“Six months to two years,” Meldi said.
“Given that we’ll be away from any known allied vessels for a very long time, I think it’s proper to inform the crew myself,” Brian said. “I want to explain to each one of them the situation. There are a hundred and twenty two crew members still onboard. I want to make sure everyone’s ready for this long journey.”
“According to the command structure Valis put in place, Brian will act as the captain,” Zae explained. “I’ll act as his first officer with Celi acting as the second officer. Meldi, you’ll need to choose at least one other pilot to act as your second. She’ll receive the same rank as you.”
“Myli,” Meldi answered. “She’s the only remaining squad leader.”
Zae motioned to continue. “Also, because we’re down to sixty percent of the full crew, each crew member’s shift will be changed to eight standard hours rather than six. This means we’re using the three shift system instead of the usual four. As of now our food and water stores are at half stock, which means we have another six months of supplies left. Until we can find an alternative food and water source we’ll have to cut back to half rations. Brian’s also suggested that we conserve power by shutting down all unoccupied crew quarters, as well as for all remaining crew to pair together and share quarters.”
Baed raised her hand. “What if we’re already in pairs?”
Zae smiled. “Maybe I should have been a bit clearer. Junior officers will bunk in quartets and trios where possible, all senior officers will share their quarters with one other. If energy becomes an issue power rationing will be further enforced.”
“It’s going to be a bit cramped down below,” Jesela said.
“Most definitely,” Meldi sighed, “And I thought getting a promotion was a good thing.”
“I want all of you to report what’s been shown to your subordinates,” Brian said. “I’ll be by to speak with each crew member in the next few days.”
Meldi saluted. “I’d better get down to the pilots and tell them what’s going on,” she said before leaving in haste.
“I’ll make sure to tell the engineering crew what the situation is,” Jesela said as she headed out.
“This seems so unreal,” Celi said.
“We’re going to need you to keep an eye on the crew,” Zae said. “With the knowledge that we’re stranded on our own with limited supplies it’s inevitable morale will sink.”
“That’s why I want to meet each one of them and talk with them,” Brian said. “I want to make sure everyone’s alright mentally.”
“The real problem stems from the fact that we were already on a long term mission away from any civilized planet,” Celi said. “Of course the ship gives us all the sunlight we need to survive, but the lack of space is going to close in on us much faster. I’m not the only one who was looking forward to seeing the sky from the surface of an actual planet.”
“No, you definitely weren’t,” Zae said. “The thought of being held up in the Avoni for another two years doesn’t sound enjoyable.”
“In any event, we must keep an eye out on the crew,” Brian said. “Morale’s going to be low and I don’t suspect it’ll be going up anytime soon.”
“I’ll do my best to keep an eye on everyone,” Celi took Brian’s hand, “Speaking of which, you’ve been putting off a physical for a long time now.”
“Zae, take care of things while I’m gone,” he said as he followed Celi off the bridge.
“Of course,” Zae said as they left.
Once the door on the elevator closed the headache became too much for Brian. He knelt down, cringing in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Celi asked. She took out her scanner.
“For the last few days I’ve been having horrible headaches. I would’ve gone to you earlier, but the situation hasn’t allowed for it,” he said. He stood up and took a deep breath.
“Nothing’s showing on the scanner,” Celi said. “What kind of pain is it?”
“It’s like a migraine. All I want to do is close my eyes and curl up in a dark place,” Brian blinked, “I’ve been able to force it to the back of my mind to take care of things, but I’m afraid it’s getting worse.”
“Let’s take our time and figure this out,” Celi said as the elevator opened on the floor to sickbay. The two quickly headed to the lab. Celi started up all her machines. “Please take off your armor.”
“Of course,” he said before flipping the switch to step out of the exoskeleton.
“Go ahead and sit down, this may take a while,” she said. Brian sat on the large bed at the other end of the room.
“This room feels like home to me,” he said. “It feels like forever since I first awoke in this bed.”
Celi positioned a number of precision scanners near the bed and aimed them at him. “Once we figure out what’s wrong I can start an appropriate treatment. For now I’ll give you a sedative to take away the pain.” She pulled out a small injector and shot Brian’s left arm. He flexed his hand a few times.
“Thanks, the pain’s starting to go away,” he said.
“How have your arm and eye been doing lately?”
He flexed his right arm. “It feels like the original to me. As for the eye, I’ve gotten used to standard vision, but the other options still make me a bit dizzy.”
“That’s to be expected,” she said. “The arm is relatively simple to replicate. The eye on the other end of the spectrum is a very specialized organ.”
“I’m surprised the peoples of space haven’t developed cybernetic technologies more than they have,” he said.
“It’s not as surprising as you think. People fear technology and what it brings. The real reason the Keinien androids were decommissioned wasn’t because there was no need for them; it was the fear they would turn against the Kalaidian people.”
“That really sounds like paranoia.”
“It was. But as for your statement, I believe nanomachines more than make up for the concept. Remember what they do for you.”
“That’s why the decision to go to half ration is so easy,” Brian said. “Unless we have to cut down further none of the crew will notice a difference in their energy levels.”
“True, but our stomachs will grumble a little more,” Celi said. She turned to one of her scanners. “What the hell is that?”
“What is it?”
Celi turned the monitor so Brian could an image of his circulatory system. “You see the small blue blips?”
“Yes.”
“Those are the nanomachines floating around in your bloodstream.”
“Then what are those red ones?” he asked. There were a number of red blips showing on the screen in addition to the blue ones.
“I’m not sure, but I’m going to take a sample of your blood.”
“Sure.” Brian noticed the look of concern on Celi’s face. “Tell me, what do you think it is?”
She took a draw of his blood and rushed to check it over microscopically. “I want to make sure before I say anything,” she said with a faint quiver in her voice. She looked at the sample closely under the microscope. “How is this possible?”
“What is it?” he asked as he went over to her. She pulled away from the device before turning away. He took a look himself. “I see.”
“The plague that took our males from us has begun to affect you Brian,” Celi said. She looked him in the eyes. “You’ve been under the threat of it since the day you met us. I’m sorry I didn’t catch this sooner.”
“How much time do I have left?” he asked.
“You’ve entered stage three of the illness,” she explained. “The headaches are the first symptom to appear. The next will include body aches and the gradual loss of muscle control. After that your primary senses will begin suffering. In the end you’ll have no feeling in your body and your senses will be shut off.”
“How much time do I have left?” he asked again.
“Six months to a year,” Ce
li answered with sadness in her voice. “That’s how long it’ll take to become fatal.”
“How long can I still be useful?”
“Using what I can to treat you, I can likely keep you on your feet and working for the next four months.”
He took Celi’s hand. “I want you to keep this a secret. Until we can’t keep it, please tell no one of this. I don’t want the crew to see me as a dead man walking.”
“Alright,” Celi said as she started tearing up.
“And I want you to room with me. You can keep a close eye on the progression of this disease.”
“Alright,” she said as she wiped away the tears, gathering her strength once more. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you don’t die. If there’s a cure for my people then there must be one for you.”
“Thank you,” he said. “But even if I die, please find the cure. My people will need it someday. Make sure they live, they deserve that.”
“As you wish,” she said.
Zae’s voice came over the com system. “Brian, please report to the bridge as soon as possible. We’ve found a good spot to repair the ship on a moon nearby, but we’re detecting something that may be of interest to you.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Brian said.
“Don’t push too much,” Celi said.
He put the armor back on. “If I’ve only got six months to live I’m not going to do it lying down. Let’s fight this together and win.”
“Yes, let’s do that,” she said as he went to leave. Celi immediately turned to her computers and began the arduous task finding a cure. I won’t let him die.
Chapter 8 - Ominous Portents
Brian entered the bridge once more while trying to shake off the disturbing revelation of the plague within him.
“What is it Zae?” Brian asked. On the monitor was a picture of the rocky moon before them.
“We’ve detected an artificial satellite in orbit, as well as what looks to be a base on the moon,” Zae explained. She called up the images on the screen.
The satellite appeared to be a large sphere in stationary orbit around the moon, little over half a ketre in diameter. The moon base appeared to mostly be built into the lunar silt, with a number of metallic domes peeking out of the surface. Part of the moon base appeared to have exploded with little remaining other than a charred crater.
“Neither object is emitting power,” Zae added. “We’ve received no messages either.”
“This doesn’t look like Grey technology at all,” Brian said while examining the images closely.
“They don’t even match our equipment,” Zae said. “Pre-interstellar technology is what we’re seeing on the scanners. Both the orbital satellite and the base have large nuclear reactors, but neither is active at the moment.”
“Are there any planets in this solar system capable of supporting life?” he asked.
“None that we could find,” Zae answered. “Our instruments may have been damaged in the last attack, but as of now we don’t see any planets able to support life.”
Brian took control of the science station and began scanning. “I’m detecting no life forms at all.”
“What else do the scans tell you?” Baed asked.
“Both the orbital station and the base appear to have dangerously low levels of oxygen in them,” Brian answered.
“Should we send a team in to investigate?” Zae asked.
“Let’s find a place to start repairing the ship first,” he said. “We can send some people over tomorrow.”
“Understood,” Zae said.
“It’s going to be a tight fit,” Baed said as she steered the Avoni into a large crater on the moon.
He looked at the base and the orbital station once more. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I’m getting the same feeling,” Zae said.
“I also have the feeling that those two places have a story to tell,” he said.
“What kind of story?” Baed asked.
“The kind that’s better left unread,” Brian said.
* * *
The next morning Brian stood in the launching bay with a dozen Rakna pilots around him, including lieutenants Meldi and Myli.
“We’ve detected a pair of objects on this moon worth investigating,” Brian said. “Meldi, you’ll lead the first team to the lunar base. Myli, you’ll take the second team and investigate the orbital station. Both places appear dead, and neither of the locations have had a radiation leak as of yet. I want you to sweep through and see what’s there.”
“Right,” Meldi said.
“We’ll do as you command,” Myli answered. Both ladies took the lead in their Phase Raknas and led six to each location.
“I can tell you really want to lead them yourself,” Jesela said.
“The captain doesn’t get to do such things,” Brian said. “I have to entrust it to them.”
* * *
Meldi landed her Rakna outside the massive door leading into the lunar base’s main building. Two of the other five joined her as she went to the door.
“This is like looking at an old picture of moon bases we had a few centuries ago,” ensign Vae remarked as they approached the door.
Ensign Seli scanned the structure thoroughly. “The door’s power system still works.”
“Good,” Meldi said. She went to the door and pressed the button to open it. Inside the massive door was a large warehouse area with little to nothing remaining. All three took out their lights and switched them on. As they headed inside, Seli pointed her light at a metal crate with a number of holes in it. Meldi examined at it closely.
“From the point of impact I’d say an old fashioned projectile type weapon,” Meldi explained. “Given the velocity, I’d guess at some type of rifle.”
“Why would there be gun fire in moon base?” Vae asked.
“Over there,” Seli said. She pointed at something on the ground. As the three approached and flashed their lights on it, the object appeared to be a corpse. Its body was humanoid in shape, but with lizard like scales for skin. Its skin was pulled extremely tight. Meldi looked closer before finding bullet wound in the head.
“This creature was suffering from severe malnutrition,” Seli said after scanning it over.
“Suicide,” Meldi said. She picked up a small pistol near the corpse “Whatever it was it killed itself.”
“What was going on here?” Vae asked. She and the others were looking unsettled.
“We need to go in further,” Meldi said. At the end of the warehouse there were two more doors, one leading to the right and one to the left. When they reached the right door they found it was welded shut.
“Do you want me to blast through?” Vae asked before drawing her pulse rifle.
“Go ahead,” Meldi commanded. The three backed away before blasting the door down. One shot from the pulse rifle shattered the weld and allowed Meldi to push it open. The hallway beyond was filled with metal crates scattered in a defensive pattern. Everywhere around them the walls were covered in bullet markings. As they began down the hallway the evidence of blood was stained all over the floor and walls.
“It looks like there was a battle here,” Seli said. “The one we found outside must have welded the door shut behind it.”
The three continued on until they reached a series of small rooms. Each one was filled with scattered paper as well as electronic equipment thrown all about. The only factor that kept appearing was the blood stains and bullet markings. After a few minutes of looking through the front area they came to a much larger room.
“Lieutenant…” Vae trailed off.
She pointed her light to the floor next to them. On the stone floor was fleshless corpse with a bullet wound through the skull. Seli knelt down to check the remains. She picked up one of the bones and examined it closely.
“It looks like there are teeth marks,” Seli said.
Vae was extremely disturbed. “What happened here? Wha
t is this?” she asked.
Meldi shined a light around the room and revealed many more sets of bones strewn all about. At the other end of the room remained one with flesh and its uniform on. It lay in the corner, emaciated like the first corpse they encountered. Meldi went to the storage lockers and found them devoid of anything but papers, devices, and clothes.
“This one died of malnutrition as well,” Seli said after scanning the corpse with flesh on it. She checked its teeth before cringing and backing away. Meldi noticed the horror appearing on her subordinates faces. She went over and checked the teeth just like Seli.
“I see,” she said as she looked at the bones around the room.
“What is this place?” Vae asked. Her feet were shifting nervously.
“They were out of food,” Meldi said. “Without food stores and no supplies left, they were forced to this.” She shined the light on the bones. “The one outside must have escaped and shut itself away from the rest.”
“You’re saying they ate each other?” Vae asked.
“That’s exactly what they did,” Seli said. She went to the door they entered. “Lieutenant, I don’t want to be here.”
“Agreed,” Meldi said. “I have a feeling the corpse we found first has something to tell us.” She led the two back to the first warehouse. On the corpse on the ground they found a hard disc in its front pocket. “Let’s return to the Avoni.”
“Yes, let’s do that,” the other two said before running back to their mobile suits.
Meldi looked upon the lunar base once more.
“The horrors you must have seen in those final days. By the grace of Kali, I pray each of you found happiness after this life.”
* * *
Myli landed her mobile suit on the shuttle attachment of the orbital station. After opening the door using a Rakna’s blade Myli left her mobile suit and went inside the station.
Heaven Saga 3: Sojourn Into Despair Page 5