starbound - scomiche

002. answers

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By the time Avi turned on autopilot and slipped out of his chair, Mitch was an absolute wreck.

His hands were in his hair, the tears building in his eyes were ready to fall, and the tiny composure he'd scrambled together was ready to crumble as he unbuckled himself and paced around the ship. Earth was long gone, well out of sight in the matter of minutes, and then so was the sun and the solar system and every law of science seemed to break right in front of Mitch's very eyes.

How fast were they going? Faster than light, he was sure, but how? Was time passing normally? Why did they take Mitch? Who were they? Where did they come from? Were there more of them, wherever they were? Did they reproduce, did they drink water? What was their lifespan? Were they organic? Did they redefine life, or was there more to life than science understood? Did they -

But before he could open his mouth and ask what the fuck was going on, Avi was crossing his arms and leaning against the wall across from him and scanning Mitch's body with an unimpressed look. "This is the kid Scott has been losing his mind over for years?" Mitch dropped his jaw in disbelief and was ready to tell him off, because that was offensive and he had no idea who Mitch was, but then Avi smirked and nodded his head in approval. "Decent work, kiddo. I guess."

Then Kevin was sliding out of his chair, too, and Mitch decided to get a good look at him before he started asking questions.

He certainly looked human, for sure, with dark skin and a muscular build, but there was something about him that was off, and he couldn't really place what it was. Half of his head was covered with intricate wiring and circuitry that Mitch couldn't decipher with his years of training as an engineer if he tried, and one of his eyes was a striking red that seemed to shift peculiarly as he observed Mitch. He almost took a full step back when it really did move -- his pupil was contracting and expanding, like an aperture, and Mitch realized that the eye wasn't even organic.

"This is not him," Kevin said while he scanned Mitch's face. "Too pretty. Are you sure you picked up the right kid?"

"He's the one," Kirstin said, and then she was in Mitch's face too, holding a out a palish green-tinted hand and grinning madly. "I feel the energy in his veins. So strong."

"He's stunning."

"He's an infant!"

"I'm right here," Mitch argued with a shaky voice, taking a full step away from the crowd in front of him.

"He's sassy, too."

"Curious mind," Kirstin said interestedly, cocking her head as her wild eyes flitted across his face. "I can feel a thousand questions in his brain." Oh boy, was she right.

Then Avi was stepping forward, and completely disregarding the personal space Mitch had just made for himself. "How old are you, kiddo?"

"I-I'm 24," he said nervously, crossing his arms over his chest defensively to shield himself from the wandering eyes.

Avi closed his eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Not helpful, actually, in the slightest. Thanks anyway. Kev, how many Earth years are in a cycle?"