“But it may be Alter,” Ben insisted. “An earlier version, before⁠—“

  “As far as we know, there is no before version,” Matt said. “And even if there was a before, we can’t trust that before is really before.”

  Their conversation sounded like gibberish to me, and judging by Tyler and Ally’s faces, it sounded the same to them. Meg and Leo were kind of caught in the middle, giving me a sense that they had no idea how to react to the discovery. Only that they had knowledge of the species, and it definitely wasn’t all sunshine and roses.

  “What’s an Aleal?” I asked, interrupting another back-and-forth between Matt and Ben.

  “An alien race,” Matt answered. “That thing you see inside the capsule isn’t an individual organism, even though it looks like one. It’s a colony of self-sustaining single-celled organisms with a shared intellect and memory.”

  “That’s so cool,” Tyler said.

  “Not as cool as you might think,” Matt continued. “The Aleal aren’t intelligent life forms.”

  “Yes, they are,” Ben countered.

  “Come on,” Matt complained. “You know as well as I do, the Aleal aren’t spacefaring, and they don’t have an intellect of their own. Not in the traditional sense. They gain intelligence, personality, and memory by absorbing it from others.”

  “That still sounds pretty cool,” Tyler insisted.

  “They have to devour the creature in the process. I’ve seen the end result, it’s disgusting.”

  “It’s not their fault,” Ben said. “That’s how they’re designed.”

  “It’s not influenza’s fault it’s designed the way it is either,” Matt argued. “That doesn’t mean anyone wants it around.”

  “I’m really confused,” Alyssa said.

  “Me, too,” I agreed.

  “It’s too long a story to get into now. The point is, Aleal are dangerous and unpredictable. They can mimic anyone they absorb, and there’s no way to know their true motivations.”

  “I take it Alter was an Aleal?” I guessed. “And she broke your heart, Captain?”

  “Aleal don’t have genders,” Meg said. “They are whatever they’re mimicking. But what you see in the scan is what we understand to be a protective state outside of their natural environment.”

  “We all nearly died because of an Aleal,” Matt said. “I’m not too eager to risk that happening again. That one’s in hibernation. It won’t know the difference if we jettison it from the ship.”

  “The capsule came from Demitrus,” Ben said. “Alter may have severed part of herself to preserve a copy, and then left it on Head Case for someone to find.”

  “One, that would have been long before it ever knew you existed,” Matt argued. “Two, you don’t know how or why it was left here. Three, even if it is a copy of Alter, Alter was very different back then. You’re letting your sentimentality get the best of you, Ben. And this is the absolute worst time for that. You said it’s my ball, right? We all know we need to punt it out an airlock.”

  Ben glared at Matt but didn’t continue arguing. He didn’t seem to be able to bring himself to verbally agree with Matt’s suggestion.

  “How can that thing be dangerous?” I asked, looking at the scan. “It’s so little.”

  “It seems harmless enough until it’s attached to your face, sucking your brains out through your nose,” Leo said.

  “Ewww, seriously?” Ally said.

  “It’s worse than that,” Matt confirmed. “At least for a human-sized colony.” He looked at Ben again. “I’m taking it back to the hangar bay and getting rid of it.”

  Defeated, Ben nodded.

  “It’s just too risky,” Matt added, laying his hand on Ben’s shoulder. “I'm sorry.”

  Ben nodded again. It was obvious Matt hated hurting his friend this way, but what choice did he have? We couldn’t afford a brain-eating alien running amok on the ship.

  “Uh, guys?” Tyler said, getting our attention. He pointed at the capsule, which had started emitting mist from its opening seals. “I think it’s hatching.”

  The capsule halves split open, the ice surrounding the chamber evaporating more quickly and bathing the immediate area in fog. Several tendrils writhed languidly upward through the hazy air, their delicate tips curling as if tasting the atmosphere. Beside me, Matt reached for one of the nearby cabinets, searching for something to use as a weapon. Or at least a vessel to contain the creature.

  Ben had stiffened, staring at the emerging Aleal. If push came to shove, would he exhaust himself to use chaos energy against the diminutive threat? In the back of my mind, I hoped this tiny alien wasn’t what Matt claimed. It seemed so helpless, so harmless, though Shaq had already proven size didn’t matter when it came to how deadly a creature could be.

  The Aleal’s body appeared over the top of the capsule, pulled up by its tendrils, which continued writhing in the air above it. The melting ice haze had dissipated, leaving the little squiddy in full view. It turned slowly as if taking us in without any outward sign of eyes, ears, or mouth. What did it use to sense and understand the world?

  Matt retrieved a scalpel from the cabinet, turning it on the Aleal.

  “Matt, wait!” Ben cried.

  Too late. Matt lunged at the alien, which slipped aside before wrapping its tentacles around his throat and beginning to pull itself toward his face. Matt managed to get his hand up before the Aleal reached his nose, blocking its access to his nasal cavity. It reacted by dragging a barbed tentacle across his face, drawing blood.

  Ally cried out in terror. Ben stared in tense shock. Brow furrowed, it seemed as though he wanted to access chaos energy but couldn’t get his mind in the right state to succeed. Meanwhile, the Aleal released itself from Matt as he tried to stab it with the scalpel, propelling itself from him to Tyler, tendrils quickly carrying it up his arm toward his face.

  “Help!” Tyler cried, trying to shake it off before attempting to knock it off with his free hand. It stretched out a tentacle, and Tyler cried out in pain as the Aleal caught his wrist, its barbs digging painfully into his skin.

  “Stop it!” I shouted without thinking. “We’re not your enemies. We aren’t going to hurt you.”

  I didn’t expect much to come of my pathetic orders. Incredibly the alien hesitated, its body tilting toward me before it seemed to relax. Its tendril fell away from Tyler’s wrist. The tendrils on his arm followed. Still reacting rather than thinking, I put my hand out toward the Aleal. It gathered itself and jumped the gap, landing smoothly in my palm. It hunkered down there, wrapping its tendrils back around itself.

  “Matt, are you okay?” Meg asked.

  He had a long laceration spilling blood down his cheek. It dripped off his chin to his shirt, but it was nothing a few stitches wouldn’t fix. He glared at the Aleal in my hand. “I’ll be fine. Noah, we have to⁠—“

  “No,” I replied, cupping my other hand over the creature. “I just promised it we wouldn’t hurt it.”

  “Noah,” Ben said. “Matt’s right. It’s too risky. It already attacked us.”

  “It probably heard you saying you wanted to toss it out of the airlock,” I replied. “Maybe that’s why it opened the capsule.”

  “How do you know it opened the capsule?” Meg asked.

  “I don’t. It’s just a guess. How do you know it didn’t? Anyway, it seems to me that Matt made the first move. What happened to not firing unless fired upon?”

  “You don’t understand,” Matt said.

  “You’re right, I don’t.”

  “We didn’t realize your rules were only applicable when it suited you,” Alyssa said, jumping to my defense. “The way I see it, we’re renting the ship from you. So this is our call. Or does that also only apply when you’re otherwise indifferent?”

  Matt’s jaw clenched in frustration. Ben laughed softly. “She’s got you there,” he said.

  “This is a mistake,” Matt said. “Noah, please listen to reason, before you get us all killed.”

  I lifted my hand away, revealing the terrified alien colony beneath. “I can’t believe you’re frightened of this. My vote’s to let it stay.”

  “Mine too,” Ally said. “Tee?”

  His wrist and throat both sported bleeding cuts, though they looked relatively superficial. “It seems pretty dangerous to me,” he said. “That might be something we can use against the Warden, if or when the time comes. It seems to like Noah-san. I think we should keep it.”

  Matt exhaled a harsh breath, shaking his head. “Fine. Because you obviously know better than the people who have been through this before. This is the part where I would normally storm down to sickbay and have the autodoc stitch me up. Since we’re already in sickbay, maybe the rest of you can leave, and take that thing with you.” His angry eyes turned my way. “Just remember, Noah. An Aleal isn’t a pet.”

  “I get it,” I replied.

  “No, you really don’t. But I hope you do before it’s too late.”

  He turned his back on me. We slowly filed out of sick bay, leaving him to fix his face.

  “Don’t worry about Matt,” Ben said. “I’ll circle back and talk to him. He’ll be fine. He doesn’t hold grudges.”

  “Do you think I’m doing the right thing?” I asked.

  “You have a good, compassionate heart, Noah. Keep following that, and at least you’ll know you were always true to yourself, right or wrong.”

  The answer made it clear that despite his misgivings about air-locking the Aleal, he still believed it to be the most prudent course of action. He also clearly understood why I couldn’t agree to the same.

  I didn’t mind. I believed in myself, and I knew what my parents would think of my decision.

  That would have to be good enough.

  CHAPTER 39

  The Aleal rode my palm back to my quarters without complaint. Alyssa and Tyler crowded close on either side, their shared glances betraying emotions oscillating between curiosity and apprehension. My courage began failing with every step. Maybe I'd gone too far. Matt clearly worried that this tiny organism was a huge risk. His experience with the species dwarfed mine. But even if justified, ruthlessly flushing the Aleal into compressed space where it would be obliterated seemed cruel.

  I cupped my free hand over the Aleal as the door to my quarters slid open. Ally came in with us, and Tyler locked it immediately behind us to ensure the little alien couldn’t escape. I crossed to our shared desk in the corner, where Tyler had left a food container. “You can rest in here for now,” I said, gently tipping the alien toward its new nest. It seemed reluctant to leave my hand, still clinging to me like a frightened child.

  “Looks like you’re its safe place,” Alyssa said.

  “You can’t ride around in my hand forever,” I said gently to the Aleal. “I need it back. You’re safe here.”

  It stretched a tendril out to the container, feeling the edge and checking it for signs of danger before gripping on and launching itself into the enclosed space, where it cowered on the bottom. Wondering if it would prefer somewhere to hide more fully, I grabbed a few tissues from a box on the desk and stuffed them in the corners, laying a couple on top of the alien. It reacted positively, tendrils grabbing the paper and pulling it around itself until it was nearly invisible.

  “That’s right,” I said. “There you go.” Once secured, I turned my worried eyes on my companions.

  "Are you having second thoughts?" Alyssa asked, reading my concern.

  "Yeah, kind of," I admitted, keeping my voice low so it wouldn’t startle the Aleal. "Not because I don't want it here. But...what if Matt's right? What if I'm putting everyone in danger by letting my heart overrule my head?"

  "Does your heart actually believe this little jellybean means us harm?" Tyler scoffed.

  “Asks the guy with the ring of dried blood around his wrist,” I answered.

  “Which should only serve to emphasize my point. I’m not holding it against the little booger. It’s obviously scared.”

  "It's not about what I believe. It attacked Matt pretty viciously for something so small."

  "Only because Matt threatened it first,” Ally defended. “From the Aleal’s perspective, a giant creature lunged at it with a weapon."

  “Again, it was scared,” Tyler insisted. His defense of the creature didn’t surprise me. Ben thought I had a kind heart, but Tyler had the softest heart of us all, though he’d never outwardly admit it.

  “Matt knows these things way better than any of us,” I argued, seeking to justify my decision. “If there’s any risk, shouldn’t we play it safe?"

  We fell into an uneasy silence. We had no idea what we were dealing with here, only that it seemed innocent and harmless. Matt was unequivocally convinced otherwise. I peered into the makeshift nest. The tissue wad shuddered as the Aleal shivered out of sight.

  “Nice job, man. Now it’s even more terrified," Tyler said. “I think maybe it senses our feelings toward it.”

  "We haven't exactly made it feel welcome." Ally gently pushed my shoulder. “It likes you the best. Say something reassuring."

  I leaned close without crowding its sanctuary. “I promise Tyler, Alyssa and I won't let anyone hurt you. I know Matt seems scary, but his bark is worse than his bite. Well, usually." I forced an awkward laugh. "You're among friends here as long as you promise not to...you know...eat our brains or anything."

  Its trembling eased marginally in response to my lame apology. A single tendril unfurled, curling almost in question. Taking that as a positive sign, I smiled encouragement and slowly extended a hand. The appendage brushed my fingertips, wrapping loosely around my thumb. A sensation similar to pins and needles tingled up my arm.

  "Is it shocking you?" Alyssa asked nervously.

  I grinned wider. ”More like it tickles. I think everything’s okay now.”

  I glanced around the room, considering options to make the Aleal more comfortable. My eyes landed on an extra blanket I had cast off the bed because it left me too hot. Grabbing it from the floor between the bed and Tyler’s mat, I shoved it into the corner next to the desk, bunching it so that it had plenty of folds and wrinkles for the Aleal to hide in. “Let’s give this a try instead,” I said to it. “You’ll have a bit more space here, and more freedom to move around. And it’ll keep you warm.”

  The alien pushed the tissues aside and climbed out onto my offered hand. Before I could lower it toward the blanket, it sprang away from me, landing and quickly vanishing into the blanket’s wrinkles.

  Alyssa's face softened, residual doubt fading behind a smile. “Aww, it seems much happier now! We should give it a name."

  I studied our diminutive guest. “I think it’s too soon to give it a name. We need to see more of its personality.”

  “Maybe it already has a name,” Tyler replied. “It seems to understand English. I wonder if it can talk?”

  “I think it would have spoken already if it could,” I countered.

  “I didn’t see a mouth anywhere,” Alyssa agreed.

  “Or ears, or a nose, or eyes,” Tyler added. “But it still manages to locate itself. And lack of a mouth doesn’t mean it can’t make sound. Crickets, anyone?”

  “I still think it would have by now if it could,” I repeated.

  Tyler shrugged. “Maybe. I’m just going to call it Squidworth until you come up with something better.”

  “I was thinking of Alfonse,” Alyssa said. “Alfonse the Aleal.”

  “That’s terrible,” Tyler said.

  “Seconded,” I agreed. “Not that Squidworth is any better.”

  “Admiral Ackbar?” Tyler offered.

  “He’s more like a fish,” Ally said.

  “Squidoo, Squiddie, Squid game,” Tyler rapid-fired.

  “That’s like saying you should be named Mandoo, or Humany or something,” I countered. “Matt was right about that much. It’s not a pet. But hopefully a friend.”

  “Fine, we can drop the name thing for now,” Tyler said. “I’m too hungry to come up with anything good, anyway. Anyone else up for some grub?”

  Alyssa's stomach growled loudly before she could respond, sparking soft laughter.

  "I could eat," I admitted.

  Several of the Aleal's appendages perked up at the mention of food. It abandoned the sanctuary of its blanket, climbing to the surface of the desk.

  "Well, you’re definitely hungry,” I said. Uncertainty quickly replaced my flash of good humor. “But what do you even eat?”

  Its body tilted toward me, tendrils wavering expectantly.

  “I don’t think Asshole has a receipt for brains in its databanks,” Tyler said. We exchanged uneasy glances. I wasn’t thrilled by the notion of what it might take to satisfy our guest’s appetite. For all we knew, nothing but living brain tissue might suit.

  The thought sparked an idea. "Hang tight, I’ll be right back,” I told the others.

  “You’re going to leave us alone with it?” Alyssa asked.

  “It’s obviously hungry. I doubt it’s waiting for me to leave before eating your brains.” I looked at the Aleal. “Right, bud?”

  It vanished back into the blanket, suggesting it would stay out of sight until I returned.

  “If it did want to eat someone’s brain, I think yours is the best choice,” Tyler said.

  “Shut up,” Ally replied with an amused glare.

  “I’ll be right back,” I repeated before practically sprinting from the room. A couple of minutes later I exited the elevator on Deck Five, gaping at the sprawling masterpiece of webbing completely enshrouding the forward bulkhead. There was no sign of Ixy within the strands.

  "Ixy?" My query echoed unanswered through the gloom. “Are you here? I need your help.” I sensed Ixy's dark bulk descending behind me with predatory silence, accompanied by an inquisitive trill. I flinched despite expecting her amused attempt to scare me witless. “Damn it, Ixy! Even when I’m expecting it, you still get me to jump.”

  She chittered in amusement. “Greetingsss Noahsss.” One deadly limb reached past my shoulder, delicately caressing crystalline strands. “Likesss web?”