by Joseph Rhea
With no other options, Ash dropped to the floor and dove under his navigation consol. He carefully pulled the chair in close and then curled up in a fetal position. His only hope for survival was that the probe seemed to be in a hurry to find whatever it was looking for, and so far, wasn’t spending any time searching under beds, or under consoles. If it swept through the bridge as fast as the other rooms, he might live to see the morning.
His face was pressed to the floor, and from there he could see under the other consoles and chart table to the opening to the stairwell. When the probe lifted silently from the opening, he held his breath.
Then he remembered that his dashboard was still showing the probe’s broadcast. If it saw that, he would surely be found out. Very slowly, he slid his hand up the side of the console and onto the surface. Luckily, the ‘off’ tab was near the edge, and he could press it and then retrieve his hand without being noticed.
Seconds ticked by with no sound or sign of the probe’s movement. Then it appeared less than two meters from where he lay as it moved between the helm and nav consoles on its way to the forward command station. That was a dead end, and he knew that if it bothered to look down, it would see him lying there and probably shoot him without hesitation.
The probe was so close; he could just make out the nearly invisible microfilaments suspending it from the ceiling, making it appear to hover in the air. He closed his eyes and tried to slow down his heart, which seemed to be beating out of control.
“Hey!” someone yelled and he almost jumped. The probe turned and raced towards the stairwell, pausing to hover just above the chart table. The voice was the captain’s, and he yelled again. “I said, lock Dr. Wood in the medical bay, and I’ll come back and deal with him later. AJ and I are heading to the rec room for a half hour.”
The probe floated there for a few seconds, bobbing slightly up and down, probably making a decision about what to do next. If a human was controlling it, it might catch on that this was some sort of a trick. Who actually yells exactly what they are going to do, anyway? However, if it was automated as Raines had suggested, on a search-and-destroy mission, then it might not be that clever. He hoped Raines was right.
The probe apparently made its decision because it suddenly raced towards the stairwell and then dropped out of sight. Ash quickly climbed back up to his chair and turned his screen back on. He saw the probe descending the final stairs to C-deck, and it reached the level just in time to see the captain and AJ step through the back door leading to deck crew quarters, shuttle lockout, and the recreation room. As the door slid shut behind them, Ash found himself holding his breath once again. “What are you up to, Captain?” he whispered.
The staging area was empty and darker than he remembered it being. On the probe’s left was the door to med bay, and on the right was an identical door leading to the dive locker. Did the probe know which door to open?
His silent question was answered when the view on his console lurched forward and made a sharp left turn. Then, just as the door to med bay slid open, Ash heard AJ’s voice say, “Looking for something?” The view suddenly pivoted around, and he saw a large gun barrel, just before a blast echoed though the ship as the screen went to static.
* * *
“Are you okay?” Jake asked as he stepped through the med bay door. AJ was standing there with her gun pointed at what remained of the probe on the floor.
Ash came barreling down the stairs before she could answer. “What happened?” he gasped, a look of confusion on his face. “I saw you two heading aft. How did you…”
AJ lowered her weapon, apparently reassured of the probe’s demise. “It was Jake’s idea,” she said. “We split up and used the aft heads to circle back.”
Ash stood there, catching his breath as Jessie and Jane came down the stairs behind him. Jane said, “The starboard head connects to the hyperbaric chamber in the medical bay, and the port head connects to the shower in the dive…”
“I think my brother knows the floor plan,” Jessie said, jabbing a friendly elbow in Jane’s side. Ash didn’t respond but stepped to the side to let them pass. “So is it dead, Captain?” Jessie asked.
Jake bent over and examined the probe. It was a sphere nearly the size of a human head, and it had a good-sized hole where its central camera used to be. “It certainly can’t see us anymore,” he said, “but I can’t guarantee it can’t hear us, or that it won’t blow up. I think we should jettison it as soon as possible, just to make sure.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Raines said as he stepped through the med bay door with a large pair of medical tongs. He picked up the probe and headed forward. When he disappeared around the corner, heading towards the hanger, Dr. Wood leaned through the door.
“This is my fault,” he said then grimaced. “I should have never come aboard.”
AJ stood up. “You’re right on both accounts,” she said, “but getting out of bed before your wound has healed doesn’t change that.” She turned to Ash. “Please escort Dr. Wood back inside and stay there with him.”
“For how long?” Ash asked, then quickly added, “Sorry sir, right away.”
When he went inside with Wood and the door shut behind them, she turned to Jake. “I don’t trust him.”
Jake put a finger to his lips, and looked at Jessie and Jane who were standing on the bottom tread of the stairs. Their heads were soaking wet, and their clothing was damp. “I think you two have a mess to clean up in my quarters, don’t you?”
Jessie’s face turned red. “Sorry, Captain. We’ll clean it up right away.” She turned to leave.
“Very clever, though,” he added. “You probably saved both of your lives.”
Jessie shrugged. “It was Jane’s idea, actually.” She grabbed Jane by the elbow and they ran barefoot up the stairs, leaving small wet footprints on the treads.
Jake turned back to AJ. “I didn’t trust Wood when he came aboard either, but they killed his wife, they shot him, and they also sent a probe to kill him.”
AJ shook her head. “Actually, we have no idea if he even had a wife. As for the bullet wound, anyone could have done that. He’s probably the most hated man in the colony right now.”
“At least by anyone on the side of the Betas,” Jake corrected. “But, what about that probe? Do you think he faked that as well?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Raines said as he stepped through the lockout door. “He’s an ambitious man, and like many ambitious people, he might be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals.”
“What goals?” Jake asked. “What could he hope to achieve by sneaking aboard this ship?” He looked at AJ. “And why this particular ship?”
“That’s what I want to know.”
Jake glanced at the clock on the wall. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving. Let’s all give this a rest for now, and we can start back up after breakfast.”
AJ nodded. “Vee just came off watch, so I’ll fill in for Ash on the bridge.” She looked at the med bay door. “Someone will need to bring Ash, and our guest, something to eat.”
“Leave it to me,” Raines said. “In fact, I’ll relieve him after breakfast.” When AJ raised an eyebrow, he added, “I believe that I can find out what’s going on if I speak with Dr. Wood alone.”
Jake thought about it for a second before responding, “I agree. Now let’s go eat.”
Chapter 08
“How is the patient?” Vee asked when Raines came up the stairs to the mess hall an hour later. Jake and AJ were sitting with her at the table.
“Sleeping,” Raines said. “I gave him a tranquilizer, so he’ll be out for awhile.”
“Did you get him to talk?” Jake asked.
“Yes, but I’m not entirely sure I believe his story,” Raines replied. He poured a cup of coffee and sat down between AJ and Vee. “At least, not all of it.”
“Care to elaborate?” AJ asked.
Raines nodded. “The doctor told
me that this whole thing with the Beta tester started a few months ago when he was asked to study an unusual sphere in the Council’s possession.”
“Sphere?” Vee asked.
“Yes, he described it as a meter-diameter sphere made up of interlocking pieces of different textures and colors. He said that it was the most advanced piece of technology he had ever seen but had none of the identifying marks of a Pre-Fall device.”
Jake flashed back to the sphere he had discovered in the forest dome three months back; Raines’s description matched it perfectly. “Go on,” he said.
“Well, here’s the strange part. Wood said the center of the sphere was actually hollow, with a shape exactly fitting a small human in a fetal position. His initial guess was that it seemed to work like an egg or a cocoon, which led his team to speculate that it could be a birthing pod, once used to grow Betas.”
“Betas?” AJ asked.
“Yes,” Raines said then glanced quickly at Jake before continuing. “What little remains of our historical text, states that the people we call ‘Betas’ were originally born, fully developed, inside birthing pods.”
“So, that’s what the sphere was? An actual birthing pod for Betas?” Jake asked. The thought that he had stood so close to such a valuable device, actually touched it, and then walked away made him a bit angry. He could have probably made a lot of money from selling that device, maybe even paid off all of his old debts.
“Or so he claims, but that’s not the unbelievable part. Dr. Wood told me that he found actual skin cells inside the sphere; viable cells that contained, according to him, the first pure source of Beta DNA ever discovered.”
“If the sphere is a two hundred year old Pre-Fall relic, how can it still have living cells inside?” Jake asked.
Raines shook his head. “I have no idea. With what we know of Pre-Fall hibernation technology, I don’t know how they could remain viable for that long.”
“So these preserved cells are what he used as a basis for his new Beta test.” AJ concluded.
“Exactly,” Raines said. “And now, of course, with the new ten percent rule, they are finding Betas everywhere. Half the colony is demanding tests for everyone, and the other half is fighting to stop the testing altogether.”
“That’s how civil wars start,” AJ said.
“But that’s not the worst of it,” Raines added.
“What’s worse than racial civil war?” Vee asked.
“I’ll tell you,” Dr. Wood said from the top of the stairs.
AJ jumped to her feet, hand reaching for her gun.
“Calm down,” Wood said, raising both hands. “Believe it or not, I’m on your side.”
“That’s still being determined,” Jake said. He pointed to a chair on the opposite end of the table.
“Thank you, Captain Stone,” he said as he eased himself down into the chair. “You have a decent medical bay for a ship of this type. I feel almost normal again.”
Ash came running down the stairs. “What’s all the commotion?” he asked but then stopped when he saw Wood.
“Good,” Wood said. “I’m glad nearly everyone is here.”
“Why?” Jake asked. He still didn’t trust the man.
“Because what I have to say affects everyone on this vessel.”
“I don’t think we need theatrics, Dr. Wood,” Raines said.
Wood nodded at Raines and addressed the table. “Then let me be clear. The DNA we found in the sphere was not preserved. It was, in fact, fresh. We think someone or something was inside the sphere and emerged shortly before the Council recovered it.”
“Alive?” Jake asked, his skin crawling at the thought of standing so close to the sphere, actually touching it.
Wood nodded. “The news leaked out, and people are saying that this creature is a messenger of a coming change. A bad change.”
“Bad as in?” Jake asked.
“As in the end of the world,” Wood replied.
“Perhaps the Second Fall of Man,” Raines added.
Ash grumbled, “I knew I shouldn’t have signed on with this crew. They told me this was a cursed ship, but I didn’t listen.”
“I say we drop him off somewhere,” AJ said to Jake. “I don’t believe him, and I don’t trust him.”
“How does this affect my crew?” Jake asked, ignoring AJ’s comment, while at the same time believing it might be the best idea yet.
“It affects you all because of what I’m going to ask you all to do,” he replied.
“Like I said, we dump him,” AJ repeated.
Wood slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone. “This is not a game!” he yelled. “I lost my wife because of this device, my entire career, my life, is over, and my only goal now is to destroy it.”
“You can’t undo what you’ve done,” Raines said. “Your Beta testers are being mass produced. They will soon be everywhere. You can’t change that. It’s too late.”
“Ah, but that’s where you are wrong. There is a way to render the Beta tester inoperable.”
“How?” Jake asked.
“With a sample of pure Beta blood. I believe I can make all Beta tests fail by altering everyone’s DNA markers, Betas and humans alike. It would end the war on Betas because you can’t hate what you can’t see.”
Jake stared at him. “So, you’re telling me you want to locate and capture the Beta-thing that you think emerged from that sphere?”
Wood scanned the room and then looked at Jake. “With your help, Captain. I can’t do this without you.”
“You can’t do it at all, even with our help,” AJ said. “Even if I believed your story, which I don’t, you would have to determine where this sphere of yours came—”
“I know where it came from,” Wood interrupted.
“Where?” Raines asked.
“A place you’ve already been to,” Wood said to Jake. “A small outpost on the north end of the Rift. One that contains an overgrown forest and the remnants of an old zoo.”
“What?” Jake asked, too shocked to say anything else. Wood unwavering gaze told him that the doctor knew his ship’s recent history.
“What makes you think we know anything about a dome near the Rift?” AJ asked.
Wood explained that while in Capitol City, he overheard one of the guards talking about a ship called the Rogue Wave, which was last seen heading away from the outpost. When he went on the run, he traced their ship to New Braska.
“So that’s how you knew the captain’s name in the bar,” AJ said.
“I’m a scientist,” he said, “I did my research.”
“But we didn’t find any kind of sphere there,” Jessie said then looked at the others. “Did we?”
“No,” AJ said, “and therefore I don’t think we can help you, Dr. Wood. And if the dome you are referring to is the same one we visited, then you don’t want to go there.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“I almost died there,” Jessie added, rubbing her shoulder.
“We all nearly died there,” AJ said. “The forest is, shall we say, inhabited, and they don’t like visitors.”
“Except maybe for lunch,” Ash added, as he walked over and put his arm around his sister.
“And as we said,” AJ said, “none of us saw the sphere you described.”
Raines spoke up then. “I’m honestly sorry that we can’t help you, Dr. Wood, because what you have described sounds quite intriguing. If you were honest about your intentions, your work really could benefit so many people.”
“And maybe prevent a war,” AJ said.
“The war has already begun,” Wood said. “That battle in the dock was just a taste of what I have witnessed in my travels to find you. People are revolting all over the colony—it’s just not being broadcast.” His face dropped to his hands. “And now, my mission has failed before it even had a chance to start. My wife’s death was for nothing.”
Jake couldn’t take it anymore and burst out, “Honestl
y, people!”
All eyes turned to him. “What is it, Captain?” Raines asked.
He stared at the center of the table for a moment, wondering how much he should say. “I found the sphere you’re talking about inside the dome.” Amid the gasps, he continued. “Or at least it looked like what was described.”
“And you didn’t tell anyone?” AJ asked.
“Why would I have? It looked like a piece of junk sitting in a junkyard. It certainly didn’t have a sign on the outside saying, ‘Caution, live Beta-monster inside’ or something.”
“Betas aren’t monsters,” Vee said.
Jake shrugged. “Well, whatever they are, the sphere I saw was intact, and well…it looked harmless.”
“This is why the Colonial Guards detained us,” AJ said. “They were searching for the person who came out of that sphere.”
Jake’s thoughts suddenly turned to Jane. They had discovered her in the forest shortly after he found the sphere, and later, she hid from the guards. Was she the one they were looking for? Was she the pureblood Beta?
“Excuse me,” Jane asked from the stairs. All eyes turned toward her. “I think I’m the one you’re looking for.”
Chapter 09
“No, you’re not, sweetie,” Jessie said, moving over to hug her.
“Who is this?” Wood asked, standing abruptly.
“They found me in that forest,” she said, “and I have no memory of my past.”
Vee walked over to stand next to Jane as well. She and Jessie were making a valiant attempt to protect their friend. “We think she was abandoned there as a child,” Vee said. “She’s no more a Beta than you are.”
“I can test her,” Wood said, his face suddenly brightening. “I can build a makeshift tester using items from your medical bay.”
“You leave her alone,” Jessie said, stepping in front of Jane and locking arms with Vee.
“No,” Jane said, standing up and moving around the two to face Dr. Wood. “I want you to test me. I need to know the truth.” She then looked at Jake. “If I can prevent the war you are all talking about, then I need to do this.”