Journeys of the Alacritous Regress Volume 3: Behind Friendly Lines

Installment 15: Brandon X

We all stare at the Blait Shike hybrid that's lying in the hall.

"They look not like Shike," says Rivan.

"Have you ever seen one without their armor?" Brian asks. Rivan shakes her head.

"Al, can you find any images of Shikes without their armor," I asks.

"I can find plenty of images for other species without their clothing, but none for Shikes," Al informs me. "This seems like a violation of rule 34 to me."

"Rule number 35," Quick responds to Al. We all stare at her. "What? I'm a communications specialist, did you expect me to not know the rules of the internet?"

I shake my head in annoyance. "Knowing that they're part Shike, what should we do with them?" I brainstorm.

"Launch them out an airlock," Quick suggests.

"Any other suggestions?"

"I have one," says Al. "We put them in an airlock and empty it."

"Any suggestions that doesn't involve killing them?"

"Stick them in a space suit and then launch them out of the airlock." I glare at Quick and she clamps her jaw shut.

"I would start with binding their arms, legs, and tail," Brian supplies. "A few strips of duct-tape should do it."

"Duct-tape isn't too comfy, pulls off fur," Rivan tells him.

"Do Shikes deserve comfort?" Quick responds.

"They are more Blait than Shike," she growls back.

"Stop it you two," I shout at them. "It shouldn't matter their race, we're above such petty discrimination."

"We can easily print off handcuffs for them, although we aren't going to get anything better than plastic," Brian informs me. "If they somehow get a diamond blade they'll be through it in seconds."

"I have a pair of titanium handcuffs if that's any better?" Quick says.

"Yes, they would work much better," Brian agrees.

"I also have a whip if we need that," Quick says.

"To much information," I tell her. "Just get the handcuffs."

"On it." She stands up and walks down the hall before clambering down a ladder to the lower deck.

"So after we get them restrained, what then, how do we wake them up?" I ask Brian.

"We don't necessarily need to wake them up. We contact ground control and let them deal with it."

"Out of the question. I can't just keep them in stasis for who knows how long."

"You want to wake up a part Blait, part Shike creature that is also possibly Australian," Brian argues. "We seem to have conflicting interests. It's my job to keep you alive, but you seem determined to get yourself killed."

I frown. "They have not been charged with any crimes and have no life threatening injuries, legally, I cannot keep them in stasis."

"In that case, I would suggest issuing lead lined helmets to all crew members, exempting me, Quick, and Rivan," he explains. "Rivan will be the one to make contact when he wakes up. Quick will shield her from the worst of the effect while Rivan will still be able to present a mental presence that will hopefully be able to sooth him."

"Mage school really sets you up as a strategist," I comment. "Rivan, what do you think?"

"Sounds safe, let's do."