TASKS:
O2: Monitor Tree
Electrical: Download Data
Office: Scan Boarding Pass
Node_CA: Fix Weather Node
Medbay: Submit Scan
Specimen Room: Unlock Manifolds
...As if I was actually here to do any of those things.
No. These people were about to get themselves screwed over for what they did to us on the Skeld, and I was either gonna make sure of it or die trying...But I figured that if I wanted to keep everyone's eyes off of me and my teammates, it'd be best to at least blend in with the busy crew.
"Alright...I'm gonna take Purp Jr. here and go see what I can do in the western outpost building. Black, in case anyone else is in there, exactly twenty seconds after I go in, I'd like you to use the power grid panel that HQ sent you to shut the doors to Electrical and O2. They can be opened manually in case of an emergency, but it should still give me time to do somethin' in there if I get lucky. And about ten seconds after that, cut the communication systems. It'll distract them and buy us some time before any potential bodies are found."
"Roger."
"Okay...Blue. How 'bout you come with me? In case we run into more than one person in there."
"Well...Okay. I'll come."
"Before we split up, I cannot emphasize this enough. Always do a double take-TRIPLE if ya have to-and make sure absolutely NOBODY else is around you and whoever you plan to send to hell...We can't afford any casualties on our end. Understood?"
"Aye, gov'ner."
"Yes, Brown."
"Great..."
I scooped up Purple Jr. before we made our way out into the outpost.
"Blue. Let's move out."
Black headed east towards the lab, watching us over his shoulder as Blue and I made our way into the northern entrance of the westernmost building...The Electrical and O2 rooms were connected to each other via a tube hallway, so once I "finished my download," I could go to the tree through there and see if anyone was around...Hopefully Yellow. She was an important target. But anyone would do, really.
Blue headed down the O2 hallway ahead of me to scout for crewmates, and I put Purple Jr. down, took the tablet out of the download screen, held it in front of my face and just...stood there. Eight seconds. That was how long it took for a download to go through on the Skeld, so I didn't expect it to be much different here. And just in case someone was watching, I didn't want to look unnatural...I knew something like that would be the first thing to raise a red flag in people's heads, so as long as the snowball stayed atop the hill of trust, it wouldn't roll down, and nobody should notice anything suspicious about it.
I scanned the area one more time before stepping away from the screen just to make sure nobody was watching...But the only figure I saw was Blue's. He was standing at the end of the hallway, motioning for me to follow him...When I went down to meet him, he lead me into one of the off-hand rooms in O2...The one with the tree.
It was like a tiny slice had been cut from the earth and brought here to this frozen wasteland. The sod floor was green with grass, and the large live oak tree that grew in the far corner of the room looked sturdy and well-kept...And it was funny, but I could have sworn I heard a sparrow singing in the uppermost branches.
But now was no time to enjoy the scenery. Our attention was focused on the two other figures in the room...Purple was downloading data by the far wall, and Green was adjusting the levels of sustenance that were going into the tree...He looked like as much of a tree hugger as the Green I knew back home.
No. Do NOT associate the two. These are two completely separate people...With completely separate ideals. This man needs to die if you wanna live.
...But even so, I didn't want to have to be the one who shoved the blade into his spine.
I looked around one more time, peering into each room before we went in...There was nobody in the boiler room, nobody in the tank filling station, or by the wires, or coming along just outside either entrance into O2.
...And it was at that very moment that all the doors shut, closing the four of us in.
Two crewmates...Two Impostors.
I could see Blue's hands shaking, so I took one in my own, then used my other hand to swiftly and smoothly open his utility pocket, pull his folding knife out, flip it open and hand it to him before raising a finger to my visor.
"...It'll be quick and easy if you use enough force," I whispered to him. "You take Green and I'll take Purp. Then we vamoose through the hole by where Purp's at and nobody will know we had anything to do with it."
"S-so...We're really going to do this, are we?"
I sighed, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder...It was the best I could offer him at a time like this.
"...We're doing the right thing, Blue."
I pulled my own knife out of my pocket and flipped it open.
"...And we can't turn back now. Make us proud...Make ME proud, Blue."
He stared back at me for a second before giving a response...But as soon as I saw him nod, we snuck up behind them, blades raised and ready to slice.
"Dada?"
Everybody froze for just a split second at the sound of my ward's voice...Blue and I were almost too late to hide the knives back behind ourselves before Green and Purple turned around to look at the tiny figure secured to me via lifeline.
"Oh..."
Purple was a little taken aback by him.
"Oh dear me...This is the one from the Skeld, no?"
"Um...Yes. He is...I've taken him in."
Purple Jr. walked right up to his larger lookalike and hugged his right leg...He thought his pop was finally back. Finally awake after a bullet had put him to sleep for so long back on the Skeld.
...I wished he'd had a couple more years on him than he did. If that'd been the case, he might have been able to figure out that these two Purples weren't the same guy. But he didn't...And he wasn't.
And now his supposed father was gonna go right back to sleep again...And never come back this time.
"Um...Purple Jr.? C-can you let go of him, he's got things he has to do."
"You know, I could take him if you like. We've both tasks to do, but why not help him out if he's still getting over-"
Purple never got to finish. In one swift motion, I tackled him against the wall and snapped the radio antenna on the top of his back unit...His agonized screams remained trapped inside his helmet as the knife in my hand dove into his side, then came back out coated in red.
"...Stop making this harder than it already is, Purple."
Blue had done the same to Green, except the knife had landed right in Green's heart...Damn. He'd been killed almost instantly, and Purple was still writhing in pain.
I plunged my own knife into Purp's own chest, and I heard him wince one more time as his screaming came to a stop...Not another noise would escape him ever again.
...Purple Jr. staggered backwards until the lifeline connecting the two of us was stretched out all the way, sounding like he was about to scream...But it had to be done. And now that it was finally over, he wouldn't have to see anything like it happen again.
Before he got the chance to cry out in horror, I pulled him closer by the lifeline, then picked him back up off the ground with my free hand and held him there.
"...This is all gonna make way more sense when you're older. You'll know the truth then...Things will be better then, a'ight kid?"
I felt him curl up into a petrified little ball in my hold...Having been on the Skeld with us for so long, he seemed to figure out right there that I myself wasn't gonna do anything to hurt him, and I was only doin' what I had to do...But I hoped that everything I'd said to him was gonna turn out to be true.
...It was the least he deserved.
"Come on, Blue, let's get outta here before someone sees us."
I folded my knife and stored it, then motioned for him to follow me to the hole by the download screen where Purple had been, and he hopped in first...The hole system on Polus was a series of burrows connecting different buildings and outside spots, similar to the vent systems back on the HQ rooftop and Skeld. But they were easier to use; they were wider, which let you crawl through 'em faster, and the dirt walls made less noise than any metal ones, which reduced your odds of bein' caught...Nobody really knows how the tunnels ended up there in the first place. Some say it was an abandoned mining project. Others say it was alien Impostors that made them to travel in secret. But the definitive truth has yet to be revealed...All we know right now is that they're comin' in real handy for us.
I kept Purple Jr. close to me and headed in once Blue was on his way, disappearing into the soil...The rich, brown earth of the tree room turned frosty and purple again as we went back up to Electrical.
Before we popped back up, I peered Purple Jr.'s head over the edge of the hole just to make sure we were alone; it was better they see him first instead of me...But the doors were still shut, and we were the only three souls in there, so I lifted Purple Jr. out, hoisted myself back up onto the metal floor and quickly pulled Blue back up to join us. Someone could open the outside doors at any moment, and I wasn't about to let someone see us coming out of the hole.
I lead him to the door and flipped the four malfunctioning switches to open it back up...Still, nobody around. There had to be a lot of tasks on the east side of the outpost for the crime scene we'd created to end up this deserted.
"Quick work there, Blue...Let's go over to the office and make like we're scanning our boarding passes."
He didn't give a verbal response...He just let his legs follow mine as I took his hand and lead him over to the office.
"...Hang in there, Blue. This ain't gonna last forever. We'll make it back."
I wanted to convince myself that he was only a little shaken up, and he'd be alright...But deep down, I knew he really wasn't. Blue never wanted to hurt anyone, and he made sure we'd known that when we were on the Skeld...Now he'd just killed someone he'd seen as an ally for most of his life, and he'd watched me do the same to another one right in front of him.
I'm more than familiar to the concept of murder at this point. So it gave me some preparation for what was gonna go down when I actually did it myself...But people who aren't used to things like that don't get over it in a few minutes. It can take months. Years...Maybe never fully healing.
But he's not in it alone. And neither is Purple Jr., or Black...We're all in this mess together, no matter what.
Comms Disabled
Just as planned. Black's doin' good, wherever he is right now.
"I got a better idea. Why don't we fix the comms ourselves to make it look like we're busy helpin' them out?"
"Uh...S-sounds good."
Ironically, it was we, two of the Impostors at work, who were the first responders on the scene. Some of the other crewmates came around to do the same not long after we'd arrived, but by the time they did, I'd already adjusted the knob, and Blue had re-aligned the antenna.
The task bar reappeared on our arm panels, and we turned around to face a few of the people behind us...Red, Black and Yellow were all standing there.
The latter was the first to say anything to us.
"Hmm. Good job fixing. Reception is not very good out here."
It'd pleased all of us to find out that the CARSA crew preferred to speak English over their mother tongues for the operation...Likely to avoid confusion between themselves, but it helped our case just as much; in case you didn't figure, Russian and Chinese aren't very easy languages to learn over a span of three days.
The only thing I'd really gotten down was the accent, so I did with what I had.
"I do what I can...Blue and I will head down to Office to scan passes. You three coming?"
"да, we do same."
We piled into the southern office entrance en masse...The office was the largest building on the outpost, and served as a center of operations for the crew. It had pretty much all the works; an Admin table, emergency button, coffee station, places to clear your boarding pass and ID card...
And another large monitor off to the right of the scanners.
Yellow got in line for the boarding pass scan first, and as soon as she was cleared, she stepped over to the screen.
"...What does this here do?"
Blue was the one to ask the question, and Yellow promptly answered him.
"Is digital ECG. Sends vital signs from crewmembers' systems in suits to make sure nothing goes wrong...Polus can be dangerous place when one is not careful."
Oh, SHIT...
A freakin' VITAL MONITOR? Ground control had failed to bring up that little detail during our three-day prep. Something like that could botch up our whole operation if someone were checking it, then happened to see us walking in the opposite direction of whatever body they found.
...And now Yellow, of all the people it could have been, was looking at the screen.
"...What..."
I peered over her shoulder, pretending to be curious...Green and Purple's pulse reading was nothing but a flat line going up the column.
"...Something is wrong. Th-this can't be...There is likely something wrong with the readings."
"Do you think something happened when we were fixing the communication systems?"
"Maybe...Red. Check Admin table to see locations."
He nodded, then made his way down to the back room...Black and Blue followed him down there, leaving me with Yellow.
"Brown. I may send you and Blue back to dial. See if their readings come back if you reposition things differently."
"Sound good."
"...Something wrong, Brown? You seem unsteady."
"Fine, fine..."
My voice broke in an awkward fashion as I tried to think up an excuse.
"Just cold...May have to readjust temperature in suit."
Red came back from the Admin table with my two fellow agents...His English was a bit better than Yellow's, and his Asian accent wasn't quite as thick as some of the others I'd heard thus far...I would have been a little more impressed if I weren't here to send him and the rest of his teammates to a desolate winter grave.
"We have the five of us here in the office, two in Electrical, two by the tree in O2 and one in weapons. I'll check by the tree and make sure nothing is amiss. Black, you check in Electrical, and Blue, you check weapons. Brown and Yellow. Would you two stay here and see if anyone else's readings go down?"
"Will do. I have Brown see if we can get them back."
Dream on, Yellow...They ain't comin' back no matter how much I turn that knob.
The four of us dispersed as Yellow kept an eye on the vital monitor...I figured I might as well mess with the dial and keep acting clueless; as long as we acted clueless, they wouldn't have any reason to suspect us...Right?
And the first part of acting clueless was to make like nothing was wrong...So we just kept hollering back to one another.
"...Any readings yet, Yellow?"
"Nothing yet. Try to adjust antenna one more time."
"...Anything now?"
"нет."
"Is it only Purple and Green not showing?"
"Is only them. All others show just fine."
"...I change it again. Nothing different?"
"Nothing..."
Then, she said it.
"...I am starting to think something may be wrong with them."
"Who, Green and Purple?"
"Yes, them! Who else!? Are you not paying attention!?"
"I am payin' attention!"
I almost let my accent slip for a moment there...But she was too busy making assumptions about me and Purple Jr. to pay it much mind.
"Argh...I don't know what your ward is doing, but if it distracts you, make him stop!"
Just as she spat back at me, it happened. The sound of Red's voice rang out across the outpost, amplified by his megaphone.
"EVERYONE TO THE TREE! NOW!"
I gathered Purple Jr. up in my arms again and instinctively rushed to the site of the report...I don't know why I was so alarmed as I ran over to O2 again. I knew exactly what was in there, and I knew exactly what Red had called us to behold.
Maybe I was afraid something might slip. Maybe I thought there would be evidence, and someone would sniff me out...But I knew that if I acted like I knew anything, the eyes were all gonna be on me.
Act clueless...
"Ahh, first two vitals go out, now the doors close on us!?"
Yellow had caught up to me just as I'd finished analyzing which switches to flip.
"Too slow, move aside!"
She shoved me out of the way and flicked all of the faulty switches in the right direction, then as soon as the doors opened, she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the room. Blue and Black met us up there from up the hallway, and we all piled into the tree room and beheld the grizzly image spanned on the grassy ground before us.
"Mater' Bozh'ya..."
We all watched as Yellow fell to her knees before Purple's limp corpse, her breath shaking like a leaf in a blizzard as she traced a finger along the stab wound on his side, and then the one on his chest. Red looked over Green's corpse himself, and the two of them kept exchanging glances...All the while, I kept repeating the same phrase in my head.
Act clueless...You don't know what happened here.
"...What happened to them?"
Yellow looked up and faced me.
"...No accident...They've been killed by someone."
I knew my hand was shaking...But at that point, everyone's hands were, so it didn't do much else but make me look just as shocked and shaken as the rest of the crowd.
"By who? O-or by what?"
Yellow rose to her feet and looked over us.
"I cannot say yet...But we will find out."