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As Verena finished talking, Brooks leaned forward over his desk, his hands interlacing in front of his face.
His eyes were unfocused as he took in the significance of what she had just told him.
“How long can you safely contain the krahteons Denso is producing?” he asked.
“At the current rate, indefinitely. But I expect that the emission rate will continue to increase – given that, I have created several projections modelling the outcome. We have six days at the most – as little as twelve hours in my worst predictions,” she told him.
“And at that point Denso becomes a direct danger to the staff and residents of MS-29?”
“Yes,” Verena said.
“It seems we have little time to act, then.” Sighing, Brooks leaned back, rubbing his cheek and looking off to the side. “Do you wish for advice from me, Doctor? I’m surprised you’re coming to me with this, and I mean no offense by that. I would not expect you to trust me.”
Verena regarded him in confusion. “I believed, when you sent the mission to Terris, that you had made a mistake, that you were . . . running on wild hunches.”
“Do you feel differently now?” Brooks asked.
“I have come to see your reasoning. I cannot quantify your hunch, Captain, but I believe your action is at least justified, even if I am not certain it will bear fruit.”
Brooks took that in, studying her and wondering. She hadn’t answered his question about if she wanted his advice.
“I have come to you for another reason, though I will also be willing to listen to your views on this matter. The real issue that the danger Michal Denso represents to this station has already crossed a threshold.”
“What threshold?”
“I told you that I was bound by orders to keep Denso alive – against my better judgment and his own interests.”
“You mentioned that, yes. I admit – I had been curious why such an order would be given. But you chose not to elaborate on it at the time, and I imagined it was because you couldn’t.”
Verena nodded. “I am about to violate a part of those orders, and there may be repercussions for us both. Are you willing to accept that burden, Captain?”
“I am,” he replied.
“Good. My special orders were given by Director Freeman of the Research Bureau. His department deals specifically with-“
“I know the man,” Brooks interrupted.
Knew, and Brooks could not say liked. Director Freeman was an effective administrator, with a keen mind and interest in krahteology . . . but also a man who had opposed Brooks’s career advancement repeatedly.
“Very good,” Verena continued. “Then I need not explain why he is interested in Denso.”
Certainly it made sense that the head of research into Leviathans might want a being like Denso alive. If there was even a chance he was something like an egg of one . . .
“How far back do these orders go?” Brooks asked.
“From before I even headed this facility,” Verena replied. “From the first day we took Denso aboard.”
“Is this common for victims from Terris?”
“No,” Verena replied. “Denso is the only patient with these orders.”
Brooks frowned. “So Freeman must have known that there was something unique about the man.”
“That is my thought as well. How or why – I do not know. I always found the order peculiar, but only specific medical staff positions can know about the order – I should not have told you, but I require your help.”
“You need another ranking officer to help you overrule the command,” Brooks realized.
“Yes,” Verena replied.
It was a slick yet foolish move Freeman had made here, he realized. Giving such strict orders on who could know would essentially lock the medical commander of the station out of being able to counter-mand those orders.
“Clearly you need to override these orders,” Brooks said, as much for the record as for her. “There are few ways to predict how things relating to Leviathans and those affected by them will go,” Brooks noted. “I would never have predicted what . . .” he struggled for a word. “What is happening to Denso.”
“This is true,” Verena agreed. “I am certain Director Freeman meant for these orders to put millions at risk. In addition to this, however, they have unethical from the very beginning. We are now put into the situation of having to make the call on terminating a patient who is not technically terminal nor is able to give consent, nor has any family present or aware of his condition to give consent.
“In such a situation am privy to specific codes similar to your Emergency Action Commands – and in one of them, the station commander may justify the withdrawal of life support from a patient.”
“That is convenient, then. So why do you need me?”
“Because unlike the leeway a starship captain has when invoking Emergency Action Commands, a station comander must follow stricter rules. I require at least one other command-level officer to be present.”
Brooks knew that the action commands had to be looser for a captain, whose ship might find itself light-years from the nearest friendly ship or port, but for a station commander, it was likely safe to assume that a friendly ship would be on-hand at any time.
Unfortunately, for MS-29, this was not the case. The Craton was the only vessel here, and he was the only option.
“Do I need to simply observe – or is my consent on the order required?” he asked.
“The former, Captain. But you do have the power to veto my decision. Do you object?” Verena asked.
Brooks had to consider. It was easy to hold the opinion of terminating a man when the decision was not in your hands, but now it was in his.
His feelings still told him that this was the only way. Denso was a danger, and he believed potentially an existential danger to hundreds of millions.
But he had to be certain.
Denso was altering, gaining mass, but what he was becoming was unknown. The fact that he was developing into dimensions they could not even observe was intensely concerning, as it limited what they could learn.
Kell had warned them of the danger, but the Ambassador’s words alone were not actionable intelligence – not legally.
The fact that he was now emitting dangerous radiation was a whole new wrinkle. It created a danger, and that could grow.
“Verena, if you believe we should go forward with the termination, then I support you fully. However, I believe we should wait at least a little bit longer. You said you believed we have twelve hours – and I expect a check-in from my team sent to Terris in only six hours. When they check in, we’ll know more-“
A beeping on his desk caused him to drop his sentence.
Other Terrestrial 