Crew:
Kyle (Impostor) – Blue Riley (Security) - Cyan
Ricky (Weapons) – Red Edgar (Captain) - White
Sofia (Cook) – Lime Helen (Communication) - Orange
Dereck (No specified role) – Black Chen (Electrical) - Purple
Grace (Nurse) – Pink Valerie (Cook) – Green
Edgar POV
I am not fired.
Thank God, that had me worried there.
Just now, I had a talk with the absolute boss of Meera. He told me that the board had decided that I did the best I could in a difficult situation.
Usually, the people over at Meera aren't this forgiving. Losing a crewmate to anything is usually enough for punishment. There are some exceptions, but I wasn't aware murdering aliens were among those exceptions.
Then again, I have some good friends on the board so I shouldn't have worried as much as I did.
Against my wish, the crew voted to return home, so that is where we are headed now.
David understood my decision, but his second in command, a woman called Caroline, was pretty angry. She wanted to spend the next holiday season at home, which seems unlikely now.
I asked her what she would do if she was in my position. Of course she said she would've continued, but that is easily said, safely on a planet protected by many guards. David later apologized for her behavior, but the truth is she never had to deal with this and doesn't know how bad it is.
There have been impostors on Polus too, but with these new defense systems they hardly have a chance anymore. On Polus, there is a device that checks everyone's heart rate. The second someone is killed, an alarm goes off. So even if an Impostor would be able to look exactly alike, it wouldn't help.
But Polus has been Impostor-free for a few years now.
"Captain!"
I hear someone call from outside my door. It's Sofia, with dinner.
When I open the door I see what's on the menu: rice with chicken.
One thing that Valerie never did was cook meat. She was a vegetarian and didn't like to work with killed animals. None of us made a problem out of it, but I did miss eating meat.
Even though Valerie didn't use it, I know there is a freezer filled with meat. I'm glad that Sofia decided to use it.
A small flicker attracts our attention.
"You saw that too right?" I ask Sofia, who nods.
"Chen is possibly working on the wires again."
Another flicker.
"You're probably right."
I hadn't finished the words or the lights popped out. With no light coming from outside, it was suddenly dark as night.
Riley POV
What the hell is this! Are you freaking kidding me!?
I can't see shit anymore. Not even my own hands.
I've dropped my food, but I'm not going to crawl onto the ground like this.
As fast as I can, I run towards my little cabin of Security. I have walked this road multiple times a day for three weeks, so I have no trouble reaching there.
There it is. I have a flashlight inside, that will help me locate stuff.
First things first. Closing the door, locking it.
Ah good, now I'm safe. They can't get in here.
Where's my flashlight? I thought I left it in one of my drawers.
"Looking for this?"
I turn around and am suddenly faced with a bundle of light.
When my eyes adjust to it, I see Kyle holding the flashlight.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was working on something in the Reactor when this happened. I remember you said you had a flashlight so I came to look for it."
Well that makes sense I guess.
"So what do we do next?"
Kyle answers quickly. "I say we wait out here. Chen will be repairing this in no time and I am in no mood to go out there."
"Wait, do you still think there is an Impostor?"
Kyle shrugs his shoulders. "There could be a new one, I don't know. But I'm not the one who's going to figure that out."
"You make a very good point."
I sit down in my chair.
"And now we wait."
Dereck POV
"Dereck, come to Electrical!" Chen calls.
I figured as much and am already walking that way. It's a good thing there is no Impostor left, because that would be super scary.
I look into what is Admin, but I can't see anything. The only thing burning there is the device that tells us where everyone is.
I decide to check it. Apparently, there are two people in Navigation. One in Admin, that's me. One in Weapons, one in Medbay, one in Security. O wait, now two. That's a total of 7, I'm missing someone.
Quicker than before I'm walking towards Electrical. The device said there was no-one there, but that can't be right. Knowing Chen, he is working his ass off to get the lights to work again. Unless…
Almost running, I make it towards Electrical. Here, there is an emergency lighting, in cases like these. There is a strange smell.
I step inside and feel weird, frightened even. Right in front of me, there's the fuse box where the switches are located, to turn the lights back on. But it is what is behind the small wall dividing Electrical that makes me scared. Or what isn't, because I don't know.
The door to the switch is already open, but where did Chen go?
That smell, I suddenly realize what it is. Blood.
With a heart made of lead I decide to look behind the wall. My hands are shivering, I have trouble breathing. Carefully, I peak behind it.
….
It's Chen. Or at least what was Chen, I only recognize him by his purple suit. I run back outside to vomit, when I hear footsteps.
"Chen, Dereck, are you there?" It's Sofia.
"Don't come any closer!" I shout back. With a lump in my throat I say the following words. "There is another Impostor."
I can hear Sofia drop to the ground.
"No…"
"Chen is gone."
Behind her I hear another pair of footsteps. They go past her and past me.
"I'll deal with this." It is the captain.
I collect my courage and go in with him.
"Which switches do we need to switch?"
"But…"
"Stop. I know, but we need the lights to go on. If there is another killing machine, we can't be in the dark. Now, which switches?"
I point to the switches on the captain's side, while I flip the ones on mine. One by one, the lights on the ship turn back on.
Without thinking I run back towards Sofia, who is sitting on the ground.
"We are all going to die here…"
I sit next to her and wrap my arms around her. She lays her head on my shoulder and starts to cry.
"We're all going to die here…"