Captain Seth sat in his quarters, reviewing the cargo ship’s logs over and over again to try and extract something that could be useful to him. Who or what could have been behind these attacks? A large, hungry animal? A poisonous reptile? A humanoid species that couldn’t be detected by their sensors? If he couldn’t figure it out, then there was almost no way that he could help restore the cargo shipments to Draloos IV. He might as well just tell the Excelsior to start evacuating immediately. But that was exactly what Santiago wanted to hear, and there was no way that Seth would give him that satisfaction.
Seth was tiring of just staring at the logs; he was getting absolutely nowhere. The information given away by the logs were just too fragmented and cryptic. He would realistically have to wait for Dr. Min and Chief LeCroy to uncover more clues before he could even begin to hypothesize what went on down on the surface. He needed a break, a distraction of sorts, to help re-orient his mind. Almost conveniently, he heard the door chime. He turned slowly, and saw that it was Ensign Ester by the door. “Come in,” he said.
“Am I disturbing something, captain?” she asked.
“Not at all. What can I do for you, Ensign?”
“Well, captain, I….” Before she could even finish her sentence, she was immediately drawn to something in his quarters. “What is that?”
She was staring at the captain’s fish. It was a frightful water creature that had extremely long and sharp teeth and a long, dart-like body. Its bottom teeth jetted out further than its top teeth. The top of the fish was dark red, but the bottom was a shimmering silver.
“You don’t want to get near that,” he teased. Under normal circumstances, that might have been true, since in its typical habitat it would eat at an unsuspecting human. It was not large enough to maim the human, but it could remove a small chunk of flesh from a limb. And it wouldn’t stop at that.
“Is it swimming in mid-air?” asked Ester. Indeed, that’s exactly what it looked like. She could still see the water that it was swimming in, but at the same time, there was no glass that contained the water. The water was also quite clean and clear, so it was barely visible. From far away, it really did look like the fish was swimming in mid-air, and that at any moment it would swim towards you and bite you.
“Well, that’s just what it looks like.” He took his hand, and gestured as if to pet the creature. He could see Ensign’s look of nervousness as his hand got closer. He then swiped his hand at the creature. It went right through it. She giggled.
“A hologram?”
“Of sorts, yes, but there really is a fish. The fish tank is below, where you can’t really see it. The tank is surrounded by lenses that take images of the fish and water from all angles, the information is then transferred, and the images are projected up here. This way I don’t ever really have to come in contact with the dangerous creature. Plus, it gives the nice illusion that it’s swimming in mid-air.” The fish made the motion of a sharp bite, and Ester jumped.
Seth took out a small fish to feed it. He opened a small door on the side of the real fish tank, and dropped the little fish into it. It suddenly appeared on the top, the two could see the large fish quickly nab the little one and swallow it. Ester was thrilled. The merchant was right, Seth thought, girls love it.
“A little interesting toy I picked up on one of my missions on the U.S.S. Chicago.”
“You will have to tell me where to get one of these tanks…” she said with amusement.
“So what can I do for you Ensign? I’m going to assume that you didn’t stop by my quarters just so that you could look at my fish.”
“Dr. Min wanted me to ask your permission to take samples of some of these organisms on Draloos V to assist him with his study. He needs them to help him figure out exactly what killed the men, and to determine exactly what we’re up against. He will be transporting a number of them from the surfaces directly into containment fields. He promises that all of the species will be appropriately quarantined. When he’s finished, he will safely return them to the planet.”
“Does he really think that’s wise?” Ester only looked to the ground. Seth wasn’t really asking her. But it was something that he had to seriously consider; he did not want whatever happened on the surface to happen on his ship. But on the other, it may be the only way that Dr. Min can get some answers. Seth was a little surprised that Dr. Min didn’t ask him himself. “Since when did you become the messenger?” Seth asked her.
“He and Chief LeCroy were busy with work on the cargo ship. I wanted to be helpful.”
“You can tell him that I will approve it, assuming he follows the strictest of safety protocols. I will pay him a visit to tell him myself,” Seth instructed.
“Captain, I’m sorry about what happened on the surface…” she whimpered, looking at the ground as she said it. She seemed embarrassed that she let herself become the victim.
“Don’t worry about it, it wasn’t your fault. You were being attacked. Just be glad that you were all right. Dr. Min said that you were starting to go into shock.”
“I should have been more careful. I just…I just haven’t been on many away missions.”
“Look, don’t be too hard on yourself…the Dragonfly is your first assignment,” Seth said, trying to be encouraging. Although, he realized that this was an aspect of command that he needed to work on. He grew up learning to take care of things himself, so he didn’t think it should be any different for anybody else.
“I went to Dr. Min’s office and I saw what happened to the crewmen. I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened to those men. They…were mutilated.”
”I know. We may be dealing with a very hostile life form. Perhaps many. We just need to be careful.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to restore the cargo shipments with this life form around?”
“I don’t know, ensign. I’m here to try.”
Seth was starting to tire of all of the questions. But he supposed that it wasn’t entirely unusual for such a junior officer to be very curious about every little detail of the mission. But Seth didn’t have time to babysit her and entertain her questions all day. “Look, ensign…”
“Do you think Jerad can be trusted? Especially after what Jenovia said about him?”
Seth’s ears perked up. “What did she say about Jerad?”
Oops, Ester thought. She thought that Jenovia had already talked to the captain. “…Oh, it was before we left her on the surface of Draloos IV. I was playing with her and the children, but actually she was watching Jerad from a distance.”
“…And?”
“Well, she mentioned to me that she got the suspicion that Jerad was a practiced liar.” Seth felt his stomach turn a little. “She thought that he was one of those people who speak with clarity and confidence, but do that only for show. She said his pulse rate jumped a little every time your eyes looked in a specific direction, almost like there was something that didn’t necessarily want you to see. She just felt that she couldn’t trust him. But she wasn’t a hundred percent sure, and didn’t want to start accusing him on the spot. She wanted to learn more about the planet before she came to a definitive conclusion, which is partly why she asked to remain there. Or at least, that’s what she told me…”
“I see…” Seth said. He wished Jenovia had consulted him about it first. But she was right; bringing it up on the planet might have seemed accusatory.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to rat her out…I thought that she had already talked to you,” she said regretfully.
“Don’t worry about it. In fact, I am glad you said something. In regards to Jerad, I’m sure it’s nothing. It’s natural for people to be apprehensive when faced with a difficult situation. But you’ve given me reason to look at the facts more closely, and I appreciate that. Dr. Min and Lieutenant Commander LeCroy are turning over every rock to find out what’s going on. I am confident that they’ll be able to uncover the truth.”
“Yes, sir, I understand. Thank you, captain,” she replied, feeling a bit more at ease. “I feel better.”
Seth gave her a nod. “You’re dismissed.”
After she had left his quarters, Seth looked back at his fish, which now looked a little bloated after engulfing the smaller fish that he fed to it. He only wished that he believed what he just told his ensign. Well, Dr. Min and Lieutenant Commander LeCroy…the mission rests on you.
