by Thomas Stone
The Malaaz warriors exchanged worried looks and shifted uneasily on their feet. "This is not good," one of them said. "It is not safe in the jungle. The ghosts of the Krits live in places like this. They do not like to be disturbed."
"I don't believe in ghosts," replied Fagen, "and your tetrarch doesn't care. You can come with me or you can go your own way. It's your choice."
Fear of the tetrarch outweighed their fear of the unknown and the Malaaz warriors reluctantly agreed to follow Fagen. As if they were performing their final act in life, they unloaded supplies and equipment into the clearing beside the ship.
Although beautiful, the jungle was dense and forbidding. Splashes of wild color dotted the green background. Enormous flowers grew on the trunks of stunted trees. At the edge of the clearing, tall grass gave way to vines and shrubs. There were no trails, nothing to indicate anyone or anything had ever traversed the territory. It was going to be a tough hike.
In the shade beneath the ship, Fagen checked his gear and helped to tie the equipment onto the backs of the beetles. The creatures didn't seem to mind. As a matter of fact, they seemed to enjoy the attention, clicking their satisfaction through insect mandibles whenever their antennae were stroked by their Malaaz handlers.
Prior to entering the jungle, Fagen re-entered the ship to assure Minerva of his plans. "Well," he said, "it's only fifteen kilometers. From the looks of things, I figure two days in, two days at the site, and then two more days to get back out. I'll report in every twelve hours. Should something go wrong, we'll have to make corrections on the fly."
"That's not much of a plan, Edward."
"If you have a better idea, I'd be willing to listen to it."
Minerva said nothing. Fagen intuited from her silence that she wasn't altogether pleased with the way things were going.
"All right then," he said, "I'll see you in a week." He started to make his exit.
Minerva called after him before he stepped from the ship. "Edward?"
Fagen stopped. "Yes?"
"These stray emissions have my sensor array fairly scrambled, but I am able to pick up a few traces of life. Or, at least, something that approximates life."
"That's not surprising," said Fagen, "probably all kinds of native fauna."
"Indeed," replied Minerva, "but some of the readings are rather peculiar."
"Can you give me more to go on than that?"
"Sorry. Everything's breaking up, too many anomalous images. If I was to make a guess, I'd say there is intelligence out there."
"Of what kind?"
Minerva paused for a instant. "Uncertain. Too much interference to make a further determination. Just watch yourself."
It was an alarming statement for Minerva to make, not the kind of thing she ordinarily said to Fagen.
"Thanks, I will."
Fagen left the ship. In minutes, he led the small band of aliens into the jungle. Unknown to them all, their progress was recorded by unseen eyes.
Chapter 9
Harry stepped from a titanium airlock into the familiar territory of Braithwaite City Two, a gigantic space station orbiting Earth. City Two was the Corporation's dry-docking and maintenance facility for the Braithwaite fleet. Other corporations had similar stations, but City Two was the biggest and most well-equipped.
Kathleen emerged behind Harry, holding Yoni's small hand in hers as they walked down the brightly lit corridors to the debriefing area. The Bedoran boy was in awe of the size of the place. Everything was a marvel, but the boy showed no fear, only curiosity and an unending drive to understand all he saw.
"What is this?" he asked, pointing to an air vent. Before Harry could fully explain, Yoni saw something else and asked what the new thing was. So it went until Harry and Kathleen had to leave him with a junior officer while they attended mission debriefing.
After ensuring Harry and Kathleen would come for him later, Yoni reluctantly agreed to go with the officer. Kathleen stared after him.
"You think he's going to be all right?"
"Yoni? Sure. He's young, he'll adjust."
Harry opened the door to the debriefing room and he and Kathleen stepped inside. Around a fake, mahogany-top table sat four officers of the Braithwaite Corporation. On the table were mini-terminals for instant research as well as tablets and pens for note-taking. The only woman among the group stood and smiled. "Hello, Commander Irons, Co-commander Casey. My name is Katherine Roan. I'm the head of your debriefing group." She gave a half-turn to her right and motioned with her hand. "At the end of the table is Mr. Collins. Beside him is Mr. Loudermilk, and to my left is Dr. Arfat."
The men nodded, but said nothing. Harry assumed from her manner, Roan called herself Ms., as in Miz. Ms. Roan smiled and continued. "On behalf of the Braithwaite Corporation, I'd first like to tell you how pleased we are that you came through your ordeal safely and it's good to have you back. We're extremely impressed with the data you've brought back. The Bedoran samples alone are quite valuable."
Noticing that Harry and Kathleen still stood, Roan asked them to take a seat and they chose the only empty chairs directly across the table from the debriefing panel. Ms. Roan took her seat as well. Harry didn't like the looks of the woman. She was a typical corporate dog on the way up. There was no doubt she knew of Harry and Kathleen's reputations, but she wasn't going to play it out that way, at least not yet. She wanted to impress Braithwaite with her efficiency. It was no secret the interview was recorded. Braithwaite himself might be watching. Roan hadn't said anything about the kitzloc essence yet, but Harry knew it was coming.
"Of course, you'll receive credit for the new celestial mapping. The skies are really beginning to open up to us now. Thanks to your efforts and the efforts of hundreds of other survey teams, we've..."
She was grandstanding. Harry tuned her out and thought about how nice it would be to be somewhere else. He sensed she was coming around to the point and turned the focus of his attention back to her words.
"...and, as a result, we've been able to find places like Mirabel. As you know, you two are the first to return from Mirabel in..." she turned to Mr. Loudermilk, and he held up three, then four fingers, "four years. I hear it's quite lovely." She paused, watching for a response from either Harry or Kathleen. There was none.
"Well," she said, "I suppose I should get directly to the point. The value of the kitzloc essence is inestimable. The Corporation can't begin to tell you how glad it is to have such a quantity of the substance. Its properties are, well, unique to say the least. Perhaps you can tell us more about that, Commander Irons?"
That was it. The question Harry was waiting for. It hung in the air and waited for an answer. Harry nodded his head slightly. "I'll tell you all I can."
"Yes. Good. Naturally, we want to keep it quiet. There are already rumors surfacing that we're synthesizing the compound, false of course, but enough to make some people nervous."
Kathleen leaned forward and spoke for the first time. "Why would it make people nervous?"
"Well, it's the native paranoia of the population. Some are saying it might be used to pacify the citizenry. Mind control, that sort of thing."
"Maybe not a bad idea," muttered the guy at the end of the table. Collins was his name, Harry remembered.
"Although that's certainly not our intention. Until more is known, the Corporation has no intentions at all."
That was a lie and Harry knew it. They had all kinds of plans already or they wouldn't be so damn happy to have the stuff.
"How are you feeling, Commander?" Roan directed her question to Harry. Harry wondered why the woman didn't get to the point.
"I'm feeling great, except I lost a ship..."
Roan waved her hand. "With what you've brought back, the cost is more than accounted for. But we are concerned about you, Commander. You've had contact with a kitzloc. Is that correct?"
"We encountered one of the creatures in its lair, yes."
"But you had direct contact with it, isn
't that correct?" The men at the table eyed Harry carefully.
"It attacked me, I struggled with it, and Co-commander Casey shot it."
"Yes, we've seen the tapes, Commander. It looks like you got quite a dose of its secretions."
"It washes off."
"Not completely. Look, Commander, the Corporation has a great deal of respect for you. Your accomplishments are well known. You've been with us a long time, but we need your cooperation in this matter. You must believe me when I say it's for your own good."
Harry spread his hands and gave the woman a questioning look. "What do you want to know?"
She paused a moment before answering. "We'd like to know about your, uh, for lack of a better term, your visions."
Kathleen turned her head and looked at Harry. Harry sat expressionless.
"Have I told anyone I was having visions?"
"No, Commander, but then you don't have to. We fully understand that psychic disturbances result from contact with a kitzloc."
"Ah yes, but this particular creature was killed. Kathleen here can testify to that."
Kathleen nodded her head.
Roan smiled. It was a cool, knowing smile designed to make men squirm. Harry had been in the clasp of the creature, a little pressure from a corporate skirt didn't rankle him at all.
"Come now, Commander, are you telling us you haven't experienced a psychic trauma?"
"Well, let's see. I did get knocked silly for a while. When I woke up, I had a hell of a headache. That's about it."
"All right, commander, as you say." Ms. Roan turned to Kathleen.
"Co-commander. You and Commander Irons have been together a long time, haven't you?"
"That's right."
"You even married once, isn't that true?"
"Yes, but we divorced since."
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. Too much of a strain to live together and work together, I guess."
"Yes, I understand. It's difficult being a professional woman."
Kathleen shrugged. "To be honest, I never thought of myself in those terms. I'm a survey specialist."
"Right you are, Kathleen, and you're the best the Corporation has to offer. I find it curious why a woman of your experience and talent is still at the Co-commander status. I should think you would be running your own missions by this time."
Kathleen shrugged. "Maybe I don't want the responsibility."
"Sometimes responsibility isn't a choice. Sometimes it's thrust upon us. Have you noticed anything out of sorts with Commander Irons?"
Roan tried to slip the question in, catch Kathleen off guard. Harry thought Kath' might be getting a little weary of the question and answer session. He was right.
She calmly faced Ms. Roan. "No more than usual."
"Do either of you take recreational drugs? Have either of you had any hallucinogenic episodes lately?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I've never used drugs."
Kathleen laughed. "When I was young, I took everything! But no, not these days. I guess the last time was after my trip to NG378. The company gave me top dollar for that trip."
Ms. Roan almost winced. "Company" was the slang term low-paid employees used for the Braithwaite Corporation.
"I remember now! What a night that was! Harry was off on a mission and..."
"That's fine, I'm sure, Kathleen, but we need to get along with our questions."
Harry sighed and resigned himself to the grilling. The questioning went on for two hours before it was clear Ms. Roan was getting nowhere in her efforts to make Harry admit he'd been psychically contaminated. She never became exasperated and kept cool the whole time. Finally, she leaned back in her chair and asked Harry about Yoni.
"I knew his father," he explained. "Arai died the day before we left. Yoni's not much different from a human child. He probably didn't think about what he was doing. I hope the Corporation will remember he's a stowaway. My recommendation is that we should get him back to his own people."
"Your recommendation is noted." Ms. Roan smiled. "For the afternoon session, we've had a slight change of plans. Co-commander Casey will return here for further debriefing and Commander Irons," she seemed to savor this point, "is to report to Corporate R and R for a complete medical. We're all very curious to see the DNA samples from the cellular abnormalities."
Kathleen tossed Harry a glance.
"So," Ms. Roan moved back her chair and stood. The men, who had remained practically silent during the interrogation, followed Roan's lead. "So, we'll see you this afternoon, Co-commander." She faced Harry.
Harry already had a hand on the door latch. "Commander, I hope you understand that there is a great deal to learn about the kitzloc. You're the only person who has survived contact with one of those creatures. The Corporation wants to know how you've done it and how you've managed to maintain your sanity."
Harry's temper finally came up. "I told you, we told you, the creature in question was killed."
The smile vanished from Ms. Roan's face. "In any case, Commander, we want you to undergo more testing. As I said before, it's for your own good."
Harry opened the door. "Thanks for your concern," he said, stepping from the room.
Once outside and out of earshot, Kathleen gripped Harry by the arm. "What's this about cellular abnormalities?"
Harry waved a hand. "It's nothing."
"What do you mean, nothing? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to be worried. Everybody's so afraid I'm about to lose my mind, they're looking for anything."
"It's their job, Harry."
"Yeah, well, it's my life."
*
At the specified time, Harry walked up the curving corridor to a hatch marked as the Braithwaite Corporation Rest and Relaxation Facility. It was an innocuous sign, revealing little about what really went on in that section of City Two. The official Corporation line was that Corporate R and R was created for survey team members who returned from particularly harrowing expeditions. There, behind closed doors, survey team members could relax and be debriefed at their leisure.
What people didn't know was that the section also held complete, state-of-the-art, medical laboratories as well as the latest in interrogation equipment. Those who worked for Corporate R and R were proud of their reputation as people who could get to the bottom of things, admittedly proclaiming that sometimes pursuit of the truth was a painful process.
Harry was monitored as he approached the door. The hatch opened without assistance. On the other side, a woman in a nurse's uniform smiled and motioned for Harry to enter. "Please come in, Commander Irons, we've been expecting you."
"How long's this going to take?"
"I'm sorry, Commander, I have no idea. Once we've gotten started, you can ask Dr. Menele. He's in charge of your case."
"When will I meet him?"
A voice rose from the other end of the waiting room. "How about now, Commander Irons?"
Harry turned and faced the doctor. He was a large man, greying at the temples, implant portals conspicuous on both sides of his head. He stepped toward Harry and extended his hand. "I'm Dr. Menele. It's a pleasure to meet you. You've established quite a reputation in the Corporation."
"Thanks."
"I think we can forego the usual paperwork for now. Please come with me." The doctor led Harry from the waiting room down a corridor. He stopped at an open door and beckoned for Harry to enter. The room was large, filled with equipment that surrounded a padded examining table.
"Commander, would you remove your clothes and get on the table, please."
With a sigh, Harry did as he was requested. After playing with the machinery, the doctor approached with a hypodermic in hand.
"What's that for?"
"Several things actually, but primarily it's meant to calm you."
"I'm calm."
The doctor squinted at the readouts on one of his machines. "So I see..." He jabbed Harry with the needle anyway. It annoyed
Harry, but there was little choice involved. Whatever the doctor injected into him, it worked quickly, first warming him and then seemingly stuffing the inside of his head in cotton. Warm and fuzzy. That was how he felt. The last thing he remembered was running effortlessly over the red-tinted plains of Mirabel. After that, nothing.
Chapter 10
Harry knew it was a dream. Perhaps that's why what he saw didn't scare him.
The kitzloc breathed its scent into Harry's face. The smell of the essence was strong, overwhelming, in fact. It bent down and grasped Harry's face in its taloned hands, pulling closer until Harry was mere inches away. Secretions rolled freely from the monster's slitted mouth, dripping onto Harry.
Harry struggled to free himself, but was held firm in the monster's grasp. When the secretions fell onto his skin, there was a slight burning that soon receded into warm tingling. There was no fear. To the contrary, as the secretions worked their way ever deeper into Harry's exposed skin, he felt relaxed, even looking forward to the ever-deepening kitzloc contamination. From his face, the essence spread out into his neck and shoulders. It crept up the back of his head and seeped inside his skull, reaching into his brain and traveling down his spine. Voices began to whisper. Harry could no longer see anything except what the kitzloc wanted him to see, and it wanted him to look at something, something that was slowly coming into focus within his mind's eye.
He strained to make out the image. Gradually, the edges sharpened and he was able to see a spherical object. It shined with a white, wavering glow. Whatever it was, Harry knew it was hot with radiation. Whispering voices told him so and urged him to look closer, to feel the heat the object emanated. As Harry did so, he felt pressure at his temples. Another voice interrupted the others and Harry opened his eyes.
"Feeling all right, Commander?" asked the doctor.
Harry looked around the examining room and tried to nod his head. Discovering that he was strapped down, he croaked, "Never felt better."
The doctor smiled. "You're not a very good liar, Commander." He ordered a nurse to bring another monitor. To Harry, he said, "We've got some excellent data coming in. We've been stimulating the abnormal cells in your blood and watching the results in real time. Fascinating."