"Did you find them?" Green asks, pacing back and forth restlessly. He and White had set themselves up in Admin for a while to observe the map.

White rubs his eyes, trying to focus. He probably should've taken time to rest, but he was the captain. The crew needed him. There was simply no time.

Green groans. "You know what? Just let me do it." And he shoved the other man away from the map, quite rudely. Normally, White would've scolded him for this sort of behavior, but it was probably for the best he took over. Even if his methods left much to be desired. "Ah, there they are!"

"Are you sure?" White asks, looking over his shoulder. "None of the markers are labeled…"

"Yeah, and I don't know why the hell that is. I mean we have high-tech suits, couldn't MIRA use that to label 'em, or at the very least color code them I will never know…" The crewman shakes his head. "They're the only one alone, so it's a pretty good guess that's Cyan, I think."

White continues scanning the map. "Where are they?"

"There." Green points. "No wait, they just—oh, that sneaky little…"

"What?" White asked, his heart speeding up at Green's sudden venomous tone. He always got anxious when he was sleep-deprived, which got all the worse when there was actually something to be anxious about. Namely, his crew being stalked by a murderous alien.

"That—they—" Green spluttered angrily, clearly trying not to say something unprofessional. "They vented," he finally settled on, saying it as though it were a terrible crime.

"To where?"

Green's eyes dart frantically about the map before finally stopping. "Shields," he says at last.

White lets out a small sigh of relief. So, they weren't in a place they could perform a critical sabotage, yet. "What do you think they're planning?"

"To kill us all, obviously."

"Yes, yes, I am aware of that. But I meant, what do you believe their first move is?"

Green tenses. "Yellow. She's the youngest, the least experienced. They probably think she'd be a good first kill. Likely think they could get away with it, too, considering…"

The captain isn't sure what, exactly, makes his blood run cold. Is it Green's words themselves, or the tone he said them in? White is about to reply, but Green keeps going.

"Why did you let them stay, Captain?" At first glance, the question was out of anger, accusatory. But beneath the surface, there was an undertone of desperation and pleading. Even though Green was on the slightly older side like him (late twenties at the youngest, thirties at the oldest) the captain couldn't help but think Green sounded like a child at that moment. A frightened, confused child that wanted to know why the one meant to keep him safe was seemingly putting him in danger.

White can't help but let out a soft sigh. He wasn't sure if Green was referring to Cyan or Red, but he decided to answer for the latter. "They may be an impostor, but… they have not killed."

"Says them!"

"If we had ejected them, we wouldn't have known about this even greater threat."

"Which might not even be here in the first place if Red was gone!"

A tense, cold silence fell between the two for several seconds, the longest seconds in the captain's life so far. He didn't know what to say. What if he's right? A little voice piped up in the back of his mind.

Green lets out a bitter little sound between a cough and a chuckle. "It makes sense, doesn't it? One impostor didn't take us out, so they sent a second one to help get the job done."

White takes a deep breath before responding. "Even if that is the case—"

"It definitely is!"

"Even so, I cannot, in good conscience, eject an innocent person—"

"You don't know that!"

"We don't know they're guilty for sure, either!" White says this louder than he meant to, his emotions pulling him in numerous directions at once. Green looked gobsmacked. He opens his mouth to retort, but White beats him to it. "I am not going to punish someone because of their species,alright?"

"Captain—"

"I am aware of your strong distaste for impostors, we all are. And though it is understandable, and I do not blame you for being wary, this is beyond mere wariness. No. At this point, it has gotten to the point where it is downright racism. Or speciesism, whichever word you want to use."

"I—you—" Green is reduced to incoherent spluttering at this point. White continues.

"I did not say anything at the time because I thought Purple had talked sense into you, but clearly I was mistaken."

"Purple was—"

"You referred to Red as it, when you know full well that Red's pronouns are they/them. That is very disappointing, especially coming from you,who had been so adamant about never misgendering people."

"But this is dif—Red isn't—"

"And though it very well may be possible Red has committed crimes in the past, though I doubt it, we don't punish people for speculated crimes, Green. There must be evidence. So, if you can show me undeniable proof that it is not safe for Red to be aboard the Skeld, then we'll talk. Then, and only then. Do I make myself clear, Aspen?"

Green glares. He seethes, and even puts his hands on his hips like a petulant child. But White stands firm. With that speech (Where had it even come from? His mind certainly does odd things when he's tired…) all doubt had melted away, and he stood resolute and unyielding. So eventually, the other man had no choice but to relent.

"…Fine."

"I'm going to let Red and yellow know Cyan may be coming their way."

"You do that."

White could feel Green's eyes staring a hole into the back of his head as he took out his iMira. He thought about telling the other crewman to look back at the map, but ultimately decided he had reprimanded him enough for now.

But apparently, Green had other ideas. "Just so you know, if someone dies because of your choices, I won't forgive you."

"Neither will I," White replies simply. "And neither will Vida."

"Who the hell's Vida?"

White jumps. Had he said that last part out loud? Well, he supposed he couldn't avoid it forever. "My wife."

Green gasps as if White had said something scandalous. "You have a wife?"

"Indeed I do," the captain confirms. "And she makes the best home-made tomato sauce."

"Wow, I… you never mentioned being married before."

"It never came up. And is it really that big of a deal? I mean, many men our age are married."

"Yes, but… isn't it difficult for—what's her name? Vida?" White nods. "Isn't it difficult for her when you're out here in space so much?"

White shrugs, rubbing his stinging eyes. "I mean," he begins, but he's cut off by a massive yawn and has to pause for a moment before continuing. "She misses me, of course, but she has her boyfriend to keep her company."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Her boyfriend? And you know? Does she know you know?"

White sighs. This is why he hated talking about his romantic life. "We're in an open, polyamorous marriage. Now, can we get back to the task at hand, please?"

"O-Okay okay, sure." Green finally, mercifully directs his attention back to the map. "Jeez," he mutters. "What a bombshell to drop just like that."

White tenses. "Don't tell me you take issue with this as well…"

"What? No, no, of course not! Your personal relationships are none of my business. It's just, you always seemed so… uptight. I didn't think you'd like that sort of thing."

White suppresses a groan. "People tend to act differently when they are at work verses in their personal lives, Green. And me being the captain, I have to be more serious than the rest of you. It's a lot of responsibility."

"And I understand that, but…"

As if on queue, White's phone chimes. He could've kissed whoever it was who sent him a message. Nope, never mind, it was MIRA. "Apparently there are two impostors among us now," he relays.

"Oh, who could've guessed."

"Us, thanks to a certain someone," White can't help but say. He usually wouldn't make quips like this, but the lack of sleep was doing odd things to him, it would seem.

Green just scowls.

A/N: Fun fact, this is the first-ever chapter of a vent buddies fic to not feature Red or Yellow at all besides mentions. I hope you enjoyed Green finally getting a real talking to for his behavior, it was a long time coming, although this won't be the end of it. His character ark/development (characters other than Red, Yellow and Cyan are getting arks? Crazy!) is far from over.

White's whole speech wasn't originally planned to happen in this chapter. Although I don't really plan my chapters; I just have a rough outline of what I want to happen and sort of make things up as I go, which is why there may be plot holes and inconsistencies. Sorry about those in advance.

But just like I wanted, more stuff has been revealed about some of Red and Yellow's crewmates. In the original oneshot that had been all I was going to write for this series at first, they were really only there to fill the quota needed for max crewmates on a ship with a balanced cast: two males, two females and two non binaries. But as the series expanded, I wanted to flesh them out into characters of their own that we can all love just as much as our two protags.

So, it's now been revealed that White has a wife, and his wife has a boyfriend (his name is milo.) I hope the moment White revealed that to Green was as funny to you as I thought it was, and that it was good comic relief after the more serious scene. Just so you're aware, I didn't add Vida and Milo just for humor or satellite love interest(s.) Especially not the latter, since as an aroace, I'm not one to just add romance for the sake of romance. No, they serve a purpose for the plot. Here is some info that White didn't share with Green.

White and Vida aren't only in an open, poly marriage just because of his job. It's also because White is ace, Vida is not, and being open and poly is how Vida can fulfill her needs. As for White's romantic orientation, I've yet to decide if he's heteroromantic, biromantic, or even Demi along with one of those two. If any of you guys have preferences, please let me know. Either way, I hope you enjoyed!