Chief Grey looks at the distant floating object ahead of the fleet. It’s a lazily floating white asteroid drifting among hundreds of thousands of smaller brown asteroids in the solar system they escaped the Grodurns in. Rather than risk another jump so soon, they simply flew to the belt once the Grodurn Transport pulsed the solar system -the maximum range of the transport-.
Grey asks skeptically, “You sure, Cap?”
Captain Long says calmly from her command chair, “Yes, Chief. Dr. Lopez operated the ship while Helmdraff Craw consulted.”
“It’s an ice ball,” states Grey gruffly.
Captain Long smirks, and Lieutenant Kane replies, “Which is why we want it, Chief.”
Grey turns and retorts, “All well and mighty fine, Sir, but I’m not seein’ why me and my marines need to land on an ice ball in an asteroid belt.”
Mr. Right speaks this time, “According to the pulse sensor on the transport, there’s a high probability of life based on the readings. And, we will NOT be wiping out a sentient race on my watch. I won’t allow it.”
Grey asks skeptically, “On an ice ball?” He gestures toward the icy object, adding, “Does it even have an atmosphere?”
Kane replies, “Externally, no. But, there are definitely gas pockets below the surface.”
“Lemme just get my ice shaver, Sir.”
Long scoffs, and Mr. Right retorts, “This isn’t a joke, sir. If there is life on that object, and the miners hit it, we risk killing them all.”
“So you’d rather risk us getting smashed by asteroids than killing some frosty aliens? They live on ice. They’re evil.”
Long giggles, but she retorts, “Chief, we’re -I’m- only asking you to check. If the life turns out to be bacteria at most, the miners will be on it in the hour. But, if there’s sentient life, we leave. We have the luxury of time, but not much.
Kane adds, “It’ll be quite a few squads searching, not just yours. We’ll set up some depth finders and see what the inside looks like.”
Grey growls, “If some frosty bug attaches to my face, sir, I’m fighting someone in this room.”
Long giggles again, “Deal, Chief. Ready away teams. The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can keep moving.”
Grey salutes a little dryly, replying, “Aye aye, Ma’am.”
Just as he turns to leave, Captain Long adds gently, “Chief… Safety is still a priority.”
He smirks more warmly, adding, “Aye, Captain.”
Chief Grey walks towards the exit, where the cooperative croc, ‘Craw’, is standing with an armed escort. Her voice is deep and growling, but Craw says to Grey, “Hoomin, chonce strung leef eess boctureee. [Human, chance (is) strong life is bacteria.]”
Grey retorts sarcastically, “Until we met you, chances were strong we were the only sentient life in the universe.”
“Een mih esh-pee-ronce, sunchee leef oon een tuuteen sohlarr sihsteems. [In my experience, sentient life one in two-ten solar systems.]”
Grey sighs, “Twelve or twenty?”
Craw thinks for a moment. She replies, “Doobul teen. T-tuu-uhn-tee?”
Grey nods curtly. “Thanks. I feel all fuzzy inside.” He leaves just as curtly. Craw may be helping, but he doesn’t like the crocs. It’s going to be a long while before he can forget what they did.
Chief Grey meets up with Chief Tachibana as she musters the squad. Everyone is present, including Spaceman Long, suited up in EVA suits minus their helmets as they await orders.
Grey explains, “Listen up marines! Bridge found an ice ball they want to harvest, as well as a bunch of other asteroids. Problem is, the croc sensors think there’s life on the ice ball and we’re scared of it being a higher life-form, so we no kill. In order to confirm, we have to put marine boots on the ice and check.”
Rena Coulson remarks playfully, “An ice-teroid? Sounds cool Chief!”
Grey glares at her, growling, “You’re dead to me, Thing Four.”
“Wait! What? What’d I do?”
Before Grey can retort, Tachibana redirects the conversation, “No telling what the surface is like, Marines. Slow and careful.”
Moody asks sincerely, “So, if we’re not allowed to just harvest this thing, are we allowed to defend ourselves?”
Tachibana starts to answer by the regulations, “We will assess the situation if aggression…”
Grey cuts her off, saying, “Yes, Moody. If a frosty bug is coming to kill you, you kill it.”
Fredericks remarks dryly, “And, then, if we kill all of them, the asteroid will be free of life, so we can harvest.”
Grey growls, “Can it, Freddy. Unless space liberalism and progressivism will keep us from starving to death, dying of dehydration, or suffocating to death on long-winded b.s.”
Dumas states bluntly, “Chief, if an icy bug tries to attach to my face, I’m fighting someone.”
Tachibana scoffs, replying, “Chief Grey just said the same thing on the bridge.”
Grey chuckles, replying, “I give you permission. You can fight Thing Four.”
Rena whines, “What’d I do Chief!?”
Grey growls as he narrows his eyes at her, “Thinking ice is cool… Making puns… Terrorist…”
Long squeaks, “Chief? What do we do if we find something?”
Tachibana replies, “Report it. We’ll have to find a way to determine intelligence. And, if it’s an animal, we have to decide what to do. Our instructions regarded bacteria and sentients.”
Long squeaks, “Yes Chief! Thank you Chief!”
Grey adds, “There will be a bunch more squads dropping with us this time, so hopefully, we see no action. Ready to load up. We drop in fifteen.”
Ensign Hancock approaches, and Grey semi-sarcastically salutes, “Sir.”
Hancock returns the salute, replying, “I’ll never be used to that, Chief.”
Grey chuckles, “I know. What can we do for you?”
Hancock replies, “I’m going with you, I guess. Science team wants a first-hand look, and I’m testing an instrument for Dr. Caldaren. Some drop probe for remote sampling.”
Grey teases, “I’m surprised either of your mistresses allowed that.”
Hancock scoffs. “Hilarious Chief. Dr. Lopez is refining the jump drive and also checking on work on the EMP shielding device. She doesn’t need me at the moment.”
Grey pats Hancock’s chest warmly, replying, “Hey, I never turn down another set of hands on a gun. Shoot first, ask questions later. Oh, but check friendlies.”
Tachibana already has her helmet on and replies dryly, “Glad you caught that, Chief.”
Grey winks his grey eye with a smirk, retorting, “It’d just be Navy boys anyways. No big loss.”
Mina calls from nearby, “YOU’RE a Navy boy, Chief!”
Grey growls, “Long! Kill either or both Coulsons for me.”
Long squeaks, “N-No can do, Chief! She’s tagged friendly.”
Grey chuckles. “Good answer.” He puts his helmet on, saying, “A’ight, Marines. Let’s go to hell.”
The squad loads into the mining shuttle they’ll be using to land. The pilot flies them to the small icy planetoid, along with about a dozen more shuttles. Kane’s voice says over the radio, “Stay frosty Marines.”
Both Coulsons laugh as other Marines chuckle, and Grey glares at Rena. Grey growls over the radio, “Formality on comms, Sir.”
Kane chuckles back, replying, “Dislike the cold, Chief?”
“Yes, Sir. I was HOPING for a little global warming back home.”
“We’ll try to pick a warm planet next, Chief.”
The Marines chuckle, and Grey replies, “Ten-four, Sir.”
The landing goes smoothly, and Marines disembark on the planetoid, careful of their movements. The low gravity will reduce the severity of a fall, but it won’t stop them from reaction-springing themselves into space either.
Hancock says calmly, “Gravity is extremely low. Less than space elevator. Maybe, point zero five gee…”
“What are you doing?” growls Grey.
Hancock replies, “Science team asked me to narrate so they can…”
Fisher teases, “You got calibrated eardrums for measuring gee-force now, Rookie?”
Dumas pats Fisher’s chest lightly, retorting, “That’s Rookie-SIR to you, Marine.”
Chief Tachibana growls, “Knock it off, Marines.”
Fisher and Dumas groan, “Yes Chief.”
The Marines spread out slowly, treading carefully. Hancock continues quieter, “Surface is primarily ice, but gritty, like gravel. Additionally, minerals appear to be present, adding some color.”
Grey scoffs, “Rookies…”
Tachibana says quietly, “At least he’s taking his job seriously, Chief.”
Grey replies, “I served a tour in the arctic circle, Tachi. Sorry if freezing to death isn’t on my bucket list.”
She replies more gently, “This isn’t Operation Atlas Lift. Our safety lines are right there.” She points at the fleet.
Grey sighs and nods.
Grey notices Hancock kneeling, swishing his hand low to the surface. He calls out, “Marines! Check this out! I… I think this planet has a tiny atmosphere!”
Grey looks down. True enough, a fine layer of gossamer mist, almost transparent, is drifting and swirling around his boots.
Mina asks as Rena lays her head down to look closer, “What constitutes an atmosphere?”
Fisher replies jokingly, “Fourteen pounds.”
“Fourteen and a half, idiot,” retorts Dumas with a quickness.
“Fourteen point six nine five nine,” squeaks Long. She suddenly adds, “Sorry Petty Officer!”
Grey chuckles, “Don’t be, Long. Serves him right.”
“Noted, Chief. Noted,” replies Dumas.
Hancock replies, “Dr. Lopez just messaged me that its loosest definition is at least one sustained layer of gas or vapor separating the surface from hard vacuum.”
Moody asks, “How’s it sustaining, then? Why doesn’t the vapor get sucked to space? It’s 8 inches thick.”
There’s a pause, and Hancock replies, “Uh… Working theory; vapor cohesion, where the vapor molecules attract to each other, along with help from gravity, to stay close to the surface. Liquid cohesion is why liquids blob in zero gravity.”
Moody scoffs, “Thanks Doc Lopez.”
Rena stands up, her face-shield frosted over, and she remarks, “Well, it’s definitely cold.”
Grey replies, “Thank you for that development, Coulson.”
Both Coulsons reply, “You’re welcome Chief!” as Mina draws a smiley face in the frost on Rena’s visor. They giggle together.
Long asks curiously, “What keeps the water vapor from freezing again?”
Hancock again replies after a short delay, “Solar radiation. Some keeps the vapor layer, but the vapor layer shields the surface from melting and vaporizing more.”
Frederics asks, “So, where are the puddles in between, then?”
Hancock chuckles, “Theory two. Heat vents produce the vapor. It freezes when it’s still.”
Grey growls, “Heat vents? Then this planet has a warm core? We getting anything on the sensors Lieutenant?”
Kane replies, “Movement. Something is moving quickly under the ice. Headed your way.”
Grey orders, “Lock and load Marines!”
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Tachibana adds, “Heads on a swivel! Corpsman Brown is noon!”
The Marines call back, “Aye, Chief!” as they draw weapons. They scan carefully.
Long squeaks out, “O-over-uh Si-Si-Foh-…”
Grey barks, “POINT MARINE!”
Long points. Sure enough, an elongated figure, about the thickness of a pencil, is swaying gently as it inspects the marines. It has no immediately apparent eyes, like it’s some kind of worm. But, its upright swaying, watching the marines, is more snake-like.
Rena mutters, “Oh my god… It’s an alien wiener eel.”
Mina nudges Rena, urging, “Go touch it.”
“Are you crazy!? I’ve seen this movie!”
Fisher asks, “Do… we kill it? It’s kinda creepy how it’s… staring at us.”
Moody mutters, “I vote we kill it.”
Fredericks complains, “It’s not doing anything. We can’t kill it.”
Grey growls, “If that thing’s dumb, oh yes we can.”
Rena asks, “Chief! How do I determine if it’s smart or not!? It’s got no eyes!”
The alien creature starts wiggling more spasmodically. Tachibana asks sharply, “What’s it doing?”
Grey starts to answer, “Maybe he’s suffocating. Head’s above the clouds.”
Rena giggles, “Good one, Chief.”
Grey taunts, “Suck up to someone else, Dead-to-me.”
Rena starts to turn, but the creature springs out of the hole towards her. Grey yells, “FIRE!”
All of the marines present fire as Rena backpedals instinctively, slipping on the ice. She ‘falls’ in a slow drift backwards, as the serpentine creature deftly coils through the air, using its worm-like, flexible body as a sort of gyroscopic apparatus to control its direction rather skillfully.
Grey notices something though. The leading part of the creature has no discernible features. But, the opposite end does. It has a toothy, circular mouth like a lamprey and eight beady, neon-yellow eyes.
Thinking fast -or not at all, with what he does-, Grey lunges forward, snatching the end he suspects is the head from low near the ‘atmosphere’. He grips tight, like he would a snake to keep its toothy jaws under control. The tail end whips at Rena, missing her as she bounces on the icy ground. Bullets zip by Grey as the Marines narrowly pull their shots or stop firing.
Having missed Rena, the creature instantly coils around Grey’s arm. It tries to squeeze and pull its head free, but it doesn’t have the strength, not with Grey’s tight grip. He holds its head well above the vapor barrier forming this planet’s atmosphere. It writhes and wrenches as powerfully as its threadlike body can manage against Grey’s arm. Its circular jaw flexes in futility.
Tachibana calls into the radio, “ALL SQUADS! The worm-like creatures can spring from the ice! Don’t let them puncture your suits!”
Kane and the other squad leaders confirm. Kane asks, “Any signs of sentience?”
Tachibana glances at Grey. The worm is still struggling, and he shakes his head. She replies, “No, sir. Basically just a flying lamprey by the looks of it.”
Mina, Pazna, and Long help Rena up and check over her suit for punctures. Grey remarks dryly, “Little bootlace sure can squirm with no air, am I right?”
Hancock replies, “Amazing that it’s not even tired yet.”
Fisher jokes, “At least it doesn’t spit…” Dumas backhands Fisher’s helmet, growling, “Are you stupid!? Don’t jinx us!”
Grey asks, “Coulson, you okay?”
Rena nods quietly, “Yes, Chief.”
He nods as well. “Good. Second to Long, I hate you the least in this squad.”
Fisher and Dumas put their hands up, grumbling, “What’s up with that?” Rena coos, “Awe! Chief!” She giggles.
Grey then says, “Well, time to deal with this.” He swaps to his pistol in his left hand, and he aims it at the alien’s head from point blank. It still squirms and clenches on his arm.
Hancock blurts out, “Wait! Chief! What if that thing has acid for blood!?”
“This isn’t a movie, Rookie. That’s already been done. If anything, this thing has tobacco for blood, and I’mm’a dry his carcass out and smoke him.”
The Coulsons, Long, Moody, Pazna, Fisher, and Dumas all chuckle, and even Tachibana scoffs. Hancock moves to say something, but hesitates.
Grey pulls the trigger and his pistol clicks, doing nothing. The worm continues to squirm.
Mina remarks, “You forgot your pistol requires oxygen, hu-“ “Quiet Coulson…,” growls Grey semi-dryly. He puts his pistol away. “Tachi?”
Chief Tachibana nods and steps up with her Grodrrn sidearm. She takes aim as Grey holds his hand out at a safe margin. The worm continues to struggle.
Tachibana hesitates. She asks, “Chief Grey, is it hurting you?”
He shakes his head, “No. But, if I let go of his head, his teeth are going through my suit.”
Tachibana nods, “True. But, if you’ve got it, it might be better to capture it. Its biology is holding up under vacuum.”
“So?”
“So…” starts Tachibana as she relaxes her blaster. “What if… ugh… these… ‘Wiener eels’… are useful? Like for suit leather or something.” Rena cheers, “I got to name it!?” She giggles.
Fredericks whines, “You CAN’T be serious Chief! You’re supposed to be the GOOD Chief!”
“Be realistic, Fredericks. We’re short on materials. Its skin isn’t even freezing. Until we find space rubber trees, space eel leather will have to do.”
Dumas teases, “Freddy’s a fruititarian, Chief. We can’t harvest space rubber either because it would hurt the space trees.”
Fredericks snarls, “I wish your mother used a rubber!”
Grey growls, “Simmer down, Marines. Chief Tachibana is right. Alien life is useful to us as much as materials. Science team can worry about the moral dilemma. That, or we kill this fricking thing anyways, ‘cause I ain’t letting go of it alive.”
Fredericks growls, “And, who’re the monsters?”
Grey growls, “Save it for later, Fredericks.”
Long finally squeaks, “Um, Chiefs?” Both Chiefs look at her.
Long nervously says, “S-so… Living things develop biological responses for a reason, d-don’t they? Why would the… eel do that?” Grey and Tachibana glance at each other.
Mina states like a documentary, “Wiener eels are ambush predators. They find prey via sound on the ice, and quickly swim to a hole.” Rena snickers, while Fisher adds, “If enticement doesn’t lure prey, the wiener eel springs through the hole to…”
Tachibana growls, “That’s enough. Good point, Long. Let’s not be ON the ice to meet whatever these things eat.”
Moody growls, “Great. So that means we’ll have to wait around for one to show up so we can assess its intelligence.”
Fredericks replies sourly, “Maybe we can make boots out of them, too.”
Grey retorts brutally, “God-willing , Marine, if it gives us better gear.” He adds, “If it were up to me, our croc ‘pals’ would be half way to warming up my toes already.” He then says, “Brown. Where you at on the sensor?”
“All set, Chief.”
“Good. Are we done here in hell’s septic tank?”
Tachibana nods, explaining the discovery over the radio and the accomplishment of the basic mission. Grey states, “Rookie, scoop some air into a jar for this thing. Better yet, a bucket of their water.”
Hancock replies uneasily, “I don’t have a jar or a bucket, Chief.”
Grey grumbles, “Some science lackey…” He states, “Thing Four! Give me your helmet!”
Rena whines, “B-But Chief! I thought you hated me second least!”
“Yep! Now stay in my almost-good graces and…”
Long offers, “Ch-Chief… I have an… ammo can in my bag.”
There’s a pause, before Moody shouts, “How and WHY do you have an ammo can!?”
Long pouts timidly, “I… I was hoping to… collect any pretty rocks I find…”
Grey breaks the silence, saying, “Mm-hmm! That’s what I’m talking about. That’s a Marine. You mind, Long? Fill it up with water and we’ll go.”
She squeaks brightly, “Yes, Chief!” She jogs to the hole as she retrieves the roughly gallon-sized ammo can from her backpack. She scoops water in with her hand as Fisher and Mina watch over her. Rena pouts, “No fair, Chief! She cheated!”
Grey retorts smugly, “Sorry, Thing Four. You want to be my favorite, you gotta have what I want before I even know I want it.”
Fredericks grumbles, “So, a single gallon of water is supposed to keep that thing alive?”
Grey retorts, “Until the miners can harvest more, yes, Freddy. Something tells me our friend here is really good at holding his breath.” Grey holds his arm out, demonstrating that the worm-like creature has still not relented its panicked squirms.
Tachibana warns, “Long, if you see movement, you back away. Let Fisher and Coulson deal with it.”
“Yes Chief!” confirms Long as she scoops.
Satisfied, Grey’s and Tachibana’s team heads back to their ship with creature and water in tow. They maintain vacuum in the airlock while Grey and Tachibana stay, just to make sure human-safe air won’t kill the resilient little creature.
Fortunately, it’s not too long of a trip. Grey and Tachibana disembark on the outside of the Polonia, where they will walk to an airlock. There, a quarantine team will take custody of the creature and the water.
Fortunately, the little worm is finally showing signs of fatigue, though Grey is still steadfast on his grip. Even if he can be quickly saved from vacuum now, if even one single alien microbe gets on him, it could mean death, which is why they’re being particularly cautious.
As Grey enters the airlock, he holds the creature up towards the camera, saying jokingly, “You got lucky, Captain. THIS close to a fight.”
Her voice comes back, equally amused, “It’s not contained yet, Chief.”
He scoffs, “Fair point, Cap.” The scientists use a layered Kevlar glove and a heavy leather outer gauntlet to grab the creature's head, carefully seizing its cookie-cutter jaws. Tachibana remarks, “Are we not worried our fabrics might be toxic to it?”
The lead scientist replies, “Nothing we can do, Marine. Better than it contaminating us or you.”
Grey replies jokingly, “Don’t worry Tachi. We’ll send the Coulsons out to lure ‘em, and I’ll grab ‘em.”
Rena whines over the radio, “I heard that, Chief!”
“Whaaat? We make a great team!”
Mina retorts, “‘Bait’ is not a team position!”
“Sure it is! Sometimes, it’s called ‘decoy’ and others, ‘suppression specialist’.”
Rena retorts, “I hope Weenie eats your face, Chief!”
Tachibana growls, “That’s enough.” The two Chiefs help wrestle the clingy worm off of Grey’s arm onto the leather gauntlet, which the scientist sheds into a containment box. The lead scientist replies, “Yes, a brilliant specimen. Good work, Marines. I think we’ll call it, ‘the comet worm’.”
Grey glances at Tachibana, who doesn’t object. Air starts filling the room. Grey replies bluntly, “No can do, Sir. The creatures already have a name.”
Tachibana backhands his chest lightly, but he bats her arm. He growls, “No! How can YOU stand idly? She’s YOUR Marine. I’m not letting some egg-head steal her credit.”
The scientist tries to defuse, saying, “I meant no disrespect, Marine, but an official name should reflect…”
Grey rips his helmet off so he can yell more potently and so the whole radio network doesn’t hear him, “An official name is given by its discoverer! Priv-ugh Petty Officer Rena Coulson made the first observation and declared its name. The LEAST you could do is ask her!”
The scientists recoil, even though Grey is only yelling so far. Though, it only now dons on him the bacteriological concerns the wiener eel represents. But, he’s committed now.
Still, the lead scientist retorts, “Oh?” He looks at Tachibana. She finally sighs and admits, “One of our squad did declare a name.” She adds more to Grey, though, “But, it was a name made in jest.”
The scientist asks, “And, what, pray tell, was it?”
Grey glares at Tachibana, and she sighs. She replies, “It’s… Wiener… eel…”
There’s a pause, and the scientists burst into laughter. Grey growls, “Something funny, egghead?”
The scientist replies jovially, “We’re not naming the first discovered interstellar creature that. It’s ridiculous.”
Grey snarls calmly, “Oh yes we are.”
The door opens just as the scientist retorts, “You forget your place, Marine…”
Grey spear tackles the scientist to the hallway wall, scattering the startled spectators there. Grey barks as he pins the scientist to the wall, “YOU had nothing to do with its discovery or capture. In fact, you had almost nothing to do with this whole mission!”
The other two scientists carefully set the box in the corner so it won’t float and struggle to pull Chief Grey off of their lead. A month in low gravity softens bodies quickly, though, where the marines have trained near continuously.
Tachibana swoops in, holding Grey’s right fist from striking. He can’t really see her well, but he knows it’s her by the hand lock she wrenches his hand into. He snarls, “And you! How could you let them trample YOUR squad’s rights! Mina’s and Rena’s names should be plastered all over this thing’s discovery! And you’d let these clowns just rename it!?”
Tachibana snaps back, “Why does it matter!? It’s a worm! I doubt Coulson cares!”
“NO ONE ASKED HER!” snarls Grey. “I did NOT go to hell over and over to get treated like a coffee intern! At least Hancock was WITH us! And Lopez and Caldaren. But these smug turds? No!”
Captain Long’s voice finally booms as she and Alpha Team push through the crowd, “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE! CHIEF GREY! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!?”
Grey tightens his pin of the scientist’s chest, “No Ma’am. Just disagreeing about the name of Rena’s discovery.”
The scientist cries out, “This barbarian assaulted me! AND broke quarantine! He’s completely out of…!”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” booms Long. “Chief Grey! This behavior is unacceptable, ESPECIALLY for a Chief Petty Officer. Stand Down.”
Grey hesitates, fuming. He realizes he lost his temper, but he’s had enough of being treated like dirt and go-fers. That was Earth crap. If his lot in life now is going to be landing on every new hell-hole they find, he and his marines will be getting real recognition for a change. Or at least, the pride of naming the creatures and places they discover. And, certainly so if the alternative is some beaker-filler that stays on the ship.
Grey shoves off of the scientist, causing him to cough. He growls, “Yes, Ma’am.” Tachibana and the two scientists relax off of him. Captain Long looks around, disappointed. She says sternly, “Chief Grey, I’m hereby ordering you confined to quarters pending disciplinary review. Chief Tachibana will inherit your responsibilities for the time being.” Grey winces.
He caustically retorts, “Sorry Tachi. I forgot the civvy elites still run the show.”
Long growls, “Not another word, Chief. Please. You two, escort him to a quarantine shower.” She points at two marines nearby who are distinctly NOT from Grey’s team. Grey grits his teeth, but he walks quietly, followed closely by the two petty officers. She then orders clean up of the area.
Grey fumes in the stateroom for a while after going through quarantine. Tanya and Little Bird are likely milling around the ship somewhere or helping out where they can. Which, of course, is good, since Long would likely send them away in just one…
The door whooshes open and shut, and Long screams, “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING GREY!?”
He scoffs, only glancing at her from his bed. “Wasn’t, Ma’am.”
She storms over to him and snarls, “Not good enough! Answer me!”
Grey rolls over away from her, and he retorts, “What for? Will it do any…” He grunts in surprise when she yanks him out of his bed. The artificial gravity doesn’t make him fall hard, but the move startles him.
Long growls, “I told you, the second that door closes, I’m not the Captain. So, tell me now; you want your fight? Is that what this is? A little testosterone overdose?? Well, here it is! Get up and fight!”
Stunned, Grey finally replies, “That’s not it…”
“THEN WHAT!? I TRUSTED YOU! I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THAT! DO YOU KNOW HOW DISGUSTING IT IS TO FEEL SO BETRAYED!?”
“YOU!?” snaps Grey. “What about us!? You know how many times soldier discoveries and inventions were simply stolen by elites for their own gain? A LOT!” Grey shifts to sit up, growling, “The military is supposed to be in charge, but these civvy jerkoffs are still pulling the same crap.”
“So, you wanted a little more authority, is that…?”
“NO!” barks Grey. “No. I just…” The grizzled marine sighs. “I wanted what we do to mean something for a change. To really have a deserving name on it. Lopez saved us with the Grodurns, no doubt about that. But… RENA named that stupid thing. Her boots were on the ice.”
Long breathes deep and sighs. She sits down on the edge of the bed next to him. She takes her turn, “Chief Tachibana pulled me aside after you left. She regrets that she wasn’t going to stand up for Coulson like you did. Truly. She explained why you were so upset; not that you marines liked… the name, but that it was her name to give. I get that. Truly. I will not allow it to be called… the ‘wiener eel’ on official reports, but the official name is going to Rena. We gave her a week to think of a name before it’s called the ‘Coulson eel’, for simplicity.”
Grey sighs and nods. He says quietly, “Thank you.”
Long leans back on the bed, saying, “Chief… Alex… I know there’s a lot of pressure on what I’m asking you to do. You and your marines… No one will ever fully appreciate you as much as you deserve, but… please know I need you. This belt is ours for now; no sentients. That’s thanks to you marines checking and bringing back a specimen and samples.”
Grey asks, “Did you talk to Jessica about…?”
“Yes. And we found the creatures.” She jokes, “We’re waiting on a name for them too. ‘Butt frog’ won’t do either.”
Grey scoffs, “Butt frog?”
Long giggles, “Mm-hmm. Ugly as sin. But, frog-like in some ways, including how they hop from asteroid to asteroid. About the size of a cow, hairy, and tough skin. Now we’re scanning the belt for what they eat, as well as the stomach contents when we get the chance.”
Grey nods, replying, “Fair enough.”
Long adds, “BUT… The original given names will be recorded… for posterity.”
Grey smirks lightly. He replies softly, “Thank you.”
Long nods. There’s a quiet pause for a moment.
After a while, Long finally says, “I have to mast you, Chief. I can’t tolerate…”
“I know. For what it’s worth,… I’m sorry. I should’ve pushed the issue directly to you…”
She gently puts her hand on his head. Surprisingly, as she scratches gently in his stubbly hair, it puts him at ease, rather than irks him. She adds gently, “We’re getting there. First priority is space. And, we have lots of material, hopefully. Bear with me, please. For what it’s worth, I appreciate you.”
Grey sighs. “Aye, Cap. Won’t happen again.”
“Good.” She stands up and says sternly to him, “Be sure your dress uniform is squared away, Chief. I HATE wrinkles on dress uniforms.” She pauses, realizing he probably doesn’t have one. “Make your best uniform presentable. Your review board will be tomorrow, captain’s mast the day after. Clear?”
Grey nods, “Yes, Ma’am.”
She relaxes, “I’m sorry… Thank you…”
Grey nods again.
********