The Arrival

[DrDMatthews 0]

Everything was going according to plan. The transport vessel Cecil docked at Utopia Planetia 0420 hours. Jason Davenport, the director of the Molokai Center, had arranged for a shuttle to meet the Cecil at Utopia. At 0740 hours, a stasis chamber, tucked away in the Cecil's cargo hold, was carefully transfered to the Center's shuttle. It was now 0810 hours and the shuttle was on final approach. Within minutes, Dr. Myra Donatelli and her team would get their first look at Lieutenant Xavier Crispin.

 

They stood together in the corridor just outside the shuttle bay. Jason was there along with a few others who had nothing to do with Calkins research. Myra disapproved. This was serious business, not some circus side show. She'd demanded that Davenport ask the "gawkers" to leave the area. He refused as she'd known he would. It was bad enough he'd said no, but then he launched into one of his pep talks. Myra listened for a few seconds then walked away. She didn't care to be reminded "they were all family and everyone at the Center was concerned about this patient and the research." As far as she was concerned, there was no legitimate reason for anyone but Myra, Swane and Melina to meet this shuttle. The others were just plain nosey and that was that.

 

Donatelli and her team huddled together just outside the shuttle bay doors. They would be the first ones in. She glanced at the two young physicians who'd been assigned to her for this project, Jonathan Swane and Melina. She silently wondered what she'd done to deserve such inexperienced assistants.

 

Myra forced herself not to dwell on that for long. She knew she was lucky to have any help at all. When the research on a cure for Calkins first began several years ago, specialists from across the galaxy were beating down the Center's door. Everybody and his cousin wanted a position on the research team. But for months on end, there was precious little progress and even fewer patients to work with. Many on the team decided there was no cure. Trying to find one was a waste of time and resources. Several people left to pursue more fullfilling employment. It became difficult to find replacements. Then funding dried up and the Center was forced to cut all but three positions on the Calkins research team. Somehow, Myra Donatelli had managed to hold it all together for the past two years with herself as primary research physician and two assistants.

 

Some of the assistants were better than others. They earned peanuts so most didn't hang around for long. Myra earned no salary at all as a memeber of the Calkins research team. Jason had graciously allowed her to assume the position of Chief of Staff for the Center. That's where her income came from. If it hadn't been for the "promotion," Donatelli herself would have been forced to call it quits years ago.

 

Myra's current assistants were about as green as they could be. They'd only been at the Center for a few weeks. However, she had to admit, they were among the brightest she'd worked with in a long while. Of course, she'd never tell them that. At the same time, she considered it fortutious they'd come along just now....now....when they were finally going to have an opportunity to test their latest vaccine on a living, breathing humanoid. It was so much easier working with intelligent individuals. But again, she would never tell them that.

 

A pre-recorded voice announced the shuttle had safely landed and the bay was pressuizing. A moment later, the safety latch on the door in front of them automatically released. Myra Donatelli didn't hesitate. She immediately stepped forward and the door swished open.

 

As Dr. Donatelli strode into the shuttle bay, she glanced at her two assistants. "Remember what I discussed with you at the briefing," she said in a hushed tone. "We insure he's stable then we get him out of here. I want him in the lab within five minutes."

 

The three of them quickly made their way to the shuttle with the "gawkers" following close behind.