Everyone stood, in a circle, around the central table of the Cafeteria, each looking at the button. The vacant slot, right where twelve would be, if the round table were a clock, was where Marble should have been. But she was not there. Instead, she was laying on one of the cots in medical, staring at the ceiling and occasionally moaning.

No one was willing to speak up. Everyone was terrified of what had happened. Rosea, who knew had permits, had tried to do something about Marble's situation, but nothing had come of it. The nine of them simply stood in silence, pondering the severity of the situation. It had become very, very real.

"Look, ladies, we…-" Scarlet spoke up, but, as if there was something in her throat, stopped. She swallowed heavily and sighed. "-Look, we need to figure out what happened. Marble… The- The victim was in Medical Bay. Onyx found her, right?"

"I did." Muttered Onyx, confirming.

"Where was everyone? What were you people doing?" Asked Scarlet, glaring at everybody, even through her visor. Her gaze came to rest on Canary.

"I was- I was doing my tasks in Electrical. I was there. I saw Pumpkin! She- She came in to check on me!" Explained the mechanic, pointing towards the cook.

"I went to divert power to O2, not check up on you, silly! That just kinda happened." Defended herself Pumpkin, raising her hands as if she was about to be assailed physically.

"I do not recall seeing you in O2, Pumpkin. You say you diverted powe-"

"Ladies! Let us keep things more civil!-" Exclaimed Scarlet while slamming her hands on the table. Everyone, excluding Onyx and Esmeradla, got startled and seemed to jump slightly. They lowered their heads and, much like scolded children, muttered apologies. "-I know this is shocking, but we need to think! We need to be level headed! Okay?" She looked at everyone, again.

Onyx followed her gaze, glancing at everybody. The demeanors of the crewmates had changed. Everyone was far more tense. The unease was palpable in the air. She could feel herself struggling to not start trembling. Onyx felt very responsible for this, and she could not think clearly.

"Now, let's recap. Canary was in Electrical, apparently. Rosea said she was in O2, as well, and Pumpkin said she had passed through Electrical to divert power to O2. Where else were you, Pumpkin?" Asked Scarlet.

"Well, I was in the Cafeteria, throwing away garbage, then I went to Electrical, and then to Storage and I was doing a data upload when the… The victim was found." Her voice was wobbly as she explained. Fear, uncertainty, worry. Probably none of what was happening had been anywhere near what she had expected when she signed up for this. Onyx felt bad for her.

"That's good enough. Canary confirmed she saw Pumpkin in Electrical. Pumpkin, you saw Canary in Electrical too, right?" Inquired the captain.

"Y- Yes, I did!" She stammered her response. Scarlet sighed heavily.

"I was in Navigation with Esmeralda, throughout the whole ordeal, apparently. At one point the weapons started blasting, destroying Asteroids headed our way. I've reason to believe that was Onyx, and it's why she wasn't with Marble. It'd also be why the accident occur-"

"Why would you just leave her?-" Mocha interrupted the captain and slammed her short little hands on the table as well. She sounded really angry. "-Look what happened to her! How could-"

"If I didn't we'd all be blasted to bits by the asteroids!" Growled Onyx, cutting the short girl off.

"Ladies!-" Shouted Scarlet, drowning out the voices of the other women. "-Cool your emotions! Temper your fear! We won't get anywhere without being calm and talking in through! Both me and Onyx were aware of the danger, but I gave her the go ahead to do it. We were hoping nothing bad would happen!" Informed the captain.

"I-"

"Onyx, wait your turn.-" Interrupted Scarlet and turned to Esmeralda. "-If you have anything to add to my report, do it."

"Nothing to add. We were going at it in Navigation." Muttered the athletic woman, looking down, as if in shame.

"Well then, sorry for skipping over you, Blue. Where were you?" Asked the captain. The timid girl almost immediately started fidgeting with her fingers, as if the attention she was suddenly exposed to was melting her wiring and causing her to malfunction.

"I- I uh… I fueled the- The Upper Engine- And- And I went to- To MedBay-" She glanced towards Onyx and looked back down to her feet. "-I saw Onyx and Marble, and- And I did my scan while- While Onyx went somewhere… I- Marble said it wasn't me, and… And I saw Canary-"

"Wait no! I wasn't-"

"Canary? Did you lie?" The mechanic attempted to explain herself but was interrupted by Rosea.

"That explains i-"

"SILENCE!-" Roared Crimson, once again, slamming her fists down on the table. The women quieted down. "-Do not interrupt each other! Otherwise we won't know who said what! Blue, you saw Canary?"

"I- I uh… I thi- It was Pumpkin- But it might've-"

"Blue, who did you see?" Scarlet probed again, leaning toward the chubby engineer.

"I… I was leaving, and I- I saw someone coming in with- With my peripheral vision." She struggled to give an answer.

"So you were leaving Medical Bay, and you saw someone going in? Where did they come from?" Asked Scarlet. Onyx knew they needed more concrete information, and respected the Captain for doing everything she could to get that information.

"From the left- From- From Upper Engine." Mumbled Blue. Onyx groaned. So far, no one seemed to have been in the rear of the ship. Maybe Mocha or Lavender, but Mocha would have most definitely been in Communications. Lavender could have been everywhere, doing anything.

"Alright. That's…"

"It's real suspicious, cap." Stated Esmeralda, vocalising what everyone must have been thinking at that moment. Onyx was, indeed, looking at Blue and was growing very disappointed with herself for leaving Marble with the plump engineer. But she had seen her start her scan, it made no sense - why would the Futa start doing her scan, if she could get found out by doing so?

"Let's not point any-"

"But it is! Cap, I don't think anyone wants to be next, and, best thing to do is get rid of the most suspicious person, y'know, so we don't get fucked!" Esmeralda interrupted her superior and gave her a piece of her mind. Scarlet groaned when a few of the girls nodded in agreement.

"Look, we can't be totally certain. We must know where everyone's been, okay?" She exasperatedly attempted to cull the flames, but it seemed as if the fire was spreading too fast. Her visor glinted towards Rosea, who nodded.

"I spent most of my time in O2. I emptied the chute and cleaned the O2 filter. Well, I was halfway through that process when the event was reported. In between those two tasks I did see Onyx barreling through the corridor, on her way down." Rosea retold her experience calmly, without letting any emotion cloud her judgement. At least, that was how Onyx perceived it.

"Thank you for letting us know. That adds up with what we know from Onyx herself… Well, Pumpkin, you've told us what you've done already. Anything you might've missed?" Inquired Scarlet, looking at the cook.

"Nope. I came as clean as a freshly installed toilet." She quipped and chuckled nervously. No one laughed. The Captain nodded.

"Lavender?"

"I was in Administration. Did an upload, fixed some wires. Swiped my card to get access to some of the systems in there. The board, for as long as I looked at it, confirmed that there were people in the places where they said they were, at one point. There were two people in Electrical, two in Navigation, two in Medical, one in O2, one in Communications, and one in Upper Engine. As well as me, I was in Admin." Her delivery was deadpan. Completely emotionless. It was hard to believe that she was talking about the same thing everyone else had been going on about.

"Right… So, Mocha, I take it you were in Communications?"

"Yup. I was there, all the time. Uploaded some data, fixed wiring, adjusted the receiver, so that the connection was crystal clear." Confirmed Mocha, moving her head in a manner that made Onyx think that the short lady was upset she was even being asked about it.

"Onyx, you're last. Tell us what happened." The captain turned to the Security expert and trained her visor on her. Onyx did not really want to remember the sight of Marble in the Medical Bay, but it would happen.

"I got scanned after Marble. We were both clean, according to her. That was when Blue came in, from Upper Engine, and we convinced her to stick with Marble while getting her scan done, because I had to check on the shields. She got onto the scanner, and I ran off to get done as fast as possible. I fixed up the shields, then, on my way to weapons, I saw Rosea in O2. I did my work in Weapons, and as soon as I got back to Medical Bay, Marble was…-" She gulped. "-Marble was… Gone." Onyx did not have the heart to describe it in more detail, but it was true.

Marble was dead. She would not recover. Her current state was barely living, now that the Security expert thought about it. Marble was theoretically brain dead, but her mind would still keep her systems running. If someone fed her, she would keep on living, but she was not there. There was no one. Her eyes were empty.

"Thank you, everyone. Now we know-"

"We know that Blue was the last person with Marble!-" Scarlet was once again interrupted, by Mocha, who pointed her hand at the chubby engineer. "-And it's not just that, she also lied about seeing Canary and Pumpkin!" Angrily pointed out the Communications expert.

"Now, Mocha-"

"Cap, I agree with her. It's way too convenient that she was last with Marble, says someone came in but doesn't even remember who it was! She got Canary mixed up with Pumpkin - we can't be certain anyone even walked in, she could be shitting us!" Joined in Esmeralda, interrupting Scarlet, who was completely losing the reins of the conversation.

Onyx was conflicted. On one side, she desperately wanted Blue to be innocent, but, on the other, there was no one else who could have done it. On top of that, the image of Marble's broken body was etched into her mind, and it would definitely haunt her forever. That dead look, those eyes, void of anything at all.

"I suspect that Blue might be the one who did it, Captain.-" Chipped in Rosea. "-Her defence is very weak, and we have conflicting information with her statement. According to Pumpkin, she was in the Cafeteria for as long as Onyx was with Marble. According to Canary, she was in Electrical all along. Both Pumpkin and Canary confirmed that they had seen each other. I suspect that Lavender would have seen movement on the terminal in Administration, if one of them was up and about." She voiced her opinion, which further cemented Onyx' own conclusions.

Scarlet groaned loudly, but the Security expert did not know exactly why. It made sense - Blue was incredibly suspicious, and it was reasonable to assume she was bad at lying, seeing as she was anything but social.

"We'll put this to a vote, then.-" Grumbled the captain. "-Voting will be anonymous, until everyone has voted. Then they'll be revealed, and we will know who is considered guilty. The question is… What do we do with whoever it is?" Wondered Scarlet, and left everyone asking themselves the same thing.

Onyx knew protocol. Keep the person responsible for exposing the crew to danger in isolation, until a specialized vessel arrived to collect them and imprison them. However, the crew had not simply been exposed to danger. A member of the crew was, essentially, dead. Killing a crewmate was equal to a death sentence, and Onyx was willing to consider what had happened to Marble as murder.

"I saw we throw her out the garbage chute." Offered Esmeralda.

"Wh-what?" Astonishment shook Blue's voice, but no one really cared to hear her anymore.

"I don't think that's too bad. I mean, look at Marble, she's… She's not alive, really." Muttered Mocha.

"It would be a fitting punishment. A Futa who has taken the mind of a woman is tried with death, on Earth. Why should we proceed in a manner different to that?" Posited Rosea, agreeing with the Navigator's offer.

"It's really messed up, but… Sure. Makes sense." Grumbled Pumpkin and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I have to agree. What she did to Marble is worse than murder." Said Onyx. With her, five out of the nine present had made their decision, and, if this was considered a just vote, it would be so. Blue was quiet, but she was visibly shaking.

"Well, it'll be so…-" Somberly informed Scarlet and sighed. "-Then… Vote."

Everyone voted. The process was silent, deathly so. Software, and hardware, was built into the systems of 'the Skeld' to allow for such an activity. Everyone's feet were heavily magnetized, forcing them to stick to the floor. That would be undone when the voting process had concluded, with the exception being the individual who had been voted off.

The ping sounded off as each member made their choice, and, when everyone had voted, the votes were tallied. Three in favor of not throwing anyone overboard. Scarlet, Blue and Lavender. Six in favor of throwing Blue out. Onyx, Pumpkin, Canary, Mocha, Esmeralda, Rosea.

"Why?" Muttered Blue, but her voice was drowned out by the whirr of the engines. With a sound reminiscent of a sponge squeaking as it was used to clean dishes, 'the Skeld's system activated, and the engineer was dragged along the floor at speeds that were definitely harmful for the human body.

She whizzed towards the corridor leading down into storage. They all heard a loud bang as her accelerated form crashed into the chute, then the roar of the machine as it emptied itself into the vacuum of space outside… And then nothing.

Onyx realized what had happened. She had voted to kill Blue. She was partially responsible for the death of another person. She had never needed to do anything even remotely similar during her whole career. Even her academy years had not involved a situation where she was remotely close to being responsible for the actual death of a person.

The preparation from those years was struggling to withstand the onslaught of guilt, the unrelenting downpour, of her conscience recognizing that she was responsible for ending the existence of a fellow human creature, drowning out all sounds and perceptions, while the academy training was like the windshield wipers in the middle of a hurricane, utterly worthless. She had pressed the button as if it was nothing. It was terrifying how disconnected she felt when she did it, but now that she had seen the consequences, she could not fathom how it had been so easy for her to do.

Onyx, judging from the silence in the Cafeteria, was not the only one thinking about that.

"Idiots." Informed Lavender and walked off. The weight holding them down to the floor was gone, Onyx realized, but that did not mean she was about to leave. The Security expert made a mental note that the monotonous girl was headed towards Storage. Scarlet coughed.

"Well… That is now done.-" She muttered. "-Lavender didn't say it nicely, but that was a mistake. We can't be certain Blue was the imposto-"

"It was her. It couldn't have been anyone else, cap." Spoke Esmeralda. Her voice was heavy, probably with guilt.

"Esmeralda, don't interrupt me!-" Snapped Scarlet. "-We've lost our engine technician, and our medical officer! Things couldn't get much worse! Just… Just get back to your posts." Commanded the captain and dejectedly started walking in the direction of Weapons, no doubt en route to Navigation.

Esmeralda groaned and followed Scarlet, while Canary and Mocha headed down towards Storage. Rosea, Onyx and Pumpkin were left in the Cafeteria.

"You two… Did we do the right thing?" Pondered Pumpkin and grumbled something to herself. Even her mood was ruined, and she just wobbled towards the windows.

"I cannot know for sure. Onyx-" Rosea answered. She then turned to the Security expert and leaned in close. "-I'll go get the uploads in Shields and Weapons done. You go over to Security and keep an eye on the cameras... Just to be safe." Her silvery voice was very calming, even though what she spoke of was totally unrelated to anything even remotely relaxing.

"Alright. If I see anything I'll… I'll do my job." Muttered Onyx and lumbered over towards Upper Engine, to then go down to Security. She heard Rosea's light steps as the latter headed over to Weapons.

On her way, she passed by Medical Bay. Something urged her to stop and look at Marble. She was covered by the green sheets, her head laid on the pillow, and yet she was not sleeping. Her eyes were open, and she was blankly staring at the ceiling. Onyx considered, with a great deal of sorrow, that the medic was beautiful. Her eyes, even though deadenned, were still vibrant and enchanting.

Onyx walked in and approached the screen. The results of the previously performed medical scans were still opened, only minimized. She pulled them up and took a glance. Hers was as she would expect. Marble was also clean, though there was some yellow text signifying a slight abnormality. Overactive Mammary Glands. Figured, somberly concluded Onyx as she looked at Blue's results. Clean, with the slight exception of another line of yellow text.

Colorblind.

The Security expert shook her head and walked off. She passed by Upper Engine, waltzed down into the crossing between Reactor and Security, and turned to her left, entering her impromptu office. The screens glared at her, the whirr of machinery loud and clear. She sat herself down in the chair and watched.

Onyx did not even have the will to do anything remotely athletic. She just looked at the screens. One was observing the corridor between Upper Engine and Cafeteria. Another had a view of the tiny space between Cafeteria, Admin, the Sleeping Quarters, sealed off at the moment, and Storage. A third covered the vast corridors between Weapons, Navigation and Shields. Lastly, there was one right outside Security, looking at the crossing between Reactor, Upper and Lower Engine and Onyx' current location.

She saw Lavender walking through, from Lower Engine to Reactor. The monotonous woman did not seem bothered by her solitude. Onyx made a mental note of that, and her eyes were caught by Rosea's voluptuous body strutting through the corridor, coming out of Weapons and headed for Shields, as she had told the Security expert she would.

Canary was probably in Electrical. Mocha was definitely in Communications, while Scarlet and Esmeralda were in Navigation. Pumpkin was either in the Cafeteria, or she had gone over to Weapons. Any other movements would have had her showing herself on the screens.

"OXYGEN DEPLETION IMMINENT!" The blare of the sirens filled the ship's corridors as the warning startled Onyx out of her lethargic state of observation. She jumped out of her seat and was about to rush out when she saw a lot of movement on the screen.

Rosea ran up from Shields, towards O2, most likely. Shortly after her, Mocha wobbled as quickly as she could in the same direction. Lavender darted out of Reactor and sped down towards Lower Engine, while, surprisingly, Canary trudged up towards Admin from Storage. She probably did not know the code, Onyx realized, and broke out into a sprint towards Admin.

She passed by Lavender, who was moving at a brisk jog, and flew through the corridor leading from Lower Engine to Storage. The blaring of the siren seemed to be growing louder and louder. The fact that Oxygen Depletion had started meant one of two things - either Rosea had not performed her tasks properly, or someone had consciously sabotaged the Oxygen systems of the ship. They might have been totally wrong!

Onyx barreled into Admin and saw Canary frantically looking around, mumbling to herself.

"What's the code, what was the code-"

"Canary, out of the way!" Shouted Onyx as she ran past the short mechanic and got to the console. Seven, two, four, nine, five. A beep signaled that she had put in the correct code, and the blaring siren ceased its roar.

With a deep sigh, Onyx felt herself relax a little bit. Footsteps signified Lavender's arrival, who took a glance at the situation and muttered something to herself.

"Onyx, thank you! I- I'd forgotten the code! It's been almost a month since we've had to memorize it" The mechanic exclaimed, bowing her head in thanks to the Security expert.

"Canary, the code changes every day… Never mind, at least we're still alive-" As she said that, Onyx realized that something very, very bad could have happened. "-Look, just try to remember it, it's somewhere in here, on a sticky note. I gotta run!" She said and ran off towards Security. She could have missed something very important on the cameras!

Onyx passed by Lavender, who was walking through Storage, perhaps back to Reactor, rushed by the Lower Engine. Just as she was about to get through, the doors hissed and slammed themselves shut, right in her face. She gasped and turned around, but found that the doors to Upper and Lower Engine had also been slammed shut. Only Reactor was still open for entry, maybe because there was no door leading towards it.

Onyx' fears were more than confirmed. The impostor was still among them! She ran down to the gate of Lower Engine and glued herself to it, trying to hear something.

"Lavender? Are you there?" She called out, giving the door a loud bang. The amount of pain that produced was far greater than the strength of the sound that came out of it, but there was, at least, a very audible slam.

Instead of a bang, like hers, or a shout, whoever was on the other side just knocked. First, it was three rapid knocks. Then, a single knock. Then, three more rapid knocks, and another three. A moment of silence. Then, a single knock. It was morse code, Onyx recognized. If she remembered it right, this was, so far, a 'Y' and an 'E'. No other knock came. No other sound.

'Ye'. It was, strangely, what she would have assumed Lavender's monotone manner of expression would have produced, and using the morse code was something no one else would have thought of. A second sigh of relief left her lips, but she still felt tense. Onyx walked over to the door to Security and waited. Ten, or so, minutes passed, and, with a hiss, the gate came to open.

She rushed in and, without even sitting down, glued herself to the screen. Lavender bobbed into the crossing, peeked in Security, and waltzed off towards Reactor. There was no one moving above Medical Bay. Canary scuttled out of Admin and carefully, as if she was scared, moved down towards Storage. Mocha and Rosea walked out of O2, while Esmeralda stood right outside of Navigation, with a hand on her mouth…

As if she was in shock.