The Susquehanna Virus Box Set

by Steve McEllistrem

  “Got it,” Major Payne said.

  Gil and Finn jumped down to the Sarahnity’s deck, the force of their landing making the smaller boat bob. They disappeared inside the cabin.

  “She’s going home,” Eli said via Lendra’s connection. “I recall her saying something about returning home to the gods at the bottom of the sea. I think that’s pretty common in voodoo.”

  Less than a minute later Gil and Finn returned. “Nothing,” Finn said.

  Gil knelt before the dark man. “He’s dead. You saw we only stunned him.”

  “Not your fault,” Jeremiah said. “He was never going to be taken alive. The Blantons are now our last hope to find the virus.”

  Lendra said, “I’ll notify Dr. Poole that we need results, no matter what it does to their brains.”

  “That was disappointing,” Major Payne said. “I had hoped for a more satisfying result.”

  “You mean you wanted to kill her yourself,” Jeremiah said.

  “I didn’t just want to kill the bitch. I wanted to rip her fingers off one by one. I wanted to use nerve gas to make her scream in terror. I wanted her to suffer for as long as possible before dying in her own filth and vomit.”

  Hannah said, “So you . . . didn’t like her?”

  Jeremiah smiled. “Good job, people. Let’s get back to CINTEP. We’ve got less than three hours.”

  Chapter 29

  Aspen stood atop Dunadan’s knoll, staring up at the Chinese ship. For three days now, it had hovered fifty kilometers above them—a bright star, visible day and night. All attempts to communicate with it had failed. It continued to maintain perfect geosynchronous orbit. Not knowing its inhabitants’ intentions bothered her. They should have at least been conducting some sort of telemetry to analyze the surface or the atmosphere or something. But nothing. No signals of any sort. Ominous.

  Quekri refused to read a threat into their actions. “We’re going to continue our scientific experiments,” she said, “our colonization efforts, and when the Chinese astronauts decide to make contact with us, we’ll happily engage with them. But we’re not going to take any action that might be construed as aggression.”

  The miners were no help either. They continued their digging, their thieving, their visits to Dr. Wellon for various ailments, all the while stating that military and political matters were the province of the Escala and refusing to hand over their Las-rifles.

  Aspen glanced over at the shuttle, which she and the other cadets had tested two days ago, making sure all its systems were functioning perfectly. It lay under a protective cover beside the entrance to the caves.

  “I see that,” Addam said. He stopped cleaning the sensor array and straightened up.

  “What?” Aspen replied.

  “You’re looking at the shuttle. You want to take it up to the Chinese vessel.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “Sure, but Quekri said the ship is sovereign Chinese territory and boarding it could be considered hostile action.”

  “Why won’t they answer our hails?”

  “You think they’re planning an attack.”

  “You have to admit that it’s a possibility.”

  “I’ve heard you talking in your sleep, Aspen. You’re having nightmares, aren’t you?”

  “They’re just dreams.”

  “Calling out to Zora and Rendela?”

  Aspen sighed. “I’m warning them. You know how dreams are—lots of jumping around, inconsistencies, illogical breaks. But I feel like this ship is a threat. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in quite a while.”

  Addam snorted. “All your thrashing around hasn’t exactly been good for me either. Maybe you should just borrow the shuttle and go up there—put us all at ease.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I was joking,” Addam said. “Quekri doesn’t want us doing anything that could increase tensions back on Earth.”

  “If she didn’t want us to do anything, she could have deactivated the shuttle or put a guard on it or even expressly forbidden me to fly it, none of which she’s done.”

  “That’s because she believes in hands-off governing. You know that. How many times has she talked about civic freedom and our responsibility to the rest of the colony? ‘I’m not going to make a lot of rules,’” Addam said in a creditable imitation of Quekri’s voice. “‘You can do whatever you like as long as you respect others’ rights and keep in mind that the community’s needs outweigh yours.’”

  “You think I’m not concerned about the colony?” Aspen asked. “Quekri put me in charge of security. It’s my job to check out all possible threats.”

  “I’m just not convinced this is a threat. If it is, why haven’t they attacked us?”

  “Are the Las-pistols ready yet?”

  “Yes,” Addam said. “Crude, but just as effective as any on Earth or the Moon. Benn wants to test-fire them.”

  “No. If that ship has scanners, it might be able to detect the energy signature of a fired Las-weapon. I want to maintain the element of surprise in case things come down to a battle. I’ve already ordered the miners not to fire their Las-rifles either, though I have no idea if they’ll comply.”

  Aspen activated her powerscope and studied the orbiting spaceship—a large, spinning tube, hollow in the middle, designed to create artificial gravity.

  “Anything?” Addam asked.

  “No.”

  “They could blow us up right now,” Addam said. “You know that. They wouldn’t even have to land. They could fire a Las-weapon or a particle beam cannon or drop a nuclear bomb on our position. We’ve got no way to defend ourselves if they want us dead. You’re just upset because you’re not in control of the situation.”

  Aspen glared at him even though she knew he couldn’t see her expression through the faceplate. “There was a time when you would have been upset about that too. You’d have taken the shuttle and flown up there yourself if you had to, just to check out the ship.”

  Addam raised his head and she knew he was looking at the ship. After a moment he said, “Do you still feel the rage?”

  “Sometimes. You?”

  “Not since Dr. Wellon fixed us,” Addam said. “You’re planning to steal the shuttle and fly up to take a look at the ship, aren’t you? You’re getting more like Curtik and Zora every day.”

  “Zora put me in command.”

  “Zora’s thirty million miles away. She doesn’t respond to your messages. She’s forgotten us. You don’t have to follow her orders anymore. Benn and I don’t follow Curtik’s orders.”

  “He doesn’t give you any.”

  “That’s because he’s moved on. We’ve all moved on, Aspen. Shiloh, Kammilee, Benn, Curtik and even Zora.”

  Aspen turned away and headed down the knoll toward the cave entrance. “Finish cleaning the equipment,” she said. “I’ll be inside.”

  Was Addam right? Was she like Curtik and Zora? Certainly she often asked herself what Zora and Rendela would do in any given situation. But Curtik? He was nothing more than a thug. Zora, on the other hand, had always brought brilliant insight into problems while Rendela had often considered opposing viewpoints, bringing the most intuitive emotional response. Those two were definitely worth emulating.

  She went to her room and put together a bag of personal items and clothes, just in case she was forced to stay away for a while. She hoped to make a quick inspection and return in a few hours, but if the Chinese ship’s inhabitants were hostile, she might not be back soon . . . or at all.

  And if she were killed?

  Addam could carry on in her place. He’d make a fine leader: calm, rational, thoughtful. Benn was too much like Curtik, too quick to action, while Phan occasionally got caught up in details and was a little too much of a sensualist. Kammilee and Shiloh were both solid cadets, though n
either had shown any desire to lead—so Addam it would be.

  Picking up her bag, she glanced around the cave she had called home for the past few months. She was a bit surprised that she felt an emotional attachment to it. It was just a space: an unmade bed with two indentations where she and Addam slept; two chairs, a desk and a dresser she shared with Addam. Nothing fancy. But if she couldn’t return for some reason, if Quekri exiled her, she wanted to be able to recall it.

  She made her way to the lab space where Benn and Phan had been building the Las-pistols. When she arrived, Shiloh and Kammilee stood beside the weapons, bags packed, arms crossed over their chests, wearing smug smiles.

  “Whatcha doin’?” Shiloh asked.

  Aspen glanced at their bags. “I’m going to check out the Chinese ship,” she said. “The Escala clearly have no intention of addressing this until they have to, at which time it might be too late.”

  “Your implant must not be working or you would have told us to join you,” Kammilee said.

  “This is purely a scouting mission.”

  Shiloh laughed. “That’s why you packed a bag?”

  Aspen shook her head. “How did you know I was leaving?”

  “We grew up together, remember?” Kammilee said.

  “But you want to become Escala,” Aspen said. “You want to get pregnant.”

  “We’re cadets,” Shiloh said, “first, last and always. And you’re not going alone.”

  “Zora put me in charge. I say who goes and who stays.”

  “Nice try,” Benn said from behind her.

  Aspen spun around. Benn, Phan and Addam stood in the tunnel entrance carrying bags. All three wore wide grins.

  Aspen held up her hands. “If they’re hostile, we may not survive. And Quekri may not let us come back even if they’re not. And if we leave, the Escala will have no defenses. Some of us have to stay behind.”

  “Look,” Addam said. “If they’re hostile, they can kill us all anyway. And if Quekri won’t let us return, then we’ll have an adventure out there. Besides, we all know the Escala are better off without us. We’re not like them and we never will be, no matter how hard we try.”

  Aspen turned back to Shiloh and Kammilee. The two cadets nodded in tandem. Kammilee’s eyes glistened. Aspen realized that Addam spoke the truth and that the other cadets saw it too. Benn slipped past her and put his hand on Kammilee’s shoulder as Shiloh wrapped an arm around Kammilee’s waist.

  Actually, if Aspen was honest with herself, it was hard for her too. She often wished she could be like the Escala. She didn’t enjoy feeling angry all the time. But whatever conditioning and programming Eli had done to her, it had been so deeply entrenched that it would likely never go away completely. We’re fighters, she realized. We’ve played at being scientists for a while now, but we’ll always be fighters.

  “Okay,” Aspen said. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  With all six cadets working together, they prepped the shuttle for launch in less than an hour. Aspen couldn’t help but think how little she and her friends meant to the Escala; apparently no one had noticed they were gone, or at least no one cared.

  The shuttle rose into the air, the thrusters expelling a massive cloud of red dust. Aspen felt a thrill at being back in space. She glanced at her fellow cadets. They all wore goofy smiles.

  Benn said, “God, I missed the action. Let’s go kill bad guys.”

  Phan laughed. Kammilee grinned.

  “Remember,” Aspen said, “this is just a scouting mission. We’re not planning to kill anyone.”

  “It was a joke,” Benn said.

  “Right.” Aspen studied Benn’s face for a moment. She didn’t completely trust him. Had he been disguising his warrior nature from the Escala all this time? If so, he’d done a remarkably good job. Aspen sent an implant message to Addam to keep an eye on Benn. He acknowledged the message with a brief nod.

  Then the comm link beeped and Quekri’s voice came through: “What are you kids doing?”

  Aspen said, “We’re going to check out the Chinese vessel.”

  “No,” Quekri said. “Return to base at once.”

  “That’s a negative,” Benn said. “Course already plotted. Contact in less than ten minutes.”

  “You put me in charge of security,” Aspen said. “I’m doing my job.”

  Shiloh said, “The ship’s Las-cannon is tracking us.”

  Aspen looked out through the screen at the growing vessel—the large spinning tube looked like a hollow log with several sticks—no doubt passageways—running from one side to the other. Near the front, its Las-cannon pointed at the shuttle. Did that mean the ship’s occupants intended them harm or was the Las-cannon’s targeting mechanism activated automatically—aiming at every approaching object?

  Quekri said, “You kids need to turn back. Garthod says their Las-cannon is powering up.”

  “Kids?” Addam said.

  “Um, Aspen,” Kammilee said, her voice catching for an instant, “I’m confirming that. Las-cannon is definitely powered up.”

  “What do we do?” Phan asked.

  “We go on,” Aspen said. “Powering up the Las-cannon may not mean they’re planning to fire on us. It could simply be the result of programming put in place on Earth to protect the ship from meteoroids and space debris. We’ll keep an eye on it. Shiloh, send a continuous transmission to let them know we’re on a goodwill mission.”

  “Transmitting now,” Shiloh replied. “I hope this works or we’re going to be barbequed cadets.”

  Aspen looked at Addam. He smiled at her for a second before looking away and frowning. She studied the Las-cannon through the front screen, noticing that its nozzle glowed a dim red. She had to force himself to look away from it.

  A warning suddenly came through the shuttle’s comm system, broadcast in English: “Move away. Retreat. Do not approach.”

  Immediately following that, a short blue pulse shot out from the Las-cannon, striking the front of the shuttle, jolting everyone. Aspen’s stomach clenched as her throat dried up. Thankfully they were all strapped in or they’d have been knocked out of their seats.

  “Shiloh?” Aspen said.

  “They’re not responding,” Shiloh replied.

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Kammilee said.

  “Deep breaths,” Addam said.

  “They’re trying to kill us,” Kammilee said.

  “Just a warning shot, Kam,” Benn said, his voice calm. “Standard defensive measure. If they’d wanted to kill us, we’d be dead.”

  “This is too risky,” Quekri said. “Listen to the voice of experience and come home.”

  Benn laughed. Aspen thought she detected a hint of hysteria behind it, but maybe she was just reading that in. Maybe he was just happy to be back in space, doing what he’d been trained to do.

  “We’re fine,” Addam said to no one in particular.

  Aspen said, “We’re boarding that vessel. They should’ve responded to our hails days ago. We’re not going to turn around just because they’ve finally acknowledged our presence.”

  As the Chinese vessel’s docking hatch centered on the forward screen, the Las-cannon disappeared from view. Just as well. Aspen didn’t want to see it. If it fired on them again, so be it. But she didn’t need to witness it. She’d rather just be killed. She glanced at the navigation instruments and said to Quekri, “Docking in three minutes. If they destroy us, you’ll have a good view of it on the vid.”

  “Still transmitting a peaceful greeting,” Shiloh said. “Still no response. And no more warnings.”

  Addam said, “Ready for docking procedures.”

  Aspen said. “Moving to match speed and rotation of the target.”

  “In twenty seconds,” Quekri said, “you’ll be so close that it’ll be almost impossib
le for them to fire on you without risking destroying themselves.”

  Dr. Wellon now appeared behind Quekri on the vid. She said, “The people on that vessel may have been infected with the Susquehanna Virus. And since that strain was created in China, we know virtually nothing about it. You might have to be quarantined. And it could prove fatal.”

  “We’ll keep our Mars suits on,” Addam replied. “We’re not using the shuttle’s oxygen. We’re keeping a vacuum. The virus won’t be a problem.”

  “The virus could attach to your suits. You might bring it back with you when you return. We can’t be certain it’ll be safe, so we’ll have to build a quarantine section if you decide to go ahead with this plan.”

  “We can live in quarantine for a few days when we get back,” Kammilee said, her voice stronger now.

  “It might be weeks.”

  “You’re close enough,” Quekri said. “Garthod doesn’t think they can safely fire on you anymore.”

  “See?” Aspen said. “They didn’t want to kill us after all. Docking in one minute.”

  Another laser pulse struck the shuttle, jolting them all again. Aspen couldn’t see its color, but since the shuttle remained intact, she assumed it must have been another low-power strike. She checked the navigation system again, saw numerous repair lights blinking on the board.

  “Nav system damaged,” she said.

  “Affirmative,” Shiloh replied. “Computer docking disabled. We’ll have to dock manually. It’ll be more fun that way anyway.”

  For the next minute no one spoke. Aspen worked the controls while Addam fed her the data from the proximity sensors via implant. And as the shuttle made contact with the Chinese vessel, they felt only the slightest bump, then the tug of gravity as centripetal force pulled at them.

  “Well done,” Addam said.

  Phan let out a whoop of joy while Kammilee smiled weakly.

  “If you won’t listen to reason,” Quekri said, “at least be careful. If they don’t give you permission to board, don’t force anything. If you are allowed on board, make sure your helmet-cams are on at all times so we can document everything and maintain constant communications. Touch as little as possible. And as soon as you’ve ascertained the situation, you get back here and into quarantine. Okay?”