In Space, We Don't Abandon Innocence

by David Silver

32 - Can We Keep It?

With a heavy thump, a crewmember set down a full bin. "If I never see another branch, alien or not, in my life."

Another nudged them with a laugh. "Says the botany major."

"Hey, this job has its perks, but some parts aren't so great." They peered into the bin they had carried back. "Three more bins like this and the shuttle's at capacity. How's it looking out there?"

"Busy." The second crewmember cast a glance outside the shuttle. "They're all coming back with plenty. There might be enough biomass here to last us for years!"

The first raised a hand to the side of their visor just in time for a heavy thump to have them both wobbling in place. "Whoa!" They stumbled against a wall as the shuttle righted itself. "That felt like it came from outside. What happened?"

The second poked their head out. "Uh oh, Harriet's running and I don't like what's behind her."

They spotted Harriet's approach. She glanced over her shoulder before doubling down on speed. Something flapped loudly behind her, thrashing its wings violently. With a mighty lunge, it came down just in front of her and swerved in place to face her. It was something akin to an especially irate dodo, its beak gleaming in the light.

It chittered angrily at Harriet, rearing up and letting out a loud warble.

Harriet yelped and jumped back, trying to scramble away from the creature.

The second crewmember sprang into action, leaping off the shuttle's edge and charging towards Harriet. He fished out his universal tool and quickly dialed it to the use he wanted. "Get down!"

She followed his lead, dropping into a prone position with her arms over her head.

He leaped over her, bringing the wrench down on the dodo's head. It screamed as he clobbered it, falling to the side in a twitching heap.

The first crewmember was on it a moment later, joining in bludgeoning the thing until it stopped so much as twitching.

"It's dead." They kicked the creature for good measure. "I think we're okay."

The second crouched by Harriet. "You okay?"

She shook where she sat, but did accept the offered hand. "I was looking for material when that thing just jumped at me. It was like it tore the hill it was under apart along the way."

The first nodded. "Was that the thump we felt? Well, it wasn't so bad once we laid into it."

The second laughed. "Like most animals, they don't like it when you start fighting back."

Harriet gave a nervous chuckle as she ran a hand over her visored face. "That's good to know."

The second helped Harriet back to her feet. "C'mon, I'll walk you back to the shuttle."

She held up a hand. "Hold on. It got mad for a reason. What was it guarding? We should really have a look. It could be important."

The second scratched at the back of their neck. "Probably not worth it. You look a little shaken up, and we've still got some space in the shuttles."

Harriet offered a thumbs up. "I'm okay now. It just really rattled me." She glanced at the beaten bird-like creature. "Hope that was the only one of those around here." Not daunted, she jogged back where she had just run away from.

She looked around until she spotted something that wasn't covered in dirt. It appeared to be an egg of some sort. "Jackpot." She lifted it carefully, cradling it against her body as she started the walk back.

Fluttershy appeared on the inside of her visor. "An alien egg! How amazing. How spectacular. I'd love to have a look at it, but I doubt the captain will let you bring it back."

Harriet leaned her head to one side with a little groan. "Why not?"

Fluttershy let out a sad sigh. "It's an alien. It's covered in alien pathogens. It has an alien mind. Humans took a big risk allowing us ponies to join them, those years ago. Can the ship afford the same now? I'm not sure he'll say yes."

Harriet stood up proudly. "But I think he'll want to see it! Besides, it's an egg. The chances it can infect the crew with anything is pretty small." She laughed softly. Hurrying a little faster, she rejoined the others as the were putting in the last of the bins. She put the egg on top of one of the bins and began securing it for the trip. "Captain?"

Roger's voice came crisply through the intercom, "Harriet, everything alright? Ready to come back?"

She bobbed her head happily. "I'm fine. Here." She handed over the egg. "Look what I found."

There was a pause. "Is that an egg?"

She held up both hands in triumph. "I couldn't just leave it behind! Besides, I really want to know what comes out of it!"

"Is that the creature that was just chasing you?" Roger sighed audibly over the line. "And now you want to adopt it?"

"Please?" Harriet pet the egg gently. "It was my fault for surprising its mom like that. It was just trying to keep its egg safe."

"Which it will not be if you take it away from its planet." Roger went quiet a few moments. "It will have to be thoroughly examined and scrubbed for any potentially hazardous materials. Put it with the bins and stop touching it. You'll need to be scrubbed, along with your suit, when you get back."

Harriet squealed in delight. "Yes, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" She resumed packing everything up with a renewed vigor.

"You'd think she wasn't risking her life or limb with how happy she is." Roger sat back in his chair with a little smile. "There are good odds that egg won't survive." He didn't inform her of that. "Let's get those shuttles back on the ship."

One by one, the shuttles began to rise back into the sky, levitating under their own power towards the mothership. The final craft docked and disgorged its contents. Harriet walked by herself, a smile on her face. "Be careful with that egg," she called back into the shuttle as she jogged towards decontamination.

After being stripped and scrubbed, she felt fresh and clean, if tired. "Can I see the egg now?" She received no answer. With a faint groan, she put on her uniform and left the area.

Both of her moms were glad to see her, pinning her in a hug between Sunset and Susan. She laughed, fighting them without much real vigor. "Good to see you both too."

Sunset loosened her grip. "We're proud of you, but what were you thinking? You could have been hurt!"

Susan gave a gentle swat to Sunset's shoulder. "What she means is, we were worried about you."

"I'm fine, really." Harriet did a twirl in place. "And I finished my first official mission without losing anything or making anything explode."

Sunset groaned softly. "Explosions are way more common than they should be."

Susan elbowed Sunset. "Stop that! We're both very proud of you."

Harriet beamed at the mutual pride her parents gave. "Thank you! I appreciate it. You taught me so much, and I just wanted to make you proud." She tipped her head at them with a faint smile. "Did you hear about the egg?"

Sunset brightened up. "The dragon one? It's going to hatch soon." She tapped a finger to Harriet's forehead. "You were there when it was made, after all."

Susan cocked her head. "I'd love to see it happen, but they're being careful with it. I bet Dawning Star would only let you near it, Harriet."

"That's nice of her, but I actually meant a different egg." She tapped at buttons in the air, conjuring a picture of the egg she'd found on the planet. "Pretty sure it belongs to a bird."

Sunset considered the picture. "It looks really different from a dragon egg."

Harriet adjusted her visor. "Really? How do you know?"

Sunset flicked her tail at the air. "Smaller, and under a lot less heat lamps. Was it by any heat when you found it?"

Harriet sighed at that. "Only its mother, and we made that less warm."

Sunset flicked her tail at that. "That's what I thought. Dragon eggs need to be pretty hot, or they'll be duds. I read about that." She considered. "Actually, Fluttershy has seen an egg hatch, I think. You could ask her about it."

Susan touched her fingertips together lightly. "I have not seen a dragon egg hatch." She made a gentle shooing motion. "Fluttershy's a better option for answers by far."

Harriet wiggled in place. "You're right! I know just where to find her." She took off running.

Sunset and Susan both waved as she left. "So, want to get back to work?" Sunset offered Susan a hoof.

Susan took it with a smile. "Of course. Not sure if I mentioned it today, but work is so much better with a close friend to do it with."

---

Harriet raced towards the medical bays, passing through with a wave at Nurse Redheart. She trotted into the room with the dragon egg, still as a rock on its perch. "Hi, Dawning Star."

Dawning Star stood near the egg, pointing her horn at it. "Hey." She slid to her feet. "Welcome back. You look like you made it in one piece."

Harriet nodded happily. "Yeah, I did. Hey, uh, are you making sure the egg stays warm?"

Dawning Star chuckled at that. "The heat bulb hasn't turned off." She reached up to tap at the hot element that kept the area toasty and warm. "I think they like it."

Harriet rubbed at her arms in the heat. "No kidding." She stepped closer to the egg with a broad smile. "Any sign of hatching?"

Dawning Star shook her head. "No more than before. It jumps once in a while, but it did that when I brought it here. You?"

"I got my own! I came to talk to Fluttershy about that." Harrier turned in place. "See her?"

Dawning Star nudged Harriet. "Fluttershy's not the type to abandon an egg she has a responsibility to. Besides, we could use another dragon to join our little crew."

Harriet laughed tensely. "It's not exactly a dragon." She held out her hands to show its size, a little smaller than the dragon egg.

Dawning blinked at that. "Not a dragon? Humans don't lay eggs. Pretty sure ponies don't either. What else coulda laid an egg?!"

Harriet laughed, waving off the question. "It's from an alien planet. Pretty sure I met its mom. Looked like a kind of bird. They didn't fly, the little time I saw her. She was kind of mad. We had to kill her to make her stop attacking us." She looked at the floor. "I would have let her go, but it didn't want to let me go."

Dawning leaned in closer to Harriet. "Oh." She slipped her arms around Harriet, hugging her. "Didn't want to do that, huh? That sucks." She rocked with her human peer. "Sorry. Um, but you got an egg?"

Harriet brightened up at that. "Oh! I did! Did you see them bring it in?" She turned away from Dawning Star to search the medical bay for the egg, but there was no sign of any save Dawning's. "Where'd they put it?!"

Dawning shrugged lightly. "No idea. They're probably going over it. It's not safe yet, or that's what Fluttershy told me."

Harriet flopped against Dawning Star with a groan. "That figures."

Fluttershy suddenly appeared. "How can I—" She caught herself short. "Harriet! I was hoping to talk to you."

Harriet cheered at the sight of Fluttershy. "Hi!"

Fluttershy offered a smile in return. "Hi! First, are you okay? I was watching the mission as closely as I could, but we were lucky that thing didn't get you."

Harriet shrugged at that. "I'm okay, really. It scared me way more than it hurt me, which it didn't. We hurt it a lot more." She cringed at the memory of the sound beating the alien bird had gotten. "Where's the egg?"

Fluttershy gave a nervous chuckle. "It's in the animal lab. That isn't here. Would you like to see it? I did want to introduce you to the other animals. They're from all the way back on Earth, and I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you."

Harriet pumped her fists at that. "Yeah! How many animals do you have?"

Fluttershy hummed at that, thinking on the number. "Almost twenty, not counting myself." She paused. "Oh, and not counting the egg you brought. It seems to be healthy, as far as I can tell. It has a little pulse, and isn't showing any signs of injury so far."

Dawning Star smiled as she listened to the conversation. "You know, it'd be good for it to be around others of its kind, even if it's an alien."

Fluttershy cleared her throat. "We don't have any others of its kind, unfortunately. This little chick is going to have to get used to being around other creatures, if we're keeping it."

Harriet reached out with both hands at that. "Oh please, let's keep it!"

Dawning laughed at Harriet's eagerness. "Easy there, cowgirl. You were almost killed by a bird earlier, and now you want to adopt its chick?"

Harriet glared at Dawning, but her smile was back in time for Fluttershy. "Let's see the egg, and your animal friends. I'd like to say hello to each and every one of them."

Author's Note:

Would you dare to try to keep an alien murder dodo?

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

Omnitool, can be any of a thousand useful devices.

Imeediate response? Newton is the meanest SOB.

Really hope that planet wasnt someones nature preserve of extinct animals.

[BestinDworld]

Awww sunset is now a grandma

Also if that egg turns out to be a xenomorph

I’m gonna laugh

[Okie Brony]

Would you dare to try to keep an alien murder dodo?

Well, when you put it that way, I'd say "Nope."

Suddenly, a wild Murder Dodo appears! Crewmember #2 uses "Hit it with a wrench." It's super effective!