BUT WHAT IF...it was aliens.

[directorofhydra]

[It's supposed to be an easy mission. Escort company cargo to Whedon station. The company pays well, this is routine. Under commander Garrett, they've co-opted (rented, as Ward is fond of saying) Captain Melinda May's ship. There's Jemma and Fitz, a pair of techs, Coulson, a science officer, Palamas, Piper, Wong, and Reaper - something that Grant gives him no end of shit for. Besides, they're going to be in hypersleep for a good month at least - possibly two, so while he salutes Skye - May's co-pilot and wonders what it would be like to share a tube with her, his mind is half on that and half on the crate that commander Garrett says is "essential" to survival. The back half of the trip'll end up being surprisingly boring. Sign in and out.

Ours is not to wonder why kid. Ours is but to do or fucking die. Just like your dad would want huh?

He'd never tell Garrett he considers him far more of a father then James Ward - board of directors member and personal friend of Weyland's ...lineage - but it looks good for HYDRA company having a son of the board of directors onboard. Thankfully the old man keeps it to himself. Palamas gives him a sympathetic look though as the ship shuts itself down, auto piloting out to the stars...

When he wakes up it's like no time has passed but something is clearly off. The place is quiet a few tubes are empty, and while he's puking his guts out and unaware of any of the other active pods there's no chance or opportunity to look up and see anything or anyone quite yet. He's just curled over trying to come back to his senses - senses that haven't alerted him to the lack of Garrett - overseeing his hypersleep as always - or Palamas and Piper playfully flirting.]

simple mission they said. go home on leave they said...

Comments

[busdriver]

[After checking in with the computer, May went to work straightening out most of the quirks they woke up to. She found Fitz and Simmons already elbow-deep in repairs and borrowed their technical expertise. Things break down sometimes. Constant maintenance is just part of the charm of space travel, but the timing of these faults seems a little unlucky. May isn't paranoid enough to think that someone sabotaged the ship deliberately, but it's possible. It's possible that someone wanted to keep them busy and looking the other way.

She hasn't had a chance to confront Coulson about tampering with the stasis pods. It isn't the most pressing thing right now. When Ward gets through to her, she doesn't understand what the hell he's talking about, but she says she'll be right over.

Nothing really could've prepared her for the sight when she gets there: an inquisitive Coulson standing over a prone Palamas, and Palamas herself lying on the table, almost unrecognizable thanks to the strange creature latched on.]

Is she—alive? What is that?

[satphone]

[ Trip who'd be mysteriously absent since going to check on the box originally was just going to stroll into the room, about two steps after May. At least he's wearing clothes this time. ]

Oh that is not right.

[ Don't mind his little scrunch of his nose. Honestly he cares about Kara, well enough to serve with her. His first reaction to stress is to make a comment like that. He's going to linger at the door before his eyes flick to Ward.]

Does Piper know yet? [ Is she even awake yet? Trip was just going to walk closer to the table for a moment.] Are we really letting the guy who woke us up poke her?

[directorofhydra]

...I haven't found Piper. [Ward needs to get Trip alone, as soon as possible, to ask him what the hell was going on. Garrett's absence is troublesome but what was in the box...was even moreso.

He frowned.] I can't get it off her. It tightens up and she starts to struggle whatever the hell it is.

[Read his mind Trip. He needs to talk to you. Privately. Alone.]

Have you seen John? Can we do a systems sweep for him?

[Fixing his gaze on Coulson he frowns.] You could do something besides stand there asshole. This is our friend.

[busdriver]

[Coulson lifts his hands, innocently, making a point that he's not "poking" at anyone more than he has to.] I'm trying to work out how to get this lifeform safely separated from your friend. Obviously your brute force tactics weren't the way to go.

[May steps up to get between Ward and Coulson.] Hey. [Fighting amongst themselves isn't going to help.] Let's just take it down a notch.

[Trip made a point without any namecalling. May looks over her shoulder.] Phil, we need to talk about the pods.

[Then back to Ward and Trip.] You can go ahead and ask the computer where Garrett is, but I doubt she'll tell you more than she told me.

[directorofhydra]

She's going to suffocate if we can't pull it off her!

[His hands squeeze and he glares at Trip before looking up.] Computer? Identify Captain John Garrett or Sgt. Brianna Piper.

[Silence. He moves to tug at the thing again before pulling his hands back.] It's so...slippery and cold.

[It's hard not to be scared of this. And the eggs...

His eyes go wide and he's on his feet looking to May.]

There were more of those things in the damn box.

[did he close it?] Where'd you store our guns?

[busdriver]

[Coulson frowns, disapproval written on his features as he watches Ward pry at the alien. He's still not losing his temper.]

She was breathing normally before you interfered with the—unidentified lifeform. Our best chance of saving her life is if you stop panicking and let me work.

[In point of fact, the facehugger seems to be acting like a ventilator. It only chokes its victim when they try to remove it; when Ward desists, it loosens its tail again to allow her to breathe.

Mother is not an omnipotent artificial intelligence who can hear them all over the ship, and even if she was, that wouldn't be the right technique to get information out of her. Nice try, though. May crosses her arms, looking from the alien thing to Ward and Trip.]

You brought this thing on to my ship, and there are more of them?

[And the fact that they aren't even armed is just piling bad news on top of bad news.]

I didn't store your guns. Your Commander wouldn't let me touch them. They weren't with the rest of your gear when you got out of the showers?

[directorofhydra]

[Ward is more concerned about his weaponry.] John told me it was a military weapon he didn't say anything about it being alive!

[He rounds on May] Did they just walk off by themselves?

[He's not going to entertain the idea that it's John Garrett somehow, leering in the darkness like a ghoul.]

[busdriver]

[May throws her hands up and exaggerates a shrug. She isn't intimidated by Ward, and even if she were intimidated, she still wouldn't have an answer for him. For all she knows? Their stuff really did pick itself up and walk off.]

What reason could I possibly have for moving your guns?

[Jumping down each other's throats isn't helping. She looks up at him, resolute. It isn't worth arguing. She's not going to lose her temper at a time like this.]

You need to back off.

[Not just her, but Coulson too. She'll deal with him.]

[zephyrmorph]

[No thanks to Coulson—who, it should be mentioned, made a weak token effort to remove one of the facehugger's knuckled digits from around Kara's skull—the alien is all hugged out. Its tail loosens from around Kara's neck and the creature detaches itself, its proboscis limply extracting from her throat. It's the... miracle of life? No, wait. That's supposed to be a surprise. Ignore that. Nothing to see here. Show's over. Kara's fine.

The "unidentified lifeform", however, rapidly scuttles away from its victim and launches itself off the table. It's going to do a victory lap of the room before finding a cozy place to die.

Coulson either doesn't know about the death part, or he's feigning ignorance. As soon as the facehugger moves off Kara, he shouts for everyone to evacuate the room. On the bright side, Kara should be regaining consciousness any second now.]