This choice: One uneventful trip later • Go Back...Chapter #5Seiapod, the arrival. by: ZapFat   All twelve men stood at the front of the ship and watched as the planet came into view. Larger than earth but with more land than water Seiapod was a giant luscious paradise that humans could easily settle on as it’s atmosphere wasn’t terribly different. “Uhh hey guys? I’m getting a message stating that this planet is quarantined and that no one is allowed on or off the planet.” Joker said looking over his shoulder. He was met with eleven faces that clearly weren’t bothered by this development. “Oooookay but when zombies chase you back to the ship and you’re all banging on the door to get me to let you in I’m totally saying I told you so.” Joker chided. He then expertly guided the Normandy to the modest landing dock the planet had. The ground crew, which was everyone minus Joker, prepared to disembark. They all wore full body suits and respirators just in case.
“What’s a zombie?” Grunt asked.
“Living dead. Infect each other through biting. Can only be stopped with a shot through the head.” Zaeed replied.
“Awesome. Hope that’s what’s out there, I could use some target practice.”
“No guns. This is a simple recon mission first and foremost before we return to the Normandy and establish a base to help the men with the planet’s issues.” Shepard announced. A few grumbles were heard but the request was followed. A blue light washed over them as they were decontaminated, a few moments later the door opened to the outside, a nice breeze letting itself in. Before the group stood several women in simple clothes.
“Commander Shepard?!” A familiar voice cried from the head of the welcoming party.
“Yes, we’re here because of the dis-“ Shepard started to respond but was cut off.
“No you can’t be here! My message said it only infects men!” She cried out.
An awkward and tense moment passed before Shepard continued the conversation. “Who are you, and what do you mean? Your message was corrupted but it plainly said men were not affected by this illness.” Shepard said what the group was thinking.
“My name is Valerie, I’m the daughter of the leader of this colony. And quite frankly; no. It did not.” Valerie said coldly.
Shepard played back the message they received back to her, and the faces of all the women went ghastly white. “No...no! This is awful so many more men are going to be infected! We have to stop this! I’ll send ano-“ this time it was Valerie’s turn to be cut off.
“The planet was quarantined. No other crews are coming in...or out.” Javik informed. “So it’s either our gracious help, or nothing.”
After a moment of silence Valerie sighed. “Fine. But those masks and suits stay on alright?” Her demand was met by their nods.
Valerie led the group into the quaint colony, several women were seen running in and out of the sparse buildings but true to the welcoming party’s words there wasn’t a man to be found.
“I’m getting an awful feeling.” Jacob said. Kaiden, James and Wrex murmured their agreement.
“I was promised zombies.” Grunt huffed. Garrus let out a single laugh as they were led to a small building near the center of the colony.
“Ok I’m going to warn you...what you’re about to see isn’t for the faint of heart.” Valerie cautioned. After a deep breathe she opened the door and led the men inside. Within the home was a sight none of them would soon forget. A man with a gut the size of a queen sized mattress lay on his back, rolls of flesh oozed their way onto the floor, his appendages bloated to immense proportions, even his facial features seemed lost in his incredible bulk. Gasps, retches and surprise came from all the members of the group. It seemed all of the questions they had were clear even beneath all of their protective clothing because Valerie started explaining. “A few weeks ago a few of the men in the colony started to exhibit strange behaviors and curious symptoms. Our best researchers started trying to figure out what was wrong but by then the swelling had started. By the time the first victims had lost mobility all the other men were infected, we’re pretty sure the disease is airborne. We still aren’t sure why only the men were infected, our research has slowed since we lost the men of the research team. I’m not sure if you’ll even be of any help, but if there’s anything you can do I beg you to try. The...thing you see before you, I can scarcely call it a man anymore, is my father. And he’s one of the smallest men left in the colony.” Tears welled up in Valerie’s eyes.
“I’ll get started.” Mordin said after a small silence. His omnitool sprang to life as he rapidly typed on it and performed scan after scan. Several of the men walked out, needed a moment to themselves. Shepard, Garrus and Kaiden talked with Valerie some more.
Grunt stood fixated on the human in front of him. His pale skin was covered in bright red stripes, and his breathing was incredibly loud. The Krogan took a few steps toward the man before reaching out and pressing into his gut with his hand. It felt warm and soft with quite a lot of give to it. As he reached his other hand, a different hand quickly slapped the krogan’s hand off the victim’s body.
“Cease! Could get infected. Airborne is only a hypothesis, could be wrong. Be more careful.” Mordin quickly rambled off, despite talking to Grunt his eyes never left his Omnitool. Grunt muttered out a meek apology as he left the building.
Shorty thereafter Shepard’s party left as well leaving Mordin alone with the man turned blob of fat.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2025 ZapFat (UN: zapfat at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
BB42 has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author