Ghasts VI

Fifth Gaian day nearly passed since the moment scientists who visited obelisks died due to unknown cause, for which their medical team could not find any reason.

For better or worse, no one else suffered from any serious condition and the remaining crewmates seemed to be in a good shape, taking into consideration all the complications they had to face from the moment they basically crash landed on this planet.

They gradually managed to fix majority of the equipment that got damaged either during the landing sequence or fights with local animals and alien defense systems, though it did not mean they were ready for any major movement.

Despite all the scouting in the area, and preparations, no one in the group could easily say it was enough to actually feel secure. Even with the high-tech equipment, people felt insecure due to unknowns in front of them, one of which was the cause for several scientists dying recently.

While no one could say it was something contagieous anyone might contract easily, the bare fact some unclear disease or whatever it was, had a good chance of killing numerous people in a short amount of time was serious enough of a factor to keep them on toes.

Kate Warner was especially anxious among those overseeing the functions of the camp, reminding others about abiding strict sanitary rules as she made a decision of raising an epidemic alert, meaning limited direct contact between people and special hygienics regime.

Still, even going by the book focusing on this kind of situation, there was not much anyone could actually do in order to ascertain the crew safety in face of invisible danger. Therefore, Kate was the main voice calling for thorough investigation of the matter, and even suggested lifting the ban for visiting the area where infamous obelisks were located.

The plan included starting with detailed scans of the area, making a map reflecting the area structure with several monitoring techniques to get as detailed overview as they could obtain.

They were already aware of obelisks having energy signatures, but what was needed were more precise models showing flows and patterns for more in-depth analysis.

- Ok, so let us sum this up - Martin was called to yet another meeting to discuss further plans, and did not really like Kate's idea - Several people who visited that place just died recently and you want us to go there and investigate? I get the electromagnetism there can easily burn electronics we have, but do we really need to go so close?

- None of the scans we did made the difference so far - doctor Warner obviously did not want to give up the idea - Nothing we could label as pathogens whatsoever. We even checked PEC data of those who died, but to no avail.

- I get your point, Kate - said Hubert - Still, don't you think it's a bit too much? We've already lost people and we have many more to keep safe in this camp. Since we only assume obelisks have something to do with this disease, or whatever it is, shouldn't we just stay aware from there?

Looking at doctor Warner's face, it seemed as if she was about to start fuming, but managed to stay calm despite additional people not liking her idea.

- Listen, Hubert. I agree it's sometimes better to stay away. However, the problem here is, we don't know what exactly is the source of the problem. If it turns out it has nothing to do with obelisks, then what? Would you take the gamble of meeting other groups, knowing we may spread something?

This argument was something others could not argue with.

- Ok, so let's say we agree to that plan - Rashid was the first to talk - What guarantee do we have people who go there are safe then? It's like sending them to their deaths, if we do that knowing something dangerous is there.

Kate noded, and entered some commands on her PEC.

- We can do some modifications to our standard F-suits - she said, sending them the data - All of those scientists did wear the basic model, and it still did not protect them from getting sick. I did some look into the logs, and noticed they were using standard, atmospheric mode, so air filtering was not enabled, surely increasing the chance of contracting something from the air. That's why, I strongly suggest having that option constantly set to on, and reinforced with the piece I've designed - she pointed on the graph and blueprints everyone could see via their PECs - This small sensor will be doing active scans based on known pathogen models, and registering any unknown particles coming form the air, storing them in a designated chamber.

Everyone was looking at the data. After a moment, Hubert spoke, raising his concerns:

- I recall you said you couldn't obtain any useful information from the bodies or equipment they were wearing. You've mentioned there was nothing unusual, so no traces whatsoever. How can you be so sure this modification is going to work if you couldn't track anything to begin with?

- I didn't say I was sure it's going to do wonders - doctor Warner complained - It's just the type of safety I've managed to come up with. That's the only additional thing I can give you to help. Other than that, magnetism itself can harm human body, but default F-suit should easily make up for that, and even the most harsh condition would never lead to death in a matter of hours, so I ruled out that possibility. Besides, there were no traces pointing towards magnetism.

- I have a suggestion - Martin was the one to jump in - Since it's obviously not an easy decision, and Kate's data came in just now, I would like some time to think before I can decide whether to support the plan or not.

Others nodded in agreement, putting the discussion on hold for now, and returned to their respective duties.

While each of representatives in current group had their own jobs aside from participating in daily meetings to discuss state of affairs, not every job required as much effort. Martin, for example, had a great deal of manual tasks to cover each day, contrary to Hubert who dealt mainly with office duties - supervising the colonists team.

Nevertheless, no one could afford to just sit idly. In the end, Future's crew ended up scattered around this new world, and the original, perfect plan devised by higher-ups failed terribly. Everyone had to do their best in order to get this expedition back on track.

Johnson, though having doubts about visiting obelisks, understood really well the need to learn about the planet, especially dangers that could await them on the way. After all, they had thousands of kilometers to travel if they planned to reunite with their crewmates who ended up in other parts of the globe.

Since the aforementioned was the case, it was really important to properly scan the terrain to prepare accurate maps with dangerous zones marked down they could refer to when exploring the New Gaia.

Martin and his team already managed to bring back the functionality of transmitters and even set up a signal amplifier to improve the effective range of communication, but it still ended up being insufficient to establish a connection with other groups which managed to reach the planet's surface.

Obviously, they tinkered with various wavelengths and amplifier setups. Sadly, no matter how much effort they put in, it seemed as if it was pointless. Sure, everyone in the crew was aware that, despite having similar climate and atmosphere as Earth, New Gaia's electromagnetism was something else, but knowing the fact was completely different than facing the conditions personally.

Johnson was well aware of that, and expected as much, therefore he experimented with transmitting on various wavelengths to avoid interference. However, having no results led him to think there must be something else than just usual electromagnetism mixed in. It seemed as if there was something intentionally blocking the connection. Given the presence of alien systems, it would not have been much of surprise if they had some kind of device to block communication devices and - in general - limit the usage of machines and circuitry. After all, looking at the structures they built, differences in technological advancement were humongous.

As if getting out of this predicament was not enough already, they had to make an important decision about investigating unusual alien obelisks, which could be potentially dangerous to human bodies.

Martin bought a bit of time for all the representatives before the meeting on the next day, hoping to get some clearer image of what is the best course of action. Despite that, no matter how much he reviewed the plan suggested by Kate, he still had way too many concerns, worrying about the safety of those who were supposed to carry out the mission. F-suits were one of the best inventions in terms of personal safety humanity came up with so far, but were created specifically for conditions people managed to learn about, and here - there were surely factors no one faced before.

Deliberating like this, he barely noticed the dusk approaching, a time when he was finally supposed to get a longer break. Sadly, as Johnson was heading towards his current quarters, he heard a loud scream - it was definitely a woman's voice, coming from the direction of field hospital.

Martin immediately sent a notice to others in the group to get someone's help, and ran into the direction from where the scream came. About twenty meters from the hospital's entrance, he bumped into Kate - she was staggering and shaking. Looking at her, Johnson concluded it was likely doctor Warner who screamed.

- Kate, what in the world happened? - he asked, confused.

The woman was looking around, as if worrying something was about to attack her.

- We can't stay here! - she told him in a voice between a whisper and a shout - It's dangerous!

Kate was not making any sense, and Martin just stood there, trying to understand the situation.

- Calm down, and tell me what's going on.

She looked at him with eyes wide open.

- A corpse crouched out of the freezer, that's what happened! That person was already dead and... he walked out of the fucking freezer!

- Is it that unusual though? - asked Rashid, who just arrived - There were cases of people appearing as dead, but then came back to life. Shouldn't you have checked on that person? They may be freaked out!

Doctor Warner pushed Johnson away. It seemed like Rashid's remark kind of woke her up.

- You think I didn't!? I tried talking to that guy, but he didn't say a word. He even tried to bite me like some kind of zombie from these stupid teen movies!

Martin and Rashid looked at each other - obviously, it was a crazy thing for a doctor to say.

- Are you sure? - the oldest of the three looked really worried - Where's that guy?

- I've closed the compartment. He should be inside.

- Okay, just calm down. Take a deep breath. After that, we will go back there.

Doctor Warner quickly shook her head.

- We need to check other freezers!

- What's this commontion about? - Hubert joined them - Martin, I saw your message.

Johnson gave him a short explanation.

- C'mon, Kate - Dubois took it as a joke - Do you really think it's funny?

Kate was on a brink of losing it.

- Joke all you want, just give me someone armed to help with a check, and go to hospital see for yourself.

After two militarymen joined her, doctor Warner walked away into the direction of a building they prepared for deceased. By her decision, bodies were to be stored away from the living area and the hospital. The only one she said came back to life was kept in the hospital for investigation.

Martin accompanied Rashid and Hubert to the hospital. What they saw exceeded their imagination. At first, they thought it was an ordinary person who was incorrectly labeled dead, but a short attempt to interact and talk was enough to understand something was off.

- The guy seems to not understand what we say. Woah!

Dubois jumped away from the reinforced door by instinct as the man inside hit it with full force.

- The hell was that!? - he complained, pulling himself back after falling down - Is he crazy?

- First time I ever see such behavior - Rashid seemed taken aback, but still curious - He doesn't react to a word we say. I doubt he is in state to understand us.

- So what? Did he really turn into a friggin' zombie? - Johnson could not help it, and smirked.

- And how do you explain that?

Locked up man was walking in circles, bumping into equipment, as if unable of logical actions.

Hearing the question, Martin shrugged.

- I'm not a doctor here. It just sounds too unreal to be true.

- Better believe it - familiar voice joined the talk.

Kate walked in, accompanied by two militarymen.

- I went to check on the others, and one body disappeared. There was quite a mess inside.

- You look quite calm compared to before - Johnson pointed out.

- Well, I still feel quite shaken, but what would you do without me? Moments ago you were not believing in what I said, and here you have it.

She walked closer to the door. The man inside was standing on the other side, looking at them with blank eyes. Doctor Warner took out the flashlight.

- Pupils look like these of a drug addict - she said, inspecting the eyes, when the man hit the door again, making a loud growl - and he is quite aggressive.

- So, what's the conclusion? - Hubert asked - Do you know what's going on here?

Doctor Warner shrugged.

- It's hard to tell with such a short and basic examination. I will need to observe his behavior longer, possibly do some checks before saying something. Just give some guys to guard the place, and other freezers too. Who knows what we are dealing with here?