People were scared. And considering Matthew had waltzed into our space and nearly blown me up, I couldn’t blame them. I was terrified. But as morning rolled around, everything seemed… okay.

It wasn’t. Not remotely okay.

Doctor Flanagan was my fault, and unlike the saboteur, the last thing I wanted was for her to be hurt. That hadn’t made a difference. I didn’t even know how it had happened, why she had picked it up, what I had done wrong…

She had been trying to grow us food. She was the team lead, whatever that meant. Every new thing I learned only made me hate myself more.

All of the equipment being ruined was also a disaster. No more surgeries, no more drugs, no more hospitals. We were back to basic first aid. The next person to even break a bone would be in serious trouble.

“It’s not your fault,” Nicole reassured me. “It was an improvised explosive device designed to blow it all up. More sabotage."

Maybe so. But I had still dragged Doctor Falanagan into it. The fate of the primate was still up in the air.

Selfishly, it was the repair pod I was most horrified by. That was Nicole’s lifeline. Not only did I desperately need her, but I loved her. My death had broken her, but she was so much stronger than I, and it had been, in a sense, temporary. I knew I wouldn’t last long without her. I didn’t want to.

Just five months and like… a half. It seemed far too long to wait.

Maybe we could just run. Go live with the Ioueeke until the SS Argonaut arrived.

I wasn’t the only one dreaming of leaving. I had overheard a small group discussing the logistics of trying to make it on their own. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea. Vander & Frakes wanted us dead. Ever since we had arrived, people had been dying, yes, just a few here and a few there, but it was starting to add up.

The androids, the insects, and now a well-respected doctor. Anyone could be next when something inevitably went wrong.

Captain Tameron was trying to keep morale high. He gathered everyone around the breakfast table to update the village on the upgraded security measures. He spoke of unity and bravery. Help was on the way, he said. We were stronger together to weather this storm.

Two more solar panels were completed that very morning. The mine was turning out stuff. We had officially solved the power issue… yay…

The robots had been immediately tasked with beginning a perimeter wall. Everyone was still sleeping in tents, most without even a bed. But pretty unanimously, everyone wanted the threats to stay out more than they cared about a good night's sleep. It was honestly shocking for once to see everyone mumbling in agreement when Captain Tameron had declared it.

People were scared. It made sense.

Pretty much all spare weapons were given out. Not as fancy as the rifles that the officers had been carrying. Single shot, seemingly wooden for some reason, Nicole called them old school. I couldn’t imagine how that was the best we had. Commander Alcantar was conducting a few lessons on firearm use. I was pretty sure he despised the idea of giving out all the weapons, but he wasn’t one to break ranks.

I felt far less comfortable with over a quarter of the camp now walking around with deadly weapons. But the civilians definitely seemed reassured, at least those who had managed to get a rifle.

Commander Alcantar had even put a bounty on Matthew’s robotic head. 100,000 credits. Not that credits were of much use on N7 currently, but the civilians certainly seemed motivated. With dozens of eyes now constantly on the lookout, things were probably at least a little safer.

Maybe not. Matthew had simply waltzed into camp undetected before. People would be sleeping at night. How much would any of this actually do, and how much was it just to make people feel better?

I didn’t know.

I wasn’t doing so well either. I wasn’t bleeding anymore, or at least it was more of a thick, gross ooze. Nicole was doing her best to keep clean. We really had no pain medication to spare now.

It was becoming clear I just needed a new host. Maybe the primate could recover, but I had done enough harm. It felt wrong to leave her to deal with the consequences, but my presence was not doing her any good.

Of course, now the question was, who was my next potential host?

Unless Nicole and I were going to go wander off into the jungle, there was only really one animal plentiful around. Humans.

And God did I miss having a proper human body.

“Tobias makes the most sense,” Nicole sighed as we sat in Doctor Falanagan’s tent. “No one will question our interactions, and he can barely speak as is. And… I, at least, would not feel bad.”

I nodded. That all made sense. There was only one problem.

“I really don’t want to be Tobias,” I grimaced.

“I know,” Nicole smiled, rubbing my arm. “But you’re not becoming Tobias, you’re just using his meat suit. If you are preoccupied with ethics, then this is likely your best bet. Otherwise, there are two civilians who lost their whole families on board the Euphorion. One is… pretty, the other is 56 and balding. Either would be the easiest to slip into the role of.”

“Tobias it isss,” I reluctantly agreed. I was still angry at him, even if all he did now was sulk around camp and glare at people. He was still the baron, just unfit to rule at the moment. That probably bothered him more than dying would have. The least I could do was help him take his mind off of it. Heh… what an evil thought. It was kinda fun.

Still. I really didn’t like the idea of being inside his body. All hairy and… Tobias-ey. But… it was only temporary, just until I could find something better.

Nicole finished cleaning my shell, spraying it with some anti-bacterial thing. I tried not to wince. She was helping even if it hurt.

“How do we… do this?” I asked when Nicole was content with her work.

“Tonight,” Nicole decided. “I will dose the stew I bring him. Then we give it an hour to kick in, and it’s your go.”

I nodded. Trying to steel myself for what was to come.

“Doctor? Doctor? The Captain needs you,” someone called outside. “Has anyone seen the synthetic?”

Nicole sighed. “Will you be alright here?”

“I wwwill come,” I replied, slipping off the bed with a wince. I didn’t want to be alone.

Nicole nodded and took my hand when I reached up for her. We went to see what all the fuss was about.

The officer looked worried. That wasn’t a good sight. “There you are. You need to come to the bridge,” he spat out, looking around quickly. “There's something wrong with Captain Tameron; he’s not been feeling well all morning. And now… I– you just need to come.”

“Let me grab the first aid kit,” Nicole replied flatly.

It did not take long to reach the bridge. I braced myself for the unpleasantly thin air and the whole airlock thing, but I refused to stay behind. When we entered, a whole crowd was gathered.

“Got the doctor!” the officer yelled, trying to be heard over the commotion.

“Hey,” Commander Alcantar snapped. “Everyone out of the way.” His commanding bark worked far better. People scurrying out of the way.

Captain Tameron looked up from where he sat on one of the swivel chairs. He was pale, almost white. Every breath was a laboured one, blood smeared over his chin. He was drenched in sweat, shirt unbuttoned.

“Ah, thank you for coming,” he croaked weakly, managing a semblance of a smile.

“What happened?” Nicole asked, hurrying over.

“Don’t know, just been feeling… wrong all morning,” Captain Tameron shrugged, his voice hoarse.

“He’s getting worse,” Commander Alcantar supplied. “He was just coughing up blood a minute ago.”

Nicole nodded slowly. That seemed to mean something to her that I didn't understand. “You brought someone gravely ill into an airtight space with none of you wearing protective equipment?”

“He couldn’t breathe,” someone offered.

“Right.” Nicole sighed, rubbing her temple.

“Can’t be something infectious,” Captain Tameron countered, before falling into a wheezing fit. “It’s progressed too fast. Poison maybe. Who knows what Matthew did before escaping?”

“Sir,” Commander Alcantar grimaced.

“We have no idea what it is. Nor are we in a position to do much about anything,” Nicole offered flatly. “Lie him down, please. I’ll check his vitals.”

“180 bpm, definitely a fever, chills, sweats, 32 breaths per minute. As of… 4 minutes ago,” Commander Alcantar offered, checking his watch.

“Thank you,” Nicole replied, slipping on gloves as she approached the Captain. “Can we retrace your steps today?” she asked him. “Did anything unusual happen?”

“No,” Captain Tameron coughed, blood speckling his hand.

“What did you eat?” Nicole asked, checking his pupils.

“Stew, same as everyone else,” he croaked, hands shaking.

I took a few steps back. Unsure if I wanted to be here anymore. I wanted to be close to Nicole. I did not want to be around for more death.

“Okay, Captain. Can you feel this?” Nicole hummed, taking his hand and pinching his finger.

“Uh… y-yes, a little,” he replied.

“Numbness in the hands? Extremities?”

He nodded again, coughing with a grimace.

“Pain?”

“Yes, chest, upper back, uh… throat,” he replied hoarsely, grinding his teeth together. “Ah fuck,” he groaned.

“Captain Tameron?” Nicole asked.

“My back,” we waved, his hand trembling as I had never seen before. “It feels… ahhh!”

“Get him back up,” Nicole cursed, grabbing scissors and beginning to cut his shirt away as one of the officers helped him up. “Talk to me, Captain. What's going on?”

“Feel–Fuck!” He arched up, muscles spasming as his whole body began to shake. Blood began to dribble from his mouth, teeth clenched horribly tightly.

“Give them space,” Commander Alcantar demanded, shooing people away. “What's going on, doctor?”

“I have no idea,” Nicole replied, perhaps sounding a little too unbothered. “He is seizing.”

I backed away further, though careful not to press my carapace against the wall.

At least everyone was calling her doctor. It was an absurd thought considering I was pretty sure Captain Tameron was about to drop dead.

“Fuck!” the officer holding Captain Tameron squealed, going so very still. A spray of blood had hit him in the face.

Everyone was silent for a moment. The captain continued to spasm and shake almost violently. The garbled sounds emerging from his mouth were horrid. Nicole was the first to act, spinning the chair around. The captain was practically flailing, and blood dribbled down from between his shoulder blades where the skin seemed to bubble. Pustules of fleshy horror, an indecipherable blur with how fast the captain was seizing.

Another gust of blood spurted from the… wound? Something slid out with a crunch, spiny and sharp. Everyone took a step back. The captain kept all seizing, his back beginning to tear, fleshing wet sounds as the skin split further. Something underneath, pale and bloody.

Blood began to flow out, like a geyser. His entire back was cracking and splitting, folding outward unnaturally. Another spine pushed through, something bony.

The thing slid free in a sack of red fluid, splattering onto the floor as Captain Tameron’s body collapsed limply, falling off the chain into an unmoving heap. The floor was painted with an impossible amount of dark red blood. The sack had something in it. Far too big. His back was now nothing more than a hollow, bloody shell.

Someone screamed.

The sack moved, something inside beginning to slip and move. It burst, blood sloughing out as a small white claw pierced through.

A lot more people screamed. Me included.