by Max Dane
Alex laughed lightly, “You’re supposed to tell me that I look fine.”
Silence.
“I can tell that we’ve slowed down, why?”
“You were screaming; you seemed unresponsive. I slowed the ship to bring you this.”
“Thank you, A2, you’re a good friend.”
“Are we in the Sabik system?”
“No, Alex, we are still in the Rigel system.”
He handed the can back and lay back down.
“How much longer, A2?”
“We will arrive in the Cetus system in six more solar days.”
“Thank you, A2.”
The robot departed, leaving Alex alone in the cramped crawl space. Moments later, he could feel the main drive revving up again. Soon the gravity on him would force him to pass out. “Computer, reduce lighting to twenty percent.”
The lights dimmed and he tried to count his way back to sleep.
It didn’t take long.
Cetus Beta, Study of the Madras Colony
Julian stood over the container, looking at the ‘satellites’ that Commander Alwin had sent him. It was full of sand. The same dirty, powdery sand that covered the colony.
It was here.
He jumped back and yelled, “Reseal this container, now!”
As the crew ran to anneal the lid back on, he activated his wrist comm and said, “Please get me Commander Micha Alwin, over on the Ajax.”
A moment later her face appeared on the small display.
“Julian, it’s good to see you. Did you get the satellites we- ”
“Micha, stop and listen to me, and be as specific as you can. What was their condition when you sent them?”
“Julian, is something wrong, you sound upset?”
“Please, Micha, listen to me. I need to know now, where did the sand come from?” His tone was desperate, worried; he was nearly shouting at her.
“Yes, of course, our pilot located and pulled three satellites from orbit above the colony. I was called, when he arrived on the Ajax flight deck, to find the pieces of the satellites mixed with the sand in a large pile dumped on the floor. The pilot had no explanation for their state saying only that they were intact when he took them. There were still pieces of the satellites’ chassis and shells intact, and I thought you might be able to reconstruct something useful. So, I had the whole pile packaged and delivered to you.”
“Micha, there’s nothing left of them. They’ve been completely reduced to sand. I have to go; I’ll contact you again when I can.” He called Dr. Barringer, “Carter, I have a new sample for you; we need to hurry.”
The sealed synth-steel container was quickly moved behind a level five quarantined barrier facility. Julian watched through a monitor as figures in white biohazard suits rushed to prepare to open it. Slowly and carefully they cut the top along the sides. Their laser melted the edges as it was moved around the lid.
“Julian, what you’re saying is almost too good to be true. The fact that this sample has been degraded in just the last few hours is incredible luck. Hopefully we can observe the reaction before it’s completely over and learn what’s happening.” Inside the barrier, the team was scooping out the sand and spreading it over a large flat observation tray. Another group carefully aligned a series of scanners above the tray.
“Dr. Barringer, they opened the canister in the equipment bay. There were no curtains, no barriers of any kind. Aren’t you concerned?”
“Well, as long as no one came into contact with it, I think the risk is minimal. Your quick thinking may have saved lives, Julian.”
“What about the Ajax?” said Julian, his voice rising, exasperation driving every syllable. “They dumped the whole container out on the floor. Carter, if there is something reactive in this sample, it definitely came into contact with their ship. We have to tell them.”
“I agree, but through the proper channels. We will alert Dr. Layton, and let him decide how to handle it.”
Frustrated, Julian stormed out and headed for his quarters.
Barringer watched him go, and then called Layton.
“Dr. Layton, I think we may have a problem.”
Nearly a week had passed since Julian had called her. Worried, and unwilling to wait any longer, Micha approached the Captain on the bridge.
“Captain, I’m concerned that he hasn’t called back. For him to sound so concerned, and then not to follow up, it just doesn’t make sense.”
“You think something is wrong, here?”
“He sounded desperate, sir” she said with conviction, “desperate and scared. He demanded to know about the satellites… and the sand.”
She’d already explained about the satellites and the sand that came out of them.
‘That horrible, powdery sand.’ The hairs on her neck stood up.
She shivered.
In a lower voice, she leaned close, “From our search of the Cetus system, I’ve come to know him as a very thorough man with an almost obsessive attention to detail. Finn, it’s unnerving that he hasn’t called back, and now he won’t receive my calls either. Something is wrong.”
Finn was ready to believe that Dr. Layton might be keeping secrets, but would he hide something that might put the Ajax at risk? It was hard to believe. Yet, here his first officer stood suggesting that very thing.
“Very well, Micha, please get Dr. Layton on the comm for me. Run it down to my quarters; I’ll take the call there.”
“Very good, Captain.”
When Finn arrived, Dr, Layton was already on the screen.
”Good morning, Captain Holt, I understand you want to talk with me?”
“Good morning, Dr. Layton, we haven’t spoken since the investigation officially began. As the officer responsible for this mission I was hoping you could update me on your progress.”
“We’re still studying the evidence from the surface, lots of data, but not a lot of answers yet.” Layton looked irritated, impatient. But worried? Finn wasn’t sure.
“Yes, of course, Doctor, but surely you’ve learned something? For example, we assisted your search for colonists in this system. Now you know that this is no longer a consideration.” Finn smiled, the friendly supportive Captain Holt.
Looking resigned to talking with him, Layton frowned, “Well, we can say that the colonists are not elsewhere on the planet, nor in the system. Our best guess is that their remains are intermixed with the physical remains of the colony.”
“Can you explain what you mean by ‘intermixed’, Doctor?”
“Yes, well it seems that some unknown agent has destroyed a great deal of the atoms making up the matter within the footprint of the colony: the buildings, facilities, everything.”
“And the colonists as well?”
“Yes.”
“So the sand covering the colony, isn’t really covering the colony; it is the colony?”
“I believe that’s correct, Captain.”
“At the request of Dr. Julian Yates, we retrieved three satellites from orbit high over the colony. Did you know that we sent them to Dr. Yates?”
“Yes, I believe I heard that. Your crew has been very helpful.”
Finn was starting to see it on the doctor’s face, fear.
Maybe Micha was right after all.
“My crew is not what I want to discuss right now, Dr. Layton. That cargo was spilled out on the flight deck of my ship; I want to know what you know about the sand. Has something contaminated my ship, Doctor?”
“Captain, I can’t speak to the circumstances on your ship, I wasn’t there nor were any of my staff.” The doctor was holding back, refusing to answer the question. Finn would have none of it.
With a voice as cold as ice, he said, “Dr. Janos Layton, as the commanding officer in charge of this mission, I order you to explain the nature of that cargo and assess any danger or risk to the Ajax. I will remind you that I am within my jurisdiction to cancel this investigation and take us home at any time. If you ref
use, I will destroy your ship and return without you. Do not presume to question my resolve, Dr. Layton. I will not tolerate you withholding information that might endanger this ship or the mission. Do you understand, Dr. Layton?”
On the other end, Layton nodded. “Yes, I understand, Captain.” Layton pushed his things aside and leaned close to the camera, his face filling the screen.
“The process that reduced the matter in the colony seems to be over. With nothing moving down there, we’re still ignorant of the cause. But the satellites are different. Captain, they appear to have been in transformation when your ship took them from orbit. We didn’t know. In fact, on our side the shipment container was opened as well. Dr. Yates realized what was happening and resealed the contents immediately. Since then we have been studying the matter in that container using everything we have.” Layton paused to have a drink; he looked excited and nervous all at once.
“What have you found, Doctor?”
“There is something in there; in fact, a lot of somethings, very small and very tenacious.”
“I don’t understand.”
“We don’t either, not yet at least. We’re still working on it, but it appears that we caught a group of sub-atomic organisms interested in many of the elements found in our environment.”
“Are they contained, Doctor, are they safe?”
“Yes, once we found them, we had a hell of a time trying to hold them. They slipped right through each container we tried, simply by breaking apart the atoms of the barrier and moving right through. Right now we have them contained in a magnetic bottle, similar to the ones we used to have for fusion drives. They seem to be stymied for the moment.”
“Is my ship at risk, Doctor?”
“I don’t know, Captain. We don’t know any more right now beyond the fact that they exist. This is something completely new.” The doctor was sweating, but he looked like he was telling the truth.
“Very well, Dr. Layton, I will note your actions in my log. Under no circumstances are you ever again to sacrifice protocol for the sake of this investigation. You will make every effort to keep us informed. Also, I request that Dr. Julian Yates be designated as our liaison on your side. Is that clear, Dr. Layton?”
“Yes, Captain Holt, perfectly clear.”
“I anticipate a report summarizing these events delivered to me within the hour. Good day, Doctor.”
Finn severed the connection and called Micha.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Commander, I want you to take all of the ships out of their hangers immediately. Have them wait outside. Then call the mech-bay and have them bring the strongest acid the flight deck can handle. I want the entire deck washed out, with emphasis on the area where you found the satellites.”
“Yes, Sir, I’m on it.”
“Oh, and Micha,” he lowered his voice and smiled, “You were right, good job. The next time you have a hunch, I want to know about it.”
She looked relieved, “Thank you, Captain.”
He nodded, “Finn, out.”
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Pirates he was used to, but intergalactic parasites were something altogether different.
‘I’ll feel better once the flight deck has been scrubbed.’
Just then an alarm sounded from the bridge.
Still in his quarters, Finn slammed the comm panel on his desk, “Mr. Keating, report.”
“Captain, a ship has come through the jump. We have a firing solution and stand ready to disable or destroy them.”
“Hold fire, and put it on my screen.”
Finn’s screen instantly displayed the mechanized maintenance ship, moving slowing from the jump point. It had no apparent weapons and wasn’t making any challenging maneuvers.
“Captain, it seems to be an automated maintenance drone. It is transmitting a distress signal.”
“Okay, let’s hear the transmission.”
“… is the Bunda colony, mechanical freighter, identification: 21650984A89. We carry a human passenger who is in extreme need of medical assistance. He has ordered this unit to bring him to you. Please assist.”
The message began to repeat.
Finn closed the channel and said, “Hail them, Mr. Keating. Advise them that we will send a shuttle over momentarily. Get a copy of the ship’s log. Afterwards, direct the Bunda vessel to leave this system, under penalty of law.”
“Very good, Sir.”
Finn turned the screen off and headed to the bridge. This was already starting out to be quite a day.
Julian was in his office, watching the video footage of the creatures Dr. Barringer was holding. Invisible to the naked eye, it would seem that the magnetic bottle was empty. But under extreme magnification, there existed a collection of tiny animated particles, weaving and wafting about. They didn’t look dangerous.
‘So why do I feel so nervous?’
“Turn that off, will you; you’re in danger of becoming obsessed.” His colleague Shea reached over his shoulder and turned the screen off. “Come on, Julian, we have work to do.”
“You mean our assignment to identify the things this could not be?”
She nodded, “Our assignment from Dr. Layton, we need to finish it.”
“Yes, well, it’s not anything fabricated by anyone in the league of worlds. Now let’s move on, shall we?”
“Julian, that’s not very constructive.”
“Perhaps, but it is true. Instead of this assignment, we should be approaching this from a different angle.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed and got up to get another drink. “I don’t know exactly; we’re missing something, maybe something important. I can feel it.”
“I heard you had a talk with Dr. Layton.”
“Yes, he asked me to continue working with Captain Holt’s crew, and said that I would be his liaison from now on. I don’t think he was happy about it. In fact, both he and Dr. Barringer have been distant since I discovered the satellite debris was infected.”
“They didn’t like that you told the Commander on the Ajax about it.”
“I know; I don’t care.”
He sat back down and pulled up a short video sequence that showed the tiny creatures feasting on a metal spoon suspended in the magnetic bottle; another of Barringer’s experiments he was sure. The spoon looked normal, but at the proper magnification one could actually see the tiny things pulling out atom after atom. The mostly empty lattice grouping remained, but the slightest force would collapse the form, leaving only the same sandy residue behind.
“Shea, why are they interested in some atoms, but not others?”
“They seem to prefer metals and radioactives. They never touch hydrogen or helium atoms.”
“If they consume the metal, then they should be growing, shouldn’t they?”
“Mass added to mass, it would make sense. Or else, they would have to give off energy as their ‘food’ is broken down. You know, conservation of mass and energy, basic stuff.”
“I agree, but the scans didn’t show any heat or light energy being generated when they ate the spoon.”
“So, if they’re not actually eating anything, then why would they remove atoms from the spoon.”
“Heavy metals,” he whispered studying the image on the display, “Shea, where are they?”
“What?”
He began rapidly scrolling through the data gathered from the spoon experiment.
“Maybe they’re stealing them.”
“Why would they steal atoms?”
“Well, think about it; iron, aluminum, silicon, nickel, and a bunch of others are among the elements we consider to be the rarest in any solar system.”
“Okay, but Julian, what’s your point exactly?”
“Ha!” he said excited, pointing to the screen. The display showed a reading on the mass inside the magnetic bottle, both before and after the experiment.
“Look, Shea, the numbers didn’t change. Nothing
was destroyed. They took the rare atoms and kept them.”
“So?”
“So think about the colony, Shea. The matter down there was stripped of rare atoms.”
“Yes, we’ve already proven that.”
He leaned back and smiled, “All along we’ve had this idea that the matter was being destroyed, that maybe this was some kind of weapon. But what if it’s not, what if the matter wasn’t destroyed, it was stolen. If we can find the missing elements, we’ll understand why they’re taking the atoms.”
“Are you thinking what I am?” she said excited.
“Yes, we need to scan the planet for any large mass of metals and other rare elements.”
“Dr. Stiles, can you hear me? Dr. Alex Stiles?”
In the medical suite on the Ajax, a group of medical staff stood around their new patient.
The man on the bed was thin, disturbingly so; his hair and beard gray, and matted. It was hard to believe how far this man had come to get here. Finn tried again, a little louder this time.
“Dr. Stiles, can you hear me?”
“C-call me Alex.” It was barely a whisper. His eyes still closed, the emaciated man barely moved.
Finn smiled and said, “Alex, my name is Finn Holt, I am the captain of the Earth Fleet destroyer, the Ajax. The robot ship brought you to us. You’ve been asleep for the last two days. How do you feel?”
“Like hell.”
Finn laughed, “Yes, I should imagine so, Dr. Stiles. Can you open your eyes?”
Slowly Alex opened his eyes and worked his way up to a sitting position. Tubes were attached to his arms, and another in his nose. They’d been feeding him nutrients while he slept. He was still weak, but feeling better.