《One of a Kind》


 A Rude Awakening

    It started with a spark. Awareness struck suddenly and clearly into its mind. It was¡­ a person. A human. The very first thought that came to its head was what it was. A living human being. Information flowed rapidly after the acknowledgement of this fact. Words. Numbers. Knowledge. Simple facts of physics. Survival. Understanding. Communication. The mind reeled at the rate in which this information flowed in. It was too much all at once, and the poor creature passed out before it could acknowledge what was happening with its newfound logical mind.


    Next came sensation. A calm as consciousness returned. The sound of gently flowing liquid all around. The feeling of air being pumped into lungs. It took several moments before listening and breathing became automatic. It felt like control. Muscles twitched as the thing¡¯s limbs and digits were manipulated, and it began to learn how to move them itself. The being still wouldn¡¯t do so without prompt, finding no reason for it just yet. It instead focused on organizing the thoughts it had been given. Just what was all that it had learned? What was it meant for? It was¡­ no, she¡­ she was still missing something. Sight. Finally finding reason to reach up, she searched for what was blocking her vision and found numerous wires and plugs. Something metal over her face.


    She panicked, suddenly feeling insecure about the plate over her eyes, but she found her underdeveloped muscles couldn¡¯t find purchase just yet. She couldn¡¯t get it off. After the moment of panic passed, she resigned herself to being deprived of one of her senses for now. Reason was washing over her as she started to wonder just where she was, what was happening to her, why it felt like she was floating. And she wondered why she had no memories at all to compare any of this to. Was this all there was? As far as she knew, all existence was floating in this emptiness. Would something happen soon? She hoped so. It was becoming terribly dull.


    She reached once more for the plate in front of her eyes and this time found her fingers fitting around it. It was surprisingly easy now to pull the mask free, where it floated slowly down past her to the floor. She could see she was indeed floating in a liquid. Looking down, she could see her small body, covered in wires and tubes. She instinctively knew they were an important part of her. Something she needed to live. So she left them be for now. She instead looked beyond herself, seeing a clear barrier in front of her. She reached for it, but found it too far away without straining the equipment she was hooked into. So she waited. She couldn¡¯t see anything beyond the barrier anyway. And this place was, in its own way, comforting. Surely there was no better place to stay.


    She waited and waited and waited. This was life, she began to suspect. This is what it is to be human. To float and breathe and just¡­ be. And it was something she was content to live in. It was paradise.


    But¡­ not all paradises can last. She had no idea how long she¡¯d been floating when the next unfamiliar sensation came. Instead of filling with the air she¡¯d been accustomed to, she felt for the first time, pain, as her lungs filled with something else. Panic filled her mind, wondering what had changed, what she had done wrong. She had relied on this system her whole life and it had worked well until this very moment. Weakly, she lifted her arms to try to push away from the machinery hooked into her, but she found that her muscles had atrophied from disuse. She could no longer pull anymore of the instruments from her person. The pain built higher and higher. The girl choking on what had once been the life-giving gas, flailing impotently in her case as she pondered if this suffering was also part of the human experience. Such thoughts wouldn¡¯t last long, however, until the girl¡¯s mind went blank. And she returned to the blackness from which she came, never to think again. Her eyes glazed over as her consciousness left just as easily as it came.


    On the other side of the glass, on a dim red screen, flashed the words ¡®system failure¡¯ over the chamber, a silent alarm blaring to no one in the dark metal room full of identical cylinders, all of which still sat dark. And soon, even that flashing panel shut down.


    ¡ª


    The girl took a deep gasping breath, choking on the liquid that had briefly flowed into her nose while the devices disconnected and the chamber drained itself dry. She laid on the floor of the chamber, shivering. Her long, wet, silver hair clung haphazardly to her face as she slowly became accustomed to breathing her own air. The water finally came out and she found herself spitting it up onto the floor, where it too drained away under her.


    What in the world was happening? Where was she? Who was she? She held her head, grasping for answers that weren¡¯t there as she tried to make sense of the world through her newly cleared vision. She was inside of some kind of circular room. A clear barrier was in place over one side of the wall, and she groaned quietly as she became accustomed to the air all around her. This was too much. Everything was too bright, the noises of the drain below her were too loud, and everything she touched felt like unbearable pressure. It would take some time for her to acclimate to the changing environment.


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    She was going to stay still with her eyes closed on the floor of the room for the foreseeable future, but the sound of depressurizing pistons lifting away from the chamber made her wince before curiosity overcame her. The clear wall was lifting away, and she felt fresher air flowing into the chamber before she heard the sounds of others groaning and breathing heavily outside. She wasn¡¯t alone.


    She begrudgingly opened her eyes again and followed the voices, seeing another girl in an identical chamber across from her. She too was propped up against the far wall, struggling to catch her breath as the walls between them lifted away, and they couldn¡¯t help but stare at each other, looking exhausted despite the fact that they had never moved before this, and it was looking to be a monumental effort for both of them. She knew the words, so she called out weakly ¡°Hello¡­?¡± she coughed, her vocal cords straining at just the simple greeting.


    The girl across from her looked across as well, then glanced up above the girl¡¯s chamber before choking out the word ¡°Two¡­¡±


    She looked up as well and saw the girl across from her had the number three above her chamber. ¡°Three.¡± she managed back. The other girl just nodded in response. They didn¡¯t have names, so they would do as designations.


    Another chamber was next to Three, marked One, but it wasn¡¯t opening. The liquid inside looked murky. Unclean. And the lights that were showing uncertain bits of data on Three¡¯s chamber were dark on One¡¯s.


    Two pushed against the wall, breathing heavily as she shakily pushed herself to her knees. Something happened here. She wasn¡¯t sure what, but the life of calm stasis she¡¯d led before was over now, and she was determined to figure out why. Doubling over again on her way up, though, she found her strength wanting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Three sighed ¡°Not yet.¡± and Two found herself falling back against the wall in agreement. Much as she wanted to figure this out, there was no way she¡¯d be able to handle moving around just yet. ¡°Just rest.¡± she coughed again, still not used to using her voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­ What is this?¡± Two asked, wondering if Three might know more than she did.


    ¡°Not sure.¡± Three replied, glancing worriedly at the other chamber opposite her ¡°Four¡­ F-Four is¡­¡± she started, then just went quiet for a bit ¡°Four¡¯s not waking up.¡± she finally said with a grim tone of voice.


    ¡°Neither is One.¡± Two called back, starting to catch her breath as she actually rested. She wondered if it was the same problem as four had. ¡°How many is there?¡±


    A different voice, just as pained and rough as each of their own called from further away ¡°Six didn¡¯t open.¡± she called, adding to the conversation ¡°And four¡¯s dead.¡±


    Two choked in surprise both at the voice and the news it conveyed ¡°Dead?¡± she asked incredulously. Two admittedly had to wonder if that was the case with One, but how could the other voice sound so certain about that?


    Three let out a sigh, hoping to deliver that news in a less blunt way ¡°Yeah. She got wrapped up in the cables when they released and¡­ she¡¯s dead.¡± she said sadly, a bit of irritation in her voice at the other girl¡¯s bluntness ¡°So I guess there¡¯s three of us. Two, Three¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that really what we¡¯re gonna call each other? Guess that makes me Five.¡± came the other voice ¡°But I think there¡¯s four of us. I can hear¡­ well, guess she¡¯s Seven.¡±


    ¡°Then how do we know there isn¡¯t-¡± Two groaned and made another effort to stand, this time getting to her hands and knees ¡°We have to figure out what¡¯s happening.¡± she managed to lift herself up to her feet, stumbling back and standing shakily against the wall.


    ¡°Calm down, you¡¯re going to hurt yourself.¡± Three scolded, continuing to sit still at the back of her chamber and motioning for Two to do the same.


    Two clicked her tongue, sounding impatient ¡°I¡¯ll go slow. I just need to¡­ see where we are.¡± she leaned hard against the wall as she stumbled her way to the front of her chamber, slowly getting her bearings on the world moving around her. The nausea was overshadowed by her deep desire to learn what situation they were in together. She managed to peek her head out of the chamber, looking around at a sterile room full of cobbled-together machinery behind each of the chambers they resided in. Looking further down, she could indeed see that every door on the other side had opened up, save for One, and Two and Four were the only opened doors on her side. ¡°Yeah¡­ I think that¡¯s it. I think there¡¯s seven doors.¡±


    Three nodded ¡°Has Seven said anything yet?¡± she called down the row, hoping to shore up their ranks.


    ¡°No.¡± Five answered back ¡°I can hear them moving though. Pretty sure that means she¡¯s alive.¡±


    Two grabbed hold of a railing that ran along the middle of the room between the chambers, slowly taking step after pain-staking step toward Seven¡¯s chamber. She looked up at her own chamber to confirm that hers said 2, but told herself that she didn¡¯t want to look into the open room of Four. She wasn¡¯t sure what to expect, but given how reluctant Three was to speak of it, she wasn¡¯t confident she would like what she¡¯d see. A few more strained steps and she saw into Five¡¯s room. She looked almost exactly like Three, but a little bit bigger. Bulkier. She wondered then if she looked as similar. Five just gave a half-hearted wave before groaning and leaning back again in exhaustion. Two turned and took a brief look at Six¡¯s chamber, but it was completely empty. It wasn¡¯t even filled with filth like One¡¯s was, and the door remained closed.


    Finally, she came to the end of the row and looked in on Seven, letting out a gasp of surprise and tripping down to the floor when she saw the last of their crew. She looked nearly identical, but smaller than the other girls. More importantly, she had a dripping red gash across her chest and was wincing in pain on the floor ¡°Help¡­¡± she called weakly.

 Triage

    Two stared at her bleeding companion for a few moments before she called back across the room to the others ¡°Three! Five! Seven¡¯s injured!¡±


    ¡°Great, so only three of us¡­¡± Five groaned from deep inside her room.


    On the other hand, Two could immediately hear Three starting to heave herself up off the floor ¡°H-How injured? Is she dying?¡±


    Two shook her head, unsure how to assess the cut she was looking at. ¡°I-I dunno, I heard her asking for help though. She¡¯s got a cut. A big cut. It¡¯s bleeding.¡± she tried to remain calm, but she was becoming anxious at the thought of losing yet another and being left to just three.


    Three managed to get through the door of her room, peeking out and marveling at the rest of the room for only a moment before she too began crawling along the rail Two had used ¡°Is she still breathing?¡±


    Two looked in at the girl, but all she could see was the bright red gash dripping slowly ¡°H-How do I tell?¡± she asked the still-distant Three.


    ¡°What? You don¡¯t know¡­?¡± Three started, then shook her head and continued forward at the same slow pace ¡°Is her chest moving up and down?¡±


    Two nodded. That made sense when she thought about it. Paying attention to the details, she saw Seven taking shallow breaths and reported back ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s breathing.¡±


    Three panted, looking in on Five as she passed and motioning for her to get up ¡°Come on, she¡¯s got the right idea. We need to figure out what¡¯s happening.¡± she muttered before she continued forward ¡°You¡­ I mean Two, you need to look around. Find bandages¡­ cloth even. Anything like that.¡±


    That, Two understood. She nodded, pushing herself up to her feet again. It was easier this time. Her exhaustion was starting to fade, slowly but surely. She still needed the rail to balance on, but she continued further into the room regardless, toward what looked like an array of lab benches. Meanwhile, Three walked in to Seven¡¯s room and dropped to the floor again, her legs giving out just as Two¡¯s had earlier ¡°Take a deep breath.¡± Two could hear her saying ¡°I know, it hurts, just let me see.¡±


    Two gulped, hoping this wasn¡¯t for nothing. She managed to break away from the rail and slammed into one of the lab benches, using it as a crutch to take a look around the room. Almost immediately, she spotted something on the wall. A lab coat hanging from one of several hooks. Cloth. She stumbled her way up to it and dragged it down to the floor with a gentle tug. The girl reached out her arm and felt her muscles begging to go further, stretching out and letting herself relax at last, the strain all but disappearing all at once. Seemed her body was done complaining about simple movement and got with the program. She took the coat back toward the chambers and walked into Seven¡¯s room.


    Three sat over top of the other girl, holding one of her hands before she looked up at Two, astounded to see her moving so readily ¡°A long scratch. But it¡¯s just a scratch. I¡¯ll dress this up, but we¡¯ll need to find disinfectant soon. She¡¯ll live.¡± she reached for the coat and Two let her take it.


    ¡°Good. That¡¯s good.¡± Two sounded relieved as she grabbed hold of the rail again. Functioning muscles or not, she was still tired. She looked over to Five¡¯s chamber to see her beginning to climb out at last ¡°I don¡¯t suppose any of you have any idea what¡­ any of this is?¡±


    Five panted and shook her head. Now that she was standing, Two could tell just how much bigger she was. Not that much taller, but she looked like she was stronger. Bulkier. They all looked like the same person, but with slight differences.


    ¡°No idea.¡± Three concurred while she began wrapping the shirt tightly over the wound, eliciting whines from Seven ¡°I just know I woke up in that room, the water drained away, I watched Four die and here I am holding a laceration shut.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s about where I¡¯m at too.¡± Two nodded, wondering if she should inspect the lab again ¡°Umm, okay, let¡¯s see. We¡­ We¡¯re sisters maybe? We all look alike.¡±


    ¡°Could be. We all look like a family.¡± Five chimed in, making her own way up to Two and proving that she was actually ever so slightly taller ¡°I don¡¯t remember much of anything though.¡±


    Two held her head ¡°Amnesia?¡± she asked, wondering what they must have been like before this.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Three said, tying a tight knot in the fabric and looking up ¡°She shouldn¡¯t be moving around in this state anyway. Let¡¯s try to figure this out. Two, you didn¡¯t know how to check for breathing and you couldn¡¯t assess this wound. Right?¡±


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    ¡°I guess I just panicked and didn¡¯t think.¡± Two looked away, embarrassed that she didn¡¯t think of something that now seemed so obvious.


    ¡°Nono, I thought you¡¯d know because I know.¡± Three explained what she was thinking ¡°So¡­ we don¡¯t all know the same things. That¡¯s something.¡±


    Two nodded ¡°Good point. Maybe you were a doctor?¡±


    Three shook her head ¡°I¡¯m too young to be a doctor.¡± she started to try and push herself up, but Seven let out a whine and she went to grab her hand again ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m gonna stay here with you.¡± she assured the smaller girl.


    ¡°Seven¡¯s even younger.¡± Two noted ¡°I think Five might be older than us?¡± she said uncertainly


    ¡°That mean I¡¯m in charge?¡± Five wondered, glancing back toward Four¡¯s chamber and wondering if she was supposed to have been the oldest.


    ¡°Is that really what you¡¯re thinking about right now?¡± Two asked incredulously as she followed the rail back toward the lab ¡°We need to figure out so many things, it¡¯s too soon to think about who the leader is.¡± she said as she started to open cabinets and drawers, looking for some kind of documentation, anything that might hint to just what this place was. No papers anywhere, just a few glass and plastic slates of some kind and a lot of glass lab equipment. She intuited that this must have been a chemistry lab of some kind.


    ¡°Find anything?¡± Five asked after her after a few minutes passed.


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± she mumbled, picking up one of the slates. It was thin and light. Several shaped holes were on all the edges and one side was a glossy reflective surface ¡°Any idea what this is?¡± she held it up for Five to see. She shook her head and Two just put it down on the table. She went to a different station only to find it was a lot more of the same. She eyed a heavy metal door on the other side of the lab and wondered if there might be answers outside, but there was no way she¡¯d be able to open such a large obstacle herself, so she passed it by. In the next table, she found another slate, but this one had a wire sticking out of it ¡°That¡¯s different.¡± she muttered to herself as she looked at the end of the cable, seeing if it might plug into something else she¡¯s seen.


    Now she looked around at the stations themselves, and the walls and floors, seeing if there might be a port to plug it into. She¡¯d found almost invisible buttons on the edges of the slate as well, but they didn¡¯t seem to do anything. Two pursed her lips in frustration as she continued to search out somewhere to plug this device into.


    She was broken out of her concentration when there was a loud thump from the other side of the room ¡°What was that?¡± Three called out from inside Seven¡¯s chamber. Hurrying back to see what happened, Two found Five looking into Four¡¯s chamber. She looked back toward Two approaching and shook her head ¡°Her body fell¡­ You don¡¯t wanna see it.¡± she sounded sick as she spoke. Two looked down, her imagination flashing her gruesome images as she thought about what the noise might have meant.


    It was then that Two looked over the panel of Six¡¯s empty chamber and saw a familiar opening in the bottom of its computer. Testing to see if it was what she thought it was, the cord attached to her slate slipped right in ¡°Huh¡­¡± she muttered as the slate lit up. A screen. It was a handheld computer, it just needed power.


    ¡°Hey¡­ you figure that thing out?¡± Five asked as she walked over to look over Two¡¯s shoulder. The screen showed a battery indicator slowly filling up, and then a circular logo with the letters WSI embedded into it as the device loaded up ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a computer.¡± Five nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess the battery was dead.¡± Two mused as the screen started to display a small file directory. It threw an error saying that the central data center couldn¡¯t be reached, however. She was a bit puzzled though. She hadn¡¯t been able to identify this as a computer until now, but she was perfectly capable of navigating it now that it was on. Something missing in her memory, perhaps.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ uhh¡­ time, let¡¯s start there¡­ ugh, seriously, it¡¯s tied to the data center?¡± she clicked her tongue ¡°Local files only¡­ Hmm¡­¡± she looked into the directory and saw several programs related to the function of the chamber the slate was connected to. But there was no indication to what any of the data meant. It wasn¡¯t very readable at all to someone who knew nothing about it. ¡°Uhh¡­ this one throws an error for time. File named ¡®science¡¯ here. Bunch of nonsense inside it though.¡±


    ¡°Maybe this one¡¯s broken. Nothing in it after all.¡± Five posited as she tapped experimentally on the glass.


    Two nodded and disconnected the slate from the chamber before walking opposite it and reaching to plug it into Seven¡¯s.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t do that!¡± Three spoke sternly ¡°I don¡¯t need you accidentally reactivating this thing with us in it.¡±


    Two shrugged. She could see the logic in that. So she stepped to the side and instead plugged it into Five¡¯s empty room, being careful not to turn around. ¡°Timer works on this one¡­ but it just shows¡­ ¡®6 years, three months, twenty days-¡¯ it¡¯s just counting up from something.¡±


    ¡°Six years ago¡­?¡± Five leaned back against the railing, seeming to be in thought ¡°Six years from what?¡± she asked, her eyes going wide as she stared at the ceiling.


    ¡°Oh, and the file that was ¡®science¡¯ says ¡®labor¡¯ on this one.¡± she mumbled ¡°Science and labor¡­¡± she was trying to make a connection with this, but she felt like she needed more to go off of. Disconnecting the slate, she hurried to Three¡¯s chamber, plugging in and finding the file said ¡®Medical¡¯. ¡°¡­ Maybe it¡¯s¡­¡± she unplugged again and turned around to check her own chamber ¡°¡¯Recon¡¯.¡± She announced ¡°These are¡­ they¡¯re roles. Three knows doctor stuff, I got out and explored, Five¡¯s¡­ big.¡±


    She looked back over to see Five still staring at the ceiling, a fearful look in her eyes. Two walked up to her and followed her gaze, looking to the roof as well before she let out a gasp. There, above them, was a small window to the outside. And through it, they could make out numerous stars and the surface of a blue planet, rotating gently around them.

 A Breath of Fresh Air

    ¡°Space? We¡¯re¡­ in space?¡± Three¡¯s eyes were wide as she heard the news, uncertain whether or not the others were serious as she sat over Seven, unable to leave her side ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯d have to watch the stars for awhile to confirm it.¡± Two admitted, trying not to turn her vision upward at the dizzying scene again ¡°But that¡¯s the most likely answer. You wouldn¡¯t like any of the other possibilities either.¡±


    Five still stared up at them, sighing and fidgeting as she watched the stars twist by, mesmerized by the insane revelation.


    ¡°Well, that answers where we are.¡± Two mumbled, closing her eyes to think ¡°And who we are, if the files on the machines are anything to go by. If they¡¯re roles, then we must have been chosen for our skills for some sort of mission.¡± she concluded, scratching her head at the frustration of the mystery.


    ¡°Alright, miss recon, how about you find us some more information.¡± Five crossed her arms and muttered in monotone, her eyes still fixed upward.


    ¡°I think I liked Two better.¡± Two scoffed as she stepped away from the railing. She was right though. If she was supposed to be the one exploring things, she should get on that. ¡°First thing¡¯s first, let¡¯s see what roles are¡­ missing.¡± she didn¡¯t want to say that they were dead, even though that much was obvious. She walked up to Four¡¯s chamber, being careful not to look inside as she plugged into the computer.


    ¡°¡­ ¡®Survival¡¯.¡± she gulped at the implication that that was someone they needed, and she was gone. Five let out a sudden guffaw as she spoke, earning an angry look from Two ¡°What are you laughing about?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, she¡¯s just¡­ pretty bad at her job is all¡­¡± Five was halfway through saying it when she realized how inappropriate the joke was and she went quiet ¡°I¡¯ll uh¡­ I¡¯ll look over here.¡± her face was red with embarrassment as she walked toward the lab area.


    Two shook off the comment and unhooked from Four¡¯s chamber, turning around and sidling past to go to One¡¯s. She had been kind of afraid to find out what this one said, but she wasn¡¯t even sure if it would work. The electronics on this chamber had been turned off, after all. Sure enough, when she plugged into it, nothing happened. Clicking her tongue again, she went to examine the panel itself. It looked like it was solidly built, and following the cables didn¡¯t get very far since they went into holes in the floor. She did notice that the chambers didn¡¯t seem to be part of the original design of the room though. They had definitely been built here after the fact. But they were made of shaped metal, plastic, and glass. That meant there had to be a way to manufacture items like this on the station. It would make more sense than having it shipped from Earth. There was definitely nothing in the room that was big enough for a job like that though.


    She shook her head, that wasn¡¯t the key issue here. She wondered if maybe there was just a loose wire or something stuck just out of place. ¡°Well, what do I have to lose?¡± she held up her fist over the panel and brought it down to gently smack the electronics. As if on cue, the lights shuddered to life, and the slate started to display new files ¡°Well damn, that actually¡­¡± she paused, her expression turning down again. There was way more information in this one, still unreadable computer nonsense, but these files had more detail to them. She let out a disappointed sigh as she saw the label ¡°¡¯Leader¡¯.¡± she grumbled before she unhooked the slate again.


    Unhooking the computer seemed to trigger something else, though. The machinery started to whirr and churn, and Two had to back away as an unfamiliar rancid stench started coming from the chamber. The water inside was starting to drain, but that didn¡¯t make it any easier to see what was inside. The glass was caked with some kind of solid organic matter.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Three asked from down the hall before letting out a disgusted cry ¡°Eugh! What is THAT!?¡± she coughed as the scent wafted down the room. Two fumbled with the Slate for a few moments, wondering if there was something she could do to stop it before she tried pushing the panel back up out of place again. The mechanical sounds stopped immediately as the computer shut off again, but the smell lingered, and it didn¡¯t seem like it was going to go away again now.


    ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s One.¡± Two coughed, stepping quickly away to the lab side of the room with Five, where the smell wasn¡¯t as bad before she continued ¡°She¡­ She¡¯s dead. She must just be rotting in there. Her room malfunctioned at some point.¡±


    Three peeked out of Seven¡¯s door and looked around ¡°Are you telling me there¡¯s sewage flowing into the room now?¡± she demanded, her brow creased in anger.


    ¡°I stopped it, the door didn¡¯t actually open.¡± Two waved her hands in protest. It still smelled awful though. ¡°I think One was supposed to know what was going on here¡­ so I guess we¡¯ll have to figure it out ourselves.¡±


    Three sighed ¡°Okay, well sitting here isn¡¯t going to help anyway.¡± she wretched a little, having to endure the scent for Seven¡¯s sake, who wasn¡¯t happy with the experience either. ¡°We need to get Seven real bandages and disinfectant. Then we can move her out of here and figure out what to do next.¡±


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    Two turned to Five and exhaled deeply ¡°Alright¡­ I need help with the door. Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s¡­ I dunno, an infirmary outside or something.¡±


    ¡°Outside? Like in space?¡± Five looked at Two like she was crazy.


    Two narrowed her eyes at her, uncertain if Five was being serious now or not ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not very bright, are you? There wouldn¡¯t just be a door between us and space. Think.¡±


    There was a momentary pause before Five said ¡°Shut up, I just got confused¡± as she walked to the door, still uncertain. She leaned into the metal door and hesitated when she found it harder to push than she expected. She tried to pull on it next, and after a moment, it gave way with a quiet ¡®clunk¡¯. She still had to keep pulling though, while two came to help pull from the new crack in the door. The door opened into the surrounding wall, sliding to the side but what they saw next didn¡¯t inspire confidence. The light from within the room shined out to illuminate a section of hallway, but beyond that, there were no artificial lights, only the occasional reflected sunlight of the nearby planet shining through windows in the ceiling.


    Poking her head out into the hall, Two was overcome with a wave of nausea, feeling like her body was being pulled in two directions. She closed her eyes in an effort to keep the nausea at bay. She had to back up into the room and shake her head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Five asked ¡°It¡¯s not actually empty space out there, is it?¡±


    ¡°What? No, just¡­¡± Two grimaced as she reached a hand through the portal this time. It was difficult to describe, but it felt confusing to her sense of balance. She gulped, wondering if this was safe, but they couldn¡¯t just stay in the room forever. She closed her eyes and took a step through the door, feeling the strange sensation once more, but once she was fully immersed in it, it was like it was never there. She opened her eyes again and looked around as best she could in the limited light ¡°Okay¡­ weird.¡± she noted that the room was curved upward in both directions, like she was standing on the outside of a ring. When she looked back in the room at Five, she could see she was standing at an awkward angle ¡°Oh!¡± Two finally put it together ¡°Gravity! We¡¯re in space, so there¡¯s different fields of artificial gravity.¡±


    Five hesitated and then stepped through after and almost stumbled back in before she hopped to the new floor and got her bearings ¡°Whoa. This is weird.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll take some getting used to, yeah. For now, let¡¯s just try to find medical.¡± She held up the slate in front of her, letting the faint light it cast shine over the hall and illuminate what the stars wouldn¡¯t. A number of doors lined the walls, but they were all clearly marked. Many around them were labs just like the one they¡¯d left, but as they walked around the ring, they saw dormitories, the way to a utilities room, a helm, and finally ¡°Infirmary!¡± Two shouted as she pointed the light to a faintly stenciled cross on the wall with the words ¡®Infirmary¡¯ printed beneath it.


    Five followed along quietly, not wanting to wander off on her own without her own light. She stopped at the infirmary door and nodded to Two, starting to heave the large metal door open by hand again. This one didn¡¯t stick as hard and pulled to the side with ease. A faint dust emanated from the room as it opened. Some supplies were scattered across the floor, but the walls were lined with far more than they would ever need. Several bottles with blank labels lay empty next to a loose pile of clothes at the back end of the room, but there were numerous first aid kits on the beds of the room.


    Two closed her eyes and stepped in, figuring it was the best way to fend off the change of gravity fields, and only stumbled a little reorienting herself. Five, however, tripped through the doorway behind her and ended up groaning on the floor ¡°Augh¡­ I¡¯m gonna be sick.¡±


    ¡°Better get used to it, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re getting off this thing soon.¡± Two warned, opening up one of the kits to examine it. All the labels were completely blank for some reason, but they were almost full to the brim. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much of this stuff she¡¯ll need. Here, you take two, I¡¯ll take two.¡± she said, putting the boxes on top of each other while Five finished picking herself up off the floor.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the two to make their way back with the kits in hand, and they were displeased to find the smell of rot permeating the room by now. As two stepped through the door, she couldn¡¯t help herself. She doubled over from the scent and the disparity of gravity, dropping the boxes as she wretched, her gut emptying a clear liquid out onto the floor as she threw up on one of the kits. She shivered on all fours, trying to collect herself, but the feeling of disgust wouldn¡¯t leave her.


    ¡°Better get used to it¡­¡± Five mumbled mockingly as she stepped past her, holding her nose with one hand and carrying the medical supplies under one arm. ¡°Think you can patch her up with this?¡± she called as she walked up to Seven¡¯s chamber and slid a box across the ground to her.


    It just took a moment before three replied ¡°Perfect, actually. I can¡¯t stand to be in this room another minute though. I¡¯ll help her move once I get this covered.¡±


    Two managed to get back to her feet, collecting the spilled supplies again and ignoring the clear bile on the floor for now ¡°Ugh¡­¡± she put the kits down on a lab table and closed her eyes to step back out of the room again. ¡°Alright.¡± she muttered to herself ¡°Seven¡¯s safe. What¡¯s next? Survival I guess.¡± she threw her arms out to the side in frustration ¡°Four¡¯s¡­ gone, so we¡¯ll just have to figure that out ourselves. What do you need to survive¡­ shelter. Got that, or we¡¯d be in space right now.¡± she started walking down the hall, shining her slate to look at the markings on the wall again. They were just barely visible when she really looked at them ¡°Food and water¡­ Well, there¡¯s gotta be something, we¡¯ve survived this long¡­¡± she scratched her head as she passed the dormitories ¡°Power¡­ maybe get the lights on. Must be something wrong with the generator if only that one room¡¯s lit up.¡±


    She stopped as she reached a window, this one the full side of the room, and she couldn¡¯t help but stare out into the vast emptiness surrounding them. It was both terrifying and beautiful at the same time, but she knew she didn¡¯t have the luxury to admire it for too long right now. For all she knew, they were all in grave danger of this place falling apart. They had to get their bearings on this station and figure out what was happening, and soon.

 Dangerous Places

    The station was quiet. Dead quiet. The four girls were the only ones aboard, as far as any of them could tell. While Three tended to Seven in the infirmary after a brief move, Two and Five had begun to explore further from the main hall. The dormitories had more than enough room for each of them to claim a personal room. They didn¡¯t lack for room to move around and settle on the station, but they agreed not to let themselves be caught alone outside of the dormitory, lest they befall the same fate as Four.


    It was clear that the rooms had been lived in once. Clothing and other personal effects were left behind as if their owners had just vanished one day. Two was the first to don a found t-shirt as a makeshift dress. It was clear from the construction of the station and the size of the found clothing that all four of them were very young. On the cusp of becoming teenagers at most. But they had the knowledge and presence of mind of adults.


    Three was the first to suggest that perhaps they were manufactured this way, and the chambers they awoke in were in fact some sort of birthing pods.


    ¡°So that makes us¡­ what, clones?¡± Five asked darkly, leaning against a wall of the infirmary.


    ¡°It would explain why we all look like the same person.¡± Two nodded at the medic¡¯s suggestion ¡°Seven clones on some kind of mission in space. But then why not let us grow more though?¡±


    Three shrugged ¡°Maybe they didn¡¯t have a choice?¡±


    ¡°This makes less sense the more we think about it. Are you sure there was nothing readable on that¡­ slate thing you called it?¡± Five motioned to Two ¡°You got me to the point where I wanna know what¡¯s going on here too.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Two started, looking down at the device and tapping futilely again at the disconnected central database ¡°There¡¯s a database that it keeps trying to connect to, but it¡¯s not there. Could be that it¡¯s shut down with most of the station. If we want answers, we¡¯re going to have to get the power on.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also the matter of food.¡± Three looked over Seven, who was asleep in one of the beds ¡°I think she¡¯ll be okay to lie here by herself. It¡¯s probably best if I come along with you two this time if we¡¯re going to go looking into the electrical areas.¡±


    ¡°Those machines kept us alive till now, right? Wouldn¡¯t they have food of some kind pumping into them?¡± Five asked, standing up straight and getting ready to take another walk around the station.


    Two nodded ¡°Good point. That room is gross now, but it¡¯s probably a good idea to look over those machines again. Power first, though.¡±


    ¡°Do either of you know how to work a space station generator?¡± Five asked as the three started to move toward the door ¡°Because I¡¯ve only got a vague idea.¡±


    ¡°It was probably supposed to be Six¡¯s job.¡± Two sighed and followed out into the hall, closing her eyes to mitigate the effect of the gravity shift that she was slowly beginning to become accustomed to ¡°Missing half our team is going to be a problem, especially One.¡±


    ¡°That would make who¡¯s in charge around here a little more clear.¡± Five muttered, crossing her arms and following along with the same ease as Two.


    ¡°No one needs to be in charge. We¡¯ll figure this out together.¡± Three scolded as she came along, carrying one of the first aid kits and tripping momentarily at the gravity shift through the door. Between the three of them, she was the least physically intimidating, with a thin, lanky body compared to Two¡¯s fitness and Five¡¯s bulk, but she carried a kind of stern presence with her that the other two couldn¡¯t help but step back from, keeping their egos in check. ¡°Now which way to the generator?¡±


    ¡°Should be on the left side going this way.¡± Two looked over the walls as they moved, mentally mapping each door as she shined the slate¡¯s screen in front of them. They passed the dormitories, several labs, and finally they arrived at a large door with a lightning bolt symbol and the word ¡®engine¡¯ under it ¡°That¡¯ll be it.¡± Two declared as she looked the door over ¡°¡­ This one¡¯s more secure though. I¡¯m not sure if Five can force this one open.


    ¡°That a challenge?¡± Five asked as she stepped forward, looking for a handle to get purchase on the door before settling for gripping her fingers on the opening in the center.


    ¡°Be careful, if you crush your hands, I can only do so much.¡± Three warned. The larger girl pulled at the door with great effort, but it didn¡¯t even so much as creak.


    Two examined the walls around it as Five continued trying to pull it open. ¡°There¡¯s gotta be a manual release somewhere, right?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­¡± Three pondered, just watching from a distance for now ¡°It¡¯s more a question of if it¡¯s built for people our size to reach and use.¡±


    ¡°Hang on¡­ this place had to be maintained by someone at some point, right? Maybe we can find some tools. A prybar or something?¡± Two asked ¡°Simple machines. A lever and fulcrum.¡±


    Five finally let go of the door with a grunt of wasted effort ¡°Yeah, this is getting nowhere. It¡¯s too heavy to do this by hand.¡±


    The group started making their way back toward the labs, waiting for Five to work open each of the doorways. Some had strange machines none of them could identify, empty boards that may have once had data scrawled on them, cabinets full of empty papers and drained writing implements, more dead slates that Three and Five took with the expectation that they would be able to charge them up as well at some point, and various smaller tools irrelevant to the problem of the moment that they set aside for later use.


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    It wasn¡¯t until they opened a fourth new room that they hit the jackpot. The lab was filled with all sorts of mechanical parts and construction tools. It was an engineering bay, and there were more than a couple things that might help them with the door.


    As the girls carried back metal prybars and a jack, Five spoke up ¡°So¡­ Leader, recon, medical, survival, labor, science¡­ what¡¯s Seven?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t get a chance to look yet. Three was afraid she¡¯d get locked in.¡± Two shrugged.


    ¡°Can you blame me? Look what happened to One.¡± Three muttered, struggling to carry everything she¡¯d picked up.


    ¡°Still don¡¯t know what happened to One, but I get what you mean.¡± Five shuddered ¡°That smell¡­ no way she¡¯s alive in there, right?¡±


    ¡°Not a chance.¡± Two sighed ¡°It must be toxic in there, and she¡¯s been floating around in that for¡­ probably years based off of the timers on everyone else¡¯s chambers. The power was off too, so it wasn¡¯t¡­ incubating her like it was for us anymore. I¡¯m guessing she just never woke up. I kinda hope she just never woke up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not think about it too much.¡± Three said, dumping the jack down next to the engine room door as they arrived and reorienting her slate and medkit. ¡°Please tell me there¡¯s more clothes, by the way.¡±


    ¡°More than enough.¡± Two nodded, setting her slate down on the floor so she could hold her prybar in both hands ¡°We¡¯ll get you something next time we pass by. Now let¡¯s see if we can do this.¡± she set the bar against the crack in the middle of the door, but quickly found there just wasn¡¯t enough room for it to get a grip ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°Just hold it still.¡± Five said, backing up a step.


    Two did as she was told but looked at the other girl with a raised eyebrow ¡°What are you¡­?¡± she didn¡¯t get a chance to finish before Five held out her own bar and let out a primal grunt as she charged right at the door, smashing the metal pieces together and eliciting a loud metallic crunch as Two¡¯s bar forced its way through the door. Two stumbled back, shocked by the blow, but the bar was stuck firmly between the two doors now ¡°Wow¡­ th-that works.¡± she sounded amazed.


    Five panted, rubbing her shoulder where she¡¯d made contact with the metal ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah it did. Like you said, simple machines. Good thing it worked too, cause ow.¡±


    Three sighed and picked up Two¡¯s slate for some light ¡°Let me see it¡­ just a bruise, you¡¯ll be okay. Hopefully next time you¡¯ll let me make a brace for you before you do that.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, mom.¡± Five said sarcastically. Meanwhile, Two was leaning into the prybar, and as she put all of her weight behind it, something gave. The prybar fell and the door opened just an inch. ¡°Any monsters in there?¡± Five mumbled quietly.


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Two grabbed her slate back from Three and shined it through the crack ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s dark. But I think we can fit the jack now.¡± she slid the metal plate between the two doors and started to crank at it, grunting as it went tight ¡°What did they make this door out of?¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Here.¡± Five motioned for Two to move out of the way and she took over, slowly forcing the door open inch by inch as the jack expanded ¡°It must have been powered. Probably gonna slam shut if it goes back on.¡±


    Two grimaced at that conclusion. The whole point they were going in there was to power it on. Did that mean they¡¯d be stuck in there afterward? No, there had to be a way to open it from the inside once power was on. She took a long deep breath before she declared ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m recon, I¡¯m supposed to be the one exploring the dangerous place.¡±


    Five looked up from the jack, having made just enough room for one person to barely squeeze through ¡°You sure? Don¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Two sighed and sidled up to the door, squeezing her way between it and into the darkness before shining the light around to get her bearings. It was a generator room, alright. She at least knew enough to recognize what the machines were at a glance. They definitely weren¡¯t her specialty, but she was the only one here now. ¡°Okay¡­ so¡­ this almost looks like a breaker box. That¡¯s simple, right?¡± she told herself as she stepped up to the machine of switches. Every one of them was switched to an ¡®off¡¯ state, except for one, labeled genetics lab. It had been forcibly tied to the ¡®on¡¯ state with a metal wire that looked to be reinforced and welded into place, making it basically impossible to trip. Two clicked her tongue again. Even she knew what a horrible idea that was, but it seemed to have kept the lights on where it needed to be, so she couldn¡¯t really fault whoever had set it up.


    She called out back to the door ¡°Hey girls, it¡¯s a breaker box type of setup. I don¡¯t think I should try to turn on more than we need. Should I light up the halls?¡±


    ¡°We got enough light out here,¡± Five called back ¡°Just turn on what we need.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Two had so many options, she wasn¡¯t sure where to start. She supposed the engine room itself would probably be the best place to start, so it would distribute and regulate the power better ¡°Step back from the door, this might make it close.¡± she said before she flipped it on. Faint lights coming on over head instantly before there was another crunch of metal, the jack collapsing under the strain of the doors coming to life and squeezing in. The heavy door had crushed the tool, almost flattening it and leaving just a small gap where the metal shard was now stuck. ¡°Ah¡­ okay. Yep. Closed in here now.¡± Two took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm as the room continued to light up.


    There were all kinds of machines, no doubt all focused on regulating power or some other aspect of the station. But with her eyes drawn to the door, Two was entirely focused on finding a way to make it open for now. Several buttons lie next to the door, and she was too scared to not try to press them. The first that was positioned within her reach just a little bit over her head did nothing. She hammered away at it a few times, but it just didn¡¯t seem to do anything at all. The second was a larger button, but it had a cover over it. She definitely wanted to save that for last. However, the last one was high up on the wall, beyond her reach. She¡¯d need to climb up on something to get to it. Looking around, she was dismayed not to find a stepladder. There was a scratching noise at the door. She assumed Three and Five must have been trying to pry the door open again.


    Two closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn¡¯t the time to panic. She had to stay cool or nothing would get done. Taking another look around, she found one of the shelves was on wheels, and none of the machines on it were connected to anything. Just a storage shelf. With effort, she pushed it over to the door, trying to ignore the other girls¡¯ frantic scratching. She wasn¡¯t going to get stuck in here.

 Grim Discoveries

    The doors slid open with the sound of a tinny mechanical horn before Five came spilling through, falling over with the prybar as it moved into the wall. She rolled over and looked up to see Two perched perilously above her on top of a metal shelf, her hand pressed to the button near the top of the doorway.


    ¡°Oh God, you''re okay!¡± She cried out ¡°I thought maybe the room got destroyed or shot you into space or something!¡±


    Two was surprised to see Five in hysterics like this. She clearly wasn''t as tough as she wanted the others to see her as ¡°Uh¡­ yeah. I''m okay. It was a little scary, but you have to stay calm in an emergency.¡± She spoke sheepishly as she climbed carefully down from the shelf.


    Three walked in after them, letting the wave of nausea from shifting gravity pass before she spoke ¡°You did have us worried.¡±


    Two smiled and stood tall ¡°Haha, well, I am the brave adventurer of us, after all.¡± She couldn''t help but giggle at the declaration.


    ¡°I''m just glad you''re okay.¡± Five started as she got back to her feet before she crossed her arms and tried to save face ¡°You know¡­ cause there''s not many of us. It''d be a big deal if we lost another one.¡±


    ¡°Whatever.¡± Two smiled at Five, knowing she was glad to see her safe ¡°Breaker¡¯s over this way.¡± She motioned for them to follow and rushed over to the electrical box.


    Three crossed her arms as she stared at the electrical mess surrounding one specific breaker. ¡°Did¡­ you do that?¡±


    Two shook her head ¡°Haha, what? How would I do that? It was like that when I got here. Someone really wanted to make sure that lab stayed powered.¡±


    ¡°No matter what, it would seem¡­ perhaps we needed to have been created.¡± Three pondered ¡°Which really just begs the question of where our progenitor is if we''re so important.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we''ll get plenty of answers once we can get the server running.¡± Two glanced over the breakers, labeled in indented lettering ¡°dormitories¡­ medbay¡­ each lab has its own connection. Do you need medbay on to do your thing Three?¡°


    Three pondered this for a moment ¡°Hmm¡­ not yet, at least. I don''t know how much we can get away with turning on, so let''s leave it be until we need it.¡±


    Two nodded ¡°Waste processing. I think that should be our first luxury option. Oh, a cafeteria. I wonder if we¡¯ll find anything left there.¡± she clicked the switch for it on, but there was no obvious change, the cafeteria obviously being far from their current position. Still, nothing exploded, so it couldn¡¯t have been bad.¡±


    Five nodded ¡°Hopefully there''s something left to eat there.¡±


    Three had her eyes closed and looked pensive as she thought it over ¡°Maybe¡­¡± was all she mumbled. ¡°Waste processing isn¡¯t a luxury though. It might clear up that mess One made in genetics, and we can¡¯t afford to go ill from poor hygiene either.¡± She reached into the box and flipped it on herself.


    Two continued down the list ¡°Hall¡­ Terminal? That''s another word for computer, right?¡± She said, flipping the switch on to check and then immediately lifting her Slate. It didn''t change anything though.


    ¡°Would you quit turning things on so haphazardly?¡± Three scolded ¡°Who knows what sort of state this thing¡¯s in. It could short out if we use too much power.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you''re right. My mistake.¡± Two grimaced, hoping she didn''t screw something up. ¡°I¡¯ll just turn on what we need right now. Like¡­ the helm?¡±


    ¡°Could tell us where we are and where we''re going. I say activate it.¡± Three kept looking down the list and frowned ¡°This can''t be everything¡­ there''s no life support. No gravity generator. No environment control. And that¡¯s all on obviously.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it''s not all hooked to this one box.¡± Two noted as she flipped the helm on. ¡°It would make more sense to isolate important systems like that, right?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make things easier for us though.¡± Five groaned ¡°What if there¡¯s external systems¡­ there¡¯s no way this place has a space suit in our size, right?¡±


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    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust something like that unless Six could look at it first anyway.¡± Two muttered, knowing that that was impossible now. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to do what we can from inside of the station.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think that¡¯s enough up and running for us to explore for now.¡± Three stated, turning toward the hallway once more ¡°I should go check in on Seven before we see if the cafeteria is worthwhile.¡±


    ¡°I wanna go to the genetics lab one more time.¡± Two shuddered at the thought of returning to the rancid smelling room as well as the corpses of two of their would-be companions ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to, but I want to know what Seven¡¯s skillset is, and since Six¡¯s machine never activated, there¡¯s probably some kind of food source or something left there.¡±


    ¡°Whatever form food takes for incubating clones, anyway.¡± Five grimaced, wondering if it would actually be edible at all through normal means.


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ll stop by the dormitory to get clothes for Seven and I as well.¡± Three said as she turned and hopped through the doorway, stumbling a bit into the hall. ¡°That¡¯s going to take some getting used to.¡± she mumbled as she made her way down the hallway.


    ¡°Just us again.¡± Five shrugged as she followed Two out as well ¡°We really gotta go back there?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re probably going to have to do a lot of things we don¡¯t want to, Five.¡± Two looked worriedly up at the stars ¡°Whatever happened here, for us to be in this situation, things have to be pretty bad. I really wish One made it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know what she would be like, why you keep looking up to her anyway?¡±


    ¡°Cause she probably knew what we¡¯re supposed to be doing here. Without her, we¡¯re just stumbling around in the dark.¡± Two explained, moving toward the lab section ¡°So now we have to figure out a mystery while we should be doing something that¡¯s probably really important.¡±


    ¡°Guess you got a point there.¡± Five went into the genetics lab first, holding her nose until the gravity sickness passed ¡°Eugh¡­ I can¡­ taste it.¡± she grimaced.


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m not happy about this either.¡± Two said as she stepped down to the line of chambers that they awoke from. ¡°Can you see if you can find something on Six¡¯s while I look into this? Like a canister maybe? Pipes leading out of the room even. It¡¯s gotta be stored somewhere, right?¡±


    She finally plugged her slate into Seven¡¯s computer, scanning over the usual data to find what she was looking for. Her eyes went wide as she read the data, confusion turning to worry as she tried to work out the implication of what she¡¯d just seen.


    ¡°Two.¡± Five called, snapping her out of her daze ¡°¡­ Something wrong?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I-I¡­ no, what do you need?¡± she stammered as she disconnected the slate, hiding it under her shirt for now.


    Five raised an eyebrow at her ¡°Okay then¡­ There¡¯s a drainage pipe hooked into the ship¡¯s system, and power, but nothing else. It looks like if there¡¯s food, it¡¯s built into the chamber. We¡¯d have to pull this thing apart to get to it.¡± she sounded defeated as she gently kicked the machine, trying not to injure herself expressing her disappointment ¡°Can we get out of here? This is unbearable.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah, let¡¯s go.¡± Two sounded haunted as she moved back into the hall, taking a deep breath of the comparably fresh air.


    As soon as they were both clear of the stench, Five tapped Two¡¯s shoulder to turn her so they faced one another ¡°Alright, now something¡¯s bothering you. What did it say?¡± Five crossed her arms ¡°Come on now, we can¡¯t keep secrets if this situation¡¯s so serious.¡±


    Two pursed her lips, trying to avoid eye contact with Five ¡°I-I¡­ here.¡± she couldn¡¯t say it herself, so she held up the slate for her to read, eliciting an equally confused stare from the labor clone. They both stood in silence, resting against the wall, both of them lost for words as they contemplated how they would break this to the others.


    It wasn¡¯t until Three came walking slowly down the hall toward them that they realized they were out of time to think. Seven was following behind slowly, her chest covered in clean bandages. She was moving slowly because of her injury, but she was mobile now.


    ¡°Seven¡­¡± Two looked astonished to see her up and moving already.


    ¡°She won¡¯t be able to do any heavy lifting, but the cut¡¯s more shallow than I thought it was before she had a nap. Figured it was better to stick together.¡± Three explained, smiling at Seven, who returned the gesture.


    Standing here, it was obvious that Seven was the youngest of them all, being considerably smaller. She looked¡­ fragile. Frail even when she stood with her injury covered. Two and Five both looked silently at her with pitying gazes.


    Seven just let out a quiet ¡°Hello. Thank you for helping me.¡± before stepping shyly behind Three. It made sense to them both that she¡¯d bonded more with Three after she¡¯d taken care of her like that.


    Three could tell something was wrong, assuming there was some kind of animosity between them somehow ¡°¡­ What? What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked, looking between the two other clones and Seven. Her expression turned to the same concern ¡°What did you find out in there?¡± she asked as she realized that they must have learned something grim.


    Two sighed and handed her the slate, which Three snatched up quickly and glanced over, her own expression turning to terror. She looked at Seven, then the slate again, a distraught expression in her eyes before she turned around to Seven and held the slate close to herself, going silent as well.


    Seven looked confused now, starting to get scared as the other three faced her ¡°W-What is it?¡± she asked, looking over her body to see if there was something amiss besides her injury.


    ¡°Your role¡­¡± Three looked down at the slate again to be sure before she swallowed hard and looked her back in the eyes ¡°It says¡­ breeder.¡±

 Desperate Curiosity

    The crew sat together in the dormitory common room for now, their most recent revelation leaving everyone silent. Tired. Confused. Seven stared blankly out of a window, a lost expression on her face. She was certainly younger, but the implications of her role were not lost on her.


    ¡°How can it be ¡®breeder¡¯?¡± Five asked incredulously from one of the couches, having finally donned a plain white t-shirt herself. It had seemed like that¡¯s all the clothes were. White and undecorated, despite the different suites having different shapes and styles of clothes. ¡°What does that even mean? Breed with who? There¡¯s nobody here, we¡¯re all girls, and why in the world would that matter!?¡± Five sounded angry on Seven¡¯s behalf.


    ¡°Only One knows for sure.¡± Three said as she watched her own slate charge rapidly from a port they had found on the wall of the common room ¡°We have to find out a way to read her file.¡±


    ¡°Fine, you stay here and look it over.¡± Five stood up from her seat and walked up behind Seven ¡°Hey, Seven. look at me.¡± she gently turned Seven¡¯s seat to face her, revealing the injured girl¡¯s distant stare ¡°Hey¡­ look, I don¡¯t care what that file said, you¡¯re our sister now, and I¡¯m not going to let anyone do anything to you, got it?¡± she slowly put her arms around the girl and she reciprocated, holding the larger girl tightly. ¡°You can trust us. Nobody¡¯s gonna touch you.¡±


    Two also stared out of a different window, looking over the planet below them. She wondered if it was where they were from. Or where they were going to. She knew of Earth, but she couldn¡¯t identify it if she was looking at it, so was this even their own home planet? What did all of this mean. ¡°I¡¯m going to check the bridge next.¡± Two spoke flatly, not wanting the others to mistake it as a suggestion.


    Five wanted to argue that they needed to keep comforting Seven, but pragmatically, she knew that they might not have all the time they needed to ease the girl¡¯s fears. ¡°Well you¡¯re not going alone.¡± she stepped back from hugging Seven and took her hand gently instead ¡°Come on Seven¡­ let¡¯s go do some looking around. Maybe you¡¯ll feel better after a walk with us.¡±


    Seven nodded reluctantly ¡°Maybe.¡± she sighed, slowly getting to her feet so as not to disturb her injury.


    ¡ª


    The three walked the large hallway together, going at a slow pace to ensure Seven could keep up, and eventually Two thought it best to make conversation ¡°Hey Seven, I was wondering, how¡¯d you get hurt anyway?¡± she asked.


    Seven was surprised the others were addressing her at all now, having been more focused on each other up until that moment ¡°Umm¡­ one of the cables. When it disconnected, it got caught on something and whipped into me. It might have been pressurized.¡±


    ¡°Whoever made those things didn¡¯t make them safe, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Five muttered ¡°But they worked. If we really are clones, then we were just born. How do you think we¡¯re not a bunch of drooling idiots?¡±


    Two shrugged ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what the data in those files is. Somehow¡­ download information into us or something? We were apparently in there for around six years, but we look older than that. They probably tweaked a lot of things about how we grew.¡±


    ¡°So we age fast then?¡± Seven wondered ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re going to die of old age faster too?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Five didn¡¯t want to think about that as they turned to face the helm. They likely still had a lot of natural lifespan ahead of them, after all. The door to the helm appeared to already be twisted open, off of its hinges. It hung awkwardly at the corner of the frame. It had already been forced open, perhaps long before they had woken up. Inside, several terminals lit up under several large screens. None of the three could identify anything that was happening in the room at a glance though ¡°Probably Six¡¯s job¡­¡± Five remarked, walking in to look over some of the terminals and see if she could decipher anything.


    Two did the same, going to one of the screens that looked to have the most user-friendly interface and found it not unlike the slates. After poking around in the file system, she found that it too was disconnected from a central server, and only had local files related to bridge control. These, however, were far more readable than what was on the cloning chambers. ¡°¡­ Girls, I think this is communications. It still has some logs in a buffer.¡± she started looking around for some sort of controls, a distress signal, a way to call out to a planetside facility, anything, but she couldn¡¯t make sense of most of it.


    Five seemed equally frustrated at her terminal, groaning as she clicked through the interface haphazardly ¡°Navigation here. I¡¯m not touching that. Don¡¯t want to knock us off course or something.¡±


    ¡°Does it at least say where we¡¯re headed?¡± Two turned and came to look over Five¡¯s shoulder.


    She shook her head ¡°Stable orbit around that planet. We¡¯re not going anywhere. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s Earth, but it doesn¡¯t feel familiar.¡±


    ¡°Do you think rescue¡¯s coming?¡± Seven asked, staying at the door because she was too uncertain she would be able to do anything to help.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Five grimaced down at the terminal ¡°Maybe.¡± she said grimly, though she wasn¡¯t certain if help would be appreciated if they were just going to enforce their roles, disgust showing on her face as she once more reminded herself of what that could mean for Seven.


    ¡°I¡¯ll check those logs. Shouldn¡¯t hurt anything.¡± Two returned to the comms terminal and went back to look through the text logs. Some of the data was corrupted, but there was legible text. She excitedly opened the file, eager to see the first bit of coherent readable information they¡¯d encounter since they had woken up.


    ¡ª


    ¡®Last Stand, this is [¡­] The diversion team has failed. It¡¯s over. Your crew will likely be [¡­] I¡¯m sorry that it came to this. There are no more contingencies. Perhaps we were just never meant to [¡­] asteroid [¡­] fire [¡­] Maybe you can figure something out. No matter how impossible [¡­] human spirit [¡­] the end for us. 42 hours until impact, and then it¡¯s all up to you. You¡¯ll be the only ones left. I don¡¯t blame you if that¡¯s too tall an order. I guess I can¡¯t even really say it¡¯s an order anymore. A request. You have the world¡¯s most brilliant minds in that station. You¡¯ll think of something, I [¡­]


    ¡ª


    The file was full of holes, but Two thought she could understand the gist of it. Something happened. Something terrible happened. A disaster that would leave whoever was on the ground incapacitated. Dread crept up Two¡¯s spine as she reread the word ¡®asteroid¡¯. She looked out the helm window and down at the planet beneath them. It didn¡¯t look like there was anything in proximity. Perhaps this disaster was yet to pass, which made her wonder how long they had until this happened. What were they supposed to do about it though?


    ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡± Five asked grimly, used to seeing Two distraught by something she had read by now.


    Two frantically looked over the terminal again, looking for an accurate time to compare to the timestamp on the log, but the terminal threw an error and requested access to the central database again. Pursing her lips, she sighed ¡°I¡­ think we¡¯re supposed to save the world?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Huh?¡± was all Five could muster, letting out a huff in disbelief ¡°That¡¯s bullshit.¡± she stepped up to the terminal herself, reading the communique and crossing her arms ¡°This doesn¡¯t sound right. We¡¯re smart, but I wouldn¡¯t say we¡¯re the ¡®world¡¯s most brilliant minds¡¯.


    Seven walked closer to read as well ¡°Maybe it¡¯s from a show.¡± she suggested ¡°You know, like for entertainment.¡±


    ¡°Grim entertainment.¡± Five scoffed as she turned around ¡°42 hours¡­ how long ago was this sent?¡±


    ¡°No idea, I think something went wrong with the clock system, it keeps asking to connect to the database for the time on the slate too.¡± Two pulled hers out again to look it over, and sure enough it still wasn¡¯t finding the central computer either.


    ¡°Well where¡¯s the database?¡± Five asked impatiently


    Two shrugged her shoulders ¡°Ahh¡­ maybe one of the labs? Maybe somewhere outside the station? Maybe it¡¯s in some administrative area we don¡¯t have access to.¡± she sighed and put the slate back down ¡°We¡¯ll need to explore. That¡¯s all we can do.¡±


    ¡°Getting real tired of this.¡± Five groaned, slamming one hand into an empty wall in frustration ¡°I want to know what¡¯s happening around here already. I want to know why we¡¯re being birthed on some abandoned space station. I just want some answers already!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get them.¡± Seven said quietly ¡°We¡¯ll find it out. I know we will.¡± she sounded so assured of herself. It was hard to tell if it was confidence or if she was just trying to reassure Five.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡­ think we need to get the rest of the power on.¡± Two said quietly, curiosity seething within her to the point where she was ready to do something drastic.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Three say not to do that?¡± Five raised an eyebrow.


    Two pursed her lips, knowing she was right and this was a stupid risk ¡°Yeah¡­ but if we¡¯re in a time crunch, we need that database on now. If we don¡¯t know where it is, we can just turn on everything and see. If this place is really supposed to be so advanced, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be able to handle it, right?¡±


    ¡°We have to do something¡­¡± Seven murmured in tacit agreement.


    Five took a deep breath and sighed ¡°We¡¯re gonna die. We¡¯re all gonna die, aren¡¯t we?¡± she threw her arms out ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s¡­ turn on a space station. For real this time.¡±


    ¡ª


    ¡°Three¡¯s gonna kill us.¡± Five said as they stepped into the engine room once again. Two, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t wasting any time. She walked up to the panel and began flipping switches, turning on everything from the hallway to the dormitories, to the restrooms. It had to be on one of these circuits. And as more and more of the station lit up, the engine room began to hum louder as the machines started working again.


    ¡°Three can yell at us when we¡¯re dead.¡± she declared as she flipped on the very last switch, one that wasn¡¯t even labeled like the others. And miraculously¡­ they stayed on. A few minutes passed as they stared at the machinery, looking to see if it would explode or fall apart on them, and it didn¡¯t. By some fluke, it seemed to be in working order.


    Once Two was done gawking at her plan actually working, she pulled out her slate and began swiping her way to find connections. And after a few moments of scanning, it connected to something. ¡°Holy¡­ it¡¯s working!¡± Two declared, immediately checking in on the clock again. But it wasn¡¯t what she expected. It just showed another error screen that said ¡®unable to parse date time.¡¯


    ¡°No¡­ come on, there¡¯s gotta be something.¡± she started looking through the slate to find that innumerable other functions had been unlocked. Things relating to chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics. There were just too many options now, many related to hard sciences.


    ¡°Can you see how long since it connected last?¡± Seven asked, looking around her arm at the device.


    Two nodded ¡°Maybe?¡± she looked around the system to find if there were logs and after a few minutes of frantic scrolling, she was able to find something. System logs. ¡°Here, yeah, time since last login.¡± she stopped and stared. It was such a large number¡­ ¡°Must be in seconds.¡± she muttered as she opened up a calculator on the screen ¡°¡­ divide by¡­ then there¡¯s¡­¡± she stopped saying all the words as she did the math, slowing down as she found she had to keep dividing again and again, realization slowly dawning on her as she let the slate slip down and fall limp in her arm at her side.


    ¡°¡­ What? How long we got?¡± Five asked impatiently. But Two quickly began to realize that it wasn¡¯t a matter of how long they had until the disaster happened anymore.


    Two slumped back against the wall and stared blankly into the distance, a look of disbelief on her face ¡°Last login was¡­ T-Two¡­ Two hundred¡­ fifty seven¡­ million years.¡±

 Alone

    The halls of the Last Stand were well-lit now. Each of the modules of the station lit up and empowered by Two¡¯s haphazard power tampering. But aside from the soft hum of electricity through each inch of the ship, the station remained relatively quiet. Lights turned on, terminal lights blinked as computers returned to function, but nothing new moved. It was as if the power had never been cut in the first place when everything was already in stasis.


    Three was stomping down the hall, anger on her face as she approached the rest of the crew, loitering in the halls, looking despondent. ¡°What did you three do!?¡± she shouted the moment she laid eyes on them.


    ¡°We turned on the power.¡± Five said quietly, still trying to process their newest revelation. None of them seemed to react at all to Three¡¯s obvious anger.


    ¡°No one¡¯s coming to help us.¡± Seven looked to be on the verge of tears as she sat against the hallway wall.


    ¡°Three¡­ I know we took a risk. But we¡¯re in trouble.¡± Two walked up to her first, holding the slate out in front of her ¡°I connected to the database. We¡¯re¡­ yell at us later, this is too important. The station, it¡¯s been offline for¡­ a long time.¡±


    Three looked over the slate, confused at what all the numbers she was looking at were ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± she asked, still sounding stern.


    ¡°It¡¯s time. Time since the system last booted.¡± Two explained through a cracking voice, having trouble keeping her emotions together as she spoke ¡°This place has been waiting for us to wake up for¡­ eons.¡±


    ¡°Some kind of cataclysm hit Earth.¡± Five continued ¡°All that time ago, something really bad happened. Hundreds of MILLIONS of years pass, and now we wake up.¡±


    Three stared at the numbers, her eyes growing wide as she heard their discoveries. She took in several deep breaths as she tried to comprehend it all ¡°So¡­ the four of us¡­ are we¡­?¡±


    ¡°The last humans.¡± Seven sniffled, letting out a sob as she started to tear up.


    ¡°Probably, yeah.¡± Five muttered, taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm as she sat down next to Seven and held onto her.


    Three looked back and forth between the others and the slate a few times before she held a hand to her head and stepped back into the wall as well. ¡°Millions¡­¡± she murmured in disbelief. ¡°That¡­ can¡¯t be right, can it? How is this place still operational?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Whoever was here before us must have somehow engineered it to last this long.¡± Two spoke quietly ¡°But why? What do they expect us to accomplish? We¡¯re just kids.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we¡¯re just supposed to live.¡± Five suggested, still holding tight to Seven, who was quietly bawling into her shoulder now.


    ¡°For one last generation?¡± Three asked, beginning to clench her teeth, her body shaking as anger began to seethe in her expression ¡°But why now? It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll be able to rebuild. There¡¯s¡­ just us. And we¡¯re up here, in a floating coffin!¡±


    ¡°Maybe they weren¡¯t thinking that far ahead.¡± Two sighed ¡°Maybe they wanted us to figure it out.¡±


    ¡°Figure what out?!¡± Three cried out loudly, drawing everone¡¯s eyes to her ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡±


    Two was taken aback at her outburst. Three had been the most collected among them until now, and this was even breaking her. She looked down and put the slate away at her side again. She rested against the wall as well, despondent. She was tired. They were all tired. This was all too much for them. The more they learned of their situation, the more hopeless it seemed. They were truly alone.


    They each stared up out of one of the windows in the ceiling, the stars mesmerizingly far away. What was the point? They were lost. No one was coming to help. No one was going to tell them what they needed to do. No one was going to miss them when they inevitably died in the hazardous station, just like One and Four. It was hopeless.


    Surprisingly, Seven was the first to break the silence with an almost silent ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± which finally broke the other girls from their stupor.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Five nodded, starting to shift herself to get up ¡°Me too. We gotta find food.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Three muttered darkly ¡°We might as well just end this now. We¡¯re just going to suffer and die anyway.¡±


    Five grimaced at the medic and clicked her tongue ¡°Screw that.¡± she pushed herself to her feet, helping Seven get up with her. ¡°Someone went through a lot of trouble for us to wake up now. I¡¯m not just gonna throw it away. I¡¯m not scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± Two looked away from the others and stepped away from the wall as well ¡°But I¡¯m not giving up either. Five¡¯s right. We should at least try.¡±


    Three looked at the others with an expression of disbelief, then looked down at the floor and turned away from them ¡°I¡¯ll be in my room.¡± she muttered, walking back away from the group toward the dormitories.


    ¡°We¡¯ll bring you something to eat when we find it.¡± Five said adamantly.


    ¡°Good luck.¡± Three groaned as she disappeared into the living quarters.


    ¡ª


    The three remaining girls started to walk the other way, looking among the newly lit chambers for the cafeteria ¡°She¡¯s crying, isn¡¯t she?¡± Seven asked.


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    ¡°It¡¯s too much for her. It¡¯s too much for any of us. I think she¡¯s given up.¡± Two said quietly ¡°I don¡¯t blame her.¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Five muttered ¡°We gotta do something, right? We can¡¯t just roll over and die. We can¡¯t let humanity die.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all girls, Five, we¡¯re the last ones. Not like we can make more.¡± Two explained ¡°The best we can do is live out our lives however long this station can sustain us.¡±


    ¡°We could make more.¡± Five argued ¡°They did.¡±


    ¡°¡­ More clones.¡± Seven said quietly.


    ¡°I¡­ guess? If we can figure out how those chambers work and somehow get supplies for them.¡± Two didn¡¯t sound convinced at the idea though ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a good long term plan though.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s something.¡± Five shrugged ¡°For now, let¡¯s just focus on keeping ourselves alive.¡±


    Two nodded as they turned in toward the cafeteria ¡°Right. First thing¡¯s first. Food.¡±


    ¡ª


    Two, Five, and Seven looked over the kitchen, but all they found was dust. What was once the fresh food that remained was not even desiccated at this point, it had disintegrated with the passage of time and was little more than powdered carbon now. But none of the girls expected anything that wasn¡¯t preserved to be of any use anyway now that they knew the timespan since it was in use. They needed sustenance that was made to last.


    ¡°Don¡¯t suppose anyone might know what space food looks like?¡± Five asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m imagining tubes.¡± Two answered ¡°Like¡­ some kind of gross sludge in a tube.¡±


    ¡°Great, let¡¯s go eat One.¡± Five smirked. Her grim sense of humor was lost on the others though.


    Two opened cabinet after cabinet, looking for something that wasn¡¯t just dust by now, and finding nothing of use.


    ¡°I found something.¡± Seven called for the others, holding open what looked like a machine of some sort. Inside the chamber, it was cold. Beyond cold, it was frigid. Like the emptiness of space itself had been opened without depressurizing the interior. Inside were a small pile of thin plastic squeeze tubes, the labels blank like everything else on the station. ¡°Like this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ basically what I imagined, yeah.¡± Two wasn¡¯t sure how she had such specific knowledge, but she figured it must have been something she was programmed with in her creation.


    ¡°That¡¯s supposed to be food?¡± Five grabbed one out of the container and had to toss it around a couple times before dropping it on a counter ¡°It¡¯s so cold!¡± she shouted, breathing into her cupped hands to try to warm them up again.


    ¡°Probably preserved with vacuum.¡± Two gave an amused chuckle ¡°That¡¯s clever. Can¡¯t rot if it¡¯s in stasis too. Just keep that thing closed till we need more.¡± she said as she shut the container once more.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯ll still be good?¡± Seven asked as she looked up at the steaming cold tube on the counter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s actually food. I¡¯m just guessing.¡± Two admitted ¡°I mean I doubt they¡¯re keeping tubes of adhesive in a cold box in the kitchen, but still.¡± The three girls stared at the tube as it warmed up, frost gathering on the metal countertop as the cold dispersed into the room ¡°You wanna try it, miss fearless?¡± Two asked Five.


    Five was silent for a little longer ¡°Uhh¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m THAT hungry.¡± she admitted.


    ¡°I am.¡± Seven poked at the tube with her finger, recoiling at the temperature ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you take that risk, Seven.¡± Five sighed ¡°I dunno what exactly ¡®breeder¡¯ entails in this situation, but it makes me think we should probably keep you from getting hurt more than you have to. Gross as it makes me feel to think about, you might be the most important one of us if it means you can continue the human race.¡±


    Seven looked down at the floor ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m that special.¡± she whispered.


    Two shuffled through drawers of utensils and cooking implements, searching for something to pick it up with before brandishing tongs and picking up the tube carefully ¡°We need to warm it up.¡± she declared ¡°Which of these boxes is a microwave?¡± she asked, having only a vague understanding of the concept of cooking and the machines used for it.


    ¡ª


    Having given up on heating the tube up themselves after a few minutes of haphazardly turning things on to no immediate avail, the three found themselves sitting at a table and waiting for it to warm itself up.


    ¡°We¡¯re really the last humans, aren¡¯t we?¡± Two said slowly, slumped over the table.


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Five sighed, turning to look out the window again, trying to change the subject ¡°You know, now that I¡¯ve just been looking into space for so long, it¡¯s less scary. Kinda pretty actually.¡±


    ¡°I know what you mean. Everything just glows.¡± Two nodded, looking out alongside her ¡°It¡¯s scary that space is just right there on the other side of some glass, but at the same time¡­¡± she stared wistfully into space.


    ¡°I¡¯m bored.¡± Seven declared. She apparently didn¡¯t have the same appreciation for the vastness of space as the other two, standing up from her seat and wandering the cafeteria, deciding that exploring more was better than just waiting for what might be food to become an edible temperature.


    ¡°¡­ We don¡¯t have any way to make food, Five. We just have whatever¡¯s left on this station. That means we can only last so long.¡± Two said to her companion once Seven was out of earshot.


    Five nodded ¡°We¡¯ll have to figure something else out eventually.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have seeds to make a garden. No livestock. No renewable food source at all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s¡­ a problem.¡± Five sighed ¡°It¡¯s not like space is full of stuff to eat.¡± she poked at the tube again.


    Two grimaced at the table. She had something dark on her mind, but it was something actionable, so she couldn¡¯t ignore it. ¡°Hey¡­ uhh¡­ there is¡­ one thing I know is edible.¡± she swallowed her saliva, taking a deep breath, but then couldn¡¯t find the words.


    ¡°Hmm? What you thinking?¡± Five asked curiously, eager to hear anything that might save them from eventual starvation


    ¡°Four.¡± was all she replied with.


    ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re joking, right?¡± Five muttered quietly, looking to see that Seven didn¡¯t hear that.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I am yet. What if we actually become that desperate?¡± Two muttered, trying to avoid looking into Five¡¯s eyes. She was ashamed that she¡¯d even made the suggestion, but still, their situation felt that grave. ¡°And her¡­ body¡­ is only going to last so long.¡± She continued despite her own moral revulsion at her own words.


    Five opened her mouth, wanting to object, but¡­ it sounded reasonable. She hated that it sounded reasonable. She just went quiet and stared out the window again. She didn¡¯t want to think about it. It was disgusting. Even the suggestion was disgusting. But given their dire situation, it called for desperate measures. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ it¡¯s just¡­¡± she didn¡¯t even know what to say. She didn¡¯t want to agree. ¡°We¡­ can¡¯t. That¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°We should preserve her.¡± Two interrupted, not wanting her to jump to any kind of conclusion that she wanted to do this immediately ¡°Like in that container that these tubes are in. Just¡­ just as a last resort.¡± she said grimly ¡°A very last resort.¡±


    Five nodded ¡°Yeah. A last resort.¡± she breathed a sigh of relief. Resorting to cannibalism was a horrifying possibility, but she couldn¡¯t deny that there was a grim logic to it. ¡°Only if we don¡¯t figure something else out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying.¡± Two gulped ¡°I don¡¯t want to do it either.¡± she looked away into space again. ¡°It makes me sick even talking about it, but it¡¯s¡­ this is survival, I guess. I bet this is what she¡¯d suggest if she were here.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Five muttered ¡°This is¡­ a lot. All of it. I kinda get why Three shut down.¡± she admitted.


    As they looked away, Seven made her way back to the table. She quietly lifted the tube up herself. It had cooled enough to touch at least.


    The two older girls turned just in time to see Seven licking a bit of the greyish matter off her fingertip ¡°Mm¡­ it¡¯s sweet.¡± she smiled.

 Taste Test

    ¡°Well, she ate it.¡± Five leaned on her arm, just watching Seven smacking her lips.


    ¡°Seven, we¡¯re not even sure if that¡¯s safe yet!¡± Two reached over to try to take the tube, but the smaller girl pulled it away.


    ¡°Stop it. You¡¯re not older than me or something. We both just woke up here. Please¡­ don¡¯t just coddle me through all this. I know I¡¯m taking a risk. It¡¯s not fair if I don¡¯t take risks too.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s got a point. It is only fair.¡± Five said begrudgingly ¡°So it doesn¡¯t taste bad?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s like¡­ I thought it would be gross, but it¡¯s sweet.¡± she squeezed out another small dollop of it and licked it off her finger again. ¡°Hmm¡­ how¡­ much is enough?¡± she asked, uncertain how much was a meal.


    Two sighed, not liking that the injured girl was the one taking the risk with something that could be hazardous ¡°Hmm¡­ well, I guess it is already done. We¡¯ll just have to see how you react. And don¡¯t eat a bunch of it, you might only need a little bit of it, and we need it to last as long as possible. If you¡¯re still hungry in a little while, try some more.¡±


    Seven nodded ¡°I know¡­ I got hurt waking up in the machine. I just hope you don¡¯t see me as useless now.¡± She looked a little sad, like she was disappointed in herself for the accident she¡¯d befallen.


    ¡°What? No, that¡¯s not what it¡¯s like at all.¡± Two was surprised that Seven was feeling so insecure about the situation ¡°Seven, you¡¯re probably more valuable than all the rest of us. I don¡¯t know exactly what your role means yet, but for all we know, you might be the only one of us who actually can reproduce. We¡¯re not trying to protect you because we don¡¯t think you can be helpful, it¡¯s because we¡¯re¡­ probably more expendable than you are.¡±


    Seven shook her head and smiled at Two ¡°That¡¯s not right. You¡¯re a hero. Everything hurt when I woke up, and I know you felt the same, but you came to check on me anyway.¡±


    Two¡¯s cheeks brightened a little bit ¡°A-A hero? I wouldn¡¯t say that, haha.¡± she smiled, appreciating the compliment despite her own words.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve been doing a lot of the legwork around here, Two. Guess that¡¯s kinda supposed to be your thing though.¡± Five smirked at her when she saw it was making Two uncomfortable.


    ¡°H-Hey come on, it was Three that really helped. I didn¡¯t know what to do about that cut.¡± Two tried to push the adoration off onto someone else. She hadn¡¯t expected the praise to make her feel so insecure.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°You¡¯re all doing good. I wanna do my part too.¡± Seven smiled and looked down at the tube again, turning it over to see if there might be any kind of indication on it ¡°Umm¡­ I feel alright. It isn¡¯t making me feel sick. And it tasted like they were trying to make it taste good. So I think it¡¯s food.¡±


    ¡°Wish it said how much to take.¡± Five looked the tube over herself again ¡°Do people just not label stuff on space stations?¡±


    ¡°The ink on it probably wasn¡¯t made to last this long.¡± Two grimaced, knowing that the lost information could be very important ¡°Hang on, we have a database to connect to now, and I haven¡¯t really explored it. Maybe it¡¯ll have info on stuff like this.¡± she said as she pulled out her slate again.


    ¡°You sure do like that little computer.¡± Five mused as Two flicked through its menus.


    She was searching for something about the station¡¯s supplies. ¡°Well yeah, but it¡¯s not like any paper manuals survived this long. Provisioning supplies on station¡­ take waste organic matter from the hydroponics unit and deposit into the recycler¡­ makes a nutrient rich paste with synthesized minerals for nutrition¡­ Is that what this stuff is? Recycled plants?¡± Two pondered, continuing to scroll down. ¡°Uhh, a pea-sized extrusion, reconstituted with water, can sustain an adult human for approximately eight hours of light labor. It says you have to take it with water.¡± Two looked up at Seven, gesturing at the tablet as if to say ¡®I told you so.¡¯.


    ¡°Did¡­ I do it wrong?¡± Seven looked a little worried.


    ¡°Your body has water in it, right? That should do it.¡± Five reassured her.


    ¡°Probably, but that means it¡¯ll dehydrate her if it¡¯s using that water. We need to find fresh water too.¡± she sighed ¡°Don¡¯t worry Seven, that¡¯s something we needed to find anyway. Waste processing is on, so I imagine there¡¯s recycled water, let¡¯s see if the plumbing works.¡± Two stood up and walked back into the kitchen, making a beeline for the sink. Reaching up over the high counter, she was barely able to turn the knob for cold water, but nothing came out.


    ¡°Great¡­¡± Five muttered from behind, dripping with sarcasm ¡°So we¡¯re gonna thirst to death.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so morbid, Five.¡± Two rolled her eyes ¡°Something¡¯s wrong, that¡¯s all. We just have to fix it.¡±


    ¡°You know how to fix a space station¡¯s plumbing? Cause I¡¯ve only got a vague idea how it works.¡± Five leaned down under the sink herself to see if she could see where the pipes were going.


    ¡°I can try.¡± Two backed away from the sink and tried to do the same, but the pipes were quickly obscured by metal paneling.


    ¡°What if it¡¯s just cold?¡± Seven suggested ¡°If it¡¯s been off this whole time, and we¡¯re in space. Space is real cold. What if it¡¯s just icy?¡±


    ¡°Could be. In which case, we just gotta wait for it to warm up. But who knows how long that¡¯ll take?¡± Two put her hand to her chin and tried to think ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a blueprint?¡± she muttered as she flipped through the slate again.


    Five nodded ¡°Find the reservoir, see if there¡¯s somewhere closer. I gotcha.¡± she finally stood up ¡°We should probably go have a look around in the maintenance area anyway, see if there¡¯s anything broken or worn we have to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah, looking for ourselves will be better.¡± Two muttered as she was having trouble finding anything that might be a map or layout of the station itself. They would just have to try and find it themselves.

 Reconaissance

    ¡°You¡¯re going in there?¡± Five asked. The three girls stood at the entrance to the maintenance shaft around the cafeteria. It was a claustrophobic mess of cables and pipes, neatly arranged, but not built with comfortable space for a human in mind. It was a good thing that the trio weren¡¯t adults, or it would be an even more challenging place to navigate.


    Two stared into the opening, sighing deeply ¡°Yeah. We need to find the water reservoir and heater, make sure they¡¯re running, and see where it¡¯ll come out first. We¡¯re just gonna get in each others way if more than one of us goes looking down there. I know Three said not to go off on our own, but-¡±


    ¡°But Three¡¯s not here. And it¡¯s gotta get done. I gotcha.¡± Five nodded ¡°Seven, you stay here so she has someone to call out to. I¡¯m going to go take care of¡­ that thing we talked about.¡± Two nodded grimly as she stepped away, not wanting to discuss Four¡¯s fate with Seven present.


    Seven looked up at Two worriedly ¡°Are you sure I shouldn¡¯t do it?¡± she asked, trying to bolster herself and put on a brave face ¡°I¡¯m smaller than you, so-¡±


    ¡°Remember my role, Seven? Recon.¡± Two interrupted her ¡°It means I¡¯m best suited for this. They engineered us to be a certain way, so I probably got something in my head that¡¯ll help if I get in trouble in there.¡±


    Seven nodded slowly ¡°O-Okay, if you say so. Just let me know if I can help.¡± The girl couldn¡¯t hide that she looked more than a little relieved that she wasn¡¯t told to do what she¡¯d asked.


    ¡°You are helping, Seven.¡± Two reassured her ¡°If I get hurt in there, I can¡¯t run to Three for help myself.¡±


    Seven nodded again ¡°Right. I¡¯m here in case of emergency.¡± She smiled a little, finding a comfortable middle ground.


    ¡°Yeah, you got it.¡± Two gently pat her on the head and then turned to step in to the maintenance hatch.


    The inside was lit at distant intervals, making the whole tunnel dim, but bright enough to make out where she was going. The path twisted and turned, but Two found herself making a mental map around the rooms she knew, tracking her location accurately. She smiled to herself when she realized how instinctual the skill was. Recon. Still, she wasn¡¯t finding what she was looking for. She wasn¡¯t finding any damage at all either, but she wasn¡¯t finding a reservoir. Pipes led all around from places water should flow, but they seemed to disappear into one room. Waste processing. It must have handled the rest of the plumbing of the facility too. It made sense when she thought about how compact a station like this had to be.


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    Two found it difficult to open the other hatch doors from the inside without Five¡¯s strength, so she made her way back to where she started, emerging to find Seven¡¯s smiling face ¡°Welcome back.¡± she said ¡°Did you find water?¡±


    Two gave a tentative nod and tried fruitlessly to wipe grease off of her arms and legs with her shirt ¡°Sort of.¡± before they saw Five walking back up the hallway.


    Her shirt had a few scattered spots of red on it, which she immediately addressed before Seven could ask ¡°Some of the machines had this¡­ oil¡­¡± she said quietly, though her pale complexion belied the grim deed she¡¯d done. She was absolutely haunted in that moment. ¡°Uhh, good news is, we can go back in genetics. One¡¯s room got mostly cleaned out. Probably when you turned waste processing on. It doesn¡¯t smell nice, but it¡¯s not as bad as before.¡±


    ¡°Weird. I would have thought it¡¯d stay that way until someone fixed the computer.¡± Two shrugged. It would let them go over that room again more easily now at least ¡°I think the water reservoir¡¯s in waste management actually, so that¡¯s¡­ actually kind of annoying at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Seriously? I hope the water¡¯s not tainted¡­¡± Five groaned as she started walking down the hall alongside them ¡°Where is waste management anyway?¡±


    Two began to follow slowly, trying to map out exactly what she¡¯d seen in her head as she went ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I couldn¡¯t find a maintenance door directly into it, and it¡¯s not a room off the main hall.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ where is it?¡± Five asked again.


    Two shrugged ¡°Somewhere between physics and engineering. Thing is, I don¡¯t know how to get to it from up here either. There¡¯s nothing there in the hallway. Best guess is, there¡¯s a direct access tunnel through one of the labs.¡±


    ¡°You figured all that out just be crawling through some tunnels?¡± Five looked impressed.


    ¡°It¡¯s not hard, you just kinda draw a map in your head and you can tell where things are.¡± Two shrugged and kept walking, guiding the others toward the labs she suspected held the hidden tunnel.


    ¡°Recon.¡± Seven giggled a little ¡°Okay, yeah, it¡¯s good you went in. I don¡¯t think I can do that.¡±

 Twisted Station

    The three girls walked into the engineering lab. They figured that it was the best candidate for an entrance to one of the station¡¯s major facilities. The room was loaded with all kinds of tools, some of which could be identified, but many that held purpose that were beyond most of them. Two sounded nervous as she spoke ¡°I kinda don¡¯t like this place. It feels like everything¡¯s scattered around. Like something happened here. Like something¡¯s hiding.¡±


    ¡°It is a little bit weird, yeah. A lot of ripped out power cables. And these machines are all tumbled or flipped over. Like someone ran roughshod over this place and just tossed everything around.¡± Five commented, stopping at a particular device ¡°You¡¯d never be able to use an extruder for anything lying on its top like this, everything would come out bent.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s an extruder?¡± Seven asked, sitting down on one of the many metal block devices to watch the more able-bodied girls working the room over.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Five looked back to the other girl when realization hit her ¡°¡­ Ohh, I get it. Labor isn¡¯t just dumb muscle, I know how to work this stuff!¡± she smirked and turned to Two, who was also looking around for loose panels in the wall. ¡°Hey, you hear that? Bet you don¡¯t know how to use a lathe.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I do, muscles, glad you found your talent.¡± Two murmured as she looked around a particularly large machine for some kind of opening ¡°This makes no sense, it should be right here. Or¡­¡± she turned her attention downward, then up to the ceiling and let out a groan as she motioned to the others and pointed up.


    Both of the other girls let out annoyed sighs as they followed her gaze and saw a hatch on the ceiling ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡± Five¡¯s shoulders dropped, the girl becoming increasingly annoyed at the effort they had to put in for something that should have been easy. ¡°Alright, we need a ladder then.¡± she said as she began scanning the room.


    ¡°Why would they design it like this though?¡± Two pondered, looking around the room herself for some kind of climbing tool.


    ¡°Maybe the room¡¯s upside-down.¡± Seven mused in a whimsical tone, lost in her imagination.


    Two raised an eyebrow at this. ¡°Yeah¡­ actually, what if it was.¡± It hadn¡¯t dawned on her until that moment, but there were rails and uneven levels on the ceiling while the floor was flat, like one would expect the roof to be. ¡°I¡­ what? But then the hatch would be on the other¡­¡± she turned around to see another identical hatch on the opposite end of the ceiling ¡°Uhh¡­¡± she just stood there perplexed as she tried to comprehend what happened to this room ¡°That¡­ would explain why this place is such a mess.¡± she mumbled.


    Five was setting up a ladder she¡¯d found and tested it to make sure it was steady, but Two grabbed hold of her arm before she started to climb ¡°Wait, Five, there¡¯s something really wrong with this room. That hatch probably isn¡¯t even attached to anything. It might even be open space.¡±


    ¡°Thought you said there wouldn¡¯t just be a door between us and space!¡± Five complained loudly.


    Two nodded ¡°Well¡­ yeah, ideally. But if this room is so badly damaged that it¡¯s twisted in place-¡±


    ¡°Then the room could be wrenched off the station entirely if we disturb it too much.¡± Five muttered, her eyes widening with fear. ¡°Seven, why don¡¯t you go see how Three is doing?¡± she asked, turning to the smaller girl in an attempt to try to get her to safety.


    ¡°Come on, I¡¯m going to help.¡± Seven insisted, standing up from her seat ¡°Just tell me what I can do.¡±


    Two and Five looked at each other and shrugged, Five stepping up to her and nodding before she started to give her instruction. ¡°Drag tools out of the room, just whatever you can carry that could be useful. We gotta seal this room off so it doesn¡¯t depressurize the rest of the station.¡±


    ¡°Be sure to grab your lathe.¡± Two teased as she picked up a toolbox herself.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got no idea what a lathe is, do you?¡± Five rolled her eyes, grabbing an acetylene torch and gas tank to roll it out into the hallway.


    Seven hurried out carrying a light sealed box, hoping it might contain something useful, and then turned to go back in.


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    ¡°Hold on now.¡± Five held her shoulder ¡°We don¡¯t want to go in here too much. Let me think a a second. What can we carry that¡¯ll be most useful.¡± she muttered to herself, trying to think of all the tools that would be useful in a situation like this.


    ¡°If it¡¯s a weight problem, that makes me best.¡± Seven noted, and Five unfortunately had to agree with the sentiment, nodding to her ¡°I¡¯ll be careful, I promise.¡±


    ¡°Can we turn off the local gravity somehow, maybe?¡± Two asked.


    Five briefly considered the idea. It might allow them to freely empty the room without disturbing the balance of it at all. But then she shook her head ¡°For one, I don¡¯t know exactly how the artificial gravity system works or if we even can mess with it. For another, Gravity might be what¡¯s holding it in place. Our best bet is to get what we can quick and weld the door shut tight.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the boss.¡± Two nodded, conceding that this was her specialty. She thought it best not to join Seven in returning to the room. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±


    Five looked around and saw a maintenance hatch on the wall ¡°Okay, we already know maintenance tunnels are pressurized¡­¡± she walked over and with some effort, pulled the hatch open ¡°Get in there and maybe see if there¡¯s a control box that might be looking at atmospherics or weight sensors or something, anything that might give us a more accurate read on what happened in there.¡± she turned to Seven and continued ¡°Now, do you know what a pipe wrench looks like?¡±


    Two nodded to her and scuttled once more into the cramped maintenance hall, but this time actually paying attention to the electronics running the lengt


    Just like Five said, she found a control box attached below where the engineering room was. She had to shuffle around to pick up her slate again and connect to it, but thankfully, the handheld computer seemed to be made to hook into everything on board. ¡°Atmospherics¡­ they¡¯re fine¡­ somehow.¡± she muttered to herself ¡°Gravity orientation¡­ it¡¯s reading normal. No controls here either, just readings.¡± she poked around a little more, trying to make sense of the readings ¡°Oh I see¡­ the rooms are in frames, that¡¯s how it¡¯s still powered, it must be a broken sensor then. It thinks nothing is wrong with the room, so it¡¯s not firing any alarms. That¡¯s bad. If it turns too much¡­¡±


    Realizing that she was just musing her theories to herself in the tunnel, Two disconnected the slate and rushed back out to the hallway to find Five standing around a small assortment of hand tools ¡°Alright, got some good news and some bad news.¡± she started ¡°Good news is, I know what¡¯s wrong. The room must be rotating freely for some reason, so it is something we can control.¡±


    ¡°By weight distribution, gotcha.¡± Five nodded, understanding the physics behind it ¡°The bad news?¡±


    ¡°The sensor monitoring it is broken, so I have no idea how far it can rotate, or in which direction.¡± Two handed the slate to her, showing the logs she¡¯d seen. ¡°The station has no idea that anything¡¯s wrong, so it¡¯s not trying to correct itself.


    Five sighed ¡°So no idea if we¡¯re close to breaking open a hole in the station if we turn it the wrong way, got you.¡± she handed the slate back ¡°Like I thought, the only safe option is to seal it off. Any idea on the structural integrity of the station?¡±


    ¡°The only way I can make sense of it is if the rooms are held in frames, so they¡¯re totally independent of one another. It¡¯s modular. If we lose the room, the rest of the station should be okay.¡±


    Five nodded ¡°Seven, come on out, this should be enough to work with for now. I need to seal this thing.¡± she called into the room, then returned her attention to Two ¡°What about waste management?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to hope physics has an entrance too, and it¡¯s in better shape.¡± Two murmured ¡°Grab her a welding mask on the way out!¡± she called in to Seven ¡°Don¡¯t want our engineer to go blind.¡±


    ¡°Jeez, how did I forget that¡­¡± Five muttered and then smiled a little ¡°Engineer? I think I like that title better¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Seven came climbing through the door a moment later with a heavily tinted face covering in hand. She had some grease on her from carrying things around, but she seemed fine. Her injury didn¡¯t seem to be bothering her as much as before, even if they couldn¡¯t see it beneath her shirt now.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Five nodded and gave a long hard look into the room, hoping she wasn¡¯t forgetting anything important ¡°You two go back to the dorms for now, see how Three is. I can¡¯t have you hanging around watching this thing light up.¡±


    Two and Seven nodded to Five as she donned the mask and waved to them to move away. The pair walked back toward the dormitory, hearing the distant sound of the metal doors closing and the torch heating up.


    ¡°Are we going to be okay, Two?¡± Seven asked, sounding tired and worried ¡°I¡¯m starting to get real thirsty.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Two sounded just as concerned ¡°I think we¡¯re going to be okay. We need to get the water running, that¡¯s it. Then we can rest, okay? We¡¯ll get clean water, and then we can drink water, eat, sleep, and recover. We can take this at a slower pace after that, okay? And if you¡¯re too tired to keep going now, you can lay down and rest with Three now.¡±


    ¡°No. I can keep going, I promise.¡± she stood up straight and kept walking, trying to make herself look tough despite the fact that she was sweating. ¡°I¡¯m not weak.¡±


    Two smiled at Seven ¡°I never said you were. You did a good job. I¡¯m just worried about your injury is all.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it feels lots better now.¡± she said, rubbing lightly at her chest ¡°I¡¯m not going to die from a scratch.¡±


    Two smiled, happy to see that the girl had some resilience ¡°Let¡¯s leave that to the doc, okay?¡±


    ¡°Doc¡­ haha, should I call her that?¡± Seven giggled, a bit of a mischievous look on her face.


    Two laughed ¡°Do it, Three¡¯s too serious for her own good. She needs a nickname.¡±

 Blind Faith

    As the pair walked in to the common room of the dormitory, Seven sat down in an armchair, letting out a satisfied sigh. She was more tired than she had let on. Two instead walked through to the rooms, glancing into each until she ran into a closed room. And it was locked from the inside. ¡°Three!¡± she knocked on the door ¡°Come on, we could really use another pair of hands out here.¡±


    ¡°Go away.¡± Came a muffled voice from inside the room. She sounded upset ¡°Let me just die with the rest of our species.¡±


    ¡°Look, I know it¡¯s dire.¡± Two sighed and stood back from the door as she spoke loudly, trying her best to reassure the distraught Three ¡°I know there¡¯s¡­ probably nothing we can do about it. But someone went through a lot of trouble for us to be alive right now. The least we can do is stay alive long enough to see if whatever they planned was a good idea or not.¡±


    There was silence for a moment, and then the door slid open, revealing Three with a flushed face. It was obvious she¡¯d been crying, but she had that same scary glare on her face that she had when she had scolded them before. ¡°You seriously think that whatever person is making us go through this is worth our time?¡±


    ¡°I dunno.¡± Two reached in and pulled Three out of the room by her shoulder ¡°Let¡¯s find out. We found food, enough to last us awhile. And we¡¯re close to getting water running. I think. So we¡¯ll be able to survive for awhile, we just need to work a little longer. Five¡¯s doing some necessary repairs to the station, and Seven looks like she¡¯s gonna pass out, so that leaves you and me.¡±


    Three turned and grabbed Two¡¯s shoulder back, clenching her teeth and glaring right into Two¡¯s eyes ¡°Survive for what!? To eventually starve on a derelict in space? For this whole place to collapse around us so we can die in a vacuum? What¡¯s the point, Two!?¡± her voice cracked as she yelled at Two. Her previously stoic expression was broken, and she stared at Two with tears starting to flow from her distraught face ¡°Nothing we do is going to make a difference! We already lost!¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t even learned the rules yet.¡± Two countered calmly, staring her down with a sympathetic frown. She could feel that hopelessness too. That call of the void to just give up and shut down, but something kept her going, just to keep moving forward. ¡°And then we can play the game, and see if there¡¯s something we can do to win anyway.¡± she finished the metaphor as Three began to sob, and with a moment of hesitation, she pulled the other girl in close. Two wrapped her arms around her, the medic holding back tight as she bawled her eyes out, weeping into Two¡¯s shoulder as she let out her emotions. Three blubbered unintelligibly for several minutes until finally, she let go and just leaned against her gently, her sobs reduced to sad hiccups as she let out all her frustration.


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    Finally, Three spoke ¡°How¡­ How are you still going? It¡¯s hopeless, but you¡¯re still going like you¡¯re going to change something.¡±


    Two pondered this for a moment before she answered ¡°I think they must have engineered me to be able to act calm in a crisis. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m really scared right now. But¡­ I know that if there¡¯s something I can try to improve the situation, I have to try. It¡¯s like back in the power room. The door shut and I wondered if the room might depressurize or if the doors would just be stuck. But I kept moving anyway, and I ended up finding a solution.¡±


    ¡°So what? I¡¯m supposed to just have blind faith that this is somehow going to get better?¡± Three sniffed, still sobbing quietly between words.


    ¡°¡­ I guess that¡¯s what it is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Two closed her eyes and sighed, a small smile growing on her face ¡°But that¡¯s all we¡¯ve got at this point.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better.¡± Three finally took a step back from Two, holding her arms close to her chest. She felt vulnerable now. But she didn¡¯t feel as defeated as she did a few minutes ago ¡°What did you need my help with anyway?¡±


    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be alone when I¡¯m exploring, right?¡± Two smiled at her, reminding her of her own rule ¡°So¡­ I need you to come with me so we can find the reservoir. We should be able to get to it through the physics lab. Then we can try and figure out what¡¯s blocking the pipes and get something to drink.¡±


    ¡°¡­ My throat does feel pretty dry.¡± Three sniffled, wiping her nose on her shirt sleeve. Since she¡¯d been crying so much, she had probably dried herself out just like Seven had with the food gel ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯ll follow you. Just¡­ don¡¯t get injured, okay?¡±


    ¡°Deal.¡± Two leveled her smile gently to the other clone and took her hand to lead her.


    ¡ª


    Seven had fallen asleep in her chair by the time Two and Three made to leave for the labs again, and neither of them had the heart to wake her, so they were just a group of two for the time being. Two made sure to warn her about the noise Five was making, no doubt still working on welding the door shut, and not to look that direction down the hall as they slipped into the physics lab.


    Two was happy to see signs that this room was actually oriented correctly, the odd machines of the lab strewn haphazardly throughout. Their purpose would no doubt be lost forever without Six¡¯s expertise. Two instead led Three to one side of the room, where a hatch lay in the floor, conspicuously unobstructed by the large lab tables and machines littering the room.


    Two pulled up on the hatch¡¯s handle, and strained for a few moments before letting go ¡°Jeez, might need Five for this after all.¡±


    Three silently stepped forward and instead turned the handle, a hiss of slow pressurization happening beneath their feet. Then the hatch cracked open with a loud clunk.


    ¡°Oh hey.¡± Two smiled and tried to reassure her that she was being helpful ¡°See? Two heads are better than one.¡±

 Pulling Themselves Together

    Three gave a half-hearted nod to Two as she descended into the access hall beneath the lab. They both went down the ladder and found another hatch beneath them. ¡°That must be it.¡± Two said, climbing down onto the hatch ¡°Uhh, stay on the ladder a second, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s room to stand. Kind of annoying that there¡¯s two in a row.¡±


    ¡°Be thankful.¡± Three hung from the ladder and watched ¡°If it weren¡¯t like this, the other side would have depressurized waste management and it would be in vacuum.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and we¡¯d be screwed.¡± Two nodded as she pulled out the same mechanism that unlocked the hatch above them, taking hold of the ladder as it opened up, revealing a much more spacious, dimly lit chamber.


    Descending down, Two turned and looked in awe at the plant. Numerous turbines filled with liquid turned around in dozens of enormous clear machines, showing either water in various stages of filtration, or other chemicals that the station must have kept control of. It was beautiful, in an industrial sort of way.


    Three looked on as well, but didn¡¯t seem as heartened by the sight ¡°Do you have any idea how this works?¡± she asked, unsure if they had the expertise between them to be trying to operate the machines.


    ¡°Not even a little. Let¡¯s find out.¡± she stepped between the machines, trying to find the end of the filtration process by sight alone. She stopped at what appeared to be the clearest-looking liquid in the room and plugged her slate into the machinery. ¡°¡­ Most of this doesn¡¯t make any sense to me.¡± she muttered ¡°I don¡¯t dare to touch the controls, but¡­ it¡¯s labeled station water output.¡± she stood there navigating the menus as Three walked a different path through the room.


    Likewise, the medic plugged her Slate into a machine, but this one was clearly contaminated ¡°Cycle four¡­ I wonder if the filtration process even still works.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ since life support still works, something must have been preserving that. And if life support was off, this place may as well have just been in open space.¡±


    ¡°Which would keep everything in stasis. Everything that didn¡¯t break thawing out anyway.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡± Three almost sounded angry. She couldn¡¯t understand what purpose their existence RIGHT THEN could possibly serve, or why things had been arranged on the station so meticulously as to still be operational now, so long after this disaster that struck Earth.


    ¡°Someone probably planned for us to wake up.¡± Two said as she skimmed through a diagnostic reading on her slate.


    ¡°Someone planned for us to wake up eons later? I don¡¯t buy that.¡± Three absent-mindedly read about the machine she was hooked up to before unplugging and moving to another ¡°I think we¡¯re just an accidental anomaly. Something tapped the station just the right way that woke us up.¡±


    ¡°And happened to turn everything we needed to live on?¡± Two rolled her eyes ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. It looks like Seven was right. Everything¡¯s fine, the pipes are still just heating up. Should have water flowing to the cafeteria in maybe¡­ six hours. Physics lab is closer, so they might actually already be running.¡±


    ¡°So we really do have water, which can be recycled.¡± Three sighed, conceding that at least for the time being, their survival was at least possible. ¡°And you said we have food enough for¡­¡±


    ¡°Awhile, at least. I don¡¯t really know how we would measure it out since it¡¯s all in these weird¡­ gel tubes. But I¡¯d guess there¡¯s enough for the four of us for¡­ years, at least.¡± Two kept looking over the slate ¡°I¡¯m not really sure how to check for purity on this thing, we should probably boil the water, just in case.¡±


    ¡°That just leaves air.¡± Three sighed as she plugged into check another of the waste turbines ¡°Genetics waste¡­¡± she muttered.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re breathing for now. I assume that¡¯s getting recycled too.¡± Two unplugged from the machine and rejoined Three at her current one, looking it up and down ¡°Genetics waste¡­¡± she repeated, and after a moment to think, her brow furrowed ¡°Huh¡­ would¡¯ve thought it¡¯d look dirtier.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Three nodded ¡°Well, it¡¯s not CLEAN. A lot of skin and tissue in there. It¡¯ll be drinkable once it goes through the system though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­ Five said earlier that One¡¯s chamber drained itself while we weren¡¯t there.¡± Two mused. It should have come here if it had drained, right?


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    ¡°Maybe especially toxic stuff just gets ejected.¡± Three mused and then asked ¡°What¡¯d she need back in there anyway?¡± There was a long silence where Two just looked away from the other girl, realizing that she¡¯d have to reveal the plan she¡¯d made with Five ¡°¡­ What?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Five and I talked when we were on the subject of food, and¡­ we need to make use of every resource we have here¡­¡± she gulped, hoping that was enough for her to piece it together.


    ¡°Okay¡­ And?¡± Three retrieved the cord of her slate, not seeming to get the gravity of what she was saying. She wasn¡¯t picking up on it at all.


    ¡°Five was¡­¡± Two took a deep breath before she blurted it out quietly ¡°She was bringing Four¡¯s body to the freezer.¡±


    It took a few moments before Three was able to parse what that meant, and her eyes widened at the thought ¡°Y-You mean she¡¯s going to¡­¡±


    ¡°Only as a last resort¡­¡± Two shuddered at the thought ¡°If we run out of everything else, we can-¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t!¡± Three shouted, storming away from her and back toward the ladder, fuming ¡°That¡¯s disgusting! That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s awful! If that¡¯s what it takes to survive, then¡­ then I don¡¯t want to anyway! Screw survival if we have to become¡­ monsters!¡± she leaned into the wall by the exit and started to breathe heavily, like she was going to be sick. Two watched sadly as her companion wrestled with the idea of what they might have to do, exacerbating her already fragile state. ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Three sobbed ¡°Why are you acting like there¡¯s something we¡¯re going to be able to do about this? We¡¯re just going to float here and eventually waste away, if the station doesn¡¯t kill us first. And if humanity has to resort to cannibalism just to get by, what¡¯s the point?¡±


    Two finally stepped closer and she wrapped her arms around the other girl. Three elicited a quiet squeak before relaxing into her. ¡°I know. I hope we never even have to think about doing that again. And maybe if it comes down to it, we just won¡¯t. We could just let it end there.¡± she slowly turned Three around to face her, seeing that she was crying again. Barely any tears flowed though, since she had already cried so much. She hugged her again, Three reciprocating this time. ¡°As for why we should keep going¡­ I don¡¯t really know if I have a reason. At this point¡­ curiosity I guess. Someone wanted us right here, right now. I¡¯d like to know why. Maybe they knew something that we don¡¯t. Maybe they had a plan.¡±


    ¡°Maybe this isn¡¯t all just a cruel joke.¡± Three stammered out between sobs. ¡°¡­ If nothing else, preserving Four¡¯s body means one less possible contaminant sitting around. She won¡¯t rot.¡±


    Two patted her on the back ¡°You know¡­ when I first woke up, I got the impression you were the most mature out of us. Maybe you still are. But you¡¯re a lot more emotional than you let on back then.¡±


    Three sniffed, unsure how to take her words ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ making an observation. Maybe you shouldn¡¯t hold in what you¡¯re feeling like that. Let us know if you¡¯re scared. Or feeling sad.¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m feeling sad.¡± she sniffed, almost sounding like she was scolding Two for a lack of common sense ¡°What else would I be feeling right now?¡±


    ¡°Happy to be alive?¡± Two shrugged ¡°Curious about our circumstances? Excited about setting things up in your medbay?¡±


    Three couldn¡¯t help but let out a nervous laugh at the last note ¡°You trying to tell me to get to work or something?¡±


    ¡°When you¡¯re ready.¡± Two smiled back ¡°I think right now, we all need to rest. We¡¯ve had¡­ quite a day.¡±


    ¡°Happy birthday to us.¡± Three let out another dark chuckle ¡°I think¡­ I think I should try to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Same. Let¡¯s go.¡± Two patted her on the back and backed away slowly, letting her get her own footing again and motioning toward the ladder.


    ¡ª


    True to what she¡¯d surmised, it was only a matter of hours before the entire station had running water. The girls had organized the kitchen freezer so that Four¡¯s body was hidden at the far back corner and the mysterious tubes of food were distributed to each of them.


    After a day of rest, Two continued exploring the nooks and crannies of the station, and Three had to scold her for considering taking a spacewalk to find where life support and gravity were located. It was out of the question, of course. With the majority of the station that they could access mapped out, she began the arduous process of exploring the vast computer database for information on their genesis.


    Three spent several days in her room, but welcomed company now. It seemed she was far more fragile than she let on, and needed time to come to grips with their situation. She was, before long, reading literature on anatomy, biology, and genealogy, studying for scenarios she considered possible in their circumstances. She did not, however, begin to take stock of the medbay just yet.


    Five took her new moniker as the engineer seriously, and began tinkering with the station¡¯s power station and labs, trying to see if she could build anything helpful to them. She¡¯d also continued to reinforce the door to engineering, just in case, and spent a good amount of time crawling the maintenance tunnels, seeing if she could make more sense of the structural state of the station than Two could.


    Little Seven still wasn¡¯t really sure what her position on the station was supposed to be. She mostly followed Five around as she learned the ins and outs of the ship, to help carry tools and assist her where she could. She continued trying to be helpful in whatever way she could manage, as if still trying to prove herself to the others. But she often found herself having to wander back to the dorms where she fell asleep from overexerting herself once again. Her initial wound was a faint memory in no time.


    The girls had begun to make a home of the station. They didn¡¯t have much, but they had each other, and a vague hope that there was some reason to be waiting for them somewhere on that station. The last four humans, who had only just been born, were able to take things at a leisurely pace for now.

 Traces of a Ghost

    Seven and Two sat around a table in the dormitory commons, Two reading her slate and Seven staring out the window at the planet below. ¡°Do you think we could get to Earth?¡± she mused quietly.


    Two looked up with a raised eyebrow ¡°We don¡¯t know if Earth is habitable, Seven. We don¡¯t even know what wiped the humans out. For all we know, going down there would be a death sentence.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­ if it is habitable, then we don¡¯t have to worry about running out of food anymore.¡± Seven mumbled slowly, trying to rationalize the absurdity of her desire. ¡°Hydroponics doesn¡¯t have any viable seeds, so we can¡¯t grow anything here. And besides, it really feels like we belong down there.¡±


    ¡°Are you¡­ homesick?¡± Two couldn¡¯t help but let out an amused chuckle ¡°You¡¯ve never been there.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just a feeling.¡± Seven pouted, starting to feel foolish for entertaining the idea.


    ¡°Not like we have a shuttle anyway.¡± Two reached across the table to Seven and took Seven¡¯s hand in solidarity ¡°We¡¯re stuck up here.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Seven took her hand back and pulled out her own slate. She and Five had claimed their own once they found enough cables to charge each of them. She scrolled idly through the reference library on the ship, seeing all the textbooks, reference manuals, and articles that were only passably readable to her. ¡°It¡¯s all so dull.¡± she muttered.


    ¡°It¡¯s a research station, they wouldn¡¯t have novels on the computer.¡± Two tried to look into her eyes and see what she was thinking ¡°Are you bored?¡±


    ¡°I am bored.¡± she set the slate down on the table again ¡°You all have things you were made to do, and you just seem fine with going on with them. But I still don¡¯t really understand what my role means.¡±


    Two set her own slate down in solidarity ¡°Well¡­ breeder obviously suggests that you¡¯re meant to have children. But none of us are male, which kind of defeats the purpose. That, and we¡¯re genetically basically the same person, so that wouldn¡¯t be viable anyway.¡± As much as she didn¡¯t like the idea of the little girl¡¯s destiny being to create babies, she had to ponder the logistics behind it ¡°When I think about it, it doesn¡¯t make sense, does it? But if we¡¯re assuming that our progenitor had a plan, there must be SOME reason¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even think we¡¯re pubescent either.¡± Seven slid her slate back and forth idly ¡°Maybe close to it.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking about that. Why not just keep us in those incubators until we¡¯re more mature? They must have woken us up at this age for a reason. There¡¯s still food on the station, so the chambers could have been made to sustain us longer, I¡¯d think.¡±


    ¡°But if they did that, there wouldn¡¯t be food for us when we woke up.¡± Seven stood up and started pacing slowly ¡°So we¡¯d just wake up to starve.¡±


    ¡°Which really lends ammo to the argument that we were woken up to DO something¡­¡± she paused for a moment, leaning back in her chair as she joined her in brainstorming the grander design of their situation ¡°Our progenitor must have been some kind of genius.¡±


    ¡°You mean cause of how smart we are?¡± Seven started hopping between the floor tiles, making patterns in her head ¡°And we¡¯re probably born from their DNA, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some kind of genetic engineering or like¡­ subconscious training while we were gestating or something that¡¯s responsible for that too.¡± she dropped the chair back into place and stood up as well ¡°But I meant that they must have been a genius to have arranged all of this. MILLIONS of years in advance. I hope I can find out who they were.¡±


    Three¡¯s door slid open at that moment ¡°You just love gushing over our progenitors, don¡¯t you?¡± she said dryly. She had been getting better and slowly less pessimistic as time passed from their conversation in the waste treatment room.


    ¡°And you¡¯re finally out of bed.¡± Seven smiled at her ¡°Are you feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Three sighed and started walking toward the exit ¡°But there¡¯s no point in moping about it forever. All of the ink in medbay¡¯s faded away, so I¡¯m going to have to do some tests to identify chemicals. That way I can actually treat you if you get sick.¡±


    ¡°Alright, doc¡¯s back in action.¡± Two smiled, deciding to present the name she and Seven had been using.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that.¡± Three sighed and turned to look at Two, looking cross ¡°I¡¯m a medic at best.¡±


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    ¡°Well medic¡¯s not a good nickname.¡± Two smiled, clearly just trying to poke her now and get her to let her guard down.


    ¡°I thought we agreed to just keep using our designations for now.¡± Three sounded impatient.


    Seven chimed in ¡°I still think we should name ourselves. It¡¯d be fun.¡±


    ¡°And what would you name yourself, Seven?¡± Three crossed her arms and gave her a tired expression.


    Seven sat back down and stared out the window with her head in her arms ¡°Stardust.¡±


    Three rolled her eyes and let out a groan ¡°Yesterday, you said ¡®Starshine¡¯, and the day before that you said ¡®Twilight¡¯. Every time I ask you, you give me a different answer. That¡¯s not how names work.¡±


    Seven blushed brightly ¡°I-I do?¡± she stammered, legitimately thinking she¡¯d been consistent.


    Two giggled at the smaller girl and patted her on the head ¡°Let¡¯s stick with Seven until you can make up your mind, okay?¡±


    Three turned and waved back to the pair as she walked into the hall ¡°Right, I¡¯ll be in medbay. When Five comes home, tell her to stop by so I can look her over. She keeps getting little scrapes and cuts from whatever she¡¯s working on.¡±


    ¡°Home¡­¡± Seven mumbled to herself, turning to look out the window again.


    ¡ª


    Her conversation with Seven had gotten Two thinking about their future. There had to be some kind of plan involved, and she wondered if she was onto something about Earth. She was on her way to the helm to check on their orbit. It had to be perfect if they were still in the sky this long after the last pilot had vanished, and there must have been some kind of correction system to account for any drift or incidental changes in that time too. So she wanted to see why exactly they weren¡¯t a smoking pile of wreckage on the planet¡¯s surface. She kept telling herself that it must have been part of the plan their progenitors had for them, but she was becoming impatient to find out exactly what that plan was, and how she could act upon it.


    Coming into the helm, she was alone. Wandering between the station¡¯s control panels and making casual observations about what they did, until she finally arrived at navigation. It showed a simulated diagram of an elliptical orbit, and it showed their trajectory was stable and correcting itself constantly. The AI in charge of it must have been incredibly advanced, and it must have been turned on for the entire trip. It and the propulsion systems it was attached to were probably the only thing turned on for the entire life of the station.


    ¡°With this technology, humanity must have lived in an amazing age.¡± Two mused to herself, smiling and hoping that they¡¯d be able to do them proud. ¡°I don¡¯t think things will just work out if we do nothing, but they sure did make our job a lot easier. Whatever our job is.¡± she went back to the communication terminal she¡¯d checked several days ago and started digging again. More logs, but they were just routine check-ins right up until they suddenly stopped not long after the doomsday broadcast they¡¯d received.


    That apocalyptic event. Since it included the word ¡®asteroid¡¯, Two¡¯s best guess was a planetary impact so severe that it destroyed the entire surface of the planet all at once. Which would definitely mean no surviving humans. At least of the humans that were planetside at the time. Part of her wondered if this was the only station of its kind. Perhaps there were dozens, or even hundreds of other bases floating out there with their own clones waking up and going about some mission that was going far better because half their crew didn¡¯t die before they were born. Maybe the fate of humanity didn¡¯t rest entirely on them.


    She shook her head. It was best to continue to assume they were alone. The comms station didn¡¯t show any other attempts to hail them, after all. The space around them was silent.


    But oddly, the space inside the station was not. Two heard a quiet scraping and clattering around her. Raising an eyebrow, she tried to find the source, but there was nothing in the room with her. She shrugged her shoulders and assumed it was Five exploring more of the mechanisms inside maintenance as she continued to browse the ship¡¯s controls.


    As she searched through navigation, buried in a menu, she found a button that was out of place. It didn¡¯t look like it was part of the design of the original interface. It was more like it was just an option hacked into the system. It simply read in large block letters ¡®PHOENIX¡¯. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ different.¡± she said quietly, unfamiliar with the word or its origins. She hesitated for a few moments before her curiosity got the better of her and she pressed the button.


    The screen turned completely red as a new window took up the entire screen, a long message greeting her.


    ¡ª


    My daughters,


    If you¡¯re reading this, you¡¯ve come so far. Your lot is an unfair one. It feels wrong to leave you what remains of this world. But here you are. You¡¯ve accepted this burden. You could have chosen to fade away, but you didn¡¯t. There will be no one to aid you, but still you persist. I think that¡¯s part of the human spirit. Continuing when everything is hopeless. It¡¯s a long shot that you¡¯ll even live to see this message, but if you do, know that I am so very proud of you. You are a shining beacon in this dark sky.


    You aren¡¯t going to like what comes next. You¡¯ll be baptized in fire. You will lose everything you have. I can¡¯t promise you will all make it. But if humanity has even have an iota of a chance to be reborn, this is the only way. Secure what you can, give the command, and pray.


    ¡ª


    Two read the message over and over again. It was so clear and uncorrupted unlike the old logs had been. This was a message directly to them from their progenitors. And it was cryptic. Hopeful, but confusing and frightening. She wasn¡¯t sure if she should type anything into the given command line, so she just stepped back from the console altogether. What command was it expecting? What would it do if she gave it the right one? What would it do if she gave it the wrong one? She wasn¡¯t sure, but she felt like this message had more gravity than anything she¡¯d seen yet, like she was staring into the face of something far bigger than she had any right to witness.


    She took a deep breath and turned away from the console. She had to show this to the others.

 Presence of Another

    ¡°I think you might have actually stumbled onto the reason we¡¯re here.¡± Three mumbled as she stared at the helm control screen, reading the same message Two had found. Thankfully, It hadn¡¯t gone away in her absence while she gathered the others.


    Seven put her hands over the terminal like she was about to type something, but Two pulled her back by the shoulder ¡°No, don¡¯t. We have no idea what this is going to do. And it could just be waiting for any input at all to do whatever it¡¯s supposed to do.¡±


    ¡°Aww come on, aren¡¯t you the adventurous one?¡± Seven asked with a smile, but backing away as she was told anyway.


    ¡°Oh believe me, I want to press that button and see what happens,¡± Two let out a nervous chuckle ¡°But I¡¯m not going to play games with the station controls. I want to figure out exactly what Phoenix means first.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Like the bird?¡± Seven asked.


    ¡°Bird?¡± Five balked, having only a vague understanding of what a bird even was.


    ¡°Yeah, the fire bird.¡± Seven nodded ¡°It¡¯s a bird that dies and it¡¯s reborn from its own ashes. It¡¯s a symbol of rebirth.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Five sounded a little nervous ¡°Dead things don¡¯t just¡­ come back to life.¡±


    ¡°This one does.¡± Seven nodded confidently.


    ¡°Sounds like a myth.¡± Three chimed in ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what knowledge you have. Culture, or something.¡±


    ¡°Seems like a weird field of knowledge to equip one of a limited number of us with, given the circumstances¡­¡± Five scratched her head ¡°But hey, if what she knows is actually relevant, then I guess it¡¯s important.¡±


    ¡°So a symbol of rebirth¡­¡± Two tried to steer them back to the topic at hand ¡°It could be that whatever Phoenix does is meant to recreate the human race somehow? But I don¡¯t like all the other stuff attached to that message. Being baptized in fire and losing everything we have. It sounds like whatever it does is going to change something drastically.¡±


    ¡°One probably knew what it did.¡± Three sighed ¡°I think we should try to decipher her knowledge base into plain English.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a job for Six.¡± Two gave a frustrated sigh ¡°You know, turning her machine on and waiting six years for her to gestate actually sounds possible at this point. As much as waiting that long to find out what this does pains me.¡±


    Three stared at the screen again for a moment ¡°I say we try it.¡±


    The other three girls suddenly turned to look at her, not expecting her to be the one to suggest something reckless. ¡°Huh?¡± Two asked ¡°You¡¯re kidding.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. You trust our progenitors, don¡¯t you? If this is what they meant for us, then we should just hit it. If it really does something helpful, then we get it now. If it makes us all die in fire, then¡­ well, we won¡¯t have to suffer.¡±


    ¡°But what if they needed us to do something else first?¡± Two objected, crossing her arms and looking worried about the callousness Three seemed to have suddenly adopted for their safety.


    ¡°Well, what would you do in their situation, then?¡± She asked ¡°Since we¡¯re literally clones of one of them, we should have the same reasoning as them, right? So if you made a critical program you¡¯d need your clones to activate, what kind of input would you code it to take?¡±


    Two pondered this for a moment, then looked up at the screen and approached it ¡°I think I understand what you mean.¡± With no hesitation at all this time, she hit the enter key. There was a quiet error noise and the cursor went to the next empty line.


    ¡°I knew it.¡± Three gave a triumphant smirk ¡°If they needed us to know what we¡¯re doing, they would password lock it.


    Two typed in the word ¡®launch¡¯ and got an error as well. ¡®Activate¡¯, ¡®Turn on¡¯, ¡®proceed¡¯, and ¡®unlock¡¯ did the same ¡°I doubt it¡¯s something generic. There must be something we don¡¯t understand yet.¡±


    ¡°So it didn¡¯t matter. Whatever this thing does, we can¡¯t activate it by accident.¡± Three sighed ¡°Yet another mystery to solve in this place. But at least now we know that it¡¯s there.¡±


    Seven let out an impatient whine ¡°I was hoping to see what it did already.¡±


    Five crossed her arms ¡°Really wish you¡¯d at least asked if we were okay with you toying around with the big red screen of death there. But I guess nothing happened, so whatever. Since when are you the one who wants to take chances though?¡± she asked Three.


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    ¡°I figured that if we¡¯re supposed to be clones of our progenitors, we should just apply our own logic to their actions.¡± Three shrugged and smiled sarcastically ¡°And I guess I¡¯m coming around to Two¡¯s methodology.¡±


    All four girls came to a standstill when, out of nowhere, they heard a thump outside the room followed by a quiet hissing noise.


    ¡°¡­ What was that?¡± Seven asked, looking to Five, expecting her to know what systems might cause the sound by then ¡°That wasn¡¯t the station, was it?¡±


    Five stared at the wall, trying to trace the noise ¡°I don¡¯t know what that was.¡± she muttered ¡°I haven¡¯t checked hull maintenance yet today.¡±


    ¡°Wait, you haven¡¯t?¡± Two looked surprised ¡°I heard noises here earlier and I thought you were crawling around in there.¡±


    ¡°Not yet today.¡± Five said slowly ¡°So what is that then?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s the station coming apart at the seams because it¡¯s millions upon millions of years old¡± Three crossed her arms ¡°Maybe you should take care of it, Five.¡±


    ¡°But what if it¡¯s ghosts?¡± Seven asked, sounding serious ¡°Cause the people here probably died in anguish.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± Five groaned, the hair on the back of her head prickling as her imagination went wild.


    ¡°Three¡¯s right, it¡¯s just the station running again and it needs maintenance now.¡± Two clapped Five on the shoulder ¡°We can¡¯t just get spooked over nothing.¡±


    ¡°Then come with me to check on it if it¡¯s that simple.¡± Three whined, not wanting to admit that she just didn¡¯t want to be alone with the thought of a haunted space station.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Two shrugged. She wasn¡¯t afraid to check out what was in there ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡ª


    Two and Five were crammed into the narrow hall together, following one after the other since, diminutive as they were, the tunnels weren¡¯t meant to be walked side by side. Two led the way, and was staying quiet, but Five looked about the hallway nervously.


    ¡°What are you scared of?¡± Two finally asked ¡°Think the space monster is gonna get you? Maybe aliens?¡±


    ¡°Hey, how are we supposed to know, right? It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve been watching this place for the last quarter billion years. What if some kind of creature did sneak on board?¡± Five seemed spooked already at the prospect of what could be waiting for them in the tunnel.


    ¡°Yeah, the vacuum-proof organism that happened to float into the station and hide out here waiting for eons for four clones to wake up so it could eat us.¡± Two smirked, shaking her head ¡°Sounds like a valid hunting mechanism.¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s not rational, Two, but that doesn¡¯t stop me from being nervous about it.¡± Five suddenly came to a stop as they got to an intersection, creasing her brow and sniffing the air a couple of times ¡°¡­ Hey Two¡­ what¡¯s that smell?¡±


    ¡°Smell?¡± Two sniffed the air and scrunched up her face. Something smelled of¡­ rot. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± Looking around at both intersecting corridors, her eyes settled on a discoloration on the wall ahead ¡°There. Let¡¯s take a look.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, fine.¡± Five followed right behind as they both approached the strange marking in the hall.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ acrid. Is that the right word?¡± Two asked as she approached it.


    ¡°Last humans in existence and you¡¯re worried about using proper language.¡± Five teased quietly.


    Two rolled her eyes ¡°It smells¡­ sulfurous. I-It¡¯s a chemical smell, I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Looks like a pipe burst. That could be bad. Don¡¯t touch whatever that is leaking out.¡± Five warned as she came in to take a closer look.


    ¡°No¡­ it didn¡¯t burst¡­ it¡¯s more like it was cut open. And there¡¯s nothing leaking.¡± Two said as she stood right up against the wall. The discolored yellowish trail didn¡¯t just run down the wall. It slid along the hallway lengthwise, almost like something had crawled that way.


    Five froze, eyes going wide at the trail, following it with her gaze before returning to the pipe ¡°Ooookay, that¡¯s not a pipe burst, no, that¡¯s something ALIVE, Two, I don¡¯t know if you know this, but inert liquids travel down, they don¡¯t go on a journey through my maintenance tunnels!¡±


    ¡°That makes no sense though.¡± Two mumbled ¡°How could something besides us be alive?¡± she sniffed the air again ¡°And why does it smell like it¡¯s rotting?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, and right now, I don¡¯t care. We need to get out of these cramped tunnels!¡± Five was quickly losing her composure, faced with the idea that there might actually be something dangerous on the ship with them.


    ¡°Come on, Five, there has to be a more rational explanation to this than ¡®aliens did it.¡¯¡± she said as she began following the trail, being careful not to touch what she assumed would be some kind of corrosive slime as she went.


    ¡°Me come on!? You come on! This is serious! What happens if it is some kind of monster!?¡± Five was practically yelling at her at this point, but she wasn¡¯t about to leave her alone on this either.


    ¡°Then you can get away while it¡¯s eating me.¡± Two rolled her eyes and kept walking. The trail led all the way around the helm¡¯s maintenance tunnel before splitting off toward the labs.


    ¡°This better not be some kind of prank or something.¡± Five muttered ¡°That smell¡¯s getting stronger too.¡±


    Two nodded, becoming nervous herself as they moved, but it was too late to turn around and give up on this now ¡°It smells familiar actually.¡± Two said quietly.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ it smells like the genetics lab.¡± Five groaned ¡°Like I wanted to be reminded of that again.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m about to say this, but I think I know what this is.¡± Two said as she turned around to look at Five and motioned for her to back up ¡°Let¡¯s take the nearest exit.¡±


    Five didn¡¯t waste any time on doing as she was asked this time ¡°Don¡¯t say something like that and then go quiet on me, what are we working with here.¡±


    ¡°You said One¡¯s container was drained when you went to get Four¡¯s body, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Five started to sound nervous about bringing up their fallen companion.


    ¡°Well Three and I didn¡¯t find One¡¯s remains being processed when we went into waste management.¡± Two said as she opened the door leading to the lab section of the hallway. ¡°We just figured it got ejected or something because of how foul it was.¡±


    Five quickly followed out into the hall, looking back into the dim tunnel with deep concern on her face ¡°Are you saying you think this could be-¡±


    Two shook her head ¡°It¡¯s definitely not human. But it might be One.¡±

 Glimpse of a Monster

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there¡¯s a what?¡± Three replied flatly to the odd explanation that had just been given to her.


    ¡°There¡¯s some kind of sewage sludge monster that incubated in One¡¯s tank crawling around the inside of the station!¡± Five repeated in greater detail this time, sounding just as panicked.


    All four girls once again stood around a table in the dormitories, having been brought together by Five¡¯s frantic call for a ¡®group meeting¡¯. Three sighed and turned elsewhere for answers ¡°Two, what spooked her?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ afraid she might actually be right on this.¡± Two nodded, a look of astonished worry on her face ¡°Something burst out of a pipe in helm maintenance. If that were the end of it, I¡¯d just say it¡¯s because the station is ancient, but then we found a trail leading from it. The trail made movements like it was alive. And it was recent.¡±


    Three furrowed her brow and stared at the two girls like they were crazy ¡°Right. I suppose One¡¯s chamber was a cesspool for all kinds of bacteria for six years¡­ the thought that it would evolve a primitive organism, though? That¡¯s absurd.¡±


    ¡°Well something¡¯s loose on the station, and I don¡¯t know what it intends to do.¡± Five crossed her arms and looked around with concern at all of the room¡¯s atmospheric vents in turn.


    Three sighed ¡°Okay, let¡¯s think about this¡­ rationally. Let¡¯s say that there is a ¡®creature¡¯ that was born from One¡¯s chamber.¡± she still didn¡¯t sound like she was taking this as the actual events at play, though. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be capable of higher thought. MAYBE instinct, but it isn¡¯t planning anything, Five.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make it sound any less dangerous!¡± Five shouted before she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down ¡°I say we implement the buddy system again. Even when we¡¯re sleeping. If it attacks one of us, the other will at least be able to help.¡±


    ¡°Personally, I never thought we should have stopped using that system.¡± Three sounded bored now ¡°So I¡¯m actually with her on this, but not because I¡¯m scared of bio-monsters.¡±


    Two looked to the side, a little embarrassed to admit what she was about to say ¡°I don¡¯t like Five¡¯s explanation either, frankly, but I don¡¯t have any better ideas of what it could be after seeing that trail¡­ and smelling it. It smells like One. I agree we need to stick together at all times until we figure this out.¡±


    ¡°Well what do we do about it, though?¡± Seven asked, finally piping up.


    There was a short silence as everyone looked to Seven, unsure what she meant ¡°What do you mean?¡± Five asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s hurt anyone yet.¡± Seven shrugged innocently ¡°Maybe it¡¯s friendly?¡±


    ¡°If it exists, it won¡¯t understand the concept of ¡®friendly¡¯. Or ¡®unfriendly¡¯ for that matter.¡± Three crossed her arms, still finding this whole exercise to be a fantasy ¡°But you¡¯re right about one thing, we need to figure out what we¡¯re going to do about it. They said they found a residue, that¡¯s not nothing. So let¡¯s get a sample and put it under a microscope. I¡¯m not Six, but I have a general idea of what a pathogen looks like, so I might be able to make some conclusions.¡±


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not going back down there.¡± Five shuddered. She was entirely too spooked to make another adventurous trip that day.


    ¡°Scaredy-clone.¡± Seven smirked ¡°I¡¯ll go with Two then.¡±


    Two nodded in agreement ¡°That leaves Three and five to go get us some gloves and slides to handle it with.¡±


    The four girls nodded in agreement at the plan, and started preparing for the day ahead of them dealing with their bizarre new problem.


    ¡ª


    Two walked down the familiar hall with Seven at her heel, walking carefully and listening closely ¡°Eugh¡­¡± Seven finally broke the silence as they neared the broken pipe again ¡°Yeah, that smells like One.¡±


    Two nodded ¡°I guess that¡¯s something. We¡¯ll be able to smell it coming long before we see it.¡± she started to pull on the nylon gloves Three had given her ¡°Just don¡¯t touch it. It could be toxic, or even acidic.¡± she warned the smaller girl.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I plan on eating it.¡± Seven mimed retching before she continued to follow right up to the burst pipe ¡°Oh wow¡­ the trail really does move like it¡¯s alive.¡± she mused.


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    Two paused though. Something was wrong ¡°There was only one trail before.¡± she said quietly. Another, fresher trail of the mysterious gunk could be seen moving through the hall and disappearing back where it came from again.


    Seven stared it the winding movement of the trail for a few more moments before declaring ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯m a little scared now too. Just a little.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we won¡¯t be long.¡± Two approached the fresher trail and retrieved two of the slides Three had given her from the genetics lab. She let out a groan of disgust when the slime stretched like jelly onto the glass before it would part. She did the same with the older trail, though this one was more cooperative, having dried out more by now.


    ¡°Okay, is that what we needed? Let¡¯s get out of- ah!¡± Seven let out a quiet yelp and pointed down the hall ¡°I saw something move! On the floor!¡±


    Two looked where she was pointing and saw that there was indeed another trail that had just appeared and slid back around the corner again. It was right here with them. ¡°Seven, stay calm. Back up slowly. We¡¯ll make our way back to the maintenance access. If you see it again, run.¡±


    Seven nodded, shaking in fear now. This was serious after all. There was actually something else alive on the station with them. Something inhuman.


    The pair slowly carried their prize back, keeping an eye on the hall behind them as they backed away from what they now had to assume was the creature¡¯s territory. It didn¡¯t take too long for the pair to emerge into the hall, where Seven shut the door quickly behind them. Three and Five were waiting for them.


    Three looked concerned at both of them ¡°You two look¡­ drained. What happened in there?¡±


    ¡°I saw it, it was this little blob thing!¡± Seven immediately cried out, running to put her arms around Five for comfort.


    ¡°Five, don¡¯t touch her!¡± Three yelled out suddenly, and Five, surprised by the command, followed her instruction ¡°Seven, I need you to back up and very carefully remove your shirt.¡±


    Two hadn¡¯t seen it until just then, but there was a large discolored splotch on the back of Seven¡¯s shirt. She must have mistakenly backed into the residue on the wall at some point. Seven went pale, not understanding the implications of what was going on yet ¡°W-What?¡±


    Three approached quickly, her hands already gloved, and pulled on the section of shirt that was stained, clicking her tongue in frustration ¡°It soaked through. We need to get you to medbay.¡± she said as she guided Seven out of the contaminated clothing, careful to hold the stain away from her body.


    When she saw the yellowed stain on the back of her shirt, Seven¡¯s eyes went wide with worry ¡°A-Am I gonna die?¡± was the first thing she asked.


    Three sighed ¡°Truth is, I have no idea. It could be nothing, but if your skin absorbs it, it could be dangerous. I¡¯ll need to look at that sample.¡± she took another slide and slide it over the residue that had transferred to Seven¡¯s back, and two more from the shirt. before she took Seven¡¯s arm and started to guide her back toward the medbay, deep concern on her face and terror on Seven¡¯s.


    Two looked to Five and saw the larger girl was also paralyzed with fear at what had just happened. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll figure this out.¡± Two tried to reassure her ¡°I¡¯m sure Seven¡¯s going to be okay, it barely touched her.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I almost touched it too.¡± Five muttered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath ¡°She said she saw something moving, I knew it, there¡¯s some kind of monster on board with us.¡±


    Two nodded slowly ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ I suppose that¡¯s¡­ hard to ignore at this point. Don¡¯t touch me either until I get these gloves off.¡± she said, starting to follow Three to make sure she disposed of them correctly.


    ¡ª


    Seven was spread nude on her stomach on Three¡¯s examination table, where the medic was administering alcohol vigorously to the patch of skin that looked mildly irritated by the gel that had been on it. It already looked like a small rash ¡°It¡¯s an irritant, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Three muttered, sighing as she stopped pouring disinfectant over it ¡°Let¡¯s hope that neutralized the worst of it.¡±


    Seven was crying quietly beneath the barrage of harsh chemicals and the implication that she might be in far more danger than they knew.


    Two crossed her arms now that her gloves were safely sitting on the lab table next to the shirt slide samples, and a microscope. She had made sure to wash her own hands thoroughly as well just to be sure.


    Five stood outside the room, still looking pale and worried while she promised to play lookout and make sure the weird thing couldn¡¯t sneak up on them that way.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll need to examine all these samples.¡± Three looked around the room ¡°This will take awhile. You two, out. I need space to work.¡± she demanded, pointing to Two and Five.


    Five gave a quiet grunt ¡°I am out.¡±


    ¡°You know what I mean.¡± Three said ¡°Go away. Give me some room and some time. I¡¯ll take care of her, I promise.¡±


    Two shrugged and stepped outside, while Three closed the door right behind her. It seemed she was serious about needing some time alone with the patient. Two and Five were both worried for Seven now, though, after seeing the damage just a mild touch gave.


    ¡°Doc needs to work on her bedside manner.¡± Five muttered, still glancing nervously both ways down the hall.


    ¡°We need to work on our own side of this problem anyway.¡± Two said, beginning to walk toward the labs.


    Five threw her arms out to the side ¡°What are you talking about? Where are you going? Don¡¯t leave me alone here.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to find or make something to contain it with.¡± she explained ¡°You know how to make stuff with all those tools you got out of engineering, right?¡±


    Five hesitated for a moment before beginning to follow after her ¡°Well, yeah, but I can¡¯t make anything too complicated without the machinery that¡¯s still stuck in there. I definitely can¡¯t make an alien bio-monster containment chamber thing.¡±


    ¡°Then make a box. A really tough box.¡± Two said as they arrived at the makeshift workstation Five had been using outside of engineering¡¯s sealed doors ¡°Or better yet, let¡¯s fix engineering.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, let me just go put on my child-size spacesuit and go take a look at the couplings out in space.¡± Five spoke in a loud sarcastic tone ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll make you a box.¡± she muttered as she pulled a thick plate of metal onto a table.

 To Catch a Pathogen

    Two and Five slept in the same dorm room that night. Five barely slept at all. They both went to the commons on edge. Five was still spooked by the fear that there was something roaming the ship with them, while Two was more preoccupied with thinking about how they were going to deal with it.


    They both squeezed a droplet of the strange gel food that had so far sustained them well enough into their mouths before sitting back down around the common room table.


    ¡°I wonder if this is how Three felt on the first day.¡± Five muttered tiredly ¡°Just¡­ stressed and worn out about our situation.¡±


    ¡°Probably. Though at least she¡¯s got something to focus on this time. They never came back to the dorms, right? We should probably check in on them before we continue working on the box.¡± Two spoke as a call to action, but she wasn¡¯t in any hurry to get back up either, her body still drained from the rough night ¡°You didn¡¯t cry though.¡±


    ¡°She cried?¡± Surprise showed over Five¡¯s face. She hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to spend much time alone with Three and hadn¡¯t seen her more emotional side ¡°She can cry?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not a robot. She just¡­ feels like she has to put a wall up I guess. Act tough. In a different way than you act tough.¡±


    ¡°Pff, I am tough.¡± Five pounded her fist at the center of her chest as if to demonstrate.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t sleep because you think a sewage monster¡¯s going to eat you.¡± Two teased, a small smile growing on her face.


    Five glared at the other girl ¡°You say that like it wouldn¡¯t try.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it might? But if it¡¯s just acting erratically like Three said, it¡¯s probably more likely still just moving around randomly at the helm.¡± Two really didn¡¯t feel as threatened as Five did by the creature. If it was going to be a danger to them, it would take a long time and a supreme amount of bad luck.


    ¡°Maintenance is gonna be a pain to clean once we deal with that thing. If we can deal with it.¡± Five muttered, an obvious pessimism to her tone ¡°I hope it didn¡¯t eat through any of the control boxes.¡±


    Two finally managed to convince herself to stand back up ¡°We don¡¯t even know if it¡¯s corrosive yet. Come on, let¡¯s go see what Three¡¯s found out. And make sure Seven¡¯s okay.¡±


    The two girls stood outside of the medbay door. It seemed that Three was serious about having some time alone with the patient, because the door was locked from the inside. ¡°Three, come on, open up, it¡¯s¡­ well, it¡¯s the time we decided should pass for morning.¡± she knocked on the door several times. There was no response, though they could hear movement behind the door.


    Five stepped forward and pounded on the door more loudly ¡°Hey doc! Help! I slipped on a ladder and my leg¡¯s bent a way it¡¯s not supposed to be!¡± she shouted. This elicited a much more chaotic response behind the door, which promptly opened to a disheveled Three with sunken eyes and a grimace that could have cut a hole through the station, causing both Two and Five to recoil in surprise.


    The exhausted-looking Three looked down at Five¡¯s legs before she muttered ¡°Liar.¡± and turned back around to return to Seven¡¯s side, past a makeshift bed that she¡¯d made on the floor ¡°What do you want?¡±


    Seven was still lying naked on her stomach on the examination table, thankfully still breathing, as Two noted. Her back, however, looked like it was scratched up, worn rough by the rash that had grown since they last saw her. A thin layer of some kind of gel rested over top of it though, most likely something Three had applied to help it heal. ¡°Hey¡­¡± she called blearily ¡°Is it morning already?¡± she sounded like she had been asleep until moments ago.


    ¡°Sit still, I need to change your medicine.¡± Three mumbled as she pulled on another pair of gloves.


    ¡°Again?¡± Seven whined.


    Two chimed in to answer Three¡¯s question ¡°I wanted to see how Seven was doing. And what you¡¯ve learned about the¡­ thing.¡±


    ¡°Seven¡¯s going to be fine. It¡¯s just a skin infection. It could have been worse if we didn¡¯t get it off her when we did though.¡± Three took her gloved hand and started pulling up at the edge of the gel on Seven¡¯s back, revealing that it was a semi-solidified mass when dried. ¡°Ready?¡± Three asked.


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    ¡°No.¡± Seven whined again, but she braced herself against the table anyway. Three pulled up slowly on the gel, eliciting a yelp from the smaller girl as it came off of the rash, apparently painful to have it exposed to the air again. Seven whimpered and sobbed as the last of it came off, and Three tossed it into a biohazard bin. ¡°How many more times do we have to do that!?¡± she cried while Three appeared to prepare another batch of the gel.


    ¡°Hopefully once.¡± Three sighed, then got a relieved groan from Seven as she reapplied the medicine, looking back to Two as she spread the more liquefied gel out over the rash ¡°Don¡¯t touch the residue. Definitely don¡¯t touch that creature. I think we should all be wearing gloves around it. I¡¯d say we should be wearing hazmat suits if we had any.¡±


    Five gulped ¡°It¡¯s that irritating?¡±


    ¡°Only when it¡¯s fresh.¡± Three noted ¡°All the samples we got are inert by now, but I observed some¡­ alarming properties.¡± she snapped her gloves back off and disposed of them as well ¡°It¡¯s a bacterial cesspool. All sorts of microorganisms swimming around in that stuff. But it thins out over time. The bacteria cannibalizes itself over time, so it¡¯s self-sterilizing. But here¡¯s the thing. Those bacteria will grow and change rapidly. Like really rapidly. They evolve at a¡­ ludicrous pace. If they weren¡¯t also killing themselves out, they might actually become multicellular organisms in the span of¡­ a couple months, maybe?¡±


    ¡°Living things don¡¯t evolve though. It happens generationally.¡± Two crossed her arms ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°How indeed.¡± Three muttered as she washed her hands and then sat back down on her sheets with an exhausted sigh ¡°My running theory is it has something to do with the cloning tanks. We were made to develop much more quickly than a human does, at least mentally. And whatever this thing is was born in that same environment. Could be whatever¡­ process was being used there continued its work with the tissue left over after One died. I wouldn¡¯t know for sure without reading up on the cloning process.¡±


    ¡°So we were born in evolution juice.¡± Five rolled her eyes ¡°Great. That¡¯s a comforting fact. Don¡¯t suppose you know how we might kill that thing?¡±


    ¡°Or capture it.¡± Two added ¡°If it can evolve that quickly itself, we might actually be able to make use of it.¡±


    Five looked extremely uncomfortable towards Two when she said that and grumbled ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s milk it for its rash juice.¡±


    Three gave an exhausted sigh ¡°I hate to say it, but Five has the better idea here. It¡¯s too dangerous to keep alive. Normally, I¡¯d say to douse it in alcohol, but that might not have any affect on it if it¡¯s evolved to deal with harsh chemicals given where it spawned. Extreme heat or extreme cold would probably suit us better.¡±


    ¡°What about vacuum?¡± Two put forward. They¡¯d already seen just how useful vacuum could be as a tool for its cold with the preservation of food.


    Three laid back in her bed ¡°Are you planning on exposing it to space?¡± she yawned.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Two gave a little smile ¡°If we can lure it into an airlock somehow, we could just jettison it entirely.¡±


    Five shook her head ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that opening an external airlock won¡¯t depressurize the entire station, Two.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we have an incinerator on hand.¡± Two sighed impatiently ¡°At least not one that I¡¯ve found.¡±


    ¡°No, but I think I can put a flamethrower together.¡± Five muttered back.


    ¡°Ah yeah, that¡¯s what a pressurized environment needs, more napalm.¡± Two rolled her eyes.


    Seven groaned out ¡°Will you two stop fighting? Just try and trap it somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Trap it somewhere else.¡± Three mumbled, pulling up a paper cover she¡¯d been using as a sheet ¡°I need rest.¡±


    Two and Five nodded to each other, silently agreeing that Three probably had the worst night out of everyone, and left the room to let them both rest.


    ¡ª


    Two held the box in both hands, staring down at Five¡¯s creation with distrust for the flimsy cube of steel in her eyes ¡°Are you sure this thing can hold it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Five snipped, throwing a screwdriver she was holding back into her toolbox ¡°But it¡¯s watertight and airtight, at least when it¡¯s closed. I¡¯m pretty proud of it.¡±


    ¡°It looks pretty¡­ ramshackle.¡± Two tilted the steel box around and looked at all the welding spots and discolorations on it ¡°And it¡¯s so light.¡±


    ¡°Look, if you want old world tech, you¡¯re welcome to go digging around for it in the unstable engineering bay. If you want whatever I can make with garbage and hand tools, well, that¡¯s what we¡¯ve got.¡±


    Two took a deep breath and tried to let go of the tension she was holding onto ¡°Okay¡­ I think we¡¯re just both on edge. Neither of us got great sleep, and we¡¯re both stressed out. Seven¡¯s right, let¡¯s not fight over this stuff.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Five conceded, stepping away from her bench to stand by Two ¡°What¡¯s the plan for this thing anyway?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t have one. If it is acting erratically, all we can really do is put it down somewhere near it and hope it just wanders in. If it¡¯s intelligent, then we need bait.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just bait it anyway then.¡± Five shrugged ¡°May as well, right?¡±


    ¡°With what? What do zombie monsters eat?¡± Two gave a humorless chuckle.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t call it that. I really don¡¯t want to think of this thing as if it were actually still One or something.¡± Five turned her head in disgust.


    ¡°I mean, the only thing we have is that gel we¡¯ve been eating. I wonder if that¡¯s the same stuff that the cloning chambers use.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if it is, thing might have a taste for it.¡± Five nodded in agreement ¡°Here¡¯s an idea. I make a weight trigger on the bottom of the box. We put it in helm maintenance with a dab of food in it, and if it wanders in there, it closes up on it and we can retrieve it later.¡±


    ¡°That way you never have to see the thing.¡± Two gave a teasing smirk ¡°I get it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, neither does anyone else then.¡± Five grabbed the box back from Two and set it back down on the table ¡°If you want to run up to the thing and see if you can wrangle it in there yourself, you¡¯re free to try, just remember what Seven¡¯s going through right now from a tiny bit of its residual slime touching her. I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯d be like to touch it directly.¡±

 First Contact

    Two held the box in both hands, breathing heavily as she stepped into the maintenance tunnel, already sweating due to both the stress of the situation and the fact that she was wearing four t-shirts, two pairs of gloves, a few pairs of socks under some overly large boots they¡¯d found, and two lab coats that dragged behind her in a vain attempt to put as much material between her and the sludge creature as she could.


    Five stood a good distance behind her with her ordinary shirt on, not intending to do more than be present in the area with her to make sure she could get her out if she got hurt. She stopped when they got to the part of the hall with the discolored wall, but she gulped when she saw that the slime-covered trails had become much more plentiful since they last left. ¡°Two¡­ be careful in there, okay?¡± Five sounded worried, not wanting to take a step further since the slime covered the floor now.


    Two nodded and proceeded into the creature¡¯s territory, watching every nook and cranny for even the slightest movement. She stopped frequently to take stock of her surroundings, becoming more tense by the moment. She had to take a breath to calm herself by the time she reached the intersection. The paths went all over the place down both paths, and she had to make a choice. ¡°Five¡­¡± she called back ¡°I¡¯m taking the right path. Okay?¡± she stepped heavily down the thin corridor, feeling the slick slime stick to the bottom of her heavy boots. She starting to become terrified of the possibility of what she was getting into. What was Five supposed to do if the thing incapacitated her somehow? She couldn¡¯t follow to retrieve her after all. The only thing she could do was go get Three and hope she had a way to navigate the hall safely.


    Two shook her head. This wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about this. She just had to find the creature, place the trap, and get out. They could retrieve the box later in the same fashion, hopefully with the creature contained within.


    Two stopped dead in her tracks when she saw it. At the intersection ahead rested what looked to be a large dollop of what looked like some kind of semi-solid pile of sludge, squirming down one of the hallways far more quickly than should have been possible. She shuddered at the sight of it, thankful that it was moving away from her, and approached the intersection staring down the path it had taken to make sure that it didn¡¯t double back while she placed the box down on the floor.


    She opened the solid hatch Five had built into it before taking the tube of gel out of her pocket ¡°Hope this isn¡¯t a waste.¡± she muttered as she spread a dollop of it on the bottom of the box and activated the weight sensor. The trap was set.


    She backed up and stumbled on the boots, leaning back into the wall on one arm and panting loudly before she realized it was just the oversized clothing hampering her and not the monster under her feet. She tried to stand back up, but something felt wrong. Her hand was heavier than before¡­ Turning to look slowly, she saw that her double-gloved hand was placed directly on top of a weakly squirming mass of a dirty semi-solid material. It had come back down the other hallway behind her and she had stuck her hand directly into it.


    Breathing frantically, Two let out a loud scream as she tried to throw the creature away from her, shaking her arm wildly to try to dislodge it, but it seemed like it was stuck to her. Stepping forward to the box, she did her best to try and throw it down into the opening, continuing to find no luck. The creature, meanwhile, began trying to engulf her hand further, wrapping around it slowly. She knew that if it kept moving like that it would find a way around the gloves, so she stuck her hand down in the box and tried to scrape it off the side, finding it just stuck to the other side of the glove.


    ¡°Let go! LET GO!¡± she shouted hysterically, putting her boot down into the container to scrape it off the other side, only now it was sticking to her boot. Two pulled her foot out of the boot entirely and let it fall in, making the container close around it. In her panic, she had peeled off the outer layer of her gloves, leaving it in with the creature.


    Two fell back and scrambled backwards away from the container, panting loudly and on the verge of crying as she inspected her hand, feeling a growing irritation and what almost looked like burn marks around the back of her glove, where it had managed to touch her skin. Directly. She stared at the box from the floor, shaking as if expecting it to burst open and attack her again, but it never happened. After a few moments of silence, she almost leaned back to rest on the floor before she remembered where she was and sat up instead, slowly getting to her feet and making sure to only touch surfaces with her better protected hand.


    She whimpered as she picked up the box, uncomfortable keeping that thing so close to her, even if it was on the other side of solid steel, and started making her way back ¡°F-Five?!¡± she called, her eyes tearing up as her hand started to feel itchy ¡°Five, I-I caught it!¡± there was no answer. All she could do was walk slowly back through the filthy corridor, trying to ignore her obvious infection. Three would be able to take care of that later, as awful as she knew it would feel if it was anything like Seven¡¯s exposure to it. She hoped that the residue on the floor wouldn¡¯t also infect her foot since she didn¡¯t have a boot anymore, but that was why she¡¯d worn several socks on top of each other as well.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    By the time she got to the maintenance entrance, she was dragging the box from her good hand. The other one was starting to feel weak. It hurt to flex her fingers around the handle, so she just let it hang limp. She wondered if that was a bad sign.


    Five was still nowhere to be seen as she walked down the main hallway, and it wasn¡¯t until she saw her approaching in a hurry with Three in tow that she was thankful to see the other girl ¡°H-Hey!¡± she let the container drop to the floor and waved her hand at them ¡°Hey, I-I caught it.¡±


    ¡°Two! What in the¡­!¡± Three started, taken aback at her appearance ¡°Your hand!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡­ it touched me. You¡¯ll have to do whatever you did for Seven.¡± she let out a nervous chuckle and leaned into the wall, feeling far more tired than she expected to be.


    ¡°Five, get her out of those clothes and get her to medbay, NOW!¡± Three demanded as Five carefully helped Two get to her feet again.


    ¡°What about the monster?¡± Five asked, taking a hopeful step toward the box that surely actually contained the creature they were after if Two was still carrying it.


    ¡°Forget about the monster, just do what I said!¡± Three¡¯s urgent anger made Five do as she said without another moment¡¯s hesitation, using her own now-gloved hands to help pull off the outer layer of Two¡¯s clothing while Three rushed back toward the medbay.


    ¡°Y-You actually got it in there?¡± Five asked ¡°You lost your boot¡­ and you¡¯re covered in the stuff, at least on the outer layer. It¡¯s a good thing you put all those shirts on.¡± she said as she pulled the second lab coat off and saw that nothing had seeped in further than that. Likewise, as the socks came off, she saw it didn¡¯t leave anything on her feet. But her hand¡­


    Two felt dizzy by now ¡°Medbay¡­ time.¡± she muttered before her vision started to blur.


    ¡ª


    Before Two knew what was going on, she was laying down on Three¡¯s examination table. She couldn¡¯t concentrate very well on what was happening to her, but things were starting to clear up, a result of her body being at rest. She still couldn¡¯t see a thing though, her body was too busy trying to fight whatever it was that was coursing through her. All she could do was listen to their voices.


    ¡°C¡¯mon doc, you gotta do something, it¡¯s turning black.¡± Five cried out urgently.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think I see that!?¡± Three shouted back ¡°It¡¯s past her skin, we need to administer¡­ something. I-I don¡¯t know, okay! This is beyond my expertise, I have to do some tests!¡±


    ¡°Well do them quick, it¡¯s spreading!¡±


    ¡°¡­ What?¡± Three sounded confused.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s slow, but it¡¯s moving out.¡± there was a long quiet stillness to the room that Two didn¡¯t like to hear before Five once more shouted with renewed urgency ¡°Doc!?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ oh god.¡± Three sounded scared. The kind of fear that was accompanied by nausea ¡°I¡­ I need to¡­¡±


    ¡°Three?¡± Five called as Three rummaged through something on the other side of the room ¡°Wait¡­ no, no, you can¡¯t seriously be thinking¡­ are you just-¡±


    ¡°Stand back, Five. I-It¡¯s the only way.¡± Three sounded like she was starting to cry.


    Five was quiet for some time ¡°Can we knock her out first?¡± she sounded just as upset, but had a defeated tone to her voice.


    ¡°Here. On her other wrist.¡± Three muttered quietly.


    Two felt the prick of a needle at her other hand, and what consciousness she had left faded in a heartbeat, falling into a gentle dream almost instantly, where she forgot what was happening to her for some time.


    ¡ª


    The next time she woke, Two¡¯s vision was still fuzzy, but she heard a distinct steady beeping noise overhead. She felt tired. Despite having just woken up, she wanted to go right back to sleep, but her natural curiosity kept her conscious enough to see a figure standing over her ¡°¡­ awake?¡± she heard the voice echo in her head to the point where she couldn¡¯t tell who was speaking or what else they had said. It wasn¡¯t long before her limited energy gave out on her again and Two passed out once more.


    Time passed yet again, and this time, Two¡¯s eyes opened with clarity. The examination table. The monster. It all started coming back to her slowly, playing in her head in slow motion. She had to tell herself that it was over, that the danger was passed now, so that she could calm her breathing. She turned her head slightly to see Seven on a chair next to her, an IV stuck into her own arm. She was looking down at her slate, unaware of her until she spotted the movement out of the corner of her eye and smiled at her ¡°Oh! Two! Hi!¡± she said, a look of pity on her face.


    ¡°Seven¡­¡± Two finally spoke, finding herself barely able to get the words out, and deciding to just lay her head back to save energy ¡°What¡­ happened?¡± she asked as she kept trying to piece things back together and getting lost ¡°I was on the table and¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, look at me. Three will be right back, okay?¡± Seven reassured her, her own eyes looking glassy. She¡¯d been crying. ¡°Everything¡¯s going to be okay.¡± Seven tried to reassure her.


    Two followed the IV Seven was connected to up to a red bag sitting above her. And then back down from that bag to her own wrist ¡°¡­ Blood?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Good thing about being clones, I guess. We can donate to each other, haha.¡± Seven kept smiling at her as Two¡¯s eyes started to wander ¡°W-Wait, no, just look at me, okay? It¡¯s going to be alright, okay?¡± she repeated once more.


    But it was too late. Two¡¯s eyes had already started to tear up as she looked to her other side, her body shaking as the beeps above her started to increase in pace.


    And there she saw the faint red bandages wrapped around the stump where her forearm had been.

 A Pyrrhic Victory

    Two could hear the accelerating beeping noises above her, but she was too focused on her right arm. Or rather, what remained of her right arm. She just stared at it, shaking as it dawned on her what was happening. She could feel her muscles moving, trying to flex her fingers, her wrist¡­ but it did nothing. It was gone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Two.¡± Seven said quietly, holding Two¡¯s hand tight while she continued ¡°Three said it was the only way to keep you from dying. She saved as much of it as she could.¡±


    Two¡¯s eyes were wet as she laid back on the table, panting loudly just from the exertion of her mind racing. That was it then. That little touch by the creature didn¡¯t just leave her with a temporary rash like she thought it would. It crippled her. She stared at the bright light overhead, not really certain what to say, or even what to think now. She felt hot tears forming on her face. This couldn¡¯t be real.


    The infirmary door opened after a few moments and Seven called out immediately ¡°She¡¯s awake. She¡­ saw it.¡±


    ¡°I can tell¡­¡± Three said grimly ¡°Two¡­ I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    ¡°You cut my arm off.¡± Two stammered out in quiet disbelief, tears streaming down her face.


    ¡°I had to cut it off, Two. The infection would have spread further.¡± Three sounded defensive, apologetic ¡°I-I had no choice. You were going to die if I didn¡¯t.¡±


    Two knew that had to be true, but it didn¡¯t make it hurt any less. She still felt it, like it was there, but nothing real responded when she moved it. ¡°I¡­ W-Why didn¡¯t I just get a rash?¡± she pleaded, hoping that this somehow wasn¡¯t real and she could rationalize it away.


    ¡°Whatever that stuff is, it becomes less potent over time because the bacteria kills itself. But if you touched it right from the source¡­ well¡­ your arm was caught up with everything else in there.¡± Three explained ¡°After it was severed, it just¡­ your arm just slowly disintegrated into this bacterial jelly. That would have happened to your whole body if it stayed attached to you.¡±


    Two had to face the reality of it. It was gone. Her arm was gone. It wasn¡¯t coming back, she couldn¡¯t wish it didn¡¯t happen. It was gone, that¡¯s all there was to it. She took a deep sobbing breath as she held Seven¡¯s hand back squeezing as tight as she could with the little energy she had ¡°I understand.¡± she managed to get out between breaths.


    ¡°For now, rest.¡± Three demanded ¡°You¡¯ve been out for four days. You lost a lot of blood and we¡¯ve been taking turns feeding more back into you. It looks like that worked. You¡¯ll probably still feel weak for another few days though, so you¡¯re staying here.¡± she insisted, knowing that Two would want to get up and continue exploring the station again once she had the energy, even despite her new condition ¡°Don¡¯t need you to collapse and get yourself injured again.¡±


    ¡°What about the monster?¡± Two asked, staying laid back as she was told.


    ¡°Five sealed the box in an airlock. It won¡¯t hurt anyone anymore.¡± Three said quietly ¡°¡­ Two, I¡­ I can¡¯t believe that you touched it. I know, you wore the best protection you could find, but¡­¡± she stopped herself, pinching the bridge of her nose ¡°I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is¡­ thank you. Seeing what it does to human flesh¡­ it was going to happen to someone eventually. And we would be less prepared than you were. You¡­ you took that hit for all of us.¡± Three looked down at the floor ¡°You¡¯re very brave. Stupidly brave. Don¡¯t ever do that again.¡±


    Two couldn¡¯t help but make a dark chortle at this. Three was lecturing her, even as she was complimenting her. ¡°You¡¯re a hero, Two.¡± Seven added.


    ¡°Five and I are already started working on building a prosthesis.¡± Three continued, an apologetic tone to her voice again ¡°It¡­ obviously won¡¯t be as functional as your hand was, and it¡¯ll need some upkeep, but you¡¯ll be able to grip things with it and use it for balance.¡±


    Two nodded slowly. Her heartrate had calmed dramatically from when she first realized what had happened. She was still distressed, but she was glad to have the others by her side for it. They really seemed to care for her. And she knew she would do the same for them. They bickered a little bit sometimes, but they were a team. They were sisters. And she really needed people like that in that moment.


    ¡ª


    The days passed slowly for Two. As her strength returned, the others stopped having to donate their blood, but they kept visiting her. Five showed up with parts of the prosthesis to show it to her and take measurements, but the wound still hurt too much to try to fit anything onto it.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Two quickly learned to operate her slate with one hand, finding the boredom of laying down for so long unbearable after a day of coming to terms with her disability. She needed something to discover, so it looked like she was back into delving the depths of the massive computer database that was somewhere on the station.


    It finally dawned on her a couple of days after she woke up that she could search the database for specific keywords, and she went to work with renewed vigor.


    Two scrolled through another entry on the mythology of the phoenix. It was remarkable how much information the computer contained on things that ultimately wouldn¡¯t matter from a scientific perspective. It was perplexing, but given the massive size of the databank, she supposed that it wouldn¡¯t have been a waste to preserve at least a small part of human history and culture among it.


    Feeling tired again, she let out a sigh and let the slate rest on her chest while she thought. Phoenix was somehow too broad of a topic¡­ In fact, there was a suspicious amount of information on the bird contained in the database. It was as if it had been stuffed with scientific documents related to this one myth specifically for them to find and read through. And it was tiring. She needed a different approach.


    She went to pick up the slate again, but ended up just staring at her absence of an arm instead. She¡¯d tried to use it again. Feeling herself tear up again, she just laid back and wondered. Was there a point to this? Maybe Three was right. Maybe they really were just awake as some kind of twisted cosmic joke that incidentally released them long after the death of their kind, and they were just destined to rot here eventually. Was there actually any point to her sacrifice, unintentional as it was? Or were they all going to die like this anyway? She wondered if she should just keep lying down and just give up like Three had on the first day.


    That¡¯s when the door opened and Five walked in ¡°Hey Two.¡± she waved and sat down in a chair next to the table ¡°So¡­ how you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been worse.¡± Two said with quiet sarcasm and then smiled ¡°I¡¯m going to have to try to avoid this almost dying thing, not sure if it¡¯s for me.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Hey, for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m really sorry about this.¡± Five sighed, looking down at the floor.


    ¡°For what? Your box worked fine.¡± Two waved it off ¡°I was the one who fell over on a bacteria monster.¡±


    ¡°I just mean, like¡­ I didn¡¯t go in there. I could have put on gear too. I could have watched your back. I was just too scared.¡± Five let out a loud sigh. She was beating herself up a lot about what happened. No doubt that she thought it should have been her, in hindsight. ¡°This didn¡¯t have to happen like this.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Two nodded, letting that hang in the air for just a moment ¡°But I was stupid too. I wanted to put that trap right in the middle of its territory instead of just leaving it at the edge. Three¡¯s right; I was reckless.¡±


    ¡°Did she actually say that? What the hell?¡±


    ¡°Well, her words were that I was ¡®stupidly brave¡¯.¡± Two let out a chuckle ¡°We both could have handled that differently. But this is how it went. Just¡­ make me a hand I can make good use of, okay? Then we¡¯re even.¡±


    Five smiled at her ¡°You got it Two.¡± she said as she reached over to her mangled arm and started to take measurements from it again.


    ¡ª


    The next day, Two was finally sitting up. She¡¯d been moved to a seat and been unhooked from the monitors she¡¯d been attached to since the incident, though Three still insisted that she stay confined to the infirmary. Her wounds were closing nicely, and her bandages no longer showed blood when they were changed. Three said that she was making a remarkable recovery.


    But still, she frequently went to use her phantom hand. And when she did, a sadness came over her face and she just stared where it once was until the moment of regret passed and she went back to scrolling the slate one-handed.


    She¡¯d been researching cloning as a science today. Three was changing her bandages when she looked it up ¡°Seems like the old humans had a lot of ethical problems with cloning.¡± she mumbled.


    ¡°Yeah, I noticed that too. There¡¯s no scientific papers in the database about it being done successfully on humans.¡± Three noted ¡°Plenty of discourse on the subject though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a lot of it is over my head.¡± Two nodded ¡°If we were born back then, I bet we¡¯d be hated.¡±


    ¡°Or pitied. There¡¯s no one to judge us either way here though.¡± she pulled the bandage tight and adhered it to itself ¡°That world is dead. We¡¯re all that¡¯s left.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You know, you used to get all despondent about that.¡± Two noted ¡°Now you can just say it so matter-of-fact. What changed?¡±


    Three stopped to consider it for a few moments ¡°I guess¡­ I¡¯m taking it as a challenge. Survive as long as we can on this garbage heap. See what happens.¡±


    Two fidgeted with the bandage for a moment, making sure that it was well in place ¡°¡­ Been thinking¡­ what if we could get to Earth?¡±


    ¡°What, you too?¡± Three chortled ¡°Seven still hasn¡¯t given up on that idea. She getting to you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. What if¡­ I dunno, Five can engineer us a landing shuttle or something?¡± Two smiled half-jokingly.


    Three smiled back ¡°Hah, stop. She still hasn¡¯t figured out how to fix the engineering lab. She¡¯s fine working with small stuff like that containment box and your prosthetic, and she hasn¡¯t seared her retinas off yet with that torch, but I doubt she has the materials or the expertise to make a spaceship.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t need to be a spaceship, just has to break our fall hard enough.¡± Two chuckled and left her missing arm alone ¡°But yeah, I know, you¡¯re probably right.¡±


    ¡°But at the same time¡­ A phoenix is a bird that¡¯s reborn in fire.¡± Three muttered.


    Two raised an eyebrow and looked up ¡°Hmm? Yeah. I¡¯ve read about it.¡±


    Three hesitated to say it ¡°Well, re-entry would¡­ No, nothing, just¡­ thinking.¡± she sighed and went back to reading from her own slate. Two shrugged and did so as well.

 Back in Action

    Two finally stepped out of the infirmary, immediately stumbling into Five¡¯s arms. After so long in one room, she had become unaccustomed to the gravitational field shift, and it made her feel sick all over again ¡°Guh¡­ I forgot how much that sucks.¡± she groaned.


    ¡°You¡¯re not gonna throw up on me now, are you?¡± Five smiled down at her and tried to get her back up on her own feet, patting her on the back .


    ¡°Hah. You¡¯re never going to let me live down feeling nauseous from that again, are you?¡± Two chuckled, standing back up on her own.


    ¡°Better get used to it.¡± She teased and patted her on the shoulder as she started walking down the hall, expecting Two to follow ¡°It¡¯ll be good to have another set of hands around here again.¡±


    Two backed away from her instead and glared at her ¡°¡­ Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Five took a few moments to think about what she said and her eyes went wide ¡°Oh! Oh no! I didn¡¯t mean-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I know you didn¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± Two said quietly, reaching over to feel once more at the harness Five had fitted to her right arm to mount the prosthesis. ¡°Let¡¯s just¡­ get my new arm on and then you won¡¯t be wrong.¡±


    Five nodded ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ Sorry.¡± she said quietly, leading the rest of the way to her workstation in awkward silence. She cleared her throat as she picked up a spindly metal rod assembly with a two-pronged claw at the end of it that had some kind of rubber grip on the end ¡°And here it is.¡± she held it out in both hands for Two to inspect.


    Two looked it over with mild disappointment, putting her hand over it and feeling the metal rods. She wasn¡¯t really sure what she was expecting when she was told that she would get a prosthetic hand, but she had somehow hoped that it would look more like a hand than a machine.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I know. It¡¯s not pretty.¡± Five said quietly ¡°I¡­ actually had to reforge some metal to make the grip. But it should be sturdy.¡±


    Two shook her head ¡°No no, it¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m never going to have anything like an actual hand again, am I? It¡¯s really just going to have to be¡­ some kind of machine thing.¡±


    ¡°I mean, I could probably make it look a bit better, but I think I¡¯d need to machine parts for that.¡± Five said sadly ¡°And that kind of equipment is in there.¡± she pointed back toward the sealed off engineering bay. ¡°Sorry again.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s functional, right? That¡¯s all I can really ask for right now.¡± Two said, forcing a smile ¡°You did a good job making this. I appreciate it. Thank you.¡±


    Five blushed a little at the compliment ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re welcome.¡± she cleared her throat again and continued ¡°So right, it¡¯ll take some getting used to, but here¡¯s how it works. See, this gripper, you can control it with this switch. I had the idea to make it so you could operate it with your remaining arm muscles, but for now you¡¯ll have to open and close it manually with your other hand. There¡¯s a lever for that here. And I know sometimes you gotta be more or less delicate with stuff sometimes, so this screw here adjusts how tight it holds. At the loose end, it should be able to hold your slate without crushing it. And at the other end, well. She chuckled ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the harness would give out before it would lose grip if you had it turned all the way up. Hell, if I reinforce the harness to your torso, you might be able to hold your body weight up with it. Not¡­ really sure why you would need that, but I thought it was a neat idea.¡±


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Are you trying to convince me this thing is better than my old arm or something?¡± Two huffed, a grim smile on her face.


    ¡°You give me some time, and the engineering bay up and running again, I WILL make that thing better than your old arm.¡± she announced triumphantly ¡°You just wait, once I figure out how to fix that room, I¡¯ll make that thing something to be proud of.¡±


    Two nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that. For now, just help get it on me.¡±


    ¡ª


    Two walked into the dormitories cradling her new metal arm. It was strange, but it was almost as if she could actually feel it, the sensation oddly comforting after the eerie absence she¡¯d experienced there since it happened. She already felt like the new limb was a part of her.


    ¡°Oh wow, that looks kind of cool.¡± Seven called the moment she laid eyes on her.


    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that.¡± Two looked away from her, knowing she was just trying to be nice. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯ve been out for awhile. More than a week. I can¡¯t have missed nothing, so what has everyone been up to?¡±


    Seven looked a little bit disappointed, and began recounting things. ¡°Well, Three¡¯s mostly been taking care of you and reading the database. I¡¯ve been looking over the communication logs on the bridge and helping Five build the forge she had to make. And Five has been working non-stop on your arm.¡±


    ¡°And no one¡¯s made any progress on the Phoenix thing?¡± Two sounded a little disappointed. ¡°I was hoping maybe there would be more clues out there.¡±


    ¡°Afraid not.¡± Seven shook her head ¡°The answer¡¯s got to be out there somewhere, though, right? There¡¯s just so much data to go through.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if we¡¯re looking in the right place.¡± Two clicked her tongue ¡°Maybe we overlooked something we should have seen already.¡±


    ¡°Like what? We¡¯ve been all over the station at this point.¡± Seven looked bored as she traced her slate around the table some more ¡°And Three said you¡¯re still supposed to rest up right now.¡±


    ¡°I could just lay around in bed and browse the database, but I feel like I¡¯m not just gonna walk into it like that.¡± she sat down across from Seven at the table and stared out the window. She¡¯d missed this view, since the infirmary was closed off ¡°You know¡­ we left the genetics lab pretty quick, and I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s had a good hard look around there since then.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ tried while you were out.¡± Seven said quietly, a bit of anxiety in her voice ¡°The smell¡¯s gone, but I got scared. I don¡¯t want to see Four¡­¡±


    Two nodded, not wanting to admit that she wouldn¡¯t find Four¡¯s body if she was even looking ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to check that out next. Maybe look into the cloning chambers¡¯ code again. Or its hardware. See if I can learn anything else.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re not just gonna stay on bed rest?¡± Seven asked, sitting up and taking hold of her slate.


    ¡°Did you expect me to?¡± Two smirked as she stood up and made her way to the door again. Seven followed quickly after, glad to have something to do again.

 Sacrifice

    Two and Seven walked into the genetics lab, and Two was pleased to find that the room¡¯s smell was significantly better than when they last left it. It still didn¡¯t feel clean, but it didn¡¯t make her want to throw up anymore either.


    Two walked by the cloning chambers and stole a glance into Four¡¯s. It was empty, as Five promised it would be. Still, she didn¡¯t linger on it long, not wanting to upset Seven with what she knew.


    She continued moving back to One¡¯s chamber and once more adjusted the console back into place so it would turn on again. The motors in the door shuddered as it began to open. Even with the chamber emptied of the filth, it still unleashed one last wave of stench as the panel rose up, revealing an inside stained with slick black and green residue. Various chunks of organic matter, perhaps mold, stuck to the corners of the chamber.


    Two stepped back, holding her nose and resting against the wall for a moment. This was the birth place of that thing that took her hand. She didn¡¯t dare go in. Thankfully, that wasn¡¯t why she was there. Gathering her composure, she attached her slate to the prosthetic, adjusting it to hold gently, and then hooked it once more into the computer.


    The same files as before. She didn¡¯t remember exactly what all the nonsense said, but she knew it wasn¡¯t anymore forthcoming than it was the first time she¡¯d seen it. Just scrambled data, not meant to be read by human eyes.


    She was momentarily distracted, though, by trying to operate the device left-handed. She hadn¡¯t realized before how difficult it still was to use her off-hand for delicate tasks. It was like her brain refused to follow her instructions correctly for it. But she¡¯d have to endure, it wasn¡¯t like she could just decide to be left-handed.


    ¡°Different approach¡­¡± she muttered to herself, taking a step back. She unplugged the slate and turned around, facing her own chamber. They had to be given the information they¡¯d received somehow. Their minds had to be trained for their specific roles in some way.


    Stepping into her own chamber, she walked along the edge, feeling the smooth walls. It all started here. It was strange to come back after everything she¡¯d gone through. She felt so much stronger than she did on that first day. So much wiser from what she¡¯d learned. It wasn¡¯t truly that long ago, but it was her entire life to her.


    She stopped as her hand ran over a seam. It was the same color as the rest of the room and difficult to distinguish from it. Following it, it ran up to the ceiling, where there was an oval-shaped cutout that sealed to the top of the room. Stepping back outside, she looked around the outside of the chamber. Five had inspected these before, but there was nothing on the shell that looked like it would be easy to remove or open, but she couldn¡¯t have checked the top.


    ¡°Hey Seven.¡± she called across the room to Seven, who had been preoccupying herself with organizing some of the glassware ¡°Can you borrow a prybar from Five for me?¡± she asked ¡°And a hammer?¡±


    ¡°Huh? What for?¡± Seven asked ¡°Are you¡­ going to break that thing?¡±


    ¡°Probably. Might be able to disassemble it in the process though.¡± As Seven left, Two began moving and stacking boxes around the room, making a rudimentary staircase up to the top of her cloning chamber.


    Five and Seven walked in together, Five with a toolbox under one arm ¡°Someone call for a destruction crew? What are you doing, Two?¡± she sounded impatient ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be messing with these things, what if we need them later for something?¡±


    ¡°That your best Three impression?¡± Two asked, pushing one more box up over her head and onto the stack ¡°You brought the tools, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡± Five nodded ¡°But I¡¯d have to agree with her usual caution on this one. These machines are beyond us. Maybe Six would¡¯ve known, but¡­¡± she set the toolbox down and threw her hands out, as if to demonstrate that Six wasn¡¯t with them.


    ¡°I know, I know. But we need to do something. If we keep going like we are, we¡¯re just going to keep looking for a few years, run out of food, and die. We need to make progress.¡± she started climbing up her makeshift staircase, being careful to maintain her balance ¡°I¡¯m gonna experiment on my own chamber. I¡¯ll take responsibility for it.¡± she said quietly.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Five gave a defeated sigh and let her shoulders droop ¡°But I¡¯m helping. Don¡¯t need you electrocuting yourself if you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing up there. Why up there, anyway?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an assembly at the top. You can see where it comes from if you follow the seams of the structure.¡± Two explained as she shakily stood up on the top box and stepped over onto her cloning chamber. It was there that she saw there was a box-shaped shell over top of something. ¡°Yeah. Definitely something up here. A covering panel.¡± she felt around at it, but it seemed sealed tight.


    ¡°Well, you certainly asked for the right tools. Were you just planning to bash this thing apart if you didn¡¯t find anything?¡± Five asked, putting the prybar up on top of the boxes for her to grab.


    She took the tool and lined it up with the edge, idly pushing her foot against it, but she wasn¡¯t strong enough to push far in ¡°Hammer too.¡± Two called.


    ¡°See, this is why I came. That thing¡¯s not gonna be on there as tight as the engine room door was. You hammer that thing in and it¡¯s gonna break something. Just use leverage.¡± Five crossed her arms and watched.


    Two shrugged ¡°You¡¯re the expert.¡± She stood next to the prybar and grabbed hold of it with her good hand, pulling back awkwardly, and to her surprise, it slipped right in under the panel. But after that, it met resistance. She couldn¡¯t quite manage to pull it up with her strength, something inside holding the panel down. ¡°It¡¯s stuck.¡± she declared.


    ¡°Use your arm, genius.¡± Five taunted.


    Two looked down at her arm, then realized she was talking about the prosthetic. She stood back up straight, clamping it down and tightening it as far as she could. It felt awkward, like she was anchored in place. But there was no pressure against the bar to hurt her hand like this. She took a deep breath and simply tried to walk away from the prybar, holding onto the harness with her other arm as she used the full strength of her arm to pull on it, grunting as she felt the resistance giving way, until with a crack of metal, she fell over on top of Four¡¯s chamber, the prybar clanking to the ground next to her, still clamped in place on her prosthetic hand. The panel was sitting up with a large dent where she had pried it up. It had been fastened down well, but it was no match for some force.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Aww yeah!¡± Five cheered ¡°Knew that thing could take it! Yeah, I built that!¡±


    Two sat up slowly, feeling at her head ¡°Haha, yeah.¡± she began unscrewing the grip of the prosthetic, letting the prybar fall to her side ¡°I just wish I¡¯d thought to bring a pillow or something. Ow.¡± she got back to her feet, rubbing her sore arm with the prosthetic for a moment before she looked down into the machinery.


    There were all kinds of devices inside, mechanical arms and tubes attached to complicated rigs. She pulled one out that looked like a visor and helmet made of wires. They were definitely one assembly. She stared at it for a moment before her mind flashed with recognition. It felt like something from a dream. A panel lowered in front of her eyes, and then suddenly, understanding.


    She held her head and shook as she took a deep breath ¡°This¡­ I¡­ remember it. I think. I remember it being on my head.¡± she held it up to show the others below ¡°Or¡­ in my head.¡±


    Both Seven and Five stared at it for a moment before they both seemed to snap back to reality ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± Seven murmured ¡°A neural interface.¡±


    Five nodded ¡°Something like that.¡± she held her head with one hand and shook her head ¡°That¡¯s, ah¡­ I don¡¯t know what that was.¡±


    ¡°We must have been too young.¡± Two muttered ¡°I didn¡¯t remember it until I saw this thing. Floating in that tank, I didn¡¯t know anything. I was just¡­ instinct. And then afterward, I could think. Like how I¡¯m thinking now. I-It¡¯s really hard to put into words.¡± she grimaced ¡°This is what it used to teach us what we know. Which means¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting, for sure, but I¡¯m not sure how it helps us now.¡± Five sighed ¡°Anything else useful in there?¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± she gently lowered the interface down to the floor level of the lab before she started climbing down the staircase once more ¡°I have a¡­ really stupid idea.¡± she said as she got to the floor again.


    Five gave a concerned look to Seven as they followed her back around to the front side of the cloning chambers. She took her slate out again, hooking it into One¡¯s chamber. After a few moments silently touching the screen, Five had to ask ¡°Are you going to fill us in on this plan? Or are you going to do something else dangerous?¡±


    ¡°I could do both¡± Two declared, unplugging the slate from One¡¯s chamber and turning around to her own again to plug in once more ¡°So¡­ I know what these files are for now. They¡¯re instructions for the neural interface. So if I play One¡¯s file, I¡¯ll be able to learn what our objective was supposed to be.¡±


    Two felt her hand get grabbed as she reached to press her slate again though. It was Five ¡°Hold on now.¡± she let go of her arm but stood in front of her ¡°I think I see what you¡¯re planning to do here. But there¡¯s probably a good reason these files got divided between all of us. And you don¡¯t know if you can work that thing right. What if this thing fries your brain?¡± she asked, a serious expression on her face.


    Two sighed and let herself relax ¡°I-I know that. It¡¯s always a risk though. But we need to take risks if we¡¯re ever going to learn what our purpose is. I HAVE to do this.¡±


    ¡°No, Two¡­¡± Five stepped back a bit and picked up the visor ¡°You been through enough. It¡¯s my turn to take the risk.¡±


    Two stood there in silence, shocked at what she was suggesting ¡°Five¡­ look, I-I¡¯m already crippled, and your engineering know-how is too important for us to-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not arguing this point, Two. You¡¯ve already given up a limb for everyone else. And me being a coward played at least some part in that.¡± Five spoke stoically, though her glassy eyes betrayed her fear ¡°Just¡­ let me do something for us.¡±


    Two stammered, not wanting to put her through this when it was her idea in the first place ¡°But¡­ really Five, without you, the station¡¯s going to fall-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± came a hoarse voice from behind Five. They both turned to look at Seven, who was staring at the floor ¡°Use me.¡±


    Five stared at her wide-eyed before she started ¡°Sev-¡±


    ¡°Nothing that¡¯s happened to me has caused permanent damage yet either, and I don¡¯t have any skills that we would be taking a risk losing.¡± she explained, her voice raised up higher than usual. She looked just as scared as Five, but she was standing firm and said as if it were a demand this time ¡°I¡¯m going to make myself useful.¡±


    Two couldn¡¯t think of anything to say. She could have said something about how she was the breeder, and that could be something monumentally important, but it wasn¡¯t clear that it was any more important than anyone else¡¯s role either. She couldn¡¯t argue with her point, and she knew Five couldn¡¯t either. She looked down at the slate and pressed a button to transfer the file she¡¯d copied from One¡¯s chamber ¡°Set her up.¡± She said quietly to Five.


    ¡°Are you crazy? She¡¯s just a kid!¡± Five shouted.


    ¡°We¡¯re all¡­ just kids.¡± Two interrupted her. Staring her down until Five finally closed her eyes in frustration and turned to hand the visor to Seven.


    ¡°You better survive this.¡± Five muttered to her as she helped her position all of the wires around the top of her head, moving the visor in place over her eyes.


    Seven swallowed and sat still to let her sister work ¡°I will. I have to.¡± Seven murmured as the visor covered her eyes and Five began guiding her down to the floor to sit ¡°I trust you, Two.¡±


    Two nodded as she navigated the menus, finding her way to the controls for the neural interface. It wasn¡¯t as difficult to read once she understood what it meant, and she was quickly hovering over the ¡®begin playback¡¯ key. She looked down to Seven and pursed her lips ¡°No matter what happens, we love you Seven.¡± she said quietly ¡°Launching playback in¡­ three¡­ two¡­ one¡­¡± Two had to close her eyes before she pressed the button.


    Electricity flowed to the wire connecting the neural interface to Seven, and a moment later, Seven let out a quiet whine that was quickly silenced, her body slumping down limp against the outer wall of the cloning chamber.


    Immediately, Five bent down and reached for the crown. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Two shouted, her own eyes becoming glassy and her voice breaking ¡°It¡¯s not done yet.¡± the machine still whirred.


    ¡°She¡¯s dying!¡± Five shouted back, but listened to what she said anyway. The two clones watched as their sister sat with the visor flashing something over her eyes.


    ¡°She¡¯s not dying. Look. She¡¯s breathing.¡± Two noted her chest rising and falling at an oddly stable pace. Her fingers occasionally twitched and her whole body shivered occasionally, but she was still alive and apparently conscious inside whatever the visor was doing to her. Her body just wasn¡¯t responding.


    After minutes passed, the program continuing to run its course, Five continued to watch carefully with crossed arms ¡°¡­ How long you think it¡¯ll take?¡± she asked Two, who was still monitoring the slate.


    Two shook her head ¡°I don¡¯t know. It doesn¡¯t have a progress bar or anything, it¡¯s just running through the data. Three quarters of the way done if it¡¯s file size is anything to go by.¡±


    Five shook her head ¡°Dammit¡­ it should¡¯ve been me. Eugh¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Two looked down to Seven to see there was a slowly growing wet spot beneath her ¡°¡­ She peed herself.¡±


    ¡°She peed herself.¡± Five nodded ¡°That uhh¡­ makes sense. All her muscles shutting down like this.¡±


    Two nodded nervously ¡°¡­ Five, I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. If this kills her, or¡­ makes her braindead or something, it¡¯s going to be my fault.¡±


    Five sighed ¡°You love putting everything on yourself, don¡¯t you?¡± she asked ¡°You¡¯re so selfless. It¡¯s infuriating sometimes. Like I went and tried to stop her. I got scared again. When she stepped up like that, I was relieved, Two.¡±


    ¡°I was too.¡± Two admitted ¡°I just¡­ didn¡¯t want to have to make someone else suffer because I made a mistake.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know if you made a mistake yet.¡± Five muttered ¡°Why¡¯s this have to take so long?¡±


    ¡°One¡¯s file was the biggest.¡± Two explained again ¡°It has to have the information we need. It¡¯s almost done.¡± Two said as she put the slate down on the floor, walking to kneel down by Seven¡¯s side with Five.


    When the electric hum of the visor¡¯s machinery halted, the two stared at Seven silently for a moment before Five carefully pulled the visor up and away from her again. Seven had a distant look in her eyes, her mouth hanging open slightly. Two watched her chest stop moving and her eyes went wide when she noticed. ¡°Get Three, quick!¡± she called out.


    As soon as Five stood up, however, Seven breathed in a huge gasp of air, and her arms went to Two who was next to her. She was panting loudly as she held the taller girl tight, grasping her arm in hers and her leg in the other. Her entire body was shivering and her expression still appeared vacant as she caught her breath. ¡°Oh god, Seven. Seven.¡± Five knelt back down and held her tight, Seven¡¯s hands going to grasp her instead when she got closer ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Breathe. You¡¯re here, you¡¯re okay.¡±


    Seven continued breathing heavily, shaking as she spoke with a dull tone of voice ¡°I¡­ I know what we need to do.¡±

 Altered

    ¡°Seven, that¡¯s not important right now.¡± Two shook her head and ran a hand down through her hair ¡°We¡¯ll worry about that later, right now we need to get you to Three. I¡¯m so sorry Seven, I never should have even suggested this, it was-¡±


    ¡°No, you were right.¡± she said in the same quiet, distracted voice, still holding tight ¡°You were right all along. They had a plan for us.¡± she kept staring into the distance while she held tight to Five, it was like her body wasn¡¯t responding to her how she expected it to, but she didn¡¯t realize it.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re going to the infirmary. We have all the time in the world.¡± Five said as she held tight to her ¡°You¡¯re most important right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m most¡­¡± she started, then just went quiet, her gaze following some invisible movement in the middle distance.


    ¡°Yeah, gonna need your help, I¡¯m not sure if she can walk like this.¡± Five spoke to Two. Two nodded in agreement ¡°Get her out of that shirt first.¡±


    ¡ª


    After removing the offending shirt over her head, the two practically carried Seven through the halls of the Last Stand shoulder on shoulder. Seven mostly stayed limp in some kind of stupor, but occasionally looked up and became alert, as if watching something move past. As they neared the infirmary, she started muttering to herself ¡°No, no, no, we have to¡­ no¡­ not here.¡± and started to try and pull away from Five, her strength beginning to return to her.


    ¡°Hang on, we¡¯re almost there!¡± Five held her arm despite her protests, and they hauled her up to the infirmary door, carrying her over the threshold where she immediately retched, the gravity swap seeming to make her nauseous all over again. She gasped loudly when she could breathe again while Two and Five set her down in a chair. ¡°Go get Three, I¡¯ll watch her.¡±


    Two nodded and hurried back out of the room, heading directly to the dormitories. She knocked furiously on Three¡¯s door and shouted for her ¡°Three! We¡­ We screwed up! We need your help!¡±


    Three¡¯s door opened, and she saw that the medic did not look happy with her ¡°Two¡­ you¡¯re supposed to be resting. I¡¯m supposed to be resting. You just got out of a long stay in the infirmary. What did you possibly get up to already.¡± she looked the girl up and down ¡°I swear, if this is just to show me your new arm-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not me, Three. It¡¯s Seven. She¡¯s in the infirmary right now. We¡¯re not really sure what¡¯s wrong with her, but we¡­ she used this machine that came from the cloning chamber and now she¡¯s talking nonsense and she¡¯s not listening, and it¡¯s like she¡¯s somewhere else.¡± Two tried to get her desperation across to Three, but she just stood there looking tired.


    ¡°Can you¡­ slow down one second, is she dying? Or sick? Or even injured?¡± she asked, pinching the bridge of her nose in an effort to wake herself up since it seemed she wasn¡¯t going back to sleep.


    ¡°Well, no, but she¡¯s delirious.¡± Two started to calm slightly when she put it in that perspective ¡°I just¡­ I don¡¯t know what to do with her.¡±


    ¡°Delirium? Are you sure you¡¯re using that term right?¡± Three asked, pushing lazily past Two as she walked calmly out of her room.


    ¡°She seems really confused, she doesn¡¯t seem like she¡¯s in control of herself. I¡¯m sorry, this is my fault, we¡­ Five and I were arguing over who should do it, and she stepped up and she made a really good argument that it should be her, and-¡±


    ¡°Slow down again, what exactly was it that you did.¡±


    ¡°I found the device the cloning machines used to train us. We used it on Seven to play One¡¯s file.¡± Two finally just said what happened outright.


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    Three started moving with more urgency down the hall ¡°And what the hell possessed you to do that?¡± she grumbled angrily.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t plan on it being her, okay? It just happened. I needed to see what was in One¡¯s file, since she would have known what our mission is.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I swear, I¡¯m strapping you to your bed so you can¡¯t do anything else stupid after this. Of course she¡¯s confused.¡± Three muttered ¡°Two, we woke up knowing how to control our bodies, speak, think critically, and basically how to live. If those files taught us all of that subliminally, imagine that going through your head when you already know it. Of course she¡¯s confused, she¡¯s probably trying to make the world make sense again.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think about that¡­¡± Two muttered.


    ¡°Well maybe you should spend some time thinking for once!¡± Three turned around to scold her face to face ¡°I¡¯d already thought to look into something like this, but I dismissed it right away once I figured out how crazy it was! How it might fry our sense of reality!¡±


    Two slumped her shoulders as the words sunk in. She was right. She¡¯d been reckless. Again. And it wasn¡¯t her that got hurt this time ¡°Yeah¡­¡± was all she said, unable to look Three in the eyes.


    Three rolled her eyes and turned around again ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± she said as they approached the open infirmary door.


    On the inside, they found Five wrestling with Seven on the floor, trying her best to keep the smaller girl still. She looked frightened beyond reason and she was shouting ¡°Let go! We have to¡­ Phoenix! We have to go to Earth! Phoenix goes to Earth! It¡¯s¡­¡±


    ¡°Little help here!?¡± Five called out as she held tight to Seven.


    Three stepped over the two and began rummaging through a cabinet, pulling a glass bottle and sticking a syringe into it while Two came to assist Five and Seven continued to bellow nonsensically ¡°We have to go! We have to activate it so we can start! We-we only have so much time for-¡±


    She was interrupted as Three stabbed the syringe into her arm and pushed in on the plunger, the girl¡¯¡¯s thrashing slowly dying out before she seemed to fall into a relaxed state beneath the other two, her muscles refusing to answer her as she went limp, continuing to mutter to herself ¡°Phoenix¡­ it rises. Phoenix rise. Rise.¡± as she lost motor control, she just repeated the words erratically until she was completely relaxed under the spell of whatever chemical Three had injected her with.


    ¡°That¡­ may have been a larger dose than I meant to use.¡± Three said quietly ¡°Get her up on the table, I have to watch her vitals now.¡±


    Two and Five panted as they made one last burst of effort to raise the smaller girl up while she impotently muttered nonsense. They both sat down and slumped back. Seven was stronger than she looked, it would seem.


    ¡°Now¡­ I¡¯ve heard Two¡¯s side of this. Five, what happened?¡± Three demanded.


    Five was silent for a moment while she caught her breath, and it was only by Three motioning to her impatiently that she began talking when she did ¡°She¡­ Seven asked me for some tools. I asked what for and she said they¡¯re pulling apart one of the cloning chambers. So obviously I went to supervise.¡±


    ¡°Not to stop her? Because we don¡¯t know if we might need those intact?¡± Three began hooking Seven up to vital monitors, that familiar consistent beeping noise returning to the room.


    ¡°Frankly, Three, I think she had the right idea.¡± Five sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Seven agrees right now.¡± she responded sarcastically.


    ¡°Just listen. We¡¯ve been looking into this for weeks. We¡¯re at a dead end. I know we got plenty of rations and all, but we can¡¯t just wait around forever to just accidentally stumble across answers. We have to make something happen.¡±


    ¡°Yes, good job, brain damage is just what we needed.¡± Three was sounding less amused by the moment.


    ¡°Look, she¡¯s real confused right now, but I¡¯m sure once she¡¯s calmed down, she can tell us what we need to know to move forward.¡± Five finally took a breath, catching her second wind ¡°She¡­ she wanted to do this.¡±


    Three stopped working for a moment and let out a sigh ¡°I¡¯m becoming tired of cleaning up everyone else¡¯s messes, but I suppose that¡¯s just my job on this station. You two, stay here, though. We¡¯re going to stick together so that you can¡¯t run off and do something else idiotic while I¡¯m still dealing with her.¡±


    Five reluctantly nodded her head. It wasn¡¯t like they had anything else to go off of at the moment, at least that¡¯s what she thought. Two, however, had been quiet, mulling something over in her head ¡°¡­ What if she¡¯s already told us what we need to know?¡± she said quietly.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You do not leave this room, Two.¡± Three spoke sternly ¡°You can speculate all you want, you can use your slate if you¡¯re bored or something, but I¡¯m keeping an eye on you.¡±


    Two sighed and nodded to her. She was right. She couldn¡¯t go around making more risks while one of them was in such a state. They had to take care of Seven first, and then see what she had to say.

 Resigning to Recklessness

    Two felt drowzy. The last thing she remembered was being bored, staring fruitlessly at her slate while Three monitored everyone. As she glanced around the room, though, she saw that everyone else was asleep as well, Three included. She had been leaning over on the chair next to her when she drifted off, so she raised her arms up and stretched to get the stiffness out. It was when she opened her eyes and looked again that she found that not everyone was asleep. In fact, not everyone was there. Seven was missing from her perch, a long droning beep quietly sounding in the background because the sensors weren¡¯t connected to her anymore.


    Two immediately shot to her feet ¡°Seven?¡± she said quietly, looking around to make sure she hadn¡¯t just fallen off to the other side of the table or something. She briefly wondered if she should alert the others, but knowing how sleep-deprived Three was already, she let her rest, walking slowly out of the open door into the hall ¡°Seven¡­?¡± she called a little louder now as she got out of earshot from the infirmary ¡°Seven, you shouldn¡¯t be walking around in this state.¡± she sounded worried as she walked the halls, looking for any sign that the girl had been by. How could she have gotten this far away from the infirmary when she was so heavily sedated? Or had she just dozed off for long enough that it had worn off?


    She started opening doors, briefly checking each room she passed to ensure that she wasn¡¯t missing somewhere Seven could have slipped into. But room after room came up empty. It was when she got to the helm that she saw Seven standing at the control terminal, leaning over it and staring at the red screen. She turned to look at Two as she entered the room and said quietly ¡°Rise. Phoenix rises. But first it falls. In fire.¡±


    Two approached her to make sure she was okay, but first she noticed the screen wasn¡¯t showing exactly what she expected. It showed the same terminal as before, but after all of the entries that she¡¯d added in the past that only gave errors, she saw a new line, with the word ¡®RISE¡¯ entered. This was followed by a filling bar.


    ¡°Seven, what did you do?¡± Two asked, putting her arms around the smaller girl, who wasn¡¯t resisting being restrained this time.


    ¡°The mission. We¡­ need to do our mission.¡± Seven nodded, refusing to look Two in the eyes ¡°Phoenix rises. Baptized in fire, and then¡­ and then¡­¡± she went quiet.


    Two wasn¡¯t sure what to make of Seven¡¯s rambling, but she¡¯d clearly done something. Perhaps she even activated whatever Phoenix was, using that keyword. She helped Seven sit down on the floor against the wall and then rushed back to the infirmary to retrieve her sisters.


    ¡ª


    The three girls stood over the terminal, watching the featureless loading bar slowly fill across the screen ¡°What do you think is gonna happen?¡± Five asked, eyes fixed to the monitor.


    ¡°Probably nothing good.¡± Three sighed.


    ¡°She told me it was for our mission. She knew how to activate it, so she must have gotten One¡¯s information like we thought. She kept saying something about fire too. Other than that, I couldn¡¯t make sense of what she was talking about.¡± Two took note that the bar was almost three quarters full already, and at the speed it was moving, Seven must have snuck out awhile ago.


    ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have been able to talk, never mind walk this far, for another six hours or so. How did she just get up and sneak here without anyone noticing?¡± Three asked, knowing that she was partially at fault for her getting by too.


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    ¡°No idea.¡± Two shrugged ¡°But whatever she did, it¡¯s happening now.¡± she turned to look at Seven, who had finally willingly drifted off to sleep for herself. At least she seemed calm now ¡°We should have tried to listen to her. Maybe if we tried to make sense of what she was saying, we¡¯d at least know what¡¯s happening now.¡±


    ¡°Phoenix is happening, apparently.¡± Five shrugged ¡°I guess we¡¯ll know what that means in like¡­ maybe a half hour?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, whatever it¡¯s doing, it¡¯s a massive tax on the computer system.¡± Three nodded ¡°I¡¯m¡­ afraid that what she¡¯s done might have damaged the station though. What if we lose life support or something?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll die.¡± Two said simply, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she took a breath and then looking seriously to Three ¡°I know you¡¯re mad at us for taking drastic action before. But what are we supposed to do? Just wait? Hope someone saves us? Because that¡¯s not going to happen. We¡¯re on our own, and we HAVE to do something. Drifting here and just surviving until we run out of supplies isn¡¯t going to do anything. So we have to take chances, okay?¡± she held up her prosthetic arm as if to gesture to it ¡°Even if there¡¯s dire consequences. So¡­ I think we¡¯re past the stage of being careful and slow and methodical. You tried that and you didn¡¯t find anything. So let¡¯s keep being a little reckless. At least that gets us somewhere.¡±


    ¡°You say that as if I¡¯ve ever truly been able to stop you.¡± Three muttered ¡°I was just trying to keep us from losing what we didn¡¯t have to. But you¡¯re right about one thing. The risks you¡¯ve taken have paid off. It cost you your arm, but you got rid of that dangerous creature. It may have cost Seven her mind, but she launched Phoenix. So¡­¡± she let out a long drawn out sigh ¡°I¡¯ll defer to your decision-making for now. You¡¯re crazy, but you¡¯re effectively crazy. I¡¯ll just have to keep cleaning up after whatever problems you bring my way in the aftermath.¡±


    ¡°Two¡¯s the second best leader to One.¡± Five shrugged and smiled at Two ¡°You got the guts to keep us going. I have to respect that. So I agree. You should be in charge.¡±


    Two looked back and forth between them and looked confused ¡°Leader? I mean¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s necessary. We can still figure out what we¡¯re going to do together, girls.¡± she waved her arms defensively, not sure if she was okay with taking on an official responsibility like that.


    ¡°Just a formality then.¡± Three gave a wry smile ¡°Because you bet I¡¯m still going to keep you from doing something way too stupid for any of our own good around here.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Two smiled back, walking over next to Seven and sitting down on the floor next to her ¡°If I¡¯m the captain, I say we should rest. Whatever happens, I¡¯m betting we¡¯ll need to be in top form for it.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Five asked.


    ¡°Because something¡¯s going to go wrong.¡± Two shrugged.


    ¡°Something always goes wrong.¡± Three concurred as she sat down and tilted her head back against the wall ¡°So a little extra nap would be nice in preparation.¡±


    Five chuckled ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll watch the terminal. I don¡¯t know how any of you could sleep at a time like this anyway.¡±


    Two gave her a thumbs up as she yawned ¡°Wake us up when we rise or whatever.¡± she said as she leaned down against Seven to use her as a pillow. Just one last peaceful rest before they went through hell.


    ¡ª


    ¡°Girls!¡± came the cry from Five, alerting the dozing girls up from their slumber. Two looked up to see Three and Seven stirring around her as well, and all of the terminals at the helm were glowing red. ¡°We¡¯re in trouble.¡± she stammered.


    Rushing to their feet, Two and Three moved to stand at her side while Seven just watched from the floor, a vacant expression on her face.


    On each of the screens, there was a diagram displayed. It was an outside view of something that Two quickly identified as the shape of the station itself. Numerous diagnostic screens showed information of the sensors all over the station. Everything had checks next to them, signifying completion of something.


    Next to the diagram was a timer, counting down just a few minutes from 72 hours. And between them was a diagram of a sphere, with a line showing a trajectory.


    ¡°¡­ I know what Phoenix is now.¡± Five said quietly ¡°The station¡¯s going to fall to Earth.¡±

 The Beginning of the End of the Beginning

    ¡ª 71 HOURS REMAIN ¡ª


    The three girls stared at the screen in stunned silence. It was hard to argue with what Five was saying. From the windows alone, it didn¡¯t look like the station had taken a drastic turn to suddenly plummet out of orbit, but the diagram on the screen was obvious in its intent. The Last Stand was falling to Earth.


    ¡°Can you cancel it?¡± Three stammered out in alarm.


    ¡°I dunno if you¡¯re seeing the same screen I am, but there are no buttons to press here.¡± Five said shakily as she tapped various keys to no effect. ¡°We¡¯re falling out of the sky in three days.¡±


    ¡°Why would this even be a thing?¡± Three sounded distraught ¡°What does this accomplish? We¡¯re just going to die now!¡±


    ¡°I doubt this station was built for reentry.¡± Five turned around and looked at Seven, who was still staring off into the distance past everyone ¡°Seven¡­ please tell me you know something we don¡¯t.¡±


    Seven acknowledged that she was being spoken to with a quiet grunt, and then said quietly, in that same flat tone of voice ¡°I know¡­ the fire won¡¯t hurt us. They made sure the fire won¡¯t hurt us. As long as it tells us we¡¯re safe, we¡¯re safe. And we¡¯ll go to Earth. And we¡¯ll rebuild. Repopulate. That¡¯s my responsibility.¡± It was obvious the girl was still very confused, and it wasn¡¯t clear whether she actually would get better at this rate.


    ¡°If it tells us we¡¯re safe¡­¡± Two repeated, looking back to the screen and looked over the diagnostics ¡°The sensors say everything¡¯s okay¡­ does that mean¡­ it is outfitted for entry? Is that what you mean Seven?¡±


    Seven nodded ¡°It is. It¡¯s heat shielded.¡±


    Five furrowed her brow ¡°Why would an orbital station have heat shielding?¡±


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    Seven continued nodding ¡°For us.¡±


    ¡°¡­ You mean this was our progenitor¡¯s plan?¡± Two asked.


    Seven kept moving her head up and down ¡°They were very smart.¡±


    Three looked out the window and crossed her arms ¡°Okay¡­ I guess at this point, all we can do is trust them then.¡± she spoke unsteadily ¡°And prepare as best as we can.¡±


    ¡°There has to be something in the database about the physics of reentry.¡± Two took a deep breath ¡°I¡¯m betting we can¡¯t just stand around and wait for this to happen though. We should build something to soften our landing. Gather all the mattresses together or something. We¡¯ve got three days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I can build something better than that.¡± Five also needed to take a moment to calm herself ¡°But yeah, screw it. Let¡¯s go to Earth.¡±


    ¡°It probably solves our supply time limit.¡± Three still sounded stunned by the gravity of what they had to do. ¡°And potentially creates so many worse problems. What if the atmosphere isn¡¯t breathable? What if there¡¯s some sort of common virus that our bodies can¡¯t handle?¡±


    ¡°One thing at a time, Three. Right now, we have to focus on surviving the drop.¡± Two let out another deep breath and then raised her voice ¡°You need to be on research so we can help Five figure out how to make¡­ whatever she¡¯s going to make to cushion the fall. Focus on things related to physics, I guess. I¡¯m going to run supplies. Whatever you need, Five, I¡¯m gonna get it to your station so you can keep working, and in the meantime I¡¯ll gather up as many other useful materials and supplies as I can so we can keep them safe through this too. Seven¡­¡± she turned to look at the addled girl, who was sitting on all fours, staring intensely at the floor ¡°You¡­ you just hang on, you¡¯ve been through enough.¡± she knelt down and patted Seven on the head, trying to soothe her.


    Five seemed surprised when Two started taking charge, but she smiled at her and nodded. It seemed like a sensible plan. ¡°I¡¯ll get right on making some kind of¡­ soft cage I guess.¡±


    Three was already scrolling through her slate when Two looked to her. ¡°This is insane. But I guess we¡¯re just insane now.¡± she muttered.


    Two nodded to her. ¡°Looks like. I¡¯ll start with hauling any loose metal I can carry to the workshop. That¡¯ll be our base of operations for now. If you don¡¯t have anything to do, just report there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on Seven there too.¡± Five nodded as she knelt down to the crawling girl and got her attention, lifting her up slowly to her feet.


    Two nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright¡­ we finally got our mission. Kinda. Let¡¯s get to it.¡±

 The Kind of People We Are

    ¡ª 66 Hours Remain ¡ª


    As two dropped another metal box she¡¯d found off at the workshop, she wiped her brow, leaning back against the box to take a quick rest. That¡¯s when she noticed Five just looking down at the bench, a concerned expression on her face ¡°Five?¡± she called.


    Five held up a finger toward her. Then there was a quiet metallic groan that came from behind them. Two turned to look but just saw the sealed Engineering Bay door. ¡°The station¡¯s moving. It¡¯s still slow right now, but the engineering bay is all twisted up, remember?¡±


    Two nodded ¡°Yeah, I thought we dealt with that problem by sealing it off though. If it breaks off in reentry, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Five sighed and let her shoulders drop ¡°It was fine when we were just in orbit. If it breaks off while we¡¯re crashing through the atmosphere, it would send us off balance. It would send us into a spin, which would be¡­ extremely bad. I¡¯m willing to bet only one side of this place is heat-shielded, and the force of a spin would tear the station apart. There would be no surviving it, no matter how we prepare.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess we have to hope it doesn¡¯t do that.¡± Two put a hand on Five¡¯s shoulder to reassure her ¡°We can only worry about stuff we can actually change now. If it comes down to that¡­ then at least we tried.¡±


    Five turned toward Two, but couldn¡¯t bring herself to look at her ¡°We can always try harder. Do something about it.¡± she spoke quietly ¡°Something I could do.¡±


    Two didn¡¯t like how she was talking ¡°Alright¡­ what¡¯s the plan then?¡± she asked, wanting to know where this was going before she endorsed it.


    ¡°When I was putting that¡­ thing you captured in the airlock, I found that there were EVA suits in there.¡± she spoke quietly ¡°They¡¯re not made for people our size, and I definitely don¡¯t have the tools to adjust them, but¡­ well, they should still work as protection from the vacuum.¡±


    ¡°Are you¡­¡± Two started, eyes wide with concern ¡°Are you suggesting that we actually go out into space and fix the engineering bay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m suggesting that ¡®I¡¯ go out into space and fix the engineering bay.¡± Five sighed and finally looked Two in the eyes ¡°I¡¯m the only one of us who can. I¡¯ve seen you using tools and you wouldn¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing with something that complicated.¡±


    ¡°And this has nothing to do with the fact that you haven¡¯t had your chance to risk your life doing something reckless yet?¡± Two said quietly. Again she was left with no good argument against risking her life in this situation.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say that hasn¡¯t crossed my mind.¡± Five admitted, still not breaking eye contact ¡°But I can say I¡¯ve thought about the logistics. It¡¯s gotta be me. There¡¯s no other way. If we just let the engineering bay rotate like it does now, the chance of failure is too high. Way too high. And we¡¯ve probably only actually got two days before it¡¯s too dangerous to go out and fix it.¡±


    ¡°Been thinking about this a lot, huh?¡± Two sat down on the box and looked at the floor.


    ¡°For a couple hours, yeah.¡± Five nodded ¡°I didn¡¯t wanna just go off and do it though. Thought I should at least tell someone about it.¡±


    ¡°What about prepping for a safe landing?¡± Two asked, looking at the half-welded fixture she¡¯d been working on.


    ¡°Had a better idea. It¡¯ll be easier to implement too. I can have it together in a few hours. Just need those mattresses and some straps from the physics lab. And cloth for padding.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Two sounded surprised.


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± Five nodded ¡°There¡¯s already embeded hooks in that lab we can strap things to, and they¡¯re going to be sturdier than anything I can put together with the tools I got. Strap the bed against the frame, strap us to the beds, clear the area of anything that might fly around at us. That¡¯s about as best as I can do. My time is better spent out there, fixing the bigger problem.¡±


    ¡°Five¡­ I know you want your moment being the hero here, but you don¡¯t have to-¡±


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    ¡°I do have to do this. If I don¡¯t fix that thing, there¡¯s more than a small chance this whole thing blows apart on reentry.¡± Five insisted ¡°I agree with your methods. We need to rely on action, even reckless action, not luck and waiting for something to happen. So I¡¯m doing it and that¡¯s final.¡±


    There was silence for a few moments as Five stared down Two, who looked defeated this time ¡°You¡¯re sure the suits are safe for you to use?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Hell no I¡¯m not sure.¡± Five threw her arms out ¡°They¡¯re not meant for kids. But I know I filled an atmospheric tank at the other airlock and I can at least fit inside and use the arms of it if you excuse some clumsiness. I wasn¡¯t just working on that arm of yours while you were out you know. This is dangerous, and Three¡¯s probably right when she eventually calls this stupid, but it¡¯s gotta be done.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Two nodded sadly ¡°I just wish there was something more I could do¡­ to make sure you come back safe.¡±


    ¡°I did a little research on how to keep attached to the ship in a spacewalk. I should be able to get back in just fine if I do it right. The size of the suit is going to be my biggest problem, but I¡¯ve thought of that too. I can do this, Two.¡±


    Two shook her head and let out a dark laugh ¡°I guess all I can do is say good luck then.¡± she finally looked her back in the eyes, a sad smile on her face ¡°I just¡­ I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t. I¡¯m too tough. I¡¯ll get back into this station no matter what.¡± Five smiled and held a thumbs up to her.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 60 Hours Remain ¡ª


    ¡°Are you sure this won¡¯t break our ribs?¡± Three said skeptically as she watched five tying cloth straps down to the mattresses they¡¯d already attached to the floor ¡°I feel like this is going to break my ribs.¡±


    ¡°Might.¡± Five admitted, pulling it tightly in place ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re gonna be wearing as many layers of clothes as we can though. So there¡¯s something between you and the strap.¡±


    Two and Seven were sat down on top of the mattresses that were already set up, surrounded by all the shirts and even the other kinds of clothes that had no business fitting on any of them. ¡°That¡¯s reassuring.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, another point of failure in this convoluted mess of a plan. What¡¯s next?¡± Three rolled her eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s next is¡­ we wait. I got one more thing to take care of, then we just secure supplies and¡­ and we wait.¡± Five took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself ¡°I¡¯ll eat and then I¡¯ll get to work on the hard part.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the hard part?¡± Three asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s gonna fix engineering.¡± Two said quietly.


    ¡°I thought she said she can¡¯t fix engineering.¡± Three raised an eyebrow, looking up at Five who was still mentally bracing herself for what was ahead.


    ¡°I can¡¯t fix it from inside.¡± Five folded her arms and looked toward the physics lab door.


    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re joking.¡± Three said flatly.


    ¡°Dead serious.¡± Five quipped.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say dead serious.¡± Two groaned.


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed, Five, we¡¯re still in space, did you plan to just walk out there and tighten the screw holding it to the station or something?¡± It was clear that Three was starting to become irritated at Five¡¯s callousness.


    Five started walking toward the door, still breathing heavily to keep herself calm ¡°It¡¯s a little more complicated than that. But yeah, basically.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡± Three shook her head ¡°And why can¡¯t this wait until we¡¯re on the ground?¡±


    ¡°Cause if I don¡¯t fix it, we won¡¯t get to the ground.¡± Five muttered ¡°I¡¯ve already talked this over with Two. I¡¯m doing it. No buts.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s right, it has to be done.¡± Two admitted quietly.


    As Five stood at the door, Seven finally spoke up ¡°No matter what happens, we love you.¡± she said flatly and then returned to her silent stupor. It made Five stop for a moment, but she continued out the door before long.


    ¡°She¡¯s actually going into space?¡± Three asked, a scared expression on her face as she turned to Two.


    Two just nodded back ¡°It¡¯s all we can do. She prepped a suit as best as she could. She said there¡¯s a radio on the inside, so we can talk to her at the helm while she¡¯s doing it. We probably have about an hour before she¡¯s ready.¡±


    ¡°Are we sure this is the only way we can fix this? Can¡¯t we unweld the door and try to rotate it from the inside?¡± Three sounded desperate to find another way that didn¡¯t risk their friend¡¯s life.


    ¡°That¡¯s got a fifty fifty chance of tearing the whole thing off right now.¡± Two muttered.


    ¡°And what are the odds that Five dies in a vacuum because she¡¯s doing something that was already highly complicated and dangerous before we factor in that the equipment isn¡¯t made for her!?¡± Three was becoming even more angry.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Three! I don¡¯t like it either! If I could, I¡¯d be telling her off, but she¡¯s right!¡± Two raised her voice back ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t have all the answers, okay? All we can do right now is try, and she¡¯s got the best plan. It¡¯s a stupid plan, but it¡¯s a plan!¡± she pounded her fist ineffectually against the mattress she was on, and it was obvious she was on the verge of tears ¡°All we can do now is support her. It¡¯s her turn to be a stupid hero.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sign me up for that list.¡± Three sighed, her expression softening as she accepted that this was not something that she could change their minds on ¡°I¡¯m perfectly content cleaning up after the ¡®heroism¡¯ you three have. I¡¯m not jumping into danger.¡±


    ¡°I feel like, if you were the only one who could, you would.¡± Two said quietly, staring up at the window above them and imagining herself in Five¡¯s place ¡°I think that¡¯s just the kind of people we are.¡±


    Three leaned back on her mattress as well, spreading her arms wide and releasing the tension she¡¯d built up ¡°Believe all you want, I¡¯m not the one going to space.¡±

 One Small Step

    ¡ª 58 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Five stood in the open airlock, the environment suit draped over her like a loose bundle of shining fabric. Her hands didn¡¯t even fit correctly inside of the gloves, and the helmet would limit her field of vision, but she had proved already that the suit kept its own environment. It was safe, for now. Two and Three stood back in the safety of the inside of the station, watching her suit up.


    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Three asked.


    Five raised a finger to the control box on the suit, clicking a button that made her voice come through the radio receiver in Two¡¯s hand ¡°No. No I¡¯m not.¡± Five said, an uneasy look on her face ¡°I¡¯ve never been in zero-g before, and this suit obviously wasn¡¯t made for me. I won¡¯t be able to manipulate fine tools, and I don¡¯t even know what exactly is wrong out there. This cable is all that¡¯s gonna keep me from floating off and probably burning up in the atmosphere myself. You are absolutely right that this is the stupidest thing I¡¯ve ever thought of. This sucks, Three, but it¡¯s gotta get done.¡± she released the button and went back to attaching the cable tightly to the rung on the inside of the airlock


    Two nodded and pressed the button on her end ¡°We read you loud and clear Five. I¡­ you better come back to us.¡±


    Five nodded as she pushed a button to close the inner airlock door. And with that, she disappeared behind the hefty metal bulwark. Two nodded to Three and they both rushed to the helm as fast as they could.


    ¡°She said she has air to last her six hours, if she needs it.¡± Three panted ¡°I hope she won¡¯t need all of that.¡±


    ¡°She won¡¯t. She¡¯ll have this done in an hour, tops, guarantee it.¡± Two said confidently, her voice not betraying her own misgivings about the situation.


    Two ran immediately to the communications terminal and put the receiver back on its console ¡°Still reading me Five?¡± she asked.


    After just a moment, there came a reply ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet.¡± she said grimly ¡°The airlock¡¯s almost done depressurizing. It should turn gravity off¡­ soon. Whoa.¡±


    ¡°Whoa what? What¡¯s going on?¡± Two demanded.


    ¡°¡­ Zero gravity.¡± Five let out a small laugh over the radio. ¡°This feels so weird. If this wasn¡¯t so dangerous I¡¯d say you should give it a try.¡±


    ¡°Focus, Five.¡± Three scolded, concern on her face. ¡°We need you to get this done quick and get back in here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. Opening door now.¡± the radio clicked off again, since she was obviously using her hands on something again.


    ¡°And now we wait.¡± Two said quietly, sitting in one of the chairs at the terminal and letting out a loud groan ¡°Still can¡¯t believe this¡­¡±


    ¡°She needs to come back.¡± Three folded her arms and walked up to the window as if she might be able to see the airlock from there, despite it being halfway across the station.


    ¡°She will.¡± Two reassured her. After waiting for a moment, Two impatiently clicked the radio button again and called ¡°Five?¡±


    There was an immediate response ¡°Yeah¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m here, it¡¯s just¡­¡± there was a long pause ¡°I just can¡¯t believe how this looks. It¡¯s¡­ not the same as seeing it through a window. Wow. It¡¯s a lot to take in.¡± she went silent for another few moments ¡°If we survive this drop, I¡¯m probably going to be the only human alive to have done this for a long, long time, huh?¡±


    ¡°Focus on that word, alive.¡± Three replied.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll handle it. Stepping out¡­ outside now.¡± the radio clicked off again.


    Two turned to look at the window herself and was startled when she turned to see Seven standing directly behind her ¡°Whoa! Seven! Hi! I didn¡¯t¡­ hear you come in.¡±


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    Seven nodded at her and looked over to the radio ¡°She¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    ¡°I know she will.¡± Two nodded, not sure if she could trust that hope just yet, but wanting to reassure the smaller one.


    ¡°She¡¯s brave. We¡¯re all brave. We have to be.¡± Seven still stared past Two, as if she weren¡¯t there at all ¡°We have to rebuild.¡±


    Two looked down at Seven with pity in her eyes. She wasn¡¯t becoming any more lucid with time. She was really afraid that the girl¡¯s brain had been irreversibly damaged in the procedure she¡¯d undergone. She truly hoped that the curious, helpful, accident-prone girl she¡¯d come to know and love wasn¡¯t gone entirely. ¡°We do.¡± Two nodded.


    ¡°These boots are such a pain.¡± came the radio once more ¡°They¡¯re keeping me attached directly to the ship, but they¡¯re so hard to pick up. Almost to the coupling.¡±


    Two turned back around in her seat and pressed the button ¡°You¡¯ve got this Five, I believe.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± she replied simply and the radio clicked off again.


    Two slammed her first down on the blank area of the terminal, making the other two jump slightly ¡°¡­ sorry, just¡­ wish I could do something.¡± she muttered in an aggravated tone. ¡°Three, can you watch this, I¡­ I need water.¡±


    ¡°Right now?¡± Three asked incredulously.


    ¡°Three, please.¡± Two held her head with one hand as she turned away and stood up.


    ¡°Alright¡­¡± she walked over to the comms terminal again and Two stepped down, still holding her head tight.


    It was just stress. She had to calm down. She walked away from the helm and stepped into the cafeteria, dragging the box they¡¯d been using as a stepstool up to the sink and turning it on. She ran her hand under it and then cupped her hands to drink from it. Then she splashed the water up into her face and let out a sigh.


    This was all too much. Was this what the others were going through when she risked herself? Maybe in a way it was easier to be the one doing the dangerous stuff if this is what sitting on the sidelines meant. She splashed more water into her face and then shut off the tap. She had to keep her composure. The others were looking to her like a leader now, she at least had to seem like she was keeping her cool.


    She stepped down and let out a loud groan to herself to try to release some tension before shaking her head and making her way back, wiping the remnant droplets of water from her face on her shirt. When she returned, she saw Three sitting at the comms terminal as before, who turned her head to her ¡°She says it¡¯s a simple fix, she just needs to get some of the tools she prepared in the airlock.¡± Three made a cautious smile at her.


    That was a relief, at least, that it was something she COULD fix after all. Still, there wasn¡¯t much comfort to the fact that she was still out there and she had to make several more trips. She reached over the terminal and clicked the button in ¡°How much air?¡± she asked.


    There were a few moments of silence before the radio clicked on again ¡°It hasn¡¯t even been an hour and the tank¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve got plenty of time.¡±


    ¡°Okay, good. Just checking.¡± Two sighed and turned to Three ¡°Thanks¡­ I just needed a minute.¡±


    ¡°Being the leader doesn¡¯t have to mean you¡¯re invincible.¡± Seven said from across the room ¡°It¡¯s better to admit you¡¯re weak and need help than to make mistakes.¡±


    Two turned and looked at the smaller girl, a lost expression on her face ¡°That from One¡¯s file?¡± she asked, receiving a confident nod in response. She sighed ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I wish I could do something. It¡¯s so hard to focus when you¡¯re just sitting here waiting. I just keep thinking about everything that could go wrong, and¡­ it¡¯s frustrating.¡±


    ¡°Now you know how I feel.¡± Three murmured, stepping down from the seat ¡°Just waiting for the fallout like this. I hope it makes you think about your decisions a little more going forward.¡±


    ¡°Never miss a chance to teach a lesson, do you?¡± Two muttered to Three as she got back in the chair and pressed the radio button ¡°Sorry Five, I had to take a breather. How¡¯s it look?¡±


    ¡°Glad YOU got a chance.¡± Five said sarcastically ¡°The terminal¡¯s fried. Looks like something hit it. Probably a piece of debris or something. I¡¯m amazed there isn¡¯t more damage like that out here. I can rewire it through a slate though, it¡¯s the same tech. The station¡¯s computer should correct it automatically once it starts outputting the right readings again.¡±


    ¡°Good to hear, so it¡¯s a simple fix?¡± Two asked hopefully.


    ¡°Without these big clumsy gloves, yeah.¡± Five started ¡°But I¡¯ll work with what I got.¡± then the radio turned off again.


    ¡°Okay, yeah, starting to see why the snark could get on your nerves from this side of things.¡± Two muttered.


    ¡°See?¡± Three stepped away and went back to staring out the window, her arms crossed.


    Minutes passed in silence before the radio clicked on again ¡°I¡¯m at the repair site. I can definitely fix this with what I have on hand now, it might just take me a little bit though.¡±


    ¡°How long is a little bit?¡± Two asked seriously.


    ¡°¡­ An hour?¡± she sounded unsure of herself.


    Two pressed the button and let out a long sigh ¡°That¡¯s what you said about suiting up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got time.¡± Five called back, sounding impatient.


    ¡°Just¡­ do what you have to do, Five. Then get back in here. Please.¡± Two pleaded, her voice starting to crack slightly


    There was a short pause before she said ¡°I don¡¯t care if I have to fight death itself. I¡¯m gonna come back, no matter what, okay?¡±


    ¡°You better.¡± Two sniffled and let go of the button, holding her hand to her eyes to try and stop herself from crying. This was still too much.

 Loss

    ¡ª 56 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Two felt sick. Five was still out there, and every moment of silence made her worry that something terrible had happened. She knew that Five was growing tired of her frequent check-ins though. It had been far longer than she said it was going to take, after all.


    Two caved and pressed the radio button ¡°Please tell me you¡¯re almost done with that thing.¡±


    It took a few moments for the radio to click on from the other end ¡°You ever try rewiring something in mittens? Cause that¡¯s what this is. And I¡¯d be faster if I didn¡¯t have to keep taking my hands away from it to hit this button!¡± Five complained, beginning to sound irritated. She sighed and tried to calm down ¡°Look Two, I get you¡¯re anxious for me, but I can handle this. I¡¯m honestly kinda getting the hang of this being in space thing.¡±


    ¡°I just¡­ yeah, I¡¯m anxious.¡± Two admitted ¡°I guess just¡­ let me know if anything goes wrong or if you¡¯re finishing up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when I finish up, the module will start flipping itself over. You¡¯ll definitely hear it. I¡¯m gonna keep working on this thing, okay?¡± the radio clicked off and Two sighed as she looked to the others. Three was sitting by the window now, and Seven had come to rest her head in the medic¡¯s lap.


    ¡°I hate to say it before it¡¯s done, but I think she¡¯s actually going to pull this off.¡± Three said with uncharacteristic optimism ¡°She really seems like she knows what she¡¯s doing. She must have really studied up on the subject of working in zero gravity.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right. Maybe I¡¯m concerned over nothing.¡± Two tried to sound hopeful, standing up and stretching her arms out ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anything better to occupy my time with though. The only thing left to do is carry everything loose out of the physics lab, and I¡¯m not gonna leave this room while she¡¯s out there.¡±


    Three gently patted Seven¡¯s head ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for that. Even if I have confidence in her, I still want to be here if it turns out I can help somehow. After all, regardless of how I feel about it, this is still definitely the stupidest thing we¡¯ve ever done¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Two nodded before she heard the radio click back on.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve got everything in place now. Just need to solder a couple connections and it¡¯s good to go.¡± Five reported. There was a short pause before the radio clicked back on ¡°Aaaand¡­ there. AH-!¡± the radio gave off static before it went silent again, followed by a distant mechanical rumbling noise.


    Two leaned forward in her seat and slammed her hand down on the radio button ¡°Five! What was that?!¡± she demanded. There was no response except the quiet rumbling that continued outside, no doubt the engineering bay beginning to right itself. She tried again ¡°Five! Answer! N-Now!¡± she began to sound frantic. The radio remained silent.


    Three was already moving Seven off of her lap and getting to her feet ¡°Is something wrong with the radio?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Maybe? I-I don¡¯t know!¡± Two hit the radio button again ¡°Five, please!¡± she begged.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ try to get up on the box at the airlock.¡± Three said with just as much concern in her voice, and ran for the hallway. They had placed something to climb on by the airlock to see through the high viewing window, and it looked like that was a good call.


    Two turned back to the terminal, her hand still on the radio button ¡°Five¡­¡± she called quietly, but was interrupted. A very loud mechanical tearing noise reverberated throughout the station, and the lights flickered momentarily. Two sat paralyzed in her seat, fearing what had just happened to the station. Jumping down, she walked to the station¡¯s control terminal and looked at what the red screen was reporting.


    The engineering bay was highlighted yellow and had the text ¡®correcting¡¯ next to it, confirming her suspicions that Five had fixed the computer, but there was also a small darker red box in the central module they hadn¡¯t been able to reach. It showed a flashing red warning sign by it.


    Two shook her head. They could deal with that later, what was important now was Five. She hurried back to the comms terminal and pushed her hand down onto the button again ¡°Five! Please! This isn¡¯t funny!¡± she called out, her hands shaking as she listened for any kind of response. Nothing came.


    That¡¯s when Two heard footsteps moving slowly down the hall. Three stood in the doorway, looking at Two with a haunted expression on her face. She looked significantly paler than she had before. Two stared at her for a moment, looking for her to say something. Anything. ¡°Well?¡± Two asked with a shaking voice, not wanting to hear what she had to say after seeing how she looked, but she had to hear something.


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    Three looked out the window and then down at the floor ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± she said quietly.


    Two stayed silent, eyes locked with Three¡¯s as she tried to process what she just said. She shook her head slightly and let out a quiet ¡°Huh?¡±


    Three closed her eyes and looked irritated before she belted out loudly ¡°She¡¯s GONE!¡± she panted quietly, clearly trying to keep herself from bursting into tears.


    Two opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn¡¯t even comprehend what she just said. How could she just be gone? That made no sense. How could Three even know that just looking out a window. Two couldn¡¯t accept it. Nothing about that made sense. She had to see for herself.


    She stepped away from the comms terminal and walked past Three, who remained silent at the helm. Her thoughts rushed faster with each step. Surely Three couldn¡¯t have just figured out what happened right there. There had to be more to this story, right? She couldn¡¯t be gone just like that. Two refused to accept that.


    Her steps got heavier as she strode past the loud churning of the engineering module still spinning back into place. She had accomplished her mission. She couldn¡¯t be gone. She didn¡¯t deserve to be gone. She deserved to live; to drop down to Earth with the rest of them and live. She had proven it, she was braver than all of them, and she couldn¡¯t die now!


    Two stared up at the window as she approached the airlock, pulling the box close to it in a rush and climbing up with just as much urgency. She looked out the window and let out a gasp at what she saw.


    Outside, in the distance, was the cable Five had been attached to, its tip severed and floating in the vacuum.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 54 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Two didn¡¯t know how long she had been staring out the window for. The background mechanical whirring had stopped some time ago, and Two just stayed on top of the boxes, staring out at the cable. It wasn¡¯t right. Five was just¡­ gone. And if she wasn¡¯t tied to the station, where was she? She only had a matter of hours left in her atmosphere tank, If she wasn¡¯t tethered to the ship, then she must have been floating freely in space. Two kept wondering if a worse fate might have befallen her. Crushed by the moving parts of the station. Perhaps the panel she had been working on exploded. That would explain why her transmission ended so quickly.


    Two didn¡¯t want to think about this, but she was stuck on it. She couldn¡¯t move. She couldn¡¯t accept the world where Five was just gone, and so she relived that moment of discovery again and again. She had to wake up from this. There had to be a world where Five was okay. Where she was just going to walk back through that door and berate her for worrying so much. And Two would hold her tight and never let go again. She had to wait there for her. She had to be ready when she came around the corner into the airlock again. She needed to see her the moment she was safe.


    ¡°Two¡­¡± came Three¡¯s voice quietly from below. Turning, Two saw the exhausted girl, her eyes swollen from crying. She felt the loss too. ¡°It¡¯s been more than an hour.¡± she sniffled.


    ¡°So?¡± Two groaned quietly ¡°I have to wait for her. She¡¯s got to be holding onto the station. She needs me to be here when she climbs back in the door. I have to help her.¡±


    There was a long stretch of silence between the two before Three finally spoke up ¡°Life support¡¯s been damaged.¡± she croaked out quietly ¡°Something happened to it while the engineering bay was turning. It won¡¯t produce anymore breathable atmosphere.¡±


    Two turned to look at her with her own defeated expression ¡°¡­ Was all of this for nothing¡­?¡± she muttered ¡°Are we all going to die anyway?¡± she sniffled, the tears finally starting to catch up to her.


    Three went quiet again and leaned against the airlock door, refusing to answer her question until finally she said ¡°We¡¯re not leaking the air that¡¯s still in the station. We¡¯ll break atmosphere in 54 hours. We¡¯ll be landed by 55. So the air we have will have to last us that long. For three people-¡±


    Two sobbed the moment she said three, holding her good arm over her eyes and leaning into the airlock window as she started to cry.


    ¡°For¡­ three of us,¡± Three continued with an even quieter tone ¡°it should last around 30 hours before the air starts to get thin¡­ dirty. We¡¯ll probably suffocate around hour 40. I¡¯ve already opened all the doors, except the containment airlock, so all the air we have can pool together.¡±


    Two hit her head against her hand a few times ¡°We¡¯re going to die anyway.¡± she concluded, sobbing again. There was a long quiet silence between them as they both basked in hopelessness. But then Two spoke up again ¡°How long could the air last for two of us?¡± she asked grimly.


    ¡°It would get us to ground.¡± Three said , having already thought of the same thing herself ¡°Two of us would have enough air. Just two of us.¡± the room between them went back to uncomfortable silence ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± she finally said.


    ¡°Three, I¡¯m crippled. You¡¯ve got the most helpful knowledge to survive down there, and Seven¡¯s confused, but she¡¯s got One¡¯s data. She¡¯ll be more helpf-.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out!¡± Three interrupted loudly. And the silence continued for several minutes again ¡°I¡¯m not losing anyone else.¡±


    ¡°How can you stand there and say that?! You were just talking about how you had confidence in Five, and¡­¡± she slammed her prosthetic hand against the wall in frustration.


    Three took in a deep breath ¡°Look, I know it¡¯s dire. I know there¡¯s probably nothing we can do about it. But someone went through a lot of trouble for us to be alive right now.¡±


    Two sobbed loudly when she heard those words. ¡°Shut up¡­¡± she couldn¡¯t stop herself from letting out a sobbing chortle at the irony ¡°That¡¯s not fair.¡±


    ¡°Just something someone I respect told me once¡± Three smiled darkly up at Two.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Two sniffled ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

 One Last Breath

    ¡ª 34 Hours Remain ¡ª


    The physics lab was quiet. The girls had moved everything out of the way, and now all that was left to do was wait and hope the air held out. Two had to breathe heavily to get full breaths as she lay on the mattress that would have to do as a landing cushion. She missed Five. She missed the casual banter. She missed just having her around. Three was far too serious and Seven was difficult to hold more than a one-sided conversation with since her incident.


    Two lay in the room by herself, contemplating where everything had gone wrong. What could they have possibly done better? She hated that the answer seemed to be nothing. The odds were stacked against them from the beginning, and they probably never really stood a chance. They just weren¡¯t good enough. They were literally the final gasp of a dying race; the pinnacle of human invention, and they weren¡¯t enough.


    The door to the lab opened and Three walked through, panting as she wheeled in a gas canister behind herself. Two looked up and acknowledged her, but didn¡¯t say anything. That would just use up the air faster. Seven followed in after her, also wheeling in tanks. It seemed she¡¯d gotten enough of her sense back to be able to follow simple instructions at least. Seven sat down on her bed afterward, but Three immediately left again. She returned minutes later, carrying in more cannisters of various sizes.


    When Three left once more only to return with a heavy-looking metal box in her arms, turned around and closed the door, Two finally had to ask in a hoarse tone of voice ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Three walked to the hatch in the floor and threw open the path to the waste treatment room ¡°I had a stupid idea.¡± was all she said before she wheeled a cannister over to the hole in the floor and turned the knob on it, letting gas slowly seep into the air ¡°The unused EVA cannisters will last us a little while. We keep it trapped in this room to control it better. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so it will sink into the treatment plant.¡±


    ¡°Will it be enough?¡± Two asked, little optimism left in her voice.


    Three paused ¡°No¡­ there must be a leak somewhere. We¡¯re losing air faster than I calculated. We¡¯re still doomed.¡± she pulled another cannister over to crack it open ¡°But this buys us more time. And if we keep it in this room, it might be isolated from the leak.¡±


    The three girls came to attention at once as there was a muffled buckling noise that came from the engineering bay. It had been happening irregularly for the past day. Without Five, they had no idea if it was something to be worried about, so they just had to hope the room would hold together until the landing.


    ¡°Just equipment shifting after it spun around.¡± Three concluded, getting back to work releasing the last clean atmosphere they had into the room.


    ¡°Well I hope you have a plan to make oxygen out of nowhere.¡± Two muttered, laying back on her mattress.


    ¡°Not just oxygen. Breathable air is mostly nitrogen.¡± Three wiped her brow and sat down next to the hatch ¡°And that¡¯s where the stupid comes in.¡± she pointed to the larger tanks they had wheeled in before ¡°Nitrogen.¡±


    ¡°How does that help us without oxygen.¡± Two asked, starting to feel herself able to think more clearly as the clean air permeated the room.


    ¡°What¡¯s below this room, Two?¡± Three asked, clearly starting to feel the pressure of breathing heavily come off of her too.


    ¡°The waste treatment plant.¡± Two wasn¡¯t sure where she was going with this ¡°And apparently a growing cloud of poison now.¡±


    ¡°And what do we treat in the waste treatment plant?¡± Three continued, waiting for her to get the point.


    ¡°Water.¡± There was a long pause as Two tried to piece things together, and then it hit her ¡°A lot of water¡­ and water is made up of¡­¡±


    ¡°Hydrogen and oxygen.¡± Three smirked. ¡°I may not be Six, but I can do my research. And there¡¯s a process called electrolysis that lets you separate those elements into hydrogen and oxygen gas.¡±


    ¡°That means we¡¯d be turning our water supply into poison¡­¡± Two said quietly ¡°But I¡¯d rather have air than water if I had to make a choice. Do we have the equipment to perform electrolysis?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the plant has an electrolyzer. It¡¯ll take a lot of power, and it¡¯ll be slow, but if I can keep it running full time, it might produce enough oxygen to last the rest of the trip. Then we just open the nitrogen cannister at the right ratio, and we¡¯ve got breathable atmosphere.¡± Three finished explaining and looked down the hatch into the waste processing plant.


    ¡°Well¡­ okay, that sounds great.¡± Two sounded surprised. Three had actually found what sounded like a sound solution, but she had to ask ¡°But what makes this a stupid idea then?¡±


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    ¡°Cause I have to go down into the plant and move the electrolyzer into the main water tank.¡± Three let out a deep sigh.


    Two stared at her quietly for a few moments ¡°So we have to go do manual labor in a room full of poisonous gas.¡± Two reiterated to be sure she understood what Three was getting at.


    Three nodded ¡°An electrolyzer is an extremely delicate machine though. So I have to do it. Sorry, but I¡¯ve already looked into what I need to do, and one working hand won¡¯t do. Seven¡¯s clearly doesn¡¯t have the presence of mind for it either. So it¡¯s my turn to be a stupid reckless hero.¡±


    Two stared shocked at Three. Three had already prepared and countered any argument she had against her doing this handily. She really was better at thinking ahead. ¡°Please, Three¡­ I can¡¯t lose you too.¡± Two said quietly ¡°Don¡¯t make me just sit here and do nothing again. Please.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Three nodded ¡°In that box, there¡¯s a breathing mask and a lot of surgical tubing. I need you to manage it while I¡¯m down there. It¡¯ll be my air supply.¡± she motioned toward the box she had carried in ¡°It¡¯s stiff, so feed it to me as I go in, and pull it back when I¡¯m moving back out. I¡¯m going to be relying on you. I trust you, Two.¡±


    Two nodded to her ¡°Well then¡­ let¡¯s do something stupid.¡±


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 33 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Two stood above the hatch in the floor and held onto the mass of tubing with her mechanical arm while she carefully fed a line down to Three, who was still slowly descending the ladder to make sure she didn¡¯t get ahead of Two handling the line. Two carefully watched the spots where the tubing had been connected together, making sure that it wouldn¡¯t fall apart as she fed it down. ¡°It¡¯s working, right?¡± Two called down to the girl with a breathing mask strapped to her face. It was clear that Three had cobbled this kit together entirely with surgical equipment.


    They both looked to the wall when another sound of falling machinery came from engineering, and Three shook her head to get Two¡¯s attention back ¡°Well, I¡¯m still breathing. So I guess.¡± she said uncertainly, her voice slightly muffled by the mask ¡°Dense carbon dioxide certainly feels weird to stand around in though. It¡¯s irritating my eyes. I don¡¯t want to spend too long in this.¡±


    Two briefly looked to Seven, seeing her surrounded by the bottles of water they had filled from the lab¡¯s sink. It would have to last them until they could find a fresh source on Earth. If there was still fresh water to be had on Earth. The astronomical number of ¡®if¡¯s that had piled up was staggering to Two, but the chance that this could actually work was still at the forefront of her thoughts.


    ¡°Two. Focus.¡± Three called up as the tubing started to grow taut, and Two fed more of it down to her.


    There was a long silence between the two as Two dutifully controlled Three¡¯s lifeline. She couldn¡¯t let anything bad happen to her. She had to protect the friends she had left. ¡°Removing the electrolyzer from its assembly.¡± Three called up. Two could hear the shuffling of machinery below, but because of the angle of the shaft, she couldn¡¯t see what was happening at all.


    ¡°What was it doing before anyway?¡± Two asked.


    ¡°Fuel efficiency.¡± she answered ¡°Makes the engines burn cleaner or something. It¡¯s easy to remove cause it¡¯s also used for experiments.¡±


    Two nodded ¡°And it¡¯s not like it¡¯s gonna fly again after this anyway.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡± Three grunted , clearly exerting herself over something. The electrolyzer must have been heavy. ¡°Two¡­ thanks for sticking around.¡±


    ¡°To help with this? Well, of course. I¡¯m not sitting on the sidelines again.¡± I sniffled as I reminded myself of what had happened yesterday.


    ¡°I meant¡­ thank you for not killing yourself.¡± there was the distinct sound of water displacing.


    Two paused momentarily ¡°I¡­ thank you. For believing in this. Even in that moment when I didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be the only one with blind faith around here.¡± she called up as a mechanical whirr began coming from the room under them ¡°That should do it. Gonna need you to lower the nitrogen tank down here too. The gas will mix better rising up from here.¡±


    ¡°You sure? I¡¯m gonna have to let go of the tubing.¡± Two asked as Three appeared at the bottom of the shaft.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming up to help you.¡± she said as she climbed up the ladder. She looked more tired than when she went down, the effect of standing around in poisonous air obvious despite the fact that she wasn¡¯t breathing it. She looked paler and her eyes looked irritated.


    ¡°Just get up here.¡± Two said, reaching her hand down to help her up the last few steps. ¡°You look awful. Are you sure you¡¯re not going to be sick?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ not that sick.¡± she pulled the mask up and took in a deep breath of the clean air ¡°Oh wow, that does feel nice though.¡±


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 32 Hours Remain ¡ª


    The pair worked together and slowly lowered the nitrogen tank down into the depths, the valve already opened as it clattered the last few feet to the floor.


    ¡°That couldn¡¯t have exploded¡­ could it?¡± Two asked, wiping her brow.


    ¡°Could have. Didn¡¯t.¡± Three replied curtly.


    ¡°Now who¡¯s being reckless.¡± Two jabbed at her teasingly.


    ¡°Still me. See, I doubt this is a healthy gas mix, since I¡¯m basically just guessing at it. We probably won¡¯t want to stay in this room when we hit Earth. But it should last us until then at least.¡± Three laid back on the floor and took in another deep breath.


    That¡¯s when a mechanical whirring started coming from the next lab over, and both girls sat upright. ¡°That¡­ doesn¡¯t sound like equipment falling over.¡± Two commented.


    ¡°That sounds like equipment running.¡± Three nodded ¡°Did it restart an automated system or something?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think¡­¡± Two started, but didn¡¯t want to finish the sentence at the risk of opening a fresh emotional wound. Then the whirring noise started getting louder. It started to sound like it was coming from the hallway¡­


    Without another word, Two rushed to her feet and charged to the door, opening it and turning down the hall to see sparks flying out from the space between the engineering bay doors. ¡°W-What?¡± she mumbled as a circular blade cut slowly from the top down to the floor, and in a dramatic hiss of air, the doors separated. And out from between it walked a panting, sweat-drenched Five, holding tight to some sort of cobbled together two-handed power saw tool she had clearly just made by herself, now powering down. She dropped the tool on the floor and mumbled drowzily to Two ¡°Remind me never to weld anything shut¡­ ever.¡± before she fell over onto the floor in exhaustion.

 Fighting Death Itself

    ¡ª 56 Hour Remain ¡ª


    Five stared at the makeshift panel, the extra slate she¡¯d charged and half-connected above the broken screen was finally ready to receive a signal. It was almost connected. She pulled the soldering iron she¡¯d packed from her belt and began sealing the last connections. She could only hold things in a simple claw grip through the oversized gloves, but it was enough to press the small metal wire into place to put the connections together. Hours of work out in the vacuum of space was finally coming to a head. She smiled to herself as she watched the slate begin booting up, reading the signals it was starting to receive, and reached down to press the radio button again.


    ¡°Aaaand¡­ there. AH-!¡± she let out a surprised cry as electricity arced from the panel, striking her suit. Thankfully, it was insulated to shock and she didn¡¯t actually feel anything from it directly. ¡°Oh! Oh wow! That was bright!¡± she called out shakily.


    As the engineering module began to turn, she let out a cheer and pumped her arm as best as she could in celebration ¡°Yes! I told you I could do it!¡± she waited a moment for a reply, but none came. She pressed the radio button a few times, but it didn¡¯t even make a clicking noise ¡°Ugh¡­ seriously?¡± she shook her head, figuring that the shock must have damaged the radio system.


    And that¡¯s when she noticed she was beginning to float freely. The magnetism of her boots must have been powered in the suit¡¯s control unit as well. ¡°Okay, no need to panic. That¡¯s what the cable is for.¡± she tried to assure herself. Reaching out to grab hold of her lifeline, she pulled it taut¡­ and found that it led right through the space between the engineering module and its enclosure.


    That¡¯s when she panicked ¡°Wait¡­ wait wait, no, don¡¯t¡­¡± she pulled on the cable, but found it was stuck on something. She¡¯d just be crushed if she pulled herself through there. And the cable was probably going to lose out against the heavier machinery turning around. Five started to breathe heavily, eyes darting back and forth between the panel and the cable.


    She could pull the panel back off, maybe it would stop the module from spinning, but she wasn¡¯t sure if she could fix it again after that. She couldn¡¯t doom them like that. Then she noticed as the module spun, there was an opening. It was just a small corridor, but it was an opening. She looked down to where it was turning and saw the other end of it at waste processing. The access hatch that had been on the ceiling before!


    Five took a quick look in every direction to see if there was anything else she could use, but it wouldn¡¯t be long before she lost her only line giving her control of her own movement. Frantically, she pulled herself down against the station again and then looked up, calculating her trajectory quickly, and with a desperate grunt, launched herself to the rotating access corridor. As she floated, she felt the tension of the cable go loose. Something had snapped it, just like she thought. If she missed, she would be drifting out into open space.


    Terrified, she kept her eyes on the access corridor and saw she was just slightly off from what she predicted. She quickly unhooked the prybar she had on her belt and winged it as hard as she could into space. Just a slight shift in momentum, and she found herself hitting the top corner of the corridor just in time, where she hung on for dear life. Clambering to the inside, she panted loudly, tears in her eyes as she relived the terror of that moment over and over again, unable to calm herself even though she had reached the relative safety of the door. ¡°Never again. Never going into space ever again! I never want to SEE space again!¡± she cried to herself as she secured what was left of the cable to the ladder inside the turning chamber.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 54 Hours Remain ¡ª


    It was a long, terrifying wait for the corridor to snap into place against the rest of the station, and Five was in tears when she felt the chamber locking itself mechanically to waste processing. The moment the room started to pressurize and the familiar pull of gravity started pulling at her consistently again, she was weeping in relief. She was done being the hero, damn being the brave one, Two could keep the role. She was exhausted and as the room filled with air, she unlocked her suit helmet, dropping to the bottom hatch. She just lay there, crying to herself, thankful to be alive, but torn apart by the experience of what she¡¯d just gone through.


    But she was safe. And that¡¯s all she could think of as she drifted off into well-deserved rest.


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    ¡ª


    ¡ª 44 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Five woke slowly from her heavy sleep. She had grown used to sleeping on metal at this point, and she found herself pleasantly refreshed at first. That was, until she got a good look around and remembered the circumstances that had brought her here. She breathed heavy as she relived those tense few moments again. She shook her head ¡°No¡­ the others. They probably think I¡¯m dead.¡± she mumbled to herself, trying to distract herself from that memory.


    She pulled herself out of the EVA suit and turned it around to inspect the controls on the front. There was a black streak across it and the panel was bent inward. It must have taken the brunt of the electrical arc that hit her. She shook her head as she held onto the corner of it, carefully prying it up to see the inside ¡°Fried.¡± she muttered, tossing it aside. It was useless now.


    She turned her attention to the room. A hatch up and a hatch down. She knew that going up would just lead to engineering, which was still closed off from the rest of the station because of her, so instead she focused on the lower hatch. She groaned as she inspected it though. The hatch¡¯s release mechanism looked to be broken off. Damaged by eons of exposure to debris no doubt. She screamed out as she kicked the hatch, hoping she might just stomp right through it, but there was no such luck.


    Looking up instead, she found the upward hatch was surprisingly intact. She rolled her eyes ¡°Better than sitting in here.¡± she mumbled, releasing the mechanism and climbing her way up into engineering.


    There, she saw an absolute mess. The machinery had all fallen to one corner after the rotation, thankfully away from the hatch she had been under ¡°Not out of this yet.¡± she mumbled, approaching the door she knew was welded tight. ¡°Hot in here¡­¡± she mumbled, unaware of the atmospheric problem the station was facing ¡°Okay¡­ okay, the plan¡­ radio. There¡¯s gotta be some way to contact the others. They can probably open the hatch on their side with my tools.¡±


    Five began digging through all of the boxes of scrap she¡¯d left in the engineering bay. She cursed herself for not leaving better tools and materials on this side of the door, but how could she have known she¡¯d be stuck here later on?


    It took her a few hours, but she cobbled together enough radio parts to make a transmitter. It wasn¡¯t pretty. She didn¡¯t even know if it would work. And she also didn¡¯t know that nobody was still at the helm to listen for her. But she broadcasted a wide range signal to make sure the station would pick it up. She sat down on the floor around the transmitter, sitting back and waiting. And waiting. And waiting.


    It quickly became agonizing. She didn¡¯t know why, but she was feeling way more tired than she thought she should be.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 42 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Five began to notice that she was breathing heavier. The air was becoming thicker. Something was wrong, and no one had answered her signal yet. Five decided at last that she was on her own. She¡¯d have to make her own way back into the station.


    She began to move around the machinery that she could. She had to make something, and without some serious muscle, there weren¡¯t many of the machines that she could hook back up and use in their position. It was something though. She drew up plans on the wall using a piece of chalk she¡¯d found. It would have to be something thin to get through the door. It would have to cut. A power saw with a long blade.


    It took her a full day of hard work. She kept an eye on her transmitter, but there was still nothing. She salvaged an engine from the refuse and extruded a few panels to make an assembly for the blade. She cut teeth into a carbon steel disk herself using hand tools. It was ugly, but it was quickly coming together.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 32 Hours Remain ¡ª


    Five was panting hard. She was becoming dizzy. The air felt like poison. But she had to keep going. The saw was shoved into the space between the doors, and was resting on the top weld. ¡°Okay¡­ come on Five¡­ This has¡­ this has to work. If it doesn¡¯t¡­¡± she shook her head ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± she flipped the switch and the electronics hummed to life. The tool was gloriously unsafe, but it started spinning.


    The saw shot sparks down into the floor, and Five did her best to shield her eyes behind the large tool. She tried not to think about the sparks shooting into her eye. She tried not to think about what she might have left near the door on the other side. She tried not to think about what she might have missed in the station that she was becoming so desperate for clean air. She tried not to think about her homemade saw snapping in half partway through the cut.


    Instead she thought about Two, Three, and Seven. She had to get back to them. She told them that she would come back no matter what, and she was going to, dammit. She had to.


    And before she knew it, the saw hit the floor. She was shocked at how quickly it had gone. That it hadn¡¯t broken on her. That the motor hadn¡¯t simply failed. She pulled the tool back and hurriedly hit the door switch, shuddering as she saw the doors begin to stretch open. She couldn¡¯t believe it. It worked.


    And right there, at the edge of the door, she saw Two just standing there looking probably just as shocked, and Five wanted to cry. But something in her calmed down on seeing her face. She felt like she was home. And so she just said the first thing that came to her mind. ¡°Remind me never to weld anything shut¡­ ever.¡± she said as her vision blurred and her body relaxed all at once, the saw spinning to a stop while she fell back into exhausted sleep.

 Preparation Complete

    ¡ª 22 Hours Remain ¡ª


    ¡°So you really almost fell into space?¡± Two asked, cuddled up close to Five on her bed, who had finally just awoken from her exhaustion to recount her tale. Two didn¡¯t want to let the larger girl go ever again after she had been presumed dead for a full day. The girls were sealed back into the physics lab, their contained fragile atmosphere hopefully not too damaged by the brief excursion to the hallway.


    ¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡± Five mumbled, a haunted expression on her face as she relived her near-death experience once again. ¡°I never want to see space again. I¡¯m so glad we¡¯re going to be on Earth in a day. Can¡¯t happen soon enough. Sorry about life support by the way.¡±


    ¡°Did that happen while you were out too?¡± Three asked, checking the bandages she¡¯d put on Five¡¯s hands. She had bruised and cut up the appendages more than a little bit in her frantic power tool building frenzy.


    ¡°Must have. My best guess is the snapped cable whipped into it.¡± she sighed, closing her eyes and looking down grimly ¡°I should¡¯ve been more careful, kept better track of my tether.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We figured it out. We have enough air to get us there now.¡± Two reassured her, even though she was pretty uncertain how much breathable air they had left herself. ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re safe. I thought you were really gone, you know?¡±


    ¡°Told you I¡¯d make it back no matter what.¡± Five smiled triumphantly ¡°I¡¯m not about to let something like suffocation make a liar out of me.¡±


    ¡°Haha, shut up.¡± Two laughed, her eyes tearing up, overjoyed to have her friend back.


    ¡°Explains our ¡®leak¡¯ too.¡± Three noted ¡°I was accounting for three people on the station, not four. We ran out of air faster because Five was still here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s probably some more pressurized atmosphere mix trapped in the pipes.¡± Five noted ¡°It would have sealed itself off from life support when the leak started. Might let us hold out a little longer if we break into it. Won¡¯t be hard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, because I¡¯m not sure if our homemade stuff would work for all of us until landing.¡± Three said as she looked over to the last of the cannisters from EVA sitting by the hatch. She figured it was about time to open it, and she stood up to do so ¡°It¡¯s going to be close. We might come out of this gasping for what is hopefully clean air on the surface, but we should be able to make it.¡±


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    ¡°You mean if we survive crashing into the land?¡± Five muttered ¡°And don¡¯t get crushed by the station itself?¡±


    ¡°Or land in water.¡± Two added ¡°I doubt this place is made to float.¡±


    ¡°Drowning would be pretty ironic if we came this far.¡± Five scoffed ¡°Do we have any idea on what sort of environment we¡¯re landing in?¡±


    ¡°No idea. We haven¡¯t been to the helm in awhile, so none of us checked the terminal.¡± Three admitted.


    Five realized then why her distress signal was never picked up ¡°Girls, you could just patch into it with the slate, it¡¯s all part of the same system.¡±


    Two and Three looked at each other with surprised expressions and then back to Five ¡°I¡­ hadn¡¯t thought of that.¡± Three admitted.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been busy¡­¡± Two spouted out for her excuse.


    ¡°Glad you won¡¯t miss the fire.¡± Seven muttered as she crawled up next to Five.


    Five looked down at the girl with pity ¡°She hasn¡¯t started feeling better yet, has she?¡±


    Three shook her head ¡°I¡¯m not sure if she¡¯s ever going to.¡± she sighed as she pulled her slate out, handing it to Five ¡°Here, you can use mine.¡±


    Five took the slate and started to click around at it before it started to glow red just like the helm terminal. ¡°Eugh¡­ I forgot how few details were in this. Can¡¯t really predict our landing anyway I guess. I guess they just took a guess. There¡¯s no way they¡¯d know the topography of the planet this far into the future.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like we could change our course anyway.¡± Two shrugged ¡°Wherever we land is where we¡¯re going to land.¡±


    ¡°And be reborn.¡± Seven concluded.


    ¡ª


    ¡ª 4 Hours Remain ¡ª


    The girls had spent their last day aboard the space station reminiscing about their adventures together on the Last Stand. They relived the good and the bad and tried to keep each other in good spirits as the appointed hour drew closer and closer. Five had punctured a hole in a pipe in the access hatch, letting the trapped oxygen mix spill out into their room, giving them the much needed last burst of air they would be getting. The bottom of the hatch was filled with the hastily discarded gas cannisters. They had to go somewhere where they wouldn¡¯t barrel around and possibly hit them during the descent, after all.


    The preparations were done. They¡¯d done everything that they could, and they were still there, mostly whole, and most importantly, together.


    Seven had already managed to strap herself into the bed somehow, and when Three went to look her over, she had done it completely right. Seven simply commented that it was comfortable, so the others left her to do as she wished.


    They had all slept at least a little bit, and were awake enough to be alert for the descent. It wouldn¡¯t be long until they either died a horrible fiery death at the hands of gravity or by some miracle arrived safely on the planet¡¯s surface.

 To Ash

    ¡ª 15 Minutes Remain ¡ª


    The girls all laid still in their mattresses, strapped in tightly and staring at the ceiling. The hatch was closed. The air was slowly becoming thick again. The station was starting to rumble. It wouldn¡¯t be long now, one way or the other. Within the hour, they will have made it or they will have died in vain.


    ¡°No matter what happens, we love you.¡± Seven repeated one more time in a clear tone of voice, making sure the others heard her from her side of the room ¡°We¡¯ll be reborn in fire together.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Two nodded her head, her thoughts full of dread for what was about to come. Their hardest trial yet. She held onto the same hope that Seven did, that they would be reborn, not simply burn up.


    The end of the last remnants of humanity? Or the start of something new? Two gripped the strap tight as the shaking started to grow. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t just be able to hold on by hand, but it somehow comforted her. Her mechanical arm was strapped to the underside of the hatch, a contingency to assure it didn¡¯t break and become shrapnel. For the first time since gained the false limb, she felt comfortable having the prosthetic away from her.


    ¡ª 10 Minutes Remain ¡ª


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit it. I¡¯m scared.¡± Five said in a hushed tone. They all felt it. The palpable dread growing in the pits of their stomachs. The last moment nagging feelings that they had left something important undone. The fear that they would soon face their mortality.


    ¡°We¡¯re all scared.¡± Three answered, trying to give her a grim reassurance ¡°We¡¯re right here though. We¡¯ll be with each other until the end.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And we came this far.¡± Two nodded and gave a reluctant smile toward Three ¡°We¡¯re going to survive this. We have to.¡±


    Five let out a sigh ¡°I guess it won¡¯t really be our problem anymore if we don¡¯t though.¡± Five replied timidly, hoping to make light of the situation.


    ¡°Shut up, Five.¡± Two and Three said in unison. Two couldn¡¯t suppress a nervous laugh at their combined jab.


    ¡°Finally, we agree on something.¡± Three mumbled back.


    ¡ª 5 Minutes Remain ¡ª


    Seven had her eyes closed and was whispering to herself ¡°Baptized in fire, we will be reborn. The heralds of humanity¡¯s return. The destiny of our kind is in our hands.¡± she repeated to herself over and over, trying to calm her warped mind in whatever way she could. However, it was unnerving the others.


    Three laid still in quiet contemplation, but if the others could see her face, they would see a distraught girl on the verge of tears, only barely holding herself together to save face.


    Five, meanwhile, was hyperventilating. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was the oxygen running thin or the severe stress she was under, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself from taking in fast, deep breaths, desperate to fill her lungs with what might be the last breaths she ever took.


    ¡°Calm down.¡± Two told herself, trying to reassure herself while the station rumbled, clearly already scraping the upper atmosphere of the planet ¡°This is going to work. It has to work. All of this can¡¯t be for nothing, it can¡¯t just be the end right here. There¡¯s so many more things we need to do. We¡¯re going to land and then we need to do so many things. And there will be so much to see. So many new things to explore. We will live.¡±


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    ¡ª Phoenix Command Activated ¡ª


    There was a cacophony of cries as a loud crashing noise came from all around them. The girls felt the rumble increase to a violent shaking, and a moment later, they all felt themselves floating up into the series of straps holding them to the mattress. It only dawned on Five then that it might have better suited them to strap themselves to the ceiling, but it was too late to consider that. They had cushioned the straps with as much fabric as they could shove between them and that would just have to do.


    Three at last let out a loud cry, bursting into tears as the gravity of the moment crashed through her. Seven was eerily quiet, and Five sounded like she was struggling to breathe entirely now.


    Two didn¡¯t dare look though. The stars visible through the window above were slowly starting to fade. Minutes passed and the sky slowly turned from black to dark blue. The terrible quaking of what they had come to know as their world made her close her eyes. She was definitely going to be sick, if nothing else. The straps were digging into her skin hard despite the cushioning, and she found herself unable to speak, the air not finding its way properly out of her, yet she mouthed the word ¡®Please¡¯ over and over, pleading for some kind of miracle to protect them.


    The rumbling only grew louder. There were loud crashes on the outside of the station that made each of them cry out in turn if they could. It was falling apart. The station couldn¡¯t take much more. Two opened her eyes and saw a small streak of pale blue sky before there was a deafening crunch and the world went black.


    ¡ª


    And everything stayed dark. Here they were. Beaten. Bruised. Destroyed. Were they really so insignificant? Did they mean nothing? Was this the end? Did everything they¡¯d suffered through mean nothing? Did their sacrifices mean nothing? Did any of this mean anything, or was Three right at the start? Were they just a cosmic accident?


    Was this death? Two wondered if she would get to see the others. One, Four, perhaps even Six despite the fact she never technically existed. She wondered if they ever stood a chance in the first place. So much had been stacked against them. The still-nebulous plans of their predecessors seemed to have fallen apart around them slowly. She wondered if perhaps, wherever she was now, she could ask them what they expected her to do from the start.


    They were children. They knew more than any child ought to. They were practically adults in mind, but they were still just children. And the fate of the entire human race had been left on them. On half of the girls they had intended for the job no less. It was impossible after all, wasn¡¯t it?


    Three. She was strict and sometimes harsh, but she cared for all of them. She did everything she could to keep all of them alive, even when they seemed hell-bent on jumping into danger.


    Five. Sometimes a little blunt, and she definitely had something of an ego to her, but she was willing to do what was right. She never knew when to be serious, and that somehow made her a lot easier to be around.


    Seven. An enigma, now. But beneath the surface, Two knew that the somewhat timid girl, eager to prove her worth as an equal, was still in there somewhere. She had to be.


    And herself. Two. She jumped headlong into danger, but she believed there was always something she could do. Some kind of progress to be made. She strove to keep moving forward no matter what obstacle presented itself.


    No. It wasn¡¯t going to end like this. It couldn¡¯t end like this. Whatever this was, she had to fight back! She had to make their suffering worth SOMETHING. She had to live!


    It started with a spark.


    A glint of light shined on the other side of her eyelids. They were heavy, but with effort, they slowly opened. The station was quiet. Nothing moved, there wasn¡¯t even the faint hum of electricity in the background that she hadn¡¯t realized she¡¯d grown accustomed to. The room was still. And above her, through a heavily cracked window, she saw pale blue and a shaft of light pointing down on her. Was this real?


    It hurt her head to move, but she looked to the side to see Five staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, tears in her eyes as she continued to breathe heavily, her arms locked in place at the straps and still holding tight like they were still falling.


    Three¡¯s eyes were closed tight. But Two was comforted when she saw her chest rising and falling steadily.


    ¡°Home.¡± came the exhausted groan of Seven from the other side of the room.


    Not one of them dared to move from their mattresses though. After what they¡¯d just been through, they had no energy left. But they did it. They had beaten the odds. They had been enough. They had made it. Seven had been right. They were home.