I see what you did there. [OPEN]

[mformonarch]

WHO: The Monarch and anyone who happens to see him standing in the hallway with a remote or runs into the butterfly camera
WHAT: Reconnaissance
WHEN: Saturday
WHERE: In the halls

Comments

[breakpattern]

Hotch didn't waste any time in starting to explore the space station. If that was what it was. He had to admit, this wasn't exactly according to his expectations. If what had taken him, duplicated him, was an alien, the environment should be water, shouldn't it? It made sense that they would eventually come to claim those they turned, but it didn't make sense that they'd do so without explanation.

Unless there was a greater purpose. Or unless they wanted the purpose to be discovered, not told.

Regardless, the only way to continue was to move forward. Gather information, make conclusions, take action. It was the way he'd always --

-- was that a butterfly?

Hotch watched the strange, fluttering, completely out-of-place creature, for a moment, as it made its way up the hall towards him.

King of the butterflies, huh?

Well, Hotch was an alien that could survive underwater. Stranger things.

Reaching out, Hotch caught the butterfly between his thumb and forefinger.

[mformonarch]

Oh, what was this? Someone spotted the- Well, of course someone spotted it. It's a butterfly on a space station.

He fiddled with the controls. He knew one of the buttons should release an electric shock if he-

Oh. No weapons. "I hate this place."

He sighed. Evasive maneuvers it was, then. Driving the joysticks in extreme directions, he hoped to force the butterfly-cam out of the grip of who or whatever had grabbed it.

[breakpattern]

The butterfly struggled to be released, and Hotch let it go, watching it flutter a couple of feet away. There was no reason a space station wouldn't have animal life, plants, insects. It might even help maintain an oxygen environment.

But then, what did Hotch know about space stations?

Absolutely nothing.

And so he paused, watching the butterfly. If there were plants, it would probably return to them.

[mformonarch]

The Monarch guided the somewhat less functional surveillance butterfly back down the hallway towards him. He'd have to perform repairs, if only to keep himself from going mad with boredom.

[breakpattern]

Hotch followed.

It wasn't as though butterflies moved particularly fast, and with his current level of fitness, he could probably keep up this pace indefinitely. Turned out that being on the run made you leaner, stronger.

[mformonarch]

Boredom set in prematurely. A few swift twists of the controls and the butterfly did an expert loop-de-loop. As it cam over the top of the curve, the camera revealed the otherwise hidden hanger-on.

"What have we here?" The Monarch allowed a slow grin to creep across his face. This could be fun.

He sent the insect into a sudden left turn, and without warning it whizzed around the man, back in the other direction.

[breakpattern]

Hotch paused.

Something about that movement hadn't seemed precisely natural. It was as though --

He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. The corridor was visible for a long way in either direction. He could observe.

[mformonarch]

The Monarch guided the small craft down the hall, looking for the nearest turn and when one came up, he veered sharply towards it. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure where the damn thing had gotten to. He looked around him, noticing the door numbers for the first time. 432, 434, 436.

He spun the toggles and sent the butterfly past the walls at such an angle that he could catch a glimpse of what numbers it was passing. 145, 147, 149. He wasn't aware of how the station was laid out, but hopefully heading up was a good sign.