Location: Unknown, Day: Unknown, Year: 2275
Valerie scowled as she sat on her cot and finished off her nutrition bar. At the moment, her focus was on her distaste of her current situation. When Silas, the scientific hopeful, stepped up to the glass, Valerie's hopes were dashed when she saw the alien holding her supply of nutrition bars and water bottles. He didn't have her entire backpack. Her first effort to get her satphone didn't work, but that wasn't going to deter her from trying again and again.
Silas had entered a code on the control panel to the antechamber, which Valerie tried to reverse and memorize in her head. Silas had deposited the food and water into the antechamber, then stepped out. Once he had closed the outer doors, he opened the inner doors.
"Go ahead. I didn't touch any of it," Silas had insisted.
Marco had looked to Valerie, who only gave him a single nod, and then retrieved the nutrition bars and water bottles.
Silas closed the inner doors, paused as if to say something, but then left without a word.
Marco had put the stash of food and water in the corner. He picked up two bars. "Strawberry or peanut butter?"
"Peanut butter. I hate strawberry," Valerie had answered.
"Then why do you have strawberry ones?" Marco asked when he handed Valerie the peanut butter nutrition bar.
"They're Evan's favorite. I always have extras for him just in case." Valerie then broke into her bar, falling quiet.
Evan, the man Marco could only recall as Valerie's cameraman, seemed to be a point of concern for her. Instead of pushing further, Marco ate the strawberry one before washing it down with a sip of water. He had sat down on his cot and remained quiet for a long while, watching Valerie mull over her thoughts.
Marco's voice pulled Valerie's attention. "What are you thinking about?"
Valerie took a deep breath, looking over at Marco. She crumpled the empty wrapper in her hand. "Just how fucked up this is. And how I originally thought the Chinese had kidnapped me to torture me after the last story I just broadcasted."
Marco nodded. "So that's why I heard you yelling in Mandarin."
Valerie smiled lightly. "Yeah. Currently, I'd prefer Chinese torture to this."
"Don't say that." Marco grew concerned. "I mean, this isn't ideal, but… aliens are real. They look really similar to us, they speak English… They brought down all this advanced technology. Think about the possibilities!"
"The possibilities? You mean like invasion, war, conquering, enslavement, annihilation?" Valerie huffed, crossing her arms. "You can't live in a fantasy about this. They are playing nice and acting friendly to catch you off guard."
"Are you always this cynical?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.
Valerie chuckled. "I have to be. This planet that we live on," she gestured around, "is a screwed-up mess. People are either assholes or idiots. People who corrupt surviving governments or launch the next civil war, or ones who act like everything is okay and that they're not living in the middle of a nuclear crater."
Marco leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs. "That might be true, but there are still some good people out there. Ones who are hopeful for the future. Ones that aren't cynical," he countered.
Valerie moved her head back to rest on the glass wall. "If you've seen what I've seen, you'd be cynical too."
Marco smiled and laughed lightly. "If you've seen what I've seen, you'd be hopeful too."
Valerie smiled, rolling her eyes.
Marco stood up, holding his empty wrapper. He stepped up to Valerie's cot and held his hand out. Valerie gave him her wrapper, nodding in thanks. Marco tossed both wrappers into the wastebasket in the small bathroom. As he emerged, the lights in the lab dimmed, sending the holding cell into a dusky darkness.
Valerie laughed once. "I guess it's bedtime."
"Might as well get some sleep that wasn't induced by drugs," Marco spoke as he sat down on his cot.
"Agreed." Valerie fluffed her pillow before curling up on her side, facing the glass.
"Goodnight," Marco said softly as he laid down.
"Night," Valerie replied curtly.
Marco sighed, staring at Valerie's back. She had a tattoo of the phases of the moon, trailing down her spine. At the base of her neck, there was something small and red, but Marco couldn't tell what it was from far away. But most notably, he could see the unmistakable scars of multiple gunshot wounds. He could only wonder in fear of what happened to Valerie, how she got to such a damaged state, physically and mentally.
Valerie shivered, rubbing her arm on her shoulder.
"Cold?" Marco asked quietly.
"Yeah, I'm freezing in here," Valerie complained. "Aren't you?"
"Guess I'm used to the cold after living in Iceland."
Valerie huffed, hugging an arm around herself, wishing desperately she had a blanket.
"I wish I could work the control panel… make it warmer in here."
She only groaned in response, hating everything about the situation.
"The only way to get warm is to share body heat," Marco added quietly, embarrassed at the thought of near-naked cuddling.
Valerie chuckled, sitting upright. "If you wanted to spoon, you could have just asked!"
Marco laughed too. "Okay." He got off his cot, standing up. He dragged his cot across the floor, feeling like he was in high school when he had to move his desk to make room for a survival demonstration.
With both cots next to each other, there was plenty of space for the two of them to sleep together. Valerie put her head back down, laying on her side as Marco laid down. He got as close as he thought would be comfortable for Valerie.
Marco heard her sigh before she reached backwards for his hand. She grabbed onto it and wrapped it around her waist, pressing her back into his chest. "If we're spooning, we're spooning for real."
"If you say so."
"Just shut up and go to sleep." Valerie brushed her hair over her shoulder before slipping her arm underneath her pillow for support.
"Okay." Marco settled in for the night. "Goodnight."
"Night," Valerie answered, much more pleasantly this time, finally feeling warm.
Being this close to her, Marco could see the tattoo on the back of her neck now. It was a small heart colored red with the word 'hope' written in loopy letters across it. He smiled to himself as he drifted off.
Espial Space Station, Mission Day 13, continued
Mila passed by Aiden in the lounge, just past the kitchen and dining room, watching him play an online card game with a drink in hand. "Did Silas go to bed yet?" She asked, curious as to where her science officer was.
"Nah, I think he's still in the upper lab," Aiden answered, casting a single glance in Mila's direction.
She nodded. "Thanks."
"Sure thing." Aiden took a long sip of his drink before returning his attention to his game.
On her way out, Mila stopped in the kitchen. She pulled two mugs from the cabinets and started brewing coffee. When the coffee machine finished, Mila filled the two cups up and carried them with her to the upper lab.
She found Silas hunched over a computer, furiously typing notes down.
"Pulling a late night?" Mila joked.
Silas turned and smiled when he saw her. "Yes, I suppose so."
Mila walked up to him. "Thought you could use some coffee." She handed him one of the cups.
He brightened. "Thank you, Mila."
Mila smiled back softly, sitting down in the chair next to him. They both took a sip at the same time, setting their mugs down on the desk together. "What are you up to?" She asked, leaning in to see his computer screen.
"Oh, just taking some observational notes."
Mila saw the camera feeds in the lower lab focused on the holding cell. She could see that Marco had brought his cot over to Valerie's and the two of them were cuddling close together as they slept.
"Curious, isn't it?" Silas looked to Mila as he sipped his coffee. "Neither of them knew the other before we brought them together and now they're sleeping together."
Mila sighed, turning off the camera feed. "It's creepy, Silas. You can't watch them while they sleep. Not when we're supposed to be building up some trust with them," Mila scolded.
Silas let his shoulders slump. "I know, you're right. It's just so fascinating."
"It's okay," Mila started. "You just have to ease off of being a science nerd. Be more diplomatic and friendly. Alright?"
He nodded. "Alright."
"Good." Mila put a hand on top of Silas'. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Silas smiled, turning his hand around to hold onto Mila's hand.
Mila savored the moment, finally having a soft interaction with Silas, when neither of them were feeling angry or annoyed at the other. She eventually let go, picking up her mug. "Goodnight, Si. Get some rest." She put her free hand on his shoulder.
Silas smiled lightly. "Of course, Mila. Goodnight."
Mila exhaled as she left the lab, going to her room for some much-deserved rest.
Porphyrorum, Porphyry homeworld, 22|41, 30.9.4965
Elias sat at his desk in his office, pulling yet another late night as he tried to squeeze more information from Mila. He was dissatisfied with her captaining efforts on the Espial, and her insolence for withholding vital information about her mission.
He stared at the message he had last sent to Mila, waiting for her answer.
To: Mila Lexa
Re: URGENT Mission Update Needed
Your camera feeds aren't relaying, you say? Then I expect detailed updates twice a day so the Senate can stay informed. Regarding order violations, so long as you can confirm and ensure the specimen did not see your face, then I won't consider adding another infraction to your record. And I'm going to need a little more explanation of the specimens' sentience level of "elevated." Perhaps I'll get better reports from Silas. Should I put some talk to him exclusively, instead of you? Now, I'm not suggesting you send an immediate reply, I'm ordering it.
Only ten minutes passed before Elias received Mila's answer.
New Message from Mila Lexa
Re: URGENT Mission Update Needed
The Espial is an old rust-bucket. Aiden tells me everyday that he's surprised the Espial is still in orbit. He said that the camera relays were bound to go and he doesn't have much confidence in fixing them. I'll send you reports three times a day if it makes you happy. After revisiting the lab while the specimen was awake, it had no reaction, so I can confirm it did not see my face. I'll have Silas send his report regarding sentience level whenever he's finished with it. I wouldn't recommend communicating with Silas exclusively. His tangents last for at least seven messages at a time. It's late. I suggest you get some rest.
Respectfully,
Captain Mila Lexa
Elias picked up his pencil cup from his desk and threw it across his office. He stood up and stomped to his office door. He snatched his jacket off of his coat rack and left his office, slamming his door shut. He marched past his secretary, Thea, who had to stay at her desk until Elias left for the night.
Elias' anger had given Thea a jolt of energy. "Is there something I can do for you, sir?"
Elias looked over his shoulder at her. "Go home, Thea."
"Of course, sir." She bowed her head with respect.
Elias sighed and made his way towards the Senate chamber. The guard stationed at the secure door waved Elias forward, waiting for him to scan his wristband. Elias huffed and rolled his eyes, lifting his wrist to scan his band. "You've only seen me scan in four other times today," he snapped.
"Sorry, it's protocol." The guard opened the door for Elias when the scanner turned green.
Elias swore at the guard under his breath as he walked into the Senate chamber. He paused when he heard the gavel pound the Head Senator's desk. The session was just ending and the 100 Senators were all gathering their personal belongings to leave for the night.
"Elias," Senator Avvaro called out to the man. "What brings you here at this late hour?"
"And why not earlier, before we'd all like to get home?" Senator Linsda added, clearly annoyed.
"My deepest apologies, Senators, Commander." Elias bowed at the waist. "With my deepest respect, I think we might be screwed."