Filth

It did not take long for us to land on Vastum. As the pressure around us decreased, the door started opening and the pilot exited from his piloting area. As we got down from the spaceship, we saw Liz walking towards us.

"Thank you for fetching Chef for me, Kyle. This way, Chef."

Gesturing for me to follow her, I was escorted from the spaceship landing pad to the nearby elevator. In front of me was Liz, and behind me was Kyle. We took this elevator down to one of the lowest floors.

When the doors of the elevators opened, we were greeted with gray colored walls.

"These walls used to be white, but with the increase of pollution on this planet, the filters can no longer keep up with the particles in the air. So the walls are quite dusty. Don't worry though, the company has hired a couple of robot cleaners to constantly clean the whole area. They make a round every 2 hours."

Stepping out of the elevator, we walked down the corridor and past a large number of doors before stopping at a door with a number plate B2-4869.

"This will be your residence for your stay at Vastum."

Opening the door, everyone except Kyle entered the room. At a gesture from Liz, Kyle nodded and left us alone.

"I don't think you would feel comfortable around him so we might meet him later. For the time being, I dismissed him. But you should try to get along with each other. Kyle is in charge of security on this planet, and is the most reliable person to keep you safe here. He will also be your guide during your time here, as I can't act too suspicious."

Explaining as she closed the door, Liz then pointed to the several more ...interesting areas of the room.

"Due to the high amount of dust here, when you are staying on the planet for a long time, it is necessary to wear a full body suit that also has an oxygen tank. I'll show you how to put it on later."

Liz pointed to the suit that was casually hanging on the right of us, near the door entrance. The oxygen tank was built into the suit, and there was an extendable cord that could connect to a hole in the wall. Probably to refill the tank.

"Other than that, you have a standard single bed, and a closet that has plastic coverings inside it so you can place your clothes in them and not have them get dusty. There's a miniature washer cum dryer near the door to the toilet, as well as a small little kitchenette which I think should hold enough equipment to make a quick snack. However, most workers in the company eat at the cafeteria, which Kyle will show you to later. The rooms here are also soundproof, since they are considered quite small and compact. "

Waiting for me to place my bags down on the bed, Liz then demonstrated how to suit up into the suit.

"The good thing is that due to this suit, you don't have to hide your face around the company."

After taking off the suit and giving it to me to try, Liz ensured I could properly put it on alone before she led me out of the room.

"Next we are going to the area where you will meet your colleagues while on Vastum. These people have goals that align with us, and I have personally made sure that they are trustworthy. Many of them have friends or family that have been directly impacted by the war, and know the real truth behind the poisonings to the Alliance."

[... Is it alright that she is telling us this? Out here in the open?]

Sazzy questioned as she swung her head around to check whether there were any eavesdroppers nearby. Seeing no one, she heaved a sigh of relief.

I guess that this area should be controlled by her people. This would be the simplest explanation why she didn't bother to hide anything.

We followed Liz past many doors and winding corridors into an open space where many people in full body suits were working with machines. As we walked in, most of them gave us a curious glance, but went straight back to work.

Walking past all these researchers, Liz took us to a counter at the corner of the lab. On the counter, there were several products, both familiar and unfamiliar.

One of the products was in a plastic wrapper, as if freshly taken off the production line where it was supposed to be shipped to Opes. The product right next to that was something I was all too familiar with.

"The poison."

Liz took up both of these products, one in each hand, and said with a solemn voice.

"This product is called pudding. It is a well known popular snack enjoyed by many people on many planets. On my other hand, is my best recreation of the poison that took the lives of many Alliance members, as well as that of a bright little girl from Aquarius. You know her brother, Ken. So you should know why I called you here."

Liz put down both products back onto the counter and pulled up her social media page.

"It's really easy to find, since I never bothered with hiding it. So you should know this if you even briefly searched me up before coming here. Many years ago, I met a little girl on Aquarius by the name of Barbie, as well as her little brother Ken. In fact, that was during the time where I was hopping from planet to planet, searching for what I wanted to do in life. It was also during the time when Barbie and Ken had discovered the hidden remains of the poisoned supplies that had been shipped over to Aquarius more than 120 years ago during the war. During that time, I had to attend the funeral of a child whose age was not too far from mine. At the funeral, Barbie's parents had given me a bottle of that poison, a part of a promise to keep it safe and away from others."

Liz ran her finger on the side of the container holding the poison.

"After I had left Aquarius with that bottle, I had kept it with me wherever I went. Fast forward many years and I entered into this company, as a food researcher. Just to meet the same substance again running on the conveyor belts being shipped out to trillions of people in an edible form."

Glancing down at the bottle Liz was squeezing in her hands, I could see her white knuckles and the rage and grief she was holding back.

"The production of pudding is slightly different from the production of its poisonous form. During its production, an extra ingredient is added into the pudding to neutralize its poison. Me and the other's here at Vastum have been trying, behind the company's back, to find a way to neutralize the poison once it has been made. But for so many years, we have not managed to succeed. I would like to ask you a favor, Chef, to find out how to destroy the poison once and for all. I haven't visited Barbie's family in so long. I promised myself that when I go back to Aquarius to visit them, I would bring back the method to destroy that poison with me."

Giving out a tired sigh at the end of her speech, Liz then fiddled with her personal terminal and sent me a file.

"This is all the information we have managed to gather after such a long period of testing. I hope it will be of help to you. When I saw you coming up with so many new dishes every stream, I had hoped that if you were to join us, we would be a step closer to our goal. Thank you for accepting my favor."

Giving a sad smile, Liz then bowed her head to show me her sincerity, before we moved on from the counter.

"That counter will be your own personal workplace from today onwards. If you have anything to ask, feel free to approach any of the researchers in this room. They all have their own personal reasons for trying to find a way to destroy that poison, but regardless we all share a common goal. You can trust them to give their all into helping you."

Moving through another door, we entered another gray space. Waiting for us there was Kyle, silent and expressionless as usual, but this time he was not smoking a cigarette but was fiddling with his personal terminal.

Noticing us approaching, he closed his personal terminal and straightened his back.

"I'm going to have to leave for now. I'm technically not supposed to be here for too long since I have a more hands-off position in the company. Nevertheless, if you have any issues that you think I can help with, please feel free to message me. I promise I'll try to answer as fast as I can."

Leaving me with Kyle, Liz then left us and entered a nearby elevator.

Once she left, Kyle finally opened his golden mouth to speak one word.

"Come."

With that, he started off down another set of doors, leaving me to keep up with him.

[...I don't like him. Not at all.]