Colony B Box Set

by Michael Campling

  “Excellent.” Tessa rubbed her hands together and squeezed past Siobhan, hurrying to catch up with Ben.

  Cate watched her in silence for a minute then said, “Shiv, I think you should have a word with Tessa. Make sure she doesn’t get carried away. Ben’s a nice guy and all, but Tessa could eat him for lunch.”

  “Right.” Siobhan looked away, but she felt the color rising in her cheeks, and when she turned back, Cate was regarding her with narrowed eyes.

  “None of my business,” Cate started, “but you and Ben—something going on there?”

  “You’re damned right,” Siobhan said, “it’s none of your business.” She paused. “We’re just…you know. It’s nothing serious.”

  Cate smiled. “Fine. I understand. You’ve kept it under wraps while you’ve been working together, so you’ll get no complaints from me. Just make sure it stays that way, or we’ll have to talk about reassigning one of you.”

  “It won’t come to that,” Siobhan said quickly. “You can rely on me.”

  “I know. Why don’t you take a seat up front? I’d better go back and make sure they’re suited up okay.” Cate didn’t wait for a reply but passed Siobhan and headed back to join Ben and Tessa. Siobhan saw that Ben was already stripping down to his T-shirt and boxers, but she realized Cate was watching her, a smirk on her lips, so she turned away, making her way forward and taking the front passenger seat.

  Maybe I should get reassigned, Siobhan thought. Might make things easier if we’re not in each other’s pockets all day. She frowned. One day, she’d need to sit down with Ben and see where their relationship was going. But not for a little while. Just for once, she didn’t want to be the pushy one.

  She sat in silence, her fingernails dragging at the textured nylon fabric on the seat’s padded armrest. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Ben going outside with Tessa, but he’d better damned well watch what he was doing. If anything happened to him, if he hurt himself, she’d…what? What would she do? After all, she had no claim on him. I’ll tear his head off, she told herself. And the mental picture made her feel a little better. She glanced over her shoulder to see how the others were getting on, but Ben and Tessa were still suiting up, so she ran her eyes over the rover’s control panel, checking the instruments and power levels. As far as she could tell, everything looked fine, but she was determined to be thorough, to keep herself occupied, and by the time she’d finished, Ben was already making his way into the decontamination cubicle at the back. Be careful out there, she thought, watching the door slam shut behind him, then she stared outside, a chill running across her skin. She didn’t like the look of the strange clumps of symbiont. She didn’t like them at all.

  CHAPTER 2

  Truck One

  “Go around!” Lyndsey yelled. “And slow down!”

  Sitting next to her in the pilot’s seat, Kyrksen shook his head. “There’s no need. We can just smash through it.”

  “No! Go around it, or I’ll take control of the truck.”

  “For God’s sake,” Kyrksen grumbled, but he sent the truck into a banking turn, skirting around the tall symbiont structure that stood in their path. For a second, Lyndsey held tight to the edges of her seat while the truck careened through the air at a crazy angle, then Kyrksen corrected their course, decreasing their speed as the truck leveled out. “Happy now?”

  But Lyndsey didn’t reply, she was concentrating on the control panel and opening a comms channel. “All trucks, this is Doctor Teare. Avoid contact with the symbiont structures at all costs. Slow down. Do not allow your trucks to come into direct contact with the structures. Confirm.”

  Alec, in truck two, was the first reply. “Understood. Will do.”

  “Truck three, confirming,” Blaney added. “We’ll make sure we steer well clear.”

  “Got it,” Crissy said from truck five. “Adjusting course now.”

  “Truck four, hearing you loud and clear,” Jackson said. “Happy to comply, but what’s the problem?”

  “I second that question,” Blaney chipped in. “Is this something we should be worried about?”

  “Just wait,” Lyndsey snapped. “Truck six, did you get my last message? Confirm.”

  “Check the nav display,” Kyrksen said. “She’s slowed down, so either she heard you, or she’s just following the others.”

  Lyndsey frowned. “Not good enough. Truck six, respond. Lara, can you hear me?”

  She waited, holding her breath. For a moment, there was silence, then a garbled burst of sound crackled from the cockpit speaker:

  “…tried but…too late…we…” The voice was drowned out by a wash of white noise, but when Lyndsey flipped a switch on the panel, the background noise died away.

  “What happened, Lara?” she demanded. “Did you hit one of them?”

  There was no reply, and Lyndsey curled her hands into fists, a rush of anger racing through her. “Lara! Truck six, check your comms. I need to know what happened.”

  “They hit the damned thing,” Blaney put in. “I saw it. They tried to turn on your signal, but there was one of those tree things right in front of them, and they clipped it when they banked. But don’t worry, the branch just snapped. No damage to the truck as far as I could see.”

  Lyndsey closed her eyes tight for a second. No damage! He had no idea what he was talking about. No idea at all.

  “Doctor Teare,” Kyrksen said gently, “there’s something going on here, and we need to know about it. All the pilots need to know, and we don’t have time to wait while you get your thoughts together. We need answers now. Why can’t we hit the structures? Our EM shielding should protect us. And you heard what Blaney said. Truck six just plowed on through, and it wasn’t damaged. So what’s the problem?”

  Lyndsey’s eyes snapped open. “I’ll tell you the damned problem.” She checked the channel was open. “Listen up everybody. I’m sure you realize that the symbiont is in phase two here. It’s forming structures, grabbing whatever it needs, digging into the ground. But there’s more to it than that. You weren’t told because you didn’t need to know. If everything had gone to plan, we would never have needed to go back over old ground, and we certainly never intended to go back to base camp. But here we are, through no fault of your own, and you deserve an explanation.” She paused, licking her dry lips. “When phase two is triggered, the symbiont adapts. It’s the only way to get the planet into peak fuel production. Out there, the symbiont you can see is reproducing even more rapidly than usual. It’s growing fast, and to do that, it’s utilizing new biochemical pathways, grabbing every useful molecule it comes across. Unfortunately for us, that includes metal.”

  Silence filled the cockpit for a full second before Alec came back on the comms channel. “But you must’ve known about this before you ordered us back to base camp. You must’ve figured we’d be able to get through safely, right? So, what’s changed?”

  “I didn’t know it would be this bad,” Lyndsey replied. “There’s no way the symbiont should be this far advanced, not here at any rate. I was going to brief you all when we got nearer to the camp. I thought there’d be time.”

  “Okay,” Alec said. “But we’re safe in the trucks, aren’t we? Hull integrity on my truck is ninety-three percent, and my EM shielding is holding up. I can’t see how the symbiont could do us any harm, even if it does hit the outside.”

  Lyndsey swallowed, but before she could say anything, Lara broke in, her voice raw with barely restrained terror: “Breach! Breach! We’ve got casualties. Symbiont in the…touching down now. Request evac…Request…”

  The signal cut off.

  “All trucks, prepare to touch down,” Lyndsey commanded. “Do not, repeat, do not, allow your trucks to touch the symbiont structures. If any part of your truck makes direct contact, even with a small branch, you risk being breached. Find a safe area before you touch down.”

  “Got it,” Alec said. “When we’re down, I’ll put a team together. We’ll go over to truck
six and treat casualties.”

  Lyndsey clenched her jaw. “No, Alec. I don’t want anyone else outside unless it’s absolutely necessary. They’ll have to come to you. Let them carry out their evacuation procedure, and we’ll take it from there.”

  “But—” Alec began, but Lyndsey didn’t let him speak.

  “I want everyone ready to receive wounded. Get your medical kits together and prepare to take in any crew who make it to your door. Make sure they decontaminate properly before you let them in. And they’ll need an extra clean down once they’re inside. Use the protocols. You won’t be able to help anybody if you get burned yourself.”

  “We still need a team to go over there,” Blaney insisted, his voice thick with anger. “I’ll go myself if I have to.”

  “Later,” Lyndsey snapped. “If they have people who can’t walk, we’ll go over later, but not until their evac is complete. Understood?”

  “Perfectly,” Alec said. “You know it makes sense, Blaney. I’ll have a team standing by, and they’ll go in as soon as we know what we’re dealing with.”

  “Aw hell!” Blaney shouted. “All right. But you’d better be quick. I’m setting my truck down now.”

  “We’re about to touch down too,” Kyrksen said, and Lyndsey felt a shudder through the floor as the truck eased down to the ground.

  She unbuckled her safety harness and pushed herself out of her seat, her mind in a whirl. “I’ll go into the back and brief the techs. I hope we have enough medical supplies.”

  Kyrksen sat back with a sigh, his shoulders slumped. “What a goddamned mess.”

  “Uhuh.” Lyndsey made for the cockpit door then hurried out, trying to keep her expression neutral and businesslike. Her techs would be reassured if she appeared in control, but she didn’t have much confidence to spare. We’ll get through this, she told herself. They know the drill. The next half hour would be an ordeal, but once she’d assessed the damage and made sure everyone was safely decontaminated, she could start making plans.

  When she bustled into the main compartment, David Brandt, her senior technician, was already standing, waiting to meet her, an expectant look on his face, while Sue and Thaddeus had stayed at their assigned workstations. After the trouble with the settlers, she’d decided to switch her team around, sending a couple of her regular technicians over to truck two and keeping Sue and Thaddeus aboard, not least because she sensed their potential. Now, taking in their calm expressions, she knew she’d made the right decision. Sue had proven herself level-headed in a crisis, and Thaddeus was a decent field medic; their skills were about to come in handy.

  “Okay, listen up,” Lyndsey started. “Truck six is down, and they’re going for an emergency evac. Stand by to take in as many crew as we can manage. Prep for a full decontamination of anyone coming in. They’ll need a full clean down even after they come out the chamber. You’ll need to suit up to protect yourselves, but first, I want you to break out all the medical kits you can lay your hands on. There’ll be some wounded. They’re going to have symbiont burns, and they’ll need urgent attention. Is that clear?”

  Sue paled, but to her credit, she pulled herself up to her full height. “Understood.”

  “Is this a drill?” David asked.

  Lyndsey shook her head. “No, this is an emergency. Lives are at risk. Time is critical.”

  David’s throat bobbed. “Full clean down after they’ve been through the chamber? That’s—”

  “Something you’ve trained for,” Lyndsey interrupted. “The symbiont is bad out there, and the wounded might have had direct contact with it. So no more questions. Let’s get to it. I’ll help as much as I can.”

  “Come with me,” Sue called out, already heading toward the back of the compartment. “I could use a hand to get the decontamination kits out.”

  “Good call,” Lyndsey said, following Sue. “David, Thaddeus, can you get the medical gear ready?”

  Thaddeus jumped to his feet. “Of course.”

  “Consider it done,” David added.

  Lyndsey acknowledged them with a nod. She ought to say something more encouraging, but the words wouldn’t come. And anyway, David and Thaddeus knew what they were doing, which was more than could be said for her. She focused on Sue, listening carefully to her instructions and obeying without hesitation, taking down crates of equipment, bottles of decontamination fluid, and rolls of specially impregnated disposable wipes. These things would be needed before they could even think about allowing the incoming crew to remove their suits. If everyone in truck six had been careful, and if they’d managed to get their suits on before the symbiont could reach their skin, they might be safe. But one cracked seal, one damaged respirator, one second of delay in suiting up, and the burns from the phase two symbiont could be fatal. And even those who’d sealed themselves into their suits in time wouldn’t necessarily be protected. The suits would hold up against ordinary symbiont for extended periods, but testing against the adapted organism was limited. In theory, the suits were rated for exposure to phase two symbiont for thirty minutes, but that was for a new suit in perfect condition; the crew of truck six were wearing suits that had been in use for over seven years.

  “That’s all the crates down,” Sue said. “Anything else we’ll need?”

  “Yes,” Lyndsey replied. “A minor miracle.”

  For a second, the two women regarded each other in silence, but then the cockpit door slammed, and Kyrksen marched into the compartment, his stride stiff and awkward. “They’re coming around to the door. They’ve split up as per the protocol. We’ve got six people headed our way. I couldn’t raise them on the intercom, but two of them look bad.”

  “Did they all get out of truck six?” Lyndsey asked.

  Kyrksen shook his head. “I don’t think so. I tried to do a headcount, and I’d say there are three personnel missing, possibly four, but without proper comms, I can’t say for sure.”

  “All right. Talk to Alec. Tell him to take a team of four over to truck six. They’ll need first aid kits, maybe stretchers.”

  “Understood,” Kyrksen said. “Anything else? What should I do?”

  “Stay in the cockpit and keep the comms open. Help me coordinate with the other trucks. If we need you back here, we’ll let you know.”

  Kyrksen nodded, exhaling loudly, clearly relieved he wasn’t expected to deal with the wounded. “No problem.” He headed back to the cockpit.

  Lyndsey patted Sue on the arm. “We can cope with six, especially if only two are wounded.”

  Sue dipped her chin. “Yes. We can cope. We’ve done it in drills.”

  “Not me,” Lyndsey said. “I’m usually the one with a stopwatch.”

  “You’ll be fine.” Sue gave her a reassuring smile. “Just listen to Thaddeus for anything medical. He knows what he’s talking about.”

  Before Lyndsey could reply, a thud from the back of the compartment signaled the rear door being opened. A moment later, a red light shone above the inner door, and they heard the rising whine of the decontamination cycle.

  “Here they come,” Lyndsey said. “We’ve only got a few minutes to suit up. We’ll never make it in time.”

  “Yes, we will.” Sue gestured toward the suit storage lockers. “After you, Doctor Teare.”

  Lyndsey crossed the compartment, a dizzying surge of adrenalin coursing through her veins. Let it be okay, she thought. Let everyone be all right. And she had to focus on that simple plea. Because otherwise, she’d start to wonder if this could’ve been avoided if only she’d briefed the pilots in time. And she couldn’t face that possibility. Not yet. Not even for one second.

  CHAPTER 3

  The Lowlands

  Ben climbed down from the rover slowly, the equipment in his backpack rattling as he moved. At the bottom of the short ladder, he tested the ground with his feet before transferring his weight to the surface. At first, the layer of symbiont gave way beneath his boots, and he pictured himself sinking into the soft, blue-gre
en slime, his legs disappearing beneath the surface as the grunge swallowed him down. But the notion passed when his feet found solid ground, and although the symbiont was much thicker than he’d ever seen it, it was only a few inches deep and nothing he couldn’t deal with. He stepped away from the ladder to make room for Tessa to climb down after him, and with every step he took, the symbiont sucked at the soles of his boots and slid beneath his heels, the grim slurping sound reminding him of the danger he was in. Whatever else happened out here, he mustn’t slip, mustn’t fall into the ravenous slime; his suit should hold, but even so, the idea of testing its seals to that extent filled him with horror.

  Tessa paused on the rover’s ladder, and her voice came over his helmet intercom: “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. But the symbiont is pretty thick down here, and it’s slippery too. You’ll need to watch your step.”

  “Got it.”

  Tessa wasted no time in climbing down the last few steps, her boots clunking heavily on the metal treads, and a sudden doubt surfaced in the back of Ben’s mind. Tessa had always struck him as the sensible type, but today she was excitable, flighty even. She didn’t seem to realize the gravity of the situation, and that was no good on a task like this. I should’ve asked Cate or Siobhan to come with me, he decided. But it was too late to change his mind. And anyway, Cate hadn’t volunteered, and he wasn’t sure whether he should have asked Siobhan; it was complicated.

  Tessa joined him, and through her helmet’s visor, he could see her broad smile. “I haven’t been down on the lowlands for a long time,” she said, “not since I helped build the wall.”

  “The safety routines haven’t changed,” Ben replied. “It’s still just as dangerous down here. More so. We don’t know what’s going on with the symbiont around here, so we need to be super careful.”

  “I know. I’m here to help, that’s all. Just tell me what to do.”

  Ben scanned the stunted stumps of symbiont, searching for a good place to start sampling. He pointed to the nearest cluster of outgrowths. “We’ll start there, with one of the smaller clumps, then we’ll go a little way in and try to get samples from a few of the taller ones. But we can’t go very far. It’s too risky. We might brush up against something, and I really don’t want this stuff on our suits, okay?”