Chapter 5 : Problems in the brig

At first, Simon let himself be taken to the brig. He figured that showing willingness to cooperate was important… His species didn't play well with others after all. It'd help showing how different he was from the normal Terran they might have encountered in the past.

However, as he arrived in an office near the brig and a few of the aliens there started to search him for weapons… He did nothing until they tried to take Crys away from him. At that point, he started to lose his mind.

They had no right to separate them, he thought. And he'd never let anything happen to Crys ! Whether it was a consequence of their bond, Simon picking up on Crys' anxiousness or the idea that his only friend in this new life would be lost to him, the young man had no idea. In fact, he didn't think of anything at this point.

« NOOOO ! » He yelled. As the tall reptilian tried to restrain him (and found out how deceptively strong he truly was), alarms started blaring overhead and a voice came on the speakers. Overlaid on its speech, a Terran translation was also heard :

« Source of harmful gazes detected ! Sealing of the brig in progress ! »

The aliens started to panic as did Simon but for a different reason. He didn't notice how the skin of the reptilian sizzled slightly and how they cried in pain. The officer in charge of entering his data in the computer drew his weapon and aimed it at his would-be prisoner… Although he couldn't fire since his colleagues were in the line of fire, he ordered the Terran to stand down. Simon ignored him, only focused on the crystal laid on the counter. Once he had it in his hands, he calmed down and clutched it against his chest and muttered vehemently :

« My friend ! »

Ignoring everyone and every threat, the Terran put his back against the wall and glared at everyone, still his hand clenched around the crystal near his heart.

The alarm notified everyone that the source of the gas had disappeared. The aliens hesitated… They realized where it came from and probably why… On the other hand, they didn't know how to react to this, or even how the Terran could do such a thing.

The captain arrived soon after. Just as he entered the room, he asked for a report on the situation. When it was done, the man-octopus put two tentacles together before separating them with a pop. After a few seconds he repeated :

« His friend ? » Another pause, then : « Computer, scan for lifesigns from the crystal. »

« Scanning… Lifesigns detected. The lifeform seems to be sentient. »

The alien made the same motion of putting his tentacles together and making a sound a few times. If Simon wasn't so focused on his own fear at the moment, he would have realized that it was actually a motion for someone thinking in the alien's species. As things were, he forgot all about playing nice with these people and was just starting to see them as enemies… He was thinking of starting a fight, even with Crys' voice in his mind asking him not to. At least, until the captain spoke again :

« Alright ! Calm down, Terran ! We won't separate the two of you. Can your friend talk ? »

Hearing this, Simon's mind cleared up a bit and he tilted his head to the side, listening to his bond-mate.

« He can… If you give him a translator. »

The humanoid octopus made a gesture of assent to one of his subordinate who put a small blue box on the desk. Following Crys' instructions but still keeping a wary glance at everyone around the room, Simon put Crys back on the desk. When this was done, the captain spoke up again :

« Now, that that's out of the way, mind telling me how you're producing poisonous gazes ? »

« Poisonous gazes ? » Simon parroted, without an idea of what the man (squid or whatever the name of his species was) was saying. He had blanked out the last few seconds, so totally panicked he was that he didn't pay much attention to anything around him. So when the man (or woman… if his species had any gender) talked to him about the poison he exuded, Simon was totally lost.

The change in him was still new, and although he had started to notice it, he still didn't know how deeply it impacted him. The gas attack was something instinctual, and not something he consciously controlled. So, he didn't even notice.

It took a few seconds for everyone to eye each other. Simon looked on, confused while the other were wary of him. It was Crys who, surprising everyone, hi-jacked the translator's technology to explain the situation in the synthetic voice of the device :

« Simon Schneider and I have bonded on a molecular level. Although my atavistic knowledge is still lacking, I know that the bond between our organic and mineral lifeforms have changed us fundamentally. He and I do not know as to the extent of the change and we are still discovering it. I am assuming that the 'gas attack' you and your artificial intelligence are referring to is the release of airborne chemical agents from Simon's pores a little earlier… I'm not too sure but I think they are similar, if not identical, to the gazes we've encountered and Simon absorbed from the moon he crashed on… »

An almost deafening silence followed his rather lengthy speech. Whether it was Simon, surprised to hear Crys' voice, or the unaltered narration of their recent ordeal… Or the Captain, who was speechless by his 'translator' which suddenly started speaking as if by itself and talking about a strange story… or the ship's Artificial Intelligence and the rest of the crew present… Nobody knew how to react to the current situation.

So, undeterred and feeling almost encouraged, Crys continued to 'speak' :

« Simon and I do not know much about the nature of our bond or how it affects us… » A small pause, before he resumed : « Instinctually, we can gather a few things… For example, I think that I can manipulate and rearrange technology. Although that's putting it much too simply… The fact is that I have some form of magnetokinesis and technokinesis, while I assume Simon can absorb and harness a number of energy forms… »

If the captain were a Terran, he'd be raising eyebrows and putting his guards up against Simon and his crystal 'friend'. In fact, some part of him doubted if it was truly the crystal talking… or if it was the Terran playing a trick on him and his ship ! Although it might have detected sentient life from the crystal, it was Simon who asked for a translator ! For all he knew, the Terran was the one using the translator somehow… For what ? Well…

Plant seeds of doubt and chaos. Keep himself alive. Make himself appear honest… He was about to think 'harmless' but the capabilities listed and explained by the so-called crystal lifeform were far from it !

Captain Birftratt was very close to believe in his translator's words completely before he realized these facts… He didn't know if the Terran was trying to deceive or… In fact, there was no 'or' ! From reports and his own encounter a couple of decades ago, Terrans were deceitful and fully capable of such things. The Captain shouldn't assume anything when it came to them…

« So… » He started to speak : «… Since he can't control it, I shouldn't punish for almost melting my officers down. Is that what you're saying ? »

[Author note : If you're interested in my stories, please check out my Patre*n : https://www.patr*on.com/user?u=66371596

KoSP : Chapter 7's just been posted

The Squib who became Iron Lad... In DC : I'll post chapter 8 tomorrow.

Have a good day/night, guys !]