Salvation

Adrian moved through the airless corridors of Salvation checking every piece of equipment on board while the alarms in her head clanged their persistent warning. There was something wrong, an essential piece of equipment was malfunctioning or there was an intruder, she didn’t know which. She checked the equipment in her section of the ship, but everything was within normal operating range. Her next move was to enter the cargo hold to check the sleep chambers and the embryo banks. That was where she was headed when she encounter the creature.

Her robotic logic told her that the animal she saw was impossible. The decks she walked contained no breathable gas. The creators of Salvation and Adrian made sure that only crucial equipment was included on the ship. A robot, even one that resembled a human, didn’t need to breathe.

The animal setting on his haunches in front of Adrian licked its front paw and then used the paw to smooth the rainbow colored fur around its left ear. She studied the animal for several minutes, before cautiously approaching it. As she approached, the creature stopped grooming and ran toward the entrance hold to the cargo bay. There it unsheathed it claws and scratched at the seal on the door, as if trying to open the pressure lock.

Adrian checked the pressure gage on the door. Inside the cargo hold, the pressure had dropped dramatically from her last inspection. She opened the lock and the creature pushed in ahead of her. When she found it several minutes later, it had a bat-like beast in its mouth. Going to the nearest sleep pod, Adrian found the module broken open and the occupant ripped apart. She checked the other pods for breaks and then jettisoned the breached pod with the body.