Plague!

By Jeanne G. DeBold

The Diana trilogy concludes with Plague! in which the evil bioterrorist, Z’ivik, has once again used his incredible intelligence to formulate and release devastating botanical plagues on numerous planets throughout the galaxy. The daughter of the Chief Medical Officer of the Explorer works with Alliance scientists to find the cure for these plagues. She suffers a vicious attack by Z’ivik and seems to suffer a debilitating nervous breakdown as a result. Z’ivik then formulates a deadly hemorrhagic fever which he unleashes on numerous planets including the planet of Zahri. The Emissary of the Alliance and his wife, parents of the Executive Officer of the Explorer, as well as the High Priest of Zahri, all fall victim to this catastrophic fever which has a mortality rate of 100%. The crew of the Explorer put their lives on the line to put an end to Z’ivik’s devastation and to save the universe from total annihilation. Read Plague! with its fast-paced action and tension-filled plot in this perilous journey to the stars. A must-read for science fiction fans!

If you love Star Trek, you’ll love Plague!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Feb 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665736183

Jeanne G. DeBold

The author received her Doctorate Degree in bioengineering from the Zahri Academy of Science, having graduated at the top of her class. She dedicated her professional life to the Gamma Institute of Science where she made numerous groundbreaking contributions in her field. She authored numerous professional articles for which she was awarded the Cygnus Honorarium and the Aurigan Certificate of Excellence. She received the Qui’llen Prize from the Zahri Academy of Science for outstanding achievement in the field of bioengineering. After retirement, she tried her hand at creative writing with What Price Pantropy? as the first installment of the Diana Trilogy. She received the Book of the Year Award from the Zahri Literary Society and the Magnus Award for First Time Authors for her effort. The sequel, Z’Khut Rising, also garnered the Book of the Year Award along with the much-coveted Z’inget Award for Writing Excellence. Plague! is the final installment of the well-received series. In addition to writing, she greatly enjoys spending hours under the bright red sky, tending her extensive gardens of prize-winning t’almans, Zahri flowers that resemble Earth roses. Using her knowledge of bioengineering and genetics, she has now successfully cultivated t’almans that have the scent of Earth roses rather than a fragrance more reminiscent of Earth’s cinnamon. She is also an excellent cook and beings come from light-years away just to sample her divine k’zenzill soup. She gives impromptu concerts many evenings, expertly playing her Zahri lyre for her guests. She currently lives in the city of EnBahr on the planet Zahri with her beloved pet snark named Mr. Z’wiggins. Connect with the author at [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2023 Jeanne G. DeBold.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3617-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-3618-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022924103

Archway Publishing rev. date: 2/16/2023

This book is respectfully dedicated to

the late Gene Roddenberry

who took us

Where No Man Has Gone Before.

This journey

begins

two universal days after

the conclusion of

Z’Khut Rising.

Contents

Cast of Characters and Places:

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Epilogue

About the Author

Enmity must be eliminated for all time before the universe can truly call itself free.

Aridfa Liporus of Centaurean III

Cast of Characters and Places:

Matthew (Matt) C. (Copernicus) Hawke, Captain of the Intergalactic Alliance Spaceship Explorer

Z’alek, Executive Officer/Science Officer of the Explorer, from Planet Zahri

Richard (Doc) Leahy, Chief Medical Officer of the Explorer

Lochlan (Kelty) Kelt, Chief Engineer of the Explorer

Yury Lenkov, Navigator of the Explorer

Haruto Saito, Helmsman of the Explorer

Ngoro Ubuntu, Communications Officer of the Explorer

Diana Leahy, Dr. Leahy’s Daughter

Justine Temple, Head Nurse of the Explorer

Dr. T’Zemba, Assistant Chief of Medicine of the Explorer

Marrielle Somers, former Security Officer of the Explorer, Lenkov’s deceased fiancée

Yeoman/Ensign Kitty Rhoades who befriends Lenkov

Z’ivik, Zahri terrorist, who plots to take control of the Universe

Z’balek, Z’alek’s father, Emissary of the Intergalactic Alliance

Sarah, Z’balek’s wife, Z’alek’s Terran mother

Zahri, home planet of Executive Officer/Science Officer Z’alek, desert planet whose beings devote themselves to deductive reasoning and the suppression of sensations

Remusans, warrior race, home base is Remus, (Remusan Confederation), adversary of Intergalactic Alliance

Lyrians, warrior race, home base is Lyri, (Lyrian Empire), adversary of Intergalactic Alliance

Prologue

W here am I? Am I on a ship? The Explorer? How did I get here?

Z’ivik, the Zahri terrorist with the shaggy blond hair, could feel the pulsing of the Bohr quantum engines beneath him as he lay face up on a very hard surface. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked around at the walls surrounding him. When he heard a buzzing sound, he looked toward the door. The security sensors, flashing brightly, told him that he was in a very secure cell in the brig of whatever vessel he was on. He knew that those beams could easily render unconscious anyone foolish enough to attempt to go through them. Oh, but he wasn’t worried about that. No, the beams would soon be made harmless, and he would be free to begin his takeover of the ship. He would then regain his freedom and continue to wreak havoc upon the universe.

Once again closing his eyes, he let his mind seek out the thoughts of those on board the vessel. Ahh, the scoutship Anubis, he realized. Not the Explorer. That coward Hawke has transferred me to an unsuspecting vessel. Escaping from the brig on the Explorer would have been much more challenging for me. Escaping from this brig, however, will prove to be most elemental indeed. Child’s play, simply child’s play.

Trying to clear his drug-induced haze, he began calling upon all of the skills and powers that he had achieved as a Lembreneu, a Zahri highly trained disciple of mind-control techniques. Not only had he studied that discipline on Zahri, but he had also ripped all of the knowledge of mind control from an extremely ruthless Lyrian Commander. That Lyrian had become extremely proficient - and sadistic - in the use of the mind bender. However, the blond Zahri terrorist had not been satisfied with only that stolen knowledge. No, he had augmented those skills with his own incredible mental powers, turning him into an all-powerful force with which the universe would soon reckon.

Someone is coming, he realized. Yes, to give me additional drugs to keep me unconscious and easily controlled. He breathed in deeply to dispel the cumulative effects of the sedatives that had already been given to him. He wondered how many doses he had received before he finally was able to dispel the effects. No matter, he thought. From this moment on, they will give me no more drugs, and they will pay for their treacherous actions toward me.

His lips became a snarl for a brief moment as he planned what he would do next. Then he quickly closed his eyes again and assumed the appearance of someone who is deeply unconscious.

Let him come. Yes, let him come. Fools! Don’t they know who they’re dealing with? Hawke, Z’alek, and that bitch will soon pay for all of their treachery. Although they thought that they would never see me again, they were gravely mistaken. We will meet again on the battlefield of my own choosing, and they will soon feel the full fury of my wrath! Perhaps they thought they had won our last battle, but they have not yet won the war. I shall be the victor next time, next time when I watch them each die a horrible, agonizingly painful death. With my superior intellect and mind-control abilities, it will be so easy for me to defeat them. Yes, it will be child’s play! It will be glorious! Simply glorious! Come to me, you fools! Come to me! It has begun …

Chapter 1

On Board the Intergalactic Alliance Spaceship Explorer, Space Date 5992.8

"C aptain, there’s a message coming in on the Space Council channel, sir," Lieutenant Ubuntu, Communications Officer , exclaimed.

When Matthew C. Hawke, Captain of the Explorer, heard the obvious distress in her voice, he quickly turned in the command chair to face her. He momentarily forgot his crushed ribs and shattered collarbone that had just been fused two days ago. The light-duty status that he had been reluctantly granted by Dr. T’Zemba, the Assistant Chief of Medicine, stated that he was to only stand half watches on the Bridge. Hawke realized that he had been on duty much longer than had been approved, and Hawke was certainly now feeling the effects of his injuries. Biting his lower lip, he gasped slightly in reaction to a stab of severe pain and a burst of shortness of breath. Alarmed, Z’alek, Executive Officer/Science Officer, turned to face his Captain, but Hawke just shook his head and held up his hand as he put aside the discomfort.

Report, Lieutenant.

It’s priority one and urgent, sir.

As Hawke grimaced, he brought his hand to his brow. After what he and his ship had just been through, Hawke was not looking forward to having to deal with another galaxy-shattering crisis - at least, not yet.

He drew in a deep breath, as deep a breath as he was able, in deference to his injured ribs. Hawke had suffered greatly from his very recent encounter with Z’ivik, the Zahri terrorist who had tried to take over control of the universe. Many beings on Kalus Epsilon had died as a result of the oxycytosis virus that Z’ivik had unleashed upon them.

Hawke had almost lost his Chief Medical Officer when Dr. Richard Leahy had been seriously injured in an attack by a Kalian. The doctor’s condition had remained critical for several days after the extensive surgeries that had been required to save his life. Hawke cast a furtive glance over at his Executive Officer and saw that the Zahri, whose posture had become very rigid, had a rather stern expression on his face. Z’alek had suffered greatly as well at the hands of Z’ivik.

On main screen, Lieutenant, Hawke ordered.

Aye, sir. Right Admiral Westwood coming on, sir.

Right Admiral Westwood? Hawke thought grimly. He’s the highest ranking officer in the Armada. This must be pretty big if Space Council is calling out the big brass.

Hawke lumbered to his feet as quickly as his injuries would allow. He tried to put a look of confidence on his face, hoping to conceal the fact that his pain level was nearly beyond tolerance levels. Upon hearing who was contacting them, the entire Bridge crew also rose and came to attention.

Right Admiral Westwood. This is quite an honor, sir, Hawke said in greeting.

"At ease. Captain Hawke, I realize that you and your crew have just completed a very difficult mission. However, I must inform you that we have suddenly lost all contact with the Anubis. Your ship is in the closest proximity to the last recorded coordinates of the Anubis so I’m afraid that you’ve drawn this assignment."

Hawke knew where this conversation was headed, and he did not like it one little bit. The Explorer had transferred Z’ivik, the Zahri terrorist, to the Anubis for transfer to Space Station 14. From there, Z’ivik was to be returned to Cygnus IV, the mental colony for the criminally insane, from which he had escaped. Hawke, Z’alek, Leahy, and Leahy’s daughter, Diana, had barely survived their encounter with the terrorist before they were finally able to take him into custody. If Z’ivik has somehow managed to escape …

The Admiral continued, saying, "Captain Hawke, you are ordered to investigate the disappearance of the Anubis and to ascertain the fate of Z’ivik. We cannot allow that terrorist to wreak any more havoc on the universe. The last communication we received from the Anubis prior to its disappearance indicated that they were in sector 43K, heading 125 mark 3. Report progress. Westwood, out."

The Admiral’s image abruptly faded from the front view screen to be replaced by the stars whooshing past the ship. Although Hawke usually saw the stellar vista as very serene, he felt anything but peaceful at this particular moment.

While Hawke gingerly resumed the command chair, he wearily rubbed his hand over his eyes. His ribs and collarbone had begun to throb unmercifully. He knew that he should relinquish command to Z’alek until he was able to get some rest; he had already been on the Bridge too long. However, he put that thought aside as he said, Mr. Lenkov, plot a course for the coordinates that Right Admiral Westwood just gave - sector 43K, heading 125 mark 3. Mr. Saito, Bohr factor three as soon as the course is laid in.

Prior to plotting the requested course, however, Lenkov, ship’s Navigator, cast a very brief but concerned glance at the Communications Officer who had stiffened at hearing the news that the Anubis had most likely been destroyed. Lenkov knew that one of Ubuntu’s closest friends was the Communications Officer on board that vessel. He didn’t have time to dwell on her loss, however, as he quickly began to plot the course change just ordered by Captain Hawke. In just a moment, he had the course plotted, and Saito, ship’s Helmsman, quickly changed course to comply and increased the ship’s speed to Bohr factor three, also as ordered.

In just a few minutes, the Explorer was streaking toward their destination. Saito estimated that it would be five hours before they reached the coordinates of the last known location of the Anubis. Hawke wondered how such a catastrophic event could have occurred so quickly after they had just transferred Z’ivik to that ship only two universal days ago.

It was simply too much of a coincidence that the terrorist was on board the Anubis when it had disappeared. With Z’ivik’s incredible mental prowess, Hawke shuddered to think what could have happened to the crew of the Anubis, had Z’ivik been allowed to regain consciousness. Hawke remembered how he had most urgently warned Bill Webster, the Captain of the Anubis, to keep Z’ivik heavily sedated at all times so that he would not be able to use his formidable mental powers to overtake the crew of that ship.

Hawke once again considered turning command over to Z’alek while they were streaking toward the last known location of the Anubis. Hawke was acutely aware that he desperately needed some rest in order to get his pain level and difficult breathing back under control. However, after what he and his officers had just endured at the hands of Z’ivik, Hawke was not about to let anyone but himself handle this critical situation. So, the Captain of the Explorer sat back in his command chair and tried to relax as best he could until they reached their destination.

Not leaving his command chair, Hawke busied himself scanning the output screens surrounding the Bridge, taking comfort in the green light displays. He attended to some unfinished reports that had accumulated during his recent stay in Sickbay. Z’alek also seemed to be keeping himself very busy, but Hawke could see that the Zahri’s demeanor was very rigid. He knew that his Executive Officer would also not relish the possibility that Z’ivik had somehow managed to escape from his confinement. Although Hawke had suffered physical injuries during the skirmish with Z’ivik, Z’alek had suffered severe mental anguish.

During their very recent horrific encounter with Z’ivik, the terrorist had infected Z’alek’s father with an analog Alpha 5000 virus which had nearly cost Z’balek, Emissary of the Intergalactic Alliance, his life. Z’ivik had also kidnapped Sarah, Z’balek’s wife and Z’alek’s mother, and held her captive on Kalus Epsilon. Z’ivik had told Z’alek that he had had Sarah killed in cold blood, and Z’alek had been absolutely powerless to do anything to prevent her supposed death. After a deadly encounter with Z’ivik’s henchman, Diana Leahy, daughter of Chief Medical Officer Leahy, had actually been able to rescue Sarah, thereby preventing her demise. Diana had also been highly instrumental in taking Z’ivik into custody.

In trying to obtain highly classified information of both Space Council and the Alliance, Z’ivik had caused Z’alek severe psychic shock with his brutal cerebral probe. Z’alek’s condition had caused Hawke tremendous concern. For a time, Hawke thought that Z’alek would not be able to reverse the psychic damage done to Z’alek’s mind by Z’ivik. It was only with Z’balek’s help with his own formidable mental powers that Z’alek was able to quickly return to his normal level of functioning, but it came at great cost.

After the chaos that Z’ivik had caused, Hawke wanted nothing more than to see him brought to justice and, once again, held securely on Cygnus IV. The universe could not afford to have that madman running around free. Hawke knew that he and his crew would do whatever was necessary to finally place Z’ivik back under very secure conditions where he could no longer create utter chaos in the galaxy. Hawke silently vowed that he would breach the gates of hell, if necessary, to put an end to Z’ivik’s reign of tyranny.

Chapter 2

On Board the Scoutship Anubis, Twelve Hours Previously

W hen the medical orderly had approached the Security cell in which Z’ivik had been held on the Anubis , Z’ivik had remained perfectly still with his eyes closed. He had waited until the orderly was completely inside the Security cell before launching his attack. Foolishly, the orderly thought that Z’ivik was still unconscious and so he did not reactivate the security beams. That was the last nonaction that the orderly would ever per form.

Z’ivik’s eyes suddenly burst wide open with a menacing glare as he stared deeply into the orderly’s eyes. The orderly stood transfixed, holding the injector in front of him. It was a very simple task for Z’ivik to use his incredible mental powers to ‘convince’ the orderly that he should inject himself, rather than Z’ivik, with his sedative. As soon as the orderly had slumped to the deck, Z’ivik had callously snapped the orderly’s neck instantly, sending his deplo, his consciousness, to the four winds.

Once out of the Security brig, Z’ivik had stealthily made his way down the corridor. He disabled the security cameras that were trained on the cell from which he had just escaped. He sent a mind message to the guard who was keeping watch via the security system. That orderly would not be aware that there had been a momentary interruption in the visual feed. Z’ivik now knew that he had several hours before his absence would be noticed. He would use that time to begin to understand the layout of the ship and to plan his takeover and eventual escape from this accursed vessel.

He found the Briefing Room and sat down at the computer terminal. He boldly called up the plans of the ship and studied its strengths as well as its vulnerabilities. He mapped out the route to the space clipper bay and realized that stealing that vessel would be a very simple task. Yes, the space clipper will serve my purpose quite nicely. It will be easier to commandeer that craft, a vessel with six seats which was able to land on planetary surfaces, rather than trying to pilot this larger scoutship alone.

Next, he tapped into the Bridge monitors and mapped out their present location in space. Z’ivik continued his research uninterrupted as he searched for planets that would be suitable for his purposes. Since the fuel supply of a space clipper is limited, he knew that he would have to find a planet within the fuel constraints of that vessel.

Finding only two such planets, he studied them very carefully and discounted the closest planetoid. That planet lacked any source of food and water, and the climate was not particularly to his liking. But more importantly, it was too far out of the shipping lanes. That meant that the passage of ships by that planet would be few and far between. No, the first planet would simply not do as a location on which to set my fiendish trap.

The second planet seemed a bit more inviting and was much closer to areas frequently traversed by vessels of every type. There were sources of water on this second planet and vegetation seemed quite plentiful. It was uninhabited by sentient beings so there would be no one there to resist his presence. Neither were there any animal life forms on the planet to cause him any difficulties. Yes, survival on that second planet would offer no problems whatsoever. By studying the star charts, he plotted the routes that freighters and pleasure craft made by that planet on a regular basis. Noting the course that was required to make landfall on the second planet, Z’ivik left the Briefing Room, quite satisfied with how his plans were progressing.

He found his way to Ship’s Stores where his presence was challenged by only one crewman. It was quite simple for Z’ivik to render that crewman unconscious with a simple glare. Once he was alone in Ship’s Stores, Z’ivik strolled the aisles looking for what he would require for his brief stay on the second planet. He felt as if he were enjoying an afternoon stroll in an off-world marketplace. He located several lasers, an emergency laser beacon with extra battery power packs, extra items of clothing, a battery-operated hand lantern, and many other items that he would require to survive for a short period of time on the second planet. He placed his supplies into a traveling bag and hoisted it over his shoulder.

Since this was a scoutship, there were only two hundred and twenty five crewmembers on board. He continued to stride rather boldly down the corridor and was amazed that he encountered no crewmen. Recalling the plans of the ship, Z’ivik made a right-hand turn down the corridor which would take him directly to the Engine Room. He prepared himself to encounter crewmembers there as that was a part of the ship that was never left unattended. However, the possibility of resistance did not concern Z’ivik in the least.

He was able to sneak into the Engine Room undetected. When he moved closer to the Bohr quantum engines, an Engineering Technician demanded to know who he was and to explain his presence in the Engine Room. Z’ivik turned slowly to face the man. With his eyes in flame, Z’ivik stared into the Engineering Technician’s eyes, causing him to lose all of his resolve. The technician simply turned on his heel, abandoned his post, and walked out of the Engine Room, offering no further resistance to Z’ivik. The technician did not feel compelled to alert the Bridge that there was an intruder on board. Indeed, he did not even realize that he had had an encounter with a stranger on board the ship.

Now left alone and with all the time in the universe, Z’ivik carefully studied the Bohr quantum drive engines. After just a few moments, he found the vulnerable circuit for which he had been searching. Using an electronic jumper that he had found at a workstation, he placed it on the circuitry housing and set the timer. He now had thirty minutes in which to complete his plan for escape from the Anubis before the scoutship was totally and utterly annihilated.

Chapter 3

Planet of Kalus Epsilon

"D o I detect the wonderful aroma of your most divine k’zenzill soup, my wife?" Emissary Z’balek of Zahri asked of Sarah.

Grinning, Sarah wiped the perspiration from her brow and looked up from the pot she was stirring. She was sitting on a chair in front of the open cooking fire in the rear of Prefect Rau’s home. She replied, "Well, we’ll have to call it pseudo-k’zenzill soup, Z’balek, since there are no k’zenzills here on Kalus. Diana told me of a vegetable that they have here that is very similar to Zahri k’zenzills. I think they make a most satisfactory substitution. After all the reconstituted meals that we had on board the Explorer, I thought I’d cook a special meal for all of us to enjoy here on Kalus."

A wonderful idea, my wife. That is very thoughtful of you. Addressing Prefect Rau who had joined them outside the home, he added, Prefect Rau, my wife and I are most grateful for your very kind offer to allow us to stay here with you until transportation for us directly to Zahri can be arranged.

Smiling, the Prefect responded, Please call me Nemid. No, Emissary, it is I who am most grateful to you. You came to Kalus to try to negotiate a treaty between the warring factions here on my planet. We had no idea at the time that the Zahri terrorist, Z’ivik, was behind all the chaos. You nearly gave your life for my planet when that madman infected you with an Alpha 5000 virus analog.

Diana had started to carry into the house all of the wonderful dishes that Sarah had prepared. Taking a whiff of the particularly fragrant vegetarian entrée, she rolled her eyes in delightful anticipation. Although she and Nemid were both carnivores, she was quite willing to eat a vegetarian meal in deference to Emissary Z’balek’s tradition. Sarah was obviously a very gifted cook, and Diana intended to learn as much as she could from her during their stay together. Z’balek and Nemid helped carry the rest of the dishes into the home, and they were soon seated around the dining table. The array of sumptuous food that Sarah had prepared was quite amazing, given the limited variety of foodstuffs available on Kalus.

In between sighs of delight, the conversation naturally turned to their very recent encounter with the blond Zahri terrorist and his Remusan henchman. Z’ivik had convinced some of the people in the outlying districts on Kalus to join them in trying to overthrow the government here. He had told them that the very valuable mineral agardite on their planet was a source of great wealth and that the Prefect had planned to keep the profits of the sale of the mineral to himself. Z’ivik had told the citizens of Kalus that if they would join him, they would soon become very wealthy and powerful, once mining operations could begin. In truth, however, Z’ivik had planned to make the citizens of Kalus his slaves to mine the mineral for him and him alone. He had intended to keep all of the profits for himself to fund his overthrow of the Alliance and of Space Council and eventually the total destruction of Zahri, his home planet which he abhorred, before taking control of the entire universe.

Nemid exclaimed, Z’ivik had lied when he told my people that I had planned to keep the profits from the agardite for myself. I didn’t even know of the existence of the mineral until Science Officer Z’alek made the wonderful discovery!

During their last visit to Kalus, Z’alek had discovered the presence of agardite on the planet. He had told the Prefect that, in addition to exporting the very valuable agardite for profit, his people could use their own agardite, once reformulated, to make their lands more productive and their environment more temperate. Because of the poor soil and lack of rain, life on the planet had always been extremely challenging. The farmers had struggled each and every day just to keep a meager amount of food on their tables. The adults often had to go hungry in order to feed their children. No, life on Kalus had not been very pleasant at all until the discovery of agardite here.

I so look forward to my citizens being able to use our valuable mineral for their benefit. No longer will my people have to struggle simply to survive each and every day. We will no longer have to cook over open fires in the heat of the day! Why, soon we will have modern cooking facilities that are actually inside our homes! We won’t have to rely on dangerous candles to light our houses! We shall have lights inside our homes that will respond to our spoken word! Wonderful! Unbelievable! And that’s only the beginning of all the changes that will soon take place here on Kalus, thanks to the discovery of our very valuable agardite, the Prefect exclaimed.

Diana smiled broadly at the Prefect’s enthusiasm. Diana Leahy, daughter of Richard Leahy, Chief Medical Officer of the Explorer, had travelled to Kalus to help treat the victims of the oxycytosis virus that Z’ivik had unleashed upon the people here. Although Diana had initially decided to return to her home in California after the medical situation here had settled down, the Prefect had convinced her to remain with him for a short while to see if they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.

Nemid looked lovingly at Diana as he shyly stated, "I was so grateful to Space Council for their offer of help in stemming the burgeoning civil war which we later discovered had been orchestrated by Z’ivik. I informed them that I thought Diana should be included in the mission as well. I gave them the excuse that since she knew our people so well from her first visit here that she would be invaluable in treating the mysterious illness that had begun decimating my people.

But the real reason that I wanted her here was very personal and quite selfish on my part. We had grown so close during her last visit that I had hoped to convince her this time to stay with me here on Kalus forever.

Diana blushed a bit at that statement. Z’balek and Sarah could see that Diana and the Prefect were well suited to one another. The romantic part of Sarah’s soul hoped that Diana would, indeed, remain here forever on Kalus with Nemid.

Sarah thought back to her first days on Zahri with Z’balek. Those had been difficult days for her as she, an Earth woman, had tried to adjust to the strangeness of the Zahri culture. But she knew that no matter how difficult it had been at that time, she wouldn’t change a single minute of it. She vowed to give Diana some pointers on how to adjust to an alien culture. Although looking at how contented Diana already seemed to be, it didn’t look as if she would have to impart very much counsel.

Well, that may have been part of your reason for wanting me here, Nemid, Diana said, but I was mostly needed then to stem the outbreak of the oxycytosis virus that Z’ivik had unleashed on Kalus. It was very fortunate that we were able to use synthetic oxybolin to treat your people, Nemid. If we had had to find a source of natural oxybolin, many thousands more would have died.

Yes, you were so helpful in caring for my people this last time and also the first time you were here, Diana.

"It was such a shame that we hadn’t been able to help all those people who died of oxycytosis in the valley because of Z’ivik’s treachery. That was when Butro shot my father with the crossbow. I thought we were going to lose my father then. He was on the brink of death when the Explorer arrived back just in time to save him, thank heavens. It was a very close call."

"I’m sorry, Diana, that one of my own people so seriously injured your father. Butro didn’t realize that you and the officers from the Explorer had disintegrated all of his dead townspeople in the valley in order to prevent their bodies from decaying in the excessive heat here. Butro was most contrite when we finally found out that he was responsible for your father’s injuries," Nemid explained.

I understand completely, Nemid. It must have been quite a shock when he returned to find that all those bodies were no longer there. Neither my father nor I hold any ill feelings toward Butro. He did what he felt he had to do. We understand that completely.

There was a lull in the conversation as everyone helped themselves to the fruit tart that Sarah had made out of a local berry that she topped with cream made from goats’ milk. Diana served a fragrant tea made from mint grass. They soon adjourned to the living area of the home. Z’balek and Sarah had given the Prefect a bottle of Arcturian brandy upon their arrival at the Prefect’s home. Nemid now poured a brandy for Sarah, Diana, and himself. Z’balek, in deference to his Zahri heritage, chose to savor another cup of mint tea.

Sarah looked around the room in which they had all gathered. Despite the fact that luxuries were unheard of here on Kalus, the Prefect had decorated the room with natural artifacts from his planet. There were many plants scattered about the room, plants that Sarah had never seen. Her eyes were drawn to a particular plant whose leaves were a bright yellow with pastel blue and pink flowers. Sarah had caught its very fragrant scent reminiscent of Earth roses. Sarah thought lovingly of her own Zahri t’almans, flowers that look like roses but have a scent similar to cinnamon. Sarah found herself relishing the fragrance of Nemid’s strange plant. The candles that glowed throughout the whole home gave it a homey feel which delighted Sarah. Although all of the homes on Zahri were powered, she decided that she would nevertheless begin to use candles on occasion. They added a certain ambience to the social gathering.

After they were settled comfortably, Sarah stated, I’ll never forget, Diana, when we encountered Z’ivik’s henchman, Rull, outside the cave in which you planned to hide me. He had such an ugly dagger raised, ready to slash you to bits. I was horrified as I watched your blood streaming down your arm. I was certain that we were both going to die that day. I was so grateful that you still had your father’s laser scalpel in your hand and that you weren’t afraid to use it on Rull. You were very brave and fearless.

As soon as she had related this part of their encounter with Rull, Sarah saw Z’balek’s look of anguish and immediately regretted having said it. Z’balek had lamented the fact that his wife had been placed in such grave danger of which he was not even aware. He had been critically ill at that time with the virus with which Z’ivik had infected him. Z’balek had not even known that Z’ivik had kidnapped Sarah and had brought her from Zahri to Kalus. Sarah noticed that Nemid also seemed to be rather distraught at hearing again how close Diana had come to death that day.

Trying to dispel the bitter memories, Diana quickly stated, After Z’ivik was finally placed into custody and things seemed to settle down, my biggest concern was for Z’alek’s mental health, Diana stated. When I last saw him, he still seemed to be so troubled after Z’ivik forced that brutal cerebral probe on him while trying to obtain from Z’alek’s mind all of his knowledge of Space Council and the Alliance. The psychic shock that Z’alek now seems to be suffering must be very painful indeed, Diana said sadly. I hope he’ll be successful in negating the effects of Z’ivik’s cerebral probe very soon. He told me, though, that it would most likely take several weeks of very deep meditation for him to correct the situation.

Do not concern yourself with Z’alek’s mental well-being, Diana. I have taken care of that. He is no longer troubled by the vicious images that Z’ivik impressed upon his mind, Z’balek assured her. Z’balek saw Diana nod while she breathed a sigh of relief. She realized that Z’balek must have joined minds with Z’alek in order to negate the effects of Z’ivik’s forced cerebral link. That was very good news, indeed.

It was fortunate that you had devised such an effective plan to defeat Z’ivik, Diana, Z’balek continued. "I am so grateful that that madman is on his way back to Cygnus IV where he belongs. I do hope that they