Imposter System

Matt wasn't too worried about the strange behavior of the doctor and went straight to the cafeteria to pick up food. When he arrived back in his quarters, Alexis was looking at herself smugly in the mirror. He couldn't help but take a picture of her self-admiration since he found it funny. Well, she was also very pretty and he couldn't resist saving it.

"Are you going to bring the food over yet? I'm starving!" Alexis set the mirror down and gave him a scowl. Matt rolled his eyes and walked over.

Actually, not just anyone was allowed to bring food out of the cafeteria like this. If not for their combined prestige, the chefs wouldn't allow for it. The containers they used were very high grade and expensive, meant to preserve cooked food on the move for several weeks. The field of culinary technology had always progressed quickly.

Matt set down the containers and placed the note on top of one for Alexis to read. She quickly noticed it and Matt sent her a telepathic message replaying his encounter with Dr. Lisinger.

"What is this about?" Alexis said after the scene ended. She didn't even need to look at the note since it was part of the sequence, but did anyway in a symbolic way. While Matt was asleep in the med bay last night, the other victims' partners were there so they ended up talking a bit. One of them offhandedly commented that it was sweet how Matt and Alexis didn't need to exchange words to understand each other.

She realized that they had become too reliant on speaking to each other telepathically and it was beginning to be noticeable by others. Although she didn't mention it to Matt, he easily understood her intentions. Although they did talk a lot through telepathy, they had already reached a level of synergy and understanding that they didn't need to say much to understand each other.

"I'm not sure. Do you know what's in that room?" Matt asked while deactivating the sealing mechanism on the food containers.

Alexis opened up the ships map on her tablet device and looked into it. Matt peeked over and noticed how tantalizing she was looking at the moment. She was still wearing her nightgown and the focus she was showing on investigating the room gave her a very heroic aura. Additionally, her head was slightly tilted downward so the light from the screen gave her a slight glow. Although makeup was essentially eliminated from culture, supplements and health products magnified the natural beauty.

"Are you seducing me?" Matt said unconsciously. He was entranced by her and didn't realize his thoughts were voiced.

"That depends, are you seduced?" Alexis slightly turned her head upward to make eye contact with Matt, and her pretty eyelashes fluttered up and down as she blinked. Her expression was one of playfulness. Matt had to hold himself back from crawling over the table and immediately taking her on the spot. Seeing his internal struggle, Alexis let out a short giggle.

"This room is not particularly special in any way. I accessed the entry logs and it seems to be the first commander's room. What's strange is that the first commander also has a room on deck two. This room is only accessed once a week." Alexis explained, however, her change in attitude only provided a stark juxtaposition which amplified her allure.

"Matt, wait. We can't do it. Think about the baby." The injection she received to promote healthy fetal growth and protect the womb had already worn off. There were too many factors with bearing children in hyperdrive, so it was suggested that she start to be more careful. When Matt heard this, it was like a splash of cold water and he instantly sat down as if his previous lust was nonexistent.

"Is something wrong?" Matt said worriedly. Even though he initially didn't acknowledge the baby, the reveal in the holodeck had begun to change his view. If it wasn't his, then whose would it be? Would Alexis be Mother Mary?

"No, its just the protection period has ended. While I stayed with you at the medical bay, one of the nurses reminded me." Alexis was happy to see his reaction. She had sensed his feelings about the baby on the day that she told him, so she had been silently anxious about this matter. "Although we can't do it for real, you can still do it in your dreams~"

Alexis said in a very teasing way that would normally be torture for the recipient. However, Matt could literally do it in his dreams with her fully involved in the process. Matt began to eat his breakfast while he thought about all of the different settings he wanted to experience. Alexis began eating too, but instead she was more focused on the situation of the first commander.

"You should go." Alexis said after finishing her meal.

"They better not cause any more trouble. Its my wedding night and they want me to go to some strange meeting?" Matt was frustrated. It seemed that whenever he made progress in one of his problems, another problem would pop up. It was as if some cosmic being was toying with him. However, he dared not curse the unknown, so he could only direct his frustration toward Dr. Lisinger and the first commander.

"Actually, I'm not too worried about it. Although the first commander doesn't have the best character, this is because he is overly upright and aboveboard. Anything—." Alexis suddenly stopped and her eyes widened. Her face turned pale and she looked toward Matt with a desperate expression.

"Lexi, what's wrong!?" He came over to her side and she sent over the image of her status. On a new line was [Drug Resistance (Unf)]. Matt quickly opened her status from his end and saw the specific details. His mood instantly plummeted when he realized what had happened.

[Sub-Body Alpha:

Host: Alexis Alexeyev

Status: Grade 0 Parasite

Evolution Points (EP): 2

Abilities: [Fascination Lv. Max], [Fatigue Resistance Lv. 1]

Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 7], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Inferior Transformation Lv. 0], [Inferior Spawning Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Drug Resistance Lv. 0]]

[Drug Resistance Lvl. 0: You have been exposed to a substance above lethal dose to your host. Since you have not yet perfectly fused with your host, the substance requires evolution points to neutralize.

]Drug concentration: 300 g/250 g

]Evolution Cost: 30 EP]

"Commander Alexeyev, my readings indicate a sharp increase in heartrate…" Matt realized her device was on and immediately shut it off. Alexis began to hold her hand to her mouth, but couldn't resist it any longer. She took the nearest container and vomited into it. He wasn't sure what substance was used here, but it was clear that this was given with evil intentions.

Matt didn't have any time to investigate and carried Alexis to his lab. He used Detect Life to avoid running into anymore, but he knew that the cameras caught his every move. It took him eight minutes to arrive at his lab, and Alexis had dry heaved several times along the way. Her face was getting even more pale and her heart was palpitating at an observable rate.

Once he arrived at the lab, he immediately took her to the cold room and set her down. However, her limbs had already lost all strength and she became listless. He opened the safe and cursed at the time release mechanism. The few seconds it took to open were the longest seconds in his life. He kept Detect Life focused on her and her life signs were still reading strong, but dwindling quickly.

If her body hadn't been improved by the parasite, she probably wouldn't have been able to survive at this point. Matt focused on her abdomen and saw that the life force in the womb was still steady. Fortunately, there was no harm, but something like this could change in an instant. The body was like a dam holding back the waters, but once a crack occurs, it all comes crashing down in an instant.

Ting, tssh

The lock released and Matt quickly pries open the door. He takes four vials and leans Alexis's head back. Her mouth slackens and he begins pouring down the blood samples from the experimental subjects into her mouth. Fortunately, due to the properties of the parasite, she doesn't need to swallow the blood to absorb it. After pouring out all four vials, he examined her status.

Matt watched as her evolution points increased by seven at a time. The process was usually quick, but in a time crunch, it seemed extremely slow. As the last vial was being absorbed, Matt sensed something wrong. His Detect Life was down, and it was still a few minutes from optimal cooldown, but he forced it to activate. He saw that the source of life was dwindling from her heart at a pace quicker than anywhere else and then it disappeared. Matt placed his hand on her chest.

[Ally Alexis Alexeyev host has become incapacitated. Retrieve Sub-body? Y/N]