Transient Signal

Chapter Five: Contact. Wait Out

CCSV Scholar

Uncharted space beyond Confederation of Sovereign Planets' space

        Everyone collectively held their breath. The five heartbeats that were between 1-1 Bravo's initial COMs message and the follow up message seemed to last forever. Jack had yet to meet anyone, from lowest Private to the highest rank General of the Confederation Armed Forces, who did not feel their stomach drop when they heard the three magic words, "Contact. Wait Out."

        Finally, Sergeant Zed came back onto the COMs. "1-1, this is 1-1 Bravo. Contact confirmed to be figures three crew members of the Scholar. They are unharmed. I say again, they are unharmed. A bit shaken though. Please advise, over."

        Captain Miller took a minute to think. He then activated his COM. "1-1 Bravo, this is 1-1. Confirm your location, over."

        "1-1 Bravo. We are in Medical, just finishing securing the area, over."

        "1-1. 1-1 Bravo, if you can spare it, send the survivors to the bridge with figure one or figures two escorts, over."

        "1-1 Bravo, roger. Sending survivors to the bridge with figure one escort, out."

        "Captain, I'll go meet them," said Jack. As 2 I-C, it was his responsibility to deal with any casualties, both within the platoon and any civilians they fouond aboard the Scholar.

        "Rog'," replied Miller approvingly.

        Jack stepped out of the bridge and started walking down the corridor between the bridge and Medical. Soon enough, he say a SCU trooper walking up the corridor with three civilians with them: two females and a male.

        "Who is that?" Jack asked. He knew most of the members of the platoon, however this trooper did not have their Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) active, so their rank and name did not appear on Jack's Heads-Up Display (HUD).

        "Corporal Tasker, Sergeant," replied a female voice. Not in anyway surprising; the SCU was open to all genders, as long as you could pass the selection process. If Jack remembered right, about twenty percent of the platoon identified as female.

        "Alright Tasker, I'll take them here," said Jack as the four of them got close. "By the way, you had better turn on your IFF tracker."

        "Oh shit," said Tasker, panic creeping into her voice.

        "It's alright. Just switch it on through your wrist," Jack coached. "First time out?"

        "Yes Sergeant," answered Tasker, a very uncertain laugh followed.

        "Okay just remember to breath, sort it out, and then you can go back to your section," said Jack. He remembered the first mission he had with the SCU; he had been extremely nervous and had jumped the first time he was told to get on the dropship. "It happens to the best of us. You good?"

        "Uh, yes. Yes Sergeant," announced Tasker. Her IFF was now active. CPL. TASKER, JORDAN S. appeared on Jack's HUD.

        "Alright, you can head back now," he ordered.

        "Yes Sergeant." She then started jogging back down the corridor. Once she was on her way, Jack turned his attention to the three civilians.

        "Sergeant Wells, SCU, 1-1 platoon, 2 I-C," he declared. The three of them looked at him with widen eyes, clearly not understanding half of what he said. He smirked a bit under his helmet. "And you are?"

        "Oh, um. Doctor Rosa Delacruz," said the first female. She was a head taller than the other female, and about equal height with the male. Her voice was shaky.

        "Chief Engineer Jeffery Tabber," said the male. His voice  was also shaky and he was constantly wringing his hands to the point where Jack could see red marks on his dark coloured skin.

        "Hitomi Nishi," said the second female. "Lead Medical Technician." Her voice was steely, and Jack had no doubt that it was probably Hitomi who had kept this group together through whatever had happened here.

        "Okay, if you'd please come with me," he indicated for them to follow him. Jack walked them back to the bridge. Captain Miller had been looking at something with Sergeant Willis and turned around once Jack entered the bridge.

        "Doctor Delacruz, Chief Engineer Tabber, Lead Medical Technician Nishi, this is Captain Miller," Jack announced.

        "Jeb Miller, nice to find you all safe," said Miller, taking the time to shake each survivors' hands. "I'm in charge of this platoon. Sergeant Jack Wells here is the second in command. Now, we've been locked out of the ship's main systems so do you think you could piece together what happened here for us?"

        "We were...we were...oh god," Doctor Delacruz started crying uncontrollably and covered her face with both of her hands. Tabber started stammering away about coral or something like that. Nishi rubbed Delacruz's back with her one hand and gently pulled her over to one of the bridge's chair where she sat Delacruz down.

        As she walked over to Tabber, she spoke. "We were a sent out here by the Confederation. A top secret survey mission into uncharted space." She gently took hold of Tabber and sat him down as well.

        "What was the nature of this survey?" asked Miller.

        "As I said, it was top secret," stated Nishi. "They never told us why we were doing it. Only the command crew knew."

        "Very well, what did you survey?" continued Miller.

        "We found a small terrestrial planetoid, no bigger than the Earth's moon," answered Nishi. "Survey team went down. They confirmed that the planet was ideal for whatever it was we were sent to find. And then they came back."

        Jack looked at her. She had maintained near perfect eye contact with the Captain until that last part. She was hiding something.

        "Ms. Nishi, what else happened?" Jack asked.

        "Nothing," replied Nishi. However, Captain Miller had also picked up on the body language she was using and piped in.

        "Ms. Nishi, how many people were on board this ship?" he asked innocently.

        "Fifty lab technicians, sixty mechanical technicians and engineers, plus twenty command staff," NIshi said.

        "So 130 people just vanished without a trace, and a science vessel of this size goes dark and these two people are traumatized beyond words because of nothing?" pressed Jack. "That is the biggest load of shit I have ever heard. What. Happened. Down. There?"

        Jack was now stand over NIshi, bringing all six feet, two inches to bear and releasing the upper part of his helmet so she could see his eyes. She looked him dead in the eye, defiance burning in hers. After a minute or two, the fire died and she looked away.

        "The survey team found fossils of primitive life down there," NIshi revealed. "Several types of herd animals. All the plant life had long since died, however there was what appeared to be fossilized coral, still intact. They took a sample and brought it back on board. We were leaving the system when...well, when..."

          She trailed off after that into silence. "When...what?" said Miller. "What happened?"

        Before Nishi could say a word, the COM came to life again. It was Sergeant Sen.

        "1-1, this is 1-1 Charlie. Contact! We have hostile contact in the engine room! Oh god...AAHHHHHHH...ggggaaaacckkk...aaacckkkk...."

        The transmission faded out into static. Miller grabbed Nishi by her shoulders. "Ms. Nishi, what happened?!"

        Nishi looked at Miller. "The coral...it...it came alive and started killing everyone!"