When they heard the computer announce an alien life form, right away there was shouting and arguing that it had been transported by the two officers and the woman. Hunter silenced the crew and had the computer locate the source - it was in both the crew's quarters and the cargo bay.
Instantly, to the horror of the crew, Hunter rushed to the controls and blew the bolts, severing the cargo bay along with the five men inside.
"Bloody murderer!"
"They were already dead with that thing in the cargo bay."
The crew started to argue and threaten, forcing the two officers to hold them back with their weapons. The scream from the hatchway startled everyone and they turned to see what was left of the missing crew member. The slime had moved from the hatchway and was spreading into the command centre.
Yelling over the sudden panic, Hunter ordered everyone below to the emergency escape shuttles. There was a mad scramble as men pushed and shoved their way to the ladder. Chesterton was first below, waving the men past. When Hunter and Diane climbed down there was no time left and the three crammed into one, two seat shuttle and sealed themselves uncomfortably inside.
Through the portal they could see crewmen fighting one another for a spot as the slime dropped to the emergency lock floor. Hunter tapped a code into the computer to achieve lift off from the planet, and detached their shuttle from the ship. When the Encounter reached orbital apogee he programmed an acute decon procedure, completely purging the ship.
Chesterton and Diane watched, stunned as the operation took place.
"They'll all be killed!"
"They were dead anyway and you know it. You saw what it did and how fast. Our shuttle would have been next and you saw with the Medpod that it could get through seals."
Diane hunched down, crying and Chesterton turned away, silently fuming.
After a long period of waiting the computer signalled the operation complete and Hunter steered the shuttle back to the ship. He docked and accessed the computer to proceed with decontamination for entry. The trio climbed out of the shuttle, noting that nothing that wasn't fastened down was left . . . including the remains of the crew.
"What the hell happened?" Chesterton looked at the open hatches on the other shuttles still anchored in their stalls. "They didn't even get in the shuttles!"
"They fought one another to get inside and were too late."
"You mean you purged the ship before they had a chance."
"You saw them fighting, they had lost all control. Would you rather I had stayed?"
"My God, there's only the three of us left!" Chesterton exclaimed.
"And very lucky at that. Pressure is good, we can get up to the command deck and get the hell out of here."
"Where is everything?" Diane asked, looking about.
"If it wasn't fastened to something it's gone. An acute decon purge is just that. The entire ship, every nook and cranny, blown out all the hatches. It's usually done in maintenance if a ship is suspected of carrying contaminants. It isn't used much but I'm glad as hell we had the option. Just keep your gloves on for a while, nothing serious, but some surfaces get extremely hot in the process and may be still."
"Can we get back?" Diane was hugging the pack she had carried from the lab close to her chest.
"With what's left of our ship, faster than we got here for sure."
YOU ARE READING
Transition
Mystery / ThrillerWhat they found, arriving at the planet was the entire research team, except for one terrified doctor, had been wiped out by a deadly organism and rescuing her cost the supply ship its crew. The Commander, his Executive Officer and the survivor were...
