Strange Medicine in the Core

[Ilana Logan]

Space, a day out from Persephone
Monday, June 12th, 2518
AST: 6:00 PM

Ilana padded barefoot into her bunk on Eden, toweling off her still-damp hair with an old t-shirt. She draped the now-damp t-shirt over the back of the barstool in front of her raised desk, sat down, and opened the drawer. She tapped the screen twice in the top, left-hand corner and the screen became a mirror. She picked up her hair brush and carefully brushed out her hair; it was really starting to get long. When she finished, she replaced the brush in the drawer and closed it.

She tapped the screen and the cortex home screen reappeared. She opened the Delamater's cortex store to browse out of boredom, and began scrolling through this week's sales. She made it about ten items in before the screen flashed and message showing Incoming Wave appeared.

Anastasia Kiselyova… she thought. What could be possessing her to wave me?

The last time she'd seen or heard from Ana had been at the double funeral for her twin sisters after they were killed in the war. Curious, Ilana accepted the wave and Ana's face appeared. She hadn't aged a day. Bitch, she thought facetiously.

As the video connected, she noticed Ana was dressed in what appeared to be a black pantsuit under a white lab coat, hair perfectly smooth in a low bun. Ilana imagined her nails would also be as meticulously manicured as they always had been.

"It's been a long damn while since I heard from you, Ana," Ilana said.

[Ilana Logan]

Ana had felt somewhat nervous before waving Ilana. It had been so long, and the first time she contacts her after burying her sisters was for business. She sighed softly, nothing to do about it now.

"I know, and I hate that I waited so long. At first it was too hard after Nat and Jules, and after a while, it had been too long, and it was easier to just…" she paused, searching for the right word. "…not," she finished truthfully.

Ilana nodded from somewhere else in the verse, clearly understanding all to well what she meant. And why not? Ilana had done the same thing on many occasions, Roman and Ray both among them. I wonder where she is right now? Ana thought.

"Fair enough," Ilana sympathized. "After this long, I hold no illusions that you just couldn't stand it any longer and had to see me. What do you need?" Ilana asked practically.

Ana had the grace to look somewhat sheepish. She felt a bit sheepish as well, but she smiled a little. "Well, I have a job for you, if you want it. The pay is 800 credits."

Ilana leaned against the backrest of the bar stool she sat on and raised a brow. That was quite a bit of coin… Ilana whistled low under her breath. "Maybe. What's the job?"

"Simple transport. I have some plants in my lab that I need to have delivered to another lab in the Bellerophon Estates. If you're in the area, the job is yours," Ana said.

"Being a cargo hauler by trade, I have a few of questions. Fair warning in advance, your answers may lead to more questions," Ilana laughed. "First, I'm only a couple of days from Osirus, but we're not planning on leaving until the 19th. Got some modifications being made to my ship, and they won't be ready until late on the 18th or very early on the 19th. Will that work for you?"

Relief washed over her when she heard how close Ilana was. She didn't want to dangle a job in front of her if she wasn't close enough to take it, but it was somewhat time sensitive. It absolutely couldn't wait more than two weeks to leave the lab. Otherwise, the cargo would become unstable.

"Absolutely. I wasn't expecting you to be that close, honestly."

Ilana noted the relief on Ana's face when she said she was only a week away and filed that observation away for later. "Alright. Second question, and I hate to ask this of you, but it's important that I know up front. Will I be hauling anything illegal?"

Ana bristled a little at that. Like she said, cargo hauler by trade. It makes a sort of sense to make a habit of asking about the legality of your cargo, Ana thought to herself. She softened a bit before speaking. "Not at all. What you're hauling isn't strictly legal for the average person to carry, but you'll have an official contract from an authorized lab in case you're stopped for any reason while carrying it. You'll also have a full manifest detailing exactly what you're carrying and handling instructions. Just… try not to have anything illegal in plain sight on the off chance you are stopped. That said, as long as you or your ship haven't been flagged recently, I don't see why you'd have an issue."

[Ilana Logan]

"Makes sense. If the job is just from one side of the system to the other, why is the pay so high?"

"Strictly speaking, the plants you'll be hauling aren't technically plants, although they were long believed to be plants due to their similarities. It's their differences that eventually separated them, she grinned, clearly enjoying being able to talk about them. "They're eukaryotic organisms of the pholiotina cyanopus genus, and they are heavily genetically modified. They will be packed into the crates the day before your arrival and they will remain stable in the crates for two weeks.

Ana paused for a moment, mulling over her next words. "They will not remain stable past two weeks, so speed is key. You're being paid for your gentle handling and your timely delivery. There aren't many ships I'd trust with this cargo."

"What will happen if they become unstable? If anything were to happen and we were stranded for a day, are these mushrooms going to be a danger to my crew? Ilana asked carefully.

"No, they're not dangerous. They will begin to break down being enclosed for too long, but they can't safely be transported out in the open. They're expensive and you'd be more likely to run afoul of pirates if anyone were to see them, even while being loaded onto the ship."

Ilana nodded her acceptance of that explanation and Ana continued, "Also, if - for any reason - they begin to break down, they will release their spores, which will have two immediate effects: one, the crates they're in will essentially disintegrate. The spores break down plant material relatively quickly when concentrated."

Ilana's brows knit together in concern and she interrupted Ana, "How quickly are we talking here?"

"That depends on the spore concentration. If you were inside the crate with them when the spores released, you'd be naked in a matter of minutes, however if you were more than a few feet away, your clothes - and any other nearby plant material - would remain unharmed. So, to be safe, don't climb in the crates, yeah?" She said, laughing a little at the end.

Ilana laughed too. "Believe me. I have no intention of climbing into a crate with any organism that I barely understand."

"Oh! The second immediate effect would be that they would be rendered useless to my research team at the Bellerophon Estates facility. This will happen more quickly if they're not kept in a relatively stable environment. On a ship, the most stable place for them will be inside the crates we're preparing. They'll keep just fine in those crates for two weeks, and the Bellerophon Estates are no more than 10 days out."

Ilana thought about it for a moment and finally said, "Alright. That sounds good. I'll make sure the crew keeps any contraband in their own bunks for the duration of the haul."

Ana nodded. "Good call… she paused. "You look great Ilana. You look just like Nat."

Ilana smiled a little and said, "Thanks Ana. You look a lot better than I do. Life on Osirus suits you.

She laughed a little and replied, "Life in a lab suits me. It doesn't much matter where it is…Although, being on a core world does have its perks I guess. Not that I ever have the time to take advantage of them."

Ilana chuckled a little. "Now, that I can understand."

Anastasia sighed, "Listen, I'm up to my ears in work, so I won't be able to meet you for the delivery myself, but my research assistant will meet you in the city to make the arrangements and give you the documents."

"I understand," Ilana said. "I'll send you a wave once the delivery is complete."

"I'll talk to you then. In the meantime, back to work."

"It was good to see you, Ana. Don't wait so long next time," Ilana added.

"You as well," she smiled, and the call ended.

Wow, Ilana thought. A legal job for once.