Legend

Shepherd and Tobias boarded the transport. They went to the cockpit to run systems checks and begin to ready the ship for departure. Shepherd sat in the pilot’s chair. He reached for the main computer switch but there was no power to the computer. He tried the switch again and again, but still there was no response.

“No power to the computer.” He began trying instrument function. No power to instrumentation either. The lieutenant stood to walk to the aft of the transport. “Something is interrupting the main power. Let’s have a look.”

Tolen followed Shepherd down the narrow corridor until they came to a hatchway. They pulled it open and Daven leaned into it to have a look at the power distribution subsystem. What he saw dismayed and alarmed him. He drew his head out, straightening to look at his partner.

“The main power bus has burned out. That is strange. We didn’t have any indications of overheating when we brought the transport into the hangar, and we haven’t used the ship since. How could this have happened?” The answer seemed obvious but he wanted to be sure before he began making accusations.

“Instrumentation failure?” Tolen suggested. “Maybe the engine was pulling power after we shut it down…a short.”

“I suppose we should check for that before we go any further. It will do no good to try to repair the bus if we can’t be certain there isn’t a problem that will pull down the power after the fix.” Shepherd turned to go back to the cockpit but stopped suddenly.

“Is something wrong, Daven?”

“The haran. It’s nearby. I can sense it.” The cold evil of the creature was trying to overwhelm him. He drew in a breath and reached out. “Let’s go.” He hurried to the ramp and drew his blaster as he descended. The creature was very close. The feeling was stronger now. Shepherd looked around as he stretched out trying to locate the haran. The lights went off. At once the dim backup lights came on. “Careful, Tolen. It’s here. And it wants us.”

The tall man was back! She would not…could not fail again. The drive to overcome, to live, was strong. He was interfering with all her plans: her will to continue, her attempts to sate the hunger. The hunger. It tore at her even now, always driving her. Now she would feed until completely satisfied. The man…the tall man would provide enough meat.

Shepherd began to walk slowly along as he looked around and extended himself. Then they heard snarling noises. The sound seemed to come from all around them; an effect of the echoing inside the large bay area, no doubt. Daven remembered the previous attack. He looked on all sides quickly to see if he was standing close to anything tall that the haran could use to launch itself.

“Just because it’s small, don’t assume it can’t attack from a high place, Tolen,” he said in a quiet voice.

Something small and dark scurried across the hangar several meters from them. As it disappeared into the shadows, low growls could be heard through the darkness.

“You go around that way,” Shepherd pointed. “I’ll come up this way. Maybe we can keep it between us.” Fixing his eyes on the last place he’d seen the creature, the man slowly advanced. It was there. He was certain. The cold evil feeling seemed to be building. The edge of the shadow was just before him. Then he would be forced to go into the darkness after the haran. The creature had the advantage. It was hidden and operated well in the dark. Daven Shepherd suspected it could see in the gloom. That’s why it spent so much time in darkness…to keep the advantage.

He stopped and drew in a breath. Then he stepped into the darkness. A shriek greeted him.

“Jenson!” Nerrin huffed out as he hurried into the infirmary.

“What’s wrong?” the doctor whirled around.

“I need your help,” he gasped. “Yarden has been attacked by that creature!” Jenson hesitated, but Nerrin wouldn’t allow him time to think about it. “Come on! He needs help!” He shoved the doctor toward the door. Jenson grabbed a pack of first aid supplies and then began to follow Nerrin.

“Were you there?”

“Yes,” the man called over his shoulder as he ran. “It was awful. That damned thing needs to be killed. I thought that your team came here to help.”

“Daven and Tolen have been trying to find it. They say it’s quick and has its own tunnel system.”

Nerrin mumbled something that the doctor couldn’t understand. He didn’t try to continue the conversation, but just followed.

The ore company worker stopped at the entrance to a dome. He pressed the button for the door to open and stood to the side. Jenson stepped forward. The backup lighting was on in the room. The doctor entered slowly, glancing around. He settled his hand on his blaster hilt and reached out to see what he could sense. The doctor remembered what Daven had said about sensing the creature, but Jenson wasn’t certain of what he was feeling.

“Where is he?”

“He’s over behind that row of equipment,” Nerrin said. As Jenson began moving further into the room, Nerrin stepped in and closed the door. He stole a glance at the doctor to see if he was looking. Then the man locked the door.

“Over here?” Jenson asked. “Show me.”

“Just go around the corner. You’re almost there,” Nerrin said from his place by the door where he watched and listened carefully. He had been closely observing the haran, and was certain that the timing was right for the next step.

The Genoan man walked around behind the racks and saw a body there. He hurried to it and knelt down. It was Yarden and he had a gaping wound in his chest, just like the previous two haran victims. The man was already dead. There was nothing he could do for Yarden.

“Nerrin, come and help me carry the body. We should get out of here as soon as we can before the haran comes back.” There was no response. “Nerrin? Are you there?” The doctor stood and walked back around the racks. Nerrin stood with a blaster rifle pointing at Jenson.

“Stop right there, Doctor,” he grinned evilly. “You’re just where I want you. Now we wait.”

“What’s going on? We shouldn’t stay here. The haran may come back.”

“That’s what I’m counting on. She knows there is still flesh here. She will probably come back to finish eating before she lays her eggs.”

“Then Rouhe was right about the haran…and he was right about you too,” the doctor responded with disappointment, surprising Nerrin.

“About me? I know he didn’t talk to you about me. When you got here he was already delirious.”

“He didn’t tell me, but he did tell his diary. He told about his suspicions regarding the haran…and how he shared that with you. However, instead of wanting to protect the workers, or even possible evacuate you didn’t want anyone else to know about the haran. Your company wanted it, but didn’t want anyone else to know it was here. No one could be allowed to leave or talk. That’s around the time Rouhe started to get sick himself, but he knew the haran had bitten him. No one would listen to him because he had the signs of the illness. His story was dismissed as the work of the sickness.”

“Well…it seems you have done your homework very well,” Nerrin responded with the admiration he truly felt. It mattered none what the doctor had found out. He leaned back against the wall, but didn’t lower his blaster rifle. “I didn’t know Rouhe was keeping a diary…or I would have made sure it was destroyed. It doesn’t matter now. No one will find out. When everyone here is dead from haran toxin, but I convince others that it was a very deadly illness, they will be reluctant to come back. I’ll have just enough time to wipe the computers before I leave. No one will ever find out.”

“Find out what? That you are luring people down here to feed this thing? But…you have forgotten. How do you expect to catch it? No one has even come close yet. What makes you think you can?” Jenson was genuinely curious, not only trying to reason with the man.

“I don’t have to catch it. Too much trouble. And trying to keep it contained and care for it while I transport it? Too much trouble. There is an easier way…and that’s where you come in.”

The way Nerrin said that gave the doctor a bad feeling. “If you think I am going to help you, you are very mistaken.”

“My dear doctor, it is you who are very mistaken. You will help me…and you don’t have a choice in the matter. Everything is set up and I don’t need your cooperation. It will happen whether you want it to or not.”

“It will probably do little good to ask, but what will happen?”

“I don’t mind telling you, because all things are ready. There is little to stop me. I suppose you know from Rouhe’s records that the haran has to feed extensively before it can produce eggs.”

“Yes, the feeding frenzy.”

“That is why it has begun to attack people instead of just biting them in defense.”

“That is what I suspected.”

“Good. You are an intelligent fellow. And Rouhe was a good researcher. I have been observing the haran as it has been feeding.”

“You have been…. And it was your own men who have been dying. Are you feeding this creature yourself, Nerrin? How can you do that? Why would you?” He was unable to keep the disgust from his voice.

“My company…and my benefactor want the haran. It was my job to find a way to get it. As you know capturing it is not the way…but there is another way. A way such that I don’t have to deal with the haran itself.”

“The eggs. You’re going to transport its eggs.”

“Exactly! Very good.” Nerrin clapped one hand on his thigh to applaud the doctor’s insight. “How much did you learn from Rouhe? Do you know how the haran lays its eggs?”

“I didn’t get that far in my reading yet.”

“Oh, too bad. That means I’ll have to break the news to you.” He paused and cleared his throat, making a dramatic start. “It picks a living host and injects the eggs into the host. That host carries them a number of days until they are ready to hatch. Then they burst forth from the host…and the new harans have a ready meal to feed on at once.” Jenson was trying not to reveal his horror at the thought of such a thing. “You, my dear doctor, are the host that I have selected. After the haran injects the eggs, you and I will travel back to Genoa in the transport that your team has so thoughtfully provided. Then in a few days…well, I’m sorry to say it, but you’ll have served your purpose. But it is a high purpose. The haran is a very valuable creature and you will have helped it survive.”

“If you think I’m just going to…”

“I don’t expect you to do anything, except stay where you are.” Nerrin raised his blaster rifle. “The haran has been slowing its feeding. You may have noticed that on Yarden. We will wait here until it comes back for its last meal and then you will be the host for the haran eggs.” He chuckled. “You should be honored. You will be giving your life for a higher intent. There aren’t many haran left but you will be helping it to continue. You’re a scientist. You can appreciate the importance of trying to save an almost extinct species.”

Nerrin sat down on a piece of equipment, careful to keep his blaster pointed at the Jenson. “I suppose it is a little alarming to think of how the end will come…when the newly hatched harans begin to eat their way out from the inside. Yes, that probably does take away the thrill of helping the haran survive.”

The doctor was repulsed at Nerrin’s words. The thought of being subjected to that horrified him. As he had told friends on more than one occasion, having a vivid imagination is not always a good thing. Jenson drew in a breath and fought for calm so that he could think. He wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“I’m glad I’ll be there to see it. I’m sure that information will be helpful to those of us who will be studying the haran. I don’t suppose I could get your cooperation…to tell me how all this feels. Will you be able to tell the eggs are there? Will you be able to know when they begin to hatch? Will you be able to use your enhanced Bartonian senses to communicate with the baby harans?”

The doctor tried not to listen to the words. The questions turned his stomach and threatened to steal his peace. He knew he had to be strong before Nerrin. But, even if he was strong, apparently this was going to happen. There didn’t seem to be anything he could do to stop it. He recoiled at the thought of the haran injecting him; that implied some appendage to penetrate his flesh. Then what could he do? Once that happened, there was nothing he could do to stop the process. Focus Jenson! Don’t think about that. It hasn’t happened yet. There may still be a way to stop it.

“What could you possibly want with a creature like this? It’s dangerous. You can’t even think of a way to control it long enough to transport it. What use can it be?”

“You are short-sighted, my friend. I suppose that, being a doctor, you can only be sensitive to the damage that a haran does. I guess I can’t really hold that against you. Your compassion does make you weaker. It’s true that there are not many harans left in our quadrant. Beyond that, who knows?” he held out a hand. “But if we have some here, why not take advantage of those instead of looking elsewhere? Though I personally think,” Nerrin lowered his voice and glanced around as if someone would overhear him, “if we did operate in a different quadrant of the galaxy, we probably would be constrained by different laws and regulations. We might be able to do our work more openly.” Then he returned to his regular volume. “Galactic Ore does get around. We had found a haran on a different planet, but not that far from here. It killed some workers before we killed it.” He was interested in this subject and warmed to it. “One of our company scientists thought it worth study since it was unidentifiable to us. It was beyond his area of expertise.” He paused and listened, putting a finger to his lips. After a long moment he shrugged. “Thought I heard something. Anyway, Galactic Ore hired a zoologist, who found the haran a fascinating creature. It exudes interesting chemicals through its scales and its saliva. Chemicals that could be valuable on the market because of their rarity.”

Despite himself, Jenson couldn’t hold his curiosity. “Such as?”

“Just a few things that are valuable in certain processing,” Nerrin said vaguely. “Oh, and even interesting to the military, to process their weapons grade barillium.”

The doctor didn’t ask further, though he’d gotten little information. He knew how ubiquitous barillium was in the military. If that was their only buyer, they would be overly rich; that is, as long as they could continue to provide harans. Thus the need for eggs. That brought Jenson’s mind back to his dilemma.

Nerrin suddenly laughed. “It’s amusing, really. A doctor will be the one to bear the eggs. Physician, heal thyself!”

Daven Shepherd whirled around to face the shriek, expecting the haran to launch itself on him. But he saw nothing, heard nothing else. His eyes searched the darkness for any movement, any clue to the creature’s location. The man stood still hoping to present less of a target.

Convinced that the haran was playing games with him, Daven was trying to decide which way to turn to search for it. The thing was baiting him. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted. The cold dark feeling was still strong around him. Shepherd was trying to narrow down the haran’s location from that feeling, to see if he could pinpoint the source of the coldness.

Suddenly something hit Daven in the back and knocked him to the floor. He was trying to catch his breath and move at the same time, but was unable to move far with the wind knocked from him. He could feel the creature’s teeth and claws ripping through his clothes. The man cried out as his flesh began to tear. Daven couldn’t reach the creature. It was too agile and able to easily avoid his large hands. He tried to roll over but, somehow, this time, the haran was able to stop that. The lieutenant noticed was near an equipment rack. The thing must be using that to brace itself.

Tolen had heard his partner cry out and hurried to him at once. Tobias had his pocket lamp out and shone it on the two battling beings on the floor before him. The haran looked up and screeched at the light. The younger lieutenant was taking aim with his blaster, aiming high enough to miss Shepherd, but his hesitation gave the haran the time it needed and the nimble creature was away at once. Tolen lost sight of it quickly in the dark. He dropped down on his knees next to Daven Shepherd.

“Shepherd!”

“Tolen…it bit me. The toxin. I don’t know how long before it takes effect,” he huffed out as he tried to sit up.

Tobias was speechless for a moment as he tried to think what to do. “I have to get you to the infirmary. Maybe Jenson can do something for you since it’s just happened. Maybe it’s early enough to…clean out some of the toxin. We have to go.”

Shepherd finally managed, with his partner’s help, to push himself up into a sitting position. Gingerly Tolen helped him to his feet. “Lean on me. Let me do all the work. Conserve your strength.”

I’m so sorry,” Nerrin said. “I suppose it’s not very…gentlemanly of me to remind you of the shocking thing that is going to happen to you,” he said in mock regret to the doctor. “But…you are a scientist. You can handle it, right, knowing that you are furthering science? Tell me something, since you are a doctor. Just how much can you manage pain? Do you think that you have something down in the infirmary so you won’t feel this at all? Maybe…just maybe the egg laying might not be so bad…but the hatching. Just how well do you think you can manage that? Could you save yourself if you had your full hospital available? Not with the staff, mind you? Could you save yourself?”

Jenson was concentrating on relaxation and breathing. That was the only thing he could do right now that would help him keep control. Jenson was trying to shut out the man’s taunts. For that’s what they were. He wasn’t sure if Nerrin just enjoyed the power he held over the doctor right now or if the man was sick enough to really enjoy what he was doing. Nerrin was cold enough to feed his own men to the haran. Jenson wondered why Nerrin had chosen him. There were still a couple of his own men who had not been killed. Why didn’t he pick one of them?

A wave of regret washed over Jenson. In choosing to become a doctor, he had given up some of the things that other men practiced regularly. He had sharpened his healing skills, not his fighting abilities. He already knew his weapons skills were lacking. Also, Jenson’s sensitivities had been developed more to encourage patients to open up to him, not simply convincing people to do as he instructed them without question. The doctor sighed. He was not trained in field missions. Just a small difference in training might have better prepared him to save himself. He had some small amount of practice in blaster firing for personal protection, but he didn’t go to the range regularly. It had been a few months now he remembered. And he used a small pocket blaster, which was lower powered and more suited to wounding than killing. Though he had a blaster strapped to his leg now, he doubted his ability to protect himself. He would have to act quickly to kill the haran and disable Nerrin. No, he wouldn’t be able to handle them both. No doubt Nerrin would fire on him to stop him from harming the prize haran.

A noise drew the doctor’s attention back to the moment; a scraping noise accompanied by snorts and grunts. There was little doubt what was making the sounds.

“In case you haven’t figured it out,” Nerrin said, “that is the haran. The scraping is what it sounds like crawling through its tunnels. It always snorts and grunts. Sometimes it moans,” he said thoughtfully with a hand to his chin.

Then Nerrin hurried to the side of the room opposite where the sounds originated. There was a reason he had chosen this dome in which to lure Jenson. There was a small plexiglass enclosed booth that the researchers had used to separate themselves from the experiments conducted here. Nerrin enclosed himself in the booth, ensuring his safety from the haran.

Jenson could feel fear rise in him, but he knew he couldn’t let it rule him. He wouldn’t be able to take advantage of any escape opportunity that might present if he were filled with fear and doubt. He had to be focused and clear minded…but that was quite difficult to manage at the moment.

The sounds intensified in volume. Then the doctor could see. In a corner of the room, on the other side of Yarden’s body, the haran’s head poked out of its tunnel. The large dark eyes reflected just enough of the dim light for Jenson to be certain those were its eyes. The creature opened its mouth and let out a shriek. Jenson’s blood ran cold. The dark thing climbed out of the opening in the floor. In the dim light, its dark scales glimmered iridescently. It walked on its hind feet, holding its shorter forearms before its chest. At the end of its long snout, the haran’s mouth was open, light glimmering off the pale teeth. The long fangs dripped saliva and venom. It seemed to be smiling at its intended victim. The creature hissed and spat as it studied the doctor.

“It has come for you. It’s time. I knew it was time. I was right.” Nerrin was gleeful. “I’m going to be rich…rich. Not just one haran, but two. Each haran lays two eggs. These two will make four more, then eight…my credits will multiply as fast as the harans!”

Jenson drew his blaster. As soon as he pointed it, however, he heard and then felt a blast. The shot only grazed his hand, but it was enough to make him drop his weapon. It hit the floor and clattered toward Nerrin. He hurried forward to collect the saber and then ran back to his protective booth.

The doctor backed away from the dark creature. He could feel the cold evil from the thing. Now he knew for himself what Daven Shepherd had described to him. Then his back touched cold metal and Jenson couldn’t move any further. He watched the creature begin its approach as his mind raced for a solution.

The dark thing stopped to investigate Yarden’s body. First it sniffed the dead man. Then the haran sunk its teeth into the flesh and tore a bite free. The creature swallowed and tore another hunk of flesh free. Then it stopped.

“I knew it!” Nerrin proclaimed. “I was right. It is through feeding. And it did come back to its last meal. Just like Rouhe’s research said. It is time for it to lay its eggs.”

That sentence made Jenson’s flesh crawl. He edged along the cabinet that he was backed up against. This movement was taking him toward Nerrin.

“Stop!” the man called out. “Stop or I’ll shoot you. If you try to get away at all, I’ll wound you. That will just make it easier for the haran to get at you.”

The doctor stopped. Nerrin would carry out his threat; there was no doubt. Facing the haran was not immediate death. However, Jenson was certain that nothing other than death would eventually result from the haran. It was coming closer. He could feel the cold darkness invading his mind. He tried to pull his senses away from that and resisting the rising fear in him. The haran was only a couple meters away now. What should he do? Should he take a chance and try to flee? Death might be his only escape from this situation. Perhaps he should do something desperate and force Nerrin to kill him.

Then all his choices were taken away. The creature launched itself at him, covering the last two meters in one leap. Jenson slid to the floor. The dark creature was sitting on him, glaring at him. Before he could gather himself, he felt something tearing through the skin and into his abdomen. The doctor yelled out in agony. The pain was intense…so intense that he couldn’t focus on resisting. Jenson could hardly move because his body ached so much.

And just when he thought he might pass out from the pain, it was over. The dark creature leaped off him and scurried away. Jenson was spent. He didn’t move. Pain still echoed through his body.

Nerrin had watched the entire thing in horror and fascination. After seeing it, the man had to admit that the display had repelled him. He stood in silent shock as the small dark figure hurried to its tunnel and was away. He stared at Jenson who was motionless. Nerrin wondered if he was still alive. He roused himself and forced himself to approach the doctor.

The doctor’s tunic had a red soaked tear where the haran had penetrated his flesh. That’s all that could be seen in the dim light, and the ore company man was suddenly grateful for that. He knelt next to the physician and placed a hand on his neck searching for a pulse. Jenson groaned. That was enough for Nerrin. The host was still alive.

“Hey. Come on. We have to get out of here. I have to get you to the transport.” The doctor didn’t move. “Come on!” Nerrin shook him roughly. “Get up!”

The doctor only groaned again. The man pulled Jenson to his feet. Jenson tried to contain his cries. He was mostly successful until Nerrin pulled his limp body over his shoulder. The pressure against the doctor’s abdomen was too much and he cried out.

“Shut up. If you can’t walk by yourself, you’re just going to have to endure.” He turned to leave the darkened dome.

Shepherd was leaning heavily on his partner. The sickness from the toxin was just beginning to start. They were wending their way through the several domes and corridors to get back to infirmary. Tolen’s attention was completely on Shepherd and he didn’t notice that two men had begun to follow as they left the hangar.

“Too bad the haran didn’t just kill him.”

“Shut up, Hafren,” Ura Prade hissed. Nerrin had given an assignment to the two men who had arrived with Yarden. They didn’t know yet that Nerrin had betrayed Yarden. The pair was sticking with the task they had been given; to help get the haran back to their company. To that end they were trailing the two lieutenants, watching and waiting for their opportunity.

“I hope Nerrin is right,” Hafren whispered. “If they don’t go back to the infirmary, by the most direct route, then we won’t be able to do this.”

“Shut up! They haven’t noticed us yet but if you keep talking…”

“Then shut up yourself.”

Prade wanted to simply flatten the man next to him and be done with him, but he would wait for a more opportune time. Unlike Hafren, he was more devoted to this mission. Not necessarily because he had any great loyalty to his company. Credits. That’s all he was interested in. He wouldn’t allow anything to stop him from getting the bonus he was promised for helping in this. Especially not Hafren. However, if the big mouth didn’t shut up, he would be jeopardizing their current task. He may have to do something about Hafren…but he would wait. Maybe they still might be able to accomplish this.

The two followed at a distance, waiting for the two investigators to clear a dome before they entered behind them. Prade was happy. So far they were following the route that everyone commonly took from hangar to infirmary. Yes, this would work out after all.

“The next dome,” Hafren whispered. Prade glared at him but said nothing. He couldn’t risk discovery now, so close to their objective.

The pair entered a dim dome; the next dome would contain the infirmary. Tolen was trying to hurry Shepherd along, as much as he was able. He kept saying encouraging words, realizing how empty they were; yet he felt compelled to encourage. When they were about halfway through the dome there were two small explosions. The two lieutenants were knocked flat by the concussion.

As soon as he recovered from the shock, Tolen pushed himself up into a sitting position. Uncertain exactly where the blasts had occurred, he looked around wildly. A pile of debris blocked each of the doors of the dome. Tobias looked up and saw a gaping hole in the false ceiling over the door they had just come through. The amount of explosive was enough to bring down the lower level of ceiling and support structure, but the curving ceiling of the dome, further up, seemed to be undamaged.

He looked to the other door and saw a similar gap in the ceiling. The breach in the support weakened the rest of the ceiling. It could begin to collapse at any time. Tolen looked around the room and dragged Daven under a sturdy metal workbench. He hoped it was sturdy enough to protect them when the ceiling gave way.

Meanwhile, Hafren was laughing raucously. “It worked! Ha! It worked! Nerrin did know what he was doing. It didn’t damage the dome. It was big enough to bring down the inside support but not big enough to breach the dome.” He was shaking his head. “I’ll have to change my opinion about Nerrin’s smarts,” he grinned.

“It doesn’t matter,” Prade said indifferently. “We’ll be leaving soon. It wouldn’t have made any difference if we had brought the entire dome down.”

“That shows how much you know. Nerrin was right. We should keep the station intact until we are away. You know he deliberately sabotaged that transport. What if he can’t repair it like he claims he can? Then we’d be stuck here…with the outside environment pouring into the research station.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Prade repeated. “It’s done. Let’s get back to the docking bay. Nerrin will be there as soon as the haran does…what it’s supposed to do.”

The pair began to run through the station to the bay, certain in the knowledge that the haran was busy and would not assault them.