He didn’t look happy about it, but he gave her a hug and returned to the lander with Gregor and Sam.
Ilse took Emi home with her. Despite the situation, Emi relished her first long, hot water shower since leaving Earth. It was a luxury they didn’t have on the ship, limited to sonic showers when not in a port with abundant natural resources. When she emerged from the shower, she found Ilse sitting at her kitchen counter and staring at the oven. In it, more loaves of bread were baking.
The governor wanly smiled. “It’s my hobby. I love to bake. I figured I’d make some for Sascha’s breakfast in the morning.” She broke down sobbing as Emi hugged her. “I love him so much! I can’t lose him!”
Emi sensed the governor knew more than she let on. Sure enough, she said it. “Special orders were issued, right?”
Emi couldn’t lie to the woman. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
Ilse sat up and wiped her face. “I was afraid of that. I mean, it’s one of the contract terms. As governor, believe me, I know.” She took a deep breath. “I have to have faith. Are you a woman of faith, Doctor?”
Emi smiled. “I have faith we’ll find an answer.”
Ilse nodded. “That’s good enough for me for now.” She let out a harsh laugh. “And considering our chaplain was one of the first infected, it’s not like I can go ask his opinion.”
Sascha was awake when they arrived early the next morning. Taber gave him the breakfast Ilse brought her husband. Today they would try waking up the men again and waiting to see if they would rage. The first batch of five didn’t react after an hour. Emi cleared them to eat. While Taber coordinated their breakfasts, Emi turned to the observation window to talk to Sascha.
He stared at her through the glass, his face blank, eyes narrowed.
“Sascha?”
Ilse stood up, a look of horror on her face. “Oh, no.”
Emi ran for the hallway. “Taber, get ready! Sascha’s going down!”
Taber pushed through the group of women, who’d brought food for their husbands, and met Emi at the cell door.
Sascha screamed at them as he charged the gate, ineffectively bouncing against the energy field holding it shut. Taber aimed the stunner and shot Sascha through the gate. He fell immediately, still conscious but immobile.
As soon as Taber deactivated the gate, Emi raced through and pulled blood samples before Sascha could shake off the stunner’s effect. By the time they left the cell and Taber activated the gate again, Emi’s hands were shaking and sweating as adrenaline surged through her system. She didn’t sedate Sascha, wanting to see what happened if they left him alone to let the rage run its course.
It took nearly an hour for him to fully come out of the rage. During that time, he attempted to destroy everything in his cell. Once he’d calmed, Emi, with backup from Taber, went in and took more samples.
Sascha looked up at her from where he sat on the floor. “How bad was I?”
“Not too bad. Management will send you a bill for the damages,” she teased.
He laughed. “Remind me to bill it to the DSMC as a work-related expense.”
Two of the other men also raged. Emi and Taber got during and after samples from them as well. By the time Aaron, Sam, and Gregor arrived, Emi was ready to leave with her samples to get them to the Braynow Gaston. She climbed inside the lander before the men could even suit up.
“Let’s go. We need to run these to the BG right now.”
Aaron glowered. “We just fucking got here.”
She knew he felt upset about her staying planet-side the night before, but she was too stressed to try to read him past the angry cloud of emotions riding on the surface of his mind. “I’m sorry, Aar, please. This is my job.”
That seemed to snap him out of his funky mood. She sensed his darkness lift. “I’m sorry, babe. Of course it is.” He hugged her tightly, relaxing as she hugged him back. “Let’s get back to the Bight. The twins missed the hell out of you.”
“What about you?”
He smiled. “You’d better believe it. Ford talked my ear off half the night.” He nuzzled her ear and whispered softly enough so the other two men couldn’t hear, “I finally had to make him suck my cock to shut him up.”
They stopped at the Braynow Gaston to drop off the samples and at the Kendall Kant to drop off Gregor and Sam. Emi took a few moments to chat with Donna after the other woman finished sucking face with her newly-returned men.
In their crew’s common area, Donna had set up a command center of sorts. A large wall display held personnel file info on everyone infected. As she touched a picture, the details would zoom into readable proportions.
“Nothing. We’re running out of time,” she said. “Can you upload the colony’s agro-files? Maybe there’s something in the food chain we’re missing, a pesticide or fertilizer or something they’ve been exposed to that’s reacting with something else.”
Emi sent a message to Ilse, who confirmed almost immediately. Within minutes, the data streamed into the three ships’ data banks.
Donna groaned as she stared at her large wall screen, where the files were now displayed. “This’ll take forever to go through. Guess I’m staying up all night.”
Rob wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “We’ll stay up and help you.”
When Emi looked at Aaron, she suspected his thoughts and amused smirk mirrored her own.
Rob Elloy, tough former ISNC grunt—pussywhipped.
“Let’s get back to the Bight,” Aaron said. “You can coordinate through the com link.”
Fortunately, Emi’s office in sick bay was large enough that she could spread out and study everything they’d compiled so far. Ford walked in with a dinner tray for her while she talked with Sascha and Donna, following up another lead. Preliminary test results from the newest samples still weren’t enlightening.
Ford sat and kept Emi company as she ate and talked with the other two doctors. After she pushed the tray away and kissed him, he stared at her tray.
“You don’t want your bread?”
Two pieces of cinnamon bread were left on the plate. “No, I’m full. Thanks.”
He snagged one and took a bite as he picked up the tray. “I’ll eat them. This stuff is awesome.”
By the middle of the night, Emi, Donna, and Sascha were all falling asleep over the data and no closer to an answer. “Did you even eat, Sascha?” Emi asked. He hadn’t had any more rages.
“I had some chicken soup. My stomach’s still upset from earlier, I guess. I’m not hungry.”
The other men had already gone to sleep for the evening. After getting the earlier rages, Emi decided not to wake any others until they had an idea if it would do any good. “I need sleep. I’ll get with you two first thing in the morning.”
Emi collapsed into their bunk, next to Ford and Caph. Aaron had taken the night watch and would stay on the Bight the next day while Ford went to the surface with Emi, Sam, and Alex Parisi from the BG. Aaron was busy trying to convince the DSMC and ISNC that they needed more time.
Sleep didn’t come easily for Emi despite her exhaustion. When she awoke the next morning, the sweet smell of cinnamon and coffee filled the air. Aaron brought her a breakfast tray before she could get out of bed.
He looked as exhausted as she felt, his brown eyes lined with dark circles.
“Did you get any sleep?” she asked.
“I will. I wanted Ford and Caph to get a full night for a change. I’m going to curl up here with you while you eat.”
She tapped into her sick bay computer from her hand-held and reviewed information while she ate and Aaron dozed. Her appetite surprised her. She finished everything, from her eggs to the bacon and even the cinnamon toast.