Awakening Threat Read online

  “Still, they’ll make a good command for someone.”

  “You want one?”

  Ferghal considered this then shook his head. “No, I’m happy looking after their maintenance.” He grinned. “Why give up my luxurious quarters here for this?” He indicated the small space labelled Commanding Officer’s Quarters on the deck plan. “The sleeping quarters are less than a Lieutenant enjoyed on a ’74, and the day cabin is less than half the space I have as my sleeping space on this ship.” He laughed. “I’m surely becoming soft, giving up a chance of having my own command for comfortable quarters.”

  The Commander smiled. “Your chance will come, Fergie. Right now I need your abilities to get these ships into fighting condition.” He hesitated. “I have to admit, we couldn’t get some of the command and control stuff sorted out without your ability to talk to them. What do you do? Use that Irish charm of yours and con them into doing whatever you want?”

  Ferghal grinned and ran his fingers through his shock of russet hair. “Somethin’ o’ the sort.”

  “Hmm…well, at least you can’t charm them into bed.” The Commander winked. “Your way with the ladies will be your downfall yet. Take care—your reputation precedes you now.”

  The exercise session had proved enormously frustrating, but at the same time, encouraging. At least the medics seemed to have found what they were looking for. He’d finally managed to make a few steps unaided, but it had taken almost an hour just to figure it all out. Eventually, he learned that he had to relax one set of muscles, tense another and at the same time, throw his weight to the opposite side in order to lift his foot.

  Who’d have thought simply walking was so complex? Thank God Mary couldn’t see him like this. A new thought crossed his mind as he tried to quiet his tired brain. I wish I could infect these damned Niburu with their own poison. I wonder how they would like that.

  “You have an interesting thought, human. It merits more study.”

  Harry sensed the pressure in his head and asked, “Who are you?”

  “We are the ones you call Siddhiche.”

  “What do you want? Why are you here?”

  “We seek a solution to an old problem. You will help us.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because it will mean the end of your species and others if you do not.”

  “What do you mean, the end of us?”

  “You know.”

  The strange voice was gone as Aesculapius asked, “Would some music help, Harry? What would you like?”

  With sleep now a remote possibility, Harry focused his mind. “I would like to know what the surgeons learned from my exertions. Can you show me?”

  “Yes. Human locomotion is almost as complex as navigating and manoeuvring, yet you achieved it. Remarkable. You gave the Surgeon Admiral a great deal of data. He is very pleased with the results. Here is his report.”

  Harry read a virtual version of it. His nervous system was still functioning as far as he understood the report. The doctors seemed to think their counter agent would work. He drifted into his dreams with the hope that they would free him from this paralysis soon. For the first time in many days, he felt hopeful.

  “We need several more days to make sure the antidote is as effective as we think. Then we can try it.” Martin paused. “There is a risk.”

  “What sort of risk?”

  “The target organism is able to mimic certain chemicals that persuade the body’s immune system to ignore it. Our modified antidote may trigger an immune response. That is one of the things we need to test.”

  Admiral Heron nodded. “How will you test this?”

  “We’ll use the tissue cultures and samples we’ve taken from Harry and the other two.” Len nodded toward Martin. “Dr. Borner is working on a way to create an immunisation serum, but that is some way off yet.”

  Martin rubbed his bald head, a habit of his whenever he was pondering a problem. “We’ll have the first results in about a week, and then we can try it on Harry.

  Chapter 23

  The League Intervenes

  Grand Admiral MacQuillie watched the news briefing with mounting anger and disbelief from his office in Fleet headquarters based in London. “What the blazes do these fools think they’re doing? Do they really believe this garbage?”

  “The popular news channels have been carrying their line for months now, sir,” said his Staff Captain. “They’ve changed the story somewhat since the early outpourings, but now they’re saying that our ‘aggressive actions’ toward the Niburu when we first met them made conflict inevitable. From somewhere they’ve got hold of the details of the weapons and tactics the Niburu use, and they’ve whipped the populace into a state of near hysteria. Now they’ve got celebs and prominent politicians demanding a ceasefire and Monty Montaigne is covering their ‘Peace Offering’ from one of the chartered liners for DigiCor.”

  “Damned fools should stick to making movies and whatever it is politicians actually do on a daily basis. We’re losing ships, people and colonies to the Niburu, and these fools want us to let those creatures walk all over us. How long do they think the human race would last if we did? As it is, if those boffins don’t come up with something soon, we may find out.” The noise of whistles, voice projectors and incoherent chanting penetrated the walls of the office. “Listen to the morons. Mass bloody hysteria, that’s all it is, and the damned news media are feeding it.” He took a deep breath to calm himself. “I notice there’s been no sign of that so-called Doctor Stolt lately, the one who took so much pleasure in maligning Lieutenant Heron on all the morning talk shows.”

  The Staff Captain leaned back, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “That could have something to do with Stolt’s qualifications being called into question, plus his financial interests being tied to some rather dodgy research that he probably wishes had stayed hidden. I believe there are several plagiarism suits against him, plus twenty cases of malpractice and four of libel.”

  The Grand Admiral snorted. “About damned time, but he’s done the damage. I have around two hundred demands a day from all the damned fools who think the universe is all peace and harmony if only, I quote, ‘dangerous people like Lieutenant Heron were removed from positions of influence.’”

  “At least Heron’s family is fighting back. They’ve brought cases against the major media groups and won an injunction demanding frontline retractions and the showing of a new programme, chock full of facts and real data, which airs the opinions of a number of renowned scientists regarding Heron’s fitness, mental and otherwise—plus, I believe, something which will embarrass the LPSL.” He paused. “It will take a while for it to penetrate the heads of the fools making the racket outside that they’ve been duped—if it ever does.”

  Harry watched the preparation for his transfer to the intensive care med unit. It was extremely difficult to feel every touch, yet be unable to respond to it. Even stranger was the manner in which his body seemed to have taken on an ability to be arranged into a certain position and remain that way until it was moved again. He understood why this was necessary, though. A MedTech explained that it was much easier to lift him in that state than it would have been if his musculature were completely limp, and his body were a dead weight as it were.

  “This is just a precaution, Harry. We’re pretty certain you’ll be fine, but we need to make sure, if anything does go wrong, that we have you where we can deal with it immediately. If it works as we hope, you should be back to normal pretty soon.”

  “Thank you, but you’ve given me only a small bit of reassurance. You say if it works. How long will it take before we know?” He felt himself being lifted, and his view changed as he was laid in the med-unit. He winced as someone attached various sensors to him and inserted needles into his arms and ankles. “Have a care, please. I may be unable to control my body, but I can still feel pain, and that was a rather forceful jab.”

  “Sorry, Harry,” said Rubin, who stepped closer t
o the med-unit so that he was in Harry’s line of sight. “We’re doing our best. Just be patient with us. With luck, this will work, and you won’t have to go through any more of this—unless, of course, you decide to let yourself be stung again.” Rubin was well aware of his patient’s feelings on being manhandled so intimately, as they had discussed it several times. He was also very aware of Harry’s nervousness at the prospect of yet another failure in their attempts to find a cure. He checked the intravenous connections then did the same with the sensors and finally the feeding and hygiene inserts. “Okay, that’s it for now, my friend. I’m going to seal the unit and hand you over to Dr. Borner and the Admiral.”

  “The Niburu have adopted a damned good defensive strategy. Our tip and run strikes have had an impact, but their defensive formation is inflicting more damage on our people than we are on their major ships at this point.” Admiral James Heron paused. “They’ve begun a more aggressive response, so I’m calling off further strikes for now. We’re having to provide heavy escorts for everything. They’ve just about cut our ability to supply three new colonies on the periphery and, frankly, we should evacuate them, but I haven’t got the resources or the ships.”

  “Word is just in that they’ve launched an assault on Solaris, the former Consortium HQ. Contact was lost with the planet at o-nine-hundred Earth Standard Time this morning. The forces there are putting up a good fight, but they’re on the back foot already. We’ve ordered an evacuation of everyone they can get out, but it’s going to be marginal.”

  “I’ve been monitoring that,” said Admiral Heron. “I’ve sent one of the strike groups to assist, but I dare not reduce our forces guarding any of the other worlds, because they have scouts sniffing round them.”

  “The president knows the situation, James, and so do the cabinet. We’ve done our best to get you more ships, but you know how long it takes, even when it’s a rush request.” Grand Admiral MacQuillie paused, his fingers playing a tattoo on the desk. “Our best hope is some of the new weapons we’re testing. Delivery is going to be the key problem, though, for any of it.”

  “Is this the latest stuff the Siddhiche have supplied?”

  “Yes and no. They supplied the idea, but Dr. Borner couldn’t divert people to develop it. We had to take it to the WeapTech team, and they’re making progress, but testing it is going to be a bit tricky.” He hesitated. “Speaking of which, how are the trials going on the antidote?”

  “Slow. They’re going to try a new one today. Harry—Lieutenant Heron—is the guinea pig. Len assures me they’ve taken every precaution in case it goes wrong, but they are hopeful.” His expression was somewhat sceptical. “All I can do is pray that it will work.”

  “I’m with you on that. Keep me posted as soon as you know the results.”

  “I will. I’ve not told Niamh about it yet. I can’t deal with her right now.” His smile was rueful. “The war and Harry are enough, but my sister in a rage? I’d rather be supper for the Niburu!”

  “Niamh, my dear, I suggest you watch the news broadcast at sixteen hundred hours.” Theo’s hologram showed his ‘courtroom face’, as Niamh called it, neutral and expressionless. “There have been some small developments of interest, I think. They will certainly make a huge difference to the smear campaign Harry has faced.”

  “Really? Well, it’s about time, Theo. Oh, I know you’ve been working on it, and I know we’ve made inroads, but just this morning I was confronted by a young fool handing out pamphlets demanding Harry’s trial for, and I quote, ‘initiating a war on a sentient species.’ I called the Garda and gave him a real piece of my mind.”

  “I expect that put him straight, dear.” Theo knew all too well the confrontation would have been enlightening for any audience. “I shall look forward to hearing it later.” His face relaxed into a smile. “I shall be home early, I think.”

  Niamh returned the smile. “I’m glad to hear it, my love. I need your company. I’m worrying about Harry. Ferghal has written and so has Danny. Both of them say the medics are working round the clock on antidotes, but Danny says nothing has worked so far.” She frowned again. “And that young fool this morning didn’t even know Harry had been struck down saving that fool Palmer.”

  Theo smiled and chuckled. “I expect he knows now. Well, don’t forget now, dear—watch the news tonight. The announcement I’m referring to will be released live first, not online.”

  “Right, Harry. We’re going to start administering the counter agent we’ve developed. Don’t expect an immediate response, it’s a bit of a stealth approach. It works by seeking out the toxic organism and binding itself to it. The modified gene will prevent the organism from reproducing itself and from producing the enzymes that actually do the blocking. It may take several hours—at least, that’s how long it takes in the lab tests.”

  “I understand. What should I alert you to?”

  “It will help if you can tell us what you experience, how you feel, and any reactions that you’re aware of. We’ll be monitoring your vital signs, and if it looks like it’s going wrong, we have a way to arrest it.” Len Myers paused. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  Len nodded to Dr. Borner. “Start the injection.”

  “Here we go, Harry.” Martin tried to sound confident. “It will probably feel similar to the original sting.”

  The audio link remained silent, but Len could see Harry’s heart rate increasing and, on another monitor, he saw that his patient’s body was now generating hormones, pheromones and enzymes related to pain, distress and fear. “Take it easy, Harry. Talk to us. Tell us what you’re feeling.”

  “It stings. My body seems to be burning from within!”

  “Yes, we can see the reaction on the monitors, but it should ease off soon.” He touched a control to administer a small dose of tranquilliser. “The burning sensation is very likely the organisms releasing their enzymes.” He made a small adjustment. “Tell me when it eases a little.”

  Martin watched as the monitors relayed the reactions in Harry’s system. He adjusted the dosage and watched as various displays showed changes to the chemistry of Harry’s blood and tissue.

  “The burning is lessening now, but I can feel my legs jerking, and my fingers are flexing. A muscle in my cheek is twitching as well.”

  “It’s started, but much sooner than in the laboratory.” Martin adjusted the dosage again, slowing the stream of fluid to a mere drip.

  “Stop the infusion altogether,” Len ordered. “Let’s see how this progresses first. Harry, the twitching may be nerve receptors clearing. I can see some nerve centres showing a response where we had none before.” He checked a monitor. “I want you to try to put pressure on the tips of the fingers of your right hand. Can you do that? There are sensor pads beneath them. Just try to press your fingertips against the pad.”

  Harry concentrated all his consciousness on his fingers. At first, there was no response, but then he felt the pressure increase in his fingertips. “I think I did it. I feel I’m pressing on something softer.”

  Len leaned back and mopped his forehead with his handkerchief. In front of him, the read-out showed a slight increase in the pressure on the pad beneath Harry’s hand. It barely registered, but it was there. “Harry, you’re a star! You did it. You’re going to win this round. Now, I’ll let you relax for a bit. We’ll take a little rest and then try some more exercises.”

  Harry dreamed of Mary, but what started out as a wistful sweet scene of them walking hand in hand along the rolling hills of County Down rapidly turned into a nightmare. Harry watched from afar, unable to help or to warn Mary as she stumbled through a strange barren landscape, lost and afraid, calling out to him. The sky darkened, and a sense of foreboding gripped him as Mary’s eyes darted about, searching for him, calling to him, and then she began to run.

  He stood paralysed and watched in desperation as she ran farther away from him. He called out, but she couldn’t hear him, and now she l
ooked petrified of whatever pursued her. Finally his legs worked, and Harry tried to follow, to catch up to her and reassure her that all was well, and that he would never let any harm come to her, but he watched in horror as her flight took her directly toward one of the ghastly monstrosities he identified as the Niburu. Desperately he called out to her, struggling against what felt like some powerful force dragging at his arms and legs, but it was no use.

  Just as it seemed the Niburu was about to seize her, a ship appeared above her and then it lifted her up to it by some unseen force. She was powerless to resist, and Harry watched stunned as her expression changed to one of peaceful submission as she accepted her fate, and that frightened him more than anything.

  The Niburu that had been pursuing her turned around and looked Harry directly in the eye, and that’s when he saw that it had transformed into Dr Palmer — and he awoke bathed in sweat, his heart pounding. Disoriented, he experienced a moment of blind panic as his body refused to respond. His fixed view of the deckhead remained unchanged. Then, memories of how he came to be immobilised in the med-unit flooded back.

  He linked to the hospital ship’s AI. “Aesculapius, are you there? Has something bad happened? Are we in danger?”

  “Nothing has occurred. You appear to have experienced a random data recall loop. The data you replayed is corrupted, and does not reflect any recorded reality, Harry.”

  “My data is corrupted?” Harry fought back the rising panic. “Has someone accessed my cyber link and planted something in my mind?”

  “Negative, Harry. Beagle has told me of the attempt by a person to access your mind. He assures me the person is still unable to overcome the controls the Provider on Lycania placed to restrict what may be accessed by him.”