Far Mantis

by Jim Henderson

  Peter examined the wall, looking carefully at the seams. “These sections appear to be separate doors of some kind.”

  Shao played with one of the screens and got a strange display. She then found a small switch next to the display and manipulated it. The screen changed several times, finally stopping on what appeared to be the outline of a body with some colored dots near it. “This looks like crude outline of a body.”

  Elsbeth, who was touching an adjacent one, stepped back and held up here hands. “Whoa! This is one of two things—either a morgue or a cryo chamber with one, two, three…” She pointed to each small screen, counting them. “With about twenty chambers.”

  “I believe they are cryo chambers,” Raiza said, “though such chambers can also store dead bodies.”

  Ximon nodded. “So, it’s possible someone is home, but they’re taking a nap.”

  “Maybe and, if so, they might not appreciate waking up and finding us here,” Elsbeth said, taking a step away from the chamber in front of her.

  “Nonsense,” Ximon said. “Again, we’ll come back to look further if we can. Let’s keep moving.”

  The next room contained about twenty slate black cubes about two meters high, one meter deep, and one meter wide. They appeared faceless at first, but after some manipulation, panels opened up exposing electronics inside.

  Elsbeth was peering at everything intently. “Looks like some kind of minimalist equipment room. If or when we can take the time, we might be able to derive what at least some of this is. But everything looks strange, even down to the chip level.”

  “Okay, we’ll come back,” Ximon said.

  The next room was a large, open bay with a sizable external door. There were racks and lockers along each wall. However, the far corner held a very strange and troubling site. A reddish tree-like structure went from floor to ceiling and had eight limbs sticking out at odd angles. Each limb had a reddish-black circle at the end. Attached to the circles on three of these limbs, floating out at different angles, were little, gray people about a meter tall. Their faces were essentially covered by the circles and their bodies weren’t moving.

  “What the—” Elsbeth shouted, stumbling back. “What the heck is that?” She pulled out her gun and everyone else did the same.

  The group advanced slowly toward the tree-like structure.

  “Greetings,” Raiza said. “We come in peace.”

  As they got closer, they found about nine bodies floating around the top and bottom of the tree.

  “Ximon, I hope you’re getting an ‘it’s time to go vibe here,’” Elsbeth said, quickly glancing at her captain.

  “Not yet. We need to check this out.”

  The bodies were greyish humanoids with heads slightly too big for their bodies. Their faces had eyes, nose, and mouth-like features, but they weren’t very pronounced. Their size and shape did suggest small children, perhaps five to seven years old if they were human.

  “I vote we call these things LGMs,” Elsbeth said. “Little grey men.”

  Raiza stepped up and examined the attached bodies and those lying and floating about.

  She said, “I believe these on the ‘tree’ are alive. However, these others appear to be dead and apparently drained of fluids.”

  “Drained?” Shao asked. “Like from the tree? A vampire tree?”

  Elsbeth interjected, “Sure, vampire tree. Usually a good sign to leave.”

  “I must examine these further,” Raiza said. “Please, give me some time.”

  “Okay, examine,” Ximon said. “I’ll cover you. Everyone else, keep your distance. Try to figure out what this room is. Mantis watch the door.” He held his shotgun pointed at the heart of the tree as if it might attack at any moment.

  Minutes ticked by in silence as the crew crept around the room and Raiza examined the creatures and tree.

  “I think this may be some kind of landing bay,” Elsbeth said, breaking the quiet.

  Shao took a long look around the room. “That’s what I’m thinking. These might be maintenance areas.”

  “There are strange tools in these lockers,” Peter said. “Should I take some?”

  “I think he’ll say, ‘we’ll come back’ so hold off,” Elsbeth said before Ximon could. “But grab a few if you see anything interesting.”

  After a few minutes Raiza, quite concerned, said, “I’ve taken blood samples and life sign readings. The attached ones are alive, while the detached ones are dead and in various stages of decay. I cannot yet be sure whether the tree is killing them or keeping them alive. However, a quick ultrasound seems to suggest that blood, or some substance, is flowing from the grey men to the tree, not the other way around. I would like to verify with the medical analysis unit, but I fear this tree is killing them.”

  Ximon considered that carefully, not sure if he agreed. “If that’s so, how does it get them? It doesn’t appear mobile while they clearly are. Are they sacrificing themselves to it?”

  “Okay, that would be super freaky too,” Elsbeth said, taking another step away from the tree.

  “Let’s check out the rest. We’ll come back.”

  Raiza seemed almost shocked. “Ximon, their lives appear to be in peril. We cannot leave them.”

  “My dear, as you said, you can’t be sure. In any case, we have to figure out what’s going on first. I promise, we’ll come back. Let’s check the last couple rooms down here.”

  “Additionally, I’ve noted partially healed slashes on most of the bodies, including those on the tree,” Raiza said. “It would appear that someone or something attacked them.”

  The next room was some kind of food growing system. They appeared to be growing multiple different strains of yeast.

  Elsbeth turned up her nose. “Gross. I’m not staying for lunch.”

  Raiza tried to explain logically. “Yeast and its by products are actually quite nutrient-rich per their mass. Many planets grow and eat formed yeast as a staple of their diet.”

  “Sure, I’ve had some that wasn’t half bad. But, don’t get any ideas about serving this slop here for dinner.”

  “I certainly would not do so without testing it,” Raiza said. “These strains of yeast could potentially be toxic to humans as they’re certainly genetically engineered for the grey men.”

  Elsbeth insisted, half under her breath, “LGMs. Let’s call them LGMs.”

  Finally, they came to a sizable cargo bay, with its inner door wide open. The room was dark, except for the faint light coming in from the hallway. Their lamps added to the light, but it shot forth in scattered rays. They spread out and advanced slowly so their light could better cover the room. It had neat stacks of containers along one wall and containers strewn about toward the center. Their helmet lamps made strange shadows that appeared to move as they looked about.

  As they neared the center, a large shape shot swiftly down from the dark ceiling of the room, just in front of Ximon. It came out of the shadows, slammed heavily into the Ximon’s helmet, drove him to the ground, appeared to scratch at him, and then leapt away, back into shadows.

  They couldn’t see much of the fast-moving creature in the limited light, but it looked to be about the size of large dog It was a mottled maroon color, with 6 legs, no hair, and no visible head. It jumped well and was very fast.

  Ximon let out a muffled scream. “Arggh. It got me. I’m losing pressure.” He struggled to try to check his suit.

  As the rest of the group turned toward him, the creature then seemingly appeared out of nowhere, coming from the left, and tore a jagged slash across Shao’s suit, knocking her prone.

  “My suit. I’ve got a leak!”

  Elsbeth fired several times in the g direction the thing went, but there was no sign of it. She was yelling. “Can anyone get more lights? Shoot that thing.”

  The screen of Mantis’ telebot lit up more brightly, illuminating the center of the room with stark white light.

  Elsbeth fired several more times, but there
was no telling whether she hit anything.

  The thing then leapt out again, this time from the right, slamming into Peter. It slashed at his suit before leaping away. Both Elsbeth and Shao shot at it as it jumped away. This time, one of them hit the creature. It let out a horrible screech, liquid trailing from its wound as it crawled back to its feet, readying itself to attack Elsbeth. She fired again and yelled, “Shoot that damn thing!”

  Shao and Raiza both emptied their clips into, or toward, the thing until it dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. A cloud of greenish ichor spread like mist around the body, seeping from multiple wounds.

  Raiza rushed to Ximon as Elsbeth ran to Shao. They all clamored on the radios.

  Raiza did a quick inspection of Ximon’s suit and vital signs. “Ximon’s helmet is damaged and he has a leak. He also has a wound along his neck. Additional leaks there.”

  She grabbed several patches from her belt and applied them haphazardly to Ximon’s suit, sealing them with spray. “I’ve got the leak stopped, but I need to get him to the medical bay.”

  “Having trouble seeing…” Ximon groaned, his voice coming out weak and shaky before he faded into unconsciousness.

  Shao frantically felt along her suit. “My suit has a leak, but I believe I’m unhurt. Help me seal it.”

  Elsbeth helped her apply patches and spray sealant.

  Peter stood up and paused momentarily as his internal systems did checks. “I am undamaged, but I believe this suit will need maintenance.”

  Elsbeth grabbed Ximon’s gun and took charge. “Okay, we are leaving now! Peter, grab Ximon and carry him to the ship. Raiza, help Shao. Mantis, follow behind us and keep that light shining. If anything moves, I’m blowing it to bits. Move!”

  They saw nothing and heard nothing but the heavy breath of exertion as they headed back toward Mantis. They rushed inside the ship and Elsbeth slammed her hand on the airlock controls to seal the hatch. Raiza and Peter then rushed Ximon to medical, Shao in tow.

  In medical Raiza was in undisputed command and Peter assisted her.

  Elsbeth left to make room. She told Mantis, “Pull video on that creature and see if you can find any info on it. Raiza may need it.”

  Raiza got Ximon’s helmet and suit off after some struggle and cutting. He was unconscious and had a large bruise on his face and a discolored, slashing cut on his neck and shoulder. She took samples from the wound and started analysis.

  As she worked over the next thirty minutes, she made periodic announcements. “Ximon is unconscious and the wound appears to contain some kind of toxin. He’s been poisoned…Extracting…Testing…I believe this should stabilize. Okay, he’s resting.”

  Peter checked Shao in the meantime and took off her suit, armor, and clothing. She had no cuts but had a large bruise on her abdomen where the thing had slammed into her armor. Peter gave her some medicine that Raiza suggested and escorted her to her quarters with orders to rest.

  Raiza emerged to talk to Elsbeth after about forty-five minutes.

  She explained, “The wounds on Ximon’s face and neck would not be too serious of themselves. However, the toxin appears to be a sedative and mild paralytic. This has rendered him unconscious. I have removed all of the foreign substance that I could and have applied a general anti-toxin that should inhibit progression. However, I cannot be certain of that without more information. I need you to recover the body of that creature so that I can test it.”

  “Are you crazy? You want me to go back in there and get that vampire spider thing?”

  “Ximon’s life may depend on it. The creature appeared to be quite certainly dead.”

  “Raiza, I get what you’re saying, but we killed a creature. There could be more. It’s too dangerous.”

  Raiza was the most insistent that Elsbeth had ever seen her. “Very well. If you will not go, I will do so, but I must then charge you to monitor Ximon.”

  “Now you’re just being crazy. I forbid it.”

  Raiza again said with resolve, “I will go. I inherently value your judgement as a human, and more so value it as a friend. However, my greatest allegiance is to Ximon. I will do anything to protect him.”

  “And if I locked the doors?”

  “I believe that I can convince Mantis to override them. If you aren’t going to shoot me, then please allow me to go.”

  Peter was standing nearby and helpfully added, “My dear, I believe Raiza is correct that Mantis would conclude that she should open the doors.”

  Elsbeth was exasperated and said, half to herself, “Well, crap. It is the rise of the machines and Ximon’s not here to see it.”

  Then Elsbeth calmed herself and pondered the situation more calmly. She put up her hands in a calming gesture. “Okay. Slow down, Raiza. Peter and I will go. But I need you for back up.” She looked around the room. “Where the hell is Shao?”

  “I sent her to her room to rest just a few moments ago.”

  “No rest for the wicked,” Elsbeth said. “We need her. Now go tell Mantis what to monitor on him.”

  Peter got Shao who had just climbed gingerly into bed.

  Elsbeth explained to Shao as she taped flashlights onto two shotguns. “Okay, we’re going back in there to grab some bodies. Don’t ask why. I need you to monitor our comms and help watch Ximon. Also, keep half an eye on sensors in case anything is flying, or crawling around. Got it?”

  Shao’s eyes were slightly unfocused and her voice groggy. “I think so.”

  Elsbeth was impatient but slapped her gently on the cheek to ensure she was awake. “Look, no sleep now! Keep walking around.”

  Elsbeth also had Mantis’ telebot join them and had Ayah bring Euclidia. They headed back in.

  Elsbeth left the head that was Euclidia sitting inside the door, staring down the hallway after them. “Okay, Euclidia, here’s your scene. Scream bloody murder if anything comes out of these rooms or you see anything moving but us.”

  “This is a task I can do.”

  Elsbeth nodded, heading further down the hall and leaving Ayah a bit farther on with the same charge.

  Ayah responded, “Understood. I will stand here and make a loud noise if I see anyone or anything that is not part of the crew of the Mantis.”

  Elsbeth just nodded. “Yep.”

  She left Raiza watching and wielding a shotgun about two thirds of the way down the hall, covering their backs.

  Elsbeth and Peter advanced rapidly, each wielding a shotgun, with Mantis’ telebot providing additional light. They didn’t see anything move as they raced to the cargo bay. Once there, Mantis provided light and Elsbeth covered from the doorway while Peter ran in and grabbed the body of the creature. They neither saw, nor heard, any sign of movement.

  They left the cargo bay and started to head back toward the ship. Elsbeth suddenly paused and looked about, deep in thought. “Cover me. I’m probably going to regret this, but I’m sure it’ll save me a trip.” She opened the door to the landing bay, looked around briefly, and then headed in. She came out about two minutes later carrying one of the dead LGM bodies. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

  They gathered Raiza and Ayah as they ran down the hallway. They got back to the airlock without incident, grabbed Euclidia, and rushed back into Mantis. Elsbeth was glad to see the airlock seal shut.

  Once they got inside, they took the creature and the LGM to the medical bay and left Raiza to her work.

  Elsbeth and Peter came back out to the galley and found Shao sleeping, half leaning against a wall.

  “Damn her, sleeping on the job.”

  Peter said, “My dear, I tried to explain that she had taken a fairly substantial sedative, but you didn’t seem to process it.”

  “Never mind. Pick her up and put her in bed, then come join me in the shower. I don’t want no cooties on me from those things.”

  A couple hours later, Raiza and Elsbeth gathered around Ximon’s bed. He had just woken up groggily and they were trying to explain what had happened. He was c
learly not fully awake and soon fell back to sleep. Peter and Elsbeth cleaned up the stray suits, guns, and armor around the ship and Raiza came out to join them as they did so.

  Raiza said, “I have taken samples of the both the creature and the LGM and have put them in a cryo chamber. I detected nothing with either that could be a contagion.”

  “Well good. We don’t need any space germs,” Elsbeth said. “Are you okay? I think I’m going to go to bed. In the morning, hopefully Ximon will be awake enough that we can make a plan.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. We all underwent considerable stress today.”

  “Good job today. Hey, if I send Peter to you in a while could you inspect his shoulder? I think he’s got a damaged strut from where that thing hit him.”

  “I could certainly examine him now if you wish,” Raiza said.

  “No, Raiza. I need him at the moment. It’s not bothering him.”

  “I understand. Enjoy yourself and then get some rest.”

  They all met at breakfast the next morning. Shao was up and feeling better, though her abdomen was clearly tender. Raiza had Ximon in a wheelchair of sorts. He had several bandages on his neck, most of his face was badly bruised, and he looked a bit out of it. Everyone else was feeling well.

  So, as they ate the light breakfast that Raiza had prepared, they talked.

  “So, Ximon, you look like hell.” Elsbeth said. “We did some exploring, we found some stuff, nearly got killed, and it was pretty exciting. Can we go now?”

  Raiza pleaded for time. “I ask you all that we not do so until I have a little more time to investigate. I’ve studied the information I have on the grey men and that tree thing, but it’s not enough. I need to go investigate, but I think it’s killing them. If it is, I can’t just leave them to die when I can do something about it.”

  She then focused on Ximon, “I will always do as you say, but I feel this is vitally important as lives are at stake. It’s also important for knowledge. We took almost nothing out of there; I would think we’d all want more information on the grey men and on their station.”