by Saqib Sadiq
The pirate captain strained to let out his last words. “At least…let me know…the name of the man who…defeated me.” The guard holstered his weapon and kneeled on the ground. The launcher kept him from moving close to the dying man. He carefully removed the straps of the weapon and laid it beside himself.
The captain was already suffering from a severe lack of oxygen. He could no longer kneel properly and was bent over. His gloved fingers clawed at the deck of the captured ship. “You want to know my name?” the man asked. The captain grimaced as he nodded. The man moved in closer making his visor touch the other man’s visor.
Both men made eye contact. Cold beads of sweat fell from the gasping captain’s contoured face. “If you must know, tell them the man who defeated you was none other than the colonel of Gemcore Security Contingent AK-99.” The captain collapsed on the floor the life draining out of his body. “I go by the name of…Ramsey!”
CHAPTER
NINE
“What the hell happened in my Space Station?” Cruchev asked as he paced the floor of his ready room. Anger and frustration dripped from his face. Each step he took caused his holstered weapon to dip up and down with rhythmic movements of his neatly attached utility belt. Off to the side Rie Yamada and Dr. Shukai sat on a leather couch. They kept quite as they patiently watched their captain think things through.
With eyebrows furrowed in disbelief he asked, “You’re telling me that people can come back from the dead?”
The two men looked at each other, not sure who should answer, “This was not a person” Yamada replied in a detached manner “My Squad Captains reported that it was able to withstand anything they threw at it. That’s just not humanly possible.”
The captain mulled this over “And what do you have to say?” he asked the timid doctor, who immediately looked up and adjusted his glasses.
“I made a preliminary analysis of the subject’s DNA and was able to find evidence of a mutagenic pathogen. Which was so potent that the subject became another species altogether.”
Cruchev was dumbstruck but listened intently “Can you tell me more?” he had crossed his arms across his chest and gave the doctor a serious look.
Dr. Shukai showed obvious discomfort from the close scrutiny “This mode of attack occurs in other creatures with gaseous form. That implies we are dealing with a natural phenomenon. Other than that I am afraid I do not know any more. My assistant and I barely made it out alive when that thing went on a rampage.” The doctor cradled himself as he recalled the recent nightmare.
Seeing how scared the doctor was he decided to end the interrogation “Fair enough.” He then turned his attention to his chief security officer “I hear that the Science team learned of the pathogen and that they sent us a warning. Why didn’t you do anything?”
“There wasn’t enough time to put together a proper defense.” Rie Yamada tried explaining his inaction “The body was already on a rampage by the time we received the message.”
Cruchev’s face showed blatant displeasure Rie was an able security officer and showed a lot of potential that is why he had taken him under his wing, tried to make him a more capable officer and a better person. But at times he came up short; this was one of those times. Cruchev would have liked to scold Rie for not acting quickly enough. But he knew it wasn’t his fault and thought better of it “I understand.” He let out a long sigh “When can you debrief the science team?”
“They returned from the mining tunnels just a while ago. I am told they’re still in the ATV depot, unloading the Sensor Array. As soon as they settle in I plan on getting a full account of their findings.”
“Be sure to include Dr. Shukai in the briefing. I want him to start researching this matter in depth at the earliest possibility.” He said sternly “That is all.” Cruchev was signaling the dismissal of the two senior staff members from his ready room. He was already making his way to his desk when he saw that they still remained. Cruchev gave Rie an inquisitive look.
“Sir if I may?” the officer obviously had something on his mind
“Go on.” The captain said as he beckoned his loyal subordinate
“I couldn’t help notice that you are carrying a class one Photonic Emitter.” The security specialist licked his lips before continuing, “Respectfully sir is it wise to be carrying such a rare weapon? After all it’s primarily for ceremonial purposes.”
Cruchev’s haughty mood instantly dissolved “Rie, you know me too well.” He said in a laid back manner “I am not one for showing off. I agree; such a weapon should be kept for safekeeping.” He paused to collect his thoughts “But right now I need it for my safekeeping.”
Yamada looked perplexed “Surely with the entire space station under lockdown any risk to your life or to the crew’s is greatly reduced.”
Cruchev nodded his head in agreement a grave look shadowed his face “I am not doubting your abilities. But I see a threat on the horizon; a threat so great that all our defenses will prove utterly inadequate.” Dr. Shukai nervously looked at the two men, not sure if he should be hearing this “Rie, they’re sending in Ramsey.”
A look of shock crossed the man’s face upon hearing the dreaded colonel’s name. Cruchev continued “I am too hand over V-323 upon his arrival.”
“We can’t let him do that.” Rie pleaded, “He doesn’t know what he’s getting into.”
“I know. That is why I am devising a plan of action. Rest assured that I will not let him succeed.”
Yamada looked upon his commander with pride “That’s good to hear. We must take action soon, you know just as well as I do that men like Ramsey only care about the bottom line and don’t care how they get there. He’ll send your crew to their deaths if it means filling up another freighter craft with ore.”
A look of satisfaction came across the captain’s face. He was glad his security officer was with him. Although they wouldn’t be working for Gemcore anymore they had to make a stand. With grim determination Cruchev turned towards Yamada and said “Ramsey is not to set foot on this station”
The officer softly nodded his head “I’ll make the proper arrangements.”
*****
Deep in the recesses of core zero the entity brewed. Its gaseous form unfurled itself across the floor. Here in its sanctuary the primitive mind of the being plotted its next move.
These thieves they are so bad they try to hurt me hurt my home crush home to pieces take away my essence leave me be I don’t like the thieves they should leave why don’t they leave? I don’t like the thieves and they don’t like me I will make the thieves leave they won’t like me even more my strength is low must feed again my prey must be ready by now I called it as far as it could come I will go the rest of the way to feed on thief prey but I will have to go to the thief home to feed on thief prey maybe I should crush thief home maybe then they will leave and leave my essence alone and leave my home alone I don’t like the thieves and they don’t like me so I will feed on thief prey and crush thief home so that thief leave me alone…yes that is what I will do
*****
“I come before you with great urgency.” Rie Yamada was at the head of one of the mess hall dining tables. Dr. Shukai, who had regained his composure, was also at the table along with key members of the science team. Yamada also decided to invite Raza and Chuck to the debriefing as their eyewitness accounts could prove useful.
“As I speak my sergeants are making preparations to defend the station against a possible attack, from incoming hostiles.” The news caused a stir in the gathered group of people.
“I do not wish to disclose the identity of our adversary, but I do ask you to trust the decision of our captain as he has our best interest at heart. I understand that this situation is unnerving for some. But we must conduct this debriefing in an organized and systematic manner.” Yamada paused to catch his breath; the weary faces of the crewmembers reminded him of how tired he was, but he pressed on.
“The conclusi
on we draw from this meeting will help us combat a clear and present danger; known to us as the entity. We already know that this being is capable of attacking humans, releasing a pathogen that causes the victim to mutate into another species. What we do not know is how do we counter this threat.” He looked hopefully at the group of people.
Dr. Shukai spoke first “I could devise an antidote to counter the ravaging effects of the mutagenic pathogen.” He said thoughtfully “However we lack the proper equipment, there is only so much that I can learn from a bio scanner.”
At this comment the bio tech spoke up “Not necessarily, I believe the wide range bio scanner can help us to put together a defense, which could protect us from the entity.” everybody started listening with keen interest
“Continue.” Yamada urged
“Well, if we calibrate C&C’s wide range bio scanner for low range scans we should be able to know the exact instance the entity enters into the vicinity of the space station.”
“That’s a start, but it won’t be enough. We’ll need some kind of barrier between us and it.”
“Perhaps some kind of energy field will prove useful.” The sonar operator commented.
“Possibly,” Yamada thought deeply as he rubbed his chin “But we don’t know enough about the physical properties of the entity to accurately choose the correct type of energy field. And besides energy based barriers are still an unstable technology we don’t have personnel on board with the proper training to operate such a device.”
“We could just blast the damn thing!” Chuck couldn’t remain silent any longer “Let’s give it some from Jake!”
“We’re all for an offensive maneuver Mr. Charles” Yamada chided “But once again our lack of knowledge of the entity inhibits our ability to suitably arm ourselves.”
“We do know one thing.” The navigator of the science team decided to speak up “It can’t pass through solid rock.” He slyly eyed the participants of the debriefing “Geo scans show that this thing was released from an enclosed cavity. It was only when one of our drill jocks pierced an opening into the cavity that all this mayhem broke loose.” Raza shifted in his seat uncomfortably “Regardless I suggest sealing the mines by collapsing all the tunnels. That way we will be able to trap it.”
“Gemcore has far too much to gain from the mines; they would never authorize a complete and permanent shutdown. And besides we do not know the exact location of the entity who’s to say it’s still in the tunnels?” Yamada frankly said.
Raza listened to the various plans. None of them seemed right to him. They all revolved around taking advantage of the entity’s physical properties so that they could destroy it. Normally that would have worked but their lack of knowledge was a major hurdle to overcome. They needed more resources, which they didn’t have. He had another idea.
“Do you have something to say?” Yamada asked when he saw that Raza had raised his hand “Yes I do.” Everyone at the table turned their attention to him. The close scrutiny made him nervous; he knew some of them blamed him for what had happened even though he was following orders when he made that opening in the entity’s lair.
“We aren’t asking the right questions. Although a plan of attack is a good approach we should be thinking about why the being attacked in the first place.” The comment caused a soft murmur in the room “I can’t help but think that somehow we provoked an attack.”
“That’s absurd, what have we done to warrant the death of one of our crew members?” Yamada shot back.
The harsh words from the usually calm senior officer startled Raza but he pressed on “I don’t condone the actions of the entity, but perhaps it was in self defense.” A loud clamor of voices broke out in the room.
“It is a fiend!” the timid doctor spoke with a sudden burst of energy the recent rampage was still fresh in his mind “It is incapable of any sophisticated cognitive acts, let alone something as complex as self awareness! Therefore the justification of self defense does not apply.” The doctor continued lambasting the previously unknown alien life form “It is a brutal and savage thing which should be met with due force.” Other voices of agreement could be heard.
Raza looked on in dismay, how could they be so irrational? In their present state of mind he wasn’t sure if he could convince the others that his point of view may be correct. “Settle down!” Yamada waved his hands as he brought the room to order, “Everyone is allowed to voice their opinions but we must maintain order.” The voices quickly subsided; he then looked towards Raza and asked, “What makes you think the entity is defending its self?”
Raza was relieved that the security officer was at least considering his theory “Well maybe it perceives us as a threat because we have invaded its sanctuary; and now it is forcing us to leave. I mean hasn’t anyone else noticed that the entity shows itself to us only when we were drilling? I was in my drilling rig when I heard those awful moans, Chuck and his crew, were mining gold ore with their sonic picks when Jake was attacked. I can’t help but notice a pattern.”
This time no one had a fiery retort to make. They sat at the table with puzzled looks on their faces. The sonar operator also looked perplexed as he tried to find a flaw in Raza’s theory. “Why was the sensor array attacked, it can’t drill rock?”
Raza thought about the sonar operator’s argument “I can’t explain that one.” the other man made a smug expression after hearing that.
“Now wait a minute.” The other science team member spoke up “I think Raza is on to something.” He collected his thoughts before proceeding “When we were stuck in the auxiliary tunnel our bio scanner picked up a Celestial Arachnid burrowing into the tunnel. That creature is able to move through solid rock by dissolving it with its acidic saliva. The entity attacked and killed that creature.”
“What are you implying?” Yamada asked
The Bio Tech tried to explain Raza’s theory “It seems to me that any sort of destructive act against the entity’s lair causes it to violently retaliate. In essence, it’s defending itself.” These last words struck a chord. The members of the briefing seriously considered this revelation. The patterns of attack did have a certain degree of purpose behind them. As they contemplated further on the matter they gained more understanding.
“I wouldn’t want anyone messing up my house.” The surprisingly sympathetic words came from the entity’s most vociferous opponent, Chuck. “I’ve known Raza ever since drilling started on this god damned rock. And I learned a lot from him, ‘cuz he knows a lot about spiritual stuff and things. So if he says our drilling and stealing minerals from this here asteroid is making this thing angry, I reckon it to be true.” The vote of confidence from the burly miner gave Raza a boost of confidence. He was glad someone like Chuck managed to see the truth; perhaps there was hope for the rest of them.
Raza gave his hefty friend a wink and then expectantly looked towards Yamada. All members of the briefing had their say and were now waiting for the Chief Security Officer to pass judgment. What will be the official conclusion drawn from this debriefing? Even more important based on that conclusion what actions will the crew have to commit to?
Rie Yamada stood at the head of the table. Both hands laid flat on the greasy surface, the sanitation crew didn’t get a chance to clean up from the last meal. The stern Asian man fixed his gaze on the gleaming table top, his eyes showed deep concentration. After a few moments he looked up and faced the audience.
“We are judged by our intentions.” He let his words flow from his mind and pour through the room “What were our intentions? Did we intend to learn from the wonders of the Universe? Or did we intend to exploit the Universe? Did we stop and think about the consequences of our actions? Or did we force ourselves on to uncharted ground, thinking we as humans are masters of all and none dare scathe us!” the words caused a ripple of unrest.
“Gentleman, we are suffering the consequences of our intentions. Our mandate was to strip this asteroid of all its riches
. No thought was given to what this rape could do. This arrogance has made our first encounter with this alien life form a disaster.” He seemed to be pleading to someone. “Instead of gaining a deeper understanding of the miracles of life we have alienated it becoming its enemy.” He pointed an accusing finger at the gathered group of people “Look inside your selves gentlemen, for I have seen evil and it is us.” Yamada looked visibly shaken he hung his head low as he gathered his thoughts.
“Now as chief security officer I am left with very little options. If we stay here we die. We have no means of defending ourselves. In these circumstances I must advise Captain Cruchev to immediately evacuate all personnel from these premises. As of this moment Gemcore mining space station V-323 has been condemned.”
CHAPTER
TEN
This may be the last journal entry I make as captain of Gemcore Mining Space Station V-323. After General Walker, the Premier Chairman of Gemcore, gave his ultimatum he dispatched his henchman Colonel Ramsey to forcefully remove any obstacles that are hindering mining operations. Currently the Colonel is en-route to the space station. Long-range scans have detected a large number of corporate vessels approaching our coordinates; he’s been given an armada.
I am grateful to my crew who has backed my decision to make a stand against this oppression. Under the watchful eye of Chief Security Officer Rie Yamada, my security personnel have completed their preparations and are ready to defend the station against an all out assault. Yamada has also debriefed key members of the science team, and eyewitnesses to the entity’s attacks. He has concluded that we will not be able to eradicate the entity as we lack the resources to put together a proper offensive maneuver. The situation is further complicated with our inability to defend ourselves from its attacks.
He recommended a complete shutdown of all mining operations and an immediate evacuation of all Gemcore personnel from the premises. After weighing the facts I concurred with his assessment, however with Ramsey’s armada approaching, I have decided to postpone the exodus.