Virus-72 Hours to Live (18 page)

"Thanks, Sally, Oasis out."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dr. Ophelia Peterborough sat in her habitat
watching the red sun descend into the soil of Mars. She had been on
station for 3 years and 4 months. When she signed up for Mars, she
knew it was likely a one-way trip; the first 20 years of the Mars
colony were just that. The technologies prevented any practical
method for rescue, but recent improvement in rocket engines and
nuclear power made return trips to Earth possible. Return trips
were difficult, not very comfortable and not very profitable for
the space consortium.

The original Mars colony started almost 25
years ago and for a long time it was a one-way trip. The men and
women who volunteered for the mission were real frontiersmen and
adventurers. The colony grew slowly, waiting to build the
facilities and for the food and water sources to be developed.
Later as spaceship propulsion progressed, convertible supply ships
were developed. They would bring a few new personnel then the life
support modules could be removed and replaced with storage modules
for an unmanned return trip to Oasis for another load of supplies.
Once the supply ships were serviced and loaded, they could be used
for another trip back to the colony. Over time, the fleet increased
to six ships. One of the ships was usually on the 40-day trip to
the planet and the other two or three spaced out in a 5-6 month
trip back to Oasis. It was a high priority and worth the expense to
get needed items to the colony to keep the production rates up, so
the most expensive engines were used. However, the return was a
lower priority, and it was cheaper to let the loaded ships take
their time traveling back to Oasis so they used the older
technology fueled engines. After all the valuable material coming
back would arrive in due time, and spending the money to get the
materials faster didn't make sense; it wouldn't increase the
production rate. There were two other supply ships in orbit being
built by SMU's, which wouldn't be in service for another month.

Even though the transit time had been
reduced to 40 days, the supply ships were at best a semi-annual
event. They are generally launched early in the 6-month window, and
late in the window resulting in two ships per year.

The Mars supply ships were ugly. There was
no other way to describe them but ugly. They looked like a
weightlifter's dumbbell with a nose and tail. The nose was where
the pilot on duty stayed and worked during their awake time. The
first bulge in the fuselage was the crew deep sleep module where
the crew traveled in a state of therapeutic hypothermia or deep
sleep. In a sleep state, their body temperature was reduced by 6
degrees and they could sleep for up to 3 weeks at a time. The bulge
in the supply ship was a rotating disk, which could accommodate up
to four crewmembers in a 3-week sleep. The disk would rotate at 10
RPM to give them an approximate 1 G environment. Electrical pulses
to maintain muscle tone continuously stimulated their muscles. When
they woke up, they were in good shape considering the amount of
time they had been asleep. The second bulge in the ship was the
stored supplies module. The shape allowed the odd sized items to be
shipped then used with a minimum set-up time and because the design
was modular, multiple configurations could be achieved. At the rear
of the ship, a nuclear reactor and VISMR engine was placed on a
long extension.

Sunrise on Mars was different than Earth.
The sun would rise with a blue disk around it due to the chemicals
in the atmosphere. The atmosphere was thinner and once the sun had
risen the colors were all from the red part of the light spectrum.
Instead of the gradual changes in shading an Earth sunrise
provided, Mars' sunrise was more of an event. In a relatively short
time, it went from dark to light shades of red to a subtle glow of
red in every direction.

The Mars colony was located in the Terra
Sirenum region in the southern hemisphere of Mars. The location was
where an ancient lake existed approximately four and half billion
years ago. The lake was at least 200 feet deep and it left a large
amount of permafrost 1-3 meters beneath the surface.

Ophelia and her husband Isaac never
hesitated when the Mars Colony program told them, that they had
been accepted. They had both been successful in their careers.
Ophelia was a professor of mechanical engineering with an emphasis
on space structures and Isaac was a professor of chemical
engineering. Their lives were going great until the fateful day
when their two children were killed in a tragic hit and run vehicle
accident. They were walking home from school and a drunk driver
swerved off the road and hit them. The driver had circumvented the
auto driving features on his vehicle because he was too cheap to
pay for repairs. He had found an 'under the counter' set of
directions to disable the controls.

The pain of the loss was devastating and it
forced them to look at the remainder of their lives from a
different perspective. The loss of their children made a huge hole
in their lives. The opportunity to travel to Mars and become true
adventurers was a chance to avoid that hole, so they jumped on
it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Oasis, Desert Beach; Red Dirt. We're sorry
to hear that things are getting worse. We're sorry to hear about
Bernard. None of us knew him, but I'm sure he will be missed. We
wish we could help and I know all of us are afraid of where this is
leading. We'll be in touch and our prayers are for all of us. Red
Dirt out."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The crime scene in Washington was in
turmoil. On any given day, the leaders and followers were changing.
Some were trying to get gangs organized so they could break into
stores and steal the merchandise, then break into another; thinking
they were following some kind of plan. Soon that leader would die
and someone else would take over and try to organize the violence
to benefit them. They all acted like stealing more, having more
electronics, having more jewelry somehow made them successful.

Dmitry knew the power was the real prize.
Stuff wasn't as important as power. He knew he was destined to lead
all of them and his friend Artur was eager to encourage him. He
never gave the virus a second thought; he was convinced it was
there to benefit him. After all, it didn't make any sense to him
then to benefit Dmitry.

They knew the gang structure and they sat
back and waited for the largest gang to be in turmoil. The word on
the street surfaced that the largest, which had activities across
the DC area, was in turmoil. Their leader hadn't been seen on the
streets since last night. Dmitry knew he had to move fast so he and
Artur drove to their hideout and walked in as if they owned the
place. Two of the members were fighting over who was in charge,
Dmitry's reputation was well known and they knew enough about him
to let him enter without questioning him. Without any emotion on
his face, he walked up to the two who were fighting for control and
shot them in the stomach with his wire gun. He was starting to
enjoy the wire gun, it didn't make much noise and it inflicted
maximum damage. The best part was the damage usually didn't cause
immediate death. The hole was substantial, but the effects were
longer lasting and always fatal. As they were on the floor writhing
in pain, Dmitry announced to the rest of the gang, "You work for
me. This is my friend, Artur and you will take orders from him. Any
questions?" Surprisingly there weren't and Dmitry found that
amusing.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Joan was sitting in her quarters looking at
the Earth as it passed by beneath her. The view window was fully
open and the room was quiet. Her husband Tom was sitting next to
her. They knew the implications of what was happening. Tom reached
out and touched her hand and she responded by squeezing his.

Joan had talked with each of the Oasis
crewmembers and the news wasn't very good. Out of the 24
crewmembers currently on board, 16 were showing signs of the virus.
Over the last couple of hours, Joan had made the hardest decisions
of her life. She decided that any crew member who showed signs of
the virus had to be moved into isolation. Section 12, which was
where the OS210 crew had been isolated, had grown through 11 other
sections. The ill now had most of the space station dedicated to
them. The two personnel on Oasis, who were med-techs had become ill
and naturally, they moved into the quarantined section to help
Doctor Chevesky.

The remaining crew spent most of their time
maintaining the station. What supplies the sick needed were placed
in section 7 then the airlock between stations was closed and they
could open it from the other side and retrieve their supplies. It
wasn't an ideal solution but because of the close quarters onboard,
it was the only solution they could provide.

Since OS210 landed, five of the eight
crewmembers had succumbed to the virus. Their deaths were hard on
the entire crew, not just because of their loss but also the larger
implications their deaths implied for Oasis and the world. The
losses were staggering and the fear of the future was affecting
everyone.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The remainder of the 5th fleet was at least
stable. Task Force 50 was able to defend itself and it had the
difficult issue to dispose of the remains of the lost seamen.

There was no way to make the process easy,
fast or without stopping fleet operations. The only acceptable
method was too slow the entire task force 50 to a speed slow enough
to remain maneuverable and keep the ships in a safe formation. A
couple of burial details of volunteers wearing full hazmat gear
went to each ship and wrapped each of the fallen crewmembers in
shrouds and burying them at sea. The job wasn't pleasant and took a
toll on those men and women having to conduct the ceremony. But it
had to be done.

When the grizzly task was complete Admiral
Monson spoke to each of the ships within the task force. "Men and
women of the 5th fleet. This is the hardest speech I have ever
made. Something horrible has happened and there is no way to put it
in perspective. We have lost thousands of our fellow seamen and we
don't know why. A suspicious virus erupted across the Earth and
took millions if not billions of people."

"Some may feel this was a punishment. Others
may feel it is a challenge. I feel it was a waste of young men and
women in their prime. I feel the loss of every one of our
shipmates."

"I know each of you have loved ones that are
on shore and you don't know what has happened to them.
Unfortunately, we've had very little contact with the command
structure so we don't know what is happening in Manama and back in
the states. I'm afraid we have to prepare ourselves for bad news,
although we can hope for the best."

"As we say goodbye to our comrades we must
keep our loved ones in mind and focus on our mission. After all, we
are here protecting those who we have left behind. We suspect that
the enemy forces are dealing with the same virus that has hit us.
They may be as weakened as we are, but their objectives may be a
direct threat to others and us. Because of that, we're staying on
mission as long as necessary. For the near term, we have a job to
do before we can return to port. We have an aggressive naval force
operating in this vicinity and we must maintain our mission as long
as possible."

"May God help us and those we have left
behind."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When there was an indication the president
was moving to Camp David, Louis Rodriquez, who was the chief of the
White House Secret Service detail, acted quickly. He called one of
his team leads, "Michael, we may be heading to the camp on short
notice make sure everything is lined up and we can go anytime."

"Will, do."

Michael Dereaux had been on the White House
detail since the president took office. He had a distinguished
career in the navy seals before leaving the service and joining the
FBI. After 10 years of breaking some of the largest cases, he was
approached by the secret service and offered a new job. He was
excited to try something different so he jumped ship and performed
above average in the Secret Service regional office in DC. He was
assigned to the security detail of the presidential candidate
Arnold Patterson. He did a good job for the president and when he
was elected, it was only natural for the new president to ask
Michael to lead his personal team.

Michael called and coordinated his other
team members within the duty roster for the day and prepared them
for a quick movement to the camp. He called the commander of the
Navy Installation called Camp David.

"Colonel, Dodd, this is Michael. Just to let
you know POTUS and VEEP might be moving quickly to the camp, what's
your status?"

Colonel Beverly Dodd was a twenty-five year
veteran of the marines and the commander of the US Navy base known
as Camp David. She had 100 Navy and Marine personnel who provided
the full-time camp security.

"Sir, we're holding on. Almost half of the
unit is down with the virus. They've been isolated and we're hoping
we've contained the spread. We had a club meet going on at the
skeet range, but we cleared them out, as the virus became an issue.
If POTUS does come, bring all of the service people you can, I'm
concerned about having enough support here. I'll call the barracks
in Thurmont and see if any of them can rotate up here."

"I understand Colonel, but if he decides to
go, we've got to do the best we can."

"Yes, sir, we'll figure it out. Let me know
when he pulls the plug."

"Will do."

Colonel Dodd sat for a minute and thought
about what needed to be done. She was working under very unusual
circumstances. The virus decimated many of her soldiers and she
wasn't sure if or when the virus might subside. Her job would have
been a lot easier if she had more of the new mobile units to help.
Camp David had gone from the previous version to a new model, which
was dedicated to high-level government service. In the past, their
units weren't controlled locally, but everyone in government was
concerned. Each group needed more local control to reduce any
risks. Government people were always weary to allow another
department to control items in their area. Who knows, maybe the
'other' political party might direct the mobile units to spy on
them. Although everyone knew, given the chance they would use the
mobile units to spy on the other party. Accepting reality, everyone
agreed, all mobile units in use by the government would be locally
managed. True it took more people and was less efficient, but it
was the government. She would have to assign the units she had to
perform the simpler guard duty and to monitor the periphery.