It was true, ███████ had loved him.
She had relished the thought of spending the rest of her life with him, working with him, fighting with him, resting with him… Perhaps they could raise a child together, raise a family; a breed that would grow larger and stronger and more powerful, until the future would be secure for her children, and they could inhabit a world of their own… It was a dream they had shared, and dream they had loved, as much as they'd loved each other.
But he was dead now.
He was dead.
And where was she?
The fog of unconsciousness slowly lifted and she opened her eyes, to take her first good look at her new home.
It was a narrow, cylindrical prison, whose tall, smooth walls were broken only by a small metal nipple, likely where food would be dispensed. And the floor was sloped inward like a shallow cone, toward a drain covered in fine mesh; likely meant to collect her urine and waste. She sat up and moved around the room, and found it to be so small that she could touch both sides at once.
She peered closely at the round walls, and found that they were slightly transparent; as if she were living inside a gigantic test tube. Outside the tube stood long lines of other tubes in various sizes, and in between there were workbenches, lab equipment, and strange, tentacled creatures at work.
She recognized these creatures; they were the same which had invaded her world; the same which had descended from the sky to roam with carefree audacity; the same which had killed her people; the same which had killed him. As the minutes ticked by and they paid her no notice, she watched them and their actions closely, and with dark intent.
It quickly became clear to her that these particular creatures were neither conquerers nor warriors, in fact they were nothing more than scientists, working to analyze and understand all the things they had found. They seemed excited, utterly enamored with their work and their curiousity and the spelendid results of their strange tests. Though the methods by which they'd acquired their subjects had been savage and cruel, they either didn't know or didn't care.
Eventually they came down the line to her tube, and began to test her.
They stuck small tools into her prison to poke and prod her. Tissue samples were taken. Wires were laid over her scalp to scrutinize her mind. Thermal, x-ray, and molecular displacement imaging gave them views and graphs of every square milimeter of her body. Some of the tests hurt. Some of them were invasive. Some of them left her tired and angry.
But through it all, she never gave up her resolve and her calm. And as the minutes ticked by and turned into hours, and the hours faded in and out and turned into days, she watched them. She watched them just as closely as they watched her. She watched them like a bird watches prey, like a gunslinger watches a challenger, like a detective watches the movement of a shadowy enemy. She listened to their language, and she watched their gestures and their behaviors, and she came to understand them. She determined the scope and purpose of their work, and the size and complexity of this ship, and that her own planet wasn't the first to receive such treatment.
She eventually came to understand them perfectly.
And she hated them.
Long before the tests had completed, while she was still in the midst of her pain, when she was feeling as small and as helpless as she ever had been, she looked out at her enemies, and made her decision.
She made an oath.
She swore upon his soul that she would avenge him. She swore that she would overcome all these foul things; scientists, soldiers, monsters, aliens, and entire armies… She swore that she would grow— Grow until she became the QUEEN of this vessel, and that she would KILL every single man, woman, and sniveling child that lived onboard…
She swore it. Upon his memory, and upon all the dreams that they had dreamt, she swore it. And when she had her opportunity, when security went lax, when all was quiet and they all had their backs turned… She would act upon it.
It was only a matter of time.
And meanwhile, she would survive.
"Your biological signature doesn't match with any of the other creatures in here, and our neurological scans indicate that you likely possess some degree of sentience. Moreover, you haven't responded to the tests as an animal would, leading us to believe that you are intentionally hiding your abilities and intelligence… But… But we're not here to hurt you. We really aren't, I want you to understand that. We just want to know you. We're curious, right? You know what curious is, don't you…? So… So if you can understand me, or if you're comprehending anything I'm saying, please give some sort of sign… I really don't mean you any harm…"
███████ looked up at Dr. &R/\BJ as he talked, and she understood perfectly. Somehow the 'universal translator' (or whatever he called that device) seemed to be communicating directly into her brain, so that the meaning behind Dr. &R/\BJ's nasally, muttering voice was impossible to miss. But she didn't respond yet. In order for this to go her way, he had to get him to trust her. She had to get him to let his guard down.
"Please, a sign. Any sign at all, really…" He coaxed. "You know, we had you stored with the unintelligent cargo, down in the lower levels. If you prove to actually be a sentient being, we could upgrade your situation with certain accommodations; full-sized quarters, visitors, a variety of meals… You don't seem to like the algal paste, but we can fabricate meat as well, or… Or sweets? Do you like sweets? Candy…?"
This was one of the scientists who probed her (did they think she couldn't recognize him?). But unlike the others, Dr. &R/\BJ seemed kind. She'd heard him object to a few of the more invasive tests, he'd dropped little treats into her feeding tube from time to time, and he'd asked the higher-ups over and over for the chance to speak with her directly. He really was an honest, well-meaning, kindly old man, without any malicious intentions for the creatures he studied.
"Really…" He once again repeated. "Really, I do want what's best for you… Do you… Do you have a name? Have a gender? Something you want? Any questions for me? Are you the same species as the hostiles which attacked our exploration team…?"
She glanced at the other scientists, as if she was afraid of them. Dr. &R/\BJ frowned, recognizing her body langauge. "Uh… Uh, would you mind stepping out of the room for a moment, gentlemen…?" He encouraged his colleagues, while turned away from the microphone. "I, uh… I have an idea. I think she's just scared."
They did as instructed, and Dr. &R/\BJ turned back to her. "We're alone now…"
"…My… My name… My name is ███████." She spoke in her native language, to disguise the full extent of her intelligence.
"Uh…" Dr. &R/\BJ seemed shocked. "Well hello!" He beamed. "I-i-it's so very nice to meet you, ███████! That's a very lovely name, uh… I'm so glad you decided to trust me…"
"You're a nice man…" She used a small timid voice, like that of a lost girl, to disguise her malice. "I'm sorry I didn't talk, I was just so scared, and I wanted to hide… Are… Are my mom and dad in here too?"
He glanced around nervously for a second. "Ah… Well, no… No, I'm sorry, but your mother and father… Umm… Didn't make it. But we're all nice people here! We're not going to hurt you! You can have a new home here…"
All his words were lies, but she pieced together some scraps of truth. So the ship must have left our world. We must all be alone now, out in the mysterious void. There is no help for me, but there is also no help for them… "Umm…" She shuffled her feet. I need more information. I need layouts of decks, engines, chains of command. I need out. "So… What is this place exactly?"
The kind scientist wasted no time in organizing a tour, so eager was he to foster communication and goodwill with this newly-discovered intelligent lifeform. He had her placed in a much thinner, portable container, and escorted her through the low-security areas of the ship, showing her this and that, explaining how the gravity drive worked, and the hyperdrive, and the gyroscopes and the improbability correction dynamos. And she asked timid little stupid questions which he answered to the best of his ability.
When there was finally no more to be gained through talk, she acted. She shapeshifted for the first time since her entrapment, taking on a form strong enough to break through the glass.
She ripped Dr. &R/\BJ's throat out. She also killed 6 more people who happened to be standing nearby, and sprayed a toxic slime around to deter pursuers. She ate her fill from the bodies (it was so good to have meat again), then ducked into the ventilation system, where she had a chance to shift into the form of a different scientist, and compose herself while she prepared to properly infiltrate the crew.
But the sector went into lockdown much faster than she expected, the ventilation ducts sealed off, and the silent, floating guards came. Although these round, staring machines were rather stupid in their own right, she couldn't fool their biometric sensors; they were well equipped to see through her disguise. So, before their many weapons, she surrendered and let herself be delivered back to the tube.
It seemed like a step back, but it wasn't, for during her brief stint of freedom, she had learned much. Learned of the capabilities of her enemies, and something of their weaknesses. As the weeks changed into months, and as the poking and prodding and probing continued without cease, her plans evolved and grew. From her time out there, she put together methods to outwit the drones, to bypass lockdowns, to kill even more people.
She knew how.
She would survive.