Chapter 86: A Strange Disease

"Lus, Becks, you're both needed up in the briefing room," Yrqw told them as they came back from lunch.

"Both?" Becky asked, her tone echoing the surprise Lus felt at the command.

It was normal for him to get called up to the briefing room to discuss upcoming off-ship missions, but due to Becky's g-sickness, she was rarely, if ever, called upon for such things. And if the Captain had a problem with Fsylan tube maintenance, he'd go through Yrqw.

The Kremel shrugged. "Cewi didn't say why. She just asked that you both go up there first thing."

They nodded and left the System Control room behind.

"Must be a mission," Lus said. That was to be expected since Captain Tave said he wanted to get the last piece of the artifact fast, and it had already been two weeks since Lus and Vlqtrn came back from Senator Grwtln's mansion.

"I'm not on the mission list," Becky reminded him.

"Maybe they need Humans specifically or something," he theorized.

"Suns, I hope not. Going on missions with you is just asking to end up injured."

"Hey," Lus protested.

Becky laughed and lightly punched his arm. "Come on. We'd better hurry. Whatever this is, I don't want to face a disgruntled Captain Tave from us being late."

He chuckled as he followed behind her to the ladders. From there, they scaled up all the way from the lowest deck to the highest deck where the briefing room waited.

They entered, and Lus congratulated himself on being correct. Inside stood Captain Tave, Cewi-Bano, Oaty, Relf, and Doctor Tremt-Fusi. As to the doctor's purpose, he couldn't be sure, but Cewi was obviously there just to help with the briefing. Given that with him and Becky that rounded out what constituted all the Humans on the ship, it was clear that this was a species-specific type thing.

"Arten, Bright. Good. We're all here," Tave said in his deep voice. "Everyone sit down. We have something important to discuss."

They all did as he commanded, Tave at the head, Cewi to his right, and Fusi to his left. Oaty then sat by Fusi, and Relf next to him, allowing Lus to sit by Cewi and Becky next to him on the other side of the table.

Captain Tave turned on the holoprojector at the center of the table. It displayed one of the relics they'd spent months tracking down.

"This is a piece of an ancient artifact. I'm assuming everyone here knows that we've been collecting them for some time now. I'm pleased to announce that we have located the final piece," Tave began.

Everyone nodded, though based on Relf's face, Lus didn't think he knew about the missions. It made sense for the pudgy cargo worker who never looked beyond his next meal.

The holoprojection changed to show a planet. The title named it Sliaryt, and there were several symbols next to it which meant things like "danger" and "stay away."

"Sliaryt?" Oaty said, his tone surprised and even a little bit uneasy.

"The quarantine planet for those infected with nefitis," Cewi-Bano clarified.

The room went tense. Lus had heard of nefitis, and from what he knew, death was a better option. It was a highly contagious disease that killed slowly and painfully. It took years, sometimes even more than a decade to run its course, and there was no cure. Nefitis infected any being with a heart, ranging from animals to insects to Kremel, Humans, Nemarians, and supposedly even the Shamayim.

"Humans can catch that," Oaty said, one hand on the table with his fingers tapping up and down nervously.

"We know. Calm down, Oaty. No one's suggesting we send someone who can catch it," Cewi-Bano said.

"But then–"

Tremt-Fusi cut him off with an explanation. "Some Humans are known to have a certain gene that makes them immune to catching or spreading nefitis. Scientists have long been trying to figure out why and how to replicate the effects, but so far without luck. However…"

"Some of us might carry the gene," Lusac filled in.

"What are the chances of that?" Becky asked.

"Honestly, we'll be lucky if even one of you has it, but it would be ideal if we can send multiple people down," the doctor admitted. She pulled out a case of equipment. "You were all summoned so I can take blood samples from each of you to determine if anyone has the gene."

"What if we don't want to be tested?" It was Relf who asked, to no one's shock. The pale, chubby man crossed his arms and frowned, probably trying to look determined or confident but instead taking on the appearance of a whiny child about to throw a tantrum.

"Then I suppose you can pack your things, Wron. We're due to be at Sliaryt in two days, and anyone who refuses this can plan to be dropped off there with no chance of rejoining the Runners." Captain Tave's voice was unyielding, leaving no room for debate about the matter.

Relf's face went red, and Lusac had to focus hard to keep himself from snickering. Part of him wanted the cargo boy to refuse anyway so the Argo could be free of one more parasite, but unfortunately Relf simply ducked his head in submission, murmuring some wimpy apology.

"This mission is vital to the livelihood of the Argo. I understand that what we're asking may seem like a tall order, but it is for the good of the whole crew. Our employer will only accept the artifacts once all have been collected. If we abandon it now, the past few months will have been for nothing, and Yonnex-Quniwel's death will have been in vain." Tave glanced around the table, his stare cold.

Lusac looked away as he spoke of his deceased friend, a death Lus still blamed on himself given everything that happened with the Shaquine.

"We understand, Captain. And I think I can safely say I speak for everyone when I say we will do whatever is required to make this mission a success. In fact, I'll go first. Poke and prod away, doc." Oaty rolled one sleeve up and held his arm out.

Tremt-Fusi smiled as she prepared the needle. "Very well, Oaty." Thirty seconds later she was labeling and storing away a small vial of blood. She held up a new needle setup. "Who's next?"

"Me," Becky said immediately, the color drained from her face.

Lus offered her a reassuring smile as the doctor completed her sample collecting. Tremt-Fusi then got Lus's blood and finally Relf's.

He assumed that would be the end of it, but he was surprised when Captain Tave too rolled up his sleeve to have his blood pulled. He supposed it made sense that they test everyone, regardless of rank, but he hated to think of going on a mission with the Argo's captain.

That was a lot of unneeded stress in his opinion. It was hard enough to perform under the usual intensity that came with off-ship tasks, but adding in Captain Tave looking over his shoulder the whole time turned the whole thing into a nightmare.

"I'll contact you when the results are ready, Captain." Doctor Fusi carefully sealed up the small vials of blood.

"Very well. Until then, everyone is dismissed." Captain Tave stood up, and the rest of the room followed suit. Relf was first out the door, the man practically tripping over himself as he went, and then he was followed by Oaty, Becky, and finally Lus.

Leaving the briefing room behind wasn't enough to ease Lusac's nerves. It was less for himself and more for his friends. What if Becky was the only one who could? She wasn't qualified for that kind of thing, and sending her down there was asking for something bad to happen. And Oaty was their only properly trained pilot now that Quniwel passed away. Surely the Captain wouldn't risk losing him.

An even worse thought was losing their illustrious Captain. While technically Lus knew that at some point in his life Captain Tave had probably been part of a mission crew and gone off-ship to do dangerous tasks like loot tombs or steal artwork, he couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of Tave doing that kind of dirty work now.

Part of him wanted it to Relf who had to go down just to teach the annoying dichen a lesson or two, but the majority of him wanted the mission to be a success which meant definitely not trusting it to Relf's clumsy hands.

But by far the worst case scenario Lusac could envision was if he and Relf had the immunity gene, and the pair of them got sent down to the planet together. He'd rather it be anyone but his nemesis from the cargo bay. Even Captain Tave, as stressful as that would be.

"Argo to Lusac," Oaty said, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Sorry. Just thinking about the mission," Lusac apologized. He was walking down the hallway with the pilot and Becky without even realizing it given how tied up his mind had been in analyzing all the ways this situation could turn out.

"You worry too much. You haven't even been chosen yet. Haven't you had your fill of being the hero? Save a little glory for the rest of us." Oaty slapped his back.

"It's not like we all haven't had our turns in the spotlight," Lusac reminded them. Oaty saved the ship with that lucky maneuver back during their battle with the Corporates, and Becky saved the crew of the Argo from the loose Shaquine only a couple of months ago.

"But not nearly as much time as our oh-so-incredible [Chef] boy." Oaty pounded him on the back again. "Enough stressing out you two. I know just the thing to fix this."

Both Becky and Lusac looked at him expectantly.

"A flying lesson."

Becky gave him a fake laugh. "In your dreams, fly boy. G-sickness, remember? Unless you want vomit all over your shuttle, I'm out."

Oaty cringed. "Yeah. Nevermind. Sorry, Becks, but I rescind your invitation." He grabbed Lusac's shoulder. "Looks like it's just you and me, buddy."

"I'm still on shift."

"Yrqw and the Fsylan tubes can wait. This is technically official business anyway since we need backup pilots. Becky can cover for you." Oaty grinned.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Becky rolled her eyes.

Lusac looked at her. "Nah. I don't want to leave all the work to Becky."

She waved her hand. "No. It's fine. There's not much left to do today anyway. You should go, Lus. Oaty will never let me hear the end of it otherwise."

"That's true," the pilot confirmed.

"Are you sure?" He felt bad leaving her behind to go hang out with Oaty for the rest of the afternoon.

She smiled and nodded.

"Alright. I guess I'm yours, Oaty."

Oaty rubbed his hands together. "This is going to be fun." He then dragged Lusac away towards the elevator instead of the ladders. "If they ever find a cure for g-sickness, I promise to give you private lessons too, Becks," he called back.

"And even in that case, I'd still say no," she retorted just as she disappeared from view.

"Why are we taking the elevator though?" Lusac asked as Oaty shoved him inside and stepped up next to him, making the fit tight even if the lift was designed to fit a Kremel.

"Because we need to save our hand and arm strength for piloting." Oaty said it as if that were a totally normal thing.

"Yeah. Sure…" Lus scrunched up close to the wall, a little too aware of his friend's breathing.

The elevator door opened, and they spilled out into the hallway and fresher air. Oaty was brimming with anticipation as he ushered Lusac to the shuttle bay, and Lus only got one last chance to question his decision to do this in the first place. Maybe Becky was right to avoid this, but it was too late for him now.