Espial Space Station, Mission Day 12
Silas didn't sleep at all during the night. He was too busy reconsidering his moral values. He turned his alarm off before the first ring was done. He huffed, getting dressed for the day. He went to the bridge in search of Mila to tell her about the developments in the lab.
He found Mila at the captain's computer, studying the screen intensely.
"Mila, I need to talk to you about something," he said as he walked up to her.
Mila sighed, not looking at him. "Silas, I don't want to do this right now."
"It's not," Silas paused, closing his eyes for a moment, "it's not that I wanted to talk about. It's about the specimen."
"What about it?" Mila finally looked at Silas.
"I don't think-"
Aiden's voice came through on the ship's comms. "I'm docking now. Female specimen is secure."
Mila turned back to the computer. "Copy that, Aiden. I'll meet you in the hangar." She looked back at Silas as she stood up. "Can this wait?"
Silas stammered an answer, unsure of how to tell Mila what he believed while another specimen was arriving on board the ship.
She sighed, shaking her head. She grabbed her helmet and left the bridge.
Silas let his head hang down as he followed her.
When the two of them got to the hangar, Aiden was already pushing the pressurized gurney down the hallway. Silas and Mila put their helmets on, Mila keeping her hand on her pistol.
"Any issues?" Mila asked.
Aiden shrugged. "Not really." He guided the gurney towards the lab.
Silas leaned in to look at the female specimen. He could only feel the guilt washing over him.
In the lab, Aiden placed the pressurized gurney in the antechamber before stepping back. Once he sealed the door, the antechamber depressurized and decontaminated the gurney. Silas moved to get in a hazmat suit, but Aiden stopped him.
"I need you to help me with the specs for the room downstairs."
Silas looked to the observation room, knowing the specimens had to be moved before the female woke up. He looked to Mila next. "Mila, do you think you could transfer them? Put the female on the table and the male on the gurney?"
Mila tossed her head backwards. "Fine."
"Thank you." Silas tilted his head.
Silas and Aiden left the upper lab to work on the room in the lower lab, leaving Mila alone with the two specimens. She sighed, setting her rifle against the wall as she put on the hazmat suit. As she secured the oversized rubber gloves, she already started to feel claustrophobic. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the antechamber. She sealed the outer door behind her and decontaminated the chamber.
She walked into the main room, already itching to take the hazmat suit off. She went to the male's stasis pod first, typing in the codes to wake it up. She went to the gurney next, unzipping the plastic covering. Mila dragged the board over onto the observation table. She slipping the board out from underneath it and returned it to the gurney, which she shoved into a corner.
She went back to the observation table to strap down the specimen. Mila grabbed one of the straps and started to loop it around the specimen's wrist. And soon as she touched it, its eyes shot open. It twisted its body, lifting a leg and kicking Mila right in the chest. Mila stumbled backwards, shocked and slightly shaken. It rolled off the table, standing opposite of Mila.
It shouted at her in a language Mila didn't understand. But it didn't matter to Mila, she was more concerned with containing the situation. She reached for her rifle but stopped, regretting the fact she left it outside of the observation room.
Mila didn't know where Silas kept the sedatives, but she figured one punch from her with her exo-armor on would undoubtedly knock out the specimen. She curled her hands into fists.
In an instant, the specimen was rushing Mila. Mila brought her hands up to throw some attacks, but the specimen easily batted her away. It swept Mila's leg, throwing her off balance. It shoved her back before punching her in the chest. It groaned in pain, shaking out its hand, now realizing Mila's armor was formidable.
The stasis pod beeped but Mila ignored the noise for now.
"Aiden, Silas, I need your help in the lab. Now!" Mila shouted into her comms, but kept her voice calm and even.
Mila gathered herself and advanced on the specimen. She could hear Silas' voice in the back of her head, warning her not to damage the specimen, that it needed to remain unharmed for him to study. She huffed and gritted her teeth. She'd have to subdue the female as gently as she could.
"On our way," Aiden answered.
The female specimen moved backwards, staying away from Mila, nursing its hand. It spied the antechamber doors and Mila could see it plot its escape. She couldn't let it expose the crew to whatever unknown pathogens its body held.
Mila sprinted at it, knocking it against the wall. It growled and shouted something. It started pushing against Mila's heavy body, bracing its arms across her chest while focusing its next attack on Mila's legs. Mila snatched its wrist to push back but it grabbed her arm, jerking it hard and twisting it. A flash of pain shot through her body, blurring the edges of her version.
The stasis pod beeped again and Mila heard the glass hatch open. She hoped the male was still tranquilized so she didn't have to deal with it too. But the noise had distracted the female long enough for Mila to take advantage.
Mila weaved one leg through the specimen's legs and tripped it up. It tumbled to the ground before quickly scrambling to get up again.
Mila grabbed it, spinning it around so its back was against her chest. She locked it in a chokehold, hoping to starve it of air so it will pass out.
But it wouldn't go down as easily as Mila hoped. It thrashed and struggled, its hands scrabbling for something to grab to help it. Mila dodged its hands, squeezing around its neck tighter, but not too much as to crush its throat.
Mila was blindsided by another body crashing into hers. The male in the stasis pod had woken up, coming to the defense of the female. Mila's head slammed against the inside of her helmet, making her see stars. She lost her grasp on the female, but not before it had passed out, slumping down on the ground.
Silas and Aiden finally arrived at the upper lab. Aiden immediately drew his weapon and aimed it at the male. It saw the barrel pointed in its direction and stepped away from Mila. Silas quickly suited up and rushed into the antechamber. Mila leaned against one of the tables, trying to stop the room from spinning.
Silas got into the observation room, going to Mila first. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she nodded. "Just dizzy."
"You probably have a concussion." Silas gently guided her over to the chair by the computer. "Sit down and breathe deeply."
Silas turned around to deal with the specimens but stopped when he saw the interaction unfolding. The male had knelt down next to the female, putting two fingers against the neck of the female, to check its pulse. The look on the male's face became less panicked when it realized the female was still alive.
What came next was what Silas had been fearing.
The male cradled the female's head… and spoke. "Hey, hey, wake up. Can you hear me? Are you alright?"
"It can talk?!" Aiden shouted.
"And… and it knows our language?" Mila lifted an eyebrow.
The male dipped its head down, bringing its cheek close to the female's face. It felt the female's breath on its cheek. It straightened up, trying to gently shake the female awake. "Come on, wake up. You can do it."
"Silas, why aren't you having a nerd freak out right now?" Aiden asked, drawing closer to the glass of the observation room. "The natives know and speak our language!"
"Because… I knew." He looked to Mila. "That's what I wanted to tell you earlier."
Mila looked away, feeling a pang of guilt along with her usual annoyance.
Silas retrieved an injectable sedative and stepped towards the specimens. He sighed, sedating the male. It slumped backwards into Silas' arms and Silas dragged it towards the open stasis pod. He heaved its body into the pod and sealed the glass hatch. He went over to the female and lifted her up into his arms. He was thankful the female was lighter than the male. He set it down on the observation table and quickly strapped it down.
He pulled up the female's vitals on his A.R.M., seeing that her respiratory levels and brain function were normal. He felt relieved.
"Well, that's enough for me to take in right now." Mila slowly stood up. "I'm going to med bay for some pain meds and then… I gotta update Elias." She walked towards the antechamber door, passing by Silas as she went.
"Wait," Silas put a hand on her shoulder.
She huffed. "What. I don't want to stay in here another minute."
"You can't leave." Silas gently held her arm and lifted it up for her to see.
She stared down at what seemed like a death sentence. A tear in the hazmat suit. She looked up at Silas. "What… what do I do?"
"You…" Silas trailed off, thinking. "You need to stay here. I'm going to test their blood and cross it against ours to check for any pathogens that could harm us."
"How long is that going to take?" Mila asked.
"About 12 hours. A day at most."
"A day?!"
"Stay calm, Mila."
"What if I'm infected with a disease that'll kill me in a day?! Hm?!"
"Mila, it'll be okay."
Mila sighed. "You better be right."