SCARS
FOUR
"Teacher, John, as requested we are now in high orbit above the planet Orolo, but there is one thing I must tell you."
"Shit!" hissed John as he proactively began pacing, "I hate it when she says that. It's never good."
"What is it, Grasshopper?" Wil asked; the sound of worry skirting around the edges of her words.
"I must inform you that Orolo is no longer inhabited, Teacher."
"What did I tell you?" moaned John. "Ungood. Very ungood."
"Shush, John. What happened to the people, Grasshopper? Did they evacuate their home world?"
"No, Teacher. The surface of Orolo has been devastated. The cities destroyed, the countryside strafed. There are no life signs. I do not believe that…"
Wil gasped audibly and John quickly went to her, enveloping her in his arms.
"I do not believe, Teacher, taking into account the large amount of inanimate organic material amid the ruins that anyone has survived."
"Hush, Grasshopper," John whispered. "Your Teacher is upset."
I see that, Captain Hart. But does she not need all the pertinent information?
No, Grasshopper, I don't think that she does. Not right now. She doesn't need to know anything else.
I understand Captain Hart.
Good. Now leave us be for awhile, okay?
Yes, John.
He would hold her until she stopped crying. He understood it could take a long time but it has already been established that John Hart is a patient man. And when it comes to Wil Beinert, he is a good man as well. He would hold her forever if necessary.
"Crade?" she managed to murmur in a small, shaky voice after a few minutes, after her sobs measurably subsided.
"Yes, I know. I am so sorry, Wil. I am so sorry for your loss. Crade saved your life and cared for and about you. I know you cared about him in return. I know he was your friend. I'm sorry my love."
"All of them…" she cried anew, her pain overflowing, nearly consuming her.
And suddenly John understood the extent of it. He realized exactly what she meant. Not only Crade, and not merely all the Orolo people, but the Erasmii children as well. The children they had worked so hard to save from the Aedui prior to the obliteration of their home world. The innocent children they had brought to this place, this sanctuary, this very planet; his and her best intentions perverted. All their hopes dashed and their efforts for naught. This was indeed terrible news and John fought back the anger and hatred and disgust that rose like bile in his soul as best he could, but it was hard, so very hard. He'd always been the one to fly off the handle while someone else – usually Jack, or more recently Wil – was the calming influence, the voice of reason. He wasn't sure he enjoyed this new role. He wanted to rage, not reassure.
Worse yet, he no longer knew what to say to her. What could one say in response to this degenerate nightmare? This horror? There were no words that could possibly fill the expanding, permeating sense of desolation. So he said nothing. Instead he simply held her close, stroked her hair and abided.
Eventually Wil's sobs quieted and John felt her tense muscles begin to ease.
He was just about to break the silence when the ship beat him to it.
"Teacher, John, I have discovered something that may be important."
Their eyes met and locked as Wil pulled back from his embrace and swallowed hard, "What is it, Grasshopper?"
"A small communications beacon. A tiny satellite in geosynchronous orbit around what remains of the planet. Teacher, it is broadcasting in Morse code."
John blinked, shook his head almost imperceptibly, "Morse code?"
Wil nodded, "A type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic information using rhythm. It was invented on Earth during the mid-nineteenth century. It's not encrypted or anything like that – it's analog – designed to be read without a decoding device. It's very, I mean very primitive Earth telecom tech. In my time it is no longer used except by hobbyists. And…" her voice trailed off as she contemplated the sheer strangeness of what she was saying.
"And?" John asked, finally warming to the topic.
"And aeronautical navigation aids… How very odd."
John frowned, "What's it doing out here?"
"I don't know! That is what's so odd about this. I can't imagine. Grasshopper, have you decoded the message?"
"Of course, Teacher."
"Good. What does it say?"
"It says hello."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, Teacher. A single English word, repeating endlessly in Morse code."
"Let's bring it on board."
"Oh, let's hold that thought!" John barked. "Are we certain this thing is safe? Grasshopper, it isn't booby-trapped, is it?"
"Booby-trapped?"
"It's not a bomb, or a Trojan horse, or a stealth weapon of some sort?" John scowled deeply, "It's not going to infect us with a deadly virus or turn into some sort of murderous robot or short-circuit your systems or harm us in any one of a zillion different ways?"
"No, Captain Hart."
"You're certain?"
"Yes, Captain Hart."
He thought it over. "Very well, then. Bring it on board but enclose it in a containment field, and be ready to jettison it at…"
"Oh John!" Wil was so trying to not roll her eyes.
He rounded on her, his face hard. "No! None of that oh John business, please! I've had too many supposedly innocuous artifacts go sideways on me. I care too much about you and this crazy ship of yours – not to mention my own sorry hide. What does Jack always say? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? I'm here to tell you I've learned that lesson the hard way. And more than once! Can we not be stone cold stupid about this, M'Lady?"
Wil then did something she hadn't done in probably twenty years. She bit her lip and counted to ten. Next she realized that no one had ever called her stupid before, so she counted to ten again, and then a third time as she took several deep breaths. Having thus managed to calm herself, she smiled as she took John's hands in hers. "You're right, of course, and I apologize. I'm letting my emotions get the better of me. Grasshopper, do exactly what John said, please. Bring aboard the beacon but place it inside a level ten containment field, set to maximum efficacy. Go to full alert. If you detect anything anomalous, transport it immediately into space and move us far away as quick as you can."
"Yes, Teacher."
A small, dark object materialized in front of them, the containment field shimmered around it but the beacon did not appear to catch any of the field's dull yellowish light. John crouched down and examined the artifact intently at eye-level. "It's designed to be invisible," he said. "It is made of some sort of advanced non-reflective material. It'd be damn hard to pick this up on most detection systems. How'd you spot it, Grasshopper?" John stood up again, his eyes scanning the room.
"The Morse code, Captain Hart. It is very distinctive. I recognized the transmission from numerous entries in the Time Lord Galactic Database. The Doctor himself has used this form of communication several times. The first instance being on Earth in…"
John waved his hand through the air, "That's okay, Grasshopper. Save the history lesson for later." He looked at Wil and shrugged, "What next?"
She thought for a few moments, "Well…"
The object flared bright white.
"Grasshopper!" John screamed.
