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As Lime watched the rest of the ore/eggs being shot out into space, they couldn't help but wonder what the point of all of it was. Why send a crew of supposedly respected people in a soon-to-explode ship? What was MIRA really planning-- did they want to make all of the crewmates into aliens, or kill them all? Maybe the eggs were the spawn of MIRA higher-ups, and the crew were the unknowing incubators, all about to die and be turned into skinsuits for their young until those young inevitably devoured the suits and found others to spawn their own, infecting the entire world with monsters and--
“...Lime?” a voice breathed. “You… they didn't…?”
Blue.
Oh, God, Blue.
Lime turned, rushing to their side. “I'm here, doc. Don't move too much, you know your leg…” Lime looked at Blue’s now-mangled leg. “...it, uh, needs a second look,” they mumbled, before speaking up. “It'll be fine, none of those alien worms got past the salt, right?”
“No, no, they…” Blue tried again to sit up, and Lime held a hand behind their back. “They didn't.” They took a deep breath, closing their eyes. “It wasn't pretty, but… I doubt your work was either.” Blue reached out a hand, and Lime took it. As Blue opened their eyes, looking right into Lime’s, all thoughts faded from the latter’s mind. They were holding hands again. With Blue, of all people! Blue, the only other person on the whole ship. Blue, the one who'd been kept out of every vote by those impostors. The aliens had known Blue was the smartest crewmate, and before the doctor could share their discoveries with Lime and the rest, the aliens had tried to kill them.
One by one, the monsters picked off the others, until only Green and Lime remained. By then, everything seemed calm. By then, Lime thought they'd won. But upon seeing Blue crawling their way into the reactor room, holding a container of salt and missing a leg, everything fell into place.
Why Green was always so eager to hang out with Red. Why Red and Purple had turned on each other when it was just them, Green, Brown, and Lime left. Why Green was so interested in worms for some reason. Worst of all, it explained the trail of blood from the med bay. Everyone else assumed it was going to lead to a body. Lime always assumed worse-- Blue was being tortured somewhere in the bowels of the ship, and the trail merely led to a fake body.
They'd been right about one thing, one more than everyone else. Blue wasn't dead. No one was confirmed dead until you had proof for yourself. Seeing was believing, and after two decades of doctors acting like the gremlins were imaginary monsters (despite Lime’s many arguments to the contrary-- they'd heard plenty of monsters in the vents of a million different places, and just because the gnomes turned out to be a somewhat pointy-looking family of mice didn't mean the gremlins were “just made up” either) they'd learned one thing better than anything else: most doctors weren't trustworthy. They'd lie, cheat, and scam their way to getting information they'd never burn, even if it would save the world if they did.
…Except for Blue.
“Lime?” Blue asked softly. “Are you… Are you okay?”
“‘M fine,” Lime muttered, looking away quickly. “Took care of ‘em. Green, the eggs, the freaky lil worm things puppeting everyone else’s body… It’s all out in space now.” Lime sat down, leaning against the wall, and they took the salt, making their own circle right next to Blue’s. For half a moment, they were quiet, before snickering. “...Kinda looks like a butt.”
Blue didn’t say anything for a long moment, before they burst out laughing. Unlike the rest of them, their laugh was ugly, like a chainsmoking donkeymate choking on spit. Even so, it was earnest, and real, and human. The kind of laugh that Lime couldn’t help but laugh at, just adding to the sound. Before, maybe Orange or Red would’ve come around to tell them off, but… no. Those two were gone. Everyone was gone. All because of Green and Orange.
…no, not Green and Orange. The aliens that had infected them.
The salt butt wasn’t funny anymore.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Lime?” Blue asked, quietly. “You seem… distracted.”
“It’s all wrong. I always thought when you got rid of aliens, it wouldn’t hurt this bad.” Lime sighed as they looked at their feet. “Always thought it’d feel heroic and cool, like I did the right thing, but… you said it was an infection.”
“A parasite, but yes. Green and Orange…”
Lime barely avoided making a face. Not the time to speak ill of the dead. Sure, Orange was always on their case, and they never listened, and they always took back the trust ball before Lime could actually talk, but… They could speak ill of the dead another time. “If they were infected just before White died, then Green never said nothing to me.” Lime scoffed. “And Orange, we weren’t close by any means.”
“I spoke momentarily with Green, and Orange was constantly interested in the formal paperwork and forms of my work, but I don’t think I could properly share their stories if asked. It’s truly a shame. I should’ve been a faster doctor-- Perhaps I could have saved them before the parasites took root, or even stopped them before the rest of the ship was attacked…”
“No one’ll blame ya,” Lime pointed out. “You were stuck, you lost a leg, and you didn’t even know who was dead ‘til you found me and Green.”
“No, but I will. As a doctor, it’s my duty to help those I treat, yet I couldn’t save anyone but you.”
Lime shook their head. “...It isn’t your fault. At all. You did everything you could.”
“...Thank you, Lime.” Blue’s hand squeezed Lime’s. “I’ll admit, I was more than a little afraid that this plan wouldn’t work. You seemed so certain, but on your own, with no way I could assist… I was worried you would… I feared that perhaps…” Blue’s voice broke. “...What if that monster killed you, Lime? You-- It could’ve used your face to get close to me, and with my leg as it is, I wouldn’t be able to save you either.” Their eyes filled with tears, a look Lime had never seen on Blue. They almost looked…
No, they were scared.
“...If you’d died, then… Then…”
Lime wasn’t good with feelings. They were better at running through the vents, and dealing with machines, and taking care of a reactor. Blue was the one who knew people. Lime did solutions better than helping.
So instead of letting that thought hang in the air any longer, they took off their bandana, and they scooted across the floor. “...Doc, you might wanna stick your tie in your mouth.”
“I understand.” Blue did as told, and Lime put their bandana on the wound, fully aware of how painful salting the wound would be. Unfortunately, with everything that had happened… They had to. They needed to make sure.
“There. If any of ‘em got in… they’re dead now.”
“Th-thank… thank you,” Blue managed through gritted teeth. They pulled off their backpack, and removed some bandages. They wrapped the stump tightly, then sighed. “...Lime, I hate to ask you for so much, but…”
“You’re gonna need a new leg, ain’tcha.” Lime reached out to Blue. “C’mon. I’ll carry you to medbay. We still gotta shred that scan.”
“You didn’t destroy yours yet?”
“You said we’d do it together. Even if trust is a construct, I ain’t breaking that promise, doc.”
Blue managed a smile despite their pain. “Thank you, Lime. I owe you my life.”
“Eh, thank me once I make you a leg. I’ll even call it even if you help me figure out what’s edible in the kitchen.”
“Don’t worry, I can cook if I have a rolling chair. Though I hope you won’t mind if I only make an entree and dessert-- I doubt I could manage an appetizer.”
Lime couldn’t help but laugh as they hefted Blue into their arms. “Nah, just worry about the entree. Dessert’s on me.”