Episode 9.1 - Poisoing Attack

Poison? Who could it be meant for?

I just sit on the chair and watch Gasard as he goes about his business. I'd like to help, but for now, all I can do is sit here and watch him.

I wonder if I'll ever be able to really help him.

***

After Mak leaves the room, Gasard hands me back the bracelet. It suddenly dawns on me that once he's done, I'll have to go back to prison. A thought that makes me uneasy.

Gasard walks to a wall. Just like I saw in Mak's room, a part of it disappears as he enters something into the control panel, and a compartment with dishes and glasses opens. He takes one of the glasses and presses a few buttons on the control panel again. What opens now resembles a refrigerator. It's a small compartment with some fruits inside, next to it is a recess that only fits a glass. Now I see what it's for.

Gasard places the glass inside, which immediately fills with clear water. There's a small water source in the Death Zone, but it looks a bit different.

Curiously, I follow Gasard with my eyes as he takes the water glass to a table and examines it. I step closer to him, my gaze curious over his shoulder.

"Janine," he addresses me. "Would you please sit down? You're just disturbing at the moment."

I intend to comply with his request, but as I start to move, he suddenly jumps up. Instantly, I take a step back in surprise.

Curiously, my gaze wanders to his workspace, then to his pale face, shocked.

His gaze is fixed on the glass. Is the poison in there?, I wonder.

"What's wrong?" I inquire. My hand rests on his shoulder, my gaze concerned.

The redhead looks at me, a sigh escaping his lips. "At least my suspicion was correct." After Gasard calms down, he doesn't seem as startled anymore, rather relieved. "But Torsos won't be pleased."

I look at him curiously.

"Actually, no one will be pleased," Gasard says as he reaches into the air. Under his hand, a control panel is projected, this time with a kind of screen. There are lots of images and symbols on it that I don't understand, yet my gaze remains curious on it.

After a while, Mak enters the room again.

He's completely out of breath. His black hair is wet with sweat, a bead of sweat rolls down his cheek.

"Gasard, you could have equipped the station a bit better. With something that gets you through the corridors faster and more comfortably than on foot."

He slowly approaches the wall from which Gasard had retrieved the water glass earlier.

"The medical station is closer to the hangars than my room!" notes the redhead, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Like Gasard before, Mak takes one of the glasses and places it in the recess for water. He looks puzzled at the glass, which remains empty and doesn't fill itself like Gasard's did earlier.

He's about to say something, but the redhead interrupts him.

"By the way, I turned off the water," he says in a rather casual tone. But even Mak's reaction to this seems unaffected. He just shrugs and then goes to another compartment to retrieve a bottle.