Location: "Alien Ruin"
Character: "Infected Apprentice"
Misty alien planet. An enormous spaceship, half-buried in a bog. Headlights of a planetary rover, tiny by comparison, illuminate the entrance.
Inside the ancient hallways of the ship, two astronauts in space suits. The younger one is dying in the older one's arms.
"I'm sorry, captain," the younger one coughs, "I guess I won't get to complete our mission. Tell Monica I love her."
"Don't you dare say that, Charlie! You'll tell her yourself! We just need to get this thing off of you."
Both look at a creepy alien parasite wrapped around Charlie's arm, it has bit through his suit and is sucking the life out of him.
Premise prompt: Inappropriate things to say or do in this situation.
The captain reaches with his pocket knife to detach the snake, but Charlie stops his hand.
"Captain... Captain, I have to tell you something. Don't harm the snake."
"What? What are you talking about!"
"This snake is a part of nature, it's beautiful. We can't come to this planet and disrupt the natural order."
"Charlie, you've lost too much blood, you're not making sense. This is an alien monster, it belongs in a nightmare, not nature!"
Charlie summons his remaining strength, grabs the captain, and pulls him in to stare deep into his eyes.
"My fate is sealed, I may be dying, but I won't be responsible for killing the snake. What if we drive this beautiful species to extinction?"
"We both have seen the pools swarming with these things, Charlie! There's more of them than there is of anything in the galaxy."
"Yes, captain! And every single one is beautiful and unique! Look at this one's suckers! I bet there isn't a single space snake in the world with the suckers just like these!"
"It is a disgusting abomination! If there was ever a scientific proof that there's no God, this is it!"
"You don't get it. Everything has its place in nature. The snake is perfectly adapted to its environment. Look, I can already feel it gnawing on my bone and trying to suck out my bone marrow. How did this little guy even know how to do that?"
The captain throws up. Charlie continues adoring the snake.
"Who's my little perfect killing machine! Who holds my arm in its slimy death grip? You are, yes you are!"
"Kid, you're nuts. But I will honor your last wish, I will protect this snake with my life."
"Thank you, captain."
Charlie coughs once more, and slowly closes his eyes, for the last time.
"Ah, the circle of life," the captain tears up, and takes the well-fed snake back to the rover.
