The Strange Passenger
[Stop.]
The aftermath of that single word was monumental. The suffocating tension that had filled the space just moments ago—a deadly struggle with an unknown monster—vanished like a lie. In its place came a breathless silence.
“……”
I stood there in a daze. My hand still gripped the humming vibro-knife, but I couldn't even think of swinging it. The scene before me didn't feel real at all.
The massive white monster that had been rampaging to kill me moments ago, the one that had tried to devour Eve—that grotesque beast was now flattened against the floor. Like a fanatic prostrating before a god, or an animal rolling over in submission to its master.
Its body trembled, but the emotion in its eyes wasn't fear—it was closer to awe. Dozens of eyeballs soon bowed toward the floor.
And standing before it was a small shadow. Eve.
She was drenched in the monster's slimy secretions, but it didn't seem dirty. In that moment, she exuded the unmistakable aura of absolute authority, making it clear who truly owned this stinking cargo hold.
But that overwhelming presence lasted only an instant.
“Ugh……”
The red flash in Eve's eyes faded. Her abyss-deep crimson pupils returned to the clear, transparent red I knew. At the same time, her body swayed as if a taut string had snapped.
“Ah…”
A faint murmur escaped her lips. It was hard to believe this weak voice came from the same being that had just issued a command capable of tearing space apart.
Thud.
Eve's knees buckled.
“Eve!”
I launched myself forward on instinct, sliding across the floor to catch her just before she hit the deck.
“You okay?! Can you hear me?!”
The Eve in my arms went limp. Her body temperature was abnormally high—like a kid burning with fever, hot as a coal.
This sudden symptom had to be connected to the shift in her demeanor moments ago, but I had no idea what the exact cause was.
“Kal… I'm… hungry.”
Eve buried her face in my chest and smiled faintly.
“Jeez… you.”
Seeing that defenseless smile, my pounding heart finally began to calm. Yeah. This was Eve. I had a million questions about what just happened, but in the end, she was still the little one who needed me.
I adjusted my hold on her and slowly lifted my head. At the end of my gaze was the white blob still prostrated on the floor.
> […….]
The monster—no, the xenoform. It wasn't in any Federation database, but the malice and resentment it had shown earlier marked it as one for sure.
It didn't dare lift its head, rolling its dozens of eyes to steal glances at me and Eve. The emotions in those eyes were complex—I couldn't read its thoughts fully.
I just held Eve tight with one arm and readjusted my grip on the vibro-knife with the other.
“Xenoforms have to die.”
My voice was ice-cold. Whether it was staying still now or watching Eve's mood didn't matter. Xenoforms weren't creatures you could negotiate or reason with.
Over a century of war, the Federation had considered coexistence or a truce. But in the end, xenoforms were amalgamations of endless murderous hatred toward the Federation.
“Gotta kill it.”
I cranked the knife's output to maximum. For whatever reason, it had stopped moving. This was my chance.
I couldn't throw grenades earlier because Eve was inside it, but now I could blast off a chunk, find the core, and stab it.
The moment I took a menacing step forward.
> [……grrr.]
Spikes bristled from part of its body like thorns. It was on guard against me.
But it didn't attack. The difference from before? Eve was in my arms.
What the hell is Eve, anyway?
Its killing intent was aimed at me, but beneath that, there was an intent to protect Eve.
I shoved the thought from my mind. Xenoforms didn't have protective instincts. They were just disasters that ate, multiplied, and destroyed.
“Don't make me think twice, monster. Just die.”
I was about to grab a grenade from my suit when—
“……No.”
A small hand tugged at my collar. Eve.
“Eve?”
She struggled to open her eyes and look up at me. Sweat-matted hair clung to her forehead.
“Don't kill it… Kal.”
“What? Snap out of it, Eve. That thing tried to eat you! Didn't you see? It was swallowing you!”
“No…”
Eve shook her head.
“It didn't eat me… It hid me.”
“Hid you? What're you talking about?”
“Nahibi… was protecting me. Thought you… were the bad guy…”
Eve's gaze flicked between the knife in my hand and the prostrated monster.
“Friend… my friend…”
“Friend? Don't be ridiculous, Eve. That's humanity's enemy.”
I stated it firmly. But Eve's eyes didn't waver.
“Kal.”
She gripped my hand tight.
“Believe me. Nahibi's nice. Didn't hurt me. For real.”
That desperate voice. Those eyes holding the world's purest trust.
I bit my lip. My grip tightened on the knife.
Logically, I should stab now. It was a xenoform. The kind that had torn apart and devoured my comrades over the last decade. It could reveal its true nature and eat us anytime.
But.
Eve was saying this. The one person I'd opened my heart to was defending the monster.
I glared at it. It remained flattened, unmoving. No will to resist—or maybe Eve's command still held.
……Damn it.
I let out a long sigh and powered down the knife.
“……Explain.”
I backed away with Eve in my arms, putting distance between us.
“What the hell it's saying. You translate.”
My words barely landed before the monster—no, Nahibi's body rippled. Fine vibrations stirred on its surface.
> […….]
Eve nodded as if listening intently.
“Nahibi says… sorry.”
“Sorry? To who?”
“To me.”
Eve mumbled.
“Not sorry to you. Says you're… an enemy to rip apart…”
“This little—”
I reached for the knife again, but Eve grabbed my arm in panic.
“No! No! It said more! A little sorry to you too! Sorry for the misunderstanding!”
Obvious lie. No way that thing felt sorry for me. Those rolling eyes screamed it wanted to devour me right now.
“Keep going. What is it? Why's it here?”
Eve looked back at Nahibi. Its tentacles twitched like sign language or sending telepathy.
“Um… Nahibi… lost its mom in the war long ago.”
“Mom?”
“Yeah. Nariant? That's its mom. It was sleeping here… heard me calling.”
“You called it?”
“Yeah. Heard my heartbeat. Came to protect me.”
My mind went cold as I processed her words. My instincts, honed from killing countless xenoforms, told me this thing was at least an upper form. And it came because Eve called? To protect her?
I wanted to dismiss it as bullshit, but Eve wasn't lying—and it had obeyed her command absolutely.
So what was Eve, who could summon and command xenoforms? Not just an Industries experiment…?
What was I missing?
A being that could call, dominate, command xenoforms. My mouth went dry. The deeper I thought, the more chills ran down my spine.
Was this little kid in my arms really Eve?
My soldier's instincts screamed: Kill her now. Or at least take out the slime and hand Eve to the Federation. For humanity's sake.
But.
“Kal…?”
Eve looked up with worried eyes. My hardened expression scared her.
“What's wrong…? Did I say something bad…?”
Her tiny hand clutched my clothes.
That small hand. Last night, gripping my finger tight even in sleep. The face smiling at me. The whiny voice over bad cake. The teary eyes bandaging my wounds.
Was it all fake? Could I deny our bond just because she might be a monster?
……No.
I shook my head. Eve had always been a monster kid to me. Truth didn't matter. Even if she was a real monster, right now she was just a scared little girl in my arms.
And I'd already chosen. To protect this warmth.
The door to truth was cracking open, but I forced it shut. Don't dig deeper. Knowing might make it irreversible.
Pretend you don't know. That's the way for both of us to survive.
“……Nah.”
I softened my stiff face and forced a grin.
“Nothing. Just… that thing's so ugly, it startled me.”
“Heehee, yeah? I like it all squishy like my plush kitty!”
Eve burst into relieved laughter.
I turned back to Nahibi. It was still glaring, but the blind killing intent was gone.
It had noticed too. That I wouldn't harm Eve. And that Eve trusted me.
A bizarre standoff. Human, xenoform, and the existence between them: Eve. Natural enemies who should kill each other, bound under Eve as the center.
“Haa……”
I sighed deeply and holstered the knife in my thigh pouch.
“Fine. Truce.”
I set Eve down. She wobbled but clung to my leg to stand.
“Eve, translate.”
“Okay!”
I crossed my arms, looking down at Nahibi, and declared.
“One: No wandering my ship without permission. Especially stay the hell away from the engine room and cockpit. If I catch you, I'll roast you for real.”
Eve relayed it mumblingly. Nahibi's body sloshed in discontent but soon wiggled a tentacle in agreement.
“Two: Eat only what I give you. If there's no ship rations, I'll rip out your guts to feed you. Got it?”
> […….]
“And last, three.”
I put force into my voice.
“Stay out of my sight. Hole up in the vents if you can. Seeing you kills my appetite.”
Pure insult. Nahibi stayed prostrated meekly. It wanted to tear me apart, but since Eve had chosen me, it swallowed the humiliation for her authority and submitted.
> [……grrrk.]
Nahibi growled low and retreated. It flowed away, reverting to white slime form, seeping into a dark corner crevice of the cargo hold.
Just before vanishing, its red eyes met mine one last time.
Just you wait.
That's what it seemed to say. I answered with my glare.
Try anything, and you're dead.
With the monster gone, tension finally drained from me.
“Kal!”
Eve beamed and grabbed my hand.
“Nahibi says okay! It'll listen to you good!”
“……Yeah. Hope it does.”
I ruffled her hair. Sweat and slime had matted it, but it didn't feel gross.
“C'mon. Time to wash up. You'll make another mess.”
“Heehee, wash together!”
“I said no!”
I scooped her up and left the cargo hold. Glancing back at the closing door, I swallowed a bitter smile.
On this ship, I was the only human. Cargo hold had a man-eater. And in my arms? Their precious monster?
Somehow, my crew was a worse combo than I could've imagined.
But what could I do? Dice were rolled. We were in the same boat.
Thus began this bizarre and dangerous cohabitation.