Odyssey 2

Warning!

This is a continuation of the story told in Odyssey 1. If you've yet to read it, I'd advise doing so to avoid confusion. Thanks for taking the time!

II

The lights flickered on when they dropped from warp. Mouse jumped from her seat. She rushed to the lower decks with a smile, eager for what this system had in store. She reached navigation, and activated the display.
Her eyes lit up, as they often did during surveys. It didn't matter what she found, she'd be filled with wonder all the same. The system had three planets, all circling a white dwarf star.
Something else caught her attention. It was massive, but not dense enough to be a planet. She felt it could be an asteroid or even a small moon.
This wouldn't be all that interesting on its own. This thing, whatever it was, emitted a familiar signal, a human signal. She tried and failed to pick it up, to receive whatever this anomaly was transmitting. Mouse flinched at the sound of the door sliding open.
Argus stepped in, then stopped when she noticed the display. "What is that?"
Mouse shook her head, "No idea. I can't pick up the signal."
"Do you have eyes on it?" Argus asked.
Mouse shook her head and pulled up a live feed from outside. Hey eyes went wide. "What is that?"
She saw endless weaves of white, fleshy roots nestled in a grayish cloud of gas. The structure looked almost like a massive hourglass, with roots and brambles branching from a gnarled, twisted thicket at the center.
Argus pressed a finger against the display and read through the data. "It's not that you can't pick up the signal, that thing is causing interference. Give me a sec." After a few moments of fiddling, her eyes narrowed. "Woah, wait. Not interference at all. Just really old tech."
"Is that a nebula?" Mouse asked.
Argus scoffed, "You're worried about the cloud? It's just water vapor. Look closer at the center of the roots."
Mouse saw a faint shimmer, a glint of metal as the white dwarf cast its light on the object. "A ship?"
"Yes, caught inside the structure. Based on how it looks. That ship is the point of origin."
"How does a plant this big survive in space?" Mouse asked.
Argus smiled, "No one said it's alive, or that it's a plant. We need to get closer to find that out."
"Is that an invitation or a warning?"
"What do you think? I know who I'm talking to. I couldn't care less about the giant weed. I'm more concerned about the signal. That ship is flying colors."
Mouse read the words that scrolled on the display. "The UEN Azrael."

Argus nodded. "An earth ship."
Oracle and Roadrunner rushed through the door within seconds of being told. While eager, Roadrunner looked concerned. Throughout the discussion on how to proceed, he stared at the display in silence.
Mouse spoke the moment she noticed, "Jordan?"
He looked up, tilting his head at the sound of his real name. "Yes?"
"Something on your mind?" Mouse replied.
"Azrael, what does it mean?"
Oracle spoke then, eager to answer, "It's a religious figure from earth. We don't know much, but possibly one of many gods or spirits representing death and destruction."
Roadrunner looked up at Mouse and laughed. "You want to muck about on a ship named after an ancient death spirit?"
"Why does it matter what its name is?" Mouse said, crossing her arms.
"Well, I'm not as educated as you guys, but I do have some military service under my belt. Safeharbor's navy is based on earth's. Naming conventions are a tradition practically written in stone." He switched the display to the external camera. "Besides that, this is quite a ways away. You can see the ship clearly. That means it's one of the big boys, at least a cruiser. Earth didn't make many outside of the arks."
Mouse shrugged. "And?"
"Earth ships were named after heroes and other famous figures, fictional, or otherwise. They were never named after religious figures as a rule. They didn't want to be accused of favoritism, or exclusion."
"So it's a super special earth ship?" Oracle asked
Roadrunner chuckled before answering, "More than that. I think it's one of The Four Horsemen."
Argus interrupted, holding out her hand and shaking her head, "The Horsemen are mentioned in the archive once, and as a footnote. No need to be so cautious."
Roadrunner smiled, "With all that's missing from the archives, I disagree. This is the perfect reason to be cautious."
"What are The Horsemen?" Mouse asked.
Argus thought a moment before answering, breaking eye contact to recall the information. "Earth produced four classes of scientific cruisers. They were mainly for R&D, designed to handle projects too dangerous to be studied close to home."
Roadrunner nodded and sighed, "Don't get me wrong. We're going in. We just need to be careful. The horsemen were sent into deep space for a reason. Oracle and Argus can work on studying the roots while you and I search the ship."
"Is that safe?" Mouse asked. "How's your shoulder?"
"Doesnt even hurt. I'm good. I doubt anyone would be alive, but I'd advise going in armed." Roadrunner turned from the group and stepped out of the room, "You never know, right?"

---

When their shuttle formed a seal against the hull of The Azrael, Mouse and Roadrunner pressed a button on their suits. The button activated electromagnets in their boots, gluing them down to the floor despite the lack of gravity.
Mouse placed a breaching sensor against the ship's door. She listened as a metallic bang rang out and a small probe shot through the hull. Numbers scrolled across a screen on the device, a series of pressure readings and test results of the air on the other side of the door.
Mouse stood up, "Still pressurized and the air is breathable."
"Helmets stay on. Let's not risk it," Roadrunner replied.
Mouse nodded and opened the door. The inside was dark, and they hesitated before stepping inside.
"Hey," Mouse began, waiting for his response before continuing.
"Yeah?"
"You remember the first rule of exploring earth vessels, Yes?"
Roadrunner shook his head. "Enlighten me."
The moment he spoke, the lights turned on, buzzing and occasionally flashing as they illuminated the corridor in front of them.
Mouse laughed, "Unless it's critical, we maintain radio silence. These walls have ears."
He raised his rifle and nodded, entering the hallway as he replied, "S.H. protocols. I understand."
The search was slow. They walked through every corridor as if on eggshells. It wasn't the silence that made it uncomfortable, it was the emptiness, the lack of character. Every wall was white and sterile despite its age.
Mouse couldn't imagine living on a ship that didn't feel lived in. Her own quarters were painted as she saw fit. Her artwork covered its walls. She had pictures of her father, mother, and sister on her lavatory mirror. The Azrael had nothing, as if it took to the void only moments before they arrived.
The first room they found looked like living quarters. Bunk beds lined the far sides of the room. Each bed was made with expert precision. Uniforms sat on the end of each bed, folded perfectly.
They searched the room in silence, digging through footlockers and shelves for any information they may hold. When they found nothing, they pressed on, discovering a common area with rows of food that rotted ages ago. Now all that remained was dust.
Mouse scanned the shelves until she found a group of canisters labeled "Honey." She grabbed them and stowed them in a sack at her side.
She turned away and saw Roadrunner staring, his face scrunched up in disgust. She shook her head and walked past him, leaving the room and pressing on.
They passed rows of aerial drones, dormant and well-preserved, as they hung from their racks. Mouse concluded that whatever happened here, it happened without a fight.
They reached a second barracks. Mouse felt her heart race. Like before, all the beds were made in immaculate fashion, except for one. In the far corner of the room, the remains of someone who died long ago rested on a cot.
Mouse pointed to the cot, and Roadrunner nodded in response, turning around to cover the door as she investigated further.
Mouse noticed the corpse was holding something in its skeletal hand. She straightened the fingers and a bloodstained, crumpled piece of paper fell to the floor.
It took her several moments to pick it up. She was afraid it would be a picture of the corpse's family or possibly a note written in their dying moments. She found neither.
When she uncrumpled the page, she cocked her head. The words were small, printed with numbers at the beginning of seemingly random paragraphs. The word "Revelation" marked the head of the page, the text beneath it formatted into two columns.
Mouse tried, but failed to remember seeing any other text from earth formatted in the same way. She read the text, and noticed several lines were marked, highlighted in various colors.
One in particular stood out to her. It was the only line highlighted in red, "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
She folded the page and slid it into a pouch on her suit. She felt a hand on her shoulder and it gave a light squeeze. She turned and Roadrunner stood above her, his eyes fixed to the doorway.
Mouse leaned forward to get a better look and saw the outline of shadows approaching.
She picked up her rifle and followed Roadrunner to the far side of the room. They walked on the balls of their feet to limit the noise as they pressed themselves to the wall.
Mouse spoke so soft, it was hard to hear even over the mic, "Argus. Someone's in the ship with us."
"What?" Argus said. "Can you get out? Are they hostile?"
"No," Mouse replied, her breath shaking. She never fired to kill before. "Can't confirm."
"I'll send a drone. But that's going to take a minute. Don't get caught."
Mouse moved to raise her rifle at the door, then stopped. Roadrunner looked over, likely wondering why. Mouse thought about what Argus said, and had an idea to get them support much quicker.
She spoke loudly and with purpose on impulse as soon as heavy footsteps neared the doorway, "Hope is the thing with feathers."
As soon as she said it, the ship reacted. An alarm sounded throughout the vessel, echoing down its halls with every blaring tone. She heard something in the walls, a clang and clatter from several locations throughout the ship.
Something came through the doorway. It was tall. Its body was thin. The creature wore skin of the darkest purple coupled with a row of red coated fangs. Its wild eyes peered at them. It raised its head and gave a violent screech.
Roadrunner fired, the magnetized rounds flying from the rifle. The bullets split the air, the only sound that could be heard. The bullets punched holes through its chest, leaving holes the size of Mouse's fist. Despite the damage, it still charged at them.
A second creature entered the room, and then a third. Mouse raised her rifle and fired. Hitting the first creature in the head. The body dropped, tripping the second as it charged behind.
Mouse heard another sound over all the shrieks, something that sounded like the flutter of wings. An aerial drone flew through the doorway followed by another.
They fired on the creatures, the flash and bang leaving a ringing in Mouse's ears even through the suit. Each round found its target, punching holes through their bodies until dropping them with a bullet to the head. When the creatures were down, the drones left the room, already tracking new targets somewhere unseen throughout the ship.
The sounds of shrieking and gunfire echoed through the halls, the entire fleet of aerial drones finally given a task to complete.
"Argus," Mouse said, speaking into the mic.
"What's going on?"
"I activated the ship's defense. Shouldn't be a problem from here on out," Mouse replied.
"What are these things?" Roadrunner asked, his eyes wide as he leaned over one of the bodies.
Now that Mouse was closer, it shocked her how human they appeared, despite their deformities. "Could this be the crew, or maybe what's left of them?"
Roadrunner shrugged. "I don't know."
Mouse shrugged and pointed to the doorway. "Let's keep moving. The way ahead should be clear, but keep your eyes up, and keep the talking to a minimum."
He nodded, and they proceeded deeper into the ship. As they pushed forward, they noticed the temperature dropping.
Mouse shivered staring at white, fleshy roots trailing across the walls of the hallway like vines. The roots writhed and pulsed, red sap flowing like blood from bite marks scattered along its length. Were these creatures feeding on the roots?
After a time, they reached a door that wouldn't open automatically. The door panel indicated an emergency lockdown was in effect. Mouse pulled out the breaching sensor, placed it against the door, and pressed the button. A loud bang rang out, and the results scrolled on the screen.
The room was in a hard vacuum. Mouse made sure Roadrunner read the screen before standing up. With their helmets still on, it wouldn't be a problem.
She reached for the door panel and managed to override the lockdown. She cracked the door open. Air rushed through, but to Mouse's surprise, it did not vent out. The room stabilized with the hall behind them.
Mouse opened the door fully, and stepped inside with her rifle raised. The room was dark, and freezing. A black hose floated near the ceiling and Ice coated the walls and floors.
The temperature, Mouse concluded, was likely due to a fuel leak. The hydrogen filled the room before it was sealed off.
A research pod sat on the back wall. What once was a cylindrical glass tube now rested on the floor in pieces. The strange flora, still very much alive, covered the wall. A massive trunk stretched from floor to ceiling, puncturing the hull and sealing the breach with its own body.
Mouse walked to a nearby computer, inserting a memory drive into the only port it would fit in. Argus, I'm connected to a computer."
"I see it. Nice work, I can touch every system on board from here. Are you om the bridge?" Argus replied.
"No, it looks like a lab. Pull everything you can. You'll have time. I don't think anyone is gonna pull the drive out. We're heading home." Mouse stood up and noticed Roadrunner staring at the writhing mass.
She was about to speak when he stepped forward, his attention drawn to a blank space on the wall near the pod. He wiped away the ice to reveal a plaque with words written in gold, "Pale Horse."