(4)
They spoke to one another alone in the control room, a large window looking out into Alpha's immense hanger. Two Eagles were lifted from their pads by heavy mechanical arms, a maintenance procedure commencing.
Carter told her it was necessary. "The moon's been plunged through three space warps in succession, something that has never happened to us before." Alan paused for emphasis, "Eagles hate it."
"Are they damaged?' Helena asked as she watched the procedure.
"Not as far as we can tell but it plays havoc with the fuel mixture. We don't know why but it becomes heavier and thicker. Eventually the fuel lightens again after a week but if you've ever noticed, after a trip through a warp, we have to ground the Eagles until the conversion takes place. After three space warps in a row who knows how long it will take for them to be operational this time."
Helena stared at Alan for a moment as he looked distractedly out the window, an odd thoughtfulness about him. She suddenly wondered - if Alan had been experiencing the things she, Yasko and Flemming did - was he contemplating flying an Eagle far from Alpha? Taking a chance she flatly asked: "Have you noticed changes … in our people?"
He turned and looked directly at her, relief spreading across his handsome face. "Yeah." The Australian pilot's expression clearly showed a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Two of my best mates …" He let the comment hang for a moment. "Strangers." he completed.
Leaning in close, Helena told Carter of her suspicions, how Alpha seemed be the target of an alien take-over. "So far John, Yasko, and we two are the only ones not affected."
"John too?" he clarified.
"So far." Helen inhaled, "But that won't last long if we don't figure out how to stop and reverse what has happened." Helena looked to the pad, watching two busy technicians waving hand held lights at the crane operator, telling him where to position one of the hanging Eagles.
"Who are they? What do they want?" Alan wondered.
"I'm not sure but I should have known something was happening even before Yasko told me her story and some piece started to fit together."
"Why?'
"When I entered Medical Center Dr. Mathias quickly came over and told me how well Flemming was doing."
"So?"
"Alan, I've known Bob for a long time. Never once did he ask me how I was feeling. He was the attending doctor when I was attacked, he examined me and gave me medication, and the first thing he should have asked when he saw me was how I felt. Not just to be friendly but because it's something a doctor automatically does."
"That's crazy." Alan nodded, now anxious. "Okay, what do we do from here?"
"John said he would find us when he could get away from Command Center. Let's go to Yasko and wait for him. Between the four of us maybe we can come up with a solution."
They walked quickly but calmly through the halls, acknowledging fellow Alphans but knowing they were not their true friends. They had been in dire straits before but this time it was nearly unbearable. They could trust no one.
When Yasko let them into her tidy room, adorned with miniature bonsai trees and a charming tea set prepared for company, Helena was a little surprised but the young woman's calm exterior. She greeted them kindly and, if she was afraid, Yasko did not show it. Helena, for the moment, did not think further about her demeanor because it was Yasko's intelligence and calmness under pressure that made her an asset as a Command Center communications expert.
"Will the Commander be here soon?" she asked when Carter put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"He will." Alan said, "And once that happens we'll figure something out. Commander Koenig is a smart man and he's probably been thinking over our options since the Doc here figured out Alpha has a problem."
"How and why is this happening, Dr. Russell?" She and Alan sat on the sofa in the lounging area of her quarters. The room itself was not as big as the Command Quarters but it was comfortable.
Helena recalled that, until Cedrick and Clara married, Yasko had been roommates with Clara Flemming. It must have come as a big shock to her when she discovered her friend and one time colleague had changed so drastically.
"I know it has something to do with breaking glass." Helena said, "I've had time to think about it and always, when a change takes place, the cracking or shattering of glass occurs …"
"That's right." Alan recalled, "I was talking to Bill and Annette Fraiser a day before their personalities altered and they told me while they were in the east end café a tray of glasses were wiped-out on a table not far from them. No one could explain how it happened."
Helena nodded, "Yasko, you told me about Cranston and Steven. And a glass partition shattered when Flemming attacked me but was quickly repaired. I thought I imagined it but then the mirror in my quarters cracked …"
"Cracked?" Carter asked, a little nervous now.
"Just cracked, Alan." Helena could not help a small smile. "However, if I had been alone that night – if one of our infected had come into my quarters – I would have changed like everyone else. But I was with John and …" Forgetting herself, Helena allowed a chuckle and looked down at her feet.
She could hear Alan and Yasko also snickered and it might have lightened the serious moment considerably except for one thing.
On the carpet covering the slick tiled floor of Yasko's impeccable quarters, near Helena's left boot, was a shard of glass; a piece of mirror to be exact. Slowly, Helena looked up and directly at Yasko, who suddenly seemed to see what Helena saw.
With a quick jerk of her head, Helena looked over to where Yasko's bathroom was - the door slightly ajar – and she could see the corner of her shattered mirror.
But more importantly in the glass that remained, Helena could see two figures, one being Clara Flemming, attempting to hide her presence!
"Alan!" Helena shouted but too late. She watched as Yasko launched herself at the confused man beside her, holding him still. Frightened, Helena backed up and saw Clara … and a man who looked exactly like Alan Carter walked from the bathroom into the lounge.
He looked at Helena and said: "It's not what you think, Dr. Russell."
"Run Helena!" Carter shouted from the sofa as Clara and the other Carter, the duplicate alien, made their way over to him, overwhelming him. "Go to John Koenig! Find him ….!"
It was too late to help Alan and Helena, disoriented and panicked, was out of the room running.
(To be continued ...) Oh no ... :o
