08-10-2012, 08:05 AM
// OOC bit. This is the first three chapters of my ExMortis story that I originally wrote two(?) years ago. I am re-writing it to go into more detail and expand the character's lore. It is graphic and violent, and mild language is used. Some images of nudity are briefly mentioned but nothing sexual is present.
PROLOGUE, 812 AS
In a secluded and dark nebula, a single ship sat alone inside the suffocating green gases. Frequent electrical discharges illuminated the silhouette of an Osiris-class ship. On its flank was emblazoned the ship's name, 'Jelkanar'. Its shielding had been up for so long that a round shell of particles had formed across its surface. Its lights were dim, so as to minimize its power draw to prolong the time between recharge.
The ship flared to life, and as the engines kicked back to full thrust the shell around the ship cracked and fell away, drifting behind the ship like a fractured egg casing. Maelstroms formed in the clouds behind the moving ship, spreading and being lost in the already turbulent nebula. The ship's exhaust trails were blown apart and scattered behind.
The ship flew for hours on impulse speed alone before reaching the edge of the cloud. It burst free like a sea beast moving between water and air, exploding forth in a burst of silent crescendo. The Jelkanar trailed behind a long, spindly fiber of gas for a long time before it dissipated and fell away. In front of the mighty ship was a pinkish-white star, growing larger each second. When the Jelkanar was close enough, it turned so that its starboard side faced the star. The ship's hull shifted as radar panels were retracted and replaced with pitch black trays that gorged themselves on the sun's brilliant light, converting it into power. Lights on the Jelkanar went completely dark as the reactor was fed a fresh supply of energy and allowed to reboot.
Red fumes vented from the Jelkanar's engines as the accumulated exhaust was jettisoned. On-board refineries converted the helium and deuterium collected from the nebula into homebrew fuel- not very efficient, but serviceable. For 156 hours, the Jelkanar sat in the pale glow of this unnamed star before the lights switched back on, and the reactor flared up again. Engines rumbled into action and the ship lurched forward. The solar panels were flipped around to reveal a set of radar dishes, which unfurled and began searching for transmissions again. The Jelkanar curved its flight path, back into the forbidding green nebula. Its once-in-six-months refueling operation had gone without a hitch. Back to business as usual.
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CHAPTER ONE- RESEARCH
As the Jelkanar took its usual place in the clouds, the crew were taking their usual places throughout the ship as well. A majority of the battleship was dedicated to research, and the multitude of laboratories were bustling with people. Men and women in dull gray scrubs tested the effects of substances and energies on one another while assistants scurried to and fro, fetching this and writing down that. Yet for the amount of people in each room, the noise levels were low, with each person scarcely whispering; in fact, the hum of the computers throughout the room was louder than the people operating them. The scene of laboratory research was as stereotypical as you could get.
Chief Biological Researcher Daniel MacDonnegal was one of the few research crew not actively involved in testing. He figured it was because his name and title were too long to fit on a lab coat pin. His red military-cut hair stuck up at the ceiling while his short, bristly beard stabbed at the floor. Just looking at him told you that this was a man who hadn't showered, shaved, eaten or slept properly in a long while. The sternness of his glare at the computer screen in front of him lost some of its weight when you saw the dark sags below his eyes. The eyes themselves were red and puffy. And the way he occasionally glanced at the empty coffee mug as if fairies might have visited him while he was looking away lent itself to his image of the overworked employee. The only clean thing about him was the open Egyptian eye on his forehead, the symbol of the Order.
He glanced at his coffee cup for the last time. Taking a deep breath, he put his hands on his desk and pushed himself into a standing position, groaning as his muscles protested and vertebrae popped into place. He rolled his head in a circle, moaning again as his neck snapped and cracked. He hadn't moved for over eighteen hours, and hadn't slept in twenty. Picking his mug up, he took a few slow steps towards the door. As blood rushed back into his legs, his strides got longer and stronger. As he neared the door, he took some lunges, dropping each knee until it almost touched the floor. Taking a series of deep breaths, Daniel refreshed his exhausted body. The door hissed open at his approach, and he stepped out into the hallway.
The Jelkanar, much like all long-term space habitats, was equipped with 'friendly' lighting that emitted a carefully tuned frequency of light that eased the optical nerves and was supposed to soothe the mind. But no fancy lightbulb can erase the sensation of being stuck in an unexplored region of nowhere, half a year away from the rest of the Order. But for now, he just wanted his damned coffee.
Jackie Fae patrolled the hallways, and she smiled and nodded to Daniel as he passed. She hadn't seen him in a long time and her smile soured as he passed and she smelled the acrid stink of stress and old coffee in his wake. She shook her head and hoped that he was heading to the shower. There wasn't much to guard on this ship, save for the errant fistfight between agitated scientists. Being out here in the deep dark for a long time will do that for you. She paused at a terminal, and looked down the hallway. Nothing more than the friendly lights. She looked behind her and just barely saw Daniel's shadow disappear around a corner. Turning to the terminal, she opened up a viewscreen to the nebula outside. The display showed roiling green clouds, lit up by the occasional flash of lightning. She smiled slightly, and absently laid her hand on the pistol attached to her belt. The pistol was only one of many versatile tools on her person. She carried a second pistol on the other side, a close quarters knife, a fire extinguisher, a single flash grenade and the entire suit itself was special Order issue.
The suit was specially designed to handle usage on a science ship. It was resistant to chemical burns and intense heat, and the hoodie could be closed around the face and sealed to provide the wearer with an airtight hazmat hood in case of toxic fumes. The suit was also double-inlaid with bulletproof and puncture resistant fibers to protect against projectiles and explosions. The perfect defense for a security officer on board a ship that will only find conflict within its hull.
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CHAPTER TWO - UNKNOWN VARIABLES
Daniel held the coffee mug under the dispenser until the container was 90% full of rich, dark, steamy goodness. Steam wafted out of the top as he carefully carried his prize to an empty table and stared at it for a few seconds before blowing on it gently and taking a sip. He sucked his lips into his mouth, hissing at the heat but not hesitating to take another drink. He was halfway through his cup when some of his underlings came and sat at the table with him. They smiled at him, and he glanced at their name pins before looking them in their eyes and returning the smile.
"Good to see you out, sir." said a middle aged blonde woman named 'Jeryl'. She looked almost as exhausted as him, but her hair was damp from a recent shower. The man next to her, 'Daeid', looked to be a Rheinlander. He smiled and nodded as she spoke. Daniel took another drink before responding.
"Yes, I've been organizing the latest batch of test samples. I'm fascinated by this nebula. Are you two involved in testing its properties?"
To this, Daeid nodded (Day-id? Daniel mused, completely unaware of how to pronounce the man's name) and spoke with a light Rheinland accent. "Yes, sir. I've been seeing how the nebula's gases affect starship and starbase hull plating. It appears to coat metals and other energetic substances with a residue that forms when the gas condenses and evaporates. The residue-" Daniel cut him off with a weary nod and a smile.
"Yes, I read the report. Thank you. Have you tested it on biological samples? I've noticed that category so far has gone untouched."
Neither spoke. Jeryl said, "No, sir. As far as I know, there are only four biologists on board and they all work for you. They're all busy testing the applications of nanobots for repairing damage to humans."
Daniel sighed. For being 'Head Researcher', he had no connection to the rest of the biologists on the station. He was technically in charge of them, but he had long forgotten their names and was far too busy with his primary job of organizing all of the research data collected by the crew. He finished his coffee, said goodbye to Jeryl and Daeid and grabbed a few pieces of rehydrated fruit before returning to the hallways, heading towards the showers.
Jackie continued her patrol of the endless corridors. She always loved passing people in the hallways because she could guess what they were working on based on how they looked and smelled. She stood a good head taller than most of the men on the ship (only Daniel was able to match her in height) so she was always able to see where they were coming from as well. She passed by a man hurrying away from a room pouring out smoke. His own clothes were singed and seemed to be dissolving. She paused by the door, and looked in. She couldn't see anything through the inky black smoke, but grabbed a fire suppression canister from her belt and pulled her security hoodie up, sealing the front. The hoodie formed an airtight Hazardous Materials suit, complete with gas mask. She waded into the room and spotted the source of the smoke. A charred piece of metal was spraying the area with sparks as it dissolved. She sprayed it with the thick white foam from the extinguisher and coated it until it stopped flaring. The fans in the ceiling were able to suck the smoke out, leaving her standing over a sopping wet pile of soot. The scientist entered the room again when he saw the smoke had cleared and Jackie silently left the room, unzipping her hoodie and continuing along.
Encounters like that had stopped being interesting. She made several such rescues every hour, before returning to base to refill her fire extinguisher. But something caught her attention as she passed by a room.. And didn't hear anything from inside. This forced her to stop. There was always noise in each room. It might be quiet, but it was there. Whispers, footsteps or pen scratches could be heard when passing by any of the doors. The sounds didn't travel through solid metal of course, each room was equipped with a two-way microphone that was always on. It was only deactivated if there was classified material being discussed, and that never happened in an ordinary lab. Something was wrong.
She approached the door, but it didn't open. She grabbed the handle and yanked, but the frame wouldn't budge. She tentatively took off her glove and felt around the edge of the door. It was warm. Someone had recently welded the door shut. Replacing the glove, Jackie touched her shoulder to activate the radio there.
"This is Jackie. Security HQ, come in."
"Receiving."
"Room 18-D is silent and the door's been welded shut."
"Roger.. We're seeing a complete deadzone in that area. Internal sensors are offline. We're going to have an engineer over there momentarily to open that door up. Stand by.. And be ready. That room was delegated to biological research. There could be hazardous materials involved."
Daniel was woken from his nap by someone gently shaking him. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes. His quarters were still dark, and the clock told him he had been out for a good six hours. He rolled over in his cot to see a shadowy figure over him. It spoke.
"Sir, there's been an accident with some of your staff. You'd best come quickly."
The figure retreated from the room, and as the door opened, light flooded in and he recognized Jeryl from earlier. He rolled out of bed and did a quick stretch to banish the last vestiges of fatigue from his limbs. He pulled on a clean uniform and was still in the process of donning his boots when he hopped out into the hallway. Jeryl was there waiting for him, and set off at a brisk pace down the corridor. Daniel swiftly tied the laces on his footwear and jogged after her.
The traveled to the elevator and then descended three levels to the medical ward. The door hissed open and Daniel found himself in a spacious hospital room. The cots were all empty save for the far side of the room, where a plastic curtain obscured his view. Doctors trickled in and out, looking confused. When one spotted him, he was flagged over. The doctor shook his hand and introduced himself.
"Chief MacDonnegal, my name is Soji Hatama. I'm the administrator of this hospital wing. We have your staff here, and I was wondering if you could answer some questions for us."
The administrator was a Kusarian man who looked too old for his time. His skin was smooth but he had stress lines around his eyes and mouth. Daniel looked him in the eye and said truthfully,
"I only know that they were working on nanotechnology. For being Chief Researcher, I have little connection with their projects."
This news seemed to agitate Soji. "Damn. We can't figure out what the hell is wrong with them. They're.. Well, take a look for yourself."
Daniel was led into the curtained area. The four biologists were laying on separate medical beds, completely nude. Three men and one woman. Their skin was pink and raw looking, though on closer inspection Daniel saw that it was scar tissue. Soji was next to him and explained.
"When they came in, their bodies were lacerated and burned. Their skin looked like it was boiling, but they've gradually began healing themselves. We assume it's the nanobots repairing them, but these people are dead and yet they have a bloodflow to carry the nanobots throughout their body. We're seeing massive trauma to their organs, meaning the nanobots are consuming their insides to repair the skin. Make no mistake, there is no chance to help these people. The damage is far too extensive. But what we were curious about is the Cardamine in their bodies."
Daniel looked sharply at Soji in surprise. This reaction seemed to agitate the administrator further.
"Good God, man. Don't you have any idea what your people were doing? All of their bodies are laden with Cardamine."
Daniel pulled a PDA from his uniform and flipped it open. He navigated to the biology department's reports and filtered through them. Nowhere did it mention Cardamine. He recognized one of the researchers, and pulled up his name in the PDA. Donny 'Juan' de Markus had made a series of personal logs separate from his lab reports.
"Personal log, Donny de Markus. The nanobot treatments aren't working as planned. When they're used on starships, the nanobots are equipped with an internal supply of materials to make the repairs, and ultimately consume themselves. They do this by mixing a chemical catalyst with the material that renders it into a sort of 'paste' to be applied. Our experiments on organic tissue lack such a catalyst, because there are trillions of confusing chemicals already in the blood stream, and each is different according to the DNA of the host. Nanobots can't lock on to a specific genetic sequence to perform repairs. That is, until we added Cardamine to the test data. Cardamine bonds with genetic material and provides a good anchor for the nanobots to identify what is 'good' to repair and what is 'bad'. All test data so far has yielded good results and we're ready to move to human trials. I already take Cardamine out of necessity so I'm the obvious choice. I will receive a nanobot injection and then will have a machine inflict a superficial wound to my skin. The nanobots should in theory lock on to and repair the damage."
Daniel looked at the Donny's corpse. None of this made it to the official reports. He looked at Soji and said, "Can I use your terminal? I'd like to write this up." The administrator nodded. Daniel pushed aside the curtain and moved to the other side of the room, where the administrator's computer sat on the center of a curved desk. He took a seat and began writing the report while it was still fresh in his mind, as well as including Donny's personal message. He pulled up the doctor's reports and began reading through them as well. The autopsy on one of the men showed that the nanobots were forcing the blood to circulate throughout the body. The seemed to be consuming the internal organs but leaving the spinal column intact, perhaps because it was unable to be used in repairing skin damage. The cause of death seemed to be external trauma from an explosion, and the nanobots were still trying to 'repair' the damage. But something else caught his eye. The had taken cellular scans and Daniel spotted something out of the ordinary.
It was a virus. Daniel brought his face as close to the terminal as he could to see it better. And he was sure it was a virus, hanging on to one of the nanobots. It was dragging a Cardamine molecule behind it, and seemed to connect the two. The doctors likely didn't notice it because they weren't schooled in xenobiology. Daniel had two degrees in it.
Daniel looked at other scans of the virus. In some pictures, the virus was attached to a nanobot without a Cardamine molecule like it was just along for the ride. In others, the virus seemed to be linked with the nanobot itself. In the case of the latter, the nanobot was also attached to a Cardamine molecule.
Daniel looked up at the curtained off section, and stood up. He walked back into it, and tapped Soji on the shoulder. The man looked back at him, and Daniel asked,
"Could I ask for another molecular scan of the corpses? I've spotted what looks like a foreign virus using the nanobots like vehicles."
Soji looked confused, but nodded and stood over Donny's corpse. He pressed a few buttons on the medical bed's display and stood aside for Daniel to enter the scan parameters. After doing so, the bed flashed white and then subsided. Daniel walked back to the terminal to observe the results.
He now had access to higher resolution scans of the virus, and even some video recordings. He watched as the virus latched on to a nanobot and then have the nanobot latch on to a Cardamine molecule. The nanobot seemed to consume the Cardamine, and the virus swelled as it drained the drug from the machine. Daniel was fascinated. The virus controlled the nanobot and then used it to process and consume Cardamine.
There was a scream from the curtained area. Daniel looked up to see several doctors rush out, tearing down the plastic in their frenzy to escape. Daniel saw that one of the men had been left behind, gripped by the throat by the female corpse. She was sitting up, her torso twisted towards the man as she stared into his eyes. Her back was bruised where blood had pooled while she lay down. Her fingernails were vicious and curved, biting into the man's neck and drawing blood. Daniel stood and took a few steps back, horrified. The woman- Daniel couldn't remember her name for the life of him- yanked the man closer and bit into his neck. She didn't chew or tear, she merely held her mouth there and seemed to be pulling out blood then pushing it back into the man's body. Her prey twitched slightly but was otherwise subdued.
When she was done, she dropped the man, leaving him to hit the ground like a sack. Daniel was the last one in the room, horrified and transfixed by the grisly sight. The woman- Maryn- he remembered her name. They had met briefly when the journey started and never spoke again. She now stood from the table, blood dripping down her breasts and on to the floor. She ignored Daniel and went to the other three men on the table. To each of them, she bit them on the neck and sucked out mouthfuls of blood before pushing it back in. When all three had been bitten, she turned to Daniel. Her eyes were cold and glassy.
Daniel was pressed against the wall. He had called for security, and they were coming. But Maryn took steady steps closer, blood down trailing down her leg and leaving red footprints behind her. She was six meters away when Daniel was broken from his trance and screamed, turning away from her and sprinting towards the door. He took one last look before fleeing the room and saw that the four men she had bitten were now standing and walking towards him. Meryn leaned forward and began a clumsy sprint, but Daniel was already in the hallway and locking the door. He took several seconds to stare at the door in horror before tearing himself away and looking for help.
Jackie sprinted down the halls at full speed. She was the closest officer to the medical ward, and had been called because the doctors reported corpses coming back to life. She almost smashed into Daniel, who were sprinting towards one another. She noted his horrified expression and pale complexion. He grasped her hand tightly and led her back down the hall to the medical door.
It was open. The area was empty. Daniel peeked inside, and found nobody. Jackie looked in as well. She noted the blood splattering the floor and the fallen plastic curtain. Her radio began spewing noise.
"Attention, all security personnel. We are under attack by crewmembers who have lost their sanity. They are strangling and biting to death any other crew member they see. We have unconfirmed reports that the dead then get back up and join the attackers. Keep your weapon ready. If you see a bitemark on a crew member, execute them. Bring all survivors to the bridge. Repeat, all survivors to the bridge."
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CHAPTER THREE - HUNTED
The pair heard rapidly approaching footsteps. They looked behind them, and Daniel saw Meryn charging at them, fresh blood trailing down her still naked body. He let out a yell and stumbled back. Jackie didn't hesitate. She drew her pistol, raised it and fired. Meryn's chest split open and she was blown back with the force of the shot. The woman lay still, her spinal column destroyed. Jackie now grabbed Daniel's petrified hand and dragged him past her. He saw her eyes follow them as they ran for the elevator. Two more rabid crewmates attacked them; Jackie shot the legs off of one and the head off of the other. Both continued to move after they passed by.
The elevator arrived empty. Both of them piled in and Daniel hit the button for Deck Six, where the command bridge was located. Jackie handed Daniel her spare pistol and some magazines. With a weapon in his hands, Daniel's fear lessened somewhat. He knew how to use it too, as mandatory weapons training was part of even a scientist's admission into the Order.
The elevator stopped on Deck four and red warning lights came on.
"Damn!" said Daniel, "They've activated the quarantine procedures. Access to the upper decks is offline. We'll have to use the service tunnels to get up there now."
Jackie touched her radio, but only static came through. "Must've cut the main communication service.. But how? They've spread through the ship so quickly."
Daniel answered her. "I think their 'insanity' is actually being caused by a virus in their bodies. Right before this all broke out, those people were dead- but they had an unknown virus, nanobots and Cardamine in their blood stream. I saw the virus use the nanobots like a vehicle to collect and process Cardamine for it to consume. We know that Cardamine is an extremely complex material. It's possible that the virus is using the Cardamine as a sort of control signal, operated via nanites, to animate the body by attaching to the central nervous system."
Jackie didn't understand a word he had said, but waited for him to finish before saying,
"Yes, yes, great. But we need to get up to the bridge. I know where the maintenance tunnels are. Let's go."
They continued down the hallways and bumped into another group of survivors. After a tense period of pointing guns at each other, the five of them conferred. Daniel recognized Jeryl, the woman from the cafeteria.
"Where are you all going?" asked Daniel.
"The elevator." said Jeryl.
"Don't bother," sighed Jackie, "quarantine's in effect. It won't move."
"Then where-" said another one of Jeryl's group. Daniel cut him off.
"We're going for the maintenance tunnels. We can climb from there up to the bridge. Barring that, they go right down to the escape pods."
Mentioning the escape pods made the group murmur. Jumping ship was sounding more and more appealing with the escalating severity of the situation. Their discussion was cut short by a series of footsteps coming down the hall. Half a dozen frenzied crewmen were charging at them. Daniel and Jackie took a few shots at the forerunners, but were forced to run. The five of them fled the advancing mob, who seemed to be slow and clumsy.
Jackie led them to a closet. She and Daniel stood guard while the other survivors wrenched open the grate and dove into the tunnels. They were about to join the rest of their group when they heard screams from within.
"Oh frak! No! NO!" and other assorted screams of pain and panic. The screams died down shortly after. Daniel and Jackie looked at one another in horror and promptly closed the door. "We're trapped here." said Daniel, turning his head towards the sounds of approaching feet. He heard another set coming from the opposite direction. Hands pounded on the door behind them.
He looked at Jackie. They realized that they had no escape. All routes were cut off. They looked at the pistols in their hands, then back at each other. In a rushed moment of anguish, they grasped each other's hands and brought their guns to their heads.
PROLOGUE, 812 AS
In a secluded and dark nebula, a single ship sat alone inside the suffocating green gases. Frequent electrical discharges illuminated the silhouette of an Osiris-class ship. On its flank was emblazoned the ship's name, 'Jelkanar'. Its shielding had been up for so long that a round shell of particles had formed across its surface. Its lights were dim, so as to minimize its power draw to prolong the time between recharge.
The ship flared to life, and as the engines kicked back to full thrust the shell around the ship cracked and fell away, drifting behind the ship like a fractured egg casing. Maelstroms formed in the clouds behind the moving ship, spreading and being lost in the already turbulent nebula. The ship's exhaust trails were blown apart and scattered behind.
The ship flew for hours on impulse speed alone before reaching the edge of the cloud. It burst free like a sea beast moving between water and air, exploding forth in a burst of silent crescendo. The Jelkanar trailed behind a long, spindly fiber of gas for a long time before it dissipated and fell away. In front of the mighty ship was a pinkish-white star, growing larger each second. When the Jelkanar was close enough, it turned so that its starboard side faced the star. The ship's hull shifted as radar panels were retracted and replaced with pitch black trays that gorged themselves on the sun's brilliant light, converting it into power. Lights on the Jelkanar went completely dark as the reactor was fed a fresh supply of energy and allowed to reboot.
Red fumes vented from the Jelkanar's engines as the accumulated exhaust was jettisoned. On-board refineries converted the helium and deuterium collected from the nebula into homebrew fuel- not very efficient, but serviceable. For 156 hours, the Jelkanar sat in the pale glow of this unnamed star before the lights switched back on, and the reactor flared up again. Engines rumbled into action and the ship lurched forward. The solar panels were flipped around to reveal a set of radar dishes, which unfurled and began searching for transmissions again. The Jelkanar curved its flight path, back into the forbidding green nebula. Its once-in-six-months refueling operation had gone without a hitch. Back to business as usual.
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CHAPTER ONE- RESEARCH
As the Jelkanar took its usual place in the clouds, the crew were taking their usual places throughout the ship as well. A majority of the battleship was dedicated to research, and the multitude of laboratories were bustling with people. Men and women in dull gray scrubs tested the effects of substances and energies on one another while assistants scurried to and fro, fetching this and writing down that. Yet for the amount of people in each room, the noise levels were low, with each person scarcely whispering; in fact, the hum of the computers throughout the room was louder than the people operating them. The scene of laboratory research was as stereotypical as you could get.
Chief Biological Researcher Daniel MacDonnegal was one of the few research crew not actively involved in testing. He figured it was because his name and title were too long to fit on a lab coat pin. His red military-cut hair stuck up at the ceiling while his short, bristly beard stabbed at the floor. Just looking at him told you that this was a man who hadn't showered, shaved, eaten or slept properly in a long while. The sternness of his glare at the computer screen in front of him lost some of its weight when you saw the dark sags below his eyes. The eyes themselves were red and puffy. And the way he occasionally glanced at the empty coffee mug as if fairies might have visited him while he was looking away lent itself to his image of the overworked employee. The only clean thing about him was the open Egyptian eye on his forehead, the symbol of the Order.
He glanced at his coffee cup for the last time. Taking a deep breath, he put his hands on his desk and pushed himself into a standing position, groaning as his muscles protested and vertebrae popped into place. He rolled his head in a circle, moaning again as his neck snapped and cracked. He hadn't moved for over eighteen hours, and hadn't slept in twenty. Picking his mug up, he took a few slow steps towards the door. As blood rushed back into his legs, his strides got longer and stronger. As he neared the door, he took some lunges, dropping each knee until it almost touched the floor. Taking a series of deep breaths, Daniel refreshed his exhausted body. The door hissed open at his approach, and he stepped out into the hallway.
The Jelkanar, much like all long-term space habitats, was equipped with 'friendly' lighting that emitted a carefully tuned frequency of light that eased the optical nerves and was supposed to soothe the mind. But no fancy lightbulb can erase the sensation of being stuck in an unexplored region of nowhere, half a year away from the rest of the Order. But for now, he just wanted his damned coffee.
Jackie Fae patrolled the hallways, and she smiled and nodded to Daniel as he passed. She hadn't seen him in a long time and her smile soured as he passed and she smelled the acrid stink of stress and old coffee in his wake. She shook her head and hoped that he was heading to the shower. There wasn't much to guard on this ship, save for the errant fistfight between agitated scientists. Being out here in the deep dark for a long time will do that for you. She paused at a terminal, and looked down the hallway. Nothing more than the friendly lights. She looked behind her and just barely saw Daniel's shadow disappear around a corner. Turning to the terminal, she opened up a viewscreen to the nebula outside. The display showed roiling green clouds, lit up by the occasional flash of lightning. She smiled slightly, and absently laid her hand on the pistol attached to her belt. The pistol was only one of many versatile tools on her person. She carried a second pistol on the other side, a close quarters knife, a fire extinguisher, a single flash grenade and the entire suit itself was special Order issue.
The suit was specially designed to handle usage on a science ship. It was resistant to chemical burns and intense heat, and the hoodie could be closed around the face and sealed to provide the wearer with an airtight hazmat hood in case of toxic fumes. The suit was also double-inlaid with bulletproof and puncture resistant fibers to protect against projectiles and explosions. The perfect defense for a security officer on board a ship that will only find conflict within its hull.
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CHAPTER TWO - UNKNOWN VARIABLES
Daniel held the coffee mug under the dispenser until the container was 90% full of rich, dark, steamy goodness. Steam wafted out of the top as he carefully carried his prize to an empty table and stared at it for a few seconds before blowing on it gently and taking a sip. He sucked his lips into his mouth, hissing at the heat but not hesitating to take another drink. He was halfway through his cup when some of his underlings came and sat at the table with him. They smiled at him, and he glanced at their name pins before looking them in their eyes and returning the smile.
"Good to see you out, sir." said a middle aged blonde woman named 'Jeryl'. She looked almost as exhausted as him, but her hair was damp from a recent shower. The man next to her, 'Daeid', looked to be a Rheinlander. He smiled and nodded as she spoke. Daniel took another drink before responding.
"Yes, I've been organizing the latest batch of test samples. I'm fascinated by this nebula. Are you two involved in testing its properties?"
To this, Daeid nodded (Day-id? Daniel mused, completely unaware of how to pronounce the man's name) and spoke with a light Rheinland accent. "Yes, sir. I've been seeing how the nebula's gases affect starship and starbase hull plating. It appears to coat metals and other energetic substances with a residue that forms when the gas condenses and evaporates. The residue-" Daniel cut him off with a weary nod and a smile.
"Yes, I read the report. Thank you. Have you tested it on biological samples? I've noticed that category so far has gone untouched."
Neither spoke. Jeryl said, "No, sir. As far as I know, there are only four biologists on board and they all work for you. They're all busy testing the applications of nanobots for repairing damage to humans."
Daniel sighed. For being 'Head Researcher', he had no connection to the rest of the biologists on the station. He was technically in charge of them, but he had long forgotten their names and was far too busy with his primary job of organizing all of the research data collected by the crew. He finished his coffee, said goodbye to Jeryl and Daeid and grabbed a few pieces of rehydrated fruit before returning to the hallways, heading towards the showers.
Jackie continued her patrol of the endless corridors. She always loved passing people in the hallways because she could guess what they were working on based on how they looked and smelled. She stood a good head taller than most of the men on the ship (only Daniel was able to match her in height) so she was always able to see where they were coming from as well. She passed by a man hurrying away from a room pouring out smoke. His own clothes were singed and seemed to be dissolving. She paused by the door, and looked in. She couldn't see anything through the inky black smoke, but grabbed a fire suppression canister from her belt and pulled her security hoodie up, sealing the front. The hoodie formed an airtight Hazardous Materials suit, complete with gas mask. She waded into the room and spotted the source of the smoke. A charred piece of metal was spraying the area with sparks as it dissolved. She sprayed it with the thick white foam from the extinguisher and coated it until it stopped flaring. The fans in the ceiling were able to suck the smoke out, leaving her standing over a sopping wet pile of soot. The scientist entered the room again when he saw the smoke had cleared and Jackie silently left the room, unzipping her hoodie and continuing along.
Encounters like that had stopped being interesting. She made several such rescues every hour, before returning to base to refill her fire extinguisher. But something caught her attention as she passed by a room.. And didn't hear anything from inside. This forced her to stop. There was always noise in each room. It might be quiet, but it was there. Whispers, footsteps or pen scratches could be heard when passing by any of the doors. The sounds didn't travel through solid metal of course, each room was equipped with a two-way microphone that was always on. It was only deactivated if there was classified material being discussed, and that never happened in an ordinary lab. Something was wrong.
She approached the door, but it didn't open. She grabbed the handle and yanked, but the frame wouldn't budge. She tentatively took off her glove and felt around the edge of the door. It was warm. Someone had recently welded the door shut. Replacing the glove, Jackie touched her shoulder to activate the radio there.
"This is Jackie. Security HQ, come in."
"Receiving."
"Room 18-D is silent and the door's been welded shut."
"Roger.. We're seeing a complete deadzone in that area. Internal sensors are offline. We're going to have an engineer over there momentarily to open that door up. Stand by.. And be ready. That room was delegated to biological research. There could be hazardous materials involved."
Daniel was woken from his nap by someone gently shaking him. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes. His quarters were still dark, and the clock told him he had been out for a good six hours. He rolled over in his cot to see a shadowy figure over him. It spoke.
"Sir, there's been an accident with some of your staff. You'd best come quickly."
The figure retreated from the room, and as the door opened, light flooded in and he recognized Jeryl from earlier. He rolled out of bed and did a quick stretch to banish the last vestiges of fatigue from his limbs. He pulled on a clean uniform and was still in the process of donning his boots when he hopped out into the hallway. Jeryl was there waiting for him, and set off at a brisk pace down the corridor. Daniel swiftly tied the laces on his footwear and jogged after her.
The traveled to the elevator and then descended three levels to the medical ward. The door hissed open and Daniel found himself in a spacious hospital room. The cots were all empty save for the far side of the room, where a plastic curtain obscured his view. Doctors trickled in and out, looking confused. When one spotted him, he was flagged over. The doctor shook his hand and introduced himself.
"Chief MacDonnegal, my name is Soji Hatama. I'm the administrator of this hospital wing. We have your staff here, and I was wondering if you could answer some questions for us."
The administrator was a Kusarian man who looked too old for his time. His skin was smooth but he had stress lines around his eyes and mouth. Daniel looked him in the eye and said truthfully,
"I only know that they were working on nanotechnology. For being Chief Researcher, I have little connection with their projects."
This news seemed to agitate Soji. "Damn. We can't figure out what the hell is wrong with them. They're.. Well, take a look for yourself."
Daniel was led into the curtained area. The four biologists were laying on separate medical beds, completely nude. Three men and one woman. Their skin was pink and raw looking, though on closer inspection Daniel saw that it was scar tissue. Soji was next to him and explained.
"When they came in, their bodies were lacerated and burned. Their skin looked like it was boiling, but they've gradually began healing themselves. We assume it's the nanobots repairing them, but these people are dead and yet they have a bloodflow to carry the nanobots throughout their body. We're seeing massive trauma to their organs, meaning the nanobots are consuming their insides to repair the skin. Make no mistake, there is no chance to help these people. The damage is far too extensive. But what we were curious about is the Cardamine in their bodies."
Daniel looked sharply at Soji in surprise. This reaction seemed to agitate the administrator further.
"Good God, man. Don't you have any idea what your people were doing? All of their bodies are laden with Cardamine."
Daniel pulled a PDA from his uniform and flipped it open. He navigated to the biology department's reports and filtered through them. Nowhere did it mention Cardamine. He recognized one of the researchers, and pulled up his name in the PDA. Donny 'Juan' de Markus had made a series of personal logs separate from his lab reports.
"Personal log, Donny de Markus. The nanobot treatments aren't working as planned. When they're used on starships, the nanobots are equipped with an internal supply of materials to make the repairs, and ultimately consume themselves. They do this by mixing a chemical catalyst with the material that renders it into a sort of 'paste' to be applied. Our experiments on organic tissue lack such a catalyst, because there are trillions of confusing chemicals already in the blood stream, and each is different according to the DNA of the host. Nanobots can't lock on to a specific genetic sequence to perform repairs. That is, until we added Cardamine to the test data. Cardamine bonds with genetic material and provides a good anchor for the nanobots to identify what is 'good' to repair and what is 'bad'. All test data so far has yielded good results and we're ready to move to human trials. I already take Cardamine out of necessity so I'm the obvious choice. I will receive a nanobot injection and then will have a machine inflict a superficial wound to my skin. The nanobots should in theory lock on to and repair the damage."
Daniel looked at the Donny's corpse. None of this made it to the official reports. He looked at Soji and said, "Can I use your terminal? I'd like to write this up." The administrator nodded. Daniel pushed aside the curtain and moved to the other side of the room, where the administrator's computer sat on the center of a curved desk. He took a seat and began writing the report while it was still fresh in his mind, as well as including Donny's personal message. He pulled up the doctor's reports and began reading through them as well. The autopsy on one of the men showed that the nanobots were forcing the blood to circulate throughout the body. The seemed to be consuming the internal organs but leaving the spinal column intact, perhaps because it was unable to be used in repairing skin damage. The cause of death seemed to be external trauma from an explosion, and the nanobots were still trying to 'repair' the damage. But something else caught his eye. The had taken cellular scans and Daniel spotted something out of the ordinary.
It was a virus. Daniel brought his face as close to the terminal as he could to see it better. And he was sure it was a virus, hanging on to one of the nanobots. It was dragging a Cardamine molecule behind it, and seemed to connect the two. The doctors likely didn't notice it because they weren't schooled in xenobiology. Daniel had two degrees in it.
Daniel looked at other scans of the virus. In some pictures, the virus was attached to a nanobot without a Cardamine molecule like it was just along for the ride. In others, the virus seemed to be linked with the nanobot itself. In the case of the latter, the nanobot was also attached to a Cardamine molecule.
Daniel looked up at the curtained off section, and stood up. He walked back into it, and tapped Soji on the shoulder. The man looked back at him, and Daniel asked,
"Could I ask for another molecular scan of the corpses? I've spotted what looks like a foreign virus using the nanobots like vehicles."
Soji looked confused, but nodded and stood over Donny's corpse. He pressed a few buttons on the medical bed's display and stood aside for Daniel to enter the scan parameters. After doing so, the bed flashed white and then subsided. Daniel walked back to the terminal to observe the results.
He now had access to higher resolution scans of the virus, and even some video recordings. He watched as the virus latched on to a nanobot and then have the nanobot latch on to a Cardamine molecule. The nanobot seemed to consume the Cardamine, and the virus swelled as it drained the drug from the machine. Daniel was fascinated. The virus controlled the nanobot and then used it to process and consume Cardamine.
There was a scream from the curtained area. Daniel looked up to see several doctors rush out, tearing down the plastic in their frenzy to escape. Daniel saw that one of the men had been left behind, gripped by the throat by the female corpse. She was sitting up, her torso twisted towards the man as she stared into his eyes. Her back was bruised where blood had pooled while she lay down. Her fingernails were vicious and curved, biting into the man's neck and drawing blood. Daniel stood and took a few steps back, horrified. The woman- Daniel couldn't remember her name for the life of him- yanked the man closer and bit into his neck. She didn't chew or tear, she merely held her mouth there and seemed to be pulling out blood then pushing it back into the man's body. Her prey twitched slightly but was otherwise subdued.
When she was done, she dropped the man, leaving him to hit the ground like a sack. Daniel was the last one in the room, horrified and transfixed by the grisly sight. The woman- Maryn- he remembered her name. They had met briefly when the journey started and never spoke again. She now stood from the table, blood dripping down her breasts and on to the floor. She ignored Daniel and went to the other three men on the table. To each of them, she bit them on the neck and sucked out mouthfuls of blood before pushing it back in. When all three had been bitten, she turned to Daniel. Her eyes were cold and glassy.
Daniel was pressed against the wall. He had called for security, and they were coming. But Maryn took steady steps closer, blood down trailing down her leg and leaving red footprints behind her. She was six meters away when Daniel was broken from his trance and screamed, turning away from her and sprinting towards the door. He took one last look before fleeing the room and saw that the four men she had bitten were now standing and walking towards him. Meryn leaned forward and began a clumsy sprint, but Daniel was already in the hallway and locking the door. He took several seconds to stare at the door in horror before tearing himself away and looking for help.
Jackie sprinted down the halls at full speed. She was the closest officer to the medical ward, and had been called because the doctors reported corpses coming back to life. She almost smashed into Daniel, who were sprinting towards one another. She noted his horrified expression and pale complexion. He grasped her hand tightly and led her back down the hall to the medical door.
It was open. The area was empty. Daniel peeked inside, and found nobody. Jackie looked in as well. She noted the blood splattering the floor and the fallen plastic curtain. Her radio began spewing noise.
"Attention, all security personnel. We are under attack by crewmembers who have lost their sanity. They are strangling and biting to death any other crew member they see. We have unconfirmed reports that the dead then get back up and join the attackers. Keep your weapon ready. If you see a bitemark on a crew member, execute them. Bring all survivors to the bridge. Repeat, all survivors to the bridge."
__________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER THREE - HUNTED
The pair heard rapidly approaching footsteps. They looked behind them, and Daniel saw Meryn charging at them, fresh blood trailing down her still naked body. He let out a yell and stumbled back. Jackie didn't hesitate. She drew her pistol, raised it and fired. Meryn's chest split open and she was blown back with the force of the shot. The woman lay still, her spinal column destroyed. Jackie now grabbed Daniel's petrified hand and dragged him past her. He saw her eyes follow them as they ran for the elevator. Two more rabid crewmates attacked them; Jackie shot the legs off of one and the head off of the other. Both continued to move after they passed by.
The elevator arrived empty. Both of them piled in and Daniel hit the button for Deck Six, where the command bridge was located. Jackie handed Daniel her spare pistol and some magazines. With a weapon in his hands, Daniel's fear lessened somewhat. He knew how to use it too, as mandatory weapons training was part of even a scientist's admission into the Order.
The elevator stopped on Deck four and red warning lights came on.
"Damn!" said Daniel, "They've activated the quarantine procedures. Access to the upper decks is offline. We'll have to use the service tunnels to get up there now."
Jackie touched her radio, but only static came through. "Must've cut the main communication service.. But how? They've spread through the ship so quickly."
Daniel answered her. "I think their 'insanity' is actually being caused by a virus in their bodies. Right before this all broke out, those people were dead- but they had an unknown virus, nanobots and Cardamine in their blood stream. I saw the virus use the nanobots like a vehicle to collect and process Cardamine for it to consume. We know that Cardamine is an extremely complex material. It's possible that the virus is using the Cardamine as a sort of control signal, operated via nanites, to animate the body by attaching to the central nervous system."
Jackie didn't understand a word he had said, but waited for him to finish before saying,
"Yes, yes, great. But we need to get up to the bridge. I know where the maintenance tunnels are. Let's go."
They continued down the hallways and bumped into another group of survivors. After a tense period of pointing guns at each other, the five of them conferred. Daniel recognized Jeryl, the woman from the cafeteria.
"Where are you all going?" asked Daniel.
"The elevator." said Jeryl.
"Don't bother," sighed Jackie, "quarantine's in effect. It won't move."
"Then where-" said another one of Jeryl's group. Daniel cut him off.
"We're going for the maintenance tunnels. We can climb from there up to the bridge. Barring that, they go right down to the escape pods."
Mentioning the escape pods made the group murmur. Jumping ship was sounding more and more appealing with the escalating severity of the situation. Their discussion was cut short by a series of footsteps coming down the hall. Half a dozen frenzied crewmen were charging at them. Daniel and Jackie took a few shots at the forerunners, but were forced to run. The five of them fled the advancing mob, who seemed to be slow and clumsy.
Jackie led them to a closet. She and Daniel stood guard while the other survivors wrenched open the grate and dove into the tunnels. They were about to join the rest of their group when they heard screams from within.
"Oh frak! No! NO!" and other assorted screams of pain and panic. The screams died down shortly after. Daniel and Jackie looked at one another in horror and promptly closed the door. "We're trapped here." said Daniel, turning his head towards the sounds of approaching feet. He heard another set coming from the opposite direction. Hands pounded on the door behind them.
He looked at Jackie. They realized that they had no escape. All routes were cut off. They looked at the pistols in their hands, then back at each other. In a rushed moment of anguish, they grasped each other's hands and brought their guns to their heads.