A Geo Organic Organism

"Captain Park? Ginger is awake!" Rex's voice came through the coms.

"How is she?" Eun-Jin asked.

"Uh...Not clear," the only male member of the four person crew said. "You should probably judge for yourself."

"OK, I'll be right down," she agreed.

"Need me to come with?" Aliya asked.

"No, I'll call you if it gets weird," Eun-Jin told the xenobiologist. "The best thing you can do for Ginger is to figure out what that Geo-stuff is that ate through her containment suit and face."

"Geo Organic Organism," Aliya said. "It's made of complex biomolecules incorporating both carbon and silicon in a stoichiometric ratio."

"Can't we just call it GOO?" Eun-Jin asked.

"Not on offical reports sent back to corporate," Aliya said. "But among the crew, we'll call it whatever you want us to call it, Captain! Maritime law says you have absolute naming rights while we're sailing the Sea of Stars."

Eun-Jin rolled her eyes at her favorite crewmate and shook her head disapprovingly, then broke into a grin.

"The stuff is called GOO, then," she proclaimed. "Will it stay put in there?"

The captain indicated the ceramic container Rex had managed to scoop the thing into before dragging Ginger back into the lander.

"It doesn't seem capable of eating through it like it did Ginger's suit," Aliya said. "At least, not so far. But I'll keep it in a triple lock when I'm not actively working with it."

"Good call," the captain praised, then headed out of the lab and towards the infermary.

Eun-Jin resisted the urge to turn back and check out Aliya's ass. The Arabic xenobiologist was so damned hot. Sexual relations on mission was strictly prohibited on deep space missions for any employee of Tricom Extractive Industries, let alone between a captain and a crewmate, but as soon as their contract was fulfilled and they were back on earth, Eun-Jin was totally going to jump her bones.

But for now, she had to deal with something much less pleasant. She hoped enough of Ginger's face could be saved that the surgeons would have something to work with once they got her home.

She braced herself not to flinch at the sight of her disfigured subordinate and walked in.

All her determination not to react failed her. She gaped. Ginger was sitting up in the infirmary bed with a vague grin. Her face looked perfectly fine.