The Pathfinder Project (26 page)

“
Acknowledged
,” came the
quick reply.

“I’ll have Adam check in with
you later when we know more,” Dennis decided. He closed down the link, noting
that Karen was already shaking her head.

“Whatever it is it’s all over
the ship by now,” she said firmly. “It’s apparently something that’s both
airborne and passed along by touch. Since historically only a small percentage
of the people who actually have symptoms will actually contact me to ask
questions, I think we’ve already got a reasonable-sized problem on our hands.”

“Particularly when a lot of
those people will be handling duty shifts in key positions,” Dennis commented.
“Do you have any idea where it came from?”

She nodded in response. “We’re
set up to monitor these types of things so it’s a piece of cake to track down,”
she told him, pointing to two nearby microscopes. Dennis glanced into the view
finder of the first one and closely studied a series of enlarged cell samples.

“The long reddish stringy
things that are poking into the cells are the cause of the problem, I take it,”
he said.

“That’s right,” said Karen.
“You’re looking at a skin sample I took from Mary.” She motioned to the second
microscope and Dennis moved slightly to take a look at its sample. This time he
was looking at a magnified view of a bunch of multi-sized dark particles. Mixed
among them were the same long ‘stringy things’.

“And this would be…?” he
wondered.

“
That
is a sample I took
from one of the air filters on deck four,” she said. “All of the filters we use
vary in density at predetermined points in our ventilation system so that each
catches different types of airborne debris. This is part of one of the more
finely weaved sets that are currently in use.”

“What are those dark
particles?” Mary asked after taking a quick look into both microscopes.

In reply, Karen walked over to
the sink next to the examination table and picked up a large, porous piece of
foam.

“This is part of one of the
filters we replaced on deck four,” she said, holding it up for emphasis. She
moved a cigarette lighter under it and – as soon as she lit the flame – the
filter quickly disappeared in a cloud of fire. A large popping sound and a
cloud of black smoke temporarily filled the room. An overhead fire alarm began
clanging but Karen quickly shut it off from a work station mounted on her work
table next to the microscopes. “That is
supposed
to be a fire proof
filter,” she pointed out informatively.

“That’s dust… mineral dust from
fuel
ore,” Dennis growled, shaking his head. He walked over to the
Comm-link and tapped in a different number this time.

“
This is Colonel Murray
Neeland
,” was the quick response from its speaker. “
What can I do for
you, Captain Kaufield
?”

“Get your marines out of bed,
Colonel,” Dennis ordered. “We’ve got a bomb maker on the ship, quite probably
located on deck four.”

“
We’re on our way
,”
Neeland replied resolutely.

*    
* * *     *

Less than an hour later Dennis
sat patiently waiting in the office area that connected to the
Pathfinder
’s
brig. The ship didn’t have a large prisoner control system, but it did have a
standard jail. He was nursing the remnants of his morning cup of coffee when
Colonel Neeland walked in, closely followed by two marines and a handcuffed
civilian. The marines kicked the prisoner’s legs out from under him and dropped
him sharply onto his knees.

“You can’t legally
do
this!” the man insisted, trying to stand up. The marines placed the butts of
their rifles on his shoulders and forced him back down. “You had
no
right to enter my quarters without a warrant… I want to see a lawyer!”

“His name is Patrick Warren,
part of your hangar crew,” Neeland said, tossing the man’s security tag on the
desk in front of Kaufield. “Whether he’s a Brotherhood lover or not is a
question that I can’t answer right now.” He looked down at Warren and said with
unconcealed hostility, “but I’m looking forward to the chance to find out for you,
Captain.”

Kaufield casually gave Patrick
the once over. He was a tall, average-looking Caucasian fellow with straight
blonde hair. There was just a trace of sandy brown mixed in with the blonde.
What was unusual – and immediately obvious – were the darkening reddish-blue
blotches on both of his cheeks. Murray angrily grabbed the man’s jaw and barked
an order. Patrick immediately opened his mouth in response. Additional darker
bruises were readily visible on his tongue and the insides of his cheeks. There
were also spots running along the length of both of his arms and neck as well,
but it was apparent even without a doctor that his face was the most seriously
infected part of his body and in need of immediate treatment.

“Well, I think it’s obvious how
he got the fuel ore back to his quarters,” Kaufield commented wryly. “You would
be our undercover Brotherhood follower, I take it?”

“Brotherhood?” Warren said suspiciously. “What are you talking about? I’m a loyal hangar bay worker… the
Brotherhood is a merciless organization that destroyed our planet.”

“Really,” Colonel Neeland
commented. “Your role as a Brotherhood spy would explain how a panicking weasel
like you can pick up one of my marines and physically throw him from your
living room into your kitchen.” Warren looked down at the floor and said
nothing.

“What do your Brotherhood
friends want you to accomplish on the
Pathfinder
?” Kaufield asked,
slowly rising to his feet. “Other than blowing up things, that is.”

Warren’s face reddened and he
took a couple of panicked breaths. “I swear I didn’t know what they were going
to do,” he said, sobbing uncontrollably. “I didn’t know they were going to try
and kill
everyone
Earth. Good God, I
didn’t
.”

Kaufield’s right cross caught
him by surprise and laid Warren flat out on his back. Gasping in pain and
surprise he laid there for a moment before scrambling back to his feet. The two
marines behind him forced him back to his knees. Blood was trickling from his
nose and mouth as the Captain grabbed him firmly by the collar of his shirt.

“
That
was for trying to
build a bomb on my ship,” he said fiercely. “If you’d like, I’ll administer the
penalty for deliberately violating quarantine protocol next, and after that we
can proceed directly to the part where we exact
penance
for what your
people did to mine!”

“No, please… that won’t be
necessary,” Warren decided. “I was assigned to infiltrate your project and find
out as much as I could about the new CAS Drive. I didn’t know the attack on
Earth was coming… but when you killed so many of my people during the encounter
with the warship, I considered making the bomb as part of my plan for revenge.”

“Considered?” Colonel Neeland
commented, holding up a paper envelope filled with dark black mineral dust.
“You had a really serious bomb-making factory set up there in your quarters.”

“Last night… I know you won’t
believe me…” Warren said, trying to talk between fits of crying. “I had a
vision… an
evil
vision and decided
not
to use the explosive.”
Tears were streaming down his red-spotted cheeks and he looked Kaufield
directly in the eyes. “The Devil himself
marked
me – look at what the
evil
one
did to me! I’ve been physically labeled a killer before I even
committed the act. Everywhere I go…” Again a fit of sobbing overtook him, and he
put his head in his hands and continued crying.

“You may not have actually
killed anyone yourself yet but your organization as a whole has certainly
bloodied its hands,” Dennis noted angrily. “Not to mention the fact that you’ve
hidden your true identity all this time while conducting covert espionage for
the Brotherhood. Then there’s this fuel ore incident,
which you knowingly
broke our quarantine procedures
to accomplish… God only knows what.” Dennis
shook his head furiously and then threw Warren’s security pass at him. “I don’t
think I can emphasize
that
part enough – you put the
entire
crew
at risk of infection by an unknown pathogen! We haven’t
needed
a court
system yet on the
Pathfinder
but I’m sure that we can get the process
going as soon as you want your lawyer.” He drew back his fist again and Warren ducked away. “That is, if we can
find
a lawyer to defend you whose family
hasn’t been killed by your buddies back home. I think there will be plenty of
bias present during a trial no matter how many precautions we take. The actions
of your Brotherhood have made certain of that.”

Patrick Warren sobbed
uncontrollably for a few minutes and then struggled to gain control of his
crying. He took a couple of deep breaths and glanced over at Colonel Neeland before
promptly breaking down into tears again. “Just kill me and get it over with,
will you?” he begged. “I never truly knew who I was, but ever since this ship left
our home so far behind something is
different
. It’s agony being away
from home, and if I can’t go back then just kill me and be done with it.”

“How many other Brotherhood
agents are on board the
Pathfinder
?” Neeland asked.

“None… this was a
top-secret
project. Do you know how
long
it took them just to get me assigned to
your hangar crew?” Warren asked. There was a long pause as Dennis thought
things over, throughout which Patrick continued to cry uncontrollably while
still on his knees in front of Colonel Neeland’s marines. Kaufield sat back
down at the desk and casually put his feet up.

“This is what you’re going to
do for us…” the Captain said slowly. “You’re going to the Medical Ward, where
Dr. Simmons and her colleagues are going to test you, study you, and do whatever
the hell else they need to in order to find a cure for this illness your
stupidity
has spread amongst the crew.” His gaze caught and controlled the fear growing
in Warren’s eyes. “After that you’re coming back here to jail. You will, as
needed, continue to cooperate with the Medical team for as long as they deem
necessary so that we can learn all we need to regarding the genetic
enhancements that have been applied to your people.”

“Supposing I refuse your
offer,” Warren objected. “I do have rights under your government’s laws, even
if I was born outside the Continental U.S. My ancestry is Eastern European, but
I
have
citizenship status…”

“Your
friends
destroyed
your rights when they
started
their war and blew up the Earth!” Kaufield
shouted, pulling his feet down sharply. His expression contorted with barely
controlled rage. “We’ve been out here looking for quite some time now, and we
still haven’t found anything close to matching it. You
miss
home? Well
then, why the devil did this freaking
Brotherhood
destroy it?”

“I have the
right
to
refuse to participate in medical experimentation,” persisted Warren.

“Yes you do, in which case I’m
prepared to drop all charges against you,” Kaufield snapped back at him.

“
Drop
… all charges? I
don’t understand…” Warren said, confused. He glanced apprehensively toward
Murray.

“That’s right, Patrick. If you
don’t
cooperate with our medical team I’m going to drop the charges against you and
have you reassigned to work among the
civilian
members of the crew.” He
pointed at the armed marines standing behind them. “
Without
the military
protection, of course. We need
them
to keep the key areas of the ship
secure from people like
you
.” The Captain paused again, smiling as he
let Warren think the matter over. “I wonder how all those civilians will treat
you when they find out
who
you are and
why
you’re here. I seriously
doubt they’ll grant your wish and kill you right away. Maybe eventually, after
they’re done with you…”

“I’ll cooperate,” Warren
decided suddenly, slowly getting to his feet. “Damn you, I’ll cooperate…”

Kaufield waved the marines
toward the other room. “Please lock up our guest, Colonel,” he said firmly.
“I’ll let Dr. Simmons know he’s ready for testing.”

*    
* * *     *

Adam was not at all surprised
to find the hatchways leading to both the Garden and Livestock wings tightly
closed. Additionally, an extra pair of marines had been assigned to guard each
of the four entrances. He walked past the first two doorways that led into the
Garden wing and entered the security and maintenance offices located between
the agricultural wings.

A series of security monitors
lined most of the walls, allowing guards on duty to target and watch various
sections or activities taking place within the two wings. There were also a
series of workstations that carefully – and constantly – monitored the
temperature, humidity, and other conditions on the two flat surfaces of each
wing.

“Adam Roh,” Jeff Mathison said
cheerfully, waving off a group of three people that he had been talking to.
“It’s nice to see you made it up here, because our maintenance technicians are
trying to figure out just what we’re going to do with you.”

“Huh?” Adam said, finding
himself a bit surprised. “The Captain mentioned that you might need some
assistance changing filters and making adjustments to the ventilation
equipment. That’s why I’m here.”

“Really,” Jeff said
mischievously, walking over to one of the security monitors. “Perhaps you can
start by explaining this…” He used a laptop setting on one of the tables to
switch the image and a visual of one of the ceilings in the Garden wing flashed
into view. It showed a close-up of part of the ceiling – where about eighteen
red apples floated harmlessly in the gravity void that separated the first ten
inches or so below the ceiling from the normal conditions below.