Erika began to think the lure was a bad idea, in general. The scientists had monitored the halls for the past hour and a half, waiting for the Aranea to step out and examine a new source of food, but it hadn’t come. The food might not have a strong enough scent, or the traces of radiation in the engine room had a stronger pull, or a million other things could be wrong. Erika didn’t know enough about the Aranea to create an exhaustive list; she just knew something was wrong.

  Aymeric stepped back into the room, and stretched his arms to the ceiling.

  “Anything at all?” He asked.

  “Nothing,” Erika said.

  Aymeric took a seat at Erika’s side.

  “Your turn,” he said.

  Erika had to think for a moment before the context returned to her. Petra took her break an hour ago, then Aymeric left for his thirty minutes. Now it was Erika’s turn to step away from the camera and sneak in a nap while nothing happened.

  Erika shook her head.

  “Come on, you need rest, too,” Petra said.

  “No, I’m good.” Erika felt the weight pressing down on her muscles, but that didn’t matter. She was supposed to be the leader, so she needed to be ready when the Aranea showed up.

  If it shows up.

  “Wait!” Petra tapped the computer screen.

  A small shape skittered into view. It was one of the Aranea larvae.

  “It looks larger than before,” Erika whispered.

  “You think so?” Aymeric leaned forward. “I can’t really tell, not from here.”

  A second Aranea larva skittered out from a wall and approached the nutrient paste. A third followed.

  “Should we go?” Aymeric grabbed his shock spear.

  “No. We want the adult,” Erika said.

  “It’ll show up,” Petra said.

  More larvae came to investigate the paste. They clambered across the food and trailed it across the floor.

  The adult Aranea scrambled out of the vent grate.

  Erika tensed.

  The Aranea approached the paste, and tapped the container surface with its leg.

  Erika grabbed her shock spear and the net gun, then stepped to the hall. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be a leader, and leaders gave orders. She turned back to Petra and Aymeric. The two already held their shock spears.

  “We’re gonna strike now, as fast as possible,” Erika whispered.

  Petra and Aymeric nodded.

  The group rounded the corner.

  The Aranea scuttled for the vent. The larvae spread out, hissing as they went.

  Aymeric jabbed his shock spear toward the vent. He missed, but the Aranea was forced away.

  The larvae crawled up Erika’s pants. She was going to get bit, but that didn’t matter, as long as the adult Aranea was in a net.

  Petra struck the Aranea with her spear. The creature writhed, then collapsed onto the floor.

  “Hell yeah!” Petra shouted.

  Erika readied the net gun. One of the larvae had reached her forearm. It stung at her exposed flesh. She reflexively slapped the creature off. A second appeared on her arm. Erika wiped that one off, too. There was a red mark where the first larva bit her.

  That didn’t matter; she rose her net gun again.

  The Aranea slammed into Erika.

  She hit the trigger. The net flailed uselessly through the air, then crumpled to the ground.

  Erika stumbled to the floor, and the larvae swarmed over her. She screamed and tried batting away the hundreds of insects running along her skin.

  “Come on!” Aymeric grabbed Erika’s arm and hauled her up.

  Petra put her shock spear between the adult Aranea and the exit. It skittered around the shock spear.

  “Wait, no!” Petra swung, but missed.

  The adult scrambled into the vent. The larvae followed. The creatures clinging to Erika raced away from her, and drained into the vent. She still felt their spindly little legs scuttling over her. Erika looked herself over, but saw no more hitchhikers.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Lemme see.” Aymeric turned Erika around. “They’re all gone. Fuck. What about me?”

  The scientists looked each other over, and found no straggling Aranea around. Erika couldn’t shake the feeling one was still crawling on her. She’d need a shower to get rid of that feeling.

  Except the shower rooms are out. Theo said they were a drain on power. Erika understood the logic, really, but some basic hygiene would do her good, both physically and mentally.

  The net on the floor shifted.

  Erika stepped back.

  The net shifted again.

  Erika approached. She grabbed one of the ropes, and pulled up. An Aranea larva waited for her. It had been pinned down by the net, but Erika had freed most of it. She swore, and tossed the rope back down. The larva was pinned down once again.

  “We have one of the young?” Petra said.

  “It’s too light to escape a rope,” Erika said.

  Silence.

  “Well, we caught an Aranea, at least,” Petra said.

  “So the day is saved and we don’t have to worry about the spider aliens anymore.” Aymeric rolled his eyes.

  The net shifted again as the Aranea tried to escape.

  “If the Aranea asexually reproduced, then the young should be an exact copy of the adult,” Erika mumbled. “I think we can still use this.”

  Petra and Aymeric’s eyes lit up.

  The group contained the young Aranea in a food container, then carried it to the med bay. The equipment in the room was useful, but Erika really wanted supplies from the lab. It was still locked down, though, and would stay that way until Ryder decided it was time to open the doors again.

  The Aranea scuttled around the plastic container as the scientists set themselves up. Mi-Cha poked her head into the room, and examined the creature.

  “That ain’t it,” she said.

  “It’s a baby. But it might help us catch the adult,” Aymeric said.

  “So y’all fucked it up,” Mi-Cha said.

  “We’re making progress,” Petra said.

  “Imma find Ryder and let him know you fucked it up.” Mi-Cha skipped away.

  “Should I stop her?” Aymeric asked.

  “It’ll be fine,” Erika said.

  The group set the Aranea larva on the bed, then got to work.

  The scientists ran an analysis on the Aranea in search of weak points. There was a chink in the exoskeleton on its stomach, and smaller ones in the face. The chinks in the face armor were too small to accurately hit, so the stomach would be the best place to strike.

  We can fight the adult, but we need to know how to deal with the larvae, too.

  Even if someone got lucky and incapacitated the adult, the larvae would swarm them. The crew needed a way to deal with the larvae, and Erika had something in mind.

  “Luther and I developed a gas solution to use on the Aranea,” she said.

  “Like an alien chloroform? Why didn’t you bring this up sooner?” Aymeric demanded.

  “We never actually tested the solution,” Erika said. “We believed there were some issues with the chemicals, so we were developing it further.”

  “What kind of issues?” Aymeric asked.

  “The sort that kill the Aranea,” Erika said.

  Aymeric pressed his lips into a thin line.

  “I’m sure it will work,” Petra said.

  “And, if it doesn’t, we don’t really need the larvae to survive,” Erika added.

  Petra and Aymeric reeled from Erika.

  “Wow. Uh, didn’t expect that one.” Aymeric let out a nervous chuckle.

  “I don’t think we have to worry about killing the larvae, only finding a place for them once we’ve gassed them,” Petra said. “So how do we make this solution?”

  Erika glanced around the med bay, then dug into some of the cabinets. She found bandages and a variety of common medicines, but the med bay wasn’t equipped with what she needed. She was disappointed, but unsurprised.

  “We need to get into the lab.” Erika sighed.

  “The one that’s locked down?” Aymeric said.

  “Yes.”

  Aymeric wrinkled his nose.

  “I don’t know if Ryder would listen to me,” he said. “Even if I dragged Mi-Cha along for help, I think he’d ignore us.”

  “He really doesn’t like to be bossed around,” Petra mumbled. “But I could figure out something.”

  “No. I want you two to stay here and keep an eye on the larva,” Erika said.

  “So you will–” Petra stopped herself. Doubt had crept into her voice. “You’re the lead investigator now. The Captain has to listen to you.”

  Aymeric pulled a face, but didn’t say anything.

  Erika left the med bay, and stepped onto the bridge. Mi-Cha was toying around with the flight controls, and occasionally swearing at them.

  “Have you seen Ryder?” Erika asked.

  “What, you think I went outta my way to talk to him?” Mi-Cha snorted.

  “I need him to open the lab, that’s all,” Erika said.

  “Yeah well, no clue where he’s at. Maybe take an actual look around before bothering others,” Mi-Cha said.

  Erika scoured the second floor, though couldn’t find Ryder, nor Theo or Clive. She noticed that the locks on the doors were disengaged, except for the captain’s quarters. Erika was tempted to poke her head into Theo’s and Clive’s cabins to see if they were inside, but decided against it. It was rude, for starters, and Erika was certain the pair were busy elsewhere; she wouldn’t find them taking naps.

  Erika went to the third floor. She had been there only half an hour ago, but that was more than enough time for Ryder to come down. The Aranea food was still spread on the ground, but the aliens had gone. Ryder wasn’t in the hall, either.

  Erika stepped into the shuttle bay, and spotted a figure in the far corner. Ryder turned around, then narrowed his eyes at Erika.

  “There you are. Aren’t you supposed to be capturing an Aranea right now?” Ryder asked.

  “I have an Aranea larva. Petra and Aymeric are tending to it now,” Erika said.

  “And while they work you take a casual stroll around the ship,” Ryder said. “Aren’t you supposed to be a hard worker?”

  Erika wanted to respond, but stopped herself. She hadn’t tracked Ryder down to start an argument.

  “I’m looking for you; I need access to the lab.” Erika suddenly felt like a little girl asking the teacher permission to go to the restrooms.

  “Well, I’ve been looking for Naoki; I haven’t seen him for a while,” Ryder said.

  An alarm went off in Erika’s head.

  Naoki was missing on a ship with two dangerous aliens loose. The Aranea couldn’t have gotten to him, because it stuck to the reactor room. The Carnifex, however, might have found an opening to snatch up Naoki. Then what?

  You’re overthinking. Naoki’s alive and well, and probably in his cabin.

  “Can we talk for a bit? There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask,” Ryder said.

  Erika didn’t have time to talk; she had an anesthetic to brew and an alien to capture. Her gut told her that Ryder was testing her, and if she wanted the lab open, she would have to play along.

  Erika let an imperceptible sigh through her nose.

  “What do you need?” Erika asked.

  Ryder stepped passed Erika, and out of the shuttle bay. He opened the door to the elevator, then turned. He gestured for Erika to follow. Something rotten and dangerous slithered under his smile.

  “We can’t talk here?” Erika asked.

  “I wanted to have this conversation somewhere private,” Ryder said.

  Okay. That was okay.

  Erika stepped into the elevator with the Captain, and hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.