[USS Vanguard] The Dukes of Time (Away Team Group Post).
- From: "Cynan" <kuhnahn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "USS Vanguard" <ncv80221@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2002 21:48:10 -0000
Location: Earth; San Francisco, 1990.
Subject: The Dukes of Time.
OoC: O'kay. This post might not make a great deal of sense when you all
read
it, and that's because it's been passed around each of the away
teams
members to add-in and change bits and bobs anywhere in it. It's
solely
a work of the group and no part is individual. Least that's my end
vision! I'm hoping it made that and in a way, let us all be closer
as a
SIMing community.
Pardons for the urm, 'helping out' with Rea. I'm thinking if my
(somewhat funky?) solution isn't wanted (as its not my NPC to kill
off!), then it can be reversed anyway as when the timeline is
sorted
out, it can just never have happened! :)
Oh, and seeing how I've now read the full post I can defiantly say
it
does make sense and I'm proud to have been apart of its production.
In
my opinion, it's a job well done.
Anyways, on with the post!
[San Francisco, Fisherman's Wharf, 1990]
Mandrake: "Right. So thats settled. Kieran you'll come with me, we'll
get
the diamond. Highwaij take Des and find the power supply. She'Ra and
Jaav
you go for the circuit boards. Its too late to start off now and going
by
day to break into establishments would just be stupid. So tomorrow we
continue with the original mission, keeping an eye-out for the
components
and go back for them at night fall."
Des: "You know I think I can feel you Cynan."
Mandrake: "What!? Des!?"
Des: "I..."
E'thexx: "What do you mean, Des?"
Des: "I don't know. It's just that feeling I had before was, strange,
and
now it's... I think it's you."
Mandrake: "Don't go feeling me too much now, Des.", he chuckled.
Khan: "Hmpf. See if I care!"
The other started laughing at that, maybe they knew she wasn't serious,
and
She'Ra felt better. A little happiness now was just the thing for the
group,
but she knew what would come later. More work. More danger. More chances
for
something to go wrong. She'Ra just smiled slightly in the darkness and
looked in the direction that Cynan's voice came from. She then turned
back
to the others.
Highwaij: "Well, I think it's about time we got some rest."
The group agreed.
She'Ra sat down and stared into the sky. Everything was dark but there
was
something peaceful about the night sky of the nineties. Something
mystical.
A part of her wished she could stay and take this in for the rest of her
life but knew that she wouldn't belong. She didn't belong and there was
no
way that Cynan would give up his life as a space cowboy and settle for
this
- not yet anyway. She growled deep into her throat and dismissed the
thought.
She'd just taken off her hat and set it aside ready to settle down when
they
heard a gasp and a sharp crack of a breaking twig from a near by bush.
The
group immediately stood and cast their gaze to where the disturbance had
come from. Two young boys stood and looked on, frozen with either shock,
fright, bewilderment or perhaps a combination, and then they ran.
Des: "We've been spotted!"
She'Ra: "This cannot be good."
Highwaij: "I'll go after them."
Darkwater: "And do what, exactly?"
Mandrake: "No.", he held up his hand and then lowered it looking
somewhat
sheepishly after realising no one could see the gesture that
he
had made. "There's nothing we can about it now and they are
only
children after all. Children with /very/ active imaginations."
Highwaij: "At the very least we should move camp."
Darkwater: "And remove all trace of this one..."
Minutes later and they were gone - resettled across the other side of
the
wharf. The night was long. It was a night of unsettlement. Each of them
not
knowing if they would be able to make it home or not, or even be able to
rig
the parts necessary to even try, and then there was the added fact of
the
would-be 'UFO spotters' and what trouble that would bring with the new
day.
For Kieran, however, sleep wouldn't come - the bridge was still there,
across the bay, ponderous and looming in the pale light of the gibbous
moon.
He sat, hunched, atop a drum of some sort, arms wrapped about his knees
for
some time before making the decision: he'd come this far, albeit
unwillingly... he might as well go the whole hog.
"I'll be back in a while." He said, resting a hand on Highwaij's
shoulder as
he slipped away. "My watch starts at 4...". There wasn't a great deal
Highwaij could do to stop him, without causing a scene, and Kieran was
away
and swallowed by the light mist before he had the chance to do much more
than turn.
She'Ra saw the way Kieran's body slumped as he left them. His shoulder's
tugged up to his ears and his hands stuffed into his pocket in a bulge.
She
wondered what was wron. He was unusually quiet. Not that he wasn't quiet
before, but this was eery. She was going to ask Highwaij where he was
going
but kept quiet and closed her eyes again.
[San Franciso, The Golden Gate Brige, 1990]
The streets of the city were still steep, the antique rails of the trams
still in use in this era, though not at this hour, and Kieran adopted a
slightly hunched, slouching walk as he made his way towards the
Presidio.
Time was largely irrelevant at this sort of hour, the blank, identical
hours
and minutes between nightfall and waking, the light wind swirling litter
and
detritus that was unheard of in his time. Any other city and Kieran
would
have been wide-eyed and staring, drinking in the sights and sounds and
smells, revelling in the opportunity: but this was San Francisco. and
she
was here.
The bridge, when he reached it, was just as unattractive now as it
always
had been, a bulky, functional conglomeration of steel and petroleum
byproducts, toxic paints and opportunities for widespread pollution: and
even then it largely failed to counter the congestion problems of the
era.
The bridge itself, however, was a mere backdrop to the proceedings as he
slipped down the steep hill to stand on the pathway's beneath it, amidst
the
grass and stunted trees. He looked up, seeing the gantries that hung
from
the side of the bridge, the service walkways, but in his mind they were
no
longer orange, but gleaming white, and the two cadets were skipping
along
them at a rate of knots, challenging each other to go faster. He had
tried
to warn them, tried to convince them that some dangers were foolish. and
then she slipped. He knew the mathematics, could work out the time it
took
her to fall in his head in a matter of moments, but it nevertheless took
her
an age of tumbling and flailing before she slammed into the turf like a
stuffed toy, the sickening impact resounding over the empty park, and
echoing back through the centuries to where he stood.
"Bronwynn." he muttered, quietly, walking slowly across the point where
it
happened. There was no evidence here no, of course, no small memorial,
no
carefully tended plot of flowers: that would not be instituted until it
happened. But there was still the sense of tragedy, the dark, quiet,
brooding misty night closing in beneath the uncaring, unfeeling,
eternally
damned bridge...
The next morning came and they tidied up as usual - leaving nothing
behind.
No markings, no equipment, no trace that they had ever been.
Unfortunately a
line of civilians seemed to have formed around where there original
campsite
was, with cards such as, "from the people of Earth we welcome you!" and
"we
live in peace". The two pesky boys were hanging around too. They must
have
told, and some must have believed after all.
She'Ra gasped as she saw all the people. The two boys she recognized
from
the night before were there grinning from ear to ear as though they had
just
carried out this divine mission.
She'Ra: "You've go to be kidding me!"
Cynan: "They think we're Gods."
Highwaij: "A pity they don't know the real you...."
Cynan: "and just what is that supposed the mean?"
Des: "Overactive imaginations huh?"
Kieran: "Let's just get out of here."
They all went of in the groups they were assigned, trying to find what
they
where suppose too. Kieran and Mandrake had to get a diamond, She'Ra and
Jaav
circuit boards, while Desdemona and Highwaij needed to get a power
source.
As all split up, Desdemona and Highwaij took off, they had no idea where
to
look as they slowly moved towards the bases and power generators they
needed
to find something small but it had to give a lot of power.
[Power Station, 1990 - Gamma Team]
They started to look around and found an abandoned car, after a few
minutes
they managed to get it moving again as they wanted to drive away.
Desdemona called "Look what's in the back" she said. A few moments later
she
came up with a few uniforms and passes for the base they had just
passed.
"They look real, lets use them" Highwaij said. A few moments later they
appeared in their uniforms. Desdemona appeared as a Colonel while
Highwaij
appeared as a Corporal.
"Looks like you're in command", Highwaij said and he jumped behind the
wheel.
After a few minutes they appeared at the airbase, the guard looked at
their
passes and let them in. They drove to one of the hangars where a few
fighters stood in front of it. They walked in and looked around but
couldn't
find a small power pack.
As they looked around they grabbed a small communications unit, but
realised
it wasn't powerful enough to do the job, somehow Highwaij grabbed it and
put
it with him. After a few hours they left the base again and headed back
to
their own camp.
[Communications Facility, 1990 - Alpha Team]
Darkwater and Mandrake moved fast. Despite their 'differences', they
worked
well together and didn't waste anytime, although it wasn't always easy
to
co-ordinate with someone you couldn't see directly.
After they had left the others, Mandrake had explained to Darkwater the
other problem of the neutrino communicator becoming damaged during his
transport 'landing'. It was a quick repair Darkwater had noted, and soon
fixed with a stop by the communications facility.
Mandrake: "I think I'd best contact the ship, don't you? At least advise
them of the current situation and see if they have any
alternative ideas."
Darkwater: "Sounds like a sensible measure." He nodded, stepping away
slightly to keep watch.
Mandrake: =^= "Away Team to Vanguard. Come in."
Static sounded over the communicator. It would have been a good time to
share a worried look if they had known where each other was.
Mandrake: =^= "Mandrake to Vanguard. Hello!?"
Darkwater: "Perhaps they are just a little busy." He noted, wryly, with
a
worried frown that completely escaped Mandrake.
Mandrake: "You'd hope so wouldn't you... listen. We continue as planned.
I'm
sure everything will work out. Say nothing to the others."
Darkwater: "Ah. the 'Someone is watching over me' plan..." He muttered
to
himself, as he followed along. "I hope they are... I must be
due
a turn by now."
[Museum, 1990 - Alpha Team]
The museum was a wonder to behold. The architecture and the lighting
made it
truly stunning to the eye. It was a shame it was no longer standing in
the
24th Century.
"It might be a tricky getting in here.", pointed Darkwater.
"Why? You just turn here, hold this, and *click*, Bob's your uncle.",
Mandrake said as the door opened.
"Now it's my turn." Darkwater noted, raising an eyebrow that accentuated
the
subtle hint of Vulcan features. "Where did an aviations officer learn
that?"
"It may or may not surprise you to know Kieran, but I wasn't always a
pilot.
In fact piloting is more of a... dream, but anyway..."
As the two worked on the vault, cracking its many locks and removing
most of
its counter measures, they engaged in idle chit-chat.
"You remember you pawned one of your pips?"
Mandrake: "Yeah?"
Darkwater: "Did you happen to notice those spectacles in the window that
the
storekeeper put it next too?"
Mandrake: "I can't say I did. No."
Darkwater: "I was wondering if they could be the same ones that Dr.
McCoy
gave James Kirk, who then later pawned them during his
journey
here, four years ago."
Mandrake stopped what he was working on and cast his head to where he
approximated Darkwater was.
Mandrake: "You think?"
Darkwater: "It's one of an infinite number of possibilities! It'd be a
nice
souvenir to take back if we have time."
Mandrake: "Heh. We'll see Kieran. We'll see.. hey I think I got it."
Just then as Mandrake edged open the door, all hell broke lose as the
alarm
started to sound.
Darkwater: "I thought you knew what you were doing!?"
Mandrake: "Oops."
They quickly pulled open the volts doors and cut out the diamond from
its
constraints. It was lucky they had their cloaking suits, or the guards
that
surrounded the building during 5 minutes that proceeded would have
surely
caught them.
"Well that was close", Darkwater said from across the block and around a
corner.
"I've had closer." Mandrake replied rubbing his stubble.
Darkwater: "You know. Do you think that stealing this diamond will have
a
big effect on the future? Even though it was seemingly meant
to
be taken as it already 'mysteriously' disappeared and all."
Mandrake: "Possibly. Just like treading on a small bug could."
[Meanwhile...]
*squelch*
"Ewwww" grose! She'Ra exclaimed.
"Whats up?" replied Jaav.
"I just trod on a bug!".
[USS Vanguard; Somewhere in Time]
The repairs to the Vorgon's shield were going as well as expected, but
they
weren't out of the woods yet. A small fluctuation in their shield grid
for
instance, could cause drastic effects.
"Fluctantion in the Vorgon's shields!", shouted DeAngelo.
=^= "DeAngelo to Zena, the Vorgon's shield grin needs attention fast!"
Elsewhere on the ship, Soman's assailant, Mr. Rea, disappeared.
[Military Base, 1990 - Beta Team]
Jaav put his head in his hand and turned round to see She'Ra leaning
against
a concrete support which broke up the security perimeter fence, flicking
at
the sole of her boot with a twig she had picked up.
"You know, considering your Klingon heritage you do surprise me
sometimes."
She'Ra looked up and scowled, Jaav regretted the comment immediately and
turned back round, hoping she wouldn't punish him for it.
She'Ra: "I'll make you pay later."
She'Ra grinned like a derange maniac and saw Jaav swallowed almost
nervously. She smiled at that.
"What do you make of the security guards?" Jaav asked quickly in an
attempt
to change the subject.
The pair concentrated their gaze on the two guards, both accompanied by
aggressive looking dogs, who were patrolling the rear entrance of a
corporate computer research facility. She'Ra produced a pair of
standard
issue, covert operations Noculars and held them up to her eyes.
Jaav: "Where did you get those?"
She'Ra: "You don't wanna know..."
She continued looking. Then looked at Jaav.
"I can take them" She'Ra grinned.
"I'm not so sure this is such a good idea"
"What could go wrong?", She'Ra reassured Jaav, "We knock them both out
with
a gentle phaser stun, break in, get the boards then get out"
"You make it sound so easy..."
She'Ra: "It is. Just don't get caught."
Jaav groaned into his hand and She'Ra patted him on the back. She didn't
feel as confident as she sounded but she would not let him know that. He
looked bad enough as it is.
Jaav turned round only to stand on the twig She'Ra had dropped moments
earlier. The small piece of wood snapped with a loud CRACK! Jaav and
She'Ra, instantly realising what would happen if they did not act
quickly,
both ducked down to hide themselves form view. She'Ra was just able to
glimpse one of the guards heading towards them, the dog was obviously
agitated, the other guard stayed back, but could just be seen using
his radio unit.
She gestured frantically towards a small hut which appeared to be the
electrical substation link to the electrified fence several meters from
them. After a moment of confusion, Jaav, who had a better line of
sight,
aimed his phaser at the substation, increased the power setting and
blasted
the substation which was swallowed in a moderate explosion. The guards
were
thrown into confusion by the diversion, one of them gingerly made their
way
over to investigate the damage the dogs shot off in panic. The fire
alarm
was raised, but luckily the security alarm was left alone. She'Ra
grabbed
Jaav, and pulled him along with her in a stealthy sprint behind the
guards
and all the activity into discrete entrance. They hid behind a storage
locker, and watched as the remaining handful of confused staff rushed
out of
the complex into the yard to see what all the fuss was about.
"I didn't mean for you to blow it up!!", She'Ra 'whispered' through
gritted
teeth, straining to control the volume of her voice. "Men always want to
do
things the hard way!"
"That's what I thought you meant!", Jaav exclaimed.
"I meant for you to make a RUN for the substation and hide behind it not
wipe it out!"
"How was I supposed to know? It wasn't like we had an agreed plan, It
worked
didn't it?"
She'Ra took a few deep breaths and stared out at all the commotion as
people
ran out of the buildings.
"We'll soon see.", She'Ra replied, considerably calmer than she had
been,
now taking in her surroundings.
She'Ra flipped out her Tricorder and made a few quick passes of the
area.
"We havn't got a lot of time Jaav, scans show that thee building is
empty
and the staff have assembled outside, but I doubt it will be long before
some sort of fire control service arrives soon.". There was a note of
urgnecy in She'Ra's voice as she spoke.
She'Ra then thought of something and crinched.
Jaav: "What is it?"
She'Ra: "Either the emergency crew comes or some smart aleck will find
out
that it was a false klaxon and they call and go back in."
Quietly and elegantly, she embarked in a tip-toe sprint down the
corridor,
keeping against the wall to avoid detection, she peeked round the
corner,
before moving out completely into the centre of a junction which split
into
the three. She'Ra held her Tricorder up to each before making a quick
decision.
"This way...I think the boards are located this way, lucky for us
there's an
emergency exit nearby".
Jaav: "You think?"
She'ra: "{shrugging} as I said before, What could go wrong?"
Jaav: "I hate it when people ask that question."
She'ra: "Why?"
Jaav: "Something always go wrong."
She'Ra and Jaav slipped into the room at the end of the corridor. The
door
had posessed an primitive security lock, which would have been now
problem
for a tricorder or phaser to handle, but regardless had been left ajar
by
one of the fleeing researchers. The room contained three large, tall
glass
cabinets, each of which seemed to be refrigerated.
"I'll watch the door, while you get the board...And hurry, I think
somebody's coming!", She'Ra instructed.
Jaav knelt down in front of one of the glass cabinets, opening the door
carefully to reveal a rack of old fashioned printed circuit boards. He
accessed the schematic of the desired circuit board Kieran had prepared
and
began comparing it with the ones arranged in front of him.
"It's hard to believe, these are at the fore-front of this era's
computer
technology, are you sure removing one of these won't damage the
timeline?",Jaav inquired, with no sense of urgency.
"Look, we've been through this, Kieran thinks any negative impact will
be
made null by Henry Starlings contamination of the timeline in a decade
or
so. Have you found a match yet?", She'Ra asked impatiently.
"Thats what worries me. He 'thinks', but yeah I think", he realised how
ironic this was starting to sound, "so, most of the components are
here."
Jaav turned the circuit bored round in his hand and glanced over it one
last
time before shoving it into a crudely fashioned carry pack.
"Come on, people are re-entering this section!" She'Ra announced
desperately, before once again grabbing Jaav and making a bolt for it
out of
a nearby fire exit.
The two Starfleet officers had long since slipped into the darkness
before
anyone at the complex realised their priority research was missing.
[Rendezvous Point, 1990]
When the others got back, they all had their own stories to tell, but
none
was more funnier then seeing Kieran with his 'baby'.
E'thexx: "Congratulations, Kieran! I had no idea!", he said chuckling,
pointing to the diamond hidden away under his cloaking suit.
Darkwater: "I know." he nodded, in mock sadness, caressing the lump in
his
jacket. "And they don't call, or write, they just go off and
leave you holding it.."
Highwaij: "You could name her after her father, Cynan."
She'Ra burst out laughing. She would have given anything to see the look
on
Cynan face. As she imagined it she began to laugh harder, holding her
sides.
Mandrake: "It's lucky I can't see you!"
Des: "You're both lucky I don't have my camera!"
Darkwater: "I really don't think Cynan..."
E'thexx: "O'kay funs over. Let's see what we can do about assembling
these
parts."
She'Ra: "{Mumbling} Party pooper!"
The group could tell something was wrong though with Des and Highwaij.
They
looked at them as Highwaij spoke. "Sorry people we failed", he said as
he
handed them the radio they found. Then he looked at the car and started
to
laugh.
"What's wrong" they asked.
Highwaij pointed at the car. "We had one with us all the time, if we can
connect the battery of the car, we might make it" he said.
They all joined him in cheer and got to work...
Once the work had been completed, the communicators were synchronised.
Unfortunately, every time they let out their 'heartbeat' signal to the
neutrino communicator, communication between them was disrupted. Once it
was
set up, it required time for the diamond to charge, time for the
chroniton
saturation to reach a high enough level, and they sat down to wait.
Toward the edge of the group, with a broad, pale sheet of paper
stretched
between his hands, Kieran made his final mission report, staring at the
charismatic figure in the picture, arms aloft in victory.
"Here then, it seems, could be the final opportunity Earth had to stop
World
War III," he began quietly, turning the page, and reading the article
aloud.
"The UN Assembly, after much deliberation last night, failed to
authorise an
armed intervention in the rise to power of Khan Noonien Singh. Russia,
adopting the veto seat of the former Soviet Union that it claims was
essentially its own before the recent dissolution, vetoed the move to
protect its own fragile economy and settled domestic and local unrest.
The
$4.4 billion arms agreement announced this morning between Russia,
Kurdistan
and the Samarkand Khanate means that, despite the warnings from America,
the
United Kingdom and Australia, Khan now has access to nuclear, biological
and
chemical weapons, and a non-aggression treaty with his only significant
land
border: Russia.
Russia's own military are reported to be wary of the agreement, and even
the
diplomatic language of the spokesman for the Russian delegation in New
York
was more hopeful o f the 'Eugenic Nightmare's' good intentions than
sure.
Backed by military power, civil unrest, an as yet unidentified flow of
currency and powerful unsettling factors within the governments of South
East Asia, Khan's influence in recent months has expanded to swallow up
the
former nations and republics of Korea, large swathes of China, Hong
Kong,
Indonesia and New Guinea, and it is widely believed that his next target
will be the financially powerful state of Japan.
Should that expansion go unchecked, the world's economy would likely
collapse, business confidence would be destroyed, and World War III
would
almost certainly follow. British Prime Minister Neil Kinnock, upon
leaving
the conference, appeared troubled, and had this to say: "History may
condemn
this meeting as the last failed attempt to save the world. Einstein
warned
us World War IV would be fought with sticks and stones. we may be about
to
see that happen."
He folded the paper with a sigh, the image having been stored already,
but
he was intent on taking the broadsheet with him as he continued.
"So there it is - the final stages of Khan's rise to power. Whatever
their
reasons for dealing with Khan rather than opposing him, Russia's foreign
policy is not widely disseminated, only its results. Perhaps they feared
the
beast of civil war within more than the spectre of nuclear war from
outside,
perhaps they were made assurances they would be safe. This, manifestly,
was
not the place to find out. Wars do not arise from one decision, one
action,
one solitary incident. They have triggers, just as a gun does, but they
require barrels to be cast, bullets to be made, and the gun to be loaded
first. Perhaps this failure is pulling the trigger of World War III,
perhaps
there is another chance to stop things that has yet to fail. However,
only
one man can explain why this gun was loaded in the first place, and he
will
die in 247 years time, aboard the hijacked USS Reliant, in pitched
battle
with the USS Enterprise at the Genesis Planet."
She'Ra shivered nervously as the name Khan came to her. It was
unearthing
knowing someone with the name Khan could be evil. She turned and looked
into
the sky and moaned deep inside as the voice broke through her thoughts.
=^= "Vanguard to Away Team. This is Santos. Is everything alright down
there?" =^= A voice crackled through the communicators, finally.
=^= "I'll say. It's good to hear your voice sir. We're standing by."
Mandrake replied, with a grin.
=^= "Excellent. McCaw. Six to beam up."
As the sound of the temporal transportor started to whine, the
communicators
beeped together and the group was brought into the same frame of time.
Meanwhile, behind a fence the two boys were back and could see a strange
blue light being cast onto the near-by surroundings.
Benny: "What is it?"
Davey: "I don't know, but whatever it is, I'm sure gonna find out."
Davey broke away from his friend and ran towards the lights.
Benny: "Hey wait! Don't leave... me."
The beam-out process was now in full-swing. The communicators were
singing
like canaries. Mandrake, now faintly appearing before the group, looked
to
his comrades on this little adventure, and said, "Don't you just love it
when a plan comes together?". It was sure one that he'd never forget.
[USS Vanguard; Still Somewhere in Time]
The away team flashed into existence and then out again.
Santos: "McCaw. Whats wrong?"
McCaw: "I'm not sure. Its like there is someone else... no wait,
Mandrake is
slightly out of phase with the rest of the group - but I'm
compensating."
Xristha Droin, Ms. Merchant, Sam McCaw and Dominic Ceasor Santos looked
on
to the transports pads and waited with expectation.
When the six finally re-materialised onboard the ship, they were quite
relieved. Mandrake checked his parts and looked around the cargo bay.
"Is everythi...", the Captain was just about to ask if everything was
alright when a young boy ran out from behind and into the centre of the
room.
There was immediate panic in the room, albeit mostly from Ms. Merchant
with
screams of, "oh no!" and "what are we going to do!".
"Hey. The enchilada's cool", Mandrake reassured.
The Captain stood stern and with authority. "Right. I'm going to do what
I
should have done from the very beginning. I'm taking control of this
operation."
"You can't 'control' an operation of this sort." Darkwater observed,
stepping out of everyone's way to stand on the sidelines, focussing his
stare on Ms Merchant. "All you can do is hope to survive it - that's why
we
have a Temporal Prime Directive in the first place.." He did feel the
slightest bit guilty about the pair of spectacles nestling in his pocket
as
he said it, though.
Droin rushed over and injected the boy with a sedative before he took in
too
much of his new surroundings. What was to be done now was a case of
damage
limitation. Erase the boy's recollection and send him back - perhaps
this
was the incidence that causes the very Earth's destruction!
She'Ra shook her head and looked at the unconscious boy. There was one
of
them. He was one of the same boys that had seen them that night. She
looked
around at the others and noticed that she could now see Cynan, but she
would
strangle him for scaring her later. Right now the problem was....
She'Ra: "There's only one of them."
Highwaij: "We can see that."
She'Ra: "No you don't get it. These two seem to share a brain, wheres
the
other one?"
Cynan: "He could have seen..."
Droin: "No matter what he says, this one will deny it because afterwards
he
won't remember anything."
She'Rea sighed.
[San Francisco, 1990]
The spectacles had fetched a good price, enough to finally pay for the
holiday. Isaac, closed up the shop that night with a smile, turning off
the
light and heading out with the money for the day sat in his back pocket.
Morag would be so surprised, he knew. For fourteen years of marriage
he'd
been promising to take her on a real holiday somewhere abroad, and now,
finally, he could. Normally he turned left out of the shop, heading
home,
but he's closed early today and went right instead, heading for the
travel
agency two blocks over.
Skiff slithered to the edge of the alley, blinking furiously, the itch
in
his arm still there, the infuriating, infected scabs of hundreds of
previous
hits tracing their path from his wrist past his elbow, and up to his
empty
pocket. The blinking eyes focussed on the shopkeeper across the road,
locking up early with a big shit-eating grin smeared across his face.
There
was someone who'd had a good day, someone with cash to spend. cash to
steal.
"Just distributin' the wealth.." Skiff muttered to himself, scratching
and
blinking in the harsh orange glow of the street-lamp. He couldn't recall
who'd said that. Six months ago he might have, back when he was
attending
college, back when he remembered where college was.. siz months. six
years..
a lifetime and more. A lifetime could be so long. or so short.
Wherever military men gathered, they spoke of their units and their
respective armies or air forces proudly, respectfully, but with a
competitive edge. Many names were put forward as the best, many scoffed
at,
but more often than not such groups as the British SAS, US Delta Forces
and
the Israeli Mossad were put forward. When members of those military
forces
gathered together, however, they spoke of the rumours of the ISA - the
international security agency.
And when the ISA gathered - and very occasionally they did - for
anything,
they spoke of Boyd. Boyd was a sniper, engineer and pilot of exceptional
skill and talent, a ghost wandering the fringes of soldier, spy and
outright
assassin. Boyd was the best.
Boyd was lost.
The call had come late in the day, but he had left immediately, the
battered
old Buick starting at the second attempt: it had never liked the damp.
It
was his first time in San Fransisco, the tertiary meeting point behind
New
York and Washington, both of which were under heavy scrutiny of late.
The
signs for the freeway had pointed him this way, he was sure, but there
was
no obvious sign of it, as he rounded the corner in the slick mist.
Isaac felt the knife punch through his coat, the tearing, burning pain
as it
opened the skin above his kidney, plunging into the flesh beneath. His
mouth
flapped open to gasp a shout, but the pain was too much, and a hand
darted
inside his coat to snatch away his money before he could manage it.
Visions
of Morag's disappointment, the opportunities lost flashed across his
mind,
and anger swelled up, drowning out the pain, submerging the burn as he
grabbed at the hand and shoved.
Isaac, pained and shocked, tugged against Skiff's grip, weak from abuse
and
poor nutrition, and the desperation of love won out over the desperation
of
addiction. Skiff's grip slipped and he fell backwards, his head
colliding
with a resounding crack against the bonnet of a passing car, his neck
twisting sickeningly as he landed on the tarmac. The driver of the car,
cold
eyed and contemplative laid a hand on the gearstick to shift it to
reverse,
to get away, but a patrol car rounded the corner, heading towards them,
and
Isaac flagged them weakly over, giving Boyd no option but to play along.
By the next morning Boyd was back at home, frowning at the
circumstances,
leafing through the paper for news when the TV cut out for a newsflash.
Someone had tried to assassinate Khan at a public rally. The bullet had
pierced his shoulder, a high-powered sniper's bullet from across the
square.
Boyd watched the footage, watched the shot that hadn't accounted for the
wind coming in off the bay enough over the two-hundred yards the bullet
had
to travel: watched the shot he would have made, and cursed the dead drug
addict who had just ended the world as he knew it.
[To Be Continued...]
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