SPACESHIP ZOMBIE CRUISE

FILE ENTRY 25.0

Maxwell Armando

At the Neptune Shores Beach Resort, Maxwell Armando considers everything that's transpired. He knows Electra Draco will face harsh criticism when the Interplanetary Federation learns of the demise of the space station resort. Having lost communications with Earth over twelve hours ago, officials might begin to suspect something is dreadfully wrong. Something more than downed comm arrays. If the same fate is happening aboard the space cruise ship, the Celestial Sea, the Space Venture Corporation will be in dire straits.

Armando wags his head.

No. They'll be finished and he'll be looking for another job.

If the virus has made it to the cruise ship, Draco could be dead, or worse, an infected zombie. He wonders how HQ is handling the crisis. He's certain a spokesperson from the corporation's headquarters in San Diego will release a statement and maybe even ask for help from the Federation. But to begin with, to save face HQ will probably play it soft, deny any problems besides a communication issue and assure everyone that everything is okay. They'll say the problem should be resolved in a timely manner. But as time ticks on, their stance will change and they might make a plea to the elected chancellor of the Federation. The chancellor may call an emergency meeting with her cabinet to approve a measure for a search and rescue mission. Any such operation would be conducted by a specialized branch of the Interstellar Navy, called the Black Mambas. Armando has heard of the Mambas. The small tactical unit is known for their quick strike ability, fierceness in combat and commitment to duty.

When the chancellor is asked why she thinks it's necessary to dispatch a black ops unit like the Mambas, she'll decline comment, which will lead everyone to believe she has classified information that might shed light on what exactly has befallen the space station resort and possibly even the ship. He can picture the news story and the music jingle as it hits the data stream on the Interplanetary News.

But any rescue may come too late to save Armando or anyone else at Neptune Shores.

He hasn't heard from his security team, let alone anyone else for hours, except for the brief conversation with Dr. Jett Mintaka. And who knows what happened to the doctor? Watching through his hologram screen, the last thing he remembers is seeing the doctor running for his life from one of the infected hotel guests. Another good reason why he didn't let Mintaka inside the security office. If he had let him in, both of them would have been on the infected flesh eating menu.

Armando sits at his desk and activates the holo screen. It's a twenty inch, empty chrome frame with a flat round base. When he says, "Play the security feed of the debarkation bay," the air within the thin frame pixelates into a 3D image of the large area right around the corner from his office. The view is a real time feed of what's occurring at this precise moment. He swipes his finger to the left and rewinds the footage back to when Mintaka gave up on getting inside his office and fled to the main airlock, the same one the Celestial Sea docked at upon arrival at the resort.

In the replay, the infected hoarde chases Mintaka into the airlock where for a few moments he must have thought he was safe. As the footage plays, Armando places his hand over his open mouth and watches as the infected people crowd around the clear polycarbonate airlock door. The throng of mindless men and women—parents, grandparents, teenagers and an adolescent boy—press against the air hatch, swatting and behaving like animals. Then Armando sees something that freezes the blood in his veins. He feels a frigid wave of recognition wash over him. His hand falls to the desk. There, in the hologram, he sees someone he knows other than the doctor...Nassan Jondu, the tour guide supervisor. Jondu snarls and bites at the air, desperate to reach Mintaka.