Mimicry

Chapter 4 - Ecdemic

"This is Foakes E1, repeat, Foakes E1, come in main base? Over."

Faith's voice rang out in the Endring radio room. Kate jerked up from her drowsy shift, stopped the playback of the White Album over the room's loudspeaker, and took the receiver.

"This is Endring main base, repeat this is Endring main base. May I take your order? Over." Kate replied sardonically. It was one of her favourite bits when taking over from Essie on radio duty.

"Kate, I'm being serious," Faith retorted, her voice strained but laced with a hint of a smile. "We've got a situation here. Over."

"Alright, then. Lay it on me. Over." Kate's tone shifted, the humour evaporating.

"We've found a cave, a massive one, not naturally made. Way too concentrated and smooth, especially for a meteorite strike. Over."

Kate's eyebrows rose at this. "O...k? Any idea what could've made it? Over."

"Well, that's just it," Faith responded, "It leads to a structure... Something that's not made of ice or rock. It's... something else, something we've never seen before... Over."

"Like what? What does it look like?" Kate's curiosity spiked.

"Like an alien ship, Kate. We've found a fucking alien ship!" Essie's interjecting voice echoed in the radio room, a mixture of disbelief and excitement.

There was a moment of silence. "...are you guys messing with me? Over." Kate asked, her voice wavering between incredulity and hope.

John took over. "I wish we were, Kate. But we're not. We're sending pictures now. Over." Faith began transmitting the pictures she'd taken on her camera as he said this, having been connected directly to the radio room computer.

Kate sat back in a stunned silence as the images began to load on her screen. "So... what now, then? Over."

"It's definitely worth exploring. We'll devote some time to finding out what the hell is in this thing, then head back over with some samples and the like. Can you give us a timeframe for the snowstorm? Over."

"Reports say it'll start getting properly bad in about an hour. I'd hate to rush you guys, but I don't think there's too much time available to dilly, and certainly not dally. Over."

"Understood. Out." John's voice fizzled away. Kate spent around a minute staring at the screen, still processing what just happened. Part of her still believed it was all a trick and yet... She shook her head, stood up and went to the common room to update Josh and Ceriann on the developments.

-

"Alright, guys, be on your guard. Gloves on, just in case," John ordered. "We'll go in groups of two. Faith, you and I will go down the left corridor, while Essie and Jake, you will go down the right. Meet back here in no later than 20 minutes. Good luck."

Essie and Jake nodded and headed off down the right corridor with hushed reverence through the alien ship, the silence punctuated only by the occasional crunch of their boots on the metallic surface and the stretching noises of the latex gloves on their hands. They had switched off their flashlights, for the ship was illuminated by a soft, otherworldly white glow emanating from panels on the walls. The light cast eerie shadows across their faces, highlighting their awestruck expressions.

The space inside was larger than what the exterior suggested. Structures within the ship seemed to defy their understanding of physics, walls bending in directions that made no sense. There were no signs of any inhabitants, and the ship was eerily quiet. Somehow, this did not alleviate fears that they weren't the only ones on this craft.