The Lack of Bravery That Saved the World

Death of a Good Man

The men stood at the doorway with tears running down their faces. How were they going to explain to everyone else on the ship the reason they were planning to commit murder? Was it murder if the victim helped them plan it? If he participated in it?

All three were still without speaking for several minutes. There was nothing to say. They knew it had to be done. The man in the cockpit of the exit pod could feel the worm like alien squirming in his stomach. At times it was uncomfortable but it could quickly turn to a burning fire as the alien slowly liquified his internal organs. He knew he only had a short period of time, already he was loosing control of his legs. His arms would be the next to be useless. If only they could go numb. Instead, he could actually feel the alien taking small bites of his flesh from the inside of his body. They had to act fast.

With only a nod the man leaned back and buckled his seatbelt in preparation to leave. The exit pod would not leave the ship without all precautions being in place. The two men standing in the doorway stepped back and slowly turned the airlock until it was completely closed. The third man was sealed in the pod. There was still time to change their minds. They knew that they were sending him off to a terrible death in outer space, either freezing or suffocating to death. Neither was a good option but hopefully he would be completely dead before the alien tore itself from his body. Judging by the torn and shredded bodies the alien had left behind, freezing or suffocating was a better death.

They tried to think of other options. This wasn't the first plan. They could have shot him through the pod window but the pod had to have a live driver, at least for the initial disengage. Pain medications would have put him in a coma and he would have been left unable to pilot the pod. They tried to sign some explosives out of the Autrey Repository & Storage Company, but people started asking questions. Building a bomb was not an option if it drew attention before they were ready. No one could find out what they were doing. They didn't have time to explain that they were trying to save everyone on the ship. If they got too close the alien may have tried to transfer to either of the other two men. They were left with no options but to watch as their friend and unsung hero purposely drove himself to a painful death in order to save the ten thousand people that were still on board.

The two men both put their hand on the red button that would force the pod out of the ship. Neither wanted to be solely responsible for the death of this man. Even if it was to save everyone else. They pushed the button together and the pod shot out into space. No one waved goodbye.

They stayed as long as they could because they didn't want their friend in the pod to feel like he was abandoned. They watched until the pod was just a speck in the dark sky. It was over.

They didn't talk about the fact that their friend had purposely allowed the alien to infect him. They didn't talk about how brave their friend was when they didn't even have the courage to push the button by themselves. They simply started walking back to their living quarters. They should have been happy that so many lives had just been saved, but all they could think about was the silence and strength of the man that just piloted himself to his own death.

They had just committed murder and lost some very essential DNA that would be needed to repopulate Europa. Aman and the other members of the presidential committee were going to be very upset. A trial was almost guaranteed. It was Aman that they were the most worried about. She had a personal stake in murder.