Chapter Twenty-Four: The Other Guys
Tuesday, 18th January 2000.
Natalie guided Neville and Hermione through the halls of the university. She had not returned here in many years, not since graduating from dental school two years before she even met Richard and the pair began a practice together.
In fact, besides a short visit in Hermione's youth, she hadn't visited Glasgow in over a decade. Much had changed in her absence, but the busy feeling of being among learning was in the air as they passed rushing students on their way to lectures and open areas where others were gathered together either studying or simply spending time with friends.
Natalie glanced over her shoulder at her daughter and noticed a wistful look in her eyes. She couldn't help the smile that grew at the sight and once again was proud of the studious nature that Hermione has developed somehow of her own accord. While she and Richard had always encouraged her to do her best, they certainly could not claim credit for the girl's ravenous desire to learn and absorb information.
Traits that, if Harry's stories were to be fully believed, had saved lives countless times. Her eyes drifted to the Longbottom boy who was also looking about fascinated and she realized this was possibly the first exposure he'd had to muggle learning. Talk about throwing him in at the deep end.
"Come on you two. We can gawk later." She said, drawing their attention as she gestured them into the research centre she now stood outside. "We have a meeting to attend, remember."
Hermione looked slightly abashed at having been caught eyeing the facilities, and Natalie wondered if there would be a conversation with Harry over perhaps enrolling in some further education. While the Alteran knowledge base they now worked with was extensive, there were still times that muggle or magical knowledge had smoothed an issue or problem for them. It was for that very reason that they were even here right now. That and Hermione would likely never lose that drive to know more.
Hermione shuffled quickly through the door, not making eye contact as she passed. Neville followed her as well, but couldn't resist a couple of extra glances over his shoulder as he passed. For the sake of her own curiosity, she was going to have to sit down and have a detailed chat about the differences between university and Hogwarts with her daughter later on, but for the moment they were here with a purpose.
She quickly found Hermione standing outside the door they required, knocking heavily on the door. While she'd heard many a Scottish accent today on their trip, the one that replied from beyond the door was familiar in a way the others had not been.
"Aye, just a moment."
The trio stood quietly at the door before it opened half a minute later and Natalie smiled as she took in the figure. A man in his mid-thirties with short yet thick dark brown hair and bright smiling blue eyes looked out at them.
"Yes. Can I help you with something?" He asked, his Scottish accent heavy and yet clearly understandable to the Brits. Something she was grateful for as a few of her lecturers at this very university had quite thick accents that had made her studies slightly harder despite her family living in the city at the time.
"Carson. It's been a long time." Natalie said, extending her hand to the man.
His eyes flicked to her and a glimmer of recognition flared within them. "Natalie? My word, it's been years." His smile flared bright and wide once more and Natalie was reminded of the two times they had met in the past, both at medical conferences. Back then he had been fresh out of medical school, but was working on a second degree in general biology.
"It certainly has. Not since Hermione here went off to secondary."
"Hermione? I remember you speaking of her. It's a pleasure to meet you, young lady." Carson said, extending his hand to her daughter who wore a look of odd disbelief at being called young by someone who couldn't be more than ten to fifteen years older than her.
"A pleasure." She replied simply before the man moved on to Neville.
"And who is this wee lad?"
"This is one of Hermione's classmates. Neville Longbottom, meet Doctor Carson Beckett."
"Hello," Neville replied, shaking the man's hand firmly.
"Well, colour me surprised that this mysterious meeting was to be with you. Come in, all of you. Take a seat if you like." Carson said, rounding his desk and taking a seat behind it. His jovial attitude made Natalie smile in return and she recalled the excitement the man had shown for their field. It was small wonder that he was running advanced research so young.
"You're doing well for yourself it seems," Natalie stated and Carson nodded in reply.
"We've made a few strides recently. I'm hoping to take a new development to practical testing in a month or two. An exciting time to be in medicine, wouldn't you agree?"
"An exciting time to be anywhere," Natalie replied, smiling at her companions knowingly. "And that is part of why we've come to call. You were highly recommended by someone we're currently working with. A Summer Canis."
"Summer?" Carson said with a curious lilt. He leant back in his chair and began to speak to himself for a moment. "Summer, Summer, Summer… That wouldn't be the wee lass with the odd ideas about the potential curative properties of certain poisonous plants, would it?"
"That is likely her," Neville said with a smirk, as Natalie knew the boy was well-versed in every single one of the plants to which Carson was referring. While to muggles they were generally considered dangerous, some of those plants made the basis of the potions in her pocket right this very minute.
"Aye, I remember her. Not sure what it is she'd be recommending you come and see me about though."
"Well," Hermione said, leaning forward. "We've uncovered a virus, a very old and highly contagious one. She and a few others have been helping us to work on a cure for it, and they've made great progress. But have hit a slight snag. They need assistance with delivery vectors, especially for more exotic subjects."
"Exotic subjects?" Carson asked with a curious smile.
"It's a whole thing, let me tell you," Natalie noted, returning the smile.
"Oh, aye? Sounds fascinating. Have her send me her work and I'd be happy to look over it."
"Therein lies the snag," Neville said, drawing the Scot's eye.
"They are in a fully quarantined area, due to the danger of the virus. We have significant evidence that it destroyed a highly advanced civilization so are taking all possible precautions to ensure it doesn't get out. Even in written form." Natalie answered.
"Well, that's a pity. I'm not sure how I can help if they can't even send me their notes." Carson replied, sounding somewhat disappointed.
"There is an alternative." Hermione offered. "We have a few ways of speeding up travel to and from."
"You want me to go to them? Didn't you just say they're in quarantine?"
"They are," Natalie said. "But we have substantial segregation between them and the general areas of the structure. And it's like you're in the room with them when you use our communication suite."
"Even sped up, I'm not sure my work here can be delayed for the length of time such a thing would take."
"We can offer you the best facilities to continue your own work on-site while you are our guest as well. And a substantial remuneration package."
Carson looked to Natalie with abject curiosity now. He had always been a curious sort, similar to Hermione in his desire to learn, though not quite so avid. But he was also incredibly sharp and she knew he was noting all the holes in their pitch where they weren't being straight up with the man in his very public office.
"I can promise you this, it will change your view of the world as a whole. And you can still say no once you see the facility. But I, for one, don't think that you will."
Hermione pitched in from the side. "If I understand the brief on your work correctly, this could very well line up nicely with the subject in question. You could even end up advancing your own project in the process of helping us clear up ours."
Carson smiled at the teen before he turned back to Natalie. "Oh ho, good to see the apple didn't fall far here."
"Oh, trust me. She's far more ravenous for new information than I am. If you come with us, expect her to be berating you with questions about your work all day and night."
Hermione flushed brightly and Carson's smile grew even wider. "You know, were it anyone else, I think I'd say no. But for an old friend, I have to at least hear the full pitch. I suppose I can spare the weekend to come and see what it is you need my help with, Natalie."
"Well, here's to making it current friends again." Natalie extended her hand over the desk and Carson shook it firmly. "There are so few people I have the chance to keep in touch with these days. Be nice to add a few more as delightful and knowledgeable as yourself back into that mix."
"Aye," Carson replied with a smile. "I'll ensure things are stable here and give you a call Thursday to work out the travel arrangements?"
Hermione smiled brightly as she leaned forward and handed Carson a small remote with but a single button on its surface. "Done. When you're ready to come, simply press the button. But only once you're ready. Make sure you have everything you'd like to bring in hand." She leant back with a mischievous grin and Natalie shook her head at how much her daughter had changed as well as how much she had stayed the same over her time at Hogwarts.
"It'll be quite the experience, I can guarantee that," Neville added.
Carson looked confusedly between the three of them before he shrugged and pocketed the device. "I'll trust you on this one. But if this is all some big prank, you better be expecting one in return."
"I swear it's all real. I've near on done an injury to my left arm, constantly pinching myself to make sure of it." Natalie replied.
"To the weekend, then," Carson said, giving them a cheery nod, which the others returned.
"We'll let you get everything in order. See you on Saturday." Natalie guided the two teens towards the door and with one last smile, she stepped out, sure that they had Carson sufficiently interested by what they didn't say more than with what they had.
ϟ
Thursday, 20th January 2000.
Richard wandered slowly down the extremely long driveway of hard-packed red dirt. Behind him, Harry and Luna chatted softly to one another too quietly for him to make out, but his attention was focused on the house visible a few hundred metres ahead of them. They had followed Nugget's advice on making their approach slow and visible when arriving at this location, but he hadn't given him much else to go off of for the meeting beyond a brief history of the man they were here to meet.
He was a bit of an oddity in the armed forces. A crack soldier that had seen some of the roughest action in the most recent wars that 'muggles', and boy did that feel weird using that to not strictly refer to himself anymore, had fought between themselves.
Part of the Australian SAS, he had been one of the first boots on the ground of Desert Storm, and had proven his mettle there time and time again. The final test had since become legend as he was left behind by the US commander he was serving under in a Scud base in Basra surrounded by hundreds of enemy soldiers. Despite the betrayal, he had shown up at Lt General Cosgrove's office back in Australia three weeks later, healthy and hearty, and thoroughly pissed off.
This had been the final straw for the man after already having doubts about being such an efficient killing machine in the late eighties. While the generals at that time had managed to play to his other strengths by sending him to learn under Max Epper at Trinity College for a time, it had now come to bite them on the arse as he had resigned on the spot, and nothing the General could say would convince him otherwise.
In the years since, he had been like a ghost to the military, tucked away on a farm in the middle of the Australian Outback, known only to a few locals and a slim handful of former friends from the world's armed forces.
This is what had the trio trudging through the Great-Sandy desert, a well-earned name, enduring the wicked heat of an Australian summer to meet a man who not only was a renowned soldier, but a thinker as well. And yet, as they approached the verandah circling the farmhouse, it was not a man that was there to greet them at all but a towering woman with a fully shaved head staring at them as they approached.
Richard knew the moment the kids saw the imposing woman as their chatter cut off instantly.
"Afternoon." Richard greeted, now noticing something that had been hidden in the powerful shadow of the verandah. The woman was missing the majority of her left leg. Instead of skin peeking out of the baggy shorts, there was a dark metal prosthetic that only added to the woman's already considerable intimidation factor.
"Howdy." She replied in a thick American accent. "What are you doing here?"
Richard's mouth upturned in a mild smirk at the pure directness coming off of the woman. "Nugget should have called ahead. The name is Richard Granger. We're here to have a chat with the owner."
"Uh-huh. And the bubs back there."
"Friends of my daughter. Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood."
The woman cracked a wide smile as she looked at the waify girl over his right shoulder. "Lovegood, eh? Ralphie'll get a chuckle out of that. HUNTSMAN!" She yelled without taking her eyes off the trio.
Richard felt they had passed some initial test, but he was still wary of the woman. Her stance seemed casual, but everything else about her still screamed danger. She was watching them closely even though it didn't seem like she was.
"I told you you didn't have to." An Australian-accented voice came from inside the house as a man appeared in the doorway by which the imposing woman was standing. "And I am officially retired. It's Jack, not Huntsman."
"Bullshit it is. You and Scarecrow both. You ain't normal people. You earned that name and I am damn well gonna use it."
"Alright, Mother." The man replied, heaping the final word with thick sarcasm. "Afternoon." He said, turning to fully face the group at his door.
Mother was imposing, but Jack was a study of contradiction. While tall himself, he did not loom above them as Mother did any more than would be expected of someone looking down off an elevated surface at those on the ground. His solid build gave off the energy of serious training, and yet his face spoke of compassion. Looking at him, it was easy to see a man who was once considered the fourth-best soldier in the world. The sole Australian name on a list dominated by Americans.
And like the woman beside him, he too had a prosthetic limb on his left side. In his case, it was his arm. From just above the elbow down was shiny naked titanium, unlike Mother's dark-tinted matte finish. It looked advanced, even by the standards the group had come to expect given their new paradigm. Richard tried to pay it no mind as he moved to introduce them all.
"Good afternoon. My name is…" Richard began.
"I heard. And Nugget vouched for you. That's why you made it so far down the drive. Though how you avoided the cameras at the entrance is a discussion we'll be having before you leave. What can I do you for?"
Richard struggled to find the words to break the tense atmosphere of interrogation but fell short before he heard a voice from over his shoulder. "Any chance of a cup of tea?" Harry asked and Richard waited on tenterhooks for the reaction from the two on the verandah.
He was thrown when Jack began to laugh uproariously and the tension in the air vanished in a second. "Sure thing, come on inside. I'm sure we've got some left from Max's last visit. Mind Horus, she's a touch protective."
"Tea again?" Mother moaned as she spun on her prosthetic limb and headed inside. "They're as bad as Mary. Can we have some visitors from back home instead of you Brits?"
"Be nice. Ralph is coming this weekend." Jack offered as he guided them into the open kitchen. "And I'd not tell Zoe she's a Brit. The Irish are quite sensitive about that subject, Gena."
Mother parked herself heavily at the table as Jack wandered the kitchen gathering the required supplies together. Richard could tell that the man was so well-acquainted with the environment that he was barely paying attention as he did so.
"So, take a seat and get talking. It's common courtesy to be a good host, but you have a lot of explaining to do if you want to leave here today." Jack said with his back to the group.
Richard glanced at the big woman at the table and her wide smile at the statement and he began to worry about their safety. A quick glance at the teens did settle him slightly as they both seemed far less concerned than he was at the lightly veiled threat.
Harry took the chair to the right of Mother. "We've come to request your services. We've gotten into exploring some new frontiers and come across a little trouble. While we've been lucky enough to handle ourselves to date, we are not trained for the sort of scuffles that we have been getting into."
Luna joined the table during Harry's statement and Richard followed suit, leaving the chair opposite Mother free for Jack at the head of the table. "We also want your input on some of our equipment. Nugget mentioned that you have worked with Max Epper in the past and are," Luna paused as she figured out how to phrase the comment, "quite cluey for a grunt?" She finished bluntly, looking to Harry for confirmation.
"I believe that was how he put it." Harry nodded and Richard blanched at the blunt approach the children were taking to someone who had threatened their lives only moments before.
Jack turned back to face the table as the kettle began to whistle behind him. His face was an unreadable mask as he stared at them before a wide smile broke over his features. "I like you two. Not afraid to speak your mind. Nugget is correct, Max is the one who made this arm for me."
Richard felt his eyes inexorably drawn to the limb as it glistened in the diffused light shining off the charred Australian soil, still glinting despite not receiving direct sunlight. He wanted to look away but the powerful limb had his entire focus until Jack turned once more and the spell was broken.
"I hear he was involved in the team that developed these puppies too." Mother said, stomping, Richard assumed, her left leg on the floor under the table. The wood below rebelling at the treatment but holding firm. "Might not have built this exact one, but he's helped out with a few military contracts over the years. Doubt it could match that puppy though."
"He told me he referenced the designs when he was building it. To be honest, I'm still getting used to it. He only fitted it last week. Still has a few tweaks to make to it as well. It gets funny around the tv at the moment." Jack said plainly as he laid out mugs in front of his guests, with a jug of milk and some sugar plated in the centre. "So, you're after training?" Jack finished as he took his own place at the table.
"That's correct," Richard said meekly, thoroughly unsettled by the conversation so far.
Jack eyed him sternly once more and Richard wondered what he had done that had brought the ire of the man. Luna gave him a momentary reprieve by being her wonderful usual self.
"How did you lose the arm?" She asked bluntly before taking a large sip of her tea. Richard whitened further but was unable to speak as Jack turned his steely gaze to the girl.
"I stuck my arm through a cascading curtain of flowing magma to trigger an ancient door release. It hurt like a motherfucker." He replied bluntly.
"Here here!" Mother said from the other end of the table, saluting Jack with her coffee.
"I don't get it?" Luna said.
"Her callsign isn't just Mother. It's short for Motherfucker." Jack added simply as though such a thing were normal tea-time conversation for the man. "I think it fits her well."
"Damn fucking right it does." Mother replied. "What do you think, Huntsman? A pretty easy job. What's it pay?"
"Mid-five figures a month," Harry replied and Richard's eyes widened at the amount. He knew that the team had plenty of money stashed away from their various explorations, but that was an immense amount of money. "At present, there are seven of us actively going out who will need the training. Any additional will be negotiated before becoming involved. Though hopefully, the training is something we can self-administer long term once enough of us are up to snuff."
"Damn, boy. Can I come too?" Mother asked with a whistle.
"That's up to him," Luna replied with a smile as she continued to consume her tea. "We asked about and were told he was the best we could hope for. If he thinks your aid will benefit our training, who are we to say no."
Jack remained silent as he sipped his own tea, seemingly weighing the pros and cons as he currently saw them. Beyond that, Richard had no idea what he was thinking from one second to the next. From the tales Nugget had thrown into his information, Jack West Jnr was a hardened killer with a high body count. Looking at him, and having heard the way the man delivered the line about such a traumatic injury as if it had been no more than an inconvenience, Richard well believed it. And yet here they were discussing hiring him over tea.
"The camera." Jack finally replied. "How did you avoid that? Tell me the truth there and I'll consider taking the offer."
Luna glanced at Harry and the pair grinned. Richard felt even more blood leaving his face at the looks they gave one another, as they always preceded something crazy.
"Like this," Harry said as he tapped his remote and all five of them were covered in white light and shifted far to the south of the bright desert and into a small office looking out over a frozen landscape that was becoming more familiar to Richard than his homeland of England.
Richard's eyes flicked between the two soldiers, looking for signs of reacting poorly to being basically kidnapped by a teenager, but neither reacted quite how he had imagined they might. Jack was as stoned-faced as ever, simply looking out over the snow-capped mountainside as if nothing had changed. But Mother was the more interesting reaction. She'd dropped her mug with the dregs of her coffee and stepped quickly over to the window.
"Fuck me. I might have second thoughts, actually. Stupid fucking fish." She growled, looking towards the ocean waters in the distance as they lapped against the shore.
"We're in the mountains, Mother. No killer whales are getting up here." Jack replied simply. "Cute trick."
Harry simply shrugged in response before laying his hands on the tabletop.
"Far better than a portkey, that's for sure," Luna added. "Does it quell your concerns?"
"Not really, but it seems like you'd be rather hard to ignore. I agree in principle. I'll need a couple of weeks to prepare. And to convince Mother to come down and help me."
"I'll help, but you gotta promise we aren't going anywhere near those fucking fish. I'll just shoot them again if we do."
Richard was thoroughly confused and his nerves ragged at this point. None of this conversation had gone the way he had hoped. He was looking forward to settling down in his quarters with the bottle of scotch Hermione had bought him for Christmas and settling his nerves for the next few hours in peace and safety.
ϟ
Saturday, 22nd January 2000.
Carson Beckett sat back down at the table in his small dining room. He'd had a small breakfast as he usually did on a weekend and just finished washing up the cup and plate he had used, the two now rinsed and dripping dry on the rack by the sink as he held up the odd little contraption that Natalie's daughter had passed to him earlier that week.
It was a pale mottled grey, about the size of a modern car keyfob. A sharp seam around the slight round button. He flipped it over in his hand and the backside was completely smooth. The girl had not explained how the device worked, but with only a single interactive feature present on the surface, he knew what he needed to do.
Sighing softly at the mystery, Carson pressed the button and was instantly surrounded by a flare of white light. A moment later his body gave out underneath him and his bum hit a very solid floor with a dull thud as he toppled backwards.
"Oh my. I suppose we should have clarified to press it while standing." Natalie's voice came from nearby as Carson rolled onto his side and rubbed his sore caboose.
"Aye, that would have been nice." He replied as she approached and extended her hand to the prone man.
Before he could grasp it, however, his mind finally noted the information his eyes were sending him and Carson lifted himself onto his elbows, looking behind Natalie at the pristine clear water in the fountain made of something even more beautiful than the most incredible marble he'd ever seen. He cast his eyes about the wide space and noticed the terraced seats interspersed with small plant life that appeared to be fairly recent additions to the space.
"It's pretty amazing, isn't it," Natalie said, extending her hand again, Carson taking it this time and allowing her to pull him to his feet.
From the newly upright angle, he could see more of the room and the passages that left off from it. But once more his attention was dominated by a large object in the room beyond Natalie. A giant pale ring highlighted by the sun streaming directly in through the large windows behind it. A sight that he doubted would ever leave him in all of his days.
"Where are we?" He enquired to the smiling woman, only now noticing the others standing nearby.
"We are in Antarctica." The girl who had given him the remote informed him, stepping forwards and shaking his hand. "As for the building, well, Luna here designed that."
She indicated a waify teen with bright blonde hair that Carson had not yet met before who also stepped forward and shook his hand softly. "Pleasure to meet you." She said, her voice melodic in his ears.
"Perhaps he needs a moment to get over the shock." A man said from his left and Carson turned to see him. "I know how you're feeling. Hermione and Merlin love to do it to us all the time. We're not as used to sudden miraculous things as the rest of them. Richard Granger."
"Lovely to meet you at last," Carson replied, shaking the man's hand. "It is quite a bit to take in, isn't it."
Carson noted that every member of the group so far had an English accent compared to his mildly heavy Scottish one. "So, what does a British research station in Antarctica, which is more beautiful than most museums I've seen mind you, need my help for?"
"Are you in that much of a rush to leave, Carson?" Natalie asked. "I thought you'd be keen for a tour first."
He considered it for a moment before settling on his choice. "Business first, tour after?"
"Very well. We can't actually take you down to the lab. If we did, you would have to quarantine before leaving." Luna said as though discussing the weather. "But if you'll follow me."
The blonde girl turned and headed off to a sloping ramp to the right of the large ring room. The tunnel led down slowly into the floor and the group walked alongside him in silence. Momentarily, they came to another floor where he noticed a pair of teenage boys sitting at an enormous screen playing some sort of video game.
"Don't mind Harry and Neville. This is their bonding time. We're headed to the lab to the west." Hermione informed him as the group ignored the boys and continued deeper into the level.
Carson felt slightly more at home in the room they eventually stopped in. It was full of benches covered in medical paraphernalia he was actually familiar with. A first since his arrival in the strange facility. But even among familiar surroundings, there were still unusual appliances and sights. Including a large hologram hovering over the centre desk of a viral sample.
He stepped forward and examined the large virion. It looked like a large sphere, but rather than a smooth surface, it appeared to have flower shapes in both the colouration and shape of its slightly bumpy surface. Yet it also had a haunting symmetricality to it that chilled Carson for some reason he couldn't quite fathom.
"It almost looks like a run-of-the-mill enterovirus," Carson noted softly. "What are the symptoms?"
"Hard to be certain," Richard replied. "We haven't witnessed a live infection. And our records aren't super comprehensive, but from what we know, it is quite similar to viral cerebrospinal meningitis. It attacks the brain before any real symptoms show up."
"We think that is why it managed to kill this race of people. They were strong thinkers, but if they had strong meningitis-like symptoms, it's likely the confusion and trouble sleeping would have had a drastic effect on their mental acuity." Natalie added.
"Aye, that would be likely. It's hard to imagine society living here full time with how it looks these days, but you say this was frozen in the ice?" He asked, noting a few shifty looks on the faces of the younger figures in attendance.
"Yes, it was discovered not that far from here. Testing on the ice shows it to be from millions of years ago." Luna explained.
"Millions? You're certain?" Carson replied curiously.
"Absolutely."
Carson turned to see both Natalie and Richard smiling knowingly at him. "That would predate the evolution of modern humans on this world."
Hermione stepped forward and tapped a few commands on the odd panel beneath the hologram and it changed to a view of a room with three people moving about in biohazard suits. Behind them was a figure in an upright column that was clearly human in shape.
"This one unfortunately didn't survive."
"This one?" Carson swung on the spot to face Natalie at the statement but the woman just smiled and nodded to Hermione who entered a new string into the computer.
The image changed again, this time to a much closer view of an empty room with only a single stationary figure at the end. She was obviously encased in something that looked like extremely clear ice, so he could easily make out the shape of her features. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with dark red hair and sharp features.
"Incredible." He mumbled as he stepped forward to view the woman.
"She was down in the ice too. It's faint, but there are definite signs of life in her still. That's why we need your help." Richard explained. "We will only have one shot to administer a cure to her. If successful, imagine what we might learn about our own history."
Carson was frozen on the spot staring at the image. He had thought his work back in Scotland was revolutionary, but being part of the team that proved the Ancient Ancestor theory… to actually speak to a member of the people that first evolved humanity on Earth. That would be beyond ground-breaking. Not to mention the instant pull he felt towards the woman on the screen in a way he had never felt before.
The image faded before him and Carson blinked out of whatever spell he had fallen under, turning to face the others in the room with him once more. "What do you need my help with?" He said immediately.
Hermione manipulated the computer once more and the three in suits reappeared, now life-sized in the space nearby. "Summer?"
All three figures turned to face him and Carson recognized the woman in the nearest suit. He had spoken to her a few times at different conferences, much in the same way he knew Natalie from all those years ago. But he had struck up a firm friendship with the woman, as she worked near the university.
"Hello, Carson. I had hoped that they would pick you. How are you?" Summer replied, the sound coming through clearly despite the suit and unknown distance between them.
"A little overwhelmed, but I'll live." He replied. "And you? Must be fun having to wear one of those all day."
Summer gave a shrug. "Beats dying of an ancient contagion. Have they given you the crash course or the full story?"
"Crash course," Hermione said, and Summer nodded once more.
"We believe we have a few viable curatives, but as I'm sure you've been told, we only have one real chance to administer. We need to be certain of effectiveness before we go anywhere near the patient. Our methods, including these mixtures, are meant to be taken orally and can often cause allergic reactions in people who are around the ingredients every single day. I can only imagine how a totally alien physiology might react."
Carson nodded in response. If the body in that image were truly millions of years old, the physiology could easily be considered alien to modern humans. "It seems I will have to postpone my current work."
"Not necessarily," Hermione noted, drawing his eye. "As we mentioned the other day, we have rather state-of-the-art facilities here. You can definitely continue your work from here. Anything you don't have, simply let us know and we will acquire it for you."
Carson made to question how they would acquire some of the enormous and carefully calibrated equipment such research would require at the bottom of the world, but he stopped when he recalled that he had been brought here from Scotland in an instant and assumed they would use the same methods.
"Alright. Count me in. I'll need to gather personal supplies. I didn't even bring a day bag. I had one prepared, but I didn't have it in hand when I pushed the button. I assumed it would send a message and you would arrive in a car."
Summer laughed through the hologram and Carson turned to her. "I was brought here blindfolded. At least you got to see what was upstairs."
Carson turned to Natalie and she indicated she would explain it to him later. "We'll get you what you need, Carson. Come on and we'll get that tour over with."
A/N: Jack West Jnr, aka Hunstman, and Gena 'Mother' Newman and their associated friends and family are the property of Matthew Reilly.
Just borrowing them because they're freaking awesome.