"But, Captain... the parasite." He realized that they had gotten into a very dangerous situation. If these raiders managed to get infected and carried it to other planets... a good portion of humanity could be wiped out. He quickly snatched up the blood sample from the floor and rushed it to the make-shift lab to get the processing started so that it could be analyzed quickly once the problem at hand was dealt with. With the sample cooking he hurried into the other room to find a weapon to prepare to defend them. Normally it was against his programming to harm a human, but there were some cases in which he could act, and this was one of them. Still, he would try to resolve it peacefully until he was left with no other choice.
He paused mid crawl and glanced at the intercom, about to get up and answer when he saw a motion out of the corner of his eye disappear behind a crate in the far back of the cargo hold. By the time he managed to get around the crates he only found an open grate that led into the ventilation systems. Out of the frying pan and into the fire as the humans so liked to phrase it. There was no way he was going to fit into the ventilation system as big as he was. He would need to find an alternative. Standing he hurried over towards intercom. "Captain, I'm afraid the creature's cage was damaged in the collision. It has escaped into the ventilation."
He'd just leaned in to take the sample when the collision happened, sending him arse over end. It took a moment for his sensors to adjust to the fact that he was very much upside down, most of his weight on his shoulders and neck -which would likely have broken any human neck- and he had to tilt his head to take in the scene before him. He stared at the very open cage door and the very missing creature before inhaling sharply. "Oh dear. David is going to be very upset with me." He managed to right himself after some effort and then carefully began to search through the cargo. "Where've you gone?"
"Protecting humanity is my primary directive. I'll always look out for you, Captain." He turned towards the med kit to gather the things he would need to take the blood sample and get it analyzed. The creature didn't exactly look thrilled to be locked away and even less thrilled when it took a prick from the syringe, but he made it as quick and painless as possible for it before taking the sample to the lab. Now he would see what properties he could recognize in the blood of the creature and if the UC was telling the truth about what it could do.
using this site
"My damage is only cosmetic, captain. I'm afraid we have bigger problems." He didn't think that there was any gentle way to put this, so he needed to just say it. "The creature is pregnant." He feared that it might lay eggs somewhere within the ship if it hadn't already done so and if that was the case then the ship was already contaminated. Finding them in the vents would be extremely difficult. Especially considering most of their equipment was destroyed in that blast.
"I apologize for the damage to the ship, but it was too dangerous to lay down arms. If they learned about the creature's condition they would have taken advantage of it." He was glad that they had at least not gotten any of the creatures spawn. If they had taken that and spread it from port to port who knew what would happen to the galaxy. How much death it could have caused.
He made sure to get a good hold for the jump and made it through just fine, although it was still a little rough and he didn't know exactly how a human body might have done in his position. Not well he suspected. Once they seemed to have made the jump he hoped that they might be able to get a handle on the problems that they were facing. The parasite was going to have to wait. He needed to see what he could do about the broken comms, the giant hole in the ship and maybe clean up detail with the mess those bodies left behind. His main concern was still the parasite, but he had no hope of gaining an advantage over it here and it was probably somewhere securely within the vents by now.
"As you say, Captain." He couched in front of the crate and observed carefully the creature within. "If we're on the subject then may I ask the question - are you quite comfortable with the idea that the UC may use this creature as a Xenoweapon?" He thought that it was worth mentioning. It wasn't ethical at all, but that didn't stop humans from doing such things. It never ceased to be odd to him the lengths humans would go to simply to kill one another. Overly complicated means at that. One might call it clever, but he thought that it was a waste to kill non-combatants.
"Not at all, Captain. You needn't explain yourself to machinery." He folded his hands behind his back and observed the creature carefully. Of course, it didn't exactly surprise him that the UC would be interested in such a dangerous creature. "I rather find it fascinating."
He thought he may as well stay in the cargo bay with the creature just to be certain. After all it was much safer if he was the one to do it... the creature would undoubtedly be able to sense he was not the usual target as much as he may look the part and leave him be. "I wouldn't recommend it, Captain. If a ship picks it up it could spell disaster. Not only for the ship, but for any planet it lands upon. Some parasites can go into stasis for years until something warm blooded comes along."
"Ah, sorry, Captain. According to protocol the only response I'm allowed is, 'of course you can trust your government'." His face was blank, but he still sighed. He of course knew exactly what they might do with such a creature. Perhaps they were being honest, but it was hard to say. He had worked with the Xeno Science division before they had tossed him out insisting that he was a 'malfunctioning' piece of equipment when he questioned the ethics. It was how he had managed to get bounced around so much from place to place. "I'll keep an eye on the creature until then." He may not be able to do much when the UC got it, but for the time being he could keep it secure.
"As you say, Captain." He couched in front of the crate and observed carefully the creature within. "If we're on the subject then may I ask the question - are you quite comfortable with the idea that the UC may use this creature as a Xenoweapon?" He thought that it was worth mentioning. It wasn't ethical at all, but that didn't stop humans from doing such things. It never ceased to be odd to him the lengths humans would go to simply to kill one another. Overly complicated means at that. One might call it clever, but he thought that it was a waste to kill non-combatants.