The wave finally subsides. Pendersen’s right arm and shoulder is on fire. Bains quickly takes the lab coat and smothers the flames. Cruise grabs a fire extinguisher and sprays the burning debris.
Cruise checks the containment room and sees that the creature is dead. All that is left of it is a charred puddle of black goo.
“Cruise, give me a hand here! He’s burned pretty bad,” Bains says.
Cruise rushes over to help Bains. Magruder stands over Mya’s cryo unit coughing from the smoke.
“HAB, open Mya’s unit,” Magruder commands as she continues to clear her air passages.
HAB does as she asked. She picks up the infant and covers it with a blanket hoping the others don’t notice its welt covered body. Some of the baby’s perspiration has seeped into the cryo-tube’s mattress. The alien organism’s cells slowly coalesce within the fibers of the cryo-tube mattress.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cruise and Bains attend to Pendersen’s injuries.
“How bad is it?” Cruise asks.
“It’s bad,” Bains replies.
Bains and Cruise sit Pendersen upright on the floor against one of the consoles. He moans in pain. Magruder holds onto Mya and watches the others. She rocks the infant being careful not to draw attention to it. She refuses to believe that Mya is infected, but she knows in her heart the truth. She also wonders why HAB lied about Mya’s condition and why he doesn’t reveal that information to the crew. The baby whines and cooed as Magruder wrestles with the truth.
“Shh,hush little baby don’t you cry…” Magruder sings and hums.
“We gotta get outta here and now. Before more of those things get in,” Bains states.
“Yeah, but we’ve got more pressing problems,” Cruise says bluntly.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t trust any of you! Anyone of you could be infected,” Cruise insists.
Magruder pulls the blanket over the baby’s head.
“Let’s just go for, God’s, sake!” Magruder cries.
Suddenly, an alarm is triggered. The interior lights to the habitat turn a dark shade of red.
“What now?” Cruise asks.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! CLANK! Loud thuds can be heard echoing throughout the habitat.
“What was that?” Magruder asks.
“I hope that wasn’t what I think it was,” Bains declares.
“That was the maglocks disengaging from the Umbilical,” HAB 1 replies ominously.
“What!” Magruder screeches.
They can feel slight vibrations as the Umbilical retracts back to the Decima.
“Lt. Cruise is correct. One, if not all of you, has been infected. You pose an extreme risk to Earth. I’m afraid I cannot allow you to leave the habitat. If you try to leave or inhibit my systems, I’ll be forced to shut down the life support systems or cause the main generators to detonate,” HAB 1 states.
“NO, NO, NO! HAB PLEASE! Just let us leave,” Magruder pleads.
HAB 1 doesn’t respond. Bains leans against the console and lowers her head into her hands. She recalls the “Emergency Fail-Safe Mission Directive” outlined on the octagon shaped disc, labeled “MV5 Mining Initiative” that the Ares Corp. Executive gave to her.
“HAB!” Magruder yells.
“He won’t respond. He’s programmed to send out a distress transmission and wait for a response,” Bain informs.
“A RESPONSE, FROM WHERE? EARTH? We’re halfway across the fucking galaxy! We’ll be dead before help arrives!” Magruder raves.
“Bains, is right, Magruder, it’s in the contract. We all signed it,” Pendersen moans.
“I don’t remember anything about being left here stranded!” Magruger argues.
“Section 8-D: 9-11, In the event of any contamination exposure that may adversely affect, cause or contribute to human casualties we scrub the mission or risk permanent quarantine,” Bains clarifies.
“Yeah, HAB and ISIS, are programmed to enforce it,” Pendersen adds.
“Well, fuck that! I’m not dying here! YOU HEAR ME HAB? I’M NOT DYING HERE!” Cruise blasts.
Bains gets up from the console and stands in the middle of the group.
“Look, we’re not going to die here. Seeyer, Aaron Enterprises and Apollo Corp. all had secret agendas to obtain knowledge about that fortress,” Bains says.
“Your point?” Cruise asks.
“My point is that, Nyna, Satoh and Yuri, all needed an exit strategy, right? HAB was programmed before the discovery of the fortress. ISIS was not. The Decima was, Nyna’s, only way back home. That’s why, HAB, blew the Umbilical. We just need to get to the Decima” Bains adds.
“You’re right, Captain. I have considered the possibility that, ISIS, was reprogrammed to allow a departure, which is why I had to take measures to prevent such an occurrence,” HAB states.
“He speaks,” Cruise interjects.
“That explains why we couldn’t remote start the ship or activate, ISIS. He blocked our transmissions,” Pendersen states.
At that moment, Bains remembers something that Nyna said when they left the Decima about ISIS’s systems. Bains has also memorized the schematics of HAB’s systems. She knows that his network mainframe connects to Med Lab and Main Ops via the video strips along the ceiling. It runs directly to his CPU. A surge from their plasma weapons would overload the system. But it would take both she and Cruise’s weapons to generate that kind of disruption.
“Cruise, you are the resident Engineer right?” Bains asks cryptically.
“Yeah,” Cruise responds as he slowly catches Bains’ drift.
“So I’m guessing you know where HAB 1’s Mainframe network is located,” Bains adds.
“I sure do,” Cruise replies realizing Bains’ objective.
They both crank their weapons and the plasma guns ramp-up.
“Captain, if you to disrupt my network you’ll be committing suicide. I am keeping life support functioning,” HAB 1 points out.
“Here’s a revelation for you, HAB. ISIS, is programmed to remote uplink to the habitat once you’re offline. She’ll keep life support going.”
Bains and Cruise turn their weapons on HAB 1’s video strips and fires. The blast sends a surge directly to HAB 1’s CPU. The lights flicker for a moment and then they shut off. The ambient hum from the generators goes silent indicating that they too have shut down.
“I hope you didn’t just sign our death warrant, Captain!” Magruder yells in the dark.
“Give it a moment!” Bains responds.
HAB 1 is slowly going off offline. His tries to relay a command to overload the generators, but his circuits fail. ISIS’s systems onboard the Decima detect the disruption. Her systems immediately boot up and the Decima’s power comes on. ISIS then remote uplinks herself to the habitat’s CPU. She detects a redundancy; she and HAB are occupying the same system. She then deletes HAB 1’ program.
The generator, life-support, lights and the rest of the habitat’s systems reactivate. In Med Lab, ISIS communicates to the crew through one of the consoles.
“ISIS, is that you?” Bains asks.
“Yes, Captain. I’m online. However, I can’t see you,” ISIS states.
Bains and the others breathe a sigh of relief.
“ISIS, can you redeploy the Umbilical?” Bains asks.
“Not without exposing the ship’s interior. Currently, the Decima is secure, but I am detecting several non-humanoid signatures around its perimeter. Getting you onboard without company will be difficult enough,” ISIS replies.
“So we gotta get to the Titan or the Grey Goose in the Launch Bay, make the drive over to the Decima, and then open up the ship without letting those things onboard. It’s gonna be tight,” Bains strategizes.
“I hate to add to your troubles, Captain, but some active sensors indicate that several compartments of the habitat have been breached. I’d advise you to put on environmental suits or use the DCU before leaving Med Lab,” ISIS warns.
“The cryo-tubes are portable, but we’d have to push them. Pendersen is not in any shape to push unless he’s in one of the DCU’s,” Bains states.
“Well I’m sure as hell not getting back into a DCU!” Cruise quips.
“Ok there are two mechanical suits and we have access to two environmental suits. Pierce keeps one here in the lab and the other is, uh…” Magruder says.
She looks over at Reed’s decapitated body. He is wearing the other suit.
“…I’m sorry, Bains, I know you two were close,” Magruder states.
“I’m putting on Pierce’s suit!” Cruise declares.
Pendersen’s bandages are saturated with blood. He complains about the excruciating pain he is in.
“ISIS, do you have access to the cryo-system’s,” Bains inquires.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Pendersen, suffered severe burns to his arm and shoulder.”
“If you place him in the cryo-tube I can heal his injuries. The cryo-tube should be able to regenerate skin tissue,” ISIS informs.
Bains helps Pendersen to his feet and over to the four cryo-units. Cruise refuses to assist them. He suspects that they are infected.
“Can she scan for infection too?” Cruise asks.
“I have access to, HAB 1’s, Memory Bus. I’m aware of the organism,” ISIS replies.
“Good, scan him while he’s in there,” Cruise orders.
Bains is annoyed with Cruise, but she knows he’s right. Anyone of them could be infected. Pendersen gets into the unit Mya was previously in and the lid closes. ISIS begins diagnosing Pendersen’s injuries. The alien cells lurking within the mattress sense the warmth of his body and forms microscopic tentacles. They attach themselves to his back and slowly invade his body. They form a sticky residue, which causes his burn wounds to maturate.
“FOREIGN ORGANISM DETECTED!” ISIS warns.
“I knew it!” Cruise exclaims.
Pendersen arches his back in pain. He begins to struggle hitting the lid of the cryo-tube.
“OUCH! LET ME OUT!” He screams.
As he struggles, Bains can see that his back is quickly deteriorating. She covers her mouth and her eyes widened at the sight.
“It hurts. Oh, God, it hurts!”
Bains doesn’t know what to do. She wants to let him out, but she knows he was a goner.
“ISIS, seal his cryo-tube!” Bain orders reluctantly.
Pendersen’s body doubles in size. It continues to swell until it bursts open. Mist forms around the huge chunks of his body and a creature begins to emerge. Pendersen’s remains liquefy and bubble until the monster is fully formed. Incased in the cryo-tube is a soup of compacted living tissue, slimy mist and the beast. It struggles to get out.
“ISIS, how long will it stay contained?” Bains asks.
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that, Captain. There are too many variables to consider. Mass, weight, strength, pressure…”
“I get it! Okay–––Magruder, quick put, Mya, in an environmental suit. You and I will use the DCU!”
Magruder places the infant down and darts over to the locker housing Pierce’s suit. Cruise scrambles to the locker. He shoves Magruder aside and starts to put on Pierce’s suit.
“Cruise, you bastard!” Magruder yells.
Magruder scurries over to Reed’s decapitated body and struggles to get it out of its suit. Bains charges over and helps her. Bains looks at Cruise with disdain and he cuts her a smirk.
“ISIS!”
“Yes, Captain?”
“Enable my security access code!”
“Access code enabled. You do realize no one but you will be able to launch the Decima with the access code enabled?” ISIS inquires.
“You bet I do,” Bains replies sharply.
Bains glares at Cruise while she helps Magruder. The access code is her insurance policy should Cruise try to leave them behind.
Cruise slips his legs into Pierce’s suit and glares back at her.
“You better give me that code, girl,” Cruise grumbles as he zips up his suit.
“We all go together, asshole––––or not at all!” Bains replies.
The creature in the cryo-tude continues to grow. It struggles to break free of the cryo-tube. Bains, Cruise and Magruder are in a race against inevitable danger. The women finally get most of Reed’s body out of its environmental suit.
“Bains, I got it! Go prep the DCU and I’ll get Mya into the suit!” Magruder yells as she pulls the environmental suit free from Reed’s body.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! Go I got!”
Magruder doesn’t want Bains to see Mya’s infected body. Bains rushes over to the console.
“ISIS, prep DCU cryo-tubes one and two for transfer and transport!” Bains commands.
The glass lids slides open on the cryo-tubes and large chassis’ elevate them. Magruder slips Mya’s tiny body into the environmental suit. She then places the helmet over the baby’s head. Bains finds a large satchel in the locker and dumps its medical contents on the floor. She hands the satchel to Magruder. Magruder stuffs Mya’s body into it allowing only the baby’s helmet to stick out. After widening the strap, she drapes it over the handle bar at the foot of the cyro-tube. Cruise grabs his plasma rifle. He sees the creature continuing to struggle in the cryo-unit.
“You two better hurry up!” Cruise goads.
Bains leaps into her unit and Magruder into the unit that Mya dangles from. Their lids close simultaneously.
“ISIS!” Bains yells.
“The DCU is ready for transfer, Captain,” ISIS confirms.
“Initiate transfers!” Bains commands.
Cruise darts to the hatch and prepares to open it. Bains and Magruder’s consciousnesses are snatched from the cryo-units and transferred into the robotic suits. The mechanical giants spring to life. The women’s faces appear on the suits’ visors. The robotic suits disengage from the wall spikes and approach their cryo-tubes. Bains and Magruder places the smaller weapons Cruise made onto the lids of their cryo-tubes. Then they grab the handlebars of their units and begin to push their bodies towards the hatch.
“Alright, Cruise, we’re ready!” Bains indicates anxiously.
The creature inside the remaining cryo-tube begins to crack the lid. With haste, Cruise opens the hatch and enters the corridor. Magruder pushes her body following him. Bains then does the same. Cruise quickly move to close the hatch behind them. He hesitates a moment and sees the creature break free from its cylindrical prison. It screams as it spouts out like a geyser. Cruise closes the hatch and fires on the keypad disabling it.
He turns and is shocked to find that the corridor is hardly recognizable. The misty atmosphere short-circuited the corridor’s lighting system. The walls are covered with a liquid residue that has hardened in places. They hang from the ceiling of the corridor like stalactites. Inside these odd looking funnels are baby mist creatures. Bains and Magruder’s mechanical suits stand still as they too gaze at the transformed passageway.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Oh my, God, what is this?” Magruder gasps.
Cruise rushes pass them holding tightly onto his weapon. He moves quickly down the corridor careful not to touch the strange growths hanging from the ceiling. The scratching sounds of tiny tentacles signals the funnels are ready to hatch.
Bains and Magruder try to keep pace with Cruise, but their robotic suits are slow. Pushing their cryo-units only makes them lag further behind. Their robotic suits occasionally crash into the hanging formations knocking them down onto their cryo- tubes. Baby mist creatures rise, turn into mist and retreat into the air ducts.
At the end of the corridor is a sharp turn. Magruder misjudges the turn and slams her unit into the wall. She finds it difficult to maneuver her robotic suit, push her cryo-unit, keep an eye on Mya and watch out for any creatures that are undoubtedly lurking about. Cruise quickens his pace. When Bains and Magruder turn the next corner they se
e that Cruise is far ahead of them.
“Cruise wait! Slow down!” Bains yells.
“Shit! I knew he couldn’t be trusted. He’s gonna leave us!” Magruder blasts.
“He’s not going to leave us. He can’t launch the ship without us. CRUISE, GET BACK HERE!” Bains yells.
Cruise can hear the women calling for him. He knows he needs Bains’ access code, which prompts him turn back and re-join them.
“Look, you two better get the lead out your asses or I will leave you behind–––code or no code!” Cruise snaps.
They make their way to the final corridor. They can see the holographic atrium ahead of them. Its projected image of a holographic forest flickers in the darkness. It is malfunctioning. The stalactite formations, mist and liquid covered walls make the atrium appear forbidding.
The group instinctively knows that something sinister waits on them. They have no choice, but to proceed. They need to cross that section of the habitat to reach the vehicles in the Launch Bay. The mist thickens as they make their approach. The only sounds they can hear are of Cruise’s breathing and Mya’s cooing over their suit’s internal intercom systems.
They enter the holographic atrium.
“All stop!” Bains whispers.
She picks up her weapon from the lid of her unit. She strains to hear over their breathing.
“Bains what is it?” Magruder asks.
“Keep moving,” Cruise whispers as he quickly glances in every direction.
“Shhh! Wait listen,” Bain whispers.
The group gets quiet. Bleep…bleep. Bleep…bleep. The subtle sounds stop abruptly. Then it starts again––––bleep…bleep. Its pace quickens––––bleep, bleep, bleep!
“What is that?” Margruder asks nervously.
“I don’t know,” Bains replies.
She looks at Mya and sees she is fine. Magruder then walks around to the front of her cyro-unit and looks in it. She sees her body resting motionless in its unit, but the tone is now louder. BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! She looks down at the controls on the cryo-unit. To her horror, she realizes the cause of the mysterious noise. There are codes being entered into the front keyboard controls of her cryo-unit. Her display reads, “4,3,2” then, “ERROR” then, “4,3,3” and again, “ERROR.” A creature of the mist has entered the keypad and is unsuccessfully trying to open her cryo-unit to get at her sleeping body.
PERIL Page 16