Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3

S6 investigator Amelia Jensen found Troy D’Amour in a lab. That was not surprising. Even though the scientist was a patient with no duties on board, he had free run of the ship. Any help he could give with Earth’s medical mission was greatly appreciated. In a way, he was lucky. As with most other pandemic victims on board, his infection was being managed for now, so he mostly felt quite able to contribute.

What was startling to Jensen was seeing Troy suddenly switch screens when he noticed her. What was he hiding? That wasn’t comics he’d brushed away, but complex biochemical equations.

“Ah hah!” she said. “Bring that screen back!”

“What? Why?”

“Don’t ‘what why’ me. Bring it back,” she commanded.

“Do you have a warrant?”

“Actually, I do. From the Ambassador herself.”

“I think she’s the only one on board who can grant warrants,” Troy muttered.

“True.” Jensen proffered the document. “And now you’re in a good mood from being correct.”

Troy sighed and didn’t bother to examine the document. “Here you go. Have fun.”

After a few minutes, an alarmed Jensen asked, “What in the galaxy? Why are you doing a paper on how to stop tail growth in humans having Fabarian-infused DNA?”

“You understand the complex organic chemistry that fast?”

Jensen frowned. “I was planning on doing a master’s in biochem when the alien robot occupation came to Earth and changed my life.”

Troy gave her his full attention. “That doesn’t sound good. What happened? If you want to talk about it, I mean.”

Bonding with her suspects always seemed to help, so she repeated what she’d described for a reporter. “An invading Tasla bot broke in to sample my mom in the middle of the night. A needle jab woke her, and all she could see in the dim moonlight was a big lumpy silhouette and a long shining needle dripping her own blood onto her. She screamed so loud my Dad jumped on the thing without thinking. The needle stabbed him in the chest when the bot thrust its arms out to maintain balance and block him. Like many others who got in the way, he ended up dead. Then my mom succumbed to mental illness – so I joined the E.C. Forces.”

“Wow. That’s awful. Ya, I should know by now not to stereotype people by job description. Sorry!”

“Yes, well, you’ll really be sorry if you don’t explain to me what you’ve been doing in the lab.”

Troy grimaced. “I’m used to being the mature older brother. All right. Since I’m a goner anyway, I experimented on myself. Basically, since the Fabar aren’t affected by the Pandora strand, I incorporated some of their DNA into my genotype. It did slow my Pandora, but it also gave me side effects.”

Jensen made a sour face. “Ok, you’re coming with me for a complete medical check and further questioning.”

“I can tell you exactly what the effects were,” Troy said. At the look on Jensen’s face, he added, “But I’m under arrest, aren’t I?”

“You certainly are, mister! I’ll walk you to the hospital then come back for your computer. I want to see what else you’ve been doing to whom.”