Don awoke that morning with a head that no longer ached and a desire to use the bathroom. It was the first thing that he did that morning making a run for it, quietly, in the late hours of the day then hopped in and took a well deserved shower. The memories of the attack on the Kavalarian ship flashed through his mind.

The armor decorating Smith's once entirely human form, his increased height, and spine chilling appearance that was unnatural. His figure standing out among the black was surreal. He knew it happened but Don couldn't very well believe he had seen a creature come into being before his eyes over the last few months.

It all came to be from a simple mistake. One little miscalculation made by who he assumed to be his own counterpart and a real monster was born. It was the kind of mistake that a non-military individual would make in order to keep their eyes on the target instead of relying on a secure and hack resistant system.

A military official wouldn't make that mistake. A arrogant rookie would have made the mistake. A space door, one that was different from most Earth doors, with common sense if the freezing pods in that universe were knocked out of commission. It showed how little that his other self trusted machines. This moment of reflection made him feel better regarding how history really went.

Don got himself a glass of coffee then sat down at the galley table and his shoulders lowered sitting there staring at the table looking back at better times. He heard footsteps headed his way then looked over as the lights of the residential deck beamed on brightly as the outside window showed the sun raising above the ridge of the distant mountains. Don waved at the approaching professor who sat down in the chair across from himself.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better than yesterday," Don said.

"That unfinished coffee says otherwise," John said.

"What about you, John?" Don asked.

"I am feeling a bit unsettled myself," John said.

"What happened yesterday was terrifying," Don said. "More so than any mission we have been on."

"Don, when you were with Smith up there. . ." John started. "Did he look the same way of a mutated spider?"

"Yes," Don began to become alarmed by the question. "Why?"

John grimaced but wasn't surprised by the answer.

"We saw him as a human," John said.

"Cured?" Don asked.

"I don't think so," John shook his head. "He refused to join us. Didn't say a peep."

"Not only can he verbally lie to us but he can lie to us in appearance," Don rubbed his forehead. "What a leap!"

"One can say he has mastered another art of lying," John slipped out a vial then put it on to the table alongside the recovering major. "He wouldn't tell us how but he gave us this vial." Don picked up the vial then looked at the remainders of the contents then smelled it. "How did he change?"

"He was already changed when he got on that ship," Don said, closing the vial. "He even. . . he even. . ." He shook his head. "It's too bizarre."

"What did he do?" John asked.

"He extended his neck," Don said. "It's like the version of himself that he wanted me to see was a illusion-" he stopped, eyes widened, looking on toward the man. "He didn't use a machine. He used his mind. He didn't drink anything just to lie to us. The only machine that Smith has on himself is that strange bracelet."

"It's time for plan B,"

"Plan B?" Don asked. "What was plan A?"

"Get cured before his body changes," John said. "Plan B is plan B."

"Do I like to know what plan B is?" Don asked.

"No," John said. "Maureen and I agreed on it after discovering it."

"Ah ha," Don said. "must be very uncomfortable."

"It is," John replied as Don took a sip from the glass.

"So," Don said. "What is plan C?"

"Sticking him in a freezing tube and not him up until we find someone with the technology of removing that infection," John said. "If not, we come across Officer Bolix and make sure he keeps his word."

"That is going to be difficult," Don said.

"Not if we tell him the truth," John said, shaking his head. "Not if we tell the truth."