Alien Breed

In the monthly audio recordings from Discovery Base, they never mentioned anything about a group of humanoid aliens. It sounded like their stint on Avalon had been relatively peaceful.

None of this is adding up, but I can’t make a judgment call until I get to Discovery Base.

Fassbender is the first one to point out the massive structure. The jungle has grown around it, but the second story is visible. “See it? Right past that ridge.”

The laboratory is trashed. I can already see the broken windows. We’re not going to find the team of scientists there. I can feel it in my heart.

Halloway’s right there with me. “Anyone else feel like turning around?”

A strange mixture of curiosity and lingering cortisol spike keeps me walking toward the abandoned building.

Once at the sight, I can see that it’s even worse than I thought.

The front door rests near the entrance. All of the windows are broken. The structure barely stands.

With caution, we step inside the building.

Halloway steps over a large pile of glass. “Maybe the network here hasn’t been disrupted. We received those audio pings some weeks ago, correct?”

“Fat chance,” Roy says.

Someone has damaged everything, including the computers inside.

As make our way through another room, I see that the network has been disabled. Some of the wall has broken near the stairway, a perfect imprint of someone’s back. It’s lucky this place is still standing.

I examine the damage. This is not normal decay. “There was a fight here,” I say.

Fassbender nods. “I pray they didn’t get to the sample room,” he says.

The stairwell is dark and bleak. Although the building feels and looks empty, we can’t be sure we’re alone.

With my hands around my pistol, I slowly put one foot in front of the other. We arrive at the second floor. It has been ransacked.

No samples remain. The equipment has been destroyed.

I turn to Hugh, feeling my emotions get the best of me. “You were right,” I say.

His smile wilts. “I wish I wasn’t.”

“What do you propose we do?” I ask.

Fassbender lowers and opens the gear box. There are more weapons inside. “I think it’s obvious what we have to do.”

He counts the clips of bullets and continues. “We get out there and kill the thing that murdered our team,” he says.

But Roy disagrees. “I want more time to search the place. Maybe we can find some clues as to what happened.”

Fassbender is against staying, though we have all the time in the world. He says, “I don’t give a fuck what happened here. I care about Earth. And I’ll kill the bastard that did this.”

“We need to find fuel,” Halloway says. “But before we can use it, the ship is in need of repair. If we’re going to get off this planet, we need to stay one step ahead of whatever’s out there.”

This is worse than I thought. Everyone has their own ideas for what should happen. I agree with Roy. There are documents strewn across the floor. There could be something of worth here.

Roy scrunches his face and shakes his head. “With all do respect, Captain, you’re not sending me back there alone,” he says.

I have to speak up. “Listen to Halloway, Roy. Getting the fuel back to our starship won’t be easy. We’ll need the thrusters ready for takeoff.”

Roy calms. “Fine. I’ll go. But if I die, my blood’s on your hands,” he says.