http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/srb/www/ Don't read if under 18 or illegal in your little corner of the world, like you'll listen. This should appear only on my site http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/srb/www/ F3, Futanari Palace, Pal's archive site, through Pal's yahoo group, on Pal's Forum... well, it basically should be wherever Pal's stuff is. Also at the Grey Archive, and some other places they might end up, they know who they are. This is copyright me, so don’t call it yours. Feedback can be left here. I created all the characters, they are all fictional, and any relevance to anyone living or dead, is incidental A big thanks out for both Theromen and davidka1, who have beta tested this chapter. Their help has been integral to getting it out so quickly. BTW there is plenty of different portions which have been reused by numerous science fiction shows movies and books, including nanotechnology, rapid pregnancy, and various scientific mumbo jumbo, which I will try to keep to a minimum. (Bounce a graviton particle beam off the main deflector dish…) THIS CHAPTER contains no sex Chapter 20 Attempts Far away a leader stood in her office. She watched with concern the events unfolding in the ship on her viewing screen. The pale blue light covering her face could not hide the anger from her underling, despite her best attempts to cover it up. There had already been questions, been whisperings about her orders, but her it was in the purview of her duty to decide what course of action was correct. “We have determined what has happened on the ship,” the subordinate said, reporting the news as was her duty, even when such news was bleak. “What happened?” the leader asked, trying to keep her inflection neutral. “Sir, their old-fashioned fission reactor’s nuclear core overheated,” she replied, summing up their discovery as objectively as she could. “How could that occur? Surely there must have had been some kind of internal detection system, some archaic particle detection device?” the leader questioned, her irritation easily conveyed in her voice. “They did, we are attempting to discover why the systems did not inform them in time,” she said, looking down at the screen. “The ship’s engineering components were heavily damaged, and given the fragile interplanetary situation, it is unlikely they would be able to repair the systems. Their ship is without power, and is running on batteries. If they are able to enact repairs, they may yet make it to Mars safely.” “Could it be…interference?” the leader asked. If they were to discover some interference, it could be the very thing they needed to interject and try to stop the escalation of hostilities. Despite this, she could not come with some flimsy grounds, some half truth or suspicion, and her adversaries were seldom careless enough to leave evidence of their actions. “Yes, it may have been some kind of sabotage perhaps,” the subordinate replied. “We are continuing our investigation, but the radiation has made scanning more difficult at this range.” She didn’t say that they needed to stay a safe distance. “Casualties?” the leader questioned, her voice wavering slightly, enough that her subordinate recognized it. “Yes, at least one has died,” she replied, her voice filled with sorrow. “Others may likely be suffering from radiation illnesses. The propulsion system was such that radiation sickness could be likely from mere exposure.” “My son?” she asked the real question that was nagging at her mind. It was not right, it was not proper for her to have asked first. She must pursue the appropriate line of questioning for the mission, and not her own personal matters. “We do not know, sir,” she replied, feeling shame in her failure to determine her leader’s child. While it had not even been mentioned as part of her duty, she had made it her first priority. “Even if he were to…perish, it is not their way. To them you would not even be as a distant relative.” “I choose to live by our way, and so long as he draws breath, he is my family, in name and practice,” the leader replied coldly, her voice filled with reverence for her duty. “Given their lack of power, and the radiation interfering with their localized detection systems, I think it’s within our discretion to close in with their ship and determine all pertinent information.” “Are you sure that is…wise, sir?” the subordinate asked, taking care in the choosing of her words. While she did not question the action, she questioned the motivation behind it. “You have questioned my actions more than once before,” the leader said, keeping her lip as stiff as possible as she tried to keep her voice neutral. “You feel my judgment is once again clouded?” “I just fear that your concern for your child may in some way endanger our mission,” she said plainly. “We cannot be seen as working for personal gain or personal matters; we would lose the support of the already tenuous agreement.” “Perhaps so, yet these futanari and their nanos are incredibly important to us. They may yet be our case to aid them. Move to a safe range, and find out what you can, any hint of interference and you are to inform me,” the leader said. “Understood, by your leave,” the subordinate said, bowing as she left. She had already resolved to not fail her leader once more. * Tom opened his eyes. He had been working himself too hard once more, something he always did when answers weren’t forthcoming. He had wanted more than anything to come up with some kind of thesis, some kind of notion that he might build upon. He didn’t want to come without a solution of any kind. He had taken the impression that this Martian Prime Minister was not someone to be trifled with. If he and Kyle had any chances of surviving, he would need to come up with some viable possibility. Yet he had no idea, none whatsoever, even including distributing wide scale the nanobots, that would solve the problem. He knew he could come up with some ideas. Some vague thesis’s that to the uninitiated would sound valid and reasonable. He might even be forced to present them in lieu of a real solution, although he was sure that the Martian PM would have some scientists capable of finding out fraudulent or otherwise half baked theories. “Morning,” he said to Kyle, looking at her as she continued to do light aerobics. So long as he slept, she would not rest, and at her insistence, he would do the same. What she intended to do once they arrived on Mars was something she had not explained to him. He had no idea what would happen to either one of them, although he had assumed that the two of them would not continue to share a room. “Morning,” she said, not changing her work out a beat. She felt like she was nearing the peak of what she could do, physically, on the ship. When she arrived on Mars however, it was to be different; she had already planned a rigorous training schedule to see just how strong her nanobot infused body was. “Anything interesting happen?” he asked, not really expecting an answer, but he wanted to at least exchange some pleasantries before returning to work. “Nope,” was Kyle’s monosyllabic reply. “I see,” Tom said, before shaking his head and yawning. “How is everything coming?” she asked, as she continued to count down the closing number of repetitions. He grabbed a pad, still sitting at the same point of data as before he went to sleep, and said “I don’t know what I’m going to do about this, this problem.” “You had better do it quickly,” Kyle said. “We’re going to be at Mars pretty soon.” “What?” Tom asked, the news waking him up quicker than any cup of coffee could. “How do you know?” “The soldiers that come by,” Kyle said, taking pause. “Their uniforms are better dressed, they have begun shaving. Well the men at least, we must be getting close to Mars.” “I don’t follow,” Tom said. He knew as much about the military as Kyle did about applied nanotechnology. “Well, once we make it to Mars I’m sure there’ll be some kind of debriefing, some kind of military brass is going to come by and inspect, especially for a mission like this. I’m sure there aren’t a lot of expenditures to Earth and back,” Kyle reasoned. “I hadn’t noticed,” Tom replied, making a note to keep better track of things. “You haven’t noticed much, but fortunately I’ve been paying attention for the both of us,” Kyle said, letting out a brief, rare smirk. She pulled her weary arms, and wiggled her fingers ominously, “So, you know, do some science voodoo or something and make everything better.” Tom sighed, looking at the pad. He wanted to curse, but it would do him no good. He had another day of crunching numbers, running them through a simulation, and ultimately coming up with no results. ‘Well, at least I’ll be on Mars soon,’ he thought to himself glumly, ‘and I can shower properly, if I make it that long.’ * Tossing and turning in the air above his bed, David’s body was covered in sweat. Nightmares from the past haunted his slumber, and without the stimulants his psyche was being forced to deal with precisely what it was trying to escape. It all started so serenely, so calmly, he was but a small child, either hand held by his parents. They were all hurrying down a hallway, on a spaceship. As a child he had been told of an attack, a strike on Earth, that all Terrans were no longer welcome, that he and his parents were to ‘go back where they came from’. He was oblivious to it all, as children can be of atrocities. He was merely happy to be back in space, to play with his toys where they would really fly, where he could jump up and never come down. And so he followed his parents, kicking his feet joyfully as they went down the hallway. They were going to leave any minute, the speaker kept saying, and he was imitating the sound of a ship moving, of a ship leaving, constantly bellowing ‘Vrooom vroooom!’ In an instance, everything changed, the ship shook and trembled as though God’s mighty hand had come from the heavens and stirred his drink with the ship. His parents began running, shouting, screaming. He was scared, his parents had never acted so, not to him. He remembered the lights changing, going from the normal white to a crimson red shade of death. As if on cue every door opened, people filtering out and running, their fearful shouts only increasing his own trepidation. His father picked him up, he remembered hugging him closely, watching his mother following behind his father as they ran with the crowd, towards the end of the hallway. Her usually soft caring eyes were filled with a fright that chilled him to his soul. Turning around he saw another door, and people filing in, packed like sardines. He looked at the room, it and there wasn’t enough space for them in there. The ship shook again as it was rocked, from what he could not tell. He could smell fire, something was burning and choking his throat as tears began to form in David’s eyes. He grabbed his father closely, his screams muffled by his chest. He looked up, his vision blurred from the tears, and watched his mother shove his father’s back, her hands touching his fingertips, the last time he would feel his mother’s sweet caress. The air seemed to be sucked from his very lungs as he struggled to breathe. He remembered hearing shouting of ‘another escape pod…another floor’ as he struggled to pay attention. He watched a thick door close between him and his mom, his already tearful eyes shocked beyond belief. Suddenly they were moving, accelerating rapidly, and he watched as they left his mother’s beautiful face behind, getting smaller and smaller until she was as small as the stars surrounding the pod. He bawled his eyes out in his father’s arms, as suddenly he heard a sound from the far distance. He opened his eyes, and suddenly he was laying above his bed in his room, at his normal age. He felt relieved, he was back to normal. Abruptly the ship’s alarm went off. He jumped to attention. ‘FLYNN!’ his mind screamed as he opened his door, running into the hallway. He ran and he ran, seeking desperately for an elevator, trying to find a way to get to the engine room, a way help him. His side hurt, his lungs weak from overuse, until he finally found an elevator. Getting in it barely moved, crawling inch by inch forward as though by slow motion. He tried to get out, he tried pushing every button he could, but to no avail. Then he heard it, he heard the incorporeal voices. The immaterial words that had plagued him, that tormented him so, and that gave him such desire for escape. “He’s dead already,” Sergio said, his disembodied voice choking. David didn’t want to believe, couldn’t believe, and his aching arms continued to smash the buttons in a wild attempt to will the door open. “Hey Dave,” came Flynn’s raspy voice, weary and struggling to breath, let alone speak. “Sorry…my fault…” “Flynn, save your strength, you’re gonna be okay, you just gotta get out of there, we’ll take care of you, you just, you just,” David said, trying to fight against the pages of history. The elevator stopped dead in its tracks. He smashed his already weak arms furiously against the buttons unrewarded. “It’s okay Dave…” Flynn memory spoke, gasping for air desperately. “NO!” He screamed. His eyes full of tears, his head woozy, and his chest aching with pain, he continued to struggle. Nothing worked, he couldn’t do a thing. His knocking knees went out under him, and he fell to the ground, curling into a fetal position sobbing uncontrollably. * To awaken was a respite for David’s hurt psyche. Subconsciously his mental self had wept, and his material body had followed suit. His eyes cracked opened slowly, as he moved his head forward from its painful position. He heard it crack as he moved it forward. He rubbed his head, as he suddenly felt the wave of physical pain rush forward, meeting the emotional suffering. ‘What did I drink all that booze for?’ he asked himself. ‘Oh yeah’ he remembered Terra and… ‘What happened?’ he thought, trying desperately to recall the events leading up to where he was. He stood his body up, stretching himself out as he tried to remember. His body was stiff, a little sore from the odd position in which he slept, but despite the headache he felt good. The longer he stayed awake, the better he felt, the further he felt from his nightmare. He remembered the night before, shades of it, as he struggled to get himself ready for the day. He remembered her coming over, and then he finished making her flowerpot. ‘Then what happened?’ he thought to himself, as he walked over to the dresser to find a clean pair of clothes. He remembered…being happy, being really happy when she hugged him. He felt like he had achieved something, that he was truly being appreciated for what he had done, for who he was. If nothing else the attention of a beautiful young lady always makes a teenage boy happy. ‘But what the hell else did we do?’ he asked himself, looking up at the jug of booze. The last thing he felt like doing right now was drinking, but he didn’t want to leave the evidence of his overindulgence openly advertised. He was sure that Giselle would find out about this, she always seemed to, and he didn’t want that out in the open as a sticking point. Vague bits of conversation seemed to chime into his head. He noticed that the magnetic bottom plate of the flower was still attached to the desk, the oddly colored lamp creating a strange glow. ‘I guess she forgot about it…’ he thought to himself. ‘Or maybe she’s supposed to come back for it? I did finish it, right?’ he questioned himself. Upon further inspection, the flower seemed a hundred percent. ‘What happened?’ He sighed, tired from everything. He looked down at his drawer, deciding to take his normal breakfast quickly before going down to the galley for something to eat. * Nadia awoke before Terra, a rarity since they had gotten on the ship. She was beyond pissed off last night at Terra, although she couldn’t put her finger on why that was exactly. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she was jealous, jealous of Terra giving someone else her attention. Thus she did her best to come up with other reasons she was upset. Her getting drunk was a minor indiscretion. Of course it could lead to her giving out information that should be kept secret. Then there was the fact that she wandered off without telling Nadia where she was going, or when she would return. She had plenty of time to ponder the various reasons for her anger, as she found getting any sleep difficult. Nadia went about her morning, in her usual boredom. She didn’t want to go get something to eat, didn’t want to leave Terra alone again. She wandered around the room aimlessly, wishing despite her better judgment that there would be something for her to do. She had double-checked about hiding Kyle’s gun, it was buried in a corner of a drawer that was filled so tight Nadia didn’t think she would get it out easily. She had her pad, but there was nothing on it, nothing that would entertain her, or occupy her intellectually for any amount of time. She was tempted to look at Terra’s pad, but respected her privacy, even if it meant that some secret, some bit of information may be hidden inside a diary entry. Nadia’s head turned over as she heard Terra groan. She had to pull herself back, to not interrogate her immediately. “Good morning,” Nadia said. “Oh, morning,” Terra said, holding her head slightly. She felt okay, but not well rested like she usually did after sleep. In the early haze of waking her memory was failing, and she could not recall the reason behind how she felt. “How are you feeling?” Nadia asked, noticing her bedside manner hadn’t changed much, even if she had. “Uh, alright I guess,” Terra said, noticing Nadia was looking at her funny. “Well, that’s good, you were pretty out of it last night,” Nadia said disapprovingly. “I, I was?” Terra asked, trying to dredge up the memories from her brain. She remembered having a, not an argument, but a heated talk with Nadia, and then she went for a walk… “Oh, I was.” “Yeah, proudly exclaiming you were drunk and then flying off to bed like Superman,” Nadia said, doubting that Terra would get the reference to the ancient hero archetype. “I, I didn’t plan on getting drunk really, I just started drinking, and then me and David started talking, and then he fixed my flower,” Terra said, trying to explain things, feeling really guilty about doing something for the first time. “Then, oh Nadia,” she said, pausing as her eyes grew big, “he’s, he’s sick, he’s got cancer.” “He does?” Nadia asked, realizing she should have already figured that out. She had been so focused on herself and Terra she hadn’t considered the ramifications of that unfortunate night. He was bombarded by near lethal levels of radiation outside the engine room, without any protection at all. And then there was Giselle’s insistent chatter about how they must be ill. “I didn’t know, I’m sorry to hear about that. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.” “That’s nice of you, I just don’t know if he would, if he would take the help,” Terra said, trying to remember everything that happened last night. “I understand that, but despite Giselle’s posturing, I am a medical doctor, I really should take care of him,” Nadia insisted. “But if he doesn’t want the help, I can’t force it on him.” “Oh,” Terra said, her hangdog face sinking down at the realization of what it is she had done. “What?” Nadia asked suspiciously. “You got drunk, it’s a bad thing, but it isn’t the end of the world.” “Uh, remember when you told me to keep the nanos a secret?” Terra asked. “Yes…Oh god Terra please tell me you didn’t tell him about the nanos, that’s the last thing that we need to deal with right now, please tell me you didn’t do that,” Nadia said, suddenly getting worried. ‘This is just what I was worried about. She got drunk and let something slip.’ “No, no, I didn’t tell him a word about the nanos, he even asked me, kind of,” Terra answered truthfully. A part of her wanted to not tell Nadia, in much the same way as before, if she didn’t say a falsehood, then she wouldn’t have lied to her best friend. But this, this was different she knew. “Well, good,” Nadia knew from the guilt on Terra’s face that there was something that she was hiding. “But uhm,” Terra said, trying to find a way to describe it. “I kind of…kissed him.” “You…kissed him?” Nadia asked, feeling her heart sink in her chest. “But that means he might get the…why did you kiss him?” she asked, torn between two parts of her. One side, the intellectual side, wanted to know why it was she gave him the nanobots. The other, the jealous side, wanted to know why it was she kissed him. “Well like I said he’s sick, remember? He’s got cancer, a lot of cancers I think he said, throat and lung and some other kind of cancer, I forget. You just said if there was anything that you could to do help you would, I did the only thing I could, and I kissed him, just once,” Terra said, really getting emotional and defensive about her actions. “I meant as a doctor Terra, as a doctor,” Nadia said, starting to get worried. This wasn’t just having a secret, this was creating and spreading evidence. “It’s just, I haven’t done anything!” Terra shouted. “Whenever anyone gets hurt, or anything, all I ever seem to do is run, or hide. I wanted to do something, to help someone!” Terra shouted, beginning to cry. For something that seemed so right, so pure last night, she felt incredibly guilty at what she had done now. “Oh Terra,” Nadia walked over to the weeping girl and put her arms around her. “I didn’t want to make you cry. It’s just that this,” “I know, I know, I feel bad about it,” she said, tears streaming from her eyes. “Honey, honey, your intentions were good,” Nadia said. “It’s just here and now, it’s not for the best.” “Don’t, don’t you think I know that?” Terra asked, in between sobs. “Terra, please, just, just calm down,” Nadia said, looking into her eyes. “We’re going to figure this out, what’s happened has happened. This might make things harder for a short time, and I wish you hadn’t done it, but I understand. Your compassion for other people is important, and that’s why I care for you so much.” Nadia said as she hugged the girl in her arms, hearing about her mercy for others playing her heartstrings, Nadia finally admit it not just to Terra, but to herself as well just how much she did care for Terra. “Y, you,” Terra said, her tears seeming to dry up. The corners of her mouth turned upward a bit. “Look, we just have to figure some things out first, okay? Things might be even more difficult for a little bit, but we can get through it if we work together and just play it smart, alright?” Nadia asked. “Oh, okay,” Terra said, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her shirt. It smelt of alcohol and cologne, but with her congestion she hardly noticed. “Take some time, just get it out of you, and we’ll go to get something to eat, alright?” Nadia asked. “We can figure everything out with a full stomach.” “O, okay,” Terra said. * Sergio ran through the computer records, copying everything to a pad. The computer systems used up only a fraction of the energy necessary for the environmental controls, but he nevertheless didn’t want to waste more than a watt of energy. The pads themselves ran on a battery which was able to run for over a year straight if left on, which of course would almost never happen except for foolish or wasteful individuals. He was copying personnel reports, video footage, audio excerpts, the computer’s archive of the core temperature readings and particle detection, anything that could help him determine just what, if anything, had happened. ‘Flynn was a good boy, a smart boy,’ Sergio thought to himself. ‘Maybe not a choir boy, but he knew what he was doing with the engines. He was there to keep an eye on the core temperature, to make sure all of the instruments were calibrated. How could he have made such a big mistake?’ His problem was trying to sift through the information and manage to find something that would serve as evidence. He felt like he was fishing a vast ocean for one specific fish, and he didn’t know if he could find it, let alone would find it in time. ‘In time for what?’ he asked himself. Sergio had to admit to that he had no idea who might have sabotaged it, or for what purpose. If someone were in the engine room, it would be a simple thing to just overheat the core and cause an uncontrolled meltdown. Once the superheated nuclear vessel would touch the delicate equipment of the engines, the ship would explode, perhaps not spectacularly, but explode nevertheless. Of course, that would be a suicide mission. There would be little to no chance of someone doing that and making it back to the docks in time, especially as there would be a line forming to the few space worthy vessels. Even if someone had taken one of the landing crafts, the distance to Mars was far too great; the distance to Earth was at best a long shot. The meltdown had happened so far into the journey, but not far enough that the reasoning behind the meltdown seemed senseless. The more consideration he gave, the less sense it all made. Naturally he had the three new girls to suspect, he barely knew them, he only spoke to them for a short time before accepting them open handed into his ship. They had been given to him by Solomon, and he had vouched for them, but Sergio didn’t know Solomon well either. Giselle had been the contact from the Resistance. He was more or less a mercenary, a paid ship for hire. Of course, he had to question Giselle and her intentions as well, he had only known her for a short time, and he didn’t trust her very well either. She had been assigned to the ship because the Resistance felt that he lacked the proper diplomatic and covert abilities necessary to properly maintain communication and transfer of information and machinery between the Planetary Parliament and its backdoor channels and the Resistance. ‘A pain in the ass to baby sit me’ he snorted. She had adopted a sort of de-facto first officer status, although he had neither granted nor asked for her to, but he had to admit that she was thorough in her work, and fair as well. She also seemed to have a human quality about her, a sort of woman’s intuition that served her well on the ship. His biggest surprise was her ability to be one of the boys, to deal with and befriend the raunchy and dirty men that called his ship home. Then again, there was David, who himself had only been on the ship a short time. He had computer and technical expertise that was beyond his understanding and Flynn had once made it known that he felt the computer systems could be compromised at any time by his hands. ‘No’ Sergio thought to himself. ‘His were real tears; never could he have done that to a friend’ But there were problems with suspicions of anyone, he had to admit to himself. Despite his attempts to help them, two girls had shown up trying to help. Giselle herself was wearing a radiation suit outside the door as well. The rest of the crew were initiating evacuation procedures. He sighed, realizing that he must consider everyone, even those who had served on his ship for years. Worst of all, he had to pretend that everything was going to be fine, that there was nothing wrong so that the real saboteur, if there were one, did not discover what was going on. He checked the time, he had to meet up with Giselle, and did not look forward much to it at all. He seemed to look at everyone in a new light right now, a dark one. * “Your right, this breakfast burrito is almost edible,” Nadia said, going out of her way to praise Terra. She still felt that she had made a rash and unwise decision, but she understood the underlying compassion and reasoning behind her motivation to do so. Time had helped Nadia cool her temper, which was for the best. “It’s still not as good as breakfast used to be,” Terra said glumly. “Well, hopefully we’ll have you back wiping out the planet’s supply of pancakes in no time,” Nadia said with a smirk. “I suppose so,” Terra said. “It is nice to sit here and eat though, even if the food doesn’t stay in place.” “Yeah, I feel like I’ve been cooped up in the room forever,” Nadia said. “I, I was thinking,” Terra said, “How has Yoshi been doing? I haven’t seen him in a long time, and even then, he was…depressed, I think.” “You are right about that, he has been a bit of a recluse. I don’t know if it’s just his work or what though…” Nadia said. “Well, I remember he was working really hard with Tom before once,” Terra offered. “I think maybe he’s having trouble figuring out about what to do with his new body,” Nadia said. “For him, everything is different. Not just having a new addition, but having an all new body really.” “Yeah, I guess that would be hard, I mean, I wanted to grow it, but you and mom, it just sorta dropped into your lap, didn’t it?” Terra asked. “Well, I didn’t plan on getting one, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it. Your mom on the other hand, well, she was willing to get it, she was sick once, too. she was cursed to become infertile, and, well, she was willing to take it to have you,” Nadia said, all of this talk was making her aware of her manhood, and the fact she had gone a couple days without using it properly was making it all the easier to notice. “I can’t really explain why he became what he became, not really, but I can’t explain a lot of things. But we shouldn’t talk about this out here.” “Uh, well, I was thinking about him because, well because he should know, you know? About David I mean,” Terra said. “Your right, if he has the…he should know,” Nadia agreed. “If only we could find a way to get him to submit to an intercellular/intracellular scan we could find it out in a jiffy. I can go tell Yoshi now, if you want to come?” “I, I guess so,” Terra said, thinking for a moment before saying “Do you think he might be…cross?” “I…don’t know. He can be frustrated when he runs into problems he can’t solve. If he had found something out, he would probably have talked to us,” Nadia reasoned. “No, I meant, I meant about the nanites,” Terra said, still feeling shame at what she did with David. “Oh,” Nadia thought for a second. “Do you want me to go talk to him first? You can always come back to talk to him later, it’s not like we’re going anywhere soon.” “Maybe,” Terra thought. She had seen Yoshi been more prone to anger than Nadia in the past, and just telling Nadia had been an ordeal she wished to avert. “Do you mind?” “No, not at all, I should be a sec, just wait here,” Nadia said, rising up. “I think I’m going to go to the room,” Terra said. “Oh, alright,” Nadia said. “But, please, just don’t-“ “I won’t go to see him. I’ll just go straight to the room, alright?” Terra asked. “Of course, please don’t think bad of me for being cautious, okay?” Nadia asked. “No, I won’t,” Terra said, grabbing onto Nadia’s hand. “Trust me.” “I do honey, I do,” Nadia said. “I shouldn’t be too long.” Nadia said, as she squeezed Terra’s hand lightly for a moment before breaking their embrace. She smiled as she exited the room, trying to put on a brave and reassuring face, despite the fact that inside, her mind was running a marathon to try to determine what to do. They could try to ignore the problem, but Nadia reasoned that if he has multiple forms of cancer, there was a good chance that he may have another scan, if not multiple more, before the ship got to Mars, whenever that would be. ‘Of course, there’s no saying that that medical imposter would even bother’ she scoffed to herself, ‘Or that she’d even find the nanos if they cured his cancer’ If they told him, he might freak out, he might accept it, he might talk, she didn’t know him well enough to gauge his response, and she didn’t think Terra knew him enough either. If he freaked out they might get pushed out of an airlock, they might be sent in a brig, ‘If they have one’, they might be given some other kind of punishment. If he talked then Giselle and her suspicions would be essayed as evidence of their covert or secretive nature. Then of course the nature of the nanobots would become public knowledge. Nadia didn’t believe that the entire ship could be silenced. If they were lucky, he would simply accept it wholeheartedly, for the gift that Terra had attempted to give him. She sighed as she got into the elevator. ‘Not very frigging likely’ she thought. Nadia mulled over her options, not very pleased. In fact, she was still angry at Terra’s actions, but she found herself unable to truly stay mad at the girl. She knew that Terra was doing what she thought was right, that she wanted to help the troubled teen. Nadia still didn’t like the fact that she had been over with him, that the two had shared a kiss, she could feel the jealousy even though she didn’t admit it to herself. ‘And just what was he doing getting her drunk in the first place? I remember teenage boys…’ She wanted to scream or shout or punch a wall, just do something to get rid of her frustration. ‘That bitch Giselle is probably wiretapping us’ Nadia thought to herself, making a note to talk to Terra about any kind of conversation with the nanos, involving her or Yoshi, or writing it down in her diary. ‘If she hasn’t written something down already.’ She knocked on Yoshi’s door. “What the hell do you want?” grumbled the oddly feminine voice from inside. Even as grouchy as he was, his voice sounded like some teenage girl pouting. “It’s me, Nadia,” she said, rolling her eyes as she waited to deal with Yoshi and his grumpiness. She envied Terra and her forethought. “Come in already!” he shouted, Nadia didn’t waste a moment opening it. She looked at Yoshi, still taken aback by his feminine form, even if he didn’t exactly act in a manner becoming a woman. Instead he was sprawled out on a chair with his legs wide open with his one piece suit half hanging off his body, most of his breasts visible, as he scratched his ass. “It took you long enough, where’s the scanner?” “What?” Nadia asked, confused. “I gave you a scanner specifically designed to look at how the nanos react in the body and depending on emotional states, particularly how they interface with the neurons, remember?” Yoshi asked impatiently. “Oh, shit,” said Nadia, realizing her mistake. “What, did you break it?” Yoshi asked. “No, I left it in my room,” Nadia said. “When we moved I forgot to take it, I was too busy taking the,” Nadia stopped herself, imitating a gun with her fingers. “Oh, well, thanks for nothing then,” Yoshi grumbled. He had all but given up on fixing the problem with Mars as things were. He had hoped that upon landing they could find some more empirical data that would be the missing link. Until then he had hoped to solve the problem that was pumping through his very blood. “No, it’s, it’s worse than that,” Nadia said. “Much worse.” “What?” Yoshi asked, annoyed. * Terra finished her burrito and sat alone for a while. She had hoped that Nadia would be quick, just like she had said, but with each passing minute she felt more and more uncomfortable. She was worried that David might come and talk to him. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, not yet, she needed to figure out how she felt, what she was going to do, what she was going to tell him. She opened the door and peered out, scanning the outside for anyone before she stepped out. She began to walk hurriedly, when she suddenly heard the sound of people talking. It took her a moment before she recognized the voices of Sergio and Giselle. “I can’t believe you gave him booze, what the fuck were you thinking?” Giselle asked, obviously upset. Terra was afraid she had side stepped an agitated Yoshi for an angry Giselle. “Listen to me, the boy needed to get into bed, and a few strong ones will tire him out,” Sergio said. “Yeah, a few, you gave him a whole bottle!” Giselle shouted. She had hoped that Sergio would have used his better judgment to guide David, not trade one substance for another. “This isn’t going to do a damn about his addiction!” ‘Addiction?’ Terra wondered. She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but hearing them talk so urgently about David made her focus into what they were saying. “Giselle, trust me, sometimes there are ways that aren’t your own,” Sergio said, trying to calm her down. “Besides we shouldn’t talk about it out here, the boy has a knack for eavesdropping. Terra suddenly felt guilty, and she could tell by their growing voices that they were getting closer and closer. She looked around for a place to go, but there were none, not really. There was the galley of course, but they could just as easily be heading there. Her room was on the other side of them, and she didn’t want to go out into some random person’s room. With her boots on she didn’t think that she could run in any case. “He’s working on another floor, and damn it Sergio, he’s still doing stimulants, I can tell!” Giselle pleaded, as she handed him a pad, displaying the ship’s supply of stimulants. “He’s…taken all these?” Sergio asked, surprised as he looked over the inventory of stimulants. There were more than half of the stimulants used up. David had filed false computer logs that made it seem as though everyone was using them, to cover his tracks, but the sheer number of missing stimulants told the story. “How can he have taken all of these stimulants?” Terra looked up as she heard the footsteps of the two turn the corner. She looked at the two of them, feeling shameful about eavesdropping. “Stimulants?” “What are, it’s none of your business,” Giselle said, taking her anger out on the innocent girl. “Maybe it is,” Sergio said, rubbing his gristly graying beard. “Maybe it is.” “What the hell are you talking about?” Giselle asked. She was used to knowing almost everything on the ship, now this was something that Sergio seemed to know she hadn’t the slightest inkling of. “David, the boy is, well, addicted,” Sergio put bluntly. “I, I didn’t know, I…” Terra said, taken by surprise. “What are ‘stimulants’?” “Well, it’s a drug, a kind of… amphetamine I think it’s called. It makes him stay up, keeps him awake and going,” Sergio said. “Sergio, it’s none of her business,” Giselle said, shocked that he would reveal such personal information regarding David so casually. “It starts out as a little pick me up, but the boy has been overusing them for far too long,” Sergio said. “Now he’s been going days without sleep, and using them to keep himself going.” “Is, is that’s why you gave him the alcohol?” Terra asked, piecing together the other part of their argument, “To get him to sleep?” “How did--?” Giselle asked no one in particular before being interrupted. “Yes, I thought the boy could use a good night’s sleep. I noticed he showed up rather late for duty, and I didn’t drill into him too hard for that,” Sergio said, with a slight smirk. “What…what does it do exactly?” Terra asked. “Besides keep him up? They do a number on your brain…badly I’m afraid. I don’t know the exact science behind it all but it depends on how much he’s been doing for how long,” Sergio said. “Why, why do you have them then? If they can be so addictive, and hurt so badly, why do you have them?” Terra asked as it didn’t make much sense to her. “Well, they have been used to help injured people, we don’t have much in the way of medical supplies here,” Sergio said penitently. “I never imagined that he had been using them so much.” “He has to have had his own,” Giselle said, surprised at the information she offered up. “He must have brought them up from the last time he went down on Mars. There’s no way that he could have become so hooked just from sneaking them out of the medical stores,” Sergio said, giving Giselle a look as he wondered what other information she was hiding. “Why not?” Terra asked. “There just aren’t enough there, he must be using them to supplement, or replace, his own supply,” Giselle theorized aloud. “Nadia’s a doctor, can, can she help? I mean, if he wants to be helped?” Terra asked. “It depends on how messed up his head is,” Sergio said. “If he accepts it, you have all of our ship’s facilities at your disposal.” ‘If he doesn’t accept it,’ Sergio pondered to himself ‘I’ll find a way to change his mind’ “Sergio?” Giselle said, surprised. “You were the one who wanted me to act, so I’ll act,” Sergio said. * Eve sighed as she watched the door to the Martian Prime Minister’s office open wide; allowing the Secretaries of Information and Military in. The two of them were a rarity these days, government employees with both their lives and their jobs. The two men bowed their head in submission to Josiah Smith as they entered. Eve regretted that the two greater men were forced to grovel in front of the PM. “Yes yes, what is it?” Smith asked annoyed. “Sir, we have come to the conclusion that it is unlikely that as of right now we will be able to…conjure up the…Elder Gods,” said current Secretary of the Military, Marshal Jamal Green, a tall tough man of African decent, his body barely stuffed into a military uniform decorated with a number of gaudy medals and other adornments. “It is a temporary setback, but we can deal with it.” “It doesn’t matter,” Smith said. “I’ve already determined our next course of action.” “I see, sir, it is a relief to hear you say that. What will our next course of action be?” asked Jeffery Brody, Secretary of Information, a short man, with pale skin in a less extravagant government uniform. “Aliens,” Smith said, looking into Jeffery’s eyes. “Aliens, sir?” was his skeptical response. “Yes, aliens,” Smith's voice filled with certainty. “Of course sir, might I ask how we can…enlist the aid of these aliens to help us?” Brody asked. “You have a whole planet’s worth of information at your disposal, make it work, I can’t be expected to do everything,” Smith said irritated. “Besides, I have people like you for that, don’t I?” “Yes, sir, of course,” Brody said with a smile. He had hoped that the previous distraction would occupy the Prime Minister’s attention for longer. He believed that he could make the search for intelligent life, which had been ongoing for over a half millennia last long enough. That is, unless the PM thought up a new diversion for him to work upon. “While we are here sir, we were wondering if you might be ready to sign the appropriation bill for increased military spending,” Green said, handing a pad over. “It’s everything we discussed, in case E.T. doesn’t phone home,” he said with a smile. “Funny,” Smith said, half-smiling as he scribbled his signature on the form. “Fine, fine, might as well, but you know we’ve got to save some money so we can do something about this whole…plague thing” he said, waving his hands in the air. “I’ve gone to some really bitchy meetings with the Secretaries for Public Heath and the Economy Secretary, and it’s getting old quick. Need to have a planet to come home to with the plunders, am I right fellas?” “To the best of my recollection I don’t think you’ve been wrong,” Green said, making sure that the PM had signed the paper. On more than one occasion he had written in false names, his personal favorites were ‘Caligula’ and ‘Napoleon’. “Thank you sir, we’ll get started on the little green men as soon as possible.” “Don’t call them that, you’ll piss them off,” Smith said as he waved them off. Despite their hurried exit, he didn’t even bother to wait for them to leave the room before asking “What else do I have for today Eve?” “You have no more meetings sir,” Eve said. “Ah, good, good,” Smith said, lighting up another cigarette. “Well then, I guess I’m off to bed.” “It is rather early sir, and you have a banquet tonight,” Eve said, although banquet did not do the event justice, it was more a lavish party than anything else. “I said I’m off to bed, not to sleep,” he said crossly. “My apologies sir, a misunderstanding on my behalf,” Eve said coolly. “Well I do the thinking around here, just be thankful you’re a good shot,” Smith said, walking out the door. He galloped towards his chambers, with Eve following closely by. * Amber was sitting up on the couch, puffing from a long and thick joint. There was a party tonight, and as such she was not allowed to smoke opiates, as she made for a lousy dance partner, not that he ever would. She was wearing a long Japanese style bathrobe colored indigo, which she did not know was called a yukata. The cotton cloth was soft and it covered up much of her body, both of which were reasons she adorned it. Last night had been an especially cruel one for her. Smith was in a mood, and her body had bared the brunt of his attacks. She had feigned exhaustion in the morning, choosing not to wake, even at his prodding, to escape a second bout. She was no stranger to pain, but nevertheless she did not enjoy it, particularly from one so uncaring about inflicting such suffering. She heard the rapid foot clacks coming near, and began to hotbox the remaining joint, to ensure that she was prepared to deal with whatever Smith had in line for her. It wasn’t something she was proud of, but it did help. “Ah, so she’s up,” Smith said. “Yes, my Prime Minister,” Amber said, smiling as sensually as she could. She stubbed the roach in the ashtray on the table before rising up. “Well, I don’t need you right now, but try to stay awake, and we’ve got a banquet tonight, I want you to wear that cute new blue number,” Smith said, grinning wickedly. “That one is, rather revealing big daddy,” Amber said, walking over to him and laying a kiss on his cheek as she wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t need to remind him of the bruises still fresh upon her body. “Right, I want you to wear it tonight, seven-o-clock sharp,” he said, pulling himself away. Eve looked over mercilessly, knowing that Smith wanted to display proudly the welts and bruises on her body. Amber looked over as a government page brought a girl over. She was wearing some skimpy red lingerie, which was unbefitting of a girl her size and age. She was tight lipped, but Amber could see the tears being held back. Only a fragment of her sympathy, her humanity was left in her. Looking down at the little girl, she could not allow the same fate to befall her. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve going to be busy,” Smith said, the wicked grin lingering on his face. “Unless you want to watch?” “Oh, Josie, baby, what do you want a little girl for when you can have a real woman?” Amber asked, running her well experienced hands down his chest before stopping around the crotch of his pants. “She does have a point,” Eve said, noticing the little girl’s eyes grow as wide as dinner plates. “You always complain afterwards about the girls and the crying and the lack of experience, sir.” “Eh? Well…maybe you’re right,” Smith said, looking at Amber. “I guess you girls are starting to pay attention.” “Perhaps, in some time, she might be ready,” Amber said, kissing him on the mouth. She pulled her lips away, speaking softly into his ear “But she wouldn’t begin to know how to do the things I can.” “MMM,” Smith said, running his tongue across his teeth. “Get rid of the girl, I’ll be waiting.” “Sure thing big daddy,” Amber said, smiling and kissing him once more before turning to the girl. She reached into her pocket and fished out all the money she had. It was her allowance, her money to spend on drugs and other lavish items. It was quite a sum, and it would have to do. “Get out of the gates, tell the guard you were kicked out of bed and never return. There will be no more sympathy for you here, leave and never come back or you will be the one in the bed, not me.” “Th-thank you,” The girl said, as she began to sob. She took the money from Ambers hand, but without clothes, she had nowhere to put it. “The tears will convince them better girl, let it all out, and run. Take your family and leave the city. The money is yours, just go. If you have to run into the streets as you are now, just pull up the stakes and go!” Amber said. “Thank you, I, I don’t have a family, but my name is Kristen, if you ever, ever come to,” the girl tried to get out between sobs. “Are you fucking stupid girl? This isn’t some kind of fucking storybook ending where we’ll meet up at grandma’s house and have cookies and milk! I said run, no farewells, no meet me later, no thanks, just move your fucking ass out!” Amber said, turning the girl around and smacking her on the ass to get her feet moving. She finally took the hint and her naked feet patting against the floor was the last Amber saw or heard of her. Eve looked at Amber with a small amount of regard. “So, the whore has compassion?” “You opened your trap too,” Amber pointed out. “Just so I didn’t have to hear him complain, I’m not going to be in bed with him,” Eve said. “When the time comes,” Amber said coldly. “That’s what I’m here for,” Eve said, reminding herself exactly where her firearms were located on her person. “It won’t matter, when the time comes, you won’t get compassion,” Amber said coolly. “What makes you think there will be a time?” Eve asked. “There is always a time, and a place Eve,” Amber said. She took a deep breath before walking into the room. She didn’t know what awaited her, whether it was some kind of sadomasochistic torture or just regular sex, but she steeled her mind. The drugs helped, a lot. * “Nadia, if, if he says yes, we can help him!” Terra said. “We can find out if he really has the nanos, and if they are working,” Terra said, decided not to tell Nadia about his drug use just yet, she didn’t know the depth of his problems. “And if he’s still sick, then you can tell him what he needs to do.” “I admit, it isn’t a bad idea, but what makes you think he’s going to accept a scan?” Nadia asked skeptically. “That’s why I need to convince him,” Terra said. She had tried to help him once before, but now, now with her help, Terra felt like she could truly help him. If only she could convince Nadia of it first. “Terra, that is almost crazy enough to work,” Nadia said, thinking on it for a moment. His information would be personal, so even if Giselle asked him he wouldn’t tell her anything she needed to know, he would only get the information that Nadia would tell him. They could determine the course of the nanos, if he had them, if they worked, if they were able to cure him. If he had been cured Nadia could attempt to act as though Giselle had failed in her initial diagnosis. “I, I just wanted to talk to you about it so, because I wanted to let you know beforehand,” Terra said. “Oh,” Nadia said, thinking for a minute. ‘Is she asking for my…permission?’ she wondered. It had been a long time since anyone, even her children, had asked her for permission to do anything. She felt a pang of guilt, ‘After all I talked to her about going out without me, she feels like she needs me to allow her to go talk to him’ “If your sure you can ask him without making it look suspicious, I wish you the best of luck. I want to help him Terra, I do.” “Okay, I’ll do my best,” Terra said. “When were you going to ask?” Nadia questioned. “I guess there’s no time like the present,” Terra shrugged her shoulders. * Sergio took another drink, and shook his head as he went over yet another page full of information. ‘Worthless unending fucking numbers’ he thought, rubbing his eyes. He had gone over so much meaningless numbers, he didn’t know if he would notice when meaningful ones came up. Not that he necessarily knew what the meaningful numbers would be in the first place. He had discerned only one thing; that either the particle detection system worked or someone had been clever enough to falsify reports for weeks, varying in accordance with acceleration and temperature readings and power consumption. Of course, they might have falsified the core temperature readings as well, because they all showed normal ranges for each action. What was most troubling to Sergio was the fact that there simply was an end to the readings, they just ended at one point. There were readings, but they just stopped changing, almost an hour before, ‘Before Flynn died’ he thought to himself, closing his eyes for a moment. The ship had a backup system for reading the core temperature and a backup particle detection device, which should have activated if the primary system wasn’t working. Instead Sergio had to switch to them manually, when he noticed things weren’t right on the ship. He smacked the pad down, too frustrated. He was ready to just give up and go to sleep. His stomach growled, telling him that he needed to get something to eat. He sighed, accepting that his stomach usually won, so he forfeited. He didn’t bother looking at the pad before stepping out the door on his way to the galley. * David looked around his room nervously. He felt off, odd, weird. He hadn’t taken the stimulants in some time, he had been busy at work. He was depressed, and beat down tired. He eyed his drawer, he knew he had another stimulant sitting there waiting for him. He didn’t want to use it up, he didn’t look forward to taking more from the ship. He sighed as he tried to stay alert. When he had first taken the stimulants, they had been a lower dosage, they were more diluted. Now he was taking higher doses, and using them more often. He had the mother of all tension headaches, and knew that he was going to pass out, floating in the middle of his room, if he didn’t do something about it. Memories of past nightmares cautioned him not to rest. He thought on for one moment, deciding he had denied himself for long enough that day. Reaching into the desk, he jumped as he heard a knocking on the door. He slammed the drawer shut quickly. “It’s open!” David shouted his usual reply to a knock on the door, in an attempt to sound normal. The door opened, and he was relieved to see who it was. “Hi,” Terra said meekly. “Oh, hey, uh, how’s it going?” David asked, feeling awkward. He was just thankful it wasn’t Giselle or Sergio to give him a hard time. “Uh, good, how are you?” Terra said. “Good, good thanks. Sorry about last night, I got a little sloppy I guess,” he said, a weak smile forming on his face. “Oh, yeah, well, I’m sorry I got a little…sad,” Terra said. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want to just blurt everything out like that, I mean, uh, I mean about how I was sick and all,” David said, yawning. “I just, I don’t know. I’m just stupid sometimes.” “No, it was my fault, I pestered you about it,” Terra said. “How, how much do you remember about last night?” “Uh, well, most of it,” he said, with a weak, nervous smile. “Oh,” Terra said, expecting as much. Despite her memory, a part of her had hoped that by some means he would have remembered their kiss, she felt embarrassed to admit it to him now. “I’m sorry, I just had way too much, I didn’t…act…I didn’t make too much of a jackass of myself, did I?” he cursed himself for forgetting. “No, no, why would you think that?” Terra asked. “Well, you left your flower here, and you seem…kind of nervous,” he scratched the back of his head. “Oh, well, uh,” Terra said, her eyes darting around the room. “Last, last night, I kissed you.” “WHAT?” David asked as his jaw dropped. It was enough to keep his bloodshot and weary eyes open. “How, how in the hell did I forget that?” “Uh, I, I think you were asleep,” Terra said honestly. “But, uh, I wanted to talk to you about it.” “I, I was asleep?” he asked. ‘How the hell was I asleep for that? Did she kiss me when I was asleep?’ he wondered to himself, before noticing that Terra was still looking at him. “What about it?” he asked. “I, I think…something might have…passed when, when we kissed,” Terra said, trying as best she could to phrase it without telling him. “What? Oh,” David said, remembering his illness. ‘Is she afraid of getting sick?’ “Cancer doesn’t work that way, I can’t give you cancer by a kiss, or a hug, or even by uh, well, y’know, other stuff. It just kind of happens, it isn’t, communicating I think it’s called.” “No, I meant something from me,” she said, choosing her words carefully. She had given, forced really, the nanos into his system without asking, and despite her best intentions to help, she realized she should have given him the choice. Even if it saved him, he should decide for himself. “What do you mean, like mono or something?” he asked. He hadn’t felt sick like that. ‘Oh god, she doesn’t have herpes or something does she?’ he wondered. “No, not like that,” she said. “But, since you bring it up, I want to talk to you, about, about being sick,” Terra said, choosing her words carefully. “Uh, what about it?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Terra wasn’t making a whole lot of sense to him right now. “Nadia, she’s a doctor, she’s really good, she has helped people like you,” Terra said, regretting her words a moment later. “People like me? Just what is that supposed to mean?” David asked, his eyes getting narrow as he became defensive. “Uh, sick people, people with cancer,” Terra said, regretting her word choice. “She said that you could probably be okay.” “Oh, well, thanks,” he said, his voice easing up even though his mind was still defensive. “But uh, she thinks you should go through a, a medical scan to see where it is, and how far it’s progressed,” Terra said, fearing the reply. “No, I don’t want to do that, sorry,” David said absolutely. “It won’t hurt, and she’s a doctor, she won’t tell anyone who you don’t want to have know about it,” Terra said. “The offer is nice, but the answer is the same, no,” David said. “There’s nothing else she can do here really. There’s no reason for her to scan me.” “But, but if she knows where the cancer is, how far it’s progressed, she, she can help you find out about how to treat it,” Terra said, wishing she was more convincing. “It won’t matter in the long run,” David reasoned. “I just, I don’t want everyone and their grandma knowing about my medical history.” “Oh, uh, I mean, she’s, uh, as a doctor, she’ll keep your information confidential,” Terra said. “What?” he asked, his tone changing into one of anger. “Uh, if, if it’s about the other thing,” Terra said, averting her eyes to David. “N, Nadia won’t tell anyone.” “What other thing?” David asked, starting to get angry. “What are you talking about?” “You’re ah, I mean, well, that you use the stimulants,” Terra said, avoiding words like ‘addicted’ or ‘drugs’. “Oh what, you heard about that? Fucking Giselle,” he muttered. “Look, I, I didn’t want you to get upset,” she said, trying to calm him down. “But I talked to Sergio and Giselle, and,” “What, you think I’m addicted or something?” he asked defensively. “I can quit whenever I want, but I’ve gotta work eighteen hour days, bust my hump for a thankless drunk of a captain, and yeah, I’ve taken some stimulants to keep me going is all. By the way, it’s keeping us all going, because last I checked this ship doesn’t fly on sunshine and kisses.” “Please, don’t get angry,” Terra said. “I’m just worried about you.” “Look you don’t know how it is on a spaceship, okay? I gotta work double time all the damned time, and everyone here treats me like shit. I have a lot of other shit on my mind too, and I don’t fucking need this!” he said. “I, I,” Terra said, seeking desperately for the words. “And hey guess what? Giselle doesn’t know me, neither does Sergio. Neither do you,” he said coldly. “None of you know me, how hard it is to deal with what I’ve dealt with!” “Please, just, stop, I,” Terra said, tears forming in her eyes. “Your sick, I, just want to help with your can-” “Sick? You know what’s sick? Digging into other people’s personal stuff! My business is mine, you don’t have any right to go digging through my personal life!” he shouted. “I’m sorry, but I just thought you needed help,” she said, feeling a ball of pain building in the pit of her stomach. “Look, I don’t need your pity,” he said, standing up. “So what, is this a big set up, huh? Get the druggie to agree to a scan and see how pathetic he is?” “No, no it’s not like that at all,” Terra said, tears forming in her eyes, “I, I just want to help you.” “Help me?” he asked, shouted really. “I, I just meant that Nadia wouldn’t tell anyone you, you were using them, I just want to help you, please, believe me,” Terra begged of him. “You can help me by getting lost, I don’t need your pity, and I don’t need your help!” he shouted. “You, you really mean that?” Terra asked, her head turning towards the door. “Yes, get lost, and take your damned flower with you!” he shouted. “Go, just leave me the fuck alone!” Tears began to fall from Terra’s eyes, but she didn’t want to sob, not in front of him. Grabbing her flowerpot, she charged out the door, feeling utterly defeated. Nothing had prepared her for such trouble, such obstinacy. She truly wanted nothing else but to help, but David couldn’t see past his own addiction to see that, and it only made Terra feel even more powerless. * Sergio almost stumbled over his own two feet as he tried to walk down the hallway. He usually ate better, and didn’t work as hard or as long without sleep. He had too much to drink and even having eaten as much as he could fit into his stomach, he could still feel the results of intoxication, to which he was no stranger. He knew he was no good as he was, he needed both sleep and to put a cork in the bottle. ‘Here I am worried about the boy and his stimulants, when I can’t keep the bottle closed,’ Sergio thought to himself. He stopped for a moment, wondering to himself. His alcoholic haze seemed to clear like a fog receding, and he felt almost clairvoyant. ‘Was that why I downplayed the boy’s addiction? Because of my own?’ he shook his head. He knew he was too far in the bottle to change now. ‘But the boy, he’s got a whole life ahead of him. He can’t throw his life away.’ His attention was suddenly broken as he looked up, and saw Terra exiting David’s room. ‘Atta boy,’ he thought to himself, before looking at Terra’s. Her closed, squinting eyes could do nothing to hide her tears. He didn’t think she could see him, as she ran, holding a flowerpot in hand towards him. “Terra, what’s the matter girl?” Sergio asked, as the weeping woman approached him. “What?” Terra said, opening her eyes. She had been trying to hold her tears in by shutting her eyes tight, and had not seen him. “Come on now girl,” Sergio said, taking out a piece of tissue paper from his coat pocket. He had a handkerchief once, for about three days, but after using a cloth handkerchief he realized that they were the same as their paper counterparts, a one time use product. “I’m, I’m sorry, I don’t,” Terra said, drying her eyes with the tissue. “Its fine, its fine girl, just get it out,” Sergio said, watching the girl. “It’s David, right?” “Y, yes,” Terra said. “He, he doesn’t, w, w, want to have a scan,” she sniffled. “He…didn’t touch you, did he?” Sergio asked, his eyes flaring up. “No, he, he just, he yelled, at me,” Terra said. “Oh,” Sergio said, thinking on for a moment. “I think it’s, about his, stimulants,” Terra said. “He just got, so angry and changed, I’ve never seen him like that,” Terra said, slowly regaining composure. “You know,” Sergio said, looking out into space for a moment. “As a child, I had a puppy, he was a precious little scamp, always drinking my father’s booze. Whiskey, beer, anything the mutt could get his paws on he would sup. Then he came to a conclusion,” he said, turning his head to Sergio. “It was either get rid of the dog, or get rid of the booze. Unfortunately, that meant my dog went to a farm, far away,” he said. ”What, what’s that got to do with this?” Terra asked. “Well we can’t get rid of this pup, but we can get rid of his booze,” Sergio said resolutely. “I, I don’t follow,” Terra said. “Its fine girl, I’m just a rambling, drunk old man,” Sergio said. “Oh,” Terra didn’t understand but didn’t bother to question. “Th, thanks for listening.” “Your quite welcome girl, I’m going to get some sleep, just give the boy some space,” Sergio said. “I’ll talk with him in the morning.” “Bye,” Terra said, and Sergio waved in response. He grinned a bit as he went back to his room, he felt like he had a plan, to solve his one problem, at least. He still had a ship barreling out of control that he barely believed he could stop in time, and he had conspiracy theories about possible sabotage to contend with. He returned to his room, and was about to get into bed, when he saw the same pad he had tossed before leaving. Picking it up, he looked it over; preparing to turn it off, when he saw something he hadn’t seen before. It was a personnel listing, a complete list of all the personnel that had been in and out of the engine room. He didn’t put it on previously; it must have come up on contact, although how he did not know. He looked at the list, it was fairly normal looking. It just contained names and dates and times of everyone who had been in and out of the engine room, and when they had entered or exited. One name in particular stuck out, it was a certain Nadia Bodarko. It had been such a trivial matter, when she came on she wanted to explore the ship, and so long as she was supervised, she was allowed to do so. The mere insignificant action now weighed heavily on his mind as he investigated further. He checked for other names on the list, neither the girls Terra nor Yoshi had been in there. He brought up the duty roster for the engine room, and compared it with the personnel listing. Everyone besides Nadia had their corresponding duty normally logged, except for another name, Giselle Gabriel, in the engine room twice without being on duty there, but logged in the computers as spending…twenty four minutes and eighteen minutes in her two unplanned trips. He paused a moment, thinking. He had never been a strict disciplinarian. People were largely free to come and go as they wished on his ship, they were just to be escorted through the two sensitive areas, the docking bays and the engine room. Whoever was working the engine room was entrusted to log all visitors, and when they came in and left. Neither Nadia nor Giselle might be aware of the fact that they were being logged in. Checking the duty roster, the very last person whose name he wanted to see was working at all three times, Flynn. ‘How am I to rest with this?’ Sergio wondered to himself. He had two suspects in the engine room without reason, and the only eyewitness was conveniently enough dead. Despite his better judgment he took two hard drinks from his flasks and strapped himself in for rest. He knew that he wasn’t going to rest easy, but in his shape he was no good either. * Kyle began to massage her sore muscles as she took a small break. She had tried meditating a couple of times, yet despite Tom’s urgings it hadn’t helped. She didn’t know what was to come, what she was going to do, but her resolve to see her child once more was only strengthened with each day as she honed both her body and mind to be a weapon. Tom seemed to her to be wilting under the pressure. She had respect before meeting him when she had signed up for the project initially, and it had only grown during her time knowing him. Now she noticed he was pushing himself too hard, working too much, and for the first time she had seen him, he wasn’t succeeding, and that had taken its toll. She also knew that he didn’t have the same kind of mission that she did. He wanted to escape, for himself. She wanted to escape for her daughter. Kyle’s eyes darted as she heard the noise of the unlocking door. She looked over to Tom’s sleeping body on the bed, and pushed his foot hard, jarring him from his rest. His eyes were barely opening as she looked at the face of a soldier opening the door. “Alright,” he said, pointing his gun between the two of them, waiting for any motion. “Let’s go!” “Where…are we going?” Tom asked, rubbing his head. “End of the line,” the soldier said with a grin. “Mars.” (This file was created by SomeRandomBastard (at) yahoo (dot) com, so send all flames there. Don't use without permission, and don't claim it's yours. Spread freely as long as this and the disclaimer above as well as the story entirely are untouched, unedited, and worshipped for the holy script they are not.) A critique, comments, flames, any responses are welcome, if they are pro, and then I'll consider making more. Don't be a jerk; send me a simple 2-minute or less message saying, hey, this was good. Thanks. Wow, so hard. http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/srb/www/