Guantanamo Bay...1 Year Prior...
The Major exhaled before stepping inside. She anticipated the XO being present along with the captain. Her head finally ceased aching for the time being, though another round of 800mg of Ibuprofen was on order before going into the hot zone. She had briefly stopped by the lab to let Rachel know she would be back on duty to which, the Brit had smiled with relief. The sight of her counterpart up and moving was a promising sign. The Major didn't have to guess she'd been working non-stop; again. Her concerns remained unspoken though working like they were could lead to errors or a total disaster of their efforts.
"When I get back in there, please take a damn break! Tex told me you were going hard again. No need to have both of us out of commission. We have to pace ourselves. One tiny oversight or slip up and we'll be right back at the beginning. The lab and work isn't going anywhere."
If she had to get Tex to drag her out and lock her in her quarters, so be it. Thankfully, Rachel had not discovered what she was doing and at it had to stay as such for the time being. There was enough simmering tensions over the radio silence and big lie of the Arctic mission and the risk of finding out about the Major's side project would only heightened what she called Cold War like tensions.
Chandler's head shot up at the sound of heavy iron creaking open. The Major slowly entered, a quick scan showing the XO was indeed present. Slattery held a neutral look as she closed the door behind her. She was clad in her own uniform now, which was a stark contrast to the hues of Navy blue. The fatigue was written clearly across her face as she eased into a seat.
"You look like you went through a wringer," Slattery observed. The lack of sarcasm didn't go unmissed but expected. "How's the head?"
"Better," she nodded. "Pretty sure Quincy may have some bruised ribs, a sore jaw, perhaps a nasty headache and bruised ego. I'm sure that's the least of his problems."
"You tackled him like an NFL linebacker, Major and prevented a disaster from happening. We owe you your gratitude."
"I'm sorry if I showed an excess of force but -" Slattery stopped her mid-sentence.
"Major, that was not an excess of force. You were too kind to him," XO huffed in his coffee. "Honestly, I wanted to keel hull him but the Captain said no."
"Yeah, we kind of need him still," she accepted the mug being slid across the table. The rich aroma was happily accepted as she couldn't quite recall the last cup of coffee she had imbibed. "You wanted to talk to me."
"You mentioned on the docks you and Dr. Scott weren't the only ones working on researching the vaccine."
"Not just a vaccine but perhaps a treatment to mitigate the severity of the symptoms, perhaps reduce the death rate before the world went dark. But, there were whispers swirling of those working to use the virus for other means."
Chandler and Slattery traded looks.
"I know, even in the face of extinction, there are still those who would seize this as an opportunity to perhaps weaponize the virus. As if Nature had not already done the job well enough herself."
"Do you think Ruskov knew about this or -"
"Based on his needing the primordial and Italian strains, myself, and Dr. Scott, I'm don't think he could pull it off; not on his vessel at least. He would have to possess some capacity similar to here to even begin to scratch the surface if that. It would be primitive by scientific standards at best. Hell, we're not exactly USAMRIID or CDC. But with everything going offline, it's hard to say who was doing what and where and how. There's no telling what is going on now. For all we know, someone could be reactivating Biopreparat but on a smaller scale."
"How much longer do you think it will take to come up with a vaccine; here?"
"Captain," the Major sighed and took another drink, "I wish I could wave my hand," she made a rainbow gesture for effect, "and we have a cure. Believe me, Rachel wishes the same thing. But, this is not a high school chemistry assignment. Vaccines take time. For every success, there are 99 failures. Some vaccines can take up to decades to be ready for human trials. We need to identify the common thread or antigen that can help to prevent or at least reduce the severity of disease. With novel strains, that takes time. But, with influenza, we have experience with vaccines and anti-viral treatments. Tha can speed up the timetable."
The XO and Captain simply stared at her. The Major sighed, letting her shoulders drop.
"I have no timeline. Because this virus mutates, like all other viruses do, it'll take more time. It could be months. If we can get more strains to study, we have a better shot at finding the common denominator. Right now, we have three. I imagine there are hundreds at this point."
"Great," the XO groaned.
"But, that doesn't mean we need to go globe trotting either. I have some data from my fact finding mission in Guiana we have been using in our work. But I lost the samples when my plane went down."
And thankfully no one knows the real story...
"And if we try to take any shortcuts or cut corners, that could set us back to square one. And I'm thinking neither one of you want to take another Arctic cruise. Although, I hear Greenland is lovely this time of year."
"So, you don't know anything," Slattery bemoaned.
"I didn't say that, XO. I am saying we can't give you set benchmarks on this. I would recommend keeping the crew abreast of things. Secrets are dangerous; especially in times like these."
"I heard you had a chat with Cosetti," Chandler chimed in. His jaw tensed slightly but the Major remained calm.
"Nothing I wouldn't have said to a civilian on the street. The thing I noticed before I left Maryland, was no one was talking; no one was talking with one another. No one would tell the public anything. Most people were getting information off social media, which we know, is such the bastion of truth and facts. I answered his questions in a manner that was concise, transparent, and easy to comprehend. I felt if any crew had questions about our work, it should come from myself or Doctor Scott. If one takes away the mystery from something, the apprehension and fears about it recede. I told Master Chief if there any other questions, we'd be happy to answer them. Secrets have a funny way of destroying trust."
Tom ruminated on this. She had a good point. Mike found himself nodding in agreement.
"Point taken, Major. While your efforts are appreciated, please keep any talk of your work or the virus nil around the crew."
"Captain, please, what do I tell your crew if they have questions? I don't want to sow seeds of mistrust. I know this is a turbulent time but please, keep an open exchange. Or at least entertain the suggestion."
The hard stare and locked jaw killed any protests that would've crossed her tongue.
"I will abide by your request."
"Thank you, Major," Tom nodded. Mike wasn't so sure about this. He knew the officers had questions; questions he couldn't answer. Questions the Captain couldn't answer. At least with the Major and Dr. Scott providing something, anything to the crew, it could serve to alleviate some apprehensions.
"If there is nothing else, Captain, I would like to get to the lab and help Doctor Scott."
"Dismissed, Major."
The Major took the long way to the lab, hoping to avoid any crew that may have burning questions. The Captain's stance was frustrating. He had not been told of or seen the flames of lies or waves of misinformation that crashed across social and standard media? Bullshit raging from the Feds were hoarding treatments for themselves, which no one had to begin with, to planes were being blown out of the skies to prevent the virus from spreading from country to country. Her personal favorite was the one about the virus being spread by space lasers. Casey had about spat his coffee out when he read that gem.
Casey...Her CO, mentor and friend. She hoped Colonel Schuler had survived. Before she had left, 10 of her colleagues had died from the virus and 20 more infected. The Major feared the worst as she reached the guard standing at the door to the makeshift lab. She could hear Tex's unmistakable voice from within.
"You know, you should join us for dinner. Bacon is amazing in the kitchen! His recipe for breakfast omelets are out of this world! I don't know what he puts in them but damn!"
Rachel simply shook her head. For the last three days he had been adamant she eat with him. For the last three days, she turned him down.
"Alex," she caught the sight of her partner. "Did the Captain give you another one of his famous lectures?"
"No, he basically expected me to say we'd have a vaccine ready on command. That and answering questions the crew may have is now off limits. He thinks keeping a tight lid on things is better than being open and truthful."
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah, I had talked with Cosetti as he had questions and well, even being open and easing minds is apparently above my rank now. I explained it was no different than what I would say to a layman."
"For the love of..." Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Commodore being tight lipped huh?"
"That would be an understatement. I'm not sure what his deal is but keeping a gag order on us is going to backfire. I saw that first hand during the early days of the pandemic."
"Maybe I can talk to the Commodore and see if he'll change his mind." Tex offered.
"No," the Major shook her head. "Let's respect his ship and command. Now he didn't say if anyone asked you about it..."
"Ol' Tex has you ladies covered. I can run interference."
"Thank you, Tex," Rachel beamed. It had been the first time since they boarded he had seen a genuine smile cross her lips. Too bad she didn't smile more.
The Major deeply inhaled, relaxing in the embrace of the suit. The Ibuprofen was starting to kick in. Her first task was to ensure all her work was still intact. Taking a brief glance over at Rachel, who was transferring specimens between test tubes. Her steely gaze trained on the meticulous measuring for each one, oblivious to what her counterpart was up to. She took two tubes out, labeled in a manner to look like the other many tubes in order to avoid suspicion.
"How's your head doing, Alex?"
The Major looked over. "Better now that I had my meal of Ibuprofen and coffee. Did you make any progress?"
"No, not yet."
"Well, remember how long it took for a yellow fever vaccine to be developed and that disease was taking out swaths of people."
The Major returned to her work, placing the first round of samples in for analysis. So far, the first set had been a bust. The antibodies had failed to prevent the virus from infecting the cells and replicating. She hated lying but, 5 samples had survived the crash in Cuba. The idea to pack the samples in double layers with an ingenious system of using chilling pads and bags of insulated dry ice kept them viable. Tex didn't even know about them.
No one could know about them. Not yet.
The lone positive outcome on the first round was she identified one protein that seemed to be the weakest against the antibodies. That was from one of the Guianan strains recovered. It had been trial and error in her work. But then, that was most of her time at Detrick. Only, it was with viruses they were not strangers to: Ebola, Marburg, Yellow Fever and Lassa. Some of the worst of the worst of the viral kingdom. But now, the Ramses strain had entered the chat as they say.
"Alex, did you hear me?"
The Major shook her head and blinked. "Sorry, I was in my zone, Rache. What did you say?"
"Have you made any progress?"
"Not yet. But the Italian strain has some promise. I noticed some similarities between it and a strain I had studied from Chicago. But, they're slim. I really wished Captain Chandler would understand the delicacy in researching and developing a vaccine, let a lone a damn cure. Even in a weakened state, these strains are still proving to be formidable."
"You'll have better luck getting through a brick wall, Alex."
Mike leaned back in his seat, taking another swig of coffee.
"You know the Major is right. How much longer can we keep the crew in the dark? We were kept in the dark about what happened at home and why we were really in the Arctic. Maybe it's time we at least give everyone the basics. We don't have to go into the weeds. Simple wording like the Major said. You and I both know their worried out of their minds and not knowing, being denied the simplest of information -"
"Mike, while I understand yours and the Major's concerns, the orders stand. "
"Yes, Sir."
The Major had convinced Rachel to take a break and grab some tea. After multiple attempts and some convincing words, the former won out, sending her British companion to catch her breath. That and Tex was hollering over the walkie talkie to quote get her ass out of there and come hang with Ol' Texy who was getting lonely and bored.
The samples had to set and then run through the analyzer which would take time. The Major was hunched over her own work, steadily transferring samples between narrow almost vein like tubes.
Rachel allowed Tex to lead the way, who beamed at his and the Major's joint victory.
"A little break every once in a while is good for the soul, Doc! You can't burn both ends of that candle before there's nothing left to burn."
Tex opened the door and allowed Rachel inside.
"Ladies, first," he gestured with an arm and bowed his head.
"Thank you," she crossed the threshold, noting the absence of anyone. Tex grabbed a mug and Earl Grey bag, filling it with water then handing it over.
"So, you and the Major are in the what stage?"
"if I had to label it, I would say between the exploratory and pre-clinical stage though more heavily in the former. It's not something the Captain or XO would want to hear."
"Don't take it personal, Doc. They're just anxious to get home. Everyone's a bit on edge these days."
Just then, the door groaned and Slattery stepped in. He was alone.
"Doctor Scott, Tex," he greeted both.
"XO," Rachel nodded and resumed her attention to her drink. His eyes stayed trained on her as he spoke. He had not questioned what she was doing up here and not down in the lab. Odd.
"I tried to talk to the Captain about keeping a lid on things and I don't agree with him. The Major had a convincing argument but overruled. I spoke with Master Chief and he relayed what she told Cosetti and I agree there was no harm in it. While I'm still pissed about the reasons for the Arctic, I do think we need to be more transparent. I'll keep working on the Captain, maybe come up with a compromise of some kind."
Rachel lifted her head up, noting the lack of any negativity in his eyes or words. Was he being sincere? She certainly wasn't going to say anything if so.
"We appreciate the support, XO. Again, I know my word is lacking around here considering everything that's transpired, but maybe the Major's can carry some weight."
"Now, Doc, your word is valuable. I mean, you're part of the equation to solving the mystery!"
"Thank you, Tex," she blushed a little. "For your kind words."
"Since you're up here," Slattery pulled up a seat. "Do you have any idea what Ruskov is up to? The Major mentioned there was no way they could be advancing given they were in the same boat as us."
"She is correct. In order to continue a more detailed continuance we would need a fully operational laboratory. While I'm not an expert in Russian naval vessels, I can safely say they aren't built for proper vaccine research either. They may be able to do some basic level research but anything more advanced we'll have to be on land."
"Any idea of who would be spying on either one of you?"
"Outside of Ruskov no. I wish I did. With the world falling apart, it could've been anyone."
"Do you think Dr. Tophet knows more than he's letting on? Perhaps working with other hostile entities? He was bosom buddies with Ruskov all this time."
"I highly doubt Quincy is a part of some complicated plan to dominate the remaining shards of humanity, XO. The Ruskov thing shocked us all, including me. But what could he gain from it?"
"We still don't know what role his wife really had in all this. All we have is his word which is more worthless than tits on a boar. Maybe he figured help to take out one of the people still alive and working find a vaccine? Maybe a treatment? One less person standing in their way? Secure some position, protection for himself? Who knows. These are trying times, Doctor. People are known to behave in extreme ways under great duress or maybe their true colors are revealed."
"I've known Quincy for years, XO. I'm not defending or condoning what he's done since the Arctic. But, that sounds off the charts even for him."
"Don't underestimate what people can be capable of Doc," Tex cautioned. "Look at Gitmo and what happened." Slattery nodded.
"I heard," Rachel finished off her tea.
As Rachel started back for the lab, Mike found himself watching her depart. Despite all that transpired; the lies, the secrecy, getting under his skin, pushing his buttons from time to time, he couldn't but help to find the Brit endearing. Did he really think that?! Endearing? More like pain the ass. But beautiful pain in his ass. Sighing, he departed for the bridge, shaking his head at himself.