Chapter 35 - The Returnee
Governor Xyron was reading a summary of reports when Governor Reslic walked into his office.
“Ty has arrived safely in Dira,” Reslic announced.
“Any further sightings of that young alien?” Xyron asked.
“No,” was the terse reply. “However, I have received four more reports of sudden violence. Riots broke out in four towns and it seems to be linked to some freakish weather in the outlying regions. Have your scientists learnt anything of that?”
Reslic settled himself into a chair as Xyron shuffled through the reports on his desk, and quickly scanned one. “Not yet. It is believed that the low rainfall and other weather oddities indicate that the aliens have some form of weather control. However Dylon has been in Basiq. He was monitoring an intense storm cell, and out with his equipment when he became aware of an odd smell. He attempted to obtain an air sample. We will have it this evening, but it may not tell us anything. The wind had been blowing at the time and the smell may have dispersed. The riot began just before the storm hit.”
Reslic advised, “I have authorised the local militias to deal with the rioters, but I am loathe to insist on penalties if the people involved were unwitting victims. Does Dylon know how long the rioters were affected?”
“No more than an hour or two. The mayor had people that were not affected take the brawlers into holding rooms. Most collapsed and slept off the effects.”
“What was the report on the water storages?” Reslic switched topics.
“Levels in five of the storages are still falling,” Xyron’s face creased with concern. “Analysis of the seasonal rainfall indicates that less than half of the normal amount fell during the last storm season, and less zekon has fallen than usual. The geologists have located fissures in two of the storage basins. Both are near ancient fault lines and the loci of the strongest tremors. I have issued directions for the other basins to be examined, but it is slow work. It would be easier and quicker to bring the Joshe Rhodin into orbit to do the survey.”
“I do not disagree with you,” Reslic admitted. “But until we locate that alien base ship – I do not want to reveal our strength. However, the Joshe Rhodin and three flotillas of the Space Fleet are rendezvousing at the asteroid belt and another four are on stand-by but I have them searching near space for signs of alien baseships. The first of them can arrive here within hours if we need them. I have advised the ship captains that the crews maybe seconded to supplement the Peace Corps on ground duties.”
“We might need to co-opt the fleet scientists as well,” Xyron sighed. “I have sent crews to the desalination facilities to get them ready for operation - as a precautionary measure. I hope it will not become necessary to pump water to the farmlands. The water shortage will be widespread if we cannot stop the saboteurs.”
“I’ll organise guards for the plants,” Reslic decided. “If our enemies realise they are working – the facilities will become a target.”
“My other major concern is this epidemic that is affecting very young and very old people. We are getting a high mortality rate, and are no closer to isolating the cause. Perhaps we might bring some of the fleet medics down. All my spare doctors are travelling around to support local medics.”
“I’ll organise the scientists and medics,” Reslic promised. He mentally considered many different matters he was overseeing. Then he remarked, thoughtfully, “The Elders’ prophecies are certainly coming true. A time of trouble, followed by a time of great need…Ty suggested that we call a census of all settlements. I have recalled Jonnsen and Konn from the fleet to oversee that. We have the official population register and the census information will be crosschecked with that.”
“And if some of our enemies try to pass as citizens?” Xyron suggested.
Reslic gave a grim smile. “They won’t be challenged yet, but will be watched. The census officials will be briefed on what to look out for. Since the aliens feel they can move about freely, they will not be suspicious. We can find out who they meet and where the go. I will suggest scanning for message frequencies as well. Then when we act to protect our people, non-Tymoreans will be excluded.”
“When…” Xyron echoed. “Not if. I have my eldest sons overseeing the production of the screens. They are being deployed as soon as…”
Xyron stopped speaking as Yeven transmitted into the room. His abrupt arrival, rather than discreetly knocking, suggested a matter of some urgency. Reslic gestured for his attendant to speak.
“Your Excellency,” Yeven bowed. “Sir, Captain Armon sends his apologies but he requests your attendance at the front gate. There is a person demanding entrance.”
“Did Armon explain who this person is?” Reslic asked evenly.
“No, your Excellency. Only that the person appears to be plague ridden and seems incoherent.”
“I’ll come as well,” Xyron announced. He leant over and used a communicator to brief an emergency medical team.
When Reslic and Xyron materialised near the front gate of the estate, the med team and security team had already arrived. The latter had formed a semi-circular perimeter ten metres from the gate.
Reslic looked past the guards and through the bars of the ornamental iron gate and made a visual examination of the pitiful creature who was pleading for admittance.
The description of plague ridden seemed appropriate as the person had many festering sores on his face, and probably his scalp as well. Flies were buzzing around his head and crawling on his face.
The creature’s clothes were in tatters, falling open to reveal the man’s emaciated frame, and only barely allowing for modesty. The clothes and the flesh beneath were stained with mud, plant matter, and probably various bodily waste substances.
As he watched, the man dropped his hands from where he grabbed the bars, and he collapsed, moaning.
Reslic spoke to Armon who came closer. “Is he armed?”
“No, sir,” Armon reported promptly.
“Bring him in,” Reslic directed.
Xyron nodded at the med team who were clad in full coverage quarantine suits. Two medics lifted a stretcher, and followed two others to the gate. The gate guards pulled the gates open.
As the med team ran a scanner over the man, Xyron took a comm. headset from one of the ring of guards.
“Report when ready,” Xyron directed.
He received an acknowledgement, and watched as one medic examined the flesh under the tatters.
“Sir, this man has numerous infected cuts and lesions. Some look to be animal bites, others like burns. Some indications of bone fractures, and dehydration. His temperature is very high. We can’t tell much more until he is cleaned up.” The report came via a headset built into the suits.
Xyron spoke into his set. “Take him into an isolation room. Initiate full quarantine protocol. The four of you who came near the patient, remain in the isolation room. Do not give the patient anything to eat or drink.”
With the assistance of two security guards, the patient was transmitted directly to the infirmary. The guards also remained within the isolation room.
Xyron followed up those instructions, by directing the remaining four medics. “Decontaminate this area. Anyone who came with in five feet of that man are to report to room delta for decontamination – immediately.”
“Sir?” Armon requested Reslic’s attention. “I believe the rags that poor man is wearing were once a Peace Corps uniform.”
“Yes,” Reslic agreed. “Have a squad sent out to back track the man’s route here and liaise with the medics to identify him.”
Xyron delegated the treatment of the patient to Alexon, but oversaw the process from outside the sterilisation field. First, the man’s tattered clothing was stripped form him and placed in sterile bags to be analysed. Then the man was held under a shower of disinfecting and cleansing solution and then walked through a screen of sterilising gamma radiation. If he had the strength, the man would have tried to struggle free for the spray would make the half-healed wounds and open sores, sting.
The gate guards, who had come close to the man, stoically underwent the same process and accepted the sterile coveralls in place of their uniforms.
Alexon, clad in the sealed quarantine suit, glistening from the spray, tried again to question the patient, but only received moans and screams of terror. He was able to check the man’s eyes – they had the white around the iris – so the man was a Tymorean. Then, to make the needed treatment easier, Alexon hypo sprayed a sedative into the man.
Hours later, Alexon reported to Xyron. “You’ll want to report to his Excellency. Armon was right. He is a Peace Corpsman. In addition, he was tortured. I am amazed that he is still alive.”
Xyron’s attention was fully on his brother. “Tortured? How?”
“He has whip marks, cuts, bruises, burns from both fire and beam weapons. There is some residual radiation from a beam type weapon. Some of the wounds went septic – either deliberately or while he was returning. The more recent wounds seemed to be from animal bites, insect bites… his clothes were crawling with insects. He has a broken arm and concussion.”
“When might we speak to him?” Xyron asked.
“Several days…we have cleaned and treated all his wounds. I want to keep him isolated to be sure we have caught all the infections, and he will need time for the concussion to heal. He has woken from the sedative, but he was still not coherent. The fever is going down and he is having pain killing medication.”
“Have you identified him yet?”
“We are running a DNA analysis, but that will only help if we can find a match. I have requested a list of the missing Peace Corpsmen. We might be able to narrow the list down and obtain sample from relatives or their personal quarters.”
“Let me know at once when you identify him,” Xyron directed. “I will speak to his Excellency.”
“We had no success back tracking your patient,” Reslic said, speaking via the internal palace comm system. “The trail was lost some miles east of here. We need to find out where he came from. What else can you tell me that might help trace his movements? .”
“Alexon said his feet were blistered and grazed – as if he had not worn footwear for a long time. He could have walked a long way, but the whip marks are likely over a month old. The bite marks are fresher, perhaps three days. If he was attacked in the far hills, there is no way he could have come here in three days. He was dehydrated and showing signs of starvation. I really do not think he could have walked far.”
“That was my thought too,” Reslic agreed. “Who ever tortured him, wanted him here alive – as a message. You say that the man was wearing a cadet uniform? That narrows the possible down to three. Lukam, Miius and Zacary.”
“I’ll contact the relatives. Zachary lived here did he not?” Xyron asked.
Reslic gave the affirmative.
When the DNA identification came through, Reslic arranged to meet Nairo, the Commander of the Peace Corps.
“Cadet Sergeant Zacary. Yes, he was with the third scout group. What do you need to know, Sir?” Nairo asked.
Reslic quickly recapped what he knew about the returned Corpsman and stated, “We do not believe that he walked all the way back from the mountains.”
“No, Sir. Even at a forced pace, that would not be possible, especially if he was in as poor condition as you said. Nor even if he escaped when the patrol went missing.”
“What is your opinion of Cadet Zacary,” Reslic asked.
Nairo took a moment to recall what he knew. “Zacary was a bit difficult at first but after completing his basic training he proved to be a conscientious young man. He finished third in his training group and graduated as cadet Sergeant.”
“Were you aware that his brother, who worked as a road guard, has been missing for some months? From before the scout party went off?” Reslic asked.
“I was aware of that, Sir. Young Zacary was very concerned. However, we believe that his brother must be dead. His three patrol mates were found in a ravine and we believe they drowned in the river. It is possible that Yuri fell into the river and his body carried down stream, though we have received no reports of any body being found.”
Reslic refrained from voicing his feeling of disquiet.
“I’ll have you question Zacary,” Reslic decided.
Zacary, wearing one of the pale blue isolation robes, sat up carefully, and put his data pad aside, when Commander Nairo entered his room. He was no longer in quarantine, but in the week since he woke up in the infirmary, he had been allowed no visitors. When he looked up again and saw both Governor Xyron and Governor Reslic had also entered, his pale skin flushed uncomfortably under his bandages and lotion daubed wounds. He recalled, still too vividly, his last interview with the Governors – when they had told him that his power would be made dormant. When they had turned him into something little better than a commoner.
Even being allowed to join the Peace Corps had not quelled his resentment – until he had realised that he was a lot smarter than the other cadets were, and his superiors had begun to praise him.
“Cadet Sergeant Zacary,” Nairo greeted. “Are you able to give us a report?”
“Sir, I…I don’t remember everything.” Zacary was glad to be able to turn his attention away from the Governors. He was feeling better now the pain meds were working, but they made his mind fuzzy.
“Tell us what you can,” Nairo encouraged.
“Sir, we left here and reached sector seven-zero. Captain Severin sent scouts out and they found tracks they attributed to mutants. They also saw signs of alien weaponry – scars from tech weapon fire. We split up into pentads to follow the trails, but they didn’t go far.”
“They lost the tracks, or did they just disappear?” Nairo suggested.
Zacary tried to remember what he had been shown and told. “Group Leader Elgin said…the mutants took to the rocks and could have gone anywhere. We never saw actual tracks of aliens, Sir.”
“ Go on,” Nairo directed.
“The Captain left half our number in that area and the rest of us moved on. We were two days trek from there, and well into sector seven one when we saw more indications of aliens and a deserted campsite. We split into pentads and scouted the area.” Zacary gulped, remembering.
When urged to continue by Nairo, he said, “We were ambushed, Sir. By a group of very short mutants. Ugly creatures. They dropped weighted nets from the trees and were on us before we could free ourselves. They clubbed us unconscious.”
“And then?”
“I woke up…Stevros, Devin and Jacco were still unconscious. We were all tied up and I pretended to be out cold still. I heard Elgin demanding to talk to out captors. The short ones poked him with long poles, and told him to ‘shut up’, but then three taller beings came. Odd looking, they were too. Clothing was outlandish, and their eyes had no white in them, but other ways they were like us.”
Zacary saw Governor Reslic nodding, as if this information meant something to him. A tendril of fear sent a chill through his mind. He forced himself to continue.
“The tall ones told the short ones something, and Elgin was cut free and dragged to his feet. He very nearly got free, but one of the tall ones drew a weapon and activated it at him. It turned Elgin green and he fell down. While he was down, I heard a whistle and two huge canines appeared and began to…tear him apart. Then the green went off.”
The memory almost made Zacary sick again, as it had back then. He looked up and saw the grim look on Governor Reslic’s face and it made him feel better. It wasn’t being turned on him – it was for those others.
Zacary went on, “The mutants took all our gear, our weapons, the stuff from our pockets, even our boots. They never gave us anything, no food, no water, even after we were all awake and they made us walk. They hit us if we stopped. Don’t know how far we walked. Several days and by then my feet were blistered and bleeding. my head was aching and my arms were bruised and sore.”
“What became of your companions?” Nairo asked gently.
“Jacco, fell down. Didn’t get up when they beat him,” Zacary shivered again. “Stev and Devin were still with me when we met up with Thurby’s group. She’d been beaten and…other things, I think.”
Zacary seemed to lose track of what he wanted to say.
“Where did they take you?” Nairo prompted.
“They had us penned in a clear area. Several other groups were there. They had us guarded by people in some kind of armour. Couple tried to make a run, but were shot down. We all had our arms tied behind us. Then some important type came and those with him turned some green light on us. Everyone who fell was dragged away…and they just disappeared…like they went through a wall.”
“This green light – did it affect you?” Nairo asked intently.
“No,” Zacary said at once, and then his mind recalled an oddity. “No, but all those from here fell down, but all the comms, I mean those from the towns and cities, stayed standing. Except me.”
Now Zacary was glad he was sitting, he felt shaky and pale. He was alive because he had lost his power.
“I…” he tried to speak and could no longer say the words he wanted to get out. As soon as he remembered seeing his brother with the high-ranking stranger – his tongue seemed to go rigid. He turned his mind away from that and could continue. “They made us work – digging rocks from the ground – using our hands. The mutants and those others whipped us to keep working – until we dropped. Some of the mutants dragged the women off…I heard them screaming.”
“How did you get away?” Nairo asked.
For a moment, Zacary couldn’t speak again, but the vision was clear in his mind. He tried to speak…but the harder he tried, the more of his body seemed to go rigid. He didn’t notice Governor Reslic moving closer, but he felt a hand rest gently on his forehead.
“I see…your brother freed you.”
Zacary’s mind confirmed it, but he couldn’t speak it.
“He was with the alien leader…collaborating?” Reslic murmured.
“No!” Zacary’s mind contested. “A prisoner.” He stopped trying to speak and allowed himself to recall what he remembered. It wasn’t much…just how Yuri had said, “Go, run, warn the Governors.” He’d pleaded with Yuri to come too. His brother had said, “I’m a traitor. I don’t dare go back.”
“But why,” Zacary had said.
“What it’s always been – the drink – and now he owns my soul. I dare not go back and pollute everyone I touch. Go…before he does it to you.”
Nairo spoke into the silence, unaware of the mental exchange. “And then you walked back here?”
“I…yes…I must have,” Zacary said aloud. His mind went suddenly blank. “I don’t remember.”
Reslic removed his hand. He mentally calculated how long it might have taken Zacary to walk back. Perhaps he had, but how had he got all the other injuries? There were many days not accounted for.
Nairo must have been thinking along similar lines. “You must try to remember. You are the only one of the third Scout group to return. We need to know everything you can tell us.”
Zacary gulped. “Only, Sir? Out of one hundred people?”
Nairo confirmed it with a nod. “Do you know how you came by your injuries?”
At the young man’s confused look, Nairo repeated the findings of the doctors. Zacary shook his head. It was more as if he was trying to catch a vision that kept flicking in his peripheral vision.
“I…can’t. I…don’t know.”
“Perhaps later,” Nairo spoke gently. “Do you recall anything the mutants or aliens said?”
“Aliens? I don’t think I saw any aliens.”
“The dark eyed ones,” Nairo clarified.
“But they looked like us. I just thought they were a less mutated sort of mutant. Though when they spoke, I didn’t understand them. They gave sharp commands to the short and ugly mutants who understood what was wanted. The ugly mutants speak a dialect close to ours.”
“Did they speak to you?” Nairo asked patiently.
“No, they just babbled amongst themselves. What they said didn’t really make sense. It was stuff like – ‘the big sphere is waken’ and ‘they’ve trans-robed the captives’ or ‘they have given us much in exchange for our tormentors’. Then they would laugh in a hideous way and say, ‘our tormentors like us now’.”
Nairo glanced at the Governors to see if either had other questions. Reslic was concentrating on Zacary, but Xyron indicated a negative with a shake of his head.
“We will let you rest, Cadet-Sergeant, and return if we have more questions,” Nairo spoke formally.
He let the Governors precede him from the room and obeyed Xyron’s quiet direction to accompany them. They went to a small sitting room not far from the isolation room.
“Sir?” Nairo queried.
Reslic did not sit, and directed his attention to Nairo. “Commander, I want you to direct a number of your people who are familiar with sector seventy to seventy-two to report to me. I have aerial photos taken from a cloaked stealth ship. I want your people to examine them and look for anomalies that might indicate an alien base.”
Nairo nodded and Reslic gestured him away.
“How is Zacary’s prognosis?” Reslic asked.
“He is young and everything seems to be healing well. The arm will take the longest time.” Xyron summarised. “Did you get any details from him?”
“Yes. He did not have all the wounds we found when he escaped,” Reslic stated. “If he was tortured, as the wounds indicate, he may have blocked those memories. The question remains of who hurt him.”
“I do not like the idea of Yuri with the aliens. It might be how they learned about the estate. Who knows what else he might have told them. Perhaps he betrayed his brother.”
“Zacary’s memory of his brother showed he was in very poor condition too,” Reslic said. “If he betrayed his brother, I don’t think it was by his choice. Yuri has a problem handling alcohol. He pledged to keep off it, but he may have unwittingly become a traitor. What worries me is whether they discovered Zacary and Yuri are brothers and used that detail.”
“Did you sense any kind of mind control?” Xyron asked. He had a degree of telepathy, but Reslic had more.
“Not while I was sensing his mind. What I did sense was that some thoughts were blocked from me. Along with some that Zacary simply could not talk about. There was no sense of him being indoctrinated. However, I am uneasy. When asked about how he returned, his mind went completely blank, like a switch being turned off. That is not natural. Have you checked for implanted devices?”
“Yes, but I will do more tests,” Xyron said very thoughtfully. “And I have arranged for psychologist Rogert to speak to him. At least I am sure it is Zacary and not an alien in his guise. When he is well enough to be released from here, I will have Nairo assign him duties around the estate and have him watched closely.”
“That will do,” Reslic decided. “When Ty returns, he can examine Zacary. His line has the strongest affinity for the subtler manifestations of mind control.”