Evolution
Expedition Epsilon Part 3 | Choice 2 - A chance to breathe
Click to read — Chapter 3.1 of Expedition Epsilon
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The Chosen Path — “Install arm with spikes”
Expedition Epsilon
Part 3.2: Evolution
The Bridge
Quiet chatter and tension filled the air of the bridge where Miranda Ricci resided, awaiting further updates of the events that just took place. Flanagan was charged with taking care of Daniel's children while he underwent surgery, while the rest of the Seekers were asked to sweep the rest of the ship for any other potential security breaches since the onboard security forces were still being established. Many people aboard the Evolution grew restless over the alarms and were demanding answers. This was certainly not the way that anyone wanted to start the voyage to their new home.
“Surgery has been completed and Daniel Grayson is stable, Dr. Ricci.” Saia relayed to Miranda.
“Thank God, those freaks did it.” Miranda let out a sigh of relief before clicking on her comms, “Seekers, report.” She waited a moment before any replies came, and worry festered within her for every second she waited.
“Reporting in,” static over the comms gave way to Helios’ voice. “Kai and I have checked sub-decks 1, 2 and 3 of the Evolution including the docking ports, reactor bay, cryo, engineering/electrical, water filtration and part of storage – nothing to report.”
“How about the shuttle you flew in on, has it been quarantined?” Miranda asked.
“Affirmative, it is in quarantine and being taken apart for inspection.”
“Good work, meet me back at Daniel’s room in the ICU when you have finished up,” She ordered. “O’Hearn, report.”
O’Hearns voice broke through the static, “Mess hall, storage and all of the observation decks on deck 1 are clear.”
“Good. Killinger?”
“Da, everyzing good on deck 2. Living quarters and entertainment safe.” Miranda had to listen closer since Killinger’s thick Russian accent was always fun to decipher over comms, just as Flanagan’s was.
“Perfect, and Orphus, what is your status?”
“My status is I’m gonna kill these fuckhead surgeons if one of you isn’t here to relieve me in 10 minutes.” Orphus’s cold personality rang through the comms well.
“We’ll deal with that in a minute, what is the status of your sweep?” Miranda insisted.
“Deck 3 is just peachy. The greenhouses are being tended to, the body of the ugly-ass, dead tardi arrived in your lab and medical is about to be down two surgeons.”
“Okay, what is going on with Chef and Smiles?” Miranda asked tentatively, rubbing her temples.
“Well let me tell you what I am doing right now. I had to abandon my post over Grayson to protect your lab and am standing behind the window pointing my rail-gun at the cunt you call Smiles. They finished augmenting Grayson with this new – kinda badass — spiked arm, but once these assholes saw the tardi moved in the lab they tried to sneak in to experiment.” Orphus started getting angrier, “Now they won’t leave and are just staring at me on the other side of the glass, so if someone doesn’t come to collect them, Smiles won’t be smilin’ for long.”
Miranda whispered off the comms, “for fucks sake,” before switching the comms back on to reply. “Killinger, head up to medical on deck 3 and escort Smiles and Chef to their quarters. Lock them inside until I can deal with them.”
“Da, doctor. Permission to use force if nezessary?”
“Permission granted, but minimal force.” Miranda continued rubbing her temples before taking the ear piece out to relieve her throbbing ear canal. It was stressful enough with everything on her plate but she could deal with it; Migraines though? They were her achilles heel. If she knew then that augmenting her eyesight would result in terrible migraines, she probably would have backed out of the surgery – probably.
“Cpt. Dunwall,” Miranda spoke directly to the captain who was running around the bridge managing his crew.
“Yes, Dr. Ricci?”
“No more delays, we must launch,” Miranda demanded. “Set the course to the Sun for fueling and before launch give that speech you’ve been working on the best you’ve got. Many are uneasy after the surprise alarm and security breach, we do not need it to grow into something we cannot control. I need to tend to Daniel and these goddamn psychopaths we have for surgeons.”
“I won’t let you down,” The captain assured her. “Take care of your business, and I will get us to Mars, and then to our new home.”
“I know you will.”
With all *current* problems finally taken care of, it looks as if the expedition is ready to be underway. Of course, this voyage to a new home among the stars requires a speech to not only ensure the passengers remain calm and collected, but to mark a substantial point in the history of humanity. Choose wisely, for something as simple as a speech may have dire consequences.
It would not be possible to create these stories if not for the choices you all make, so thank you for helping me create this wild sci-fi adventure! Keep on choosing and see where this story goes!
Expedition Epsilon will return in 3 weeks after the next issues of Perthro: The Rune of Mystery and Trapped Within Darkness. Look out for the Character Sheet of Kyle Flanagan from Expedition Epsilon, coming out on Tuesday for paid subscribers! You could earn a free premium membership if your refer 3 people, and you will have access to the character sheets! I hope you have a great week, and as always — Choose Fiction!