And this is what happens when I'm sick, and decide a Dex Hamilton marathon is in order.

Pheromones

The bridge stunk like sweat and over sugared honey. It was overpowering; the odour coming from all sides and assaulting Tung's nostrils. The darkness made it even worse. With his sight impaired, he could only rely on his sense of smell and right now all that was doing was flicking his gag reflex. He shoved the cold bowl of ice cream in his hands to his face, trying to breathe it in.

It was becoming too much now. The sugar from the midnight snack was only intensifying his nausea. Tung shifted on his feet and turned his attention to how soft his slippers were. It didn't help. The smell continued to back hand him across the face. He was coming close to the verge of throwing up all over the floor now; his head was light and his throat felt swollen.

"Hello," he called, surprising the salty lump at the back of his mouth, "Yo, any of you bug dudes in here?"

A sound emitted from the darkness. A faint rustling, like dragonfly wings slicing through the air. Delicate, soft, but distinct. A muffled squeal joined the fluttering. Tung begun to roll the bowl of ice cream in his hands, soothingly. The smell intensified. He felt his eyes roll back into his head as he tried to get a grip on himself.

He yelled out again, strained, "Hello?"

Suddenly, another squeal broke through the dead air. Tung jumped on the spot. His ice cream nearly tumbled out of his hands. To keep it safe, he placed it on the nearest flat surface; one of Jenny's old machines. He couldn't tell what it was. Curiously, he reached over to press a glowing button on its dash, but flinched back when the bug cries out from within the room. Its moan is followed by a hard thwack, and then a hiss. He instinctively took a step back from the machine.

He opened his communicator and spoke uncomfortably into it, "Uh, Dex? I think two bugs are breeding in the bridge."

Dex replied, tired and quite obviously bothered – but quickly, "What makes you say that?"

"It smells like mating season."

"Hold on," he sighed, "I'll wake up Jenny up to check to sensors."

No sooner than a moment after Dex had finished speaking had a light appeared near the pilot's seat. It flickers, like something's trying to cover it. The bugs have gone silent, but the smell remains strong wafting through the air.

"She's not answering," Dex piped up groggily, "The Habitat's sealed pretty tight. Just lock the door behind you and we'll put them back in their houses tomorrow."

Tung didn't need another word. Without so much as a thought, he grabbed his ice cream and bolted from the bridge. The free air hit him with relief. He sighed, hugged his ice cream bowl, and trotted off to his room.

The next morning, the bugs were missing. Dex was madly going over the security cameras, desperate for evidence to support any of his theories. He was currently playing around with several. One being that Tung had hallucinated the whole affair after eating too much ice cream (again). The others were starting to seem a little farfetched. There were no sensor trips, no power outages – nothing to explain bugs escaping their habitats without providing notice.

Jenny and Zap walked in, arguing. Jenny held a clipboard thick with paper; Zap was empty handed, but scowling at her lists. She punched his arm before pushing her clipboard into Dex's hands, "All the bugs are accounted for, so, thanks for waking us up early to look for missing bugs that don't exist."

"But, I thought," Tung insisted, unbeknownst that the glares he's receiving are near deadly, "I heard them!"

Zap groaned, "I'm going back to bed."

"Agreed," she mumbled.

They trudged past Tung, taking their time to silently curse him. He shrugged sheepishly, but freezes as it hit him again. He watched Jenny and Zap leave the bridge with wide eyes. He turned to Dex, trying to grab his attention but only a garbled mess of sound left his mouth. Dex doesn't hear him; too absorbed by the report Jenny had shoved in his hands to be attentive to much else. Tung turns back to the door and held a hand to his chest in shock and embarrassment. They reeked of it.

They smelt like sweat and over sugared honey.