ATLAS'S POV
I threw the whiskey bottle at the security monitor. It shattered, amber liquid dripping down the screen, but the footage kept playing.
The creature. Always the creature. Moving through corridors, hunting in shadows, killing anything Captain Cross sent after it.
"Commander, you need to stop." Marcus stood in the doorway of my quarters—Kira's quarters—looking worried. "You haven't slept in thirty-six hours."
"Can't sleep." I rewound the footage again. Deck Seven, corridor twelve, timestamp 0347 hours. The creature dropped from a vent, saw three guards approaching, and instead of attacking, it retreated. "Look at this. Why does it run from armed guards but attack unarmed personnel?"
"Because it's smart," Marcus said carefully. "It knows when it's outmatched."
"No." I zoomed in on the creature's face. Those black eyes reflecting the camera light. "It's not killing everyone it sees. It's being selective. Why?"
Marcus sighed and walked over, picking up the broken whiskey bottle. "How much have you had?"
"Not enough." I pulled another bottle from Kira's cabinet—she kept good scotch for celebrations—and took a long drink straight from it. "I should be out there hunting, not trapped in here like a prisoner."
"Captain Cross put you under protective custody because you hesitated. You had a clear shot at the creature and you froze."
"I didn't freeze!" The lie tasted bitter. "I was... assessing the tactical situation."
"You were hoping it was Kira."
The words hung between us like a confession. I turned away, unable to meet his eyes. Around me, Kira's quarters mocked me with memories. Her favorite mug on the desk. Her research notes scattered everywhere. Her scent still lingering on the pillows—lavender and coffee and her.
"It's not her," I said finally. "Kira's dead."
"Then why are you watching that footage like you're trying to find proof she's still alive?"
I slammed my fist on the desk, making everything jump. "Because I need to understand what killed her! I need to know what we're fighting!"
Marcus pulled up a chair—Kira's chair, the one she spun in when she was thinking—and sat down. "Okay. Let's understand together. Show me what you've found."
I pulled up the compiled footage. Forty-seven camera captures over the past two days. "The creature is evolving rapidly. Each time we track it, it's changed. Faster. Stronger. More... controlled."
"Controlled how?"
"Watch." I played a clip from the medical bay. The creature entered, saw a wounded engineer lying on a bed, and froze. Just stood there for ten seconds, four arms trembling. Then it turned and left without touching him. "Why? It was alone. Hungry. That engineer was helpless. But it didn't attack."
Marcus leaned forward, studying the screen. "Play the corridor footage again. The one where it ran from the guards."
I did. The creature dropped from the vent, saw the guards, and—
"Stop. Right there." Marcus pointed at the screen. "Look at how it's standing."
The creature had all four arms raised, palms out. A surrender gesture. Or a plea.
"It's... trying to communicate," Marcus said slowly.
"It's mimicking human behavior," I corrected. "Predators do that. They imitate prey to get close."
"For two days straight? Atlas, this thing has had dozens of opportunities to kill people and it's actively avoiding it. Hell, yesterday it warned Security Officer Park about a gas leak before it ran away. What kind of predator does that?"
I took another drink, letting the scotch burn away the doubt. "The kind that's smart enough to keep its cover. Make us think it's harmless so we lower our guard."
"Or," Marcus said gently, "the kind that's still human enough to want to help."
"She's DEAD!" I threw the bottle. It hit the wall, exploded. "Kira is dead, and that thing killed her! Stop trying to make me hope she's alive when I watched her die!"
Marcus didn't flinch. He just sat there, weathered face sad. "Did you watch her die? Or did you watch her change?"
The question hit like a physical blow. Because he was right. I hadn't seen Kira die. I'd seen her transform. Seen her body twist and break and rebuild itself into something new. But her eyes—those final human eyes meeting mine—they'd been terrified. Apologetic. Alive.
"It doesn't matter," I whispered. "Even if she's in there somehow, she's trapped in a monster's body. She killed four people, Marcus. Four. How do I forgive that?"
"She killed them during transformation. She wasn't in control." He pulled up another clip. "But look at this. Every interaction since then—she's been careful. Precise. She kills rats in the animal lab to feed but leaves the researchers alone. She could have slaughtered Captain Cross yesterday but she just ran. That's not a mindless monster. That's someone fighting really hard to stay human."
I stared at the frozen image on screen. The creature crouched in shadows, four arms wrapped around itself. The exact way Kira used to sit when she was scared.
"What do you want me to do?" My voice cracked. "Believe she's still alive and risk everyone's safety? Or kill her and live with the guilt if I'm wrong?"
"I want you to find out the truth." Marcus stood, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Stop drinking. Start thinking like the tactical genius you are. Study this creature like Kira would have studied a specimen. Find the evidence. Then make your choice based on facts, not fear."
He left, closing the door quietly behind him.
I sat alone in Kira's quarters, surrounded by her life, staring at footage of her death. Or transformation. Or whatever the hell it was.
My hand went to my pocket, pulling out her engagement ring. Still covered in dried blood. I should clean it. Should put it somewhere safe. Instead, I held it up to the light, watching it sparkle.
"If you're still in there," I whispered to the empty room, "give me proof. Show me you're still Kira. Because I can't—"
My comm beeped. Dr. Tanaka's voice, urgent and frightened: "Commander Vance? I need you in Lab Seven immediately. I found something about Kira's transformation. Something Captain Cross has been hiding. Something that changes everything."
I was on my feet instantly, hangover forgotten. "I'm on my way. What did you find?"
"Not over comms. It's too dangerous. Captain Cross has been monitoring—" A crash in the background. Yuki's scream. "NO! Get away from—"
The comm cut to static.
I ran. Sprinted through corridors, taking stairs three at a time, plasma rifle in hand. Lab Seven was on the other side of the ship. Too far. Too damn far.
I burst through the lab door and froze.
Yuki lay on the floor, unconscious but breathing. Her tablet shattered beside her. And on the main screen, pulled up for anyone to see, was research data I wasn't supposed to know existed.
Project Genesis. Human-alien hybridization trials. Subject: Dr. Kira Chen. Status: Successful transformation. Priority: Capture specimen alive for breeding program.
Breeding program.
My hands shook as I read the documents. Captain Cross hadn't just allowed Kira's transformation. She'd orchestrated it. Deliberately exposed Kira to Subject Zero. Created a human-alien hybrid on purpose.
But why? Why Kira?
Then I saw the final document. The medical scan from three days before the incident.
Kira had been pregnant.
With my child.
And Captain Cross had known.
The screen flickered. Security camera footage from the cargo bay—live feed. The creature sat curled against a supply crate, all four arms wrapped protectively around her stomach. Where something glowed. Pulsed. Moved.
Our baby. Still alive inside her transformed body. Growing. Changing.
The lab door opened behind me. Captain Cross walked in with armed guards.
"So you found out," she said coldly. "I'd hoped to terminate the specimen before you learned the truth. The child she's carrying could revolutionize colonization. A perfect human-alien hybrid. We could breed an entire new species."
"You experimented on my fiancée," I said, voice deadly calm. "You turned her into a monster while she was carrying our baby."
"I created the future of humanity. And now I need to retrieve my specimen before she damages the fetus."
She nodded to her guards. They raised their weapons.
Not at me.
At the screen. At Kira's location.
"We raid the cargo bay in ten minutes," Cross said. "Tranquilize her, extract the hybrid, and terminate the host. The creature is no longer needed."
Something inside me snapped. The part that followed orders. The part that trusted authority.
"No," I said.
"Excuse me?"
I raised my plasma rifle. At Captain Cross. At the woman who'd destroyed everything I loved.
"You're not touching her. Or our baby. I'm going to get them both out of here, and if you try to stop me—" My finger found the trigger. "I'll kill you myself."