Chapter Text
Red ground his teeth, rubbing irritatedly at a splotch of oil on his sleeve. Lately even the smallest things seemed to get on his nerves. He really needed to burn off some steam. He wasn’t annoyed without merit, however. His training partner had been killed, and his co pilot had been stabbed nearly to death. Simply put, he had been having a shit week, but he couldn't turn the ship around now. Under normal circumstances he wasn’t known for being the nicest, but he was well respected, and to him that was worth more.
Presently, he was heading back to weapons to run diagnostics. He didn’t normally do anything with fueling the ship, but he had to pick up the slack from Blue being out of commission for the time being. All of their schedules had to be adjusted to cover the leftover tasks now, so at first, hearing a metallic clang from navigation didn’t phase him. Until he remembered he had charted the ship's course earlier that day. There wasn’t a reason for anyone else to be in there. Red did a double take, not knowing if he should be angry or elated at finding another ‘crewmate’ in this state. Yellow’s boots were just barely visible from the doorframe. Red looked in silently, confirming that the other was currently halfway down a vent.
Yellow had always been quiet. He got his tasks done on time, usually early. He was shy, always hanging around in electrical or security, but everyone seemed to like what little they saw of him. Thinking back, all of that should have been immediate red flags. He was disarming. Too much so. “Mother fucker…” Red muttered under his breath, stepping into the room quickly and smashing the panel on the wall to close the door.
Upon hearing the door slam shut, Yellow froze in his tracks, breath hitching. He felt like he couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything. He had been caught, and could practically feel himself being shoved out of the airlock already. His stomach dropped when he heard Red’s voice. Out of everyone who could’ve found him like this, it had to be the captain. He didn’t have any way out of this now.
“Don’t you think it’s in poor taste? Coming back to where you nearly killed Blue?” Red’s voice was low, dipping into a near snarl at the end. He pursed his lips after a few moments of silence. “Really? Nothing? No tentacles coming out to grab me, no attempt at escape, not even a weapon?” Red tsked, walking in a semicircle around Yellow, waiting for any response. He finally reached forward, grabbing the other’s suit in the middle of the back and dragging him out from the vent. “Is this some kind of mindgame to get my guard down or are you just a pussy?”
Yellow froze up completely when Red drug him out. He slowly shifted, his heart was racing and he felt like his body was on autopilot as he slowly stood. He flinched when he turned and saw that Red had drawn his handgun and was now pointing it at his chest.
Red huffed out a laugh, “Are you seriously just a coward? I’ve dealt with impostors before, but at least they had the guts to put up a fight.” Something about how meek the other seemed intrigued him. He was different from any impostor he’d encountered before, if he wasn’t trying to fight him yet maybe he could get Yellow to cooperate with him.
Yellow didn’t say anything. Just stared at the other, frozen like a deer in the headlights.
Red, growing irritated, reached forward and snapped his fingers in Yellow’s face as if he were a dog, making the impostor recoil. “I know you’re not mute. If you were so worried about getting caught you should have been smarter about it.”
Yellow finally spoke up after a few more seconds of silence. “I just- There’s not much for me to say. Everyone saw you get cleared right after we departed, they all know to believe you so what’s the point of saying anything.” Yellow moved his hands nervously, attempting to put his hands in his pockets.
“Stop.” Red barked, making Yellow freeze again. “Keep your hands where I can see them. And why don’t you take off your helmet for good measure. It’s easier to talk that way.”
Hesitantly, Yellow did as instructed and removed his helmet, holding it awkwardly as he watched red do the same. Once Red’s helmet was off he cautiously set it on the ground.
Red had removed his helmet quickly, not wanting to let the impostor out of his sight in case this was all a ruse. It would be easier to read him without it obstructing his vision, and maybe even placate the other some by giving him a false sense of security, even if he was still being held at gunpoint. He held his helmet for a moment, taking the captain’s hat off of it and placing it firmly on his head, not bothering to fix his messy hair first. He set the helmet down then crossed his arms, holding the gun up with one hand and motioning with it as he spoke. “Listen to me. You’re going to cooperate with me from here on out or I'll shoot you, plain and simple.” Red paused, looking down at his gun rather than at Yellow. Have you heard about the new bullets the US is manufacturing?” Red mumbled, almost to himself before looking back to Yellow to gauge his reaction. He looked genuinely scared. It took some willpower for Red to suppress a smile at that. “They start dissolving flesh on impact,” He continued, “It’s almost always fatal when not shot into a limb.” He ran his fingers over the barrel of his gun, near affectionately. Pausing, he looked back to the impostor again, who was watching him with wide eyes. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Very.” Yellow’s voice was quiet and his eyes darted around, wavering on Red’s face. He never liked having his helmet off. It was like his last line of protection was gone, but he didn't have the resolve to argue.
Red looked up at the ceiling for a moment, thinking. “Show me what you look like normally.” His voice was level, somewhere between interested and commanding.
“Wh-”
“You don’t want to piss me off, Yellow.” Red’s voice dropped, and he traded his gun from one hand to the other, uncrossing his arms. “I know you’re a shapeshifter so prove it, show me what you look like naturally. Unless you want me to throw you out now?”
Yellow paled. “No sir,” He swallowed, balling his fists. “Just… Give me a moment please, I have to concentrate.”
The impostor closed his eyes. Red quirked a brow, growing genuinely interested as the other’s skin shifted colors similarly to that of a squid. All the color drained out, leaving the alien’s skin a pale shade of grey. His hair didn’t change much, remaining honey blonde, but it appeared to get glossier, unnaturally so.
Red stepped forward, sliding his gun back into its holster but keeping a hand on it. At the movement, Yellow’s eyes snapped open. He stayed put, appearance not changing anymore. Upon further inspection he realized Yellow’s skin wasn't fully devoid of color, but had a spattering of yellow dots over his cheeks. His eyes had also shifted in color from their former hazel to a bright, pale yellow. The sclera hadn't changed, but there was no discernable pupil. The combined iris and pupil had shifted into a slit shape. It wasn’t completely slim, rounding out on the horizontal edges like the eyes of a cat . Red snorted quietly to himself, amused at the way the impostor's natural appearance matched his chosen color near perfectly.
“So, is the whole yellow motif because you like the color or because you were born like this?” Red spoke after a few moments. “Or were you hatched?” He added, smirking.
“It actually is hatched,” Yellow mumbled, looking down. Something about Red’s reaction to it, like it had just been a joke, embarrassed him. “But the color is natural, all of us have colors in the way I do, not a lot, just our eyes and bioluminescent spots. They're usually bright colors-”
“Bioluminescent. Hmm,” Red hummed to himself, cutting Yellow off. He wasn’t very interested in the impostor’s species, just that he would be able to serve his needs enough to make keeping him alive a worthwhile endeavor.
He continued to look Yellow over slowly, noting the other’s slight flinch as he reached out to touch him. Where an ear would be on a person, the impostor had a fin-like protrusion that wrapped around his jaw, tapering off at his collarbone. It didn’t look dissimilar to a cobra’s hood. Red grabbed it lightly, running his fingers down. Yellow was staying still, but he could feel the impostor’s jerky breaths from the close proximity. That pleased him no end. The appendage felt similar to the cartilage on a human’s ear, but thicker, not having much give. There were dull spikes along the edge, six in total, half of which fell at the end of the shallow ridges on his ‘ear’. He looked fairly reptilian, but not like any existing reptile on earth. The unfamiliar aspects of his features made him look somewhat draconic, just without any intimidation factor.
“You look human enough.” He muttered. Red leaned back once he was satisfied with his evaluation of the other. He cracked his knuckles before crossing his arms again. “You’re still in a pretty precarious situation, you know. I could still get you thrown out, we both know the whole crew trusts me.” Red watched Yellow closely as he talked. The other had relaxed some from earlier, but he could see him getting anxious again. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his satisfaction from showing.
“I know,” Yellow spoke up quietly, “I don’t want to hurt anyone, honestly, I just didn’t have any other options, it was either this or-”
Red rolled his eyes before cutting Yellow off. The impostor’s tendency to ramble was getting on his nerves, he almost preferred it when he was just silent, but at least he shut up the second he started talking. “I’m not worried about you hurting anyone. I doubt you could go through with it even if you did want to. It wasn’t you who killed Brown, was it?”
Yellow shook his head, “No, I didn’t attack Blue either.” He frowned, unnerved that Red was able to read him so easily. He really wasn’t cut out for this line of work.
“So. If it wasn’t you, who’s the other impostor.” Red added after a moment, staring him down.
Yellow took a shaky breath, meeting Red’s eyes nervously, “It’s Orange.”
Finally allowing himself a full smirk, Red clapped Yellow on the shoulder as he closed the distance between them once again. “Glad to see you’re so compliant already. You weren’t close to them, were you?”
“No, we weren’t close… Is that all you wanted?”
Red hummed, “Well I think If I let you go now just like that it would make this a bit one sided, don’t you agree? I mean, you came here with the intent to kill all the humans on the ship, correct? And you want me to let you go free just like that? I don’t think that seems like a very safe option, all things considered. What if this was all just an act to get on my good side, hmm?” He shifted, trailing his hand down Yellow’s arm after squeezing his shoulder tightly. “No, I’m going to need a little more cooperation from you to let you stay. I have a proposal for you, make a deal with me and maybe I’ll agree to keep you safe and alive on the ship.”
He hesitated, looking back at Red and searching his impassive expression. “A deal?”