Red Glow
I regained consciousness with a start. I quickly recalled what was happening and started to take stock of the situation.
I wasn't sure how long I was out, but it was getting cold. Aside from that, nothing had really changed. Gilda and I were still floating in the darkened room with nothing but the emergency lights to see by.
I checked Gilda, and she was still unconscious, but she seemed to be in better condition. The shoulder wound where her arm had been ripped out was completely closed, and the back of her head and spine felt like they were stabilizing. I thought about trying to wake her up but then realized it might be harmful to try that before the nanites had completed repairs.
My body ached a bit, but my wounds were closed up already, and the blood on my bodysuit had dried. I thought that we might suddenly fall out of the air if the main power was restored without warning, so I moved Gilda to a couch that was connected to the floor and used my belt and shirt to tie her down. I decided I really needed to keep some rope handy in the future.
I would have liked to have moved Gilda to her own bed, but the doors to her room wouldn't open, probably due to the loss of the ship's primary systems.
I tried accessing the ship's computer, but all that came through was garbled nonsense.
I felt really alone for the first time since coming onto this spaceship. The temperature was continuing to drop, and I was beginning to worry about our oxygen supply. Oddly, as it got colder, I could clearly feel some warmth coming from the breach in the hull that the Mithril Slime Golem originally came through.
My mana had recovered enough that I thought I could probably fight another one of those things if I had to, but who knows what else might come through that hole. However, the situation wasn't getting any better, and I wanted to have a clearer understanding of our circumstances, so I decided to investigate. I wasn't sure how much it would help, but I retrieved my trusty Colt 1911 pistol, which was floating near where it had been sitting since I first arrived here.
Slowly, I moved closer to the breach. The air was noticeably warmer as I approached.
I moved to the side of the hole and quickly peeked around the edge. All that I could see was a dark tunnel with a reddish glow at the end. The walls looked much more organic than Gilda's spaceship. To be honest, it really creeped me out, but nothing would change if I didn't investigate. I pulled the hammer back on the gun so I could fire more quickly if I was suddenly attacked. Taking a few deep breaths, I grabbed the lip of the hole and pulled myself into the dark tunnel.
As I entered, the top half of my body rapidly descended towards the floor, which caused my body to flip in midair, and I fell onto the floor with a thud. This was a deadly serious situation, but I had somehow turned it into some comedy routine. I was embarrassed for dropping my gun and hurting my back in such a stupid way. You would think there would be some transition zone between an area with no gravity and one with full gravity, but you'd be wrong in this case. Luckily, I didn't land on my head, or more than my pride would have been damaged.
Even with the sound of my loud crash landing on the floor, there were no signs of a new attacker. It seemed like I was really alone here.
I didn't let down my guard. I picked back up my gun and crept down the tunnel until I reached the end. I noticed the air was getting warmer as I came closer to that red glow. As the tunnel curved around, I eventually arrived in a larger room. The whole area was illuminated by a red, glowing, orb-like object. There were what appeared to be several tubes directly connecting to it. There also appeared to be touch panel pedestals on each side. The glowing orb itself was a fair size, perhaps a bit smaller than a compact car, and it seemed to be slowly but rhythmically pulsating, like a soft heartbeat.
Instinctively I didn't want to get too close to that orb. The identify skill wasn't working on it. But it seemed like there was a chance it might be some other type of golem and attack if I got closer. However, those touch panels looked promising. After seeing them, I had concluded that this must be another spaceship. There weren't any seats or tables anywhere, but if your only crew is a slime, then there really wasn't much need for furniture.
After carefully searching the room for any other clues, I came to the conclusion that the only things that might be useful to me were those touch panels. I worked up my courage and reached out to touch one, but nothing happened. Then I tried to touch the other one, but nothing happened there either. Also, the glowing orb just kept quietly pulsing. It didn't seem like an attack was going to come.
Eventually, I decided to touch the orb itself. It felt smooth and warm to the touch. It was a pleasant warmth, about the same temperature as a human body. Since there wasn't any reaction, I was at a loss as to what to do. I went back down the tunnel to check on Gilda, but she was still unconscious. The room was getting even colder, but I hesitated to bring her into the warmer tunnel because I wasn't sure it was safe yet.
After making my way back to the room with the glowing orb, I decided to try to use my mana to communicate with this alien ship. Using my Aura Reading magic, I matched my mana frequency to the dark purple and pink mana permeating the walls, which was strongest at the orb. It seemed pretty clear that touching it would be the most effective approach. Once I passed my mana into the mysterious object, I tried to communicate with the ship but lost consciousness immediately.
When I woke up, I was in a dark room that I didn't recognize, tied up to a chair, with a single light hanging above my head. It was like a stereotypical scene where a spy got interrogated in a movie. I tried to struggle against my bindings, but I felt strangely weak, and my head was unusually fuzzy. My instincts were telling me this was a dangerous situation. But, before I could do anything, two figures approached me from the darkness.
One of them was a slightly older woman wearing casual clothes and a lab coat, carrying a clipboard. She looked like she was a Latino, probably in her early thirties, with dark eyes and long black hair. Her demeanor was soft and gentle, and she reminded me of the mother of one of my high school buddies a lot. The second person was somebody I already knew very well. Although she had an unexpectedly severe expression on her face and was dressed in a military-style uniform that I'd never seen before.
"Gilda, what the hell am I doing tied up like this?"
Finally, a new character appears!
