The Administrator from the main hospital on Draloos IV was feeling ill. Not from the virus that seemed to be infecting more and more people around the globe, but from the growing number of sleepless nights he’d been accumulating ever since the alien virus had become known to them. The situation was quickly reaching critical, even after appropriate quarantines around the globe were put in place. And the Administrator sensed that things were going to get worse very, very quickly.
The Administrator tried hard to put his medical training to good use. But he was very tired. I can’t risk compromising my immune system now, he thought, I have a duty to my patients. He already wore a full biohazard suit for added protection, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he and the rest of his staff would be infected as well.
Worse, he had made little headway with helping his patients, other than easing their pain. Their laboratories and hospitals were not sophisticated enough to handle this kind of threat, let alone develop a half-way decent countermeasure to the infection. The only thing they could do was limit the spread of the virus, and the aliens for that matter. Whenever an infected patient was about to complete the ‘birthing’ process of the Annecta aliens, the medical staff were instructed to quarantine them, and compassionately euthanize them. If the aliens happened to break free of their bodies unexpectedly, then the staff was to immediately vaporize them. The Draloos IV civilization could not afford to allow an Annecta intelligence to grow – especially now seeing what they were capable of. Humanity on that planet would not survive against them, and letting only a handful of Annecta aliens escape would already be too late.
A laboratory assistant came running into the room, sweating and panting heavily through a thick biohazard suit. His helmet became cloudy because of his heavy breathing. “It’s here,” he said. He had tried to elaborate, but he just couldn’t catch his breath.
“What? What’s here?” the Administrator demanded.
The assistant handed him a PADD for him to see; it was just easier to show him. The Administrator stared down at the results that literally turned his blood cold. They were undeniable. The Administrator prayed that it was a mistake.
“The results are in….they’ve been confirmed in multiple laboratory centers across the planet. We’ve isolated the new strain of the virus in our first patient this morning,” the assistant said. “The virus is airborne.”
