Harvest End

by Max Dane

  Finn helped him to a sitting position.

  “Alex, I wanted to come here and shake your hand personally. You might be the bravest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Did you know that the ship log on that automated freighter says you emerged from a jump point inside a bio-sample container? When you’re better I want to hear that story. It may go down as the craziest stunt in our time. It also said that you nearly starved yourself trying to get here. You’re safe now, and I’m here. What can I do for you sir?”

  Alex struggled to lean forward, and pulled Finn by the shoulder. Finn leaned close and Alex whispered, “Captain, you have to leave.”

  Julian sat down at the table next to Shea. The weekly briefing for Dr. Layton was held in the dining room, because the power had failed in the aft section of the ship.

  “Thank you for coming,” said Dr. Layton, “Much has been learned, and I’m looking forward to reviewing the data. Dr. Barringer, if you will begin, I’d like to hear about the life forms you’ve been studying.”

  “Before we begin, Director Layton, I want to re-state my concerns about the power failures around the ship. Besides the fact that they are interrupting my research, I am very concerned that another might strike the barrier facility and bring down the magnetic bottle. The source of these mechanical problems must be repaired immediately.”

  “Yes, Carter, I agree. I have our maintenance crews working day and night replacing circuitry in engineering. I apologize for the disruptions. We should see them abate soon enough.”

  “Very well, I can say that the organisms appear to be more mechanical than biological in composition. They remind me of nanotech applications in factories, reminiscent of our own fabrication methods of manipulating matter on the atomic scale, to create macroscale products, typically sheets of polymers and alloys.”

  “You’re saying that this is another application of nanotechnology?” said Julian.

  “Perhaps, we’re not completely sure. The actual form of the creatures seems to defy our understanding of the basic building blocks of the universe. With so little in their composition, they move and act in astoundingly complex ways. We have identified five variations of them. Each model has a unique function: one for replication, another for identifying appropriate matter, another for actually disconnecting the desired atoms, and another for storing the atoms.”

  “That’s only four; what’s the last one?” asked Julian.

  “We don’t know yet. The fifth doesn’t seem to be doing anything at this time. Also, each of them seems to be able to become one of the other forms when needed. They sort of morph into the variant which is most useful at the time.”

  Barringer looked around the room at each of them. “There is something else I should say. Although I cannot yet prove it, there is little doubt but that their design is artificial.”

  “Artificial, you’re saying they’re man-made?” said Layton.

  “Perhaps, however the technology employed to create them is far beyond our own. I do not have any reason to believe any colony within or outside the league of worlds could create such things.”

  “Without speculating on their origin,” said Layton, “our mission is to discover why they destroyed the colony at Madras.”

  Raising his hand, Julian blurted out, “Director Layton, I don’t believe their purpose was to destroy the colony. I think they were stealing rare elements. The missing atoms constitute the rarest elements found in typical space. This is more like a mining operation than an act of war.”

  “How would you prove that hypothesis, Dr. Yates?”

  “Shea and I would like to request use of the ship’s exterior scanner array. I believe that a search for rare elements, specifically those missing from the colony will explain what’s happening.”

  Layton nodded, “That’s simple enough; let’s try it now.” He stood up and walked to the room’s data interface, “Computer, dim the lights and activate the main display; show us the planet below.”

  Instantly, the lights dimmed, and a large screen on the wall activated to reveal the planet below.

  Layton turned to Julian, “Dr. Yates, if you would, please continue.”

  “Yes, of course,” standing up and trading places with Layton, Julian took over. “Computer, activate the forward scanner array and direct it at the planet. Begin scanning for traces of iron, silicon, sulfur, and magnesium. Highlight concentrations of these elements in blue and overlay against the planet.”

  Moments passed, Julian began to wonder if he was wrong. And then the image on the screen turned blue.

  “Dr. Yates, I don’t understand what we’re seeing.”

  Julian was confused too. “Computer, remove the current image and update with a model showing the planet within the local solar system with this ship orbiting above it.”

  Instantly the image changed to show a picture of the planet with the science vessel hanging over it. “Now overlay the image of the elements identified in the last scan.”

  There it was.

  A gigantic blue cloud, surrounding the planet and wafting up like a smoke cloud through and out of the solar system. Their ship was directly in the path of the cloud. He suddenly realized that in the previous example the whole screen was blue because they were viewing it from within the cloud.

  Barringer dropped his pen, “Oh my god, it’s true.”

  In a daze, Julian walked over and ran his fingers across the screen.

  “They’re stealing our heavy elements.”

  Finn was having dinner in the officers’ mess with Alwin, Keating and Eton when he received a call from the medical bay.

  “Captain, our visitor is awake again and in much better shape. He insists on speaking with you.”

  “Very well, please send him to the wardroom.” Finn turned to a server, but before he could say anything, the man was already preparing another place setting. Finn smiled and nodded.

  Micha stood, “Captain, would you like for us to leave?”

  “No, you can stay. He came a long way to be here, let’s hear his story.”

  Several minutes later, Alex arrived.

  “Dr. Stiles, please join us,” Finn jumped up and helped him to his seat. Walking slowly and using a cane, he still looked weak, but shaved and washed, he had a very respectable demeanor.

  “These are my officers, Commander Micha Alwin, our pilot Daniel Keating, and the navigator Mathis Eton.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  “Please, Alex, why don’t you tell us how you got here.”

  Alex nodded, “I was the science advisor for a merchant ship called the Juliet, and we were the first to find the Madras colony dead, as it is now.” An abrupt silence filled the room. “The story I’m going to tell you is terrible, and I can only say how sorry I am to be the one to tell it. It started when our ship landed in the Madras space port; it like the rest of the colony was still standing.”

  Like statues, they watched in silence, unmoving, their food forgotten as he told his story. He described the impetuous young soldier they had brought to Madras, only to find everything he knew was gone. And about how he died there. Alex went on to explain their crime; how they unknowingly carried, what the colonies now called ‘the scourge’, from planet to planet as they made stops all the way to the Lester Colony at Deneb. Pausing only to take occasional sips from his water, they sat in rapt attention with the horror of it slowly overtaking them.

  “It was in the Bunda system that I realized I might be the only person in the quadrant who understood what was happening. I heard rumors that Earth Fleet ships were in the Cetus Beta system. I decided then that it was my duty to reach you, to tell what I knew or die trying.”

  Finn, like the rest was stunned. “Alex, you're telling us that while we’ve been here, the colonies along Orion’s arm have all been dying?”

  He nodded only once, “I’m sorry, Captain.”

  Finn turned to Micha, “Commander, get me a channel to Dr. Layton, and make preparations to leave.”r />
  Keating refused to believe; the scale of death was just too great. “Captain, you can’t really believe him? We don’t even know if he’s really who he says he is. We should try to verify his credentials, and then- ”

  “Thank you, Mr. Keating, that will be enough,” said Finn sternly. “We will go through the jump and attempt to contact New Dublin. We’ll decide what to do next when we know more.”

  Micha nodded and stood to leave, but Alex held up his hand, “Wait, you can’t take this ship back.”

  “What is that, Doctor?” said Micha stopping in her tracks.

  “Haven’t you been listening to my story?”

  Finn could see the panic rising in the man’s face, “Calm down, Alex, help me to understand what you’re saying.”

  “Captain Holt, this ship is infected.”

  Aboard the science vessel, Dr. Layton could see that Captain Holt was upset, but the static on the screen was making the audio cut in and out.

  “Captain Holt, please slow down; I’m having trouble hearing you. Can you repeat that?”

  Finn looked annoyed, but he started over, “Dr. Layton, I have received information that suggests the agent that caused all of this has escaped into the colonies along Orion’s Arm.”

  “Captain, that’s very unlikely. The microorganisms responsible could not travel through the jump.”

  “I agree, Doctor, not unless they were helped, carried through in a ship that was contaminated with them.” The screen flashed briefly and the audio cut out again.

  Layton cursed and slammed the controls, “Captain, I’m sorry we’re having some electrical issues down in engineering. Please repeat all after ‘they were helped’.”

  “Doctor, there was another ship, one that came before us. You told me about an incident report filed by a merchant ship, when we first met. Do you remember?”

  “Yes, Captain, the incident report that got the attention of the Science Council. I remember.”

  “Dr. Layton, they may have carried these organisms to each system on the way to the Lester Colony. I was told that the colonies have been dying while we’ve been here. We must jump to New Dublin and see for ourselves.”

  “Captain, we can’t leave. Our research is progressing; we are so close to understanding what happened here.”

  “There’s more, Doctor; our source claims that our ships will almost certainly be contaminated. I have arranged for a series of diagnostics throughout the Ajax, and I suggest you do the same. If true, we must acknowledge the danger of spreading the organisms, and come up with some sort of plan to sterilize our ships.”

  “Captain, we have taken extreme care. The likelihood that my ship is contaminated is negligible. Our research is giving rise to some startling conclusions, and I do not wish to leave.”

  Finn ignored the doctor’s refusal. “Dr. Layton, you will make preparations to shut down your investigation and join us as we make the jump to the Sabik system. There we will attempt to communicate with the port authority at New Dublin. Also for safety, I want you to make a full copy of your data and investigation logs and transmit them to the Ajax before we jump.”

  “I refuse!” Layton yelled at the screen, red-faced and angry. “You have no right, Holt. You may have some legal jurisdiction in this mission but that does not mean I have to submit to the kind of-”

  His screen flashed again and went black. Layton slammed his fists against the display to no avail. Taking a deep breath, he got up and stepped out to look across the observation dome. Could the power fluctuations, the reports of failing equipment, and the intermittent communications blackouts be connected? Was the ship contaminated, as Holt suggested?

  He stepped to the doorway and activated the comm panel, “Dr. Barringer, we need to talk.”

  On the bridge of the Ajax, Finn slammed his fist down, “What happened, get him back on the screen.”

  “I’m sorry, Captain, the fault is on their end, not ours,” said the communications officer still trying to connect.

  Finn was furious. Layton would join them, or he would find troops filling his bridge.

  The urgency to leave was growing in him. His instincts said the man, Alex Stiles, was telling the truth. The danger to the colonies and maybe his very own ship was growing every minute they remained.

  They had to go.

  “Commander, show me the diagnostics summary. Put it on the big screen.”

  The forward view screen activated and displayed a list of diagnostic tests running in real time from systems in every part of the ship: twelve tests in engineering, ten in navigation, twenty-two in life support, and so on. Each test ran independently, and the time for completion was unique to each one. Apprehension rising, his palms wet with anxious perspiration, he leaned back to watch the results.

  The first test to complete was in the category ‘Life Support’.

  Green.

  And the second, also green.

  He had almost relaxed when a failure was indicated in the navigation system. Within moments, the results arrived with a fair number of red lights mixed in with the green. The Ajax was a well-maintained ship. In his time as captain, Finn could count the system failures on one hand.

  “Captain, that’s not normal.” Micha stopped in her work to watch the results as well.

  “I agree; we must act as though the ship is indeed contaminated.”

  He looked around the bridge wondering how much time they had before the Ajax succumbed to the same force that destroyed the Juliet. They were bigger; more mass might mean more time.

  “Commander, try to contact Julian. Tell him we need a copy of the data they’ve accumulated, and bring him here if you can. We’re leaving with or without the good doctor.”

  “Yes, Captain, what about the kites. I’ve had them waiting outside since we started the cleanup of the flight deck. They’ve been off-ship for a lot of this investigation, so even though the Ajax is infected, they might be safe.”

  “Very good, Micha, have each of them run a full level ship diagnostic and report the results. In the meantime, have them take up position near to the jump and make preparations to go through by themselves, one at a time.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “And, Commander, keep them away from the Ajax and that damn science ship.”

  “Yes, Captain, I understand.”

  Finn returned to the battery of diagnostic tests still coming in. Each red light sent a little more adrenaline into his blood.

  ‘We have to go.’

  Frustrated, Julian deleted his model and prepared to start again. Wiping his forehead, he ran the numbers for the third time. No matter how he approached the current situation, the result was always the same. Based on the reproduction rates Barringer had documented already, the organisms must surely have saturated the ship.

  They were in danger.

  The cloud representing the nanotech organisms was enveloping their ship; he had proven it to Layton and Barringer. Yet here they remained; that fool Janos Layton was too stubborn to move the ship from its position above the colony. So here they sat, right in the middle of the nanotech cloud.

  “It’s really getting hot isn’t it?” Shea sat down next to him and handed him a cup of ice. She said, “Apparently the environmental controls are stuck in ‘heat’ mode across this whole side of the ship.”

  “Shea, it’s a system failure. It may not be able to be restored.”

  She was about to respond when his wrist communicator began to beep.

  “Julian, this is Micha, can you talk?”

  He looked around, but only Shea was close enough to hear. “Yes, go ahead.”

  “Julian, the captain wants me to tell you that we’ve met a survivor of the Juliet. The situation here may be worse than we expected. The Ajax is preparing to leave, and Dr. Layton is refusing to come. Finn wants you to make a copy of the data pertaining to the investigation and come with us. Can you do it?”

  “Micha, I think our ship has already been contaminated by the na
notech organisms; systems are failing everywhere. Layton must know this.”

  “I believe you, Julian. The Ajax is beginning to show similar signs. There’s very little time to get this information back to people who can help. We must go now.”

  As if on cue, the light over his desk began to flicker.

  He nodded, “How do I get there without bringing the organisms with me?”

  “Can you take a shuttle?”

  “I think so, yes.”

  “Take the shuttle to the jump point, open a new environment suit and bail.”

  “What?”

  “Julian, I have all twelve of our kites lined up at the jump and ready to go. They’ll easily pick you up, after which they’ll purge the suit and bring you in. It’s a simple maneuver.”

  “It doesn’t sound simple. You want me to just jump out of the ship?”

  “Trust me, Julian, we’ll bring you in.”

  “O-Okay Micha, I’ll do it. I need about half an hour to copy the data and get the shuttle.”

  “Hurry, Julian, please go as fast as you can.”

  He nodded and closed his wrist comm.

  “Shea, you heard her; you’ll need to stay here while I go to copy the data. Then I’ll come get you, and we’ll head to the shuttle together.”

  Shaking her head, Shea reached out and put her hand on his, “Julian, you’re throwing your career away. I can’t go with you.”

  “But the ship is falling apart, you heard her; we have to go.”

  “Dr. Layton may be a lot of things, but I don’t believe he would put our lives at risk. I think we’re going to be okay right here.”