Merillian: 2 (Locus Origin)
Page 41
* * * * *
Taylor walked into the Tengri’s laboratory just in time to hear Dr. Gehringer ask Dr. Haake if she would be interested in participating in a mating ritual with him, to be followed by copulation. The medic had never seen anyone turn that particular shade of red. She slapped the pale little scientist clear across the cheek before storming out of the lab.
“Practicing your seduction techniques, Doctor?” Taylor joked from the doorway.
“I think I’m getting the hang of it. I believe I’ve discovered a direct correlation between the female’s reaction and the strength of the graviton field!” Dr. Gehringer revealed, buzzing with excitement and completely oblivious to the clone’s sarcasm.
“The what?” Taylor asked, completely confused.
“I’ve recalibrated the ship’s artificial gravity, reducing it by a factor of 0.2 percent. Don’t tell me you hadn’t noticed!”
“I… uh… yes, of course I noticed,” Taylor lied.
“This time, she only slapped me once,” Dr. Gehringer proclaimed, bursting with pride.
“I see,” Taylor said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Anyway, now that you’re… between repetitions, Doctor, I was wondering how the cloning process is coming along?”
“The cloning pr… oh, the canine!” Dr. Gehringer cried, running over to one of the small cloning vats standing in a corner of the laboratory, which he’d covered with a black tarp.
He removed the shroud, peering into the tank.
“He’s coming along nicely,” the scientist said. “Shouldn’t be more than a few days now.”
“Good. Don’t you think you should give it to the captain?” Taylor suggested, appealing to what little empathy the scientist might possess. “After all, it was his dog whose genetic sample you took. Without his permission, I might add.”
“But I had planned to test my theory of-”
“It’s not going to work Doctor,” Taylor warned him. “If you want a girl to like you, you should just be yourself…” he began, immediately regretting his words.
What little he knew of the cadaverous scientist’s character didn’t seem at all suited to appeal to the opposite gender… or any gender, come to that.
“How?”
“Let the captain have the dog and perhaps I can teach you a thing or two.”
Dr. Gehringer grinned from ear to ear as and stretched out a limp-wristed hand.
“I accept!”
* * * * *
As the Tengri slid into the busy space lanes surrounding Semeh’yone station, Hanan Aru disabled his magnetic hold on the ship’s outer hull. His suit not only offered protection from the harsh elements of space, but was also capable of acting as a stasis pod, and he had programmed it to awaken him the moment the ship disengaged its superluminal drive. He waited until he had drifted far enough away that no-one would notice before he engaged the suit’s small built-in thrusters, making his way towards the lower docking ring, a section of the station restricted to the Etheran military. Fortunately, his position within the Iankari afforded him unrestricted access.
* * * * *
Their journey back to Semeh’yone station was at an end. After almost a month at superluminal velocity, Captain Mitchell sat quietly in his office, finishing Engineer Kerr’s report on the new drive and getting ready to head up to the bridge for the Tengri’s final approach. He’d been pondering the possible ramifications of his decision to leave Semeh’yone rather than waiting patiently for their asylum hearing with the Etheran Council, particularly now that they were returning having acquired a superluminal drive of their own, albeit semi-legally. Well, he thought, I suppose we’ll find out in a few days, won’t we?
He grabbed the half-full bottle of pills from his desk and swallowed a small handful, rubbing his aching joints.
“Captain,” the voice of Navigator Wei came from outside in the hallway.
“Come in,” Mitchell called.
The navigator had a worried air about him as he hurriedly closed the hatch behind him.
“I was about to head up to the bridge, so whatever this is, it had better be important,” Captain Mitchell muttered, trying to see how many painkillers he had left in the bottle.
Wei stepped forward in silence and placed a small data disk on the captain’s desk before coming to attention.
“At ease,” Mitchell told him. “What’s this?”
“Captain, I was reconfiguring the nav computer. Not really a necessity, but if we were ever to return to any of the locations we’ve visited since leaving Terra then I thought it might save us some time on astrogation.”
“Hardly a pressing matter,” the captain said, picking up the disk. “These are the new parameters?”
“No, Captain,” Navigator Wei replied. “While I was rummaging through the computer’s subroutines, I came across something… a glitch… perhaps, though I’m not certain. It has all the indications of having been inserted there deliberately.”
“Explain,” Mitchell demanded, his patience wearing thin.
“It appears that there was a hidden subroutine in the nav computer. Had we entered stasis for our journey back to Semeh’yone station – or any subsequent journey, from what I can tell – the ship’s nav computer would have automatically redirected the ship’s course.”
“To where?”
“Back home, Captain. To Beta Terra.”
“What?” Captain Mitchell yelled, slamming his fist onto the desk and startling the navigator.
“If we’d entered stasis, we would’ve been completely unaware of it Captain. Most likely, we’d have woken up in orbit above Beta Terra without even realizing it.”
“I thought a trip like that would take hundreds of years, if not thousands? What would be the point?”
“In the past, Captain, yes, it would have. There would presumably have been very little point,” the Navigator agreed. “But with our new drive technology, the trip from Nos Shana to Terra would only take several months, perhaps a year. This, uh…” Wei cleared his throat awkwardly. “…leads me to believe that whoever reprogrammed the nav computer knows about our new drive, and is therefore aboard the ship.”
“A mole… on my crew?” Mitchell sighed.
“It would appear so, Captain,” Navigator Wei confirmed.
“Tell no one of this,” the captain ordered. “Until we’re in a position to root out this… traitor, we will keep this information contained.”
“As you wish, Captain.”
Wei turned to leave while Captain Mitchell stared blankly at the bulkhead. He couldn’t believe that even this far away from home, Division 6 remained a very real threat. There was a traitor amongst them… but who? Though he’d done his best to hide it, he’d scanned the mind of each and every one of the crew. A sleeper agent perhaps? One who didn’t even know that they were working for the Division? Such practices weren’t unheard of in the Terran intelligence community. I should never have underestimated Captain Intari, Mitchell thought. The man is as vile as he is cunning, and his wrath knows no bounds.
* * * * *
Everyone apart from the captain and the bridge crew had gathered in the galley to enjoy the view as the Tengri approached Semeh’yone’s docking ring. From its gigantic docking arms to the white tower in is center, the massive hub was a beacon of light at the end of a perilous journey, and the mood was festive. Taz even raised a sardonic toast to a job well done, which some found inappropriate, given the high price they’d paid.
Marcus stood in a shadowy corner, looking at the exuberant faces of his colleagues. He wondered who would be the next to go. Perhaps it would be him.
Despite this small but costly victory, there was still a huge range of challenges that they would have to face. They were a long way from home, and Semeh’yone, though unarguably more pleasant than Nos Shana, still felt like nothing more than a way station. Perhaps in time they would come to call it home, but something inside him suggested otherwise.
As he Tengri approached the d
ocking bay they’d been assigned, the shimmering force field disengaged to allow them passage, the now-familiar tow drones pulling the ship into position. As the sound of the docking arm grabbing hold of the ship’s underbelly reverberated through the hull, the crew cheered.
Marcus suddenly felt his eyes drawn to something outside the window, something entirely unexpected. He walked clear across the galley, pushing people aside as he strode forward, spilling Dr. Gehringer’s drink down his lab coat as he pushed through a small knot of his crewmates. In the adjoining bay, through one of the massive windows that divided the docking ring into its numerous berths, Marcus saw the last thing he had ever expected to see at Semeh’yone. The TFS-Genesis.
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