Espial Space Station, Mission Day 11, Continued
That evening, Silas submitted his preliminary findings to Elias, who then disseminated it to all of the proper parties. Silas also copied Mila on the message, as required, as well as Aiden, if he felt so inclined to read the report.
Silas looked over his shoulder to look at the specimen. Earlier, it had such a look of fear and desperation in its eyes. Panic. Sadness. Resignation.
None of the qualities Silas had expected. He was ready for savagery, anger, and ruthlessness. He wasn't sure what the specimen was deep down, but he was beginning to think it wasn't a mindless beast.
He sighed, keeping his theories to himself. He stood up, the hazmat suit wrinkling with every muscle he stretched. He walked over to one of the stasis pods, typing a few commands into the control panel. A mechanized arm brought the pod down from its perch along the wall, stopping next to the observation table, the top hatch sliding open. He slowly undid the straps that secured the specimen. He found himself nervous that it would wake up again, doubting his estimates of the sedative's effect.
Silas stopped when he heard the doors to the lab open. He turned around and saw Mila. His energy soared until he noticed the look on her face just before she slipped her helmet on. She didn't seem particularly thrilled to be in the lab nor excited to see Silas. He heard her comm link up with his line inside his suit.
Silas opened his mouth to talk, but Mila spoke first.
"They read your report."
"Already?"
"Yeah," Mila answered, sighing. "The biophysical information is great and all, but they're more interested in sociological data and intelligence levels."
Silas didn't immediately answer. His hazmat suit filled the silent void as he wrung his hands over one another. He stopped, thinking he heard something behind him. He looked over his shoulder at the specimen, but it remained still. He looked back at Mila. "Then I'll have to wake it up. Run linguistic tests and intelligence assessments. As for sociological, I'd need-"
"Another specimen, yes," Mila cut him off.
"So Aiden will-"
"Yes, in the morning. We're scanning now for the best female target."
"Female?"
She nodded, growing impatient. "Obviously, to finish the other half of the biophysical information about the natives."
Silas exhaled. "Alright."
Mila leaned to see behind Silas. "Why isn't that thing strapped down?" Her hand drifted down to her gun strapped at her hip.
"Don't worry, it's sedated. I was about to move it into stasis for the night," he explained.
Mila dropped her hand but remained on edge. "Aiden's going to build a holding cell for it to live in and put it in the lower lab. You two can transport it there in the pressurized gurney. You'll be able to study its social behaviors in there."
"Alright. I'll make sure the specifications are fit for the specimen."
"For both. The male and female."
Silas nodded. "Okay."
"Alright." Mila moved to leave.
"Mila."
She stopped but didn't look back.
"Have you had dinner yet?" Silas asked. "I was thinking we could-"
"I've already eaten," Mila snapped. She quickly left the lab, pulling her helmet off and disconnecting her comm.
Silas sighed, putting one hand against the glass.
"Wow, I felt the tension from over here," a soft voice whispered.
Silas wouldn't have cared about the comment if it came from Aiden, who would have been sulking in the shadows. But he immediately straightened when he didn't recognize the voice he heard. A sneaking suspicion grew, then a sudden realization hit. He whipped around to look at the specimen.
The specimen looked back at him, equally surprised. Silas figured the specimen accidentally said a thought out loud. It stared at him and he stared at it. Then Silas realized it was currently unrestrained and he scrambled for his sidearm. The specimen made no moves except to lift its hands to show it was defenseless and peaceful.
Silas stopped.
"I'm not going to attack you." It slowly sat up. "But I would greatly appreciate if you let me leave and walk home."
Silas' heart sank. It didn't know where it was, who, or what, Silas was. "I'm sorry," he said, but his helmet canceled out any noise he made. He looked to the stasis pod. The specimen had to get in it and Silas didn't want to sedate it again.
"So, will you let me go? I don't understand why you picked in the first place. I'm really a very boring person," it argued.
'Oh no, it's completely sentient, with comparable intelligence levels. It's… perfectly conscious.' Silas was torn. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't keep it locked up like an animal, but he didn't want to go against the mission directives. He needed time to think, time that he didn't have. He figured he had until morning before Aiden left to get a female specimen. His first priority was to get this specimen into the stasis pod, partly to give himself some space and partly to hide this information from Mila and Aiden.
Knowing he couldn't take his helmet off to talk to it, in which doing so would most likely cause severe shock to it, Silas pointed to the stasis pod.
It looked over to it. "What is it? Do you want me to get in it?" It turned back to Silas. "Why aren't you talking back to me? Can you understand me?"
Silas nodded, but pointed more firmly at the pod, his other hand floating near his gun to enforce his order.
The specimen bit its lower lip, considering its options. Eventually it sighed and flipped its legs over the side of the observation table. It stood up and took two steps towards the stasis pod. It climbed it without any further hesitation, laying down.
Silas stepped up to the pod, typing in commands on the panel to begin the stasis procedure.
"Why me?" It asked.
He didn't know why it was specifically chosen. Mila had mentioned something that there wasn't another native around for a sizable radius.
Silas put his hand on the specimen's shoulder, trying to convey his apologies. The specimen looked at his hand, considering the meaning of it. Eventually, it patted Silas' hand, trying to show it was okay.
Silas exhaled heavily, typing in the last command to seal the hatch, and pulled his hand away. The hatch sealed and the specimen looked upwards as it was frozen in place. A mechanical arm reached out and latched onto the pod. It lifted it up and set it on the back wall.
Silas looked at the pod. 'Now he looks like a trophy mounted on a wall.' He shook his head as he went into the antechamber for decontamination. He removed his hazmat suit and left the observation room. Just before he left the lab, he realized what he had just thought. 'I used "he.'" His mind flooded with panic and confusion. 'Oh no. No, no, no. This is very bad.' He rubbed his temples was he left the lab.
Marco woke up slowly, the tranquilizers eventually leaving his bloodstream. His mind took a while to clear up but he soon was able to think properly. He stayed perfectly still, remembering what happened the last time he woke up. He kept his eyes closed, listening closely.
The captor who Marco interacted with the most was in the room. He could hear their hazmat suit wrinkling with every move they made. He heard footsteps and the sound of typing on a computer keypad. Then he heard the sounds of mechanical parts moving.
Marco slowly opened one eye, sneaking a peek at the situation. He saw a large metal container descending from the wall, stopping a foot or two away from him. The glass panel on the top opened up. He closed his eye when the captor came up to him. He felt the straps release and his aching muscles finally felt some relaxation. He resisted every urge to sit up and stretch.
'Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm,' he thought to himself, starting a mantra.
His captor stopped what it was doing, moving around and stepping away from Marco. Marco opened his eyes just enough to see unfocused outlines of his main captor facing another one who stood outside of the observation room. Their hand gestures and head movements indicated they were having a conversation but Marco couldn't hear any of it. He could only assume their exo-armor had built in communication lines. And he figured they were talking about him and what they were going to do with him next.
'Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm,' Marco repeated his mantra… until he realized he might have whispered it out loud. He snapped his mouth shut, praying the two captors didn't hear. After a moment, nothing happened to him and he relaxed again.
He peered over his nose and cheeks, watching the second captor turn to walk away. The first one reached out a hand, probably saying something to make them stop. The second must have delivered a harsh answer before quickly leaving the lab. The first, despite being hidden behind a helmet, looked downcast.
What Marco gathered from that silent conversation was that those two captors had some unsavory history together and their relationship was on the rocks.
"Wow, I felt the tension from over here."
'Fuck!' Marco's heart rate spiked. 'Did I seriously just say that out loud?!' His eyes widened, lifting his head to look at his captor, who was seemingly staring back at him.
The captor fumbled for its gun strapped to its hip, but their oversized gloves made it difficult for them to get a grasp on the weapon. Marco lifted his hands in a show of peace and defenselessness.
The captor stopped moving.
Marco sat up, still keeping his hands visible. 'I don't know why, but this guy seems to be the least aggressive of the three. Maybe… I can use that to my advantage.'
Marco tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke, hoping he could hide his fear and panic. "I'm not going to attack you. But I would greatly appreciate if you let me leave and walk home." Without any answer or indication from the captor, Marco continued. "So, will you let me go? I don't understand why you kidnapped me in the first place. I'm really a very boring person." He hoped his argument would get him released, but he wasn't so sure.
After a long pause, the captor pointed to the container to Marco's right. Marco looked to it, realizing it was a container built to hold a person. "What is it? Do you want me to get in it?" They still didn't answer him. "Why aren't you talking back to me? Can you understand me?"
They pointed more urgently at the chamber, their other hand growing closer to its gun to reinforce their order.
Marco bit his lower lip, weighing his possibilities. When he found no better option, he flipped his legs over the side of the observation table and stood up. He stepped towards the chamber and pulled himself into it. He laid down as the captor moved towards the control panel for the chamber. They typed in a few commands, readying the chamber.
"Why me?" Marco asked.
His captor looked towards him, eventually putting a hand on Marco's shoulder.
'Are they… apologizing?' Marco thought. He considered the entire situation. 'Maybe they regret what they're doing to me? Hell, I hope this is just some crazy nightmare.' He exhaled deeply and patted the captor's hand. 'Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.' Marco took a deep breath.
They put in the last few commands into the control panel and pulled their hand away. The glass top to the chamber moved up, sealing Marco inside.
The cold hit him in waves. At first it was painful, then it was soothing. Calming. He felt himself falling asleep. His mind drifted in one direction, his body another. Before he could close his eyes, he was frozen.