"You okay?" Hunter sat with Diane on a bench in the sunshine outside the HEEP offices. "That was pretty gruelling in there."

"I'm happy for the break and yes, I'm okay. I think I should be asking you that."

"Hah, my days with HEEP are over, you can bet on that."

"They just won't believe what you- we were faced with." Diane sighed then looked up quickly. "There's Mark waving to us, they're coming back in."

"Hang tough, Diane." They stood together and went back inside.

"Dr. Sommers could you continue from where we left off before the break please."

"Certainly. The following morning we headed back to the lab to work and inside we saw that the windows were covered in a black substance. The computer security was flashing red and the air was- tepid . . . I can't think of another word."

"That's fine, continue. The black substance."

"Howard immediately secured a small sample and took it to his work table."

********

Procedural protocols were ignored as terror and panic swept through the analyzing lab. Howard stood with his hands stuck to the table, screaming as his protective sleeves dissolved and a black slime oozed up his exposed arms.

Diane grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him away but the suit fell apart and the slime that was inside transferred to her gloves. She stripped them off immediately and raced to the other side of the lab, climbing into the emergency medical transfer pod and locking herself inside.

Through the portal in the pod she could see some members of the team forcing their way inside the airlock, without waiting for it to clean, leaving a few still in the lab. Someone must have turned on all the decon systems at once, blasting the occupants with massive doses of decontaminates.

Ruth rushed to the communications bench opened the radio channel, calling for help, leaving it open while she joined the few still inside at the airlock door, and panicking, opened it. Great globs of the black slime fell from the interior of the dome and the remaining team was quickly engulfed as they tried to flee.

In less than ten minutes all were dead and the facility was completely overrun with the mysterious organism.

"Are you telling us this- this substance eliminated the entire laboratory team in ten minutes!"

"I am, and Commander Hunter and Executive Officer Chesterton can verify that factual possibility. I was extremely fortunate to have been noticed and rescued."

"Gentlemen?"

Hunter stood, spoke and sat. "I already told my version and Dr. Sommers has verified it."

Chesterton supported his Commander and Dr. Sommers about the slime but stated that he opposed the steps taken with the Encounter's crew.

The board members could not agree that the steps taken during the evacuation of Galapagos were avoidable. The hearing ended with Chesterton being relieved of his rank as executive officer and Hunter being relieved of all duty, branded with the accusations of gross misconduct as the Encounter's chief officer.

Dr. Sommers was dismissed with the thanks of the board; she was to continue her studies at HEEP but restricted from any new planet searches. The public results of the hearing were posted to the archive while the opinions and strategies remained sealed in HEEP's files.

********

"That was definitely not fair." Diane sat on the foam cushion in her quarters in the HEEP science building watching Hunter toy with his drink glass.

"Fair doesn't enter into it. They didn't deny our account of how your station was overrun, and it wasn't the people - yours or mine - it was the financial loss that griped them."

"What will you do now?"

"Freelance I guess. Not much choice left. I'll never fly for them again or anyone they know that's for sure. The Empirium has revoked my commercial flight status anyway. Isn't life wonderful under such understanding employers and a benevolent government?"

He stood and walked to the window wall and gazed out across the complex of separate but specific buildings comprising the HEEP empire. Tailored lawns and trees appeared artificially identical, strategically placed to separate the various sites and digital screens that blinked continuously with beautiful young men and women lauding the successes of the corporation.

"What about you're condens--"

Diane cut him off, offering him another drink. When he faced her she had a finger to her lips and beckoned him closer. He wandered over smiling in confusion. She took his hand and led him to the back of her unit where she got a small cone from her bathroom storage and stood it on the sink counter. It turned an iridescent blue and she breathed a sigh.

"It's a disruptor. I'm sure all the quarters here are monitored - audio and video - so it isn't safe to talk without precautions about sensitive topics."

"You didn't tell them about it?"

"No. Howard said he didn't want HEEP to have control of the process because there was always the danger, what with their military contacts, that it could somehow be weaponized. We kept all the research secret between us."

"All that was in the mysterious pack wasn't it?"

"I salvaged what I could under the circumstances. The medpod was where we hid our research from the others but I couldn't save it all."

"They'll be able to tell you're using that disruptor thing you know."

"There is an understanding that in certain situations it's permissible . . . like now . . . in here."

Hunter looked blank for a moment then it dawned on him and he grinned.

********

Dr. Winston Frost finished reading the file, slipped his glasses back on his head and looked long and hard at Diane.

"You realize this reads like that old Mary Shelly fiction."

"It's all there, substantiated and that small cube of Galapagos soil sample is the proof."

"It's just a cube of something to me, Diane. Not proof."

"Read Howard's notes, it explains it all."

"And by reintroducing the distilled water this will regain its original form."

"Well obviously not that sample because the distilled water was lost but using the formulas and procedures in the file, then yes. We did it, Dr. Frost." Diane sat up and leaned forward. "We did it."

"You do know that this process is similar to Promession?"

"It was the basis of our own theory. We weren't looking to eliminate organisms but to transition them. Promession allowed us to experiment with going further."

Frost weighed the file in his hand for a moment then dropped it on his desk and blew out a sigh like staples yanking free of his conscience.

"I can't promise anything except to say I will look into the feasibility and the finances. You understand others will have to become privy to this."

"They only need to hear the theory, they don't need to see the details. That's why I came to you, Dr. Frost - your reputation in biochemistry and your discretion."

"What backlash might there be from HEEP? After all you discovered this on their dime."

"As I said, Only Howard Cusack and I knew anything about it. Besides, there is nobody else left now."

"That's cold, Dr. Sommers."

"So is science, Dr. Frost."

********

"How did your meeting go?"

"As expected. Dr Frost was skeptical but too curious to ignore the ramifications." Diane smoothed an eyebrow.

"So now what?" Hunter asked.

"He has suggested approaching some people, sounding them out for possible financial support."

"Does that mean you give up control of your experiments?"

"No but it could mean negotiating a compromise if he gets any nibbles."

"I guess I better get out of your hair, Diane you have a job here to attend to."

"I do have a meeting shortly . . . what are you going to do, Hunter?"

"Like I said, freelance." He shrugged and made a what can I say face.

"Please keep in touch, there may be something I can help with if this gets off the ground. I should say when. I'm not dropping this idea."

"Sure and thanks . . . I will."