Gliese Chronicles: Thin Margin Ch. 04

I sat down in disbelief, feeling numb. Together we had conquered one enemy, but now we were apart on two different ships with another foe to deal with. This one more insidious as it didn't employ technology, only genetic code to sow havoc on one individual at a time—this time it was personal. It was my man who was at stake—and now I knew without a doubt he was my man, my heart told me so.

For the first time I had to rely upon others to do my fighting for me. To make the decisions of life, or death—I was a bystander with limited power to combat the enemy. It was a humbling experience and I didn't enjoy the feeling at all. I was aware someone had come to sit near me in the bridge of New Frontiers and a male voice spoke to me.

"I'm afraid I know how you feel. You sit and wonder what you can do to fight back and find you can't. Others have the knowledge and weapons to do the fighting and you can just sit, watch, and wait. No captain likes to be powerless, not in charge. All you can do now is monitor the situation and wait. Waiting is the hardest part. The part they never tell you will come some day during your training—the time when you can't provide direction, or even offer advice.

I looked at James, his face hard, his eyes distant—yes, he knew how I felt. He had been there and now it was my turn. Then his gaze came to me, then a hint of a smile, "Your people are good, very professional from what I have observed these past three days. Morgan will come out of this with their help. Now, we have things to discuss, things we need to do to accomplish our mission, both yours and mine."

Our conversation lasted about an hour and covered something neither one of us wished were necessary—what to do with those who were dead in the cryo-units. Ada was the one who provided what seemed like the best solution, one that avoided having to deal with bodies potentially carrying a deadly virus of unknown origin. We decided one of the smaller ships of the fleet would carry all of those who had died. Then, after we had revived and treated those with a new vaccine, would add those that failed to respond to treatment and died. A small group of humanoid robots would handle the infected dead human bodies to avoid the possibility of further infections. The mortuary vessel would be directed into the star Gliese 687 after a fitting ceremony. A memorial would be designed and erected to honor those who had been lost.

Once these decisions were made I sent a coded message to Space Command informing them of the plan and our progress. It didn't mention a member of our crew had potentially been exposed to the virus. We still didn't know for sure as the leaky vial was being tested to determine its contents—perhaps it had been filled with a preservative and not been used to collect a sample. I hoped that was the case—regardless, the incident would be included in a later report as it should be.

I went to my quarters onboard Avenger after checking to make sure the watch was set on New Frontiers and bade Ada and James goodnight. I sent a message to Morgan on our secure connection immediately and received a reply a few minutes later—"I feel fine, Neenah. It's going to be alright, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

I prepared for bed all the while thinking of Morgan. I was fearful our first night together had also been our last. I slept fretfully, tossing and turning, wondering if I should send another message to Morgan. Then thinking I would only disturb his sleep, I tried to fall asleep again. I was up earlier than usual and walked into the galley to get something for breakfast. I could tell the crew was ill at ease when I walked in—the news had obviously gotten around. Not that I hadn't expected it to, we were a tight crew. I decided then I should contact Morgan again and inform the crew of his status—I still had my crew to think about and this was important to them too.

When I returned to my quarters I found a message from Morgan waiting in the voice message queue. I read it with bated breath—"I'm experiencing some mild symptoms, mild fever, and some muscle ache. I still have an appetite and have eaten some rations. Neenah, I miss you."

I felt a tear come to my eye and wiped it away as it rolled down my cheek. He missed me. I more than missed him, hoping his condition would not worsen. I sent him a reply, trying to sound upbeat—telling him the crew was worried about him and I would contact him again in a few hours. Then, I called the head of the medical team for an update. It wasn't what I wanted to hear—the vial contained the virus. The good news—it had been sequenced and found to be a coronavirus they were familiar with. They were working on an updated vaccine in the well-equipped lab of New Frontiers and hoped to have it ready in about three days.

The doctor didn't say anything about Morgan other than they had taken a blood sample from him and had sequenced his genome. They found a few mutations on his Y and X chromosomes they were unfamiliar with, none appeared to be harmful. They would be taking another blood sample in a few hours to see how his body was reacting to the infection.

The information they provided didn't give me hope, or drive me to despair—it was about as neutral as anything I had ever heard. I knew they were just being factual, but I had hoped for something more uplifting and now I wasn't sure if I was grasping at straws. I gave a verbal report to the crew, putting the best positive spin on it I could.

I sat at the desk in my quarters and wondered what life held for me after this mission was completed. Would I have Morgan to spend time with? What if he died of the virus? The thought chilled me as I could hardly think of life without him now. From our first chance meeting on Ettera, our leave time together, the meeting that placed us together on Avenger, and to our first time being fully intimate together mere days ago. Those memories swirled around in my head—it was my life with him that seemed to matter most to me now.

Our night together as lovers pointed to the promise of a future together. Ada's words came back to me—Morgan and I were a few steps behind them, but we were heading in the same direction. Walking the same path to being happy together and raising a family. For the first time in a very long time I thought of having a home on a solid piece of ground, not one bound to a metallic vessel in the cold dark void of space chasing down asteroids and the infrequent rogue comet.

I sat at my console and opened the secure channel to Morgan. I heard him answer, his voice sounded weak, "I'll ask the obvious question first. How are you feeling?"

"I'm a bit worse, my fever is higher, and I'm fatigued. I'm weak but I'm drinking water and eating to keep my energy up. My breathing hasn't been affected much yet, and that's what I was most worried about. I wish had seen that vial sooner and avoided all of this so we could have moved things along faster."

"I understand they're going to get another sample of blood from you. They told me they want to check to see if you have produced antibodies to the virus. It takes time for your body to ramp up its defenses so the next few hours will tell them a lot. They told me you also have some genetic mutations they haven't seen before."

"I'm not surprised, but we can talk about that later. Oh, I see they're here now. Neenah, I'm going to be alright, I can feel it. Just know I miss you and that if there's anything that makes me want to beat this thing it's you. I want to be able to hold you again and kiss your sweet lips."

"Good night Morgan, I'll call you in the morning, so get some rest. I miss you a lot, so rest, and get better."

The connection ended and I mused, no man had ever told me I had sweet lips. I walked into the bath unit to get ready for bed after checking with the duty officer who replied there was nothing unusual to report. I turned the lights out and lay down on my back hoping Morgan was sleeping. I would call him first thing in the morning and afterward continue working the checklist with James and Ada—I was thankful for them as they were professional and competent officers. It was plain to see the loss of their crew members and passengers had hurt them deeply. I hadn't loss anyone under my command and didn't want to start with Morgan. The very thought tore at me as I dropped off to sleep.

I woke in the morning with a soft alarm sounding. I immediately got up and checked my messages on the console by touching the screen. There was a response from Space Command HQ and another from the medical team. I read the message from HQ first—they agreed with the plan of action regarding the disposition of the expired crew and passengers of the fleet.

Then I looked at the message from the medical team expecting to see a progress report on production of the vaccine. I read the text and sat down not believing what it said. How was it possible? He had been doing pretty well when I talked with him last night. Could things have changed that much in just a matter of eight hours? My heart was beating hard in my chest, tears welled up blurring my vision as I pulled my blouse on and headed for the hangar bay.

I worked hard to compose myself as the light indicators for the port side of the hangar bay turned from red, to yellow, blinking green, and then solid green as the massive door slid open to reveal our shuttle standing alone near the entrance to the airlock. I wiped a tear away and watched as the shuttle door opened and two droids appeared pulling a gurney—the figure on it covered in white sheets. I approached slowly, not wanting to look at the pale face looking upward. I knew I should have told him last night I loved him. Then, I couldn't help myself as I called out, "Morgan."

The droids stopped the gurney and turned to face me as a hand reached out, "Neenah, please, stay with me."

I grasped his hand and felt it close firmly to hold mine. I looked down and saw a faint smile appear, "I told you I wanted to hold you again."

I smiled in return and brushed a tear away, "You scared the hell out of me and I hardly slept all night." It was then I noticed the doctor and nurse behind me.

I walked beside the gurney as it was wheeled into the airlock, then into the entrance to the tube, then into the capsule. Dr. Benzall and Nurse Zookney explained they would bring what was needed to the Second officer's quarters in a few minutes. I nodded my understanding and watched them get off at sick bay before we continued towards the bridge.

I watched as the droids helped steady Morgan as he slipped off the gurney onto the bed and lay down. I thanked them and they left the two of us alone. He looked pale and weak—the fight his body put up must have used up almost all of his energy. But he was alive and no longer contagious. The joy I felt was overwhelming and tears filled my eyes as I felt his hand brush against my hip. I reached for it and sat down on the bed next to him.

Then his voice sounding a little raspy whispered to me, "Neenah, I should have said this days ago, but didn't. I love you."

"I know, I should have done the same thing" I replied softly. "I realized last night I should have told you. I knew I didn't want to live my life without you."

"Then you won't. I promise."

Dr. Benzall and Nurse Zookney appeared with bottles of fluids and a small case with pills arranged in compartments—enough for four days. After giving instructions to Morgan on when to take them Dr. Benzall turned to me.

"Captain, it's the damnedest thing I've ever seen. His immune response completely overwhelmed the virus last night. We still don't understand how, but the antibodies he produced are being sequenced so our machines can produce artificial serum to serve as the basis for a vaccine. We will conduct trials on samples of the virus in the lab first to check its efficacy. If it works, we'll start production in a few more days, test it on a few volunteers and afterward a few of the sickest patients we revive to insure it works without serious side effects, and then we'll move on from there."

"So, what else does he need?"

"Rest. He needs to rebuild his energy, sleep is the best way to do that along with a good diet and plenty of liquids. I suspect that a man in his physical condition should be up and around in about four days. He just shouldn't over-do physical activity for a while, probably a week at least. This kind of infection takes a toll even if you survive it."

"Thank you doctor, I'll be in to see you later. I'll need a report to send along to Space Command whenever you can get around to it. I realize we have other priorities right now other than sending reports to the brass."

"Quite so," he smiled.

The door slid shut behind them and I turned to Morgan.

"Now what?" he said softly."

"Now, you rest. I'll be back after I get Captain Duris and Commander Caprinol brought up to speed. Then you and I are going to get some rest together tonight. And I do mean rest, no demanding physical activity remember."

"Sleeping with you will be enough," he smiled.

I walked out of the room, straightening my uniform as I walked down the corridor and entered the bridge wearing a smile. It was time to be an officer again, this time a happy, confident one. There didn't seem to be a reason to hold back any longer as life was too short, too uncertain—if others knew of our relationship now it didn't matter—at least not to me. Even duty has its limits and if I could perform mine without impeding completion of the mission while in a relationship it was good enough for me.

"Good morning, Captain Casperson," Captain Duris said brightly.

"Good morning. Commander Stanford is in the Second Officer's quarters resting. I don't expect he'll be up to doing much for another few days. I hope you understand he would be here if he were able."

Ada walked up to me and said quietly, "We understand. We caught the doctor and nurse as they were leaving and asked for an update on his condition. We are so pleased to see he will be fine. It was an unexpected turn of events, but based upon what the doctor told us, Morgan's antibodies may have saved the lives of our people. It has reduced the time needed to determine the true identity of the virus and jump-start the design of a vaccine. When this is all over others will know our future was in your very capable hands, your own and Morgan's."

We met with Avenger's crew members whose teams were assigned specific tasks on the revival checklist. They and the humanoid robots had started the process of moving the cryo-units containing the dead to the designated mortuary ship. Then, they would configure the space on New Frontiers for active medical care for the infected in subsets for revival in an orderly process. No patient would leave the compartment until they revived successfully and were given the vaccine. Once they had responded favorably to the vaccine, they would move to a recovery unit for observation and evaluation for two days.

Afterward, they would be assigned quarters, told what had happened, where they were, and options regarding the future. This was to prepare them psychologically to deal with the trauma once they realized how few of them had survived. We would make use of the expertise they represented as they would be able to help each other cope rather than bring in too many of our own people.

Once those aboard New Frontiers were assigned meaningful work, the task of reviving the humans on the other ships would begin. Once they were declared healthy they would be brought to New Frontiers and assigned duties commensurate with their backgrounds. They would the move about the ship as they wished. Our early calculations suggested New Frontiers and New Beginning would suffice to house the survivors of the entire fleet. It was distressing to me and even more so to Duris and Caprinol.

By the time I met with Avenger's crew just before the last meal of the day I was pretty well in. I never realized how much mental energy it was going to take to accomplish this mission. Perhaps Admiral Prescott was a more accomplished officer than I thought. Organization was the name of the game and juggling all of the pieces was as demanding as the design and construction of Avenger had been.

After checking in with James and Ada to make sure the evening watch was set I walked to the Second Officer's quarters and slipped inside. Morgan was sleeping soundly as I sat down at the desk and looked at him. He looked a little haggard with a three-day old beard, still handsome in my eyes.

I admired his work ethic and the fact he never seemed to complain. He was steadfast, honest, and caring. I couldn't help but think he would make a wonderful father. I had never thought of another man in those terms before, or for that matter, of myself as a mother. It seemed a strange juxtaposition—surrounded by over a thousand dead in the far dark, cold reaches of a galaxy and I was thinking of creating life with a man.

I slipped out to retrieve the bag of personal items I had placed in the First Officer's quarters during the morning and then returned to sit and read for a while. I wanted to be close to Morgan, even if he were still sleeping. That way when he woke he would find me there waiting for him, and he would know how much I cared. I was lost in thought when Morgan's voice penetrated my consciousness.

"Hey, nice to see you. Sorry, I haven't been around to help. You looked tired, like you could use some sleep."

I smiled, "Having someone hold me would be nice. Someone who would appreciate me as a woman."

"I've always appreciated you as woman—an intelligent, gifted one. After our night together I found another dimension to you I can't ignore. You're a beautiful, soft, warm woman. Come to bed and lay with me, make me a whole man as I hold you."

I stripped down to my panties, slipped inside his outstretched arm and snuggled up against him with my head on his chest. He pulled the sheet over us. I would be pleased to make him a whole man as he made me a whole woman; the thought warmed me.

"Warm enough?"

"Yes, you smell good."

"I took a shower a while ago, I couldn't stand myself after a couple of days of sweating with a fever. It made me feel two hundred percent better. Now, with you next to me I feel even better. I've been thinking of you all day, actually thinking of us all day. But I need to ask you a question."

"What kind of a question? If it involves putting something into me the answer is no. You heard what the doctor said. Not until you feel better," I said lightly.

"So, you've been thinking about it?"

I raised my head and looked at him, "You know I have, that was the best sex I've ever had. I'm not going to forget it that quickly."

I lay my head back down felt the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"Did any of your ancestors live on Ettera? I mean, were any of them born there four, or five generations ago?"

I thought back to my family history. I hadn't looked at it for a few years even though it was on my tablet. My great grandmother and grandfather had been Etteran, as had my grandmother. I thought it a strange question to be asking now.

"Yes, both of my great grandparents and my grandmother. I thought I'd told you that before."

"You told me your grandmother was, but never mentioned your great grandparents. Were they on your mother's, or father's side?"

"Both," I replied wondering why it was important.

"So, does your family history contain any statements about blue men?"

"Blue men? You mean like the rumors I've heard from some of my girlfriends and female colleagues over the years?"

"Yes."

I raised up to look at him again with a puzzled smile, "How do you know about that? I've never heard a man mention it, only women while they gossip and tell racy suggestive stories with no men around."