The Perseus Strain

[MikDaTv]

The Exploration and Mineral Survey ship Duran Duran exited hyperspace close to Taris Prime. The huge gravity well of the sun yanked the ship out of hyperspace on it's previously projected course. They had planned for the star to pull them out, then they'd adjust course and turn towards Taris where they'd make contact with their employers.

The hitch in that plan of course was that every member of the crew was dead. All 36 men and women on board had died, nearly in mid stride. Kitchen, cockpit, passenger bay, science lab, all filled with bodies. The ship, without a pilot, fell into a decaying orbit around Taris Prime. It was found by a security patrol within the system and tractored out to safe distance. No contact with the ship has been made, and the security team that forced their way into the airlock have not reported in, and all contact with their ship has been lost.

Not knowing what to expect, the Duran Duran has been quarantined until a fully equipped team can investigate what's going on inside. A request has been sent out to the Jedi for any possible assistance they can offer.

[MikDaTv]

John Paul's fighter jumped out of hyperspace over the planet Taris. "Taris sector security, this is Juliet Sierra 25539. I'm on approach to security station nine. Can i get an update on the Duran Duran situation?"

John's com crackled to life. "Juliet Sierra 25539, this is Sector Security Control, your cleared to land. Duran Duran is currently being held in high orbit and is under heavy guard. The team is assembled and waiting for you."

"539 good copies all. Be there in a minute. 539 out." John said and shut the com off. He pulled left on the flight stick and guided his fighter towards the security station.

[MikDaTv]

"Do we have any status about whats going on inside?" John asked, raising his hand at the same time.

The security officer with the datapad, issuing the briefing shook his head. "We don't. The team we sent in broke out of contact before any accurate reports could be sent in. Scans indicate no life signs and we have had no communication with the ship at all since it arrived. Its presumed all hands are dead or missing."

"Lets hope for missing." John said as he went back to the reading material.

One of the doctors in the group raised a hand. "What do we have in the way of environmental protection?"

The security officer tapped a few keys on his datapad. "Page 32. Full environment suits. Block out all known airborne bacteria and viruses, plus toxins, poisons, and radiation."

"Radiation would have come up on the sensors." Said the chemist sitting in the back.

John Paul shook his head. "Not necessarily. A low level radiation wouldn't be picked up by sensors and the trip to Taris from it's last scheduled coordinates is more than 4 days. Thats 4 days worth of exposure."

The female biologist next to John looked up from her reading. "I'd still expect to see some survivors. Some kind of life should still exist aboard. they would have had time to set up some kind of automated communication."

John nodded. "Agreed."

The security officer put his datapad down. "Myself, Doctor Stone, Doctor Mays, Doctor Blane and Jedi Knight Jones will board the craft and investigate."

The biologist, Doctor Mays raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me asking sergeant, what will you be coming along for?"

"Security my dear lady." He responded. "If it's true that everyone on board that ship is dead, then something killed them. It's my job to make sure that something is stopped. If it's something that can be killed with a gun, i'll take care of it. If it's something solved with a needle, that's your department."

"I'm sure i can handle anything violent sergeant." John said. "Even without a lightsaber, Jedi make formidable opponents."

"No Jedi, I'm going because this is a Tarsi affair. That thing is being held by security forces. Security forces want one of their own on the team. This isn't open for negotiation." The sergeant said.

"Bullshit!" Dr. Stone, the Medical Doctor said. "You want to find out if whatever is aboard can be harnessed. Can be used. I won't be privy to a biological warfare project."

"Me neither" Dr. Mays said.

"This is not a biological warfare project. All we want to know is what's on board that ship that killed the crew. One more person with a gun won't make a difference." The sergeant shouted. "Damn Scientists, your being paranoid."

John stood up and raised his hands. "People, calm down. There is a ship out there that may be incredibly dangerous, and it's floating over a major population center. First we find and solve the problem. The politics come later. It won't be made into a weapon, whatever it is. I'll make sure of it."

"There, is everyone happy?" The Sergeant asked.

The doctors sat in an uncomfortable silence but didn't object. John sat back down and returned to the datapad, committing as many things to memory as he could.

[MikDaTv]

"We have hard lock" The sergeant said from the pilot seat of the shuttle. "And we have a seal. Equalizing pressure."

John checked the seal on his helmet collar and turned away from the cockpit. "I'll go to the airlock and get it ready."

The sergeant got up out of the pilot seat and left the cockpit as well. "I'll get the doctors together. Meet you there in 10."

John gave a thumbs up and headed to the airlock where they had docked to the Duran Duran. The pressure looked ok so John cycled the airlock once to make sure it worked. They had all gotten into their suits before boarding the shuttle, since the contamination could possibly spread as soon as the airlock opened.

Behind him, the doctors and the sergeant came up. John turned around and gave a thumbs up. "Airlock works. We're good to go."

"Ok Doctors" The Sergeant said. "Ill go first, make sure everything is clear. Jedi Jones, if you would be so kind as to bring up the rear."

John nodded affirmative and stood to one side. The sergeant opened the airlock door and walked in. It could hold more than one at a time but they were going to send the sergeant over first and if he didn't report back over radio, they knew not to send anyone else.

The sergeant closed the door behind him and cycled the air lock. It activated and soon the door on the opposite side opened. The sergeant walked in and looked around. "This is Sergeant Peterson. I'm on the other side. Everything looks clear, no incidents."

All the Doctors walked into the air lock next and went through, followed quickly after by John. Within 5 minutes they were all on board and splitting up into teams to search the ship.

[MikDaTv]

"It's like they died in mid stride." Doctor Stone said. He and John had paired up and searched the crew cabin. Bodies were in the cafeteria slumped over tables. The body of the ships cook was dead behind the serving station and two other bodies lied on the floor in the serving line area.

John closed his eyes. "I don't sense anything here. I don't believe it was a malicious attack."

Stone knelt down next to one of the bodies in the serving line and began to check it. "He's unusually stiff. Not just rigger, his skin and muscles are unusually hard"

"John went up to the food at the table and ran a hand scanner over it. "Not picking up anything on the food. Perhaps whatever it is can't live outside the body for that long."

"Or it just killed so fast it didn't have time to spread to other surfaces on the ship." The MD suggested.

John held a hand over one of the bodies slumped over the table and closed his eyes. "I don't sense anything alive within this body." He reported. He held his hand over the next body and shook his head. "Same with this one. normally i'd be able to feel something feint from the bacteria left within the body but i got nothing."

"So whatever it is, eats or kills everything within a humanoid body and then dies itself." Stone said. "If we can get their time of death we should be able to narrow things down."

John examined the room one last time. "Lets head up towards the bridge where the Sergeant is. Maybe he pulled something from the ships records."

[MikDaTv]

John sat in complete rapture, watching the security camera footage. The shot was of the cafeteria moments before the mysterious ailment struck. They'd watched it a few times now and kept rewinding it, looking for some clue. Each of them died at the same time except for one of them. A crewman who had been sitting near the door, drinking orange juice stood up and ran out of the cafeteria stabbing himself in the chest with his fork. The Sergeant had been the one to find his body later in the crew cabin.

"Why didn't he die immediately like the others?" Dr. Stone asked thought to himself out loud.

"Perhaps he was more resistant to whatever it is and it killed him slower, causing him to go mad first" Said Doctor Mays, the biologist. "We should take a sample of his blood."

"That will be a bit hard doctor." The Sergeant said. "His blood has turned to powder."

The Chemist, doctor Blane raised an eyebrow. "Powder? You mean..."

"Coagulated." Dr. Stone said. "Are you sure all his blood has coagulated like that?"

The Sergeant nodded. "He stabbed himself in the heart Dr. Stone. At least twice, and at least a dozen times in other places. Every wound looked like it had bled for less than a second."

"Fascinating." Dr. Stone said.

Blane reached into his pack and pulled out a tupperware container. "I'll get a sample for chemical analysis."

[MikDaTv]

John took his helmet off and breathed in some fresh air. "Are we sure about this? I still don't think it's a good idea."

the Sergeant shook his head. "orders are orders. We have our samples. Nothing is getting off this ship but the Duran Duran is scheduled for destruction. There's a flight of fighters and a cruiser being dispatched to the area now."

John sat down and started to unzip his environment suit. "Very well. I don't recommend it though."

"We'll keep your complaint in mind. I'll see to it that the Jedi are kept up to date on the situation. If our studies of the samples on board reveal anything, we'll send you a message with the details." The sergeant informed him.

John nodded. "Ok Sergeant, well i wish you good luck with it, whatever it is."

(exit John)