by Tony Teora
“Good, let them fight it out with the infected. It’ll stall everyone.”
Ivan tapped Ace on the shoulder and whispered quietly in his ear so that no one else could hear. “Yogi says we should look out for monsters. He hears things. We wait here.” Ivan held his fire thrower tight by his side. Yogi was again taped to the top of a tank.
“Good idea. You watch the back entrance,” Ace whispered. “Only let in Dr. Mitchell. He’s got glasses and long grey hair. Please don’t shoot him, okay?”
“Got it, Ace. No shooting Dr. Mitchell.”
Tucker, who’d recently been quiet, spoke up. “I wanna stay here and do some snooping around. This is why BOT and Earth Command sent me.”
“Suit yourself. I think you’ll fit in just fine here … now where is the damn human infirmary? I wanna get Janice some meds.”
“It’s that door over at the end,” said Kiya, looking at an e-map.
“Let’s hurry,” said Ace. He looked over at Janice. Her neck actually looked better, but her eyes were starting to look a little zoned out, as if she was sleep walking.
Once they entered the room, they found five medical beds and an operating room. “Janice, get on a table,” ordered Ace.
“Actually, Ace, I’m feeling a lot better. My head doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“I don’t care, get on the table. I have a doctor coming who’s gonna check you out.”
“A doctor? Who?”
“I have Dr. Mitchell coming. I want him to run some tests and I want him to check you out, to make sure you’re not infected.”
“I think it’s just a little stab wound. I’m feeling better now.”
Dr. Mitchell walked into the room from a side laboratory. He’d gotten in through the North Sector entrance and overhead the conversation. “Young lady, I doubt you’re okay. Now, as your commander has requested, I’d like you to lie on the medical table so I can check you out.”
“No!” yelled Janice. She picked up a nearby scalpel, shaking. She looked at everyone, screamed, and rushed toward an exit door directly where Kiya was standing.
It was the closest exit, but a tactical mistake, as Kiya twisted at her hip and whipped up a lighting fast kick that hit Janice on the side of the head, near the temple. Janice stumbled, tried to say something, but then her eyes rolled up, showing their whites before she dropped to the ground like lead sinker, her body forming an immobile cross.
Dr. Mitchell wiped his eyeglasses with his shirt. “Jeez, where’d you learn to kick like that? Wish we had you around when the others got infected. Can someone please carry her to the table? We may not have much time.”
Big Jimbo lifted her up effortlessly and gently placed her on the table.
“Someone strap her down while I get the EID on her.” Ace and Kiya tightened up the leg and arm straps while Dr. Mitchell moved an overhead device. It looked similar to the old x-ray machines used at the dental office, except this one had an array of special sensors. It was a small magno-resonance scanner. He immediately put it near her head and started to scan. On a nearby view screen, he saw a 3-D model of her head. He scanned the infection as gunfire erupted in the hallway.
“Who’s shooting?” asked the doctor, alarmed, stopping the scan.
Ace looked at the team. He’d forgotten about Ivan watching the hallway. “Do what you have to do. Kiya, protect the doctor. Jimbo, come with me and let’s see what the fuck’s going on!” Ace and Jimbo rushed out to check on the commotion.
Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one.
— Friedrich Nietzsche
10
_________
The Monster Mash
Ivan was talking to himself as he stood over two foul-smelling, charred, smoking bodies that were lying on the floor. They looked like two burnt human Luigi pizzas that’d just come out of the oven.
As Ace approached, he saw that Ivan was holding Yogi and speaking to the stuffed animal. Ivan shook his head as if in an argument and then quietly stared at the nearby bodies with a frown similar to a chef who was disappointed in his culinary work. A dark liquid was oozing out of the alien carcasses and running like a black river on the floor.
Ace recognized the smoking bodies as two of the tall Greys. They were face down, but their heads were speckled with bullet holes, looking like black Swiss cheese. Ivan must have shot and then burned the aliens, or vice versa, it didn’t matter. It seemed like a little overkill, but Ace didn’t care. The hallway smelt like a rotten egg and sardine sandwich, which was the worst part of it all.
Ivan looked up to Ace like a child who’d been caught carrying a dead cat home in his lunch bag. “They didn’t look like Dr. Mitchell—nyet. And they were trying to get into Yogi’s head, but I didn’t let ’em,” said Ivan, smiling proudly.
Big Jimbo looked over at the carnage. “Fuck, Ivan … jeez, this shit smells like rotten sardines. I fuckin’ hate sardines. Did ya really have to burn ’em in here?”
Ivan nodded. “Yes.”
“Ivan,” said Ace, scanning the area. “Did you see the third alien?”
“Only saw two, but they changed shape. I think Yogi said third alien run. They tried to look like scientists and trick Yogi. But they don’t trick me. I got metal plate in my head from last job.” Ivan tapped his front skull with his thumb like he was testing a watermelon for ripeness. It gave a metallic thud.
Jimbo looked over at Ivan, shaking his head. “That explains a lot,” he said. The choice words Jimbo wanted to say to both Ivan and Ace were stuck in his mouth and would stay there. He knew it would only make things worse.
Ace changed a clip in his assault rifle. “Good job, Ivan. I gotta figure out why the electronic fence Kiya put up didn’t work.”
“I think we’re being intermittently jammed,” said Jimbo, looking at his comm. “There’s some kind of signal in the west that’s been coming on and off. It’s off now, but if they turn it on again, we won’t be able to talk.”
“Shit. We need to be able to contact the Aurora when it returns.” Ace kicked a smoking body and rolled it over with his foot. He stared at the charred head. Shaped like a light bulb but larger than a human head, it looked too top-heavy for its small, three-inch neck. The large, black, almond eyes stared mindlessly into space. You fucked with the wrong guy. I can’t even figure out what Ivan’s thinking. And Yogi, well, you were just wasting your time. Ace laughed to himself and then almost threw up his lunch over the rotten egg-and-sardine smell.
He looked at Jimbo and coughed. “You and Ivan patrol the hallways. See if our other little Grey friend is in the area. If he’s got any brains, he’s on his way home. I’ll go check out Janice. Ivan … where’s Tucker?”
“He left … for the west side, I think. I told him to stay, but he said it’s important. He was carrying a metal suitcase.”
“A suitcase? What the fuck for? That fuckin’ moron’s got something up his sleeve. Both of you start out west and see if you can find him and see what’s in that case. And if you can, take out that jammer. Call me on the comm if you see anything out of the ordinary. If we’re out of comm range, use your judgment. I don’t want you guys getting your heads blown off. I’ll be here with Kiya and Janice and will catch up with you once I talk to Doc Mitchell.”
“Got it, boss,” said Ivan. Jimbo nodded and the two left down the dimly lit hallway.
Ace walked back toward the infirmary, but couldn’t help stopping at the alien research freak show. It was like the excitement he had as kid entering some circus tent promising to show some Egyptian mummified giant or a lizard man embalmed in amber. His father used to take him to those shows, even though most kids would prefer to see things like that on 3-D holo TV. His father had said, “Son, don’t get stuck in a holo life. Go out and see the real world. Make a difference, because the world needs people of action, people who do things, people who live life and don’t just watch the future happen. Get out and make the future.” If his late father only knew about the action he was
getting now.
Ace looked at the tubes in the tanks and the assortment of wires connected mostly to the heads of the occupants. He knew that mankind would do some crazy shit to protect itself from extinction, but this was some real crazy shit. Hell, he’d even done some shocking stuff to himself—to most folks, his body modifications were a freak show. Once the mission was done (and assuming he survived), Earth Command promised that they’d be able to put his old arms and legs back on without even showing a scar. The new technology brought a lot of benefits to mankind—but was it all benefits?
Mankind jumped out into the galaxy like naked children running through the wild African jungle. Saber-toothed tigers were just waiting in the background. Ace knew that better than anyone. He walked past the glass tanks holding spiders with Nomad heads. What was the purpose of that shit? He then walked up to one of the tall EBE-C3 aliens. He stared at the large head and dark, almond eyes wondering whether they were robots or biological—or both. Hell, he wasn’t even 100 per cent biological, with all the Big Gun enhancements.
Wires attached to the Grey moved up and down from the air bubbling around in the tank. The bodies dangled like seaweed floating in an ocean’s current. Something about these beings bothered Ace more than the Frankenstein spiders. He stared at one of the large heads, thinking mankind had gotten itself into one big mess. About to walk away, Ace saw the hands on a body twitch and then move. He jumped back. Was this a reaction from the cables in its head? Ace stared a little harder at the head. It shook! It turned from its resting position, and the eyes opened and stared at Ace! Ace felt a powerful link. The alien was distressed.
But no, this had to be a trick. Ace turned his head away, not wanting to look back. He walked back into the infirmary, his heart beating hard. He tried to ignore the image he’d just seen. He walked in and saw Dr. Mitchell sitting in a corner. Some device was humming over the head of Janice.
“You okay?” asked Kiya. “You look pale. What happened out there?”
“Ivan killed two of the Greys. They smell like shit. I almost lost my lunch. I’m fine. How’s Janice doing?”
Dr. Mitchell spoke. “She’s infected with the Circinus virus. It’s gonna be close, as the helminth started connecting into the nervous system. The cerebellum synaptic connections were almost complete.”
“Could you please speak English and tell me what’s going on?” asked Ace, trying to forget about the alien in the fish tank.
“I’m sorry. I’m used to working with other scientists. The Circinus virus finds a host and turns into a colony of small worm-like creatures. That host dies as the worms eat up that body for sustenance as they mature. The mature worms then infect a secondary host, such as a human. They’re usually transmitted via rotten meat or fish, where the first phase worms reside, in the original host. It can also enter the body like a tick. It bites you with a natural anesthetic and then quietly burrows into the skin. Either way, the worm gets into the blood stream and eventually finds its way up to the brain. It connects to the brain via the cerebellum. There it grows and slowly takes over the body in what we think are at least three distinct stages.”
“We saw a crazy man inject Janice with a syringe, and saw some type of green worm on the ground. That doesn’t seem like one of the normal ways to get infected.”
“No it’s not ... ah, what’s your name, soldier? You’re that guy that threatened to leave me here, aren’t you?”
“I’m Ace Archer. Major Archer and I’m leading this mission. And it wasn’t a threat.”
Dr. Mitchell frowned, stood up, and looked at a monitor. “ I have to admit, you did the right thing in getting her to me. I didn’t mean to sound obstinate; it’s just that a lot of people are trying to kill us, and I’m not a military man. She’s healing, Mr. Archer; we’re lucky because we got to it early. Good call.”
Ace was glad and smiled. He looked at Janice and quietly thanked the universe that his focus had succeeded in saving her. If only he’d had the same focus with his own mother. Had he gotten to her early to check out her health, then maybe she would be alive. Life was unfair. It was hard, and it was cruel.
“Thanks, Dr. Mitchell. If in between our solitary and meaningless lives we can just do one good thing, one unselfish thing … well, that gives me hope.”
“Charming words from a Marine.” Dr. Mitchell pulled an IV out of Janice’s arm and put some tape over the needle mark. “I’m a scientist. Hope is not in my dictionary. Things work or don’t, based on science. I’m told you were sent to get us out of here. Are we leaving now? I understand that’s your mission? And it was your promise. A deal, if I recall.”
Ace didn’t really like the coldness of the doctor. “My team will get you out Doc. But first, I want to know if you have any idea how they tried to infect her. What’s going on here?”
Dr. Mitchell walked over to Ace. “You’re right son, it’s not a normal way to get infected. We had some issues … some of our people got infected and they’ve lost their minds … or should I say, they have new minds that are now controlling their actions. Minds of some alien species that may be even more dangerous than the ones we’re trying to destroy. They’re trying to infect everyone and take over this base. They modified some of our laser cannons and they took out some alien ship that came here last week. I think that ship disabled the cannon, but I’m sure it’s now under repair by those nuts.”
Great, thought Ace. Another fucked-up situation. He’d have to warn the Aurora, assuming it survived the fight with the EBE-C3 mother ship.
Kiya spoke. “Doctor, my name is Kiya. So what you were you going to do with this virus? How was that supposed to destroy the Greys?”
The doctor scratched his short, speckled, grey beard. “Well Miss Kiya … this is all above top secret—but under these circumstances, I think you all should know. We were testing the virus after it connects to the brain with the infectious worm. Depending on the species, it acts differently. Some mind-sharing goes on when it infects higher-level life forms, like humanoids, but we’re not sure exactly what. During phase two development, humanoid-infected hosts appear to be completely controlled by some kind of genetic memory contained within the alien virus. Phase two humanoid hosts also start to communicate with each other via telepathy. That’s where things start to get interesting. That’s what we were studying.”
“I get it,” said Kiya, picking up some of Dr. Mitchell’s thoughts. “You wanted to find a way to use the phase two virus to control the Greys, since they’re telepathic. Am I correct?”
“In a sense, yes. We modified the genome of the virus to try and get rid of the alien genetic memory control mechanism and tried to use the TeloPath to—”
“What’s a TeloPath?” asked Ace.
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s a telepathic machine we created to transmit our telepathic messages. It worked, or at least we thought it did … then we had issues.”
“What went wrong?”
“BOT wanted us start our testing on the Nomads, since they’re similar to humans. What they didn’t tell us was that, on their last trip out here, they secretly brought some extraordinary renditioned prisoners on their jump ship. They had a full lab on board and did some of their own testing. Testing that Earth Command would never approve—at least officially. We didn’t even know about it until it was too late.”
“They tested the virus on humans?” asked Kiya.
“Yes, young lady. They did. I should have stopped them when I could. It’s gone way beyond stopping them now, though. They’re all dead or taken over by the Circinus virus—which is as good as dead.”
Ace knew it. BOT were the ones that fucked up the base. “Why would they need to test it on humans? Why not just the Nomads? Ah, fuck!” It was simple. “Are you telling me those BOT assholes decided to see if they could use it to control humans?”
“I believe so,” said the doctor. “But they took some of the wrong virus, the one that wasn’t modified. The people they infected went to phase two, alien gen
etic memory took over … then the infected started to tap into the heads of the BOT operatives via telepathic control. They took over the jump ship. We blew it up as it was taking off the base, but it was too late. Some had already come back here, with plans to take over the base. I believe they’re trying to get to a critical mass to get to level three, or what we call ‘Alien Ascension’.”
“Alien Ascension? What the hell is that?” asked Kiya.
A beep erupted from the console. Dr. Mitchell walked over and smiled brightly. “Excellent! It worked!” Dr. Mitchell removed an intravenous tube. “She’ll wake up shortly. She’ll be groggy, but she’ll be fine. We need to wait about five minutes before she can walk.”
“Thanks, Doctor. Now, what the hell is phase three ‘Alien Ascension’? What are these infected people up too?” asked Ace.
“We’re not sure. We originally found this virus on a planet in the Cignella Sector. We think the local people were infected by some meteorite that crashed there. The planet in Cignella had humanoids very similar to our prehistoric man. Their faces were interesting; they had lion-like heads. BOT and Earth Command at first thought the virus made the society nuts, because the people focused mostly on building stone temples. Half the population worked themselves to death on these pyramids and stone wonders. But what we didn’t know was that the lion people were building technological devices out of stone. That was freaky, and one for the record books.”
Ace look at his comm-clock; they needed to get moving soon, but the intel on the virus might prove useful. “So Doc, what were they building? What is this Alien Ascension?”
“It’s a long story … well, they first built pyramids—but in a strange Fibonacci pattern. This created an energy field, something we’ve never seen, and then the people used it to teleport materials. I know this sounds nuts. When we first received the reports, we thought the long-range research vessel must have had its chips blown out from a solar storm. We couldn’t believe the initial report, but sure enough, the satellite images uploaded from a geo-Sat that we left behind showed that these primitives had built some kind of teleportation machine.