Firmament: Reversal Zone

by Pennington,J. Grace

“I'll check with McMillan,” Crash said at last, and scurried off the bridge.

  I slipped out of my chair and announced, “Second medical officer leaving the bridge,” before hurrying out the doors after Crash.

  The elevator doors were closing as I approached, and Crash stuck his arm through to hold them for me. “Thanks,” I said, jumping in next to him. “B-Deck.”

  “Anything wrong?” Crash asked as we began moving down.

  I shook my head. “I don't think so.” The elevator stopped and I stepped out and hurried down the corridor, letting him continue down to engineering alone.

  I found the Doctor organizing some drugs in the main medical cabinet. As I rushed in, he turned and frowned at me. “Where've you been? I've been trying to call you.”

  “The coms aren't working,” I said. “I've been trying to call you. Communications are completely down and the sensors still aren't working, nobody knows why. Doctor, I need to tell you something.”

  He closed the cabinet and walked towards me. “What's wrong?”

  I sat on the end of a nearby cot and pulled my skirt up above my bare knee.

  Frowning still more, he crouched in front of me. “Did something happen?”

  I licked my lips and nodded. “It was small, but... it hurt. Just a tiny bit, I hardly noticed it. But it lasted awhile. I think it's better now, though.”

  He reached out and touched my knee gently with one forefinger. “What kind of pain?”

  “Low and throbbing. Really mild.”

  “Did you feel anything else? Nausea, weakness... a fever?” He stood up and pressed his cool hand to my forehead.

  “No sir. Nothing. Just... a hint of throbbing and heat there.”

  For a moment he did nothing, then he slowly moved his hand from my forehead to the top of my head and rested it there. “Did this start when we entered this... cloud?”

  “Yes sir.” I closed my eyes and focused on the weight of his hand on my head.

  Another moment, then he moved his hand again, using it to tilt my chin up so I'd look him in the eyes. I did, and was calmed by the care I saw in them.

  “Tell me if anything else happens.”

  “I will.”

  He stepped back, and I stood up and faced him.

  “It'll be okay,” he said, giving one of his crooked smiles.

  I smiled back. “What did you want me for?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You said you were trying to call me...”

  “Oh. Well, I did have a patient but that's taken care of now, so why don't you go see if you can help Almira in the kitchen. She should be getting lunch ready by now.”

  “Yes sir.” I smoothed my skirt down and headed out of the room.

  Chapter VI

  The mess hall was empty, but a peek behind snack bar into the galley showed that it was anything but inactive. Almira and two kitchen assistants, the young Eduardo and the older Katharina, buzzed around getting ready for the crew's lunch.

  The galley was usually a warm place, in character as well as temperature, but today the atmosphere had the chill of new ice. All three workers maintained a sweaty silence as they moved things to and from the microvens, Almira doing most of the cooking while the others arranged items on dishes and pans.

  “Can I help?” I called.

  Almira turned my way, her plaid, faded apron nearly covering the front of her green uniform. “I'll call you if I need you,” she snapped.

  I stepped back and blinked.

  I'd never once heard Almira talk that way.

  Her face smoothed and she sighed. “I'm sorry, honey. Thank you for asking. I... I have enough help right now. We're very busy.”

  “Okay...” I said slowly. “I'll... see you later.” I tried to smile, then slipped out and retreated to the other side of the snack bar.

  I stared out at the brown, empty room, out across all the empty tables and chairs. Almira had never refused my help before. It was an accepted tradition that I would help her when I wasn't busy in sickbay.

  Then again, I'd never seen quite so much bustling during lunch, either. Were they trying a new recipe, perhaps, something that required more work and precise timing than usual?

  It had sure looked like Eduardo was putting basic chicken sandwiches onto the plates.

  I sidled over to a stool at the snack bar and hopped up onto it, then rested my elbows on the counter. There were three people in there already, after all. I'd probably only get in the way.

  A tiny twinge of pain in my knee made me sit up straight. Instinctively I touched it and looked around. No one was there.

  Pulling my skirt up again I rubbed the knee, praying it wouldn't get worse.

  It had to be something about the cloud—whatever it was that had caused the sensors to malfunction must also be causing the radialloy to hurt me.

  The last time it had hurt, a machine created by my biological father had been agitating it. The machine was meant to locate the metal—a a device that increased the alloy's radiation and allowed my father to track it. Though the pain had been much more intense then—nearly unbearable—it was a similar feeling.

  Could the knowledge of what the cloud was doing to my knee help the Captain or someone else determine what the cloud was? It might at least be a little useful.

  “Waiting for lunch, And?”

  I didn't bother to turn around, but just tossed the hem of my skirt back down and thought for a moment. He wasn't quite the person I'd had in mind to talk to about the radialloy, but maybe he could help. He had certainly been less—obnoxious this morning. Maybe the Doctor's talk had worked on him for once.

  I spun around on the stool and faced him with a smile. “Hey, Crash. Yes, I... I guess I'm waiting.”

  He approached and stood next to me. I tilted my head back to look up at him. Something seemed wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it. He looked just as he always did—same clothes, same hair, same sparkling blue eyes, same charming smile, but—something just didn't seem right.

  “I'll wait with you, then.” He settled onto the stool next to me, and I found myself still staring. Was it his voice? But it sounded the same as ever.

  “Anything happening up on the bridge?”

  “Nothing in particular. Still traveling into the cloud; the Captain's still worrying about the sensors. I can't find anything wrong with them yet, though.”

  I picked out one thing in particular that was definitely not right. He never, ever called the Captain by his title. It was always the bordering-on-disrespectful “Trent.”

  “The Doctor's talk seems to have had an effect on you.”

  He looked at me and blinked, as if trying to remember. Then he suddenly laughed and slouched forward, resting one elbow on the counter and throwing his other arm back. “Oh, you mean the lecture on respect and courtesy?”

  Suddenly nothing seemed wrong at all. Everything was just right, and I realized what had been nagging at me—his posture. It had been stiff and undefined, but now it was back to being casual and cocky.

  “Why don't you ever listen to him?”

  “I do listen to him. But I don't have to do everything he says, right? I'm a man, not a kid.”

  I sighed and gave up. “Crash... earlier, right when we entered the cloud, my knee started hurting a little.”

  He frowned and sat up a little straighter. “Which knee?”

  “The one with the radialloy.”

  He just looked at me for a moment, then he hopped off the stool. “Radiation makes it hurt?”

  “That's what it was last time...”

  “Can't hurt to check. Sensors aren't telling us anything, but I can have a look at the reactor, see if it's causing any weird radiation.”

  “Don't you think you should tell the C...”

  “See you later, And,” he called over his shoulder as he rushed out.

  I sighed, and slumped on the stool for a moment. I'd have to tell the Captain myself. He certainly had the right to know any information that might h
elp him fulfill his mission or keep the ship safe.

  The galley door opened, and Katharina stepped out with a plate of steaming food. She started towards me, but I jumped off the stool and called, “I'll eat later,” then jogged out of the room.

  When I reached the bridge, the whiteness of the windows startled me. There wasn't a cloudy quality to it anymore—other than a couple of faint bright spots, it was just pure, milky white.

  I was also surprised to find the Captain slouching back in his chair. I'd never seen him sit like that before, except in total defeat.

  “Second medical officer on the bridge.”

  The Captain sat up and turned around. “Need something?”

  I stared at him for a moment. As with Crash, his posture was odd and so was his tone. But I went on.

  “There's something I need to tell you.”

  “All right, tell me.” He sat back again.

  I looked around at the other bridge officers, who were all staring at me.

  “Do you... want to go to your lounge or something?”

  “No, go ahead, tell me.”

  I hesitated. I didn't love the idea of talking about the radialloy in front of people I wasn't close with. But an order was an order—and they all knew about it, anyway.

  “Tell me, tell me,” he insisted, waving his hand as if brushing away a speck of dust.

  “Well... you remember the radialloy, sir...”

  “You might need to speak up a little.”

  I cleared my throat and went on. “The... the radialloy, sir. You remember that?”

  “The... oh, right. Yes, of course.”

  This wasn't right. I stared into his eyes and they looked—dull. Flat. Not alert and intent as they usually were on a mission.

  “I... well, my knee started hurting a little when we entered the cloud.”

  “Oh, I'm sorry.”

  The silence around us was so thick that every system beep or blip seemed to slice it. I sucked in a deep breath. He was sorry? That was all?

  “I thought... the Doctor thought... the cloud might be making it hurt. I thought you might be able to figure something out about it... I...” I stopped, feeling a little queasy from the attention and awkwardness. All seven pairs of eyes were fixed on me.

  “Harrison! Can't you see the girl's trying to help? Why don't you sit up and pay some attention?”

  I froze. That could not be who it sounded like.

  It sounded like Guilders.

  Guilders never raised his voice, he never called the Captain “Harrison” on the bridge, and he had never, ever called me “the girl.”

  “Mr. Guilders, I realize that Andi is trying to help. I'm listening to her. That should satisfy you.” The words were calm, slow, and casual.

  “Captain!” I took half a step forward, willing him to understand.

  He blinked, looked at me, and sat up a bit straighter. “Hold on... wait...” He held up both hands, fingers stiffly separated. “Wait now. Something's wrong.”

  He looked over at Guilders, who lowered his bushy eyebrows and relaxed his shoulders slightly.

  “Something... something isn't right.” He stared at me again. “Andi. The cloud is making your knee hurt?” His eyes were alert now, but confusion furrowed his eyebrows.

  “Yes sir.”

  “I... I think that...” He pressed a hand to his forehead. “Ugh. I think... that's helpful. Thank...” He stood up and stumbled to one side a step.

  “Captain?” Guilders jumped up but he also stumbled.

  The Captain kept a hand pressed to his head. “I... Guilders, what's...” He shook his head, hard, several times. “I can't think, I don't...”

  The lights dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed again. I backed towards the door, watching as the Captain blinked and tapped his head with the palm of his hand.

  “I... can't... I don't...”

  The lights flickered again, and I looked around. Ralston and Yanendale both had their hands pressed against their heads, and August had gone even paler than usual. Whales and Mr. Orstin had both slumped back in their chairs and their eyelids were drooping.

  “I...” the Captain said one last time, then he wavered and dropped to the floor.

  “Captain!” I cried.

  Guilders dropped next, falling into his chair and hitting his head on the console in front of him. I winced, and watched in shock as August collapsed, rolling out of his chair onto the floor. Yanendale slumped over his console, motionless, Ralston went limp and fell against the wall, and Whales and Orstin's arms dropped and their eyes closed.

  The lights dimmed, then flickered off, then red blinking lights illuminated everything, alarms sounded, and I was left on the bridge, alone, with seven unconscious men.

  Chapter VII

  The lights kept blinking as I stared at the others. For a moment I didn’t move, then I rushed to kneel beside the Captain and feel for his pulse. One beat followed another. I ran from one body to the other, checking vital signs for each of the other six bridge members, and they all presented normal pulses as well. Everyone breathed as if in a deep sleep.

  I went back to the Captain and bent over him, then hesitated for a moment. I bit my lower lip, then gripped his shoulders and shook him. “Captain? Captain, wake up.”

  He was too heavy for me to move very much, but his arms flopped as I shook him. “Captain? Wake up... something's wrong.”

  After a moment, I let go. He dropped the few inches to the floor and laid still.

  I pinched the button in my wristcom and spoke into it, my voice echoing through the eery silence on the bridge. “Doctor?”

  Nothing. The coms still weren’t transmitting.

  I took a deep breath and ran to the door. It slid open like normal, and I rushed into the elevator, which was also illuminated by a blinking red. “B-Deck,” I said, and it slipped down.

  When it stopped, I got off and stepped into the hall. The sole of my boot echoed on the floor as I took one step and then another. It was even quieter here than on the bridge, and still the lights were blinking red.

  A brunette female technician in a green jumpsuit lay on her side on the floor near me, and without examining her I could see that her chest was rising and falling steadily. A young man with the lieutenant armband lay several feet away, and two more men beyond that. I turned towards sickbay and ran past all the sleeping crewmembers, glancing at each as I ran. I didn't see anyone who wasn't lying on the floor, unconscious.

  When I reached sickbay at the end of the B-Deck corridor, I looked in and saw that it was still normally lit, though it too was quiet. Since the ship had put itself on red alert by default, that must mean that it didn't see whatever had happened as a threat to sickbay or patients. Probably an engine, thruster, or system error.

  I saw the Doctor sitting on a cot and leaning back against the wall. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady and deep, but I called across to him anyway. “Doctor?”

  He didn't move, except to keep breathing.

  Olive, the nurse, was on her knees beside one of the other cots with her head resting on it. There was one patient on the cot behind her, also with eyes closed.

  My heartbeat accelerated. So far I'd seen no one conscious on the entire ship.

  I shivered and panic rose in my chest. No. I had to stay calm. What did I need to do?

  I raced back up to the bridge and went straight to the data control panel. Ralston still slumped against the wall. I leaned over him and studied the panel. The screen blinked with engineering alerts. The warp drive was down and the thrusters were malfunctioning so that we couldn't go above propulsion five. Navigation was completely down. We were drifting through unknown territory at a snail's pace.

  I chewed on my lip. What was I to do? It couldn't be good to move along with nothing to guide us. How long would everyone be out? If it was going to be awhile, the ship should be stopped.

  Fingers shaking, I typed in the Doctor's emergency medical override and identified myse
lf as Andi Lloyd. Despite my lack of rank, the computer recognized me as part of the medical team and allowed me access to emergency controls. I took a deep breath, and instructed it to anchor the ship.

  I felt the subtle difference again as the motion stopped and the thrusters powered down, and the silence and stillness became more eerie than ever.

  For a moment I just stood there and breathed. Then I looked down at Ralston's pale, sleeping face, and I turned and hurried off the bridge.

  I started in engineering, even though I wasn't really supposed to go in there. I checked every room and every station and found the same story everywhere—unconscious bodies, breathing quietly on the floors; in their stations; slumped against the walls.

  I checked the hold next, and found the same story. Technicians everywhere, every single one unconscious.

  From there I moved up the ship, onto D-Deck, where I checked inside all the open quarters. Then C-Deck. Then up on B-Deck, in the galley, the mess hall, sickbay, the exercise room, the lounge. Every crewmember on the Surveyor, young, old, male, female, of every rank, unconscious.

  Except me.

  It took three hours to check every single part of the ship, and when I finished I was exhausted, but I made the search again. I did it methodically, from bottom to top, from bow to stern, checking for anyone else anywhere who was awake. But it yielded the exact same results as my first search.

  Utterly exhausted, I stumbled into the B-Deck lounge and collapsed onto one of the couches. I was too drained even to be worried, beyond a numb sense of fear. It had been nearly five hours, and still everyone slept except myself and the fish. All twenty of them kept on swimming about in their tank, illuminated by the red blinking, as though nothing at all had happened.

  I closed my eyes, unable to think. Unable even to ask myself questions. Able only to close my eyes and lay still in the silence.

  “Andi.”

  I didn't move. The voice was too far away; I couldn't get to it.

  “Andi, wake up.”

  Hands gripped my shoulders, and I felt my body move up and down slightly.

  “Andi, come on. Up.”

  Doctor. Wasn't it? Or wasn't it. I didn't know. It sounded like him. But it didn't sound like him.