Once Andromeda's sensors were back online, the pieces started falling quickly into place.
Using Rhade's reports of rotten meat as an indicator for sampling the air she was able to detect a pattern, the source of which she'd highlighted before as harmless, but now it seemed logical that it was indicative of the beast that was stalking what remained of her crew.
The benign gas released by the crash of the Eureka Maru was not as harmless as Andromeda had first declared. Now able to sense it once again, she analysed it against coolant fluids from Rommie and Doyle. She would have compared blood samples from Harper and Rhade, but neither were inclined to donate any bodily fluids at this time.
However, the two androids showed significant traces of the gas in their organic components. How it worked still defied explanation and Andromeda maintained that the mix had no properties to cause such paranoia.
On the assumption that the gas was however still to blame, Andromeda extrapolated further and found traces in her own coolant systems as well as the air on board. In her case it was likely to have infected her systems almost immediately through her air intakes and the odour of the gas had probably been largely hidden by the Maru's burning systems when she had crashed.
The normal purge systems had not removed it, simply causing it to move around the ventilation system. Additionally, because it was self-perpetuating throughout her systems with the molecules in her coolant system passing into the air and back again seemingly on a random basis, accounted for the periodic aroma.
Andromeda had difficulty processing this new information. Her analyses telling her that she was infected by the gas and the effects of the gas telling her that it was a trick and everyone else was out to destroy her, or take her over. There were subroutines designed to exterminate enemies and vermin, some of them extreme, but she had been constantly bypassing the mortality imperative because the protocol to preserve life held paramount when the urge to destroy her crew became overwhelming.
XXXXX
Rhade was convinced that such a gas must be a weapon, something that took an insidious control, destroying the enemy from within. He needed to know who the enemy was, a frustration that grew with the knowledge that there was no monster on board other than the crew's own fear and suspicion.
Harper refused to be convinced, yet it was his expertise they needed most at that moment in order to cleanse Andromeda without killing them all. Or Trance, perhaps, but she would not leave her protection.
At a loss as to what to do, Rhade examined the Eureka Maru's manifest. In the sprit of a trade alliance they had been carrying goods on a trade mission from Thanatos to the Hadean system.
Thanatos was a couple of slipstream jumps away from their present position but Rhade did not want to contemplate slipstream under the present circumstances. If the Thanatosions were trying to make war with the Maru, Andromeda or the Hadean system, then they were screwed in any case. However, given the distances involved, it did not make sense that the Hadean system would be a target, nor did it make sense that no one had attempted to recover the Maru or Andromeda if either of those were the targets.
Assuming for the moment that the goods were genuine trade, then presumably there had to be an antidote, something to purge organic systems. There were listed several canisters, all in pairs in a box whose labelling implied the sharing of biological research. Presumably offensive research partnered with its defensive counterpart, which for this one would be the antidote.
And it would be on the Maru.
Which Beka had taken.
And would likely contain the highest concentration of the gas.
Vividly recalling the Maru's crash into the cargo bay, Rhade asked Harper how much of a repair job he'd made. The engineer nervously responded that he hadn't finished when Beka took it. The Maru was sound and the cockpit was as it should be, but he hadn't finished with the engines and as far as he knew, they would still be leaking.
With that information and despite clear attempts by Beka to cover her tracks, Andromeda was able to track the Maru down. And as they set off in pursuit, Rhade could not help but feel a certain amount of pleasure in leaving Dylan behind.
XXXXX
Before
With the persistent headache Beka was suffering, Trance actually refused to let her out of the med deck for two days. She had begged to be allowed back to her own quarters, but Trance had laughed and told her that she was quite certain that Beka would not rest there, and Beka had to admit she was right.
So, when she finally was released, she decided that she may as well live up to Trance's expectations, and after a long luxurious shower and changing into fresh clothes, she headed up to Command. Dylan didn't seem the least bit surprised to see her, and headed off every one of her excuses and objections before she could vocalise them, sending her packing like a naughty schoolgirl back to her quarters.
Fine, she thought, Trance and Dylan had obviously been talking. She passed Harpers quarters and smiled as she thought she may as well keep her promise to Rhade. She didn't want to be cruel, after all, the big guy was in the blue gel because he had saved her from some serious hurting, if not saved her life, and the matriarch thing notwithstanding that was kinda cool. But, just a little joke simply had to be done.
Using her best thieving skills, including making a deal with Andromeda, she stole the little yellow rubber duck that Harper kept in his bathroom. All teasing aside, it was purely decorative and Beka recalled Harper buying it on some drift for 'sentimental reasons' so he'd said.
She took it and hoped Rhade wouldn't do anything too destructive with it, and if he did then she'd just acquire a new one for Harper. It wasn't like the engineer would mind if it meant winding a Neitzchean up.
A while later, she wandered on to the med deck, duck hidden behind her back. The lighting was subdued as Andromeda was in her 'night' mode, which made the blue gel coffin glow softly clearly outlining its current occupant. Lifting up the lid, she took a moment to look at the sleeping Neitzchean, for the first time realising how bad the burns actually were. She couldn't be certain, but she thought she could see bone through the knitting flesh. 'Gross', she muttered to herself and dropped the duck into the gel before closing the lid.
"What are you doing, Beka?" Trance appeared beside her, making her jump.
Beka grinned, "Letting Rhade think I've been playing in his bath of course." There was an uncomfortable silence as Trance just stared at her, until she cleared her throat. "So, is he really going to be okay in a day or two because that looks pretty bad?"
Trance shook her head. "It wouldn't be good for him to wake up too early. I've already amended the program to six days, which should be more than enough. But I didn't think he'd want to get in if I told him that."
"Stubborn Neitzchean!" they both said simultaneously and laughed.
"At least he can't cause trouble while he's in there," Beka said, "maybe all Neitzchean's should be kept like that and only let out to play when there's someone to make sure they're not up to no good." She was joking, but Trance looked at her with a strangely serious expression.
"That's a very good idea," the avatar said and Beka hoped she was joking.
"Yeah, uh, anyway, I have to go." Beka excused herself and went for a lie down, which she decided she deserved by now.
X
It was on the way down to the Maru, that Beka first heard it, the tap tapping of something with many feet following her. It could be anything, so she called out Hello, and checked the junction of corridors behind her, but there was no one there.
Shrugging she turned away, and although she thought she heard it once or twice more, there was never anything there.
The Maru was more or less in working order or at least the cockpit was, but the engine was clearly still being worked on. With the stench of rotten meat in the bay, she didn't want to discover what Harper had been eating in there and just trusted that the stink would be gone by the time Seamus had done with the Maru.
Heading back to the habitation levels, she could hear the tapping noise following her again, although she didn't actually see anything and Andromeda could detect nothing.
X
Harper seemed to have stopped work on the Maru so Beka took it upon herself to get on with repairing her beloved ship, but the tapping noise seemed to be following her everywhere. Sometimes others seemed to hear it too and sometimes they didn't. Once, she caught a glimpse of a giant hairy arachnid leg creep into her peripheral vision and she spun, shooting, but it was gone before she could really see it.
Dylan immediately sent her to Trance to have her head injury checked out, but the avatar confirmed that there was nothing wrong with Beka, and in fact seemed scared herself. Remembering the Trance's sisters, Beka was suddenly not convinced that the golden avatar was their Trance.
Glancing over at Rhade, she could see that the chronograph on the tank was now blank; the timer had been switched off which meant that the sleeping patient would remain in hibernation until such time as someone chose to let him out. Beka didn't really have a problem with that, things were creepy enough without having some Neitzchean wandering around who would stab you in the back any chance they got, but the fact that Trance was most likely the person who had done that scared her slightly. Was this their Trance? Knowing Trance's powers, Beka decided it was best not to find out right now.
X
With more reports of a monster roaming Andromeda's corridors, it was obvious that it was not in Beka's imagination. No one was able to describe exactly what it was like, although Andromeda tried to compose a description from the glimpses people claimed they saw, since she couldn't detect anything herself.
Most said it was big, although some thought it was many small things. It had legs, except for those that said it had tentacles, and it was hairy except for those that said it was slimy or scaly. It made a knocking sound except when it slithered, and it was definitely solid except for those that said it was ghost-like.
Patrols were put together, and Beka made it her mission to find the beast, constantly hunting.
After a close call where the unseen monster fired back, Dylan made the abandon ship order. That was a little extreme in Beka's opinion and she'd told him so. He'd ignored her as usual, although she could see the logic behind what he was doing. Kinda.
On the other hand, Dylan was quickly eroding the crew altogether. Rhade was secured, Rommie and Doyle seemed to have disappeared, the last time she'd seen Harper he'd been sneaking around the ship as if afraid for his life and Trance was definitely not herself, in fact she hadn't seen Trance since Andromeda lost power. As for Andromeda, she was breaking down faster than the Maru in an asteroid storm. Or, maybe Dylan was ordering his ship to scare everyone away.
She went to see Dylan one more time, but all he did was ask what she was really after. Like she had some ulterior motive. Unable to stand being treated like an underling anymore and with the monster following her every minute of the day and night, she decided that she'd had enough and Dylan practically waved her on her way.
The Maru should be functional enough to get her to the nearest drift and she was smart enough to hide her trail so Dylan wouldn't be able to easily come and drag her back. She shuddered as she readied her ship for take off. She would not be coming back here in a hurry.
X
The monster had followed her aboard the Maru and disabled her engines. The only good thing was, she was far away from Andromeda and all those she'd once called friends. It was so obvious now that their personal agendas conflicted with hers to the extent they needed to get rid of her, and they'd sacrificed her to the beast. So clever had they been, she hadn't seen it coming.
She was floating in space with no propulsion, the Maru leaking too badly for her to get anywhere near a drift. It was a case of déjà vu in terms of the first few months she'd spent in Seefra. She'd never wanted that loneliness ever again, yet here she was going nowhere in exactly the same situation. Except there was something trying to kill her on board.
After she had searched the whole ship, purged the cargo hold and generally tried to kick butt, but failed to find any butt to kick, she decamped to bunk area, putting all her food and fluids and everything else she might need there. Except as time went on, the monster found ways through her barricades, until at night she could almost feel the soft prickly hairs on its legs tickle her throat as it reached for her.