Dalton, Tymber - Bightmares [Deep Space Mission Corps 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Tymber Dalton Page A

“Now that the infection seems contained, we’ve given that up. We need every available person to help care for them.”
    Emi quickly scanned the information while Aaron silently stood behind her and kept a watchful eye on Taber. Before the colony lost their top research and medical staff to the rages, they had ruled out airborne and waterborne issues. The situation had deteriorated dramatically before they could determine what the infected men had in common. Blood type and underlying health issues had been ruled out.
    “All the infected men had been here from the beginning?” Emi asked.
    Taber nodded. “From the start.”
    “No new personnel?”
    “Nope. In fact, our last resupply arrived over six months ago. No crew stayed behind.”
    “What happens if you wake one of them up?”
    He shrugged. “Usually they’re fine, for a while. One guy was fine for two days, and then, just as we thought maybe he’d gotten over it, he attacked me. Back to sedation. Usually they go anywhere from a few hours to almost a day. We haven’t brought anyone out of it for over a week now. It’s too risky.”
    Emi studied the files. The first symptoms differed from man to man. One commonality was many of them experienced extreme irritability before the rages first started. The subsequent rages literally came from out of the blue without any apparent trigger. One woman was rescued when her fifteen-year-old daughter heard her father attacking her mother in the middle of the night. She shot him with a stunner.
    Work, job duties, chemical and radiation exposure—all ruled out. Everyone ate basically the same diet from the same food sources.
    She studied a picture of Ilse’s husband in his personnel record. He had light blue eyes and an open, friendly smile in his personnel mug shot.
    “Can we wake up Dr. Martinez?”
    “Yes.” Ilse spoke from the doorway behind them, where she and Dr. Shourpa stood, listening. “If it’ll help, please, do.”
    “We have energy shackles,” Emi told her. “We can keep him restrained so he doesn’t hurt himself or others.”
    Ilse nodded. “Whatever you need to do, please, do it.”
    Taber and another nurse moved Dr. Martinez to the vacant operating room. Aaron went to retrieve a set of energy shackles and Sam for backup. With the doctor firmly secured to the operating table, Emi started her initial examination. Other than his slight weight loss from the IV fluid and nutrient regimen, he seemed to be in perfect health. Her scanners didn’t pick up anything unusual. She took blood, hair, and skin samples, as well as fingernail clippings and a DNA swab from his mouth.
    She glanced at Taber. “I’ll need to examine you, too. Take samples. And the other healthy men.”
    “Of course.”
    Emi removed the IV before administering an injection to counteract the sedatives. After a few minutes, the doctor’s eyes fluttered open. He looked around in confusion.
    Ilse stepped forward and slipped her fingers through his. “Hey, baby,” she whispered, smoothing his dark brown hair away from his forehead. “How you feeling?”
    His blue eyes darkened in confusion as he tried to focus on her. Then he spotted Emi, Aaron, and Sam. “Are you from the DSMC?” he asked.
    Emi nodded. “Yes, Dr. Martinez. I’m Dr. Emilia Hypatia. This is Captain Aaron Lucio and Officer Sam Johnson. We have three DSMC ships in orbit now. The ISNC is sending reinforcements.”
    He finally nodded and looked at his wife. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
    She shook her head. “No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m sorry we’ve got to do this to you.”
    Emi watched him squeeze his wife’s hand. Emi reached out and touched his leg. She only sensed love and worry from him, not an ounce of anger.
    “Hey, it’s okay.” He looked at Emi again. “Please, you’ve got to figure this out.”
    “We will, Dr. Martinez.” She checked his vitals again. No change other than the obvious increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and