A World Too Far (Terran Trilogy Book 1)

by Sheron Wood McCartha

  Chapter 18

  Spy Game

  “Jacob, stop.”

  Jacob whirled around, recognizing Jennie’s voice.

  “For Pete’s Sake, what are you doing here, Jennie? The corridors are dangerous. Bad people are roaming loose. Lots are sick. How do you feel? You sick?”

  “I’m fine. I wear a mask and gloves when I go anywhere for protection.” She wiggled fingers of green plastic at him, eyes blinking from behind a white mask.

  “You should be back at your place.”

  “Right. So I can go crazy remembering every gruesome detail of how my parents died there. Where I’m alone with nothing else to think about and nothing else to do but worry.” Her eyes glistened.

  “I’m just thinking of your safety.”

  “Are we still a team, then.” Her head tilted as she studied him intently.

  “We never were a team, Jennie. We can’t play spy games anymore. It’s too dangerous. We can be friends, though.”

  "I know. It’s just… I heard a commotion out in the corridor. I got curious. I wondered what was going on.”

  “Yeah, I was there. Frank Stoddard threatened the Captain. The corridors are not safe. Stay out of them. I’m taking you home right now.”

  She shrugged off his grip. “No place is safe. Okay, come to my quarters. I’ll make you a drink and a sandwich. I have a little food left. Are you hungry?”

  Of course, he was. Hungry was his middle name. Mika had taken him to Dr. Luttrell’s lab, but the whole place had been in an uproar. He had stood back while everyone ran around like lunatics, and Dr. Luttrell talked like a wild man on a comm to someone. No one noticed him, and he had edged out. There was nothing he could do in a place like that, and he was hungry. He’d decided to go home, scrounge some food, and return to help after things calmed down… maybe. Now, he found Jennie out in the corridors, for Cripes’s sake. He had to get her home. Besides, her idea of food appealed to him.

  He felt his stomach rumble. “Okay, let’s go.”

  She pulled him forward toward her place and continued her tale. “So…I heard a bunch of men milling around in the corridor, planning to spring this sick guy from lock-up. They were waiting by a unit for a package, and then they were all going to get a guy named Stoddard loose.”

  “The man’s got the plague. He’s dying.”

  “Well, that’s the thing. Oh, here we are. Come in.” She tapped in the password and ushered him in, throwing mask and gloves in a box by the door.

  He followed her into the main room, lingering while she busied herself in the kitchenette area. He wandered restlessly around, trying to figure out what to do next. Her place looked clean and neat, unlike his.

  Returning, she motioned for him to sit while she pulled out a small table. In front of him, she put a soy paste sandwich on a napkin with a thick drink.

  “What’s that?”

  “Sit down. It’s like a shake. It’s all I have right now. Just drink it and don’t be a pansy.”

  Her words struck too close to home. He’d been scared he would contact the plague at the Medlab and had panicked after his noble offer to help. Staring at the food, his mood turned dark when he realized he was a coward … a plain scared fraidy-pants.

  She lifted the glass and took a drink, continuing her story. “So I waited, and some more men finally came and stuck a box inside the unit. Then, everyone stampeded out, waving blasters and shouting. I decided to case the place. Do a little spying. I couldn’t stand staying by myself in this empty unit with memories of death haunting me.” She gazed around.

  “They would have a security panel.”

  Her eyes snapped back to his face. “I would have binoculars. A good spy always carries a pair of binoculars with her.” She took a bite of the sandwich and made a face. “We need to get some fresh produce in here. I’m tired of this soy crap.”

  He took a gulp of the awful drink and gagged.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Not the best tasting stuff, I’ll admit.” She took a sip. “Gawd, that’s awful. But it’s good for you, so drink up. With so many sick, the farms are abandoned. I figure you and I should go pick fruit and check out what else is there before others get the same idea, or it all rots and goes to waste.”

  “We’re not a couple.” He eyed the unsavory meal with reluctance, yet he was thirsty and hungry enough to eat it. At least, it filled him up and stopped the ache.

  She leaned in. “You are all I have left. With Ma and Da gone…”

  He put a hand over hers. “Yeah, I know. It’s tough being alone. I’m alone too. Okay, I’ll get us some fresh produce next shift. I’ll use Da’s pass key that he left to get into the farm. Just stay safe here.”

  With a gusting sigh, she continued, “So I watched them opening the panel and memorized the passcode, and after they left, I sneaked in.”

  “What! Someone could have been in there.”

  “I counted, silly. Four went in and three joined them. Seven left. I was clear.”

  “So what did you find?”

  Her face lit up. “So, are we partners?”

  “This better be good.”

  “You’ll like it.”

  He glanced around, thinking. He really had nothing to lose, and maybe something to gain. Why not? “Yeah, okay. Partners. Only not like girlfriend-boyfriend stuff. Okay?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Wouldn’t consider it.”

  Well, that set him back.

  “I found a box they stole from the Medlab. It contained a hundred vials of serum, minus a few. I found it in a cabinet where they’d stashed it.”

  His mouth dropped open. “Doc Luttrell’s beside himself because someone stole his serum. Good work.” He pulled out his signaler. “I’ll contact Trajan, and he can send a team to go get it.”

  She put her hand over his. “Not necessary. It’s here. It was a bit heavy, but the vials are small and each one doesn’t weigh much. I wanted to make sure it would be safe, and not let those men drink it all. They were planning a party once they returned.”

  “Okay, so where’s it at?”

  “I put it here in one of my kitchen cabinets.”

  “I’ll have Trajan come pick it up. We should get a huge reward.” He grinned at her. “Nice work.”

  She nodded. “And one more thing.”

  Hardly listening to her, he messaged Trajan on his phone with an emergency red flag.

  “I put a dose in both our drinks.”

  “What!”

  He stared at her, then the empty glass, not believing her words. “You did what?”

  “Put a dose from a vial in each of our drinks. Once Dr. Luttrell gets a hold of the antidote, do you think he’ll bother about two unimportant kids?” She rubbed the table. “Sometimes, Jacob, we got to look out for each other. No one else is alive to do it.” She looked up, tears in her eyes.

  Her entrance panel cracked open in its tracks.

  They both jumped and stared as it widened.

  “I locked it,” she choked.

  A phaser poked through the gap. Jacob tensed. He slid in front of Jennie, expecting an attack.

  Trajan’s muscled body slid stealthily in as he palmed his all access keycard and wildly scanned the room. He stopped to stare at them, heaved a sigh of disgust, and lowered his weapon. “This better be good,” he growled.

  Jacob pointed. “There’s the stolen antidote.”

  Trajan blinked.

  Jacob placed both hands, palms down on the table. “After Stoddard’s men ran off, we sneaked…”

  “We! We?” Jennie shouted, jumping up from her chair. “I, me, Jennie Trent risked my life to retrieve the doctor’s antidote.” She glared at Jacob, hands on hips.

  Red-faced, he admitted inside that she was right. She’d found it. Clearing his throat, he amended his statement. “Yes, all right, Jennie recovered the serum.”

  Trajan’s eyebrows rose until they grazed the edge of his hair. He licked his lips. “Well done.”

  H
is wrist monitor beeped, and he glanced down. His body relaxed. “Mika has the rest of Stoddard’s men in custody. And, Frank Stoddard just died.”

  He raised his face. A smile wiggled at the corners of his mouth. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Trent.” He stuck out his hand. “You did well, but took a big risk. Please don’t do it again. Stay out of the corridors.”

  Jacob frowned. Jennie now knew Trajan… and Trajan knew her. Where did that leave him?

  “I was also his source for finding the hormones in the water,” she huffed. “Did he mention that?”

  He felt totally useless, but Trajan must have noticed. The man faced him. “I see you’ve done an excellent job selecting your team, Jacob. Together you two have accomplished amazing things.” Jacob felt Trajan was having a hard time trying not to grin, but he felt better for the comment, his confidence restored.

  Holstering his phaser, Trajan scooped up the box. “So we three are going right now to take this to Dr. Luttrell and wish him a Happy Birthday.”

  “We can help at the Medlab,” Jacob offered as they left. “We can do all sorts of stuff.”

  “I’ll just bet you can,” Trajan replied in a tone of complete agreement.

  Chapter 19

  Commander’s Council

  “I call this Captains’ Council to order.”

  Adjusting her headset, Elise went virtual onto The New World just as Commander Reardon started. As she studied those around the table, she noticed too many new faces and several empty chairs. The pandemic had taken its toll.

  The Commander, however, appeared much better. His face had a healthy glow; his eyes a clear sparkle and, as she leaned in closer, his hair seemed darker and not as gray. She blinked. The man looked younger.

  She smoothed down her own auburn locks, grown out from a previous short style. She needed a haircut. Also, a little more weight on her emaciated frame would help. She’d been so focused on getting well that she’d let her grooming slide.

  Her light blinked green, indicating that she’d been connected and acknowledged.

  “To start,” Commander Reardon peered down at his electronic tablet, “I want to finally offer good news. It appears we have stopped the progress of the disease that has ravaged our ships. No new outbreaks in the last six shifts, so I’m hopeful.” He lifted his head and offered a smile.

  “We still have a few vials of the antidote but are now out of materials to manufacture more. We’ll need to stop at another asteroid cluster or an ice moon to collect more material and water. All the astrogators are on the lookout.”

  As she listened, Elise scanned the table, happily noting the presence of Captain Dance. He looked careworn but recovered. Ship captains had been first on the list to get John’s serum after the outbreak.

  At the head of the table, the Commander continued, “While that news is good, we are currently stretched dangerously thin on functioning personnel. Soon, I will authorize ships to pull people out of cryo for additional help. Until recently, the contagion made that idea too risky.”

  Elise made a note to review her inventory of those in cryo and set up a priority list for the positions she would need to fill. She needed to ensure the Medlab had the protocol for resuscitation and would coordinate with the new administrator, whoever that was now.

  The Commander placed his palms flat on the table and took a moment to scan the group. “While everyone around this table went beyond the call of duty, I want to especially commend Dr. John Luttrell for manufacturing the antidote and then working tirelessly to get it out as quickly as possible to as many as he could. Thanks to his dedicated action, we have survived this pandemic.”

  Someone muttered, “Manufacture is the right word. Created microscopic robots to run around inside my body. Makes me itch just thinking about it.”

  “Quiet. You’re alive, aren’t you?”

  “Feel better than ever. The Missus is appreciating my revved up libido, that’s for sure.”

  “Listen up.” Raising his voice, the Commander continued, “Also, Tate Chattam did an extraordinary job maintaining contact with all forty ships and juggling supply deliveries and personnel emergencies.” The Commander checked his notes. “Currently, The Pilgrim’s Pride needs a Master Engineer. Is that right, Naomi?”

  The Captain of the Pilgrim’s Pride nodded. “They don’t have to be a Master Engineer. We’re desperate. However, we do need someone with experience considering that a jump is on the schedule.”

  “Okay. If any of you have someone that fills the bill, let Tate know. He’ll walk you through the protocol. Says here, the perks could be high…special unit, extra food, entertainment. Also, The Explorer needs a Director for their Medlab. That you, Dance?”

  Charles squirmed in his seat. “Yes, sir. We lost Eric, head of our Medlab, in the plague and are short-handed.”

  “All the chickens dead, too?” An unidentified voice piped up.

  Charles Dance looked around. “I think my ship has given up eating chicken for a long while.”

  Captain Ryder leaned forward. “Are we certain that livestock was the source of this contagion?”

  “Some say so,” another voice answered.

  Commander Reardon cleared his throat. “We’re still investigating the source, but poultry is a prime suspect. If you haven’t already, order your Farm Manager to exam all animals for disease. Kill and space any infected candidates, using prescribed safety protocol.”

  While the Commander talked, Tate suddenly materialized at his side, handed him a new tablet, leaned forward, and waved at Elise. “Hello, Captain Fujeint. Say hi to everyone on board the New Found Hope for me and…”

  “Thank you, Tate.” The Commander pointed for him to go.

  Tate nodded and flashed out. The Commander regarded the new information. “I want to emphasize that all captains need to appoint a project leader to sanitize their ship. Folks,” He raised his head and his eyes grew stern. “The hardest thing to do is say goodbye to loved ones. We must rid ourselves of this disease and as distasteful as spacing a loved one might be, we cannot risk keeping the ill on board. Rumor has individuals putting sick people in cryo because they can’t let go. We would be setting ourselves up for disease in the future if we allow that. I can’t impress how important it is to purge your ships of this scourge. The Medlabs have instructions on how to do it. Plaques and vidlogs serve adequately for the purpose of remembrance. We’re headed toward a promising solar system and don’t want to bring this disease along with us and infect any new worlds.”

  He paused to study his notes. “I’m sending all captains navigation details on our selected star system to distribute on their bridges. Now that we have a direction, I want to proceed with all speed. Get your ships in order and cleaned up as I plan to take us into jump as soon as possible. Meanwhile, for individual concerns, contact Tate. He’ll schedule an appointment with me.”

  The Commander looked up. “Collect any extra harvests and let Jan know. Captain Childes will send a shuttle around so we can store any excess food in Storage Locker. We need to get our supply ship back to capacity. Okay, that’s all I have.” He tapped his tablet closed and lifted his face with a smile. “Remember the odds are stacked against us, and it will take a lot of teamwork to survive. But if we work together, we damn well will win this battle and find us a home.”

  The Commander winked out. Murmuring increased around the table. A few captains leaned in to talk to each other. Some blinked out.

  Just as she was ready to opt out, a green signal blinked on her board. She tapped acceptance.

  “How are you feeling, Elise?” Charles Dance’s voice sounded concerned. His face filled her monitor. Alert blue eyes and a wide smile of even white teeth made her heart ache with joy over the fact of his survival.

  “Much better.”

  “Tell John he saved my life, and I’m grateful. Maybe we can get together again…after adhering to safety protocols. I don’t want to contaminate the fleet ever again.”

  “No
, not a good idea. But you shouldn’t take all the blame. Eric should have suspected a problem. He was a doctor after all. Others also ignored the warnings.”

  “He didn’t want to believe it was possible until it was too late. No matter the truth, my ship will be the one tied to this scourge.”

  “Will you bring Emily out of cryo now?”

  “As soon as I get a clean ship. We need her now. After she gets acclimated, maybe the four of us can get together again.”

  “I’d like that. Take care, Charles.”

  “You, too, Elise. Dance out.”

  ***

  Unable to sit still, Elise paced to her wardrobe to sort through different tops and decided the black with captain’s tabs she already wore would do fine. She paced to her desk, sat down, opened a few files and realized she didn’t want to study any more reports on the recently targeted star system. That far away, she wasn’t going to be a part of any momentous landing. It was a world too far for her. She gave a deep sigh.

  At the door of her quarters, Trajan shifted his position. He cleared his throat.

  “Yes, what?” She sounded irritated even to her own ears. She leaned her elbows on the desk and glared at him.

  “Captain, you’re fidgeting. Listen, you’re safe. You don’t need me here watching you be bored. Give me a job. Make me useful.”

  “David Jackson could attack me at any moment.” She immediately realized how ridiculous that sounded.

  Her guard rolled his eyes at her. “Mr. Jackson is totally occupied with his position as head of the Resource Department. Maybe a bit overwhelmed, but he actually has decided that you’re an effective captain and supports you.”

  “I gave him what he wanted.”

  “He knows it, but he also knows he’s good at what he does. We’re so short-handed that he’s not afraid of losing his job like he used to be. That reassurance gives him confidence and direction. So, you don’t need me to protect you from him, and I can’t think of anyone else right now who might pose a threat.” Trajan heaved out a sigh. “Put me to work on something other than guarding you from nonexistent enemies.”