Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price (33 page)

“How are things going in your search for Ming?  Is there any good news on that front?” he asked, shifting the conversation slightly.

“Actually, we may have a new lead.  Senator Yungman’s sister, the woman we rescued at Alamar-4, is beginning to recall events that may contain details pertinent to our search.  Wabussie’s FSO people are questioning her about it.  I don’t need to tell you what it would mean if we could find and kill Ming.”

“Yes, I agree.  Do me a favor, Tibby… and this is just between you and me… if you do find that Izurian mindat, make sure he’s dead and don’t try and bring him back to stand trial.”

“I’m in total agreement.  The best Ming is a dead Ming.  We certainly don’t need to create any circumstances where he could escape.  We at least know he’s dying, but that could mean anything…days, weeks, or even years before he finally expires.  But he knows or at least senses that his time is short and he wants to dominate the Federation before he dies.  I think that’s part of his ramped up activity.  Between the madness associated with the disease and his malevolent obsession with power, the awareness of his mortality may make him become even more desperate and dangerous as he intensifies these attacks.  I think his desire has now shifted from wanting to rule the Federation to simply wanting to defeat it.  He doesn’t care if he destroys all life in it, just so long as he wins.”

“Yes, I can see where that makes him extremely dangerous,” said Pheosa as he turned to lookout the huge glass window.  “But back to the main reason I asked you to meet with me… is there anything at all we can do to stop or prevent these biological attacks on our worlds?”

“I wish I could think of one,” I answered.  “Unfortunately, I don’t have any answers and neither do my teams.  I’ve consulted every expert on the topic, including the scientists who were present when Ming used biological warfare on Earth.”

If I had hoped that my meeting with Pheosa would be the worst part of my day, I would have been wrong.  I was barely back on the
GLOMAR ROSA
when the word came in that Commander Embrodie, who headed up the military bases on the Federation world, Sambal, had received a package he believed to be from his wife.  When he opened it, a pressurized gas cylinder was activated, which released an agent into the atmosphere.  Within a short period of time, he and any others in the immediate area had become ill, and though they were still alive, they were in rapid decline with what we were now calling
Ming’s Disease
.  The only good news was that the pathogen had been contained to the base.  Upon realizing what had happened, Commander Embrodie had the forethought to quarantine the base within seconds.  Orders were issued immediately for all personnel to don HAZMAT suits and anyone showing the first signs of illness were sent to a second doubly-quarantined area within the base.  Because of his quick actions, only twenty-six people had thus far been identified as having contracted the illness.  The problem now was what to do next.  We had no idea how long the pathogen could survive outside a host and we knew that chemical sterilization techniques were ineffective.  We weren’t sure about other methods, like strong ultraviolet light or other radiation methods, as we hadn’t been in a position to test those methods thus far.  Until we found a way, those people in HAZMAT suits were trapped in them.  I decided that it was time to take Wabussie’s suggestion and call in A’Lappe and Cantolla about the problem.

Since A’Lappe didn’t like to leave the
NEW ORLEANS,
I decided to meet with him and Cantolla on the ship.  I had made arrangements with them in advance; nevertheless, Cantolla wasn’t there when I arrived and A’Lappe was busy with Rory when I arrived.

“Ah, Tibby, I didn’t realize it was that time already,” he said when I walked in.

“I understand.  Time flies when your busy, A’Lappe,” I replied.  “Has Cantolla arrived?”

“I haven’t seen her,” he replied.  “What’s this all about?  When you called to set up the meeting it sounded somewhat urgent.”

“It is,” I said.  “But I’d like to wait until Cantolla arrives before we begin discussing it.”

“Did I hear someone mention my name?” said Cantolla as she entered the lab.

“Indeed you did,” I said, “If you and A’Lappe will join me in the conference room, we’ll get started right away.”

“Will you need me too?” Rory asked.

“No, I don’t think so, Rory.  This has to do with germs and I don’t think you like to talk about germs much.”

“No, germs are yucky.  I like other things like reverse magnetic force fields and spaceship engines,” said Rory.  “I’ll just stay here and work on this.”

Once inside the conference room and before I said anything, Cantolla spoke up.  “So this is about the biological weapon the Brotherhood is using.  I had a hunch it might be.”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is.  It spreads quickly, it’s airborne, and it’s so far fatal in every case within thirty-two hours.  It’s capable of living outside a host for several days and it changes its form.  The two life phases have different symptoms and it is equally contagious in either phase.  I’ve brought along a vid chip with the information and images we’ve been able to capture thus far.”

“Any chance of getting hold of a specimen?” A’Lappe asked.

“No.  Even if there were a safe way to obtain a specimen, the risks would outweigh any gain we would make in the lab.  It’s significant to note that Nibarians living or working on the contaminated worlds appear to be unaffected by the pathogen.  Our biggest problem at the moment is finding a way to protect the millions of people who are so far not infected, but they’re trapped on these quarantined worlds.  How can we safely rescue them before they contract the disease?  We also have a new incident today involving thousands of troops in a quarantined base on Sambal that are essentially trapped in HAZMAT suits, but we can’t help them, because so far we haven’t found a decontamination method that will disinfect their suits.  As soon as the seals on their suits are broken, they will become infected.  At the moment, they’re confined to those suits.  They can’t come out to eat or even relieve themselves for fear of infection.”

“It might help if we knew the origin of the disease,” A’Lappe said.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there.  It was most likely something cooked up in a lab by Ming’s scientists.  I wouldn’t doubt it if his people created a vaccine or cure for it at the same time.  Right now, we’re calling it Ming’s Disease.”

“Have you tried putting any of those infected into stasis?” asked Cantolla.

“Hm, not that I am aware of, but I don’t know how useful that would be.  There can’t be that many stasis units on a planet, certainly not enough to sustain entire populations.

“Why don't we ask a team of Nibarian scientists to go to one of these worlds to conduct a thorough study of what’s happening, since they’re immune to this plague?” Cantolla said.

“Yes, but then what do we do when they are ready to leave?” asked A’Lappe.  “We can’t expect them to stay there indefinitely on a quarantined planet.”

“We’ll just need to rely on the Nibarians who are already there.  If there aren’t any trained Nibarians among the science teams, we can guide the most skilled individuals we can find as they conduct additional tests and collect any supporting data we may need.  It’s not the perfect arrangement, but it should work,” Cantolla said.

“What about the androids?” asked A’Lappe.  “The pathogen wouldn’t have any impact on them.”

“True,” I said, “But the androids aren’t part of the Federation.  They came to our aid at Glomar Rosa, but only because they felt they owed me a debt and now that debt has been paid.  They have no real incentive to help us this time.”

“Maybe there is something we could offer them for their assistance,” A’Lappe said.

“Possibly.  Let me think about it.  In the meantime, I need the two of you to focus on this problem.  I would suggest you speak with Doctor Danjuma about it and check the Earth data cubes for historical information.  Ming used germ warfare on Earth and he may be using similar techniques and strategies again.  If we can learn what he did in the past, it may give us clues as to what he will do next.  Ultimately, we need to figure out the origin of this pathogen, whether it’s naturally occurring or engineered, and if it is naturally occurring, we need a vaccine or a cure… or both.  Maybe you can engineer an airborne nano-biotic that will kill the damned thing.”

“It might be tricky, if it’s morphing into a different form someplace in its life cycle,” said Cantolla.  “It certainly will be a challenge.”

“I agree,” A’Lappe said.  We'd probably need to design a pair of nano-biotics and combine them in a single treatment.”

“Or maybe we’d only need to treat it in its second form since that’s the form where it’s fatal,” proposed Cantolla.

“I don’t think that would work.  Remnants of its first form may continue reproducing and the victim may simply never get well.  We still don’t know what phase the pathogen is in when it reproduces.  As far as we know, it may be able to reproduce in both forms,” replied A’Lappe.

“True.  We’ll just have to wait until we perform the tests,” Cantolla answered.  “Tibby, we’ll get right on it.  I’ll put my top people on it and get them in touch with Doctor Danjuma’s team as soon as we speak with her.”

“Great, I’m counting on the two of you to come up with something,” I answered.

Instead of going straight back to the
GLOMAR ROSA
after I finished my meeting with A’Lappe and Cantolla, I went to my study on the
NEW ORLEANS
and contacted Verona, the Control Room Communications Officer, and had her place a call to Chief Banker Arjuk Norcar on Weccies.  A few minutes later she notified me he was on the line.

“Chief Banker Norcar, I’m glad you could take my call,” I said when his image appeared on the vid.

“Admiral, it's always a pleasure to speak with you.  I trust this call isn’t prompted by some crisis or danger…?”

“No, sir, nothing like that.  I think it’s time I pay a visit for a wealth management review and put together a will to ensure the financial security of my family, in the event something should happen to me.”

“I see.  You have something in place now, though, do you not?”

“Uh, I’m afraid not.  I suppose I could deliver all kinds of excellent excuses, Chief Banker, but in the end, I just never gave it much thought until recently.”

“Hm.  Not good.  Not good at all,” said Norcar as manipulated his database and frowned at the results.  “Were you to die now without a will in place, First Citizen Kalana would be awarded only twenty percent of your estate holdings and your twins would each receive only ten percent.  The other sixty percent of your worth would be awarded to the Federation.  You definitely need to create a will immediately.  I can make arrangements for you to meet with our top estate attorneys whenever you wish.”

“Can you make it tomorrow?” I asked.

Norcar’s expression became rather startled.  “Is there some reason for the haste, First Citizen?  Do you think you’re going to die soon?”

“No, but with the way this war has been escalating the last few months, I’m not feeling as secure as I once did,” I answered truthfully.

“I see. Well, I can understand that.  We’ve been monitoring your situation in the Federation and we’ve heard that the Brotherhood is now using biological warfare.  Nasty stuff that.  It has caused us to tighten up our own security and anyone coming or going to the planet surface must undergo a two-day quarantine in one of our space stations before coming to the surface.  Is it true that so far there have been no survivors of this disease?”

“Only the Nibarians.  They seem to be entirely immune to the pathogen.  I have the Federation’s top scientists researching potential cures as we speak.”

“Good.  Very good.  Well I wish you luck with that messy business.”  Norcar leaned into the vid screen and tapped the fingertips of his hands together as he changed the subject.  “So how is that young swordswoman in your crew doing?  I’ve not seen or heard anything about her for a few years now.”

I had to keep myself from laughing at Norcar’s obvious infatuation with Jenira.  He had become fascinated with her long before he met her, when word of her swordsmanship had begun to spread through the main channels of the galaxy as if she were a living legend.  Then, after our visit to Weccies before the Tottalax attacked the planet, Norcar became thoroughly smitten to the point of practically worshipping her.

“She’s doing fine,” I replied.  “She spends a lot of time working with the children of the
NEW ORLEANS
crew as well as the orphans who live at the estate.”

“What of that young man who headed your security, Pada… something or other?”

“Padaran.  He’s now a Captain in the Federation military.  He’s taken over Captain Slater’s place training the entire Federation’s ground assault troopers.”

“He seemed like a bright young man.  Do give them both my regards.  I’ll have someone get back in touch with you about meeting with the attorneys tomorrow.”

“Excellent.  Thank you.  Oh, are you using the estate on Epsirt much these days?” I asked.

Norcar’s face eased into a huge smile.  “We were just there two weeks ago and had a lovely time.  I actually make use of it often.”

I had bought and paid for the estate many years earlier using Norcar as a means of getting on the planet to investigate some Brotherhood activity that had come to the Federation’s attention.  Epsirt was a non-aligned world that remained closed to outsiders.  The estate was owned by Rinncal Haf-joab, a Brotherhood sympathizer who had been imprisoned by the Federation for aiding the enemy.  He had no love for me, so we needed someone from a neutral world to buy his estate.  Norcar agreed to present himself as the buyer and I gave him the property in exchange for being able to use the estate to find the Brotherhood training facility for the terrorist group known as the Reduviids.  I was glad to learn that he had continued to enjoy the property with his family as a vacation home over the years.