Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lime

Crewpostor (Impostor abilities but sides with the crew)

• Determined
• Protective, but wary of getting attached
• Hates loyal Impostors
• Acutely aware crewmates wouldn't hesitate to eject her

This character interview is set after Battle Scars.

What's your name?

I'm going by the name Lime. While it isn't my birth name, I'm more than happy to embrace it.

Which species do you belong to, and what gender and age are you?

*looks around warily* *hesitates*

*sighs* Please don't react hastily, okay? *hesitates some more before answering in a cautious tone* I'm an Impostor. I was born on Polus before its discovery by Mira's crews. I'm 36, and I'm female.

Do you have any relatives? Family, friends, …?

*clenches fists and answers through gritted teeth* My entire family's dead. They were executed as punishment for my brother surviving a failed mission. I only survived through luck.

*slumps* *traces shapes idly on the table with her finger* With recent events, I grew more attached to Red than I'd expected. I'm… still undecided whether I'll break the relationship when we arrive, for her own safety. Both sides would kill me without a second thought: my kind, because I'm a defector, and hers, because I'm an Impostor.

But other than her, no, I don't have any friends. My fellow renegades and I interact as little as possible to avoid attracting suspicion; and obviously, I can't get close to people who'd eject me if they ever discovered the truth about me.

What do people first notice about you physically?

Under my disguise, that I'm a lime colour. I mean, with the suits on, Mira's crewmates don't exactly look much different from one another.

In my native form, well, I'm an Impostor. Cue the huge mouth with razor-sharp teeth in the middle of my body, the clawed forelimbs, the tentacles and three pairs of eyes.

And personality-wise?

I suppose I appear reserved and cautious, perhaps even paranoid. Of course, you know why.

What are are your main abilities?

I'm an Impostor. I can shapeshift, which is how I have this form to begin with. I can also manifest part or all of my natural form, or even different shapes. It's very convenient to crawl through the narrow vents, though I normally avoid doing it. There's always a risk of being caught. *fidgets for a few seconds before going on*

Being an Impostor, I'm somewhat stronger than you'd expect, I don't need oxygen, and I can see perfectly well in the dark. *tenses and continues grimly* And of course, I can open my real mouth and… Well, we're predators. I can use my hunting tongue like a pike and pierce through most materials, including a person's visor and skull. *lowers her gaze in guilt, then sighs* I also still have my Impostor weapons, though I don't plan on using them.

Finally, I have a specially designed tablet that fully interacts with Mira's systems while having access to Impostor hacks. It allows me to be assigned and fulfil tasks like the rest of the crew, while also being able to sabotage the systems. I've only ever closed doors or sabotaged communications; even cutting the lights is too dangerous if there are other Impostors around.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

*bitter laugh* Daydreaming about peace, mostly. And while I wouldn't call it spare time, I often sneak to abandoned areas to supplement the meat I can afford to buy. Sewers may be the very opposite of appetising, rats and other vermin allow me to satiate my hunger.

What notable events happened in your past? What was your life like until now?

*sighs* It's a long story... I was born on Polus before Mira's people came. When the troubles began, many of us fled and hid within bigger Mira colonies, my family among them. And then, of course, the cataclysm happened and destroyed most life on Polus. Whether it had been caused by a terrorist attack or an accident, most of our surviving people blamed the invaders. It was only a matter of a few years before the hardliners became our underground government and scooped us all under their rule, and began their gruesome war.

At first, my family was lucky to be considered more useful as breeders, but eventually one of my brothers was sent on missions, and soon afterwards I was supposed to be as well. *continues in a hard, clipped voice* One day, my brother survived a failed mission, and that meant execution for himself and our entire family. I survived by sheer chance, because it happened just before I embarked on my target ship.

*shakes her head* Since the regime had no more hold on me, I didn't attack the crew, obviously. Still, I was nearly found out, but I pleaded my case as a stowaway. I'll be ever grateful to the man who helped me divert the ship to a refuelling station. I hope he didn't get condemned because of me.

Then after a few trips on different ships to throw my people off my scent, I settled in a colony. At first, I lived in slums among Mira's rejects. It was a shock, to be honest. Up until then, I'd believed Mira took care of all of the people under its rule. I survived by burgling butcher's shops and hunting vermin, and I slowly worked my way up society.

Eventually, I got a job at Mira, and as you might expect I often had to identify and expose Impostor agents. I never expected to meet other defectors until I caught two of my people exchanging documents instead of murdering a perfectly exposed victim. So instead of denouncing them, I confronted them in private, and I ended up joining their small resistance network.

Now, after our group has managed to secure top-secret documents from our leaders, I'm on my way to deliver them to Mira. If I succeed, we can bring down the regime, free my people, and end the war once and for all.

Anything else you want to add?

I'm so sorry. For everything.