The Altian Plague
Copyright© 2026 by D M Arnold
Chapter 12: The Test
Nyk held Suki’s hand as he followed Senta and Andra into ExoAgency headquarters. They were met by Aahhn and Helsyn. “Sukiko!” Aahhn said.
“Greetings, Dr Aahhn,” she replied.
“When I treated you -- I never expected to see you again.”
“Well -- I’m here.”
“And speaking the language. But -- what are you doing HERE?”
“I’m here to give Andra moral support.”
“But ... Has Kronta...”
“It’s all right, Aahhn,” Nyk said. “She’s safe.”
“Let’s get started,” Helsyn said. “Step this way.” He gestured down a corridor and into the treatment room that had held Marxo. Suki set down a travel case she carried.
“What’s in the case?” Andra asked.
“Just a few necessaries,” Suki replied. “We may be here for a day or two.”
“I’ll give you a tour,” Aahhn said. “You’ll have everything you’ll need. Here’s a stasis cabinet with meals. There’s a commode behind that door. Over here are some drugs -- analgesics, sleep aids and the like.” Andra nodded. “If you want privacy you can pull this screen. We’ll try to accommodate you in that regard, but we do need to observe you.”
“I understand.”
He pointed to a sliding tray. “With this we can pass objects in to you without breaking contamination.” He gestured toward a hook on the wall. “You might be more comfortable in a treatment gown. You can change over there. Then, we have to attach something to your arm.”
Andra snatched the gown from the hook and stepped behind a screen. She draped her tunic and lifxarpa over the screen and emerged, barefoot and sat on the pallet.
Aahhn strapped a rectangular box onto her upper arm. “Try to bear with this -- it’s a blood analyzer. We’ll get continuous readings of your antibody levels. Now, I’ll need to poke you twice -- the device pumps blood from one vein and returns it to another.” He examined her arms. “We’ll do number one here...” He pierced a vein near her elbow and inserted a catheter. “Number two, here...” The second catheter went into the back of her forearm. Aahhn used adhesive tape to secure the tubing.
He stepped behind the containment wall and manipulated a control. “We’re getting readings.”
Helsyn consulted the panel. He nodded approval. “Yes -- those are good baseline counts of the phase one and phase two antibodies.”
“Then, we’re ready to go,” Aahhn replied. He nodded toward Helsyn who unsealed a box and withdrew another, encased in a clear polymer wrap.
Suki removed an object from the case and handed it to Andra. “Maybe this will bring you luck.”
“My shell!” Andra cradled the metre-long object, the exoskeleton of a native marine animal. “Thank you.”
Aahhn regarded the shell. “What is that?”
“It’s my lucky shell. Nykkyo gave it to me after I had fled Zander. We were walking the beach and he picked it up. Look how beautiful it is inside -- all the different colors of blue and violet ... This is why I decided to study our native sea life. I’ve never seen a live one.”
“I’ve only seen them washed up on the beach,” Nyk said.
“One day I’ll find them in their natural habitat.” Andra held Suki, kissed her and stroked a tear from her face. “You’re so considerate. We’ll be together in a couple of days.”
“I love you.”
“I know you do. I love you, too.”
Nyk made eye contact with Suki and nodded toward the door. Helsyn stepped into the room and handed the box to Andra. He stepped behind the panel and pressed a control. The door to the containment chamber slid shut.
“Check the seals,” Aahhn said. “Good. Go ahead, Andra.”
Andra ripped open the polymer and opened the box. Inside was an inhaler of the sort used for recreational drugs. “This?”
“Yes -- use it like a euphoriant inhaler.”
Senta turned her back. “I can’t watch!”
Andra paused, then held the device to her lips and inhaled deeply. She held her breath for a slow count to twenty and released it through her nose. “What do I do with this?” she asked.
“Drop it in the waste reprocessor.”
Andra complied and sat on a therapeutic pallet.
“Now,” said Aahhn, “we wait.”
Kronta stepped into the treatment room. “How are we doing?” he asked.
“The patient has just exposed herself to the virus,” Aahhn replied. “Beyond that, it’s too soon to tell.”
Kronta surveyed the room. “Nyk -- can I have a word with you?”
Nyk followed Kronta into a conference room and shut the door. “Yes, Illya?”
“What is Sukiko doing in there?”
“Suki has an emotional investment with Andra. She wanted to be with her.”
“How much does she know about this?”
“She knows we’re trying to stop a biological attack on Lexal -- not much more. She’s a newcomer here, Illya. She understands the need to keep it secret, and she doesn’t know enough people to tell anyone. She’s safe.”
“Nykkyo -- I gave specific orders that this project be discussed with NO ONE outside the authorized list. If your access to Wygann wasn’t so critical to the success of this mission -- I’d bounce you off this task force and into detention.”
Nyk looked down. “I’m sorry, Illya. Suki’s here for Andra’s sake, too -- to give her moral support. I don’t think it’s unreasonable...”
“Maybe not -- but this is not a reasonable project. You KNOW the stakes.”
“So does Suki. She’s my WIFE, Illya. Besides -- should this test go the wrong way -- and Senta admits there’s a one-in-four to one-in-five chance it will -- she and Andra want to be together. I wasn’t about to tell her no. Suki kept knowledge of our operations on Earth secret while she was there -- secret from her own mother and father. She knows how to be discreet. She’s safe.”
Kronta shook his head. “It’s too late to un-do it. There had better be no glitches as a result of this, Nyk. Otherwise...”
Nyk gulped. “I understand, Illya.”
“I might have felt differently if you had discussed this with me first.”
“I apologize,” Nyk replied. “It won’t happen again.”
“Good. I’ll check on Andra’s progress later today.”
Nyk headed back to the treatment room, sat beside Suki and took her hand. “What did Illya want?” she asked.
“Oh -- nothing.”
Nyk walked into the treatment room. Suki was dozing on a sofa. He looked into the containment chamber. Andra was reclining on the pallet holding a handheld vidisplay, the shell across her lap. He could hear a public-affairs program through the communicator.
“How’s she doing?” he asked Helsyn.
“So far -- so good. The incubation period for this virus is about a day or so. We’ve seen a spike in the first phase antibodies, but that’s leveling off. It looks like the vaccine is working.”
“When will we know for sure?”
“Once the antibody count levels and starts dropping we’ll know she’s cleared the virus from her system.”
Nyk nodded and stepped to the communicator. “Andra -- how are you feeling?”
She looked up. “Fine ... bored.” She yawned. “Maybe I’ll try to get some rest.” She switched off the vidisplay, doused the lights and lay on her side.
Nyk put his hand on Suki’s shoulder. “We can go to Senta’s apartment and get some rest.”
She shook her head. “I’m staying here.”
“Then, so am I.”
“Where is Senta?”
“She went home -- she said she’s too agitated to watch.”
Nyk sat on the sofa, his head back. Suki leaned against him. Motion in the room awakened him and he saw Aahhn at the control panel. “Andra,” he said through the communicator. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
Andra sat up and rubbed her eyes. “I feel a little strange.”
“Strange, how?”
She pressed her hand to her abdomen. “My stomach...”
Aahhn consulted the control panel. “We’re seeing more antibodies.” Nyk looked over his shoulder. I’d better get Helsyn.”
Andra sat on the edge of the pallet and folded her arms across her abdomen.
Helsyn stepped in and reviewed the panel. “This is good and bad news,” he said.
“Good how?”
“The good news is her antibodies are climbing. That means we neutralized the second phase.”
“You mean the one that attacks her immune system.”
“Correct. The bad news is her antibodies are climbing -- the infection is advancing. The third phase attacks the digestive system.”
Andra leaned forward, belched and retched. “What’s happening to me?”
“You’re trying to vomit,” Aahhn said. “There’s a basin under the pallet.”
She fetched the basin and set it on her lap. “I’ve never vomited before -- I don’t know how!”
“Never?” Suki asked.
“Many Florans go their whole lives without being sick once,” Nyk replied.
“It’s a reflex,” Aahhn said. “Relax and don’t fight it.”
Andra leaned over the basin, panting. She opened her mouth and heaved. Suki turned her back and bit her knuckle.
“Ohhhh...” Andra moaned and vomited again. “I’m feeling a little better, now,” she gasped.
“Have you noticed any swelling under your arms?” Aahhn asked. “Any tenderness?”
“No...” Andra felt her armpits. “Maybe a little puffiness.”
“What about your neck?” Andra felt her neck and pointed to a lump. “Phase four is the lymphatic system.”
Helsyn pointed. “Her antibody levels are rising rapidly, now.”
“The vaccine isn’t working!” Suki exclaimed.
“It is,” Aahhn replied. “Her body is fighting the virus.”
“Oh, Andra!”
“He’s right,” Helsyn added. “Without the vaccine by now she’d be critical.”
“I feel cold,” Andra said. She folded her arms and began to shiver.
Aahhn examined another display. “She’s running a fever.” He spoke through the communicator, “Andra -- there’s a blanket in the cabinet.”
Andra lay on the pallet in the fetal position, huddled under the blanket. She moaned and shook.
“We should let her rest,” Aahhn said.
“Don’t leave me!” Andra moaned through the communicator.
Nyk paced before the containment chamber. Andra lay curled up on the pallet, her back to the glass wall. Aahhn pointed toward the display on the control panel. “Look -- her antibody levels are flattening.”
“Does that mean she’s clearing the virus?” Nyk asked.
Helsyn looked at the panel and her vital signs. He shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think it means her immune system is overwhelmed. The virus is multiplying faster than she can create defenses.”
“Andra,” Nyk called. “How are you feeling?”
“So cold,” she moaned.
“Her body temperature is climbing,” Helsyn said.
Andra rolled onto her back. “Oh, my GOD!” Suki shrieked in English.
Nyk looked into the chamber. Andra’s face, chest and arms were covered in red blotches.
“The fifth phase -- the skin,” Aahhn remarked.
Andra lay on her back, breathing through her mouth. “My head is starting to hurt,” she panted. “And, my neck...”
“Sixth phase, meningitis,” Helsyn said. “Aahhn -- maybe we should send someone in there and start fluids.” Aahhn nodded in agreement.
Nyk watched as an attendant wearing a containment suit stepped through the airlock. She approached Andra and raised the head of the pallet. He watched as she hung a pouch of saline and started in I.V. into Andra’s forearm.
Suki grabbed his arm. “I want to go in there and comfort her,” she said. “I’ll put on one of those suits.”
“It’s too risky,” Nyk replied. “I don’t like seeing that attendant in there.”
“I have some other rounds to make,” Helsyn said. “I’ll check on her in the morning.”
Aahhn approached and regarded her. “Her body is fighting this hard,” he said.
“Yes,” Nyk replied. “Marxo was dead by now.”
“I see a glimmer of hope. The vaccine stopped the first two phases of the virus. She did not exhibit the respiratory infection, nor has her immune system been compromised.”
“Then, why isn’t she throwing off the infection?” Nyk asked.
“She may yet.” He poked a handheld vidisplay. “It’s late. You folks should go home and get some rest.”
“I’m staying here,” Suki replied.
“I’ll stay, too,” Nyk added.
Dawn twilight streaming through the high window in the treatment room waked Nyk. He looked into the containment chamber. Andra hadn’t moved. She lay on her back, her eyes closed. Nyk thought her breathing looked rapid and shallow.
He put his ear to the communicator and could hear Andra mumbling. “No ... Zander ... no more drugs ... Zander ... I didn’t mean it ... please don’t ... whatever it was ... stop ... no ... don’t ... don’t...”
Suki cracked her eyes open. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s still breathing,” Nyk replied. “She’s muttering to herself.”
“You mean she’s delirious?”
“She seems to be reliving her time with Zander. Did she tell you about that?”
Suki nodded. “I thought I had a bad time with my first husband.”
A suited attendant approached Andra with a basin. She picked up the shell laying beside her on the pallet.
“Don’t take that from her,” Suki said.
“What is it?”
“It’s her lucky shell.”
“I have to move it. I’ll put it back...” She began daubing water onto Andra’s face and forehead with a cloth.
Senta stepped into the room. “How’s she doing?”
Suki glowered at her. “Not well.”
“Oh, NO!” Senta stared into the chamber, then headed toward the airlock.
Nyk held her back. “Senta! You can’t go in there!”
“I’m the one who belongs in there -- not her!”
“This was necessary,” Nyk said. “We all know the stakes.”
“I was so sure of the vaccine,” Senta said, burying her face in her hands.
“And, it worked,” Nyk replied. “It stopped the first two phases. Enough of the virus went on to multiply into the other four, and it overwhelmed her. Aahhn thinks she still can throw off the infection.”
“What if she can’t?” Senta asked.
Aahhn and Helsyn stepped into the treatment room. “I think it’s time to block her,” Helsyn said.
Nyk looked at the doctor and shook his head. “She wouldn’t want that. She wouldn’t want to be ... put to sleep.”
“Nykkyo,” Helsyn replied, “It would be a kindness.”
“Andra’s a fighter. She’d want to fight this to the end.”
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