Gateway To The Universe: In Bad Company

by Craig Martelle

  Kurtz threw his clothes on before stomping the few meters to get to the technician. His clothes fit more tightly than when he’d taken them off. The man looked terrified.

  Alarm klaxons sounded in the corridor.

  Lieutenant Kurtz felt trapped. “Are we under attack? Where the hell do we go? Where is our duty station?” He looked around frantically before bolting through the door and down the passageway.

  The other warriors followed him, but the technician yelled at them to come back. “We have a schedule to keep,” he said calmly, showing no trace of his earlier fear. He pointed to the young woman. “You next.”

  She pulled the privacy curtain in front of the Pod Doc, undressed, and got in. The door shut and the technician went about his work, surreptitiously watching a status locator in the upper corner of his screen. The new Werewolf was running through the corridors where he would find a security team waiting.

  The technician feared the worst--that the man hadn’t changed into just a Werewolf, but a Pricolici. They’d been experimenting, but not on live tissue. There had to have been something in Kurtz’s DNA that made him susceptible.

  He needed to be controlled until he could control himself.

  ***

  “What?” Terry exclaimed. “Son of a bitch!”

  Char’s muscles tensed as she knew what was coming next. Terry jumped from his seat and started running for the door. “Tac teams with me. NOW!”

  The pack hesitated for an instant, before Char’s fierce look galvanized them into action. A cat raced across the tabletop in front of them, diving through the open door just behind Terry Henry.

  Five Werewolves, two Weretigers, and the FDG senior officers raced out, single file, through the door and down the corridor after the colonel, having no idea where he was going or why.

  And it didn’t matter. He called for help and they went. Without question. Without remorse.

  ***

  Kurtz wasn’t sure where he was going, but thought the hangar deck the best candidate. Shuttle pods were located there. The teams would use them for a landing operation. He wondered if that meant a breaching operation, too. Kurtz had no idea what that looked like, but was ready to go kill someone.

  He was angry, but didn’t know why. His clothes started to split.

  The blow came from nowhere. A strike hard enough to send him flying through the air and slamming into a steel bulkhead. He felt bones break when he hit. Pain shot through his limbs.

  He slid down to the deck, landing in a crumpled heap.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Valerie asked. “You don’t just change for no reason.”

  “Change?” he mumbled as he struggled upright to sit back against the bulkhead.

  Robin approached from the side as Valerie kneeled in front of the lieutenant. “You don’t know?”

  Kurtz shook his head.

  “I’m not going to be the one to tell you,” she replied as she stood.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Terry Henry and his tac teams ran onto the hangar deck, turning and making a beeline for Valerie, Robin, and Garcia.

  “TH,” Valerie said as a greeting.

  Terry decided if they were going to a new galaxy together, he needed all the friends he could get.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, tipping his head toward the man on the ground.

  “Didn’t want to rough him up,” Valerie replied, “but he left me little choice.”

  Robin simply nodded, getting her girl’s back.

  Char worked her way around the others and took a knee next to Kurtz. Cory joined her. When he looked up, they saw everything they needed to see. The yellow eyes gave him away. Char leaned back, closed her eyes, and started to draw power from the Etheric dimension. She could sense the others, see how their bodies interacted with the Etheric connection.

  And Kurtz was pulling more than anyone else. His body was hungrily drawing the power. The Pod Doc had changed him.

  “Back to sickbay with you,” Char told him.

  “What’s wrong with me?” Kurtz asked in a sad voice.

  “You’re becoming a Were, not just any Werewolf, but a very rare kind, a Pricolici.” Char was patient as the man’s jaw worked against itself. He wrestled with the changes.

  The unwanted changes.

  “I didn’t ask for this,” he said as he struggled to his feet. Char and Cory helped. The others stepped back. Cory’s touch calmed as it always did. She kept her hand on the back of his neck where the pain of his change found purchase.

  “We’ll see what we can do for you,” Terry offered.

  Smedley, stop all Pod-Doc work immediately until I am comfortable with what it’s doing to my people. None of us need a ship full of rabid Werewolves.

  >>The current process is ongoing with no issues,<< the EI replied.

  When that one ends, no more until we find out what the hell happened to Kurtz.

  Terry closed the link without waiting. They ushered Kurtz up the stairs, around corners, and down hallways until they returned to the room with the Pod Doc.

  The last of the warriors was exiting. He hurriedly got dressed, while keeping a wary eye on Lieutenant Kurtz.

  “How do you feel?” Terry demanded of the man.

  “There’s someone talking in my head, but outside of that, I feel fine, sir. Am I supposed to feel bad or something? The lieutenant looks like shit.”

  “I think he just had a reaction to it, that’s all. Go to the chow hall and tell everyone to rally up in the rec room. I’ll meet you all there in ten.”

  “Sir, yes, sir!” The private ran out. Marcie stopped the man.

  “I’ll take care of it, Colonel,” Marcie shouted from the corridor. Terry mumbled his agreement while keeping his eyes on the lieutenant.

  “He’s going back in the Pod Doc,” Terry said.

  The technician stood and shook his head.

  “What’s your name, son?” Terry asked.

  “They call me Bob,” the man replied.

  “Well, Bob, I need you to explain to me why this man has been turned into a FUCKING PRICOLICI!”

  The man rocked back from the force of Terry’s yell.

  “I need you to calm down,” the man said, looking down his nose at the colonel.

  Terry dove forward, his hand outstretched as he reached for the man’s throat. Char intercepted her husband with a full body block, driving him into the Pod Doc. They wrestled briefly, but Terry knew that Char was right.

  He so loved wrestling with her. He smiled up at her sparkling purple eyes. He was on his back and she straddled him. She knew when the fight was out of him. She popped to her feet and pulled him up.

  Bob was backed up against his console, still looking afraid.

  “What’s a Pricolici?” a weak voice asked.

  “Pricolici are Werewolves, but they walk upright and are more violent. They can also speak while in Were form, while a Werewolf or a Weretiger cannot,” Timmons stated clinically as if lecturing a student.

  Terry looked to Char for confirmation. She shook her head.

  “I’ve never met one before.”

  “It looks like maybe now you have,” Terry answered before turning back to the technician. “What can you do to fix this, Bob?”

  “There is nothing to fix. Those genes and nanocytes were already in his system. The Pod Doc only activated what lay dormant.”

  “How could he already have those genes? He had nothing to do with Weres before he met us. He’s a good ol’ country boy, joined the FDG and did good,” Terry said.

  “All of you have it to some extent,” Bob explained. “But your active nanocytes are dominant. There were a few who we’ve checked who did not have the nanocytes. Let me see…” The technician scrolled through data on his screen. “Felicity and Auburn.”

  Terry looked into the corridor. “What makes you different from the rest of us?”

  Cory gasped. “They are the only ones I haven’t had to heal.”

  “We
birthed Typhoid Mary?” Terry asked, half-joking. Char punched him in the chest hard enough to drive him backward.

  “Dad might be right,” Cory said barely above a whisper. Joseph put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Tyson, I didn’t know.”

  Kurtz smiled at her. “How can I be angry with you? All you’ve ever done is try to heal the world. It’s not in your nature to hurt someone, not knowingly.”

  “This is him as he really is,” Bob told them.

  “Bullshit,” Terry replied coldly. “None of these people had any of this stuff before. Run your analysis by cross-checking the nanocyte interactions starting with Char and me, then add in the information you have on Akio, and finally, look at Cory’s. Don’t look at her data in isolation.”

  “Damn, TH,” Timmons replied. “I’ve never heard you sound like a scientist before.”

  “Too much TV during my formative years,” Terry replied, watching Bob’s eyes brighten as if a lightbulb turned on within his mind. The technician hurried to his seat, mumbling about not knowing the cross-pollination of the nanocytes since he’d never heard of such a thing before. Using nanos to heal people, yes, but not that they would integrate with existing nanocytes.

  “All that research time, but here it is, what we’ve been looking for,” Bob said.

  “What?” Terry asked, leaning over the man’s shoulder and looking at a screen filled with incomprehensible data.

  ***

  Marcie walked through the door to the mess deck, turned right, and headed around the tables to the serving window. “Cleaning party,” she called, but not in a loud voice.

  Two warriors hurried to her side.

  “Are we cleaned up and ready to go?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” one of them said.

  Marcie walked into the kitchen, head held high. “Jenelope! Master chef! Are you in here?”

  “Who’s in my kitchen?” she replied from a back corner.

  “Colonel Marcie Walton, ma’am. I want to make sure that you are satisfied that my people properly cleaned this space for you following our impromptu meal.”

  Jen wiped her hands on her apron as she approached. She looked to the sides and motioned conspiratorially for Marcie to lean closer. Jen moved close to the colonel’s ear before whispering. “The space actually cleans itself. There are a couple bots that take care of it, but I let your people do it, because they said they had to, following orders and stuff. You’ll find that this ship takes care of most of the little things so its crew can take care of the big things.”

  Marcie tried not to chuckle. She leaned around the side of Jen’s head. “That can be our little secret. If we don’t have them clean up after themselves here, they’ll think that there will always be someone to make their beds for them. If you’re okay maintaining the charade, I’ll assign daily work parties for each meal.”

  “I appreciate the company, Marcie,” Jen said in a normal tone. “My, aren’t you pretty. Are you what’s left of humanity on Earth?”

  Marcie smiled at the compliment, having not realized that the crew may not have been informed of the mission or the newcomers.

  “No. We are only a tiny fraction. Humanity is thriving again, and I’d like to think that my in-laws had a lot to do with that. Bethany Anne has given us a different mission. We’re going to the stars, join Nathan Lowell’s Bad Company, and the War Axe is taking us.”

  “I wondered,” the woman replied, looking forlornly at the warriors gathered around the tables in the dining area. “Will some of them die?”

  Marcie hadn’t expected the conversation to turn dark. She knew the universe had to be a wonderful but dangerous place and couldn’t wait to get out there and see it for herself.

  “Not if I can help it,” Marcie promised, gripping the cook’s shoulder, before turning and facing the dining area. “And that means training! To the rec room, people. We’ve had a change in schedule.”

  The warriors filed out in a hurry, leaving a couple members of the crew sitting by themselves. Marcie wondered when they’d be able to get to know the crew.

  She wondered about the classes, too, and realized that the amount of information she didn’t know about the things that would directly impact her life far outweighed what she did know. Marcie had never felt so helpless before. She gritted her teeth and shook off the feeling.

  When you’re in a strange place, do something that you know.

  Marcie knew sparring. Hand-to-hand combat training would put everyone at ease, while making them sharper, and buying time for Terry Henry and Char to figure out what happened to Kurtz.

  ***

  “Enhanced Vampire nanos have integrated with the enhanced Werewolf nanos,” the technician said slowly as he pointed at various cells within the complex dataset displayed on his screen. “Terry and Char’s nanocytes are supercharged. Akio’s nanos are greatly enhanced. Cory received everything that her parents have, but tempered. If she wants to become a Werewolf, there’s only one slight mod we need to make.”

  Bob studied his screen momentarily before continuing.

  “When Cory healed Akio, and his nanos merged with hers, that is when the Pricolici strain was born. The four of you have created an independent series of nanocytes that have taken on a life of their own. To the system, they look like recessive traits, dormant until activated.”

  “Cory has healed a lot of our people,” Terry said matter-of-factly. “We’re in a dangerous business and have a tendency to get injured maybe a little more often than other people.”

  “How do we make sure that none of the others are turned into something they don’t want to be?” Char asked.

  “We know what to look for. ArchAngel’s program will be able to restrain further excursions into the realm of the Pricolici. We will simply insert a chip and improve the healing capabilities of your people as a first step or as an only step, whatever you need. You are in charge of these conversions.” Bob leaned back in his chair and threw his hands behind his head.

  “How are you feeling, Kurtz?” Terry asked.

  “Getting better by the minute, sir. I think I like it, but I’m going to have to ease into it. Kind of came as an unhappy surprise.”

  “I’ll help you to understand,” Char told him. “The most important thing you can do right now is stay calm. If you change when you aren’t ready, the consequences could be dire.”

  “I tell him to stay calm, and he tries to wring my neck. You tell that one to stay calm, and everyone’s like, ‘oh yeah. That’s right.’” Bob’s lip curled.

  Terry clenched his fists, making his knuckles turn white. “Bob. I think it best if you don’t talk.”

  Kaeden squeezed in next to the technician. “I’d listen to him if I were you.”

  “You need me more than I need you!” the man blurted before clasping a hand over his mouth.

  Kae grabbed the man by the back of his collar and dragged him from the room. “We’re going to have a little chat, Bob,” Kae told him as he propelled him down the corridor.

  Shonna slid easily into the seat, cracked her knuckles, and tapped on the screen. “Smedley, you’re going to teach me how to use this thing.”

  “This is most irregular,” the EI replied. “Maybe if Ted asked, we could start at a higher level.”

  Shonna’s expression turned sour. “Then tell Ted to get his ass down here,” Shonna sneered.

  “Done.”

  Silence filled the room. Terry and Char took that as their cue to leave. “Keep me informed,” Terry said over his shoulder.

  Timmons worked his way close to the monitors and studied the screens. He shook his head. “I got nothing.”

  “Me either,” Shonna replied. “I know that Smedley is right, but it chaps my ass when he has to say it out loud in front of everyone else.

  Ted walked in less than thirty seconds after being summoned. He looked at Shonna in front of the monitors and stopped in confusion.

  “We need you to run this thing,” Shonn
a said flatly.

  “What happened to the technician?”

  “Bob was a raging, flaming asshole and got on the wrong side of TH. He’s not welcome to work with our people.”

  “But this isn’t our ship, and this isn’t our equipment,” Ted stammered, frozen in place.

  “We’re sharing. Smedley said he would let only you work the controls. He didn’t want to go back to two-plus-two level for us Neanderthals.”

  “He got that right,” Ted said.

  Shonna balled a fist. “Sometimes, Ted, I just want to beat the crap out of you.”

  “Don’t make me sic Felicity on you,” Ted countered.

  Shonna stood and offered the chair, eyes narrowed in thought. “If I didn’t know you better, I would think that you just made a joke. I take it back. You earned yourself a reprieve.” She dragged a hand across his back and he cringed.

  Ted didn’t like to be touched, but he’d gotten better over the centuries.

  As soon as the Werewolf genius dug into the data, everything and everyone else disappeared to him. He started talking out loud. The group knew that Smedley was instructing him through Ted’s chip. Then the EI switched to the speakers. They talked simultaneously. The screens flashed as Ted’s hands flew across them.

  No one could follow what was happening, so they left.

  “Tell us when you’re ready for the next victim,” Timmons told the back of Ted’s head as the tactical teams meandered in the general direction of the recreation room.

  ***

  Edwin, Samantha, and Nick stood in the center of the ring. “Fuck you candy-asses!” Edwin yelled. The three of them had trained and deployed with the tactical teams led by the Were and the enhanced. They’d been driven to the edge of natural human abilities.

  Sometimes over the edge and Cory had to help them back to their feet. All of them had gotten time in Akio’s cobbled-together Pod Doc back on Earth, in the time before Bethany Anne’s return. They were in the best shape of all the warriors. They were the deadliest natural humans, because Terry Henry had demanded it.

  Terry and the tactical teams only fought others from the UnknownWorld. Natural humans would readily die against them, unless they were trained to the degree of these three.