Icarus and Adem continued moving throughout the ship, Adem's cautious eyes darting this way and that. Icarus, trying desperately to get the image of the slaughtered sailor out of his head, turned to Adem.
"You never answered my question," he said to the alien. "What kills a man like that?"
"Myself, I have encountered several things that can kill like that," Adem said, almost off-handedly. "Some even more deadly. None, however, hear that... smell."
Icarus sniffed the air. "You're right..." he muttered to himself. "What is that?"
"I can't say," Adem said. "It is, however, beginning to get stronger as we continue along this course."
Icarus reached down and pulled his firearm from his side. He shot a glance over at Adem. "You know, if you've got a weapon, now would be a good time to pull it out..."
"I'll be fine," Adem said as the two continued along. As they walked, the smell grew stronger and more defined.
"Geez," Icarus muttered, grimacing furiously. "It's like onions and ozone..."
"Sulfur," Adem said knowingly. "There's a faint hint of sulfur..."
Turning the corner, Adem and Icarus came face-to-face with a mound of brown fecal matter.
"Oh my..." Icarus turned around, heaving his breakfast on the floor behind him. Adem, in the meantime, studied the shit with a wary eye.
"This," he said, pointing at the mound that took up the better part of the corridor, "likely came from whatever killed the first mate."
"So?" Icarus said, wiping his mouth. "It's a pile of shit! We've gotta find a way to go around it."
"No," Adem said as his nanites formed a latex glove on his arm. "We look for clues."
And, with that, Adem plunged his hand into the mass, searching for anything helpful he could find.
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Icarus choked. "...again..."
