“Who the fuck is in my shuttle bay now?” Zey demanded over comms. Wodan answered immediately over the intercom - they had been watching closely via cameras from the moment these creatures came into range.

“Based on Supplementary Crewmember Jonsdottir’s current line of inquiry, it is possible that two of the creatures are named Kareet and Kerchak.”

“Creatures? What is that supposed to mean?” Zey snapped as she left her cabin clothed in her regular uniform trousers and a white cotton vest.

“These individuals do not match any of my biota records; I have now published lookalike physiological profiles on the intranet. Would you like me to read them out?”

“Shut up and track their positions - transmit them to our tablets. Don’t let them out of your sight.”

The Captain’s quarters were the closest to the stairwell down onto the operations deck, but Zey still found a gaggle of people had got to the airlock before her. The engineers were working pretty much round the clock, and Mallory had the Bridge, so she wasn’t surprised to see them. She [i]was[/i] surprised to find Tyreese Darnell exiting the conference room as she reached the armoury.

“What’s happening?” Darnell slurred.

“We have unexpected guests. Are you [i]drunk[/i]? Go upstairs, sober up and don’t let any passengers down here.” Zey barked, before striding into the armoury and grabbing a pistol. It was the only type of gun she had any experience with, but she figured it was better than nothing. Locking and loading it, she stuffed it into the holster attached to a plate carrier and hoisted that over her head and onto her body. She finished up by donning an anti-flash hood and gloves along with an oxygen mask. Zey usually erred on the side of caution, but there was no time to put a full fire retardant suit on now.

Vigdis had begun giving them some very strange intelligence over comms while she tooled up. Zey was listening intently when Darnell steamed into the armoury, followed by a stiff Danny Varen who already had a Benelli in his hands and a fresh, unburnt pair of beach shorts over his bandages.

“Are those terrorists back? I can help - this is my ship too, you know.” Darnell interjected. He eyed up some of the weapons but appeared hesitant. Zey didn’t have time for this shit.

“Fine. Stay behind Danny and stay quiet, let me do the talking. Understood?” With that, she headed out and linked up with Mallory, Dr Ibarra and Zhao Jiayin in the airlock. The first two were armed to the teeth; Zhao appeared to be equipped with nothing but one of her nighttime flip flops. Zey immediately knew from the look on the lead engineer's face that nothing the Captain could say would stop her from going in. One of Zhao’s own was in danger.

“Ok Vigdis, we’re coming in now. Tell your friends to cool it. Mallory, cycle the airlock.”