Legend

Nerrin had hauled Jenson to the docking bay and left him on the floor. The doctor was beginning to overcome the pain somewhat and re-gather his strength. However, as he regained his sense of what was going on, the doctor also realized what an advantage he would have by pretending to still be weak from the haran attack. Nerrin would not watch him as closely if the man thought Jenson was unable to do much on his own. So, when the ore company man placed him on the floor, Jenson allowed his head to loll forward and he groaned loudly. After all, Nerrin had no idea what he had actually endured, or how much he was able to recover.

The physician’s determination began to build with the slow return of his strength. Jenson decided that he couldn’t allow Nerrin to get away with his nefarious scheme. I have to stop him. This crazy plan of his will harm many innocent people. It will cause manifold suffering. I can’t just sit back and let him do this. Besides, I am a doctor. No matter what my personal feelings are I also have a duty to the oath that I took. I really don’t know exactly what I can do to stop him right now. I am still recovering…but I have to try. I have to try something…anything. For right now let me just watch him and see what he does next. If I watch how his plan proceeds, I’m sure a moment will come when I’ll be able to act. Then I can act immediately and decisively. As soon as I figure out what he is doing, I can make my own plans.

Nerrin paced while he waited on Prade and Hafren. He cursed and muttered under his breath about the incompetence of his accomplices. Why was it taking them so long? He couldn’t know about the haran attack on Daven Shepherd before the creature had come to infest the doctor. Nerrin didn’t know they had to wait on Tolen to guide his injured partner through the maze of domes on the way to the infirmary.

Jenson lay quietly, listening and thinking. Two more on the way? How soon would they get to the bay? He wasn’t sure that he could overcome Nerrin before the other two men arrived. Better not to try than to have them come in on the struggle and risk losing his freedom. His concentration was split by the pain, and his attempt to plan an escape.

Finally, the bay door slid open and the two men ran in. “It’s done,” Prade reported. “They are trapped in the resources dome. The older guy has been injured. The haran attacked him while they were in the docking bay. Only one of them will be able to try to dig them out. It should keep them occupied long enough for us to get away.”

“Good,” Nerrin said. He chuckled. “So, the haran unexpectedly helped us out? That’s great. It gives us one less person to have to fight…if it comes to that. Come on. We have to go out to the storage building to get the parts to repair the main electrical bus on the transport.”

“What about him?” Hafren pointed to the doctor.

Nerrin nudged the injured man hard with his boot. “Get up. Your injury isn’t that serious.”

“It’s not?” Prade asked in curiosity.

“No,” Nerrin snapped. “Just a few centimeters to put the eggs in…not that deep.” Then he turned back to the doctor, taking out his frustration on him. He kicked the man’s knee to get a reaction. “Get up…or I’ll make sure you’re injured enough to stop any interfere with us.

“Don’t harm the eggs!” Prade interrupted.

“You dope. Do you think I’m that stupid? Now,” he raised his blaster and pointed it to the physician’s leg. “Get up!”

Jenson realized he had no choice. If he wanted to stay healthy enough to attempt escape, he’d better cooperate, but he still didn’t have to let Nerrin know how much he had improved. Slowly he got to his feet and tried to appear shaky.

“Why don’t we just leave him here?” Hafren asked. “He’s just going to slow us down.”

“I don’t trust him,” Nerrin hissed. “He’s coming with us. He can make it,” he nodded with certainty.

Prade lead the way to the door and pressed the button to open it. The four men began the walk down the very long passageway to the connecting heavy equipment storage building, which also doubled as supply storage space. Nerrin had a stash of extra equipment of all sorts there. When he had begun this new assignment, he was still uncertain of how he would be able to complete the task. He did know that he would have to do it mostly on his own. No one else at the station could find out. So, he had decided to prepare for all eventualities and began to stash equipment and supplies of various kinds, scattered around the storage building so that no one would get suspicious that he was stockpiling.

Nerrin walked along, pulling the doctor with him. Hafren brought up the rear, frequently looking behind him. It had occurred to him that the haran was no longer occupied, and may be on the prowl again. Finally, they came to the end of the extended passage. Prade opened the door and began searching for a light switch. Without waiting for the lights, Nerrin entered, pushing Jenson ahead of him. The doctor leaned against the wall and slid down it to the floor.

“He’s bleeding a lot,” Hafren said. “Are you sure he’s going to make it?”

“My research says yes.”

“Your research? You mean…you’ve done this before?”

Nerrin noted the look of horror on the man’s face and it amused him. He told himself that he would have more control over his associates if they thought he was even colder and more unfeeling. He only smiled to Hafren’s question.

The lights came on, interrupting the conversation. Hafren quickly closed the door, now feeling safe from the haran. Nerrin looked down at the doctor. “Stay with him, Hafren. He doesn’t seem in any shape to try anything, but I still don’t trust him. Keep an eye on him.” To Prade he said. “We have to get those parts and get back to repair the ship. The weather is unpredictable. We have to be ready as soon as we get a break.” The two began to walk away.

Hafren didn’t reply. He wasn’t certain but that he had drawn the better assignment. Jenson didn’t seem able to do anything, but going with Nerrin would have involved much schlepping, taking Nerrin’s orders, and listening to his bragging. Hafren leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the door from Jenson and began looking around the huge facility.

Jenson lifted his head just enough to watch the two receding figures. They walked about halfway across the huge structure and then made a turn by some storage cabinets. Perfect! Alone with Hafren. The man would be easy enough to distract. Then the doctor could contain the three of them. The physician focused on Hafren. He wanted to get rid of his bodyguard. He had learned a couple of unique ways to use his enhanced senses. Bartones, he had found out, could be transmitters as well as receivers, if the ability were developed. It was something that Jenson had been studying, and had experimented a few times.

Hafren shrugged his shoulders and glanced around quickly. He had the strangest feeling. Something didn’t feel right to him. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. The man felt as if he had insects crawling on him because he was so nervous. He took a quick look at Jenson. The doctor seemed insensible. Hafren was certain the man wouldn’t do anything. He looked around again, still trying to figure out what might be wrong and then he began walking quickly to the point where he had seen Nerrin and Prade disappear around a corner.

Jenson watched closely. As soon as Hafren turned the corner, he got to his feet as quickly as he was able. He pressed a button and tried to hurry through the door. On the other side, he glanced around, looking for a tool. The man grabbed a piece of sturdy metal; tool or scrap, it would do. He slammed it with his available energy against the door controls several times. The panel gave way and the sensitive controls inside began to spark and smoke. Jenson didn’t know how the emergency system worked, and he didn’t have time to figure it out. He needed to proceed before they realized that he was gone.

Jenson paused to consider what his next action should be. Every second counted and every action counted. It had to be the right one. The doctor remembered his first sight of the storage building from outside. There were two huge sliding doors on one side so that large sized machinery could be moved in and out.

He glanced around the room, wondering if there was a control for those doors in this area. Chances were good because there should be inside and outside controls, and this room was near to the storage area. A panel labeled “MASTER CONTROLS” grabbed his attention and he was at it quickly. He needn’t have worried. Everything was clearly labeled. He pushed the button to open the sliding doors.

In the storage facility Nerrin was pawing through his equipment stashes. Hafren, who was nervous and glancing around anyway, suddenly realized how much colder it was in here. He hugged himself. “The environmental control doesn’t work in here. It’s cold.”

“It’s a cold planet,” Nerrin answered without looking. Inside he berated the cowardly man.

“Hey! Look!” Prade cried out. The other two men turned to see the huge doors sliding open.

“What the…” Nerrin said. “Go close that,” he shoved Hafren.

The man ran over to the control. He pressed the button to close the doors…but they didn’t close, being overridden from the master control. The doors continued to open. He thought he just hadn’t pressed hard enough so he tried again…and again…and again.

“It doesn’t work! The doors won’t close! The control is busted!”

“What?” Nerrin replied in irritation. He hurried over. The wind blew snow in his face. He cursed and shoved Hafren out of the way. Then he pressed the button…and nothing happened. He tried the controls a couple more times. “Bring me the tool chest,” he yelled above the howl of the wind. He would not be able to fix what Jenson had locked into place at the master control, at least not quickly enough.

Jenson tried to quickly navigate the research station. He was traveling as fast as he could while clutching his aching abdomen. The doctor had to stop now and again to catch his breath. He had not investigated the research station layout as much as Shepherd and Tolen had. Prade said the lieutenants were trapped in the resources dome. Where was that? After consulting the frequent maps on the walls and getting turned around a couple of times in the overly symmetric architecture, the doctor finally located the resources dome.

“Tolen! Daven! Can you hear me!” he yelled as loud as he could. Then he yanked his comlink from his belt. “Tolen, Daven. Can either of you hear me?”

“It’s Tolen. We’re trapped, Jenson. And Daven has been attacked by the haran.”

“Yes, I know. I heard from Prade. I have to get you out of there…quickly.”

“I’ve been trying to dig through debris that is blocking the door. They set off explosives to bring down part of the ceiling. The rest of the ceiling is giving way in here.”

“I’ll try to get the doors open. Then I can help.” He decided under the circumstances, there was little reason to try the door controls. They probably had been disabled or sabotaged. He hadn’t known about the explosions. He would never be able to force the doors open in his shape. He needed something to provide the force for him.

Jenson sat in a chair to rest while yanking open a cabinet door to look over available equipment. He grabbed item after item and dropped each to the floor when he decided it was useless. This was taking too much time. He pushed the chair to a main control console and looked, for what he couldn’t say. He looked wildly around, mind racing for a solution, when he saw “EQUIPMENT INVENTORY”. He pushed his chair over to it and began skimming the list. Lift jack. That’s it! Exactly what he needed…but where was it? He looked at the list again, hoping for some information. He suddenly wished a special blessing for every completely organized person in the universe. “Cabinet C, shelf B.” Then it was easy, because the same organized person had labelled each cabinet and shelf and cubby.

The jack was simple to operate. Compressed high density gas caused the jaws to push the doors apart. Jenson dropped to his knees and began to pull pieces of debris away. He cursed his injury for limiting him.

“Tolen! Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” came the muffled cough. Dust was still falling from the weakened and crumbling ceiling.

“I’m trying to dig through. I need you to help though. Are you digging from your side?”

“Yes. I’ve been trying to get to the door…but I also have to be aware of the ceiling.”

“All right. Be careful.” The doctor was weakening. He had worked hard to use his senses to deceive Hafren, and to get through the domes, and to locate and use the jack. He was worn, but he knew he couldn’t stop now. Just a little longer. A little more strength. A little more work. Get them free…and then you can rest. Then you can rest. The doctor drew in a breath and pulled another piece of debris loose.

Tolen pulled at the debris with a vengeance. Now and again he would take a quick glance at Shepherd still sprawled under the workbench. The toxin was beginning to take effect. He had to get him out of here soon. Then something from the gap in the ceiling would fall and the lieutenant’s attention would be drawn back to his task.

How long they were at the task, neither man knew. However, Jenson reached for a piece of debris and when he pulled it away saw the familiar tunic of Tolen through an opening in the wall of wreckage.

“Tolen,” he said in relief.

The man leaned down and looked through the hole. A small, tense smile came to his face. “Thank goodness. I didn’t know how much debris was between us. Maybe I can push through since we have a breach.”

“Yes,” Jenson agreed in a weary voice. “You’d better try it.”

“All right. Stand back.”

The doctor moved well away and to the side of the doorway. He could hear a grunt from Tolen as the man was leaning into his task. Then suddenly a debris fall broke from the doorway. There was a great noise accompanying it and a huge cloud of dust. Tolen hacked and hurriedly backed away.

As soon as some of the dust settled, Jenson walked over to see what Tolen had been able to accomplish. Then entire top half of the doorway was cleared. That should be good enough for the two to escape their trap.

“Are you all right?” he called to the lieutenant.

“Yes,” Tolen was still hacking dust from his lungs. He looked over his work. A fine white powder covered his robe, face and hands. “Daven is getting very sick. We have to get him out of here.”

Tolen dragged his partner from under the work bench and carefully lifted him over his shoulder. Shepherd was a bigger man, but Tolen didn’t have a choice. He took him to the opening and Jenson had spread a tarp over the edge so that they could slide Daven through.

Tolen stood next to the bed where Shepherd’s body lay. He put a hand to the man’s forehead. “You’ve got to help him, Jenson. Hurry. He’s burning up.”

The doctor was sitting on an adjacent bed. He was tired from all the effort and no longer able to ignore the pain from the haran wound. “You’re going to have to do it, Tolen. I’ll tell you what to do, but you are going to have to do it.”

“What do you mean? I can’t…”

“All you have to do is administer medication. I’ll explain to why you have to do it shortly. Now, listen to what I tell you. We don’t have anything that will completely counteract the toxin. However, there is a drug available that will help break down the protein in the toxin. That is what causes the sickness, the protein in the toxin. A humanoid body is not able to break it down. You must inject Daven with that. It will hold the toxin at a level that will not allow the sickness to get any worse.”

Tolen stood with slightly trembling hands. The syringe he held showed his unsteadiness, no matter how hard he tried to still his hand. “Jenson, I’m not a doctor. I…”

The physician cut off his objection. “It’s not difficult, Tolen. However, you do need to calm yourself. I may as well give him the injection myself. Your hands are trembling as much as mine,” the doctor said in a light tone. He hoped to relax the lieutenant.

The young man had not given much attention to until now. All his awareness had been on Shepherd. “Are you all right?” he asked in concern as he noticed the man’s drawn and pale face.

“I’m fine. Just…very tired. Now, the syringe is a hypo spray. That means that the medication is pushed by air pressure. It’s easy to set.” He reached for the syringe. “This is how you set the dose,” he turned an indicator, and made certain the lieutenant was watching. He would need this knowledge again shortly. “The pressure is set already, but look,” he pointed. “This is how you adjust it, and the more pressure, the deeper the injection. This injection is subcutaneous, just under the skin.” He presented the instrument to Tobias. “All you have to do is put it against his abdomen and press this button.” Before Tolen could register other objections, the doctor informed him, “It’s set and unless you have a major accident, you cannot mess this up. Just press the button.”

The young man glanced at the doctor with a very dubious look on his face. He drew in a breath to steady himself and pressed the hypo spray to Shepherd’s abdomen then depressed the injection button. His face melted into relief.

“Very good, Tolen. I told you it was simple,” Jenson said as he lay back on the bed.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all we can do for him with what is available to us here, but it is enough. It will keep him from getting sicker. Daven is getting the medication early so he should not get seriously ill.” He emphasized, for the lieutenant’s comfort, “It is not likely to be life threatening now. We’ll be able to leave for Genoa soon and this should take care of him until he can get definitive treatment.”

Tolen pulled a blanket up around Shepherd’s shoulders. He looked at the pale sweaty face and brushed damp hair away. Tolen looked over to the doctor. He crossed to the bed. “What’s wrong? Something’s wrong.”

“Tolen, you need to get these people on the transport and get out of here. I know it needs some repair work…but you have to get away before the haran decides to begin its attacks again.” He paused for a long moment. “But…before you do that. You have to help me.”

The man said nothing. It was obvious something was wrong with Jenson, and he was wondering if he was going to be giving another injection. The doctor must have been attacked by the haran also.

The grey haired man pushed himself up on an elbow. “Tolen, listen to me. You must understand. Nerrin wanted to take the haran back with him, but it was impossible to control. So, he decided that taking eggs back with him would be easier.” He paused. “The haran lays its two eggs in a living body to serve as incubator, and so that they will have…meat when they hatch. By trapping a person into confinement with the haran, Nerrin assured himself of having a host to carry the eggs until he could get back to Genoa.” Jenson searched Tolen’s face, trying to gauge his understanding. He wasn’t sure that the man did understand. “I am the host. I have the haran eggs in me.”

Tolen recoiled in horror. “What! You? You…are…”

“The haran injected its eggs into me.” He pulled open his tunic, revealing the wound left by the creature. “I can’t take these back to Genoa. It’s too dangerous. You’ve seen what the haran can do. You are going to have to open me up and take them out.”

Tolen stepped back a couple of steps and his eyes widened. “ME!” he exclaimed. “I’m not a doctor! I can’t do that!” He backed up more. “Why do I have to? We…we can be back to Genoa in just a few days. One of the doctors there…”

But Jenson interrupted him. “No. I can’t take these back to Genoa. It’s too dangerous. You’ve seen what the haran can do. I don’t know if Nerrin has communicated with his company or not. They may be looking for me to return. If they get these eggs…. No,” he shook his head, “it’s too dangerous.”

“But…but…Jenson,” he sputtered. “We’ll…we’ll…be going straight back to Genoa…”

“I don’t know how long before the eggs hatch. Nerrin didn’t say. I don’t know how much time I have. It’s too much risk to try to take me back. The eggs could even hatch on the transport. Then you’d have two of those monsters in closed quarters…with all these sick people. There is too much risk in trying to take me back,” he repeated for emphasis. “The only way we can defeat Nerrin is for you to remove the eggs. It’s the only way to guarantee that we stop his plan.” The doctor’s green eyes were dark and hard. After all he had been through in fighting against Nerrin’s horrible plan, he would not stop now. Jenson lay back down. “I won’t coerce you to do the surgery if you really don’t feel comfortable with the idea. However, I cannot risk going back to Genoa. You’ll have to leave me here.”

“What? You can’t stay here. That haran is still here. It will kill you.” The lieutenant approached the bed.

“It’s a small price to pay to insure these harans stay on Tellous. It will be too dangerous if I go back to Genoa. I can’t risk what can be set loose if I go back.

I’m willing to do it. I have to.”

“No! I can’t do that! I can’t leave you here to die…especially like that. I won’t do it. I can take you back to Genoa…”

“No, Tolen. I will not go back like this. You’ll have to leave me here.”

“No. I won’t do it! I’ll…I’ll put you to sleep and take you back anyway. You seem worn enough to that you can’t resist me. I won’t leave you here, Jenson.”

“Tolen…think about it. You have to be logical about this. We don’t know enough about what is going to happen to justify even trying to get me back to Genoa. This is one time you have to put your feelings aside and do the rational thing. It is too dangerous to risk transporting these creatures to Genoa. You know that’s true. You’re a security officer and you have a duty to perform. Do the right thing, Tolen.”

There was a long silence. Then Tobias turned and walked away. Jenson could sense the fear and uncertainty in Tolen. Fear of doing the wrong thing, fear of a haran attack, fear of taking too long to decide. But the doctor had said all that he could. Now it was up to the lieutenant to make his own decision.

Tolen was repulsed by the thought of the creature’s eggs being inside the doctor’s body. He wondered how Jenson could be so calm about all this. The lieutenant knew that he needed to keep his wits about him right now…but it was hard to do under the circumstances. After several minutes, Tolen said in a whisper that was almost inaudible. “Jenson…I just don’t think I can do this. I’m too uncertain. I’m…squeamish,” he admitted. “I might…” he trailed off.

“You can. You won’t be doing it alone. I’ll help you. The first thing you need to do is get a scan of my abdomen. I’ll tell you how to operate the machine. We can do this, Tolen.”

“This is good,” Jenson declared on seeing the images of his viscera. “The eggs seem to be self-contained and are not attached to anything in the abdomen. It seems the abdomen is simply serving as an incubator, to contain the eggs until they are ready to hatch,” he observed clinically. “That should make it easy to remove them. All that needs to be done is to open the abdomen and take them out. Simple.”

“Jenson…”

“Tolen, you are the only healthy one left here. I can’t do this and I can’t risk waiting. Either you have to do this…or you have to go without me.”

The man stood in silence for a long time. Before it was just talk; now it was reality. He had to do this.

“Are you ready?” Jenson asked Tobias.

“Uh…I don’t know. Jenson…”

“You can do this, Tolen…if you want to. If you are really uncomfortable with doing the procedure, I won’t force you to do it. It’s your decision. And, I will not hold it against you if you decide you can’t do it.”

“How can you be so damned calm!” Tolen exploded. “You are asking me, not a doctor, to cut on you. Not just a minor cut either. You want me to slice open your abdomen…and you act like it’s simple first aid.”

The doctor locked eyes with the lieutenant. “I understand the seriousness of the situation. More than you do. This is the only course open to us. It’s this or do nothing. You have to accept that. Now…do you want to go through with it or get ready to leave? Those are your only choices.” His voice was maddeningly calm and controlled. Jenson didn’t like putting so much pressure on the young man, but he had to make a decision more quickly than this, or else the haran may come seeking another meal.

Finally Tolen muttered, “All right…I guess. Tell me what to do.”

“First you have to administer the spinal anesthesia. That way I will be awake and I can guide you through this. If you just listen to me and proceed carefully, there’s no reason why we can’t do this…together.” He put a hand on Tolen’s and tried to calm him.

Tobias looked into the calm but determined green eyes. “Okay. Together. I have no idea what to do on my own,” he said with more desperation than he meant to let show.