Shalia's Diary Omnibus

by Tracy St. John

  All the defense I’d been readying to make faded from my lips. “How do you know how she sounded?”

  “Because we’ve been monitoring your com link as well as Katrina’s since Candy disappeared.”

  My jaw dropped open. “You’ve been spying on me?”

  Betra had finished calling for help. “We figured if Candy didn’t return on her own, she’d contact her closest friends. We tracked your signal once she commed you.”

  Oses eyed the insensible woman in his arms. “It’s good we did. She’s come unhinged. She could have posed a real danger to you, Shalia.”

  “Candy would never hurt me.” My protest sounded feeble to my own ears.

  “Candy is not herself.” Betra hugged me close. “Whatever that is she’s wearing might have a lot to do with it. Have you seen this sort of armor before, Oses?”

  The Nobek shook his head. “No. And these—” he ran a finger over one of the tubes running the length of Candy’s forearm “—at first I thought they carried hydraulic fluid to the pieces. But this covering isn’t metal. It and the tubes appear to be organic in nature.”

  Betra jerked in surprise. “You mean, living tissue of some sort?”

  I gasped. “That stuff is alive? Is it in her?”

  Before Oses could answer, footsteps echoed in the space. Dr. Tep arrived with two orderlies and a hover stretcher. “You found our wandering Matara. You had to sedate her? What is she wearing?”

  “That’s what we need to find out,” Oses said grimly. “Be careful about removing it, Doctor. It may be attached under the skin. Be aware that whatever that is, it makes her stronger than any man.”

  “Alien fighting technology then. Not any type I’ve come across though, and I’ve been among soldiers for decades.” Tep ran a portable scanner over Candy’s arm and chest. The crease between his eyes deepened. “You’re right about it being under the skin. There’s hardly any Earther cellular structure under this.”

  “Maybe that’s why she stopped showing up on the sensors,” Betra said.

  “She also accessed the ship’s computers, which would have allowed her to cancel out her presence to our programs,” Oses replied. He glared at the nearby computer panel, the lit device I’d passed to reach Candy. His jaw was tight. “To look at her, she’s still human. Yet we picked up no sign. I don’t think she’s insane. I think she’s being run by an alien intelligence.”

  Tep’s worry was plain to see. “We’ll find out soon enough. Put her on the stretcher and let’s take her to Medical.”

  Tep and his staff went to work on Candy right away. Even with all that amazing technology the Kalquorians have at their disposal, it took a couple of hours before we got the full story of what they’d found.

  A bunch of us gathered in a conference room. There were Captain Wotref, his first officer, Ebnad the weapons subcommander currently in charge of ship’s security, Oses, Betra, me, and Katrina, along with Tep. Katrina and I were considered Candy’s next-of-kin, which was why we were invited...along with the fact that Katrina and Wotref are an item these days.

  We were anxious as Tep showed us the scans he’d taken of Candy. “I’ve come across organic parasites with intelligence that take over other sentients. I’ve seen self-replicating armor. Never anything that does both. This is what has taken over Matara Candy.”

  “Taken over?” I asked, my voice weak.

  Tep nodded, his gaze on me compassionate. “For all intents and purposes, yes. It hasn’t completely infected her, but it is far enough that the entity is in control now.”

  I fought off tears. I prayed it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

  Tep brought up a picture of Candy’s arm. “As you can see, the armor is an exoskeleton. It’s made mostly of calcium. It’s strong as rock, as strong as the toughest metal. There are even some metallic elements to it such as iron, copper...material we find naturally occurring in the human body. It’s being reproduced at a significant rate to cover the skin.”

  Oses frowned. “Aren’t elements like copper lethal in large doses?”

  Tep nodded. “Normally, yes, but since it’s generating as a covering rather than within, it’s not toxic to her. These tube-type structures are actually large veins feeding nutrients and circulating waste from the exoskeleton. Interior scans of the plating—” he brought up a shot that made me think of a cross-section of an ant colony “—show smaller arteries and veins also at work.”

  “Organic armor,” Ebnad breathed. “How impervious is it to attack?”

  I glared at him. “Attack? Candy is a victim, not an enemy.”

  “Easy, Shalia,” Oses soothed me. “We need to figure out how to best protect her as well as ourselves.”

  I subsided, but I gave the weapons subcommander mean eyes.

  Tep said, “It’s a good defense, superior to almost anything else I’ve heard of. We estimate it could withstand a nearly point-blank percussion blaster hit set at narrow stream.”

  There was an audible intake of breath from everyone in the room. Candy’s covered arm was damned near impervious to a conventional weapon.

  “Multiple simultaneous hits?” Oses asked.

  Tep nodded. “That’s what it would take.”

  Wotref rubbed his chin. “Can you get it off her?”

  Tep blew out a breath and brought up the vid of a full interior scan. It showed a human form with all its pink innards, white bone, and gray brain. It showed something else too. More of those green arteries snaked all through the body. Most of them concentrated in one arm and the upper chest, but more spread in streams to the brain. A few ventured into the other arm and legs. I saw only a couple of thin ones in her lower abdomen.

  This was Candy’s body. It was all inside her, all over the place.

  Katrina folded her arms on the table top, lay her head down, and wept. I was too shocked to cry. All I could do was stare at those terrible trails of alien organism eating into my friend.

  Tep’s voice sounded like it came from the other end of the universe. “As you can see, she’s infected throughout. The exoskeleton is a part of her now. It would be impossible to surgically remove it. Even taking her arm off would not help at this point.”

  Betra blinked as if he was trying to wake from a nightmare. “Can you give her something that would kill it off and yet not harm her? There must be some antidote...right?”

  “We’re trying several different medications, along with nanite antibodies programmed to fight off infections. It will take a while to see if any of it works. Our analysis tells me this is completely alien to us, a situation we’ve never come across. There are synthetic markers, suggesting it may not be a naturally occurring life form.”

  “A bioweapon?” Oses leaned forward. “Could it have been developed in a lab?”

  “Impossible to say for now. We need to research the organism, to discover all its components, cellular structure, and what it needs to survive.”

  Wotref speared Tep with his intent gaze. “But do you have that kind of time? How fast is it transforming Matara Candy’s body?”

  The doctor licked his lips. “Fast. Plus it’s resistant to stasis, which I put her in immediately. The one good thing is that her body’s natural resistance to infection seems to be slowing it down. It’s trying to change her entire body’s makeup, but it hasn’t gotten far beyond the exoskeleton. That’s why I have hopes that the nanites might have some effect.”

  Betra took my hand before asking the million dollar question. “How long before she’s lost to us?”

  Tep drew a deep breath. “If her body continues to fight, two or three weeks. Maybe a month. This is reaching into her brain and taking her over piece by piece. If it possesses intelligence – and there is evidence to that notion – once it finds the part in charge of her natural defenses, it could turn them off. Then it will spread like wildfire, transforming her in a matter of days.”

  “Either way, there is not much time,” the first officer said worriedly. “Not when you’re talking a
bout all that research you need to do.”

  Oses shot me a warning look before asking his next question. “Doctor, if it succeeds in absorbing Matara Candy – how dangerous is its potential?”

  Tep shuddered. “From what we’ve seen of the little it can do at this early stage? Impenetrable armor, advanced intelligence...don’t forget that it accessed the ship’s computer without being detected and used the programs to its own advantage. That means it understands our language, our coding, and has infiltrated our security protocols. That might be the scariest part of all.”

  Oses sat back in his chair, his expression thunderous. “It would be nearly impossible to stop. Best case scenario is severe loss of life on this vessel if it gets loose.”

  Wotref’s face was a careful blank, not giving a clue as to his feelings. He asked Tep, “Where did this organism come from? How did it infect Matara Candy?”

  The doctor shook his head. “I have no idea. We should probably look at that last shore leave. Run tests on everyone who went down on Darotkin to make sure no one else has been affected.”

  “Do it. Send word to the destroyers that their crews must also be tested.”

  The first officer pointed out, “Bio sensors picked up nothing when everyone returned. But you say this is a biological entity.”

  Tep shrugged. “Maybe it was dormant until it found the right host. Full stasis can fool bio sensors. Maybe it was in a kind of stasis.” He shook his head. “It’s alien to our medical library. Who knows how it got through? All I can do is guess at this point, and my best guess is it came from Darotkin.”

  Betra whispered to me, “Thank the Mother of All you and Oses stayed here instead of going on shore leave.”

  “But you did. So did Katrina, the captain...most of the people on this ship and all three of the destroyers.”

  Holy shit. If more people are infected, we are screwed. Fear for Candy remains uppermost on my mind. All I can do is hope Tep finds an answer fast.

  He has promised me and Katrina that he will not stop looking for answers until Candy is cured...but there is a look in Tep’s eyes that tells me he’s as scared for her as I am, that he is afraid this is beyond him.

  May 19, early

  Very little rest last night. The nightmares were awful. I dreamed about the armored creatures again and that I was one of them. Now I know why the exoskeleton on Candy’s arm and chest looked so familiar...it’s the same armor from my dream.

  Which begs the question: how did I dream this armor before I ever saw it on Candy? Is the organism that infected her telepathic? I think that might be the case, because during the dream, I could hear orders in an alien language in my head.

  That brings up so many worries, I can’t see straight. Like, did Candy have dreams before the organism took her over? Is this the initial sign of infection? I didn’t go down to the planet where they think she picked this up. Is it airborne then? Does it start off microscopic in size, attach itself to a host, and then grow quickly?

  If it is telepathic, why didn’t Candy sense Betra and Oses coming to get her before they were there? Or is the telepathy only between those of the same species? Was Candy able to read my thoughts, or do I have to be infected too? That would make me feel a little better if that is the case...Candy failed to read my mind, so maybe that means I’m not infected.

  I have a checkup scheduled with Tep this afternoon. I’m going to insist he tests me for this thing though I missed shore leave. Sure, I’m probably jumping at shadows, but at least my mind will be settled on the matter.

  I wouldn’t be so panicked except for that damned nightmare. I was still hunting Barinem. In the dream, I caught some. I killed them. I filled with savage delight as I sent bodies flying, as blood flowed, as the screams of the dying filled my head. Feeling triumph as I killed others, the pure cold thrill of it all, was the absolute worst part of the dream. How could I be joyful in wreaking such devastation? It was what I’d been made for, this monstrous destruction of my weaker enemies, young and old alike.

  No mercy. No conscience. Just the need to kill and kill and keep killing until no life was left. I would have made a lake of the Barinem’s blood and called it wonderful. I have never experienced anything like this need to murder. It had been exhilarating during the dream. When I woke up, I ran to my bathroom and puked.

  I don’t want to be one of those monsters. It was the most inhuman feeling I’ve ever had.

  When Betra stopped by, I kept my mouth shut about the nightmare. He has enough to fret about. We worried over Candy, who is showing no change for the better. Tep is knocking himself out to find some way of fighting off the organism. Oses is attending meetings with the ship’s executive and security staff despite being on leave.

  “He’s staying informed though not actively involved in working on the issue,” Betra told me. “I think he’s enjoying being at work in this limited capacity.”

  “What does Feru say about it?”

  “After talking to Oses about the matter, Feru is fine with it as it stands. Oses feels useful, he’s not obsessing over you for a change, and they’ve set up a daily check-in to evaluate how he’s coping with the situation on an ongoing basis.” Betra laughed, a small and unhappy sound. “At least some good is coming out of this.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “We’ll take what we can, I suppose.”

  “How do you feel about getting with Oses later? The three of us can have dinner and each other.”

  I wasn’t sure how sexy I felt about stuff. In fact, my libido was pretty quiet for a change. Stress over Candy was putting a damper on stuff. Still, it would be nice to be with my fellas for a few worry-free hours. Knowing my sex drive, I’ll be much more enthusiastic by when evening rolls around.

  “Sure, that sounds great,” I said. “Let’s do that.”

  May 20

  I have spent the last 24 hours in hell. I am in terror for myself, for my child, for Oses, for Betra...for all of us.

  I am not myself anymore.

  The last I remember after Betra left my room was choosing an outfit for my appointment with Dr. Tep. I thought of how I would have myself tested for the alien organism that was taking over Candy.

  I don’t recall a blank period. It was as if one moment I was pulling a dress out of my closet, and the next, I was in the bulkhead area where I’d gone to Candy.

  I blinked at my surroundings. The area had seemed darker only the day before, when I had strained to see Candy in the shadows. It was far better lit than then. There was no way I could have been so certain, but I somehow knew I was in the same exact place.

  The nearby computer console had a vid floating before it, as if it had recently been in use. I’ve learned a decent amount of conversational Kalquorian and how to read a few words. All I saw that looked familiar on the screen was a series of blinking numbers. They appeared to be counting.

  I barely paid attention to them. My heart was hammering with the knowledge that I had lost track of what I’d been doing. There had been no hallucinations as when I’d returned from being a captive on Finiuld’s craft. Yet there was no denying I had lost conscious recognition of what I was doing. I knew I must be missing at least twenty minutes, the time it took to walk from my quarters to the bulkhead area.

  My first concern was that I was having another breakdown. Yet except for worrying over Oses and then Candy, I hadn’t been under a whole lot of stress...at least not the kind of stress that has become almost commonplace simply because I’m Shalia Monroe and trouble loves me.

  Thoughts of Candy reminded me of my nightmares and the concern that I might be infected as she was. That sent a stab of terror through me that had me running out of the bulkhead area in a hurry.

  I planned to head straight to Medical, but instead my feet carried me to my quarters. I had a bad scare in the shuttle area when I was almost discovered by the men working in there. I wish I had been caught. It would have raised questions and perhaps saved some lives. Lives that I took, as it turned out.
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  I entered my suite, out of breath, with my heart hammering a million miles an hour. I stood in my sitting room, kind of at a loss as to what I would do next. I couldn’t think.

  My gaze fell on my room’s com unit, which flashed a notice that messages were waiting. I patted my pockets to discover I hadn’t taken my portable with me.

  “Play messages,” I ordered the com.

  The first was from Dr. Tep. “Shalia, you have an appointment with me as of fifteen minutes ago,” he said, sounding exhausted and temperamental. “Please get here as soon as possible.”

  I checked the chronometer. Holy shit, I should have been in Medical an hour and a half ago. What the hell had I been doing in that bulkhead that long?