Her face scarlet, Maya stormed out of the room.
The Command Centre personnel watched her go. They were staggered. They had seen nothing like it on the Moon Base before.
‘She was only doing her job,’ Verdeschi protested hotly to the creature he assumed to be his Commander.
‘And my job is to protect the safety of this base... my responsibility and mine alone, and none of us is going to survive without discipline. Remember that – all of you.’
Rigid with suppressed violence, he levered himself out of his chair and strode out of the Centre – before anyone else could reply to him.
The Centre went deathly quiet. The Alphans were suffering from the cold. The destruction of the Moon Base and the death of everyone in it was imminent. Now, John Koenig, the one man they relied on absolutely, appeared to be affected by some kind of madness. After the anger had died down, they grew confused. They didn’t know whether to believe the hoax or not.
Verdeschi, goaded to insensibility, left his post and stalked out of the room after the Commander.
Helena looked mortified. She took hold of Carter’s arm and took him to one side, out of earshot of the others. ‘What happened on that asteroid, Alan?’ she asked.
Carter shook his head. Neither he nor Helena felt annoyed. They felt only concern – both for Koenig and for the Base. Briefly, the Pilot told her all he had been able to learn.
‘Could something... have invaded him... a virus, a life-form that’s taken him over...?’ she asked anxiously after he had finished.
He shook his head. ‘You’re the doctor of medicine and strange diseases, not me...’ He looked thoughtful. ‘One thing I don’t understand, though. That malfunction in the stabilizers. It cleared up as quickly as it came. I didn’t correct it... nobody did.’
‘Then...’ But there was no need for her to state what they were thinking. Something had happened to Koenig in the cave, of that they were one hundred per cent certain. They felt even more strongly now that whatever it was that had happened was beyond the Commander’s control. Helena’s pang of grief was tempered by the cruel uncertainty that the creature she assumed to be her lover might, in his eccentricity, be telling them the truth. He had acted strangely before, where cases of top security were concerned. Out of consideration for the lives of the Alphans, he had sometimes been in a position to tell no one the truth.
Almost a year had passed since Koenig and the Alphans had first accepted Maya into their space community. They had been good to her, especially Koenig. It was he, after all, who had made the decision to give her a home, after her father Mentor had died on the planet Psychon and after Psychon itself had exploded. She and her father had been the last members of a dead race. It had not been easy fitting in with the Alphans... not on their part, but on hers. She was strongly individualistic, and it had taken her a long time to fully adapt. Eventually, she had done so. She felt that she had become a true member of the Alphans. She wore her role like a glove, and her loyalty was totally to the Moon Base. Now, all that seemed to have broken. She had let her temper get the better of her – with the one person to whom she owed everything. She had played her role too self-assuredly, and now she felt vulnerable and lonely again.
Verdeschi knocked gently on her door, sensing that she was hurt. When he entered, she flung herself on him, and sobbed. His mood had changed to one of concern for her, and he smiled, and patted her reassuringly.
‘I’ve come to parley with the mutineer,’ he said, holding her at arms’ length and looking for a spark of resistance in her downcast eyes.
Almost immediately, she felt better, and she found herself smiling unconvincingly, though still deeply unhappy. ‘Why did John turn on me like that?’ she asked.
‘Oh, discipline, I suppose,’ the Italian replied, trying to hide his concern behind a veil of light-heartedness. ‘A throwback to Captain Bligh.’
‘Captain Bligh?’ She looked puzzled.
He waved dismissively. ‘Forget it – how would you know – you’re a Psychon.’
As though stung, she turned away, and he started at her reaction. ‘Hey, I didn’t...’
‘You’re right – I am a Psychon...’ she said. ‘Right now I’m feeling it pretty bad.’
He turned her face round again. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. I always put my foot in it trying to be cheerful,’ he said apologetically. ‘Don’t worry about John. He doesn’t mean all those things he says. Something is wrong with him...’
She looked at him hopefully. ‘I hope that it is him and not me,’ she said. She took advantage of the opportunity to pull herself out of her mood of dejection. The fear that Verdeschi had expressed for Koenig’s condition reminded her of something odd she had observed earlier when Koenig had first entered the Centre. She tried, again, to feel positive about her Commander. ‘I may not know about this Captain Bligh,’ she told him, ‘but I am hypersensitive to all forms of living matter... and I know that when Helena tried to touch the Commander, I sensed a coldness in him. He wouldn’t let her touch him...’
Verdeschi frowned thoughtfully. ‘That’s strange... He’s also not willing to talk, as if he’s withholding certain facts.’
Maya got back some of her old fire again. ‘Why do you think I was so insistent? He’s keeping us in the dark! Take that sample of crystal he brought back – he said he analyzed it, but I don’t know the results!’
Verdeschi steadied her. ‘Easy, or you’re going to have a fit and turn yourself into some wild creature from far outer space.’
‘I’m serious, Tony. The situation is serious,’ she reprimanded him lightly. ‘We’re not getting any right answers.’
Verdeschi sucked in breath as an idea came to him. He scowled, dismissing it. Then he sucked in breath again. ‘What if we grab us an Eagle... go there and take a look for ourselves?’ he asked her.
Now she could see that he was actually acting seriously, and nodded in agreement. ‘Who’s talking like a mutineer now – but for real?’ she asked.
‘Not mutiny,’ Verdeschi shook his head. ‘Security. If there’s something wrong it’s my job to find out what.’
Maya looked disturbed again. ‘He’s still our Commander, and if he’s in control of his mind...’
‘It’s mutiny all right. But what if he isn’t in control of his mind? If for any reason he’s flipped out – if, medically he’s declared incompetent...’ He stopped short, realizing that he was in deep water and voiced even deeper thoughts. ‘Hey, come on Verdeschi – you talk like you’ve been drinking too much of your own beer. John Koenig – medically incompetent?’
‘One way to find out,’ Maya said unhappily. ‘Talk to Helena...’
Verdeschi drew in a sharp breath again. The nightmare was taking shape. It was the one thing he had always feared would some day happen in his job – and the one thing he most detested the thought of.
But he had always known that his reaction in case it did was inevitable. It had to be done.
‘Go ahead, Tony – say it.’
Helena rose from where she sat with Dr Ben Vincent, her second doctor, reading computer analyses of the atmospheric components. On her way to see Koenig she had bumped into Vincent who, as usual, had an emergency for her. They had rushed immediately to the Life Support Centre. The computers weren’t functioning accurately, but the whole of the Life Support Centre had its own supply, completely independent of the rest of the Moon Base. Vincent had discovered an alarming drop in the oxygen recycling system, and noted that they were now running out of a supply of clean air.
She looked tired, and upset. No fresh air meant more sick people. More sick people meant more work. And God knew, she had enough worry on her plate. Most worrying of all was the mental state of John, and it was with no surprise at all that she guessed what Verdeschi had come to her for.
Although everyone knew, it was difficult to speak about it.
‘I’ll lay it right on the line,’ Verdeschi said at length. ‘Helena, if John won’t, or
can’t explain the change that’s come over him – if he won’t let us try to help him – and there is something he’s not telling us, or is helpless against – how do we stop him?’
‘Those last words are pretty strong, Tony.’ Helena found herself jumping to Koenig’s defence.
‘And Alpha is getting pretty weak... and my being Head of Security is getting to be a joke. He’s put a clamp on everything – everybody...’
Helena nodded ruefully. She couldn’t defend Koenig’s actions. ‘I’m a doctor. I see what’s happening to our Life Support System...’
‘And you don’t like it, do you?’ Verdeschi went on strongly. ‘So what do you do when it gets to be desperate time?’
‘If you had your way, what would you do?’ she asked, playing the macabre game.
‘Hijack an Eagle and try to find out what really did happen on that asteroid. Maya thinks the crystal may be the answer... may even have some sort of control over him.’ He eyed her evenly. ‘If we can prove that... he could be declared... medially incompetent.’
Helena stared at him stonily. She kept her spirits up as much as possible, and her wits about her, but deep down she suddenly wanted to scream. She wanted to tear Verdeschi’s eyes out for even suggesting such a thing. But she was a doctor. Doctors were not meant to suffer feelings like pity or remorse or love. They were expected to be practical, resourceful and detached.
‘And if you can’t prove it...?’ she asked, a slight tremor in her voice. ‘If John is perfectly rational... doing what he’s doing for the reasons he’s said – you’re talking conspiracy.’ Her voice had become indignant again, and she added a sentiment which, in a professional sense, she partly regretted: ‘And those words may be too strong for me.’
A deep, rhythmic pulse began to set up inside the alien, indicating that, for the moment, the anarchic power that controlled his replica body was in a state of calm. He had no refined senses, except those of the Commander’s. He was a harsh, cold, formless energy mass under the control of his Creator. It was his Creator who moved and acted and spoke through him, and gave him the veneer of human niceties and pretences. He could do nothing but obey it.
He gazed calmly through the Observation Room window at the sight that was responsible for his rudimentary feelings of well-being.
He was in the top-most part of the Moon Base, above ground. The roofs of workshops, stores and maintenance sections shone starkly. Beyond them, pitted and rucked, the bleak lunar surface lay. It stretched timelessly away towards the rocky edge of the black, star-studded gulf of space. On the flat roof of a workshop below, two space-suited crewmen were working, putting the finishing touches to a large, dish-shaped energy reflector. They moved gracefully back from it, their bodies drifting in the weightless conditions.
‘Energy reflector operational, Commander...’ the voice of one of them crackled through the communicator.
The Replica smiled – both at the effect he was having on the Alphans and on the rapid progress they were making for him. He spoke into his stolen commlock. ‘Unit Two. Status.’
‘Unit Two on schedule, sir,’ a voice replied.
‘Unit Three. Status,’ he requested of another of the work crews. Back came the response immediately, ‘Unit Three nearly completed, sir.’ He felt a surge of latent triumph, but he kept it down. He spoke generally. ‘Attention all construction crews. I want all energy reflectors completed and operational by 19.00.’ He snapped off the set and moved away from the window.
On the bench that followed the curving walls of the room lay the beautiful jewel fragment that he had sampled from the asteroid. It was covered with a thin dome of transparent plastic. It glowed and flashed with power – the power that would one day act on the priceless patterns stored in its molecular structure, and give back the life his Creator needed. Though it sparkled and shone, it did not have enough energy yet. It needed more power, to make it sing with light and life. When the Alphan power had been exhausted, both it and its great parent would need the very life energy of the Moonmen themselves, and even then, that energy might not be sufficient. That was a risk that the Creator would have to take.
Adoringly, he reached out to touch the dome, to remove it and to make physical contact with the treasured object inside.
A bleep sounded on his monitor, and he turned from his worship in annoyance. The face of a security guard appeared on the screen. ‘Doctor Russell outside to see you, sir,’ the guard said.
His hands froze over the dome for a second, his worldly peace and dreams shattered. He felt the same unease that he felt whenever this woman presented herself. She was a menace to him. She was the only human on the Moon Base who had an intimate claim to the person he masqueraded as. She was the only human who could positively prove beyond any doubt that he was not who he claimed to be. But there was no way he could eliminate her and keep his secret. She was as much a part of the disguise as the disguise itself.
‘Have her come in,’ he ordered brusquely.
He turned to face the doors which were already sliding open. The figure of the doctor stood behind them. For a moment they both stared silently at each other, a look of fear in their eyes.
The Replica broke the silence. ‘What is it, Helena? I’m very busy. Time keeps running away from me. I can’t stop.’ The words fell out of his mouth. To him they didn’t mean anything. They were annoying hindrances in the way of his goal.
Helena walked forward, her expression changing again to one of concern. ‘I could talk about what is happening to Alpha – the jeopardy to our entire life support systems – but what is just as important, is what has happened to you...’
He tensed as the mass of negative force inside him boiled up, threatening to cancel his fear. Instead, he turned away, concealing his desires. ‘Nothing has happened to me. I have a job to do. I’m trying to do it.’
‘What did you really find out on that asteroid, John?’ she asked from behind him. She took a step closer. Without seeing that she had done so, he sensed, electrically, that she had. He shied away from her outstretched arm.
‘What’s the matter, John?’ she cried out, upset. She felt wounded by his rejection of her – he who would once have been only too eager to take her to him at a time like this. ‘Why do you shut me out? Why do you shut us all out?’
The Replica whirled round, his hands raised to strike her, and she backed away in horror. ‘I’m not!’ he barked. ‘I told you all once. We’ve got to break this force or we won’t survive.’ He stood rigidly before her, shaking under the strain of keeping himself under control. He had failed to convince her.
Helena unexpectedly calmed down.
‘It may be too late for us by then,’ she told him quietly. He broke away from her gaze again, but she continued. ‘I’m concerned over your exposure to an alien atmosphere. I want you to have a medical check-up...’
‘I can’t stop now, Helena – not for anything...’ he acted out his words, more confidently.
‘I could order you to have a medical examination, you know.’
Once more he turned on her. This time his face registered surprise as well as wrath. But Helena had become equally resolute and determined in her gaze, and they stared challengingly at each other. Helena pressed her advantage. ‘The over-all command of Alpha is your responsibility. Everyone knows that...’
‘But?’ The Replica eyed her, almost threateningly.
‘As Chief of the Medical Staff, the health and well-being of everyone on Alpha is my responsibility. If I suspect anything, I...’
He cut her off again, pouncing on another line of argument. ‘Helena – do you think I would do anything to jeopardize the health or lives of our people...?’ This time, he found the right mix of feeling for his voice. ‘Trust me, Helena... trust me.’
Her expression showed her puzzlement. A transformation had come over the Replica, and suddenly it seemed to her that the old Koenig that she knew and trusted was standing once more before her. He had spoken with such sincerit
y...
Impulsively, she reached out and touched him. This time he wasn’t quick enough to avoid her, and she felt the chillness of his skin – even with the heating off, he felt unnaturally cold. Her mouth opened to express her reaction, but something made her keep silent.
The Replica flinched with discomfort. The composite of conflicting forces inside him that formed his mind, decided to ignore the incident – in the hope that this sentimental human female hadn’t suspected the truth about him. He had given enough time to her now. ‘Helena, I must check in with the construction crews...’
‘Yes, John...’ she agreed, slowly. She was thoughtful and it made him more nervous. ‘But don’t you think it’s time you released Maya from her quarters? They need her badly in Command Centre.’
‘I’ll be the one who decides that!’ he replied emphatically. She turned to go, non-plussed. At the door, his voice stopped her. ‘Doctor Russell...’
She turned at the name. Koenig had never called her that before – at least not recently.
The person before her smiled thinly. ‘And when this is all over,’ he said in an attempt at light-heartedness, ‘I’ll have that medical examination... I promise you.’
But his face did not look light-hearted. It looked bitter and twisted. And his jaw trembled.
Helena shook with sudden emotion, unable to hide her feelings any longer. Two shocks were enough. Glad for the excuse to leave, she about heeled and walked hastily from the room.
The Replica gazed at the empty doorway. Violent desires raged inside him. He felt reckless now, knowing that his powers of deception could not last long. He yearned for the moment when he would be finished with his task and free of the maddening bondage that had been imposed on him.
Maya was sitting, coolly composed, in front of her dressing table when Helena burst through the door.
‘I touched him. His hands were like ice. I just can’t believe it...’
The distraught doctor fell down heavily on the bed, a mixture of sadness and fear and the unknown in her eyes. She noticed Verdeschi, who had been talking with the Psychon, leaning against the wall behind the door. He and Maya instantly came over to her.
Space 1999 - The Space-Jackers Page 3
