The Epherium Chronicles: Crucible

by T. D. Wilson

  Toronaga nodded in agreement then waved down to his platoon, who’d begun to warm up for the game.

  “Gunny, did I ever tell you about Garret Michaels?”

  “No, sir. I don’t believe you have.”

  “Good kid. Good football player and a good Marine. Hell, he wasn’t half as bad as I expected for an Irishman, but a good Marine. Bah! He even passed the Regina sniff test, and that is something, coming from that woman!” McGregor still had a vivid memory of that meeting. His now ex-wife, Regina Becker, had grilled Garrett close to four hours over dinner, but the man never once turned off the charm or gave in. Garrett was too like me, I guess.

  McGregor bent down and picked up a leftover piece of a welding rod. He tossed it in the bucket next to him. “During the last few months of the Mars invasion, my company was sent to intercept a Tiki column moving down into the southern polar cap. We weren’t sure what they were up to, but that wasn’t our job. It was a simple search-and-destroy. Hit ’em and get out.

  “We were dropped in ahead of where the column was last reported so we could set up the ambush.” McGregor snorted and almost laughed. “We had to rerun scans a few times to find ’em, but Garrett said he knew where they were. He said he could smell ’em, and I didn’t doubt his nose one bit. We had the attack organized when we first got a good glimpse of the column. Those strange-looking cargo carriers they use were easy to spot on the white ice near the cap, but their tanks had that blasted adaptive camouflage. It worked better on the ice than on the regular Martian terrain, but they showed up strong on infrared.”

  Toronaga leaned his back against the railing. “What happened?”

  “Well, we hit the two lead tanks in the column before they knew we were there. I led the rest of the company on the rear assault as the Tikis poured out of one of the cargo carriers, each armed with those damn pulse lances. Most headed toward us, but four broke off and headed to the other cargo carrier.” McGregor turned away from the edge and sat down next to the railing. “Several of us laid down suppressing fire and cut down most of the Tikis before they could get to any cover, but those four reached the other carrier and opened it.

  “We couldn’t see what was inside, but Garrett never hesitated. He just took off and ran. He was fast too.” McGregor picked up an unused welding rod from a box next him and held it like a spear. “One of the tactics the Tiki warriors used was to overload their lances and throw it at a nearby target. Even if ya managed to pull it out, hell, the blast would still get ya. As Garrett sprinted up there, my sergeant and I both noticed two of the crawlers setting lances, so we broke cover and tried to take ’em out. We hit the first one, but the others pinned us down. But that didn’t stop Garrett.”

  McGregor chuckled. “That crazy redheaded maniac cut down one of the Tikis firing at us, while a sniper from the frontal assault team got the other. He grabbed one of their lances and drove it into the side of the last Tiki, right between two of its armored plates. It must’ve been in pain as it screeched an unholy wail and tried to throw its lance into the cargo carrier. But Garrett was too fast and after a quick roll to the side, he put two rounds into its face.”

  McGregor tossed the rod back into its box. “The lance was already armed and started that droning beep as it counted down to detonation. Garrett scooped the lance up, threw it away from the column and dove into the cargo carrier.” He cupped his hands and mimicked the explosion. “It blew big and damn near knocked me on my arse, but no one else got hit.”

  “What was in the carrier?” Toronaga asked.

  “Civies,” McGregor said, standing up. “That whole carrier was full of survivors from the initial invasion.”

  Toronaga looked stunned. “What were they doing there? I heard stories about a few pockets of survivors from the domes, but that’s it.”

  “We didn’t know, and Command never told us. We thought they might be some sort of slave labor or group of test subjects. Whatever they were, they sure were grateful for being rescued. The carrier had an environment bubble inside and when Garrett tumbled inside, about every single woman in the bunch tried to rip off his helmet and personally thank him for saving their lives.”

  Toronaga laughed. “It sounds like Garrett was a real hero, Major.”

  McGregor nodded. “Yeah, he saved my life a few times back then and like I said, he was a good Marine.”

  “What happened to him?”

  “He was killed during a raid on the Tikis last launch platform near Solis Planum. The mission report said he was hit by one of the automated pulse cannons defending the platform and based on his remains, he probably didn’t even know what hit him.” McGregor paused and tried to picture his old friend. “I was leading another assault team on the other side of the ridge and didn’t see it, but if I know Garrett, he went down a fighter, regardless what the report said.”

  McGregor slapped a firm hand on Toronaga’s shoulder. “Ya remind me of him, Sergeant. Except he was a loudmouth who thought he could outdrink me any day of the week, but ya have the same spirit.”

  Toronaga smiled at his compliment.

  “Well, best not to keep them waiting, Sergeant. Dismissed.”

  Toronaga snapped a salute. After McGregor returned it, Toronaga sprinted down the stairs and headed toward the temporary field that was almost set up.

  McGregor waited for Toronaga to reach the field and took a moment to watch his Marines prepare to start the game. It felt odd to share his feelings with one his troops. Perhaps it was a sign that he was getting older and just maybe a little more human than Marine. “Bah.” He chuckled. He took a deep breath and savored the rich, late afternoon air. “Aye, Garrett, old friend,” he whispered. “I smell ’em too.”

  Chapter Seven

  EDF Armstrong

  Cygni 4 Orbit

  Thursday, January 30

  Earth Year 2155

  “That man is a total ass!” Jillian exclaimed and covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry, Jimmy, but where I was raised, we try to be respectful of people we don’t know or just met,” she explained, her sweet Southern voice now soured with anger. “I’m not sure I can express it any other way, but that man brings out the worst in me.”

  Hood began to rub his left temple in preparation for the headache that was sure to start. “So, your initial sessions with Mr. McCraken went well, I see.”

  Lieutenant Wells, who was sitting next to Jillian, let out a giggle. “Mr. McCraken was a bit overbearing when he arrived. Very, shall I say, full of himself.”

  The two women appeared exhausted from their lengthy interview and subsequent assistance with McCraken and Dr. Patton in Kree’s cave. After arriving on the Armstrong just two hours previous to their meeting with Hood, both had managed to shower and fill themselves at the mess, but neither could overcome their lack of sleep.

  “Yeah, that sounds like him,” Hood added. “Jillian, I understand your frustration, but we need to grasp the bigger picture here. If we can understand how the Cilik’ti communicate it could save countless lives. Unlike the last time our two peoples encountered each other.”

  Jillian agreed and stroked her ponytail. “I know. Dr. Patton explained the situation with the Embrace and the so-called effects on the colonists. We all understand, but it’s a lot to soak in.”

  Hood’s face tightened and he glared at Wells, but Jillian leaned forward to put her hand on his.

  “Jimmy, I knew there was something going on and it was my price for being McCraken’s test subject down there. When Kree mentioned he could listen to the colonists and not you or the Armstrong’s crew, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.” Her eyes fell on Hood like those in search of forgiveness at a confessional. “I spoke to Lieutenant Wells and Dr. Patton. We agreed that if we wanted to move forward, all the facts about what Epherium had done to the colonists needed to be explained and shared with th
ose involved in the tests in the cave. Since we began, I haven’t revealed the information to anyone else in the colony—not Jonathan, not anyone.”

  Hood almost jumped at the touch of her hand still on his and then yelled at himself inwardly. Come on, man! What are you, sixteen?

  No one seemed to notice his anxiety and he relaxed. Regardless of his reservations about the spread of information, he agreed with Jillian. “Okay. I’ll go along with it, but I need to be consulted first before there’s any breach in protocol.” Hood knew how he would have reacted to the knowledge of what Epherium had done and his voice took on a concerned tone. “Jillian, are you sure you’re okay with this? I know a revelation like that would come as a shock, but we held back sharing the information for the strictest security reasons. Like you, I haven’t shared this with my uncle and I’m not really sure how yet.”

  Hood could see the conflicted look on Jillian’s face. He’d already delivered a powerful psychological blow to her when he’d revealed the news of her brother’s death. Not to mention that her new alien friend’s people were responsible. Knowing Jillian, he expected her to punch him in the stomach and call it even.

  “I’ve dealt with a lot of things growing up. Hearing my brain had been massaged during our trip was a little disconcerting, but I’m okay. As for Jonathan, I’d just tell him. He might walk around like a complete idiot for a few days, but he’ll get over it.” Jillian’s comment sparked a laugh in almost everyone at the table.

  Hood laughed with her and he could feel his tension from the moment ease. He turned back to his communications officer. “Do you have an update to your last report?”

  “Yes, sir.” Wells handed Hood a memory module, which he attached to his desk’s terminal. Her full report came into view, and Hood opened the second video record file, as well. Wells had provided a quick summary for him to read and its emphasis was clear; modifications by the Embrace had made a permanent variant in the Magellan’s passengers’ brain wave patterns. The bulk of the report, however, was a detailed analysis plan developed in most part by Patton, but Hood could see some of McCraken’s insight thrown in. As he skimmed the report, both of the women seemed nervous, and Hood could tell they were avoiding something. He stopped reading and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Before I read the rest of this, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

  “Sir?” Wells replied.

  Jillian rolled her eyes and sighed. “Well, Henry suggested we run a series of brain scan tests for chemistry and brain waves on one of the Armstrong’s crew as a control and then compare the results to mine. One of the Marines volunteered, and Dr. Patton adjusted the scans based on Henry’s suggestions. After the initial tests were finished, it was my turn.”

  “Was there a problem?”

  “Some of the sensors continually failed to report readings, but rather than inspect all the possibilities, Mr.—and I use that title loosely—Mr. McCraken blamed everyone else for incorrectly fitting the equipment and skewing results.”

  Hood closed his eyes and shook his head. The headache arrived and he prayed it would disappear. “Were you able to find a solution?”

  “Well, we changed out the sensors and even did a radial scan, but we still had problems. It turned out the first cable set had a bad connector where it was plugged into the scanner. But after we changed the cables, Mr. McCraken...” Jillian twitched as she said his name. “Mr. McCraken failed to recalibrate the scanner.”

  “How did you figure out what happened?”

  “It was Kree, Captain,” Wells interjected and threw an apologetic look at Jillian. “He was watching the scans from the beginning. After our failed attempts to produce a meaningful set of data, he offered his help.”

  “And I take it McCraken took his advice with his usual humbleness?” Hood added sarcastically.

  “No, he didn’t. I mean, sorry, sir. I don’t do sarcasm well,” Wells said. “Mr. McCraken continued to argue and stammer until Dr. Patton intervened with Jillian’s help.”

  “I threatened to have one of the Marines sit on him until he listened, but fortunately it didn’t have to come to that,” Jillian said with a smirk. “My scans completed after that and then it was Kree’s turn.” She shook her head. “Without Kree’s help, I doubt we would’ve been able to get any readings from him. To be honest, the first several attempts left us baffled. We got nothing at all, but you’ve got a smart cookie in Patton, Jimmy. He figured our problem might be linked to the Cilik’ti brain makeup. Evidently, they have three equal parts, which can act independently. Hell, I’m no neurobiologist, but it sounded good to me.”

  Hood moved through Wells’s report until he arrived at the scan results from Kree. He’d seen reports on the physiology of the Cilik’ti many times, but the opportunity to study a live one was huge. He was determined not to let McCraken’s squabbling ruin this opportunity.

  “Dr. Patton and Kree agreed that our scanners just needed to interpret the information. The doc mentioned we were seeing echoes based on the brain wave phases from each part of Kree’s brain. Once we knew what to look for, Kree was able to adjust the equipment and finally get solid readings,” Jillian emphasized, and Wells nodded in agreement. “Kree seemed impressed with Dr. Patton and he’s become more involved in our experiments as we move on.”

  Hood studied the results of the scans from Jillian and Kree. “I see several different results here, but I can’t tell what it means. Does Dr. Patton have any ideas?”

  Wells flipped her finger across the screen of her data pad. “Mr. McCraken said the jury is still out and wants to bring in his own team on this. Dr. Patton thinks it might come down to simple levels of brain chemistry, but it’s going to take more study to be sure. The team took some readings of my brain and a few more of the Marines’ to get a better basis. The Embrace did more than reshape brain wave activity. It altered the levels of serotonin, HGH and other endorphins in the brain, as well.”

  Hood could feel his endorphin levels rising as his headache continued. It was beginning to wear on him. He wanted to ask Jillian if she was okay, if she felt different. If he’d been in her place, he would’ve wanted to know. The Embrace had been used on all the colonists aboard the Magellan, but according to McCraken, only the criminals who had been conscripted were reprogrammed or adjusted. He decided she’d been through enough and turned his attention back Kree’s results. “Okay. Let’s cut this short. Is there a link between the Embrace and Cilik’ti telepathy or not?”

  “Yes and no, Captain,” Wells explained. “If telepathy was ever achieved, he believes it’s latent at best and again needs more study. But he did find a parallel.”

  “Well?” Hood bellowed. His head was throbbing now and he was growing inpatient.

  “It seems the chemistry and brain wave changes from the Embrace are related to those that were induced on the people attacked in the Epherium office a few days ago, but on a smaller scale.”

  Hood’s day was getting better and better. If Patton was correct, now there were two Epherium technologies out there causing havoc, and he had no idea who was using them or why. “Okay. I think I’ve got enough to keep the brass back home informed. What are the next steps?”

  “Well, the team wants to continue to analyze the results and run more tests on Kree. Dr. Patton seems to be making a rapport with Kree and McCraken is helping, but he doesn’t like it,” Wells said. The excitement in her voice rose again. “I get the feeling if Kree’s people didn’t want him to help, they would have stopped him, so maybe this is a good thing.”

  Hood stood and nodded to Wells and Jillian in turn. “Ladies, thank you for your update. Does Dr. Patton require any more of your assistance planet-side?”

  Wells shook her head as she gathered her data pad. “No, sir. I’m going to return to my duty station for now, but I plan to talk with him later today. I took additional scans of the stone image near t
he cave and I need to analyze them.” She yawned. “I’d like to spend more time with Kree and discuss Cilik’ti history in-depth, specifically when their race became telepathic. But I think I need serious sack time, sir.”

  “Very well, Lieutenant. Get some rest. You’ve earned it. I’ll consider your follow-up work with Kree once Dr. Patton and Mr. McCraken complete their work. That’ll be all. Dismissed.”

  Wells saluted her CO and left Hood and Jillian alone in his quarters.

  “Jillian, I’m sorry about before,” Hood apologized. “I had no right to bring up what happened to your brother, especially in front of everyone.”

  Jillian waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. I spent some time talking to my friends at the camp afterward. Most of us—well, those with our personalities intact—figured we wouldn’t hear or see loved ones back home again. When we lost those people on Magellan in the sleeper chambers, it pulled us together even more. We created our own support system and it’s helped us so far.”

  “Is there anything else I can do? Family back home I can find for you?”

  “No, but thanks anyway,” she replied. “I did talk to Dr. Patton though. He’s got a good ear, that one. He said if any of us needed any grief counseling, a couple of his assistants were specialists. I told him I might make an appointment when I made it up here.”

  Hood smiled at her. “So now that you’re here, Commander, what are your plans?”