Riley
was typing at the portable computer. “Only thirty two minutes!”
Felicia said.
“All
right, fix the clamp on,” Riley said.
“What
are you typing?” Felicia asked.
“Each
door's trip code is the answer to a random question set by the crew.
Nine tours back, we got drunk, thought them up. Reckoning was, if
we're hijacked, we're the only one who know all the answers.”
“So,
we type in the right answer?” Felicia prompted
“This
sends an unlock pulse to the clamp. But we only get one chance per
door. Get it wrong, the whole system freezes,” Riley answered.
“We
better not get it wrong then,” Felicia said. She hoped she sounded
more confident than she actually was.
The
first question came up, “Okay, Date of SS Pentallion's first
flight. That's all right. Go!”
The
lights on the clamp turned green and the door opened.
“Yes!”
Felicia called out.
“Twenty
eight more to go!” Riley said.
“Of
course. Lead the way,” Felicia said.
“Abi,
how's Korwin?” Martha asked via the intercom.
Abi
was reading Korwin's charts, trying to make sense of them.
“He's
under heavy sedation. I'm just trying to make sense of this data.
Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know.”
Felicia
and Riley arrived at the next door. “Felicia? Riley? How're
you're doing?”
“We're
at the door to area twenty eight,” Felicia answered.
“Yeah,
you've got to move faster,” the Doctor said.
“We're
doing our best,” Felicia retorted.
“Find
the next number in the sequence 313, 331, 367. What?”
“What's
wrong?” Felicia asked.
“The
crew's changed since we set the questions.”
“Great!”
Felicia said. She thought. “Happy Primes. The next one is 379!”
“Are
you sure?” Riley asked.
“She's
right,” the Doctor interjected. “Here's someone who does
recreational mathematics!”
“Enter
it!” Felicia said.
Riley
entered the code. “It worked!”
“Of
course it worked,” Felicia said. She and Riley then ran to the next
door as the Doctor explained the concept of Happy Primes.
When
he had finished“...Felicia. Be careful. There may be something
else aboard this ship.”
“Oh,
thanks,” Felicia said sarcastically.
“Impact
in thirty, thirty.”
They
came up to the next door. “What is the next one?” Felicia asked.
“Oh,
this is a nightmare! Classical music. Who had the most pre-download
number ones, Elvis Presley or the Be-atles? How are we supposed to
know that?”
Felicia
was stumped. “We have to ask the Doctor.”
“We
need a backup in case they don't reach the auxiliary engines in time.
Come on, think. Resources. What have we got,” the Doctor said.
“Doctor?”
Felicia asked.
“What
is it now?”
“Who
had the most number ones, Elvis or the Beatles? Pre-download?”
“Elvis!
No! The Beatles!”
“I'll
ask Martha.”
Martha
didn't know either. So she called her mother, who eventually found
out (not without some argument...)
“Doctor,
these readings are starting to scare me,” Abi said.
“What
do you mean?”
“Well,
Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make-up. It's
impossible,” Abi paused. “This is Med-centre. Urgent
assistance requested. Urgent assistance!”
“Stay
here, keep working!” the Doctor said. He, Martha and McDonnell
left.
“Abi,
they're on their way,” Erina said.
“Burn
with me!”
“Captain,”
Scannell asked.
“I
told you to stay in Engineering.”
“I
only take orders from one person round here.”
“Oh,
is he always this cheery?” the Doctor asked McDonnell.
Going
between doors, Felicia heard a scream. “Doctor, what's that
scream?”
“Concentrate
on those doors, you've got to keep moving,”
“Got
it,” Felicia said.
“Impact
in twenty seven, oh six.”
The
Doctor, Martha, O'Donnell and Scannell entered the Med Bay.
“Korwin's
gone,” O'Donnell said.
Scannell
blasphemed. He pointed to a dark outline on the wall. “Tell me
that's not Learner.”
“Endothermic
vaporisation. I've never seen one this ferocious,” the Doctor said.
“Burn with me.”
“That's
what we heard Korwin say,” Scannell said.
To
say that McDonnell didn't believe it would be an understatement.
“What? Do you think? No say, Scannell, tell him. Korwin is not a
killer. He can't vaporise people. He's human!”
“His
bioscan results. Internal temperature, one hundred degrees! Body
oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Your husband hasn't been infected, he's
been overwhelmed.”
“The
test results are wrong!” McDonnell declared.
The
Doctor continued as if he hadn't heard her. “But what is it though?
A parasite? A mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body, but
how did it get inside him?”
“Stop
talking like he's some kind of experiment!”
“Where's
the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any
other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?”
“What
is this? An interrogation?” McDonnell asked.
“We've
got to stop him before he kills again,” the Doctor said.
“We're
just a cargo ship,” McDonnell said as she fought back tears.
“Doctor,
if you'll give her a minute,” Scannell said.
“I'm
fine,” McDonnell said. “I need to warn the crew.” She took a
microphone. “Everybody, listen to me. Something has infected
Korwin. We think he killed Abi Learner. None of you is to go anywhere
near him. Is that clear?”
Felicia
and Riley heard it as they opened another door. “That's not good,”
Riley said.
“You
know Korwin?” Felicia asked.
“It's
a small ship,” Riley said by way of explaining, as he started
running to the next door.
“Is
the infection permanent? Can you cure him?”
“I
don't know,” the Doctor said.
“Don't
lie to me, Doctor. Eleven years we've been married. We chose this
ship together. He keeps me honest, so I don't want false hope.”
“The
parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's gone. There's no way back.
I'm sorry.”
“Thank
you,” McDonnell said.
“Are
you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on
anything secret? Because it's vital that you tell me,” the Doctor
said.
“I
know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives.
There is nothing,” McDonnell admitted.
“Then
why is this thing so interested in you?”
“I
wish I knew.”
“We're
through to area seventeen, Doctor,” Felicia reported.
“Keep
going,” the Doctor said, “You've got to ge to area one and reboot
those engines.”
“Come
on!” Riley cried. “Everything on this ship is so cheap.” He
heard a sound behind them, “Who's there?”
Someone
appeared through the smoke that had permeated the area. “Is that
Korwin?” Felicia asked.
“No,
wait a minute.” Riley said. “Oh, Ashton, what are you doing?”
“Burn
with me!”
“Uh
oh!” Felicia said. “We need to go!”
“What?”
Riley asked.
“Burn
with me! Burn with me!”
“Something
is wrong!” Felicia said. She opened the door to a small adjacent
area and pulled Riley in.
“What
is happening on this ship?” Riley asked.
“Clearly,
more than one person has been affected,” Felicia answered. “But
where are we?”
“Airlock
sealed. Jettison Escape Pod.”
“Oops!”
Felicia said.
“Pod,
Jettison initiated.”
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