“No problem. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Okay.” Ben slipped his backpack from his shoulders and took out the slim, stainless steel probe he’d discovered in a toolbox. The probe was two feet long with a sculpted plastic handle at one end and a flattened tip at the other. He wasn’t sure of its true purpose, but it looked like the perfect implement for scraping up samples from a safe distance. He handed the backpack to Tessa. “There are six metal canisters inside. If you could carry them for now, that would be great. When I’m ready, pass them to me one at a time.”
“Okay,” Tessa said, taking the bag. “If you like, I can hold each canister while you put the sample inside.”
Ben hesitated. “No, I can’t risk that. I might accidentally touch your suit with the sample.”
Tessa’s posture stiffened. “I am quite competent, Ben. There’s no need to patronize me.”
“I’m not. I’m being perfectly serious.” He stared at Tessa, hoping she could make out his expression through his visor. “We’ve been through this in the rover. We have to assume the worst out here.”
Cate’s voice came on the intercom. “Ben, Tessa, you guys need to work together. Get the job done and get back inside. Your ten minutes is already counting down.”
“Okay, I’ve got it,” Tessa said. “I was trying to help, that’s all. Ben, let’s get moving.”
“All right. Seems like we’re on the same page.” He headed for the clumps of symbiont, pushing his doubts aside and placing his feet carefully, turning his head to scan the ground. The helmet restricted his peripheral vision, and he really didn’t want to make a mistake, especially now that he’d made such a point of setting Tessa straight.
Ben stopped. “This is close enough.” He bent down to examine the first clump of symbiont and checked he could reach it with the probe.
“Canister ready,” Tessa said, holding a container out toward him.
“Thanks.” Ben took the canister and flipped the lid open. Fortunately, the lid was attached to the canister with a metal strap, so he could keep a hand free to use the probe. He pressed the probe into the soft mass of symbiont, but almost immediately, he sensed resistance. It felt as though the blue-green layer was only thin, maybe a quarter inch deep, and then there was something different beneath it, perhaps a firmer core. Ben pushed the probe harder, twisting it around, but although it moved a little way into the clump, it soon came up against something even harder, and the probe’s stem began to bend. “Woah. I can’t get the probe into the center of the mass. I’ll just have to scrape some from the outside.”
“That’s fine,” Cate said over the intercom. “Just work fast, Ben. A few small samples are all we need.”
“Doing it now.” Ben withdrew the probe, making sure to drag it through the slimy outer layer until a small mound of symbiont had accumulated on the tip. Tensing his shoulders, he slid the probe’s tip into the open canister, but the length of the stainless steel shaft made it awkward. “Come on,” he muttered. He scraped the probe around the canister, leaving a smear of symbiont on the smooth walls of the metal container. “That ought to do it.” He flipped the canister shut, sealing the lid with the metal catch, then carefully, he handed the container back to Tessa.
“Got it.” Tessa stowed the canister in the backpack then handed Ben an empty one to take its place.
“Thanks.” Ben looked for a taller clump of symbiont to sample, edging forward. “It’s a shame we only have the one probe. It’ll contaminate the samples.”
Cate’s voice came over the intercom. “We talked about this, Ben, but this is all we could come up with in the time.”
“I know, I know.” Ben stopped in front of a larger clump of symbiont and looked down at the canister in his hand. “But the samples won’t mean anything unless they’re uncontaminated. If I could just…” He bent down, reaching toward the symbiont, the open canister in his hand.
“What are you doing?” Tessa asked, and when Ben didn’t reply she repeated the question more forcefully.
“It’s fine,” Ben said, extending his arm slowly, the canister almost brushing against the glistening blue-green surface of the strange structure.
Tessa grabbed his shoulder, her fingers digging into his muscles despite his thick EVA suit. “Ben, stop! For God’s sake, you were the one telling me to keep away from that shit.”
“But I’m not going to touch it!” Ben protested. “I was just going to scrape some directly inside. The only thing making contact is the canister, and it’s the only way to keep the samples pure.”
Tessa tugged him back. “I’m not going to tell you again. Step back and use the probe.”
“What the hell’s going on out there?” Cate demanded. “Ben, report.”
Ben sighed. “Nothing. You needn’t worry, I’ll use the damned probe, even though the samples will be almost worthless.” He straightened his back. “I would’ve been careful. I’m not a complete klutz.”
“Just stick to the routine,” Tessa said.
“Fine.” Ben held out the probe, but before he pushed it into the grunge, a mark on the stainless steel tip caught his eye, and he held the probe closer to his visor. “That’s weird.”
“What?” Tessa asked.
“The probe. It’s kind of scuffed. It wasn’t that way when I found it. I guess I must’ve damaged it when it came up against the hard mass beneath the outer layer.” He shrugged and set to work, pushing the probe into the grunge, concentrating on his task as he scraped up a sample and placed it in the canister.
“Maybe just one more,” Tessa said, taking the sealed container and handing him another. “We’re almost out of time.”
“Sure, there’s a candidate right there.” Ben stepped over to a taller symbiont structure, probe at the ready, and half a minute later, the job was done. He handed the canister to Tessa. “We can head inside. I think we’ve got enough for…what the hell?”
“What’s wrong?” The worried voice on the intercom was Siobhan’s. “Are you hurt?”
But Ben didn’t reply. He was staring at the probe, his mouth too dry to form words.
Tessa took a step toward him. “Ben, what’s up?”
“The probe,” Ben started. “It’s damaged. More than before, I’m sure of it. It’s like the symbiont attacked it.”
Tessa took hold of his arm. “Inside. Now.” She urged him forward, and Ben started walking.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he murmured. “It can’t get through metal. It just…shit!” He winced, a stab of pain needling his left hand. “Grunge burn. Got to get inside.”
“Move!” Still holding his arm, Tessa set off at a jog, forcing Ben to keep up with her. He staggered forward, breathing hard, the pain crawling across his hand.
“This bad,” he muttered. “Really bad.”
Tessa pushed him toward the rover’s ladder. “Shut up and climb. We need to get you decontaminated.”
Ben obeyed, clambering up the steps, a rising tide of panic making his feet clumsy on the narrow treads. The stainless steel probe slipped from his gloved hand and fell, clattering against the steps.
“Leave it!” Tessa snapped.
Ben grabbed at the rover’s door and climbed inside, cradling his injured hand, his mind racing. How the hell had this happened? He hadn’t touched the symbiont, and he hadn’t damaged his gloves. Cate had checked the seals on his suit before he’d left the rover, and he’d been careful. Had he snagged the probe against his glove when he transferred the sample to the canister? No way—I couldn’t have.
Tessa entered the decontamination cubicle, pulling the outer door shut behind her. She punched the button that started the decontamination cycle, and a fine spray of liquid burst from the jets all around them. Ben’s training kicked in, and he turned around slowly, making sure to lift his feet and keep his legs apart and his arms away from his body. Tessa dropped the backpack to the floor.
“The samples—” Ben started, but Tessa cut him off.
�
��They’ll be fine. I have to be sure nothing gets in the way of the spray. What’s more important, me or the samples?”
“You’re right. Sorry, it’s the pain. It’s getting worse.” Ben stared at his arm, tracing the path of the pain as it crept along his forearm and past his elbow. The spray should deactivate any grunge on the outside of his suit, but what about the symbiont cells that had already found their way inside? He ground his teeth together, and a sudden thought brought a moment of clarity. He looked at Tessa. “Why aren’t I dead already?”
“What?” She faced him, her outline wraith-like in the swirling mist of decontamination fluid. “You need to keep your shit together, Ben. Don’t freak out on me. Keep calm. Take some deep breaths.”
“I am calm. But seriously, it should be worse than this. If this grunge can get through my suit, it should be eating me alive.”
“Not if it’s just a few spores. You know this already, Ben. And since you didn’t touch anything, that’s what this has to be—airborne spores. The spores are never anything like as bad as the active stuff.”
The hiss of the sprays shut off, and the extraction fans whirred, clearing the chemical mist and expelling it into the air outside.
Ben waited in silence, fighting against the adrenalin rushing through his veins. His muscles trembled, hungry for action, but he could do nothing until the light above the inner door changed from red to green; nothing but stand still and prepare himself.
Cate came on the intercom. “We’ve got everything ready. As soon as the cycle finishes, come in and get your suit off.”
“There you go,” Tessa said. “You’ll be all right, Ben. We’ve all had spore burns, and that’s all it is. Hell, even little kids get them. They’re used to it. If this had happened up on the hill, you wouldn’t worry at all. You’ve seen the stuff outside and put two and two together, jumping to conclusions.”
“Yes.” Ben took a breath. “I guess you’re right. But how the hell did it get into my suit? And what happened to the probe? If this stuff can get through a suit, what else can it do?” He paused, letting his words sink in. “There’s something not right about this. I know it.”
“Later,” Tessa said. She placed her hand over the inner door release, and as soon as the light changed, she hit the button. The door slid open with a hiss, and Ben stepped inside, releasing his helmet and pulling it free.
Siobhan and Cate were waiting, their faces lined with worry. Siobhan stepped closer, but he held up his hand to hold her off. “No, Shiv. Don’t touch the suit. I’ll do it myself.”
Siobhan froze in her tracks. “All right, but be quick. We need to look at your burn.”
Ben didn’t reply. He pulled off his gloves and shrugged out of his suit as quickly as he could, kicking his boots off and leaving the suit on the floor.
“Over here,” Cate said, gesturing toward the workstation.
Ben hurried over to the metal chair and sat down, laying his left arm on the workstation’s surface. A web of curling red lines traced up his forearm, the skin around each track raw and inflamed.
Cate stood over him, examining his arm without touching it. “That’s a spore burn all right. Let me clean it up.” In her gloved hands, she carried a plastic spray bottle and a wad of white fabric. “This is going to sting.”
“Just do it,” Ben said. “Please.”
Cate held the bottle close to his hand and activated the spray, wetting his skin. The liquid’s sting was almost worse than the symbiont burn, and the acrid smell of chlorine irritated Ben’s nostrils and made his eyes water. “Almost there,” Cate said. “Turn your hand around so I don’t miss any.”
Ben complied, watching her as she worked. She was nothing if not thorough, and as the pain faded, Ben began to relax. “Thanks. It’s getting better already.”
Cate nodded, but she carried on working in silence, wiping along the burn marks with the moistened fabric, rubbing the liquid into his skin. The settlers had discovered a long time ago that the cocktail of chemicals needed a little help in penetrating the skin’s natural defenses. Fortunately, symbiont spores tended to become less aggressive once they’d been floating around in the air for a while. Unlike the active cells, the spores didn’t reproduce rapidly on contact, but even so, they did multiply, burrowing into the skin and feasting on epithelial cells and subcutaneous fat as they spread. The decontamination liquid killed the symbiont, but it caused a certain amount of tissue damage, and Ben would have plenty of scars as a keepsake of his encounter.
Cate straightened her back and offered Ben a reassuring smile. “That should be okay. We’ll have to wait a few minutes to be sure, then I’ll wash the liquid off.”
Ben studied her handiwork. “Thanks, Cate. You did a great job. I’ll wash it off later, I can manage that part myself.”
“Okay.” Cate dropped the wad of fabric into a plastic bag then peeled off her gloves and added them to the bag before sealing it. “Don’t leave it too long though, or you’ll regret it.”
She walked away, and Ben realized Siobhan was standing across the cabin, watching him intently, her face pale. Suddenly self-conscious, he slipped his shirt and pants back on, straightening his clothes as best as he could with only one hand. “Hey, Shiv. Don’t worry, I’m okay.”
“What happened?” she asked, her voice unsteady. “I don’t understand. No one gets spore burns when they’re wearing a suit, not if they put it on right.”
Ben held her gaze. “I think it’s this new type of symbiont. The spores must be tougher or something.” He hesitated. “Did you hear what I said on the intercom? About the probe?”
Siobhan nodded. “It doesn’t make much sense though. Metal is the one thing the symbiont can’t touch.”
“Yeah. Usually, I’d agree with you, but I’m sure the probe got damaged. I’m positive.”
“Let me see. Where is it?”
“I dropped it outside, but…” Ben sat very still, a shiver running down his spine. “The samples. We put them in metal containers. Tessa brought them in.” He stood quickly, the blood rushing to his head. “Tessa! The bag. We have to get it outside!”
Tessa looked up from the locker where she was stowing her suit, a frown furrowing her brow. “Why? It’s empty. I put the containers in here.” She crossed the cabin and picked up a small plastic box, taking hold of its lid as if to rip it off. “Do you want to check them?”
“No!” Ben shouted. “Don’t open it!” He dashed over to Tessa, grabbing the box from her. Tessa’s expression darkened, but she didn’t argue. “I have to get this out the rover right now,” Ben said. “It’ll leak out and contaminate us all!”
Cate held up her hand. “I don’t know what you’re basing this on, Ben, but no one is going anywhere without a suit.”
Ben set the box down and opened a locker, tearing a suit from its shelf. He started struggling into it, his injured hand slowing him down.
Suddenly, Siobhan was at his side. Without a word, she peeled off her pants and shirt then grabbed a suit and started slipping into it.
Ben glared at her, but he couldn’t protest; she could be ready before him, and they both knew it.
Siobhan donned the suit quickly, her practiced hands making short work of the task, and once she’d pulled on her boots, she said, “Someone check my seals.”
Tessa ran her hands over the seals on Siobhan’s suit, taking extra care with the cuffs that ran around the boots. “Listen, it’s deep out there. Be careful.”
Siobhan nodded, then she took a helmet and pushed it into place, locking it carefully onto her suit’s collar. “Ben, what do I need to do?”
“Just put the container down outside. Anywhere. Near the ladder is fine. Then get straight back inside. Cate can take us out of here as soon as you’re inside.”
“I’ll get ready to roll,” Cate called out, already hurrying to the driving seat.
Siobhan picked up the plastic container. For a split second, she faced Ben as if about to say something, but she turned aw
ay and pulled open the inner door, stepping into the decontamination cubicle without a word.
“Take care,” Ben whispered, but it was too late, Siobhan had pulled the door closed.
Ben stood, rooted to the spot, and when he heard the thud of the outer door slamming shut, he flinched.
“I’ll stay by the door,” Tessa said. “Ben, why don’t you go up front and get on the intercom? Keep in touch with her.”
“Yeah. Okay. That’s…that’s a good idea.” Hardly knowing what he was doing, Ben hurried to the front passenger seat and threw himself into the chair, fumbling the controls as he opened the correct channel. “Shiv, are you okay?”
A pause. A hiss of static. And then Siobhan’s voice:
“All fine. I’m just getting clear of the rover.”
“Just put the box down,” Ben said. “It doesn’t matter where.”
“I know, but we don’t want to run over it when we go. Better to get it clear.” A hiss sounded on the speaker as though she’d exhaled on her helmet’s microphone. “Anyhow, this’ll do. I’m putting it down.”
“Straight back inside,” Ben said. “Cate, are we ready to go?”
Cate gave him a thumbs up. “One hundred percent. Motors running.”
“I’m heading back now,” Siobhan said. “I’ll tell you when I’m in.”
“Great.” Ben wiped his hand across his brow. “Good job, Shiv. I’ll see you in a second.” He sat back in the seat. “Man, that was close, but we should be all right now.” He let out a slow breath, closing his eyes for a second. And a burst of excruciating pain blossomed in his left arm. His eyes snapped open. “Shit! My arm!” He clamped his right hand around his forearm, holding it tight, trying to squeeze the pain from the throbbing skin.
“Dammit!” Cate cried. “You left the fluid on too long. You need to clean it off. Fast.”
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