The Great Escape

[fruzicle]

The continuation of the "Martian Chronicles."  prompt: rancor

To read previous episodes of this series, please go to https://furzicle.livejournal.com. You can see the chapter that immediately precedes this one, or you may go all the way back to the original in the series which was posted on Jan. 8. (There will also be a few unrelated stories tucked in there, too.) To read an outline of the cast of characters, scroll to the bottom of this entry. Please enjoy!

The Great Escape

After the crew’s dramatic and hasty escape from the ravenous pikas in the Martian cave,  MariLuz calmly set the Planetary Lander’s course for the shortest, quickest route back to the Martian Colony, a near orbital trajectory. It was time to make haste. “Estimated time of arrival back at base camp will be 2345, about five hours from now,” announced MariLuz.

General Takeda’s close brush with asphyxiation from the breach in her space suit had rendered her barely able to squeak out the words, “Dax, you’re in charge.” A moment later, she weakly added, “Scrub cabin air.” She then quickly nodded off to sleep, aided by the oxygen mask which was faithfully working to restore her.

Dax surveyed the tired and battered crew. “Doctor Linsa, could you please attend to Fillip and make sure his care is top priority? Whatever he’s got, we must consider that all of us may have been exposed as well. Take steps to isolate the contagion.”

Dax recalled the Beaufort Nine air scrubbing he had undergone after his previous contact with the alien pikas. He realized that the entire crew had spent most of the day interacting with hundreds of them, then had all tumbled into the craft without regard for decontamination. This would call for extraordinary prophylactic measures.

“All hands!” he announced loudly to get the crew’s attention. “We all need to stow our extra-vehicular suits in the Beaufort closet, seal the door and set the air scrub to maximum. I want everyone to take a close look at any damage your suit you may have incurred from pika chewing before you put it away. Then I want each of us to do a full body vacuum procedure just as we’ve done in past drills. Get that vacuum wand into every armpit and toe gap. Don’t forget your hair. We will then instigate a full cabin detox with a complete atmospheric exchange. We want to do our best to remove any contaminated air and dust from the cave that is still clinging to us. When that is done, we will wear sterile gowns to further limit any potential risk. After that, we’ll have a quick debrief before you all can hit the rack.”

So that she could quickly begin attending to Fillip, Linsa was first in line to remove her space suit. She systematically began unzipping. “Oh my!” she exclaimed, “Look what I found in my cargo pocket!” She held up a fist-sized black mechanism. “What do you think this is? It’s not something I brought.”

Charlie hustled over. “I don’t think that’s something from the Earth base. Look, it’s got that same strange writing on it we saw on the pika lander down in the cave. You better isolate it in this clear container until we can evaluate it. Here, I’ll lock it in.”

This remarkable discovery further alarmed the crew. Even while they expeditiously set to work with housekeeping, each of them found a moment to sneak a closer peek at the mysterious contraption inside the transparent box.

The loud volume of the various vacuums and air exchange made conversation difficult but finally, air-scrubbed and suited up in paper surgical wear, crew members were able to collapse. Dax handed out soothing hot drinks and set out a large pizza. The crew compared notes on their experiences with the pikas as they pounced on it.

“Did anyone else get full-on holes chewed in your suits?” he asked.

“I had several small punctures in the legs of my pants,” remarked Linsa. “I actually think that I lost some air in a small leak. I felt a little short of energy as we made that last push to get in our craft.”

“Me too,” exclaimed Charlie. “I think the air loss made me a little light-headed. Good thing that tunnel wasn’t any longer.”

“Yeah, especially for General Takeda,” agreed Dax.

“Hey Layfield, good job getting us out of there. I’m impressed that you saw so quickly that things were not going well.” Dax turned to give Travis a high five.

“Thanks, man,” Travis was relieved to apparently finally be off Dax’s shit list. “Truce?” he asked.

”Yeah. While your earlier move trying to kidnap the pika for dinner was definitely not cool, it looks like, in the end, you saved our skin. ALL of our skins. I guess this just shows how important it is for all of us to be completely aware of our surroundings. But, next time we meet an alien, try to curb your hunger pangs.”

Dax continued, “Well, what do you say we get some shut-eye? Remember, this is really only a nap. We’ll be arriving right about midnight. Layfield, would you please check in with MariLuz after arrival? She’ll be needing relief.”

Within minutes, the crew was clambering into bunks and strapping into slumber belts so that they wouldn’t get tossed out of bed as they flew.

Dax was just horizontal when he started feeling a little odd in the stomach. Was there something wrong with that pizza? A few moments longer and he realized he needed to make a quick trip to the lavatory. Suddenly it seemed like the twenty seconds it took to unhook the seat belt was entirely too long.

Still hunched over the toilet unit and not feeling completely relieved, he was startled when someone else was knocking insistently upon the lavatory door.

“I gotta go, SOON!” urgently implored Linsa.

From further back in the cabin, they heard another voice, “You know, I’m feeling a little queasy myself.”

“Oh crap,” thought Dax, not without seeing the irony in his comment, it looks like they did get us all. He thought back to the timeline. He, Dax, had been the first to have close interactions with the pikas, followed by Fillip. At least Dax had been wearing the suit. Fillip had dealt with the suits, but without having protection himself. Linsa had grabbed that thing out of her pocket and here she was, next in line for the loo. I wonder what would have happened to us had we eaten the pika, thought Dax wryly. He also remembered with chagrin the moment when the pikas had all entwined themselves around his legs, leaving the yellow powder. Was that intentional? he wondered. Or are we just that allergic to them?

His guts were still complaining, but he took a moment to stop by the comm station to make a call to headquarters back at the base. They already knew to expect them, but he wanted to make sure that there would be an emergency medical team waiting there as well. Who knew how much worse this pika disease would become? Dax climbed back in bed but listened with increasing dread as each and every crew member ended up making numerous trips to the facilities during their five-hour flight. Dax hoped MariLuz would be able to continue piloting the craft all the way back. Fortunately, it seemed she was as yet unaffected.

The crew discovered as they off-loaded that they were being attended to by medics completely gowned in their own hyper-sterile suits. They must have also been directed to an emergency landing site, for they were taken directly into a medical unit and each put into isolation rooms. All were given IVs containing not only replenishment liquids and glucose but also general anti-bacterial as well as anti-viral agents.



By Week Two when no one was much better, medical personnel added an experimental immune system boosting agent.

Thanks largely to the immune boosting serum --or perhaps coincidentally-- by Week Three, the entire crew was out of bed and had gathered in a communal room for their first conversation in twenty-two days. They gathered their wheelchairs in a circle to trade notes.

“Those evil little creeps!” moaned Charlie. “Look what they did to us! I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to my Ranger fitness levels again.” He gingerly lifted a pajama leg and showed off his withered calf.

Fillip could only nod. His usually robust face looked skeletal.

Dax reached out to feel his bicep. ”I’m going to be really bummed if my basketball game has suffered. My arms are like toothpicks." He reflected upon what his future might look like.

Everyone privately observed General Takeda. Not only had she lost air in the large leak in her extravehicular suit, cave air had entirely replaced the oxygen for the entire duration of their thirty-nine-minute escape from the cave. She was still in a non-verbal condition. Such a shame, more than one thought. Such a shining career brought to an end.

“Strange,” said Linsa. “Is this what sacrificing your life for your country means? I guess, as a doctor, I always knew in the back of my mind that I might one day be exposed to a deadly unknown disease.”

“I know,” moaned Travis. I always knew, as a pilot, one day I might crash. To end up an invalid is not what I imagined for myself. I’ll never forgive those deadly little beasts. I hate them!”

“I guess this will go down in the history books,” mused Dax. “Interstellar interaction deemed too dangerous. Here we thought that just because they didn’t run us through with sharp horns or vicious teeth that they weren’t a risk.”

“And what have we gained, other than twenty-twenty hindsight?” Charlie lamented.

Fillip revived enough to offer, “In biology, like criminology, we have sort of a Locard’s principle. Any time two species interact, they each make an impression upon the other, especially with regard to microscopic sharing of pathogens. They breathe our air, we breathe theirs. We are completely unaware of what we are exchanging.”

“But we were wearing suits!” cried Linsa. “They were supposed to be airtight.”

By Week Four, most of the crew were able to walk, albeit slowly. Exercise equipment was added to their quarantine area. By Week Six, all except Takeda had achieved a PFR (personal fitness rating) of five, which was deemed sufficient for release to the outside world. Their serum was examined for titers of pathogenic material. Now, not only would they manage in the more challenging environment of daily life, people who were exposed to them were considered safe from contamination. It was a truly happy day. Even Takeda’s score had more than doubled, from .75 up to 1.9.

A transport bus arrived to relocate the crew to the general housing complex of the colony so that they could easily return to their old homes without fully suiting up. They were given replacement clothes and new phones. Amid the happy chatter as they rumbled over the open land on their way back, each checked their phones for missed calls.

“Hey, I’ve got thirty-five missed calls from an unknown number,” called out Charlie.

“Me too!” Dax showed the screen of his phone to the others, though of course they couldn’t read it across the bus.

“I win,” commented Linsa dourly. “I’ve got one hundred and forty-nine. What’s up with that?”

“OK, I’m checking,” commented Dax. He pushed the voicemail button for the most recent unheard message. “It’s the pika,” he said with some surprise. “How did he get my number? And he just said, ‘The end is near.’” Dax randomly scanned to read one of the messages in the middle of the queue. He played it so that all could hear. At first they only heard the distinctive, high-pitched voice. Then it became more clear.

“You have poisoned us!” the pika accused. “We are all so sick. Why have you done this to us? Please pick up my call. Why are you ignoring us?!”

Charlie then clicked on one of his messages. Again, they listened to a weak and angry pika accusing them of intentionally making them ill. He turned to Linsa, “OK, Linz, play one of yours.”

She went to her first message. Like the others, it was the expected high-pitched pika voice. But this one begged Linsa to come back. “You are so beautiful,” it gushed. “I think I love you.” The crew listened, transfixed, as nearly every message on Linsa’s phone expressed rapture at her beauty. The second half of the messages claimed they might die happy if only they could see her one more time before they succumbed to the illness that was eating away at them.

“Gad, I thought I wanted to kill them,” bemoaned Charlie. “Now I’m beginning to feel sorry for them. They suffered exactly the same fate we did.”

“Though did any of you fall in love with any pikas?” Layfield asked snarkily.

“We know they were desperately hungry,” added Linsa. “I wonder if they have enough medical care.”

“I thought I never  wanted to talk to them again,” announced Dax, “But I’m making a phone call.” He hit the call back button on his phone.

At the squeaky answer, he replied, “Hello, this is Mars Base I, Dax speaking. Is there anything we can do to help you out? Sorry we’ve been out of touch. We’ve been ill.

“I see. I think we can arrange to return tomorrow. We’ll meet you briefly at the mouth of your cave to drop off supplies. Remember, I said BRIEF.”

Dax looked at the other members of the crew. “This will be completely voluntary,” he said. It’s a medical relief mission. They’re worse off than we were. I figure we could bring them some food. Maybe that experimental immune boost would work for them. Who’s in?”

Some members nodded and a few shook their heads.

And Linsa’s phone began to ring.

And ring and ring.

*******
Cast of Characters
roughly in order of appearance

Corporal Charlie Lindersky, Ranger
Corporal Dax Obama, Ranger and geologist
Commander Ben Arnold, commanding officer of Mars Colony
Linsa Rosen, MD Ph.D, aka medic, girlfriend of Charlie
Kaia Greenacre, AFPPM  (Air frame and power plant mechanic, agronomist, girlfriend of Dax, deceased
General Irene Takeda, commander of PEV, CO, NAVSPEC, and RTN, (navigation specialist, and radio technician, N class)
Sonsie, Agronomy department
Devra, Honey bee expert
Larry Howard, Intelligence Officer, deceased
Captain Travis Layfield, PEV pilot
Fillip McPherson, animal husbandry specialist
MariLuz Corazon, mechanical tech, class VI, substitute pilot




Pikas,  (pronounced to rhyme with Leica or mica) rabbit-like aliens from the Alpha Centauri system, including:
Eno 2434A1B, hostage
Beno 672463A leader
Filo 6727122, presenter
Jano 6755B66
Giant ants, slaves of pikas

Comments

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

Loving this story

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm really enjoying doing it. Thanks for reading!

[rayaso.livejournal.com]

I don't see how you keep this going, with so many episodes. It must be difficult, but you have created such a fascinating world! I also like the pictures.

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Actually, having an on-going story makes it easier. I always know I have the option of going with something different, but continuing the Martian story feels like a lot of the planning is already taken care of. In my mind, eventually, they will all be on the stage, Star Wars style, with big music and awards for their bravado. But, as you read, we've opened a new chapter. Who knows WHAT may go wrong!!?

[rayaso.livejournal.com]

"Going wrong" is the fun part, isn't it?

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Indeed!

[d0gs.livejournal.com]

I love how you have kept this going each week and have loved reading it! I can see everything so clearly in my head and would 100% watch this as a tv show :D

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

As a TV show: that's a great way to visualize a story! Thanks for reading and commenting.

[murielle.livejournal.com]

Every now and then I recall the genesis of this series and I have to chuckle. "You've come a long way, baby!"

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Yes! I was a little amazed when I looked back to see the date this whole thing got underway. It was January 8, I believe. I'll have to ask Kris (emo_snal) for a new prompt in the future!

[ellison.livejournal.com]

Oh no, one bathroom and all those sick crew members?? What a nightmare! Then to find out the poor Pika are all sick too!! I'm glad these folks want to go help them. The messages of love from the Pika for Linsa were really funny. :D

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

You and flipflop_diva hit on the same problem that flitted through my mind: too many sick people and only one toilet. And they certainly can't run outside and go behind a bush! (Especially when flying back to base!) Maybe I better edit in another unit. ;)

[itsjustc.livejournal.com]

I love how you have kept this going each week and have really enjoyed reading it! I thought the pika were just been evil but they have obviously affected each other! I'm glad Dax has volunteered to go and help them.

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your supportive words. I actually feel enough sympathy for the series that I don't want to get knocked out of LJIdol simply because I want to continue the storyline!

[flipflop-diva.livejournal.com]

I loved this episode. Though omg everyone sharing one bathroom. That's the nightmare right there.

And I love the twist with the Pikas being affected too. That was great.

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

You and ellison hit on the same problem that flitted through my mind: too many sick people and only one toilet. And they certainly can't run outside and go behind a bush! (Especially when flying back to base!) Maybe I better edit in another unit. ;)

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

I liked the fact that the sicknesses weren't warfare-- they were something that both species either randomly contracted, or the result of inhospitable cross-contamination.

I think Linsa's alien stalker is in for a sad comeuppance at some point...

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Unless she can use it to her advantage...!

Thanks for checking in!