Fatal Containment

Fatal Containment - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cheryl found herself yawning as the afternoon shift waned. The sterile lighting of the microbiology lab cast indirect shadows across the white steel tables and the now-organized crates and cabling. Cheryl Kinson, her sandy curls tied back with her usual green ribbon, was hunched over a terminal as she studied the computer core outputs. Beside her, Willow was looking at additional biology samples, her dark eyes focused on the screen in front of her.

"Good afternoon, ladies," a booming voice echoed through the lab, causing both women to look up. Tyrell Sanders, his tall frame filling the doorway, stood there with a forced smile on his face. He appeared almost comical to Cheryl, who knew what he was going to say. The fact that he was trying to be charming almost made her laugh out loud.

"Mr. Sanders," Cheryl greeted, her voice cool and professional. "What can we do for you?"

"I need more computing power," Tyrell declared, striding into the lab. "The resources you've provided are simply not sufficient for my work."

Cheryl and Willow exchanged a knowing glance before Cheryl turned back to Tyrell, her expression serious. "As I've already explained, Mr. Sanders, the primary core is off-limits. We've given you access to additional workstations. That's the best we can do."

Tyrell huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is unacceptable. I was promised the best facilities for my work."

"And you have them," Willow chimed in, her voice laced with amusement. "I'm sorry our heavy cruiser, which is an instrument of war, is insufficient for your intellectual and computational endeavors."

Tyrell shot her a glare, but Willow simply grinned back at him, her bright eyes twinkling with mirth. Cheryl had to bite back a smile at the sight. Despite Tyrell's demanding nature, there was something undeniably entertaining about his tantrums. The man wasn't used to people telling him he couldn't have something he wanted.

"Perhaps you could try optimizing your code," Cheryl suggested, her tone innocent. "I'm sure a man of your intellect could find a way to make it run more efficiently."

Tyrell's face turned a shade redder, and he opened his mouth to retort, but then Connor walked in to check in with Cheryl on their progress preparing for the demonstration. A soft beep emitted from one of the terminals. Cheryl turned to it, her fingers flying across the keys as she read the data on the screen while Connor stopped in the doorway to see how Cheryl was handling the difficult scientist.

"Ah, it seems your latest simulation has finished running," she said, reviewing the summary. "And look at that, it completed successfully. Perhaps our antiquated systems might just meet your needs after all."

Tyrell sputtered, his face a picture of indignation, and Cheryl steeled herself to deflect another protest.

That is when they heard Sandy Duvall scream.

Connor turned and ran through the hydroponics lab, which was the quickest way to the source of the commotion. Cheryl raced through the biomed module and arrived in the high vacuum lab a split second behind Connor. Sandy stood with her back to the wall as she pointed a shaking finger at the large high-vacuum chamber used for extremely low-pressure experiments, her face contorted with fear.

"What happened in here?" Connor asked, using his command voice. Cheryl followed Sandy's gaze and took a closer look into the high-vac chamber. Cheryl gave a startled gasp and turned to look at the gauge on the wall, which indicated a pressure approaching the vacuum of space.

Sandy was a gibbering mess, caught between tears and terror. Willow moved to help Sandy slide to the floor, where she collapsed into a heap of tears. Connor moved over to see what Cheryl was looking at and saw the mangled remains of a human body inside.

"Sir, this is impossible," she said, her eyes taking in the readings on the chamber. "There are dozens of sensors and interlocks that would prevent someone from being injured in this chamber. They couldn't even access the controls from the inside," Cheryl said, shaking her head, her brow knitted in frustration.

"Which means someone put this person in there," Connor said. He moved to the wall and pressed the communications switch and the code for the security section. "I need a security team to the high-vac lab on the double."

Turning back to Cheryl, he motioned for Willow to take Sandy outside. As Willow spoke soothingly to Sandy, Connor took charge of the situation.

"Start with our security feeds. I want to know what happened here over the last forty-eight hours. If someone broke a sweat, I want to know how many microliters it was. Ask Dr. Spinoza to come down here to help us understand the cause of death."

"But, sir," Cheryl said. "This body died from decompression."

"Not necessarily," Connor said. "It may have been put there to make it look that way. I'll get Lieutenant Hanson down here to go over the safety systems on this chamber. I want answers."

"Sir, one thing is certain," Cheryl said. "Whoever this is inside the chamber, he or she didn't do this to themselves."

"I know," he said. Connor looked Cheryl in the eye. "As the science section head, I need you to take the lead in the investigation. Start collecting any physical evidence you can find here and have security keep onlookers away from the scene. I'll go and brief the captain."

"Yes, sir."