Death Haunts the Stars

by Jeffrey M. Fortney

  The Wilson boy began to scowl. His father reached over and placed a hand on the back of the boy's neck. The boy tried to move away but his father kept a firm grip on the lad. "Son, it's time for you to grow up. First, we...all of us, are going to apologize to Captain Rivers, Commander Bradley, and the crew. Second, you're going figure out what you'd like to learn about. Make it something you'll want to do in the colony. Then, go talk to whichever person you need to." The father held his son's gaze until the teen nodded in agreement.

  Dr. Wilson released his son and watched him walk towards the groups of teens and division heads. Then the doctor turned to Rivers and Bradley. "Captain, Commander, please accept my profound apologies for my family's boorish behavior. My wife and I will accept any censure you wish to impose."

  Rivers smiled then replied, "It seems that we've resolved things in a civilized manner, Dr. Wilson. If things can remain civilized, then I believe no further action is required...at this time." The doctor and his wife smiled sheepishly, nodded their thanks, and walked over to join their son.

  Rivers and Bradley returned to the groups of teens and division heads and joined in the discussions. Each officer described the functions of his or her division and used a tablet computer linked to the holo-projectors in the arboretum to show videos of their personnel going about their duties.

  LT Barkley asked his seven teenagers to follow him about the arboretum, which fell under his area of responsibility. He described the process of bringing the soil from Earth to the Conestoga in cargo containers, then hauling it from the cargo bay to be laid upon the arboretum's deck. Then plants were carefully selected and brought to the ship, where they were planted. Sod was then laid over the exposed dirt.

  "It's my job to oversee the operations and maintenance of the Hydroponics 'Farm' and the arboretum. I have a small staff of just ten folks to handle this important task. Your assistance will help us make significant improvements to both sections," Barkley explained. He pointed to a young girl who had raised her hand. "Yes? You have a question?"

  "Uh...yes, sir. What would we be doing here?" she asked. "Oh, I'm Staci Pendleton, by the way."

  Barkley smiled at her then answered, "Well, Staci...one important task is to ensure our hydration system is giving each plant enough water to thrive. We also have to fix damaged sprinkler heads from time to time. And we plant new plants and, occasionally, we have to pluck some weeds!"

  "Lieutenant Barkley, I'm Gary Williams," a boy began, "I thought the soil was very carefully scanned to remove unwanted contaminants such as seeds, spores, and such."

  "They do indeed, Gary. But sometimes some seeds get missed. Other times, the seeds arrive from another source...us! On rare occasion, a seed or spore catches a ride on someone's clothing or personnel items. So we have to check every square inch of the arboretum for anything that doesn't belong here." Barkley scanned the grassy area to his left near a large, leafy shrub. He pushed back a branch and some leaves aside to reveal a small, multi-colored plant that had been hidden underneath.

  "See...this little fellow doesn't belong here." He reached down with his right hand and wrapped his fingers around its leaves and gripped its stem as best he could. With a quick tug, he tore it from the soil. Almost as quickly, he yelped and dropped the weed.

  Barkley shook his right hand. "Owww! Must have some thorns on it. But that's what we ...what we..." He paused as if trying to remember what he wanted to say then toppled over face first. Two of the older teens tried to grab Barkley before he struck the ground and succeeded. As they lowered him to the ground, Staci Pendleton screamed!

  Bradley and Rivers heads turned quickly, looking for the source of the screaming. Realizing something was seriously wrong with LT Barkley, they broke from their groups and rushed over to check on the young officer. Rivers called out to his wife, who quickly left her group to follow her husband. Charlotte Rivers activated an emergency alert from the wrist band she wore while on duty.

  Bradley had the older teens take control of the younger ones and move them back, away from Barkley. Captain Rivers carefully rolled the young lieutenant over and opened the man's airway and did a quick check of Barkley's breathing and pulse!

  "Charlotte, he has labored breathing and a weak pulse!" he told his wife as she knelt next to Barkley and opened her med-kit. She drew out a med-injector and an ampule, joined the two, and pressed the injector to Barkley's chest. She removed the first ampule, attached a second, and gave him another injection. Barkley's chest rose. He began to breathe a little better and his pulse got stronger. "This will oxygenate his blood and buy us some time. Did anybody see what happened?" Dr. Rivers asked.

  Staci Pendleton stepped forward. "He pulled that weed there out of the ground," she said pointing at the multi-colored weed. Bradley stepped over and knelt down to exam the plant.

  "Don't touch it, Mac!" Charlotte warned the security chief. She dug into her med-kit and pulled out an extendable probe. She twisted its base and four small claws extended from the opposite end. She passed the probe over to Bradley.

  Bradley operated the probe skillfully and carefully lifted the weed from the ground. He carried it over to let Charlotte examine it. After a moment of gazing at it, she pulled an impervious plastic bag from her bag and opened it so Barkley could drop the weed inside. Charlotte sealed the top of the bag once the toxic weed was inside it. She reached into her kit once more and extracted another ampule. "A general anti-toxin," she told the others as she injected the fluid into Barkley's neck.

  Two medics soon arrived on one of the ship's ambulance transports. They hopped out of the vehicle and lifted out a gurney and some other equipment from the rear. With Charlotte's help, they quickly placed an oxygen mask on Barkley, clipped a blood gas analyzer over one finger, and wound an automated blood pressure cuff around one upper arm. Charlotte checked her tablet to find Barkley's vital signs displayed on its screen.

  "Okay, let's get him on the gurney!" Charlotte said briskly. Rivers and Bradley assisted the two medics in lifting the junior officer onto the gurney. Three straps were swiftly secured to hold him on it then the medics wheeled the gurney out to the ambulance and lifted it into the rear compartment. Captain River assisted the doctor into the rear compartment to be with her patient.

  "Go!" James ordered. "Mac and I will be there shortly!" The ambulance raced from the arboretum and into the corridor beyond. The two officers walked back to the assembled teens, division heads, and parents.

  "Is everyone else okay?" Rivers asked. When everyone indicated they were he continued, "This is what I've been trying to tell you...being in space is dangerous. We never know what can harm us. A speck of space dust gets past our shields, a failure of the ship's power cores, a teenager tampering with equipment he or she doesn't understand, even a little plant can be deadly out here. Commander Ramos, take charge of our apprentices please. Arrange their assignments with the appropriate ship's divisions and brief their supervisors. Now, Commander Bradley and I are going to the Med Center to check on Mr. Barkley." Captain Rivers turned and began walking swiftly toward the nearest hatch with Bradley walking in step with him.

  Chapter 6

  Ship's Log

  Terran Colonial Vessel Conestoga

  Earthdate: 26 October 2219

  Captain James B. Rivers, Commanding

  Day: 034

  Lieutenant Barkley is still alive...but just barely. He's had three close calls in the past few days, but Charlotte tells me he is out of danger now. He'll be in the Med Center for at least another week before he can return to light duty.

  Charlotte's staff carefully examined the plant that Barkley found. It's a Kressmen Creeper, a highly toxic plant from Adolphus, the fourth planet of Tau Ceti. The question is...what is it doing on the Conestoga? Surely, Barkley or one of his personnel would have found it long before now then removed and reported it.

  The apprenticeship program is working out great! The teenagers have really taken to it...and they are making a difference in the
areas they are working in. Each of those divisions is showing an increase in operational capability. Our problems with trespassers have dropped to zero.

  Crewmembers Holcroft and Shield have returned to duty in the Cargo Section. Lieutenant Shelton tells me that they are behaving themselves, doing their work, and avoiding Crewmember Jenkins. Hopefully, we won't have any more trouble out of those two.

  Well, time to walk the ship once again. I'll drop by the Med Center to check on Gene Barkley while I'm out and about.

  Rivers was well into his walking inspection of the Conestoga when Commander Mac Bradley caught up with him in the Hydroponics 'Farm'. "Howdy, Mac! I was wondering where we'd run into each other," the Captain said jovially. Then he saw the look on Bradley's face and his own smile faded. "I know that look. Spill it!"

  Bradley passed the tablet he carried to his commanding officer. "It's taken some time but we've finally isolated the cause of Delacroix's death. He was poisoned...with toxin from a Kressmen Creeper!"

  "What?" Rivers asked, staring first at his friend's face then at the tablet's display.

  The security chief nodded and pointed to two corresponding images on the display. "This one is Delacroix's blood work up...and this one is Gene's. Look at this tiny blip right here...and this one right here." Rivers looked at the two blips then at the legend beneath each. It listed a chemical composition many syllables in length; followed by the layman's name: Kressmen Creeper Toxin.

  "Well, I'll be damned!" said the skipper. "He was poisoned. By whom...and why?"

  Bradley answered initially with a shrug of his broad shoulders then spoke. "I would guess that our murderer brought the plant aboard the ship, hid it in the arboretum to encourage growth and keep it out of sight, milked it for the toxin, then slipped some into Delacroix's tea cup that morning. I asked your lovely wife if one of her psych folks could help me with a profile on people who tend to poison others. She recommended Dr. Allison Schmidt. So I met with Dr. Schmidt earlier and she said women are more likely to use poison when committing murder than men do."

  "Which puts Delacroix's wife at the top of our suspect list, doesn't it?" Rivers conjectured. Bradley nodded.

  "I recommend that we don't let it be known that we've linked Delacroix's death with Barkley being poisoned. I believe our suspect will make the connection on her own and return to the arboretum to collect the plant," Bradley replied. He held up his hands, anticipating Rivers next question. "We've constructed a reasonable facsimile, complete with a tracking device, and it's already in place. We're also monitoring the cameras and sensors in and around where the original plant was located."

  "Anything else?" asked Rivers.

  "Yes! We've got Mrs. Delacroix under surveillance. She's been spending a lot of time with Christina Wofford, another school teacher, and her husband, Dereck Wofford." Bradley reported. "I'll keep you posted. You going to drop by and see Gene?"

  Rivers smiled. "Yep! The boy's a scrapper pulling through this as he's done."

  "Well, tell Scrapper that I said 'Hello', okay?"

  "Will do, Mac!" Rivers said. "I'll pin his new nickname on him, too!" With that, the two officers walked off in different directions, Bradley to his office and Rivers to the Med Center.

  **********

  Much later, in his office, Commander Mac Bradley checked the arboretum video feed one more time before leaving for the evening. The lights were dimmed in the forest-like compartment to give the impression of nighttime. Bradley could just make out a dark shape moving towards the former location of the poisonous plant. He bolted for his office door, drawing his comm unit to alert the standby security patrol and Captain Rivers.

  He arrived at the arboretum's main hatch in just a few minutes. SGT Al Costigan met him there. "No one else has been in or out, sir. We have personnel stationed at all entrances and exits. We go on your word, sir!" Bradley nodded then checked his tablet display. The tracking device signal showed the plant's location unchanged. Suddenly, the dot began to move on the screen, heading towards a small personnel hatch on the port side of the compartment. Captain Rivers raced up to join Bradley at that moment.

  Bradley whispered into his comm unit, "Turn the lights on when I say so! Get ready to move in!" Bradley checked his display again then spoke again, "Lights NOW! Everyone move in. Go! Go!" Bradley and his security personnel moved into the arboretum, Captain Rivers following closely behind them. The lights came up quickly inside the giant compartment, exposing a darkly dressed shape running amongst the taller plants. Whoever it was wore an emergency breathing mask to hide their face and thick gloves to provide protection against Kressmen Creeper toxin.

  "Freeze!" SGT Costigan shouted at the figure. More security personnel entered through other hatches and rapidly surrounded the suspect.

  As Bradley approached, the masked figure threw the pseudo-Kressmen Creeper at him. Bradley caught it in mid-air with his bare hand and merely grinned at the suspect. "Thanks for returning my tracker! Now, why don't you save us some time and trouble...surrender."

  The masked suspect seemed ready to try to make a break for it then suddenly seemed to deflate, realizing that there was no escape. Hands came up to the emergency breathing mask and pulled it from a man's face. Two security personnel stepped forward, each taking hold of one of the man's arms. The man was Dereck Wofford!

  Bradley's personnel quickly handcuffed Wofford and read him his rights. While this was happening, Bradley signaled his personnel who were monitoring Angelique Delacroix and Christina Wofford to bring them in for questioning. Rivers signaled Bradley to step over next to him.

  "You and your team did good work, Mac!" Captain Rivers told his friend.

  "Thanks, Skipper! Now comes the part where we see if the Woffords and Mrs. Delacroix will cooperate." Bradley replied. Then softly so only the captain could hear, Bradley said, "I'm going to play them off one another then see who rats on the others first."

  "Well, keep me posted," said Rivers, "I'm going to check the bridge before calling it a night."

  "Will do, sir," replied Bradley. Once Rivers walked away, Bradley approached Wofford and the personnel guarding him. "Well, Wofford, you're going to be really upset to hear that your wife and your lady friend told us you were coming here. Such a shame that they ratted you out to cut a deal." Wofford's eyes widened but he kept his mouth shut. Bradley grunted then nodded to his personnel to move out. He told SGT Costigan to place Wofford in an isolation cell. Costigan acknowledged the order and walked off with the prisoner. Bradley pulled out his comm unit and called the team looking for the two women.

  "Take your time bringing them in," he told LT Toni Peterson when she answered his call. "And put them in separate isolation cells. And keep them away from Mr. Wofford." After Peterson responded, Bradley made his way back to his office. This is going to be another long night! thought Bradley. Better get a large cup of coffee before I speak with the suspects.

  Chapter 7

  Ship's Log

  Terran Colonial Vessel Conestoga

  Earthdate: 29 October 2219

  Captain James B. Rivers, Commanding

  Day: 037

  Commander Bradley has succeeded again! He played Angelique Delacroix and the Woffords against each other, saying one or more of them rolled over on the others. All three confessed their roles in the death of Jean-Pierre Delacroix.

  Apparently, the Delacroixs had an open marriage for several years, but Mr. Delacroix tried to use their immigration to Camadin as an opportunity to end this practice. The Woffords were partners of the Delacroixs and Mrs. Delacroix didn't want to give up her relationships with them. She planned to rid herself of her husband and researched a method not likely to leave any clues. Her job as a biology teacher came in handy and she acquired a Kressman Creeper root for 'research purposes' through her last job and snuck it aboard the ship before departure. She brought the Woffords into the plan and Mr. Wofford planted the root in the arboretum and collected the toxin, which Mrs. Delacroix put into her husband's
morning tea.

  Mac's suspicious nature alerted him to the possibility that Delacroix's death wasn't accidently. Sadly, it was the accidental poisoning of LT Eugene Barkly which provided the clue to verify Mac's suspicion. Fortunately, Gene will heal and be back on duty soon.

  Aleida Van der Zee, the Colonial Liaison Officer, is upset that a colonist is dead and three more are being placed into stasis and returned to Earth for trial under Colonial Fleet Regulations and Terran Colonial Statutes. I let her wind down before reminding her that murderers were not the type of colonists Camadin needs. Aleida had to admit that is true.

  We haven't had any more incidents of trespassing or vandalism for a while now. The young apprentices are continuing to contribute to our ship and impress their instructors...and more importantly, stay out of trouble!

  Still, we're no closer to finding the person who created the bomb that was planted in WRC Four. Commander Bradley and his personnel are working the case around the clock. But as long as our saboteur lays low and doesn't provide any more clues, he...or she...remains unidentified.

  Commander Bradley and three security personnel accompanied Angelique Delacroix and Dereck and Christina Wofford to Stasis Compartment Four. Doctor Charlotte Rivers, Doctor Celeste Cahill, and two stasis technicians were waiting for them at the hatch to that compartment. Dr. Rivers pointed to the hatch leading to the compartment's primary stasis preparation room, indicating they were to enter that room.

  Doctors Rivers and Cahill followed the prisoners and their guards into the prep room. The prisoners' handcuffs were removed and they were ordered to remove their clothing then lay down on examination tables. The doctors performed a quick medical examination of each prisoner and noted for the record that they were healthy. The stasis techs brought in three stasis garments, gave them to the prisoners, and told them to get dressed.