Symbiosis: Chapter 30

“Natural Selection favors the more resistant bacteria that adapts to its environs the best and procreates the most,” Dr. Ferris explained.

“It certainly does. Are we ready to get this project off the ground?” Captain Jackson asked his team. Eta Cassiopeia began to peek above the mountains and dawn had just turned to day. Mr. Wagner and Dr. Ferris stood with two Cinconians near the Osprey. They would be the first team to deploy away from base, assigned to the first map point about 3000 kilometers west of their current location. They all exchanged glances and climbed into the shuttle to be delivered to Site One.

While Lieutenant Lee flew them off, Jackson took advantage of the downtime and headed back inside the New Hope building where the climate was considerably more comfortable. Thousands of freeze dried vaccines made on the Maria Mitchell in boxes nearly reached the ceiling. Beside them millions of antibiotic pills in cubic meter containers also awaited deployment.

“Mr. Campbell, Mr. Bowen, I want you to team up with Pasi and be certain that all the necessary materials are available to start producing vaccines here at the New Hope factory. Once the supply list is confirmed, I’ll have the Painter join you to supervise the machining. And, you’re all going by ship, right? Okay, dismissed,” Jackson said and looked down at his planner and the two standing with Pasi, a dark brown Cinconian not much taller than humans.

“York, you and Adams are on Station Two with Akadar at the UMA building. The facilities there should be set up for drug manufacturer and you will have to shut down all other production in favor of the antibiotics. Adams, when that is set up and running, I’ll put you someplace else. They have enough medical staff there to do the job, no training needed, no oversee required. Put all your gear together so when Lee returns you can just jump in and go.”

“Aye, sir, we’ll get on it. Come on York,” Adams said and the two of them began their tasks.

“Okay, Painter, in the meantime, you and Odalis will travel to Station Three for factory repurpose. There are plenty of employees but that’s where retrofitting will be easiest to start production. Get the employees to do the work while you ensure all is on schedule. Then I’ll have you out to check on Station Two. Wagner, you’re here with us for now.”

“Mr. Lee is going to be awfully busy,” Dr. Gregory muttered to Jackson.

“We have to keep this going all day and night until there’s nothing left to do. I can fly a few in between so he can get some sleep.”

“What do you want me to do, exactly?”

“I need a mature team leader for these Cinconians. I feel they lack some discipline to stay on task. Stay here at New Hope and make sure they get these vaccines on transportation to the outer areas, the small towns and rural areas. Ships will be kind of slow, but again, there are places we can’t take the shuttle.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“And remember, Dr. Adams said we vaccinate three with one vial in areas where there are no reported cases. Our supplies will go a long way doing that while the manufacturing ramps up.”

“We’re going to be here more than a week, Tom,” Scott said.

“Maybe. The idea is to get them set up and get out.”

“What are you up to?” Scott asked.

“Besides keeping an eye on the mission I’m going to try and piece this thing together. How our half human mummy and the Kiians are related to both of these planets and a human bacteria.”

“Rianya’s smarts must be rubbing off on you,” Scott jibed.

“If only I could be that lucky. But I am picking up a lot of biology I never knew about before. Come on.” Tom and Scott wandered the corridor until they located their quarters to wait until the shuttle returned. “I brought something you might like to see,” the captain said, rifling through his travel case and pulled out a hard plastic bottle. Using two bowls from a stack he poured fifty-some mils of burgundy fluid into each, and handed his old friend one of them.

“This is?”

“Medicine for anything that ails you.”

“Since when do you drink before noon?”

“Is it still morning?” was his rhetorical comeback. He knocked his bowl against Scott’s bowl and took a sip of the Auchsonian brandy letting the flames trickle down the back of his throat until he felt the essence land hard in the pit of his stomach. Not used to celestial-proof alcohol, he wheezed out a cough, throttled by the unexpected effect and sat quickly in the nearest chair.

“Tom, what in hell is this?” Scott hadn’t touched the bowl to his lips or tasted the elixir and hesitated when he caught Tom’s reaction.

“Fortitude,” he croaked, carefully putting the bowl on a table.

“I think I’ll pass,” Scott said, putting the bowl next to Tom’s. “What’s wrong?” he asked, joining Tom at the table.

“Are you a mind reader like Rianya now?”

“Come on, it’s me you’re talking to.”

“Something doesn’t make sense here and I’m trying to loosen the cement in my head. These people barely have technology to talk to each other across the planet, much less across a dozen light years.”

“You have a point; they’re all about instant gratification. Infrastructure is a mess, health is in trouble, but they seem to enjoy passive entertainment.”

“Precisely my point,” Tom said, clearing his throat of the broiling brandy. “We’ve come all this way to help them, and they’re so docile about it. I don’t understand. They had Pegasi supplying them with antibiotics, so why didn’t they just ask them for help?”

“Profit?” Scott’s gray eyes flickered.

“Yes, there’s no profit in curing the plague. But Earth is twenty light years from here. Why us?”

Tom pushed some items to the back of the table and pulled out a large touch screen from his bag. He drew a circle in one corner and then another in the opposing corner, marking one with a 5 and one with a 4. He drew three squares along the bottom labeling one with an H, one with a P, one with a K. Scott watched on. Before Tom began, he took another swig of the vile brandy to reinforce his mettle.

“Help me sort this out. All right,” Tom began. “We have a couple scenarios as to how Yersinia got here and how Cinconians have been fighting it for decades and how it’s tied to that mummy. One way is if the body infected them, the other is if they infected the body.” The men huddled closer to the table, standing because the tall table and short legged chairs weren’t ergonomically designed for human comfort or function. “Let’s go with the ‘they infected the body’ theory first.” He entered some data on a portable reader and picked up another one.

“Who brought the disease from Earth if not the body?”

“It would have had to be Kiians or Pegasi or another space faring civilization. Earth wasn’t space faring four hundred years ago.” Scott nodded. “Stick with me on this one, we’ll tackle the other scenario when we’ve done this one to the end.

“So at some point Kiians, most likely, came to Earth, somehow contracted Yersinia, and brought it to Cuatro. It spread like crazy and wiped out the primates and higher mammals.”

“Okay, but how did it get to Cinco?” Scott asked.

“The Kiians again, must have taken it there. We saw those illustrations of Kiians killing Cinconians with laser pistols,” Tom reminded him.

“That might explain the research stations on Cuatro that Kiians are living in.”

“But why didn’t the Kiians help the Cinconians cure the plague? They don’t seem to have it anymore, if they ever did.”

“Why would Kiians take a human off Earth and bring him back with them?”

“He’s not all human,” Tom reminded him.

“They brought back a human, then it interbred, so our mummy couldn’t be the carrier. He must be a descendant.”

“Yes, that’s what I’m thinking too,” Tom said while he wrote the notes into a data pad and sat down in the odd chair. “So do you have another idea about the spread of this thing? It looks like Kiians are the culprit. They must have abducted a human for some reason.”

“What about the Pegasi?” Scott asked.

“They came later, obviously.”

“Why couldn’t they have been the vector?”

“You think a Pegasi landed on 14th Century Earth without being noticed? The Kiians could pass as humans if they had to.”

“You got me there.”

“Now your theory is that the mummy brought the Yersinia from Earth. But I can’t see how a mixed race human ended up on Cuatro without help from Kiians or Pegasi.

“So just for yuks we’ll say the Kiians brought a mixed race human with Yersinia to Cuatro four hundred years ago and that’s how they wiped out the Cuatrons. Then some of the Kiians took it to Cinco.”

“You’re right, Tom, that doesn’t make sense. How could there be a mixed race human anywhere 400 years ago, much less 800 years ago.”

“Yet…” Tom said, lightly biting the tip of his tongue. “The body dates to 800 years old. The extinction on Cuatro and the documentation on Cinco support the disease came 400 years ago.” Scott also sat down and the two officers’ faces mirrored each other with glossy eyes and impassive smiles.

“What is the missing piece here?” Tom asked rhetorically, almost under his breath.

“Does it really matter? We just need to get this pandemic under control and get out of here.”

“I need to know the responsible party. I think the Kiians were on Earth, brought the plague to Cuatro somehow, then infected the Cinconians, and asked the Pegasi to help with mountains of antibiotics, and now they have a resistance problem.”

“And so…” Scott hinted. “That still doesn’t explain Hero all dried up on Cuatro.”

“I need to get the Kiians on board here. A dozen humans and a few hundred puerile Cinconians aren’t going to be able to do this.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 29

“Papa, I want to go home.”

“Mama’s sick. You’ll just have to stay with Mr. Mills here in sick bay.”

“Why can’t I stay at Honey’s?”

“I need you here, Zalara,” Mills told her. The former nurse, now a Physician’s Assistant, would be the senior member of the medical team remaining in sick bay during the mission. Nurse Henderson would also stay aboard.

“To fix people?” she asked with wide, emerald eyes. Mills glanced at the captain and then bent down to Zalara’s level near the floor.

“Not necessarily, but you never know,” he said. Tom hadn’t disclosed Zalara’s ability, and he didn’t think Adams had done so either. Tom tried to ignore the real meaning behind her question.

“Can I fix Mama?” she asked, looking at Tom.

“No, what she has is all mixed up,” he told her. Zalara could heal a laceration, make a single organ cooperate, or, as in Tom’s case, remove a growing tumor deep in his brain, but microscopic trouble, at the cellular level, was not something she had the instinct to deal with the way a single cause could be isolated and dispatched.

Tom glanced up and Mills and shrugged as if he had no idea what Zalara was talking about. Mills winked back, and it seemed the Jackson secret was still safe.

“I’ll be back in a couple of days, Pet.”

“I want to go with you!” she wailed.

“’Lara, the germs are on the planet; I can’t let you go down there.”

“I don’t want the germ to get you like Mama.”

“It won’t,” Mills cut in. He leaned close to the small girl where her ear would be under her mop of chestnut hair. “I gave your dad a special weapon to take with him so he won’t get sick.” Check.

“Can I have a special weapon, too?” Checkmate.

“Pet, you just stay here with Mr. Mills and Honey will be around. You always want to stay at her place, but I want you to sleep in sick bay, just in case.”

“In case I need to fix someone.”

“Yes,” Tom said, and put a light kiss on the top of her head and hurried out before he was lassoed again.

Captain Jackson headed to the launch bay with tenacious focus. He checked the chronometer com device on his wrist noting he was barely on time at 08:00 hours. Rather than wait for the elevator he dashed down the steps two at a time to the lowest deck of the Maria Mitchell.

“Good morning, All,” he called, clambering through the submarine style door to the launch bay, his gear bag slung over one shoulder. A chorus of ‘good morning’ resounded a few meters away near the Osprey where the landing party had loosely assembled.

“Everyone did have their treatment from Dr. Adams, yes?” A chorus of “yes sir” was followed by some scuffling and scrambling as last minute additional equipment was stowed into the shuttle. Ten people were the maximum occupancy for the transporting vehicle. Jackson climbed in and checked their Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and O2 tanks, tracking antenna, and uplinked communications to the Maria Mitchell’s sensor data. With a full complement of people and equipment, Jackson liked to double check behind his helmsmen, not because he didn’t trust them, but as a second set of eyes and ears to confirm function before he risked everyone’s lives.

“All aboard,” he called to the gaggle outside the Osprey. The last person in, Sergeant York, closed the hatch and employed the lock seal. She took her seat, strapped in, and engaged the thermal conditioners before they left the ship.

“Osprey to bridge,” Lieutenant Lee called. “Chick’s ready to leave the nest.”

“Bridge to shuttle, beginning depressurization, stand by for space door retraction,” came a voice that Jackson identified as Mr. Watson’s. Although every officer knew the protocols, he always appreciated their formality given the gravity of their actions.

“I have the vents purged and switched to nitrogen,” Lee advised. “Auxiliary power engaged, space doors open, thrusters at the ready, static discharged.”

“Osprey,” Watson’s voice again. “You are clear for launch. Godspeed.”

“Aye, Osprey out.”

Lieutenant Lee set the shuttle near the coordinates of the Continental Health Organization satellite office in New Hope. Yee Akadar from the United Medical Assembly confirmed that the location would be an ideal place to start the project but also expressed dismay that the CHO had gotten involved. Jackson didn’t share Akadar’s uncooperative attitude. He found it partisan and contrary to the entire mission, making a mental note to keep a closer eye on the project than he had originally hoped to do.

Jackson and Adams left the rest of the crew with the shuttle and headed for the single-story adobe half a kilometer to the north. Both shrugged their field jacket hoods tighter around their faces when an icy gust briefly stopped their march.

Milling around the building Cinconians wore little in the way of protective clothing. The white furred race seemed oblivious to the cold, and the brown shaded race simply wore cloaks to buffet the wind. Jackson checked around but didn’t see any Pegasi or Kiians lurking in the corners. At least that was one thing off his mind.

Once inside the New Hope Facility for the Future, Jackson spotted both Yee Akadar and Yee Odalis speaking with three others on the far side of the hall. The men strode quickly to meet their new associates. Jackson pulled the hood from his face as the slightly warmer interior temperature defrosted his skin.

“Hello Earth friends,” Yee Akadar said in a fairly reasonable approximation of English.

“We meet again,” Jackson said, not extending a hand but tipping his head slightly. “You remember Dr. Adams.”

The Earthlings followed the Cinconians to a medical room that had been set up with multiple tables and business machines as well as medical tools, including microscopes, surgical tools, and overhead surgical lighting. All seven took a seat around the largest table.

“First things first,” Dr. Adams began. “Have all social gatherings been suspended? Religious services, public transportation, entertainment venues, amusement hubs, supply malls, restaurants, all schools?”

“Yes,” Yee Akadar said. He spoke to Odalis in their language and turned back to Jackson.

“But not secluding everyone. That’s just a drain on medical supplies and resources and it’s not necessary.”

“Patient and family of patients. Five or six each patient.”

“Are there enough people available that we can set up manufacturing and distribution.”

“We are hope.”

“Children are the primary focus,” Adams continued. “They seem to be the best vectors for anything anywhere. Where, globally, are the main distribution stations? You’ve been able to communicate that we’re going to do this all at once everywhere?” The two yees looked back and forth with some confusion; at least Jackson guessed that’s what it was.

“We said to all. Here is map, location,” Akadar said, pushing a large paper map across the table. “But no methods get many medicine to all fast. Must go on vehicle water course or metro.”

“We have our transport shuttle that can fly in a high orbit and make deliveries to central locations. You have vehicles to take it to cities, and people to take it to small isolated towns,” Jackson said, making sure there were no obstacles to completing his mission. He gesticulated to help the yees comprehend his words. “You will need to have everything else stop – no making tables, music boxes, teaching school, going to court, everything must stop and focus only on getting everyone the medicine in thirty days.”

Adams nodded in agreement, and Jackson studied the map for a minute. It was a reasonable global map considering they had no satellites in orbit. Six locations were marked and a figure was scribbled next to the X mark. Was it the name of the nation state, the city, or a number? He could barely speak the brown fur race’s language, much less the white fur race’s dialect, and reading was out of the question. He didn’t want to learn it, either. He had so many languages and alphabets in his head he was only going to commit the ones to memory that he would need for more than one mission.

He knew one language of Beta Hydri Four, a local language of Tau Ceti D, and a rudimentary grasp of merchant Pegasi, and an almost fluent universal Kiian, and English, Earth’s dominant language but certainly not the only one.

“Adams doctor, what do females have infants?” Akadar asked. Jackson and Adams exchanged glances. They both looked at Akadar, and he made a gesture to indicate a round belly. His wide blue eyes suggested a question.

“Pregnant patients?” Adams rubbed his fingers together. “That’s a decision you will have to make. I can’t be sure of side effects or efficacy.” The brown male looked at the white male.

“E fee cee?”

“If it will work, safely, or not.”

Jackson hadn’t even thought about pregnant females. These backwards places without modern medicine sent a cringe along his spine, compelling him to compare their situation with 19th century Earth, or earlier.

Dr. Ferris, Ms. York, and Mr. Wagner entered the room escorted by a pale furred Cinconian. Jackson stood and introduced the members of his crew.

“They will be working with us, Dr. Ferris leading the medical project, Ms. York and Mr. Wagner on the manufacturing and distribution projects. I have more crew members who will help at each facility you have noted on the map.” Everyone sat down again.

“Captain,” Ms. York said. “Should we set up a camp or will there be indoor accommodations for us? I think we should prefer the latter. All of us can’t sleep in the shuttle.”

“We would like to unload our supplies and equipment,” Jackson said to both yees. “Where would you like us to stay?”

The two looked at each other, then to the three associates at the table, spoke some words in their own language, and seemed to come to a consensus.

“We have room ah building here ah stay ah sleeps human. I think too cold ah staying outside,” Odalis said with a Cinconian smile. “Come, we talk later more.”

One of the Cinconian associates with longish rusty fur waved for them to follow, and he ambled down the hall and out into the foyer before striding to the other side of the building. Jackson kept a mental image of their travel through the maze in case, as he imagined, an escort wasn’t available every time they would have to wander the halls.

Symbiosis: Chapter 28

“I am so stupid,” Rianya said once they were in the privacy of their own quarters. “I could have ruined everything.”

“But you didn’t. Doc won’t bring it up, the rest of us will be fine, and you’ll be fine too, eventually.”

“I have stay here two weeks. How I to explain that?” she moaned. She and Tom sat on the sofa, the day over, the child asleep in sick bay, dinner done and the lights low. He reached around her and rocked her just a bit. “I just want do thing helpful. What I going do with Zalara?”

“Cat can come and get her from sick bay in the mornings and I’ll ask Bailey or Anne to take your afternoon time with them.”

“I not have made such mistake before.”

“It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes. I’ve even been known to make one now and then,” Tom said. He wore a poker face until she finally broke a smile.

“When you go to Cinco?”

“When you calm down.”

“I is calm.” Tom tenderly poked her in the ribs with his elbow. “I am calm.

“I’d kiss you but I don’t want to risk getting the plague, you understand.”

“Don’t tease me. I feel bad enough.”

“Anything else you need? I should get down to the decon and get back to what I was doing. Adams said it will be a long session.”

“I’m sorry,” Rianya said with her voice quivering.

“Oh, don’t cry, Love. My guess is we’ll be all done on the planet while you’re up here on vacation.” She sighed and stood up.

“You better go. I don’t want to make you sick.”

“I’ll call you every day, make sure Adams is taking good care of you.” Tom touched her cheek and turned to go. He stopped at the door and turned back. “I still love you.”

“And I you,” she said. “See you in two weeks.”

~~~

After a night in sick bay Jackson spent the day in the doyen’s office hammering on the plan, sorting out the officers and crew to take on the landing party. Of course, the doctors, engineers, and security would go. He defined who was responsible for what part of the mission – the vaccines, the administration, the storage and dispensing, who were the leaders and who would meet with the Cinconians and where.

He put portable readers together for each team member, and tasked the crew members remaining on board that would pick up the responsibilities of those on the landing party. He decided what overnight portable gear they’d need, and who would load the shuttle. Jackson wished he’d put more thought into this on the way, but it probably wouldn’t have helped. Visiting the Cinconians on the planet crystalized what his team could do for them and what they would need to do for themselves to stop the plague.

When he finally looked up it was after 18:00. His coffee carafe was empty, his stomach rumbled a reminder, and he yawned while rubbing sand out of his eyes. Jackson groaned out of his chair and stretched to reach the intercom.

“Rianya,” sounded from the small box.

“Hey, how are you? Switch to visual.” A live image appeared on the ten-centimeter monitor next to the speaker.

“I’m the same as yesterday. What have you been up to all day?”

“Work. You look good,” he said. “I missed you last night. I hate sleeping without you.”

“You look like you need some coffee. How’s Zalara?”

“I’ve been locked up in here all day, but this morning she wanted to come with me, then go to you, heal you empathically, you know, her usual self. Not showing any signs of infection.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Rianya said. “I feel helpless; I wish I could help.”

“Do your best to relax and enjoy the break. Think about where we’ll be soon, on Beta Hydri Four.” She nodded. “I’m going for some coffee and dinner. Has someone brought you dinner?”

“No, I haven’t asked. I’m not very hungry.”

“I’ll bring you something later.”

Tom finished his project but had no place to go. He looked around the office and sat back in his chair, realizing it would be several days on the planet before he was back. It would be prudent to double check.

He had the computer start some music to distract him from where he really wanted to be and stacked up the readers to distribute in the morning. He glanced at the wall chronometer that displayed 19:41 in bright green block numbers.

The office door opened suddenly and Tom almost jumped from the surprise. He turned quickly; it was Anne Wallace.

“Captain! I didn’t expect you here,” she said.

“It’s alright, come in,” he told her. “I shouldn’t really be here.” He looked at the books on the shelf and touched both of his final choices, Verne and Twain, as if that could help him decide, perhaps.

“I can come back, sir.”

“Anne, I thought you had a day shift.”

“I did sir, I hope you don’t mind, but I find it easier to work in the evening.” The captain considered the unauthorized change in the duty roster.

“How are you cleaning officers’ quarters while they’re occupied?” He stopped puzzling over the books and faced her squarely. “I was missing my afternoon coffee.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I asked Zoe to take care of that.”

“It’s your assignment; shift changes are supposed to be approved by me,” he stated. She didn’t seem particularly concerned about his questions and set her robot vacuum on the floor, touching the top of it to turn it on. The appliance started to whine loudly. Jackson clenched his jaw at the annoying thing and tried to ignore it. He wasn’t going to be driven out of his own office by the lowest ranked member of the entire crew.

“Captain, can I ask you, there’re a lot of rumors about the plague on the ship. Dr. Adams has us all on a daily antibiotic.”

“Dr. Adams is in charge of medical issues aboard the Maria Mitchell, crewman, but you don’t have anything to worry about.” Tom stood back in front of the bookshelf and decided on Twain, pulling it off the shelf and setting it down with the electronic readers. Trying to ignore Anne he went back to his desk and opened a com channel to engineering.

“Quixote.”

“It’s Jackson. Can you tell me the last time you calibrated the accelerator?”

“Spacedock. We must be certain we’ll have 100 consecutive hours of downtime.”

“Now would be a good time. We’re going to stay in orbit at least that long,” he said. “What method are you using?”

“I always calibrate with a fast neutron irradiation of poly-tetra-fluoride and lead. It’s straightforward and reliable.”

“Good. I want you to start in the morning-” Tom jumped a quarter meter when he felt hands on shoulders. “Jackson out,” and he slammed the intercom button. He looked up and turned back effectively torqueing her hands away.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Anne said. “I just need to get in here,” and she nodded toward the shelving area above his monitor. He shoved away from the desk and stood up.

“Anne, come back at another time. I can’t work with you hovering around like this. And take that raucous thing out of here as well,” Tom said and pointed directly at the robot as it rolled under a cabinet.

“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said. She took a step closer to him and reached for something on that shelf, innocently enough, but she didn’t stop her vacuum or pick up her supplies. “Sir, you look like you could use a break,” she said.

“Not your concern. You can spend a week in here starting tomorrow, but right now I need my office.” She’s the admiral’s daughter; I can’t toss her out on her ear, much as she deserved it – he closed his eyes when realized what was happening, again. He marched to the door and opened it, wide. “You can’t be in here when I’m in here.” The office intercom chirped.

“Tom?” Rianya. He waved at Anne to shoo her out the door and crossed the room.

“Hi, Rianya,” he answered. Anne still hadn’t left.

“What’s that noise?”

Tom picked up the robot and searched for an OFF switch. Anne reached across the captain’s chest and touched a spot on the opposite side of the vacuum. As soon as it stopped he shunted the machine into her arms and pushed both away from him.

“Nothing now. What’s up?” he called over his shoulder.

“Doesn’t your monitor work?” With only his eyes Tom shot Anne an unmistakable warning to leave his office, which she finally acknowledged and departed, taking the robot with her.

“Sure,” Tom said touching another button. Rianya’s face appeared and Tom sat back in his chair in front of the image capture lens.

“I just wanted to say goodnight. I'm not hungry, and I’m going to go to bed early, try and get a little extra sleep.” He caught his breath finally and nodded. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m getting tired, I’m just finishing up. Going to be a long day tomorrow, I should get down to sick bay and get to sleep as well.”

“Well, goodnight, Mylan.” She kissed her fingers and held them up as if maybe she could pass them through the monitor somehow and he could pick them up. He did the same and the monitor went dark.

What in hell was that? Tom sank into his chair with a huff and felt a ball of anger ricochet in his gut. That girl was less than half his age and she was coming on to him! He was certain of it. Ten years ago, he might have missed Anne’s clues but ego aside, that girl was getting to be a problem.

Symbiosis: Chapter 27

“Sick bay to Jackson,” the intercom squawked. “Captain, I need to see you right away in sick bay,” Dr. Adams called. The urgency of Adams’ voice startled Tom out of bed.

“On my way,” he answered while pulling on a shirt.

“It’s 23:00, what could be that important?” Rianya mumbled. In the dark, he couldn’t see her.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No, Dr. Adams did.”

“I wonder why he’s up at this hour?” Tom grumbled and left their quarters for the sick bay. From 22:00 to 06:00, he ordered lighting at half power to conserve energy and keep the crew on a schedule of sixteen hours of light, and eight hours of darkness with safety lights only.

The door to sick bay opened and he walked in without breaking his stride.

“What’s so important it couldn’t wait until morning?” Tom asked. Adams simply waved him over to a monitor displaying colorful worm shapes that swarmed and slowly moved.

“I have some disturbing news. I’m not sure how to break it to you.”

“Disturbing?” Tom’s stomach jumped into his throat.

“It’s about the mummy.” He sighed and found a chair to sit on, then yawned and shook his head a little.

“Oh, is that all? I was afraid you were going to tell me Rianya’s pregnant.”

“I’m serious, Captain.”

“So am I.”

“The mixed up human mummy died of a Yersinia infection.” The doctor didn’t bear a hint of humor on his face. His eyes were pained, somber, and intense. Behind his head the moving image of Yersinia, magnified at least a thousand times, reminded Jackson of the morbid gravity of their mission.

“How can that be? Are you sure? It wasn’t an animal bite or a head wound, or-”

“He obviously contracted it and carried it to the Cuatrons.”

“How do you know the Cuatrons didn’t infect him? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

“I don’t know, but I believe this person, mostly human, some mixed races, contracted Yersinia on Earth, brought it to Cuatro. They were quick to die out.”
Tom didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth but words didn’t come out. He stood and got himself a glass of water and came back to face Adams.

“How did a mixed species person bring Yersinia from Earth several hundred years ago? Even time travel can’t explain that. He couldn’t be that age and be a mixed species.”

“We don’t know for sure if Earth was alone that long. There could have been aliens on Earth in the fourteenth century.”

Tom refilled his glass and came back to stare at Adams for a moment before he could put thoughts together.

“You’re certain this body brought the plague, not Kiians or Pegasi, as a biological weapon so they could play both sides.”

“The body is dated to Earth year 1345-1355. The Plague was absolutely rampant then in Europe.”

“But the body didn’t mummify eight hundred years ago. Only four hundred years ago. And the extinction wasn’t eight hundred years ago, it was also four hundred years ago. We lost four hundred years somewhere.”

“That’s why I called you down, Jack. I need you to help me with a timeline.” Adams tapped the monitor; the screen promptly turned black.

“Can we do this tomorrow? I had a pint of Guinness an hour ago and my brain is not fully engaged, Doc.”

“You’re a lightweight. Come to sick bay first thing in the morning.

“I always come on duty at oh seven hundred. After I get the bridge running I’ll be here.”

“Goodnight, Jack.”

~~~

“Doc, what if we have it backwards? What if this body brought Yersinia to Earth in 1350, maybe as a biological weapon, and then came back to Cuatro.”

“That doesn’t explain why Cuatrons went extinct. Plus, remember, the mummy is mostly human.”

“This is the most confounding thing I’ve ever heard of. We’re just guessing at this point. Someone must have answers, someone on Cuatro or on Cinco.” Jackson leaned back in the chair and scowled at nothing. Behind him just the blackness of space reflected in the window, but before him the fifth planet of Eta Cassiopeia glowed in a greenish blue haze covered in transparent white clouds. The planet didn’t have nearly the ratio of water to land as Earth, with double the land surface. Lower moisture, thinner atmosphere, its features had different visibility from orbit.

“Did you talk with Rianya about this?”

“No, why? She was asleep when I went back last night. She never gets enough sleep; I actually got up alone this morning.”

“I don’t want to talk about the Cinconians or Cuatrons right now. I want to talk about your wife.”

Tom sat up and focused on the old man’s face. Tiny lines around his eyes and deep grooves on his forehead agreed with his eight decades of age. Living with an empath and her mother he’d learned to read body language and facial expressions beyond the average human's abilities. The doctor never looked so grave.

“What’s wrong?” The doctor wouldn’t meet Tom’s eyes. “Doc?”

“I know she was taking initiative, trying to find out about the genome of the mummy--”

“She ruined it?” The doctor shook his head. “She what?”

“She handled the body. She may have exposed the whole ship, including herself, you, the children.”

“How do you know?”

“She told me. She didn’t use sterile attire, not even gloves. I don’t know what possessed her to do it, I have no idea.”

“From a mummified 400 year-old dead body she could get infected by Yersinia?”

“In the case of this mummy, without any lesions on the skin, it points to the airborne transmission, the pneumonic plague, not the bubonic plague. There have been cases where a person contracted it just handling the tissues. She handled its blood. Its blood, Jack.”

“Well get her down here and let’s find out!” Tom stood up so fast his chair rolled back and hit the wall.

“Wait, hold on, don’t panic. I don’t want anyone else to know unless we have proof. But we need to find out today, this morning, yesterday in fact. The saving grace is that this genus of bacteria is not spore forming, and without water it perishes. It simply depends on how dry the spleen was when she invaded it.”

“You mean you scared the pants off me for nothing?!”

“Ask Rianya to come down here. I need to do some tests, I want her to think you’re getting the same tests, I don’t want her to worry unnecessarily.”

“But it’s okay for me to worry unnecessarily,” Tom grumbled. He took a few deep breaths trying to regain brain function and calm down his adrenaline factory.

“I know you Jack. I don’t know Rianya. In fact, since she’s not a human, I can’t be sure what we’re going to find. She might be more vulnerable or completely immune. But given this mixed-race human had it, and died of it, that’s what worries me.”

Tom’s anxiety ratcheted up again. He stepped over to the sick bay intercom and called his quarters.

“Rianya,” she answered.

“Hey, Love,” Tom said as calmly as possible. Just knowing that he was going to mislead her would change his voice enough for her to notice.

“Tom? You’re in sick bay?”

“Doc wants to run some tests. Can you come down here first thing?”

“What kind of tests?”

“I uh, don’t know, he just asked me to call you.”

“What’s going on?” Dammit. He knew she’d hear between his words.

“Come on down, please.”

“’Lara is up, I have to bring her with me.” Tom looked at Adams to catch his reaction to Rianya’s words. He spread his hands in defenselessness. Tom squirmed and closed his eyes.

“Okay, just come straight away.” Tom closed the com and saw the doctor from the corner of his eye still somber, looking at his desktop and ignoring a cup of something still steaming in front of him.

“You can treat it, right?” the captain asked.

“I can treat the humans. It’s treating aliens that complicate matters.”

“The pneumonia plague bug is the same bug on Cinco?” Adams nodded and finally reached for the beverage.

“I already treated the landing parties. I’m going to treat everyone on the ship prophylactically, but I’m not sure what to do yet with Rianya and Zalara.” Tom sat down slowly, grinding the thumb and one finger of one hand together before covering his mouth and chin. He hadn’t felt so nauseous since his wedding day. It wasn’t a physical illness, but a mental terror that raised the hairs on his arms and clenched his jaws. Death by bacteria held no honor or purpose.

“Jack?” Tom, sitting like a statue, moved only his gaze up to the doctor’s face. “Are you alright?” Tom shook his head ever so slightly and closed his eyes against the world. The back of his tongue grew salty and could feel a sting rising from his gut. A moment later, Adams pushed a glass of water at him and a plastic emesis bowl. Immediately the doctor put a few clear drops of something into the water and pushed it into Tom’s hand. “Drink it, fast,” he said.

Tom sipped at the water and the sensation faded abruptly. Then he drank some more to make sure it wouldn’t come back. He nodded and set the tumbler down.

“It’s serious, but don’t worry. I won’t let Yersinia win,” Adams said with another pat on the captain’s back he left Tom alone.

Symbiosis: Chapter 26

From his chair on the bridge, Captain Jackson watched as his pilot and navigator conferred over some animated images. They viewed it as a hologram on the dashboard at the navigation station. Chen thwacked Jean with his fist and Jean repeated the mock offense upon Chen. Both shrouded smiles under stoic faces. The captain ignored the banter and looked back at his data reader.

Adams would be in charge of the administration, and Ferris would be in charge of the production, of the primary medication protocol. He would send the sentries with the team as gofer bodies. He would lead the landing party to ensure that Yee Odalis and Yee Akadar could cooperate with each other, and that manufacturing plants were producing and transportation services were shipping.

Dr. Lam, originally associated with the UMA group, was the Cinconian’s chief medical consultant, and he was responsible for hiring several leaders from each medical community around the globe to engage them in the program.

“Excuse me, Gentlemen,” Jackson said to his twittering helmsmen, “but is there something you want to tell me?”

“No, Sir,” Chen said and quickly took his station.

“No, Captain,” Jean said. Jackson eyeballed them back to their stations and settled back in his chair. He would pilot the Osprey. No need to bring the galley or maintenance staff either, but two of Quixote’s engineers could be awfully helpful with design and setting up the manufacturing facilities. Sargent York was a versatile team member also. Scott Gregory would also accompany. Of course, the bridge crew would remain, the two children, Mills, Henderson, and Rianya would remain aboard.

“Status, Lieutenant?”

“No change, sir, low geo orbit and thrusters on standby. All ships systems online and within normal parameters.”

“Maintain orbit.” Jackson left for his office, and was surprised to find his perpetual carafe of coffee empty. Checking the chronometer on the wall it was well past 14:00 when Anne Wallace should have brought his fresh Columbian nectar from the galley. He sat in his desk chair and the nearby motion activated his computer monitor. He touched the screen a few times until a duty roster appeared. He selected A shift, 07:00-19:00.

Ø Jackson, Commander

Ø Lee, Helmsman

Ø Rougeau, Navigator

Ø Watson, Communication

Ø Quixote, Chief Engineer

Ø Painter, Engineer

Ø Campbell, Maintenance

Ø Campbell, Galley

Ø Bowen, Armory

Ø Jackson, Medical

Ø Adams, Medical

Ø Henderson, Medical

Ø Stone, Quartermaster

Ø Graham, Cook, Steward

Ø Harchett, Steward, Hydroponics


She wasn’t there. Must be B shift, 19:00-07:00.

Ø Gregory, Commander, Navigator

Ø May, Helm/Communication

Ø Chin, Engineer

Ø Byrd, Engineer

Ø York, Armory/Security

Ø Wagner, Security

Ø Barone, Security

Ø Ferris, Medical

Ø Mills, Medical

Ø Wallace, Housekeeping

Ø Baumann, Maintenance

Ø Harris, Maintenance, Housekeeping



When did this happen without his knowledge? Why would she be on the night shift when she was supposed to care for officers’ quarters while they were not sleeping in them? He pressed the intercom button.

“Galley, Campbell.”

“Bailey, is my coffee ready? I can come get it. I just realized Wallace’s shift is now the overnight.”

“Oh, I wondered where she was. Yes, Captain, it’s been here waiting. I’ll make you a fresh carafe.”

“No, no, it doesn’t go bad that fast. I’ll be down in a minute.”

He couldn’t start his afternoon without coffee. His brain wouldn’t cooperate unless it had something to run on, and that was some sugar and caffeine suspended in the brew of roasted and ground berry seeds from the southern hemisphere of Earth. Just the thought of it encouraged him to quicken his pace down to the galley.

When the elevator door opened, he smiled when he saw Rianya standing inside.

“Hello!”

“I was just coming up to see you,” she said.

“I saved you the trip. Come on, I’m going to the galley.” He slowed his pace a little and put one arm over her shoulders. “What’s on your mind?”

“Seems Dr. Adams has been able to sen ta, sin, sent-”

“Synthesize?”

“Make the vaccine for the Yersinia.”

“Great news. How many can we make here?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. “It depends on how much time we have.” The mess had finished its mid-day service and the hall was empty. At the rear of the room the galley was visible and an open fire burned under a huge aluminum stock pot of something most likely to become dinner.

“Just for you, Captain,” Bailey called as they entered the kitchen. She held up the carafe that should have been taken to the doyen’s office an hour earlier. “Are you sure you don’t want a fresh brew? Hi Rianya.”

“It’ll be fine, thank you, Bailey.”

“He pours so much sugar in it you could have made it yesterday and he wouldn’t know the difference,” Rianya teased.

“It’s my only vice, give a man a break,” he teased back.

“I have some cheesecake just out of the cooker I’d be willing to cut for you,” Bailey said in a hushed voice. Her round face and pink cheeks established that she could only be the chef on board.

“Dinner, Bailey, for sure,” the captain said with a nod. “Thanks again,” and he saluted her with the carafe a few centimeters up and out.

“Doesn’t Anne bring you the coffee every afternoon?” Rianya asked.

“Yes, but somehow she ended up on the night shift and no one came in her place.”

“You could have called me,” Rianya said. “I would have brought it up for you.” Tom stopped, she stopped. He turned to look at her squarely. Her face seemed soft, peaceful, sweet.

“You’re not a servant.”

“As a favor,” she said, and turned to walk down the corridor to the elevator. He kept up with her.

“Maybe we should make afternoon coffee a regular thing,” he hinted, leaning into her while reaching for the call button.

“I don’t like coffee.”

“I know, but maybe we could work something out,” he said as the door slid open. “Bridge level.” For the few seconds it took to ride they just stared at each other with smiles in their eyes, communicating without words. They arrived together at the bridge.

“What have you been keeping busy with besides Zalara the last couple days?”

“I tackled the mummy again. I’m trying to trace the human part of its genome. I think once we’re back to Earth the descendants, or before-families, might want to be contacted.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Nice idea.” Tom garnished his coffee and had a test sip. He sat at his desk; she sat in the softer furniture near the window. “Why were you coming up here?” He hadn’t forgotten she was coming to see him.

“It’s about the mission.”

“I was going to ask you to come up and talk about it also.” Tom hesitated, not certain if he should be wearing his captain’s hat or his husband’s hat. The captain’s hat was so much easier. “It’s going to involve staying on the planet for a while, and we could be in direct contact with the infected. I don’t think we will, but it’s possible.” God, she was beautiful. “Do you want to go?” She looked down at her hands and then back up at him.

“Yes, but I won’t. If you are going to be there, I need to take care of Zalara. And like you said, no sense in fighting this bug in more species than we have to.” A block of cement fell off Tom’s shoulders and he leaned back.

“I think you’re making the right choice,” he said gently, leaving his desk and joining her on the bench. She had on her medical wardrobe today, the blue surgery scrubs and a long white lab coat.

“This wasn’t an easy decision,” she uttered.

“There will be more missions, more interesting, less life threatening.” She nodded.

“I’m at peace with it. I can do a lot on the ship, and between Mills and me we can take care of anyone sick up here while you’re all down there playing with the germs.”

“Well, somebody has to make a sacrifice. I’m glad I didn’t have to order you off the mission. Thank you for that.”

“I am interested to know more about Hero,” she said, standing up. Tom’s brows shoved together. “I named him Hero. I got tired of calling him ‘the body’.” That was not unexpected of her.

“We’ll be going down as soon as Adams has a hundred thousand vaccines to administer.”

“How long will you be there?”

“A few days at least, maybe five, six, seven. Not certain yet. However long it takes to get them set up and rolling.”

“Zalara and I will miss you.”

“I’m just a com chat away.” Tom walked her to the office door, leaned against it so she couldn’t escape, and snugged her up close to him, nestling his face in her hair that always smelled of fruit or plants or citrus or something delicious and earthy.

“I have to get back to sick bay soon.”

“I might be here late tonight. You and Zalara get to bed, don’t wait for me.”

“How about I come visit after Zalara goes to bed?”

“Then I won’t get any work done.” He stepped aside from the door.

“Come back to our quarters and work.” He kissed her cheek and ushered her out.

“Like I said, I have to get some work done.”

Symbiosis: Chapter 25

“Has the captain done this to you before?” Rianya asked the reptile. Entering the mess room, she’d stopped Quixote on xes way out to coax the fellow to a table and talk about humans.

“I was in a different position the last time I served with the captain. I piloted the Hawk, that was our landing shuttle.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Your body appears warmer than usual to me. Do you feel normal today?”

“Yes, I’m just puzzled. Sometimes I can go with the landing party and sometimes I can’t. I don’t understand how I can be at risk sometimes and not others.”

“Is the captain not looking out for your safety? It’s been my experience over the years that he only assigns people to landing parties as needed, and no extra beings. Unless of course it’s shore leave. Even in that case he also allocates who goes when, simply to keep the ship properly crewed.” The intensity of Quixote’s vivid, tangerine eyes intrigued Rianya the way Tom’s brilliant, emerald eyes did, but with different emotions. Quixote often dilated and contracted the pupils as differences in the environment or xes emotional state changed.

“He is, but I can’t find a common link with his decision to take me along or have me stay aboard.”

“Our captain, I’ve learned, is what humans call an enigma. Uncommon, unique, puzzling, and dynamic. His reasons are valid, even if the rest of us find ourselves unable to understand them. I’m sure there’s an acceptable reason for both decisions at the time he makes them.”

“You’ve known him longer that I have,” Rianya conceded.

The two aliens sat together near a window watching Cinco go by beneath them, or perhaps they were going by above it. Quixote, finished with the meal break, glanced at the chronometer on the wall and back at Rianya.

“I’m afraid I need to go back on duty, Ms. Rianya. As an aside, it is my day to teach the girls this afternoon. We’re studying the flow of electricity. I want to be certain they understand how dangerous it can be.”

“That’s an excellent idea. Thank you for spending that time with them.”

“I am glad to be of help. If you’ll excuse me,” Quixote said and stood up, touching Rianya briefly on the hand with a claw. “Why don’t you accompany me to engineering and we can continue our conversation?”

“I think you answered my questions, Quixote.” She watched him stroll out the doorway and then debated about what dishes to pick up from the buffet line.

She meandered into the sick bay and found it empty, and mostly silent but for a couple machines emitting assorted blips and signals. Mills was off duty; Henderson was in the exam and treatment room.

In an adjacent room, she could see the preserved body she and Jane had worked on for a couple weeks now. Mostly human, but not entirely, its mixed DNA had spiked her curiosity since her daughter was half human. So many people had told her that combining DNA from beings of different worlds was impossible, how was it that the old mummified body could have more than four different ancestor species?

So, since Tom wouldn’t let her be involved in the Yersinia mission she waltzed into the Dry Room and donned surgical garments, gloves, and a mask. She flipped on a recorder and took a surgical pack from the cabinet.

“I’m tired of calling you ‘that body’ so let’s give you a name,” she said. “I propose your name to be… ‘Hero’. Okay, Hero, let’s figure out your secret.” She unwrapped the pack and selected a metal scalpel over a laser scalpel considering the cauterization effect of the laser might compromise her sample and the resulting data. She pinpointed her specimen at the base of Hero’s head where she could obtain bone, neural, and muscular tissue with a single procedure.

Rianya put the preservation wraps back on Hero and took her sample to the laboratory. She made a dozen sections from the singular specimen and put each one into a small, red container. Even with tiny, one millimeter cubes she was able to extract an abundant supply of DNA using Dr. Adams’ proprietary, quantum solution that separated the nuclei from the remainder of the cells. She pressed some buttons and the robot pulled ten milliliters of solution from each red container and transferred them into clean containers. She poured a centiliter of ethanol into each clean container and watched with utter fascination as cloudy white strings of DNA appeared before her eyes.

She moved the ten samples into the incubator, set it for 50 C, and tossed her surgical attire before going into sick bay. She had 30 minutes to kill, so she opened the database and pulled up a general sample of each species’ information. From there, she pulled up the human genome database and the accompanying several billion files, one for each person born since 2050. The quantum computer could access data at lightning speed and in less than a minute the data was available for examination as she’d requested.

When the timer beeped, the machine shut itself off, and Rianya transferred the warm liquid to clean blue containers, and had the micro nozzles of the robot deposit exactly half a milliliter onto transparent films. Another quick trip to the incubator would force the DNA to fuse on the films.

The rest would be up to the computer. She placed the films into the reader and turned on the computer. It would do the rest while she could go check on Zalara and Honey in the gymnasium. If it took her a year she was going to identify Hero’s ancestors and find the answer they were all looking for.

Ancestry for her people was always recorded in the Shaman’s Big Book. Zalara deserved to know the ancestors and culture on her mother’s world equally as her human family and father’s world. Obviously not to such a degree as the humans, but enough to realize her existence was unique.

Rianya slipped into the gym quietly and watched Zalara and Honey paying close attention to Quixote as xe leaned over their desks from the front and examined their illustrations. Without moving his body his eyes looked up at her, and she smiled back at the animated reptile. Both serving on the human ship as the only aliens they’d formed a close, if informal, kinship based on their parallel circumstances.

“I believe school is over for today,” xe told the girls, and both turned their heads toward the door. “Turn in your diagrams and I’ll assess their quality.” Straightening xts spine Rianya remembered Quixote was a tall being, more than two meters, and xe could be incredibly intimidating should xe choose to be, at least to those without scales for physical protection.

The two girls bounced across the room to greet Rianya with leg hugs. Honey and Zalara had declared themselves heart-sisters and the only time they were apart was in the evenings when their parents insisted they cut the rope.

“Thank you again,” Rianya called to Quixote. Xe ambled up to the trio of females.

“They are both doing quite well, Ms. Rianya, and they are obedient students.”

“Come on, girls, let’s get something to eat and I’ll find a film for you to watch in sick bay. I have some work to finish.”

“We can go to sick bay?” Honey asked. Rianya looked down at the pale face, golden hair, and bright blue eyes staring back at her. Humans had the strangest eyes.

“Of course, as long as I’m there.” Honey and Zalara all but giggled at the chance to play in another part of the ship than they were not normally allowed. “And if you take a single step out of bounds I’ll be sure to know.” Rianya raised her brows in a smile but her jaw remained firm and her mouth held a conservative line. Nods acknowledged Rianya’s oath.

Fed and tranquil, the three went to sick bay so Rianya could advance her sequencing project. The sick bay of Maria Mitchell was larger than the Stephen Hawking’s by at least double. She set the two children up in a private room with a monitor and dug up something entertaining for them to watch. Safely contained, she went back to the lab.

Her ten samples had been sequenced and were ready to analyze. She simply pulled up one and programmed the computer to scan for matches at the species level. The computer quickly discovered the human base pair sequences. She had expected that. While it continued its search, she took the human genome and encoded the computer to perform a mitochondrial trace. In less than a minute the monitor started displaying images and text identifying the sequences. Percent human: 70. Rianya leaned a little closer to the monitor for perfect focus.

Caucasoid; North America, Europe, Czech.

Caucasoid; Australia, Europe, Scotland.

Mongoloid; Asia, Russia, Yakutia

That was interesting information. This person’s ancestry was all over Earth. Nothing revealing anything particular that helped identify Hero. She tapped some buttons to broaden the search.

Pegasi; Northern Population 3%

Auchsonian; Continent III 3%

Cetian; Northern Territory 6%

Unidentified; 18%

Some of Hero’s ancestry was simply not in the database. But most of Hero’s body was human. Something else bothered her about the body that neither Adams nor Ferris had addressed in the report. His cause of death wasn’t determined yet. Cause of death would be a huge clue about his last moments on Cuatro. While the computer searched its billions of files for matches in the human genome bank, she took a subjective look at Hero.

His curled-up position likely indicated he felt cold, even on a planet as hot as Cuatro. Did he have a fever or was he in excruciating pain? She looked for evidence of weapons – knives, guns, lasers, crushed bones, spears and the like. No evidence of trauma. She pulled out a couple of hairs and set them aside for a chemical analysis. His dentition was practically perfect.

A blood sample was unavailable, but humans had an organ that stored blood, near their stomach, the one that Zalara had targeted on Honey. No, it wasn’t that one, it had a funny sounding name: spleen. She tapped up some information on anatomy using the computer to confirm her memory. She flipped the body so she could access it from the posterior, felt the ribs until she came to the final bone on the left side then counted until she found the intercostal space between the 9th and 10th ribs.

Finding the organ wasn’t as easy as she’d thought. The tissues were dehydrated and leathery, making a mechanical incision almost impossible. She retrieved the laser scalpel from the open pack. With dexterity and patience, she maneuvered the fine beam of blue light through the dermis, between the dry musculature, and into the spleen. Rianya shut the instrument off and picked up a suction cannula, withdrawing a few milligrams of viscous, dark goop from the rigid ball.

Reward in hand, she checked on the two young girls still watching an animated film and returned to the lab to process the cells for their genetic secrets.

Symbiosis: Chapter 24

Jackson, Ferris, Adams, and Rougeau had landed more than five thousand kilometers from the contact site of the UMA and Yee Akadar’s compound. Between the Osprey and the shelter, they hustled to get out of the snowfall.

“I’m Captain Jackson, from the Earth Science Ship Maria Mitchell.”

“Greetings,” Yee Odalis said and crossed one furry arm across his chest. Jackson imitated the gesture while Dr. Ferris translated their conversation. It was a cumbersome at first but after a few minutes of Dr. Ferris doing twice the talking, it began to flow easily.

Odalis wore a cape but otherwise didn’t struggle with the weather conditions as the humans did. Jackson rarely dealt with snow, and when he did he usually wore boots to fit bindings of some sort depending on the sport he’d chosen for the day. This snow barely hit the ground before turning to slick ice under their feet.

Inside he took a deep breath of warm air and looked around at the décor and design of the Continental Health Organization headquarters. The rest of the crew also took in the sights while removing heavy field jackets. Austerity surrounded them as did pure function. Walls hadn’t been painted in decades and at that only painted in dusky white. He didn’t see any paintings or sculptures, photos, textiles, nor hear any music or see any moving images or other advanced technology. This population in the northern area of Cinco was not nearly as developed as the civilization living on the land mass at the middle latitude. This building didn’t harbor an indoor jungle.

“I surprised not UMA didn’t include our group in discussions with you.”

“Why is that?” Jackson asked. The group sat down in hard chairs, shorter legged than the first chairs they’d been introduced to, but still made to accommodate Cinconian physiology. As the party settled in, Jackson noticed the Cinconians in this building were half a dozen shades lighter than the group with UMA. In fact, Yee Odalis was downright white, but with black eyes, not blue like most white furred and feathered Earth beings or even like Yee Akadar.

“Some say it’s distance, some say power, some say money.” Jackson nodded. “Politics.” Odalis led them to a quiet room just off the small lobby.

“So, tell me what I can do for you,” Jackson said. “We were contacted by the UMA but there’s no reason CHO shouldn’t be part of the solution. I’d like to hear about the situation here in the north.”

“I thank you for meeting with us,” Odalis said, and three more Cinconians joined them at the meeting table. Shortly after that another person brought water and small, sweet baked nodules, something like cookies, to snack on. Bowls were handed out, pottery with handles on both sides. Jackson had been introduced to drinking from the bowls but the other three appeared confused. Jackson poured water in all the bowls and casually demonstrated for them.

“Captain Jackson,” Ferris translated, “these people are my colleagues; we will be your contact team regarding the plague.”

“Can you give me the history of your population, here?”

“We have maintained excellent records. This problem has been ongoing for several centuries now. I will start at the beginning.

“Three hundred and thirteen cycles in the past, some of the people who lived on the fourth world came to live here. Sky Raiders.”

“Can you say that again?” Jackson interrupted, leaning forward and checking with Ferris in silence, wondering if she’d gotten the gist of it correct.

“Three hundred and thirteen cycles before now, people from the world closer to the star came to live here. They said their world was sick and they moved off.”

“How did they get here?”

“They came in flying machines a dozen kilometers long. Our people were terrified at first.” Jackson wasn’t sure the translation was correct. Had Odalis just told him that Cuatrons had been space faring? He glanced at Ferris, Adams, and Rougeau, but only Jackson seemed to appreciate the gravity of the information. The other humans didn’t appear to be surprised since they simply maintained plain expressions and indulged in the sweets.

“Then no one cared. There were a few hundred, our people didn’t think it would be a problem, and we helped them. They were always cold, so we helped them make fireplaces and show how to make coats, but they were still always cold.”

“The fourth planet is much closer to the star,” Jackson said.

“They came here but they didn’t have fur, so of course they would be cold. They didn’t wear garments like your peoples do.”

“Not like you, and not like us?” Jackson asked.

“More like you according to our documents, but no one has pictures, just drawings.” One of Odalis’ colleagues passed a thick stack of paper documents towards Jackson. He glanced at them but had a thousand questions yet to ask.

“This information conflicts some with the UMA story,” Jackson said to Ferris.

“It seems to, yes, sir.”

“They brought the plague to us. They didn’t look sick when they got here but it wasn’t long before they were showing sickness, and in a few years, they were all dead. Every one of them.”

“But Cinconians became infected,” Dr. Adams slipped in. Ferris translated and Odalis made the familiar motion of cleaning a pane of glass.

“It appears that we had enough population that we weren’t all killed, but they didn’t. They all died, but not all of us died from it. We had to make fire to remove all of them and their things, but it was too late.”

“Sick people from the fourth planet brought the plague here?” Jackson repeated to confirm.

“They were trying to save their people because so many were dying on their planet. They thought getting away from the plague would stop it, but they were all sick when then came, and brought the sick with them.”

Jackson shifted around in his uncomfortable chair, unable to ignore the hard planks against his spine. He took some water to help clear his mind. This information answered part of the puzzle, but there had been no evidence that the people of Cuatro were space faring.

“You weren’t able to come up with drugs to cure it?”

“We tried! But we couldn’t find a way to get to everyone.”

“Did your people get medicine from someplace else? You obviously don’t all have the plague.”

“The Continental got medicine from the United about a hundred years ago. It worked well, and we thought the problem would be solved. It wasn’t. And they had a new medicine, and we thought that would work, and it did, but, it stopped working too.”

“So why did you contact us directly? Why aren’t you partnered with the UMA?” Jackson asked.

“Differences in our management of the plague have caused a significant divide. The people who brought the disease came to our land, not theirs. They don’t want us in their territory.”

“It’s not your fault,” Adams said.

“We asked others for help. The small primates came to help, but all they did was kill the sick, like we still do today, but they didn’t offer people a choice. Anyone with symptoms was killed right away. They called themselves Kee Yanns.” The four humans all exchanged subtle glances.

“I’m surprised your efforts didn’t eradicate the plague,” Adams said. Yee Odalis turned to the doctor to answer.

“We did not have ability communicate across whole world then. It continued to spread no matter how many pockets of people we contacted and treated.”

“We can help, but the CHO and UMA must be working together on this. It will never resolve if you don’t unite,” Jackson said. He drew a deep breath and helped himself to one of the sweet dough balls. “Yee Odalis, can we find a neutral place where you and Yee Akadar of the UMA, can meet and work together on a plan of attack with our medical team? What would you suggest?”