Bloodlines

Chapter Two: A Kind of Resurrection

The first sensation Joann felt was heat. Her body thrummed with it. The second thing was feeling sick to her stomach.
Her eyes fluttered, then opened and she was gripped in a momentary panic as she realized her eyes saw nothing.
"Calm down Major St. Clare," a voice said. It took her mind a moment to put a name to it. Vincent. Doctor Vincent Forbes. Chief Medical Officer.
"The blindness will go away. It's a side effect of the longer than usual hibernatiom process."
She squeezed her eyes shut and felt his hands on either side of her face, then his fingers rubbing her temples, "Are you experiencing anything else? Headache? Neausea?" He prompted.
It took her a moment to find her voice, "I feel like I might throw up."
"Yes, not a pleasant sensation. I awoke to that one myself. I apologize, but I cannot give you anything for it, not while some of the cryoserum is still in your system. You'll have to wing it a few hours."
She smiled weakly, "I'm ok doc."
"That's good to hear, because frankly...I feel like I've been on a week long bender durimg spring break.". He chuckled softly then moaned, which made her grin despite how bad she felt.
"Ah, there's my first mate!" Said a voice brightly.
"Pardon me, sir...but if you don't want me to projectile vomit on your shoes...could you tone it down?" Joann said, only half jokingly.
Captain Jerome Fairchild, an older man of fifty, with skin the color of espresso beans and a face remarkably devoid of wrinkles and a gleaming bald head smiled and nodded non-commitally.
It took a moment for Joann to realize that she had seen the Captain. Her vision was fuzzy, and even a tad wavy -which made her stomach lurch, but she could see! Her panic receded.
"How's this one doing, Doctor?" Jerome asked.
"Well, lets say on a scale of me to you...she's not too bad." The doctor mumbled.
"Not looking too good around the gills there, Vinc." Jerome quipped.
"My point exactly. If we were in space...I'd request a burial in space. Without the casket. While still alive."
"That's pretty dark, Doc, " Joann prodded him in good humor.
"Oh God...not you too?" The doctor retorted, though there was a hint of joviality in his voice.
Joann looked around at the medical bay, its lights dimmed. She saw no one else.
"Am I the last to awaken, Doc?" She asked.
Both the Captain and the doctor nodded. Captain Jerome, however, was the one to respond as he swept his left hand in a grandiose gesture towards the exit.
"You are the last, sleeping beauty, the command crew simply awaits their princess."
"I'd seriously hit you if I wasn't still queasy, and I wouldn't get fired for insubordination and striking a senior officer." She said back.
Jerome laughed, "You forget, we are retired. Our jobs are done, there is no rank here except as the civvies decide."
Joann wrinkled her nose, "I'm getting a desk job. You just watch."
"You don't know what job you'll be doing?" The doctor asked, incredulous.
"I really didn't care. I just couldn't pass this experiment up."
Jerome couldn't tell if she were pulling his leg or not. He never could tell. Her sense of humor was as foreign to him as this new world they were now on. Yet, he felt sure he'd miss that humor when he full-on retired after the colony was set up.
She reached out a decidedly shaky hand and patted his cheek, a mischevious grin on her face. He couldn't help but smile and shake his head. She was going to let him wonder for a while longer.
"Alright, alright!" He threw his hands up in mock surrender, "Change out of those cryo-scrubs and meet us up in the port-forward rec-room." He added to Vincent: "You too, Doc."
"Why do you two insist on calling me that? It's childish?" The doctor reprimanded.
"Because you like it." Joann and the Captain said in unison and grinned.

*****
Joann sighed gratefully at the cup of coffee before her as she sat down. She took a sip and raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Someone's been paying attention. That's either flattering or incredibly creepy..." She took another, longer sip, "Right now, I'll take either/or."
They -the six crewmen that made up the Command Crew- were sitting or standing around in the port-forward rec-room, waiting to hear from the Captain why only they had been revived.
He was due back from his talk to the A.N.I.T.A. A.I. any minute.
Chief of Engineering Varley was sitting across from Joann, with a grin he mouthed "Creepy?"
She just shrugged and smiled to herself. The other members were oblivious to their exchange and she found a sort of solace in that. She was certain it had not been Varley. He'd always been nice enough, but never showed any real interest in her. But then, neither had anyone else that she could tell.
Vincent winked at her as her gaze fell on him and Gina Horza talking quietly, she winked back. Vincent was a nice guy, his black hair was always slicked back, a slight twist to his lips that perpetually made his expressions sardonic. Gina herself, a woman of short height -and temper- was actually very pretty, but was often unkempt when not in uniform. In uniform, however, she looked like a mean school teacher. Something Joann found amusing, as Gina was far from mean. Her dishwater blonde hair was neatly held in a bun and she was smiling at the good doctor.
Lorna Pine was by herself, as per usual, at one of the bars along the rim of the room. She was obsessed with rules and regulations, nearly to the point of OCD. Her glasses sat on her thin, angular face at a slight tilt, creating an odd contrast against her severe close cropped red hair. She was not the most likable person.
Last was George DiCrazzie, affectionately known as De Crazy, who was a stocky man of medium height. He wore a beard that had little braids in it. His auburn hair was a shaggy mess and these two factors added some credence to his nickname. Though he was actually very soft spoken and gentle as can be. He was a painfully shy man. Probably why he signs on with long term ships and specializes in A.I.s.
She looked back at Varley, who was sniffing the air and stopped when he saw her looking, his expression grew sheepish.
"I keep thinking I smell something. Kind of musky. But its faint." He said in his defense.
"You're just crazy Ted." Vincent said.
"I keep smelling it too." Lorna added, her tone saying she really didn't care, just shut the hell up already.
"Lorna, you really are..." Gina began, but stopped when she saw the Captain walking towards them.
"Captain." Varley said, inclining his head.
Jerome returned the gesture absently and gripped the back of a chair. He gave each of them a look then settled on Varley.
"I need you to check the power systems to cryobank 3. The computer reports that there was something blocking its access commands when it attempted to initiate full awakening protocals and that the entire ship lost power, save for emergency back-ups, when it attempted a by-pass. Full diagnostic protocals. We can't chance someone not waking up."
"On it, sir." Varley stood, suddenly all business.
"Also..." Captain Jerome added, "What the hell is that smell?"

*****

"I can't explain it, Captain." Varley was saying, "I ran them three times. The diagnostics say nothing is wrong, but that a unit was open during the awakening process."
"That caused the error the computer was talking about?"
"Yes sir, and the power outage was no outage. Someone ran a script to automate the power outage itself. For what purpose, I don't know." Varley finished, frustrated he had no better answers to give.
"Who was on watch duty last?" Joann asked.
"That would be Marcus Jung, Jo." Gina replied. "His reports stopped a week before he was due to enter cryo-sleep."
"That's odd," Vincent said as he looked at his tablet, "Jung is assigned to cryobank 3."
"I don't like it, Captain." Joann said. "I just went through his file, Jung is a good crewman, with several cruises under his belt."
Joann frowned at the screen of her tablet. None of this really made sense. She looked at Jerome, who she'd joined on several cruises. His face was looking decidedly haggard. The weight of this mission bearing down on him in the home stretch.
Jerome caught her looking at him and shook his head as he spoke: "I want him pulled out of cryosleep. I want answers. Now!"
They all jumped to comply.
"Jo, come with me." He said to her and strode off.
She rushed to catch up, curious as to where they were going. She said as much to him.
He didn't answer right away, but seemed to be chewing on a thought. After a while, he asked: "Jung have any experience in either cryobiology or engineering. Anything to do with the power systems?"
Joann shook her head, "None."
"And that is what's bothering you?" He inquired.
"You as well, it would seem."
"Indeed it is." He stopped and looked at her, "I trust you, Jo. We've done this job together a long time." He stopped and seemed about to leave it there, then pushed himself, "I consider you my best friend. I can't fail these people."
"You won't."
He only nodded. Then took off down the corridor again.
They walked in silence and it soon became clear to Joann that they were taking a circuitous route to the medical bay. She wondered if there had been more he wanted to say, but left it alone. He'd tell of he wants to.
Suddenly a call came over the intercom: "Captain to MedBay! We have a situation here!"
Both the Captain and Joann burst into runs and arrived in the medical bay expecting trouble, instead they found Varley and Vincent standing over what looked like a body.
"Jung?" Joann asked and they both nodded.
"Is he dead?" The Captain asked.
"No. He's in a normal, chemically induced coma. Normal...except I just can't wake him from it."