Cora snuck down the hall, brushing at her clothes.
It looked like everyone was sleeping. There was no sign of Tor or Mar, so she returned to their room. She found them both in bed.
Carefully, Cora climbed between them. Tor silently wrapped an arm around and pulled her closer.
One of his hands slipped under her shirt, trailing down her stomach.
Oh.
She relaxed into his embrace.
Mar opened his eyes, blinking slowly before poking Tor in his arm.
[No.]
Cora recognized that word. "What's wrong, Mar?"
"We can't do that here. I already told Tor, he's just bad at listening."
She patted at Tor, feeling him tense up. "No fighting. You didn't tell me. Why can't we do that here?"
Mar gave her a sour look. "You can't be quiet."
"And because they don't know about the eggs?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to explain what happened to these guys. It wouldn't go well."
"What if something
happens
again?"
Tor pulled her back against him, sighing.
"I doubt it. They're all on very strong suppressants."
Tor spoke up. "
We
were on very strong suppressants." Cora nodded in agreement.
"Well, do you feel like you did before?" Mar sat up, observing her.
"No, not at all."
At least, I think so.
She remembered the discomfort and chills. Uncertainty bled into his expression.
"Then it's fine."
Bullshit.
"If you're sure." Cora reached out, smoothing a hand over his hair. He huffed, turning over.
A hand returned to her stomach, fingers slipping under her waistband.
This is gonna be a problem.
Cora woke up, alone, to a deafening screech. When it happened again, she threw herself out of bed.
Is that supposed to be an alarm?
It went off again, the pitch making her eyes water. The door to her room was pulled open, and a bulky figure stood in the doorway. It looked like a robot, all metal plating with goofy cylindrical arms. Cora didn't like the way it moved. She had to get it out of the room, away from the eggs.
"Who the fuck are you?"
It didn't answer, instead moving towards her quicker than it should have. It was holding something sharp.
"No!" Throwing herself to the side, Cora charged for the door. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!"
The figure lunged for her, but she was already out of reach.
Falling into the main area, Cora looked around. "What the fuck?! Mar!"
She whipped around, facing the intruder as Mar slammed into it.
"Cora, move!" Someone screamed at her from across the hall. It sounded like Tor.
She turned to look for him, just as a ray of white-hot pain shot through her, radiating down her back. Reflexes that weren't hers kicked in, seizing a metallic arm. Another intruder was behind her, holding a knife. In her grasp, the arm crumpled. There was an unpleasant
squish
beneath it, telling her more than she needed to know.
Like tofu,
her unhelpful, overwhelmed brain suggested.
She snatched the knife from its now-limp hand. The intruder stumbled back and Cora lunged, burying the knife in its face. She wrenched it free, doing it once more. It stopped moving.
There was a loud scraping noise from behind her. Alarmed, she turned to check on Mar, only to see him holding one of the intruders aloft. His guttural snarl was drowned out by the shrieking of metal as he ripped it in half.
Oh, damn.
Cora leaned against an overturned table, somehow managing a weak giggle.
Mar whirled to face her, eyes wide. "Cora?"
The back of her shirt was uncomfortably wet. "I'd let you do that to me."
His concern turned to exasperation, then to dread. He reached for her, but Cora shied away. One of the crewmates was charging towards them, followed by Tor. "Hey, guys." She shifted, trying to take a more casual pose against the table. Her foot slipped, and she found herself on the floor.
"Whoops." There was a purple substance pooling beneath her. Her shirt was tossed next to her, also soaked in purple. It was getting cold. Her brain finally made the connection.
"Question..." Her voice sounded like it was coming from another room. "Why is my blood purple?"
"It doesn't matter what color it is. It's not supposed to be outside of you." She recognized Tai's voice.
Cora took a ragged breath. "You sound angry. It already hurts so much. Please don't be angry at me."
There was a nasty prickling sensation coming from her back.
"Feels like stitches."
Someone was talking. It sounded like Tor.
"I can't hear you," she mumbled. "You have to get closer."
She strained to listen, but everything was getting quieter. "I'm sorry, I'm... so tired. Can I rest?"
Her body didn't wait for an answer.
When Cora opened her eyes again, she found herself looking at Tor. He was nestled against her, fast asleep. There was a gash across his cheek, with a few neat stitches in it.
I wonder what medical school is like for them.
She reached up, thinking about running a hand over his hair, but the minute she moved, she regretted it. Her back screamed in protest. Biting back a whine, she shifted.
"You're awake." Mar spoke from behind her.
She gingerly rolled to face him. "I think so." He sat across the room, on a crate.
Oh-
The eggs sat in their own crate, unharmed. "How long was I out?"
Mar rubbed at his face. There were deep purple shadows under his eyes. "Only a few hours. You didn't lose that much blood. It just looked like a lot."
"Hm." She eyed him, noting that he hadn't cleaned up since the fiasco. He was splattered in what looked like motor oil.
I want to ask him why he's not resting, but I bet I know the answer.
"What were those things?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. Never seen anything like them. And we have no idea how they got on the ship."
Cora didn't like how calmly he said this. "And does that happen often, that the ship is invaded by mystery meat robots?"
"No."
She tried to sit up, failing her first attempt. Mar moved to help her. "No, no, I got this."
Her shifting woke Tor, who grumbled and opened one eye. "You shouldn't be moving," were the first words out of his mouth.
"You two are going to stress yourselves to death. I'm fine." Cora didn't feel fine. She felt dizzy, the pulling sensation from her back making her nauseous. "Is the rest of the crew okay?"
"Yeah, they're fine. Those creatures weren't too much of a challenge."
"Good, so I'm the only one who got fileted."
He gave her a funny look, so she pointed at the wound on her back. "I mean that."
"Ah."
Cora was becoming antsy, so she stood. "I'm-" A stronger wave of nausea hit. "Oh, yuck. I need to eat something." Tor placed a hand on her shoulder.
[I'll go with her. You should get that shit off you.]
Mar shot Tor a dirty look.
"Hey-" Cora pursed her lips. "None of that. Mar, you're really tired. You deserve to rest, too."
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Okay."
As they entered the kitchen, someone Cora hadn't been introduced to ran up to Tor. He stopped, visibly irritated.
She went ahead to the cooler. Inside, there was a small bowl with a lid on it, surrounded by several larger, identical bowls.
