Mimicry

Chapter 5 - Abditive

Kate was still at the bar, staring at her can of Dr. Bebber, the logo of which the rest of the crew drew on all of the cans. Her piercingly Pacific Ocean-blue orbs glared absently at her wave dirty blonde hair cascaded down to her shoulders. She was a beautiful woman, and whether she realised it or not is not up to me. I'm not that kind of Wattpad writer. She tucked a lock behind her ear and continued pondering the radio exchange with Faith and the rest. 

What did they mean by an alien ship? Surely not. I mean, there's no way someone won't have found this by now... But then again... The photos looked so real...

There was nothing she could do except wait for the return of the others. Maybe they could bring a semblance of an explanation to this strange situation. Having said that, the weather had already started picking up... The Sorrell was a capable craft, but who knew what the upper bound for its weather resistance was. She hadn't even told Ceriann or Josh of the developments due to the utter shock and confusion bouncing around in that noggin of hers. She decided it best that they find out now, at the very least, to ground them slightly for the impending news.

She approached the common room tablet and booted up the communications channel. "Ceriann, Josh, can you report to the common room? I've got a few, uh, weird updates..."

"What is it?" Josh responded almost immediately.

"Just come here. I'll explain."

Kate moved to the sofa, still clutching her Dr. Bebber can, and awaited the arrival of her colleagues. She hadn't felt this nervous since the day One Direction adopted her from her mother. Ceriann and Josh soon appeared, and sat on the adjacent sofas, expectantly. Kate took a deep exhale.

"So... ok. I got a radio call from the expedition lot a while ago. They've found something... quite extraordinary." Kate paused, gathering her thoughts, her fingers idly tracing the rim of her Dr Bebber can. "On their way up the mountain, they apparently ended up finding an alien spaceship. I can hardly believe it myself."

Kate shifted uncomfortably, feeling the weight of their gazes on her. "They went inside and found a control room. There's a ruined console and everything as well as some weird material they found that could be remnants of an alien or something. I thought they were joking at first, but they sent over pictures that just looked... too real."

She finished, her eyes wide behind her glasses as she looked at Ceriann and Josh. "They're on their way back now. We're not alone in the universe, guys. We've got physical, tangible proof now."

Ceriann, mouth wide open, just stared back at Kate in disbelief. Josh, a slightly more grounded man, spoke up on her behalf. "Come on now, surely not? Maybe they discovered your family holiday home."

"Your mum," Kate retorted, brought back to reality a little by Josh's insult. "I'm being serious, though. I can show you the pictures if you like. Whatever they bring back will definitely blow the previous team's discovery out of the water.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer" Josh said. A hint of incredulity still visible in his narrowed eyes. Ceriann was still staring at Kate.

"Do you know when they'll be back?" she asked, very slowly.

"They should be here soon, maybe about 40 minutes or so, given the travel time."

"Ok..."

Kate then beckoned Josh towards the radio room, the pictures still on display on the computer monitor. There, before his eyes, was the proof. The gleaming yet murky green lights, the shining metal panels, the... alien substance that Faith had found. Josh still didn't really want to believe - it was outside the normalcy that Josh liked to maintain in his life. And yet, it was there.

"Well... ok. There it is," uttered Josh.

"Yep." Kate replied. "Sure is."

"I suppose all we can do it wait, then."

"...yep."

The two ventured back into the common room. A Ceriann awaited them, a can of Fanta fruit twist in hand, its fruity taste the only distraction from this groundbreaking news. Josh and Kate sat back down, flipping the TV on. All they could do was wait for the four intrepid explorers to return from their mission.

-

The familiar hum of the Sorrell's blades soon began to engulf the usual background noise of distant rumbling ice and the thrashing sea. Josh, Kate and Ceriann jumped up, thankful for the break from the monotonous background noises and the playing of Kate's favourite Flushed Away, which had seemingly faded into white noise as the anticipation of John's, Jake's, Essie's and Faith's return grew ever stronger. They quickly donned their winter gear and approached the helipad.

Soon, the Sorrell, battling the increasing weather, had laid its landing skids and was quickly strapped down and covered with a tarpaulin by Essie. "Get inside, guys!" she shouted.

The 7 of them entered the common room and plonked themselves down on the central sofas. Jake and Faith began unloading their bags of the specimens acquired while John began explaining what had transpired more in-depth, sharing the astonishing tale of their expedition, his voice steady against the incredulous stares from Ceriann and Josh. Meanwhile, Faith, her face etched with curiosity, carefully removed the gelatinous substance from its protective casing. She examined it in the dim light, her fingers itching to get it under her microscope. Jake, his hands dusted with icy debris, gingerly placed an array of tektites and other geological samples on the coffee table, each one carefully labelled and bagged. Essie was idling by the pool table, smacking the balls against one another, avoiding the others' stares when John got to the crevasse part.

As he finished his recounting, there was a moment of silence. The story seemed so fantastical, so far beyond their normal experiences, that they all needed a moment to absorb the implications of what he was saying.

"I need to examine this slimy shit right away," Faith declared, breaking the silence. "Not shit. Substance! You know what I mean..." She rose from the sofa, her hands protectively cradling the gelatinous sample. "If we're lucky, we might get some answers about the nature of this entity, and just what we're dealing with here."

"Let us know if you need any help, Faith," Kate said, turning to her with a smile that masked the undercurrent of apprehension coursing through her. "And report back if you find anything."

"I'll be fine, thank you!" Faith reassured, disappearing into the depths of the base. The rest sighed, grateful that this alien business was out of their hands for now.