Crewmate

1

I sift through the contents of the box, picking up different hats. Maybe a sprout would look nice, I think to myself as I place the small piece of nature on my head, pieces of dirt falling down from the top of my head. It might make me seem softer and more innocent. Plus, it goes nice with the blue of my jumpsuit, but it's not really my style. I delicately put the plant back and pick up a black fedora instead. I turn it over and examine it with a disgusted look. Yeah, the felt would feel nice, but what incel would actually wear this?

My thoughts are cut off when someone else appears in the lobby. I drop the hat back into the box and look over to the new crewmate wearing red. He stands up from his seat and looks around until his mostly concealed gaze meet mine. Even through the tint of his screen, I can see his eyes hold wisdom, and it's obvious that he's not new to the Shield. He's just a bit taller than me, and with the way he holds himself, he gives off an air of confidence. He knows what he's doing, and he's sure that he can catch me.

Too bad he'll have to die; I laugh quietly to myself and turn back to accessories. I'll admit it though; it does scare me. An observant crewmate is the last thing I need if I want to kill everyone on board with me before they can even mutter "imposter." If I want to win, I can't have him noticing anything. It's always so much harder than it sounds, but I would consider myself skilled too. After all, I haven't been killed yet.

I look through then for a little bit longer before deciding that there's nothing in there I want. There's nothing that would make me look more innocent. I mean, a fake knife over the head would be kind of fun, but also, it'd be kind of sus.

I close the box of accessories just as someone else appears in the lobby. Yellow, as soon as she can stand, runs straight for the box I just closed, throwing it open again. She seems to know exactly what she's going for too because as soon as she reaches in, she pulls out an egg then cracks it over her head. The raw white drips down her helmet and the yolk stays balanced on top. I cringe and take a step back, giving her a look that says 'what-the-fuck'. She seems to realize I'm staring and gives me a bright smile. "Hi!" she chirps.

"Hey," I reply to her briefly, looking away awkwardly. Then I see her nametag. Yolk, I read inside my head. I look back up to her. It fits, I guess.

I turn away from her to glance at red who is just leaning on a crate, staring off into space. Past him, white materializes in a seat. Then pink joins him shortly after. Immediately, the two of them start to run around the lobby in figure eights around the crates. I watch as red rolls his eyes with a sigh and walks over to the side of the room where I am, away from the nuisances. He stops briefly to shuffle through the hats, but ultimately, he decides on nothing. Then he leaves to go to stand by the entrance to the ship, crossing his arms. I look around briefly then decide to go talk to him. If I can get him to trust me, maybe he won't report me.

"Hey," I greet him as I stop beside him. He turns to look at me and gives me a suspicious once over before he uncrosses his arms and nods at me.

"Where you from?" I ask.

"Germany," he replies curtly, and I nod in recognition.

"Cool. I'm from California," I respond, but he just looks away. I try again, "Have you ever been to America before?"

"No," he answers, denying me once again. Wow, my back hurts from carrying all this conversation.

I cross my arms and sigh. I look away to see someone else joining. Green gets up and runs around for a second before leaving suddenly, meaning I'm still only left with four other people. I groan in irritation. We're never going to get to ten crew members at this rate, I think impatiently.

I turn around and look at everyone. Yellow is just busying herself by scrolling through the computer. Her helmet has been removed which reveals her long wavy white-blonde hair that disappears into her suit and her large crystal blue eyes that reflect the content of the illuminated screen. The other two are still obnoxiously running around like six-year-old children in a restaurant. It seems I'm not the only one who just wants to go on already, so I take in a deep breath and shout to the other three, "Hey!"

Yellow looks up at me from the computer screen, and white and pink, who I now suspect to know each other, stop running around to pay attention. I continue, "How about we just go ahead and start?"

Yellow jumps up and down, clapping her hands together. "Start! Start! Start!" she chants excitedly. I see white nod, and pink gives consent as well. I turn back to red who just shrugs at the question. I nod in confirmation. "Okay, then. Let's begin."

I pull out my tablet and open the doors remotely as yellow slides her helmet back over her head and locks it into place. The large titanium doors let out a long metallic hiss as they slide open, revealing the cafeteria of the Shield. We stare out into the open space and ready ourselves. Cold air that I can feel even through my suit washes in from the open doorway, and it sends shivers through my body. I feel a smirk grow across my face in anticipation.

"Let's find the imposter," I avow to them.

Oh, this is going to be fun.