Josie made another list to show them what they needed. She wrote down Kas as the

source. What were they missing?

“Jane, tell the Exchange to give you whatever money you need to hire people, and set

up a pay schedule,” said Jack. “We’ll cover the costs until we can get rid of these

people, and send them home. We need to make sure they don’t start eating people

even if we think we healed them.”

“Do the same for housing,” said Josie. “We don’t want anyone on the street unless

they don’t want us helping them. If you have to hire crews to get things done, or buy

up places, do that. Rent anything you can, but our people are the primary concern

right now. Once the crisis is done, then we’ll worry about what to do with them.”

“There was a second place you raided from the Montrose?,” asked Guin.

“It’s a big warehouse full of cages,” said Josie. She gave him the address. “I sent all

the women home that I could.”

“Hilda told me about that,” said Jane. “We still have three of them. They are doing

well.”

“We still need a place for the Shemmarians until we send them home,” said Jack.

“How did they get infected seems pertinent also,” said Guin.

“You’re right,” said Jack. “I just snatched them up and I haven’t talked to any of

them. They were mobile and on their feet when I grabbed them according to the scans

from the Enterprise.”

“Can we do the work on the Enterprise and then send them to Jane to be watched until

they are doing better?,” asked Josie. That seemed to be the easiest approach to her.

“I guess,” said Jack. “If we had something to duplicate the Doctor from Voyager, we

could duplicate him on the ground and let him do all the work, and all we would need

is orderlies to move people out of the way. I think that was a development after the

Enterprise. Enterprise, do you have an Eee Em Aitch onboard?”

“Negative,” said the machine.

“We will take the building from the Exchange, set up to find the other building’s

owner, and buy them both,” said Guin. “That’s the first step in any plan. Then we

need to hire staff to work on moving these people out of the buildings.”

“As long as the Enterprise has power, we can keep our victims in storage until we can

start working on them,” said Jack. “So we have time.”

“We’re going to need to look at the people behind this at one point,” said Josie. If

they dug up a zombie making plant and was ready to use it, then what else would they

do?

“The birds are still working,” said Budd. He stood over the building model. “Does

this thing work by magic?”

“Enterprise?,” asked Jack.

“Negative,” said the machine. “I can see the birds moving around the city and am

updating the model in real time based on the visual cues. My scanners have already

marked the common markers for each subject that I have linked to each bird that I can

see.”

“You can see the city from here?,” said Budd.

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

“My boy can see the whole world from here,” said Jack.

“Negative,” said the machine. “The scanners can only see the continent directly under

us.”

“Show them the limit,” said Jack.

A globe appeared. An icon appeared to mark the Enterprise staying in position over

the Shemmarian capitol. A cone of light touched the globe.

“That’s still a lot of ground,” said Budd. “Kas is in that area, right?”

“Affirmative,” said the machine. A marker appeared on the globe to show them where

the town had stood.

“What are you thinking, Budd?,” asked Fass.

“We don’t need to be on the ground if the Enterprise can watch the town for us,” said

Budd. “Then we can swoop down and burn up anything dangerous before anyone is

hurt.”

“Then all we have is the medical problems to deal with because the main problem will

be over,” said Josie. “I like that except for the part we don’t how long it will take for

a victim to come back to life if we kill them and don’t burn up the body.”

“Phasers should be effective,” said Jack. “Show us what it would look like on the

ground if you can, Enterprise.”

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

The room became a cleared patch of ground. The chairs, chalkboard, ghosts, and

globe stayed in the middle of the open space. Josie frowned as she looked around.

“Where are we, Enterprise?,” asked Josie.

“Holo Deck One, Deck Ten,” said the machine.

“Where is this scene?,” asked Josie. She kept a huff of discontent inside.

“The launch point,” said the machine. “Turn left and you will see the soldiers trying

to scavenge what they can.”

The group stood and formed up in a circle.

“They can’t see us,” said Jack. “The Enterprise is just making a picture for us to

interact with and watch while we wait for something to happen.”

“There has to be something here to trigger the model,” said Josie. “Eric and I were

talking that maybe an animal would become infected and start things off.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Maybe,” said Jack. “Anybody here know anything about goblin trees?”

“Hold on,” said Elaine. “I had some things written down, and Matilda might know

something.”

“I don’t know if she can call from her band,” said Jack. “I’ll call her. Enterprise, call

Matilda.”

“I’m here, Jack,” said Matilda. “I’m reading to Beatrice.”

“Hello, Milord,” said Bea. “How are things?”

“A step away from losing the continent,” said Jack. “Elaine says you know everything

about goblin trees, Matilda. We need to know what you know.”

“I don’t really know that much,” said Matilda. “The first thing is they aren’t real trees.

They’re a type of monster mushroom. They grow in your blood and move you around.

They want to keep growing, but people and animals are sacks that won’t support that.

So they take over the body and expand until they split you open. No one knows how

they spread, but they have been found in graveyards sprouting from fresh graves. If

you get bitten, you have to burn the area of the bite immediately or there are

problems.”

“Did you say graveyards?,” said Josie. “I didn’t see any graveyards.”

“Wait,” said Fass. “What about the notes from the gardener? I left them on the

quinjet.”

“I got it,” said Jack. “What did they do if they didn’t bury anyone? Did they have a

lot of failures in the process?”

“Enterprise, can you show us how everything looked from the air before you took the

town apart?,” said Josie.

The group stood in the air. Below them were the groups of buildings they had

assaulted to rescue the stolen women and children. There was an empty space from

where the Enterprise had built itself. A ring marked the spot of the building becoming

a flying star ship.

“What are we looking for?,” asked Emily.

“A burial site, or a crematorium,” said Josie. “They didn’t just leave the bodies in the

open if the women died in the process. That would have attracted too much

attention.”

“I have the notes,” said Jack. He held up the papers. “What should we look for in

them?”

“Any notes about gardening the dead,” said Guin. “I think that is what Josie is

proposing. They had dumped their potential weapon in a burial site and hadn’t

realized they had what they wanted.”

“I wonder if he knew,” said Fass. “He must have known they couldn’t do anything if

the victims were still alive.”

Jack turned into Mister Fantastic and flipped through the notes. He frowned as he

checked the numbers. He closed his eyes as he reverted back.

“He knew everything about the process,” said Jack. “He sold the Shemmarians a bill

of goods.”

“Explain, Jack,” said Guin.

“We assumed that the Shemmarians were given this as a weapon to enhance their

soldiers like Captain America,” said Jack.

“He told us he helped them plan everything,” said Josie.

“He helped them plan their doom,” said Jack. “He suggested a burial pit on the north

side of town away from lanes of travel. People coming in who were moving on should

not know about the research. The project people started dumping their failures there.”

“They don’t know the plant can animate the dead,” said Guin.

“We thought we were trying to stop the Shemmarians,” said Josie. “We’re trying to

save them from themselves.”

“We’re still in the saving the world business,” said Jack. “If this gets out of Kas, it

will spread and kill civilians outside of the country. We have to do something to stop

this from going beyond what’s already been done.”

“The circle is closing, Jack,” said Elaine. “It’s closing on Kas.”

“Enterprise, Red Alert,” said Jack. “Battlestations. Ready torpedoes to fire. Get us

there right now.”

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

“I have to get to the ground, Jack,” said Josie. “It’s the only way to contain this.”

“I got this,” said Jack. “Enterprise, First Officer Josie is in command until I get back.”

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

“Jack,” said Josie. She raised her hand to gesture for him to stop. He touched his

watch and vanished. “Damn it.”

“Do we fight?,” asked Fass. “Or do we stay here?”

“Enterprise, this is Second Officer Elaine Numera,” said Elaine over the link. “Can

you hear me?”

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

“I’m taking command,” said Elaine. “Josie will be deployed. Bring the weapons to

bear on the graveyard, as you drop down. Alert me when you have a fire solution

where you can fire without hitting our forces, or the Shemmarians, by accident.”

“Understood,” said the machine. “Will be on station in seconds.”

“You guys can stay, or go,” said Josie. “I’m going down by bird.”

“We need to get our weapons from the quinjet,” said Budd.

“Enterprise, can you do point to point internal transport?,” said Josie.

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

“Transport them to the hangar to get their gear,” said Josie. “Drop them behind cover

just in case our friends don’t want the help.”

“Enterprise?,” said Fass. “Can you see where I am pointing? There are three trees and

a bush beside a rock.”

“Landmark recognized,” said the machine.

“That’s where we need to drop,” said Fass.

“Affirmative,” said the machine.

“Do what you have to do, Josie,” said Elaine.

“Enterprise, Fass and his Fighters need transport to the hangar,” said Josie. “As soon

as they are ready to go, drop them to the ground.”

“Affirmative,” said the machine. The adventurers vanished in a swirl of blue sparks.

“I am going to cut this call,” said Jane. “I will arrange to buy those two buildings out

of the fund. I’ll need some help with the deed search, Guin.”

“Linus will grab someone to find the deeds and secure the local owner, Madam Jane,”

said Guin. “Let me start the ball rolling on my end.”

“I am going to stay in contact with the Enterprise,” said Elaine. “I will let the

both of you know when this is over.”

“All right,” said Josie. “I have to go. If things go right, we will settle this quest, bring

the wounded in to be helped out and looked out for, and hopefully convince the

Shemmarians to stop doing stupid stuff.”

“Do what you have to do,” said Elaine.

Josie touched her watch and became Zatanna. She teleported down to the ground.

She could deal with this as long as no one got in her way. Her wish magic could take

out any single object, or a group if they were close together.

She sent out a bird to locate Jack. He was a red flame throwing fireballs into a crowd

of rotten corpses pulling themselves out of the ground on the other side of the

graveyard. She caused one to explode from where she stood.

She hoped the soldiers stayed out of the way. She had to help Jack, and then they

were done with this quest.

A red beam cut the air as she moved. She looked south. One of the book men stood

there at the head of a crowd. They seemed interested in trying to stop her from

stopping their plague.

She didn’t have time to let them interfere. She had to do what she had to do.

She swung an arm. A wall of rock leaped to block them off from the action for the

moment she needed. She checked her watch. She could save the day, but time travel

was too dangerous. Changing any one link could change everything until she and

Jack were no longer themselves.

She decided that Chronos was useful, but she didn’t want to chance ruining

everything they had already done by trying to change the past to change the present

to change the future. She needed to think of something fast to stop everything from

going to crap.

She teleported to where Jack flung fire at the emerging corpses. She frowned at the

charging crowd. They needed something bigger to deal with this crowd.

“How do you think explosives will do against these things?,” said Josie.

“I have no idea,” said Jack. He wore his grin on his face.

“We have the weenies trying to stop us from behind me,” said Josie. “They should be

getting through the wall in a second.”

A few streams of golden light dropped down from the sky. The Enterprise was on

station up there and shooting at their enemies with its ray guns.

“We could have the Enterprise drop torpedoes down here,” said Jack. He flung

another fireball with enough accuracy to blow his target’s head up.

“I can use the Human Bomb right now,” said Josie. “That will buy time for you to

think of something useful and then we can look around for more of these things.”

“Do it,” said Jack. “I’ll switch to something else to help us.”

Josie touched her watch and became a figure in a white overall and helmet. She ran

forward at the crowd of zombies trying to get on their feet and attack their prey. She

exploded into nothingness. Body parts flew everywhere.

Jack reached for his watch. It was his turn to do something.