by Adair Hart
Silva and Rakar followed Duras over to the medical structure. Rakar noticed there were several benches outside with more Kreagans sitting on them. They seemed to be in various states of the disease. He noticed that most of them seemed to be middle-aged. From his studies, he could not recall age being a factor in how quickly the disease spread. Rakar turned his head toward Duras. “Does age have an impact on how quickly the disease affects someone?”
Duras turned his head halfway while walking. “Yeah. The younger you are, the slower the progression. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, you still die from it regardless of age.”
Rakar nodded.
They arrived at the medical structure that loomed over most of the other buildings around it. In addition to its height, it stretched a ways back. Rakar figured most of the colony ship that had been dismantled probably went into this structure. They walked through the open door. Inside was a grid of makeshift cots, with various worktables and machinery in the center of the room. A Kreagan in a white outfit buzzed around.
Duras waved at the Kreagan. “Zeebros!”
Zeebros paused as he looked up at Duras. He gestured for them to come to him.
Duras waved his hand forward. “Come on.”
They walked over to Zeebros, who was now sitting on a metal stool. Before him on his worktable were various tablet-like devices and gadgetry.
Duras pointed toward Silva. “This is Silva Ga Hujorn, a diplomat-of-the-first-order.” He then pointed toward Rakar. “And this is Rakar Ho Jador, a military intelligence specialist. They have come from Kreagus and say they know of an algae nearby that can act as a base for a cure.”
“From Kreagus, huh? I don’t know what your business is here, but you’re both infected now. So, what’s this about an algae?” asked Zeebros with a smirk.
Silva nodded. “We need a container to put it in, but you should be able to synthesize a cure from it.”
“How do you know this, exactly? Military intelligence on this planet never mentioned anything about this, or maybe they did know.”
“I assure you there was nothing about this in the planet analysis. However, we ran across a similar effect on another planet. A counteragent was developed to eradicate that disease. It may not work on this one, but the symptoms are almost identical.”
“So just wild speculation?”
“Do you have an alternative?”
Zeebros sighed. “No. We have lost seventeen so far. At this rate, everyone will be dead in a few months. I’m open to anything at this point.” He walked over to a steel cabinet and opened it. A cylindrical container with a metal cap sat on the top row. He grabbed it and handed it to Silva. “Take this. It has a light on top in case you need it. I hope you’re right.”
Silva nodded.
Rakar saluted with his arm across his chest, palm down.
“What’s that? A military intelligence thing?” asked Zeebros.
Rakar’s eyes widened as he put his arm down. “Yes … I apologize for the confusion. We will be on our way.” He had not thought about the standard Kreagan salute not being known. Keeping future knowledge was more difficult than he realized. He figured this was probably what Evaran had to deal with constantly as a time traveler.
Silva and Rakar followed Duras out of the medical structure.
Duras turned toward them. “Wait here. I will get our transportation. It isn’t much, but it can go across most terrain.” He walked off into the distance.
Silva looked down at the cylinder container. “This is amazing. I can’t believe we’re here. How could they not have the cure already?” He pulled out his tablet and pressed the communication button.
Evaran popped up on the screen. “Everything okay?”
“Apparently the cure has not been synthesized yet, or the algae procured.”
“Then you must get it. I am relaying to you the coordinates of the cave along with the chemical makeup needed for the cure.”
“Okay,” said Silva as Evaran blinked off the screen. He studied the map and looked around, then looked at Rakar and shrugged.
Rakar looked at the ground in contemplation. “I think … ,” he said, looking back up at Silva, “we were always meant to be here. The Arkaron crystal was meant to be taken by us, like Evaran said. I didn’t think we would also be getting the cure, though.”
Their attention focused on the vehicle that pulled up next to them. It had four wheels with a driver and passenger seat up front and a metal-like bed behind it that took up a majority of the vehicle’s length. A mounted weapon sat on the bed.
Duras was in the driver’s seat and gestured for them to get in.
Silva nodded at Rakar with knowing eyes and then took the passenger seat, and Rakar climbed onto the bed and sat behind the mounted weapon.
Duras turned his head to the side. “Where to?”
Silva pointed off into the distance. “Over there a bit. Should be no obstructions to the cave.”
Duras nodded as he shifted a lever. The vehicle whined as it moved forward, winding its way through the various structures. After a few minutes, they were on the edge of the encampment and moving over a blue grassland. Various creatures scattered as they moved across it.
Rakar enjoyed seeing Kreagus in its natural state. He was not used to seeing large native grasslands. The grasslands had a much different smell than the scented grass on modern Kreagus. The creatures he observed in the distance were unfamiliar to him. On modern-day Kreagus, there was not much in terms of biodiversity. He also enjoyed the vehicle. Seeing wheels was very uncommon in modern-day Kreagus.
The journey over the grasslands passed without incident for the next fifteen minutes. The vehicle came to a stop at the edge of a jungle.
Silva narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead. “Figures there would have been a jungle in the way.”
Duras shut off the vehicle and then turned toward Silva. “Looks like we’re walking.”
Rakar grabbed his weapon and jumped off the bed. “Walking it is.”
Duras stepped out of the vehicle. He grabbed his weapon from a slot behind his seat and slung it over his shoulder. “Should we be expecting trouble?”
“Maybe.” Rakar noticed the smell immediately. He had been to alien jungles before and had learned that if there was a strong scent among the background smells, then there was something out there. He surveyed the edge of the jungle, looking for any sign of movement. Kreagan history was well studied by all Kreagan rangers. He knew this era had vicious predators that would eventually be wiped out by the Kreagans as they expanded. His fear was that this was a jungle inhabited by the villapcors—large flightless carnivorous birds standing about seven feet tall that hunted in packs. He turned toward Silva and Duras. “This is something’s territory. We need to be careful. Silva, you may want to have your panic device easily accessible in case we need to emit an alarm. I’ll take point.” He moved into the jungle with Silva behind him and Duras behind Silva.
They made steady progress toward the cave. The jungle was not as dense as Rakar had originally thought. He looked up and saw that the trees spread out across the top, forming a porous canopy. It would be easy to hide here, and easy for medium-sized predators to move around.
As the cave came into view, Silva pointed to it. “The willow caves are there.” He rubbed his chin. “The entrance is smaller than I remember.”
Duras faced Silva. “You’ve seen it before? The probe analysis?”
“Umm … right. The probe analysis. We aren’t too far now.”
They continued walking for a bit when Rakar raised his hand for them to stop. He turned his head slightly to the side. “Duras, turn slowly around. Silva, get your emergency beacon ready to emit an alarm.”
A large villapcor emerged from behind a tree and stared at Rakar down its large beak.
Rakar’s eyes widened, and his heart raced. He did not even hear it coming up on them.
“There is another one behind us!” said Duras.
“They are trying to distract us,”
said Rakar. Their hunting tactics were more advanced than he had originally thought.
The villapcor tilted its head and then turned and ran away.
Rakar faced Silva. “Did you activate your panic device?”
Silva shook his head. “No. Perhaps we have someone watching over us.”
“The great selector,” said Duras.
Rakar half grinned. “Or something more powerful.”
Duras shook his head. “Well, I’ll take it.”
“Let’s move. We’re close,” said Rakar. He eyed the trees around him and crept forward toward the cave, looking right and left as he went.
They walked for a while until the cave was before them.
Rakar crept up to the entrance and tilted his head. “I don’t hear anything. Light up.”
Silva nodded, then turned on the light of the container Zeebros gave him. He moved ahead into the cave with Duras in tow.
Rakar surveyed the surrounding area, then ducked in after them.
They walked ahead for a while with the light bouncing off the walls. A slime oozed from the walls and dripped onto the ground, making a pitter-patter sound echo out.
Rakar wrinkled his nose. He could smell something decaying. A purple mat covering one of the walls caught his attention. He pointed to it. “Is this what we’re looking for?”
Silva scrutinized the mat and then nodded. “That’s it.”
“The probes came into the caves and analyzed this? Captain Mrakus never mentioned anything like that,” said Duras.
Silva’s eyes widened. “Umm … Yes. It was not put into the reports. However, there was a secondary analysis.”
“Figures,” said Duras.
Silva pulled off the scraper attached to the side of the cylinder, then put the container against the wall and scraped some of the mat into the container. After a few minutes, he had scraped most of the mat off the wall. “This should be enough.” His lips drew down as a roar echoed out from the cave interior.
Rakar shook his hand toward the cave’s entrance. “We need to move!”
Duras took off toward the entrance, with Silva and Rakar in tow. After a few minutes, they reached the entrance.
Rakar surveyed the surrounding environment again, then moved forward back onto the path they had taken to the cave.
Silva followed him with Duras taking up the rear. Sounds of various creatures rang out from behind them.
Rakar figured something must have spooked them. He wondered if it was the Torvatta watching from above helping out.
After ten minutes at a brisk pace, they reached their vehicle. They jumped into the vehicle and took off. On the way back across the blue grasslands, Duras pointed off to the side. A pack of canine-looking creatures was running along the side of the craft.
Rakar noticed they were wild wurdods. He thought of the one he had growing up. He had never seen a wild one. He half smiled as he thought of the debate that raged on their origin in the scientific community. They were split down the middle on whether the wurdods were native to the planet or brought from ancient Kreagus, where a similar creature existed. He wished he could tell them but knew that he could never tell anyone about what he saw here.
They arrived back at the medical ward after fifteen minutes. They exited the vehicle and walked into the medical structure. Zeebros was busy on the other side, giving water to a limp Kreagan. He turned to face them as they rushed over to him.
“How’d it go?” asked Zeebros.
Silva handed Zeebros the container. “We have it. You should be able to synthesize the ooze this algae is producing into a serum.” He pulled out his tablet and navigated to the screen with the chemical listing that Evaran had sent and then handed it to Zeebros. “You will need to add these chemicals to it.”
Zeebros eyed the container and then looked at the tablet. He sighed. “I don’t know about this, but we’ll try it. We have these chemicals, but that is an unusual mixture.” He walked over to a machine on the side of the room and pressed a button on it, causing a section with three container slots to slide out. The algae container was slotted which then retracted back into the machine. He pressed a few buttons, and the machine went into action. A few moments later, another smaller section slid out with small vials hanging from it. He grabbed a vial and placed it into a small cylindrical container, creating a syringe.
Silva, Rakar, and Duras followed Zeebros over to several Kreagans lying on cots.
Zeebros turned to them. “These men are close to death. I don’t like the idea of experimenting on them with this, but I also understand it may be their only chance.”
Silva nodded. “Understood. It will take about a day or so for the effects to appear. They won’t die with it in their blood, though.”
Zeebros drew his lips flat and then injected the men. “We’ll see.”
Rakar half grinned. “We’ll stay out of your way until this is verified. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Yes, yes,” said Zeebros as he buzzed around the comatose Kreagans.
Duras gestured toward the entrance. “We have spare structures you two can stay in. They were built but are unoccupied.”
“It’s appreciated,” said Rakar. He glanced at Silva and then followed Duras out of the medical structure.
Duras pointed to a row of buildings. “Pick any one you want.”
Silva glanced at Rakar and then headed toward one of the structures.
Rakar put his hand on Duras’s shoulder. “We appreciate the help. We’ll see you in the morning.”
They spent the night in one of the small structures without incident. It had several rooms in it with functional power and temperature control. Rakar had seen these types of structures before, although they were much more advanced in his time. He liked it; it was functional and had enough room for a small group and, more importantly, would be easy and quick to build.
In the morning, Silva and Rakar headed back to the medical building. Captain Mrakus, Duras, and Zeebros were talking with the Kreagans who had been injected the day before. The formerly comatose Kreagans were standing, smiling, and stretching.
Captain Mrakus smiled and waved Silva and Rakar over.
Silva shot Rakar a look and then headed over to them, with Rakar behind him.
“I think it’s working!” said Zeebros. “Their blood shows a lower count of the virus, and it’s steadily declining.”
Silva nodded. “They should then be immune to it once it is purged.”
Zeebros ran his hand over his mouth. “I’ll get this distributed to the rest of the infected. I will need to make sure any new passengers are inoculated as well.”
Captain Mrakus gestured toward the door. “I’ve had my shot. Your help is greatly appreciated, and I owe you that crystal.”
“Before you leave, make sure to check in and get your shots,” said Zeebros.
“Will do,” said Rakar.
Captain Mrakus nodded.
Silva and Rakar followed Captain Mrakus back to his office.
Captain Mrakus grabbed a key from his desk and walked over to a steel cabinet. He unlocked it and pulled out the Arkaron crystal and then set it on his desk. “Here it is. I think it’s useless, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the great selector sent you to us.”
Silva tilted his head toward Captain Mrakus and then picked up the crystal. “For all our sake, let’s just hope it does what it’s supposed to.”
Captain Mrakus laughed. “Well, good luck with that.”
Silva glanced at Rakar, then back at Captain Mrakus. “We will be on our way to the second colony ship after our shots. We appreciate your help in this matter.”
“You know, this colony would’ve never survived if you two hadn’t come along, but I guess the military in their own way wanted to make sure we were okay. We owe you a great debt. This will go in the historical records,” said Captain Mrakus.
Rakar’s eyes widened. “You can put that you found it in a cave. The military would rather not have their involvement know
n.”
“Or the first order, for that matter,” said Silva.
“If that’s what you want. Your secret is safe with me,” said Captain Mrakus.
Silva extended his hand. “It has truly been an honor to meet you.”
Captain Mrakus jerked his head back as he shook Silva’s hand.
Rakar extended his hand, and a startled Captain Mrakus shook it.
“The honor is mine. You’re heroes to me.”
Silva bowed and exited the structure with Rakar. They went to the medical building and got their shots, knowing it would have no impact on them, then headed back to the Torvatta.
Dr. Snowden turned his head toward Silva, Rakar, and V as they entered the conference room. V had waited for them at the entrance to direct Silva and Rakar.
“You two were everywhere out there,” said Dr. Snowden.
Silva, Rakar, and V took their seats.
Silva shook his head. “It was … interesting.” He handed the crystal to Evaran. “Here it is.”
“Excellent. You both did well.”
“I assume that was the Torvatta that scared off those villapcors,” said Silva.
“It was. The Torvatta sent a directed sonic beam at them.”
“Just glad there were two.”
“There were eight.”
Silva’s eyes widened as he swallowed hard.
Rakar licked his upper lip as he glanced at Emily, Andia, and Dr. Snowden across the table. “The villapcors were more efficient than I expected. Nonetheless, this colony wouldn’t have survived if we hadn’t interfered.”
“The search for the lost Arkaron crystals has set in motion a chain of events. We all have our parts to play,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden scrutinized Evaran. “A causal time loop. A future event causing a past event. The future event being us looking for the lost Arkaron crystals, which would be the cause, and the past event is us being here in the past and finding the cure, which is the effect, right?”
Evaran nodded. “In this instance, yes.”
“What other instance would there be?”
“Nothing is set in stone. The timeline is fluid, changing in order to keep its integrity intact.”