Beneath the station's medical bay, the former human's muffled scream fills the corridor of the reformatory. A pair of Security Marines stood behind the locked gate of the supervision room.
"I can't believe we're holding one of those freaks, the rumours about this kind of thing were actually true" a Marine was saying.
"Don't mention this to anyone. I have no interest in being discharged from the UAAF, so if I'm ever reminded about it later I'll know who it was and you'll be reported" the other guard threatens.
"Alright! I'll stop bringing it up, calm down" they reply.
"Just think though, after we put up with this kind of thing for a while longer, we'll be in demand. We could get a gig on a nice space vessel or maybe even make Captain" they reassure.
Within their padded cell, giant boils had formed all over the former human, sickly veins throbbed grotesquely. They were wearing a stray-jacket over a medical gown, a muzzle strapped to its face. The test subject became more erratic, slamming their body against the door. It then circles the confined cell as it continues shrieking until exploding into a bloody mess dripping from the padded walls.
In a secret location deep beneath the Deimos UAC colony, a meeting of the corporation's paranormal division was about to take place. Nexson and Dr. Phillips rode the elevator beneath the lunar surface, then walking a short distance to the conference room.
Dr. Nolan Ward and Dr. Alice Wells were seated around the table. a holo-monitor was upon the wall, station information scrolled below an IPN news broadcast. The pair seat themselves at the table, a flat circular lamp hung from the ceiling above.
"Hello Alice, Nolan" says Nexson.
"Greetings Doctors" replies Ward.
"Dr. Mason isn't here yet?" asks Leonard.
"He's on his way, shouldn't be much longer" answers Wells.
"Allen is late to a meeting? That has to be a first" Leonard observes.
Minutes later Dr. Mason walked through another sliding door.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you for attending, we have important matters to discuss " Mason says as he takes his seat between Leonard and Alice.
"As a reminder, you're not to speak openly of topics discussed during this meeting, he says glaring around the table, as I'm sure you're all aware our human test subject was tragically affected by the portal experiment. Completely sane and rational on Phobos, but after transporting to Deimos he went berserk and attacked a technician, Mason explains, what you weren't aware of is that the test subject is now dead"
A surprised silence followed his words.
"What happened?" Rupert asks.
"Other than our genetic clues, unknown, Mason replies, security found what was left of him a couple of hours ago. Surveillance recorded the incident and this is what was captured"
He uses his PDA to play the video through the holo-monitor, the footage shows the test subject raging before bursting into bloody remains.
"The method of this mutation is completely unknown, something unusual happened when they traveled the portal, Mason explains, although we were able to immediately isolate the sequence and replicate the genome, we no longer have a test subject to work with"
"Aerospace executive branches and investors are losing their minds over this, close to a trillion credits had been spent on project development and we're on track to lose a whole lot more because apparently nobody believed it could fail. The UAC could split if this isn't addressed, a disaster for the industry as well as the countless agencies that depend on it" Dr. Ward adds.
"That can't happen, we must find a solution" says Alice.
"You know, Dr. Carmichael had proposed attempting the ceremonial portal ritual. I've heard of it but I'm not sure if it's actually real. She has offered the use of her psychic nature to lead a procession. Her aim being to gain some impressions about what went wrong with our experiment and how it happened" Alice recalls.
"Interesting proposal but I'm afraid I don't know anything about it either" Mason admits.
"I happen to know that the portal ritual is real, whether it can accomplish anything I cannot say" Nexson admits.
"Tell Susan we're interested" Mason says to Alice, she immediately begins composing an encrypted email.
"As intriguing as that sounds, management won't accept a proposal such as that. They've assigned me to find another human test subject for studying a genetic serum based upon the replicated genome, Mason says with some apprehension, I have no idea where to look for volunteers, prisoners on Earth have been deemed far too unstable to be trusted on these stations"
"I'm not too hopeful about this avenue, but I may have a solution, says Nexson, from my analysis, the only suitable candidates are Space Marines. After full training, the corps' statistics indicate that they may be ideal for this type of testing" he states.
"You'll never get the UAAF to agree to that. The Station Chief has all regulations regarding high command's position on scientific testing memorized, Dr. Kronos found that out for us after presenting his proposal to him previously" Alice says.
"Under usual circumstances that would be an immediate obstacle, but there isone Marine being held by the Paranormal Division and he would be an ideal candidate, I don't know where he is but I can find out" states Nexson.
"Who are you talking about?" Dr. Mason asks.
"None of you hold high enough clearance for me to say" Nexson explains.
The other researchers all stared surprised, each assuming their clearance was the highest they could get.
Hours later within the brightly lit genetics lab, Victor and Leonard stood around a terminal, the recently discovered genome twirled in the holographic light. Research stations were divided by thin glass with a frosted surface. The sloping walls housed vents with spinning fans blowing cool air into the lab. A small group of researchers were busy monitoring various automated DNA scans and ferrying samples between stations wearing white lab coats.
Phillips steps over to another station and preps the Protein Assembly Matrix for operation.
"I have to admit, Victor, I have a troubling premonition about this new avenue of research. I've never seen something so foreign" comments Leonard.
"I share your concerns, but there's too much at steak" Kronos replies.
Leonard reaches under the table for a large beaker and places it in front of the Protein Assembly Matrix, he unwinds some clear tubing and pushes them to the bottom, then begins the formulation. The system drains minute amounts of fluid from containers above the apparatus, a low hum sounded from within and the centre core began spinning.
Leonard grips a pair of control sticks, he guides mechanical arms to handle the solution. The arms tilted the contents of the beaker into a test tube, Leonard gently plucks it from the machine.
"Well, I guess it's Alpha labs' problem now" says Leonard, inserting a rubber cork and placing it into the formed slot of a black carrying case.
"Dr. Espensen, would you come here please?" Kronos asks.
The genetics intern approached their station.
"Yes, Victor?" he asks.
Leonard seals the case, then hands it to Kronos.
"Deliver this case to Dr. Nexson in Echo labs" Victor says, passing the case to the intern.
"Yes, sir"
Espensen disappears with the serum behind the sliding laboratory doors.
Kronos reaches for his PDA.
"Yes, Victor" Rupert answers.
"The genetic serum is on its way to you, now" he says.
Dr. Nexson and Dr. Carmichael stood before the control station of the teleporter.
"The transport coils are energized and the systems are connected. I'm ready to open the gate" says Susan.
"Proceed" Nexson says.
She taps the panel and the gate burns with bright energy.
"Are we sure it's a good idea to be sending this through the portal after what happened to our test subject?" Susan asks.
"This is the best way to keep it classified, sending it on a freighter could be compromising. It might seem risky, but we can always formulate another" Nexson replies, the sample is also being sent in a specially designed case for traversing the portal, so we might as well test it" he says.
The doors split apart and Dr. Espensen walks into the lab.
"Hello, Mark. Would you please suit up for us?" Rupert requests.
"It's going through the portal?" Espensen asks.
"That's why the gate is open" Nexson replies.
Espensen releases a breath.
"Okay" he reluctantly agrees.
He steps over to a nearby cabinet and puts on one of the environment suits, and heads for the connecting door with the case in hand.
"It'll be fine, just toss it through" Nexson instructs.
The active portal churned before him on the other side, the droning hum consumes the lab. Mark walks up the ramp and heaves the case inside, it disappears within the tendrils of light. He steps back down the ramp.
"Success, transport confirmed," Carmichael relays over the intercom.
Director Wright and Dr. Wells walked a long winding hallway that housed various research labs, long windows curved along the edges of the walls.
"I can't believe they're reacting this way. I assured them over the conference call that the teleporter problem would be corrected" stammers the Director.
"If we can't maintain funding with those investors, the progress we've made could be lost for decades, maybe even forever" Alice says as they passed a lab worker handling ancient Martian pottery.
"I admit that it's troubling but a new age of sophistication is beyond this setback and their unfounded concerns are hurting our market-shares right when we're depending on their performance the most, Scott rants as he stares at his data sheet, they're just trying to impose their own self-importance on our work"
They pass an examination of mummified remains, they pause and observe the study.
"Who is this? Another prince?" she asks.
"Not quite, this is the great King Pu-Efram-Bah" states the Director.
"Oh my, when was this excavated?"
"About a week ago, in the Lunae Palus region" he answers.
"I had no idea we found him" she says as they continued along.
"You should see the haul from his tomb in Mars City" Wright replies.
A research technician behind a nearby lab notices the pair walking past and waves them over. They approach the window and the Director touches the intercom button on the wall.
"Yes, Doctor?" he asks.
"I have something I want you to see" the researcher states.
"Certainly" came the reply.
They reach into a hydroponic chamber, sitting at the rear of the lab. He turns around, holding a small pot with a few stalks of vegetation sprouting from the top. He proudly brings the regenerated Martian plant closer to the window.
"Oh my, is that what it looks like?" Alice asks.
The researcher nods, "G-F-34" he says.
"Oh, wasn't that one of your samples?" the Director asks Alice.
"It is" she admits.
"...I wonder if it will become my new office plant" Scott ponders.
They examine the resurrected life form for another silent moment and wave goodbye as the pair moved along.
"Isn't that something, Alice?" he asks.
"It's wonderful, Scott" she replies.