A/N: This is my lovely NaNoWriMo story, which means it's already finished. :). Unfortunately, it was not originally written as a fanfic, so some major plot changes need to be made. Other than that, I'll be updating about every week, or when I can get to an actual computer. Enjoy!

Prologue

When man settled the planets, a lethal force was unleashed. Its power was unknown, its mystery unparalleled. In fact, this mighty force was not known at all. And when man became greedy for knowledge and resources, it reared its ugly head in a series of sicknesses, which became known as the Great Plague. The scientists worked quickly to save their people, but they were not quick enough. The plague wiped out several billion people before they could harness its power.

Our story takes place in 2235 A.D. The scientists of the galaxy have begun once again to find a cure to the new strain of the virus, Galaxia Pestis. Millions die each day. The universe has begun to collapse. The great power is growing stronger. Many wonder if the human race will survive.

Chapter 1

Thankfully, they had saved the samples from the last outbreak. The scientists ran around the harshly-lit lab, in a tornado of movement, picking up vials for testing, taking calls from various medical centers located throughout Athemin, and putting samples in the containment chamber. The frenzy was tense, moving as though through sheer will power and not of any desire to be there.

"That's another one!" yelled Lucretia Simmons across the room to whoever would listen, "145KPS. We're up to 163 strains, and counting."

The intern quickly copied this down and got back to playing his InterGalactic Space Battles game.

In the middle of it all sat Will Saper.

"Yes, I know… We're testing the G. Pestis… If we could go any faster, we would!" he said angrily into the GalxiPhone, eliciting some anxious looks from the other people in the room. "Unless you know of another lab that's agreed to stay up until all hours endangering their lives for a cause that seems pointless, you can…"

"Dr. Saper?" asked Cammie Paveras.

He held his hand up and listened impatiently to the person on the other end of the line. "Yeah… Okay, 'bye." Saper put down the phone and turned to Cammie. "What?"

"The president of the Galactic Chemical Society is on the vidSern," she said, "Apparently it's urgent."

"What is it now? Flying monkeys? People on Glameca learning their ABC's?" Will grumbled, but went to the side of the lab where the vidSern was set up.

"Nice to see you, Dr. Saper," said the president.

"'Ello, Mr. President," said Will, "Having a good time yet? I heard outbreaks are becoming breakfast to all us scientists."

"No, they're lunch and dinner too," the other replied, rubbing his head. "Listen, Will… Something's come up.

"Get on with it," muttered Will, thumbing through some files disinterestedly. As long as it didn't involve more interns, he was fine with it.

"So, do you know Lizzy Sapux from Celius?"

"The name seems vaguely familiar."

"She's heading the Astronomical Society's infectious disease unit."

Will laughed. "Why would they have an IDU?"

"You may laugh now, but just wait till you read the file I sent you. Apparently, they found evidence that there may be some sort of fungi that counteracts the affects of the plague. And it's only on 115X."

"And you believe them? Come on, the woman's from Celius. She's probably just out to gain some fame or, you know, spend the government's money."

"Come on, Will. She's published a bunch of great papers on the star cluster in Erlta II. Just because she comes from Celius doesn't mean anything."

"So make me sound like a stereotyping idiot. Just don't be upset when it all turns out to be a fluke. And besides, does she have the proof?"

"The proof is in there, if you would ever bother to check your comms. And it's not going to be a fluke. I can promise you that."

Will rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"Hey, Lizzy!" called the president to someone off screen, "I've got the almighty Will Saper on the VS."

"Really?" grumbled Will, "What's with the 'almighty?'"

"Hey there," said a woman, who had just come into view on the vidSern. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lizzy." He could detect something forced in her speech, but could only wonder why.

"Hello, Ms. Sapux," said Will.

"That's Doctor Sapux, to you," she joked, "No, really. Just call me Lizzy. It'll make thing a lot easier.

"Hi, Lizzy. I'm Will Saper."

"Ah, the all-knowing chemist. Tell me, how many unis did you pay for that article?" she inquired, half-jokingly.

"What article?" queried Will.

"The one on the front of Galaxy Times? This past Tuesday? Or what's that in Universal… I think it was 30:24 Universal."

"Never saw that one. We've been holed up in the lab since 30:16. Bloody outbreaks…"

"I heard there were 10,00 killed last night alone."

"And how are you doing anything about it?"

Lizzy seemed to stiffen at this.

"I just mean that it seems completely pointless to be an astronomer in a time like this. Don't you have a BA in general sciences?"

"Yeah, but this is the only job I can do well from home."

"Haven't you ever wanted to travel the galaxy?"

"Not when my father is dying slowly of the plague, no."

Will blinked in surprise. "I'm really sorry to hear about that."

"Nah, it's okay. He's three hundred and sixty-six. Not many get to live that long," replied Lizzy. Will suspected she was just putting on a brave front, but didn't comment on it.

"So what's with the whole fungus thing?" asked Will, going back to a slightly lighter topic.

"I found evidence of fungor vigoratus in the soil a while back, but didn't really think to examine the results of my surface testing until all this plague stuff started happening. It's rarely found throughout the galaxy, and it seems the soil has some sort of antibody that can reverse the affects of the plague."

"Sounds cool, but as far as I know, no one's gone to 115X besides the natives…. And I'm assuming those are shrubberies or something."

"Shrubberies there may be, but not likely. The atmosphere can barely maintain everything on the planet, much less shrubberies."

The president came back on the screen. "Will, we've got to go. There's a problem with the main generator on our side, and I need Lizzy to fix it up."

"Bye," said Will.

"Check your comm!" said the president, fading away with his image.

Will peered into his pocket and pulled out the small black device. "Comm, any new messages?"

"Two new messages, Dr. Saper. Would you like me to read them to you?"

"Please," muttered the scientist, and went back to his original table where he continued to run through lab reports.

"The message from the president of the GCS says that you have to go to a meeting on D'lus for the GCS Plague Committee meeting. Would you like to schedule an appointment?"

"Go ahead."

"The message from Lizzy Sapux contains classified information. I cannot read this to you."

"Read it anyways."

"I'm sorry sir, I just can't do that."

Will chucked the device across the room, where the intern was sitting. It beaned him in the back of the head.