XI

*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back with another chapter of 'Xanthus'. I'm sorry it's been longer than usual this time, but I've been frightfully busy. Can't be helped, eh? Anyway, we've officially passed the 1/3 mark for this story, which means that there are only twenty chapters left to come, starting right here. That being said, I'll let you get right in to it. Remember to let me know what you think of the story so far; I'm always glad to hear people's opinions so I know that I'm taking the story in the right direction. Now, without further ado, read on, and enjoy. It's 'Xanthus'. THANK YOU!*

"Matthew?" Kelvin snapped angrily. "What on Earth do you think you're doing here?"

"W-well-" I stuttered madly, trying to come up with some kind of excuse. "I-I uh, was just, um… l-looking for my… pen? Yeah, I-I think I might have dropped it down here somewhere."

"Your pen?" Kelvin replied, clearly not impressed. "Surely you wouldn't have dropped it if you weren't down here in the first place?"

"Oh, d-did I say pen?" I tried, feigning a chuckle. "I meant my, uh, pet. That's right. He's a rat. Scurries all over the place, you know."

"Pets aren't allowed aboard the station." He said bluntly.

"Well, t-the thing is…" I struggled, still desperately trying to cling onto my lie. "M-my… sister, was just-"

"Jones!" Kelvin interrupted. "I doubt you even have a sister, and I'm sure if you did, she wouldn't be very pleased to hear you getting her confused for your pet rat! Now will you kindly tell me why you're here?"

I sighed deeply, knowing that it was time to come clean. To admit that I knew who was behind the killings.

"Look, I'm going to level with you, sir." I began slowly. "I'm… worried! That's it. I'm just worried about the wellbeing of the good people of this station. I mean, I don't wish to sound vain, of course, but I'd consider myself to be a pretty caring person."

"Really?" Kelvin asked sarcastically. "I'm afraid I've come to suspect rather the opposite, Matthew."

"What do you mean?" I replied, confused.

"Well, one can't help but wonder, eh?" He explained. "After all, these incidents have only been occurring since you and that Xenomorph arrived…"

"I beg your pardon?" I gasped, astonished by his accusation. "You think Xe… my 'Xenomorph', did this? How could a dead Xenomorph possibly kill someone?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that it wasn't your patient, Matthew." Kelvin assured me solemnly. "I think it was you."

"What are you talking about?" I exclaimed, now even more taken aback. "You seriously think I have something to do with this?"

"Well what do you expect?" He snapped, almost shouting. "I have to consider every possibility, Jones, no matter how far-fetched."

"If you say so." I muttered. This was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard. How could Kelvin seriously think that this was on me?"

"So let's just say that I am the killer…" I continued. "What would you do to me?"

"Simple." Kelvin told me plainly. "Since the Constantinople is not under the official jurisdiction of any sovereign state, law and order here is left up to us. If I found out that you were murdering our patients, I'd have you executed."

"Oh," was the only reply I could manage here.

"Now, Matthew," Kelvin continued after a few moments of silence. "Isn't there somewhere you need to be?"

"A-actually, now that you mention it." I nodded, stuttering once again. "I'd, uh, better get back upstairs." I stepped backwards slowly, tripping slightly on a metal girder as it intersected with the floor. I cursed to myself wincingly, then slunk away down the corridor.

'Stupid Kelvin,' I thought to myself as I wandered along the empty corridors of the Constantinople. How could he seriously suspect me of all this? Fair enough, these killings had begun just after I arrived, and yes, I had brought two Xenomorphs aboard with me. But come on! I couldn't rip a man's teeth from his mouth, or gauge out someone's eyeballs. I mean, obviously I could, physically speaking, but I didn't have the emotional stability to kick someone in the balls without feeling bad about it. Nonetheless, Kelvin had every right to be suspicious. But threats of execution? A bit steep, surely? As I continued to walk along in silence, I wondered just how Kelvin would react if he found out who the real killer was. As I continued to dwell upon this somewhat unnerving thought, I noticed the corridors around me gradually beginning to fill up once again, as I began to re-enter the more populated upper decks. Doctors and patients alike scurried here and there, just like any other bustling space station. Even so, people were unusually cautious of their surroundings, now. Perhaps they'd realised something was amiss after hearing that the lower decks had been closed off.

A few minutes later, I found myself in the corridor on which Xena's room was situated. This corridor was somewhat quiet, compared to the rest of the ship, but there were still several people walking about. I stopped outside Xena's room, and knocked loudly on the cold metal door. After several moments, there was no reply. I tried again, with similar results. I tried the door, but of course, it was firmly locked. So where was Hinkonnoshi? I looked around, and saw a woman in a white lab coat walking by. She looked to be in her early sixties, and had her long, grey hair tied up in a bun, with just the slightest hint of blonde still there. 'Perhaps she could take me to Hinkonnoshi', I thought.

"Excuse me, miss?" I called out. The woman stopped in her tracks, and turned around to answer me.

"Yes, dear?" She replied warmly, a gentle smile on her face as she spoke.

"You wouldn't happen to know where Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi is, would you?" I asked.

"Oh, Yosuke, you mean?" She said chirpily. "He'll be in the staff room. Come on, I'll take you to him."

"Thanks very much, Miss…" I began, prompting the woman to tell me her name.

"Mary Wickesmith." She replied, reaching out a hand for me to shake. "Doctor Mary Wickesmith."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled. "I'm Matthew."

"Well, Matthew," Doctor Wickesmith continued, turning to head off down the corridor. "Let's go and find Yosuke, shall we?" I nodded, and followed the woman as she made her way along the corridor to a stairwell at the opposite end. We walked down the stairs at quite a brisk pace, weaving around oncoming people as we did so.

"So, you're one of Yosuke's patients, are you?" Doctor Wickesmith asked as we continued to move along swiftly.

"Oh, no," I explained. "A, um… friend of mine is. She's… well, she's seen better days, let's put it like that."

"Good friends?" Wickesmith asked, pushing open a door at the bottom of the stairwell and allowing me to pass through before her.

"I've know her since she was born." I smiled. I'd never really thought about it like that before, but it was true. I had known Xena since she was born.

"I see." Wickesmith nodded, a small grin on her face. "You must be very close."

"Oh, no, i-it's not like that!" I gasped, worried that the woman had caught on to my true relationship with Xena.

"Don't worry about it!" She chuckled in reply. "I'm not going to tell anyone, am I? So, do you like her?"

"Well…" I began, trying not to come up with the cheesiest reply in the history of mankind.

"She's the most beautiful person I've ever known." I finished, failing miserably.

"A little clichéd, there, Matthew." Wickesmith grinned. "But I see what you're trying to say. I was just the same when I was younger."

"You were?" I asked, only too happy to change the subject to Doctor Wickesmith's own love-life.

"Oh, yes." She told me cheerily, pushing open another door as she did so. "Pringle, his name was."

"Pringle?" I asked, confused. "Funny name, isn't it?"

"Aaron Pringle." She finished, chuckling again. Still sounded a bit funny, to be honest. "I met him when I was on holiday on Mars, way back in 2284. Said he was from Phobos. Of course, folk didn't approve. I just kept telling people: 'well, he's not your boyfriend, is he?'"

"Yeah, I know how you feel." I sighed. "Not a lot of people'd approve of me and Xena, either."

"Why?" Wickesmith enquired. "From the 'wrong background', I suppose?"

"You could say that." I muttered in response. "Although it might be a fanciful choice of words."

"Well, either way, you love her, don't you?" Doctor Wickesmith asked.

"I do." I told her honestly. It felt good to finally admit that to someone.

"Well," She smiled, looking at me with another grin on her face. "In that case, if you'll pardon my language, everyone else can just go and fuck themselves, can't they?" I chuckled, grateful for the fact that Doctor Wickesmith was so understanding of my situation. Then again, I severely doubted she'd be so supportive if she knew the truth, would she? Either way, it felt good to know that someone was on my side for once. As this thought lingered in my mind, we finally reached a wide, wooden door which bore the plaque: 'Staff Room'. I was surprised the plaque didn't say something more formal, like 'Staff Recreation Lounge', or at lest 'Staff Break Area'. Anyway, that didn't matter right now. As Doctor Wickesmith pushed the thick door open, inviting me in warmly, I saw that the room was completely packed with doctors. Well, not just doctors. Nurses, professors, and generally anyone who was of sufficient status to wear a white lab coat were also in there. Wickesmith guided me over to a quiet corner of the room, where three men, one of which was Doctor-Professor Hinkonnoshi, were sat around a table with a deck of Ionian cards split between them.

"Yosuke?" Doctor Wickesmith asked, prompting Hinkonnoshi to look up from his cards. "This man wants to speak to you."

"Ah, Matthew!" Yosuke smiled, putting his cards face down on the table and coming over to me. "What's up?"

"Just wondering where you were." I told him. "What are you playing?"

"Oh, just a friendly game of Suits Out." He explained. "We're almost finished, in fact."

"By all means, carry on." I nodded. "But you've already lost."

"What do you mean?" Hinkonnoshi asked, puzzled.

"Well, look at it." I explained. "The last card played was a blue Drone. You've each got three cards left in your hand. Now, unless you've got a zero, and those two have got twelves, thirteens, fourteens or fifteens, you can't win."

"Maybe I do have a zero." He whispered, so as not to let the other players know. "Now, I'll just go and play it, and then I'll be right with you." And with that, he returned to his seat, giving me a quick wink as he did so.

"So, gentlemen…" Yosuke began as he picked his cards back up. "Who's turn is it?"

"That would be me, Yosuke." The man to his left replied. He slowly slipped a card onto the table, grinning smugly. "Two. Gerald?" The man at the opposite side of the table shook his head, glumly placing his 'Five' down on the table.

"Unlucky, Gerald." Yosuke said, consoling the man. "And unlucky, Nick."

"What do you mean, 'unlucky Nick'?" The first man asked. Yosuke didn't reply. Instead, he calmly produced a card from his deck, and silently layed it down on the table. Zero.

"Bollocks!" Nick groaned, slapping the rest of his cards down on the table. "How is it that you always end up with the Zero?" Yosuke simply grinned, getting up from his chair and walking away from the table.

"Now then, Matthew." He beamed, gesturing towards the door. "Shall we?"