The Empty and the Unknown

7 - Return

I slung my rifle around the belt at my hip, treading a few feet away from the creature, who had gone silent.

"What is it?" Aurora asked, keeping a clear distance from the creature.

"Hm..." Gage took a step closer to the life form, his face just inches away from its skin as he examined it thoroughly, apparently sure it was dead. "It certainly isn't any kind of creature we'd see on the colonies back in our solar system. If I had to make a guess, I don't even think it's based on carbon, due to the gray coloration of the skin and the way the eyes appear to be covered in a film of crystal shaped structures instead of the cornea, see?" He pointed to the eyes, though I wasn't going to be the one to get closer to see it.

"That's possible? To be made of silicon, I mean." I questioned.

"Well, yeah. Theoretically. It's just a guess, though, If I wanted to know more it'd have to be dissected."

When he said this, I glanced at Aurora, who seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. We focused our gaze on Gage.

"And notice these trails of acid? I would guess it's sulfuric acid, so he likely eats something rich in-"

"Dissected, you say?" I said, not letting him finish his sentence, looking to Aurora, "Do you know anyone that could dissect it?"

Aurora turned to me, "Why yes, I think I do!" She looked towards Gage with an innocent smile.

Gage turned away from the monster, processing what I said before putting his hands together in a plea, "Wait, I didn't mean it. I'll do anything else, I'm squeamish with that stuff. I'll scrub the toilets, I'll clean the ship from top to bottom. Have Aurora do it!"

Aurora put her hands up in defense, "Hey, you're the biology guy, don't look at me."

"Well, maybe you can get on those chores ... after you dissect him." I put a hand on his shoulder in a mock-comfort, "It's time to get the gloves on."

Gage sighed and hung his head in defeat. "Fine..."

Aurora laughed quietly at his short-lived attempt to argue.

"Let us know what you find," I said.

He wandered glumly toward the middle quadrant of the room and began to put on the plastic surgical suit, which was pretty much just a plastic sheet that covered the entire body. I laughed at his melancholic behavior, "Come on. It's not that bad."

"Just go." He sighed melodramatically, "I'll take care of it."

"Alright, but be careful of the acid," I warned, before heading out of the room. Aurora lingered a bit, either to watch the dissection or his uncomfortable squirming.

I walked through the hallway, up the platform, and into the cryo-lab. It was the only place in the ship that wasn't covered in acid. I sat atop one of the cryopods, scrunching my face up while I thought. "No matter what Gage finds from the autopsy, the creature's simple presence here leaves way more questions than answers. Sure, we know the planet is inhabited now," I said aloud, running myself through the meanings of its appearance, "But why did it come after us? How is it so intelligent? Are there more?"

Every question I asked myself left me with even more, but when a looming figure appeared through the doorway I abandoned my train of thought and stood up suddenly, aiming down the sights of my rifle.

"Adelyn, chill! It's me." Titus took the helmet of his durosuit off. The suit was made to withstand extreme temperatures, pressures, and physical beatings, though with the protection comes considerable size. The suit made the boy look even larger than he already did, so when he approached me without warning, I was prepared for an even bigger creature.

"Jesus!" I lowered the rifle, "don't sneak up on me like that."

"You're not the one whose life just flashed before their eyes," Titus let out a sigh of relief, "though, I think I may have some of the answers to your question." He held up the bio-scanner and shook it with a grin.

"Nice! What'd you find out?"

"Well, the planet's inhabited, for sure." He laughed nervously, "I wouldn't say the locals are the nicest."

"Tell me something I don't know." I took a seat back on the cryopod.

Titus looked down at the bio-scanner, which read out all the details of the planet. "For one, the planet's surface is comprised of mainly sulfur and silicone, though it's core is likely liquid iron and nickel. It's atmosphere that is made up of mainly sulfuric acid, nitrogen, and a bit of oxygen, so it's pretty much toxic to us. One whiff and its game over." He scrolled down the holopad, "It's lacking carbon, so the lifeforms are likely silicon-based. Speaking of lifeforms, there are several species of living rock-like organisms that grow in the depths of caves, though those are more akin to plants or fungi than sentient beings. As far as I know, there's one dominant species that roam this planet."

My heart dropped, "Wait, so those gray freaks are the only creatures on this planet?"

Titus looked up from his bio-scanner, "Yeah. Wait, how do you know them?"

"One of them made it onto the ship, I don't know how. They're smart. Very smart."

Titus nodded solemnly, "They're dangerous, that's for sure. I had to fight one off, nearly chewed my suit off just to get to me."

"You fought one of them by yourself?" I stared in disbelief.

"Yeah? They're fast but I guess they're lone wolfs. Only one came at me and he wasn't terribly strong."

"Jesus... Oh!" I shot up onto my feet, realizing Gage was still dissecting the creature, "The alien thing is dead."

"Sweet!" Titus looked concerningly at me as I brushed past him, treading down the platform and standing in the doorway. Gage was in the middle quadrant, the life form laying lifelessly on a metal tray. He glanced up at me with goofy-looking goggles on, his gloved hands deep inside the alien, seeming to search around for something.

"Hey Adelyn," Gage peered to Titus, who had followed behind, "and Titus! When'd you get back?"

"Oh, a little bit ago." He responded, "Why are you..." He walked through the doorway, observing Gage with a disgusted look as he fished in its insides.

"I was seeking to learn a bit more about them. Unfortunately, this was the only way." He made a face as he pulled up something that still convulsed, quickly shoving it back in.

"That's really not necessary," He waved the bio-scanner in his hands, "We have all the information we need."

Gage looked up at me helplessly, and I shrugged. "Don't look at me. I didn't know he'd be back so soon. Where'd Aurora run off to?" I added, remembering that she had stayed behind.

Gage stared at the bio-scanner and sighed incredulously. He motioned with his head towards the greenhouse, where Aurora was inside examining the plants. "She wanted to take a look at them, make sure they were doing alright."

"Ah, I see."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've worked up an appetite," Titus remarked, heading out of the room and thumping upstairs.

"Yeah... I don't think I'll ever eat again." Gage pulled his hands out of the creature, wheeling him to the compactor chute that pushing its body inside.

"Hm," I replied simply. I was distracted. We got lucky not being harmed on impact, but this planet might have worse in store for us. If we were going to leave, we'll have to make sacrifices, there's no doubt in my mind about that.