Ch.199Prequel Episode 4. Decision

“Receiver. Respond, Receiver. This is Cargo.”

“This is Receiver. Speak, Cargo.”

The captain tapped the instrument panel and sighed deeply.

Since an emergency situation had occurred, he needed to get help from his business partner.

However, he was conflicted about how much to explain.

Should he mention that an alien parasite had infected one of the crew members and was trying to kill them all?

“We have a problem. The hatch of the captured vessel is damaged and cannot be closed. Therefore, it’s impossible to load the vessel into the cargo hold.”

“Is that the only problem?”

“Yes.”

No. There was no need to tell them more since they couldn’t really help anyway.

They might just raise the price for “blood-stained goods,” so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

After all, only strangers had died so far.

All he needed to do was get his crew back safely.

Once they returned, they could extract the monster using an MRI or X-ray or whatever.

“If you can’t load it onto the cargo ship, it will be detected by Space Force radar, which is problematic. Is there any reason not to abandon the vessel?”

“It’s quite a valuable ship. You’d be surprised. I’d like to request delivery of replacement parts. The part name is… mold K38815a2. Type 3.”

“Have you attempted repairs yourself?”

“We tried but failed.”

What did they think this was, a blacksmith shop?

Even though it was a small part, it required precision manufacturing that couldn’t be attempted on board.

Of course, they could make it with a 3D printer, but structurally it wouldn’t match the durability of the original mold.

In the end, there were only two options:

Either abandon the nouveau riche’s cruise ship and detach it.

Or receive the part delivery and repair the hatch.

Space delivery was notoriously expensive, but this time he decided it was worth it.

“Oh my. Ranger. Did you know?”

“W-what?”

“In ancient Egypt, when they made mummies, they pulled out the brain by inserting a metal skewer through the nose, like removing the insides of a snail. Want to try it? I think we could remove the snails filling your head.”

“Eeeek!”

The captain turned around and sighed heavily.

Jin seemed desperate to kill Ranger, apparently still bitter that he hadn’t provided her with an alibi.

He would need to take some measures soon.

‘I can’t bring myself to tell them we’ll split the space delivery fee.’

These people were working hard, even dealing with human corpses.

The captain decided to bear the space delivery fee alone.

Even though the cruise ship was valuable, dividing it by six would ultimately result in a loss for him due to the delivery fee.

But that was fine.

As long as the crew’s share increased.

“Everyone focus! You all remember the guidelines, right?”

“Yeeees.”

“Then let’s recite them together. I need to check because someone with poor memory might forget.”

“Hehehe! Who could that be with the terrible memory?”

That’s you, Jin.

The captain squeezed his eyes shut.

Soon the crew began reciting in unison.

“All basic activities must be done in the control room. When leaving, always go in pairs. When sleeping, two people must stand watch at all times.”

The rules were simple enough that even Jin could remember them.

These strange rules were established because of the cargo ship’s structure.

Pulling the emergency lever in the control room allowed control of all the ship’s systems from there.

Because of this, if they lived separately, a parasite could secretly take over the control room and trap everyone in their rooms to starve them to death.

The rule about always going in pairs, whether to the bathroom or changing room, was to prevent the parasite from taking sudden action.

If someone could move around freely alone, they might set up booby traps or search for weapons.

‘Damn. If only Night were functioning properly.’

If the android Night’s eyes were working, he could have left him in charge of the control room and isolated everyone in their own rooms.

Since all the CCTV cameras on this cargo ship had been removed and sold, there was no camera available to serve as Night’s eyes.

With Night blinded, he couldn’t entrust the control room to any crew member.

As a result, six men and women were forced to live together in this cramped space, enduring each other’s sweat and odor.

“Sigh…”

The captain looked around, examining each crew member one by one.

First, Allen.

He was a reliable first mate and they shared many memories together, but knowing that the parasite could inherit the host’s memories, he couldn’t trust him blindly.

He could only hope it wasn’t Allen.

Next was Gus. Gustav.

Of Mexican descent, he was the only Black person among them.

As an electrical technician, he had solved numerous problems on this old ship.

Though not perfect in skill, he could take over navigation in an emergency.

If the captain died, Allen would take command, and if Allen died, Gus would become captain.

Then there was Ash, their doctor.

Once a capable surgeon, he had to erase his identity and flee to this mercenary group after being sued for a failed surgery.

He still sent money to his family, who believed he was dead, through laundering.

Occasionally, the captain would secretly slip him valuable loot.

The last male mercenary was Ranger.

A former soldier who claimed to be a veteran of multiple battlefields, but when the captain secretly checked his records, he turned out to be a deserter.

Of course, a soldier with a good record would join a clean PMC rather than this shabby pirate crew.

He had been putting on airs until now, but after being thoroughly humiliated by the crazy Jin, his true colors were exposed.

He was somewhat pitiful, but also got what he deserved.

“I’ve been thinking a lot, seniors.”

“Huh?”

“When I first joined, you all seemed to lick your lips looking at me. But suddenly one day, your interest in me completely disappeared. You started treating me just like any other male mercenary.”

“No, that’s not true. Jin, you’re a very attractive woman.”

“Come on. No need to say things you don’t mean. I know perfectly well I’m a zero as marriage material.”

“You don’t need to put yourself down like that…”

“So here’s what I think! The most feminine person in our mercenary group is none other than Ranger! So if we cut off Ranger’s thing and give him a TS, it would be a win-win for both Ranger, who’s itching for it, and for you seniors who want to stick it anywhere…”

“Kyaaaak!”

And finally… the only woman, Jin.

At first glance, he wondered why such a pretty girl would want to become a pirate.

Of course, Jin’s undeniable nature was quickly revealed.

Jin, who looked like a perfect woman when she kept her mouth shut, regularly displayed a lack of class with her crude speech and ignorance that completely offset her pretty face.

Still, she had good courage and decent handiwork, so when they were short-staffed, they had no choice but to hire her, but now he deeply regretted it.

“It’s done.”

“Huh? Already?”

At that moment, Gus closed the toolbox and snapped his fingers on both sides of Night.

He had asked Gus to try to make Night see again, but he wondered what could be done without cameras.

“We don’t need cameras. I found a good microphone in the karaoke room. I used that.”

“Aack! Don’t tell me it’s an ultrasonic microphone? That’s the only one good enough to capture my awesome vocals, and you stuck it in Night’s ear hole?”

“Ignore Jin and continue with your explanation.”

“Yes. I modified the microphone to see using ultrasound. It won’t be as detailed as eyes, but it should be able to detect whether there are obstacles ahead. Since Night knows the ship’s layout, this should be enough for him to move around without bumping into things.”

“Good job. Night, how do you like it?”

“This… will take some getting used to…”

Night began to move, feeling his way along the wall.

It wasn’t as good as having eyes, but he seemed able to recognize obstacles in front of him.

Watching him avoid people and obstacles while finding the corridor.

Bats apparently navigate caves in a similar way.

Like radar…

‘Huh? Like radar?’

The captain tilted his head curiously.

Radar uses electromagnetic waves, doesn’t it?

X-rays are also a type of electromagnetic wave.

So perhaps it wouldn’t be difficult for Gus, an electrical technician, to create an X-ray device.

He didn’t know the details, but an X-ray scanner itself shouldn’t be too complex.

“Gus. Can you possibly make an X-ray…”

“Shh, Captain. It’s in progress. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”

“Ah. I understand.”

So he’s already working on it.

The captain whispered quietly to Gus and then naturally moved away from him.

If it became known that Gus was working on an X-ray device, he might become a target for the parasite.

For now, time was working against the alien parasite.

‘If I were the alien parasite, what would I do?’

The situation was slowly tightening.

If I were the alien parasite, what would I do?

As the captain pondered this…

‘Am I really human?’

Suddenly, this thought gave him chills.

Didn’t they say the creature inherits all of the host’s memories?

So I…

“Damn it.”

“What’s wrong, Captain?”

“Nothing. Everyone, carry on. Ranger, come with me. Let’s go to the bathroom together.”

“I-I-I was just feeling like I needed to pee too!”

The captain hardened his expression and stood up.

His head hurt.

He needed to make a decision.

A decision for the worst-case scenario.