by Mara Jaye
Nothing has changed. The last civilization there created nanites similar to our first attempts. Only theirs went viral. In the air, water, and soil, millions of Emoli died before an antidote appeared. After the last few people received their vaccinations, it was too late. Not enough population remained to rebuild and the entire planet was placed in isolation. Anyone could land on the surface illegally, but if they left? They’d kill everyone who came in contact with them, antidote or not.
“It’s ready.”
I didn’t hear Deek approach, even with the slight squeak of his uniform. We’re both in our everyday grays. His fabric is newer and makes more noise. Which, I should have heard. I sigh. “Good.”
“And I’ve accessed the latest on Emol. If we had to land, could we be suited?”
I’m sure he’s not the first one to think of wearing epidemic gear to the surface. Every scientist in the galaxy wants a crack at solving the infectious nanite problem. “No landing is supposed to mean no landing. Not even with protection.”
“Still, aren’t you a little bit curious?” He plops down in the chair. “I’d be willing to risk censure and even a temporary demotion for a peek at the ancient civilization.”
“I am, but not curious enough to let it kill me like you seem to be.” I send a progress report to our director, letting her know our plans. “Besides, a couple of thousand years isn’t ancient.”
We’re approaching the Em solar system so I watch for Emol as Deek scoffs, “Years? Another Earth term, I suppose?”
I scratch my eyebrow, a little frustrated with how much the foreign words have stayed with me. “Yes, right. A Gharian sas is equal to 1.095 Earth years.”
“Huh. You’re going to force me to download an Earth dictionary, aren’t you?”
Unable to help myself, I give him a cheeky grin. “Maybe, or I’ll just set up a filter for Earth slang and spare you some misery.”
He slumps in his chair as much as his military training will allow. “Good. Even if I wanted one of those forbidden beauties, I have a feeling the Empress is the last one.”
“She is, unless the Vahdmoshi managed to carry off a cargo load of them.” Anticipating his cheer, I continue, “But no. The ship we’re tracking is too small for anything more than a four-person crew.”
“Can we really call the Vahdmoshi people?”
I can’t help but chuckle at the slight. “Yeah, barely.” The planet looms large in our view. It’s beautiful, green all over except for the few blue seas scattered on the surface. A few mountain ranges rise up due to tectonic activity. No snowcaps, so the temperature scans come back as warm to hot.
Enforcer MaKrell?
I smile at our Director, Tira’s voice in my head. She’s my superior now, but we’ve been friends and sometimes more for a long time. Yes?
Approach Emol with caution. No one has been in the Em solar system in several hundred years.
Will do. I have contagion protocols for the ship already active.
Excellent. Report back when you’re finished.
Yes, ma’am, I reply and mentally hear her chuckle. We’re too close personally, if not professionally, for me to be so formal with her in our innercoms. “The Director reiterated we need to use caution near the planet.”
Deek snorted. “Scared explorers never left home. We might as well turn tail and hide.”
“She’s just being cautious.” He doesn’t offer a rebuke because we both know people who land on Emol never leave. The ship falls into a geosynchronous orbit. “Time for the probe.”
“That does not sound appealing.”
I laugh. “No, and focus. If Vahdmoshi are down there, we’ll need to react.”
He doesn’t say anything, waving a hand over the console. “Deployment successful.”
We both relax, seeing the probe’s view on our internal HUD. Lovely planet and it’s a shame about the contagion. We’re at a latitude where the land is a little more barren. Not Earth’s New Mexico barren, but more than Ghar’s heavier forests. The probe continues, focusing in on various plants, a few avian-like animals, and piles of rock too square to seem natural. “Probably what’s left of the Emoli civilization,” I mutter.
“Going toward the tracking signal’s coordinates,” Deek says even though a communication via our innercom would have been fine. Different Gharains view the internal communications differently. Everyone has a preference and my coworker is the chatty sort. He must have received his nanos later in life than usual like I did.
The appearance of the Vahdmoshi ship grabs my attention. It’s their standard donut shape and this time, the donut hole is gone. “Damn,” I say more to myself than Deek. We both know they’ve carried the nanos off-world.
“They’re outta here, looks like.”
“Um-hm,” I reply to the obvious. There’s a huge tear in their back end, the scrape along the ground already grown over. No epidemic alerts came across in my internal news feed from the Alliance datalinks. I suspect they died before reaching anywhere. I run the numbers just to be certain and sure enough, the nearest habitable world is nearly a week away. “They’re also dead by now.” It’s been a little more than a couple of Earth months since we escaped the planet with the Emperor, his new Empress, and his son. Any Vahdmoshi left behind on Emol would be dead by now. Part of me hopes we find their carcasses while the more trained side wants to bring them to justice.
Facts and figures stream across the bottom of my vision. The drone is testing the air quality, reporting back and gathering samples. Useless, since nanos are everywhere, poisoning everything. We’re watching as the probe approaches the tear in the ship, both of us leaning forward as the small craft flies into the larger vessel. Everything is dark, so the automatic light comes on. The place is a lot less chaotic than I’d expect a crashed ship to be. Doors to the living quarters are opened. The probe peers in but no one’s there. No bodies, either, which is what I expect with the main command module gone.
“So we missed them by almost an eighth of a sas or so?” Deek asks.
I was thinking the same thing, except in Earth months. “Seems so.” I stretch in the chair. “All right. We’re done here. Abandon the probe and we’ll head back home.”
“Home? So soon?”
He’s right. We have a chance to see more of the planet first hand. A few words and I’m already talked into more of an investigation. “Okay, have it do a routine scouting mission. It’s been a while since anyone cataloged Emol. Might as well take the time to do so and add to the archive.”
Deek leans back in his chair, hands behind his head. “We might not see much of anything other than the crash. There’s nothing but a whole lot of vegetation.”
I don’t look away from the screen, entranced by the plant life. “True, but after living in a desert, this is refreshing.”
“I’ll bet.” Deek shrugged beside me. “All right. Let’s see if anyone left the ship.”
I switch to immersive and our view becomes three hundred and sixty degrees. It’s as if we’re there on the planet surface. Sight and sound are the only senses the probe provides but the two are enough for now. Green post-like vegetation grow alongside huge flowers. They’re pretty, yet I don’t trust either. The colors are a little too bright. Birds fly around, examining the interloper. One looks way too much like Slith, a Khsccan I’d met on an assignment a while back. Both beings have the same coloring and facial expressions. “Huh,” I say, thinking of how Slith might view this smaller, primitive version of himself.
“Yeah, suspicious,” Deek says and I look where he’s focused. The soil has been disturbed in five distinct lines. What has us both transfixed is how humanoid sized each is. Each area is weathered and sprouts are growing.
“They’re graves,” I say. “Five, and if even one Vahdmoshi left?”
“Too many people for their crew. Plus, they don’t tend to bury their own dead, never mind anyone else’s.”
I nod, his implication grim. They took Earthers from the planet an
d left at least six people here. “My bet is none of those buried are Vahdmoshi, which means there’s a dead Earther somewhere on the planet.”
“Should we look inside the ship again? See if they died in one of the living quarters?”
“Good idea.” Not that I want to see anyone’s remains but like Deek, I’m curious to learn what happened to any stranded survivors besides a slow and inevitable death. “Let’s go through the ship one more time, concentrating on comfortable surfaces.”
He nods, his eyes glaze over for a few seconds. “You’re right. Those who die from the nanos don’t just drop dead. They know their systems are failing.”
Chapter Four
G’nar
I shudder. It’s everyone’s biggest fear, that somehow our nanos will malfunction and kill us. No one dares admit it, especially the few of us chosen for the biological nanites upgrade. The testing went on for years. Good idea, since as an Enforcer, I was one of the recipients of the new tech. Leaders in the Intergalactic Alliance received them after we didn’t malfunction. The rest of the population is due to get bionans, too, but later. Deek is a new Enforcer, fresh from the grittier Protector ranks. He’s set for his own bionans when we finish this mission.
Which refocuses me. The probe scans everything again. After seeing the graves, I look again with intent. Now I can see doors left ajar. Whoever opened them did so without power. In each of the living quarters, the beds lay bare and I know the Vahdmoshi like their comfort.
I’m examining the walls as we exit the bedroom when Deek jumps a little. “Did you see that? Something moved.” He leaned back. “Humanoid.”
“Not possible.” I push the probe forward fast to catch whatever the animal was. “Native life. Probably one of those Khscc birds.”
“As tall as an adolescent? I don’t think so.”
“Think about it. They’ve been down there for how long? Point two sas?” I shake my head at the empty hallway stretching out in front of us. “Not possible for anyone to survive the contagion so long.”
The probe moves further down the curved hall and closer to the hull breach. The entire place lights up more as we near the exit. With the 360 view, I spot a movement behind the probe. Two green blue eyes glow from the darkness. Stopping the probe, I stare, closing my open mouth.
“Holy pless,” Deek whispers, as transfixed as I am. The person approaches the probe from behind, sneaking as if she thinks it can’t see her.
And, she is a she. As she nears, the light falls on her from a tear in the hull. She’s an Earther and one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Her hair is short, blonde, and the new growth is black. Her skin reminds me of the creamiest lattes I had on Earth. Her body? I scan her up and down, seeing the fitness underneath the oversized man’s shirt she’s wearing.
Deek speaks first. “We can’t leave her here. I mean, I can’t leave someone on Emol to die alone.”
Can I? As an Enforcer in the Intergalactic Alliance who’s bound by the Lesser Worlds Order and Emol’s quarantine, we both are expected to leave her here. The probe is motionless as the Earther approaches. I can’t help but smile. She’s as curious about us as we are about her. Still, Deek’s right, I can’t leave her here now. Not since I’ve seen her face and those glow in the dark eyes. Something’s gone awry with the Emol nanos. Otherwise, she’d be dead by now. I finally reply, “No, we can’t. Worst-case scenario, she’s a medical mystery needing more study. Plus, we’re assuming she’s alone.”
“Oh. You saw the graves. I don’t know if the ship could hold many more in the cargo bay.”
Memories of the time I went undercover for an illegal Vahdmoshi mining operation return. “You’d be surprised how many people they store in there. This isn’t one of their usual cargo ships, no, but they’ll pack this one as full as the engines will take.” I send the logistics of landing on the planet surface and coming back home clean to my background processors. My system will run various scenarios while Deek and I talk. We also watch the Earther tap on the probe as if to wake it up. He and I glance at each other with a grin and I know what he’s thinking. I’m ornery enough to want to say something like “Ouch,” when she touches the probe, too. Sympathy for someone who had to bury others in a crash she survived leads me to say, “No, don’t. She’s probably scared enough as it is.”
“Should we talk to her?”
“In what language? Earth has hundreds and where we were? I heard at least two on a daily basis.” I drum my fingers on the console. “Let’s try a simple hello.”
Deek rubs his hands together and sends, Comm open, over our innercom.
I clear my throat before saying, “Hello and hola.”
The woman jumps back with a scream. “Holy shit!”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to frighten you,” I try to reassure her. She’s crossed her arms as if to guard against an attack. “We mean no harm.” Oh great. Now I sound like one of those cheesy sci-fi shows the Emperor’s son loved on Earth. “I mean, we’re investigating an illegal landing on the Emol surface.”
“Hmm? Illegal landing? So those ugly ass- uh, guys shouldn’t have been here anyway?” She puts her hands on her hips. “It figures. We were abducted, my friends are gone, and now I have to try and tell their families where they are.” She squints at the probe and steps closer. “So with we, I assume there’s more than one of you? That this thing is just a drone, and that you’re in a spaceship somewhere nearby?” I could watch this woman talk all day and never be tired of her.
Deek interrupts my daydream with, What are we going to tell her?
The truth. “Yes, there are two of us on a ship orbiting the planet surface. We sent a probe, the drone, down to investigate the crash because the planet is under quarantine.”
The eager expression fades from her face. “Oh, shit. Quarantined from what and by who?”
I stare at her for a moment, not wanting to tell her anything more than she’s coming home with us. Her eyes glow less when she’s in the sunlight. If not for seeing her in dimness first, I’d have never suspected anything amiss. Deek nudges me and I reply, “The entire planet is infected with deadly nanites. The Intergalactic Alliance has issued a strict order that nothing can leave the planet surface under any circumstances.
Her eyes flash turquoise before fading to normal. “I already know about the nanites. They’re not deadly now and I want to go home.”
I frown and glance at Deek. Nothing has changed in the records. No new developments. “Are you using the nanos now?”
“Yes. I have them under control and they’re helping me.”
This hurts. The woman doesn’t know she’s a dead Earther walking. I should have the nerve to tell her so, but she’s affecting me far too much. Still, I can’t lie or lead her on with false information. I clear my throat, surprised at how closed up it seems. “Then you’re never leaving Emol. No one is allowed to remove you or do more than give you supplies. Even this probe will be left behind once we’re gone.”
“Gone?” She ran up and grabbed the probe, staring into the camera lens. Her face filled our display and both Deek and I leaned back. “You can’t strand me on a deserted planet.” She let go of the probe. The device stabilizes itself as she’s taking a couple of steps away. “Unless, you’re the ugly suckers who kidnapped us in the first place.” Tears filled her eyes. “You might even be the ones who killed my friends.”
Deek leaned forward. “We did not abduct you. We’re not the Vahdmoshi.”
I shake my head at him but it’s too late. She frowns. “Who are you, then?”
This can’t happen. I can’t answer her. We can’t. Yet, I want to tell her everything I know about Ghar, my homeworld of Fleeg, let Deek tell her his life story, too, and everything about our work in the galaxy. Origins knows I want to chat with the woman for ages, but doing so would prolong the inevitable. I cut communications and let the probe land on the Vahdmoshi ship’s floor. The device is still recording for research’s sake, but we’re not listening.
Saying the words out loud is going to hurt so I brace myself. “No. She knows enough. No one is leaving the planet surface or coming to rescue her. There’s nothing to gain by chatting with her as if we’re all friends. She might as well come to terms with the facts now rather than later.”
“Seems cruel, sir, and there’s no point in not telling her. Where is she going to go?”
“It’s in the galaxy’s best interest, not ours or hers.” Ignoring how my nose stings, I stand. “If you’ll excuse me, I have tasks to complete.” Deek nods as I turn away. He’s affected too, but oddly not as much as I am. I must be tired or hungry. Rules are rules and I’ve clung to that mantra all of my life. Living by my code removed me from the failed colony on the planet Fleeg and propelled my career through the Intergalactic Alliance ranks. Plus, cutting ties and leaving the Earth woman cold is the best course of action. Anything else and we’d be on the run from the rest of the alliance. Until her nanos killed us, of course.
My footsteps echo as I head to the mess area, a grand term for an indention in the wall. I fill a cup of water, taking a drink. Still, if there was some way to bring her to a Healer or Innovator group of citizens? The Alliance would have a great new planet to settle. As I finish my drink, a chime from my background processors claims my attention. I pull up the information. Neither the vacuum or the cold in space will be enough to stop the nanos from infecting others. Not in a suit for us, a stasis field for her, or a bio cleanse since the microscopic machines aren’t biological.
Deek pings me through the innercom. MaKrell? Sorry to interrupt so soon, but you might want to see this.
Put it through, I reply and he sends on video from the probe. The woman is on the floor in front of the device, crying. I ask, Sound? and he complies.