3.
Five hours later, Calloway leaned against a bulkhead outside of the ship’s infirmary, waiting impatiently for Boronova and Martine to finish examining their mysterious guest. Penski walked up. She stopped when she noticed that Calloway still carried his pistol. Calloway caught her look, but ignored it. He doubled as the security chief for the mission and he wasn’t a trusting soul in this area.
“I don’t think you’ll need that,” Penski said. “If she hasn’t done anything by now, I doubt she’ll try anything. She doesn’t seem like a threat to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Calloway replied, causing Penski to give him a quizzical look, not sure who was the object of the remark. “Of course, according to regulations, I should be in the infirmary.”
“You really need to lighten up, Calloway,” Penski remarked. “We’re a little far from ISEA to be bothered by all these damn regulations. Who’s going to know?”
Calloway eyed his captain coolly. Fortunately, she was looking at the infirmary door and didn’t see his expression. Had she, she might have glimpsed the contempt behind his eyes. It was bad enough answering to a much younger person, but taking orders from one lacking what he considered to be “command presence” was harder to swallow.
“I wish I could ignore it, Captain,” Calloway lied, to avoid an argument. “But, this situation isn’t exactly one you’d find in the books. According to our records, Muryah Abernathy and her crew were lost ten years ago. I’m not a psychic, maybe she did survive on this planet for a decade. There are certainly enough sources of edible plant life, meat and water. But, look at her. Her uniform is almost immaculate, her face hasn’t aged a day and she looks like she just walked out of a professional hair salon. What the hell is up with that?”
The door to the infirmary slid open before Penski could continue the conversation. Martine stepped out and gave a long, solemn look at her commander. Calloway and Penski could read her face, but Martine stated the obvious anyway.
“She is Muryah Abernathy,” Martine confirmed. “Our equipment is practically light years ahead of what it was just ten years ago. It’s almost impossible to fool the advanced DNA/RNA/biometrics scan.”
Muryah and Boronova stepped out of the infirmary. Muryah still wore the same smile she’d sported since walking out of the forest hours earlier. It might have made the others feel at ease, but Calloway couldn’t stifle the shiver that ran up his spine.
“It’s getting a bit crowded in the hallway,” Penski noted. “Why don’t we all adjourn to the cafeteria?”
Once at the cafeteria, Muryah was given the center seat normally reserved for Penski. The captain took a seat across from her while Calloway stood by the door. The others took seats around the table.
“I know you’re all shocked by my appearance,” Muryah blurted out, breaking the uneasy silence. “To be honest, I don’t blame you. I was just as surprised to see you. The last three shuttles that landed seemed to be unmanned.”
“If I may, Captain,” Calloway said, mindful to show respect to his captain even as he turned to face Muryah. “Miss Abernathy, I’m guessing that, somehow, your crewmembers on the Tomahawk left the planet without you. Why was that?”
“I don’t know why,” Muryah replied, her voice losing some of its luster. “I will admit the mission had not been going well. I, for one, loved the planet. I wished we could have stayed longer. But, the rest of the crew became apprehensive. We started fighting a lot. No one wanted to follow regulations. They wanted to do their own thing.”
Penski listened intently. She could almost feel Calloway’s eyes burning into her back. That was ten years ago, she told herself. Training is a lot better now.
“I was in the forest taking more tests when the ship left the planet,” Muryah continued. “I couldn’t believe it. The captain had threatened to cut the mission short and take us back to Earth, but we really didn’t think he would leave anyone behind. I had no way of calling the ship. My radio couldn’t penetrate the atmosphere. But, I know they never made it back to Earth.”
“How could you know that?” Boronova asked. “Why wouldn’t you think the three unmanned missions you saw weren’t search and rescue missions?”
“I watched those missions and I only saw them collecting information,” Muryah replied. “They were not conducting any searches. They weren’t looking for me. If my crewmates made it to Earth, why didn’t they send someone back for me?”
“Be that as it may,” Calloway interjected. “You still could have approached any of those shuttles. In fact, it’s standard operating procedure in an emergency. So, why didn’t you do it?”
Muryah said nothing at first. In fact, she looked quite pensive, as if searching for the right words.
“Because I didn’t want to be rescued,” she blurted.
All eyes went wide at that remark. The crewmembers of the Humboldt looked at each other in astonishment. Penski had to raise her voice three times to bring order back to the proceedings.
Over her shoulder, Calloway’s hand edged towards his holster. Maybe there was a reason Muryah Abernathy did not want to be rescued - a potentially criminal reason. A reason that might, somehow, be connected to the final fate of the Tomahawk.
“What exactly do you mean by that?” Penski demanded. “Did you desert your ship?”
“No,” Muryah objected. “I already told you they left me behind. Why is that so hard to understand?”
“Och, of course, it’s simple to see,” Harrigan chimed in. “The highly-experienced captain of the Tomahawk up and left a crewmember for no apparent reason. That’s easy to understand, lassie.”
“Please, Harrigan,” Penski chided. “This is not the time for sarcasm. And that definitely means you, Calloway. Now, Muryah, why did you not want to be rescued?”
“Come on, Captain,” Muryah replied, her voice almost pleading. “Haven’t you felt it? Haven’t you felt the euphoria that this planet provides? I’ve been watching you and listening for the past few days – that’s how I found out your names. I’ve seen how Miss Martine reacts around the streams, how calm she seems, how happy she appears. I’ve seen how Mister Harrigan and Mister Lee react to the environment, how Mister Harrigan looks when he sees the magnificent mountains this planet has to offer.
“I hope I don’t get you into trouble, Mister Lee, but I saw how you reacted the other day when you got caught in the brief rainstorm. You stood out in the rain and let it wash over you. Even you, Captain Penski. I have seen you outside several times, sitting in the wonderful fields, smelling the flowers, listening to the wind. You know how invigorating it is. Who wouldn’t want to remain here instead of sleeping in suspended animation for almost a year, missing all the wonders the universe has to offer?”
Calloway started to reply since Muryah had conveniently left him out of her assessment, but stopped when he saw the faces of his colleagues. They actually seemed to be buying her spiel. If this don’t beat all, he said to himself.
Was this why the crew of the Tomahawk had departed 505-D without her, he thought. Had she corrupted the crew, made them shirk their duties to go out and play on this new world? He had already seen laxity creeping into his own crew’s work ethics and he certainly didn’t want someone like Muryah exacerbating the situation.
“And may I ask just how you survived so well?” Calloway inquired, accusingly. “You look pretty fit. Where did you live? What did you eat? Who gave you all this stuff?”
Muryah gave Calloway a long look. Then, she smiled and Calloway instantly thought of the Cheshire Cat. When she gave him a sly wink, he could only think she had something special planned for him and he was sure he wouldn’t like it.
“The planet provided for me, of course,” Muryah replied.
“The planet?” Lee piped up. “We’ve scanned this entire planet three times before we landed. We detected no civilization whatsoever. No roads. No houses. No industry. No technology, advanced or otherwise.”
“Like I said,” M
uryah replied, earnestly. “The planet provided for me. Haven’t you felt it? Haven’t you felt the planet speaking to you? The wind in the trees. The sound of the ocean surf. The babbling of the streams. This planet is in harmony with all of its life forms. It provides them with food, with shelter, with protection.
“When the Tomahawk departed without me, I thought I was doomed, but the planet helped me to survive. When I was thirsty, a voice in my head led me to the streams. When I was hungry, I somehow knew which plants to eat and which to avoid. When I needed shelter, I was led to a large cave filled with strange luminescent rocks that kept me warm and dry.”
“Like symbiosis?” Boronova asked, obviously intrigued.
“I’m not sure what you would call it, but I feel as if the planet and I are one,” Muryah answered. “Whatever I needed somehow appeared. Sharp flint-like rocks to trim my hair. Smooth polished stone to use as a mirror. Plant sap that totally cleaned and preserved my clothing and retarded wear and tear. Plants that gave me all the nutrition I needed to keep my skin smooth and my hair nice. Plants that kept me healthy, clean-smelling and even worked better than our hygienic deodorant injections.”
“I would love to have a look at those plants,’’ Boronova said. “I’ve always advocated an organic vegetarian lifestyle and this might be the evidence to prove it.”
“And I would love to see some of the ocean life,” Martine added. “You must be very familiar with it. I only know what I’ve been able to pick up on my instruments and from a few brief forays into the shallow parts.”
Muryah smiled at both of them. Harrigan mentioned that he wanted to know about the mountains, while Lee chimed in about the weather. Muryah seemed to have an answer for all of them. She even promised to give Penski a personal guided walking tour of the planet if the captain could spare the time.
Again, only Calloway wasn’t mentioned. He couldn’t help but feel he was the only one not in the secret that Muryah Abernathy was keeping.
“If you’ll excuse me for a moment, Miss Abernathy,” Penski said, getting to her feet. “Mr. Calloway, may I speak with you?”
Calloway followed her into the passageway.
“What do you think of her?” Penski asked.
“I think she’s going to give me diabetes in a minute.”
Penski smirked. Then, shaking her head, she walked back into the cafeteria. A confused Calloway trailed her.
“It’s a very interesting story, Muryah,” Penski stated, retaking her seat. “My crew and I have a lot to contemplate and think over. But, much as I would like to continue this fascinating conversation, we are behind schedule.
“I would like you all to continue with your pre-planned activities with one exception, however. I think I need to take Muryah up on her guided tour so I can get a full report for the mission report probe tonight. Mr. Calloway, I’d like you to stay aboard and monitor things while I’m gone.”
Calloway said nothing, but the look of disgust on his face said everything.
An hour later, the two modified ATV’s had departed the ship. Penski was still getting ready for her foot tour. Calloway had grabbed some snacks and beverages and sought refuge in his engineering station. From here, he could monitor everyone as thoroughly as if he had been on the bridge.
After putting his snacks aside, he dialed up his computer and brought up the file on the Tomahawk again. Something wasn’t right and it wasn’t just the obvious situation. How was it that the rest of the crew was so ready to accept such an outlandish tale as Muryah had spun?
“You don’t feel it, do you?”
Calloway nearly jumped out of his chair. Startled, he looked around and saw that Muryah had somehow entered the cubicle without making a sound. He had no idea how long she had been standing there, but he figured she must have seen him bring up the file on her ship and crew.
“And you don’t trust me either, right?”
Calloway sat back and pulled himself back up to his console. He hit a button and made the onscreen file disappear. He then turned to face his guest.
“Was it that obvious?” he answered, curtly. “And, no, I don’t feel it.”
“I don’t blame you, you know,” Muryah continued. “You’re an engineer and also in charge of security. I can see you’re a veteran and you don’t like someone like me disrupting your ship. But, you don’t have to see me as a disruption. Your crewmates can see that I am not a threat. They just want to see the wonders that I’ve seen. Surely, there’s nothing wrong with that?”
“There is if you have to ask,” Calloway retorted.
Without another word, Muryah lowered her eyes, turned and left the cubicle. Calloway caught her on one of his monitors leaving the ship with Captain Penski. As soon as they were gone, he brought the Tomahawk file back up. Then, as a precaution, he stationed a server robot by the cargo bay ramp to alert him of anyone approaching. Only then did he feel secure enough to begin perusing the file.
They Call the Wind Muryah Page 3
