‘Marko, I have decontaminated a few hundred litres of water,’ Patrick reported. ‘You can shower if you wish. Your cabin has been checked and is also free of any contamination. I would prefer that your current suit be thoroughly cleaned before you walk around the ship any more. Strip and leave it where you are. I have had one piece of soap manufactured for your use. Do not be concerned if you feel a slight burning sensation when you use it. We start with you and clean everything. There is also a drink waiting for you in your cabin. Please consume it immediately. Ernst manufactured it for you.’
He walked naked up the few decks to the accommodation area, padded into his cabin and straight into the coral-lined shower. Just as he was about to turn it on he remembered the drink. It looked like a banana milkshake and tasted like one too. He climbed into the shower and scrubbed himself with the harsh medical soap that seemed to be peeling an entire layer of skin off him, because he was stinging all over. Scrubbing the area where the octopoid had touched him all those years earlier, he could just make out the five tiny marks. He wondered whether he should tell anyone about them, but decided that it was nice to have a little secret of his own considering the great number of them already on the ship.
He had the sudden urge to piss so did it right there in the shower, looking down and noting a very dark urine stream. This seemed unusual and he hoped the AIs were actually looking after him and that the whole performance was not some horrible trick on their part. Then he considered that if they had wanted him out of the picture they could have had him on ice a hundred times already. He dried off using the long soft fibrous towel which was growing from the wall, fully intending to climb into a ship suit and get back to work, but his bed suddenly looked hugely inviting.
‘Patrick, crew, I need sleep. Wake me in six hours, please.’
‘Yes, Marko,’ Patrick replied. ‘In fact, we shall wake you in ten hours. We are going to UV irradiate the ship. Your cabin has already been done. Sleep well.’
As sleep reached for him, he thought: The buggers wanted me out of the way, anyway.
He awoke to the extraordinary naked vision of Lilly standing beside his bed, slowly lifting one leg to rest on the mattress, opening herself up to him. Her body scent was simply superb.
‘Hello, Marko. Do you find me desirable?’
He decided that he was in a dream, thought ‘what the hell!’ and he pulled aside the silken living duvet for her to join him.
*
He awoke at the ship time of 7.00 a.m., remembering every detail of what he could only think was the most vividly erotic dream he had ever had because he could not detect any of Lilly’s delicious scent on him. As he showered, he put it down to a side effect of the previous days and possibly the drink that Ernst had made for him. He opened the wardrobe to find his suit folded and waiting with his favourite padded helm on top of it and decided that a housekeeping drone must have been in the room as everything was neat and tidied away. He picked up the suit, draped it around his shoulders. It activated, slid down and around him, sealing as it went, plugging into all his shunts, and as he lifted each foot in turn, the sleek boots formed over his feet. He slid his helm over his head as it too activated, contouring perfectly to his head, then when he thought the instruction it peeled back to roll down against his neck. He patted the suit, feeling the best he had in a long time.
Marko tapped the main wall screen. ‘Hello, Patrick. What is our status, please?’
‘Both ships are decontaminated. They are as clean as they have ever been. Jan, Julie and Jonathan will be fully functional in thirty-two hours. Food supplies are sufficient for the foreseeable future. All stored food is being reprocessed. Twenty per cent of water reserves have been processed and are now available. The information concerning the urchins, the cargo of the Hauler, Cactus 3, the escaped scientists and their probable location, is available to you. We have determined that the sick crew members can be cured of the urchin-based infections. It is a violent pathogen which ultimately takes over the host, creating a creature similar to the urchin colonel you killed.’
Marko stood very still, thinking about what the octopoids had given him years before, and that it was extraordinarily fortunate that he should have it, as Patrick continued. ‘We are still unable to determine why the real Colonel White is relatively intact. She is, however, compromised, and it is probably beyond the facilities we have here to clear her of her condition. We have started the warm-ups of the remaining crew and without waking them fully will place them in the tanks. We have initiated the growth of a new set of medical nanotes which we will inject into the crew members once they are supported by the fluid in the tanks and all their physical needs are taken care of. The nanotes will expedite the removal of the pathogen and then the healing of each member of the crew. The first ones will be members of the salvage crew; they will be cured in twenty-one standard days. Sergeant van Vinken and Warrant Officer Stevens will follow at twenty-four days. The major will not be rejoining us for twenty-nine days.’
Marko allowed himself a little smile.
‘Now, concerning Stephine and Veg,’ Patrick said. ‘We have isolated the pathogen that made them ill. It is a virulent form of an ancient disease. We can be thankful that Chrysanthemum is one of the oldest of the Haulers, with a great store of eclectic knowledge; we must also be thankful for Stephine’s deep study of plants, as each of them unwittingly held the necessary information to effect a cure. They will be joining us in a matter of days.’
Walking down to the main galley, Marko was cheerfully greeted by the two women, with Lilly enquiring if he had slept well. His heart skipped a beat, thinking of his dream, but he thought it would be rude to tell her about it so let it be, saying instead that he felt great. He started his day by making what he believed was a passable coffee, which Lilly and Jasmine pronounced horrible. The two of them were fascinated by the garden deck and its produce so they prepared good bread, some grown pork steaks, mashed potatoes, yellow beans and orange juice for lunch.
Lilly looked across at Marko with a huge smile on her face. ‘This is delicious, Marko. Jasmine and I are very happy to be here, just to experience this food.’
‘Without being rude, can I ask what you are? You seem human. The AIs treat you as standards, but you call yourself constructs. You’re obviously hellishly intelligent and carry considerable knowledge.’
The women smiled, showing perfect teeth, as Lilly answered. ‘Jasmine and I are basically human, Marko. The Haulers create their own crew, for whatever reasons they deem necessary. Chrysanthemum was a very wealthy man for a long time before he accepted the invitation to be grown into a Hauler and join the Collective. He had been asked to join them fifty years earlier. He had always surrounded himself with beautiful and intelligent women and didn’t see that becoming a Hauler should mean that he behave any differently. We are actually his great joys, as he loves to create very beautiful woman. Jasmine and I were created over twelve standard years ago. He constantly strives to find exotic genes for his next group of companions.’
Marko wondered what the ACEs would make of these two as Jasmine added, ‘As we have both been with him for twelve years, we were offered a post anywhere in the Sphere, whatever we chose, as Chrysanthemum insists that his companions have what he calls “real lives” as well. We chose to move over to Basalt and to be with you, because from what we have seen you are in the thick of developments and here seems to be an exciting place. Because we, as Hauler constructs, have been very efficiently made and have total control over our physical selves, we are able to withstand most things. We are also able to assimilate and actualise any skills necessary in a very short time. However, the only problem with any of this, Marko, is that our primary affiliation is to the Haulers. We must always defer to them; it is part of who we are. What do you know of them, Marko?’
He pursed his lips. ‘They are the ones who keep the entire fabric of humanity together by transporting cargos and information right across the Human Sphere of Influence.
It is also believed that the Collective pretty much looks after humankind’s welfare. So where do Stephine and Veg fit into all of this?’
‘Lilly and I only know that Stephine is very important to the Haulers. We have been told that she is also a construct, made by another group of Haulers. Sorry, but we know nothing of this other group, only that they exist. The Collective knows of a few others like her and all are regarded as most precious, as all forms of life seem to flourish in their presence. That is why she is referred to as an Angel. Not as a mythical all-powerful Godlike being, but rather as a beautiful entity who creates and sustains life wherever she goes and by whatever means available to her.’
Marko slowly nodded, missing his other companions and wishing they were part of the conversation. ‘I understand … well, I think I understand. So what’s next? I suppose that under the Administration protocols I am in charge of this ship, although I would much rather it was someone else. Do you all agree, until Major van Beere is with us? OK, conference time, fellows. Let us have a look at the data recovered from the Hauler core.’
*
Over the next ten hours, with breaks for exercise and a meal, they went through the data looking at the most relevant blocks.
‘So a few of the developers of some of the nastiest weapons from the Infant conflict are apparently alive.’ Marko said grimly. ‘They have created a whole series of even more potent biological weapons and are going to use them to destroy a world in order to teach the Administration a lesson for killing their system. They would regard it as a holy act. This is absolutely insane! Then again, Infant was an insane war as well. Why do these people still harbour such hatred? I seriously wonder sometimes if we should have allowed ourselves into the Universe. They have been developing a base at HD 69830, in secret, for over three years and their target delivery time is not known. The Haulers’ Collective can certainly create a task force and get them, but the timing …? Patrick, how soon before Cactus 3, with the Busters attached, is destroyed?’
They waited a few seconds before he replied. ‘That is an irrelevant question, Marko. Its speed is such that destruction is inevitable. The mass and inertia it now holds is so large that no technology we know of could alter its course significantly, or slow it down. It will impact the star in seventeen days, five hours, twenty-three minutes. The Administration orders were to witness the destruction. May I suggest that we leave a pair of astronomical drones here. They would record the event and we could return and uplift them after delivering the information we have to the Administration.’
They all nodded. ‘I agree; do it,’ said Marko. ‘How badly did I mess up Crystal’s AI?’
Patrick chuckled. ‘Shall we say that when you are angry you become a little heavy-handed. All information has been recovered, but the AI is now insane. I think that you ripping bits off it, and what had happened to it when the ship was taken over, finally tipped the balance.’
‘Patrick, can you create a clone of yourself, please? Take anything you need from Ernst and Topaz if they are willing to assist. Slave Crystal to yourself. I think that we need to go have a look at what’s going on, even if we just hold at a local LP to where that enemy base is. From there we can send Crystal with your clone in charge and raise the alarm. We will go with our standard brief of engineering and weapons intelligence gathering. OK, lift all the usable weapons from Crystal and get them into Basalt. Now, what the hell was the Games Board doing on board Crystal? Admin are going to be seriously shitted about that. GB broke all the protocols by being there.’
‘Think, Marko, some of your involvements with the Games Board,’ Jasmine said. ‘Now consider also that there may be other factions within the Games Board who have a completely different agenda. The Haulers’ Collective believes that a greater game is afoot.’
‘Yeah, I have been told that, Jasmine. Is all the contaminated material gathered and how soon before the information retrieval from that head and the like is complete?’
‘Another three hours give or take a few moments is required,’ Patrick replied. ‘It will only take a short while for a Compressor to do the job.’
*
He grabbed a couple of hours’ sleep and was on the bridge with Lilly and Jasmine when Patrick started to take the ship towards the nearest Lagrange point. Behind them a Compressor flashed twice, destroying the last of the contaminated material plus the investigative unit. Many terabytes of useful information had been recovered from the urchin colonel’s head, the remains of the Crystal AI and also the Games Board monitors’ remains. The AIs were churning their way through it and promised to have data blocks available to them within hours.
The jumps started as Patrick moved them closer to the Sphere of Humankind. Jan was the first out of cryno, which was a great relief to Marko. They came together for a long kiss, as if they had been separated for months. The introductions and exchange of news between Jan, Jasmine and Lilly were interesting to watch from Marko’s perspective. Jan, being her normal deeply cynical self, privately wondered with Marko if they had not been, once again, superbly fooled. She did admit that it didn’t really matter, as they would have no chance against them if they were unfriendly. Jasmine and Lilly were fascinated by everything about Jan and started to assimilate information in regards to weapons, much to Jan’s delight.
Julie and Major van Beere joined them a few hours later and Marko was relieved to be able to hand command and control over to him.
The obviously tired but hungry major addressed Marko. ‘Exemplary work, Sergeant Major. If I were your commander, I would award you a commission immediately. I shall recommend that to the Administration, anyway. We are starving. I need bread, cheese, pickles and beer, please.’
Marko nodded to the major in sympathy. ‘Ernst. Is the beer safe? I’d not even considered it.’
‘Only Harry’s current brews were contaminated,’ the AI replied. ‘We will sample each bottle as it is opened, in any case.’
As they dined on a classic ploughman’s lunch, Marko filled his crewmates in, with the AIs and Lilly, then Jasmine, filling in the gaps as well. Towards the end of the meal, Flint came racing in, scuttled up Marko and gave him a little hug around his neck. He then perched on his shoulder and started to soak up the news as everyone talked.
A few hours later, while Marko was manhandling a new casing for Patrick’s clone into place aboard Crystal, Glint and then Nail arrived on the scene. He was relieved that the crew was slowly coming back to normal and he was so pleased to have the other two ACEs in top form. There were hugs and pats all around. He wanted to know how the diamond bones actually came to get broken, but he’d discussed it with Ernst and Topaz and they had decided it could wait for another time. The ACEs needed time to settle back in.
‘Nail, go have a long look at Lilly and Jasmine,’ Marko asked through the line-of-sight crew comms. ‘Then come back and tell me what you think, OK?’
Nail nodded while Glint couldn’t help adding his piece. ‘I shall give you my opinion as well, Marko.’
Nail and Glint raced away, while Marko smiled and shook his head. He finished wiring the AI casing in and started to slowly hook up the datalinks and electronics. Fritz would have done it in a quarter of the time, he was sure. Flint seemed to know considerably more than he did about the diagnostics of the units, so he was pleased to let him do it.
‘It is all done, Marko.’
‘Thanks, Flint. I now see why Harry is so keen to have you around all the time.’
He just smiled his little smile. ‘Patrick, the housing is in place. It is ready for the clone whenever you are.’
‘Installation initiated,’ Patrick replied.
Major van Beere then came on the line. ‘Patrick, this is Jonathan. As soon as the clone is installed and checked out, please advise me.’
‘Will do, Major. Should only take a couple of hours. Presuming that you would like Crystal to be on its way as quickly as possible, I shall begin preflight. All spare weapons and systems which may be of use to u
s will be clear of Crystal within an hour.’
‘Good. My thanks; carry on. Marko, Jan, my compliments. Please join me on the bridge as soon as you are available.’
Jan was already with the major when Marko arrived twenty or so minutes later. Nail and Glint had met him briefly on the way with both saying that Lilly and Jasmine were the most perfect humans they had ever encountered, that they possessed a great deal more brain tissue throughout their systems than anyone else, that they also had much tougher skin, their bone strength was more like ivory, their internal organs appeared totally re-engineered and they reckoned that their sense organs would work much better than anyone’s.
Marko had been thinking that it was really nice to have Jan back, realising that he had missed her a lot. She must have felt the same, as she rose from her chair and gave him a quick kiss when he walked in. The major motioned him to sit. ‘Marko. Stephine and Veg will be joining us in a few hours. Do you know anything additional to what you have already said in your data blocks and your briefings to me? I am not Intel, just an infantry engineer specialising in salvage, as you know, but there are a few too many unanswered questions. And why exactly are those spectacular amazons now on board this ship?’
Marko thought about being cheerful with his answers, but seeing how the major was looking at him, decided that a serious approach was best.
‘Well, Major, I really wish I could help you, but I am as much in the dark as you. The Hauler, Chrysanthemum, knew that we were in very serious trouble, and he had a couple of spare crew who had worked out their tenure. He was about to put them ashore, anyway, and he asked if they wanted to join us. They know about our adventures to date and leapt at the chance. Is there a problem?’
Crystal Venom Page 12