The Empty and the Unknown

6 - An Unexpected Visitor

Gage, Aurora, and I congregated in the maintenance area, which was more like a maintenance closet than anything. It had floating shelves on the wall closest to the door, which housed several tools that were useful for minor repairs, such as laser cutters, titanium plates, and other various tools I haven't used in years, as I didn't take many mechanical courses. I knew the basics, and that was about it. However, the object of most attention was on the wall opposite of that, the emergency navigator.

The emergency navigator appeared to be just a simple screen on the wall, with an extended back that was plated with high-carbon steel to protect it's data storage so it could be salvaged by rescuers were the ship to be completely destroyed. Its functionality wasn't solely based on durability, though, as it also operated as a flight course recorder, an emergency long-distance communicator, and it could pinpoint its position anywhere in space using its sensors, giving you an almost exact reading of where you are. However, even with objects that are crafted specifically to be perfect, things can go wrong.

"I was trying to access the logs of our path, but the emergency navigator kept coming up with error messages," Aurora explained, "so I attempted to access the navigator's communicator to contact the station, yet almost immediately after I accessed it, it shut off, and has now become almost entirely unresponsive." She pressed the power button on the side of the box, which resulted in a small flicker before returning to black.

"Now, that is bad all in itself, but when I opened it up in an effort to repair it, the problem became, well, pretty evident... here, see for yourself," she unlatched the box, the screen swivelling out of the way to reveal what was once emergency navigator's inner workings. It had become completely destroyed by three, inch-deep gashes, each dripping a colorless acid that sizzled when it fell to the ground. Whatever did this, had completely destroyed the circuitry inside of it, and in doing so, might have just stranded us on this planet.

"How is that possible?" Gage asked, a voice full of concern. "Any creature that could've done this had to have been intelligent enough to know this was the only way we could've been rescued. Nothing else was even touched besides this."

I shut the panel, "Well, whatever it is, it could still be on the ship, which means its still a threat to us. Let's grab some weapons from the cargo bay, and then we'll clear the ship of any signs of the life form."

They followed me into the cargo bay, searching around for any weaponry that had been stored in the second quadrant. I found a plasma rifle, a gun that I had become quite accustomed to when we were training marksmanship at the station. It was a medium-sized, sleek looking rifle with a glossy finish. For however showy it was, with the glass on the sides of the chamber to show the glowings plasma heating up for a shot, it more than made up for it in unrivaled stopping power.

"Aurora?" I called, checking to see what she had found to defend herself. She turned to me holding an electronically-heated graphene saber, which glowed white-hot. She also brandished a wristband, which, when held out in front of the user created a shield that was nearly impenetrable.

"And Gage?," I called next. He grinned mischievously, propping a railgun up on his shoulder which was about two feet in length. Compared to the scrawny boy, it appeared to be a little much, and I raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged and replied, "Looks can be deceiving, I was actually very proficient with the railgun in the academy."

"Alright, I trust that you know what you're doing."

In response, he loaded one of the hardened steel rods into the barrel.

"We must find and kill it as fast as possible. Who knows what other components the creature could endanger." I began thinking of possible solutions.

"What if we split up?" Aurora cut in, "We'd be able to cover more ground."

"That is literally how every horror movie in the past thousand years has started." Gage snorted.

"Well, think about it," Aurora explained, "If you stay here to protect the organic materials, Adelyn and I can search the ship for any signs of the unidentified creature."

I was surprised by Aurora's sudden boldness, however, "It makes sense. That's the quickest way to take it down, so that's what we'll be doing."

Gage groaned when I said this. I shot him a silencing look and he mumbled something about how he bet the other astronauts aren't having to fight aliens. He walked to the back of the room and faced away from the glass wall, holding up the railgun.

"It could be anywhere," I said to both of them, "We have no idea what this thing is capable of, be on guard." Having said that, I made my exit into the hallway, aiming down the sights in case of an attack.

Aurora was hot on my heels. I waved down the corridor, and she quietly shuffling down the hallway with her knife and shield at the ready. I peeked inside the maintenance area, doublechecking for signs of the life form. The room was clear, and I crept back up to Aurora, who had cleared the pathway up to the main chamber. I signaled for her to go into the cryo-lab, and I headed into the cabin.

It was quite a sight. I walked down the aisle, checking each corner carefully. The seats had been torn to shreds, and each was coated in the same acidic compound from the emergency navigator. The bubbles meant it was creating a gas, so I shielded my mouth and nose with my suit to guard against any toxins. The nanobots automatically held it in place, so I continued on with my mission.

As I examined the acid, I noticed a trail of droplets leading out of the cabin. I carefully followed it, my heartbeat thudding in my ears louder than a jet engine, but my footsteps remaining softer than a mouse. Aurora saw me out in the main chamber, and she cautiously snuck towards me. I pointed down to the liquid trail, leading all the way up to the kitchen, and she nodded in acknowledgment.

I motioned for her to stick beside me, holding my breath as we walked towards the room. We edged the outer walls of the doorframe, before bursting in, weapons at the ready. However, nothing could have prepared me for the scene that lay before us.

It was a terrifying creature, unlike anything I had seen before. It was almost humanoid, but it crawled on all fours. Its entire body was slick and oily, void of hair or feathers, with gray, greasy flesh that conformed tightly to its bony structure as though it hadn't eaten in years. The shock controlled my body and my mind was running too slow to process it. It stood in one place, and when it bent its head towards us, it bared its jagged teeth and howled an unholy roar. The hideous creature's mouth oozed the same acid that led us to it, running rivers down its body, and dripping into a pool below it, melting through even the thick metal floor.

It took me far too long to realize why it hadn't attacked us, as the liquid boiled and puffed out smoke. "Gage! Watch out!" I yelled in a sudden realization, shooting my rifle at the monster in a panic.

I was too late. The ground caved in and the creature fell through, into the cargo bay. We heard the thundering crack of gunfire and raced down the platform. When I reached the room, the creature was pinned to the wall with a metal stake right through its chest, still writhing around in a futile attempt to reach us.

"See," Gage smiled triumphantly, "I told you I was proficient."