s p a c e g r e m l i n s
they infest the ships - they find us by our heat, or our light, or our radio waves. we blocked up all the vents, but they were already in the wiring, wriggling in through the exhaust or the instrument hubs or the damn antennae
we thought it was the aliens at first, but their ships appear to have the same problems [the matrix is contracting, they say, the capillaries are going crazy, it can’t be us, it was fine when we set out]
we tried leaving them milk, or oil, or hydrogen blocks, but it turns out that was the wrong legend and now the optics are fraying
we see them sometimes, or hear them, during high-stress situations, or under sedation in medbay, or that time it turned out the airflow was compromised and the oxygen levels were going off the charts
curiously enough, nothing went wrong for almost a week after we rounded Alpha Centauri
[they found Endeavor floating free out by the Horseshoe Nebula, its water tanks ruptured, the escape pods nowhere to be found. we have reinforced our own tanks. it may not be enough]
