Symbiotic ship

Current objective: Investigate invading object

“Sarah.”

Sarah opened her eyes. She was in a dorm room. It was small, three beds crammed into the room, with small drawers beneath the beds. Janet was looking down at her, her short red hair a mess. “It’s time to get up.” Sarah sat up, knocking heads with her fellow engineer. “Ow.”

“Sorry,” Sarah said, rubbing her own head. “Wait, wasn’t I just in the infirmary?”

“Doc said you passed out, or fell asleep or something.” Janet shrugged. “Either way, come on, we’re meeting  in classroom C6-4 with security to deal with the asteroid.”

Sarah got up and quickly got dressed. A shower would have to wait. “Has it done anything yet? I mean, besides digging into the ship?”

“Currently, the asteroid is content to sit on deck 18.” James said, pointing at a diagram of the ship he had projected on the wall. The room was a triangular classroom, designed to be used as a briefing room or a classroom, depending on the needs of the crew and their families. The walls were colored a light orange, and the floors were done in gray tile. There were 25 people in total within the room when Sarah and Janet slipped in. “Janet, glad you could join us.”

Janet smiled and a few of the security personnel waved. Unlike the orange clothes of the engineers, they wore gunmetal gray clothes, pockets bulging with weapons and ammunition.

“We have noticed that this asteroid is either alive or infested with something that is. One of our engineers had an arm broken, and another was stabbed. Both are in the infirmary.” Sarah glanced at Janet, noticing a bit of bandage peeking out from under her shirt. “However, I am informed that this occurred after the asteroid was exposed to a space welder, so it is believed to be in a relatively peaceful state. Regardless, we must ensure it does no harm, either removing or restraining it. Therefore, among your usual armaments, tranquilizing rounds have been added. A hand was raised. “Yes Carlos?”

Carlos, a broad-shouldered black a haired man, stood up. “James, if this thing came in from outside, won’t we need shell walkers, or void protection armor if this thing is dangerous.”

“Fortunately this creature, for whatever reason, prefers oxygen to the vacuum of space. Upon forcing its way into the ship it left behind a layer of what we believe to be scar tissue. It is not as durable as tri-bonded titanium, but it is keeping the air in.” There was a pause. “And it is for that reason that, if possible, we must take it alive.”

That caused a ripple through the group. Mumbles of “Take it alive?” And “This is a bad idea,” popped up most frequently. James raised a hand and the whispering quieted.

“We know next to nothing about this creature, and the science team is still frozen. Furthermore, this creature’s ability to rapidly create material that can be used to repair the ship could be quite useful.”

“Don’t we have the materials to do that already?” Carlos asked.

“Small jobs yes, but the engineers before us did not leave much to work with.” He paused. “If this creature is too dangerous to capture alive, you are cleared to kill it. Remember, it may seem docile, but once it feels pain, all bets are off.”

He paused. “Engineers, your job is to go with these soldiers, one per group, and fix anything that the asteroid has damaged.

“And how do we contain the asteroid once it is tranquilized?” Sarah asked. James's eyes stared daggers at her, practically forcing her to look away before they softened to mere frustration.

“You know what to do, get to it.” James paused. “And Janet, keep an eye on Sarah here. She has a habit of doing things, not by the book.” Janet nodded. “Be careful out there. Dismissed.”