Challenge #04796-M047: Pathogen Paranoia

The pirates thought they'd caught the human napping, instead they caught a human sick with norovirus. While immunoflu stops most, it does not stop all, and this bug, while not fatal, really wrecked the tummy. Out of self-preservation, they quarantine the human and get hir to a doctor! -- Anon Guest

Pirates, being pirates, make their profits by attacking the weaker and more helpless vessels than themselves. They don't often pick on large cruisers unless they are bigger and have more crew.

The best kind of prey is a slow freighter on a nonstandard route somewhere convenient to the pirates. Yet there was always the chance that something dangerous - like Humans - might be on board. Still, there were many pirates and likely only one or two crew aboard any freighter. The odds were in their favour.

There was only one lifesign on board. Good news for the pirates. They were also able to dock and board without setting off any alarms. Great news for the pirates. The crew was one Human, and seemingly fast asleep.

That was roughly when they noticed the smell.

The filters on their livesuits would defeat any pathogens, but not the molecules necessary to convey scent. It was enough to repel the pirates from the chamber.

Enough to wonder if their filters weren't enough to protect them.

They watched in horror as the Human rose from the chamber and shuffled to their hygiene chamber. Where more smells and even more disturbing noises issued forth.

The pirates were busy quietly panicking about the fact that the Human didn't even consider them worth the bother. Maybe, just maybe, they were already dead. Unaware because the incubation of the Deathworlder Horror Microbes was longer than they could immediately posit.

Everyone knew that Deathworlder diseases were more dangerous than the Deahtworlders.

The obvious conclusion resulted in a rather urgent SOS. For the pirate crew and the associated Human. Sure, they'd be in for a long time in rehabilitation and therapy, but it was better than dying of a mystery stinky Deathworlder disease.

[Photo by Maxim Potkin ❄ on Unsplash]

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