The Story Begins

Posted on Wed Apr 1st, 2015 @ 3:35pm by Captain Li Hawke & Jackson Banning V & Lieutenant Z. Talan & Warrant Officer Awf & James Holbridge

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Runabout Rhine

Li pulled her attention away from the PADD in her hands and glanced out the portal at her side. They were away from 900 now and based on the feel of the engines, Awf had settled them in for long-range travel. She'd spent the time since departure thinking over what had started all this and how best to share the tale. She frowned as Jackson sat down next to her.

"Might as well jump in," he murmured.

"Are you sure you're not psychic?" she asked.

He smiled gently and shook his head. "Nah, don't have ta be a mind reader to read your expression. We're away, so let's get this over with."

"Very well." Li raised her voice just a bit so the rest could hear her. "Alright gentlemen, let's get to it. Since you all are burning with curiosity, I have a story for you."

Jim stepped out of the port-side cargo area and plopped into a seat. "Good. I'm not the mercenary type by any means, but my board is wanting this mining operation to get underway."

Having indeed set the engines for long-range travel, and having maneuvered them well inside of the inertial dampers system's defined boundaries to avoid making everyone feel like they were being pushed into the back of their seats, the Ocampa pilot finally turned around and faced Li.

"I'd be happy to hear a story." He smirked, knowing full well he'd rather have not been plotting such a careful course.

Jim shot a sideways glance at the pilot. "You cleared for this, kid?"

"Security wise, you mean? Why I thought this mission didn't officially exist..." Awf said as he exhaled and leaned back into his seat.

"Officially no, it does not," Li replied. "And Jim, anyone on this vessel is part of this op and will likely wish they weren't before long, as things may get worse before they get better."

Jim looked at Li and nodded. "What say you activate my reserve commission? Just to cover your bases in case I die or something."

Li considered the question, then shook her head. "No Jim. If this goes bad, we can keep you out of it." She looked from Z to Awf. "That goes for the two of you also. If it does explode, it will land at mine and Jackson's feet."

Jackson nodded in agreement. "An' mine more'n Li's. This actually started when she was..." he paused and grinned. "When she was otherwise occupied. She had the bad luck to get pulled in later on, after Dave an' I found ourselves in the hot seat, so to speak."

With a blink, Awf looked up, "You mean that you're keeping us in the dark as to what's going on...on purpose?"

Jim rolled his eyes at Awf's remark. "It's called security, kid!" Jim turned his attention back to Jackson. "Who do you mean when you say 'Dave'?"

"It means that if this goes south, we'll take the heat. Yer gonna hear the story so you'll know what's what and what will be needed of ya. " Jackson rubbed his eyes, then looked to Jim. "Dave. Lorenz. He's the third musketeer."

Z, who’d kept silent up to that point, cleared his throat for attention. “Look. . .I know I’m the new kid on the block and maybe my input doesn’t count for much. But, and with all due respect, the suspense is killing me. I’d feel a whole lot more at ease if I knew what was going on. As in, the story.”

Jim looked at Jackson in disbelief. It wasn't possible! Dave Lorenz is my best friend, and we have fought together in nearly every engagement since our days in the SSF! Why didn't he tell me? Jim thought furiously to himself. " I agree with Talan, Jackson. Time to hear the whole story."

"It all started twenty years ago," Li began. "When Jackson was fresh out of the Academy. He was drafted for Intel work and as it happened, was sent out to an area of space known as the Briar Patch. At that time it was still largely a puzzle. A planet was discovered there, the home of the Ba'Ku people." She paused a minute to look at the men. "As most of you know, official records show that Enterprise encountered them in 2375 and began observation. Let's just say that Jackson's work started well before then, but did eventually lead to the observation post there. As you are also now aware, the metaphasic radiation in the planet's rings slows their aging process significantly. Which led, of course, to speculation as to whether it could be reproduced artificially."

Jackson nodded. "Research began on a way to synthesize the radiation." He pursed his lips then sighed. "You can, of course, see the implications if the researchers were successful."

"It's obvious...life spans would be extended what...like a whole ton and you could do the treatment right in your own home. Isn't that what you're getting it?" Awf was of course taking interest in that aspect of the conversation for relatively obvious reasons.

Jim shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable! while fliers and Marines were dying in a damned war, Starfleet Intelligence was trying to make humans immortal with enemy biotech! What the hell?!?" Jim's own troubles with the intelligence community were legendary on Starbase 900. "Now my company has found a hiding place for your screw up?" Jim rose to his feet. "I need some fresh air, it smells to much like bullshit in here!" he snarled as he left the aft bay.

“I remember reading about that mission in the Briar Patch,” Z said a moment later. “And if I’m not mistaken the Bak’u aren't exactly enemies of the Federation. Though, they weren’t entirely comfortable with sharing the metaphasic radiation with outsiders.”

"Why wouldn't they be open about it? Is there anything better than having the ability to prolong someone's life, even in the face of incredible challenges?" Awf tilted his head in a relatively naive fashion, figuring that this kind of technology would be a godsend to most people.

“Because any technology, regardless of the benefits, also has the potential for perversion,” Z answered. “On the upside, a system that prolongs life. . .retards, even reverses aging to a degree. But the downside – in the wrong hands it could be reverse engineered to accelerate the aging process. Or take an entire group or civilization from adulthood to infancy. . .make them easy to subjugate or conquer.”

"Exactly, Z," Li answered. "And here the plot thickens. You want to filed this one Jackson?"

Jackson looked from one to the other before he spoke. "There's something in what Li said that none of you caught. And I quote 'it all started twenty years ago when Jackson was fresh out of the academy. Z, last time you looked at my file, how old did it say I was?"

“On record, 29 years of age,” Z replied. “That is, unless the records have been doctored, of course.”

For a moment, Awf blinked as he considered sinful applications for a technology that would have, initially, had seemed quite beneficial to him. Still, it didn't seem that one should put progress aside for fear of what others might do with something when it could benefit so many, but for now he remained silent. He had a mission to pay attention to and right now it was starting to look like there might have been some funny business going on with the ship's computer records.

COCKPIT USS RHINE

Holbridge's anger had been stoked by the story Banning had spun in the aft bay. There was no way that Dave was a part of this infernal mess that Intelligence had been involved with AGAIN! It seemed like every time he was able to distance himself from that infernal branch of the Fleet, they sucked him back in with a new crisis. Well, after this there would be no more dealing with Intelligence types at all.

=/\= Mr Holbridge, Captain Hawke is requesting your presence in the aft compartment. =/\= the ship's computer announced.

Jim got up and went back into the compartment, still perturbed. "You rang, Mrs Addams?!" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Sit," Li ordered. "And don't make me sorry I brought you." She nodded to Jackson. "Continue."

Jackson nodded. "My records have been doctored, Doc Harding can confirm it. I was born in 2345, which makes me forty-two. I was stationed at that installation, along with Tora Sulan. Jim might recall her from the Nexus Club. She was the hostess there for a time. To make a long story short, there was an accident. One of the containment fields overloaded, the lab went boom an' Sulan and I got a big dose of that experiment. We were hustled right the hell out of there and had the pleasure of livin' in a lab for a while so they could poke an' prod an' experiment to see what was happenin'. In our case it turned out to be what wasn't happenin'....we stopped aging. The experiments worked, but the possibilities, now that they saw 'em in the flesh, so to speak, scared the hell out of 'em and all the research was locked down tight. Sulan an' I got reassigned, far from each other, sworn to secrecy...the usual stuff. I had the job of taking the one of the two remaining living scientists, and lockin' her down. She's had a long nap on the ice planet. They can't talk when they are frozen can they?"

Jim looked at Jackson in disgust. "Unbelieveable," he snorted.

Jackson shrugged. "You should try livin' with it. At the time, it was the best alternative - that or lettin' the enemy get their hands on her." He looked at Jim intently. "An' if yer curious, Dave wasn't exposed. He just had the bad luck to be involved and the backbone to do what was necessary."

"Which brings us to now," Li added. "We have to get him and that scientist out. Before things go bad in a big way."

Jim's features softened. "We better haul ass, because Dave's in a facility with very limited defensive capability. Even at max speed we won't beat anyone else there." Jim grinned. "Before you ask, my ship Ghost, is closer but she's lightly armed.

"Send her there, it will at least buy Mr. Lorenz some time till we arrive." Li turned to Awf, her expression now all business. Awf, step on it. I want us there as soon as possible.

***************

Captain Li Hawke
Lt. Z. Talan
Warrant Officer Awf
James Holbridge
Jackson Banning V