Fitzsimmons

Galaxies

Quick Note: Part three of Stars!

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Jemma stood in a damp cement tunnel, lined with octagonal blue lights. It seemed to loop around a circular center, as the tunnel curved in the distance, limiting Jemma's sight. She wanted to call out and locate the person who let her in, but the trapdoor closed immediately after she fell through, so she had come to the conclusion it was automatic.

Jemma peered down both directions of the tunnel. They were identical, so she took a page from Doctor Who and turned left. She gave up counting steps, instead leaving her mind to wonder about the planet and the civilization and the citizens that lived there.

After she had walked a least a mile probably (Jemma wasn't exactly sure; her feet were sore), a thought struck her.

Maybe there wasn't anyone else on this planet. Maybe this was just remains of a once thriving society. Maybe she couldn't get home. Maybe she couldn't get back to Fitz.

"Welcome, alien species," a mechanical voice echoed through the tunnel. It was eerie to Jemma. No sound should have that kind of resonance in a concrete structure. It seemed fake.

When the voice didn't continue, Jemma decided to reply. "Hello?"

"Species detected. Language detected." The voice automatically switched to a British accent reminiscent of her own. Jemma shivered. "Origin planet detected. Homo sapien. English, Variation: Traditional. Earth, Milky Way Galaxy. Midguard. Is this information correct?"

"Yes," Jemma spoke hesitantly. How did this digital interface know so much? Did it perform a scan of her somehow?

"Welcome, Homo Sapien. By what name do you prefer to be called?"

She thought for a moment. She could say Jemma. But that word felt sacred to her, like only her loved ones could call her by her first name. She would certainly not want artificial intelligence being so intimate with her. She'd rather hear Fitz say it.

"Simmons," she said finally, then waited for a response.

"Welcome, Simmons." It was a recording of her own voice saying her name, a repetition of her answer. Jemma was unnerved. "One way or another, you have landed on the planet Hala, the first Kree empire. We respectfully ask permission to perform a non-invasive vital scan in order to accommodate to your homo sapien needs."

Jemma swallowed hard. If she wasn't terrified, this automated welcoming system would've fascinated her. Fitz surely would've wanted to replicate it if he were here. "I give permission."

A thin plane of light blue light appeared through a slit in the ceiling, and it moved from her feet to her forehead back to her feet.

"Scan completed." It had nearly copied her exact dialect now, and Simmons started to feel as though she was talking to herself.

"Please follow the lights. A Kree attendant will meet with you soon."

Jemma took a deep breath. The lights around her turned off momentarily, then began flickering brightly, one by one, down the line. Like they were pointing her in the direction of her 'Kree attendant'. Who knows what the Kree would actually do to her when she reached them. They could be friendly, curious peacemakers, but they could just as easily be technologically advanced, ruthless life forms who would tear her apart for science. Essentially, she could be facing a species resembling the best or worst of humanity. There was no way of knowing.

She hated not knowing. That was the reason she had become a scientist, to explain the natural world. But this, this was verging on supernatural. Jemma wasn't even sure what these creatures looked like yet, and they already knew everything about her. She was stuck on an unknown planet with no chance of escape without going through the Kree race. They had the advantage here, and she didn't know what they would choose to do with her.

Just one fact, one piece of information she could use. That's all she wanted, all she needed to follow the trail of flashing lights.

"What galaxy am I in?" There was a moment's pause, and Jemma could hear her heart hammering in her chest.

"The Kree Galaxy. Better known as the Large Magellanic Cloud."

Simmons closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, trying not to think of the inevitable conclusion that she would not be getting home, back to Fitz, anytime soon. She knew very little about astronomy, but her dad always told stories about far away galaxies, and since she started in S.H.I.E.L.D., she'd begun reviewing her knowledge on star systems. She almost wished she didn't know where this particular galaxy was located, but she did, and she could hardly stomach it.

Jemma tried saying it aloud. If she said it aloud, maybe it would seem more real to her. She inhaled deeply. "Over one hundred and fifty-eight thousand light years away."

"Correct," the voice echoed, and it had perfected her voice, now, so she thought for a moment it was just in her mind. Then it resonated eerily against the concrete tunnel, and Jemma forced a step forward into the unknown.