“Wait a minute!” Lee said, suddenly shooting forward in his chair. “Lieutenant Tay! What’s happening?!”
Alison and Chris glanced at each other in surprise. They couldn’t believe they forgot to tell him.
“Ohhh, Lee.” Alison grinned. “You’ve come at a really exciting time.”
108
Even after hearing the news, Lee could barely believe his eyes when he walked into the lab and saw Elgin Tay sitting in one of the chairs. His splinted leg lay outstretched in front of him and extended under one of the metal tables.
Surrounding him were some of the engineering team, the two SEALs Lee had met previously, Captain Emerson, and Executive Officer Harris.
The group stood behind Tay in a semicircle, all of them peering at a single monitor.
Emerson and Harris were the only two to notice when Lee entered with Alison and Chris. The captain nodded briefly at Lee before turning back.
“Wow. Look at that,” Smitty said.
Ackerman stared intently at the screen from under a furrowed brow. “In…credible.”
In front, Tay nodded his agreement and zoomed in on the picture. Displayed there was one of the gray walls he had seen, its strange etchings filling the entire frame. “These seem to be controls,” he said. “At least some of them. And these right here,” he pointed to several symbols, “may be words.”
“Wow.”
“The rest of the surface is flush. Smooth, with no edges or openings. At least none that I could find.” He moved to another image. “And look at this.”
The small room fell silent. In the picture, Tay was reaching out with one hand and pressing his fingertips against one of the gray walls. His headlamp appeared to be turned away, allowing some of the green glow to be seen.
Within the glimmer were lines resembling circuitry.
“Whoa.”
Tay nodded. “The whole inside is like that. Circuits, not just embedded but part of the material itself. Even the floors.”
“And the ceiling?”
Tay frowned, “I couldn’t reach it.”
“Now what are those?”
“Chairs, I think.”
Everyone in the room seemed to simultaneously ponder the same thing. If those were chairs, then what did those aliens actually look like?
Another picture.
“I think this is the bridge. Or something like it. You can see my flash against the clear window in the background. And more chairs here.”
“They look different.”
“They’re tilted more.”
“What do they feel like?”
“On the outside, like hard plastic or something similar,” Tay answered. “Inside where you’d sit, it’s softer but not much. I could feel a couple seams but couldn’t see them. So I’m guessing they adjust somehow.”
“It’s a pretty open layout.”
“It is. At least in these two rooms. Which seems odd, because the next room,” Tay skipped a few images forward, “I think has something to do with the propulsion system. Whatever that might be.”
“Those look like nacelles.”
“That’s what I thought too. And they fill the whole room. So not open like the others. And then there’s something like a dock, where our giant door opened up.” Tay moved to the next image. “You can see a cargo area of sorts. Empty, but just like this one, most of the space in the room has been spoken for.”
Ackerman stepped in closer and motioned at the picture. “So this picture is facing…”
“Aft.”
“Aft,” he nodded.
“At least what I think is aft.”
“And what is below where you’re standing in this one?”
“That I don’t know,” Tay said. “I couldn’t get down there. But I’m sure there’s more to the ship since the ramp angles down from here. I’m guessing there could be another two or three levels to this thing.”
“They sure didn’t leave much behind,” observed Emerson.
“Just what I was thinking, sir. Which is weird.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, from the four areas of the ship which I explored, two of them make use of almost all available space. But the other two don’t. Why?”
Emerson shrugged.
“I think…the answer may have to do with those strange shelves I showed you, covering the inside of the ship’s shield.”
“You said you thought these were for repairing it.”
“Exactly. Extra material available for the wall to heal itself if damaged.”
“Clever.”
“Extremely. So that means Mr. Borger was right. The ship can heal itself. By now we’ve all seen it. And that’s why I think some sections of the smaller ship appear empty.”
“Go on.”
“Like I said, Borger was right. This thing heals itself. But not just the shield. I think the ship does too. So if this really was a one-way trip for them, these aliens probably arrived, unloaded their ship, and then had to do something with it.”
“Like bury it,” said Ackerman.
“Right!” nodded Tay. “Because they had no choice.”
Emerson frowned. “Why didn’t they have a choice?”
“They had to bury it, sir. Because they couldn’t just destroy it. After all, how do you destroy a ship that is literally designed to fix itself?!”
The room grew quiet. It was a staggering idea.
“You don’t,” mumbled Corbin.
“You can’t fix it,” corrected Tay. “That’s the tradeoff. And potentially one big drawback. A ship designed to constantly repair itself, so it can travel across space, could also mean that it can’t be destroyed. Even if the aliens wanted to. And if the tradeoff was indeed that they couldn’t destroy their own ship, then the only obvious choice left was to bury it somewhere where no one would find it. Because if someone did find it, a self-healing ship might still be in pretty good condition. Maybe even in working order.”
“Fascinating,” said Ackerman.
Tay glanced over his shoulder. “And I think it might get even better.” He held both hands up in front of him for emphasis. “So, imagine that you bury a ship that is designed to perpetually fix itself. And one that might continue to do so for a long time. One that you can’t allow anyone to find for obvious reasons.”
“That you can’t destroy,” Odonnell mumbled.
Tay finished the thought. “Right. Yet there would have to be a small chance it would be found, eventually. Just as we have. So, if you can’t ensure it will never be found…maybe what you also do is dismantle it!”
A few of the men looked at each other.
“So even if it were still in working order,” said Ackerman, “it still couldn’t be used.”
“Exactly!”
“And that’s why you think some of those rooms in the ship are empty,” Emerson reasoned.
“Yes, sir. If they couldn’t destroy the ship, they could probably still take it apart. Or perhaps remove just its critical parts.” Tay paused. “But at this point, it’s really only a guess.”
Behind Tay, Ackerman was still nodding. And in a low voice, he repeated the idea. “So, no one could use the ship.”
Emerson shot a curious glance at his executive officer. “If your guess turns out to be true, Lieutenant, then the bigger question is, what exactly was removed from those empty rooms?”
***
“Anyone else have another theory?”
Ackerman and several others shook their heads. “Not until we get a closer look at it.”
“Okay. Then let’s assume for the moment that Lieutenant Tay is correct. That, while still a theory, it’s possible this thing could still be operational. Or at least parts of it.”
The men all nodded.
“So, if it is a possibility, we need to begin by asking what else may still be working on that ship down there?”
Beene grinned broadly. “There’s one way to find out.”
“True,” answered Emerson
. “But we need to be careful here. We’re dealing with something way beyond our own capabilities. And that means there’re going to be some surprises. Maybe it’s safe, and maybe it’s not. Lieutenant Tay has only seen part of it. A small part. So, it’s possible,” Emerson said to the men, “whoever it was that left this thing behind, did so in a way to ensure no one even tries to use it.”
“You’re talking about booby traps,” said Corbin.
The captain nodded. “Maybe they dismantled their ship for the reasons we think, and maybe they didn’t. But one thing seems abundantly clear. It was not intended to be found…or used.”
109
“Get up!”
The command hit her in the form of a shout, startling Neely Lawton awake. Her eyes shot open and became instantly blinded by glaring lights overhead.
“I said GET…UP!” This time someone kicked the bed, causing it to shake.
Neely blinked several times and brought a hand over her face, trying to discern the identity of the silhouette standing over her. Once she managed to focus, her heart sank. It was Debra Borssen.
The woman was staring down at her. Blonde hair fell over her firm shoulders while both hands planted themselves firmly on the woman’s hips.
“What is it?”
Borssen’s shadowed face conveyed a dour look. “She’s having another episode.”
“Who, Li Na?”
“Yes, Li Na! Now get up!”
Li Na’s room appeared just as bare, and just as bright, as Neely was forced through the doorway by Borssen.
She gasped.
On the bed was Li Na, convulsing. Several people surrounded her, trying to hold down the girl by her arms and legs.
The teenager’s face was contorted in pain, and her body was bucking wildly. Behind Neely, a woman rushed through the door and brushed past her, holding a syringe. It was Janice Talbot, who raced to the bed and shouted instructions over Li Na’s yelling.
“Roll her over!”
Talbot forced herself in between two men and with her free hand, helped roll the girl. Without hesitation she immediately plunged the needle through the thin sheet and directly into Li Na’s left buttock, quickly depressing the small plunger.
Li Na shrieked and jerked and bucked ever harder.
“HOLD HER STILL!” yelled Talbot. Together, everyone leaned heavily in an attempt to keep the girl from moving. The syringe remained still planted in the muscle, moving wildly with the girl’s throes, until Talbot was able to grasp and remove it smoothly.
“What are you doing?!” shouted Neely, exploding across the room and throwing one of the women out of the way. She grabbed Li Na’s arm and shoulder. “Li Na! It’s me! It’s Neely! It’s okay, it’s okay!”
She glared across the bed at Talbot. “What did you give her?”
There was no answer.
“I SAID, what did you give her?!”
“A sedative…relax,” Talbot said as she dropped her own gaze to the girl’s writhing body. The convulsions were already beginning to slow.
Neely lowered her face close to Li Na’s, which was half pressed into her pillow. “Li Na, can you hear me?”
The girl’s screams, still muted by the pillow, began to fade and morphed into heavy sobs. She pulled her head back and gasped for air, revealing to Neely the deep red flush in her skin.
“Li Na! Look at me. Look at me!”
The teenager’s dark eyes opened and searched for Neely.
“Help me!” she sobbed.
Neely put both hands on the girl’s head. “It’s okay, I will! I swear I will help you!” She softly stroked Li Na’s dark hair before suddenly catching sight of her arm.
Neely could not stop her eyes from widening while she pulled the rest of Li Na’s arm out from under the sheet. The same strange lines appeared, just as they had before back in Trinidad. Scaly and flaking, they looked like tiny crisscrosses going back and forth, some shallow and some deep.
Talbot’s eyes followed Neely’s. “What is that?”
Neely ignored her and searched for Li Na’s other arm, pulling it free. It looked the same. She then reached down and yanked the entire sheet off the bed. Li Na’s legs were also covered in scales.
The women next to Neely could not hold back their reactions. “Oh my God!”
On the bed, Li Na’s sobs subsided as she watched the expression change on everyone’s face. She twisted upright to look at her legs. And instantly fainted.
***
Talbot stared at the girl’s motionless figure in stunned silence. Without glancing up, she uttered just two words, loud and deliberate.
“EVERYONE…OUT!”
Those still surrounding the bed looked at her, then each other, before obediently filing out of the room. Debra Borssen remained next to the door and closed it behind them.
Neely, examining Li Na’s skin, brought her gaze up when Talbot spoke.
“What the hell is that?”
“I have no idea.”
“You’re lying.”
“No. I’m not.”
“She had a similar reaction before, in Trinidad,” accused Borssen.
“Yes. She did. After she came out of the coma. But it wasn’t like this.”
Talbot’s eyes became hard. “Then what was it like?”
Neely shook her head. “We thought it was an acute reaction from the coma. Being in that state for too long can result in unexpected reactions when a body is trying to recover.”
“She wasn’t in a coma this time.”
Neely shook her head. “Maybe…it was a severe reaction to something else. Maybe something she ate.” She glanced at the thin blanket, strewn to the side, and reached for it. When she pulled it free, she frowned at the patch of vomit on the mattress. “That’s the same.”
“What did you do to her?!” Talbot asked angrily.
“Nothing.”
“This doesn’t look like nothing!”
“It’s the bacterium. It’s changed her DNA.”
Talbot turned to Borssen. “Get someone in here to take a sample.”
Borssen shot a look at Neely but complied, dutifully turning and opening the door.
After it closed, a snide Talbot looked back across the bed. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’re here then.”
“Why?”
“Because you know more about this than anyone. And if we’re going to make these modifications work, we need to know everything you do.”
Neely glared back at the woman. “I’m not going to help you.”
“You can say what you like.”
“I’m not kidding.”
“No. You’re not kidding. You’re mistaken.”
“I think you’re mistaken if you–”
“YOU are mistaken, Ms. Lawton,” Talbot rose her voice, cutting Neely off. “You can act as tough as you like, but there’s no way I’m going to let either one of you walk out of here alive before I have what I want. What I need.”
“Which is what?!”
“To fix the bacterium!” she growled, looking down again at Li Na. “Because this is not usable.”
“Usable for what?”
“That’s not something you need to know.”
“I think I do.”
Talbot’s eyes were cold. “What is it you think you have to bargain with here? You have nothing. Except your own life. Give me what I want, and both of you will live. Don’t, and this will be the last place either of you ever sees––an ending this girl doesn’t seem very far away from anyway.”
Neely didn’t answer.
“I know who you are, Dr. Lawton. I know all about you and your credentials. So, don’t play coy. You either give me what I want and perhaps save your friend in the process…or don’t, and you will both be carried out of here.”
110
When Li Na awoke, the room was dark. The overhead lights above her had been turned off, and she found herself lying face up beneath a set of clean linens.
Nervously, she re
ached out with one hand to find her opposing arm. The skin felt soft and smooth again. She switched hands and checked the other side. The same. Normal skin covered in fine soft hairs.
She closed her eyes, relieved, before instantly forcing them open again. She could hear movement in the room. A person. Breathing.
Carefully, Li Na slid herself to the far side of the bed and rolled over, spotting a dark figure in the chair just a few feet away.
The shadow of the figure’s head turned at the sound of her movement.
“It’s okay, Li Na,” it whispered. “It’s me, Neely.”
The girl squinted and saw the details of Neely Lawton’s face emerge from the darkness. “Where are we?”
“Still the same place,” she whispered. “You’ve been out for a while.”
Li Na scanned the room, recognizing those drab white walls even in the darkness. It occurred to her that the bed and chair were also the same stark white. “There is no color in here.”
“It’s on purpose.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s called sensory deprivation,” Neely said. “A tactic meant to give our minds as little as possible to focus on. Over time it creates small feelings of anxiety and nervousness. To assist them in breaking us down mentally.”
“What does anxiety mean?”
“Similar to being crazy.”
Li Na nodded to herself, then proceeded to sit up in bed. “What happened to me?”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure. Another episode, obviously, but I think what’s inside of you, what your father injected to keep you alive, is changing things. Deep inside your cells.”
“What is it changing?”
“That’s what I’m not sure of,” Neely said softly. “Not yet.”
The girl leaned her head of dark hair against the cold wall beside her. She had long sensed the changes. Not only could she hear Neely’s breathing, she could actually hear the sound of the air before that, as it passed in and out over her lips.
“How are you feeling?” Neely asked.
“Okay.”
Mosaic (Breakthrough Book 5) Page 31