Specimen (Short Story)

specimen

(When the International Space Alliance [ISA] team up with NASA to discover an anomaly, humans start to become controlled by bio-implants. Is it the military controlling them? Or an alien species?)

The world had advanced a lot in the last hundred years. I remember being a young a child, talking with my grandmother. Her smiles and her voice still stay with me.
"Back in my day," she used to always say. "Your generation don't know how lucky you are."

I've been aboard the new International Space Station for about three months now. My job is classified, but I can say we were given a mission early this morning. I'm enjoying a rare bit of down time. There isn't a lot in here, but I get a cupboard for pictures and memorabilia. My fiancé, and our twins are always looking over me. I met Ella at university. The University of Astrophysics and Aeronautics Application. She is a technician for NASA. The children are three now, Kate and Jim. They love each other more than me and my brother ever did...
"Captain Morgans to the Bridge!" The intercom called, interrupting my thoughts. I pull myself up, not that it's difficult in low gravity. I make my way the bridge, down the narrow passages. I swear I'm becoming claustrophobic up here.

I appear on the bridge. Lieutenant Brown was the officer on deck before I arrived. He updated me on the situation.
"We've reached the location, sir." He said (obviously) a green swirl in the stars near Mars had appeared and been spotted by the hubble space telescope. "There has been no activity as of yet, and no interference as of yet."
"Have we made contact with Washington?"
"Yes sir. Orders are to investigate and retrieve a specimen if possible."
Of the four of us here, the specimen sample will be my job, most likely.

The ISS mark two, was placed near the anomaly, and I was ejected into space, into this unknown. My utility belt has my various tools, but it's designed for minerals and rocks, not this...
The green of the anomaly was not made of light. It was not gas, matter or anything you'd expect in space. They were hundreds of millions of green glow worms. I fill up my specimen pots, all six of them, and return to the station.

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There was a knock at the door. It was sounded like it was going to pound through. A young blonde lady answered the door. She was maybe mid twenties. Her eyes carried bags, presumably work stress, or the children being children.
Behind the door was a male and a female. Both muscled, but clean and smart. The woman wore a blue dress, blue hat and black tights and shoes. The guy wore all black aside for their medals. Both looked old and beyond their years.
"I'm First Sea Admiral, Johnson. This is my colleague, Second Admiral Allmand of The International Space Alliance." The old man said, his voice low and sincere. "May we come in, Miss Weston?"
Ella's heart sunk. "Certainly." she said, allowing them to pass into the hall, and keeping her voice steady.
Ella closed the door and leads the way into her kitchen, avoiding the messy living room cluttered with toys and clean washing. The soldiers took a seat at the table, and Ella made herself a Great British tea. She did offer one to these two, but they declined politely.
"Miss Weston, Lieutenant Morgans was killed upon returning to Earth this morning. I'm so sorry for your loss." The woman told her, her American accent was thick.
Those words made it real. Her barrier fell allowing her emotions to flood.

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Ella returned to work on Monday morning. She was ignored as much as any other day. But the whole department knew about some ISA mission that went wrong. The people involved were just a number to these people. But no one could hide the influx of biologists that NASA had brought in, nor the ISA operatives, consisting of the director, his management team and a group of scientists, including chemists and physicists.
"The ISS mark two needs some repairing. Can I have a team of volunteers to be briefed on the repairs." the section officer asked during the morning briefing. Ella had volunteered before she had even processed the movement.