blips?”
“Yes.”
“Those
are the nanomachines floating around in your bloodstream.”
“Then
what are those red ones?” he asked. There were a number of red blips showing on
the screen in addition to the blue ones.
“I’m
not sure, but I’m going to take a sample of your blood.”
“Sure.”
Brian noticed the look of concern on Celi’s face. “Tell me, what do you think
it is?”
She
took a draw of his blood and rushed to check it over microscopically. “I want
to make sure before I say anything,” she said with a faint quiver in her voice.
She looked at the sample closely under the microscope. “How is this possible?”
“What
is it?” he asked as he went over to her. She pulled away from the device before
turning away. He took a look himself. “I see.”
“The
plague that took our males from us has begun to affect you Brian,” Celi said.
She looked him in the eyes. “You’ve been under the threat of it since the day
you met us. I’m sorry I didn’t catch this sooner.”
“How
much time do I have left?” he asked.
“You’ve
entered stage three of the illness,” she explained. “The headaches are the
first symptom to appear. The next will include body aches and the gradual loss
of muscle control. After that your primary senses will begin suffering. In the
end you’ll have no feeling in your body and your senses will be shut off.”
“How
much time do I have left?” he asked again.
“Six
months to a year,” Celi answered with sadness in her voice. “That’s how long
it’ll take to become fatal.”
“How
long can I still be useful?”
“Using
what I can to treat you, I can likely keep you on your feet and working for the
next four months.”
He
took Celi’s hand. “I want you to keep this a secret. Until we can’t keep it,
please tell no one of this. I don’t want the crew to see me as a dead man
walking.”
“Alright,”
Celi said as she started tearing up.
“And
I want you to room with me. You can keep a close eye on the progression of this
disease.”
“Alright,”
she said as she wiped away the tears, gathering her strength once more. “I’ll
do everything in my power to make sure you don’t die. If there’s a cure for my
people then there must be one for you.”
“Thank
you,” he said. “But even if I die, please find the cure. My people will need it
someday. Make sure they live, they deserve that.”
“As
you wish,” she said.
Zae’s
voice came over the com system. “Brian, please report to the bridge as soon as
possible. We’ve found a good spot to repair the ship on a moon nearby, but we’re
detecting something that may be of interest to you.”
“I’ll
be there in a minute,” Brian said.
“Don’t
push too much,” Celi said.
He
put the armor back on. “If I’ve only got six months to live I’m not going to do
it lying down. Let’s fight this together and win.”
“Yes,
let’s do that,” she said as he went to leave. Celi immediately turned to her
computers and began the arduous task finding a cure. I won’t let him die.
Chapter 8 - Ominous Portents
Brian
entered the bridge once more while trying to shake off the disturbing revelation
of the plague within him.
“What
is it Zae?” Brian asked. On the monitor was a picture of the rocky moon before
them.
“We’ve
detected an artificial satellite in orbit, as well as what looks to be a base
on the moon,” Zae explained. She called up the images on the screen.
The
satellite appeared to be a large sphere in stationary orbit around the moon,
little over half a ketre in diameter. The moon base appeared to mostly
be built into the lunar silt, with a number of metallic domes peeking out of
the surface. Part of the moon base appeared to have exploded with little
remaining other than a charred crater.
“Neither
object is emitting power,” Zae added. “We’ve received no messages either.”
“This
doesn’t look like Grey technology at all,” Brian said while
“Yes.”
“Those
are the nanomachines floating around in your bloodstream.”
“Then
what are those red ones?” he asked. There were a number of red blips showing on
the screen in addition to the blue ones.
“I’m
not sure, but I’m going to take a sample of your blood.”
“Sure.”
Brian noticed the look of concern on Celi’s face. “Tell me, what do you think
it is?”
She
took a draw of his blood and rushed to check it over microscopically. “I want
to make sure before I say anything,” she said with a faint quiver in her voice.
She looked at the sample closely under the microscope. “How is this possible?”
“What
is it?” he asked as he went over to her. She pulled away from the device before
turning away. He took a look himself. “I see.”
“The
plague that took our males from us has begun to affect you Brian,” Celi said.
She looked him in the eyes. “You’ve been under the threat of it since the day
you met us. I’m sorry I didn’t catch this sooner.”
“How
much time do I have left?” he asked.
“You’ve
entered stage three of the illness,” she explained. “The headaches are the
first symptom to appear. The next will include body aches and the gradual loss
of muscle control. After that your primary senses will begin suffering. In the
end you’ll have no feeling in your body and your senses will be shut off.”
“How
much time do I have left?” he asked again.
“Six
months to a year,” Celi answered with sadness in her voice. “That’s how long
it’ll take to become fatal.”
“How
long can I still be useful?”
“Using
what I can to treat you, I can likely keep you on your feet and working for the
next four months.”
He
took Celi’s hand. “I want you to keep this a secret. Until we can’t keep it,
please tell no one of this. I don’t want the crew to see me as a dead man
walking.”
“Alright,”
Celi said as she started tearing up.
“And
I want you to room with me. You can keep a close eye on the progression of this
disease.”
“Alright,”
she said as she wiped away the tears, gathering her strength once more. “I’ll
do everything in my power to make sure you don’t die. If there’s a cure for my
people then there must be one for you.”
“Thank
you,” he said. “But even if I die, please find the cure. My people will need it
someday. Make sure they live, they deserve that.”
“As
you wish,” she said.
Zae’s
voice came over the com system. “Brian, please report to the bridge as soon as
possible. We’ve found a good spot to repair the ship on a moon nearby, but we’re
detecting something that may be of interest to you.”
“I’ll
be there in a minute,” Brian said.
“Don’t
push too much,” Celi said.
He
put the armor back on. “If I’ve only got six months to live I’m not going to do
it lying down. Let’s fight this together and win.”
“Yes,
let’s do that,” she said as he went to leave. Celi immediately turned to her
computers and began the arduous task finding a cure. I won’t let him die.
Chapter 8 - Ominous Portents
Brian
entered the bridge once more while trying to shake off the disturbing revelation
of the plague within him.
“What
is it Zae?” Brian asked. On the monitor was a picture of the rocky moon before
them.
“We’ve
detected an artificial satellite in orbit, as well as what looks to be a base
on the moon,” Zae explained. She called up the images on the screen.
The
satellite appeared to be a large sphere in stationary orbit around the moon,
little over half a ketre in diameter. The moon base appeared to mostly
be built into the lunar silt, with a number of metallic domes peeking out of
the surface. Part of the moon base appeared to have exploded with little
remaining other than a charred crater.
“Neither
object is emitting power,” Zae added. “We’ve received no messages either.”
“This
doesn’t look like Grey technology at all,” Brian said while
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