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"So who's captain, again?"

"I already told you Laff, we'll meet him when we board."

"I'm already not liking this, Meme."

"Just go along with it. MIRA knows what they're doing. We've trained under their command for the past five years."

"Just don't blame me when things go wrong."

"Believe me, I won't."

Laff's words still rang fresh in my mind as our capsule sped through space to the Skeld. Part of me was excited that we were chosen to go to space- I mean, we aren't really the most professional crew out there. Most of us are minors, and we have two kids who hardly even know how to drive. And then there's the part of me that fears something is gonna go wrong. I don't know if it's just me worrying too much, or what.

"Meme?"

I snapped back to reality and saw Nadwe standing in front of me, waving his hand in my face.

"Helloooo! Earth to Meme!" He said jokingly, "Are you alive?"

I laughed. "Sorry. Just zoned out for a minute."

"We're pulling up to the ship," Nadwe said.

As if on que, the front hatch opened, revealing a cafeteria space in front of us. The rest of the crew walked inside, and I followed. When I came through, the hatch behind me closed.

I looked around and did a quick roll call in my mind. I could see Tbh, Blaza, Dino, Joocie, Laff, Woolfster, Nadwe and Muffin. Everyone's accounted for.

At least, everyone I knew.

Where's our captain? MIRA said we'd meet him here.

"Welcome to the Skeld, idiots."

I snapped around at the voice and saw a man in an orange spacesuit and tall rainbow socks standing next to the doors on the right. His hair was a light hazel brown, and he had a white helmet with an orange visor. The thing about him that caught my eye, however were his eyes. They were the most unusual deep red that I had ever seen.

Maybe he has some kind of disorder?

He cleared his throat. "My name is Socks. I will be your captain for this mission. Just to let you know, I will NOT tolerate any funny business abroad my ship, you got that?"

Everyone remained silent until Socks repeated himself.

"I SAID, you got that?"

"We got it!" Tbh said, "Please, no need to be aggressive!"

Socks glared at Tbh and walked up to him. "Now listen here, crab man," he said, "This is my ship. I will be 'aggressive' if I do so wish. Understand?"

Tbh nodded quickly. Socks backed off, but continued to glare at him.

Not really getting off on the right foot here, I thought.

Socks walked over to a map on one wall. It showed an image of the Skeld and all the different rooms within. He pointed to a room across from MedBay.

"This will be where you guys live on this mission until we reach Polus," Socks explained. He pointed to another room next to Navigation. "This is my room. Don't try to come in without permission, because it won't let you anyways. You'll figure out the rest."

I blinked. That was a quick explanation.

"Now I will be in my room for the time being," Socks said, "So if you need me, send a message through your transmission watch."

And at that, he exited down the hallway.

"What's up with him?" I heard Muffin mutter. I'd answer if I knew. I just sighed and walked up to the map to find MedBay while everyone else scattered off to do their tasks.

------------------

(Socks PoV)

I swiped my card on the door panel and entered my room, making sure the door closed behind me. The silence calmed me, bringing my mind to the attention of what to do next.

I opened one of the file drawers I had in one corner and pulled out a sharp knife. I saw my reflection and smiled as I felt my two tentacles expand outwards above me.

So long as I keep my cover, they'll never know what hit them.

Sometimes I do feel pity for the kid I corrupted. He was just passing by, minding his own business, but I needed a new host since my cover had been blown last time. Luckily, this one provided the perfect opportunity to kill in private.

On a spaceship far away, where no one could hear the screams.

New

[Meme]

"You okay?"

The British voice snapped me from my thought process. I looked up, meeting the concerned (yet obscured) face of one of my friends, Laff. His green eyes were the only things visible through the gas mask that covered his expression, but they were really all I needed to see to understand what he was feeling.

I exhaled, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah. Just nervous, y'know?"

Laff chuckled. "First mission jitters?"

"You could say that."

The British man sat down next to me. "If I'm bein' honest, I feel the same."

"Really?" I said. Laff wasn't usually one to be nervous, I felt.

"I don't know," Laff breathed a sigh. "There's just an odd feeling I'm gettin' about this. Like some foreshadow that something bad's gonna happen."

"I hope that's just that. A feeling," I stated. "I want this to go well. I can't count on absolutely nothing going wrong, but I hope the ship stays together and we all stay alive."

I glanced in the direction of some of the others. A few were chatting - from my seat I saw Joocie, Tbh, Dino, and Woolfster. Excitedly talking in the seats next to the small group was Nadwe, my own adopted son, and Muffin. Muffin seemed less ecstatic than Nadwe, but I could still tell he anticipated setting foot on the ship.

Nadwe was the only family I had since Wiktoria died. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him.

I turned my gaze to the screen in the wall near the front of the vessel. There was a small display of our ship, a small transport simply made to take us safely and swiftly through space to the bigger ship displayed. The Skeld. There was a number above the space between the two objects, a number 5. Five more minutes.

Each one of those minutes felt like ten.

I scanned the room, in my head doing a roll call even thought I knew everyone was there. As I'd noticed earlier, Tbh, Joocie, Nadwe, Muffin, Dino, and Woolf were all in one corner. Laff was with me. Blaza was on the other side of the room, anxiously pacing by the door. He's usually very social with the rest of us, so I found the behavior odd. Maybe his nerves are getting to him, too.

After a stretch of what felt like hours, finally the ship jolted, and the screen by the door beeped. We were docked. The door slid open soon subsequently. I took a deep breath and stood, walking with Laff to the door. Nadwe and Muffin both pushed past us, racing into the room on the other side of the entrance with enthusiasm. I laughed, and followed them with the others close behind me.

The room we entered in was a larger room in the shape of an irregular polygon, with some tables and chairs scattered around the space. The cafeteria, I guessed. On three walls were doors, each with labels on the side to see where each corridor led to. On the wall to the right was a window looking out into open space. I couldn't help but gaze out into the never ending abyss outside.

"Meme, I'm gonna go explore the ship!" Nadwe called to me. His voice snapped me out of my trance. I told him, "Wait, Nadwe. We were told not to do anything until the captain gave us the rundown."

The child huffed. "But Memeeeee..."

"Nadwe, it's not my orders, it's MIRA's. Stay here."

"Okaaaaay," he said in annoyance. He trudged back over to me, irritated at me keeping him here.

Laff was still next to me. "Where's the captain? I thought they said he'd be here."

"Well, they wouldn't have sent us to an empty ship," I said. "Maybe he's just-"

"I'm right here."

A voice interrupted my speech very suddenly, and I jumped, a surprised cry escaping my mouth as I whipped around. I swear, he was not standing there two seconds ago.

The captain glared at me, and the first thing I noticed were his eyes. They shone bright red like glowing rubies. Abnormally so. The very color made him look twenty times more menacing. His spacesuit was orange, his chestplate straps grey. Brown hair stuck out from a white helmet and orange visor that sat on his head. Oddly, he also wore bright rainbow socks that reached up to his knees. Like a random splash of rainbow colors would make him seem less threatening.

The others all turned to the captain as he said, "Welcome to the Skeld, idiots. I'm gonna be your captain for this mission. You can call me Socks or Captain Socks, if you wanna go that far."

Seems like a strict captain already, I couldn't help but think. Kind of intimidating, honestly.

Socks turned everyone's attention to a map on the wall next to him. "This is the map of the ship, obviously. Memorize it well, I won't be the one to tell you where everything is. No funny business while there's tasks to be done. Although by the looks of it that might be an issue."

He looked over us with a threatening glare. It was safe to say I actually feared him. Not someone to mess around with, for sure.

"Moving on. What I will tell you is that your bunks are across from MedBay-" he pointed to the map, "-and mine's next to Navigation. No one goes in my room unless I give you explicit permission. Got that?"

Everyone was silent.

Socks snapped, "I said, got that?"

"Yes, sir," we all said collectively. I could hear Tbh mutter, "No need for the aggression, man, Jesus..."

But of course, that also meant Socks heard it. His blood red gaze landed on Tbh with hostility. The crab man visibly shrunk back, and that was the end of that.

Socks' gaze lingered on Tbh for a few moments before he turned back to the rest of us. "Today is a free day, so you can all get used to getting around the ship. Lights-out is ten o' clock sharp, you should all be in your bunks by then at most. Understood?"

This time we didn't hesitate. "Yes, captain."

Socks nodded to us. "Good. You're free to go now. I assume you all have the decency to figure out what to do by yourselves, so don't bother me unless it's urgent."

After one last glare, the captain turned and continued back towards Navigation (according to the map).

"Is it just me, or does he seem a tad bit aggressive?" Laff remarked, his green gaze still glued to the doorway where the captain had disappeared.

I sighed. "Maybe he's just in a bad mood or something. Or he's just overly strict. Not like it's hurting anyone. It might be good to have a captain that's tight with the rules."

"I guess you're right," Laff exhaled, turning away from the door.

"I'm gonna go find MedBay," I informed him. "Come if you want, otherwise I guess just do whatever."

"Alright."

-

[Socks]

My footsteps were silent as I walked down the hallway. I glanced at the camera in the corner of the corridor - the small light above the empty black eye of the lens was dark. They haven't gotten to security yet. Knowing this I opened the door to my room, slipping through the doorway before closing it behind me.

Just in case.

Finally I sighed in relief, allowing my tentacles to burst free from their hiding place beneath my skin. I barely winced at the pain that scorched through my back like wildfire at their freedom. I flicked one, a droplet of black slime sailing through the air and landing somewhere on the ground.

Locking the door with the other tentacle, I walked across the room, flopping down on the bed with both of the appendages hanging from the sides. The covers were already stained with black - no reason to keep it clean, anyway. No one's coming in here.

From my pocket I retrieved an object, pulling it out for it to be visible in front of me. I could see my reflection in the silver blade, blood red eyes contracting as me eyes narrowed. The sharp-toothed grin that I wore stared back at me, my expression unable to keep down the thrill of the thoughts that raced through my head. The long tongue in the mouth that tore a fleshy hole in my abdomen licked it's jagged jaws.

Finally.

New prey.

-

Heheheeeeee it's almost the boi's birthday so I have motivationnnnnn :)