Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Black startled when she heard the scream. No, not just one scream. It was continuous screaming of pain. She swallowed and then began to walk towards it. She paused, then grabbed a scalpel off her worktable. The thing seemed so small in her glowed hands and if Black wasn’t so terrified, she would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. A scalped, truly. It worked well enough to ward off humans but an imposter? She thought of how she found Blue.

Her mouth went dry.

Truth be told it was the stench was what had alerted them to their crewmate’s corpse.

-

Pink popped her head into the Medbay.

“Black?” she asked softly. Black glanced up from her computer and waved Pink to come in.

“What is it? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, no,” Pink said. “I’m looking for Blue. I can’t work on the engine alone and as much as I hate to say it, he knows his way around the machine.”

Black grimaced. Blue was… a creep. She herself filed a complaint to MIRA HQ but well, he never really did anything. Just had disgusting comments.

“He is sick,” Black hummed. “Hasn’t been feeling well since we picked up our cargo, so I told him to get some bedrest for a few days.” Not like anyone was asking after the man. He was annoying enough to be around. Truth be told, they all were more than eager to get this job done so that they could breathe in some fresh air and talk to somebody who wasn’t their coworker. Well, anyone but Pink. It was no secret that she had a crush on Orange. Black wouldn’t be surprised if the two ended up spending time together outside of work. Not that it was any of her business.

“Ah,” Pink said. There was a hint of relief but also disappointment. “Well, I suppose that I can tackle the engines myself. Get as much done as possible and leave the rest for him to finish up when he’s feeling better. Oh, is this the cargo?”

Black smiled, not that Pink could see through the visor but that didn’t matter. She moved towards the box, pushed the lid off.

“Yeah,” Black said, beckoning Pink to come and take a look.

“This is both horrifying but also really cool.”

Black supposed that Pink was right. The box, nice and cushioned so that nothing would happen to the tubes inside, was filled with four embryos. On one hand, it was fascinating that the scientists could create… well, artificial life. Black knew the whole picture of it but she hoped that Pink wouldn’t quiz her on the details. On the other hand, it was a little strange and unsettling to see the fully developed human embryo in a glorified test tube.

“Will they, er, will they get born aboard?” Pink asked, curiously. “I’m honestly not sure if ‘born’ is the right word.”

“I hope not. I mean, we were given formulas for them but they are still premature. They should… hatch? No, that sounds creepy. I guess ‘born’ is the best way to describe it. They should be born well after we land at Polus.”

“Well that’s good. At least we won’t have crying babies aboard. Brown would probably voluntarily throw himself into the airlock if that were the case.”

Black snickered. Yes, she could imagine that. Quite well, as a matter of fact.

“Well, luckily, Brown should be safe from that fate,” Black said. She pulled the lid back on and made sure it was secure so that no damage would come to the embryos.

They are basically fully developed, Black mused. They are basically children at this point.

“There you are,” Orange laughed. Black tilted her head at the incoming woman. It looked like medbay was quite crowded today. At least it wasn’t due to a mass injury. Pink swayed on her feet.

“Hi, Orange,” the crewmate said. Truly, it was not hard to see how smitten she was with Orange. Black was a little surprised that range herself hadn’t picked up on it. Hell, even Black knew and she spent most of her day away from the rest of the crew. But the tall woman did not seem to pick up on the way her presence affected Pink and Pink had yet to muster her courage to confess.

Well, I suppose it’s for the better if Pink waits until we are closer to Polus anyway. In case Orange is straight or simply doesn’t want to date Pink… Yeah that would definitely make for an unpleasant journey. She would probably join Brown in the airlock if that were to happen. No, dating while being stuck in an enclosed space for a long period of time was not a good idea.

“What brings you here, Orange?” Black asked. “Also looking for Blue?”

“What? Hell no,” Orange laughed and shook her head. Black wasn’t surprised--Red was taller than most, Orange was even taller than Red. And she clearly worked out too if the medical check was anything to go by. She recalled quite well Orange’s muscled body as she ran her check, with Orange quietly teasing: “Like what you see, doc?”. Black only gave her a flat stare as she told her crewmate she could get dressed again.

“I’m looking for Pink actually. We need your help in Nav.”

Pink gave a small squeak, “Oh, of course! Let’s go then.”

Black rolled her eyes at that but she smiled as the two left. Pink was chatting excitedly. Like she usually did. Well, now that she thought about it, she supposed that Orange was interested in women.

Seems like Pink does have a chance after all, Black thought with amusement.

Black was the medic. She had medical training but also therapeutic certifications, which was useful given the fact how much time the crewmates spent in an enclosed space. However, it also meant that she was not much use around the ship otherwise. Usually, she didn’t mind being stowed in the medbay but… Well it did make her feel a bit isolated from the rest of the crew. Blue dutifully popped in to report that he was feeling better. Black noted it in her chart and told him to stop by at sixteen o’clock so that she could give him some meds. She did not want an outbreak happening. It would be annoying enough on any normal mission. But they had the embryos here too and she dreaded the thought of them somehow getting infected as well.

It was sixteen thirty now. Black tapped her finger impatiently. She got up, her irritation with Blue raising by the second. Of course he wouldn’t come. He was the type of guy who believed that vaccines caused autism. Which was ridiculous. Especially since he was technically a scientist. She gritted her teeth. This was a ship, Blue would take his meds sooner or later.

She asked about it but it was Orange and Yellow who ended up pointing her in the right direction.

“Truth be told, I haven’t really seen him since this morning,” Orange said. “Not really seeking out his attention and I can’t say I mind him not being around.”

Yellow nodded, “Yeah. I last saw him at the engines but I believe that he has some upkeep to do in electrical as well, so maybe check there?”

“Will do,” Black said with a sigh.

“Want me to go with you?” Orange offered. She twisted the screwdriver in her hands. “We are almost done here anyway. We are off to an early dinner after that, you could join us.”

Black shrugged. Yellow snickered.

“If I were you, I would take that offer. At least you won’t be alone with Blue and his conspiracy theories.”

Black grimaced, sighed: “I suppose you are right…”

Orange flashed her a toothy grin as she popped off her helmet. Yellow went on ahead to scout out the cafeteria and what was available to them.

“Gods, the air is so stale here,” Orange hummed as they made their way to the electrical.

Black cocked her head, “You noticed just now?”

“No. I’m excited to get off this ship though. Some fresh air will do me wonders.”

“I think that you are not alone in that.”

“Get out of these suits. Say, are you more of a skirt or trousers kind of girl?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Black said. Then, not being able to help herself, “Pink likes to wear dresses, I heard.”

Orange laughed, “She told me as much. Oh- You smell that?”

“What?” Black stopped. They were in storage. She took her helmet off. The smell hit her like a rock. She grimaced, then went pale. She knew the smell.

It was funny, in a way. Many assumed that you couldn’t smell death, but you could. It was pungent enough and once you knew what you were looking for, you couldn’t stop noticing it. It had been a long while since Black came in contact with a dead body.

Her feet moved on their own. Orange said something but Black was already running towards the smell. She stopped in front of the electrical with Orange at her heels.

Black saw dead bodies before. It was a part of being a doctor. You couldn’t avoid it even if you tried your best and Black did. She still remembered the first of her patients that passed away. And it was of old age, too. Not nearly as traumatic she supposed but she never quite forgot.

Blue… Blue did not pass from old age. His body was torn apart, and along with the smell of decay, the metallic scent of blood filled the room and seeped out. She leaned against the door, aghast. She was pretty sure that there were intestines on the walls.

Somewhere, Orange cursed and Black felt strong hands guiding her away.

It did not take long for the crew to assemble in the cafeteria. Orange was quick enough to sound the alarm.

Black was relieved that the other woman took charge of everything. Black knew death, she saw dead bodies. But this… It wasn’t death it was… It was too grotesque. So much blood. So much of what should be inside of a human body was outside of it. It was murder.

Yellow gently pressed a hot cup of tea into Black’s hands. She nodded at him, gratefully. It returned at least some feeling back into her fingers. She listened as orange explained everything, nodding along.

“So,” Red said. Their captain was pacing along the room, her hands crossed. “Blue was murdered. And none of us noticed. And we probably wouldn’t have unless Black took it upon herself to seek him out.”

“To be fair,” Brown muttered, shrugged. “Blue was not pleasant to be around.”

“He was still a person,” Yellow snapped. “He might have been a piece of shit but I saw the body. I would punch the guy any day of the week but this… This was sick. And honestly, Brown, what makes you so confident that none of us are up next?”

Brown did not have a reply to this.

“Enough,” Red said. She looked at them. “Whatever your feelings on the matter are, we have an imposter on the loose on this ship.”

“I thought it was just a myth,” Pink whispered. Black glanced at her, surprised. Then again, Pink was new to working for MIRA. This was her second mission if Black recalled well. Poor thing.

Red shook her head, “No. Anyway, from now on, we will be operating in a crisis regime. Which means buddy system. I will be in the camera room to watch over the ship and everyone.”

“Wait but that means that you will be alone,” Brown pointed out. Red shook her head.

“I will pair up with Black. Medbay is close enough and there is a camera there, so I can keep an eye on her that way. Orange will pair up with Yellow and Pink with Brown until further notice. Ah… yes and it would be for the best if we did not sleep separately. So no bunks,” the captain raised her hand as the wave of protests began. “You will rest in pairs in medbay. That way, Black can keep an eye on you or you on her. There are four beds there so don’t be dramatic.”

And despite all that happened, Black was able to focus on only one thing: oh, medbay is about to get real crowded.

A few hours later, Brown and Pink announced that the radio got messed up. At first, it looked like they could get it fixed but then it turned out that a vital part of its mechanisms was missing. With a sinking feeling, they all realized that none of them could send out a distress signal.

“It will be okay,” Orange assured them. Yellow stretched out on the other bed. “Maybe the impostor knew that Blue was an asshole and decided to just give us a helping hand with him.”

“Not funny,” Black said. She handed Yellow something for sleep as he requested. He swallowed it dry. She sighed. “But yes, keeping a cool head is important.”

-

Black tried to walk as quietly as she could. Midwalk, the lights went out. Black stopped mid-step. Her heart was in her chest. She closed her eyes, opened them. She was thankful for the emergency lightning even if it was ominous red and did not provide much light. The screaming had stopped but that did not reassure her in the slightest.

“What are you doing?” Red snapped and Black let out a shriek. She grabbed at her chest, trying to catch the breath that had been startled out of her.

“Red- I thought I heard someone screaming. I wanted to…”

The captain grabbed at her arm, much harsher than Black anticipated. She winced from pain.

“You are supposed to be in medbay, Black,” Red said and she seemed intent on dragging her there. Black gritted her teeth.

“And you are supposed to be in the security!” she spat back. “And yet here we are. Did you hear it also? Did you see anything?”

Red rounded at her, her grip on Black’s arm did not relax. “The cameras don’t see anything because the lights are out. I wanted to go and check on you while the others fix it.”

“I- oh…” she supposed that made sense. She glanced away. “I just…”

Red sighed. She let go of Black.

“I’m sorry,” the captain said. “I did not mean to startle you but I would lie if I said I was not on edge. And I didn’t hear any screaming.”

“Are you sure?” Black asked. She furrowed her brows. She heard it… right?

“Yes. Quite. Come on, Black. Do you really think I would lie about it? We are all on edge. Rightfully so. You should get some rest.”

“I’m not hearing things,” Black replied, a little peeved. Perhaps a little too defensively. “Maybe it was you who hadn’t heard it.”

Red did not reply to that. She dutifully walked Black back to medbay.

“I suppose, but I saw nothing strange on the cameras. Pink and Brown should be off their shift soon. Get some rest while they are there.”

Black worked her jaw. The lights flickered back on, she winced at the sudden brightness of everything. Red hummed approvingly but just before she turned to leave, she added: “Black, maybe don’t mention that you heard something to the others. I know, I know. I will double check the camera footage, but senseless panic will not be helpful right now. Others are relying on you, on us, to be the level headed ones. I don’t want to frighten them.”

Black glanced away from her captain. She heard the scream, she was sure of it.

“You are right,” she sighed at last. “I won’t tell them.”

Chapter Text

Yellow was dead. Unlike Blue, it did not take them a long time at all to figure it out. Orange noticed it when she, Pink and Brown were in the electrical fixing the lights. Yellow's body was tucked in one of the corners of storage. It was a carnage. Perhaps if the lights were on, they would have noticed the blood. But they saw it only once it was too late.

“I thought that he was right behind me,” Orange said. It was the first time that Black had seen her so dazed. Black offered her some valerian drops to help her calm down. Orange took them without hesitation. “I mean, we were together in admin and then we headed to the electrical.”

“But Yellow wasn’t in the electrical with us,” Brown snapped. “There were only the three of us. Right, Pink?”

Pink’s head bopped up, “I… I’m not sure actually. I’m sorry it all happened so fast, I wasn’t paying attention to who was where.”

Brown let out an agonized growl, “Pink!”

“I’m sorry! I just…” Pink shook her head. Black gently rubbed her shoulders as her crewmate started to cry.

Black glanced up at Red. She bit down on her lower lip. The screaming… was it Yellow? She couldn’t say and she felt somewhat ashamed of that.

“Had… had anyone heard any screaming?” she asked softly.

“No,” Brown shrugged. Orange likewise shook her head. “Why do you ask?”

Black felt Red’s eyes on her.

“I just wondered. Yellow would probably scream, you know. So… maybe if we knew when he died, we could work from there.”

Brown slumped in his chair, "I suppose you have a point, but fuck. It had to be someone. And Orange was the last who was with him.”

“I would never,” Orange snarled. “And honestly, do you really think that I would be stupid enough to kill my own partner? Maybe it was someone else and they are just trying to frame me. For Christ’s sake, use your brain Brown.”

“Orange is right,” Pink offered. “It would be ridiculous for her to kill her buddy and expect to get away with it.”

Brown grunted. Red let out a sigh.

“Why don’t we all take some time to calm down? Take some deep breaths, clear our heads so that we can be rational. Being level headed is the best thing that we can do right now. And if we accuse someone wrongly, we will only be helping the imposter. So making rash judgments is not a good idea.”

“Do you guys think that this has something to do with the embryos?” Pink asked after a moment of silence. The change of topic was so sudden that it startled Black. Her stomach twisted in anxiety.

“What makes you say that?” Orange asked, puzzled.

“Well, I don’t know, I just gotta wonder. I mean, I thought that imposters were just a myth used to screw newbies but well, if it’s true then they usually attack ships that are transporting living cargo, right? There was never an issue while the crew was transporting civilians or like, inorganic material.”

Black took a step back.

“You are right,” she whispered. “Oh my god.”

-

Red tasked Orange to stay with her. That way, if something happened to her, they would know who to blame. Pink and Brown ended up in medbay with Black, who stared at the embryos.

“They are children,” she whispered. Brown was throwing stares equal to daggers at Pink, who only shrinked back.

“Hey,” he said gently. “We don’t know for sure that they are after the embryos. I mean, if they were, wouldn’t it be more logical to wait until we dock at Polus? What could they possibly get from killing us now?”

Black pressed her lips into a thin line.

“I don’t know. I… I guess you have a point but…” Black trailed off. She was tired. So tired. She sat down at one of the beds, put her helmet aside and rubbed her eyes. Mismatched eyes. She was always a little insecure about them. One was green and the other dark brown. She recalled how a few years ago, somebody accused her of being an impostor due to it. It was stupid and much to her relief, her crew backed her up on that. There was no impostor on the ship in actuality. The murder… it looked nothing like what was happening right now. She recalled that mission quite well. It was not an imposter who was on the loose but a human full of anger. She tried to imagine… No… What happened to Blue and Yellow was not caused by human hands. And Black knew quite well what human hands were capable of.

“Black, why don’t you get some sleep,” Pink offered. “Me and Brown will watch over you.”

Black nodded. Yeah that was probably a good idea.

-

Orange sat on one of the beds. Black tried to imagine her being the imposter but truthfully, she couldn’t. She couldn’t imagine any of her crewmates to be… monsters. Maybe that was why none of them could bring themselves to vote someone off. If they were wrong…

“What are you thinking about?”

Black glanced over at Orange. She shook her head.

“Nothing.” She heard the scream, she was sure of it. She opened her mouth.

“Orange, I… Did you really not hear anything yesterday? No screaming?”

“No. If I did, I would say so,” Orange held Black’s gaze until Black looked away.

“Yeah but… I don’t know. Red says she saw nothing, but then what’s the reason for her to be in security?”

Orange got up from the bed. Black turned to her, looking up at the other woman.

“Orange, what if Red is the impostor? She was alone. I mean, I was too but… I heard the scream and I went to make sure that… well that noone was hurt and then Red just appeared-”

“Slow down,” Orange said. There was a hint of a smile on her lips. Black was baffled. There was nothing funny about this. If Red… if Red was really the impostor she could… She was their captain. They trusted her, of course they wouldn’t question it.

“Orange, what if it was Red who killed Yellow? And she tried to pin it on you.”

No, that didn’t make sense. Red was with her when the lights went out. Impostors were alien but black doubted that they could be at multiplaces at once.

“No but, you said that you were with Yellow…”

She felt as strong hands grabbed her. She looked up at her crewmate. Was it her crewmate? Cold sweat ran down her spine. Who was to say that there were not more than one imposter? Her lower lip began to tremble.

“What is it, Black?” Orange asked, strangely calmly. Black grabbed for her scalpel at the same time the door to the medbay rolled shut. But Black was not moving to run, she moved towards the cargo box and pointed the scalpel at Orange.

Orange laughed. She took off her helm and ran a hand through her short auburn hair. Then she tossed it to the ground and stepped closer to Black. Black tried not to tremble, but she failed. She told herself that this was alright though, as long as she would aim for the vitals she could… with horror she realized that the imposter in front of her probably did not have the same vitals that humans did. And just as she thought of this, another thought struck her: Pink will be devastated.

“Fuck, you are cute,” Orange grinned. “But Red would kill me if I had fun with you before she got her hands on you.”

“Get away from me. From the cargo,” Black whispered. She did not trust herself to speak louder than that. What of Brown and Pink? Were they also in danger? Could they take on Red if it came to it? Distantly, she realized that it was probably good that orange was with her here. Brown and Pink… They would have a better chance at surviving Red. At least that was what she told herself.

Orange shook her head, she leaned over and horrifyingly, her body began to unravel. Half of her face twisted and slit open into grotesque petals and tentacles crawled from her suit. Black did not know what to aim at first and before she could decide, one of the tentacles had wrapped around her hand and yanked her forward so suddenly that her shaky fingers dropped the scalpel. Black let out a startled gasp as her body collided with Orange’s, who quickly wrapped her hands around her waist, holding her in place.

“Let me go!” Black gasped. She tried to push away, desperately wanted to trash about but the other woman’s grip on her was too strong.

Orange did not reply, One of her tentacles found a way up to her helmet. Awkwardly it pushed at the buttons and then removed it from her head. Black heard it drop to the ground. She winced.

“Ah, you know, it’s really endearing,” Orange said. She leaned down, her breath tickled Black’s ear. “You always think of others first. You know that? When you figured out who Red is, your first thought was to warn me. Which is cute. And even then, she wanted to protect the embryos rather than run for it. Not that you could get away, I wouldn’t let you, but it’s still cute.”

Black went horribly still. Orange nuzzled her nose against her ear and then bit it. Black let out a gasp, startled.

“Stop,” she pleaded. She could feel Orange smile against her face and she nipped her again. “Please.”

Orange pulled away

“I would take you right here and now but as I said, Red would probably kill me if I fucked you before she got the chance. So I suppose I will have to bid my time.”

Her hands let go of Black, tilted her head at the door which hissed open. And although Black was no longer pressed against Orange, the tentacle still hugged her waist rather snuggly. Black tried to wriggle from its grasp but it was no use. She felt tears bite the corners of her mouth.

“I would leave you here but well,” she glanced down at the scalpel and chuckled. “Wouldn’t want you to get any ideas.”

Orange began to walk away and by all means, she was planning to drag Black along. Black gritted her teeth. No. She dug her heels into the ground with all her might. Orange glanced back over her shoulder, but if the stunt annoyed her, she did not show it.

“Oh come on, Black. Are you being difficult?”

“I won’t let you…” Black began then stopped and shook her head. “I won’t let you kill Pink and Brown. Pink fucking loves you. I- no you can’t kill her or Brown. They- Red won’t attack them alone. It would be too much of a risk that the other could get away. She won’t attack them and if you won’t leave me here then I will do my best to stall you as long as possible.”

Orange tilted her head. With a few strides, she was in front of Black again who shrunk away as much as she could. Which, to be fair, was not much. Orange grabbed Black’s chin, thumb running over her lips as she forced her to look up at her.

“Ah, Black… Don’t worry, I will fuck you into obedience soon enough. But for now, let me show you why pushing back against me doesn’t matter at all.”

Orange’s hand buried into the halo of Black’s golden hair and tugged. Black let out a yelp- a mix of surprise and pain. Before she knew it, she was stumbling forward as Orange dragged her through the ship. Black tried to dig in her heels again but they were moving too fast for her to get a good stand and whenever she tried, Orange would yank at her hair harder. And there was still a tentacle around her waist. Her fingers clawed at Orange as she tried to get the woman’s hand out of her hair, but it did little to help and if anything, it made Orange hold her tighter.

Then, suddenly, Black was pushed into the admin room. She fell to the ground, breaking her fall with her hands. She twisted around to see Orange wave her goodbye as the door shut.

“No!” Black yelled. Her fists collided with the metal door. She sobbed. “No! Let me out!”