“I think he’s in his stateroom,” Whittmeyer replied. “Why, what’s the matter, doc?”
“I need someone to get him down here right away. I think we have a serious problem.”
Chapter Seventeen
The guard held out a bright yellow Hazmat suit. “If you want to go in and talk to the doctor, you have to wear this.” Dirk’s stomach dropped a few inches, and Sonya wore the dire expression of a car accident victim.
She whirled around in a circle and slammed her fist into her palm. “God damn it! I knew bringing those bodies on board was a mistake. This is just another typical Logan fuck-up.”
Dirk understood Sonya’s growing fury especially since the captain had demoted her to basically nothing. But her occasional angry outbursts were making him uncomfortable. He wished she’d just put the grudge behind her and focus on the problem at hand. Especially since now things were getting uglier.
What the hell was going on with those three dead aliens that they needed Hazmat suits?
Dirk had been the one to suggest they stop by the clinic and talk to Doctor Barnes before heading back to the ghost ship. It had been around two hours since they’d brought the skeletons on board, and he was hoping the doc might have a clue what killed the three. Apparently the doctor had some information to share after all.
He and Sonya grabbed the Hazmat suits and dressed quickly. When they came inside the clinic, Dirk’s worse fears were realized. Everything was covered in plastic, and there were heavy duty filters on the ventilation system. Doctor Barnes came up sweating under the clear plastic face shield.
“What’s going on, doc?” Dirk asked.
Barnes glanced back at the three bodies lying on exam tables in the sealed observation room. “Our initial exam suggests that these aliens were killed by a parasite attached to the base of their necks. The parasite begins its life as a microscopic spore that travels through the air like dust. It infiltrates the host organism, attaches itself to the base of the neck, and fuses to the bone. Once it grows to adulthood, it sends roots into the host’s brain.”
“For what purpose?” Sonya asked.
Barnes blinked a drop of sweat out of his eye. “Probably to control the host.”
Dirk stared at the bodies in the room beyond. “Are the spores on those bodies still viable? I mean, the bodies look like they’ve been dead a long time.”
“I don’t know,” Barnes said.
Sonya put her hands on her hips. “Well then, we need to jettison them right away. They’re a danger to the whole ship.”
Barnes sighed. “We can’t.”
“Let me guess,” Sonya said. “Logan?”
“He’s convinced we can handle this.” Barnes shifted uncomfortably in his suit. “But he’s right about the money angle on this thing. We will all make billions on this discovery.”
Sonya glared. “Is the money going to matter when all of us are dead? What if we can’t control this parasite? What if we all end up under alien control?”
Dirk squeezed her arm to warn her off. Everyone on board knew Barnes was in Logan’s back pocket. It wasn’t likely the good doctor would do anything Logan didn’t want him to, even if it was highly dangerous.
“So what’s the plan, doc?” Dirk asked.
Barnes licked his dry lips. “I agree with Logan.” He looked around and gave a satisfied nod. “We might have been caught a little off guard at first, but I think we’re secure now. We’ll just keep these precautions in effect until we reach Earth. Then I can give the Command a full report and have the authorities take over from there.”
“It’s a capital crime to bring hazardous materials back from a mission,” Sonya reminded him.
“I can assure you Chief, I intend to give the Command a complete and full report. We’ll just have to orbit until they’re ready for our cargo.”
Dirk tugged on Sonya’s arm indicating they needed to leave. She followed him out and into the decontamination chamber where they waited in silence while being sprayed off. It occurred to Dirk that they were being treated for known biological agents, obviously not an alien one. Crew members were coming in and out with just this one cleaning agent being sprayed on their suits. Unfortunately it probably wasn’t doing them much good.
When they were released and back in their uniforms, Dirk dragged an indignant Sonya to his stateroom. Once he’d locked the door behind them, he said, “This is getting out of hand.”
Sonya ran long, thin fingers through her dark hair. “I know. I feel like I’m on a runaway train, and I can’t reach the break. What are we going to do?”
“The first thing we have to do is get back to that alien ship and find a way to detach it from us. I believe you were right. I think there’s a self-destruct sequence going, and we have no idea how long until it blows.”
“The aliens must have started it as a last resort to kill the parasite. But if that’s true, what happened to the rest of the crew? A ship that size couldn’t have been piloted by only three people. I don’t care how intelligent they might have been.”
“We’ll just have to worry about that later. For now let’s get Whittmeyer and Floyd and head back there.”
“Should we tell them what’s going on?”
Dirk rubbed the back of his neck. Telling them ran the risk that the two wouldn’t want to go back to the ghost ship. “Yeah, I think so. They have a right to know what’s going on, and what’s at risk.”
Chapter Eighteen
Floyd sat in his stateroom feeling . . . different. To make matters worse, it wasn’t a good kind of different. He was feeling sick and sweaty. When they’d come back from the ghost ship, he’d felt generally okay but tired. So he’d gone back to his room to lie down for a few minutes. And then, out of the blue, there was that stink from the ventilation system. It was faint, like someone had spilled bleach in another compartment. That stench kicked off a mild but annoying headache. But at least the smell had faded. Unfortunately, it had left behind a lingering migraine and a stiff neck. If things had been normal, Floyd would have gone to the clinic to get some meds for this pain. But things were anything but normal. Chief Miller had been replaced by Dirk, and the whole ship was in chaos because of the dead aliens. So the clinic was the last place he’d find any peace and quiet for his aching head.
His radio crackled, and he startled. “Floyd?” came a garbled voice.
Floyd picked up the radio and stared. Funny thing, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember how the darn thing worked.
“Floyd, are you there?” the voice said. It was a woman’s voice and fairly familiar. Floyd knew that voice, he was sure of it. He racked his thoughts trying to remember who she was. The answer was right at the verge of his memory. He could have sworn she was important, but he just couldn’t place her. Trying to remember made his head hurt more. Floyd examined the radio by turning it upside down. Then, on a hunch, he depressed a button on the side. “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Floyd?” the radio said.
“Yes. Who is this, please?”
There was a long pause. Then the radio said, “It’s me, Sonya. Are you okay?”
He depressed the button again, getting the hang of things. “Sure I am. I’m great. I just have a little headache, that’s all. How are you?”
“Have you been drinking?” the Sonya voice asked.
“Nothing but water and the Holy Word of God,” he replied, insulted.
“Listen, we have to go back to the ghost ship. Dirk and I have reason to believe the derelict is going to self-destruct. We don’t know how much time we have until it does. We have to disconnect the tractor beam and get as much distance between us and the ship as we can. Are you willing to come with us?”
Floyd had no idea what the Sonya voice was talking about. He decided to agree just in case it was right. “That makes a lot of sense. When do we leave?”
“Can you meet us down in the Ready Room in ten minutes?” the voice asked.
“Oh no,” Floyd
said. “I can’t do that. That’s a very dangerous place. I might get sucked into outer space, and then where would I be?”
There was a really long pause this time. Floyd hoped he hadn’t made the Sonya voice angry. Then the voice said, “Where are you, Floyd?”
“I’m in my safe room.”
“We’re coming down to check on you,” the voice said. Before Floyd could answer, the radio clicked into silence.
“No!” Floyd shouted into the mouthpiece. “You can’t come here! I don’t want you here. This is my safe room. Go get your own safe place!” Floyd jumped up and dragged a trunk in front of the door. Then he threw his back against it. A moment later there was a loud knock.
“Floyd? It’s Sonya. Please open the door. I just want to talk to you for a moment,” the Sonya voice said.
“I can’t let you in. This is a trick.”
“No, it isn’t. I just want to talk to you. That’s all.”
“Talk to me through the door.”
“Talking like this is a little awkward,” the Sonya voice said. “Wouldn’t it be nicer face-to-face?”
Floyd thought the Sonya voice sounded pretty, and he really did want to talk to her face, but he wasn’t sure. “You promise this isn’t a trick?”
“Yes,” the Sonya voice said nicely. “I promise.”
Floyd pushed the trunk away from the door and punched in the code for the lock. Funny that he could remember that. “Okay, but if―”
Several people pushed against the door, forcing it open and knocking Floyd back. He screamed and tried to close it again, but the persons were already spilling into his room. Floyd tried to bite them, but there were just too many. They tied him up and dragged him out of his safe room.
The Sonya woman fell into step alongside watching him like he’d just pooped himself. “You’re a liar, Sonya’s voice,” he seethed. “And you’re not as pretty as I thought you’d be.”
“What’s wrong with you, Floyd?” she asked with glassy eyes.
Floyd was happy his insults had hurt her feelings. “Nothing that a little truthfulness wouldn’t solve, you lying liar.”
A big man with short hair and a square jaw grabbed him under his right arm. His right eye glowed like a machine, and Floyd could tell the big man had robot parts in him. Floyd glared but didn’t cry out in pain like the robot monster wanted him to. “Just keep your mouth shut, Floyd.”
“Okay, devil,” Floyd said. “But just so you know, I’ll have my revenge for the hurting you’re giving me now. I can promise you that.”
“I’m shaking on the inside,” the robot monster said. Floyd knew even if the robot monster was lying, he wouldn’t be for long. Floyd would get even because he had a frightening secret. And not too long from now, everyone would be shaking. They’d learn Floyd’s new secret, and they’d all be shaking a lot.
And that made Floyd smile.
Chapter Nineteen
Immediately after Barnes had relayed his fears about the aliens, Logan started looking for Sonya. It wasn’t going to take her but a split-second to find out about the spores and overreact by doing something stupid. Logan was worried about Dirk, too. The big cyborg was usually very level-headed, but who knows what kind of lunacy Sonya was putting into his mind. The two of them could cost Logan and the crew millions, billions even. He had to find and calm them down before things got out of hand.
He found them in the Ready Room getting suited up to go back over to the ghost ship. Resisting the urge to run over and tear the suits from their bodies, he folded his arms and said, “What’s going on?”
Dirk and Sonya glanced at each other as if Logan had spoken an unknown language. Dirk was the first to speak. “What do you mean? You know where we’re going. There’s no mystery here. We’re going back to the ghost ship to investigate that countdown.”
Logan ran his fingers through his gray hair and scuffed the floor with his boot. “Yeah, well, about that. I’ve decided I don’t want anyone going back over there.”
“What?” Sonya shouted indignantly. “Are you shitting me? We are probably dragging an alien megaton bomb behind us with a tractor beam we can’t disengage from. We have to get free of that ship. Don’t you get that, Logan?”
“I think you’re exaggerating, Sonya,” Logan said in that parental tone he knew would send her off. “We don’t know anything about that ship for a fact because we can’t read their writing. So, before we go over there and start pushing buttons without really knowing what they do, why don’t we all calm down, get everyone together, and have a meeting to discuss all this.”
A muscle moved in Dirk’s jaw. “Discuss all what, Captain?”
Logan made a sweeping gesture like a circus ringleader. He thought it was a nice touch. “We need to review all the information we know about that ship. We should also review any safety precautions to be taken, and all future action.”
Sonya nodded quickly like she’d just gotten the punch line of a particularly unpleasant joke. “I get it. This is about the money, isn’t it, Logan? You don’t want anyone stopping you from getting this hulking piece of alien junk back to the Earth Central Command. No one matters as much as the Almighty Dollar. Isn’t that right? So, you’ll stall, and block, and pussyfoot around until the goddamn thing either kills us or makes us filthy rich.”
“I think all the stress and talk of alien countdowns has made you paranoid,” Logan said. There was a veiled threat to his tone.
Sonya turned to Dirk. “Are you just going to stand there and take this crap? This is insanity. Can’t you see what he’s doing and why? He doesn’t give a shit about anyone or anything. Logan would be delighted to kill us all. All he cares about is the money.”
Dirk ignored her. “Where and when do you want to have this meeting?”
Logan had to stop himself from smirking at Sonya. “I’ll call it right now. We’ll hold the meeting in the first deck conference room.” He frowned at Sonya. “Even though I shouldn’t, I’m going to allow you to attend, young lady. But I don’t want any emotional outbursts. Is that clear?”
“Yes. Fine. Perfectly clear,” she said.
Logan turned to leave, relieved he had stalled them for a little while.
“Oh, and Logan?” Dirk said behind his back.
The captain stopped and turned around, forcing a smile on his face. “Yes, Dirk?”
“I want Barnes to attend, too. Okay?”
Logan scowled. “I don’t really see the point of―”
“Just make sure he shows up to our little meeting,” Dirk said. It wasn’t a question, it was a demand, and for the first time, Logan felt uneasy, like he could lose the ship to a mutiny if he didn’t watch his step.
“Okay, buddy,” Logan assured him. “I’ll make sure the doctor attends.”
Chapter Twenty
When Logan arrived at the meeting room, Whittmeyer was already there. Sonya and Dirk rushed in behind him, taking their seats like eager schoolchildren on their first day of school. Logan took his seat by the door and interlaced his fingers on the tabletop.
“Okay,” he said in his most engaging tone. “Who would like to go first?”
“Why are we wasting time here, Captain?” Dirk asked. He had settled into a chair that looked much too small for him and was having trouble getting comfortable.
Logan scanned the room. “Where’s Floyd?”
“He’s not feeling well,” Sonya replied.
He shrugged and returned his attention back to Dirk. “I’d be happy to tell you why we’re having this meeting,” Logan began. “First off, I think things are getting a little wacky, and frankly I’m not surprised. We’ve all had a shock finding this alien vessel, and I think our imaginations are starting to run away with us.”
“You didn’t even believe it was an alien ship,” Sonya said.
Logan held up his hand to ward her off. “I know, I know, and Sonya, you were right. Okay? I’ll admit that. But you have to admit that finding an alien ship on an established trade
route is pretty remote, isn’t it?”
Sonya rolled her eyes and slumped in her seat. She folded her arms across her chest.
“Anyway,” Logan continued, “I want to discuss everything we’ve discovered so far in order to come up with a plan of action.” He smiled, hoping that would relieve some of the tension. “Now, why is it you all feel there is a self-destruct sequence on the alien ship?”
Sonya unfolded her arms and leaned forward. “Because we saw a screen on the bridge that looked like it was running through a bunch of digits.”
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