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“Ship arriving in T-minus thirty seconds. All crew, remove yourselves from hangar space 13. Thank you.”
Banana grumbled as the announcer's voice played for the fifteenth time that morning. It never got less grating, and with MIRA Corp’s refusal to allow headphones, earbuds, earplugs, or “any other audio equipment brought in by personnel and not belonging to MIRA Corp,” their ears weren’t going to get any better. They still stepped aside, crossing their arms and waiting the last thirty seconds. A ship flew in clumsily, and it suddenly killed the thrust and throttle, falling to the ground on the ship’s wheels before bouncing like a ball. It took a moment for the ship to extend its exit ramp, and even longer for the doors to open.
Yet there was no one there to meet Banana to transfer the ore to MIRA’s Industria factory. No people hurrying to get off the ship to get away from others and take a break on land. In fact, the ship-- The Skeld, according to a part of the hull Banana could only half-see-- looked like it had been through an asteroid field and barely made it out. The reactor was fine, oddly enough, but there was still a massive hole in the side, and--
“CLEAR THE WAY!” a voice ordered, and Banana finally looked at the door again just in time to see a crewmate charging down the ramp with a medbay gurney. They narrowly dodged being hit, but that just became a bigger problem when the crewmate stopped shoving the gurney and started looking around.
They were… Green? No, Lime, that was what the crew docket said. The engineer. So no wonder the reactor was fine. On the other hand, lying on the gurney, unconscious, lay the ship's doctor, Blue. They looked beautiful at first glance, but then Banana dragged their gaze from Blue's perfect face down to the bandaged, bloody stump where a leg had been at the start of the ship's journey.
“Where's the rest of the crew?” Banana tried to ask. They didn't manage much before Lime interrupted.
“The company made us ship alien eggs and didn't even tell us! They're trying to get everyone killed and they're just lying to every ship instead of telling anyone so that they can keep sending out crews just like that one and letting innocent people die for the sake of their bottom line!”
Banana blinked, catching exactly none of what was being yelled in their face. “...What happened to them?”
“The alien ate their leg so they couldn't get to us to warn the rest of the crew-- everyone else thought they were dead but I knew they weren't, the alien had to be torturing them until they got free and found me-- They passed out just a little bit ago and I can't wake them up, even with holy water--”
“How long?!”
“Uh, maybe an hour? I had to fly the ship so I didn't keep track of time--”
Banana rushed over and grabbed the phone on the wall, calling the emergency line immediately. It took a minute before someone picked up.
“Hello, this is MIRA HQ,” a peppy voice said. “How can we help you make the world better today?”
“A crew came back injured,” Banana answered. “We need an ambulance.”
“That's silly! Any workplace accident injuries should be handled at MIRA-affiliated clinics. After all, we need to know the extent and cost of the situation so that we can properly bill the negligent victims.”
Banana barely kept from complaining at that, turning to glance at the duo. No one else had left the ship, and Lime clutched Blue's hand as their head dipped, clearly exhausted from the trip. They wouldn't argue either way, probably. At least, not until they were actually awake, since neither seemed aware enough to act.
“Then send someone to help get them to the clinic here on Industria! I don't have the number for it.”
“Of course. Now, is there anything else I can do?”
“Okay thanks bye,” Banana quickly said, slamming the phone down on the hook. It only took a minute before the announcement called again.
“Paramedic team 2, you are needed at hangar space 13. Thank you.”
Banana kept an eye on the two and the ship, repeatedly glancing towards the door leading out into the main building. Eventually, a trio of crewmates arrived to take care of it.
“Are there any others on board?”
“Why do you wanna know?” Lime shot back, narrowing their gaze. Suspicion. But why would they be suspicious of a nurse asking such a normal question?
“We need to know if anyone else needs treatment.”
“Treatment?! You're not getting close to me with your “treatment” and your needles and your tests-- no one's gonna make me or Blue go anywhere! They need help, not some stranger trying to steal their organs!” Lime pulled out a wrench from their overall pocket. “I won't let you hurt them-- I won't let you--”
Before they could finish, one of the three medics injected them in the neck with a needle. Lime tried to speak, opening and closing their mouth, but they finally collapsed on the ground, unmoving. One medic loaded them onto the gurney beside Blue, and before long, they'd taken the two crewmates away. All that was left was for Banana to actually go onto the ship and see the extent of the damage.
They cursed both Lime and MIRA under their breath. This would be so much easier if the engineer had actually done their job, but hey, it wasn’t like an engineer could pull off a mechanic’s job.
If there was a list of places that Lime hated waking up in, “strapped to a hospital bed” was probably near the top of the list, right under “in an alien spaceship” and “in their childhood bedroom.” Even so, that was exactly where they were, with fabric wrist straps and ankle straps binding them to the bed. Like that'd be enough to keep them there. They already knew what was going on-- MIRA had gotten word of their survival. The precious company knew there were two people alive who knew their secrets, and to keep them quiet, they'd be infected with the same alien parasites as the others. They'd lose their freedom and their minds, and they'd never get free without dying. It was sheer willpower that woke them up, and it was their squishy bone that made it incredibly easy to slip one hand out of the wrist cuff. With one free, the other three bands were no problem, and they stood--
Was the world always fuzzy, or was that part of the infection? It was impossible to stand straight, and Lime stumbled for a bit, shaking their head and reaching into their overalls pocket. They hadn't taken it-- the secret weapon. The container of salt. There wasn't much left after all the decontamination the two of them had to do, and now, they almost regretted that. An alien-run hospital wouldn't have salt, they already knew what destroyed them. If Lime tried asking for some, the aliens would know they knew, and then the target on their back would just be even bigger than it already was. They put the salt away, and forced themself to stand straight. With time, the world had cleared up, and they hurried to the curtain to escape that hospital room. People were talking just a bit away-- definitely something about the Skeld and its two survivors-- so they had to inch past, barely ducking into the hallway and sprinting away.
Lime was definitely already infected, and if they were infected, then Blue probably was too. Blue, who had done everything to survive this far-- they'd made it through Lime’s second-worst fear, and still made it back in time to save them too! Fine, they were a doctor, but they were willing to reflect on what they did wrong, and they would listen-- even having one doctor who really knew the truth was important.
Lime kept running, even when someone yelled after them. They didn't stop when an alarm sounded, nor when one of the aliens began to chase them down. No, they had a mission. They had to find Blue.
It was Lime’s turn to do something for them.
Blue awoke slowly, blearily, to the sound of someone typing extremely slowly. They were definitely in a different room from the medbay, but they weren’t sure where that was.
Maybe the afterlife was lying on a psychiatrist’s couch, talking through your entire life’s story to find out where you went wrong. Perhaps that was what was happening. That would explain why everything felt so numb.
They couldn’t even open their mouth to begin, only looking up at the ceiling, wondering how long they’d been dead. Maybe it had been since everything went fuzzy. Maybe it had been just before they’d escaped their captivity. Maybe Orange killed them immediately, and everything had been a dream to keep them from feeling like they’d failed the crew.
Lime… Were they alive? Was the memory of them trying to help with their leg just an illusion? Orange-- Orange had been thinking of going after Lime next, hadn’t they? They’d commented on how Lime would likely react poorly, and to keep up morale, Lime would have to go. Lime could be dead, or out in space, or living like Orange, with a parasite controlling them.
A parasite-- Oh, goodness, a parasite controlling Lime, of all people. Even worse, knowing Lime, they probably had some sort of theory about it and told everyone, and no one listened, because most of the crew never listened to Lime, and they were right this time, so it would only be worse when someone inevitably found out and acted like that was impossible just because it was Lime’s idea, and--
A machine nearby beeped faster, and a set of footsteps grew closer. Blue froze.
“Blue!” a familiar gruff voice exclaimed. “Blue, they've infected us with parasites, you gotta get up so we can get outta here!”
…Getting out? If they could leave, if they could hear Lime, then… then maybe…?
“Lime?” they managed to ask. Already, their crewmate was leaning over them, and before Blue could reach for their hand, Lime was already shoving something into theirs. Cold, metal, and round. Only one thing that they'd carried would fit that description.
“You gotta take it and run, doc. I'll hold ‘em off as long as I can. Just eat it and go!”
Blue barely had the strength to sit up, but despite Lime's theory about being infected, Blue doubted it. Their minds were both intact. They were both here, with no blood on either of them. There was no sign of anything alien anywhere-- they could recognize the room now as an average hospital bay, with a cot in a small room for a patient to rest and recover. Everything was properly labeled, just as it should be.
They still opened the container to do as told, just to put Lime's mind at ease. There was only a tiny bit of salt left, so--
…wait.
The last time they'd used it was to finally clean the remainder of the ooze in the medbay. Even then, they'd both scraped the bottom of the small canister, and they'd had to quit, leaving Like to scrub it off with bleach instead. Blue held the canister just in case, checking how much was in it.
The same amount as now.
“Lime, you should use it for yourself,” they insisted. “I don't have the strength to run. Even if I could, I wouldn't get out.”
“Doc, just take it! To infect me, they’d need to cut me open, so I’m already dead. Just take the salt and-- A-and--” Lime’s voice was most insistent, but it broke before they could finish. They took Blue’s shoulders, flinching away for a moment before they did. “...If I’m dead, I’m happy you lived, doc.”
Swoon, Blue thought, barely refraining from saying it aloud.
Their entire life, Blue had been the caretaker. The hot one. The one people always thought had it good. Sure, they had built their own life for themself, just as they had helped build homes in Yeneria, but they had always done it alone. People liked them for their looks, and that was fine by Blue, but when it came to Lime, things were different. Blue probably looked disheveled, sweaty, and overall disgusting by the time they’d crawled out of the place Orange had abandoned them, and yet at that moment, even when Blue couldn’t walk or help, even when they had none of their looks and none of their charm, Lime chose to help.
…Was there anything more attractive than that?
“There you are!” another doctor exclaimed, hurrying into the room. “You’re supposed to be in your room--”
“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” Lime exclaimed, running for the nearest vent. Unfortunately, the vent wasn’t open, meaning they just bonked against the grate and fumbled for the edge.
“You’re disturbing the other patients, you need to calm down--”
“I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING! All of you! I ain’t gonna let you hurt them!” Lime rose again, even though they’d cracked their visor on the vent cover. “I won’t let you aliens infect them!”
“...great,” the other doctor muttered. “They’re crazy.”
“Excuse me,” Blue said, catching the doctor’s attention. “I’d like to share my room with them, if we’re both going to be here for a bit.”
“...What?” Lime asked softly. “Share a room--”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the doctor interrupted. “This crewmate has already caused issues by interrupting your rest while we were preparing for a scan--”
“It wasn’t an issue for me,” Blue argued. “And, in fact, I think both of us would feel better if we could be in the same space.”
The doctor scowled as they looked at Lime. “...You’re sure you want this?”
“Yes,” Blue stated firmly.
“Doc, what are you doing?” Lime hissed. “You’re supposed to get outta here--”
“It’s safety in numbers, Lime,” they remarked. “If any aliens want to infect either of us, then we both have the salt in the room to protect ourselves. And, of course, that way you’ll know I’m still safe.”
That, at least, got Lime to calm down.
“...Fine,” they sighed, and turned to glare at the doctor. “I’ll share the room. But don’t expect me to do any of your tests or experiments or anything!”
“Sit down. I’ll… get a bed.” The doctor sighed and left, leaving the two crewmates alone. Lime finally relaxed a bit.
“It’s safe with both of us here, Lime,” Blue assured them. “I just need to be sure my leg won’t get infected.”
“I’ll keep an eye out.” Lime sat on the edge of the bed. “You need rest. I’ll keep watch.”
“Of course.” Blue smiled, and closed their eyes. Finally, softly, they breathed, “Swoon.”
“What was that?”
“Good night, Lime.”
Blue could feel Lime looking at them, but they didn’t mind. Instead, they hoped to dream. Maybe this time, with someone watching out for them, it wouldn’t be a nightmare.