Weston smiled. “That was intentional.”

Captain Weston walked over to the intercom and flipped a switch. “Dr. Rame, has Milla been cleared from isolation yet?”

“Yes, Captain,” the doctor’s voice floated back through the speaker.

“Good, we’re coming out.”

The three of them cycled through the airlock and stepped into the open med-lab. The on-duty personnel and their patients greeted Milla with stares. Her looks, normal as they were, only added to their curiosity. Weston led her through the lab and out into the corridors of the Odyssey.

“Doctor.” Weston half turned to Palin.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Miss Chans needs living quarters and a change of clothes. See to it that the quartermaster assigns her something suitable.”

“Uh…yes, sir.” Palin blinked.

“All right.” Weston smiled at Milla. “The doctor will get you set up. I have duties to attend to.”

“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate your help.”

“Not at all,” he replied as he parted company. “Just doing my duty, ma’am.”

As soon as Weston left the area, the doctor took charge. “Here we go,” Palin said as the door opened. “Watch your step.”

Milla nodded, stepping over the barrier that separated the small cabin from the hall.

“I’ve called the quartermaster, so we’ll get you fitted for some different clothes,” Palin said, a tad uneasily as he gestured to her thin hospital attire. “In the meantime, let me show you around.”

“Status reports,” Weston demanded as he stepped onto the bridge, glancing around at the bustle of motion.

“Not much has changed, Captain,” Roberts said, looking at the screens. “The carnivore drones have located another three…nests, but nothing near the size of the first one. Those things seem to be taking the planet apart piece by piece, sir.”

“Explain.”

Roberts turned around, placing a hand on the shoulder of a computer technician. “Bring up the pictures from the city again.”

Weston watched as the screen’s picture changed. “Is that the same area?”

“No, sir. This one is closer to the center of the population,” Roberts replied. “Notice the state of the buildings.”

They were demolished and the spiderlike things were dragging the building pieces underground.

“They look like bastardized spiders, Captain. But they act like ants,” Roberts replied. “Watch this…”

Weston saw the screen shift focus on the army of creatures as they picked at a towering skyscraper. As the tower began to shudder and topple over, the creatures scrambled, but most couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the colossal building’s tumble.

For a brief moment there was no motion other than the rolling dust, and then some of the debris moved as some of the buried creatures dug themselves out. In minutes, the scene was back to normal as thousands of the creatures began picking the rubble apart and transporting it underground.

“Damn,” Weston whispered. “What are they doing with all that stuff?”

“I don’t know, sir,” Roberts said uneasily. “They’re grabbing everything—buildings, roads, trees, and animals when they catch them.”