The Imposter Among Us

Chapter 4

Robbie felt like dogshit. There was no other way to explain it. He couldn't tell you the flavor of dogshit he was feeling (also: gross), but he definitely felt pretty shitty!
He glanced up at the black screens in front of him. Of course the cameras weren't considered emergency vital. Of course they wouldn't get emergency power routed to them. Of course. It's not like he had a job to do making sure everyone was safe.
After the emergency meeting, everyone had scattered like mice getting caught in a kitchen, including Robbie. Nobody was paying attention to what he was doing, so he decided to take a moment to hide in security and collect himself. That's how he ended up sitting by the CCTV screens with his head in his hands, feeling like dogshit.
He'd played all his cards here, he had shown his hand. Logically, that was for the best. Everybody deserved to know what they had been forced into, but that didn't make it any easier. A solid pit had settled in the bottom of his stomach, which he was trying desperately to ignore. The words Jenna (or Ms Lolio as he had to call her now) said to him before takeoff kept rattling around in Robbie's noggin.
"Mr. Calla." she had said, standing out in the hangar, just far enough away from the Skeld 3-10-5 to have a private conversation.
"Jenna..." he replied. His feet had been cemented to the spot, his heart screaming at him to run back into the ship. But no. He had to be professional. "What can I help you with?"
"We have things we need to discuss." she had looked so disinterested, so detached. Robbie knew she was also trying to stay professional, but it still hurt. After everything they'd been through, he had hoped for something more.
By the time he realized she was talking, he had already missed quite a bit, but he could guess exactly what she was saying, all the bullshit she was spewing.
"Mr. Calla," she continued, seemingly unaware that Robbie wasn't listening, "I don't think I need to remind you of all the greats leaps our bioengineers could make with the information that's going to be gathered, or tell you about how much funding will be down the drain if you mess this up."
Robbie had to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "Yeah. I know."
"And I--" Jenna had taken a deep breath and glanced behind her, lowering her voice. "Rob. The science division is willing to do anything to make sure their experiment goes smoothly... and if you get in the way of that... well. Your family's lives may be on the line."
His entire body went stiff. This chick had the audacity to stomp his heart into the curb then go and threaten his family? The nerve! All the pretenses of pleasantries and politeness left his mind. Any interest he had in making good just vanished. He simply turned around and started walking back to the ship without a word.
"Mr. Calla--"
"I think I got it, thanks!" he shouted over his shoulder. There was a venom to his words he wasn't expecting but it felt good. He wanted to go back and yell at her more, but god he was just so sick of Jenna and the ESST's games. He had the last word and that's all he needed.
Or so he thought, but then everything went wrong! Robbie had hoped he could be subtle and reroute the ship, but then the pilots got in the way (they were just doing their job, Robbie knew that he needed to calm down). Now all he really needed was to punch someone in the face. Preferably whoever cleared this whole human experiment thing. Sadly, that wasn't an option, so Robbie just decided to take a moping break in security with the door shut.
He sighed and stood up, pushing in his chair. He had things he had to do; he couldn't sit around forever.
Robbie opened the door and stepped out into the hall. The floor lights were just bright enough compared to his own pitch black room to make him squint, but his eyes adjusted quickly.
"Of course," he mumbled to himself, turning on his suit's flashlight and looking around. It was dead silent, which wasn't exactly odd for the situation, but it still made Robbie's hair stand on end.
"Eric? Shaina?" he called out, his voice immediately being swallowed up by the darkness.
A voice called back to him. "Yeah?" but he couldn't tell who it belonged to.
"Just checking you're doing okay!" he replied, scanning the area with his flashlight.
He slowly turned, looking around for any other sigh of life. Robbie could hear his heart beating in his chest. The Skeld's hallway looked desolate in the bluish glow of the emergency lights. Everything reminded him of a crashed ship he'd investigated years ago now. Spaceships always felt like a liminal space without the hum and drum of people working, and this was no exception.
The beam of the flashlight landed on a face poking out of the Reactor. Startled, Robbie yelped and jumped back.
"Ope! Sorry," Eric said, stepping fully into the doorway, his own flashlight illuminating the space. "Didn't mean to spook ya." She took a moment of pause, a smirk flashing across her lips. "Okay maybe I did."
Robbie, clutching his chest, shook his head. "Oh my god don't do that!"
Eric chuckled and shifted to lean against the doorway. She missed the frame and tumbled out of view. Robbie didn't see him hit the floor, but he heard the thud. Laughter bubbled up out of his chest.
"I deserved that," she groaned from the other room.
"Maybe just a little," Robbie agreed.
She appeared in the doorway again, brushing off the vibrant yellow spacesuit he was wearing.
"Oh! How was your meeting with the Cap go?" he asked, leaning against his own door frame with success.
"Showoff," Eric muttered lightheartedly, rolling his eyes. "It went alright. Don't think I established the reputation I wanted." His face scrunched up as he spoke, crossing his arms. "He mistook me for the janitor and then just told me to sit and wait in admin while he went around doing who knows what."
Robbie shrugged, "Maybe he likes you now," he offered.
She just rolled her eyes again. "Yeah sure. I felt like a little kid being given busy-work. It sucked ass."
"Well, at least he didn't catch you getting into a fistfight," he snorted, remembering his own run-ins with good ol Captain Oscar.
"Do you think he's like... good?" Eric asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Robbie shrugged. "I mean he seems alright. This is like the worst case scenario he's doing the best--"
"No no no, do you think he's a part of the group that knew about all this?" she interrupted, gesturing vaguely around as if that made her point any clearer.
Robbie stopped to think for a moment. Could the Captain be in on it? He seemed nice enough, but Jenna was proof enough "nice people" could do some shitty stuff.
He opened his mouth, trying to formulate words to explain, "I think... hm. If he was in on it, he probably doesn't know everything."
Eric's eyes lit up when he spoke. He leaned forward and asked in a hushed voice. "Everything? Is there a funky lil secret you're keeping?"
Robbie chuckled and shook his head. "No, I came clean about what I knew. I think Cap knowing would like... ruin the experiment or whatever."
"Okay but hear me out," Eric said, pacing around the small hallway. "S-ESST told him that the ship is gonna go through some weird space shit or whatever the fuck, and he is supposed to like record everything that happens." She turned to face Robbie again, smiling wide. "It's like some dumbass sci-fi novel shit here."
He just rolled his eyes. "Alright by that logic, it could be anyone on the ship. For all I know you're an imposter."
Eric shook his head. "Nah. I'd've kept my mouth shut about the possibility of an imposter. If I were a secret scientist trying to see what's going on I'd get in and be friendly with everybody so that they'd feel good about trusting me and talking to me about stuff then I'd dismiss their concerns." She thought for a moment and said, "I also probably would kill you."
Robbie's blood turned to ice in his veins. Eric kept talking, but he wasn't paying any attention anymore. Was there an imposter who was going to try and kill him? He glanced behind himself into security and then to the halls going to the different engine. Nobody would try it while Eric was around, right? No that would be stupid they'd get caught. Would someone come for him when he was asleep? He had a roommate in the cabin but what if that roommate was the imposter what if that was on purpose.
"Eh!" Robbie became suddenly aware of Eric snapping in his face. "Skeld to Robbie, are you even listening?"
"I uh-- sorry," he replied, glancing down the hall again. "Do you know where Shaina is?"
"Shaina?" Eric repeated, one side of her face raising up as she spoke. "I think she's getting fuel for the engines or talking to Maisy or something. Why?"
"Just curious." Robbie said. "I just hadn't heard from her in a while."
Eric shrugged and looked around half-heartedly. "I mean everyone is supposed to be busy fixing the ship. Like we're supposed to be doing." She sighed. "I have to unlock the manifolds."
"I don't even want to know what that means."
"Alright I won't tell you. See you later Robbie," Eric said, saluting before disappearing back into the darkness of the Reactor, leaving Robbie completely alone.
He tried to take a few deep breaths to calm with rapidly increasing heartbeat, but it was no use. He was stuck with his heart pounding straight out of his chest. He swallowed the building lump in his throat and turned his flashlight down the hall towards the lower engine. He also had things to do, and there was only one way they were going to get done. He steadied himself best as he could and started down the hallway. Imposter or not, here Robbie came.