"I call them pseudo-winged munchers. The two larger ones are a mating pair, but the male only produces sperm every three years. This further ensures that he will not try to kill the young to impregnate the female, which would stop the production of milk. Milk comes from extensions on the females wing-like curved sides. Although the milk is safe to drink, the adult animals are not safe to eat. That is their defense mechanism. Infants to young adolescent animals are safe to eat, however, but we must ensure at least one young is available for future need." Zeke and Shazza stared at Harry dumfounded that he comes up with these things on his own, but quickly composed themselves. Fortunately, this time Harry did not pass out, although he did begin to vomit violently in the now dubbed vomit pot. The next few weeks were less stressful as Harry focused on storing food, so that when the plants stopped production they would have food.
Carolyn sat at the controls obsessively checking the system settings and navigation assessment. If she was truthful with herself, she had no idea if she was near the shipping lane or if she had gone the right way upon leaving the hellish planet. She saw that although she had bought herself time, the life support was again at critical condition. 'I know that I am not the best of people, but if you spare me I will truly do my best to help those that were left on the planet' Carolyn thought hoping that if there was a God he was truly as merciful as Imam had stated when he was alive. Strapping into the seat, she pulled a blanket around her to get some sleep. She woke to blaring alarms and looking at the display saw that after three months the life support was finally giving out. Trying desperately to figure out something she turned off the navigation system, set an S.O.S. message to play over the galactic radio system in tandem with a homing beacon, and injected herself with a coma-inducing chemical. 'I hope this is enough to keep me alive until help comes' was her last thought.
The team was becoming disheartened at finding the wreckage of the Hunter-Gratzner. They had entered an uncharted solar system, it was believed by the map makers that since many of the planets were unsuitable for life there was no reason to chart the system. However, the Company hired more credible map makers that not only charted the system but named the planets based on computer simulations of their environment. Although they had a map made by the Company, the denizens of the ship did not operate under their jurisdiction. Just when they were about to give up hope of finding any survivors, they picked up an S.O.S. followed by navigation points to a location not far from them. Adjusting their destination they hoped for the best. Upon arriving, they saw an outdated emergency skiff. Setting the tractor beam on the skiff they waited with baited breath for what they would find.
Chapter Fifteen: Revelations and Inferences/ Second Trimester
Finally, after what seemed hours but in reality were just minutes, the skiff entered their docking hold. The men performed the necessary external scans looking for any particularly harmful pathogens, before a team was sent to investigate. Satisfied that no such danger existed, the men entered the docking hold and approached the skiff. Getting a good look at it, the men were surprised that a model as outdated as this could even fly as there was no way the cells needed for the relic were still produced. Jensen shared a significant look with McCoy, knowing that it was unlikely they would find anyone alive on the dilapidated old skiff. Touching the side panel to open the door, Coor moved into a tactical position in case of hostile occupants. For a moment no one moved, as Coor went into the skiff to check for any threats. 'That is and always will be a paranoid man' Jenson thought as he shook his head in slight annoyance. However, seeing the hard and gruff man rush out of the skiff and hunch over next to the skiff in obvious distress did not sooth the nerves of the men. Jenson motioned McCoy and Olask into the ship to hopefully discern the nature of the man's distress. After a few moments, the men returned with grave faces. 'Well, McCoy looks grave. It's not as if I can see Olask's face underneath the hood' Jenson thought.
"Report," Jenson asked in a clipped manner wondering what scene could be waiting for them that could unsettle his three calmest and most rational men.
"Could be from the crash, the only survivor is a woman who appears to have been part of the flight crew. Carolyn Fry would be her name, only woman on the crew. Two bodies with her, civilians sir, an older man dressed in holy garb and a boy dressed similar. They are practically as fresh as whenever they died. Unknown as to other members of crash, we will have to question the woman," Coor answered after he became composed.
"There will be a problem with that sir," McCoy spoke up.
"What problem will there be doctor?" Jenson asked respectfully, after all McCoy was old enough to be his father.
"The woman feared death so that she took a highly dangerous chemical to induce coma. If we try to just give her an antidote and wake her she will most surely die, however if we give her the required antidote over a period of time it will have better results," McCoy stated cautiously.
"What type of results exactly?" Jenson asked knowing that McCoy was withholding information. 'The man is a terrible liar, which makes him the best person to play poker with' Jenson thought in amusement despite the situation.
"It is unlikely that she will ever fully regain consciousness, even after the entirety of the antidote is given. There is also a high probability that she will die from the stress her body will be placed under. I will have to monitor her closely while administering the antidote for she may very well unknowingly give information while fighting through the demons of her past," McCoy stated gently understanding that Jenson was unlikely to think this a better result.
"Why make the woman suffer? Perhaps we should just end it now?" Scotty spoke up for the first time.
"No, she knows what happened to my nephew and I will not let her rest until I find answers," Olask hissed, "besides this woman deserves this and much more."
"Listen Olask, I know that you are a heartless bastard for some unknown reason, but no one deserves such a punishment unless they committed a terrible crime. You know as well as I that she has committed none-"
"So sure Scotty, those bodies were not resultant from natural causes. I'm sure Doc's report will confirm that, so why not wait until we hear something before we kill our star witness," Coor said in his gruff voice. So, the bodies were taken to the morgue for autopsy and Scotty was assigned to find a reason the woman would resort to such desperate measures. The unresponsive body of Fry was placed in the medical bay until a decision could be made one way or the other about her part in helping their investigation. Olask brooded as he examined the skiff and fabric from the dead for clues as to where the ship may have crashed. It was three days before everyone was able to regroup to share their discoveries. Sitting in their meeting room, Jenson looked to Olask for some thoughts on what planet they could have come from.
"Unfortunately, very little could be gathered except that wherever it is they escaped from was extremely dry as only sand and no vegetation was found on their clothes. The exterior of the skiff appeared to be heavily damaged, from what I cannot tell," Olask said in a business-like tone although the extreme annoyance at discovering nothing about his nephew's possible location was palpable. Jenson nodded and sent a look of understanding as Olask's mourner's ensemble was mainly due to his nephew being on the crashed ship. He hoped for the man's sake that Alex and his family survived the crash and were safe wherever they might be. Nodding to show comprehension of his findings, Jenson turned his attention toward Dr. McCoy.
"The woman did kill the two civilians, although the boy was already dying from a grievous spinal cord injury at the time of his murder. It appears he received the injury before they escaped for it was badly infected, which must have happened on the planet considering no bacterial organisms were discovered on the skiff. Suffocation is the cause of death in his case. The man, who must have been the boy's father, was killed via a chemical similar to morphine. Although I believe his death was accidental," McCoy stated in a solemn tone, although professional he could not abide murder and very often had trouble presenting such information. Everyone had raised eyebrows from astonishment that anyone could be so cruel, except Olask who wore a satisfied smirk that was just visible in the shadows from his hood.
"Scotty, can you shed any light onto what would drive the woman to murder?" Jenson asked wondering what could cause such cruelty.
"Yes, I can. It appears that she had the stupid idea of converting fuel cells from the Hunter-Gratzner to operate in the skiff…" Scotty started only to drift off, most likely trying to think on how to relay the information in a comprehensible way.
"Why is that stupid? It seems smart to me, the planet from what the Doc told us of the boy's injuries is hostile. Escape seems logical to me," Coor said thinking always about survival.
"It's stupid because the inefficiency of converting the fuel cells would cause system failure within months of escaping. The power transfer was also done shabbily, wasting much of the energy, meaning that the launch took up most of the available power. If I had to hazard a guess, she probably killed them to lessen the strain on important systems such as life support. However even such drastic actions could not lessen the inefficiency of the power system and she eventually placed herself in a coma hoping help would come before the systems completely failed," Scotty said in slight exasperation that his friend was so impatient as to not wait for him to finish his thoughts. Jenson sighed as he processed the information.
"So, let me get this straight. Carolyn Fry, who was a crew member on the Hunter-Gratzner, survived a crash on an unknown planet with some of the civilians. She and two civilians escaped, unknown on status or location of other survivors if any. Her escape was flawed and upon realizing that she murdered the two other escapees. One of which was a dying boy who received a fatal injury from a hostile on whatever planet they crashed on. Is that about it?" Jenson asked, his mind heavy with the thoughts of finding any other survivors if any. 'People like Olask deserve to know what happened to their loved ones or have bodies to burn if we cannot give them good news' Jenson thought as he sneaked a look at the brooding man. When he received nods in confirmation of his conclusions, he paused to consider his options. "Alright, set her on the antidote and let's see what we get."
Harry moved around the kitchen cooking a meal as he did often now, considering he was eating for two and nutrition bars were just not good enough. The last of the fruit and vegetables were ripening and soon the produce would stop growing. Luckily, the refrigerator was well stocked and everything was prepared to last them until either production started again or the eclipse ended. Life was once again routine. As was their morning routine, if any point in eternal darkness could be considered morning, Riddick came up behind him and wrapped him in his strong arms. Feeling Riddick's hands cover his stomach, Harry smiled before continuing to stir the water in the pot. Riddick could smell the various vegetables, nuts, diced leaves, and such that filled the pot. Deciding that part was ready, Harry asked Riddick to lift the pot and move it over to the metal bucket he used for draining. The protectiveness of the males living in the makeshift home was truly starting to get ridiculous, but Harry allowed it if only to ensure their child stayed healthy. Placing a wooden platter over the pot to keep the goodies inside from spilling into the water, Harry told Riddick to slowly tilt the pot. Soon, Riddick poured most of the water out and Harry had him empty the resulting cooked food onto a platter. Harry then took larger edible leaves and started wrapping small amounts of the mixture on the platter. Soon the platter was replaced by dozens of neat little wraps. With that finished Harry set the table with a jug of milk, the wraps and bread from the rations pack. Eating was a quiet event as everyone opted to fill their bellies than talk about nothing.
"You know what I would love, a traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast…" Zeke said dreamily to his wife in what he thought was a quiet voice. He seemed to forget that in the quiet; even the quietest whispers could be heard clearly.
"Sorry that my thoughtful meal didn't appease you Zeke! I only woke up early to cook it for everyone, if you want me to let you fend for yourself than I can do so! Or perhaps you would have rather gone with Carolyn and died on the way to the skiff what with your still bleeding leg at the time," Harry said angrily. Logan and Riddick winced, knowing that Harry was not to be messed with when he was in a sour mood. Apparently, Shazza did not realize that.
"He was only making a comment that was not even directed to you! You will not talk to my husband that way just because you are angry that you got knocked up by a convict!" Shazza hissed to an agitated Harry. What she did not expect was for Harry to burst into tears and immediately move to seat himself in Riddick's lap to hide his tears in his chest. The glare that Riddick aimed at Shazza sent her reeling in fear of whatever retribution he would take. Looking around the table, Shazza noticed all the angry looks being directed at her and flinched in her seat. Zeke put a calming arm around his wife's shoulders and pulled her to him telling her that everything was fine. Surprisingly it was Ali that was angry enough to verbalize his displeasure.
"Mama did not need you yelling at him! He was just pointing out how mean Zeke's comment was considering mama does all the cooking. You have no right to yell at my mama, he saved your life," Ali said in a vicious hiss that should not be heard in the voice of a child. Zeke raised an eyebrow at the tone, although he was impressed that a child could cause his rough-edged wife to tremble in his arms. 'Actually it could be the deep growls from Riddick and Logan putting her on edge' Zeke thought to himself as he heard the deep guttural sound. Harry stopped crying although he did not loosen his grip on Riddick's shirt. The comment now that he was less emotional made him think about the small variety of animals available on the ship and how to fix it; after all, they needed more sources of meet. 'Perhaps, I can kill two birds with one stone, a bird that's it!' Harry thought as he considered what creature could help both problems. Calmly getting up from Riddick's lap, Harry moved toward his sketchbook only to stop and lean against his father, who was closest. Feeling dizzy, Harry sat in his father's lap until it passed. When it didn't pass, Harry asked Riddick to take him down to their suite.
The next few days were tense, as Harry was prone to dizziness and still vomited on occasion. It seemed that although Harry forgave Zeke's comment and Shazza's yelling, the others were not so accommodating to the couple. Riddick was awoken after a sleepless night by elated laughter from the next room. Walking out, he saw a scene that made him smile. Harry was sitting on the long ottoman, which was found amongst other household items that one of the more unfortunate passengers had brought along, holding his shirt up while the children took turns rubbing his belly. Upon closer inspection, Riddick noticed the slight bulge of Harry's stomach. Noticing Riddick standing in the doorway, Harry motioned him over ecstatically. Sitting next to Harry he too rested his hand on Harry's slightly protruding stomach thinking of the child that would be with them in five months.
McCoy sat in his office watching the holotape, a nifty device that attached to electrodes could record a person's dreams. This combined with the recording of her mumbling, allowed Dr. McCoy to make educated inferences on her memories of the event. Currently, he was watching her memory of the crash. It was sketchy, most likely from the stress of the moment. He saw flashes of lights, buttons, switches, and levers. One of the levers was the purge and he watched as she used it. Then he heard on the tape recording her mumbling 'Not gonna die for them' and wrote down in his notepad that he believed she purged most of the passengers. Her last purge appeared unsuccessful as the holotape showed her pulling the lever multiple times without result and yelling at one of the other crew members, Owens. Then everything went white, he assumed this was her going unconscious from the crash. Sighing from the strain of listening and watching as the woman remembers her willingness to kill the passengers on the off chance that she would be saved, McCoy stood to go brief the captain on his findings so far.
Jenson was sitting talking to Scotty about the age of the skiff and if any known colonies had ever settled in this system within that time period, hoping to get a more localized idea of where the crash could have occurred. Unfortunately, it was a dead end. Just as the men considered seeking out McCoy for any information on Fry's memories, a knock was heard on the door. Telling, whoever was outside to enter, the two were happy to see McCoy come through the door. McCoy sat down heavily setting his notepad on the table in front of his seat. Rubbing his face, he took a moment to gather his wayward thoughts before he told them of his findings. Jenson and Scotty shifted in their seats, impatient for some news on the survivors. Finally, McCoy collected himself and began to inform his companions on his findings.
"The woman seemed to have no conscious or at least not a very effective one. Her need to survive was so great that she actually purged most of the passengers in hope that she could still manage a landing. One of the other crew members, Owens, was with her but I am unsure if he survived the crash."
"So we have a woman who for her own personal gain killed off the majority of the passengers before the crash and two of the survivors after escaping whatever planet they crashed on?" Jenson asked to make sure he understood what he was told. After receiving a nod, he groaned and told the others to not mention it to Olask, not wanting to worry him unnecessarily.
Harry sat at the table sketching while eating a round fruit with a spiral design that tasted similar to an apple. The morning sickness had subsided primarily, although he still felt a bit nauseous during the morning, but now dizziness made him cautious about venturing up and down the stairs unaccompanied. Therefore, he had been sitting in the same spot since they had their 'morning' meal. Zeke came into the kitchen from the living quarters and approached the table to get a nutrition bar, although he was cautious around the hormonal man. 'He has been skittish since the incidence during the morning meal a month ago' Harry thought in amusement 'although, I guess he has reason to be so jumpy.' Watching the man sit down and start to chew on his treat, Harry continued his sketching. The silence was tense as the two shared the space. In the next room, Harry heard the children playing and exclaiming over attributes they hoped the baby had. Surprisingly, Ali wanted a little sister and Jack hoped for twins. Riddick and Logan were in Harry's parent's quarters planning a trip to the colony to salvage furniture and materials as soon as the eclipse ended. Alex was in the garden pulling weeds and collecting the medicinal plants for future need. Shazza ascended the stairs most likely to talk to her husband and saw Harry drawing in his sketchbook with one hand and rubbing his belly with the other. 'He really looks good pregnant' Shazza thought before she approached the table. Grabbing a nutrition bar, she too sat and hoping to lessen the tension in the room started a conversation.
"What are you drawing?" Shazza asked in interest. From her position she could see very little of the page. Harry placed his pencil down and looked up with a smile at the woman who had been under a lot stress from the unfriendly attentions of his family.
"I am drawing my version of chicken, except it will be bigger and not at all like a chicken," Harry says in slight confusion as to how to explain the animal to them. The couple nodded in confusion and sat back to allow Harry to finish what he does best. However before he could put pencil to paper, the children rushed in and over to him to clinging to his shirt.
"Careful of Mamma's tummy," Harry said gently as he held the children to him. He raised an eyebrow at his mother as he sauntered in with a mischievous grin on his face. Nothing was said, although Harry knew that either a prank was played or Alex told the kids something to scare them. Moving the children to sit on either side of him, Harry continued his drawing. Soon the page glowed and four three-foot birds jumped out of the page. The children awed and immediately went to pet one of the flightless birds, touching its tiny wings and examining its beak. Surprisingly, the animal accepted the administrations without protest and the others left the room. The adults, except Harry, examined the remaining bird with curious eyes. It had a mane of feathers in the back of its head and long feet.
"How do we ensure those creatures do not kill the birds?" Shazza asked curiously.
"Same way I know that the cat will not be killed, they will not venture out of the light. I have created them to live in the light and fear the dark," Harry said with a shrug before motioning for his mother to help him down the stairs. A yawn signified that he is becoming tired, another side effect of his pregnancy. The children quickly ran down the stairs to tell their daddy that mama will be sleeping so that he does not disturb him by mistake.
Olask found McCoy in his office reviewing his notes. He was here for information; everyone was tightlipped about the investigation and Scotty was giving him sympathetic looks. The strangest thing about that was that Scotty hated him with a passion. So, Olask stood behind McCoy's chair waiting for the man to notice him. After a moment of reviewing notes, making changes, and writing conclusions, McCoy finally acknowledged his presence by asking Olask to follow him to the meeting room. With a shrug that could not be seen by the still seated man, Olask backed up to give him room to move. Walking in silence to the meeting room, Olask pondered on what news he was about to hear. Sitting around the table, the men settled in for a most likely disturbing conversation.
"McCoy what do you have for us?" Jenson asked in a weary voice, unsure if he wanted to hear more about the sins of the woman.
"Firstly, I would like to inform you captain that Carolyn Fry died today. She woke from her chemical-induced coma and begged for forgiveness before she started seizing. Her body could not handle the violent tremors and apparently something hemorrhaged inside as she began to cough up blood. From what I can tell, she drowned from her own blood. It was a most violent death," McCoy said with a tinge of pity in his voice. Giving a deep sigh at the memory of the woman's death, McCoy looked around the table to ground himself. Olask was the only one who did not seem even a bit sympathetic at the woman's death, although it was hard to judge his emotions without being able to see his face.
"That is unfortunate, but what have you been able to gather from the woman?" Jenson asked, hoping that some good news would be forthcoming. Olask snorted at the obvious nonchalance Jenson displayed regarding the death of Carolyn Fry. Mc Coy cleared his throat before beginning his report.
"The crash resulted in the death of Owens, who saved the passengers located closest to the cockpit. There were fourteen survivors, as follows: two prospectors, three pilgrims on their way to New Mecca, a mercenary, a convict, two orphans, a treasure collector, and a family. She does not remember all the names, but she does remember a green-eyed boy matching the description of Olask's nephew's adopted son. There are flashes of a man that resembles Alex and another man that seems gruff and dangerous. Everything is very stilted and incomplete. A colony was found. The male prospector was almost killed by some creature and the boy, Harry, went to investigate. Riddick went after the boy after he became injured and the group decided to journey to the colony to salvage what they needed to investigate. Bones lining a tunnel, a solar model, three suns, an eclipse. It is all very disjointed. Seven people were left behind," McCoy said in confusion trying to put the memories together in a coherent manner.
"So what planet could fit that description? It has to be sandy, have three suns, and an eclipse," Jenson stated, smiling when he saw Olask pull down his hood and thank McCoy for giving him hope of his nephew's survival.
"Hades," Coor stated without pause, "it is a planet with perpetual sun except for every twenty-second year for six months during which there is perpetual night."
"What of these creatures? What did the woman know about them?" Olask asked, speaking up for the first time. Everyone looked at him in shock; he seemed much less hostile now that some positive news on his nephew was heard. His question gave the others pause as they considered this dimension to their mission.
"Well, from her ramblings I deduced that the creatures stay in the darkness. Light damages them, much like the fables of vampires that existed long ago," McCoy stated reluctantly.
"So with them there during a six month eclipse, how can we be sure that they are alive?" Jenson asked considering that there would be nowhere to hide.
"If they could have gotten to the Hunter-Gratzner, there is a chance that they could have rigged the lights. I know it's not much, but there is a chance that they are alive," Scotty said hopefully.
"My nephew would know how to survive. They are there, I know they are," Olask said, eyes flashing in determination.
"Alright, plot a course to Hades. Make sure we arrive after the eclipse," Jenson stated, leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
Chapter Sixteen: Finding the Lost/Discord
"How far from Hades are we?" Jenson asked upon approaching Coor, the navigation officer. Coor swiveled in his chair to look at Jenson and took in the frazzled, exasperated expression on the captain's face. Smirking at the captain's expression, the gruff man looked at the monitors again for a minute before answering the question posed to him.
"We should arrive at Hades the day after tomorrow; the eclipse will have been over for about a week. Hopefully, the survivors will stay at the crash site," Coor stated before turning back to the monitors. Jenson gave Coor's back a cool stare before he turned and began to search for Olask. He found the man in his lab, constructing clay models of the creature portrayed in Carolyn's dreams. The models were shocking, even the small two-foot high models showed the animal as a perfect killing machine. Clearing his throat, Jenson relayed the information of how near Hades they were. Olask nodded before returning to his task. Watching as the man worked, Jenson hummed in astonishment as the man adjusted his model's based on Dr. McCoy's notes. Finally, he was finished and the resulting product was more fearsome than any of the previous models. 'Just what are we getting ourselves into?' Jenson thought before he turned and left. Everyone sat in anticipatory silence as the planet became larger and larger in their viewing screens until all they could see was sand. Coor set about scanning the planet so as to have a map of some sorts to guide themselves by.
"Are you seeing this?" Scotty asked, pointing out a vast area that contained bleached bones.
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