The Eleusian Effect

September 22, 2169 1830 Hours

We joined Captain Tanner and discussed our unusual day over dinner. The whole bridge crew met and we told them about Marteen and his Community. One of the crewmen that was with Tanner had a strange expression on his face. I noticed it and asked. “Jack, what’s the matter?” “Nothing, Doctor, except-” he paused uncomfortably.

“What?”

“I overheard one of the children talk about someone named Marcus.”

“Marcus?”

“Yes, it was very strange. They were saying things like, ‘If we bring the newcomers to Marcus was, maybe it will give him back.’ It was a little unnerving.” Tanner was amused. “Kids talking nonsense. Don’t let it rattle you.”

“They were pretty serious. They acted like it was some kind of monster.”

“I’m sure it’s probably their version of an old wives’ tale but it would hurt to ask about it. Doctor, you seem to have a good rapport with Marteen. See what he has to say about it. Just to put it to bed.” “Will do. I will spend tomorrow analyzing those blood samples though, so I may not see him.”

“Whenever it’s convenient. Just to ease Jack’s mind if nothing else.” Tanner has a smirk on her face, but seemed genuine. Jack was still on edge but satisfied.

I decided to set up the blood tests after dinner but run them in the morning. I used the jacuzzi in the fitness center and retired for the evening. I wanted to be fresh for the morning so I avoided anything from the day’s events. I caught up on some reading and made a video blog for Bill before I went to bed. I laid down and thought about Marteen and the mystery of his existence. There is so much in the cosmos that we haven’t discovered yet and we’re only just getting out here. What brought the Tempest out to this system? What healed the Tempest’s crew and are they telling us everything? I hope to have some answers soon.

September 23, 2169 0700 Hours

I woke as refreshed as I hoped I’d be so I grabbed a quick breakfast and bolted down to the medical lab. Wilson met me and started analyzing the blood samples from the Tempest crew. We ran the standard tests first, then non-standard. Everything came out normal, meaning no signs of cancer or any other ailment. We ran a radiation test and used the method we used before, binding all the samples close to each other. We found a significant amount of an unknown radiation and with a deeper examination found trace elements of the unknown radioactive material. Jamie and Tracy came down at 0830 as I had asked them to, but I wanted first dibs on the samples. Jamie came first with Tracy trailing. “Whatcha’ got, Doc?” Jamie looked at the scan first.

“Radiation. Unknown element.”

“Effect?”

“Not sure. It seems to affect the mitochondria mostly but it has a steroidal effect at a cellular level.”

“I’ve developed a data buffer with the Eleusian drives. Let me run it through.”

“Okay, let me know what happens.”

“Will do.”

I decided to tell Tanner but just kept it between us until I could find out more. “So you think this mystery element is responsible for curing the Tempest crew?” Tanner was sipping tea.

“My personal opinion is yes, but scientifically it’s too early to tell. We’ll need to take soil samples from the planet and maybe even a deep subterranean scan.” “I will have the science department get on that.”

“So, when do I get to chat with Captain Marteen? We didn’t get a chance to talk earlier.”

“Soon, I imagine. He’s very interested in seeing the ship.”

Tanner pondered. “I’ll have Yeoman Carruthers set up a ship’s tour and a reception. They haven’t seen any other humans for a long time so will need to handle them gently. Also let’s limit their knowledge of the Eleusian issue. They shouldn’t know anymore than our earth population about it.” “I agree. We are only about halfway through the data drive study as it is.”

“Very good.” I turned to leave when Tanner said, “Danna,” They way she said it concerned me.

“Yes?”

“There’s another issue that I need to talk to you about.”

“Certainly. What is it?”

“You remember our friend, Captain Cleveland?”

“Unfortunately.”

“It’s seems he has friends in high places. I just received the first subspace comm packets and it has a rather sinister message.” “What does it say?”

“To make a long and uncomfortable session brief, once we have completed our current mission, we are to return to earth for an informational hearing.” “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“At this hearing, we are to turn over all the Eleusian drives, related data any connected to it.”

“That is not good.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Wait a minute! GASA promised us immunity and protection against any reprisal from dealing with the Eleusians! As far as the world know the crew of the Kennedy is sequestered in Australia for the rest of their lives.” “I know. This came from the White House. We have been assured that the hearing will be completely secure and private.” “Since Cleveland knows about what happened to us, I doubt very much that anything about these hearings will be private.” “I agree. We have almost a year to prepare. I’m open to any and all suggestions about how to deal with this.” “I will see what I can do. I have a friend that might be able to help.”

“That’s great. For now I will tell GASA that we will not address it until we return to Earth. Will a little fortitude, I think I can have them keep Cleveland at bay for now. We’ll handle him when we get back.” I was relieved that Tanner could keep Cleveland out of our collective hair. But I was still furious. I stormed back to sickbay and tried to figure out the next move concerning Cleveland and the dog and pony show he was trying to create. After fuming for a couple of minutes, I decided to get my mind off of it by reviewing the results from the test of the unknown element (which, for brevity will now be referred to as Element X) we found in the Tempest crew’s blood. What we found was definitely the reason they survived and also it was related to the Eleusians.