07/07/01

"Future, n.: that period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness is assured."-- - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

198-1121.

The phrase "bioengineered" is never linked with the plague, at least not in public. It officially was a variant form of an illness known in Aslan space, which means that aliens will be quarantined more carefully.

Post-quarantine, everyone who had the good fortune of surviving the plague becomes media darlings whether they want it or not. Trevor accepts an offer to appear on Anglian Squares. Then there's the ticker-tape parade on DownPort. The official media talks about the "flu-like illness", while the trash papers' headlines scream about the zombies.

The parade, which appears to be mandatory (despite Gabrielle's best efforts) will take place in Anglia, in the capital city of Coventry. Flowers and rose petals are thrown, bioengineered sparkly bits float down from the clouds, etc. The survivors (including the party members - minus Malcolm, who is being wined and dined, or de-briefed and reprogrammed in the Imperial embassy) will all be awarded the Freedom Medal, the highest award in Anglia. Then there will the balls and soirées. Great parade, and Mitchell and Trevor have underwear, room keys, and similar objects tossed at them. Cool!

After the parade come the speeches, the medals, and the opportunity to say a few words. The dirtsiders must be really bored. Trevor and Mitchell take advantage of the opportunity, but Gabrielle declines. Neither Trevor nor Mitchell make any social gaffes. Trevor talks about the wonderful Saxe grav-ball teams. He'll have to check out their bioengineered grav-ball uniforms. And they want to get him a proper suit, one that lives off his discarded skin cells, but Trevor has already almost been eaten by the locals and pleads post-traumatic stress.

The ball, already arranged by the president, is this evening. In dark times like these, people need heroes. Just over the border, the evil Imperium lays in wait, slavering in the darkness and waiting for it's chance. Trevor decides to go to the ball, since he has to, but if it's dull he's out of there!

Dull, no. Decadent, hedonistic, immoral, yes, but dull no. They've brought in exotic food stuffs and drinks, and people are here to have a good time, vertically and horizontally. Since Mitchell has turned over a new leaf and has sworn off turning down sexual advances from females, and Trevor never had this problem, the boys have a good night.

Gabrielle's attempts to be a wallflower do not work. Not only is she not ignored, a number of people notice the "bumps" on her spine. One woman in particular is fascinated. Edra Xanthrus: "If you're interested... ah! I know someone you must meet. Will you be free tomorrow evening?" Gabrielle: "Possibly." She gives Gabrielle her calling card. If Gabrielle is going to find some one to help with the genetic issues she's having, Saxe appears to be the place to do it.

199-1121.

Trevor wakes with a still slightly euphoric mood, surrounded by lots of cushions and translucent drapes, and lots of people strewn around. He had a good time, and feels really good. The only thing missing was a good fight. He can go watch fights if he wants - they have bioengineered fighting creatures. Not Trevor's cup of tea. Ick. Trevor can't get into a decent grav-ball discussion, because on Saxe they're into strategy and finesse, not head-bashing. Trevor argues that head-bashing can give you the extra edge to put your strategy in play.

Mitchell wakes up next to an incredibly beautiful woman, who's name he can't quite remember, when her husband - the president walks in and congratulates him and invites them to breakfast. After a brief moment of panic, Mitchell relaxes, since they don't seem to have a problem. Mitchell: "Oh and by the way, thank you for the chair dog." Pres: "You're very welcome. We're rather proud of our manufacturing capabilities, and I've arranged for a tour." The First Lady will guide the tour.

Apparently, Gabrielle's reflexes are not the only things that have been enhanced. Not only has sex never been this intense for her, it's definitely never been this good for her partner. He's rather proud of himself, including the cracked ribs he sustained. Good thing the medical technology here is really advanced. At least he doesn't intentionally make Gabrielle feel like some sort of freak, but having actually damaged some one like that...

Trevor goes off in search of grav-ball, and ends up involved in a game. Good thing they're into finesse, or Trevor might have gotten hurt. They play games at 3-G's, for exercise. Trevor bonds with the players, they shower, and go off in pursuit of beer. Trevor manages to steer the conversation back to grav-ball. Ah, soul-mates.

Mitchell wants to track down Gabrielle before he leaves for the tour, but he's told she left with a gentleman. He can call her if he wants, the young man she was with is known. At a reasonable hour, Mitchell makes the call. A servant informs Gabrielle there is a phone call for her. Mitchell: "Would you like to meet for coffee?" Gabrielle: "When?" Mitchell: "Just before lunch. Or in your case, after breakfast." Gabrielle: "Where?" Mitchell: "Uh..." After a moment of panic, he names a coffee place that's pretty much everywhere on planet, and there's one nearby. Gabrielle: "All right, I'll meet you." She hangs up. Holden Fitzhugh: <wincing slightly> "I hope you don't mind if I tell my friends about you." Gabrielle: "I think that depends on what you tell your friends. I'm so very sorry about that." Holden: "Oh no. It's quite all right. It's the most wonderful night I've ever had in my life." There's a large selection of women's clothing in the closet. Gabrielle finds something that, as much as possible, hides the new additions. A jumpsuit that fits the bill is located.

The coffee shop contains a beautiful Oriental garden with water and plants, lovely soft sounds, and small trees. Mitchell finds a table near the water noise, on a large lily pad in the middle of the water. The table and chairs also seem to be growing lily pads. After a while, it's sort of...whatever.

Mitchell: "It's occurred to me that this might be a good place to find someone to deal with...at least part of the problem you've been having." Gabrielle: "I'm aware of that. I'm looking into it." Mitchell: "I have been invited to take a tour of one of their facilities. I didn't know if you wanted to come along or not." Gabrielle: "What sort of facility?" Mitchell: "One of their manufacturing facilities. It might be a way to make some contacts." Gabrielle: "I'd rather try to keep it a bit more low key. More one on one." Mitchell: "I wasn't going to go there and just blurt out -" Gabrielle: "I know. I didn't mean to suggest that you would." Mitchell: "Okay. Is there anything that you'd like me to look into while I'm there?" Gabrielle: "No, not really. If they give you product literature, then fine." Mitchell: "All right. <pause> Everything okay?" Gabrielle: "No one's died around me recently. And you?" Mitchell: "No one's died around me either. When do you want to leave?" Gabrielle: "I don't know yet." They finish their coffee amicably.

Mitchell goes off on his tour of NeoTek, one of the largest corporations in Anglia. It's a research and development facility, and Lydia (the president's wife) and Mitchell are led around by a couple of white-coated men who explain how they're making the world a better place. They do genetically engineered lifeforms. Everything from 'geneering standby organs where regrowth isn't fast enough, to growing "generic" organs that can then be viral-therapied into suiting the recipient. But they're not medical specialists, although they do work with Vigilantes, and the new Companions (the next generation). The biggest issue with the Vigilante has been the cost and the implantation. Tech: "To create this organ from scratch... the hope is to eventually create something that can be mass produced more cost-effectively." Mitchell: "And this, Companion is very different from the Vigilante?" Tech: "It's smaller, and it places less demands on the system. It was originally a military-funded project. At this point it's in pre-production, and when the military contract is fulfilled, it will be made available to the public, to people in high risk professions, that sort of thing." While NeoTek isn't really medical in its focus, they do work with modifications, and Mitchell asks about genetic modifications. Tech: "No, that's a medical thing. There are specific laws governing that. Both the planetary and Confederation laws prohibit anything other than correcting genetic problems. There is of course, surgical bio-sculpting. Changing eye color, adding fins, sometimes other more extreme things." It's not socially acceptable to really alter humans here, more of a sub-culture thing, once you start straying from the merely cosmetic.

The tour continues, and Mitchell changes the subject a bit. Mitchell: "Let's say I want a pet, and I spend a long time in space." Tech: "The type of pet would depend on what you want. There are some designs that have stood the test of time, and some based on mythological creatures and the like. We have a custom design unit, but you have to take real life practicality into consideration." They can give Mitchell a catalog, on crystal, of course. Mitchell relaxes and enjoys the tour. Including the brontosaurs that are being shipped to a new theme park. Tech: "And these in here are a custom order for a gentleman who's gotten bored with conventional dangerous game. We've combined aspects of Thorwaldian dragon, Siberian tiger, Bogwump, and a number of other dangerous wildlife to obtain the requested level of challenge." A genetic mix of the nastiest creatures around. Maybe they'll tell Mitchell where these animals are being sent so he can NOT go there.

Of course, there are some things they can't talk about, and some areas that aren't part of the tour. Mitchell gets lunch at the site. Tech: "How did you like the sea bass?" Mitchell: "It was excellent." Tech: "It's carniculture. We grew it here." It was grown as meat, was never really alive or an animal. Sort of Zen - meat but not meat. It's probably a good thing Malcolm isn't along for the tour; he's already come to the conclusion that Solomani are too weird for words.

As guests of the government, they all have rooms in the Excalibur Hotel. Very opulent rooms off a central common area that makes up the central point of the suite (which is all that's on this floor). Marble pillars, gauzy curtains, the whole nine yards. Gabrielle goes back to her room and then to a large bath. She's past the point of being freaked out by the tiny dolphins in the Roman bath, there to play and scrub her back. The sound barriers are fantastic in here. She's been feeling rather run down lately anyway, and a bath before she crashes sounds good.

Once Trevor is done bonding with the local athletes, the car left at his disposal is waiting and takes him back to the suite. He walks in to find Gabrielle in the bath. She turns towards him, rather than away (not a normal reaction for a female, but then again most normal females wouldn't have new processes growing out of their spine). The dolphins strategically place themselves in a covering position and look disapprovingly at Trevor. He apologizes for the interruption and goes off to find a fresher. Then Mitchell traipses in carrying all the chatchkies he got at NeoTek. Once the boys are done tromping through the place Gabrielle can get out of her bath.

Trevor gets out of the fresher, puts on his robe, and is startled when it begins to move and wrap itself around him. He leaps up, throws off the robe, and as it's still moving, he stomps on it. There's a squeal, and blood on the floor. Trevor calls the front desk. He's very upset. No one told him the robe was alive, and now it's injured on the floor and needs a vet. A staff member is called for and removes the robe. He gives Trevor a disgusted look, and arranges for a normal robe. Trevor and Gabrielle both are off taking naps.

Mitchell freshens up, looks at his new toys, and checks out the listing of "plague" survivors. Grychin is listed, and there's a contact E-mail address for her. He dashes off a note.

When Trevor gets up he notices the dolphins are squeaking and messing around. He goes out and plays ball with them, increasing the squeaks and splashing. Trevor notices that his nails are growing rather long. When he goes to trim them, he finds them tougher than normal, even with big clippers. He resorts to a file. Maybe it's the time he spent on Polyphemus, or a side-effect of the virus, or all that Jell-O while in quarantine. Trevor has to order up a real metal file to get his nails under control, and even then it's like sharpening blades. He doesn't want to accidentally slash someone, and rounds down all but his ring finger. That he sharpens. Hmmm.

If anyone has been thinking about Malcolm, it's probably that he's at the Imperial embassy on planet, probably getting new film for his spy camera. Well, that would be what Mitchell's thinking at least.

Gabrielle wakes up in her nice warm bed. And she has a major craving for dairy products - milk, or ice cream, or yogurt or something. She orders a large milkshake, one with a high milk fat content. Mitchell has been sitting in his room with the door open, after e-mailing Grychin. He sees a room service person come in with a tray, and Trevor sitting by the pool agitating the dolphins and obsessing about his nails.

The milkshake takes the edge off... It's very, very good. Dairy products are just the ticket. Maybe it's the stress. She orders up some yogurt and a couple of other dairy products.

Mitchell gets an E-mail reply. Grychin's sorry, but she's been sick. [No, really?] They'll let her out of the hospital in the next day or two - they want her to put on a few more pounds first. She's glad to know she still has a job and will contact Mitchell when she's discharged. Mitchell let's her know her tools are still on board the ship, and it looks like they won't be leaving right away.

Trevor is still at it with the file when Mitchell comes out of his room. Mitchell: "Are you going to grind those things right off or something?" Trevor: "No." Mitchell: "Putting a sharp edge on those for later?" Trevor: "Only when I think of you, buddy. Although the next time we're in a fight and we're out of ammo, it could come in handy."

Mitchell leaves the eccentric Trevor alone and goes to one of the soirées to which he was invited to. The name of the host sounded vaguely familiar. All the guests are very well dressed, and if it weren't for the fact that the Confederation is a classless society, he'd be hobnobbing with the upperclass. A man in a nice suit comes over and asks about Mitchell and his friends. He introduces himself as Norbert Kurtz. Norbert: "I own a few news companies, a half a dozen papers. Just wanted to chat though, not looking for a story." He actually seems genuinely curious about Mitchell and company. Maybe he's just a naturally curious kind of guy.

Gabrielle on the other hand, calls Edra. Edra: "Oh, wonderful. I'll send a car for you." A maroon and silver car arrives shortly thereafter. Gabrielle is taken to the outskirts of town and the outside of an interesting, retro little place with lots of neon. The main sign reads: Club Moreau. She goes in, through the sound curtain. It's very raucous inside, lots of lights, a live band, people drinking and having a good time. It takes a few minutes before she gets the sense of something being a tad...wrong. Some of the people look a bit on the odd side, and have apparently been altered physically. A woman dancing on a stage has a tail and some other feline traits. Definitely still human, but. Other people have decorative coloration and shapes, or small hornlets. On the other hand, many people in here look perfectly normal (on the outside). One of these is Edra. She's with a couple of other "normals" - a well dressed group. Gabrielle goes over.

Edra: "Ah, Miss Vanek. I thought you might be more comfortable here." Gabrielle: "Why would you think that?" Edra: "Well because of... Would you like something to drink?" Gabrielle: "Yes, thank you." She orders something from the man with yellow eyes and excessively long canines. He goes off to the bar. Edra was just interested in who did Gabrielle's "work", being in the trade herself. And of course, there's Gabrielle's current notoriety. Gabrielle: "I'm sorry. I think I should leave." There's a tall good looking man in the corner, and he's winking at Gabrielle. Or maybe it's a twitch. Edra: "If you don't mind my asking, where did you have your work done?" Gabrielle: "I didn't have it done. Excuse me." She starts to walk out and bumps into the man who was watching her. He impacts her hip slightly and there's a very brief stinging sensation. Gabrielle tries to follow the man but he goes into the mosh pit and she loses him. And then it hits her. The room is spinning, she's very hot, people are closing in on her. Everything goes sort of dark grey for a few seconds.

Edra: "I said are you all right, Miss Vanek?" Several people are gathered around Gabrielle, one of them fanning her. Gabrielle: "I'm sorry." Edra: "I think you should come over and sit down. Or maybe lie down." She and several other females help get Gabrielle to the ladies room, and she's given a glass of water. Edra: "Should we call an ambulance? Or perhaps your doctor?" Gabrielle: "No." Edra: "Your temperature's a bit high, and your metabolic rate is elevated. It could be a side effect of the flu. I really think we should have you checked out." Gabrielle: "No." Edra: "All right. Then to my office. I can at least check you out more thoroughly there." Gabrielle agrees. A short grav-car ride later, they're at Edra's office, where she puts Gabrielle on the high tech exam bed.

Norbert: "Don't take this the wrong way, but I get the feeling you're avoiding answering me." Mitchell: "Well, there are some things I'm not really at liberty to discuss." Norbert: "Really? I was under the impression you were no longer serving in the Navy." Mitchell: "That's correct, but that doesn't mean the things I have been involved with are no longer a security issue." Norbert: "Of course. I understand. I was just talking to a Naval officer the other day. Holloway. Perhaps you know him? He certainly knows you." Mitchell: "Commander Holloway?" Norbert: "I believe so." Mitchell: "I have heard of him, yes. Did you run into him off planet?" Norbert: "Oh no, he's on Saxe. Or he was a few days ago." Mitchell: "Oh, Admiral Tengatsu has a residence here?" Norbert: "No, Admiral Teller." Mitchell: "Ah." Teller?? Norbert: "I'll tell him I ran into you." Mitchell: "Please do. I'd love to have a cup of tea with him." Norbert: "Well, I won't take up too much of your time. There's a young lady over there who's had her eye on you. And a young man." Manly handshakes are exchanged and Norbert moves away. The rest of the evening is more of the "let me show you the Naval etchings I have in my apartment", "perhaps you'd like to take a swim in my private lake" sort of evening. Avoiding this got Mitchell into trouble before. He's not going to turn it down.

200-1121.

Edra: "You seem to be all right now. Some sort of metabolic problem. I must say, I'm rather impressed by the work. I'm sorry, but I really am interested in this sort of surgical procedures." Gabrielle: "It's not surgical." Edra: "Were you born with this?" Gabrielle: "No." Edra: "Well, if you weren't born with it, and it's not surgical, then what are you saying? You just grew this way? I mean do you realize what you've got here? It's incredible work. It would have taken multiple surgeries to accomplish." She puts up some scans that show how the spine has been affected - almost scale (as in armor, not as in snake) like protective bone covering the spinal column. Edra: "I think we might want to take some more detailed scans. What...what's going on here? Look, did Terry send you over here?" Gabrielle: <confused> "Terry?" Edra: "Is this some kind of gag?" Gabrielle: "No." Edra feels around Gabrielle's chest. Edra: "Okay... May I have your permission to do a full body scan?" Gabrielle nods. She's put on the table that goes through the high tech doughnut thingie, while Edra sits at a console and makes clucking noises and mutters to herself. Edra: "Impossible...but that doesn't make sense...That would mean..." She gets up and goes over to Gabrielle. Edra: "I've never seen anything like this. I've got to make a couple of calls." She turns to go to her desk. Gabrielle: "Wait." The power goes out, leaving only emergency lighting, and no telephone. Gabrielle: "You have to leave. If you don't leave, they might kill you." Edra: "They?" Gabrielle: "The people who did this." Edra: "You mean some one did this to you? Against your will?" Gabrielle: "Yes." Edra wants to call the authorities. She's outraged. There are laws against this. Gabrielle is still trying to convince her that she should leave, and that calling the authorities wouldn't be good. Edra tries her cell phone, but it's not working either, for some odd reason. Edra: "We'd better get out of here, just in case. We'll get you to my place and at least try to sort this out." They go out of the office and into the stairwell. Edra is fumbling around in the dark, and Gabrielle can see this; she tries to help.

They make it downstairs still alive, and into Edra's older model grav-vehicle. Edra: "Car, home please." The vehicle travels on for a ways. Edra: "Car, this isn't the correct way home. Correct your coordinates." Gabrielle: "I'm very sorry I involved you." Edra: "It's all right. It's just the car." She reaches under the dash, does something and takes control. "That's the one thing about these antiques. They're kind of quirky. Gabrielle sees the car pull up beside them and reaches over and stomps on the decellerator. Edra screams and then cusses a blue streak as the grav-car settles slowly to the ground. The vehicle shudders repeatedly, a staccato vibration, and a bunch of red lights come on in the dash and they have a feeling of free-falling. "Failure grav-module1...Failure grav-module 2...Failure grav-module 3...Failure grav-module 4...Emergency! Emergency!" Edra: "Oh my God, what are we going to do?" She puts on her seat belt; Gabrielle already had hers on. Edra: "Oh my God, at this height..." The airspeed indicator still works, and the good news is they've topped off at about 300 K. The ground rushes up suddenly (that would be the bad news) and everything goes dark, followed by crashing noises, a really bright light in the distance, and pain. It's quite painful. Moving is painful. So is breathing.

Male voice: "Yeah, she's still alive." Second male voice: "Right. Let's go." The bright light disappears and a grav-vehicle takes off. Gabrielle realizes she's looking sideways at pavement, and there's something burning nearby. Her arm hurts, her chest hurts, and things just don't feel right internally. She gets up very slowly and painfully. She can see something vaguely humanesque smeared in front of the vehicle. It hurts really badly when Gabrielle throws up. It looks like Gabrielle and the doctor were ejected from the vehicle, in spite of the seat belts. The doctor went out through the front window, bounced a few times, then skidded to a sudden, drawn-out halt.

As he's riding back to the hotel, Mitchell sees an explosion, a ball of fire, then a grav-vehicle leaving the area and flying low and fast. He sees another vehicle augured forward into the ground and burning, and several bodies; he calls it in. Just as he lands one of the bodies gets up and leans over to cough or something.

Mitchell lands the grav-vehicle, gets out, and goes over toward the crash site. When he gets closer he recognizes the standing victim. Mitchell: "Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit. Gabrielle?" She looks at him, blinks, then sits down. Mitchell: "There are emergency vehicles on the way. Do you want to stay here?" Gabrielle: "I don't care." Mitchell can't take care of her, doesn't know where Malcolm is, and isn't sure he'd trust Malcolm with her right now. Mitchell sends his car home, and waits for the EMTs, who arrive immediately and put Gabrielle on a gurney. They squeegee Edra's remains up too for some reason.

Mitchell: <to the EMT> "I know her." Gabrielle is given the "everything will be okay" drug. Mitchell rides to the hospital with her, and waits outside the ER. After an hour, a doctor comes out, takes his cap off and walks into the waiting area. He looks at Mitchell. Mitchell: "How is she?" Doc: "She'll live. What is she?" Mitchell: "I'm sorry? What do you mean?" Doc: "You said you were a friend of hers." Mitchell: "We've been travelling in the same group, yes." Doc: "Either your friend in there has had some of the most subtle and extreme surgery I've ever seen, or she's not human. I'm going to have to report this." Mitchell: "What about the other person?" Doc: "She's DOA." There's no one else in the waiting room. The doctor turns to leave. Mitchell: "Doctor. She's human." Doc: "I still have to report this." Mitchell: "Do you know who it was she was with?" Doc: "The body hasn't been identified yet. If you'll excuse me, I have a call to make." Mitchell: "Can you wait 24 hours?" Doc: "The law requires me to call this in. Are you asking me to violate the law?" Mitchell: "No. I'm asking you to wait. Do you have an office?" Doc: "I don't have time for this." He turns and walks into the main area by the nurses' station.

Gabrielle wakes up, strapped to a table in restraints, hooked up to a bunch of medical equipment and a machine that goes ping. She not in a great deal of pain any more, which is an improvement.

Mitchell tries to bluff his way into the back, but the nurse stops him. Mitchell: "Look, my friend was seriously injured, and the doctor says he's done with her." Nurse: "You'll have to way until the doctor clears you." Mitchell insists, the nurse calls security. Mitchell doesn't push it. The doctor finishes his call and approaches. Doc: <to the security guy> "Keep an eye on the patient in room 3, and don't let this man <indicating Mitchell> in for any reason." Guard: "Yes sir." The doctor gives Mitchell a smugly superior doctor look, and goes over to type something into a terminal.

Gabrielle doesn't hurt much any more, and isn't' sure why they have here strapped down. Her arm is in a high tech cast.

Mitchell sees several men in planetary police uniforms come in, speak to a nurse, and be directed to the ER doctor. The three of them have a hushed conversation, pointing at Mitchell several times. One of the uniforms goes with the doctor to room 3, the other approaches Mitchell.

A man in a white medical coat comes in to see Gabrielle. Doc: "Ah, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Gabrielle: "All right." Doc: "You're a very lucky woman to have survived that crash. You sustained a mild concussion, a couple of broken ribs, and a fractured arm. Your travelling companion wasn't so lucky; I'm afraid she didn't make it." Gabrielle: "I saw her." Doc: "Do you feel like you could answer some questions now? This officer would like to ask you a few questions about the accident." Gabrielle: "Okay."

The second police officer approaches Mitchell. Cop: "Sir? Do you mind if I answer a couple of questions about the crash?" Mitchell: "No, not at all." Cop: "You saw the crash?" Mitchell: "I didn't see the actual crash, I saw the aftermath." Cop: "And you say you know one of the victims?" Mitchell: "Yes." Cop: "And you just happened to be in the area when she was in an accident?" Mitchell: "Look, I was heading back to my hotel when I saw the fire. I didn't know who it was at that time, I just called it in and stopped to see if I could help." Cop: "I see. How much do you know about the young lady? Miss Vanek, I believe." Mitchell: "Not too much. I know she's from Aquitaine." Cop: "Do you have any reason to doubt that?" Mitchell: "Not at all. Why? What's going on here, and why won't the doctor let me see her?" Cop: "The doctor has found some...anomolies. Certainly it would appear to indicate that she's definitely not from Aquitaine. If there's something you're not telling us, I'd suggest that now is the time to come clean. I have a feeling that you're an unwitting accomplice. Something's not right here. Something stinks to high heaven." Mitchell sees a couple of men in nice suits come in, and one of them picks up a chart and then walks over towards room 3. Mitchell: "Hey, that man just took one of the charts." The cop gets up and heads over.

A man in a nice suit, the man Gabrielle saw in the Club Moreau in fact, comes into the exam room. Man: "Excellent work, officer. I'll take over. Doctor, I need this patient ready to travel immediately." Doc: "Are you out of your mind? She's just been in a major accident. She can't be moved." Man: "Dr. Franz, isn't it? Harold Franz? 1411 Hastings Street? Wife, Susan? Son, William, age seven? You want to help your government, don't you?" Franz: "Of course..."

Mitchell follows the cop outside. Mitchell: "Officer." Cop: "Hey, I don't want to talk to you." Mitchell: "They aren't who they say they are." Cop: "Look, I don't know what you're into, but I have a wife and kids." He shuts himself into the cruiser and studiously ignores Mitchell.

Mitchell notices another grav-car in the parking lot nearby. The rear window rolls down to reveal a woman with long, raven-colored hair, pale porcelain skin, and sapphire blue eyes. She "locks on" to Mitchell for several seconds, then the window rolls back up. Mitchell goes back inside, sees the other cop walking out, and one of the men in suits taking a wheelchair towards room 3. In the said room, Gabrielle is helped into the wheelchair. Man: <whispered> "You don't want to make any trouble for anyone else, do you?" Gabrielle: "No." Mitchell sees the man in the suit wheeling Gabrielle out, grabs a couple of auto-injectors off a crash cart, and attacks the man wheeling Gabrielle. Mitchell hits the man in the hip with the auto-injector, who goes for his gun and then clutches his heart and falls to the ground. His buddy is turning on Mitchell, who is grabbing the wheelchair. The rounds miss Mitchell, running for the outside, and then the cop car. Mitchell runs up, opens the rear door, dives into the back with Gabrielle, and yells "Get out of here!" Several rounds hit the windshield of the car, and the driver's head explodes. The other cop is trying to get the locked glove box open so he can access his secured firearm. After a few tense moments he's successful. He grabs the weapon, gets out of the car (staying behind the door), and yells "Halt!".

Mitchell figures the only thing this guy is good for is a distraction. He pulls Gabrielle from the car, picks her up in a fireman's carry, and jogs across the parking lot to the tree line while the cop fires a warning shot, then puts a round into the chest of the advancing man. High tech body armour is always a good thing, unless it's your opponent's high tech body armour. The man barely hesitates, unslings an smg from under his jacket, and guns the remaining cop down.

Gabrielle asks Mitchell to put her down, which he does. Gabrielle: <to Mitchell> "Run." She walks towards the man in the suit, trying to keep herself between him and a clear shot at Mitchell; she's afraid some one else is going to be killed because of her. Man: "I'd get out of here if I were you. Two police officers have just been murdered." He takes off, leaving a gun on the ground. From Mitchell's vantage point, Gabrielle walked over, said something to the guy in the suit, and he left. Gabrielle returns to Mitchell's position and they walk (not running and attracting attention) away from the hospital, Mitchell putting on a pair of the little blue Dr. Neil glasses.

Mitchell: "Are you okay?" Gabrielle: "No." Mitchell: "I mean are you as okay as you're able to be?" Gabrielle: "I suppose." Mitchell: "Did you recognize either one of them?" Gabrielle: "One of them may have been in the club earlier. The one who fell over." Mitchell doesn't want to go directly back to their hotel. Mitchell: "We might want to go to our ship; we may have to leave. Commander Holloway might still be here." Gabrielle, who doesn't know what Mitchell does (or at least thinks he does) about Holloway, is a tad confused. Gabrielle: "I met him on Vantage." She just remembers meeting him at the Prefect's party on Vantage. They pass by an electronics store, where the news is full of the attack at the hospital. Announcer: "...with a blonde woman, tall, large chested..." They're describing two people completely unlike Mitchell and Gabrielle. Mitchell: "They want us to get away." Gabrielle: "They want me to get away." Mitchell: "Who was with you in the grav-vehicle?" Gabrielle: "A doctor." Mitchell: "Doctor...?" Gabrielle: "Edra Xanthrus." Mitchell: "Did she know about your...situation?" Mitchell takes off the little blue glasses, as Gabrielle won't be fooled, and it might upset her. A car slides up beside them and the window opens. Man: "Hop in." It's said as an invitation, not an order. Mitchell: "Where are you headed?" Man: "Wherever. It took me forever to find you, Dr. Neil." Gabrielle giggles, somewhat hysterically. Driver: "I only got your message yesterday." They get into the back seat, which is fully stocked, of course. Mitchell puts his little blue glasses back on. There's a new box of Vegan cigars in the back too. Mitchell turns on the intercom. Mitchell: "Have you heard from anyone else yet?" Driver: "No sir. I'm new at this, sir. Should I take you to the hotel, or the warehouse?" Mitchell: "The warehouse." Mitchell puts a little ice in a glass and pours himself some scotch. The car doesn't look like anything odd, just a limo with a well-stocked bar. Mitchell takes a couple of cigars as the vehicle pulls into an area near DownPort, and then into a large warehouse. The main door is closed behind them. There are several dozen people inside here, all in black military or para-military gear.

One of the men comes over and taps on the back window, which Mitchell rolls down. The man looks at Mitchell and raises an eyebrow. Mitchell: "Give me a sit rep." Man: "Ça va?" Mitchell: "That's not what I asked you?" Gabrielle: <in Aquitaine French> "Has Dr. Neil arrived yet?" The conversation continues, in a language Mitchell doesn't understand. Man: "Who's this?" Gabrielle: "Captain Mitchell Taylor." Man: "And you?" Gabrielle: "Gabrielle Vanek." Man: "Out of the auto. Vite." Mitchell gets out. Man: "Against the wall. Hands above." Mitchell and Gabrielle follow directions and are frisked very professionally. Then a man with a wand goes over them, removers several tiny metal objects off them and puts them into a mesh bag. The man who came up to the car originally, an officer apparently, speaks with another man of similar standing. Mitchell's getting really frustrated, as the men are back to speaking Aquitaine French. Officer B: "Well, this wasn't part of the plan, what do we do now?" Officer A: "I don't know. He said to watch them." Officer B: "Maybe we should kill them and get rid of the bodies?" Gabrielle: "I don't think that would be a very good idea. If Dr. Neil had wanted us killed, he would have told you to do so." They decide to take them on board their ship, and wait. Mitchell: "Can we have some coffee?" That they will do. Mitchell: <to Gabrielle> "Are you hungry?" Now that he mentions it.... Gabrielle: "Yes." Mitchell: "She needs some food. She was recently medicked." They'll see what they can do. Gabrielle takes her coffee with sugar and cream, Mitchell takes his black. Female: "More coffee?" Mitchell: "No thank you." The raven-haired, blue-eyed female sets down the tray. Mitchell and Gabrielle feel very light headed. The hatch winds closed and there's pounding on the exterior of the ship, and they notice the female is wearing a flightsuit.

Index