Back | Next
Contents

CHAPTER 30:
Greetings and Suspicions

Mat L. @MyWife’sCarIsASpaceShip
WHAT THE HELL? I haven’t heard from my wife in a week and now my comms are bouncing back as undeliverable? What is happening on Percheron?

United States Space Force @USSFActual
@MyWife’sCarIsASpaceship, we are not permitted to release that information on a public channel. Please contact the USSF Resource Command for more information.

ChirpChat, October 2043



This time there was a greeting party waiting for him. Yvette was joined by Dvorak, and a man in a stained USSF jumpsuit. The nametape said Philips, which meant he was the engineering technician who would have had to take over engineer Scott’s duties. All three looked worn and haggard. Yvette looked a bit better than the previous time he’d seen her, except for the bruise on her head. Apparently, she’d taken some time to check her appearance, but the other two were tired and there was something of a wild look to their eyes. Whatever was affecting the crew was starting to take a terrible toll.

“Hello sirs, ma’am, I’m Colonel Glenn Shepard, and I’ve brought supplies to assist.” Glenn hoped staying slightly formal would be of use in setting them at ease, and soften what he had to say next. “Please excuse me if I don’t take off my helmet. For now, I need to maintain isolation until we can get a handle on just what it is that has been happening here. I know that you’ve been suffering and that you really don’t know what’s going on. Earth is too far away to help, but that’s why I’m here.”

“Thank you, Colonel Shepard,” Dvorak replied. “We appreciate you coming out here. Frankly, we didn’t know that your ship had arrived or we would’ve tried to help you with the docking maneuvers. I’m glad to see that NASA was able to handle the remote controls, although frankly I’m surprised that they sent a passenger.”

Dvorak’s manner was somewhat wary. He kept glancing at Yvette, and it was clear that he really didn’t know much about Glenn, his bionics, or how he came to be there. That also meant Yvette hadn’t said anything about encountering him outside the cargo bay airlock . . . or she didn’t remember.

“That must’ve been a long, lonely journey by yourself. How long have you been in transit? It must’ve been months,” Phillips said.

“We have an updated drive. It was scheduled to be installed in Augeron, but we put it in service early and added some extra boost. It was a bit of a crunch under heavy acceleration, but we were able to shorten the transit time.” Glenn didn’t want to go into the details; after Yvette’s—and Captain LeBlanc’s—alien delusions, he didn’t want to trigger paranoia or anxiety that would make them uncooperative. On the other hand, lying wouldn’t help, either. Best to keep explanations simple until he’d had more time to assess the crew.

“Ah, I’ve read about a new drive system in one of my journals. At least, the last one I was able to get.”

Yvette gave Philips a sharp look, but he seemed oblivious.

“It’s the Helicity drive, right? Constant thrust and no need for a rotating habitat ring? That must be nice, we’ve had issues with our ring this trip.”

Yvette continued to glare at Philips, but she didn’t say anything.

Glenn was a bit surprised when Philips mentioned the habitat ring. It was on his list of concerns, but neither immediate, nor within his expertise. What he needed to do was to find out what was wrong with the crew and get them treated. Then, they could get back to doing the jobs that they were trained for.

“Helicity2, actually. I don’t know if it’s possible to transfer the drive section from the C-21-MX cargo ship I came in, but perhaps we can see about putting that drive to some additional use. First, though, let’s look after your crew health.”

“It’s bad, Colonel.” Dvorak said, and Philips nodded, then noticed Yvette’s expression. They both adopted neutral expressions and didn’t elaborate.

“We lost the captain to liver failure and medic Bialik is suffering from pancreatic disorder of some sort—her blood sugar is erratic and uncontrollable. Several others of the crew are starting to show signs of organ failure. None of us is sleeping well,” Yvette told him.

“No one has heard from the chief engineer, either. He won’t answer my calls, and I’ve looked for him all over the place!” Phillips said. He stole a glance at Yvette and muttered, “Of course, I don’t get out much, now.”

Oh, this is bad, Glenn thought. There is some strange dynamic going on with these three. Yvette’s reports said she recommended a self-isolation protocol, but they seem to be actively afraid of her. Could she have locked them in their quarters? Phillips thinks the chief engineer is just missing, yet everyone should have heard the open comm as he was pulled into the Black when LeBlanc blew the cargo hatch. What is going on here?

“I’d like to start by reviewing the physical exams on all of the crew. Yvette, please show me your readings and interpretations of the problem. If we have to rerun any tests, I’ve brought additional test kits and reagents, plus a few instruments to supplement what you have here.” Glenn knew he had to handle this carefully. When they were residents, they argued over patients and treatments. Toward the end of that time, she had accused him of trying to take over and undermine her position as chief resident. He could just step in and take control now, but it would cause problems later. He wanted to put that step off as long as possible.

“Well, I’ve done everything that I can do; there’s nothing else to be done about the situation. I appreciate the additional medical supplies but I really don’t see what you can do that I haven’t!” Yvette bristled.

“Oh, I’m not here to take over,” Glenn said, thinking guiltily that he’d just resolved not to lie—and doing it anyway. “Someone needed to pilot the cargo ship and now that I’m here, Mission Medical asked me to send them the most up to date information. There seems to have been some trouble with the comms.”

“That’s just ‘New Ship Syndrome,’” Phillips said, this time without looking at Yvette. “This is really our shakedown cruise. There should have been much more troubleshooting done before we left Earth. We have warped bulkheads, sticking hatches, and the air and water are terrible. I suppose you can’t smell it in your suit, but it’s getting worse. Systems simply are not working right on this ship, so it doesn’t surprise me if comms are down, too.”

The whole exchange was making Glenn uneasy. The stories didn’t add up, and their behavior was strange. Someone had deliberately damaged the comm—he’d seen that evidence himself. These were astronauts experienced in deep space operations—he knew the selection process. If the first officer, acting engineer and medical officer were as impaired as this conversation suggested, they’d be lucky to last the four months left to get them home.

Was there an alternative that would get them home sooner? Could he somehow rig the Helicity2 engine from the Bat to the Percheron and accelerate the ship to a faster rendezvous? They didn’t have the solid fuel boosters or the liquid fuel rockets which had accelerated the Bat to the high speeds he’d experienced on the outbound trip, but he wasn’t sure that would have been sufficient for a ship as large as Percheron, nor did he have the time to engineer the assembly so that it wouldn’t fall apart.

Stop that. You’re a doctor, not a ship’s engineer, he told himself. Concentrate on examining the crew and finding out why they were sick.

He was likely to have to conduct the medical tests himself at some point. That would certainly play into Yvette’s insecurities, and thus yet another problem he’d have to solve.

“One problem at a time.” Glenn said it out loud, but it was a reminder to himself as well. First the crew health; he needed to solve that before taking on anything else.

“Well, Colonel, I’m sure you have things to do, and I need to get back to my ponies,” Dvorak said.

Ponies? thought Glenn. More strange behavior; on the other hand, it wouldn’t do to challenge the comment at this time. “Oh, I understand sir. I will let you get back to your business. Engineer Phillips, I’m sure you’ve got to get back to your engine room as well.”

Weel, them wee bairns’re purrin’ like kittens. They tend theysel’s these days, but dinna ye be pushin’em. Ye wouldnae want them ta fly apar’ now, would ye?” The engineer’s accent came as a surprise, and he gave Philips a sharp look. The missing chief engineer was Scottish—was this a joke? Imitation? Delusion? He’d have to look into what recorded entertainments the crew were watching. This could be a personality change or just copying a certain science fiction stereotype. It was still disturbing, though, when combined with all of the other odd behaviors he was seeing.

“Yvette, if we can go take a look at those records? I do need to bring myself up to speed to make my report. After that, I can let you get about your business as well.”

Yvette didn’t say anything, just released her grip from the handhold and made a “follow me” gesture as she started to drift down the corridor toward the med bay.


Back | Next
Framed