Chapter Three

Jack

I looked up from the makeshift arena as Jane and Ken entered the Rec Room, with Ken's Growlithe bouncing around them like a hyper three-year-old. "Great timing, guys," I informed them. "We're out of challengers for our resident champ, Marle. I'd battle her myself but there'd be no-one to referee the match."

"I could do that . . ." Jane started.

"Uh, no, you couldn't," I said, shaking my head at her behind Marle's back. "It's . . . er . . . a very demanding job and you're not qualified."

"So, basically, you don't want me to fight Marle, is that it?" she shot back. "Is she really that . . .?"

"So, Ken!" I cut her off before she could finish. "You and Growlithe there want to try your luck? We could make it a real Fire fight!"

Ken shook his head. "I'm sure Pads would love to, but, unless anyone wants roast Growlithe on the menu, this one's too young to fight."

"How about you then, Jane?" I asked. "You brought a Pokemon on board, didn't you?"

"Well, yes. But . . ."

"But nothing!" I retorted. "Chop chop! In the ring! Your opponent awaits!"


Emily

Before Jane and Marle could begin their bout, one of the Crew came rushing in, looking decidedly out of breath. "Alien!" he gasped once he could speak coherently. "Alien . . . on . . . board!"

There was a shocked silence as everyone in the Rec Room struggled to digest this news. Then, the Captain's voice came over the intercom to reassure us and let us know the Crew would handle it. "All passengers and their Pokemon should go back to their cabins immediately and stay there while the situation is sorted out," he told us. "No-one is to leave their cabins until they receive the all-clear."

Reluctantly, we abandoned battling for today and headed back to our cabins. Inside N22, I paced round the room while Meowth sat on the bed, grooming herself. Being stuck in here was so boring, but I knew the Captain had our safety at heart when he told us to stay would we really be safe? Or would this alien - or whatever it was - try to take over the Ark? Either way, it was out of my hands so I decided to kill time by reading the book I'd been reading earlier.

I'd barely picked it up when the lights suddenly went out and I was plunged into darkness.


Vicky

I jumped when the lights went out and wished my Ditto could Transform into a flashlight. I called out to Ditto and heard it call back, reassuring me as I lay there staring at the blackness.


Max

I bolted upright as soon as the lights went out. "Abra, come out," I said quietly, not wanting to disturb the silence.

"Abra?" The little Psychic Pokemon said in utter confusion.

"It's all right," I said soothingly. "It's probably the Crew turning the lights off because that alien is on board."


Ken

"I don't buy it," I stated firmly. "Alien or no alien, I'm going to see what's happening out there."

"Then I'm coming with you," Jane said.

"Just a sec; I gotta get some things first," I replied, groping my way towards my storage unit. I pocketed a small tool kit and grabbed a hammer and flashlight. "Right! Let's go!" I said, opening the door. "After you," I said.

Jane shuddered. "No, after you."

I set my jaw and stepped out, hammer in one hand and torch in the other, waiting to see what was outside.


Emily

I fumbled around in the dark, at one point accidentally treading on Meowth's tail, until I finally found myself touching what felt like a door handle. I yanked the door open and groped my way out into the corridor, intent on finding out what the hell was going on around here. I was just feeling my way along N Corridor when I collided with someone and we both fell down with a bump.

"What the . . .?" the person gasped moments before the lights came back on. They were dimmer than usual, obviously some sort of emergency power supply, but at least I could now see who I had walked into.

"Ken?" I said as I staggered to my feet and stood rubbing my elbow where I had banged it on the floor.

"Oh, Emily," he replied. "You gave me a fright walking into me like that. I just wish I knew what was going on."

"Me too," I said. "But my guess is that it has something to do with that alien. Think we should try to find out?"

By now, lots of people were starting to come out of their cabins, all anxious to know what was happening. By the dim lights of the emergency power supply, I could make out Marle, Jack, Max and Jane, as well as a girl I'd never spoken to before. All I knew about her was that she was called Vicky and she had a Ditto.

"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" asked Marle.

"What the hell caused that blackout?" demanded Max.

I sighed and looked at them all. "Well, it's just a guess," I said. "But I'm pretty sure that alien - or whatever it is - caused some sort of power outage. We've got to find out what's happening."


Jack

"Do you think it could just be some kind of Pokemon causing trouble on the Ark?" I asked the group.

"Could be," said Marle.

"Doubt it," said Max.

"What do you mean you doubt it?" asked Jane.

"Oh, don't be so naive, Jane!" Max snapped. "It's obviously not a Pokemon!"

"Naive? You're all just over-reacting!"

I decided to refrain from entering into the argument and looked behind me to check on Wobbuffet. "Oh, great; he didn't even wake up for this!" I sighed to myself.


Vicky

I just sat on the floor with my Ditto. Everyone was arguing and I had had enough. I took a deep breath.

"Quiet!" I shouted in my loudest voice. Everyone stopped arguing and looked at me.


Emily

All of us turned to look at Vicky, wondering just what it was she had to say.

"Listen," she said when she had our full attention. "That thing caused a power outage, right? And, to do that, it would need to be in the engine room or something. So let's go see!"

As we started along the corridor that led to the engine room, Marle hesitated. "Wait a minute," she said. "Didn't they say we weren't to go into the engine room?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes," Jack replied as he gave her a little push forward. "But these aren't "normal circumstances". Now, let's move!"

I could see Marle didn't like the idea of breaking bounds, but she didn't really have a choice now; we had come too far to go back to our cabins. So she heaved a sigh and carried on down the corridor with the rest of us. As we ran, we speculated about what the alien would look like and how it got on board.

"I think it's green," said Max.

"No way!" retorted Ken. "It's like a blob and it got in through the waste disposal system."

"Bet you five bucks it's got big eyes!" added Vicky.

"Whatever it is, we've got to get it out before it wrecks the place," I reminded them as we drew level with the door to the engine room. It looked like any other door on the Ark, with one difference, the sign which read:

NO ENTRY TO UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL

"Doesn't look exactly welcoming," remarked Jack, pointing out the digipad on the wall next to it. Presumably, you had to enter a code or something in order to open that door, but, since we had neither the code nor time to figure it out, we needed to find another way in.

"Where's a Porygon when you need one?" grumbled Jane.

"Quick, Ditto!" Vicky said, releasing her Pokemon. "Transform into a Porygon and override the controls!" But, even though her Ditto tried to do as it had been instructed, it stayed in its usual blobby form. Vicky looked at us sheepishly. "Oh, that's right. Ditto can't Transform unless there's a living replica of what it's trying to become," she said with a sigh. "So much for that idea."

Then, as we were trying to decide what to do next, I spotted a vent on the wall. The only snag was that it looked a little on the small side. I looked at the others, trying to decide who might be small enough to fit in that vent. "Vicky," I said finally, "you're the only one who'll fit through. We need you to get into the engine room and try and open the door from the inside.

Once Vicky was inside the engine room, we began what felt like the longest wait of our lives. But it can't have been more than a few minutes before the door opened and she emerged, grinning at us. "That was easy; all you have to do is slide the door to open it from the inside," she told us.

Max just shrugged. "Whatever," he said. "Now, we'd better divide into two teams. I'll go with Marle, Ken and Jane. And that leaves Emily, Vicky and Jack for the other team."


Jack

The whole thing was like the plot from some cheesey B movie or a low-budget teen horror flick like the ones that used to exist on Earth. But, at the same time, there was something groovy about the situation. Naturally, I assumed command and, after appropriating a torch from Vicky, led her and Emily off into the unknown to track down the alien.

"Right! first things first," I said. "We know it's knocked out the power supply; ergo, we find that and we've found the alien. Is everyone in agreement?"

"But what about . . .?" Emily obviously didn't appreciate my take on the situation. But playing covert ops was already getting to my head and her words were lost on me.

"Glad to hear it, troops," I said. "Now, move out!"

"Will you be quiet for a minute! There could be Crew members around here. And give Vicky her torch back!"

Obviously, there was dissension in the ranks already.


Ken

"This isn't right. We haven't seen any Crew members; something must have happened to them," Jane said.

We decided to ignore her observation as we continued searching for the cause of the ship's power failure. "What exactly are we looking for?" asked Marle.

"Well, from what I've gathered, the main power cables from both reactors pass through the engine room so that, if one reactor fails, the other still supplies the engine," I stated. "We'd be looking for some sort of access to the power cables . . . uh-oh!"

A silhouette in the passage ahead shifted slightly to the left, then disappeared to the right, moving into what looked like another passageway. Max had narrowed his eyes and Marle and Jane both had their hands close to where they kept their Poke Balls.

"We all saw that, right?" Jane asked.

"Yeah - and we're following it," Max replied.

I nodded, raising my torch and keeping a firm grip on my hammer. We moved forward cautiously, preparing for anything. Then, just as we got to the point where we had seen the figure, I uttered a florid string of swear words. Three voices behind me also expressed their disbelief and Pads started barking rapidly. Where there had once been a highvoltage power couple there was now a shredded mess of wires and cables littering the passage. Beyond that, the wall had been prised apart, revealing a darkened passage.

"Any money that leads to the back-up power lines," I said, pointing at the hole with my torch.

"It could be dangerous going ahead with all those severed wires around," commented Max.

"We're not going ahead, not through here," I replied. To prove my point, I drew a worn-out screwdriver from my tool kit and tossed it between the wires. A bright arc of electricity immediately crossed the intervening space between two of the larger cables, sending sparks everywhere.

"Whoa! Definitely not through there!" I said. "Anyone got any ideas?"


Marle

"Wish someone had a Ground Type," I said.

"Well, we don't have any, so now what?" Max rolled his eyes.

I glared, but Ken stepped in and restored the peace. "Calm down, you two - we have bigger problems to worry about," he said.

Ken's Growlithe had continued to growl throughout this exchange, but he suddenly yelped and leapt bheind Ken's legs. We stared at the whimpering, trembling ball of fur before meeting eyes again.

"Something's very, very wrong," Jane muttered to herself.

Ninetales positioned herself in front of me at the new opening in the wall, her fur bristling. I thought I caught a glimpse of movement at the end of the hallway, but I wasn't certain.


Vicky

"Oh, just give me the torch!" I said as I tried to grab it back.

"No!" Jack said. Then, we began fighting over the torch, making so much noise that a Crew member came round the corner. Emily dragged us into a hidden corner and tried to shut us up before he saw or heard us.


Jack

We were still arguing about the torch when Emily finally took matters into her own hands and stole it from us both. "This isn't a kindergarten, you two!" she snapped. "If we're caught, they could do anything to us and, when you're travelling through space, that can take on a whole new meaning. Now sit tight and shut up or you'll find yourselves floating!"

Needless to say, we shut up pretty sharpish after that and it wasn't before we could hear messages being relayed to the approaching Crew member through what sounded like a walkie-talkie.

" . . . damage to the navigation systems. Thankfully, life support is operational. Repeat, life support is operational." The voice cut out as the person at the other end ended the transmission; all that was left was the leaden footfalls of the approaching figure echoing off the metal floor. With a slow steady inevitability, they grew louder and louder until we felt for sure our goose was cooked. Thankfully, we were saved by a burst of static over the walkie-talkie.

"Unidentified creature in the reactor room! All available staff to seal off the area; the back-up generators must be secured at all costs! Emergency firearms can be found in . . ." At that point, the voice was muffled by a sound that, while disguised by static, still sounded like a screech of some kind.

This continued for the longest three seconds of our lives before the transmission went dead and the Crew member who had almost uncovered us changed direction and took off down the corridor.


Vicky

I looked around and saw three discarded uniforms lying on the floor. "Hey, guys! Look!" I said, pointing at the uniforms and at the Crew running past us. Jack and Emily instantly got my idea and we franticly put the uniforms on over our clothes.


Emily

Dressed in our stolen uniforms, we didn't attract too much attention as we hurried into the reactor room and met up with the others.

As it turned out, we got there none too soon because the alien was already siphoning off energy using the three long tentacles it had. I'd seen mock-ups of aliens in science fiction films, but nothing could have prepared me for the real thing. It was a dark green blob with no limbs and a body that seemed to be all mouth and tentacles.

"Ugh!" exclaimed Vicky the second she saw the creature. I could see what she meant.

"Come on, you guys!" Max urged us. "We've got to get that thing to the nearest airlock so we can jettison it!" Then, before any of us could object, he ran towards the alien and blew a raspberry at it. "Hey! Slimeface! Come and get me!" he called as he ran away with the alien in hot pursuit, its body leaving a trail of slime on the floor. It was a risky venture, but, given the situation, there didn't seem to be any alternatives.

Luckily for us, the alien was too slow and ponderous to deal with human quarry and it didn't take long for Max to get it to the nearest airlock. But, when it was cornered, it was more than willing to fight back. One moment Max was opening the airlock, the next he was crouching on the floor holding his face where the alien had stung him. "Oh, great!" I groaned as I helped him up. "Now what do we do?"

"Use my Abra," Max said. "It should be able to Teleport that thing out of here." With that, he handed me his Abra's Poke Ball.

My hands shook as I activated the Poke Ball containing Max's Abra. If this didn't work, we would be in big trouble; that alien had already shown us what it was capable of and I didn't want any more of us to get attacked.

When Max's Abra had emerged from his Ball, I quickly told him to use Teleport to get the alien off the Ark and onto the nearest life-supporting planet. I'd heard two Crew members talking about a planet they'd found that was habitable but couldn't support a large colony of humans. Hopefully, the alien wouldn't bother us again after that. In any case, Max's Abra managed to successfully Teleport it off the ship and we now had to get back to our cabins before we were missed. But first there was a more pressing problem; Max's face had a livid red mark where the alien had stung him and we knew we had to get him to sickbay fast.

Marle and I helped him to his feet. "C'mon!" Marle said. "Let's get you out of here. Trouble is, what do we say to the medics?"

I knew what she meant. If anyone found out we had been disobeying orders, we could be in real trouble. I glanced round at the others, anxious to know what they thought.

"We'll have to tell the truth," said Jack. "They'll twig sooner or later anyway."

The others nodded and we headed up to sickbay together.

As I had feared, all of us except Max were called into the Captain's suite and given a long lecture on responsibility.

"I'm very displeased with all of you," the Captain told us. "You disobeyed a direct order to stay in your cabins, in addition to entering areas you knew were out of bounds to passengers."

"But it was brave of us to get rid of the alien, wasn't it?" Vicky cut in.

The Captain sighed. "There's a line between bravery and foolhardiness, Vicky," he said wearily. "And you lot have just crossed it. I'm only grateful none of you was seriously hurt."

That reminded me of something and I asked how Max was doing.

"You'll be happy to know he's doing fine," the Captain replied. "The medics say the sting was unpleasant but not poisonous, so he should be out of sickbay soon. However, I cannot allow such irresponsible behaviour . . ."

Just as he was about to announce our punishment, a voice came over the intercom. "Attention all passengers and Crew! Our probes have detected a small planet in orbit around a star of spectral type G1. We believe it to be habitable by humans."