Kraken Mare (8 page)

Chapter Eight

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.

-- Mike Murdock

Routine. It was the standard for any military personnel, it’s what helped drill the basics into any soldier or sailor. Routine is what kept a lot of us sane when we were off-world somewhere with nothing to do.

All branches of the military had a routine of some sort. Wake up, exercise, shower and shave, formation, then daily tasks until lunch…all were part of the routine. It kept the mindset of the soldier focused, even if it had been years since that individual had finished basic training.

Routine on the station was the same thing, though on a much different level.

The next few weeks were much of the same for me. Transport a prisoner down to Research, stand outside while he is poked and prodded, then escort him back up. It was mind-numbing, dull, repetitive, and did much to take my mind off of what had happened to me in the hallway.

What had happened to me in that hallway, exactly? The more I thought about it, the more firmly I become convinced that I had suffered from some sort of PTSD break. Nothing else made any sense to me. Ghosts aren’t real, science had proven that conclusively. Of course, that brought up another potential problem. If I actually was suffering from an episode, would that hamper my job performance?

I thought about talking with Gerry and explaining the situation but dismissed the idea as quickly as it had appeared. I was sure he was already concerned about my mental state. The last thing I needed to do was to give him a reason to get me off-station, and a crazy guard in a place where there was no escape was most definitely a Bad Thing.

I was still convinced that time and more punching bags would help me out more than a shrink armed with prescription pills and a strait jacket. I just needed to keep my head on straight. The best way to do that was to keep working, keep doing my job. Focus on something that would keep my mind off of the past. The doctors would have said I was avoiding the situation. I wouldn’t have said that they were wrong.

Besides, everything I’d ever heard or read about said that ghosts only haunted the locations where they died.

“Hey, Doctor Isaac!” I spotted the young scientist walking as I exited the chow hall. I had spoken to him in passing a few times down in Research but other than that I had little interaction with the kid.

He was the youngest scientist on the station by far and he seemed to be the most comfortable with interacting with us fellow human beings. I guessed his age to be in his mid-twenties, maybe. His haircut and styling made me think younger though. His body language and general attitude suggested a maturity that was hidden behind layers of carefully applied personal appearance masks. Still, he was easy for me to deal with, most of the time. Compared to the other scientists, at least. He still gave off the vibe of an extremely awkward college student once in a while.

“Oh, hi John,” he said as he turned and saw me. “How’re you doing?”

“Good, Doc,” I replied. “Where you headed?”

“To the Gallery, then on down to Research,” he said as I caught up to him. He carried multiple PDA’s in his hands. He saw my questioning look and grinned. “Doctor Marillac. She likes to keep each patient’s information on a separate PDA.”

“That’s weird,” I muttered. He chuckled.

“That’s nothing,” he said, “You should see how Doctor Furter dictates to his PDA. He looks like he either needs to use the bathroom or he’s dancing…”

“First a jump to the left…” I said in a sing-song tone. The young scientist shot me a confused look.

“I’d heard you were weird, but I just figured that was the guards giving the new guy a hard time.”

I inwardly sighed. Nobody respected the classics anymore. Tim Curry would have wept manly, transvestite tears.

“So what’s new down in the dungeon?” I changed the subject as we walked up to the Gallery. It was located on the floor above the mess hall, and a lot of the guards and scientists both took the stairs instead of the elevator. I found it a good way to help burn off that extra dessert I always seemed to stuff my hole with. I was blessed with a fantastic metabolism, but I didn’t see why I couldn’t help it out as often as I could.

“Dungeon? Oh, down in Research,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Mass transference.”

“Huh? What’s that mean, Doc?”

“Jelly,” he tried to explain, “and please, call me Isaac. The doc is Doctor Marillac.”

“Ah, like the Corps,” I grinned. “Last names make it easier.”

“What? No,” the scientist gave me a strange look, “Isaac’s my first name.”

“Why do they call you Doctor Isaac then? Wouldn’t it be Doctor…what’s your last name?”

“Szymaniewski,” he answered, “but since nobody seems to be able to pronounce it correctly, I’ve gone by Isaac since I was an undergrad student.”

“Chi—” I stopped myself and grinned, “yeah, I could see how that could be a problem. Isaac it is.”

“See? Easy.”

“So what did you mean, jelly?” I asked, bringing the topic back to what he had mentioned earlier.

“Jelly?” he asked, confused.

“Mass transference and jelly?” I reminded him.

“Oh, right!” he said. “I’m testing a theory about mass transference right now—well, when I get back down the Research, at least—and the best way to think about it is something pliable and filled with jelly. So I figured the cafeteria would have some jelly, but not tonight. So I need to work on my theory with artificial gel, like ballistic gelatin. I’m gonna check the armory tomorrow and see if I can borrow some to see if mass transference and modifications are possible in a controlled test.”

“Uh…” I was lost. Fortunately, he was one of the few scientists on the station who spoke mortal.

“Think of a baby teething ring,” he explained, “you know, the ones with the jelly inside?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Now take that ring and squeeze it,” he continued, “and the jelly leaves the part where you just squeezed. On the other side of the ring, more jelly has appeared. In layman terms, you just caused mass transference.”

“Uh…okay?” I was confused a bit. “All I did was move the jelly to one side.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t just get rid of the mass.” His brow furrowed. “I mean, it has to go somewhere.”

“Aha!” I exclaimed, pleased that I finally understood. “I transferred the jelly to the other side! Mass transference! Very clever, Doc.”

“Who said Marines were as dumb as a box of rocks?” he laughed. I scowled at him.

“Me use rock, crush puny big egghead,” I growled in mock-seriousness. In truth, that was one of the funnier things any of the scientists had managed to say since I’d arrived. The kid may not appreciate the classic movies, but at least he had some semblance of humor. The others seemed to have had any shred of humor beaten out of them.

We arrived in the Gallery and I spotted Gerry and Doctor Marillac talking near one of the larger plasteel windows which looked out into the lake. A few of the kraken were swimming just within range of the lit area outside the station, but surprisingly there weren’t any within the interior tubes at the moment. The ones outside were watching Gerry and the doctor, but I could see in their color schemes that they weren’t exactly happy about something.

“Doctor Marillac, ma’am,” Isaac bowed his head slightly in greeting. I waved awkwardly. There was no way I would bow my head to anyone, Pope included. Okay, maybe the Pope.

“Yes, Doctor Isaac?” the scientist’s tone was crisp and formal, precisely what I had grown to expect from her. It seemed that while she was in the presence of the other scientists she was in full boss mode.

“The PDA’s for this evening’s patients, ma’am,” he said and handed her the five tablets.

“Thank you, Doctor,” she said as she tucked them under her arm. She looked at Isaac, whose gaze was shifting back and forth between the doctor and Gerry. He slowly began to grin. She frowned. “Is that all?”

“Oh, yes ma’am, sorry ma’am,” Isaac babbled, chagrined. He dipped his head again and disappeared back the way we had arrived from, moving as fast as he could without actually running. I would have laughed at him but I felt a bit sorry for the kid.

“John, I’m going down to Research to continue our testing,” she said as she turned that steely gaze upon me. I swallowed nervously and nodded. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few things about your interactions with the kraken last week while I’m on my way. We’ve noticed a few things that I would like to confirm.”

“If it’s okay with the boss here.” I jerked a thumb towards Gerry, who shrugged.

“You do what you want on your time,” Gerry chuckled. “I'm on my way down to Research as well. Can I escort you?”

“You don't have to…” Doctor Marillac's voice trailed off. She shook her head and smiled serenely. A light being flicked on wasn’t nearly as abrupt.
That was bizarre,
I thought. “Actually, I would enjoy that.”

“Really?” Gerry asked, dumbfounded. I was a bit surprised myself. He had been trying to get the doctor to pay attention to him since she had agreed to their date once they were back on Earth and she had never given him any indication that she noticed him. I hid my sudden grin as best as I could.

“Sure, why not?” Doctor Marillac asked. “I enjoy your company.”

Well then. I had a sneaking suspicion that Gerry's chances of getting to know the good doctor in the biblical sense sooner rather than later had just increased drastically. I wasn't sure why the sudden change occurred, I was just happy that it did. Gerry was a great guy.

“So I heard you started doing prisoner transports,” Gerry said as the three of us made our way down to Research. I let them enter first before me and queued the elevator to go down. While I hadn’t really planned on going to Research initially, it was a better option than letting the doc poke and prod me with questions up in the Gallery.

“Yeah, last week,” I replied as the elevator dropped us deeper into the station. “Started with Captain Holomisa, then assisted a transfer from Research with Aviotti. Fairly routine.”

“It gets harder,” Gerry promised me. “Jou is a pain in the ass if he passively resists, and some of the others make you work for it. Just remember to not hesitate or seem unsure. They feed on that.”

“That’s what Thing One—I mean, Poole said,” I said, nodding. I paused and thought about it for a moment. “Wait. Is he Thing Two?”

Gerry chuckled. “Who knows?”

We were halfway down the hall to Research when the elevator dinged behind us. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted three guards escorting Gentry down to his next appointment. I frowned but continued onwards. I watched Gerry draw himself a little closer to Doctor Marillac, and this time she didn’t shy away. I smiled a little. Gerry was a patient and determined man. I applauded his efforts.

The main door to Research slid open. I stopped and waited as Brendan, Joseph and April moved Jou down the hallway. It was wide enough for all of us to pass without too much difficulty, even the next set of guards escorting another prisoner towards Research. I recognized Werner, one of our German guards, leading Gentry and two other guards down the hall in our direction. I looked back at Gerry.

“Never seen two of them out together before,” I stated. “Pretty interesting.”

Gerry had a look of confusion about him that made me mildly uncomfortable for a moment.

“We typically don’t,” he said, scratching his beard before shrugging. “The scientists must have run over with Jou.”

“It happens,” Doctor Marillac admitted as we watched Werner and his two guards walking Gentry down the hall. She shook her head a bit. “Though it doesn’t happen very often.”

I felt a definitive change in the atmosphere as Jou and Gentry drew closer. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, however. It did remind me of something I’d experienced in the past. My eyes slid over the guards and watched their movements, but their attitudes seemed to be fine. They appeared to be solely focused on their tasks.

Which left the prisoners. I stared at Jou, since he was far bigger than Gentry and would probably break the skinny prisoner in half by simply looking at him. The big man was sweating, which wasn’t too uncommon with him. Still, for a man in a climate-controlled hallway that wasn’t precisely warm, he was sweating quite a bit.

Maybe he’s been doing his passive-resistance thing today
, I idly wondered as my gaze shifted to Gentry. I nearly froze in my tracks.

Gentry was tensed and ready for action. It screamed
danger!
to me when I spotted the way he carried himself. It was like a puma on the prowl, preparing to attack, focused solely on his prey. His eyes were locked on to Jou. I took a step forward and began to open my mouth to warn the other guards almost as fast as I processed the sight in my mind. Unfortunately, I was too slow.

Gentry’s war-cry was feral and challenging, the piercing shriek digging into my skull. It was so sudden and sharp that Werner lost track of his prisoner for a split second. It was all Gentry needed.

He kicked back and down sharply, driving Werner away from him. A second sharp movement allowed him to maneuver the feet bindings around. Legs freer now, he elbowed Werner in the gut, the force of the impact knocking the air out of the man and driving him away. Gentry let loose another crazed howl and locked in on Jou.