Imposter [Part 12]
Jan. 3rd, 2021 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: The imposters win. And yet, they don't.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,399
Total word count: 10,265
Status: Work in progress
M-21 growled, dodging the arterial spray. It missed him, and he peered at himself as Jake hit the floor, double-checking if he'd been -
He ducked, hearing the klaxon, announcing a meeting.
He stopped breathing, and he span around, eyeing the windows. He'd been seen.
Shit shit shit. Someone had seen him!
He was going to be spaced.
He'd been caught and he was going to be spaced.
He couldn't hide. He'd been caught. He was dead either way - running was useless when there was nothing else on this planet. It would be easier to hide on the base, but...he'd been seen. He was useless now. A failure.
Failures weren't allowed to live.
M-21 slunk out of weapons. It wasn't that far from the off-
He flinched when someone clapped him on the shoulder. M-21 already knew who it was before he looked - only Muzaka touched him here.
[Heya, Em. Good to see yer okay.]
M-21 frowned. Muzaka hadn't seen him kill? Muzaka must have been coming from the boiler room after the announcement.
Then...Mary? She must have seen him. She was the only one left.
She was leaning on the wall like she normally was when M-21 and Muzaka entered the office meeting room. She nodded towards them and. Uh. That didn't seem like she'd seen him? Then who...?
"Frankenstein not here yet?" Muzaka said, sitting on one of the chairs and putting his feet on the table as he leaned back.
"No," Mary said, eyes on the door. "And Jake..." She sighed. "He's normally late too."
Frankenstein usually had to travel from the lab - even if it was connected to the same building as the office, travelling through the specimen room sometimes took longer because of decontamination. And that was if he paid attention to the klaxon in the first place.
M-21 looked over when the projector on the other side of the room turned itself on. That...didn't normally happen. He saw Muzaka straighten from the corner of his eye, so he was surprised too?
M-21 heard the decontamination doors open in the distance as a face flickered onto the wall. It was a woman with her dark hair tied back. She wasn't wearing a labcoat like a scientist but she had the same look in her eyes as them.
"Sorry I'm - ah?" Frankenstein said as he hurried in, his attention drawn by the projection.
"Purple?" The woman glanced at something off-camera, and then nodded. "That's everyone, then."
The Union knew who was living and dead here? M-21 tried to not duck his head to study himself. He had a tracker in himself? There was a biometrics reader in the office, but M-21 thought only they could read it, not that it was sending information to the Union.
"Then...you were the one who called the meeting, ma'am?" Frankenstein said, still standing. It was weird hearing him call anyone 'ma'am', but then...M-21 would be the same if he was talking to anyone in the Union. Being polite to the Union scientists and workers were mandatory.
"Yes." Her eyes wandered off screen again, reading something.
...M-21 hadn't been seen killing someone? He wasn't a failure? He wasn't going to be spaced?
"You've completed the first round - another group will be sent to your location soon."
"First-" Frankenstein repeated. "Another group?"
M-21 eyed Frankenstein. Why was he so surprised?
When M-21 looked back, he ducked his head, seeing the woman's pursed lips. Frankenstein had spoken out of line.
"Is there some interference with the comms?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "That's what I said."
"I...Yes." Frankenstein cleared his throat. "Carry on, ma'am."
"You'll be expected to continue with your tasks when they arrive," the woman said. "We'll contact you again when you've proven you can work on a proper Union ship."
The projector switched off before anyone could reply.
So there was going to be more people sent there for him to kill? Fine. He could do that.
* * *
Frankenstein leaned their hands on the counter. The samples they'd been testing was in front of their eyes, but they couldn't see it, hearing the Union operative's voice still echoing in their ears.
'You've completed the first round - another group will be sent to your location soon.'
They'd won. They'd won. Why was the test continuing?
They fisted their hands, rage thrumming in their head.
What had they been doing this for? When was it going to stop?
When the new group arrived, they and M-21 could continue to do their job, and then what? Another group would be sent? A never ending cycle that only the Union decided to end.
They gritted their teeth, their arms trembling as they tried to control their breathing. The new group would bring new imposters. It had to.
Em listened to Frankenstein, but would the new ones? Would they be able to agree on anything?
Would they target Muzaka?
They considered it for a second, their stomach twisting. Muzaka had proven he could easily handle himself, but maybe the new imposters would be different.
Frankenstein didn't know.
They didn't know anything.
They couldn't trust the Union's promises, their words.
Muzaka had been right. There weren't many differences between imposters and crewmates, in the grand scheme of things. They were all the same in the Union's eyes, just with a different arbitrary label.
So what were they going to do now...?
* * *
"Em..." Frankenstein started, when Em entered their medbay.
"Yeah?"
They exhaled, studying Em. His lips were pursed, though he didn't have his customary scowl. Then...? "What did you think of the Union's decision?"
Em blinked at them. "We just have to kill more people. What's wrong with that?"
Everything. "We'd already won this...round," Frankenstein pointed out. "Do we know what could happen after this one?"
Em looked at them, his eyebrows drawn in in confusion. "If there's a third round, we kill them off too. If we're moved to a ship, we kill people there. What's the difference?"
That...was true. No matter the circumstances, their mission was to secretly kill until they were ordered to stop.
"The difference is the Union hasn't been quite as transparent about their orders or when they'll end," Frankenstein said.
"So?" Em crossed his arms. "All we have to do is follow their orders."
It was that simple, huh...? "And if we were to not...?" Frankenstein said softly, still studying Em. His answers so far made Frankenstein reasonably sure what Em's reaction would be, but they'd been wrong before.
All emotion wiped off Em's face before he raised himself up, growling and curling his lip. "You'd not do our mission? They'll kill you!"
Would they? Did the Union honestly care about one base out of the hundreds of testing sites they had dotted around the galaxy?
Yes, the Union kept track of their vitals to check what the imposter-crewmate ratio was, but if the numbers weren't whittled down, then would the Union notice?
"I-"
"You can be killed for failing," Em snapped, fur creeping along his cheeks, his eyes darkening, "but I won't."
Em span around and left.
When the doors hissed shut, Frankenstein sagged against the medbay counter, holding themselves up with their hands at the edge.
Hah... Why had that conversation exhausted them so much?
Or were they just too tired? Tired with the killing, tired with the hiding, always looking over their shoulder, in case they were doing something that made them stand out.
They far preferred studying the samples they collected, trying to see what their commonalities were, organising them. The satisfaction of seeing the others healthy under their care. That they'd made a difference.
That was what they wanted to do, not kill.
And that wasn't something they would be allowed to do while the Union was still in control of their lives.
They couldn't stop Em, not when it seemed he was concerned about his life, and Frankenstein didn't know what the new crew or imposters would do.
Would the others be tired of the potential never ending cycle?
They didn't know.
But maybe it was time to start considering a way out of it.
People use 'he' pronouns for Frankenstein because Frankenstein never corrected them - they felt doing so might make them stand out and could make others suspect they're an imposter.
Summary: The imposters win. And yet, they don't.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,399
Total word count: 10,265
Status: Work in progress
M-21 growled, dodging the arterial spray. It missed him, and he peered at himself as Jake hit the floor, double-checking if he'd been -
He ducked, hearing the klaxon, announcing a meeting.
He stopped breathing, and he span around, eyeing the windows. He'd been seen.
Shit shit shit. Someone had seen him!
He was going to be spaced.
He'd been caught and he was going to be spaced.
He couldn't hide. He'd been caught. He was dead either way - running was useless when there was nothing else on this planet. It would be easier to hide on the base, but...he'd been seen. He was useless now. A failure.
Failures weren't allowed to live.
M-21 slunk out of weapons. It wasn't that far from the off-
He flinched when someone clapped him on the shoulder. M-21 already knew who it was before he looked - only Muzaka touched him here.
[Heya, Em. Good to see yer okay.]
M-21 frowned. Muzaka hadn't seen him kill? Muzaka must have been coming from the boiler room after the announcement.
Then...Mary? She must have seen him. She was the only one left.
She was leaning on the wall like she normally was when M-21 and Muzaka entered the office meeting room. She nodded towards them and. Uh. That didn't seem like she'd seen him? Then who...?
"Frankenstein not here yet?" Muzaka said, sitting on one of the chairs and putting his feet on the table as he leaned back.
"No," Mary said, eyes on the door. "And Jake..." She sighed. "He's normally late too."
Frankenstein usually had to travel from the lab - even if it was connected to the same building as the office, travelling through the specimen room sometimes took longer because of decontamination. And that was if he paid attention to the klaxon in the first place.
M-21 looked over when the projector on the other side of the room turned itself on. That...didn't normally happen. He saw Muzaka straighten from the corner of his eye, so he was surprised too?
M-21 heard the decontamination doors open in the distance as a face flickered onto the wall. It was a woman with her dark hair tied back. She wasn't wearing a labcoat like a scientist but she had the same look in her eyes as them.
"Sorry I'm - ah?" Frankenstein said as he hurried in, his attention drawn by the projection.
"Purple?" The woman glanced at something off-camera, and then nodded. "That's everyone, then."
The Union knew who was living and dead here? M-21 tried to not duck his head to study himself. He had a tracker in himself? There was a biometrics reader in the office, but M-21 thought only they could read it, not that it was sending information to the Union.
"Then...you were the one who called the meeting, ma'am?" Frankenstein said, still standing. It was weird hearing him call anyone 'ma'am', but then...M-21 would be the same if he was talking to anyone in the Union. Being polite to the Union scientists and workers were mandatory.
"Yes." Her eyes wandered off screen again, reading something.
...M-21 hadn't been seen killing someone? He wasn't a failure? He wasn't going to be spaced?
"You've completed the first round - another group will be sent to your location soon."
"First-" Frankenstein repeated. "Another group?"
M-21 eyed Frankenstein. Why was he so surprised?
When M-21 looked back, he ducked his head, seeing the woman's pursed lips. Frankenstein had spoken out of line.
"Is there some interference with the comms?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "That's what I said."
"I...Yes." Frankenstein cleared his throat. "Carry on, ma'am."
"You'll be expected to continue with your tasks when they arrive," the woman said. "We'll contact you again when you've proven you can work on a proper Union ship."
The projector switched off before anyone could reply.
So there was going to be more people sent there for him to kill? Fine. He could do that.
Frankenstein leaned their hands on the counter. The samples they'd been testing was in front of their eyes, but they couldn't see it, hearing the Union operative's voice still echoing in their ears.
'You've completed the first round - another group will be sent to your location soon.'
They'd won. They'd won. Why was the test continuing?
They fisted their hands, rage thrumming in their head.
What had they been doing this for? When was it going to stop?
When the new group arrived, they and M-21 could continue to do their job, and then what? Another group would be sent? A never ending cycle that only the Union decided to end.
They gritted their teeth, their arms trembling as they tried to control their breathing. The new group would bring new imposters. It had to.
Em listened to Frankenstein, but would the new ones? Would they be able to agree on anything?
Would they target Muzaka?
They considered it for a second, their stomach twisting. Muzaka had proven he could easily handle himself, but maybe the new imposters would be different.
Frankenstein didn't know.
They didn't know anything.
They couldn't trust the Union's promises, their words.
Muzaka had been right. There weren't many differences between imposters and crewmates, in the grand scheme of things. They were all the same in the Union's eyes, just with a different arbitrary label.
So what were they going to do now...?
"Em..." Frankenstein started, when Em entered their medbay.
"Yeah?"
They exhaled, studying Em. His lips were pursed, though he didn't have his customary scowl. Then...? "What did you think of the Union's decision?"
Em blinked at them. "We just have to kill more people. What's wrong with that?"
Everything. "We'd already won this...round," Frankenstein pointed out. "Do we know what could happen after this one?"
Em looked at them, his eyebrows drawn in in confusion. "If there's a third round, we kill them off too. If we're moved to a ship, we kill people there. What's the difference?"
That...was true. No matter the circumstances, their mission was to secretly kill until they were ordered to stop.
"The difference is the Union hasn't been quite as transparent about their orders or when they'll end," Frankenstein said.
"So?" Em crossed his arms. "All we have to do is follow their orders."
It was that simple, huh...? "And if we were to not...?" Frankenstein said softly, still studying Em. His answers so far made Frankenstein reasonably sure what Em's reaction would be, but they'd been wrong before.
All emotion wiped off Em's face before he raised himself up, growling and curling his lip. "You'd not do our mission? They'll kill you!"
Would they? Did the Union honestly care about one base out of the hundreds of testing sites they had dotted around the galaxy?
Yes, the Union kept track of their vitals to check what the imposter-crewmate ratio was, but if the numbers weren't whittled down, then would the Union notice?
"I-"
"You can be killed for failing," Em snapped, fur creeping along his cheeks, his eyes darkening, "but I won't."
Em span around and left.
When the doors hissed shut, Frankenstein sagged against the medbay counter, holding themselves up with their hands at the edge.
Hah... Why had that conversation exhausted them so much?
Or were they just too tired? Tired with the killing, tired with the hiding, always looking over their shoulder, in case they were doing something that made them stand out.
They far preferred studying the samples they collected, trying to see what their commonalities were, organising them. The satisfaction of seeing the others healthy under their care. That they'd made a difference.
That was what they wanted to do, not kill.
And that wasn't something they would be allowed to do while the Union was still in control of their lives.
They couldn't stop Em, not when it seemed he was concerned about his life, and Frankenstein didn't know what the new crew or imposters would do.
Would the others be tired of the potential never ending cycle?
They didn't know.
But maybe it was time to start considering a way out of it.
People use 'he' pronouns for Frankenstein because Frankenstein never corrected them - they felt doing so might make them stand out and could make others suspect they're an imposter.