“You need something back there?” Williams asked over the intercom.
“I was just responding to you, sir” Pete answered.
“You must be dreaming son, no one called you,” Williams said, signing off.
“That’s weird, maybe someone hit the button by accident,” Pete said absently, just as he noticed Grecko staring at him strangely.
“What,” Pete asked.
“No one called on the intercom,” Grekco said.
“You didn’t hear that? Whatever, so what were you telling me?” Pete said looking back at the screen.
Shrugging, Grecko continued, “Like I was saying, I was running a test on the crystal as so and…”
“Hello,”
“Okay, Grecko quit playing around,” Pete said, as irritation crept into his voice.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Well if it wasn’t Williams, then it must be you saying ‘hello’, so cut it out,” Pete said, looking Grecko in the face.
“Hello,” Pete heard again before Grecko could respond, staring at his unmoving lips.
“What the…?” Pete said confused.
“What’s wrong?” Grecko asked, still looking at Pete strangely.
“You didn’t hear that?” Pete asked.
“Hear what?”
“Someone saying ‘hello,’” Pete said.
“Oookaaay,” Grecko said, turning back to console.
“Hello,” Pete heard again.
“See, there it is again,” Pete said.
Grecko looked back from the console to Pete making a few quick keystrokes as he watched Pete.
“Did you hear it that time?” Grecko asked.
“Yeah, did you?” Pete asked hopefully.
“No, but every time I run this sequence, you do,” Grecko said pointing to the screen. “Come here,” he said, picking up a scanner.
“Damn,” he said as he punched up the results on the screen.
“What?” Pete said.
Grecko ran his hand through his thick black hair and exhaled heavily.
“Grecko, what is it?” Pete demanded, his tone agitated by his rising fear.
“Hower, the crystal in your leg has grown all the way through your body and into your brain,” Grecko said.
Pete lay inside the medical examiner in the Io’s sickbay. The gleaming white scanner moved up and down his body as its numerous scanners rotated around him, its large cylindrical mass accentuated by a series of lights that switched on and off as various instruments completed their tasks, allowing others to begin theirs. The apparatus hummed quietly while it worked. Pete lay there naked, the cool, sterile air of the sick bay sending a chill down his spine. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Doctor Nyu and members of his staff standing on the other side of the protective glass as they monitored the scan’s results. As Pete lay there, Grecko’s words echoed through his head.
“It looks like when the Two-Edges charged their hulls, it knocked out the field on your brace. After that, the crystal was free to grow,” he had said.
“Eighty-five percent of your body already has crystal in it,” he had said, but the look in his eyes had said even more. Grecko had looked at Pete like he was already dead.
Trisha had gone into hysterics when she found out. Potter had to stop her from going after Rayis. When Pete finally calmed her down enough to hold her, he couldn’t tell which of them was shaking more.
The hiss of the sickbay door opening pulled Pete from his thoughts as Doctor Nyu entered. Pete heard the dull tapping of Nyu’s shoes on the polished floor as the doctor looked intently at the medical palm interface he carried in his left hand as he walked towards Pete. With a few quick motions of his thumb, he pressed a series of commands on the instrument causing it to chirp softly, then tapped it off and placed it in the pocket of his long white lab coat. His other hand carried a small blue bundle.
“Here, put these on for now,” Nyu said, handing Pete the package. “So, Hower, how do you feel?” he asked as he turned to give Pete a bit of privacy.
“Cut the small talk, doc,” Pete said, as he opened the package and put on the thin patient overalls.
“Normally, it would be small talk, but not this time. You need to tell me how you feel,” Nyu said, his brown, almond shaped eyes full of curiosity.
As he sat on the edge of the table, Pete turned to look at the doctor, who responded with his best bedside manner smile, which provided little comfort. The forced gesture made his tawny skin appear almost stretched across his broad features and high cheek bones.
“Fine, I suppose,” Pete said numbly. “For a dead man” was the part of the sentence he kept to himself.
“Good, because from the readings I got, I honestly can’t tell. On a few we got no information at all,” Nyu admitted, trying to maintain an almost humorous tone in his voice.
An awkward silence passed between them as Pete just looked at him blankly. Nyu cleared his throat and continued.
“You see, that crystal has grown into almost every part of your body,” Nyu said, pointing at Pete’s leg.
“I know,” Pete said, annoyed that what little time he may have left was being wasted.
“The thing is that it hasn’t killed anything. In fact, from what little information we have, it seems to have helped you,” Nyu said.
“Helped?” Pete asked skeptically.
“Look at your leg. The wound is almost fully healed,” Nyu said pulling off the bandages covering the area.
Pete looked down at his leg. Twisting it over, he saw only a light scar where the gaping wound had been.
“I hadn’t noticed. I’d just figured the tranqs Ramirez had given me was why I wasn’t feeling any pain,” Pete said.
“Well, the results we were able to get from the more successful examinations show that your circulation, hearing, respiratory rate and a dozen other bodily functions are performing at unheard of efficiency,” Nyu said. “Can you read that piece of paper on the wall over there?” he asked, pointing to the far side of the sickbay.
“Review rescheduled for 1400,” Pete said.
“That’s over 70 feet away. Your vision is comparable to an eagle now. And it seems it’s all due to that crystal,” Nyu said, excitement creeping into his voice.
“What’s going to happen to me?” Pete asked.
“I don’t know. There isn’t a precedent for anything like this, anywhere. You’re unique, but for now it doesn’t look like your life is in any immediate danger,” Nyu said.
“Great,” Pete muttered, as he lay back down and looked up at the ceiling. He’d just gone from being a dead man to a freak. “Just great.”
“Doctor Nyu, is Hower ready?” a deep, resonating voice said over the ship intercom.
“Yes, sir,” Nyu said.
“Good, have him report to the bridge,” the voice said.
“Aye, captain,” Nyu responded. “You’d better go,” Nyu said, looking at Pete.
“Yeah,” Pete sighed as he rose from the table.
As he walked through the door, a security squad surrounded him. Their stark black suits matching the large rifles they carried.
“This way, Private Hower,” the lead guard said.
Looking at the man, Pete saw his distorted reflection in the guards black facemask.
“Lead on,” Pete said falling in behind as the other three flanked him.
Pete felt the stares of onlookers as the group made their way to the Io’s command deck. As they turned corners he clearly heard the speculative whispers of passersby.
“He must have killed someone to be guarded like that,” they said.
“Isn’t that the guy they rushed to medical isolation when they came back from that rescue mission?” others asked.
Curious stares followed Pete down the corridor to the turbo lift car at the end of the deck.
“I wouldn’t want to be him,” he heard a voice say, as others strained to peek between the lifts doors as they hissed shut.
; Pete was thankful that the people on the command deck were less obvious with their curiosity. As they walked in silence, Pete couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that he was walking to his own execution.
The secondary blast doors rolled open with a loud, dull hum as Pete and his escort stepped onto the bridge of the Io. The guards fell back, taking up positions in front of the door as it shut behind them. To his right a group of people stood at the center of the bridge, intently discussing something Pete suspected had to do with him, while others occupied themselves at their duty stations.
“Private Hower. Welcome to the bridge. Please step forward,” Anderson said as he turned to greet Pete, the overhead lights dully reflecting off the deep brown of his bald head. Pete noticed the gray in his dark moustache almost matched the silver strips running down the sides of his pants. His dark blue duty jacket hung sharply off his wide shoulders as he stood there, his golden captain insignias displayed around the jacket’s collar and sleeves
Trisha, Green and Williams stood left of the captain, while to his right stood Rayis and Nelson. Just behind them, planet Px113A floated peacefully on the main view screen. As Trisha looked at him, her moist cheeks and blood shot eyes told Pete she’d been crying again. She stood there with her arms crossed, looking at him with love and concern, but Pete also saw fear in her eyes.
“Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant,” Pete said as he stepped further in.
“Private Hower, how are you?” Rayis asked, smiling as he walked towards Pete with his hands extended.
“Only warning you’ll get Doc, you do not want to come anywhere near me,” Pete said coldly, his glare stopping Rayis in his tracks. Off to the side, a grin crept across Green’s face.
“Hower, come here,” Anderson said.
Pete walked over, stopping a few feet from the captain. Anderson, looking to his left, nodded to a nearby ensign.
“Life. Find. Empty. Alone. Hello?” Pete heard.
“Did you hear anything? ” Anderson asked.
“Just words,” Pete said.
“What words? What did you hear?” Rayis asked, rubbing his thin, bony hands greedily.
Pete ignored Rayis, looking back to the captain and the others.
“Go on,” Anderson said.
Pete repeated what he had heard. Looking around, he saw Rayis face light up with almost childish glee, while his commanding officers stood there solemnly. Trisha’s forehead furrowed with concern as she listened.
“With all due respect sir, I think I have a right to know what is going on here,” Pete finally said.
“My boy, the planet is talking to you,” Rayis said excitedly.
“More precisely, you seem to understand what it is saying,” Trisha said coldly, her icy tone directed at Rayis.
Pete just looked at her as she walked up to him, taking his hands in hers.
“The crystal in your body is responding to magnetic variations given off by the planet, and it’s apparently translating those vibrations into words only you can hear,” she said as she gently stroked his face.
“Seems you’ve just become a planetary translator,” Green said.
“This is a great day!” Rayis exclaimed.
“Not for you. Hower is the one that made contact with the planet. You just pissed it off along with everyone else,” Williams said menacingly as Rayis began to scowl.
“Lt. Williams, this is no time to be petty. What we learn here will provide a whole new perspective of life in the universe, as we know it. Despite whatever mistakes may have been made in the past, my dedication and commitment to…” Rayis began arrogantly.
“Shut up, Rayis,” Anderson said tersely.
“Lt. Commander Miller, a fleet translator, is waiting for you on the science deck, Hower. Miss Patterson, please escort him there. Dismissed,” Anderson said, turning to look at the screen.
“Sir,” Pete said as he saluted. Trisha then wrapped her arm in his as they exited the bridge, the blue of her duty uniform almost matching the garb he now wore. The security detail fell in closely around them as they passed through doors and they made their way through the ship.
“How’s it feel?” Trisha asked. Her voice quivered as she tried to stay calm.
“How’s what feel?” Pete asked as he put his arm around her, instantly feeling the tension in her shoulders.
“To be able to understand a planet?” she asked.
“I’ll let you know,” he said in a dull, quiet voice as he stared vacantly at the back of the guard in front of him watching his distorted reflection in back of the guard’s helmet. He then kissed her softly on the top of her head and inhaled deeply, taking in her sweet scent, trying to drown the cold fear he was trying to hide in her warm loving presence. He didn’t know how, but he knew, he knew, that the planet was now aware not only of him but of humans in general…and it didn’t like them. “I’ll let you know,” Pete repeated as he looked out the port window.
END
Perspective Page 7