Caleb grunted with exertion as he struggled yet again to gain enough leverage to pry open the sealed hatch. His communicator hissed and beeped, and the LT barked at him impatiently, "Caleb! Any luck? We figured out where the power tech we detected probably is, but it's going to be a bear to get access without you locating the the master control for these hatches."

"Not yet," Caleb replied with exasperation. "I'm still not sure which compartment I need and I'm having the same problem getting through these hatches... maybe worse, since it's just me trying to force them open. Could you send up someone else to help, or maybe spare some of the heavy cutters?"

The LT laughed as she squawked back, "You're on your own, Caleb. It's a complete shitshow down here with all this collapsed structure and debris in addition to the sealed bulkheads blocking our access. We're going to have a hell of a time dealing with all this so it would be GREAT if you could get right on restoring hatch control and make our jobs easier. Check in with an update in an hour," she concluded abruptly.

"Maybe I could restore hatch control faster if you sent someone up here to help me get through these sealed hatches!" Caleb muttered to himself bitterly. To him, the LT seemed to be the type of officer that demanded you impress her before she would trust you, but wouldn't give you what you needed to succeed if you hadn't already earned her trust. Trying to channel his frustrations into brute force, Caleb once again strained at the pry bar.

To his shock, the weakened metal of the hatch gave a loud "PRONG" noise and finally gave way, creaking open just wide enough for him to squeeze through. He peered into the compartment and tried to make out its contents. Not that they knew for sure what the aliens' version of a hatch control system would look like... other than discovering that the aliens also breathed an atmosphere and enjoyed temperatures very similar to Earth's and had really stubborn doors, humanity basically had no information about this mysterious species. Well, that and the fact that their tech seemed fairly comparable to humanity's and they were apparently around the same size as humans, given the scale of the hatches and furnishings. Oh and it was clear from a detailed sensor scan that they were no longer on the ship.

It was a little disconcerting to be on a mysterious abandoned ship with no idea why it had been abandoned, so LT's commentary about the extensive damage they had discovered actually made the situation seem less concerning (well, assuming that they shouldn't also be concerned about those damaged areas somehow taking out the whole ship. "I'm such a font of optimism!" Caleb thought to himself sarcastically).

Caleb's pessimism turned out to be warranted as he strained to decipher the function of the compartment he was now in. The dim emergency lighting did not help matters, but he increasingly doubted that this compartment would allow him to control the hatches. There seemed to be very few consoles, all of which were covered in a thick layer of ice crystals.

"That doesn't make sense," Caleb thought to himself. "The air in here is nowhere near freezing... why is there so much ice?" He moved closer to the consoles to feel the air near them just in case the consoles themselves were somehow refrigerated. Although he couldn't sense temperature well through his suit, with his helmet off he could tell that the air near the crystals was basically the same temperature as the rest of the compartment. "So that's probably not ice," he pondered. "But if it's not ice, what is it and how did it get here?"

As he stood next to the crystal-covered console and stared intently, he noticed that there were actually whisper-thin transparent tendrils scattered among the (not-ice) crystals. Surprisingly, when he exhaled near them, they seemed to ripple and wave in the air currents, despite looking like they were made of the same transparent material as the crystals. "How can they be so delicate and flexible if they're crystalline," he marveled. "Maybe this is some sort of new material." He continued staring at the waving tendrils, fascinated at how they seemed to be reacting to his steady breathing as the tendrils flowed back and forth.

As he continued staring at the glittering crystals and the undulating tendrils, Caleb became more and more engrossed. Honestly, after the stress and exertion and frustration of the mission so far, it felt nice to just focus on the beautiful tableau in front of him. As his fascination and rapt focus grew, part of his brain tried to warn him that he was neglecting his mission and that his inability to turn away was not normal, but those thoughts were increasingly washed away by an overwhelming sense of calm and fascination.

That fascination increased when some of the waving tendrils began extending themselves and stretching more thinly. When they fragmented into tiny hair-like fibers that drifted lightly in the air currents, he could not escape the conclusion that watching them while standing quietly and calmly was the Perfect Thing To Do. As the floating gossamer tendrils made contact with his head he was surprised at how warm and comforting he found their touch. As they began to slowly writhe across his face and then entered his ears and nose, he could only marvel at the warm and loving sensations they spread anywhere they touched him.

Drifting aimlessly as he reveled in their touch, he could feel the fine tendrils sliding gently into his brain, culminating moments later in a blossoming plume of warmth and love and control. As the warm alien presence coated and tinted more of his thoughts, he dimly realized that is was right and proper to express his gratitude by turning over control of his body to the crystals.

As his eyes began to glow and his now-dissociated hands unzipped his suit and began lovingly transferring crystals into it, the last vestige of Caleb's consciousness passively gave his approval: He knew the LT and rest of the crew would be endlessly grateful and impressed with his accomplishment. Discovering the crystal's love and warmth and control was the greatest possible outcome they could have achieved on this mission. When the boarding party returned to their frigate, their controlled bodies would be transporting a boarding party of their own... one they would share with everyone on the ship...and beyond.