Beyond the Stars [Hiatus]

FIFTEEN

Once they reached the airlock, Sara keyed in the code to open it. "Captain, we're about to dock. Stand by for decompression protocols." Alex nodded, checking his watch. "All right, team, let's move out."

As they made their way through the airlock and back into the ship, Alex couldn't help but wonder about the woman they'd rescued. What had happened to her? How had she ended up covered in that glowing substance? And what kind of abilities did it give her?

Sara and Jason helped to lay the woman down on one of the medical bays' examination tables. The team's medic, Thomas, immediately began running tests on her, while Sara continued to examine the files she'd stolen from the base's computers.

"Captain, I've found some interesting information," Sara said, looking up from her screen. "The glowing substance is actually a form of bioluminescent bacteria. It's not native to Earth, and it seems to be extremely toxic to humans in large quantities."

Alex frowned. "So what do we do with her?" "We need to find a way to remove the bacteria without killing her," Thomas interjected. "In the meantime, we should keep her isolated from the rest of the crew. We don't want her to infect anyone else."

As they continued to discuss the best course of action, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else going on here. Something bigger than they could even begin to understand. He glanced back at the woman on the table, her skin faintly glowing now. The thought of what she might be capable of, if only they could find a way to harness it...it was both terrifying and exhilarating.

"Alex?" Thomas asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You okay?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just make sure we do everything we can for her." He turned to leave the medical bay, but before he could go, he paused and looked back at the woman one more time. "And Sara, keep working on those files. I want to know everything there is to know about this glowing stuff."

In the meantime, the team continued to work on isolating the woman and finding a way to remove the glowing bacteria without killing her. They set up a quarantine area with its own airlock and medical facilities, ensuring that the woman could be kept separate from the rest of  the crew. The team's scientists worked around the clock, analyzing samples of the bacteria and trying to find a way to neutralize it.

Finally, after weeks of careful research and experimentation, the team managed to develop a serum that seemed to rid the woman's body of the glowing bacteria. They administered the serum to her, and waited with bated breath to see if it would work. Unfortunately it only seems make it worse.