THE HODMANDOD EFFECT

“Lieutenant!” Stone exclaimed, walking briskly into the bridge of the League ship. Rooney, seated in the captain’s chair, swiveled to greet him. The soldiers had

successfully completed their defense works and were comfortably nestled within its confines over the last three days. There were no further attempts at contacting them by the others and

Rooney was glad for that. He didn’t want to kill any of them, but he also would not submit to whatever they had planned for him and Stone. All he needed to know was that it wasn’t going to be a good thing for them. The situation outside was getting progressively worse. Visibility from the seemingly never-ending dust storm was cut to only a few hundred yards with the naked eye. Sensor goggles alleviated the problem, but Rooney knew if the wind patterns remained static, even those might not be much help when performing outdoor activities.

“What is it, sergeant?”

Stone held out his hand, showing Rooney what was in it.

“Where did you find that?” He asked the sergeant.

“They were in a storage container,” Stone replied, beaming. “Can we please stop wearing those damned bio suits?”

Rooney took the item from Stone and looked it over. What he held was an RFM, or Respiration Filter Mitigator. The Federal States Armed Forces had their own variant when the Sub-Saharan League began to use biological warfare agents in the last conflict. The League version wasn’t much different and worked on the same basis as a SCUBA mouthpiece. The only difference was the wearer didn’t have to use a mask. The mouthpiece had an extension that fit over the nose, forming an air tight seal around it. All one had to do was breathe through the mouth. Before taking it off, the wearer had to undergo a thorough decontamination process. The filter was designed for use in the harshest of conditions on Earth, not unlike what was occurring outside. The filters were designed to ward off microscopic bad guys by not only the material it was made of, but also with an anti-bacterial gel that coated it and still allowed the wearer to breathe normally.

The apparatus protruded from the mouth piece and then teed off in two, one-inch diameter, four-inch long shafts. These ‘shafts’ held the filter elements. A plastic piece curled under the chin that had a light adhesive for fastening it there. At the bottom of the chin piece was a place for a water tube attachment. The tube would run from the chin piece down to the canteen. All a soldier had to do was cover the two shaft ends with their hands and suck to gain a drink.

The nose piece fixed over the wearer’s nose and effectively cut off any possible entrance of

microscopic organisms through the nostrils. When wearing the red lensed sensor goggles with the RFM, one looked like a giant bug-faced creature.

“Were there any extra filter elements?” Rooney queried.

“Hundreds,” Stone replied. “There were only ten of the RFM’s, but hundreds of filters.” Rooney could see that Stone’s face was contorted, begging him, without speaking for him

to say they didn’t have to wear the bio suits any longer.

Stone smiled when the lieutenant slowly nodded his head.

“Okay,” he said. “No more bio suits. We haven’t detected any epidermal problems on the

science team. So that part is okay. But, you wear this religiously when you’re outside.”

“I don’t really see the sense in it, lieutenant,” Stone objected, but then saw Rooney’s glare. “But, I’ll do it as long as you require it, sir.”

“Look, sergeant,” Rooney felt compelled to explain. “I know all of our information tells us it’s okay to walk around like we’re in some kind of shitty ass park. We don’t know what kind of pathogens or mites or germs or whatever is in that dust out there. Until we do, these we wear.

Okay?”

Stone nodded in agreement.

“Can we try ’em out?”

“What? Go for a ride?” Rooney smiled.

Both men were starting to go stir crazy in the ship. There was little to do but monitor the ship’s communication and get a bead on when the other was going to arrive. The boredom was beyond comprehension for anyone that wasn’t experiencing it. It was almost too much for them.

They went to the storeroom and prepared for their recon mission. Both men donned the League supplied combat fatigues they found that fit their physical profiles. After that, the plasma resistant plating was inserted in the pockets provided that would protect their torso and extremities. Even though the science team and flight crew did not possess plasma weapons, the plating was more than enough for lead projectiles. Each man checked out a Danko, three Hellhound grenades each, and a Chidi side arm. For good measure, Stone grabbed an X20 shoulder fired rocket. Canteens were filled with fresh water and tubes fixed to the RFM chin pieces. For visual clarity, they donned the sensor goggles. Once they strapped on their combat helmets and gloves, they were ready to go.

Both walked to the small air lock/decontamination chamber and went inside. Closing the door behind them, Rooney opened the hatch leading to the outside. They walked down the extending stairs and mounted the rover. The Danko assault rifles were placed in their mounts on the rover. Stone put the X20 in the back. There was no talking while in the elements and equipped with the RFM. The passenger section of the rover was enclosed and allowed the men to remove the RFM’s and speak while inside. The small chamber was equipped with an air purifier and reduced the chances of contamination. Outside the rover it was different with the RFM’s in place. But these men had been trained to use hand signals to communicate. The main drawback was it required visual contact. If the men were to be separated, they would have to remove the RFM’s to communicate with one another.

Rooney motioned to Stone for him to put in his earphones as he did the same. He then took out a disc and put it in a small player, plugging the ear phones into the device. Rooney started up the rover and moved the transmission into forward. The sensor goggles gave him good visibility for now and he hit the accelerator. At the same time, he pushed ‘PLAY’ on the small machine. Stone immediately began to hear a 20th century musical artist that he loved to listen to. It was Eric Clapton’s ‘Further On Up The Road’. Both men gave the ‘thumbs’ up and disappeared into the dust.

**********

The science team and flight crew were not as well equipped to handle the current weather situation as the soldiers were. They had the hardware, but they didn’t have the training or the discipline to thrive in what could only be described as a deteriorating situation. Their newfound enemies had no such troubles. They could live in even more inhospitable conditions than this and eat things that would make a vulture turn up its nose. Federal States’ soldiers considered comfort

a luxury and anything less a challenge to be conquered. Those who now called the Elpis home were far from being the soldiers’ equals when it came to survival and coping with less than ideal conditions.

Tempers were growing short with each passing day. Davis and Richardson kept mostly to themselves. When Davis conducted meetings with the others his manner was curt, short and demeaning. Stocker was having a field day taking notes on how everyone was reacting to their predicament. He knew they would never be published and most likely lost forever on Ajax. But, this did not matter to him. Stocker was able to witness something that no other psychologist had ever seen. This kept his interest and intrigued him daily to watch each personality either degrade or step up.

Brubaker was concerned with getting well, but his condition had improved little. Per the captain’s instructions, Fisk had taken over as commander of the expedition. He wasn’t the man

Brubaker was and some of the others took advantage of his weaknesses. This frustrated Rogers as he watched what was happening. However, Brubaker dismissed his concerns when he voiced them to him. This left Rogers impotent to correct Fisk or to even intervene where he knew he was going wrong.

It was obvious to Rogers that it was the men who were having the most problems. The four women seemed to be content with performing their duties and studies. Leslie satisfied her sexual urges with Davis, now. Rogers felt it had more to do with what she could obtain by being his main squeeze than any emotional tie. He could see it blowing up in the near future, but kept his thoughts to himself. Trotter never left the ship, staying in the lab or in her small quarters and coming out only for the odd meal and a cigarette. Rogers didn’t know how many cigarettes she had, but in his mind she had to be running out the way she went through them. Constance and

Courtney, once on the planet, were all business. They had their ‘girl’ moments with each other and the rest of the crew, but during the day they were the hardest workers of them all.

Beta Comae Berenices was ending another one of its blistering hot days. The swirling wind and choking dust eased somewhat during evening and early morning hours, but it was still a burden to the Elpis team. Most of the crew came in for the evening and Rogers turned on the outer defense system. After cleaning up, several of them got together in the mess and settled in for a meal. Brubaker remained in the infirmary and Trotter rarely mixed in with the others, preferring her ‘loner’ style of living. Davis and Leslie were obvious by their absence and Fisk was manning the bridge, fruitlessly listening for any possible messages that might come in from

Earth. Rogers didn’t find anything interesting about ‘scientist’ talk, and let them have the mess area to themselves.

“Is there any steak available today?” Stocker asked, looking at what was on tap for

dinner.

“I don’t think so,” Julio replied, peeking over his shoulder.

Constance came in wearing revealing short shorts, the bottom of both cheeks squeezing out for all to see. Her top was a thin undershirt and she was obviously braless.

“Glad to see you dressed up for the occasion,” Richardson jibed.

“Fuck off,” she said, casually walking by.

Richardson turned his head, taking in as much of an eyeful as he could without breaking his neck. He smiled with lustful approval before returning to his meal.

Geraldo Flores walked in after Constance and said hello to everyone without receiving a response. He lowered his head and continued to the spread of food, piling it up on a plate.

The conversation was light and subdued after that. Everyone was tired and ready to finish eating and go to bed. They were all surprised by Trotter’s appearance at the door. To their chagrin, she lit up a cigarette and surveyed them all before speaking.

“Enjoying the food?” She asked of no one in particular.

A few of them nodded, but most of them merely ignored her and kept eating. Trotter took a deep drag on the cigarette and exhaled into the room.

“Could you possibly do that somewhere else?” Richardson snarled.

“I could,” Trotter replied, taking another drag. “But I’m not.” She blew the smoke in his general direction and stepped inside, walking around the tables. “It might be a good idea if you all started to ration your portions of food.”

Constance leaned back in her chair, trying to force a morsel of food from between her teeth with her tongue.

“Why is that?” She asked, successful in her quest.

“I’ve been studying Julio’s plant and soil samples,” Trotter went on. “At least in this general area, there isn’t a thing we can eat.”

“Are all the plants poisonous?” Geraldo asked.

“No, not poisonous,” Trotter answered, the ashes on her cigarette now over two inches long. “But not nutritious either. We could make some of the best looking and biggest damned salads you ever saw and still starve to death. Everything here is germanium based. However, that in and of itself isn’t the problem. The problem is the nutrient breakdown of our digestive systems when compared to the plant genetic make-up here. They possess little of what we require to fuel our bodies. What they do have that we require sticks to the germanium like sartoriatic glue. Remember when it was raining and the topsoil would clump together so as not to be washed away? That’s what these nutrients do with the germanium content. So, when the germanium gets flushed out our ass, so do the necessary nutrients to keep us alive. We can eat all we want and as much as we want and we’re still going to starve to death.”

“What about the animals?” Stocker inquired.

“Same scenario,” Trotter said, taking a final drag and stamping out the butt on the mess room floor. “Whatever the meat has in it that we need, we’ll shit right out. Courtney has brought me several specimens from that damn pistol she’s got. Specimens from birds, fish, and land mammals. The results are all the same. Food, food everywhere and not a bite we can eat that will do us any good.”

“So how does everything else live here?” Stocker asked.

Most of the scientists looked at him with disdain, but Trotter answered the question with her usual flare.

“They were born here, dipshit,” Trotter said, shaking her head. “Everything that lives on this planet has evolved to exist and thrive here. It’s all germanium based. We’re carbon based. Earth is carbon based. The plant and animal genetic make-up is perfectly suited for this fucked up environment, only it’s not this planet and its flora and fauna that’s fucked up. We’re the ones that are fucked up. We can’t live here…ever.”

“That’s enough, doctor,” Rogers said, standing at the door. “Perhaps you’re overreacting. How sure are you of these findings?”

“Sure enough to be telling everybody, commander,” Trotter said, lighting another cigarette. “But, be my guest to have Geraldo double check. Hell, I’ll even perform my analysis again…for the hundredth time, if that’s what you want.”

“If what she’s saying is true,” Richardson said, “how much longer can we survive here?” “Not long,” Trotter said before Rogers could answer. “With what we have in stores here,

maybe another month or two, depending on how little we try to get along with.”

“What about the League ship?” Richardson asked. “There could be much more there.” “Yeah,” Trotter said, chuckling and smoking. “Like you guys can get close to that now.

The soldiers have that place and your chances of getting in are slim to none.”

“Someone should go talk to them,” Richardson suggested.

Rogers walked in the room with a smirk on his face.

“That’s a good idea, Delmar,” he said. “I think you would be the perfect man for the job.” “Me?” He said, a look of fear coming over him. “Why me?”

“I think it should be obvious,” Rogers countered. “With the diplomatic skills you displayed the other day.”

Richardson stood up and glared at Rogers before leaving the room. The commander made eye contact with everyone else before speaking.

“Geraldo, check the good doctor’s work. Doctor,” he said, smiling at Trotter, “check your work again. In the meantime, I’ll think about how we can approach the soldiers in such a way as to not start our own little war here. Maybe we can come to an agreement.”

Trotter was about to say something when she saw Courtney walk by out in the hall. She was dressed in her coveralls, which wasn’t unusual. Normally, she would stop by and speak to everyone or come in to eat. This time, she merely went on her way. Trotter thought that strange and walked to the door, looking out and seeing her turn right and to the exit. She raised an eyebrow and went back into the mess area.

“I’ll be happy to check my work as much as you like, commander,” Trotter said. “I’ll tell you this, it won’t change anything. But, I’m here to serve.”

“Good,” Rogers responded. “I’m glad to know you’re with us on this.”

Trotter smiled and left the room, going back to her lab.

“As for the rest of you,” he said, “I think it would be a good idea if we scaled back on our meals. At least until we have this thing straightened out. I’ll talk to the captain and see how he wants to proceed with the soldiers. Until then, we all have work to do. Busy minds are happy minds.”

Rogers walked out to leave the rest to their musings about the latest predicament they found themselves in. He went to the bridge and gave Fisk the preliminary news. Fisk was intent on the outer perimeter defense monitor and wasn’t listening to Rogers. He noticed that he was being ignored and tapped Fisk on the shoulder.

“Are you listening to me?”

Fisk didn’t take his eyes off the monitor.

“Did you authorize anyone to go for water or anything?”

“No,” Rogers replied. “Why?”

“The defense perimeter flicked off for a moment and then came back on. I tried to get a visual but there’s too much dust out there. When I flipped to infra-red, I thought I saw someone walking down the trail.”

Rogers started to walk out.

“I’ll get a head count,” he said.

The commander walked throughout the ship and within ten minutes discovered that Courtney Vickers was the only one missing. He went outside and looked around, but saw no one. Going back into the Elpis, he went to the bridge to get a report from Fisk.

“Nothing else,” he said. “Where would she be going? And why would she be going out there at night?”

“I don’t know,” Rogers said. “There’s no way we can find her with the equipment we have. Damn!”

“We can’t just leave her out there,” Fisk said, looking at Rogers with worry.

“We don’t have much choice,” Rogers lamented.

“What about the soldiers?” Fisk suggested. “Would they be willing to help?”

“I don’t know,” Rogers said. “But, we can give it a try.”

Rogers went to the com and pushed an ‘all channels’ button. He was sure they would be monitoring any transmissions from the Elpis, just in case. After all, they were soldiers.

“Elpis Commander Rogers calling Rooney,” he said into the mic. “Come in, Rooney.”

Both men listened to the returning static for a few seconds.

“Elpis Commander Rogers calling Rooney. Come in, Rooney.”

“Rooney here,” the lieutenant said.

“Lieutenant, we have a situation here and need your help,” Rogers advised.

“Really?” Rooney replied with a humorous tone. “Just in case I’m interested, what’s the situation?”

“Courtney Vickers has left the ship and gone down the trail that leads to the river,” Rogers informed him. “We don’t know why she’s left or what she’s doing. We don’t have the capability to find her. Can you help?”

Several seconds went by with silence. Rogers was sure there was a debate going on between Rooney and Stone about what to do. Finally, the com came back to life.

“We’ll check it out,” he said. “We’re only two clicks from your position.”

“Two clicks?” Rogers asked, surprised. “What are you doing out?”

“That’s classified information, commander,” Rooney retorted. “If this is a trap, asshole,” Rooney added, “we will respond with extreme prejudice. Do you copy?”

“Copy,” Rogers said, trembling at the thought of what that really meant. “It’s not a trap, Rooney. This is legit.”

“Rooney, out,” came the reply, and the com went dead.

“What do you think?” Fisk asked.

“I think those two are dangerous,” Rogers replied. “And, they might just be what we need right now.”

**********

“You think they grew some balls, lieutenant?” Stone yelled over the roar of the rover.

“In what way?” Rooney asked.

“Well, sir,” Stone replied. “It’s my duty to inform my lieutenant that our one-time allies should be considered hostiles with possible deadly intent, sir. If by some chance these alleged hostiles, untrained as they may be, have made a command decision to engage us, sir; that would indicate to me an enhanced level of testosterone has resulted in a newly found manhood that may put is in danger of ambush. It’s just my opinion, sir.”

“Noted, sergeant,” Rooney said, almost laughing at Stone’s assessment of the situation. “It’s my considered opinion, Sergeant Stone, that the aforementioned alleged hostiles have no stomach for engaging Federal States’ soldiers, which suggest a high level of intelligence on their part. I make this assumption based on previous history with the actors in question. Therefore, I believe the only danger is to the subject we are trying to locate and that any risk posed to her is the only type we may face on this mission. Are you in agreement, sergeant?”

“Yes, sir,” Stone said. “I have complete faith and trust in my commanding officer at this time, and am willing to follow him to the very depths of hell if he so requires…sir!”

“Well,” Rooney said, still smiling. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, sergeant.”

The rover was running at full speed as Rooney tried to decrease the distance between them and where the trail came out at the river. Soon, he was rolling along the sandy bank and making good progress. The sensor goggles helped with his visual acuity as he raced to the spot, but it was still a risky proposition to travel at that speed under the present conditions. The dust appeared as a thick fog and the rover’s headlights did little to cut through it. Still, a citizen’s life could be in danger, and the soldiers never forgot their duty where that was concerned.

In the near distance, Rooney caught a glimpse of several creatures. They were the blue boulders and he could make out at least twenty of them. Rooney slowed the rover as Stone retrieved the Danko assault rifle, putting it at the ready against his shoulder. Both men applied the RFM’s, knowing they were about to get out of the rover. The animals were in the river, but were slowly making their way to the bank. Rooney looked to the left and saw the infra-red figure of Courtney emerging from the trail. She was running to the animals and stopped twenty feet from where they were. He was still a quarter mile away and Rooney saw Courtney’s figure drop to its knees. He couldn’t be certain, but he thought he could see that she was removing her clothes. Rooney gunned the rover’s accelerator and sped to her location. The creatures were getting dangerously close to her as he approached. As the rover drew nearer, he couldn’t believe that what he first thought he saw was true. Courtney was now naked and lying down in front of the beasts, her legs spread before them. Slamming on the brakes, Rooney saw Stone jump from the rover and train the Danko on the lead creature, now only five feet away from its prey. Rooney ran to her, shocked at the weird spectacle in front of him. Courtney was furiously masturbating as if the creatures had somehow sexually aroused her to a fever pitch.

Stone unleashed a volley of explosive bullets into the lead animal. This time, unlike their first encounter with the outdated weapons, the beast pulsated as the projectiles exploded within its body. It fell over, dead before it hit the ground. Rooney scooped Courtney up in his arms and ran to the rover. Stone was firing at the other animals, putting them down one by one as he

affected a fighting retreat. The cries of the beasts were loud and agonizing as he mowed them down, unwilling to cease fire now that he had a weapon in his hands that could exact the kind of punishment he intended. Rooney put Courtney in the back of the vehicle, but she immediately climbed out and tried to run toward the blue boulders. Rooney caught her by the arm and jerked her back in the vehicle, punching Courtney in the jaw and dazing her. He grabbed a piece of rope and tied her hands. Another fastened her feet to one of the roll bars. Rooney jumped in and yelled at Stone through the external speaker.

“Sergeant! That’s enough! Get in!”

Stone jumped in the rover and Rooney threw it in reverse, scrambling away from the carnage left behind by his partner. He stopped the rover and turned around, speeding to the League ship and to safety.

“What the hell was she doing?” Stone asked, looking through the back glass at the near unconscious woman.

“I don’t know,” Rooney replied, shaking his head. “Damndest thing I ever saw. We’ll check her out when we get back to base.”

Rooney turned on the com and transmitted to the Elpis.

“Rooney to Elpis,” he said. “Come in, Elpis.”

“Elpis, here,” Rogers came back. “What’s the situation?”

“The girl is safe,” Rooney advised. “It was close, though.”

“Copy,” Rogers said. “Bring her back here for the doc to take a look at.”

“Negative,” Rooney responded. “We’re taking her back to the League ship. You can send the doctor to check her out here.”

Rogers didn’t want to agree to that, but he knew he had no choice. In effect, the soldiers now had a hostage. All the leverage was now with them.

“Okay, Rooney,” he surrendered. “Have it your way. We’ll send Trotter out there tomorrow.”

“Send that psychology dude, too,” Rooney said. “I think she needs him more than Trotter.”

“Why is that?” Rogers asked.

“Just do it,” Rooney replied. “I’m out.”

Rooney didn’t waste time getting back to the League ship. He was concerned that if Courtney were to come to full consciousness, she might try to jump out and end up hurting herself. Rooney wasn’t sure how much slack was in the rope he tied her feet with. If she were to be injured or die in some tragic accident, after telling Rogers she was safe, he was certain that would result in him being blamed for it. It took more than half an hour to get back and they were quick to rush her inside and be decontaminated. Stone found some clothes for her and both men dressed her as best they could. During this time she was rambling incoherently, with both eyes rolling back in her head. Rooney brewed some coffee and was able to get her to drink some of it. This seemed to help as she looked at both of them with recognition.

“What…what, am I doing here?” She mumbled.

“We found you by the river,” Rooney explained. “We almost lost you.”

“Okay,” Courtney responded, drinking more coffee.

“I don’t think she understood,” Stone told him. “What’s the matter with her?”

“Unsure,” Rooney said, getting more coffee down her. “We’ll put her to bed and take

turns watching her. I don’t want her to get any ideas about going back outside.”

“Yes, sir,” Stone replied. “I’ll take first watch.”

“Very good, sergeant,” Rooney agreed. “I’ll take over at 0300 hours. In the meantime, I’ll find out what time we can expect Trotter and Stocker.”

“Okay, lieutenant,” Stone said, taking the coffee cup from Rooney. “I’ll watch over her.” Rooney nodded and made his way to the bridge. He sat in the captain’s chair and hit the

com channel that would connect him to the Elpis. Soon, he was speaking to Rogers.

“What was she doing out there?” Rogers asked.

“Uh…that’s kind of hard to say, commander,” Rooney replied.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just what I said,” Rooney shot back. “Look, she’s here, she’s safe, and the sergeant is looking out for her. When the doctors examine her, I’ll let her go back with them. They’ll be able to give you a better report than I can at this point.”

“All right, lieutenant,” Rogers said. “They’ll be there after dawn. And, by the way…thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Rooney half-heartedly replied.

He turned off the com and thought about what had happened. If he and Stone hadn’t arrived when they did, Courtney Vickers would have given herself up to those things like a dessert. Her reaction to them was not only strange, it was insane to his mind. As far as Rooney was concerned, they hadn’t been there long enough for anyone to break down like that. It had to be something else. The only question was what.

Rooney relieved Stone at the appointed time and found that Courtney was fast asleep. The sergeant informed him that she had dropped off not long after he left. Stone went to get some rest while Rooney sat down in the chair beside the bed. He stared at her peaceful face and wondered what could be going on in her head to make her act like she did. For more than an hour he studied her. She was a beautiful young woman with a great mind and body. He shuddered at what a waste it would have been for her to have been killed and eaten by those things. It had nothing to do with a sexual thought. It was from a human perspective. Rooney was sure of one thing, no matter how slow they were, those creatures were by far the most dangerous on the planet…just like he had believed so long ago back on Earth when he first heard about them.

The great star was about to rise above the horizon when Courtney slowly began to wake up. She stretched and yawned, looking up at Rooney as if he were a stranger. Blinking several times, she rose up on both elbows…bewildered.

“How did I get here?”

“You don’t remember?” Rooney asked.

“No,” she said. “Not really.”

“Do you remember anything?”

“I remember leaving the ship,” she said, wincing at having difficulty with her memory. “It’s kind of embarrassing but, I was really…really…uh…horny.”

“Is that right?” Rooney said, smiling. “I guessed that on my own.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let’s just say that you were very excited,” Rooney said, shrugging off that part of the experience. “Anything else?”

“Not really,” she confessed. “My head’s still a little fuzzy. I have a headache.”

“I’ll get you something,” Rooney offered, rising from the chair and leaving her room.

He walked to the infirmary and grabbed a small packet of pain relievers. When he got back, Courtney wasn’t there. Rooney ran down the hall, stopping only to hit an intercom button and tell Stone to be on the alert. He was calling for Courtney but received no answer. Turning a corner, he saw her walking to the main hatch, getting ready to open it and go outside. He rushed up to her and grabbed both of her arms, twirling her around.

Courtney had a blank stare and her eyes were changed to the color of black. Rooney knew her eyes were normally green and he was shocked at how quickly the transformation took place. When she had woken up, her eyes were normal.

“Courtney!” He exclaimed, trying to get her to snap out of the funk she was in. “Courtney! It’s me! Rooney!”

“I have to go,” she mumbled. “They need me.”

“Who needs you? What are you talking about?”

“Let me go,” she snarled, struggling to get free from his grip. “They need me. They want me! You have to let me go!”

Courtney thrust her head down and angrily bit Rooney’s hand. He jerked back, blood leaking from the wound. With great speed, she struck him in the nose. Blood started to flow from one nostril as he reeled back. Before he could do anything else to stop her, Stone came up behind Courtney and put her in a sleeper hold. In seconds, she passed out. He looked at Rooney and laughed.

“Not much on kinky stuff, huh?”

“Shut up, sergeant,” Rooney ordered, wiping the blood from his nose. “Something’s wrong with her.”

“Ya think?” Stone said, scooping her up in his arms and walking back to the room they had provided. Rooney followed.

“No, I mean something is really wrong. You didn’t see her eyes.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Stone replied. “She’s not our problem anymore. The docs are outside.”

Rooney left Stone to put Courtney back in her room and allowed Trotter and Stocker inside the ship. After they were decontaminated, he opened the door and allowed them to enter the interior of the vessel. Trotter was not happy.

“I hope you know that I was not thrilled about coming here,” she said.

“Yeah, well I’m not thrilled to have you here,” Rooney quipped.

“Hello, lieutenant,” Stocker greeted, smiling. “How is the girl?”

“She’s not good,” Rooney offered. “There’s a real problem with her. For that, I am glad you’re here.”

He led them to the quarters they had assigned to Courtney. Stone was washing her face with a wet rag when they came in. Trotter took the chair and began to examine her. She lifted an eyelid and shone a small light into her eye. The doctor looked up at Rooney.

“How long has she been this way?”

“Not long,” Rooney said. “When she woke up she was fine. A few minutes later she tried to leave and fought me pretty hard. What’s wrong with her eyes?”

“I don’t know,” Trotter said, looking into the other one. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Why is she unconscious?”

“I had to put her out, doc,” Stone explained. “She was crazy.”

“She kept saying that they needed her and that they wanted her,” Rooney said. “I think she’s talking about the blue boulder things.”

“Why would you say that?” Stocker asked.

“When we found her last night, she was laying on the ground, naked; right in front of them. They would have gotten her if we hadn’t shown up when we did. It was like she wanted them to kill her.”

“Strange,” Stocker muttered.

“Do you have anything we can restrain her with?” Trotter requested. “I don’t want her freaking out on me on the way back.”

“Sure,” Rooney said, motioning for Stone to get the restraints. “Anything else?”

“Tell me exactly what she was doing when you found her,” Stocker instructed.

Rooney went through great detail in describing what happened the night before, leaving nothing out. Both doctors were intrigued at the sexual nature of Courtney’s actions, but were bewildered at the same time. As far as the humans on Ajax Strata Prime were concerned, there was nothing ‘sexy’ or ‘alluring’ about the animals in question. Her behavior threw up red flags but didn’t give them much to go on.

Stone soon returned with a pair of handcuffs. The soldiers presumed those had been stored for use on the Federal States’ personnel once the League contingent captured them. He placed the cuffs on Courtney’s wrists and they waited for her to revive. After several minutes she began to stir and the soldiers helped the doctors take her to the exit hatch. Once they were outside, Rooney went to the bridge to monitor their departure. He watched them until they were out of sight.

**********

When they arrived at the Elpis, Trotter wished to immediately take Courtney to the infirmary and strap her to a treatment table. Her demeanor on the way back had grown increasingly agitated. Courtney was screaming at them to let her go, promising Stocker a good fuck if he would just take the handcuffs off. That was all Trotter needed to hear to know that she

was out of her mind. She struggled against them so fiercely, Rogers and Fisk had to help them take her inside and tie her down. Trotter administered a strong sedative and soon Courtney was unconscious. The doctor took her vitals and discovered her heart rate and blood pressure were extremely high. Courtney, even though sedated, was sweating profusely. She was sexually aroused to the point that vaginal lubrication was issuing copious amounts from her body, drenching her underclothing and seeping out onto the sheet beneath her. Trotter hooked her up to an IV saline solution. Courtney’s temperature was 102 degrees, but the doctor didn’t know what else to do for her.

Trotter took blood samples, urine samples, fecal samples, hair samples, epidermal samples, ear wax samples, vaginal fluid samples and anything else she could think of to investigate what might lead her to the cause of Courtney’s condition. Once she knew that, Trotter was hopeful she could administer an effective treatment. She drafted Geraldo to help her with the medical analysis of the samples and both worked feverishly to find answers.

Stocker went back to his quarters, unnerved by the whole experience. He cleaned up and changed his clothes. He stopped by the infirmary a couple of times to check on Courtney and then went to dinner, eating a small meal. Afterwards, Stocker went back to his quarters and to bed. He slept fitfully, tossing and turning from bad dreams he couldn’t remember. Upon awaking, he was surprised at being drenched with sweat. His penis was erect, pulsating from a throbbing blood rush and pushing hard against his clothing. Stocker got out of bed and looked in the mirror. At first, he was horrified at what he saw. His eyes were turning black and bloodshot and his face was a beet red. Blood vessels were almost popping through the skin of his scalp and sweat was pouring from his brow. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

Stocker quickly left the small cabin and rapidly walked down the ship’s corridor that led to the exit. No one else was up at the time, except for Fisk who was manning the bridge. When

Stocker opened the hatch, a red light appeared on Fisk’s console and alerted him to the activity.

He hit the intercom that would allow him to project his voice over the speaker at the hatch.

“Who’s there?”

There wasn’t an answer.

“Who is there?”

Still, no answer.

Fisk got up and grabbed a .45, walking out of the bridge and to the hatch. He arrived in time to see Stocker already through the defense perimeter and running down the trail.

“Doctor!” He shouted. “Doctor! What are you doing?!”

Fisk closed the hatch and ran back to the bridge, pushing the ‘RED ALERT’ button that would awaken the entire crew. He then pushed the ship wide intercom.

“All male crew members, we have a security breach. We have a security breach. All hands to the weapon stores.”

Rogers was the first to meet him at the storage compartment. Fisk had already opened it and was loading an AK-47. When he saw Rogers approach, he threw another one to him.

“What’s going on?” Rogers demanded.

“Stocker,” Fisk advised. “He took off down the trail. I yelled at him but he kept running.” “What the hell is happening around here?!” Rogers exclaimed, loading the AK.

Davis and Richardson soon showed up, followed by Julio and Geraldo. Fisk armed them all while telling them what the situation was. Without another word, the men left the Elpis and ran to catch up with Stocker.

The Elpis didn’t have RFM type protection from the dust, only bio suits. Instead of being encumbered by them, they resorted to merely wrapping rags around their faces and sensor goggles to protect their eyes. They ran along the trail as fast as they could and still be aware of their immediate surroundings. The blue boulder creatures had been seen around the bush near the ship, and sometimes lurked along the edge of the trail.

It took them several minutes to reach the trail’s end where it came out near the bank of the river. The first thing they saw was the carnage left by Stone. At least ten of the animals lay dead where they had rescued Courtney. The second thing they saw made their jaws drop.

Stocker was naked and standing behind one of the blue boulder creatures. With all the strength he could muster, Stocker was ramming his penis into the animal, his mouth open in unbridled ecstasy and both hands gripping the coarse hair on its armor for support. Four of the animals were only a few feet behind Stocker, approaching slowly but with steady purpose.

Without hesitation, Rogers and Fisk lunged forward, shooting at the lead animal approaching Stocker. The bullets struck the beast with tremendous impact but it kept moving to its intended prey. The other men moved to the left so as not to inflict injury on the flight crew and began to shoot at the other creatures moving in. Hot lead poured into them and they shrieked from the pain, rolling their heads upward and swaying back and forth as if trying to dodge the volley that was raining in on them.

Just then, the lead animal took the whole of Stocker’s torso in its gaping maw and the jagged teeth tore into him, almost snapping the man in two. Blood gushed from Stocker’s mouth as his internal organs were crushed and mauled by the animal’s bite. The blue boulder that was being violated turned and took Stocker’s right leg off with a single, massive crunch. It was like watching a crocodile feed. The beast raised its head up and gulped one time, swallowing

Stocker’s leg whole. By then, the rest of the animals were upon him. The men continued to fire until their ammunition was exhausted. They watched in horror as Stocker was slowly and totally consumed before their very eyes. When the blue boulders finished with their feast, they turned to the men who were standing there, shocked at what they had just witnessed. The animals began to approach them, but when the men started to back away, they went back to licking up the rest of

Stocker’s blood from the bank of the river.

“What made him do that?” Flores asked, almost throwing up. “What could make a man do that?”

“I don’t know,” Rogers said. “That was crazy. There’s no other way to explain it.”

“They don’t have to hunt,” Davis whispered, looking at the animals with amazement. “What was that?” Fisk asked, the only one who heard him. “What did you say?”

“They don’t have to hunt,” Davis said for all to hear. “That’s why they didn’t evolve to

be equipped with swift movement. They don’t have to hunt. Their prey comes to them.”

“What are you talking about?” Rogers demanded to know.

“Didn’t you see?” Davis said, pointing and smiling at Rogers. “They turned to come for us. When we backed away, they knew we weren’t ready for feeding. So, they went back to Stocker.”

“I don’t get it,” Julio said. “How can you come to that conclusion?”

Davis continued to smile and nodded at Julio.

“Watch and learn my friend,” he said.

Davis started walking up to the creatures. One, then two, then all of them raised their heads and watched him come toward them. He didn’t have to take too many steps for them to move in his direction. Davis stopped and began to slowly back away. When he did, the creatures went back to their other business. The lead scientist turned to face the men.

“See?” He said. “They expect their prey to come to them. They don’t have to hunt.”

Rogers rubbed his chin and shook his head, looking at the ground.

“That doesn’t make sense,” he said. “What could make other animals just walk up to these things to be eaten alive?”

“I wish I had that answer,” Davis replied. “If we had something left for Trotter to examine, we might be able to find out.”

He walked back to the others who formed a circle around him. He contemplated about what his next words would be, and then spoke.

“If I’m right, it may not be long until Trotter does have something to examine. Or, should I say, someone.”

“Now, what is that supposed to mean?” Fisk questioned.

“The soldiers found the League ship abandoned,” Davis explained. “The crew and all personnel simply gone. It was as if they vanished. I submit to you they did not vanish. I submit they were eaten, one by one, until they were gone. There is something on this planet that negates the will to survive. Something that draws other living beings to these creatures. Maybe it is the

creatures themselves that cause it. I don’t know. What I believe is that we will all succumb to it.

Miss Courtney has and now Stocker. We can’t perform a post mortem on the girl, since she is still alive. Soon, however, we may get our chance when one of us decides…quite involuntarily I suspect…to be their next meal.”

“You don’t have any proof of this, Davis,” Rogers countered. “Just because those things started to approach you doesn’t mean squat. I’ll need a little more evidence before I believe any of that bullshit you just spread around.”

“I am not trying to convince you, Commander Rogers,” Davis said. “I am only presenting the most logical hypothesis from what I have witnessed. I just saw a renowned psychologist with impeccable credentials fucking a monster like it was the most beautiful woman on planet Earth. I just saw this man acting without any regard for his own life and with no will to continue surviving. Isn’t that what you saw…commander?”

“Maybe so,” Rogers answered. “But that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to all of us.”

Davis smiled and threw the AK over his shoulder. He looked back at the blue boulders and then at Rogers.

“I’m sure that’s what the people on the League ship said as well. And, where are they

now?”