By: Benjamin He

Jerry sat alone in the medical sector of the USSN Discovery. The rest of the crew had already gone to bed, but then Mick Mithcell, the main medical officer, had then appointed Jerry to watch the ice block they had collected from the planet they had visited yesterday.

The planet was dubbed an “empty abyss of a planet” by Janitor Joe, and Jerry had to agree. The planet, or the Rocky Sphere (as the crew had named it), was nothing but rocks. The geological formations on the planet had been similar to Earth’s, and after a thorough analysis…the scientists got practically nothing of interest.

Still, excited by their first discovery (of both the planet and the stuff on it), the captain had commanded a collection of gasses and rocks on the planet, which was a big haul back to the onboard lab, which Joe called the “Geek Zone.” The only thing worth mentioning was a chunk of ice the ship had picked up with one of its robot arms, which shouldn’t have been surprising, considering the butt-freezing temperature.

Dr. Mitchell had insisted on watching the hunk of frozen water, so there Jerry was, staying up past midnight. In this barely-running rusty excuse of a lab. Sitting in a literal 21st century relic of a folding chair. Watching ice. Jerry yawned. He kept trying to tell himself that any of the stuff they collected, the gasses (classic, boring CO2), the rocks, or even the ice, was worth a lot on Earth. If suckers were willing to pay millions for a moon rock, how much would he get if they sold something 4 light years from Earth?

The Discovery had been sent to collect data and conduct research on foreign planets, and using some sort of fancy photon blast laser thing Jerry didn’t understand, the ship had somehow been launched four light years into outer space, and they were supposed to be “researching.”

Jerry was the youngest adult on board, a few years out of medical school. The more experienced doctor that was supposed to go on the discovery couldn’t come on the trip because he supposedly developed lung cancer, so NASA had to scramble to find a replacement.

So they found Jerry, the only one willing to go, and fresh out of med school.

The job wasn’t nearly exciting as Jerry thought it would be. The first thing Jerry noticed is that all 21 members(5 of which were children) became celebrities when they first stepped on(The NASA scientists who worked on the Discovery had figured out long-term internet and Wi-Fi issues.).

The 16 adults mostly had a positive reaction, while the children went bonkers over it.

Jerry leaned back in his chair. Around him, machines buzzed and hummed. The chair squeeked. The light bulb above him flickered. If he strained, Jerry could almost here the faint murmers of Joe’s holograph, probably playing one of those dumb reality shows he liked so much.

Watching ice from another planet, especially if it was concealed in a capsule, was brain-meltingly boring (no pun intended).

Then, a new sound. A skittering, from just behind him. Jerry turned around just in time to see a dark shape, feet pittering across the floor, to dart underneath one of the many beds in the medical bay. Jerry sighed.

“Alright, which one of you is it?” he said, getting up. “Which kid? Erik? Micheal? I know that’s you, Tiffany…”

He trailed off as he realized that the thing hiding under the bed was not a kid. In fact, it wasn’t human at all. He didn’t scream. He didn’t have time. All Jerry could do was watch as the slime-green abomination that had somehow got on the ship jump on his face.