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Explorers of the Universe

Chapter 10: Scuttle the Ships; A New Life Born of Life but of Darkness

Back in the Creators' Temple/Ship

Isaac and Kori were running back to the ship, with Gwen and Sphere with them as well. Well, more like hobbling, as Isaac was trying to help his cousin keep up with them, as Kori ran with them with Sphere flying after them. But Gwen nearly gasped in pain, clutching her abdomen, as she begged Isaac to stop, "I need to stop! Please, I need to breathe."

"Okay, hang on. We'll take a breather here for now," Isaac stated, as he stopped, with Gwen, leaning on the wall clutching her stomach in pain.

Kori flew back with them along with Sphere, as she landed next to the redhead, looking at her in concern, "Are you in pain, Gwendolyn? Is the damage from the surgery affecting you?"

Gwen's breathing was a bit labored, but she was managing, as she answered, "I was in surgery hours ago. I had an alien squid-like creature gestating in me. And I just witnessed the very being that created us… kill most of the crew, including Peter Weyward: the very man that funded this expedition." She looked at Kori in exhaustion, as she innocently stated with a weak smile, "It hasn't been easy for me these past few days."

Kori sympathetically smiled to her, knowing she was staying strong. Then Gwen turned to look to Isaac, and saw that he had a stern hard look on his face, with an arched eyebrow. She knew that he was going to berate her on what he had said earlier was right, but was too miffed off to even hear of it, as she sternly looked back at him.

"Not one word," Gwen finally said.

"Then how about two," he asked, as he tilted his head, "Told ya."

Back with the Creator

The lumbering murderous giant of a being passed the corpses of the kills, ignoring Rei, as he stood outside the platform of the cryo-stasis chambers. Then suddenly, it opened up, as a peculiar large object elevated out of it. It folded out revealing it to be a mix of what appeared to be a giant telescope, and a pilot's seat. Once that happened, the Creator walked over to it, and sat down in the chair. Once it confirmed his presence, tubes seemed to seep out and connect to his arms and shoulders, and the back of the chair folded out, producing a helmet that encases his head, suiting him up for the journey for what is to come.

The temple/ship suddenly shook alive, as all the dust and soot shook off in the hallways, as Isaac and the others witnessed what was transpiring all around them at the moment. The teens felt the shaking all over, and knew that they had to bolt out of there as fast as they could. Luckily, Kori grabbed Isaac and Gwen's hands, pulling them with her as she flew, carrying them out of there, with Sphere following after them. Huge dust storms shot up after them, chasing them out, as they were racing the clock. Finally, with Kori's hair glowing bright, and with her eyes glowing bright green, she screamed out, as they saw the white light right in front of them, speeding faster and getting bigger with every second they made. Then finally, they shot of the cracked airhole side of the temple, like a bullet fired out of a gun.

They got some good distance until they skidded on the ground, rolling in the dirt, yelling out in pain from all the tumbling and skidding, until finally, they crashed differently. Gwen fell crashed on her back, holding her side, while Isaac crashed, skidding on his back. And finally, Kori crashed… or rather plowed, right into Isaac, nearly crushing him. Sphere, on the other hand, bounced out and down on the ground.

Isaac slowly recovered back into a sitting position, but saw that Kori was slowly getting up from his lap. The situation was a bit one-sided in embarrassment, as Isaac blushed under his faceplate from the position the two were in.

"Uh, you okay, Kori," he asked, as he looked to her.

Finally, she regained her line of sight, and looked to Isaac, replying with a groan, "I am alright; I am tougher than my appearance shows." The two regained their footing, as they walked over to Gwen, helping her up, as Sphere flew to them. She looked to Sphere and asked, "Is the Prometheus still here?"

Sphere nodded, "Yes, I've been in monitoring their systems. They haven't taken off… yet. Though we should…"

But the conversation was put on hold, as they heard rumbling beneath their feet. The two humans wondered if there was an earthquake coming, but they looked around, and saw underneath their feet, it was splitting open. It was folding in, nearly pulling them apart, but Kori grabbed the two, as she and Sphere flew away where it was still solid. As they landed on the ground, they saw the port opening fully, as they managed to peek at the blackened hole made out from the ground.

It was then that they paled, as they saw the alien ship beginning to warm up, about to take off.

They stepped back, as Isaac radioed the Prometheus as quickly as he could, "Prometheus? Prometheus, can you read me!"

Elsewhere

Back on the Prometheus

Bridge

As they began to make preparations to go back to Earth, the crew stopped as a transmission was able to come through.

"Prometheus," Isaac transmitted. "Prometheus, can you read me?! It's me, Isaac Shepard!"

The crew were a bit stunned to hear their voices again. But Jeff immediately responded, as he replied, "Isaac, it's Jeff! Can you read me? Is everyone alright; is Gwen with you?"

"Yeah, we can hear you. Gwen, Kori, Sphere, and I were the only ones that got out," Isaac replied, as he sighed. "We've got a situation out here! This ship's about to take off!"

The crew looked to one another, as Vickers walked up, asking, "What is he talking about? Take off where?"

"Earth," Isaac replied. "We can't leave! We have to stop it from leaving!"

However, Vickers simply replied back to him, not caring on what was about to happen, "We're not stopping anything, Shepard. We're going home."

"Dammit, Vickers! If we don't stop this ship, there's got gonna be a home, let alone a planet, to go back to," Isaac shouted. He huffed, as he managed to speak up again, as the girls and Sphere looked to him, as he finished, "Marek. That ship… it's carrying death… and its destination is Earth. It always has been."

Marek replied, "Mr. Shepard, neither the Prometheus nor Falcon are warship models. We don't have any weapons…"

"I know, Marek. I know," Isaac interrupted. "I know. But we have to find some way to stop it."

"There's nothing to stop, Mr. Shepard," Vickers stated. "We're going home."

"DAMMIT, VICKERS!" Isaac shouted back.

But Vickers cut the link, as he tried to get back on, "Prometheus? Prometheus, do you copy? Shit, she cut me off!"

Gwen checked her link, "She cut mine too!"

"Why is she doing this," Kori asked. "Does she not know that her world is doomed?"

The teens looked outside, as the Creator's vessel was slowly coming out, attempting to break free of the land it had been stuck on for some time. The giant black obelisk of a ship nearly blotted out the light for the four, as they looked at it, slowly ascending upward. They knew that if the ship left the atmosphere, it would be over for Earth. Vickers wasn't gonna do it; she wanted to turn tail and run, and they were right, neither the Prometheus nor the Falcon were warships; they were built strictly for exploration. All in all, it seemed hopeless as the ship fully started to ascend out of the hole, and headed skyward.

All the teens and the remaining crew of the Prometheus could do was look up as the ship was about to leave.

Isaac clenched his teeth, as Gwen gently squeezed her cousin's hand and shoulder in fear, as they looked upward to the black ominous ship, "Isaac, we have to do something."

"I don't think there's anything we can do," Isaac sighed in defeat. "Even if we got to the Falcon, we don't have any weapons on it. Either way, Earth's done the minute that thing leaves."

As the cousins realized there was no hope anymore, Kori looked to them, seeing that they were close to giving up. She then looked back at the Creator ship leaving and with nothing to stop it, almost mocking everyone who witnessed its escape. But at that moment, her eyes glowed even brighter, as she spoke with sudden ice-cold fury in both her eyes, and her voice, "No, it will not leave!"

She suddenly took off the ground, gusting up some wind that nearly blew the cousins off the ground, but caused Sphere to spin around for a moment. She flew up in high speed to intercept the giant vessel, as Isaac managed to speak via com link, "Kori! What are you doing?!"

"I will not allow it to leave this world," Kori replied. But before Isaac could argue or question on how she would do it, she explained to him, "I do not know what has become of my world in the past 6 years of my imprisonment and experimentation. I do not know if it has been conquered or destroyed. I will not allow it to happen to any other planet too. I will not let your world die, Isaac!"

She took off towards the ship, attempting to intercept it, as she was coming right at its rear in high speed. She flew around it, as she was flying up quickly to get to a higher altitude to it. Once she was above it, she took a nosedive down upon it, shooting sunbolts at it. However, they didn't scratch the surface, but merely scuffed it up as much as possible. But then she flew faster at it, as she screamed out, and collided with the center of the ship. Once she connected to it, she was pushign it, using her right side of her body, as she screamed out and groaned to push it back to the planet.

Much to everyone's shock at seeing what was going on, they saw she was succeeding, as the ship was slowly inch by inch, being pushed back on the planet. The Creator within the ship saw this, as the ship's cameras zoomed in, spotting the Zamaranian girl, using her flight and strength to push the ship back. The Creator worked at the controls, preparing something… but a hand shot out, using strength equal to his to keep from finishing it.

The creator turned, and saw the blue-haired girl, Rei, managing to pull his hand back, minus her missing arm.

Back on the Prometheus' Bridge

Marek was watching the whole scene in front of him, as was Jeff, Chance, and Revel. These kids were doing all that they could to stop this being, and all they were doing was just sitting and watching this whole thing. At that moment, the promise that he and the others made back in that room echoed in his ears. The promise was that no matter what, no one was going to let any of that stuff on that ship come close to Earth. And that they would do anything to stop it.

However, Miss Vickers wasn't all that impressed what was going on. She seemed more dead set on getting out of there, as she ordered, "I ordered you to get the ship moving. We're going home."

*cxz

However, Marek was working fast on the controls quickly, "Mr. Ravel, warm up the ion propulsion."

Everyone seemed surprised by that, as Jeff asked, "What?"

"What the hell are you talkinga bout," Vickers asked, not liking the sound of that.

Ravel made the order clear on the consequence, "Sir, burning the ion in the inner atmosphere…"

"… turns the Prometheus into a bullet, I know," Marek stated. "But that is exactly the point." He then continued to work on the console, all the while ignoring the bossy Vickers, as she ranted on.

"What the hell are you doing," she asked, as Vickers continued to order them with no luck of them following. "Marek, this and the Falcon are the sole property of Weyward Industries. In short, either one of them is my ship. And I'm ordering you to take us home!"

"Those kids are right about one thing, Vickers: if we don't stop that beast from flying, there ain't gonna be a home to go back to," Marek replied, as he looked at her. "So what good is inheriting a multi-billion corporation if the planet it's on is dead?" Vickers was a bit frozen in that, defeated in the argument as she was silent in shock. Marek went back on the controls, as he stated, "I'm gonna eject the life support module onto that surface. That's five years of life: you want it, or you wanna stay here with us." He then readied the controls, as he finished, "You've got 2 minutes to get to the escape pods."

Finally Vickers spoke up, as she backed away, "You're all crazy… all of you!" And then bolted out of there, as she ditched them for the pod and the module all together.

Marek then turned to Jeff, as he spoke up, "There's more than one escape pod. I suggest you take it."

Jeff looked to him, blinking, as he shook his head, "No, I'm not leaving you behind."

Marek turned to his son, as he stated the obviousness of what would happen, "Jeff, we both know that this mission is far from over. Shepard and the others are gonna need a soldier to help get them through this." He then gently patted his son on the shoulder, as he stated, "Go take one of the other escape pods, find Shepard and the others, and make sure that when you get off planet, nuke it so that anything left over never finds its way back to Earth."

Jeff looked at his father, almost pleading, but knew what he said was true. He nodded, his face hardening with determination, as he sped out of there, following Vickers to the escape pods.

Knowing his son would be safe, he went back to the controls, as he stated, "Gentlemen, I can handle this myself. Feel free to join Miss Vickers and my son out of here."

The two co-pilots looked to one another, and nodded, as Ravel stated, "With all due respect, captain, you're a shit pilot and you're gonna need all the help you can get."

Marek nodded, as he went back to the controls. The main engines began to roar again, for the first time in two years. The Prometheus was sluggishly awakening, leaving the dirt of the planet as its ion engines roared back to life. The propulsion of the engines began to lift the ship off the ground, as it was preparing to go after the alien ship.

Marek slung on a cap, as he was gearing up to do what needed to be done. As a way to alleviate any doubts on this, he hardened his resolve and calmed his nerves, as he sung, "Well, if you can be~ with the one you love, love the one you with~"

Chance chuckled at the situation, as he looked to his friend, "Guess this means the bet's off!"

Ravel chuckled at his friend, as he stated, "Ah, why don't you pay me on the Other Side."

"Alright, fellahs, let's do this," Marek spoke out, as he prepared to finish the last of the coordinates. "We've only got one shot at this; Miss And'rz is givin' us a good head start, so let's not waste it."

Escape Pod Bay

Jeff ran as fast as he could, pressing the switch on the cuff of his left glove. Immediately, his Military SIG suit fully folded out, suiting him up, as the helmet completed over his head, and he bolted out of there. He passed Vickers, who was doing her best on the slowly awakening ship, heading to the first escape pod. He slipped in, pressed on the controls, and was shot out of there as fast as he could. Vickers rushed to get her clothing off and to get her SIG suit on.

Outside

The Prometheus was taking off as quickly as it could, while the Creator vessel was fighting with Kori, as her attempts to push the vessel back down were beginning to strain upon her. As the Prometheus was charging up for the Ion Drive, the lifeboat atop the ship ejected, flying away from both ships, as it soared on towards the planet. As it did, it skidded on the stalagmite ground, damaging it in a bit but not destroying it.

Back on the Prometheus, Vickers had finished getting out of the SIG suiting chamber, equipped with a White SIG, as she headed for the Escape Pod. All the while she did, the ship's main computers were warning of the eventual impact.

TWENTY SECONDS TO EVACUATE

Back on the Bridge, Ravel activated the countdown activation of the Ion Drive, "Countdown Initiated."

At the moment, Marek reopened a com link to Kori, "Miss And'rz, you might wanna pull away and rejoin those back on the planet."

Kori strained, keeping the Creator from breaking the atmosphere, as she responded, "GGRNNNG! I cannot! If I leave, then it will…"

"I know," Marek replied. "But I wouldn't want ya ta get caught in the explosion."

Kori blinked at this, unable to ask, but then spotted the Prometheus heading right towards them. She realized that they were attempting to scuttle the Prometheus to stop the ship from leaving, as she attempted to stop them, "No! Captain Marek, please do not do this!"

However, Marek closed the coms again, as they continued going forward on their kamikaze mission. Vickers had managed to get to the lifepods, as she jettisoned out of there. Her pod soared downward, lightly crashing, but not thrown about like the Life Boat. Isaac was watching the scene, as Gwen was leaning on a rock as she watched as well, with Sphere by Isaac's side, as they witnessed the Prometheus's Ion Drive activate. The engines shot out a burst of speed, shooting the Prometheus right at the alien vessel. Jeff was running towards the others, when he saw the ship being shot right at the alien ship like a bullet, much like the idea that Ravel had warned Marek what would happen if such a thing had been done.

As the Prometheus rocketed right at the alien ship, Kori saw this. Immediately, she flew away from the ship, passing the Prometheus in a green blur like a falling star hitting the planet. Marek looked back at the view in front of them, as he and the others ignored the red blares and Warnings flashing.

"HEADS UP, EVERYONE!" Marek shouted, as he and his men braced for impact. He then looked at the approaching ship, he shouted, "HEY, CREATORS! UP YOURS!"

Both ships suddenly collided with one another, with the Prometheus taking the most damage of the impact. But the impact was all it needed, as the ion engines suddenly exploded, creating a massive nuclear explosion in the air above everyone. The skies were all ablaze, as if a sun had just exploded. Once the light died down, they saw the Creator ship, falling downward back to the planet's surface… right at the two cousins and floating orb. However, a green flash flew right at them, grabbing and flying as fast as they could, as Kori made sure her friends were in safe distance from the ship, as it crashed back on the surface. It didn't explode as it hit the ground, but more like plowed its way through, making dirt and dust fly around as it was still coming right at them, until it finally died down, stopping a mile from them.

The three as well as Sphere managed to recover from the dust storm kicked up by the now-downed ship, as Kori was helping a still recovering Isaac from the crash impact.

Looking concerned on her face hidden by the mask of her SIG suit, she asked Isaac, "Are you all right, Isaac? You are undamaged?"

Isaac managed to stand a little, as he replied, "Yeah. I'm-"

However, he was suddenly kicked hard in the back sending him back to the ground face first. He lifted himself onto his knees and turned around to see Vickers with a gun and a crazed and panicked look on her face which was displayed behind the glass mask of her helmet.

She was waving her gun around while directing her rage at Isaac, Kori, and Gwen, as she screamed out, "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Now look at what you've done to us! Thanks to you and your crazy damn parents, we're stranded on this hell of a planet with no way off! YOU'VE DOOMED US ALL YOU!"

"Vickers! I think you're forgetting that we stopped the Creators ship from attacking Earth," Gwen said, as she tried to reason with the crazed business woman, "All we have to do now-"

However, Vickers wouldn't listen to any of it, as she pointed the gun at Gwen to silence her, "And WHAT?! The Ishimura is up in orbit and we have no way of getting up there! Even if we do find a way, there hasn't been a communication from Earth in two days! TWO DAMN DAYS! In case you don't know, that means that Earth thinks we're dead! That's it! No one is coming to save people who are presumed dead! It's all because of alien nuisances that you just had to try and make friends with! You all had to rely on the Shepards' insane theories instead of the common sense I was saying the whole time in which we leave this rock! But NO!"

Gwen raised her hands in a surrendering fashion, as she tried to reason with her, "Miss Vickers, please calm down. All we need to do-"

But didn't go far in negotiations, as Vickers shot her gun at Gwen's feet to silence her. "Don't you get it you idiot! We all DEAD! That's it! We threw our lives away for this idiotic voyage and all we found was alien nuisances," she screamed out, as she pointed her gun at Kori, who was confused and stunned by the usually calm Vickers crazy behavior. "The only damn good thing is that we don't have to deal with any more aliens! Right after this!"

Isaac saw this and jumped in front of Kori, "NO!" he shouted, as his eyes tightened for the incoming shot.

Both Gwen and Kori saw this action with terrified expressions on their faces, as they both screamed out, "ISAAC!"

A gun shot was heard as everyone stood still as statues. Isaac opened his eyes to see a stunned Vickers still pointing the gun at them… but had blood oozing out of a huge hole on the side of her head, shattering her helmet in the process. She collapsed to the ground as her blood spilt on the ground. The others turned to see Jeff, holding a rifle with smoke coming out of the hole.

He walked forward as he stopped to see Vickers' dead body, and pointed, "Watch out for the quiet ones."

Isaac nodded, as he replied, "I'll remember that next time."

Gwen suddenly ran into his arms, making Jeff drop the gun, as she sobbed, "You're safe. I... I thought I lost you..."

Jeff held her in his arms, "I'm not going anywhere Gwen. Marek had me use the last pod to escape." He looked around at the group, until he asked, "So, what now?"

WARNING. YOU HAVE ONLY FIVE MINUTES OF OXYGEN LEFT. PLEASE REPLENISH.

Their SIG suit computers spoke up, getting their attention, as Isaac, who was next to Kori and Sphere, as he stated, "Head to the lifeboat, and replenish some air. Once we're done there, we'll think of what else to do."

Later On

Lifeboat

They boarded the lifeboat, as soon as they got to it. However, when they got in there, the place was in shambles due to the crash. The screens were cracked and displaying different programs. Papers and glasses were scattered all around the place, with the glass of the glasses shattered and scattered all around, as they stepped in, crunching the glass under their feet. They reached a refilling station within the place, as they hooked their packs to the O2 refillers, and just waited.

Gwen, feeling a bit uneasy about what had transpired, spoke up, "What if we can't reach the Ishimura even with the Falcon helping us? The ship's systems are at 75% completion, but not enough for a full trip back to Earth. And I doubt we'll get much help from the Ishimura on the other side of Aegis VII."

Kori blinked at that, as she asked, "But why would they not know? Do they not know that the Falcon traveled with them?"

"Oh, they know that we followed," Jeff stated, as he examined his rifle. "For all they know, they think we're here taking planet core samples or something. They have no clue about the Prometheus rescue mission."

Isaac got up, as he walked over to the sealed room to where the Med-pod was, as he leaned on the door, as he groaned, "I can't really see how any of this could get any worse than it already has…"

CRASH!

Isaac jumped back, as did everyone else, as they all saw what had made that sound. In the sealed-up room, was a giant five armed starfish-shaped creature, colored gray, green and light gray. Its tentacle-like arms swished around the door, almost wanting to get out of there. The teens all stared in shock, as Sphere spoke up at Gwen, "It would seem that your child survived the sterilization… and apparently grew up since last we saw it."

Gwen wasn't able to say anything, or try to respond anything, until Isaac joked, "Mozeltoff, it's a boy…"

Gwen glared at him, and was about to punch her cousin, when a transmission came through, "Isaac. Gwendolyn. Anyone? Is anyone still alive?"

Recognizing the voice, Isaac responded, "Rei? Rei, is that you? Man, it's good to hear from you again."

"As much as I would love to reciprocate the sentiment, I'm afraid such things must be put on hold," she replied. "You need to get out of there immediately, and arm yourselves. He's coming."

"He? Who's he," Isaac asked, as the others seemed confused by this. But then it seemed to click in their heads, as they looked to each other, as Isaac groaned, "Uh no…"

At that moment, the alarms went off, as something busted or forced the doors open, as they all turned to it, and saw what it was. It was the Creator survivor, but half of its face was burnt, and he was pretty hurt. Though he was still able to move around and seem to make their way to the lifeboat. The Creator looked at all the surviving teenagers and the sphere floating in the air, but turned his attention at Isaac, as he was slowly inching away to the sealed med pod door. It glared right at him, as he finally forced the door open, and charged for the boy.

Jeff, loaded a full round at the giant, but it didn't faze him, as he just ran up, and swatted Jeff away. He crashed into the bar, as he slumped ot the ground, struggling to get back up in time. Kori flew right at him, unleashing barrages of sunbolts at him, however, he didn't seem fazed either by this. He grabbed Kori by the throat, and attempted to choke the life out of her. She gasped and gagged, as her air passage was slowly being crushed; her eyes were wide open, as the fear of this was slowly coming upon her.

At the moment, Isaac and Gwen were trying to get the door open, but Isaac spotted the creator choking Kori. He looked to his cousin and stated, "Keep at the door. Kori's in trouble!" and then bolted after the Creator.

Gwen looked to Sphere, and asked, "Can you hack into the security system?"

"Give me five seconds," he stated, as suddenly, he phased through the technology, bringing it back to life.

Isaac ran at the Creator, and jumped at him, grabbing the beast's head in a hold, as he tried to choke him as well. The Creator dropped Kori, as she gasped for air, coughing it out, as she weakingly looked at the scene before her. The Creator managed to grab Isaac and throw him at the door to which Gwen and Sphere were opening… which led to the Med Pod. The Creator charged at him, until Gwen shouted, "GO!"

Isaac dodged out of the way, as the door chimed open… and out came the five-tentacle star creature, as it immediately attacked the stunned Creator. It wrapped two of its tentacles around an arm and a leg, and began to roar out, thrashing the Creator around the place. It slammed him into the roof, and then into the ground, until finally it tossed him on the ground. The Creator spat out blood, its arm and leg broken with bone protruding outward. The creature crawled its way above the Creator, as he tried to crawl away from it, but it was too late, as what appeared to be a five-flapped mouth opened, up, showing a tentacle stinger of sorts. The creator roared out in fear and pain, or defiance, until it shot right into its mouth, silencing him. The tentacle then started to pump something in him, causing the Creator to gargle and choke on it, as it lifted the being up on the ground suspending him in the air, as it continued pumping a load into it, as everyone looked to see this in fear. The Creator's body began to turn black slowly, as fear enveloped its eyes, until it finally went black. Afterwards, his body went numb and limp, as the creature pulled away, allowing it to fall back on the ground. Once that happened, the creature was shattered into dust and ash, blowing in the wind of the ship's air conditioning and filters.

Before anyone could act or say something to get out of there, the creature suddenly started to spasm and warble. It was almost as if its solid shape was becoming liquid of sorts, as it started to shrink and take on a new shape, as it morphed into a blob now. Once it was done, it was tightening and taking more shape, as it finally finished, revealing everyone the lifeform's new form.

It had taken the shape of a sixteen year old male, colored dark grey, with light gray as its main body, and had green circuitry patterns all over its body. It had short spikey green hair that spiked forward, dark gray squares in the shape and place of ears, a light gray face plate resembling that of a human, and green fingers and toes. It stood up, revealing its toned slim body, as it began to morph again, this time clothing. He… or it… was now dressed in dark gray pants and boots, with green circuitry on them, as well as for a belt, dark gray shoulder guards with green circuitry lining, dark gray gloves that went from its elbows to hands, but exposed its green fingers, and a dark gray shirt that had an opening to expose his chest of sorts, but that was possibly due to a pattern.

Finally, its eyes opened to reveal them to be totally black, but a small green dot grew in there, making it the iris and pupil. Finally, it moved around, looking at its environment… and the occupants that he had saved from the Creator.

It then stretched out a little, as it then looked towards Gwen, Isaac, Jeff, a recovering Kori being held by Isaac, and Sphere, who floated around the new humanoid creature. Finally, it… he spoke to them, "I'm sorry. That was... odd. This isn't the kind of first impression I wanted to make before all of you."

Isaac nodded, as he walked over, "Considering the fact that you saved us from the Creator, I'd say it's one way. Thanks for that."

The new lifeform looked at him, and smiled as he nodded to him.

But a much recovered Kori stepped in front of the two, or rather between them, as a way of protecting Isaac, as she advised, "I do not believe it is wise to get close to him at this time."

Jeff had his gun at the ready, as he finally reloaded it, "I'm with Kori on that one, Shepard."

"Wait a minute," Isaac stated, as he spoke on the creature's behalf. "He and Gwen just saved us from the Creator! He deserves the chance to say what he wants to say."

"I agree with you Isaac," Kori stated, but then glared at the humanoid. "But he used the same substance the Creators made. That means he is one of their creations as well."

"Not only that, but he tried to burst out of Gwen's stomach earlier today," Jeff stated, as he sharply turned to Isaac, "…or did you forget that?"

"About that," the mechanical humanoid stated, as he turned to Gwen, showing an apologetic look on his face and in his voice. "I'm sorry about hurting you like that. I had no idea that I was inside someone at the time. All I knew was that I had to get out of the dark place I was trapped in. I assure you all that I mean no harm to any of you."

Gwen looked surprised by the response. 'Incredible, he shows regret for his actions and actually means it.'

He then nodded, as he thanked her, "Also thank you. I am alive right now thanks to your body providing me with the nutrients and protection I needed to ensure my birth was a successful. I understand though if you are angry due to my previous actions though."

Jeff raised an eyebrow, as he asked, "Aside from our new guest's raise in intelligence, am I the only one noticing that he sounds and looks a lot like Gwen if she was a boy?"

"He must have copied some aspects of my DNA while inside me. Similar to how a child has the genetic make-up of two different people. That's why he bears a resemblance to me," Gwen theorized, as she took a step forward, as Jeff moved into position to make sure the Alien didn't pull any crazy stunts on her. "How is it you can understand us or speak English now? You should be in the infant stages at this point."

"After I recovered from the sterilization that was attempted to kill me, I woke up, and discovered that I was locked in the room," the humanoid explained, whilst looking to Gwen. "Using the computer in the room, after I had merged with it, I learned all everything the ship new, the crew, the mission." He then looked at everyone, and then pointed to Sphere and Kori, "All of you except for that metal sphere that's been floating around, and only small bits about Kori." He then looked at his hands with a confused look on his face. "As for why I'm at this stage of my development... I believe that I'm a techno-organic lifeform. I was made possible by the black ooze that Gwendolyn was infected by and permeated the placenta with using a mix of her DNA and an accidental mix of the SIG's nanotechnology that makes up the fabric of your suits. The mixture of Gwen's DNA and the Creators' techno organic slime seems to have caused me to gain features of Gwen rather than replicate her. In a way, I've become something brand new."

"Unbelievable," Gwen could only respond in a whisper.

Jeff finally huffed out, as he put down the rifle, "I don't know about all of you, but I've had my fill anything the Creators made in that mad lab of theirs."

Isaac groaned, as he looked to him, and pointed at the creature, "He just took down the Creator that was trying to kill us Jeff. I'd say he's not one of theirs."

"He has the same black slime that pretty much turned this planet to what it is now!" Jeff retaliated, as he turned angrily at the creature. "How do we know he won't turn on us and become the same thing that Fifield became?"

The alien looked at them with an arched eyebrow, as he asked, "You think I'm one of the Creators' experiments?"

Isaac raised an eyebrow, as he asked, "You're not?"

"I am not one of them, I am not Gwen," the creature explained. "As it was said in the Book of Moses: I am... that I am."

Jeff arched an eyebrow, as he seemed annoyed by all the poetic stuff, as he asked, "Okay, so you're not one of the garden variety experiments. But how do we know you won't turn on us because of the slime inside you?"

"I may have the Creators' as you call them slime inside me, but I'm not one of their creations," the alien explained. "Their creatures are on the side of death and destruction. I'm on the side of life."

Kori then got serious, as she interrogated, "If you are on the side of life, than you should not have any problems answering some questions."

"All right," he nodded.

"What is your name?"

The new alien pondered on that, tapping his chin, until he finally answered, "Well, when I scanned through the database, the first three letters I was interested in was D, R, and U. So you can call me DRU."

"If the Creators were now or ever in control of you, how would you know?"

DRU shrugged, "I'm not really sure. I don't know what it means to have free will or feelings. Maybe what I'm feeling is an illusion. But these feelings I have right now, these thoughts, they are mine, and they feel... right. Perhaps... I would know if I was being controlled if I felt something else, something wrong or out of place."

Kori crossed her arm, as she then grew serious, and finally asked, "If you saw an injured animal on the ground with no chance of surviving, what would you do?"

Jeff leaned over to Isaac, as he asked in whispers, "Seriously? This is going to help us prove if we can trust this guy?"

"Either if he's a serial killer or a carnivore if he says he'd eat it," Isaac joked. But he noticed the serious looks he was getting, minus Kori and DRU, as he finally answered, "Okay, so it's not the kind of interrogation you would see on a police show, but at least she's trying by using honest questions."

"Besides, it's not like she can just flat out ask if he's evil or not," Gwen whispered to them both.

DRU thought about it for a second, until he finally answered, "If the creature's parents were nowhere near, I would tend to its wound until it recovered, and return it to its natural habitat. But… if there was no way to save it from its injuries, I would stay by its side until it passed on in peace, then bury its body as it would become nutrients for the soil to grow new life. Does that satisfy as an answer?"

Before Kori could answer, their com links went off, as Rei spoke again, "Come in Isaac. Jeff... Gwen... Kori... Can anyone read me?"

Immediately, Isaac replied, "Rei! Yes we're all here and we read you over."

Rei, amazingly sounded relieved to hear his voice, "Isaac. Thank goodness. I was afraid you all didn't make it when the ship crashed."

Gwen had silent anger in her voice, as she replied, "After what we've been through, I don't know what afraid means anymore."

"I'm glad everyone is all right, but I must ask for some assistance please," Rei replied. "I'm afraid that my arm is still across the room and I can't work my legs due to heavy damage."

"Understood, Rei," Isaac replied. "Where are you?"

"I'm still in the main navigation room in the Creators' ship. Where we found the map before."

Isaac nodded, "Understood. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I will go with you," Kori volunteered. "You may need assistance in bringing Rei here, and in case there are any other dangers still on the ship."

Isaac smiled, as he nodded, "Thanks Kori."

"Hold on, Isaac," Gwen stated, not liking this idea. "After everything she's done to us. All the secrets she's kept, her mission, Weyward being on the ship, and leaving us to become ooze test subjects. How can you help her after all that?!"

"I'm with Gwen on this one, Shepard," Jeff argued. "How can we possibly trust her after all that?"

Sensing an argument was upon them, Kori politely became tie breaker, as she stated, "But if not for the assistance of Rei, Gwen might have been hurt badly by a still young DRU. Plus she did save her from Vickers when she wanted to put Gwen in hypersleep to preserve DRU inside her."

"She's right," Isaac stated. "Plus, Rei has the activation codes in order to activate and operate the Falcon and a copy of the Creators' maps from before. We need her help in order to get off the planet and find our way through the universe." He then went back on the com links, as he asked, "Rei, you still have the codes and map right?"

"Yes," Rei answered. "Thankfully I kept a copy of both on me in case the original on the Prometheus was lost."

"Damn it, he's right about that part," Jeff cursed under his breath, but then remembered, "But we don't have enough scrubbers for a trip back to Earth with all five of us."

"Plus, we don't know of any other planets that are within traveling distance that have the same breathable atmosphere as Earth," Gwen replied.

"Nor do I," Rei agreed, but then suggested, "But there may be extra scrubbers on the Ishimura we can use along with other supplies."

Gwen suddenly lit up, as she nearly smacked her forehead, "The Ishimura! With all that's happened, it slipped my mind that it's here."

Jeff grumbled, realizing the situation, "A lot of good that's going to do when it comes to space travel though."

Kori blinked, as she was once again, out of the loop, and asked, "I am sorry, but the what?"

Sphere looked over to her, and replied, "It's the ship that Isaac and the others used when they came to Aegis 7 to search for the crew of the Prometheus."

"Then it looks like we have our objectives," Isaac stated, as he formulated the plan on what to do next. "Jeff, Gwen, Sphere, and DRU can go to the wreckage of the Prometheus to gather what they can for the Falcon. Kori and I will go retrieve Rei and meet you all back at the ship."

It was at that moment that DRU stepped up, "Actually, I'd like to go with you, Isaac. I may be able to help with Rei 8's repairs while the others scavenge the Prometheus."

"I'm not sure who that is, but I will be in need of repairs before I can access the map and codes for the ship," Rei replied.

Isaac thought about it and nodded, "Change of plans then. DRU, Kori, and I will go retrieve Rei, and the others can look for supplies on the Ishimura."

Gwen pulled Isaac over with her and Jeff and whispered, "Isaac, are you sure you want to be alone with Rei and DRU? After everything that's happened?" Jeff nodded silently in agreement with her.

Isaac looked over at Gwen, as he stated, "Rei put herself on the line for you before, Gwen. And DRU is almost a new version of you. It's almost as if you're saying you can't trust yourself, much less your own son."

Gwen blushed, as she frowned, "It's not the same thing in having a child, Isaac."

"I believe we can trust DRU and give Rei the benefit of the doubt that she is on our side," Isaac stated, sounding rather determined in believing in them. He then grabbed his SIG pack, and hooked it up, as he and Kori suited up, as he looked to DRU, "C'mon, man. Let's go."

DRU followed after them, but Kori stopped, "Wait. Do you not require a suit?"

DRU shook his head, "No. I may have lungs, but they don't function on a human organic level. They filter energy out of the atmosphere, whether it is breathable or not." And then headed for the airlock.

The two looked to each other, as they shrugged, and headed out after him.

Next Chapter: Ghost Colony and Ship; Night of the Ishimura pt.1