On the bridge

You could cut the tension with a knife.

Bahram and Naka were staring at each other.

The other crewmembers were pretending not to take notice, but after the yelling match between the two of them, it was hard not to sneak a glance.

Naka never yelled, neither did Captain Hugh. Bahram had a hot temper but usually kept it in check. Not this time.

He was the first to speak.

"We can't just do nothing!"

"That's not what I said, at all," replied Naka.

She had never seen him so upset. Part of her wanted to blame his alien upbringing for the fact that he had never learned how to shut up. She crushed that part pretty hard. Now was not the time.

"So what, we wait? That's your professional opinion?"

"You have no right to say that!"

"We can't just wait until the Captain wakes up!"

"Then what?"

"If he never does..." He stopped, overwhelmed, although he was hiding it well.

"We'll find someone who can help back on Earth," said Naka.

"And if he dies before we reach Earth?"

Bahram had never been one for tact when angry. As Communication Officer, he knew protocols for almost every new species they encountered or could figure it out pretty quickly. When faced with humans, however, it seems that his prefered approach was to go head-on.

"Barham, the captain isn't going to die."

In the zoology lab

The plan was simple, Hugh would distract whoever would come to feed them, and Lula would climb out of the enclosure. There were several possible opening points. Lula had dutifully reported on the probability of each one opening.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

How Hugh would distract, their feeder was going to be improvised. Hugh had minimal experience as a mouse. What felt like hours had passed already, and Hugh was getting better at walking on all fours. It was humiliating, to say the least, but Lula had confirmed that this was the quickest way to move.

Lula's experience both as a mouse and as an ethologist had been invaluable. Hugh would definitively recommend her for promotion once all this was over. She had studied animals behaviour, starting with fruit flies and mice, and thankfully she could still remember her training.

Hugh was running laps around the enclosure. He was trying to get that movement to be muscle memory when the plan was to come into action.

They heard a noise, a door opening.

A flood of light blinded them for a second, and when they saw the largest human Hugh had ever seen. He didn't see the human as much as he felt it move the air in the room. It was a strange feeling. From the sensors in his whiskers, he could feel the difference in airflow in the room. He could perceive movement much better, and a part of his mouse brain was telling him to run away!

He breathed deeply to calm himself. This was the time to act.

"Are you ready, Lula?"

"Yes, captain."

"Lula. Thank you, it's been an honour."

"Are we going to die, sir?"

Lula was staring at the man who was moving around the lab, far from them for now. She had a look of determination on her face.

"Wait, what? No. I just mean to say, you are a very competent person, and I see a bright future for you abord the Trezence."

"Thank you, captain. It's also been an honour."

The man was approaching the enclosure, a blurry shape getting clearer. He was getting closer and closer until finally, his hand was in focus.

"Wait for my signal Lula, and then run for your life!"

The enclosure shook as the man was fumbling with the lower right opening. They heard a booming sound, the man's voice, Hugh realised.

"Hello, you two! Ready for your dinner?"

There it was, the chance they had been waiting for. The man put his hand in the enclosure, and Hugh ran toward it. Without a second thought, he bit down on the fleshy part between two fingers.

The man cursed and shook his hand. But Hugh was not letting go. He could taste blood as his sharp mouse teeth sunk deeper in the flesh.

The man quickly took his hand out of the enclosure, and Hugh gripped on for dear life.

He took his teeth out and yelled.

"Go! Lula, go!"

Lula jumped from the enclosure onto the lab's table and climbed down to the floor. She ran away as fast as she could. Hugh jumped from the man's hand and fell gracelessly on the ground. The hit almost knocked him out, but he regained his senses and ran wildly.

"Captain! Over there!"

Lula was in the corner of the room, exposed.

"Lula, I told you to hide!"

"I can't find a place to hide. I'm sorry, captain."

They heard the man's voice again.

"Caspard here, I've been bitten by a mouse and uh, two mice escaped. Can I get first aid?"

Caspard wasn't paying attention to them.

"Lula, follow me. Let's climb those shelves near the door."

An amplified voice answered.

"Nurse Janny here. I'll come down in a minute. Which lab are you in?"

"Zoology 220"

Hugh and Lula found a spot to hide behind some lab equipment, although it was a tight squeeze.

"Now we wait," said Hugh.