Crystal's Light

[eclipse]

This story came from a strange dream I had a few nights back. If you were expecting my usual fruity FE stuff. . .well, it's none of that. Anyway, if you wanna comment about this, do so in the Feedback section, not here.

*****

"Mom, I don't wanna do this," Kel whined.

"Kel, this is an important project," countered his mother, a stern expression across her features.

"Why does everyone have to do their stupid report on the same book? I wanna do something else!" His mother sighed and took a seat next to her reluctant son.

"This is your first-year history report, and it's important. C'mon, open the book," she prodded.

"Fine, fine," he said, as he flipped around for the first page of the book.

===

"I hate the bloody cold," Kingston muttered to herself.

The bleak scene in front of her did nothing to lift her spirits. She was stuck on some moon base or other on the edge of charted space. Her official duties were to monitor the remote moon's station. However, there was nothing in this corner of space. She might as well have been assigned to stare at a wall.

Once, some years back, Kingston had been a captain of some regard. A navigational glitch caused her ship, the Artemis, to fly into unknown space. When she had finished her report, her ship had been confiscated, and her entire crew had been reassigned with her to this nameless base. The "official" report implied a failed attempt to bribe a high official.

"Captain, shouldn't you get some rest," a small voice squeaked. The voice belonged to Marlow, an unfortunate ensign who had been assigned to the Artemis a month before that unfortunate incident. Marlow was a petite waif of a woman, with soft gray eyes and auburn hair done neatly in a bun. Kingston briefly wondered what she'd look like if she adopted Marlow's hair style. Her salt-and-pepper hair would make her look like a witch. An uncomfortable sound from Marlow brought the former captain back to reality.

"My shift's over already? That's a relief," Kingston muttered. She nodded to Marlow, who hastily stood at attention. Kingston allowed herself a wry grin. Most of the others didn't bother with such formalities.

Despite being the captain, Kingston did not have the luxury of her own room. Marlow's side of the room was nearly devoid of personal belongings. Kingston's side, while neat, showed evidence of habitation. Her wall had a small poster of a waterfall, and books filled the cabinet near her bed. Most of these books were titles familiar to anyone who was well-read. One book had no markings on its spine. Kingston took it out and flipped through it. This was the diary she kept, ever since she'd been reassigned. Perhaps if she recorded the events of each day, she would make sense of why she and her crew were stuck in the middle of nowhere.

---

"C'mon, not even a drink?" Zukeran pestered Marlow. She shot him a glare that was capable of withering plants, had there been any on this station.

"Absolutely not," the ensign told her (technical) superior. Though Zukeran never made it past ensign, he had been aboard the Artemis for much longer than Marlow, so she considered him a superior in certain matters. On-the-job fraternization was not one of those matters.

"Ah, between you and that ice-cold captain, a man's totally out of luck," he said with a pout. She chose to ignore that. That kind of pout did not belong on the face of someone who was five years older than her.

This base might have been useful, thirty years ago. Many of the sensors were in desperate need of recalibration, and some of the older technology had been widely replaced by newer, more accurate devices. Clunky or not, it was her job to monitor these sensors, and report any abnormalities. Over the five years the crew had been stationed on the base, there had been nothing to report. A small red light and an obnoxious beep broke seven years of peace.

"The radiation sensor isn't supposed to overreact that badly. Keep an eye on this while I get the captain," Zukeran said gravely. Marlow nodded, as he headed for the captain's quarters at what could best be described as a jog.

---

Kingston eyed her crew. Marlow and Zukeran were at ready. Genfort's nearly-white hair was not quite combed properly, and Halloway's uniform was badly rumpled. They had both been roused by the siren, and neither looked happy to be awake.

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't bother you with such things. We have nowhere to go, and this spike in radiation will affect us all." The two off-duty officers stood up a little straighter. Kingston cleared her throat and continued.

"The radiation is caused by a small rock that fell not too far from the base. From the images I've seen, and the radiation levels, I believe we have been graced by the presence of a Carthal Crystal." Her crew glanced nervously at each other. Carthal Crystals were occasionally found floating among the debris of unmanned probes that had been mysteriously destroyed. The Crystals gave off tremendous amounts of energy after being exposed to sunlight (or other similar forms of radiation). It was rumored that the various governments wanted to use the Crystals as a source of cheap power. Anyone with a working brain knew they were far more interested in weapons research rather than renewable energy.

"We're not equipped to handle something that dangerous!" Halloway exclaimed. Despite his stern features and large frame, he was the jumpiest man that Kingston had ever met.

"Is this base fortified enough to handle the ambient radiation?" Genfort asked evenly. The eldest member of the Artemis had been Kingston's loyal medical officer. It was his duty to worry about such things.

"It will, but not for long. The sun will hit the base in a few hours. When it does, the Crystal's radiation will be much stronger. Take a bath, eat a good meal, and use the bathroom while you can. In three hours, everyone is to be in full space suits unless absolutely necessary." Her crew groaned as one. Kingston silently groaned with them. Space suits were horribly restrictive, and even harder to sleep in!

*****

Kel rubbed his eyes. How long was this stupid book gonna ramble on?

"That's enough for today, dear. Get ready for bed," his mother gently ordered. He was more than happy to oblige her. Anything except more pages of boring history!

Edited December 31, 2010 by eclipse

[eclipse]

"Do I have to?" Kel complained to his mother. She put away the last of the dinner dishes and walked over to her moody son.

"Do you want to stay a first-year student forever?" she replied evenly. The corners of his mouth turned down.

"I hate this," he grumbled, as he opened the book in defeat. Why did the school want a report on THIS subject, rather than something interesting, like the new shrubs that had been planted on the city's outskirts? Stupid, boring space history!

*****

Two days had passed since the Crystal's discovery. During the times when the base was illuminated by the sun, the radiation readings were several orders of magnitude larger than what anyone was comfortable with. While the sun's light was blocked, the Crystal's radiation levels went from mind-boggling to barely within safety regulations. Besides being a worrying source of radiation, something about the Crystal prevented long-range communication transmissions. Their in-suit communication devices transmitted as much static as it did voice.

"This is a horribly rickety solution, but I think it will work for now," the static-tinted voice of Halloway transmitted. He motioned towards a container that was roughly the size of a shoe box. The crew had scavenged every bit of radiation-safe wrapping they could find, along with anything else they thought would help. Halloway had somehow turned the scraps of garbage into a small box.

"How are we supposed to get this thing to the Crystal? The maintenance drones refuse to work anywhere near it!" Zukeran had tried using a spare drone to move the Crystal. The drone still sat outside of the base, about ten feet from the Crystal, completely unresponsive.

"Zukeran, you're the one that liked physics. Here's the weight of the box and the gravitational constant outside of the base. Please program another drone to throw the box over the Crystal. If you need any more measurements, let me know." The interference didn't quite disguise Marlow's snicker. Zukeran sighed at his captain's request.

"Fine, fine, but I'd like to have another drone chuck a few test weights outside first."

"Very well. Halloway, can you construct a few more dummy boxes that are the same weight as the real one?"

"Yes ma'am. Anything to get out of this awful contraption."

===

The crew breathed a collective sigh of relief when Zukeran announced that he had finished his testing. It had taken him a full night before he was certain that he'd input everything correctly. Marlow silently considered taking him up on his offer for a drink.

"Here goes nothing!" the garbled voice of Zukeran announced. Marlow held her breath as she watched the box arc in the air. It landed squarely on the Crystal. Cheering and noise echoed through the communication lines.

"It might be a bit too early to celebrate," Genfort's voice cut in. "Captain, please look at these readings." The relative silence was broken by a couple of choice curse words from the aforementioned captain.

"The box isn't a full seal. The radiation leaking from the box is as strong as what I'd expect to see during the day. If the Crystal was exposed to light in this state--"

"Excuse me, captain, but why not put a cloth over the box? That should keep the light out," Marlow suggested hesitantly.

"I don't think the drones are that nimble," Genfort retorted grumpily.

"Captain, I've reestablished communication with the drone near the box!"

"Zukeran, move the drone as close to the box as possible. I want to test something."

"Okay! I'm about two feet away from the box, and I can still control it."

"That's close enough. Have it return to base. Marlow, are you comfortable controlling a maintenance drone?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good. You'll work with Zukeran to put that cloth of yours over the box." Marlow smiled to herself.

"I've got a spare bed cover," volunteered Halloway.

"Isn't that from your mother, kid?" The static made Genfort's comment sound even grumpier than it was intended to sound. Chuckles bounced back and forth across the transmitters.

"Sh-shut up! I'm sure she'd approve!" Some of the chuckles turned into outright laughter.

"That's enough, everyone. I'm sure your mother will be very proud of you, Halloway." Halloway stammered something, though it was hard to tell what he said.

===

"I don't understand this! The Crystal is away from light and contained, so why are we still in these stupid suits?" Zukeran asked Genfort. The former was supposed to be asleep. The latter's shift was set to start soon. Halloway, the other person who occupied the room, was still on duty.

"The radiation levels haven't dropped enough. The supply ship comes tomorrow, kid. You'll survive until we can get word out about what happened," Genfort replied, no sympathy in his voice.

"When I get out of this, the first thing I'm doing is taking a bath!" Zukeran exclaimed.

Kingston smiled to herself as she noted the conversation down in her journal.

*****

"All they do is talk about some stupid Crystal," Kel whimpered. He yawned widely.

"It's time to go to bed, dear. I'm a little disappointed, because the interesting part is next." Kel's mother softly chuckled as she watched her son stumble towards the bathroom.

"This point in history. . .Kel, it's why we have plants on Earth. . ."

Edited December 31, 2010 by eclipse

[eclipse]

"You looked quite happy when you came home from school today. What happened?" Kel's mother asked her unusually cheerful son.

"We started the unit on plants today! That means we'll get a chance to see the shrubs next month!" he said excitedly.

"How does the rest of your class feel about it?"

"Oh, they think it's boring. But plants are so cool! They feed on sunlight and make oxygen! Mostly everything uses oxygen and feeds on them. Without plants, we'd all--" His mother's sigh interrupted him.

"Kel, there was once a time when Earth didn't have plants growing in the ground."

"Wh-what?! But how did we survive?"

"Remember that history report you have to do? It will explain why."

"Um, alright." Though Kel hated history, the prospect of understanding plants better seemed to take the edge off of his usual grumpiness. Kel's mother hoped her son's mood would stay upbeat.

*****

"That's an odd-looking star," Genfort mumbled into his transmitter. Though the long-range scanners and communications were still out of commission, Genfort's old telescope worked just fine.

"Hmm? Lemme have a look," Kingston mumbled back. Genfort surrendered the telescope to his captain.

"Stars don't move that fast. I don't know what it is, but I have a bad feeling about this. Get everyone out of bed."

"Yes, ma'am!"

===

"This had better be good," Zukeran muttered, half-coherent. Marlow's response was a loud yawn.

"Rise and shine, everyone, we've got a stranger on our proverbial doorstep." The crew straightened at the captain's announcement.

"Long-range everything is still down, so Genfort has graciously donated his telescope to monitor the sky. About ten minutes ago, he spotted a star that was moving faster than any other star we've seen. Given the position of the sun, I think our star is an artificial object."

"Isn't that the telescope your wife gave you?" asked Halloway, a slight tinge of vengeance in his voice.

"Receiving gifts from one's spouse is far less awkward than receiving gifts from one's mother, especially at your age, Halloway." A snicker that could only belong to Zukeran answered Genfort's statement.

"That's because my mother--huh?" The long-range consoles, which had been silent for the past few days, sputtered to life.

"We're getting an incoming message!" Marlow announced, as she gave the machine permission to broadcast through the base.

Three clicks. A short pause. Several hisses, and four more clicks. Another pause. Two clicks, a hiss, the sound of something heavy being dropped, and three more clicks. Another pause. A click, followed by the sound of metal on metal, followed by two hisses and two clicks. Silence.

"The console has shut itself off."

"Good work, Marlow." The ensign allowed herself a self-satisfied smile.

"All I heard was clicks and hisses. Was that even a message?"

"Yes, Halloway, it was. Among the clicks and hisses was the sound of something heavy being dropped, and the sound of grating metal. These sounds tell me that the message did not suffer from interference." Marlow was in charge of communications, so she was supposed to observe such things.

"If you think it was a clear message, then I'll believe you, ensign. Our strangers are most likely not human. Halloway, distribute pistols to everyone." Everyone fell silent. The various world governments had not reported any signs of extraterrestrial contact. Could this mean. . .

===

Two hours later, it began.

Zukeran noted the strange, spherical ship that landed directly in front of the base's main window. The figures that emerged from the ship were humanoid. Though their frames suggested they were human, their heavy gait said otherwise. Three of them stood in front of their vessel.

"I want to say they're human, but I've never seen that kind of ship before. Their manner of walking seems to--AAAH!" Zukeran jumped back as the main window shattered, sending glittering particles all over the place.

"INSOLENT HUMANS, PREPARE TO DIE!" The voice that reverberated through Marlow's transmitter was somewhere between male and female, harsh, and extremely loud.

"Why? What did we do?!" whined Zukeran.

"YOU DARE ASK US THAT?"

"PERHAPS THE MESSAGE WE SENT EARLIER WAS NOT CLEAR." This voice was slightly deeper than the first one. "WE WISH TO KNOW WHY YOU DISABLED OUR MARKER."

"Marker?"

"YOU HUMANS CALL THEM CARTHAL CRYSTALS."

"Oh, that. The radiation it sends out during the day was hazardous, so we--"

"WE FOUND THE CRYSTAL. IT IS SEALED IN THIS BOX." The third voice sounded like a child's voice.

"Marlow, can you hear me? I need you to relay some instructions to the rest of the crew. The book you're looking for has a red cover and--"

"YOU HUMANS HAVE INTENTIONALLY DISABLED OUR TRANSMITTER. THE ONLY FITTING PUNISHMENT IS DEATH!" Marlow winced as she heard Zukeran scream, followed by a gurgle.

"Get moving, girl!" Halloway said roughly, as he pushed her in the direction of the captain's quarters.

"But what about you?" she protested.

"I. . .I don't want to be here. I'm probably going to die. If I go down, I want to do something useful before I do." Marlow nodded before running down the hallway. The door closed behind her.

"Your markers react badly to light," came Halloway's voice, surprisingly even.

"THE STRONGER THE LIGHT, THE BETTER THE SIGNAL."

"Is there such a thing as too strong a signal?"

"WHAT? HOW--"

"NONSENSE!" Marlow heard Halloway curse. He was still alive. Good. Left down the hall. . .

"All our Crystal samples came from the wreckage of unmanned space probes. They all had something in com--ggh."

"Halloway, HALLOWAY?! What was he talking about?"

"Captain, calm down. He mentioned this to me earlier. All the probes were equipped with an older infrared scanner."

"Infrared? Why would that--"

"YOU, FIND THE SOURCE OF THAT VOICE. YOU, GO AFTER THE ONE THAT RAN AWAY. I WILL FIND THIS CAPTAIN."

"Marlow, move it!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Open, the door, and shut it! She made it! Now, for a book with a red cover. . .

"THIS HUMAN HAS DAMAGED ME."

"You guys really hate the red end of the spectrum, don't you? Even your armor can't protect against it. I guess we should be thankful that standard issue pistols shoot red lasers."

"YOU ARE A SMART ONE. IT IS A PITY THAT I NEED TO END YOUR LIFE."

"Mariam. . ."

"INTERESTING. THIS ONE DID NOT SCREAM."

"Genfort, not you too. . .Marlow, what are you doing?!"

"You have a lot of books with red covers! Which one did you want?"

"The one about physics! Where did you come from?"

"WHY ARE YOU IN FRONT OF OUR MARKER, FOOLISH HUMAN?"

"Captain, your shelves are full of history books! Wait, this one doesn't have a title!" Marlow flipped the book open. This was. . .a diary?! None of her books had anything to do with physics! What was the captain thinking?

"Your armor. . .your markers. . .red light is your weakness. I hold your weakness. . ."

"HOW DO YOU STILL SURVIVE?"

"Death is. . .too merciful for you. . ." Marlow instinctively hugged the book she was holding close, and curled up on the floor. She was all alone. . .all. . .white. . .

===

The supply ship was a little ahead of schedule. Their last stop was to drop off food and water for a nameless base in the middle of nowhere, and then book it home. The nearest bit of civilization was a week away.

"I'm not too happy about this," the communications officer on the ship told his captain. "They haven't responded to a single message we've sent them."

"Are we in the right place? The radiation levels here are insane!" someone yelled from the back of the ship.

"The navigational systems indicate that we're going in the right direction. We should be there in a few hours," came the humorless reply from the navigation officer. Any other banter was cut off by a brilliant flash of white.

"That came from the direction of the base!" Their normally calm captain's face was completely devoid of color.

"Everyone, suit up. Have the ship go full speed towards the base. I want to know what the hell just happened."

*****

"Kel? Kel, what are you doing?!"

"There's nothing about plants in here!" Kel screamed, as he slammed the book shut and ran towards the bathroom.

"I think I know which part of the book he just finished reading," Kel's father said, as he entered his son's room.

"He doesn't like history, but he needs to get through this. Once he does, he'll understand why everything on Earth is the way it is."

"We should leave him alone." Kel's mother nodded wordlessly before following her husband out of the room.

[eclipse]

"Kel, what's wrong?" Kel looked up from the book of plants he was pretending to read. His classmate Liza stood over him. She found his fascination with plants to be amusing, and thus was one of his few friends. Most of his other classmates thought it was weird.

"Stupid, stupid history book," he mumbled, as his eyes found their way towards his feet.

"Oh, that? I finished it already. It's really interesting!"

"That stupid book? HOW?" Liza chuckled.

"It's not as stupid as it looks. You like plants, and I like reading about awesome--ehehe, can't tell you!" Kel frowned.

"Awesome what? Liza, where are you going? Ah, why did she do that?"

---

When Kel's mother swung by her son's room later that day, she saw him intently reading. She arched an eyebrow, but made it a point to schedule dinner a little later.

*****

A ship was only as good as a captain and its crew. This particular supply ship was in dire straits. The captain and his crew were in a heated argument.

"Sir, I can't move this ship any closer! There's too much radiation!" the navigation officer stated firmly.

"We need to assess what happened at the base. We can't leave without some sort of report!" the captain replied, just as firmly.

The argument would have continued, if an unnamed scientist hadn't broken the stand-off.

"Sensors are picking up life signs on the base!"

===

After a few more minutes of arguing, the captain and the scientist who had discovered the life signs on the base were sent down to the base in a shuttle. They were to return in fifteen minutes, life signs or no.

"What do you supposed happened at the base?" the captain asked the scientist.

"I don't know. . .but there was only one life sign, and it was extremely faint."

"One faint hope is better than none at all. The base should be--oh, my."

The captain had expected to see a dull gray moon base. Instead, he saw dull gray rubble, with black twisted metal strewn across the moon's surface. A patch of silver caught the captain's eye. The scientist shook his head.

"The reading I'm getting is from that pile of rubble." The captain gulped and landed the shuttle as close as he could to the remains of the moon base. The captain let himself out, while the scientist stayed behind, to relay directions. Less than five minutes later, the captain stood in front of what appeared to be a collapsed room.

The lone sign of life from the base appeared to be curled in a ball. He gently rolled the figure over, and yelped in shock. The person's face was burned beyond recognition. It clutched a red book as if it were a stuffed animal.

"Hey, Cooper, I found your life sign. Bring a board, and radio the main ship. I don't think you're gonna like this."

===

"Good job, captain. We have a badly wounded person and the nearest base capable of taking us in is a week away," the navigations officer said sourly.

"The base was a pile of rubble when we got there. If I had not stopped to check what happened, we would all be neck-deep in military inquiries," the captain retorted. "I don't think our patient will hold for a week, either. That book might be worth the trip."

Cooper watched the crew shift nervously. He pursed his lips. Speaking his mind would probably result in a court martial, at best. Not speaking his mind would most likely lead to the death of the lone survivor. Which was more valuable, his future or the future of a stranger? The scientist gritted his teeth and made his decision.

"Captain, change your course. The nearest base is three hours away."

===

"YOU IDIOT!!!!!" a shrill voice screamed over the ship's radio. Cooper repeated his request, all the while trying not to faint.

"Fine, we'll take your mysterious stranger in, and do a thorough check on everyone aboard the ship. Count yourself lucky if all you get is a court martial!" the same voice shrieked, before going silent.

"Um, Cooper. . .what is going on?" the captain asked nervously.

"I'll explain later, if I'm still alive," Cooper stuttered.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," the captain said, a big smile on his face. The scientist quickly excused himself to empty the contents of his stomach.

===

On the outside, it looked like a small, nondescript base that was not visible to the supply ship's sensors. It was hard to say what the inside of the base was like, for the captain and his crew were confined to their ship. Cooper and his life sign had been taken off immediately.

All the supply crew could do was wait.

===

Cooper was confined to a small, lead-lined room, and under strict orders not to take his space suit off. He wasn't sure how long he'd been waiting before his transmitter crackled to life.

"You fool, explain yourself," the shrill voice from before demanded.

"The nearby base you were supposed to be monitoring is gone," he said flatly.

"We surmised that happened when a massive amount of radiation was released from the base. Anything else?"

"Someone survived the blast. I'll take a life of confinement in exchange for the truth."

"You were always the overly idealistic moron, Cooper." The transmitter cut out. The scientist allowed himself a small smile.

"And you are the worst at keeping your mouth shut, sister. Why else would you tell your brother about a space station that isn't supposed to exist?"

===

"This person shouldn't be alive," the doctor mumbled. The patient's heart continued to beat, as the nurses slowly freed the person from the space suit.

"Here's a few pieces of hair that hasn't been burned. I want his--I mean, her name and records now!" A nurse hastily took the hair sample and ran the strands through the DNA database.

"The patient is Ensign Christina Marlow. Records indicated that she donated tissue samples for emergency use, but it will take two weeks for them to bring it over!"

"I don't think she's gonna hold like this for two weeks!" the doctor yelled. The intercom crackled.

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing what has been going on," a feminine voice announced.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but now is NOT the time for such things!"

"You can thank my idiot of a brother for this later. Can you keep her alive for half an hour, Radison?" He cursed under his breath before replying.

"That's DOCTOR Radison, and you'd better not take much longer than half an hour," he growled.

"Prepare to receive your samples in fifteen minutes."

===

The commander of the base leaned her large-boned frame heavily against the wall. What was supposed to be another boring day had turned into a fiasco with a half-dead woman in her docks and enough radiation to make her scream. She brushed a stray lock of blond hair out of her gray eyes.

"First my brother got the coordinates of this base when I left a memo open for five seconds longer than I should have. Then, a ship that should be glowing stops in my ports, bearing the worst burn victim DOCTOR Radison has seen in his career. If that's not all, he needs tissue samples from two weeks away, so I'm forced to use the experimental matter transporter, which is still in its testing stages. It looks like his patient will live through the night, so I guess it's okay, right? I hate you, brother!"

"I think you owe him a nice thank-you card," Radison said, interrupting her not-so-silent monologue.

"When did you--"

"I'm on my way to dinner. You look like you could a meal, too." The commander shook her head.

"You mean with my world falling apart? That's the last thing I need."

"Your brother, Cooper. . .I mean, Jeremy Fullerton, one of the best field researchers in the military, knew about this station long before you did. He also mentioned something was wrong with the base's last readings. Did you think it was chance that put him on that supply ship?" The commander let out an unladylike growl.

"Why does he always ruin my day?"

"He cares for you, commander. . .though with two Fullertons on the ship, I should call you Anastasia." Anastasia Fullerton glared at the smirking doctor.

"You keep calling him Cooper, and refer to me as Commander Fullerton. . .DOCTOR Radison." Radison chuckled at his commander's statement before giving her a gentle shove towards the cafeteria. She didn't resist.

*****

"How. . .what. . ." Kel mumbled to himself.

"What looks like a lucky coincidence isn't always that," Kel's mother said. The boy jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Mom! Don't do that!" She smiled, which caused him to frown.

"It looks like you just finished reading the first part of the aftermath. I wanted to let you know that dinner is ready."

"I don't get this book at all," he grumbled.

"You can keep reading tomorrow. After dinner, you have math homework to do, correct?" Kel's expression brightened. He was good at math!

As her son ran down the stairs, Kel's mom gave the book a small nod.

"We still have a lot to learn from history. . ."

[eclipse]

"Kel, wait up!" Liza shouted. School had just finished, and Kel didn't feel like waiting to see if Liza was free after school. The two lived on the same block, so on those days that Liza was free, they'd walk home together.

"Oh, you're free?" Kel asked, coolly.

"Didn't feel like going to the library. What's the hurry?" The boy suddenly found the tops of his shoes interesting.

"I, uh. . .well, that book. . ." he managed to stammer out.

"You finally like it?"

"NO, not that! It still makes no sense!" She laughed at his outburst.

"Oh? Then why the rush?"

"How is someone supposed to survive that kind of blast, with a super-secret military base nearby that just happened to have a good doctor and--"

"Keep reading!" He stuck his tongue out at her. She responded likewise.

===

"What's with the big smile?" Kel's mom asked him as he walked into the front door. He waved his greeting before going to his room. She saw his friend Liza wave before leaving.

"You're growing up entirely too fast," she mused, before following him up. She might have to delay dinner tonight, too.

*****

"What do you mean we're supposed to stay on this ship until further notice?!" the captain of the supply ship yelled at the voice over the intercom.

"Those are your orders. Failure to follow them will result in a court martial. Any questions?"

"Can you send some better food over? We don't want to be eating military rations until further notice."

"That can be arranged. Good day, captain."

The captain turned to his crew, who had heard the exchange.

"I'm sorry, everyone. At least we'll get proper food while we're here."

The crew cheered.

===

"How's your patient, Tim," a very familiar voice asked over the intercom.

"She's stable now, Jeremy. Sorry you're cooped up in there. . .Cooper." Timothy Radison chuckled to himself as his friend told him exactly where he could put his comment.

"If the radiation is what I think it is, you should be able to see her without a full suit soon."

"Indeed. Soon, you'll be out of that room, free to face your sister's wrath. I had to talk her out of killing you."

"I know, I know. She still blames herself for my knowledge of this base?"

"Always. You know how she can be. I've got to check on my patient. I'll be back in a few hours." The two exchanged their usual insults before Radison left.

Jeremy Fullerton sighed deeply. He wasn't cleared to leave the containment room for another week. Fortunately, he had been allowed to take off his space suit yesterday. He had to find a way to stave off seven more day's worth of boredom. Talking with his high school buddy helped to pass the time, but he knew Tim had to monitor his patient closely. That was his job, just as Jeremy--er, Cooper's job had been to ask the people of the base about the elevated levels of radiation. Most of the people on that base were dead. It was unclear whether the lone survivor would wake up.

"I didn't have the captain risk massive radiation contamination just for you to die. Get well soon, whoever you are."

===

"Report?"

Radison sighed. Anasta--erm, Commander Fullerton always tried to be formal. No matter how hard she tried, he still saw her as the overweight sister of his best friend. The military had managed to get her weight down, but she wasn't exactly slender.

"I've managed to replace enough of Ensign Marlow's damaged tissue, so she'll live for the time being. I'm not sure if she'll wake up. Even if she does, I don't know if she'll be happy with herself. I'm good, but I don't think I can make her look like her official military picture."

"Thank you, Doctor Radison." Something clicked. "Ever since that patient came in, you've been working far too hard. Go get something to eat, Doctor." He was about to leave when the station-wide intercom blared to life.

"Doctor Radison, please report to the infirmary." The doctor shrugged before running to where he'd been directed.

===

The world seemed to sound rhythmic. She tried to say something, but she'd forgotten how to move her mouth. Were her eyes open? Why couldn't she see anything? Garbled sounds entered her consciousness, but she couldn't make out what it was supposed to be.

She felt something grab her arm, then let go. It grabbed her arm again, but it was shorter than the last one. The pattern felt familiar. It was Morse, something she had to study as part of her duties. She put the message together in her head.

"Please move your other arm."

She told her arm to move, but it didn't move. She tried again. Did she have an arm? The code resumed.

"Thank you."

*****

"Kel, dinnertime!" Kel frowned as he shoved a bookmark in the book he'd been reading.

"Already? I just started--hey, why's it so late?"

"Time flies when you're reading a good book, dear. You can read more tomorrow. It's the weekend, so you'll have plenty of time to read." His mother noted the grin on his face.

"Are you enjoying the book?" she ventured.

"Uh. . .no, I don't like it!" he yelled as he ran towards the promise of dinner.

"He seems happy," Kel's father commented, as his son raced past him. She chuckled at her husband's statement before looking at the bookmark's relative position.

"Looks like he's at the part where Ensign Marlow wakes up. That's good. He's got a lot to learn from her."

"Dear, just because she's your personal hero, doesn't mean you should push that book on him."

"YOU should understand why she's my hero more than anyone, Dearest Husband!" The couple shared a quick kiss, then walked downstairs for dinner.

[eclipse]

The dying rays of the sun illuminated the living room when Kel's father came home. Instead of the usual bustle in the kitchen, he was greeted by silence. His brow furrowed as he went upstairs to his room. A single light shone from an open door. He peeked inside. His wife and son were absorbed in a book, no doubt the latter's history project. The man in the door smiled to himself before going back to the kitchen. It would be best if he cooked dinner tonight.

*****

Lift one arm as far as it would go. Hold it for thirty seconds. Slowly lower that arm. Lift the other arm as far as it would go. Hold it for thirty seconds. Slowly put it down. Repeat three more times.

Marlow winced as she finished her latest training regiment. She spent more time awake than asleep, and it was hard for her to do much with the everlasting darkness she perceived. She could simply lie in bed, and wonder when her world went wrong, or she could do something to improve her horribly damaged body. The rest of her crew mates wouldn't be able to rest in peace if she gave up at this stage.

Her crew mates. They were all dead, slain by. . something that didn't like red light. She thought she felt tears on her cheeks.

"(Captain, why did you die? You should be the one who lived, not me. I'm not the important one, you were!)"

Those unhappy thoughts turned into exhaustion, which led to a short, uneasy nap.

===

Off to the side, two men watched the sleeping woman.

"I have much to ask her, but communication via Morse is very time-consuming," Cooper noted.

"I'd like to replace her damaged voice box with something synthetic, but the commander's having none of that," Radison said sourly.

"I talked to my sister earlier in the day. She says it's because Marlow doesn't need a voice to survive, but it seemed like she was hiding something."

"You know her best, buddy."

"I have an extremely bad feeling about this. The higher-ups are FAMOUS for their sound decision-making." The sarcasm in Cooper's voice made Radison wince inwardly.

"Cooper, promise me you won't do anything rash." The man in question looked up at his friend before looking down.

"Don't ask me to make a promise I may not be able to keep."

===

Fullerton looked at the orders in her hands. She regarded pattern on the carpet. She looked at her orders again, and sighed. Her brother appeared in front of her, holding a sheet of paper. Her hands were empty. She let loose a string of curses.

"What in the--I knew the higher-ups had their reason for keeping things under wraps, but this is insane." Fullerton snatched her orders back from her pesky brother.

"You weren't supposed to see that!" she shrieked. He shrugged, a small smile on his lips.

"I see my sister, more stressed-out than usual. I saw orders from the bigwigs. I see why said sister's all wound up." She resisted the urge to bury her fist in his face.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble I'll be in?!"

"You'll be in even more trouble if you go along with this. Don't you owe Mom and Dad a call?" She was allowed to contact her parents once a month. They, in turn, distributed her report to the families of her crew. It had been five weeks since her last call.

"What are you up to?" she asked flatly.

"Nothing at all, dear sister. Send my regards, and try to stay on the line for more than fifteen minutes." Before she could scream at him, he left. She looked at her orders, which lay on the floor.

"Ensign Christina Marlow died bravely alongside her crew. The supply ship encountered an accident on their route back home, and was never seen again. That is what your report will be when the inspection team arrives in a week."

===

Cooper watched the communications console intently. Before he became a field researcher, he'd briefly served alongside a communications officer. From this officer, he'd learned how to interpret the console data, as well as a few more things that weren't exactly approved for military use. An outgoing signal appeared. His sister was right on time. Several screens later, he had his own connection to the outside world. Unlike his siste, he couldn't afford to talk to his contact.

"What the--where are you?"

"I need you to spread some rumors, and fast."

"You're being direct today, umm, what are you going by?"

"I don't have much time, so here's the gist of it. . ."

Ten nerve-wracking minutes later, Cooper closed the connection. He'd put himself, his sister, and her entire crew at risk to save the lives of a small supply ship and a woman he'd never talked to. However, he was fond of the supply ship's crew, and he had an essay's worth of questions for the woman. All in all, it was a reasonable risk. He replayed the last few lines of his conversation in his head.

"If this came from anyone besides you, I would be inclined to think it was a joke."

"Thirty-six hours. You hold the lives of many innocents in your hands."

"No need to tell me how to do my job."

Deep down, he was afraid he'd started a figurative conflagration.

*****

"Hey, you two, dinner's almost ready."

Kel's father chuckled when he saw his wife and son visibly jump at his voice. How could they not notice the amazing aroma of the beef curry he'd made?

"What's that weird smell?" Kel asked his parents?

"That's uh. . .hey, did you remember to turn off the heat?" Kel's father felt the color drain from his face. His wife shook her head before running down the stairs to save their dinner.

"So, any ideas for your report?" Kel shook his head.

"Finish the book before you decide. Make sure this is your decision, and not your mother's." The boy crinkled his nose in disgust before joining his mother in the kitchen. The older man sighed and followed. How bad could his cooking be?

[eclipse]

No one greeted him as he opened the front door. The kitchen was empty, and all the lights were off. Where was everyone?

Kel shrugged, then went up to his room. Liza said the book would get even more interesting with the next chapter. He wasn't sure if he fully believed her.

*****

"Commander, we have a problem! All long-range communications are down!" Fullerton pursed her lips. The communications officer in front of her remained stoic, despite his news. It had been thirty hours since her brother had asked her to call her parents. Was he behind this glitch?

"I want to meet with everyone within half an hour. Wake those that are asleep." He nodded before running out of the room. Fullerton checked the signal on the station's intercom. It was functioning.

"Cooper, report to Commander Fullerton at once!"

===

"Sister, this is NOT my doing!" Cooper said with clenched teeth. Fullerton glared at him.

"You did SOMETHING while I was talking to Mom and Dad, and now we can't call out! Why else would we suddenly lose everything AFTER your meddling?!" The quarreling siblings were interrupted by the intercom.

"Commander, our patient is attempting to get out of bed! We're trying to restrain her, but she's putting up more of a fight than we anticipated!" Fullerton pressed the button to transmit a message, but Cooper shoved her out of the way.

"When did she start acting like this?" Cooper demanded. His sister shook her head, in an attempt to comprehend what just happened.

"Not long after we announced long-range communications were down."

"She knows something. Start talking to her. I'm on my way!" Before Fullerton could object, her brother had left.

===

"This is taking too long!" Radison complained. Cooper mentally calculated the time it would take to ask his question, and shook his head. Radison was absolutely right. Motion caught the scientist's eye. The patient's head had turned towards Radison's outburst. Cooper took her hand into his own.

"If you can understand me, squeeze my hand twice." A long squeeze. A short squeeze. A long squeeze--no, that was wrong!

"Do we have spare inner-ear transmitters? I want one for this lady." Radison asked a nearby nurse. He nodded, and left. Cooper shot his friend a puzzled look.

"She did not understand what you said, but she understands that you said something. I don't know if focusing your voice will help, but I'm willing to try it."

===

An hour later, Cooper and Marlow were talking. The transmitter that Radison had requested seemed to improve Marlow's hearing to the point where she understood speech instead of noise. They had worked out an improvised version of Morse, where a dot, a dash, and spaces were represented by different types of pressure. Yes/No questions were answered by squeezes.

"This is what happened to your base before it was destroyed?" She answered with a single squeeze, which meant "yes."

"Do you know the cause of this sudden communication failure?" Cooper hastily wrote down what he felt. "Carthal Crystal."

"This would be the first time a Carthal Crystal has shown up with no increase in radiation." The intercom crackled to life. Three clicks and a hiss echoed through the room.

"They're here."

===

Marlow pushed her tired muscles to answer one more question. These men were asking her the wrong thing! They didn't need to know what those clicks meant.

Her arm twitched violently. One more message was all she could take. The question was about something mundane. She forced her hands to move. This one had to be told. The muscles in her arm no longer responded to her will.

She hoped that they would understand what she meant before it was too late.

===

"I think that's all we can get out of her," Cooper mumbled darkly. Radison gently removed the transmitter from her ear, as her heart rate slowly dropped to sleeping levels.

"What do you suppose she meant by 'red light'?" Radison asked rhetorically. The two men exchanged worried looks. She'd left that as her final message. They silently hoped they could decipher it in time.

*****

"Kel, did you eat dinner yet?" a voice from downstairs called. Kel scampered down to meet the voice. It belonged to his mother, and she was all dressed up.

"I left your dinner in the kitchen with a note. It's rice balls, your favorite." His stomach growled. He'd been so absorbed by his reading that he completely forgot about eating! His mother chuckled.

"You're not going to bed without dinner. Come now, let's get you fed." He didn't argue with her.

[eclipse]

Kel felt someone poke his shoulder. Liza looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

"Didya finish yet?" she asked shyly. Kel shook his head. She pouted in reply.

"Your report's due in a week!" It was Kel's turn to pout.

"I know, but it takes me a long time to read everything! How do you read so fast?!" His companion put a finger to her lips and giggled.

"I liked the book SO much that I read it past my bedtime! Huh, where are you going? Hey, wait for me!"

*****

Radison braced himself as the station took yet another shot. The station was equipped with shields, but they were designed to protect it from stray space debris, not an assault by some unknown entity. Most of the station's power had been diverted to these shields, which seemed to be keeping the station intact - for now. Heavy footsteps came down the hall.

"Uh, excuse me, but where's the commander?" an unfamiliar voice called out. Radison shined a portable light he'd grabbed towards the voice. It belonged to someone he'd never seen before. He narrowed his eyes at the intruder.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! My ship's been stuck here ever since our aborted supply run, and everything's gone dark all of a sudden. My crew's really uneasy." The doctor relaxed a little, then motioned towards the commander's chambers. The intruder nodded his thanks and left. Radison bit his lip and turned his attention back to his patient. She slept soundly, despite the situation outside. He silently wished he could do the same.

===

Supply ship duty was about as well-regarded as being assigned to janitorial duty. The captain and his crew had been quite content with their otherwise unremarkable duty. The recent turn of events had been quite stressful, to put it mildly. As he approached a doorway, he heard yelling. Curious, he peeked inside. A lady, dressed up in a commander's outfit, was arguing with the weird scientist that had insisted on coming on his boring ship.

"We don't have time to puzzle out some cryptic message from that woman, Jeremy! This station is in danger!"

"She was trying to tell us something important, Stacy! If we can figure out what she meant, we can save the station!"

"Uh, excuse me you two?" The squabblers jumped and turned towards the interruption. "What the hell is going on?"

"Didn't you have orders to stay put?" the lady in the commander's outfit said sharply.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but it's dark, and my crew's getting antsy." The lady opened her mouth to say something, but the scientist shook his head.

"Something's shooting at us, and we can't do anything about it," the scientist said calmly. The lady's face went red with fury.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, ma'am, let us have a crack at it. Though we're only a supply ship, we're armed with a couple of laser batteries. Mostly used to get rid of space junk in our way, y'know? It's better than sitting around here and doin' nothing." The commander buried her face in her hands.

"Fine, whatever. It's not like we can do anything about this anyway," she growled through her hands.

"Pardon me, captain, but may I ask you a favor?" The captain turned towards the scientist, and nodded.

"Please tell me the full names and positions of everyone on your ship."

===

Silence reigned on the station. The barrages had stopped, but almost all communications were down. A blip broke the eerie silence. One of the long-range sensors flared to life. Fullerton and Cooper looked at the scene outside, and gasped in unison.

Debris littered the area around the station, but the metal held a strange bluish sheen. The supply ship darted between the obstacles, with an unfamiliar pursuer on its tail. The enemy's ship was made out of that strange metal, and was shaped like an archaic doorstop. The supply ship wheeled around, letting their weapons loose as they arced. One of the red trails of light hit the enemy. Fullerton blinked as the strange ship exploded. Two more enemy ships appeared from nowhere, and the supply ship resumed its game of cat and mouse. Something amidst the debris caught the commander's eye. With a wide grin, she brought the station's PA system to life.

"Red light. . .so that's what she meant! Bridge! Focus infrared sensors on the coordinates I'm about to give you, and don't let that object slip away!"

Cooper's eyes went wide as the sensors revealed a small, bright object. He gripped the edge of his sister's desk until his knuckles went white, not noticing that one of his fingers went just a little deeper than it should have. All the station's sensors cut out. Perhaps this was a good thing, because it spared its occupants the blinding flash of light that the Carthal Crystal emitted before it exploded.

===

"Mayday received. Transmitting these coordinates. . .to everyone!" The teenager smiled to himself as his latest bit of information housed itself in the myriad servers he'd taken control of. Those coordiantes only added credibility to the info he'd been asked to spread a day and a half ago by someone named BadApple. He wasn't sure who this BadApple was, but the information he received from that person was always good.

"Screw you, dad. This is what you get for ordering the deaths of innocents." blackice chuckled to himself. His father was one of the most important men in the space program, and he had insisted that his son join the military, "to carry on the family legacy". blackice would rather hang for treason than follow the numerous orders to "silence" things that were inconvenient. This time, his father would NOT get his way.

It was time the world learned of the Carthals - those strange beings whose idea of reason was to destroy everything that disagreed with them.

*****

"It's totally confusing!" Kel whined to the pages of the book he read. He'd do the stupid report, and after that, he'd wash his hands of this horrid book forever!

[eclipse]

Kel glared at the book on his desk. He didn't want to touch it, but his report was due all too soon. With a heavy sigh, he flipped it open.

*****

The military had an efficient set of rules to follow whenever a distress signal was reached. It almost always resulted in a prompt, silent rescue. As usual, they were one of the first ones on the scene. Unfortunately, one of the vessels that had beaten them there was a luxury liner.

"They're probably snapping pictures like mad," the one in charge of the ship mused. "I want you to board that ship and confiscate all cameras. We must NOT let news of this spread!"

"YES SIR!"

The admiral briskly walked off the bridge. He needed to brief one more member of his crew about the mission. As usual, this crew member was in his quarters, playing some game or other. The admiral cleared his throat.

"I have a fairly easy mission for you today. This will be your chance to prove yourself." The video game was paused, as his otherwise useless crew member turned his attention towards his superior officer.

"Y-yes, dad. . .I mean, sir!"

===

Just as his father said, the mission was really easy. Most of the passengers he encountered gladly gave up their cameras. Only one passenger protested.

"No, kid, I've got a lot of memories on this thing!" the old man complained.

"P-please, sir. I apologize, but these are my orders! I'm gonna get in a lot of trouble if I don't do this!" The "incompetent" crew member jumped as the stubborn old man grabbed his arm. Were all old men this strong?

"Kid, what's your name?"

"My n-name? It's Kelson." The old man relaxed his grip.

"Kelson, you do not belong in the military," he said, as he handed his camera over. Kelson noticed the old man's upper arm had an odd bruise on it.

It was several hours before Kelson realized that the bruise he'd seen on the old man's arm was the signature tattoo of the military's front-line troops.

===

"The cruise liner has been escorted out of the way. We can begin the recovery mission." His crew said nothing. Good. "We will all be taking part in this mission. Here are your assignments."

Kelson gulped. Why did he have to get sick bay? He sighed, then stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"D-dad?"

"You did well on the cruise ship. This will be your first true test. Don't fail me."

As his father walked off, Kelson felt his knees turn to mush.

===

Much of the space station was in shambles. Many of the rooms were depressurized. There was no way anyone could survive in these conditions. Something on his scanner bleeped. Two people were alive in the room he was about to pass. It wasn't the sick bay, so he should keep going. . .

Kelson opened the door.

The room he'd walked into had more comfortable furnishings than his own quarters. His scanner indicated that this room had miraculously maintained a habitable amount of air. The two life signs were behind the desk. A man and a woman lay near each other. The woman's hair was stained with blood. The man's lower body was trapped beneath a bookcase.

"Hey, kid what do you see?" It was one of the engineers. Kelson silently pointed to the two he'd been looking at.

"Two survivors have been found in the captain's quarters! One of them appears to be Anastasia Fullerton!" Several beeps followed the engineer's message. He'd just used the general channel for that announcement! Anyone, even the public, could hear that! The engineer winked at Kelson.

Those two would be safe. Kelson ran off towards his original mission.

===

Like the captain's quarters, the sick bay had retained an impressive amount of air. Movement caught Kelson's eye. Someone was moving around. There were more survivors!

"Hey, are you part of the rescue squad?" Kelson nodded.

"Good. One of my patients survived, but she's not doing too well. Oh, right. I am Radison, the ship's doctor. The lady over here is Ensign Marlow. I'm doing my best to keep her alive." Kelson bit his lip. He really should use the private channel for this, but. . .

"Radison and Ensign Marlow are confirmed alive." He was answered by several beeps.

*****

"DINNER!"

Kel glared at the book again. Why did he share a name with someone from history? Kel's stomach interrupted his thoughts. He'd return to his book after dinner.

Edited January 9, 2012 by eclipse

[eclipse]

NO, I DID NOT FORGET ABOUT THIS!

Kel yawned loudly. He wanted to go to sleep, but he had to finish reading that book. One more chapter. Just one more!

*****

"What the HELL were you thinking?!" Armstrong roared at his son, who visibly shrank away. It had been a week since the survivors had been found, and the military had to turn the media down time and again, thanks to the slip-up between that idiot engineer and his equally idiotic son. The idiot engineer admitted to ordering Kel to make his announcement over the public channel. The engineer had been dishonorably discharged at the first opportunity. His son, who did not know better than to disobey such a foolish order, had been confined to quarters for a month. Armstrong felt that this wasn't enough, but his higher-ups had felt that more harm than good would come from sending Kel to a military prison. Armstrong wasn't allowed to sanction his son any more as an officer, but he could do something about him as a father!

"I--I was just following orders," Kel mumbled for the umpteenth time. This did not suit the older man.

"You're not supposed to follow brain-dead orders!"

"Orders are orders, no matter what. A soldier must follow his commander, lest chaos rule the battlefield." Armstrong cursed loudly before storming out of his son's room. It seemed like Kel was directly disobeying him, even though he was following military code to perfection. This did nothing to ease the older man's temper.

"You are a complete and utter failure as a soldier and an Armstrong. I knew I should've left you with your worthless mother when I had the chance!"

===

Kel waited, then waited some more. His father's ranting slowly faded away. He waited a few more minutes to be certain, then opened up a terminal screen. His father had seen to it that his stash of games were nowhere in sight, but that was an acceptable loss. As long as he had a terminal, and the bypass codes he'd swiped from the communications panel, he'd be able to operate. He entered his knowledge in. The terminal sat there, unblinking. Had he entered them wrong? He tried one more time. Still nothing. Kel silently cursed. Someone had changed the codes! The door to his room opened. He froze.

He'd been found.

===

Radison paced in his room. Since he'd been rescued, he'd heard nothing about the fate of his patient. He'd managed to pick up whispers that there were other survivors besides himself and Marlow, but no one would tell him much else other than that. What had happened to the station? Why was he trapped in this room, which might as well have been a prison. The intercom blinked to life. One of the nurses was at the other end of the door.

"Your mother wishes you a speedy recovery, Mister Chase." Radison was about to tell her that she had the wrong room, but the door had already closed. He regarded the flowers in his hands. Most flowers had to be grown on space stations, because Earth's polluted atmosphere and soil could no longer sustain plant life. Most people lived in specialized glass domes, each powered by a generator that further polluted the land and air. It was a horrible downward spiral with no end in sight. Many explorations had been launched to find another habitable planet, but none were successful. Something wet hit his hands. The wet ends of the flowers had seeped through the newspaper. . .newspaper! He quickly put the flowers down and opened up the newspaper they had been wrapped in. The paper was five days old. The front page detailed an article about space station survivors? Radison read as quickly as he could.

The survivors numbered four - Anastasia Fullerton, Jeremy Fullerton, Christina Marlow, and himself. Everyone was listed in critical condition. The intercom blinked to life again. He hastily wrapped the flowers again.

"I'm sorry, you're not Mister Chase! Can I have those back, please?" Radison gladly handed the flowers back and accepted the flustered nurse's apologies. He furrowed his brow as the door shut itself. He had a lot of thinking to do.

===

"Don't do that again, okay? I'd hate to get you in more trouble than you already are." A sigh of relief escaped the boy's lips as the two communications officers left. He'd managed to convince them that he was trying to get into a popular online game. They were more afraid of being yelled at for using their station to goof off, so they promised to keep quiet about Kel's attempt to bypass their security if he'd keep quiet about the previous set of access codes. Of course, Kel would keep his end of the bargain. He'd be out of his room one day. Hell, if he was nice enough, the two communications guys might give him the codes outright, if he was willing to game with them.

"What has started cannot be stopped. That's what I think of you, old man." Now, what to do about the next three weeks of boredom?

*****

The bookmark in place, Kel stumbled into bed. How much more of this did he have to endure?

[eclipse]

"Class, how many of you have finished the book report that's due in a few days?" Less than a third of the class raised their hands.

"How many of you have finished reading the book itself?" Roughly half the class had their hands raised.

"It seems that several of you have yet to finish reading your homework. I will be out for the next two weeks. Your assignment is due once I get back. I will not accept late work." Kel let out the breath he'd been holding. He'd heard that some of the other students were struggling with the reading material, but he didn't think it would be half the class! That meant he could take the rest of the chapters a little more slowly. Unable to contain it any longer, he yawned. He'd stayed up way too late last night!

===

Kel waved to Liz at the junction, then hurried home. He wasn't going to get a second chance!

*****

Beep. Beep. Beep. Marlow had no sense of time or place. Something had shaken the room she was in, then she was back in a bed. Her arms felt weaker than they had some time earlier, but getting those muscles back into shape was the only thing she could do. An unfamiliar sound startled her out of her exercises. Was that the door opening? She strained to make out the words that came from her right.

"Last. . .for my sis. . .even. . ." She'd heard that voice before.

"It's. . .protocol. . .let out of. . .to rest." This voice was unfamiliar.

"That. . .what is Marlow doing here?" The familiar voice was right next to her.

"None of your concern, sir. You are here to say goodbye to your sister."

"You've kept me locked up in some room, with no word of what is going on, and now I see someone I recognize. Why can't I say hi?!"

"Sir, if you please."

Marlow hit the side of her bed as hard as she could in frustration. She had so much to ask, but she could do nothing!

"Sir, you're causing her distress. I must ask you to--what are you doing?"

"You don't know anything!" Marlow mentally winced. The familiar voice didn't sound happy! Something hit the ground hard.

"You're going to make your injuries worse, sir! Get back in the wheelchair this instant!" Marlow mentally winced again as the familiar voice told the other one what it could do with the wheelchair. Something grabbed her hand.

"Are you all right?" If her face could've done it, she would've smiled.

"I am fine. What about you?"

"Sir, let go of her!"

"First, my sister, who was the commander of that space station, has been comatose for who-knows-how-long, and you want to pull the plug. This lady over here has barely been able to hear or see, and yet you leave her like this, unable to tell her story. I think I have a right to be annoyed with the lot of you." Why was he yelling?

"Your sister?" Someone owed Marlow a lot of explanations.

"Yes, my sister. She is in the bed next to you. She was the one that had the station's doctors fix you up as best as they could." Instead of squeezing, he had said this aloud.

"Can I thank her?"

"I don't know. Hey, you, will you let Marlow thank the woman who saved her?"

"But sir, Marlow can't talk!"

"I'm talking to her just fine!"

"I--why did I get stuck with you?" The unfamiliar voice sounded exasperated.

"Roll her bed over to my sister's bed. She talks through her hands." Metal sounded through the room. Marlow felt herself move.

"This is my sister. She's not that good with Morse, so you'll need to speak slowly."

The hand she held felt lifeless. This would probably be the first and last time she'd be able to do this.

"Thank you for everything, ma'am."

===

The two doctors puzzled over the data that had been collected a few minutes ago. This had to be an anomaly, or a machine, malfunction, or. . .SOMETHING. Either way, the orders needed to be canceled. One of the doctors hastily reached for the intercom.

Five minutes ago, Anastatia Fullerton was brain dead. One minute ago, she had mysteriously revived.

===

The nurse's brow furrowed, as he listened to the announcement on the intercom. Cooper was equally bewildered. His sister was supposed to be dead in everything except formality. Why were they calling the nurse back?

"You. . .you, don't cause any more trouble!" Cooper smirked as the flustered man hastily vacated the room. He'd managed to talk to Marlow, but he'd hit his broken arm hard when he fell. He tried to get up, and winced. He'd hurt his good arm, too. With no other recourse, he flopped on his back. Once the nurse came back, he'd be loaded into the wheelchair again, and hauled off. A thump brought him back to reality. Marlow had hit the side of her bed again. She was probably bored and lonely.

"What's wrong?" she squeezed out.

"My legs don't work," he replied, biting his lip.

"Make them work," came the no-nonsense response.

"Spinal injury."

"Sorry."

"You've been out long enough. Back to your room!" Cooper could've sworn he saw Marlow's form shake just a little as he was wheeled out of the room.

*****

"Do you plan on eating dinner?" The startled boy looked up. His mother stood over him, a small smile on her face.

"Y-yes. Sorry!" She chuckled as she watched him race out of the room. He was so much like. . .that person. . .

[eclipse]

Kel quickly flipped through the next chapter. It was far longer than he liked. He gulped before charging into the story.

*****

Marlow almost missed the near-silence she had been in for who-knows-how-long. One day, her room got noisy. Someone said something about surgery. Before she knew it, she had been poked and prodded on a near-daily basis, with no idea why. Today was supposedly the day. The room was comfortably warm. Now was a good time for a nap. A nice, long, peaceful nap.

===

Her throat felt horribly raw. She tried to move her arms. To her horror, she was bound.

"Whoa, hey there. We did that for your own good. Don't move, and don't say anything. It'll take a while before you can do things normally. For now, just rest." The voice was comforting, but unfamiliar. Her last bewildered thought was about how her arm burned.

===

Radison paced his room for the umpteenth time. He'd been informed that there would be a military inquiry, but wasn't told what it was about. Not that it mattered, as he was fairly certain it was about a certain space station exploding, among other things.

After the incident with the flowers, he had been allowed to request reading materials, as long as they didn't pertain to current world events. He'd read through several book series he never had the time to go through, as well as catch up on some medical research. It seemed that the grafting techniques he'd used on Marlow had since been approved for general use. Another article detailed a very experimental procedure to replace certain body parts with prosthetics that were less intrusive than what was currently being used. He found himself smiling at the thought. New research and procedures were found at a very nice pace. It was a good time to be a doctor!

===

Jeremy frowned at the empty bed next to his sister's bed. Marlow was in the middle of some procedure or other, and no one would tell him what it was. Anastasia's brain activity was barely on the side of the living. It seemed to be more active when someone touched her, so he was allowed to visit her every day and "talk" to her. He figured an account of his day would make a nice start to his conversation.

"Today, Marlow is undergoing some surgery or other. It's just the two of us." Something beeped loudly. Jeremy glared at it and continued. "There's some sort of military inquiry coming up. I wish I didn't have to go." Did he imagine movement? The beeping became more frequent. Several people burst into the room. Slowly, his sister began to stir on her own. Her eyes fluttered open, then settled on him. Her voice was raspy, but he could understand her first words clearly.

"Who are you?"

===

Falling asleep had been hard for the past few nights. The military inquiry was coming up, and Kel had no idea what was in store for him. His eyes darted around the familiar surroundings of his room, before settling on something that had been discarded in a corner. It was the briefcase with the book. His better sense told him to leave it alone, but his curiosity won the battle. He opened the briefcase, and gingerly took out the red book. What could it hold? With no thought to the consequences, he opened the book.

*****

"Kel, do you want to eat your dinner for breakfast?" The boy jumped at his mother's voice. He was barely halfway through the chapter! With a meek apology, he ran out of the room, then yelped as he ran into his father. She heard the two of them playfully bicker, then twitched her nose. Did she forget to turn off the burner? She flew down the stairs into the kitchen, silently cursing her carelessness. She wasn't supposed to make those kinds of mistakes!

[eclipse]

Kel walked home a bit faster than normal today. Finally, something was set to happen in that stupid book of his! But why was there so much of it left? He ran upstairs and began reading.

*****

"We have to delay the inquiry until she regains her memory!"

"This has been delayed for far too long."

"At least we can do something about her brother! He doesn't listen to anything!"

"What about that kid who announced that message over the general channel? We can't eliminate him like the other engineer, because he's the son of a commander."

Armstrong listened to the panel members argue amongst themselves. Once, a long time ago, he'd been just as idiotic as his son, and remembered showing an ambitious young man a thing or two about bypassing filters. His wife learned of this, and left to save her own reputation. He'd hoped that his son could take on a job at a commanding post, so no one would question him, but all his son did was resist him.

He knew his communications officers weren't anything special, but as long as they didn't ask questions, he didn't mind. When he finally had the time to view his ship's communication logs, he nearly fell over. To most communication officers, those blips meant nothing, but to those that knew what to look for, it was damning evidence. He'd yelled at them, naturally, and they apologized, as they should've. Perhaps he could blame them? But they'd just point to his son, and--

This is pointless. I tried to keep him out of trouble, and this is how he repays me. Everything I worked for is in danger, he'll end up ruined, and that woman will be right about both him and me. I need to think about what to do carefully. Maybe, just maybe, I can correct my fool of a son one last time.

===

Despite Commander Fullerton's memory loss, the inquiry was set on schedule. Radison saw his friends, and frowned. Jeremy was in a wheelchair, and looked displeased. Anastatia was fully dressed, and looked extremely uncertain of herself. Sometimes, she'd ask her brother a question, and he'd just shake his head. His patient was wheeled in. Scarring had transformed Marlow into something that was barely recognizable as human. Some of the scar tissue had been cut away near her jawline, most likely so she could talk. Another person was escorted in. The boy in question looked far too small for his military uniform. He met Radison's eyes, and shrank visibly.

A gavel sounded. The inquiry had begun.

===

"I'm the one that asked the captain of the supply ship to go down to the irradiated base, because I'd seen a life sign down there," Jeremy explained.

"You put the entire crew at risk for what could've been an equipment error?" one of the panel members asked.

"Yes, because I would feel even worse if I left someone down there to die." Someone cleared their throat over the microphone.

"You are part of a military, not a humanitarian movement. We operate for the better good of this country, and your actions put many good men in danger," another panel member stated.

"I felt that the military could learn a lot from someone who survived an incident that seemed to wipe a base out of existence," Jeremy answered. "Furthermore, there were--"

"That's enough, Jeremy Fullerton. You are excused." Radison bit his lip. This inquiry wasn't looking for answers. It was looking for scapegoats.

===

Kelson swallowed hard as it was his turn to go up. The book he'd taken from the space station had been a diary. He'd read through it, and had seen Marlow's name mentioned, along with a few others. The events that were logged gave him the impression that the author was very fond of all of them. The last entries were written poorly; he guessed it was because the author had written it while in a space suit. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even catch the name of the person who was currently on the stand. Someone named Timothy Radison was set to go after the break. He wasn't sure if he wanted to pay attention to that, either.

He was allowed to go back to his room, with his guards. His eyes caught a flash of red near the door to his father's room. The lock had malfunctioned?

"Excuse me, but why is the lock flashing like that?" The soldier who escorted him glared at him.

"We will look into that later. You are to--" His statement was cut off by a gunshot. Kelson yelped in surprise as he felt himself pushed to the ground. The soldier stood over him, gun ready. He rattled out something into his communicator. In moments, the corridor was full of military personnel, none of which were distinguishable from the other.

"Shouldn't we send him back to his room?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Negative. We don't know what the source of the gunshot was. He's safer with us for the time being."

Someone brought out a device, and Kelson saw smoke rise from the lock. The door slid open soundlessly. He caught a glimpse of his father, with an object in his mouth. Blood painted the wall behind him. He vaguely remembered hearing shouts before the world went dark.

===

"You awake, kid?" Kelson turned to the voice. It looked like one of the men from the inquiry. The memories before he fainted flooded back. His dad sat upright, blood behind him. . .the gunshot. . .Kelson tried to curl up into a ball, but one of his arms was chained to the bed. It didn't stop him from crying. "Dad. . .dad. . .why?" He felt a hand on his shoulder. He thought he heard a woman singing, as he drifted off to sleep.

===

Fullerton frowned. She wasn't allowed near anyone, lest they plant false memories into her. When she had first woken up, she remembered nothing. As time went on, she had regained her childhood memories. She heard crying from the other side of the wall. She remembered her brother bawling his eyes out after he'd skinned his knee. Their mother used to sing to them when they were sad. Maybe it would help whoever was on the other side of the wall? With nothing else to do, she began the melody that had brought her comfort when she was young.

What's the worst they can do? Ask me to shut up? For all they know, I might remember something.

===

Radison and Cooper listened in silence, as the song faded away. The kid in the bed had long since cried himself to sleep.

"Your sister's voice isn't half-bad," Radison whispered.

"Hands off," Cooper growled.

They shot each other a look, then fell silent. After the incident in the back rooms, the inquiry had been called off. Their fate was uncertain, but they no longer had to testify in front of that farce.

"What was that crazy old coot thinking?" Cooper mused.

"You knew him?"

"Yeah. He taught me how to do things, and how to do things that were necessary." The man in the wheelchair paused. "I heard he was hard on his son. Maybe he was trying to toughen him up so that he'd be fit for the military?"

"That kid over there? I don't think he'd last a week in boot camp," Radison mumbled. Cooper nodded in agreement.

The two men sat in silence, unsure of what to say.

*****

"KEL!" The boy jumped as he heard his name. His father had come up to his room? "Mom had to do something for her parents, so I cooked dinner."

"Uh, thanks, dad," Kel mumbled, as he quietly left his room. Kel's father walked up to the book he'd been reading, and skimmed over the last paragraph. He hit that part of the book. No wonder he's like this. He followed his son downstairs. It was not going to be a pleasant dinner.