The hallway was crowded, limbs blocked the path like the trunks of trees in a dense forest, but worse because these ones were moving with agitation. Krill was too short to see over the bodies, but he wasn't about to stand politely at the back and wait for things to calm down, he shoved inward, "MOVE, please MOVE!" his shoving wasn't much against the average human, but his voice was loud and insistent, and eventually he broke through the line of people huffing with the exertion.

"What in the hell is going on here!" he demanded

The hallway behind him was pact with wide staring eyes as human and Drev alike clustered together in a confused group.

Looking into the crowd he saw familiar faces of the crew clustered together in search of answers.

Maverick

Ramirez

Narobi

Simon

And others, all expecting some sort of explanation. Ahead of him Sunny was standing at the door to the captain's quarters slamming her fist repeatedly into the metal. Beside her, Waffles ran back and forth in agitation, her tail tucked low whimpering and barking.

Sunny turned to look at him her face a mask of concern and worry, "He won't let me in, he's not making any sense."

Krill stepped forward, pushing her unceremoniously out of the way. There was no time for him to be polite, but there would be plenty of time to apologize later. Behind him the clamor was making it hard to hear, and Waffle's insistent barking wasn't helping. He turned on his heels filling up his lungs with all the breath he could manage.

"QUIIIIIIIEEEEEET!"

The hallway fell into shocked silence, a few of the humans taking a step back in the face of Krill's anger. Even Sunny backed up a pace or two. Beside them, the dog was still whimpering, and Krill turned his eyes on her next, "Lay down!" He demanded eyes locked with hers.

The dog stopped in her agitated pacing before slowly closing her mouth and lowering herself to the floor rolling onto the side and lifting her paws to expose the creamy fur of her underbelly. Jeffery rested his head in her chest low to the ground staring at krill with his wide green eye.

"That's better." Krill muttered turning to the door.

"Adam, what's going on."

On the other side of the door, the room was dark and stuffy. The one vent into the room had been covered by a taped-up plastic bag and any other available clothing. Adam sat with his back to the door heart pounding. His face was slicked with sweat, as was the neck and shoulders of his dress shirt

His titanium grey uniform jacket lay discarded on the bed, and one of his sleeves was pulled up to expose bare pale skin.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and inside..... inside his body he thought he could feel something.... Something wrong. As if he could sense it growing inside him.

He fought back fear and panic with long deep breaths.

He didn't know that, all he knew is what Kazna told him, and he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her, and lets be honest she was a big ugly bitch so he wasn't very confident in his ability to throw her at all. Perhaps she had just been playing tricks with his head, trying to convince him he was infected,

Maybe this was some sort of mass hysteria that happened in the movies.

People could often show symptoms of things they didn't have if they were worried about it enough.

It was a truth he was almost willing to believe until he looked down at his arm, looked down and saw pale glowing lines or reddish orange light following the path of his veins and pulsing slightly. He clenched his fists and leaned his head back against the wall covering his mouth with a hand.

"Adam!"

That was krill's voice on the other side, he was sure.

This was his chance to explain himself coherently. Goodness knew that he hadn't been doing such a great job at that."

"Krill!."

Outside the door he thought he heard the sound of other voices muttering.

"I'm here Adam, now tell me what's going on." Krill had his hostage negotiator voice on, or more like his dealing with children voice. He used that a lot when he was talking to Adam, and on most days he would find it funny.

Not today.

"I need you to listen to me very carefully doctor." He said pulling the sleeve of his shirt down over his arm.

"I'm listening, just tell me what is going on."

"Before you do anything else, I need you to cut of ventilation to this room, tell the men on the bridge to seal my sector completely, nothing can get out of this room until.... Until its over."

"Adam I know you think you're making sense, but you aren't. If we shut off ventilation to that you you suffocate, and that isn't soemthing we are likely to do especially not when you aren't talking to us."

Adam gritted his teeth, "The Specimen, Krill. I am the vector. The reason that we have been seeing it on earth, on Anin near my family and friends is because I am the one spreading it. I must have been infected when I first touched the thing, and now its spreading from me. Its probably too late now, but no one else is showing symptoms. I need you to call the GA and the UNSC and lock it down, I don't care what you have to do. Get the entire crew tested for it. I am not sure how the damn thing spreads, but I'm not taking any chances." He itched at his arm, his insides crawling though he didn't know if that was a feeling conjured up by his mind or not.

"Did Kazna tell you this." This time it was Sunny speaking, and her voice was thick. She was doing her best to stay calm, but it wasn't easy. He could hardly blame her, and he felt bad.

She had gotten to see her father again.

This should have been a happy day for her, and now he had gone and ruined it.

He had ruined everything.

He chided himself internally and took a few more slow, deep breaths. Beating himself up over soemthing he couldn't change wasn't going to help anyone, if there was anything he had learned over the past few years.

"It's inside me Krill, and you've seen what that thing can do when it spreads, how fast it grows. The others aren't showing symptoms so I think they might be ok, but I wasn't showing symptoms for the longest time either. The only way to fix this is to cut off circulation to this room, and then bio wipe it when it's all over."

"Adam, you know we can't do what we are asking you to do."

"We wont!" Sunny added

Adam clenched his fists in frustration, "This isn't a polite suggestion. That's an ORDER. As acting fleet admiral of the UNSC I order you to cut off ventilation to this room."

There was silence outside, "With all due respect, Admiral." It was a new voice this time.

Dr. Adric?

"The UNSC manual allows crewmembers to go against the direct orders of a commanding officer if there is evidence that the commanding officer isn't in his right state of mind."

Bastard shrink

"Dr Adric I swear I am as mentally able as I have ever been. Just because you don't like what I am saying doesn't make me mentally unstable." He continued to itch at his arm teeth gritted, "If you disobey my orders, you would be committing a mutiny."

It was Ramirez he heard next, "Well consider this a mutiny then, I've always wanted to try it."

There was a chorus of agreement behind him, and Adam slammed his head back against the door as the frustration continued to mount, "All of you are idiots, damn idiots!"

He could hear the room quiet behind him.

He was using his "Admiral" Voice, and he never talked to them like that.

"Damned fools." He continued, "I am infected by some kind of dark space parasite that is eventually growing to grow bone protrusions out of my eyes sockets and infect all of you. But you stupid bastards have some sort of hero complex when it comes to me." He took a deep breath relaxing and trying to modulate the frustration from his voice, to sound more understanding, "You've all saved me from a lot of stuff, from circumstances I couldn't control, from my own stupid decisions... let me return the favor."

"None of us had to die to save your ass." Ramirez countered.

"You got shot for me Ramirez, remember! You lost your only kidney.

He could hear the marine cross his arms, "Yeah, and you bought me a new one, so we are square."

"Stop stop talking both of you." Sunny's voice though soft cut through the air between them silencing the crew. Her voice was close ow, as if she was resting her hand against the outside of the door, "Adam, I-love-you, so it doesn't matter what you say, or what you do, or what kind of logic you try to throw at me, I am not going to let you die, even if it means fighting off every man and woman on this ship to do it."

He knew she wasn't lying.

Sunny didn't lie.

The hallway was silent.

He knew that the crew new about him and Sunny, they would have to have been stupid not to. But for her to say it like that, to admit it in front of an entire crowd so blatantly like that.

Well it was her ultimatum.

There was nothing she wouldn't do to help him even if it meant exposing what was going on between them.

He rested a hand over his mouth squeezing his eyes shut again taking a moment to compose himself. The words were thick as they rolled off his tongue, "I love you too Sunny, so you know why I have to do this."

"We're probably already infected anyway." She whispered, "At least there's no way I'm not."

There was a lot of unspoken baggage behind those words, and she had more than a point. If there was anyone in this universe, he might have spread it to, It was going to be hers. Not that he knew how the damn thing spread in the first place, was it even through the air? Did it have to be physical contact, or was it through some sort of unknown telepathic link?"

Why did alien technology have to make this all so damn complicated.

"I think we are all forgetting something very important."

That was the first time he had heard Conn speak during this conversation. He had even been quiet inside Adam's head, which seemed odd considering he knew exactly what Adam was thinking. Odds are he was the only person that would be able to talk him out of it.

Adam braced himself against whatever stupid space freak logic was going to come next.

"We have a doctor on board don't we?"

"Yes and?" Adam said. He wasn't sur eh liked where this was going.

"Dr. krill haven't you recently become an infectious disease specialist?"

"Within the last few years I have." By the way Krill was speaking it seemed clear he knew where Conn was going with this.

Adam thought he did too.

"I would consider myself an everything specialist at this point." Krill said, coming from anyone else it would have been damn egotistical, but coming from the little alien it was more a statement of fact.

"Than if this thing is a parasite or some sort of infectious thing, than that makes it no different from any of the other things that the doctor has treated, which also means that we are obligated to treat you with the same protocols that we would use for infectious parasites or diseases. This also Gives us some time. Until you start sprouting spurs of bone out of your eyes, we still have time, and we also have a doctor."

Silence again.

Krill seemed hesitant, almost surprised when he spoke next, "That is probably the most reasonable and logical thing I think I have ever heard come out of the starborn's mouth." He could hear Krill shift closer to the door, "Admiral, give me some time, time to see if I can cure it, or at least create some sort of immunization. I don't know if it is possible, but we owe it to the whole universe to try."

And there it was.

What Adam had been worried about.

The argument that was good enough to change his mind.

He sagged against the door.

"Conn you bastard." He thought

When the starborn spoke, he thought he detected a sense of sadness over the link, "If this doesn't work out I might actually miss you calling me that."

Adam felt a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth before sighing, "Alright Krill, but if this starts to go south, you have to promise me."

"Yes Admiral." Krill said

And that was that.

At least he wasn't going to be alone when he died.

***

The universe had never seen an operation commence so quickly . Rundi bureaucracy, or any for that matter was bulldozed under krill's iron fist, he pleaded, begged, bartered cajoled, and on at least three occasions screamed important people into submission. Twenty years of research dedicated to minute microscopic plant-life found in the sand of Irus was completely discarded and the entire program shut down in order to make way for the facility and equipment Krill had demanded.

An entire medical facility was created in record time, less than seventy-two hours on a remote testing facility on an unknown asteroid in the middle of space. Leading medical researchers on infectious disease and parasites were bought out, lured, and sometimes stolen right out from under the nose of hospitals and universities across the galaxy.

One intergalactic passport was issued in the record time of 2.5 hours.

Certain researchers would experience whiplash for days after being brought to the facility their lives changed so rapidly.

Bureaucracy, etiquette , law and politeness lay quivering under a table once Krill was done with it, and a universe-wide lockdown order was issued. It was the biggest operation of its kind ever seen, and, it was likely, before this was all over, it would never be seen again."

***

"Alright Admiral, it's closed off. Now you are going to have to follow my instructions very carefully so that everything goes well."

Adam nodded, forgetting that they couldn't see him, "Roger that." He said

On the other side of the line was a high ranking member of the CDC's infectious disease team, or at least he had been. Based on Krill's research he was the most effective operative of his time and so had been ... persuaded.... Out of retirement by Krill.

Adam didn't want to ask.

"We have erected a sanitary isolation station outside your room, you can open the door Once you do that I want you to lay down on the gurney that has been left there and zip up the plastic bubble from the inside. A Hazmat specialist will be in shortly after DECOM to transport you inside the facility. Your ship and the crew will be quarantined, as will everyone you have had immediate contact with in the last six months."

"That's a lot of people." He said softly.

"We are talking about the potential death of life as we know it. We are willing to do difficult things.... Are you ready?"

"Yes sir."

"Go ahead and go through."

Adam took a step out into the hallway feet bare and cold against the metal. He had been instructed to leave many of his belongings behind as it would leave less contaminated material for them to deal with. He had done as asked, and continued to do as asked as he lay himself down on the plastic wrapped gurney and zipped himself inside the bubble. The bubble inflated as it was filled by filtered oxygen from the outside. Air that would continually circulate inside a closed system.

He would be breathing the same bag of air for the next hour or so as he was transported down to the facility.

Red lights blinked overhead and he heard the sharp hiss as the DECOM chamber began its work. He was instructed to close his eyes as UV lights blinked on overhead. After DECOM was over, the door unzipped and an operator in full Level A HAZMAT gear stepped inside.

She walked over and her voice was tinny and difficult to distinguish through so many layers of plastic, "Let me know if you start to feel nauseous or dizzy."

He nodded.

"Comfortable?"

"As much as I can be."

"Alright, just lay back and relax." He did as ordered as the containment was pulled down and he was wheeled from the room. Outside a cluster of marines and Drev waited. All of them were also wearing HAZMAT gear, but he was sure it was more for the protection of the researchers than it was for them.

The Omen had been completely closed.

The group of them passed by locked doors and other DECOM areas leading deeper into the ship, where he supposed the rest of the crew had been locked down. Over the phone he had spoken with his family, Martha Jim, Eris and the others who had also been unceremoniously bundled into quarantine before anyone had time to explain.

He had apologized, and once he did his family was understanding.

His mother was worried.

As was his father, but not about them

About him

As usual.

Thomas was the only one not present back on earth.

'Feeling ok?"

Speak of the devil.

Thomas was standing over him in his PPE

"I'm alright, physically anyway."

"Leave it to your dumbass to catch the worlds first space parasite." Thomas joked

Adam was quiet.

"Too soon?"

Adam smiled, "No, its just nice to have some family around.... Where's Sunny/"

"Right here."

She loomed over him from the other side as they walked, "They won't let us be here for long, but We wanted to make sure you were doing ok."

"How is waffles?"

"She's alright, unhappy but healthy enough for now."

Thomas rubbed the back of his head, "She's been carrying around your captain's cap again."

Adam felt a pang in his chest, "She started doing that when everyone thought I was dead, its what she does now when she's upset." He hated seeing it so tried not to make her upset, but here he was having done it again.

Thinking about Waffles being sad brought tears to his eyes in a way that nothing else could.

The had almost made it to the docking bay now and the other two slowed their pace.

"We should do soemthing special when this is all over." Adam said trying to keep an upbeat attitude for them.

He knew that it wasn't very convincing.

He watched them vanish around the corner as he was wheeled out and loaded onto a shuttle.