Chapter 5: Trying to Regain Control

“This is what I was warning about!” Doctor Aline exclaimed as she was looking at the screen by the bed. She had a look of anger on her face as she watched the data flow down on the screen.

Both Kane and Ifra stood in the medical lab of the Gabatrix with Doctor Aline. The lab was in the central section of the ship. They were once again away from the centripetal rotating ring. The lab was moderate in size. It consisted of three beds with large overhead scanners. On the top of each bed was a monitor screen that connected to a console. A series of advanced medical equipment was strewn about the room. There was a dark blue alarm that was silently depicted in the area.

Aline had her right hand and arm that was hovering over Ifra’s head. A red scanning light was emitting from the palm of her hand. The light was running back and forth over Ifra as she looked with some fear and agitation. Aline was watching her hand and occasionally looking at the console.

Kane could watch as the emitting light from Aline’s arm was doing a deep scan of her body. It was marking her body and skeletal structure. Her augmented arm and hand was a tool for the medical equipment to interface. It was providing her a picture for the doctor to get a look at the alien’s system.

“You use an augmented arm too?” Ifra asked.

Aline, even though she was upset, still smiled a little bit. “Yes,” she replied.

“You have it on your right arm.”

“That is because I am left-handed.”

Ifra seemed to blink a little bit as Aline continued with her scan. The doctor paused as she looked at the display screen.

“Ambassador Ifra,” Aline addressed her. “How long have you had this virus?”

“For ten years.”

Aline seemed to shake her head. “I am sorry that I am acting this way to you. I want you to understand that. My goal is to make sure the crew is healthy. If you brought a disease on board, it might be deadly to us.”

Ifra made a slight snort. “It is alright. You are in no danger of it.”

“We will see about that. Kane, do you know if she was in contact with anybody?”

“No. She touched my hand, but I don’t feel any different.”

Aline moved her hand to his hands. The light began to make a beam over one of his hands as he lifted it up for her to get a more significant scan. Her augmented arm was processing the data as it is also displayed on the screen.

“So far, the screen shows nothing. I am not picking up anything that is affecting your body or system,” Aline commented. “Can you describe to me the symptoms that this virus does?”

“It ... it does not have symptoms,” Ifra replied.

“I am still pissed off about this,” Aline said. “I apologize again, Ambassador Ifra, but I am angry that we were not given enough time to analyze any pathogens your people may end up carrying on board our ship. I didn’t want to have to call a ship-wide alert, but it has to be done. We all carry diseases, and we could end up infecting you. What is a simple virus to you or me would be deadly to somebody else.”

“I understand healer Aline,” she replied. “I can promise you that you are safe. This disease is not designed to attack humans.”

Aline seemed to acknowledge what she said, but she was still looking at her display. Her scans over Kane’s hand and arm seemed to show something.

“I am picking up something that is on your hand,” Aline said as she could see something pop up on her hand. She flicked her hand a little bit as it shut off. The scanning light ceased. She then held her fingertips to the display screen. She adjusted her fingers around as the projection of the data got bigger.

Kane watched as he could see a zoomed-in picture of a tiny microscopic thing. It was a magnified picture of the skin of his right hand.

“What is that?” he asked.

“That ... is from her,” Aline answered. “It wasn’t picked up by the scanners from the airlock. It is a virus. The computer is running a deep scan on the virus...”

Kane continued to watch as the advanced computer core of the ship began to show a series of running lights and activity. It filtered in new information. The virus that he was looking at looked like a tube with eight legs on it. There were three bulbous structures to it. It was a virus tiny enough to latch onto a cell and inject its own coding into it. It was the most simple of all life, probably in the entire universe. Its goal was simple and efficient.

“According to this data,” Aline said. “This virus had entered your bloodstream, but it isn’t doing anything to you. There was activity that they connected to your body, but it has done nothing.”

“Because it won’t...” Ifra explained.

Aline turned to look at the reptilian alien in front of her. She seemed to cross her arms. “Why do you keep telling me that?” Aline asked.

“Because ... we have the people from Eutera ... your people. They had been in prolonged contact with our people for a long time. This virus was created as a weapon to kill us. It is designed to be anti ... anti ... it can’t be picked up. Your bodies will never see it. Our bodies don’t see it. I admit I am surprised that your systems could even pick this up. We know ... because our systems never did.”

“You have been infected with a military-grade virus?”

“Yes ... I would say it was the action of one individual. It is the most horrible disease. The damage to us was done. The virus can be cleansed from your bodies after a regular cleaning, but our bodies will keep it in our system forever.”

“You said that you have no symptoms?” Aline asked. “What does this virus do?”

Ifra looked at Kane as if she was the one addressing to him. “Remember what I told about our biomedical science?”

“Yes.”

“It is the most advanced. While it is true that your people don’t have the skills that we have and we barely ever encounter alien races, we know that we can manipulate our bodies without having to resort to augmentation. It is a gift, and a ... what is the word ... evil?”

“Close enough,” Kane said.

“Our technology allowed us to push and fight any disease that we encountered. Our past wars very long ago used bioweapons. Diseases were designed to shut down the Itrean bodies. It was the best way to destroy your enemy. Entire cities could be emptied out. We never even had to drop weapons on each other. All we had to do was put a virus onto a planet, and ... your enemy was dead. It was one of the many ways we tried to kill each other. Our clans were all about trying to have the better chance of winning. It was a deadly virus versus better immune systems. My body ... all Itrean bodies are improved to handle any virus that is thrown at us. Our bodies are designed to repel anything that even comes close to us.”

She looked down as Aline watched her closely.

“You said that you had the Euteran people. You sound like you already had experience working with diseases...”

“We ... it is best for me to explain all of this to you. I can see the fear from you humans. The Itreans used powerful diseases to try to kill each other. We fought back by increasing our own immune systems. We could land on any planet and never worry about getting sick. It was the gift of our past people. Children would be born with genetic improvements and pass it on to their children. Once the war with the Emphra ended, our empire united together. We had so many conflicts ... we knew that it might have been temporary. So many wished that it would have lasted. The Emphra devastated our economy, and we were buying time for the next clan wars to come. We spent forty of your years recovering ... finally it all came apart. The arguments broke out. The anger returned ... we started killing each other again.”

Aline seemed to understand a little bit about what she was talking about, but the conversation was really directed towards Kane. He already had some understanding of the history she had been telling him earlier.

“When the empire fell apart, and the Itrean Clan War broke out, we were once again shooting at each other. Our empire fell into three clans. The Shal’rein ... the Aksren ... and clan T’rintar. We carved out our empire into pieces. Violence was the choice ... you understand why I tell you that our meetings with the other clans are the hardest things, right, Kane?”

“Yes...” Kane nodded.

“It happened the first year of the clan war. Battles everywhere. This was ten of your years ago. Shooting ... I remember the bombs that fell over New Atrea. Guns ... killing ... it never stopped. I was with my mate...”

“I am sorry.”

She displayed a tear. “The worst was yet to come. A year had passed, and then it happened. All the males started to die. Everywhere. All of them. They all fell to the ground. They were all dead ... the little ones ... the old ones ... sick or healthy, they all fell...”

“What?” Kane expressed shock.

“We learned that a scientist by the name of Zilik had wanted peace as well. She knew that the wars were about to begin again. She was the leading expert on biomedical engineering. She wanted peace, but she was ... insane. Males and females were equal in most ideas and beliefs, but Zilik thought that Itreans were doomed to forever kill each other. She decided to create the perfect weapon. She engineered the deadliest virus ever created. What you see there is that virus. It is designed to be ... hard to find,” she seemed to choke a little bit. She made her long end chirps. “The disease was designed to wait for two years. It was designed to wait for those years, spreading all through the empire. Males and females could easily carry it. Breathing, smelling, water, air, it could not be picked up, and it would multiply in the body systems.”

“I have never seen any type of virus similar to this before,” Aline said as she looked at the display screen. “It would have to be created.”

“Zilik was crazy. Everyone had it, and she activated it. “The disease was designed to target the Y chromosome of our people. The virus would identify all people that had the Y pattern. Once then, it would release its toxin and violently reproduce. It took three days for the New Atrean male population to be dead. Male babies growing in the wombs or eggs would die. It is forever activated and can’t be shut down ... I watched as my mate fell to the ground and didn’t get up. Zilik got her wish...”

“My god...” Aline replied. She shook her head. “This is incredible of a design. I have to agree with Ifra, this virus is fully activated, but it is doing nothing to us. We do have to be careful that we might be carriers now.”

Ifra shook her head. “It is true, but I promise that I have been alive for ten years. No female has died or suffered any problems from this sickness. Even Zilik wouldn’t have risked her own life creating such as disease to target her own self. We brought your people to our labs ... we ... had to experiment to see if it was true or not.”

“Oh ... the poor people of Eutera...” Aline replied.

“I know ... we had to Kane ... Aline ... we had to...”

“What led you to Eutera?” Kane asked.

She wasn’t able to answer the question when the door to the medical lab slid open. The silent dark blue alarm was still going off. The person that entered was none other than the captain himself.

Ifra’s feathers lifted up into the air when she saw the new human enter. The door closed behind the captain as he looked at the alien woman. He paused for a little bit. While the doctor had her chance to adjust, it was the first time the captain had ever seen the Itreans up close. Kane turned to look at the captain, and he seemed to tilt his head. He didn’t seem too shocked. Perhaps it was the short stature of Ifra. Her smaller size seemed to make her more innocent to Kane’s eyes. For Ifra, though, he could tell that she was nervous.

“Ambassador Ifra, this is Captain William of the UHN Gabatrix. He is in charge of the ship. Captain ... this is the ambassador of the T’rintar clan.”

“Madam...” He formerly addressed her. “I mean, you no harm. You have nothing to fear from me. I did not mean to cause any issue with the meeting process, but I have been informed of a contamination alarm.”

“Captain ... I... , “ she replied as her feathers lowered down.

“Captain...” Aline spoke to him. She seemed to sigh a little bit. “Ifra claims that she is carrying a disease with her.” She pointed to the screen. “That is it right there. The scanners gave the Itreans a free pass into our ship. It is designed from her race to eradicate her kind. We are all carriers of the virus.”

“What is the status?” he asked her. “Do we need to run contamination protocols?”

Aline sighed. “According to her, it will not affect humans. It was never designed to attack human beings.”

“Hmmm... , “ the captain said as he rubbed his beard. “You claim that this virus won’t hurt us. Are we sure that you didn’t purposely bring it on board in hopes of spreading disease to the rest of humanity?”

“Captain!” Kane addressed him. “I believe that Ifra is telling the truth. If clan T’rintar were supposed to infect us with some disease, then they would have found a better way to do it.”

“I also don’t see this virus doing anything to us. Kane’s body is functioning normally.”

The captain seemed partially convinced, but even he had to be absolutely sure on everything that is happening.

“Human captain of the vessel, William,” Ifra addressed him. “I assure you that it wasn’t my goal to spread some dangerous disease. It is my goal and intention to see our people and yours work together in the hopes of peace. Please ... believe me.”

“I am not completely convinced, madam ambassador. Your people have committed to a violent act on the UHN and the UWA of the human race. You assaulted one of our colonies and took the people that lived there. You attacked and disabled one of our warships in the process.”

“Captain!” she exclaimed as her feathers rose up. She stepped forward. “We did everything we did to avoid bloodshed! We didn’t want to kill your kind.”

“Tell that to the 30 dead individuals...”

Kane could already see what he was trying to be careful of doing. Ambassador Ifra was getting reamed by the others. He had to try to defend her in some way. He had to find a way to secure the release of the people of the Euteran colony.

“Captain...” Kane addressed him. “The ambassador and I were discussing how we can try to get the people released and how we can better improve our relations. I believe that if we are given enough time, a decision can be made that will make all of us happy. I believe the T’rintar may be humanity’s best hope if we want to survive the other Itrean clans.”

William put his hand to his chin. He quieted down as he listened. “Doctor ... do you believe that in your opinion, we are in danger of this disease?”

“I ... am compelled to agree with the ambassador. If this were a deadly disease, Kane would start to feel the effects of it right now. His body would show signs of an attack or weakening immune system. I have not seen enough evidence to see this as a deadly contagion.”

“Alright ... we are at Contamination Status 2 at the moment. Bring us down to Status 1 and continue your investigation. Keep me updated on everything that is happening. Status 1 will keep us alert, but it will shut off those damn blinking blue lights.”

“Aye, sir,” Aline replied.

William focused his attention back to Ifra. “Let me ask you this, Itrean. How did you know about Eutera?”

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“How did you know the whereabouts of the colony? You had a perfectly sized force to attack the UHN Champlain in orbit. You had a fleet perfectly designed to do a precision raid on it. Kane might not understand it since he is a civilian, but I can tell from the reports that you had that planned well. How did you get the information?”

“We ... salvaged the data from one of the two warships...” Ifra responded.

The captain’s eyes widened. He tried to keep his composure. “One of two?”

“Yes ... there was a battle almost one of your years ago. Two unknown ships ... your ships showed up in our patrol sector. We sent a ship to respond.”

“I ... see,” the captain replied. He looked away for a moment. “The Cabot...” He said, almost quietly. He closed his eyes.

“It was the information and the bodily remains that allowed us to learn more about you. The information provided all the details about the humans and your locations.”

“That explains how they knew about sending the message probe to Cebravis...” Kane remarked.

“If you had such knowledge, why didn’t you launch an attack on Mars?” the captain asked.

“Eutera had the smallest amount of defenses available. We are in an ongoing struggle against two other clans. We have a lesser amount of resources compared to them. We fight with a simple idea. We let the enemy come to us. We fight in a defense like war. We only go and launch an attack only if there is a clear reason.”

“Then why did you attack Eutera?” the captain asked her.

She looked down. Kane could notice that she was hesitating to answer the question.

“Ifra ... we want these peace negotiations to continue, but we need all this information. Why did your people attack Eutera?”

She seemed to give a faint nod by closing her eyes and jerking her head up and down once. “We had to confirm if it was true.”

“What was true?” the captain asked.

“We had a chance to check out the human remains from the warship. We began to look at the human coding...”

“Coding?”

“D ... N ... A,” she seemed to try to find the words.

The captain folded up his arms. “What was important about our DNA?”

“You ... had DNA that was immune to the disease that I had. We are experts with genetics. It was possible that you humans might have a cure to the great disease that wiped out all the males. We ... needed specimens.”

Ifra seemed so ashamed to answer that question that she appeared to slouch down where she stood. Her tail even lowered along with her feathers.

Kane put his hands to his mouth. He felt a wave of fear hit him.

“Those people ... what did you do to them?” the captain asked.

“Experiments...”

“Against their will?”

“I ... I don’t know all of that. I know that they are safe.”

“I know this... , “ the captain said, pointing his finger at her. “We want our people back. There is no way that we are heading back to Mars without our people.”

“I ... don’t have that power.”

“I am afraid the captain is right,” Kane told her. “It is difficult for us to continue our negotiations without our people. We want them safe and secured.”

Ifra did the same actions as before. She flexed her claws a little bit as she seemed to be twitching.

“I will need to return to my ship,” she explained. “I will need to talk to the representatives back home.”

“You do that,” the captain said. “Do you have long-range communication capability?”

“Yes. It would require us to open up a mini gate to send a message. Do you find that acceptable?”

“I do.”

“Then I will need the rest of this ... day,” she said. “I will tell them that the negotiation cannot continue without your people.”

“Do you think they will break off with the peace talks?” Kane asked her.

“I am the one that holds most of that power since I am here. I ... think they will agree with it, but I don’t know.”

The captain seemed to sigh. “Go ahead and return to your ship and talk to your people. We will remain docked with you for the next day ... do you understand the basic concept of time in what I mean?”

“Yes ... I will need 12 of your hours. I will return and bring the news of what will happen next.”

“Good. Ambassador Ifra ... if you would mind. When you return to your ship, I would like to engage in a personal talk with the adjunct of the Atra. I trust in Ambassador Kane’s capabilities, but I would also like to engage in my own talks with your leaders as well. Does your adjunct know our language?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Both the adjunct and I know English. Her skills are less than mine, but she would know enough.”

“If need be, we might need to have you help translate us. Would you feel comfortable with that?”

“Yes, I would.”

“Alright...” He said as his eyes went to Kane. “Ambassador, I would like you to escort Ifra to her ship.”

Kane nodded his head. “Alright...”

He lifted his right arm for her so she could grab his arm. She gripped it with her hand and claws. They both began to walk out the door.

“Not so fast...” The captain addressed to her. “Ambassador Ifra. Be warned. You can take this back to your superiors. We are aware that you brought a disease onto my ship and directly avoided telling us this until the ship got contaminated. Innocent or not, I have to take this as an act of foolishness or aggression towards us. Your ship cannot depart until we are able to confirm your stories further. If your ship starts to depart without our notice, I will take my nukes and detonate them! If your people sent you to kill us all, I will take you, your ship, and my ship down in one shot. Do you understand?”

“Yes ... yes,” Ifra reacted. Kane could feel her grip on his arm intensify.

“Kane ... I will need to have a word with you after Ifra returns to her ship.”

He nodded his head.

“Captain...” Ifra called out to him. “There is something else that you need to know.”

“What is it?” William asked.

“The Aksren ... we are not the only ones that managed to get a hold of human specimens. They managed to get a hold of them as well.”

“What do you?...” he paused. “No...”

“Their spy network managed to get access to ours. Once they did, they got the whereabouts of your colonies. The Aksren clan is cruel. They view the humans as ... germs or toys. They choose a target to make an example. They attacked the world they called Cipra. Once they overpowered you, they launched an assault on the people. They made sure to capture as many people as possible. They wanted them alive. The experiments allowed them to create a bioweapon. They have a disease ready to be deployed the next time they attack another world. The next big attack they will start using them. Then they can take what planets they want from you without them ever putting their soldiers to the ground. You think us taking your people hostage was bad ... the Aksren ... they killed them after they were done...”

Kane gripped his hands tightly. The news hit him hard. Cipra was a horrible loss that was broadcasted live to the horrors of the UWA viewers. Millions of people were wiped out as the UHN fleet had to withdraw. It was the most horrible defeat for the military ever. Twenty percent of the fleet snuffed out as the rest fled from the battle. The Aksren simply just threw a mess of ships till the UHN couldn’t do anything. Every evacuating ship was obliterated before they even reached orbit.

William himself sighed. He was not angry at Ifra. He simply frowned. He gave a slight nod to the T’rintar ambassador before she decided that her message was said. He took note of her words before she stepped towards the exit.

The door slid open as they stepped through it and were in the main central passageway. The door closed behind them as he guided her down the passageway towards the airlock. She remained quiet as the magnetic straps on her clawed feet clicked on the ground. Kane could hear his own shoes as he quickly wanted to break the silence.

“I think we made progress...” Kane told her.

“I failed ... like I always do,” she said as her voice seemed toned down.

“Hey ... I am not against this meeting. I am hopeful of better relations. The captain means what he means, though.”

“I swear to you that I didn’t want to cause all those problems.”

“I know...” Kane said as he used his left hand to pat her clawed hand.

She seemed to do her action as before when they first saw each other. She leaned her head forward and tilted it towards him. Her eyes even did the rapid blinks again, and it caused him to smile a little bit.

“I will talk to them,” she told him. “I don’t know if they will release them or not.”

“I hope they will.”

“It might be more complicated when it comes to releasing them. I understand your feelings when it comes to your people.”

“Then at least take this with you,” he said. “I am open to whatever talks we will have tomorrow. If our people get released, then we will go to the next step and get a treaty worked on. I will see what I can look up to offer for both of our people.”

“I agree.”

“I will make sure that my adjunct talks with your captain. I will notify her of what the captain told me.”

“Remember ... he is trying to defend this ship. I only had a little bit of time with the captain, and I know he means well.”

“Nnnn... , “ she replied.

It didn’t take them too long to reach the hatchway finally. The guards were all there as Kane and Ifra stood looking at the connecting passageway that led to her ship.

“I ... I enjoyed my time with you,” she told him.

Kane thought about what she said. It felt nice to hear her say that. “I enjoyed our time together, as well. Then I will look forward to seeing you tomorrow. I know that humans need sleep just as we do. Get plenty of rest.”

“You too...”

Kane watched as Ifra began to walk past the guards. She stepped into the hatchway and started to disappear slowly. The last thing he saw was her tail swinging back and forth.

Kane was walking back from the medical bay door. His mind was all over the place. He couldn’t believe everything that happened. It just seemed too good to be true. He felt like he was in a haze. An alien race ... he made contact and spoke with an alien. If he made it back to Mars or Cebravis alive, he would be in the history books forever. The first human to ever talk with an alien face to face, and he would be remembered for it.

“Ambassador...” Captain William called out to him in the passageway.

The captain was not far from him. He stood outside the medical bay doors. He seemed to be waiting for the ambassador to come back. It actually caught Kane off guard since he was so focused on the recent events. He was snapped back to reality the moment he saw the captain standing near him.

“Captain... , “ he replied as he was regaining his bearings.

“I can only imagine what is going through your mind,” William said. “Come with me. I want to talk to you alone in my stateroom.”

“Of course,” he said as the captain gestured with his head towards the elevators. It was not that far from the medical bay in a straight forward path.

“Seems the ambassador has a bit of a flair for the dramatic,” William said as they walked together.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

“The Aksren clan might have a virus ready to deploy on humanity.”

“Yep...”

They got closer as they stepped towards the elevator doors. It slid open as they stepped inside. There was a panel as the captain pressed the lift button.

“You seem calm,” Kane commented as the elevator doors closed. They felt the pressure of the floor as the lift went up.

“Of course, I am calm about it,” the captain said. “I am not worried about it.”

Kane shook his head. “How can you be calm about it? The people that want us dead want to infect us.”

“Do not misunderstand calm for the lack of ease Ambassador. I have learned to be calm when I have a gun aimed at my head. I know that in a moment’s notice, the person can pull the trigger. You are measured for your actions then and there. The mightiest of individuals, the ones that say that they can run into a firefight, will cower behind their beds. Then you find the smallest of individuals ... the ones that everyone makes fun of, run into the firefight, and slay the enemy.”

“Some of that is a quote from Gabatrix,” Kane said as he felt the elevator come to a stop. The doors opened up as it led into the passageway. They stepped through and into the passageway below the dorsal bridge.

“Yes ... How much do you know of your history?”

“Not enough as I should,” Kane said as they both stood before the door that led into the captain’s office. The door opened up as they both stepped inside. The door closed behind him as the captain walked to his desk.

“You are aware that Ciro Gabatrix stood at five foot two?” the captain asked him.

“No, I didn’t.”

“He was a short man. It didn’t stop him, though. The man is a celebrated hero. Mars was shit, and it is still shit. As a man that grew up on Mars, I know the challenges we face every day.”

“Perhaps you should move to Cebravis,” Kane hinted to him.

“Gabatrix felt the same way ... but only after making great sacrifices. The man had to do things that no human was allowed to and no offense, but I think the only good reason everyone wants to move to Cebravis is that they don’t know what is paradise anymore.”

Kane watched as the captain walked to his desk. He pulled open a cabinet. He then reached in and pulled out a small metal box. He then placed it on the desk as it made a small thump sound, ensuring that it wouldn’t float around in zero gravity.