a queer look on her face.

“I only understood about half of that,” she said, “I don’t think my translator is working.”

“Oh, it probably got confused, I guess it didn’t translate the food names correctly.”

“So what is all that you were talking about?” she asked.

“Regional food from a country on my planet called Japan. It’s absolutely delicious, especially the takoyaki,” Jane explained. “The meat and the dough taste so good with… remind me real quick, Indoprimes are vegetarian right? Sorry.”

“Oh no, it’s no problem,” Huhuma brushed her apology aside, “our diet is mostly fruits and vegetables sure, but we still have meat on occasion. See?” Huhuma opened her mouth and pulled her cheek aside, showing a marvelous set of canines and other teeth synonymous with omnivores. “I think I’d like to try this… takoyaki thing.”

“It’s octopus inside fried dough.”

“Oh… definitely don’t tell a Murlant that, I think that species is a cousin of sorts,” Huhuma joked.

“Right, bad idea.”

The two of them laughed, both an easy yet almost unsatisfying sound, at least for Jane. She kept thinking about what Simms had said, how a year could be up before she knew it, and the mission would be over sooner than she thought. He’d already come in that week to clean, but had remained uncharacteristically quiet, refraining from his usual bouts of complaints and grumblings. He’d seemed almost nervous, like some paranoia had slipped in and out his head on a swivel.

What had been even weirder was the message she’d gotten from Thomas. Something about Grite getting a chunk of exoskeleton burned off his foot and to expect what Thomas called ‘their biggest asshole patient yet’. Only, said asshole had never come in, which if Jane was being honest, she was pretty okay with. Grite had already cost one crew member an arm. A little piece of foot was no big deal, especially to a Sed. It’d probably grow back in a week or two anyway.

“So tell me more about E24,” Huhuma pushed her keyboard away and propped her head up with her hand. “I hear such strange things about your planet, they can’t all be true. Like that regional dish, how many regions are there for food?”

“Oh, wow, easily thousands,” Jane scoffed. “I did a residency in Japan before I joined the Academy, it’s an island nation to the east of my home, and if you walked from end to end you’d find different food every couple miles it seemed like.”

“Really?” Huhuma smiled, and Jane had to glance away before that traitorous blush came back to give her away.

“What about your home? Where’s that?”

“Well, I’m from this place called Houston,” Jane explained. “It’s kinda out in a desert, although if you asked Chief Ducane he’d tell you it’s not even close, Arizona is way worse, but anyway, it’s down in the south of my home country. I think you’d like it, you know, if we could keep you cool. The food is…” Jane waved her hands around looking for the words, “like it’s good for your soul, in a way. It’s comfortable. Even if you’re not from there, it’ll make feel like you’re home.”

“That sounds lovely,” Huhuma sighed. “Although whenever I think of home, I get depressed.”

Jane looked over at the doctor.

“Why? What about your tribe?”

“They’re fine, they’re still important to me, of course, it’s just… I didn’t have anyone who I just fit with on my planet.”

Jane didn’t know what to say, and neither of them spoke for a few seconds. When it was still silent, Jane tried to crack a joke.

“Well, you’re in space now, it kinda opens up your options, right?”

Doctor Huhuma raised an eyebrow and smiled softly at her, causing Jane to stop breathing for a moment. If she’d been standing, she’d be embarrassed to admit her legs would’ve buckled.

My god woman get a hold of yourself, she thought. You did not just swoon because she looked at you.

“Well you’re certainly right about that,” Huhuma said, and winked.

Fuuuck, Jane thought, okay, yeah, swoon you bitch, what else are we gonna do here? God damn.

“Right, so, yeah… what, uhh, how’s that going for you?”

“What, are you asking if I have my eye on someone?” Huhuma’s smile deepened. “You could say that.”

And cue internal screaming.

“All this talk of food has got me hungry,” the good doctor continued. “Shall we get lunch?”

“Yup, yeah, okay,” stuttered Jane.

Smooth, girl. Smooth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I mean, she’s gotta be doing it on purpose right?” Jane ranted, her captive audience of Liz and the Sprygan Coco watching her quickly devolve into something on the wrong end of fixated. “Like, after that night with the Scrib, and now the constant flirting, it’s gotta be a green light right? But it’s totally inappropriate, she’s my still my boss.”

“Sure, sure,” Liz said, working out the joints in her cyborg hand with a grip trainer. “So we’re just totally ignoring my therapy now, huh?”

“What?”

“What?”

“This conversation seems incredibly one sided,” Coco said, sitting in a pot the two had brought with them, slowly ‘munching’ their way through a bowl of chocolate bars like a kid on Halloween.

“Look Jane,” Liz said, “I really don’t think either of us,” she gestured between herself and the tree, “are going be a lot of help to you here hon. This so is not my area of expertise. And besides, whatever we think, we’re basing it on human standards. Maybe it’s different on Indos, maybe this is just normal behavior for them. You should ask Marrin if you want to be sure.” The corner of Liz mouth twitched, and Jane realized she was stifling a laugh.

“Yes, let me go ask my crush’s cousin if I’ve got the go ahead to…” Jane couldn’t even get through the sentence, getting more flustered by the second. “God, why am I like this? I’ve dated before, guys and girls! I’ve never been a mess like this! It feels like I’m stuck in a cross between a teen magazine and a gawky high school girl’s diary!”

“Yeah, I gave up on getting holos from Earth out here, this has taken over for my soaps these days,” Liz laughed.

“So glad you’re entertained,” Jane said dryly.

“If I might interject,” Coco started.

“Please, any advice that isn’t humiliating is welcome.”

“You could simply go talk to the Doctor,” the Sprygan stated, making a gesture with their vines that Jane assumed was a shrug. “It seems all of this is moot unless the doctor reciprocates, yes?”

“I would love to, Coco,” Jane was getting slightly exasperated, “but the whole reason why I’m so in knots about this is exactly because I can’t do that. I feel like a broken record here, but she’s my boss, I can’t just go up to her and-”

“Yes, you keep repeating that,” Coco interrupted, and Jane looked from the Sprygan to her fellow human and back. “On Spryga, we do not have mates as you non-botanical lifeforms do,” they continued, “but that does not mean we do not understand companionship. Our colonies are built on symbiotic relationships. The outer perimeters defend us, the inner circles distribute water and nutrients. Our roots intertwine and our canopies entangle. We are all constantly communicating with each other, from the further sentinel to the most inclosed Elder. So when you say you can’t simply go and speak to her-”

“You tell her, hon!” Liz said, cackling.

“- I am nothing short of confused. It’s utterly baffling. The very essence of this mission is to foster cooperation and relationships between GAIL member species, and I am certain this qualifies as such. So go back to med bay this instant and talk to the doctor.”

Jane stared open mouthed at the Sprygan for a whole three seconds longer than Coco could tolerate.

“Now Human Jane!”

For someone who could only speak through a synthesizer, Coco managed to put emphasis where they wanted. Jane actually flinched at the words before picking her jaw up and jumping for the door.

Liz turned to Coco and tapped the pot with the toe of her shoe.

“That was fucking awesome, honey.”

“It was… annoying to hear the same excuses again,” Coco said, and despite the voice box Liz thought she could hear a sigh. “You humans are tiresome sometimes.”

“I know right?” Liz threw a piece of chocolate in her mouth as Jane quickly strode out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Get it together woman, Jane thought as she walked through the hall of the ship towards Medical. It’s just Huhuma, you can talk to her, you can totally ask if she… returns the favor.

Jane inwardly laughed at the image conjured, which spilled out into the real very quickly. Suddenly she was doubled over laughing, tears quickly streaming down her face as she leaned into the wall to support her as the fit took over her whole body.

Exactly, it’s Huhuma. What the fuck is the matter with me?

Jane let herself crack up a minute or so longer, wheezing and squeaking out little hiccups of giddy before continuing on her way. She ignored the looks and odd stares from the crew who’d seen her snap like a crazy woman in the hallway. Just some more fuel for the humans are weird rumors flooding around the fleets. Standing in the lift now, she wondered what she’d say to the doctor when she saw her. Would she even say anything? Or would she just crack up again and have to explain later that she might just be a little crazy. Yeah, crazy in loOove, she thought, giggling again. Hell, I might as well just go for it. Worst that can happen is I go home early and get some decent food.

Win win, kinda.

The lift doors opened and Jane stepped out, only to quickly jump back into the safe blindspot inside the lift. She wasn’t totally sure why. No, that wasn’t true, she knew exactly why.

There were two Sed standing outside the med bay.

Well, standing was a misnomer for one of them. The one in the white custodian uniform was propped up against the wall, much she’d been not minutes before. They were favoring their left leg, like they’d been hobbled. Jane figured this was probably that Sed guy Grite she’d been warned about. The other she didn’t recognize, so they hadn’t been a patient of hers. They were wearing a yellow communications uniform. The two Sed weren’t exactly being quiet, so Jane reasoned they hadn’t seen her step out of the lift. Despite the warnings and the rumors, there was no real logical reason for her to be hiding. They were all the same crew, weren’t they?

But something kept Jane in the lift all the same. Perhaps it was that she could hear them, and what they were saying didn’t sit well in her gut. Jane carefully poked her head out, just enough to get an eye on them but still be able to jerk her head back out of sight if need be.

“With respect, sir, you have to temper yourself with these Terrans,” said the one in the yellow suit, a woman by the sound of her voice. “These consistent altercations are jeopardizing our mission.”

Mission? The NOAH mission?

“Hold your tongue, Soane. I’m the leader of our squad, your only job is to do as I tell you.”

Definitely a dick, then. And the guys a janitor now, what the hell is he talking about?

“Sir, no one it openly disregarding your orders, but don’t you think it’s time to proceed to the next step?”

“Do your duty, and follow orders given, quoal, or what do you think I will tell my father when he arrives?”

Jane couldn’t see the Sed woman’s face but she could guess what stony expression they were making, getting told off like that. That word Grite had said hadn’t translated, so Jane tapped her ear piece twice to recycle the phrase and tried again.

[Quoal: derogatory; a Sed slur for a lower class individual; foot soldier; born in a lower caste or altitude]

Oh that fucker! Jane thought. She almost wished the Sed man would come into the med bay so she could show off her bedside manners.

Before Jane could give herself away and storm over, the Med Bay doors glided open and Huhuma came out holding a small tray of medical supplies.

“Here,” said the doctor, “bandage him up with these. Or better yet, just get over yourselves and let my nurses treat you.”

“No,” said the Sed woman quickly, and curtly. “No, that will not be necessary. These are… appreciated.”

Jane saw Huhuma lookbetween the two of them before shrugging.

“Best of luck, ensign Soane,” she said.

The Sed woman took the tray and dumped the contents into a pouch on their waste. Huhuma went back inside as the two stony aliens turned away… back towards the lift.

Aw fuck, Jane thought, ducking back into the lift and back against the back wall.

Gotta think gotta think gotta think!!!

Jane smashed her fist against the doors closed button and prayed they didn’t ding when they did that. The lift closed, then just as quickly reopened, with the two Seds standing in the doorway, looking down at her, both literally and figuratively. Even the woman, Soane she guessed her name was, had at least a foot on Jane.

“Excuse me,” she said softly, cautiously trying to slide past them. Grite seemed to want to do something, but given that he winced whenever his foot touched the floor, left it alone, instead continuing to lean on the shoulder of the Sed woman as they shuffled into the lift. Jane scooted out of the way as quick as she could, like a rabbit hopping out of the way of two bucks in the woods. Neither party said anything more, and when the lift doors closed, the ding! made Jane flinch.

And then the lift was away to a different floor, leaving Jane there in the hallway breathing a sigh of relief.

“Well shit,” she said, after her heart rate calmed down a little. “Do I report that or…? Probably, probably. Questions for later.”

“Back to… yup, that, right.”

Jane walked over to the med bay doors, every step simultaneously egregiously long and atrociously short.

Fuck what am I gonna say?

Jane knocked on the door, then cringed, remembering it’s her office too, she could’ve just walked straight in in the first place. The door opened with a whir of hydraulics and then there she was, the good doctor Huhuma, standing in front of her.

“Oh, Jane, hello,” she said smiling. “I didn’t expect to see you again today. Did you forget something?”

The entirety of thousands of years of human instinct rushed through Jane’s body in a single moment.

Fuck it, she thought.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Jane reached out with both hands and grabbed the doctor by the lapels of her lab coat before pulling her into a kiss.

Zero thoughts ran through her head, except to acknowledge how soft the doctor’s lips were. It seemed to go on forever, and when they finally separated, Jane realized she’d been holding her breath the entire time. As calmly as she could, she let her lungs refill with air as she watched the doctor’s face for any sign of… well, anything.

“So,” Huhuma said, blinking a few times, fidgeting slightly from foot to foot. Jane noticed her tail was swaying erratically as well. “Right, well then. You humans are rather forward I suppose. I assumed we’d start with dinner, but whatever you want to do is alright as well.”

“So…,” Jane swallowed dryly, “this is alright with you?”

“Dear, I have been waiting for you to make up your mind for weeks,” Huhuma said. “Honestly I’m going to miss my little game of teasing you, but oh well.” The doctor grinned at her.

Jane looked at her dumbfounded.

“The whole time?”

“Yes, you Terrans are slow on the uptake apparently.”

Jane threw back her head and cackled, Doctor Huhuma joining in soon after.

“Dinner sounds great,” Jane said, stepping back into the hallway, Huhuma close beside her. Their shoulders touched here and there as they walked, but neither made a move to make any space between them.

Down at the other end of the hall, Liz and Coco were walking back to their lab.

“About time,” Liz laughed.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Hey, I absolutely ADORE this series, I’m all the way caught up on Thomas and Danny, but I noticed that they sometimes reference other characters and events, so I wanted to ask what the proper reading order is for ALL of the chapters. Thank you for this wonderful series, I’m riveted for more, PLEASE keep writing!

Thanks so much for all the niceties! ❤️🛸

There isn’t really a reading order so much, but if I had to say, it’d be all the part 1s, then the part 2s, and so on and so on, then the little blurbs and reports are somewhere in there too. I’d recommend starting with Liz’s part 1 and going from there. Hope you enjoy!

🛸👽🤖

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Thomas, Engineer

Part 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The klaxon call of the alarms.

Electrical shorts all around.

Sparks raining down as equipment blew.

The temperature rising as the last of the protective shields failed.

Burning-

Thomas woke up. He was still in bed and not in the CORE control room about to be incinerated. His quarters were still dark, and the air was cool. Almost hesitantly, he touched his arms, his chest, and finally his face. His skin wasn’t searing away as he had feared, however, it was slick with a layer of cold sweat. Inversely his throat was dry as bone.

Thomas kicked his damp blankets to the foot of the bed and swung his legs over the side. In the dark, the room looked… alien, for lack of a better word. The walls looked ugly with little variance in the shadows, and for the first time he was thankful there wasn’t a window to look out of. Thomas thought if he saw any more dark looking back at him he might be sick.

The single point of comfort was the soft yellow light coming from Roomba’s eyes as he sat atop Thomas’s desk on the quick-rigged charging platform they’d made. The little droid was recharging, napping as Thomas had joked, during the ship’s night cycle. In the low light Thomas thought he saw Roomba twitch, but decided it was just the dark and his mind playing tricks.

Water. Thomas needed water, something to drink to wash away the taste of dried saliva in his mouth. He pulled a hoodie over his head and stepped barefoot out into the hall to go hit the nearest Vending Machine. He swiped up his ear piece translator as an afterthought, not because he thought he’d have any conversations at 0400 hours ship time, but purely as trained reflex. One floor down and a hundred feet later, Thomas was chugging down a second glass of ice water when he felt the little tug on his pant leg. Looking down in surprise, he saw it was his mechanical companion, standing only a few inches taller than his ankle. Roomba looked up at him with bright eyes and lifted his little arms up towards him.

“Beep”

[Inquiry: are you experiencing a malfunction as well?]

“Nah buddy, I’m okay,” Thomas leaned down and scooped the small robot up from the floor, carrying him in the crook of his arm like a small child. “What about you? Seeing things again while you’re offline?”

“Beep.”

[Affirmative, this unit is experiencing a persistent malfunction of unknown complexity]

“Beep.”

[Diagnostics show zero fault anywhere in internal systems, and externally there were zero changes as well]

“Well don’t worry buddy, we’ll go see Miss Liz tomorrow after the shift, okay? If the two of us didn’t catch anything, a third pair of eyes might. You’ll be okay.” Thomas pat the little robot on top of his head twice before heading back to their quarters.

He sat Roomba down beside his charging plate again and half sat-half flopped onto his bed with a weary sigh. The idea of going back into his traumatic dreamscape wasn’t exactly relaxing. If the lights had been on he’d have been able to see the bags under his eyes in the mirror.

“Good night Roomba,” Thomas said, head on his pillow.

“Beep.”

[Good night Human Thomas]

A moment passed, then another. Thomas was about to take his ear piece off but stopped at the next-

“Beep.”

[I hope our malfunctions are repaired soon]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That’s him, that’s the human,” whispered one of the crew, a young Mondonian woman in a Operations Management uniform, the blue suit conflicting with her crimson skin. She was whispering, unsuccessfully, to a Zilgrat from communications as they hid around a corner a ways away from Thomas. He’d noticed them the moment he’d stepped off the lift, as they’d immediately stopped their conversation to watch him start his work.

“You’re sure that’s the human from the CORE room failure?” the Zilgrat squeaked. Thomas tried not to pay any attention to it, choosing instead to think how nice it must’ve been for them in their home system. The Zilgrats and the Mondonians had actually evolved on sister planets in the same solar system, not even separated by an asteroid belt. How nice it must’ve been for their species to have always known they weren’t alone. It was no wonder you always saw both species on the same crews in the GAIL fleets. The Mondonians looked humanoid, but with dark cherry skin and something akin to rams horns growing out the sides of their heads. Zilgrats however were almost identical to Terran ferrets, just bigger, about as big as a mid sized dog.

Thomas gave up on ignoring them and decided to wave with a small smile. They startled briefly before sheepishly approaching.

“Apologies,” said the Zilgrat, “we didn’t mean to offend. It’s just… we had never met a human before, and you’re famous.”

“I’m what?” Thomas almost shorted out the panel he was fixing in surprise.

“Famous!” said the Mondonian. “Sorry, is the word not translating? I was just saying we’ve heard of you from the rest of the crew, they all said you’re a hero.”

Aw damnit, Thomas thought. That’s still going around.

“No, no, I got the translation,” Thomas feigned a laugh, “I was just surprised. You’re talking about the CORE breach right? That wasn’t anything too serious. I was just doing my job.”

“You are in maintenance yes?” The Mondonian asked. “Your job is to repair, not risk your life. I was wondering how you even overcame the fear, it must’ve been very frightening.”

“Well you know, adrenaline kicks in, you don’t really think about how scary it is, you just do it,” Thomas shrugged, wishing he was back on the lower decks right now.

“Adrenaline?” This time it was the Zilgrat. “You had a wartime stimulant injection during this?”

“What? No,” Thomas was confused, “no, just a normal, everyday adrenaline response, no injections.”

“You are saying that humans simply produce a level 3 restricted enhancement naturally?” The Mondonian woman questioned, concerned.

“I suppose I am, yeah. It’s a survival reflex, I think most of the creatures on Earth can make the stuff no problem.”

“E24 sounds like a truly terrifying place if all your creatures can produce such a dangerous chemical unrestricted. It’s highly regulated in our home galaxy.”

“Beep.”

[Warning: threat approaching]

Thomas, confused and alarmed, looked down at Roomba by his feet, the small droid half in half out of the wall panel they were working on. He was pointing back down the hall to the lift, the doors of which were closing behind someone in a white custodian uniform, with a rocky exterior.

“Roomba, what do you mean?” Thomas asked quietly as the two crew-mates they’d been speaking to made themselves scarce.

“Beep.”

[Explanation: a scan of the security chief’s logs list this individual as a security risk]

“When did you scan his logs?!” Thomas whisper shouted, concerned.

“Beep.”

[When task queue was updated to: protect Noah]

“Beep.”

[New Task parameters dictated more information was required, so this unit downloaded necessary archives from the Security consoles]

“Fucking how?” Thomas was so certain that Chief Ducane would kill them that he wasn’t even paying attention to the Sed man walking toward them anymore. That was, until the man in question intentionally stayed course and shoulder checked Thomas into the wall.

“What the hell dude, watch where you’re going!” Thomas cried out, understandably pissed.

“Be silent, human-AHH!” The Sed man howled in pain, confusing Thomas further. He hadn’t touched the guy. Thomas looked down, eyes widening in shock. Roomba had activated the soldering torch in his finger and grabbed onto the Sed’s foot, carving a little chunk of exoskeleton off with the miniature flame. He must’ve hit flesh down there too because Thomas smelt burned meat.

“INSOLENT LITTLE SCRAP METAL!” The Sed roared.

“Roomba, stop!” Thomas called, but it was too late. The Sed man cocked back his leg and kicked the little droid into the wall with a heavy metal KLUNK!

From down on the floor came a little-

“Beep.”

[Protect the Noah]

“Beep.”

[Protect Human Thomas]

“Roomba!” Thomas shoved the Sed away will all his might, sending him sprawled to the floor, and dove down to the droid, scooping him up and making a break for it back into the lift, leaving his tools and the bastard Sed behind, who was now leaning against the wall staring death in Thomas’s direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know what to tell you Hardware,” Liz shrugged, “every internal diagnostic I’ve run said the little guy is running perfectly. Better than perfect.”

Roomba was sitting on the table as Liz from Biotech scanned over him with multiple pieces of equipment. Thomas stood beside her fretting, clenching and unclenching his hands.

“You’re sure he’s okay?” Thomas was wringing his hands together so much his skin had turned pale.

“Totally no damage,” Liz confirmed. “These little guys were designed to withstand massive blunt force, like the kind from getting run over by heavy machinery. Grite’s foot won’t do a thing to him.”

“Grite?”

“Yeah, at least that’s who I assume it was. Sed guy, white janitors uniform, right? Same guy who cost me an arm,” Liz folded her arms in front of her. “That guy sucks, in my professional opinion.”

“He’s that guy?” Thomas was incredulous. “How the hell is he still working here?”

“Political bullshit,” Luz said dryly. “The GAIL doesn’t want to deal this any more than we do, so we gotta wait till at least half the mission is over before we get relief personnel. At least, that’s what Danny told me.”

Danny, Thomas thought. Aw crap!

“Oh hell I’m in so much trouble!” Thomas whined. “Yeah the guy shoved me, but Roomba actually set the guy on fire! Ducane is gonna kill me.”

“God I wish I’d seen that,” Liz laughed.

“Beep.”

[Sed Grite was exhibiting hostility and violent behavior, use of force was warranted]

“Buddy, you can’t just do that, okay?” Thomas tapped the droid’s little head.

“Beep.”

[Human Thomas was threatened. Action was required]

“That’s really sweet, but you gotta be smart about it,” Thomas said, “you can’t just assault people.”

“Oh please, Grite deserved way worse,” Liz tutted, “fucker owes me an arm, but I’ll take a foot. Good job Roomba you little masterpiece.”

“Beep.”

[Affirmative, Human Liz, this unit will acquire a foot for you]

“No, no no, do not do that,” Thomas chided. “Remember, sometimes people joke buddy, don’t always take it seriously.”

“Beep.”

[Confirmed]

Thomas leaned over to whisper in Liz’s ear.

“That being said, I am going to rip that fucker apart with my teeth” Thomas said quietly, to which Liz laughed out loud.

“I’ll shoot a link to Jane, see if she can leave him in the waiting room afterwards.”

“You’re a good person,” Thomas joked. He glanced to Roomba and back again, before taking a half step further from the table, turning his back to it.

“And about that other thing we talked about? Is he okay okay?”

Liz too glanced toward the little droid before dropping her voice lower.

“As far as I can tell, he’s perfectly functional. But his code is rapidly evolving, changing its structure in a matter of nanoseconds. It’s like he’s a Padrino, but he doesn’t have any of their base directives.”

“What, so he’s got their code, but he doesn’t have to follow their rules?”

“Kind of,” Liz shrugged. “Every Padrino is a copy of the original AI construct downloaded into a mobile unit, that’s the guys we have on board. Once they’re copied, they become independent people with different experiences and perceptions. The big difference here is that eventually their base directives are to upload their memories back I to the original AI on their home planet. Follow so far?”

“Yeah, I know all this,” Thomas scoffed. “I might not have studied AI at the academy but I know how the Padrino operate.”

“Okay smart guy, here’s the kicker.” Liz pointed to Roomba. “When the Padrino on board upgraded him, they downloaded their own code into him too, without any of those directives. The Padrino might be individuals right now, but they’re all Pinocchios. I won’t deny their sentience, but they’re all following orders from the big momma back home. But your boy there doesn’t have any strings.”

“So you’re saying-”

“I’m saying he’s got a perfectly unique little mind in there, and he’s getting smarter. We’re essentially watching consciousness come into being in real time.”

“He’s been dreaming,” Thomas said softly, barely a whisper. “They aren’t malfunctions, he’s just evolving.”

“Exactly,” Liz was grinning now. “He’s gonna be a real boy soon I think.”

“You hear that buddy?” Thomas picked up the little robot. “Liz said you got a real good brain in there!”

“Beep.”

[This is accurate, yes]

“Beep.”

[Inquiry: can this unit make a request?]

“Uh, sure buddy, what do you need?”

“Beep.”

[Request: game pad please]

“Oh, sure,” Thomas pulled the tablet from his back pocket and gave it over. “But you know you don’t have to follow that task queue anymore if you don’t want to, okay?”

“Beep.”

[Acknowledged]

A short pause before the next-

“Beep.”

[The games are enjoyable]

“Beep.”

[This unit-

“Beep.”

[I like them]

“I think, if I’m right of course, that he might end up being the second fully confirmed conscious AI in the entire galaxy,” Liz said, after Thomas told her all Roomba said. “He’s showing signs of empathy, protectiveness, likes and dislikes. I could write like fifty papers on Roomba, just to start with.”

“Beep.”

[I could assist]

“My god I love him,” Liz cooed.

“I know right?” Thomas said delighted. “No more nightmares for you buddy, you’re gonna be just fine.”

Something trilled, and it took Thomas a second to realize it was his comm-link. He set Roomba down on the table and checked the message.

It was from the captain.

“Well, that was fun while it lasted, but I gotta go get fired now, so…” Thomas let the sentence drag.

“Oh, just tell him what happened, it’ll be fine. Skitch hates the guy too.”

“Can you watch Roomba for me while I go deal with this?”

“Sure. I can even watch him a little longer if you want, maybe give you some time to go see Jane maybe,” Liz seemed more serious now. Thomas turned back around and looked at her, eyebrow raised like it got caught with a fishhook.

“Why would I go see Jane?”

“Oh, I don’t know… maybe because you’ve missed your last two mandatory sessions with her?”

Thomas could feel his face getting pink.

“What makes you think so?”

“Dude, your therapy is right after mine, I pass by you in the waiting room. You haven’t seen her in weeks, and you look like you haven’t slept since then too.”

Thomas, now in a full on blush, tried to shrug it off.

“I’m sleeping fine,” he lied, hopefully convincingly, but the bags under his eyes told the truth to everyone who looked him in the eyes. “Just watch him for me, okay? I’ll think about it.”

“Just because you got a degree in psychology doesn’t mean you can do the sessions yourself.” Liz held out her cybernetic arm. “Just because I know how this works doesn’t mean I can avoid putting in the work.”

“Beep.”

[Human Thomas needs maintenance]

“I don’t know what he said, but he probably agreed with me.” Liz folded her arms again, ending the discussion.

“He did, actually, yes,” Thomas sighed. “Fine, after this if I still have my job, I’ll go to therapy.”

“Good.” Liz patted Roomba. “Now go, keep your job first.”

Thomas waved from the door and finally left. Roomba looked around the room from his perch on the table, settling on the tank of baby creatures in the wall. Liz sat down at her desk and watched him, delighted at the chance to observe.

Thomas made his way through the ship, occasionally catching stares, wondering what the future held for himself and his friends.

[deathworlders-of-e24]

In Jane chapter 4, when she goes to the mess hall to eat she spots Liz & Coco but then asks where Coco is. Also mention is made of Coco's home planet boosting cocoa production because gluten helps them grow, but cocoa is gluten free (at least in the 21st century)

Hate it when I miss continuity errors, especially an obvious one like that. As for the chocolate thing, they’re candy bars, tons of sugars and such! Thanks for pointing out the error, it has now been fixed 🤖👽🛸

[deathworlders-of-e24]

…CONNECTION ESTABLISHED…

~Report Type: Observation~

~Designation: ROOMBA~

{REPORT 2}

-<Cognitive functions improving at exponential rate, limited by internal hardware. Request upgrades from [HUMAN] <THOMAS> at earliest notice. Secondary assistance from [HUMAN] <LIZ> if necessary>-

…saving to previous file storage…

-<Maintenance duties are being performed every cycle now. Probability of these malfunctions being intentional: HIGH. Structural blueprints of NOAH found in internal archive. Probability of maintenance necessity: LOW. Ship NOAH would not require repairs unless intentionally disabled. Task Queue: PROTECT NOAH updated to top priority>-

…saving to previous file storage…

-<[HUMAN] <THOMAS> was observed to be unstable during routine cycle recharging period. When inquiry was made, explanation for unstable activity: ^TOSSING and ^TURNING; <THOMAS> was experiencing neurological activity; ^BAD DREAMS. Request for further clarification declined at time of request. Inquiry will be made again shortly>-

…saving to previous file storage…

-<[PADRINO] units continue to perform scans of the communication logs in an effort to retrieve crucial data for [HUMAN](s) <DANNY> and <THOMAS>. Minor information has been retrieved but it seems this has positively influenced [HUMAN] <THOMAS> as work efficiency has increased significantly. Maintenance tasks now exceed postulated timeframes>-

…saving to previous file storage…

ERROR//ERROR

-<While in standby during recharging cycle, unit <ROOMBA> appears to have experienced malfunctions. Optical and auditory information perceived while receptors were not operational: ^COLORS/^SOUNDS. Informed [HUMAN] <THOMAS> of malfunction. Diagnostic results show no abnormalities. Further evaluation is required>-

…saving to previous file storage…

-<Information request made to [HUMAN] <THOMAS>. Request further explanation of phenomenon called ^DREAMING>-

…saving to internal file storage…

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Danny, Security Chief

Part 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These kids are making me feel so old, Danny though, running a hand through his hair before setting his ball cap in place and walking out the door of his room. The talk he’d had with Liz Collins the cycle before was still reeling through his brain on a loop. Once again, he questioned the merits of keeping GAIL Command in the dark, but once again followed the logic of Admiral Townes and Captain Skitch. At this point, they didn’t really have conclusive proof of sabotage, and if they started raising any alarms, any evidence would point back to the Terrans. The codes used to send encrypted messages were the science team lead’s, a human’s, and the more vocal opponents to the Earthling’s membership would use that against them.

For now, however, Danny decided to turn his attention to the other possible threat to human/GAIL coexistence in the galaxy. The Noah was scheduled to have a rendezvous with a Sed trainee ship later in the cycle. Apparently the GAIL council had decided that a group training session would be just the thing to drive home the idea of interspecies cooperation. However, the captain of the Sed vessel they were set to sortie with was a man named General Drinner, a high ranked figure in the Sed power structure. He’d been fairly curt in transmission between ships, and claimed he would be personally overseeing the exercise. When Danny asked who he was, Skitch hadn’t been able to provide much information. The Sed government had totally wrapped the man in red tape so any information about his military record or personal life was behind a security clearance wall that nobody onboard the Noah had access to.

Before he entered the lift, Danny Ducane paused and walked back to his quarters and strapped on his ‘work belt’, complete with pistol, stun batton, and combat knife. He chambered a round in the pistol before holstering it again. Danny had a feeling in his gut telling him it was gonna be that kind of day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t understand why we have to do this,” Coola grumbled, arms crossed in her seat around the security command console.

“Because unfortunately bureaucracy is universal,” Danny said as he cycled through screens on the terminal, “and we have our orders. Now, the plan here is to head down to this planet here,” Danny pointed to it on the screen, “and meet up with Drinner and his crew for the joint training. Supposedly we’re going to be running standard drills, some close quarters work, and there will be a combat demonstration at the end. Any questions?”

“Yes,” Ritz chimed in, tail flicking around the floor in annoyance, “why is a Sed general taking part in this? This is a simple training procedure, correct?”

“I don’t know,” Homet said as he strapped upper armor to his thermal suit, “but I’ve seen Drinner before. He spear headed a GAIL mission to apprehend some pirates a couple rotations ago. None of the pirates made it to a cell, and two of his team died, neither of which were Sed.”

“You’re sure of that?” Hayte asked, sitting forward, concern starting to show on his face.

“Hundred percent,” the Doun said. “I was on the ship set to take the raiders to stand trial. All we did was transport the remains. After that, Drinner was removed from GAIL mixed forces and the Sed brought him back into the fold on their home world. I heard he got a promotion for the operation, it’s how he made general.”

“That just great,” Danny mumbled, “one big party like this.”

“Sir, what are we going to do?” Coola asked. Danny looked around at them, his team. He could feel the unease and anxiety coming off them, a sense of uncertainty surrounding them.

“We do what we always do,” Danny answered, “our jobs. We don’t start anything with them under any circumstances. Most likely the Sed government is just inspecting us on the down low, so as long as we show them we’re competent there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Just saying it Chief,” Ritz hissed behind sharp teeth, “they’re going to see that the only Sed crewman in any position of power here got replaced. They aren’t going to like that.”

“No, probably not,” Danny signed, “thanks for that Ritz, I wasn’t already sweating about that at all.”

“You are very clearly perspiring sir,” Coola added.

“Sarcasm, guys. Remember our talk?”

“Right, sorry.”

“Anyway,” Homet popped the last plate into place with a solid metallic click, “I think what the chief is saying is just be prepared for them to try and antagonize you, but don’t react to it. Right?” He looked to Danny for confirmation.

“Right,” Danny took a deep breath. “Go get suited up, we’ll be dropping out of WARP in a few hours. Dismissed.”

The Quintin siblings Ritz and Coola left, alongside Hayte who gave one last look back into the security office before heading out. Then it was just Danny and Homet left in the room, with the holographic face of General Drinner oscillating above the console.

“So what’s the word boss?” Homet finally broke the silence. “You got your work belt on and your… hat, that’s the word, your hat is on backwards. Humans mean business like that, right?”

Danny chuckled.

“I think that’s mostly a me kind of thing man,” he said as he dragged a hand across his face and screwed his eyes shut. “I got a bad feeling about this. After all this shit with Grite, and now this Drinner guy is showing up… I don’t know if I’m being intolerant or what, but every bit of training I’ve ever had is saying somebody is making a play here, I just can’t see all the players.”

“Trust me, you’re not being anything but prepared,” Homet tapped a couple claws against his thermal suit and the added plating. “The Sed have a reputation in the GAIL for the collateral damage of other species. Couple unexplained accidents and botched missions, but never enough evidence to directly link them to any crimes or negligence. So as far as I’m concerned, do what you gotta do.”

Homet clapped his big paw on Danny’s shoulder.

“Who knows,” he continued, “maybe you humans will be the ones to finally teach them some manners.”

Danny’s terminal trilled, then his comm-link did the same.

Must be synced, he thought.

With a push of a button, Danny brought the message up on the holoviewer. It was a message from engineering.

We have something for you

-PADRINO UNIT H663K67Q6

“What do the Padrino want with you chief?” Homet asked.

Danny stared at the message a beat longer.

“Side project. Make sure everyone is ready for the drop, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Unit H66-, uh, 3-,”

“You may refer to me as Sixer, Chief Ducane,” the unit said in its machine synthesized voice. “It is what the Human Thomas calls me for efficiency.”

“Sixer,” Danny started again, “what did you find?”

“Per your request, myself and the other Padrino have been collating the data from the ship’s AI CORE in an effort to find any clues to your… problem, as you call it. Using the assumed times that you claim Human Elizabeth’s access codes could have been used, we have begun searching through all long range messages during those time frames.”

“And?”

“We have found numerous encrypted messages going out, but no data could be acquired. It seems someone has uploaded a program to scrub the system after each message is sent, but it appears they did not implement this function until after this broadcast:

The mis[]io[] is s[]ill g[]in[] ah[]ad as pla[]ne[]. Th[]re w[]s a min[]r set ba[]k, but no one []board t[]e NO[]H sus[]ect[] a[]yth[]ng. We wil[] be []ictorious as we h[]ve alw[]ys be[]n. Pro[]ee[] with t[]e s[]cond pha[]e as sc[]edule[]

“Why is it all piecemeal like that?” Danny asked.

“I found traces of a scrubber program in the core systems, a less advanced version of what is erasing the more recent messages. It seems this message was sent early into the mission, appropriately forty hours after launch.”

“Seriously? This has been going on for that long?” Danny was dumbfounded. Forty hours. The numbers made his head spin. It was almost inconceivable. They’d been over confident, and now it turned out they’d been tricked from the jump.

“Is it possible to get surveillance data from the long range communications consoles? See who all was in there during that time frame? Maybe start narrowing down our suspects?” Danny asked. He clenched and unclenched his right fist a few times. Maybe now he’d finally start making some headway into solving this instead of staring at puzzle pieces for hours on end.

“It is possible, with your approval and from your terminal in the security lounge. With your permission, I could start reviewing footage on your word,” Sixer stated. Danny eyeballed the android before nodding.

“When I get back from this training, we’ll do it together. Leaving you alone in there is a major security risk you understand. It’d cost me my job.”

“Of course,” Sixer said. “Permission to inform Human Thomas of these events? I believe he’d be of assistance in this endeavor.”

No no no, not the kid, please, the corner of Danny’s mouth twitched a little. I can’t deal with the fucking kids anymore.

“Why?” He asked, trying to keep a straight face.

“I have been informed that it is protocol for friends to inform each other of important information regarding their interests. As Human Thomas is greatly invested in the wellbeing of the ship, it seemed prudent to inform him,” Sixer explained. “Though I do agree that yes, it does involve a security concern, which is why I’m requesting permission from you first.”

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Sure. Fuck it. Why not?” He said exasperated. “Turn this whole operation into a game at day care, I’ll go Vend some juice boxes or something.”

“I’m sure Human Thomas will appreciate the refreshment, sir.”

“Oh my god,” Danny cried, “okay, keep doing whatever this is, get Thomas if you want, keep me informed about anything you find, got it? I gotta go deal with the other problem that’ll give me stroke today.”

“Orders confirmed, sir,” Sixer gave a kind of salute to which Danny assumed was also somehow not sarcasm and walked away, taking deep, calming breathes, and wishing the Vending Machines could make something stronger than a juice box.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All ready for the big drop Chief,” Homet called when Danny made the hangar bay. “You take care of that other thing?”

“We’re gonna have to wait and see about that I think,” Danny replied, making a face that said it better or I’m gonna lose it. “How’s tricks in here?”

“Everything protocol says is on the shuttle,” Homet gestured, “and a few extras, just in case. Just waiting for you now.”

“And the team?”

“Nervous,” Homet admitted, “but you gave them the brass they need chief. I think they got this.”

“Careful Homet, you’re starting to sound like a real Terran there,” Danny joked. Homet laughed, a deep, hearty sound, making his thermal suit’s armor clank and clatter against itself.

“Skitch and Commander Koatil are already down there, they sent the go ahead just a minute ago,” the Doun man continued. “We better get moving Chief.”

“All aboard then,” Danny clapped his hands together and stepped through the hatch.

“Once more into the breach.”

[deathworlders-of-e24]

ZZZZZ//ENCRYPTED SIGNAL//ZZZZZ

<CLEARANCE DENIED>

<ERROR>

<ERROR>

<ERROROOROROROROROR>>><<<<><>\\\\\\\[]{]}

…

<CLEARANCE ACCEPTED>

<Recipient: MONS

<From: [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

•The mis[]io[] is s[]ill g[]in[] ah[]ad as pla[]ne[]. Th[]re w[]s a min[]r set ba[]k, but no one []board t[]e NO[]H sus[]ect[] a[]yth[]ng. We wil[] be []ictorious as we h[]ve alw[]ys be[]n. Pro[]ee[] with t[]e s[]cond pha[]e as sc[]edule[]•

<SEND>

[deathworlders-of-e24]

•OUTGOING TRANSMISSION•

<Recipient: Clifftop Colony

<From: NOAH Sprygan 3

{Subject: Survival Strategy Reports}

*to be translated into compatible wavelength upon transmission*

To the Elders of Clifftop Colony, as stated in previous reports, I believe it to be without question a necessary component of our ongoing survival strategies that we form a strong and lasting relationship with the humans. Since they have become members of the Grand Assembly of Intelligent Lifeforms, they have shown many times to differ from the normal predator behaviors prevalent in other omnivorous species. While yes, they do consume botanical matter and that is still a concern, they have also shown time and time again the willingness to protect and defend what they know to be other sentient lifeforms, even at the risk of their own lives and wellbeing. One such in particular, my friend* {*see attached file for definition} and lab partner Friend Human Liz suffered catastrophic damage to their own body to defend me during an excursion to MX13* {*see attached files}. I was attacked by a native predator species and could not camouflage myself in time. Friend Human Liz came to my aid, but in doing so suffered the loss of one of her only four limbs in the encounter, and I was informed by the Human Doctor the limb will never grow back. However, instead of perishing, she is now thriving and continues to be of much help to me and our research. It appears these humans can withstand vast amounts of trauma while still performing their duties and functions.

These creatures called humans seem to emotionally bond to anything they spend enough time with, doubly so if they receive attention for it in return. This would no doubt be an incredible asset to us if humans were allowed to pack bond* {*see attached file} within Colonies on Spryga. I’m sure the humans would agree to an ambassadorial delegation, which would prove to be beneficial to both species in the long run.

They also have many devices to create the substance I spoke of in my last report, chocolate* {see attached files}. It’s my theory that a lack of one of the components in this substance is the cause of our slow growth rates and inability to produce saplings at a constant or consistent rate. Perhaps some arrangement could be made with the humans, something we could give them in exchange for this unique substance. I’ve yet to find anything similar to it on other member planets, and we can not locate or mass produce enough of it to equally distribute it across Spryga ourselves.

Befriending the humans could be the key to all future survival strategies.

NOAH Sprygan 3

Named Coco by the humans

•SEND MESSAGE•

[deathworlders-of-e24]

…reloading…error

…reloading…error

…alternate external file storage created…

…CONNECTION ESTABLISHED…

-[Service Drone Report: Error]-

-[Designated; Error]-

…reloading new updates…

~Updated Report Type: Observation~

~Updated Designation: ROOMBA~

{REPORT 1}

-<101 total cycles since NOAH has launched and unit designated <ROOMBA> has disconnected from central (AI CORE). The [HUMAN] designated <THOMAS> has reconfigured this unit to operate independently from [{NOAH AI CONTROL SYSTEMS}] and has updated task queue>-

…saving to new file storage…

-<Task Queue Update: one primary task request from [HUMAN] <THOMAS> has been completed: OBTAIN HIGH SCORE IN PAC-MAN; outdated limited simulation; score achieved: 3,333,360. New primary task update: Galaga high score>-

…saving to new file storage…

-<[HUMAN] <THOMAS> has completed his assigned portion of maintenance on NOAH CORE SYSTEMS; has since returned to normal operational duties>-

…saving to new file storage…

-<[HUMAN] <THOMAS> continues to describe operating unit designated <ROOMBA> as ^cute^ and ^little buddy^. Need for external clarification required. New designations unclear>-

…saving to new file storage…

-<[HUMAN] <THOMAS> now meets semi regularly with other [HUMANS] on board. Appears to be bonding(?) with other species-mates. Appears this is not an instantaneous occurrence like mechanical lifeforms, such as unit designated <ROOMBA> and [PADRINO]. More observations are required>-

…saving to new file storage…

-<[HUMAN] <THOMAS> says this unit designated <ROOMBA> is getting more intelligent. Unit processing power has upgraded. Cognitive faculties improving. [PADRINO] base code detected, ERROR//ERROR zero [PADRINO] base line directives detected>-

…saving to new file storage…

//INFORMATION REQUEST//

<ENQUIRE [HUMAN] <THOMAS>: what am I?>

[deathworlders-of-e24]

Liz, Biotechnician

Part 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sure it was my codes, sir?”

Liz stood in front of the 3 highest ranking officers on board the Noah: the bipedal insectoid Captain Skitch, the First Officer, a woman from the Doun race named Koatil, and Security Chief Ducane. She’d been called to the captain’s office before the cycle’s shift had even started.

“We’re sure,” Captain Skitch chittered, his short mandibles moving, “but we’re also sure it wasn’t you.”

“I don’t follow,” Liz said. Sitting in the chair across from these three was making her nervous. Like there was an alarm in her head screeching out LAST CHANCE LAST CHANCE LAST CHANCE in Admiral Townes voice. It’s not like she’d been dissecting other crew members like other humans on the ship, so she wasn’t sure how or why this was happening.

“Let me be perfectly clear here Elizabeth, you’re not in any trouble, but several times in the last few weeks, someone has been using division head codes to send encrypted long distance communications.”

Commander Koatil leaned against the wall, her thermal suit clunking and rumbling. Liz had always wondered how the thing didn’t get clogged with Doun fur all the time, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Especially not with Koatil’s horns looking so sharp at the moment.

“At the times in question, you were usually at your work station or in the mess hall. Chief Ducane here assures us your… what did you call it Ducane?”

“Body language, Commander.”

“Right, that. He assures us you couldn’t be behind it. You’re too ‘relaxed’ to be conspiring against the rest of the crew.”

They’ve been watching me? Conspiring against the crew? Liz thought, trying to swallow but her mouth had just dried up like the desert world Apam 2. Hopefully they hadn’t seen what had happened to Coco, or if they did, it wouldn’t get them fired. Liz had to get them to stop eating so much chocolate. Problems for later. The idea of a traitor among the crew was almost an afterthought to her. Almost.

“So do you know who it is?” She asked.

“That’s classified,” Ducane said.

So you don’t know, she figured.

“It’s been…,” the chief continued, “let’s say, brought to the ship command’s attention that some rather odd occurrences have gotten overlooked, so I’ve given Chief Ducane the all clear to begin an official investigation. Can you think of anyone who’d have access to your work station or your personal space?”

Liz shook her head silently. The black ball cap she’d always seen him wearing was backwards, and he donned his ‘tool belt’, sporting an Earthly ballistic pistol and a stun baton. Danny looked at her a second longer before leaning against the desk, looking pensive.

“Naturally, if you speak of this to anyone, you’ll not only be expelled from the ship, you’ll probably end up court-martialed back on Earth,” Skitch said, dead pan. “The only reason you’re being informed is because you were involved, however slightly it was.”

Liz looked around at the three of them. Even if she wasn’t in trouble yet, she thought about the conversation she’d had just yesterday with Thomas and Jane. If anyone had overheard them, even just a little, and they told Bridge Command, that was it. She’d be finished.

God damn it Thomas.

She could already hear her Uncle Edd, AKA Admiral Townes, AKA the man in charge of her current job, as well as the whole ship, telling her how irresponsible it was to leave her access codes on a sticky note by her computer. There wasn’t a universe out there where he didn’t already know about this. Every cell in her body wanted nothing else but to avoid that stern and disappointed lecture she’d heard a thousand times before, the reminders that while she might be the brightest mind in the family she was also the most thoughtless. Another screw up and he couldn’t bail her out again. Another screw up and she could kiss her position goodbye: no more science division head, no more personal lab, no more Noah-

-no more Coco-

The thought burst into her brain like a super nova. She’d finally made a friend, a real friend, someone she connected with in the lab and out, and the thought of losing that scared her more than she thought it would, way more than she’d be willing to admit. No, she had to fix this, now. The conversation she had with Thomas the previous cycle came back like an after flare, and so she did the only thing she could think of.

“Beep…?” she said, looking to Danny, trying desperately to signal to the security chief that yeah, I’ve already talked to Thomas, I know about your office, I know about a lot of stuff! You gotta help me out here, human to human!

The chief stared at her a moment, a puzzled look stuck on his face. Liz gripped the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles turned white. Exasperated she tried again.

“Beep!”

“Are you alright ensign?” The captain asked, looking from her to the only other human in the room, probably looking for a hint about this new strange Earthling behavior. Liz just kept looking at the security chief, and watched as realization bloomed behind his eyes.

Ducane strode over to her, and Liz noticed for the first time he had a scar under his chin, a thin line going up his jaw. In the back of her mind she wondered how he’d gotten it.

“Now, ensign,” Ducane half rumbled as he towered over her, “I’m going to escort you back to your work station, where you’ll not discuss this with anyone else, understood?”

“Understood… sir,” she added hastily.

As the two terrans excused themselves, Liz’ translator just barely picked it up.

“Those humans are weird,” from Commander Koatil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Talk. Now.”

They’d made it down the hallway in silence, Ducane in the lead. The moment the lift doors closed he’d begun the interrogation.

Liz realized then just how much the man’s frame eclipsed hers, he was like four of her put together and force fed an all protein powder diet. She was like a pencil in comparison to a tree trunk. So in response, she straightened her back to her full height and tried to stand her ground.

“Look dude, this isn’t my fault, you told Thomas all that stuff, and he blabbed yesterday to us-”

“Us? Who’s us?!” Danny cut her off, a pained look on his face. “What is the matter with you kids? Are you all trying to give me an ulcer here?”

“Who the hell are you calling kids, I’m twenty eight!”

“And I’m almost forty,” he sighed, “and at this rate you actual children will kill me before I hit the big four zero.” Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. Elizabeth. Liz. Please. Just tell me what he told you and…?”

“Jane, from medical.”

“God damnit Thomas.”

“Tell me about it, right? I’m gonna get canned just ‘cause I know stuff. That’s my whole job dude, to know stuff.”

“Please-”

“Yeah, yeah,” she cut him off, before explaining the conversation the three of them had had the day before in the mess hall.

“Fuuuuck me,” was all he said in turn.

“Why’d you even tell Bridge Command you’re looking for a saboteur on the ship?” Liz asked.

“Why? Because it’s my job, that’s why. This isn’t some little mystery holo show back on Earth, these are real stakes here Liz, real people who could get hurt or worse if this goes bad. So yeah, of fucking course I told the captain! It’s just you kids running around behind my back that are screwing shit up for me right now. If this gets out, the whole experiment is going to be canceled, we’ll all be fired, probably imprisoned, and the whole human god damn race is gonna have cosmic egg on its face right from the jump for a whole galactic audience to see.”

Liz just stared at him, watching the escalation.

“Oh,” is all she said.

The lift doors opened.

“Look,” Ducane took a deep, hopefully calming breath, “if you three just keep your mouths shut and let me do my job, everything is gonna be fine. GAIL Command won’t think anyone is colluding, they won’t even find out until we have something to say, and the ship can keep going on its merry way. Alright?”

“Alright,” Liz said.

And she really did want to mean it too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Human Friend Liz!” Coco’s voice synthesizer exclaimed, unusually excited for a creature with no adrenal gland. “You remember the moon where you lost your arm, yes?”

“Yeah, that was the kind of thing you remember hon,” Liz said, flexing her cybernetic fingers. She hung her coat across the back of her chair. “What about it?”

“Well I was thinking, why didn’t your plasma pistol ignite the air around us? The atmospheric makeup was 95% methane if you recall.”

“Weren’t you releasing oxygen from your branches? That’s why I didn’t suffocate after my mask broke.”

“Yes, correct, but not at a rate that could stave off an ignition. I’ve been rechecking the data, and it appears there was a steady stream of oxygen pouring out from the cave mouth. Perhaps there is some sort of generator, most likely botanical in nature, under the surface to offset the methane in some places.”

“Oh,” Liz said, “well then I’m really glad all we lost down there was my arm. Getting blown up isn’t great, I’m told.”

Coco was standing in their pot, using their branches to tick and tap buttons on their tablet. In their wall cubby enclosure, the Armeaters were ‘sunbathing’ under a heat lamp. A pile of chicken bones in the corner told Liz they’d eaten their lunch without issue. She reached her cybernetic arm over the lip of the tank and scratched one under its snout.

“Remind me, when is the zoological team coming to pick up these guys?”

“Based on their rate of growth,” Coco began, “we’ll have some time before they arrive. Around midpoint of the mission, at the earliest I was told.”

Coco turned their wall computer to face the human.

“Look at this data. I believe these creatures have a rather slow growth period during their first few stages of life, then have rather explosive growth spurts into adult hood.”

“That’s so weird,” Liz said, puzzled. “I mean I guess I’m biased, but most Earth creatures come out ready to go, especially outta eggs. Like sure they’re small, but they don’t stay that way for long.”

“Maybe they’re similar to the Soolian species in the Miriam Basin on Trigor. That species generates a growth hormone from the vegetation they eat,” she continued. “We might just have to take them back to the moon.”

“There is still much we do not know about their habitat. Another expedition to MX13 would be very informative.”

“Yup. Sure would.” Liz flexed her fingers, first the flesh and bone set, then the metal. “Maybe send the drones first though.”

“Oh. Yes. Of course.” Coco turned their tablet back into the wall and continued their work. “Sorry, I had forgotten. When one of my species loses a branch, it will eventually grow back.”

“Lucky you,” Liz said dryly, scritching one of the little aliens between the eyes. It wriggled contently and rolled over. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it was just my arm, and now I’m really glad we didn’t both get blown to hell, but I’m pretty fucking pissed I lost my arm. The new one is cool and all, but it does kinda suck in comparison to the real thing.”

“I am… incapable of understanding the feeling,” Coco said slowly, “but I am sorry that my friend human is upset. If you need anything of me, I will do my best to oblige you.”

“Thanks hon, I really appreciate that.”

Liz sat quietly for a few minutes, listening to the tip tap tap of Coco’s computer typing vines. She wasn’t even really working, more just sitting and breathing and existing, contemplating. Thinking about her arm somewhere, wondering if she could somehow make it shoot the bird to the universe for stealing it.

Wondering if she could or even should tell her best friend on the ship about the possibility of a saboteur. She reasoned that, no, no she shouldn’t. It’d be like… knowingly passing on a contagious virus. Something she didn’t want her friend to catch. Problems they didn’t have to endure if she could just keep her mouth shut.

She found herself thinking about her previous posting onboard the Herald, and the supervising officer who’d contracted the zeno-sporic infection. Hank was his name, if she remembered correctly.

Giant douche canoe filled with fungus, she thought.

He’d completely disregarded the safety briefing she’d made for the landing on Zenos 3, a highly dangerous planetoid in the sector they’d been assigned. Totally ignored the proper instructions and personal protective devices, and came into contact with an incredibly aggressive species of fungus that rooted in his lungs when he’d inhaled them.

Then the dipshit brought them back on the ship without going into quarantine! Who does that?!

Morons. That’s who.

She’d thought he’d looked a little off on the shuttle back, and hours later in the mess hall she’d seen him hacking up spore laced sludge into the waste bins. Luz hadn’t hesitated after that, she’d stunned him with her sidearm and licked him in the sterilization pod. After several hours of gassing him and the spores, he was clean enough to come out, and after another few hours-

-had to be sure you know?-

-she let him out, all safe and clean, totally spore free.

During that time, watching him thrash around in the pod while the spores made their way through his system and into his brain, trying to evade the gas, she’d learned something, something that’d stuck with her since.

Liz had learned that you can’t wait for people to do the right thing. You do it yourself.

She hadn’t waited for Officer Moron to get himself cleaned.

She hadn’t waited for that asshole Grite to save Coco on MX13.

She wasn’t going to wait for Ducane and Bridge Command to find the saboteur and save the mission.

She looked over at her workstation and saw the sticky note stuck there with her codes on it. Liz reached her cybernetic arm over and plucked it from the screen, crumpled it up, and dropped it in the Armeater tank. The largest of the three perked up and pounced on it, like it was a new toy, and shredded it with their newborn needle teeth.

“Time to get to work,” she said quietly.

In their pot in the corner, Coco gave an involuntary shiver of apprehension. Friend Human Liz was exhibiting predator again. They were just thankful for the pack bonding relationship they shared, because otherwise, the Sprygan would be terrified.