Empire's Legacy

Chapter 7: Outbreak

More of the blue and orange signs pointed Grey to the medical bay. He found Ramina already set up in a facility that far surpassed the hospitals on Commissioner ships and left what the Sophia called medical unworthy of the name.

Ramina nodded at Grey as he came through the door. "As you can see," she said, gesturing at the half-circle of beds in the adjacent alcove, "your specimen is appreciated but unnecessary."

Grey set Captain Alexander down against the wall and looked into the next room. Each of the stationary beds held an occupant, the blankets collapsed over sunken flesh. Additional beds had been set up in negative space, spilling out of the alcove and into the adjoining laboratory. Despite the overcrowding, care had clearly been taken to keep the patients to one side of the lab, keeping the workspaces free; more than one body still sat at its desk.

"There's at least twenty people in here," Grey said, turning back to de Sara. "Plus what, four or five that might be actual medical staff? That's about a quarter of the crew in medical alone."

De Sara crossed to the lab and removed a corpse from a stool in order to sit down. Observing Grey's expression, she said, "You've known me long enough by now, Morgan, to know it isn't that I don't care."

"You've known me long enough to know I can't help wishing you'd show you do."

She looked down at the counter, a faint frown on her face. "It's not our way. Ah." She tapped the blank white workspace and it dissolved beneath her fingers, solidifying again as a counter-wide touchscreen tablet. The right-hand side contained the logbook and notes of the scientist relegated to the floor; the left side contained equations. She attempted to write on the screen with a stylus and was promptly confronted with a request for a password.

"Can you just look through it?" Grey asked. "We don't really want to change or input anything at the moment."

Ramina shrugged and tapped the screen again. The password request vanished, leaving her with a counter-sized notebook. Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, she leaned forward and began to read. Grey drifted around the edges of the room.

"Oh," Ramina said, after half an hour and several screens.

Grey turned. "Oh?"

"We need to get Benji off this ship."

Without waiting for further explanation, Grey tapped the comm open. "Benji. It's Grey. Where are you?"

"Uh, still in Engineering. Taz has me under the engine leaders. What's up?"

"Ramina wants you off the ship."

There was silence on the other end of the line for an uncomfortably long time. Then: "What is it?"

"Don't know yet."

The sound of Benji swallowing hard could be heard through the static. The fear in his voice came through even more clearly. "I'll be off as soon as I get out from under the engines."

"Let us know when you're back safe on the Sophia. Go through decon twice. Three times, if it'll make you feel better. Sorry."

"Catch you later, Cap. Thanks."

Benji's comm clicked off. Amy stepped into the med bay and said, "I don't understand. What's the deal with Benji?"

Grey and Ramina looked at her and then at each other.

"I can't," Ramina said. "Doctor–patient confidentiality." She slid off the stool and disappeared into the alcove.

"Come in, Jones," Grey said. "We seem to have discovered the ship of the dead."