Since Obutu and Sanderson have completed their cursory inspection, they and the rest of the crew (except for Argent and Martha) join Tanaka, Ian, Swann, and Vargas in the lounge. As they arrive, Obutu and Sanderson look at their surroundings with a mixture of envy — the expanded drink dispenser — and disgust — the cases of Marine field rations. Argent and Lt. Berisul still have not emerged from the bridge.
Tanaka replies to Swann and Ian, "Well, frankly, if you have the three Imperial–grade antivirals that work, you will be landing with a miracle drug. From what I’ve heard, the only Alief local antivirals that seem to work are only 30 percent effective if given within the first three or so hours of exposure. A couple of nations on the other side of the planet from KGL have gone to war over one of the pharmaceutical factories that make the antivirals.
"Yeah, you’d be pretty damn stupid, begging the Captain’s pardon, if you dropped right in front of the advancing Georgies. There are smaller pockets of plague exposure around isolated cities. If you trust the local government troops to hold the perimeter, those might be safe." His snort belies his words a bit at the thought of comparing the ability of his Marines and that of local–yokel troops to hold a perimeter.
"At this point, when you hit the atmosphere, you’re on your own. There is a small Imperial ambassadorial mission in Bromley’s capital, but that got wiped out when some traveler from one of the affected areas arrived from one of the large infected zones.
"In fact, that's how the officers think that the Stoney and the Juishiaa got hit. Bromley’s pretty friendly to the Imperium, so both ships had some Marines down for a little shore leave. Both groups pulled out when initial reports of trouble hit but obviously had already been exposed. I don’t think that KGL is suicidal enough to directly target Imperial Marines, but, you never know."
At this last comment, Darishun softly says, "I do not understand any of this behavior at all. Surely this nation would not be so crazy as to come up with a biological weapon? Even if they did originally develop the weapon, perhaps they do have a vaccine that they would be willing to give us if we calmly and rationally explain the benefits of doing so."
"Oh yeah, I th . . . " Tanaka begins and then stops while he seems to be listening to an internal comm. He smiles ruefully and then turns to Ian. "Sorry, sir. Lt. Berisul has completed his inspection, and he wants to bug out. Good luck, sir."
With that, Tanaka comes to attention and then turns to the lift. With Obutu and Sanderson joining him, Tanaka boards the lift and descends to the lower deck.
After a few minutes, the lift reappears and Argent steps out. Shaking his head, he asks, "So, did you have as much fun with your Marines as I did with Lt. Berisul?"
After a period of ensuing silence, Argent chuckles and says, "Well, you must have had fun with the Marines if you have this much to say about them.
"Well, while Lt. Berisul was assiduously looking for porn on our systems, we got our orders from the flag. The Marquis would like us to deliver our cargo to a university near the capital of Bromley that the Bromlian government is using as their primary research facility to combat the plague. The Bromlian scientists are pretty familiar with the rabbit version of this plague, so the Marquis figures that our higher tech med gear may give them a boost.
"Damn if I know what we're supposed to do after we deliver the cargo, though. I’m not sure if we’re supposed to await further orders or if we’ll be released from service. Seems like our cargo might help a little, but there isn’t much a few doses of antivirals will do for millions."
Swann looks around at the others, a devilish grin brightening his face. "After all that work to hurry up and get here, it seems a shame to rush off so quickly. I mean, it’s not every day you get the chance to explore an interdicted planet. I think we should stay, see the sights, enjoy the local culture, sample the cuisine. I’d love to do some sailing on Trent Sea. And I hear the gardens in Dungannon are just lovely this time of year.
"However, I am feeling a bit run–down lately. Maybe I should drop by the hospital while in Dungannon, see if they might have something there to lift my spirits. No offense, Doc, but they just might have some sort of new wonder drug over in King George’s Land you haven’t heard of yet. They all seem to be weathering this plague outbreak quite well."
"Here, here. I second that," Ian says. "How about an all–round adventure holiday? We could start with some skiing in the Anglesey ranges, some whitewater rafting down the Fan River, a short bushwalk through the beautiful flower–strewn grasslands on the border, then the sailing, the gardens and dinner over looking the marina in Dungannon. I hear they have some wonderful seafood restaurants. We may even have time for a bit of big game hunting on the southern plains.
"Let’s buy a tri–D camera in Bromley and record the whole thing. We could probably sell it to the networks back on Sentry when we get back for a pretty penny. Yes, a nice, peaceful trip. I’m sure the hospital in Dungannon can help you with your problem, too, Swann. I think I’ll go pack. Yes, I definitely need this kind of holiday."
After hearing the adventure holiday proposal, Darishun cocks his head to the side a bit and comments, "Ian? Do you think that planning such an excursion is wise at this juncture? Surely we could find a more helpful use of our time assisting the locals in finding a cure for this disease."
Argent chuckles at Darishun’s comments and then answers, "I don’t think that he and Swann are serious about the holiday part. I could see if the Marquis would be offering additional pay or reward for a little ‘excursion,’ particularly if we happen across some vaccines for this plague. In any case, we do need to at least drop off our supplies as the Marquis requests before we take in the local sights.
"Towards that end, let’s get underway. Vargas and Swann, I’d like you to work with Martha to get that port laser calibrated and working as best as you can. I understand that there is some space debris near the mid point that we can use for calibration. We probably can’t get the laser perfectly calibrated, but it’ll be a start.
"Doc, would you please reserve say 30–50 or so courses of treatments of antivirals out of our stores? I get this feeling that we might want to save some treatments for ourselves in case we or others need them.
"Ian, would you please continue your planning and pull what information you can off of local broadcasts as we get closer to Alief?
"OK folks, let’s get to it then."
With this, Argent gets himself a ration pack. While waiting for it to heat, he goes over to the comm and keys the engine room: "Martha? Did you want to speak to me? I’ll be on the bridge in about five minutes or so."