Among Us: The Skeld

Chapter 1: An Imposter

Red leant forward and flicked the Receive Transmission switch. A hologram of Luke Edison, from the shoulders upwards appeared at the centre of the table.

It must be very serious if Luke himself is making the transmission. Mr. Edison, at only 29, is the Founder and Executive Director of AS-AO, short for Among the Stars - Astronomical Observation, a international agency which is somewhat similar to NASA.

Anyhow, Luke Edison's hologram turned to face Red, but not before I got a glimpse of the grim expression on his face. That alone worried me, for Luke was usually a very joyful guy.

"Greetings Commander Red. I'm afraid I have some rather alarming news to report. Is everyone present?"

Red pursed her lips, she too seemed to realise that something must be very wrong for Luke himself to be making this transmission.
"Greetings Director Edison. Yes, everyone is all accounted for and present."

Through the speaker we heard Luke give a small sigh, and he began to slowly rotate, steadily looking at each individual,
"Look... there's no easy way to say this. A member of HYDRA has snuck on board, posing as a crewmate. Though we have checked all systems and backgrounds down here on Earth, there is no way to tell who it is. Our intel tells us that this individual has insidious intentions. They plan to sabotage the mission... by any means necessary."

Around me, I could hear gasps and exclamations of fear, and we began to eye each other nervously. I myself could not believe it. Although I had ran through every possible scenario that could happen on this mission, never had the thought of a saboteur being among the crew ever occured to me.

After the uneasy murmurs had died down. Red leant forward, her voice sober,
"So... there is an Imposter Among Us."

Edison nodded gravely,
"Indeed."

At this, Yellow nervously raised his hand. Red nodded towards him, signalling that he may speak.
He swallowed, then timidly addressed Luke,
"So what are we meant to do? How will we find out who this Imposter is?"

Edison considered his question, then carefully responded,
"Well Yellow. I won't sugar-coat this. There are only two ways in which you can uncover the Imposter.
One. You must finish all of your tasks. After you do this, your Astrowatches will flash green, at which we can identify the imposter as the one who didn't complete any tasks whatsoever
Two. You investigate and figure out who the imposter is. Then lock them up."

Purple crossly spat,
"But how do we know when we've caught the bloody blighter?"

Luke's answer startled us all,
"You don't. You can have suspicions and lock the suspect in a small makeshift jail in the corner of Shields. But until you all complete your tasks, you cannot be completely certain as to the identity of the Imposter,"
he paused, then continued,
"both options are incredibly time-sensitive. Should you fail to stop them, it shall result in the mission's failure... and quite possibly your deaths by the Imposter's hand.
Based upon our intel, should the Imposter succeed, they plan to harvest the 72P-C² particle and return to Earth, either selling the particle for thousands of millions of dollars, or worse, reverse engineer it to make it into a bioweapon."

A stunned silence met this speech, and at last Commander Red spoke,
"This is bad news indeed, Director. Is there any other information you can tell us?"

"No Commander, nothing else for now, but we shall notify you immediately if we uncover any more information. Proceed with caution. Signing out."

His image fizzled out, and the air was filled with a hushed quiet.

At last Commander Red closed her eyes and let out an audible sigh, tipping her head back in exhausted exasperation.

Orange cautiously queried,
"Whateva are we gonna do now?"

Commander Red straightened herself and her features molded into determination.
"The only thing we can do. Complete our tasks as quickly as possible and, whilst doing so, keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour, or any apparent faking of tasks. No matter how trivial something seems, report it."

She tapped the panel at the centre of the table, and a big red button labelled EMERGENCY MEETING appeared,
"I am indeed sorrowful that such a device is necessary so soon after launching."

She looked up at the crew,
"Even if you think it is of no importance, if you see something suspicious, still bring it up, because every little detail will help. Now go and complete your tasks as quickly as possible. But first..."
she lifted her hand and tapped the side of her helmet, "turn on comms."
We all mimicked her action and heard our Astrocomms turn on.

Through our helmets we heard her voice,
"Now go and be as quick and cautious as possible."