CHAPTER 14

“You’ve been out for a long time, Brooke.”

She contemplated the statement. Despite being awake for some half an hour now she felt like she hadn’t slept more than a few minutes. “How long?”

“Two days. I was really starting to worry.”

“It was that long? It was really strange. It seemed like I was in a whirlpool, and in the center it was all black and drawing me in. I thought I was dying as I spun toward the middle. When I got there, I woke up.”

“Hmm, I guess some kind of variation of the falling dream people have. So how do you feel now?”

She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed to put her feet on the floor. “I think I want to try and get up. If what you’re telling me is true, I’ve had enough beauty sleep. Besides, I want to take a look at those samples we brought back.”

Jesse grabbed her arm and helped her to rise. She felt a brief dizziness, but it passed quickly and she walked into the main room. “I think I’m fine. Perhaps a little groggy. Is there any coffee?”

Mark hopped over to the small kitchenette set in one wall and poured a cup of the steamy liquid. “Here ya go, kiddo. It’s a couple hours old. That ought to perk you up.”

She sat at the small table and took a sip. “Yeech! You’re right about that. Get me some cream and sugar, will you please?”

Mark handed her a packet of each, along with a spoon. “Warned ya. Are you up for something to eat?”

“Maybe in a minute. First, where did you put the samples? I want to take a look at them.”

Brian waved her over to one of the science stations. “I started some preliminary work on them. Best I can tell, they’re some kind of methanogen, but the cellular structure is different. You’re the expert. Come take a look.”

She felt a moment of panic. Her chest constricted as she feared what mistakes might have happened. “Did you quarantine the samples first?”

“Absolutely. Even better than that, I mixed a batch of my blood with one to see if there was any reaction. So far, results are negative.”

She sat in front of the microscope and placed her eyes to the device. Brian was right. The physical configuration was unlike anything she had ever seen before. “What about the kill box? Did you take it out of the freezer?”

“No, not yet. I figured I’d better wait for you on that one.”

The kill box. She understood the hesitancy of her crewmates to handle it. “There’s no time like the present.”

She crossed into the storage section and punched in the code to unlock the special freezer compartment where the kill box was kept. She slipped into a protective suit and opened the box to retrieve one of the plates inside. Each glass plate contained numerous miniature cells. Although many were filled with harmless microbiological life, many more were filled with either harmful bacteria or viruses. She slid the glass plate into the containment unit. Made sure the seal was complete, returned the kill box to its freezer unit, then doffed the outfit.

Returning to the seat before the microscope, she typed in the instructions for the first quarantined sample, the lake water, to be injected into each cell in the plate. “Now we watch and see what happens.”

Mark grinned and shivered. “Brr! It’s always bothered me having those things onboard. What if one of them plate cells should rupture? Or all of them? How many different ways would we die?”

Brooke laughed. “Don’t worry. The fail-safes are plentiful. First of all, the unit is sealed tight. If something should happen, and one were to break open, a laser flash is programmed to incinerate the cell immediately. In fact, I can’t even take the plate out of the containment unit without all cells being torched first. Just in case.”

“But why are we doing that here? Shouldn’t they be doing this in some high tech lab when we get the stuff back to Earth?”

She returned to the microscope to examine the cells. “You’re right, that makes the most sense. The problem is, when we get back home, we have to surrender the samples to the Drumdat Corporation.”

“Figures. Big money wins all.”

She tried to adjust the magnification, but a wave of nausea overtook her and a sudden throbbing at her temples. “Oww, my head.” She looked to Jesse. “I keep getting dizzy. How long will I have these spells?”

Jesse produced a retinoscope and held it before her eyes. She blinked as the bright light shone in.

“Hmm. I don’t see any problems here. My guess is its temporary, a holdover from your bout with the bends. You should be right as rain in no time.”

She rubbed at her right eye. “You know, just as my helmet came loose, I got something into my right eye. I wonder if that’s the problem.”

Jesse looked again with the retinoscope. “I can’t see anything there. It was probably a piece of sand. There was a sandstorm blowing at the time if you remember.”

“That’s just it. Right at the moment I disconnected my helmet, I was enveloped in an air bubble. There was no sand in there. You saw it, didn’t you Brian?”

Brian waved a hand in denial. “Not me. I was busy helping Jesse with the climb.”

A chime rang, interrupting the discussion. Jesse glanced at the screen and then moved out of the way. “Brooke, it’s Control for you.”

“For me?” She took his place and tapped a key to display the message. Robert Tangler’s image popped up on the screen.

Hi honey,

I got word of your recovery, and they let me be the first to say hello and pass on the congratulations on your discovery. Life on Mars!

It’s still a long time until you get home, but I’ll be waiting, counting the minutes.

All my love.

She smiled and recalled their last night together, a warmth filling her.

Over her shoulder, she could hear Mark’s voice. “Aww! Ain’t that sweet. Where’s the kisses?

She spun quickly, put a hand on his face, and shoved him away. “Mark, you’re such an ass!”

He laughed and danced off. She turned back to the screen and began to record her response.