The Musk

Major Luke Kennedy stepped off the Dropship platform into The Musk, his lime-colored suit bright in the lights of the corridor. This mission should have never happened, and neither should any planet colonization operations been carried out. If only his colleagues had listened to him when he gave his detailed presentation back in the Head Quarters before planning for the widespread space exploration.

He had worked nearly an entire decade on that proposal. A way to avoid the irrefutable risks of exiting the outer layer of Earth's atmosphere for some fanatic search for a better world and instead further the efforts of making their planet the "better world" they were all hoping for. But the majority vote said otherwise, and Luke's work had been thrown into the void. A void of hopelessness, rejection, and depression. Luke was not only humiliated after his presentation but also received threats to his family, his life, and his job.

If he had not accepted the offer to join the team that was leading the space exploration, Luke knew it would have been the end of his career and there would be nothing he could do to stop this meaningless ruse of forming a new civilization, leaving the rest to suffer and die at the mercy of Mother Nature's revenge. Luke knew an opportunity when he saw one.

This was his chance to show how his colleagues were wrong. To put an end to the missions and the countless lives at stake now and in the future. It was for the families that would be separated by lightyears, the astronauts who would flatline due to the lack of training and resources; the lone fathers and mothers who would be raising kids on their own while their partner is "somewhere out there." For the children who would be looking up at the sky, wondering when their parents would ever come home or for the children whose sole purpose was to live and die on a distant planet far away in the hopes of igniting a human presence. No. This was not meant to be.

Luke had his own mission, and he would do anything to achieve his goal even if it meant sacrificing his own life for his people, his planet, for Earth. He knew about the alien civilization and from his higher classified level clearance. He read the files and understood exactly how to spot them. It was "Red."

When he first arrived on the Dropship, he had taken the time to analyze the other "teammates." It was his hundredth time to teleport, and the side effects were nothing to him and wore off almost instantly. Finding the alien on the transfer ship was very difficult. There was not much to distinguish them from the other humans in its human form. Luke had realized that he couldn't make assumptions, so he resorted to making conversation. "Purple" or Paul, was standing beside him so he decided to test him first. After Paul's first few words, Luke already classified him as another blinded human who had disregarded the sacrifices that would need to be made to carry out the space missions and had already moved on to see who he could talk to next. That, as it turned out, was not necessary.

After making his way to the Cafeteria and witnessing the start of phase one, Luke lagged to see if any of the crew had anything different about them. It didn't take too much time. An astronaut in a red spacesuit seemed to have all lost social senses. He walked at an odd, almost indecisive pace but appeared to be filled with an erratic spur to do something. This was the one Luke was looking for and he watched him attentively. Red moved to the right of the cafeteria, then to the left, then back to the right where he continued to walk in that direction. Luke trailed behind him and exited the large room into a connecting hallway.

As the suspected alien marched robotically through the ship, Luke reminded himself of how dangerous Red had to be. The creatures despised humans and treated them as prey according to many of the encounters. Luke understood why they would resist any venture of human colonization of their planet and he also knew they both had similar objectives. Sabotaging the operation.

If he was not careful, Luke might find himself staring down the razor edge of the creature's tongue. The sharp digestive body part was used as both an offensive and defensive mechanism and allowed the species to end lives with a single lashing. From the reports Luke had read, the alien would open its mouth making it look as though the astronaut had been severed in half. It would then proceed to flare its fangs and uncoil its knife-like tongue to strike at the person in front of it. The thought of being stabbed through the brain was enough to send a chill down Luke's spine. He slowed his pace and started to tread with increased caution.

Illuminated by the hallway lights, Luke was still intrigued by the alien's characteristics. Its impersonation had no flaws. It would be impossible to distinguish it from other teammates purely based on looks. The material of its spacesuit seemed to be of prime quality and spot-less as if it was being worn for the very first time. The backpack was strapped securely and in pristine condition.

From the marked checkpoints indicated on the dark blue walls reminding the teammates of where they were on the ship, Luke realized that they had passed the Medbay and were coming down from the Upper Engine. Anyone could tell that the engine was in distressing shape and needed repairs. The thing rumbled up and down, hissing, creaking, and sparking as it did. Ignoring it, Luke focused back on Red as they crossed the intersection between the security room and the reactor room that powered the ship. Passing through, they came to the Lower Engine which was in no better state. The alien turned the corner and disappeared. Luke struggled to keep his inner engineer from driving him to fix the stressed and weakened engines. He barely suppressed the feeling brought on by his years of training and maintenance work and turned his attention back to following the alien.

Luke caught a glance of Red making a right entering the room of the ship that consisted of the electrical components and critical wiring where it vanished from sight. Luke moved to the entrance of the room and listened intently. The consistent clang of Red's footfalls against the metal floor abruptly stopped. Luke took a deep breath and followed Red into the room.

Electrical was empty. It was just the two of them. Luke had to avoid tripping over the thick wires that slithered along the floor as he trailed behind. Red strolled over to the end of the room and fumbled with some mechanics but was otherwise stationary. Luke took this as his chance to converse with the alien.

His heart pounding in his chest, he cleared his throat. "Ahem…"

At the sound Red swiftly turned around. The alien glared at Luke through the visor and seemed like he was just about to put a hole through his head. Before it could, Luke shot up his hands up in a surrender gesture, his heart dropping into his feet. Expecting this moment to be his last, Luke felt fear grip him and wrap tightly around his neck.

Unease filling Luke's entire being. He had planned to present his case confidently and boldly but couldn't force the words out through the sudden pressure of panic. When nothing happened and Luke realized he was still alive, the grip loosened. Relief flooded his system and he sucked in a deep breath. As if the alien sensed his apprehension, its head tilted to the right slightly appearing to be grinning on the inside, sensing the fear in Luke's soul. Could these creature smell fear even through layers of filtration?

Luke composed himself now knowing he had the aliens' attention. "There's something I need to discuss with you," he paused, breathed in, and continued, choosing his next words very carefully. "I know you are not human." Authority now rich in his voice he slowly put his hands down and searched for a reaction. The alien stared blankly back as if it hadn't understood what Luke had said. For a moment Luke thought that he had been stalking the wrong person through the corridors. Have I played this wrong? he wondered, instantly worried he'd said too much.

"What are you talking about?" Red replied, his voice masculine and coherent. Perfectly replicated human vocal cords vibrated to make sounds allowing communication. It was a marvel of genetics that a creature which had never previously communicated in this way could duplicate the process so flawlessly.

"Look," Luke said matter-of-factly. "There's no point trying to fool me. I know who you are, where you are from, and why you are on this ship." He paused to see if he could get a reaction. None. Not even a twitch.

"Are you assuming I'm one of those shape-shifting aliens HQ reported?" Red replied with a mix of humor and insult. "You must be out of your mind!" the suspected alien turned back to the wiring he had been working on. "Now, if you could stop bothering me, I need to get back to my tasks."

Luke watched as the other figure meticulously connected and reconnected wires, fingers flying the immaculate nature only a true engineer could possess. As Red did his job, Luke toyed with the idea of killing him first. The crewmate seemed like an easy first target. Luke's knife sat in the bottom pocket of his backpack, his fingers itching to hold it. All he needed to do was unzip it and eliminate this possible threat to his mission.

Before he could make up his mind another astronaut entered the room. Dressed in a light pink spacesuit, the crewmate blissfully walked past them greeting them with a high-pitched "Hello!" and breaking the icy silence. The new arrival went right to work beside Red, falling into the comfortable rhythm that only years of previous experience could bring. Another crewmate followed closely behind. This third one in a blue suit.

All spiteful thoughts vanished.

Luke backed out of the room keeping his eye on Red. If it wasn't him; then who is it? Luke pondered. There had to be another. Someone he could talk to and plan his scheme with.

Before Luke exited the room, he thought he saw Red looking back at him.