"Good luck."
The hours ticked by slowly. No creature was found, and no remains. As the case with the War Spritzer, the crew of the ship were long missing. They occasionally crossed an area where something had done an impressive amount of damage. Alloy bulkheads, 10 centimeters thick, were pushed in like they were made of tin. Doors ripped off hinges, furniture and consoles ripped and shredded like paper. In a way, Ryan was glad that they found this. It kept the men alert and ready.
Shift change went by, and Ryan was still on edge. He paced the bridge floor in anticipation. The men switched without incident. The relieved troops headed back for a much needed rest.
Aviore contacted him, sounding concerned. "How is it going?"
"Good. No problems so far," he replied. He could not tell her how he felt.
"With multiple shifts running we'll have the whole ship covered within three to four days."
"Good, I'm glad to hear it." She sounded detached, far off.
"Don't worry Aviore. Nothing has happened yet. Things are looking good."
"Yes, I know. I am doing my own scans of the ship. Unfortunately, it takes hours to complete."
"Good idea," he replied enthusiastically. If anything, it is something to keep her busy, to keep her from worrying.
Another shift passed without an event. Ryan was growing tired. The hours of anticipation were wearing on his nerves.
Tmaurau reported good news. "We have managed to bring the secondary power grid online, Commander. The bridge is ready to initiate lighting and environmental systems. On your order."
"Do it," ordered Ryan.
The lights came on throughout the ship. A small cheer came from the engineers on the bridge of the mothership.
"Excellent work!" Ryan complimented over the communications channel. He looked over to see Tmaurau's reaction was not the cheery one expected. He had learned all too well the expressions of the almost expressionless.
"We can expect only about three hours performance from the secondary capacitors. They are almost exhausted. We are beginning to work on the matter collection systems, but there is much work to be done."
"I'll permit more men down there if you need them. I don't want those lights to go out, now that we have them on."
"I recommend six more."
"Kanook, round up six engineers that will volunteer for extra shift duty."
He gave a quick nod and was gone.
Tmaurau went to turn back, then hesitated. "Ryan, this creature may very well be dead."
"Tmaurau, I believe you are correct. Should we say to hell with it now - let’s cancel this search and get this beast going?”
Tmaurau’s veins pumped in his temples, although he said nothing.
“Yeah, I suppose not. Best we finish the job we started."
Tmaurau gave a slight nod. "Once this ship is completely searched, I will dispel my pessimistic beliefs."
The second shift change came and went.
Ryan had been up for 24 hours now. He felt he was wearing down. His left foot kept falling asleep and his arm ached. It was annoying as hell.
The extra help at engineering was paying off. The power capacitors were charging, albeit, only a trickle, but it was enough.
Tmaurau noticed the Commander's weariness. "Ryan, why don't you get some rest? You will not be able to maintain a clear mind with a lack of sleep."
"Yes, good idea, Tmaurau. You get some rest. That's an order," returned Ryan, with a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Sir?" said the bridge officer. "If I may, the Captain’s quarter office has a very comfortable reclining chair."
The temptation to sleep seemed too appealing now. "Alright, you talked me into it. Wake me up if anything happens. You know where I'll be." He ambled into the quarter office, which was directly off the bridge, and fell into the comfortable cushioned recliner. He did not forget to check with Gem before he closed his eyes. Aviore was sleeping comfortably in the Queen. All was quiet.
He fell asleep within a minute.
* * *
Ryan was awakened by the intercom. It was the excited voice of the acting bridge officer.
"Commander! We've found something. I repeat, we have found a biological."
It jolted him awake like an electric shock. He was on the bridge within seconds.
"Report!"
"Search team 6A reports finding a dead carcass of a creature. Quite large."
"Bring it up on the main view."
The scene before him was shocking. There were five men surrounding the thing. It lay on the floor on its back, its legs stretched up toward the ceiling. Its skin was gray and black. To Ryan the creature's overall appearance reminded him of a beetle or tick, only it had two pairs of arms, and its legs were in groups of three. There were no eyes. The mouth was oversized, lined with teeth, with mandibles that reached around the front.
As it lay prone, the thing’s mouth was hung open, revealing an opening big enough, possibly, to swallow a man whole. Upright, the creature would have stood about three meters tall. Ryan did not want to envision one of those things chasing him down.
"You’re sure it's dead?" he asked, half-joking.
The leader of team 6A stepped forward in the picture. "Absolutely, Commander. It's been dead for some time. It seems to have mummified."
He glanced at the tactical to find their position. They were in the rear burner section.
"You guys have covered a lot of territory," he commented.
"We are almost done with this section. A few more shifts and this section will be completely searched," replied the leader promisingly.
"I'll send a detachment down to study that thing. Keep your men moving, and stay alert."
"Yes, Sir."
Ryan ordered a science officer to the bridge.
Tmaurau arrived.
"Scary looking sonofabitch, isn't it?"
"Quite deadly I should think. It has all the ideal qualities of an efficient killing machine. Defenses of an impenetrable exoskeleton, powerful legs to ensure mobility..."
"And don't forget the sharp teeth," added Ryan.
"I have located some libraries that had been previously sealed. The danger of this life-form is augmented through its accelerated life cycle. These creatures begin as minuscule insects that devour all available bio-matter. Their post-larval wings allow them to spread out from the original point of contamination and infiltrate difficult to reach areas. Their appetite, although primarily carnivorous, is omnivorous. Their flexibility of diet ensures they can pull in the necessary calories to grow quickly. Once they develop into an adult, they are lethal predators. They are an example of excellent bio-engineering, a brilliant yet disturbing accomplishment."
The science officer reported on deck, interrupting them with a salute. He was fairly young but carried confidence in his manner.
“I understand we’ve discovered a corpse of one of these creatures, Commander.”
“Yes. You have your work cut out for you now. Examine that thing. Maybe they have an adequate lab area on that ship, not sure. Just make sure this thing doesn't have any little babies or something inside it. From what I understand, they’ll be similar to insect larvae. If you suspect they may somehow still be viable, incinerate that corpse. I don't want any other nasty surprises. Avoid direct contact and sterilize everything, understand?"
"Yes, Sir. I'll try to have something for you in a couple hours." He turned sharply.
“And Lieutenant,” Ryan called after him. “Figure out this thing’s weakness so we know how to kill it – just in case we meet up with a live one.”
“Yes, Sir. Will do.”
Ryan punched a few commands on the console, a list of shift reports came up on the screen. He studied them for a moment. "Tmaurau, have you inspected the food and hydroponic area reports. Looks like that's where the creature had spent most of its time."
"Yes. The damage is extensive. The supplies were decimated."
"And most everything else by the looks of it. This thing was
destructive."
"There are signs that the crew attempted to fight this infiltration," added Tmaurau.
"Yes, I’ve seen the blast damage evidence," noted Ryan. "Do you think they were able to kill this thing?"
"The evidence will explain," offered Tmaurau.
"Maybe."
Kanook stepped on deck and joined them after completing his inspection. They both nodded a welcome.
“Do you know who was heading up the team that is searching the stern engineering area?” asked Ryan.
"Captain Ranton, Sir. He just went on shift."
The remaining hours went by agonizingly slow. The search was concentrated to the rear of the ship now. Every other part of the ship had been cleared.
Aviore called in. She was starting another type of scan. Ryan informed her of the news.
Her scan would be a waste of time now. If there’s another creature on the ship, they would know soon enough.
"Ranton reporting in, Sir," said Kanook.
"Put him on the main screen."
Ranton's tired but determined face showed signs of relief.
"She's done. End to end. We found nothing alive. Looks like your alien was that carcass we found, and it died a while ago. We found the area where the crew made their last stand. It's a hell of a mess. Everything's melted or burnt to a crisp. Looks like that thing found a way in behind them, went through a 15 centimeter thick bulkhead to get to them." Ranton shuddered, "I pity the poor bastards!"
"Did you find any sign of bodies?"
"No, nothing, thing ate them, I suppose."
"Good work Ranton. Your men can relax now. Start the sterilization procedures. I will not consider this ship secured until we hear back from the science team."
Tmaurau spoke up. "We have the majority of the ship's systems up. Everything is working with the exception of the main drive."
"Even after all those years," commented Ryan in wonderment. "These Ancients were something else."
"Yes, they were," agreed Tmaurau.
* * *
He went to the officer's briefing room and contacted Aviore over a communications monitor. He wanted to see her face.
"Hi."
She smiled sweetly back. "Hi. I've heard the good news."
"Yes. That means I'll be boarding her soon. Do you still mind?"
"No. It's OK." Her voice was shaky. "Just be careful, alright?"
"Of course, relax, it will take at least 12 hours before the ship has been fumigated and the atmosphere filtered. I won't be going in until then."
"Hope to see you soon, Commander."
He smiled, threw her a kiss.
When Aviore signed off her smile disappeared in a flash. Her instinct told her something was still wrong. She'd spent her life denying that instinct, especially when she wanted to believe the contrary. Last time that mistake had put her into slavery. It wasn't going to happen again. She was not going to lose Ryan.
"Gem, I want to start a full geo-matrix mineral scan on the mothership."
"I am not equipped to accomplish all the required scans in that range. Modifications are required on the secondary feedback scan circuit."
"Can I make those modifications?"
"Yes. All equipment and supplies are available. I will guide you through the process. I must warn you, the work is tedious."
"I'm good at tedious work," she said confidently. "Let's get moving!"
* * *
A refreshed Ryan stepped aboard the mothership deck.
He took a deep breath. The air smelled sharp and sweet. A long way from the rancid, stale smell it was a day before. The environmental control systems were working without fault, even after a thousand year rest.
Kanook stepped up beside him.
"Let’s inspect this creature. I want to see this thing for myself."
"It's been moved to a medical bay, under quarantine, Commander. The ship's doctor and the science officer are still examining it."
They found the doctor and the science officer huddled over a monitor of an electron microscope. Ryan cleared his throat. The science officer jumped. His nerves were on edge.
"Oh, Sir," was all he could say.
"Well, what do you have?" demanded Ryan.
"We're not… completely… sure yet. It's dead, we have determined that much. There are no eggs, spores, larvae, no chance of procreation. The way it sits now, it's harmless."
"OK, what are you examining now?"
"A sample from the circulatory system. This thing is absolutely amazing."
The doctor interrupted. "We've already studied a graft of muscle tissue from one of its legs. The cellular energy requirements are unusually high. The mitochondria count is remarkable. The diffusion level of ATP within the blood had to be artificially elevated in order to provide such..."
"Hold it, hold it. I don't want an analysis. I want a summary. What is the potential of this creature?" He moved closer to the inspection window. It and the two doctors were effectively quarantined off, sealed behind a plexiglass door.
"First off, the creature's metabolism is completely variable. We expect that it can hibernate for years. It would appear, in these cases, quite dead."
"Until it wakes up," interrupted the young science officer. “But we can assure you this creature is definitely dead.”
"Conversely, it has an unusual base for blood. It is capable of maintaining a sustained elevated metabolism for hours before it must rest. Once its metabolism is elevated, it effectively increases its strength and speed by a factor of at least ten."
"Basically," interjected the science officer, "we estimate it to have been able to move at speeds exceeding 325 kmh and have claws with the clutching strength of 700 kg per square cm. It would, to be more descriptive, move in a blur and rip apart a human being like tissue paper."
"It's no wonder they couldn't kill it," added the doctor.
That point bothered Ryan. "Yes, what about that? A direct hit with a hand blaster wouldn't kill it?"
"The shot would have to be extraordinarily well placed if it was projected from shoulder height. It would have to hit here, in this particular joint in the abdomen, to do any damage. Otherwise a hit, even at close proximity, would only dissipate, easily protecting any and all vital organs."
The science officer pointed to the armored back. "If you look closely, you will see small crystals embedded within the exoskeleton, they’re hard to see from your angle.”
Ryan peered in close, saw the tiny glinting nodes within the exoskeleton. “Yeah, I see them alright.”
“This is why a blaster wouldn’t affect it. A frontal shot would be useless, and a side shot would be incredibly difficult if it was moving even at half of its capable speed. The most effective way to hurt this thing is a direct shot into its lower abdomen. But you would have to literally shoot at it from underneath. We think that is what killed this thing."
“Someone got a lucky shot off, I guess.”
"More accurately, whoever got that close to it,” interrupted the younger man, “probably didn’t make it."
"Why do you say that?" asked Ryan.
"This thing is literally a furnace. When it's running full steam, it's throwing off enough heat to give you a third-degree burn within a meter of it."
"There would be considerably less heat being thrown out from the underside," argued the older doctor.
"I guess all these concerns are academic now. This is the last of them," stated Ryan. "I want this thing out of here when you're done."
"This is a most unusual life-form. We would be losing valuable scientific…"
"Before you continue," interrupted Ryan. "You don’t know this thing’s story. So let me sum it up for you. This creature was genetically engineered as a weapon. Its creators lost control of it. It proceeded to propagate and kill every living thing on the planet where it had been conceived. It wiped out a whole race of people. This is an example of knowledge we can afford to lose."
The senior doctor put his slides
down, looked over to the younger science officer.
"Understood. We’ll finalize our work and eject the carcass out to space," acknowledged the science officer soberly. "Whoever engineered this ship knew what they were doing. There is a jettison tube in the back of this quarantine bay, and it's big enough to suck a small ship out of here. If something poses a problem, press that button over there,” he nodded to a covered switch behind Ryan, “and out she goes. You could eject it from in here if you enter the override codes."
“And kill yourself in the process,” added Ryan morosely.
“You do what you need to do,” replied the science officer.
Ryan nodded solemnly. "Agreed. Give me a full report once you're done, and keep it confidential. I want all record of this thing encrypted."
Kanook and Ryan headed for the main bridge. They took advantage of the turbo-shaft shuttle system that ran the full length of the ship. Some minor repairs had just been completed and it was now in full service.
“Ready?”
Kanook nodded.
He pressed the destination selector. The car launched with a quiet whine, accelerating with enough force to compel Ryan to either grab the handrail or get tossed against the wall. A moment later and they were there. The doors slid open to the ship’s immense bridge.
“Now this is the way to travel,” Ryan said with a smile.
The place was a hive of activity. All around them technicians were busily working on the bridge equipment while others hauled supplies and tools throughout.
He glanced up to see the stars. It was a breathtaking view.
Ten meters above, transparent ceramic-quartz view panels spanned across the top of the bridge. He stepped out onto the upper bridge deck, which served as a suspended walkway traversing the full length of the bridge, and served a commanding view of the area below and above. In the center of the room, the walkway branched into a circle flowing around a four meter wide clear globe, which functioned as the navigation/tactical holographic display.
He glanced through the metal grating of the walkway to see dozens of consoles, where bridge officers were actively monitoring and controlling the newly awakened ship's systems.
As he walked down the narrow deck to its end, the transparent ceiling dropped down on a sharp angle. At the very end of the deck, Ryan was able to reach out to touch the quartz panel. He expected it to be freezing, yet it was only slightly cool to the touch. The stars shone through it with an unprecedented, sharp brilliance.
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