Contagion

**Previous**"Crossroads"

"**Contagion**" is the fifth episode of of the Chronicles of Humanity web series' first season.

## Plot

As the *Nightingale* approaches Lubyanka, Katherine McDonald struggles with nightmares from her time at the Titan Mining Colony. After waking with a start, she joins Ravyn Halesberth in the galley. Ravyn attempts to talk to her about the dreams, relating her own issues coping with the deaths of her parents and assuring Katherine that she is not alone before going to the bridge to help her husband, Adam, land the ship.

However, as the *Nightingale* enters orbit, Lubyanka Control expresses surprise that they are carrying supplies for the facility. They are given coordinates to land and are told to remain aboard and await further instructions. Adam expresses concern at the odd directive but Ravyn assumes that this is standard security procedure since the colony is a prison.

Adam's worries are exacerbated when, after landing, they are told to seal their hold off from the rest of the ship and to stay inside while their cargo is unloaded by prison personnel. The couple are reluctant to let anyone access the hold without receiving more details as to why. Katherine offers to hack into the prison computer system and discovers that an alien botanical virus is running rampant through the colony. Adam thinks that they should leave the planet for their own safety, but Ravyn convinces him that they should stay and try to help the colony. Meanwhile, Katherine makes copies of the prison records and prepares to forward them to SBC once they've left the system.

Meanwhile on Earth, Admiral Yasuko learns of the virus through the spyware the Agent installed on the *Nightingale*. She orders all of the planet's experts put to work studying the problem and determining how much of a threat it poses. She waves off the Agent's suggestion that he eliminate the *Nightingale* and its crew, concerned about the political fallout McDonald's mother could cause and recognizing that other ships could visit the prison colony and pick up the virus.

Once the cargo transfer is complete, Adam, Ravyn and Katherine attempt to leave Lubyanka but are met in orbit by an ENF cruiser, the *King's Arch.* The captain orders them to land, citing the quarantine. Attempting to allay the Halesberths' suspicions about the naval vessel's rapid arrival, McDonald insists that she hadn't sent out any information yet. When the *King's Arch* captain threatens to destroy them if they don't return to the prison colony, Katherine runs to her berth, affected by what she deems a parallel to the deaths on Titan. After explaining to the captain that they followed quarantine procedures on Lubyanka and thus are not contaminated, Ravyn goes to check on McDonald.

The *King's Arch* captain reports to Admiral Yasuko that the *Nightingale* crew has asked permission to leave and that their system logs confirm that the transport has not been contaminated by the virus. She agrees to let them go, ordering the cruiser to maintain its position over Lubyanka and enforce the quarantine. From now on, supplies are only to be delivered to the colony by airdrop pods.

In her cabin, Katherine apologizes to Ravyn for her meltdown and the two express frustration at the military's aggressiveness. McDonald asks Halesberth what happened to her parents; Ravyn tells her that they were murdered about ten years prior after entering a store that was being robbed. The investigation eventually petered out due to lack of evidence. Katherine expresses her condolences and Ravyn explains that meeting Adam helped her come to terms with her loss and that they can do the same for Katherine. In disbelief at the idea of spending so much with the pain, Katherine asks Ravyn to leave and she does. Later, in the cockpit, the two Halesberths discuss Ravyn's conversation with McDonald.

Back on Earth, Yasuko informs the Agent that Katherine has discovered the spyware and deleted it. He suggests reinstalling it at the *Nightingale*'s next stop, but the Admiral disagrees, certain that McDonald would only discover it again.

## Cast (in order of appearance)

* Elizabeth Cameron as Katherine McDonald
* Fern Pankhurst as Miner (dream; voice only) / Chief Baker
* James Cross as Governor David Flynn (dream; voice only)
* Gabrielle Pugliese as Ravyn Halesberth
* Charlie Allen-Wall as Adam Halesberth
* Stingray as Prison Officer
* Kim Genly as Admiral Yasuko
* Damien Valentine as The Agent
* Jamie Addis as *King's Arch* Captain