An Unusual Partnership - Part I
USS Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna"
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
Captain Taverain Ramius entered his ready room where he greeted his visitor who now looked rested and refreshed after a brief, but necessary, stay in sickbay. Captain Zane Akina, the somewhat famed Intelligence Officer, sat on his couch as Ramius took a seat at his desk.
“So Captain, what brings you to see me? I understand the doctor has given you a clean bill of health.”
“He still wants me to take it easy for a few days, but I’ve been discharged. What I want to know is why this ship is headed to Versailles Station at breakneck speed?”
Ramius’s expression turned pensive. “If afraid you won’t be able to take it easy for the foreseeable future Captain. I’ve learned that your Ambassador Lamont is currently assigned to the station.”
“So why the rush? Why risk drawing attention to ourselves and tipping him off?”
“Because I’ve also learned that the Ambassador, despite his protests, has been assigned to a deep exploration ship the USS Charon which is due to depart to begin her mission in just under twelve hours. The diplomatic corps appear to want a young, but talented diplomatic officer, aboard the Charon who will be exploring uncharted space on a two year mission. If we don’t hurry our only link to NeoDyne will ship out and I’ll be in the cold again.”
“You mean we’ll be in the cold”, Akina corrected Ramius. “Your need for expediency appears to be needed.”
“Well I’m glad you approve Captain”, Ramius said sarcastically somewhat annoyed by Akina’s last statement.
“How do you intend to play this Ramius? From the looks of things we won’t have much time to interrogate him if we cannot get to Versailles sooner.”
“I’ve asked my Engineering department to give us as much speed as possible without tearing the ship apart. We’ll get there in time.”
“So we get there in time”, Akina suggested. “Then what? Do we just walk up and ask the man for a friendly chat about NeoDyne and his connections?”
“I haven’t figured that part out yet”, Ramius snapped. “There are always options, its just knowing which one is the best to employ given the situation. Perhaps you have some clever ideas?”
“I've just learned of the situation. Hardly enough time to devise an appropriate response. However, a proper interrogation of the Ambassador could take hours. Cleaning up afterward will also take your doctor, should he be willing to cooperate in this less than legal business, another few hours to erase Lamont’s memory of the incident. We probably won't have have that kind of time unless this ship can run the higher end of warp 10.”
“I’m taking this one step at a time Captain”, Ramius calmly stated. “Once we approach Versailles, we can decide the best course of action. However, we cannot do anything until we arrive at the station and assess the situation and the target’s location.”
“Agreed”, Akina reluctantly answered. He too wanted Lamont in order to learn what his connection to NeoDyne was and how deeply the connection ran. Perhaps Ramius and Akina could turn the man into a double agent – working for them and NeoDyne and getting them one step closer to destroying the infernal company once and for all.
“Captain Ramius, you’ve yet to tell me your motives for wanting the NeoDyne Corporation destroyed other than your display of unusual abilities in your quarters.”
Ramius turned in his chair and faced his window staring out at the stars that were streaking by hundreds of times faster than they usually did when his ship was at normal cruising speeds. “I have my reasons”, Ramius muttered staring off into the blackness.”
“Captain, if we are going to work together it will be necessary for us to establish a bond of trust. At the moment you know more about my connection to NeoDyne that I do about yours which puts me at a disadvantage and makes me doubt your motives. I believe an explanation is in order and we both seem to have the time.”
“The truth you seek Akina is locked in none other than a real pandora's box. Open it and nothing but trouble will plague you.”
“I’m afraid it is a bit too late for that warning Captain. My involvement in this matter has already been cemented in this affair I’m afraid. You saw to that when you rescued me from certain death on Astate. NeoDyne knows what I’ve seen and knows I've escaped. So you see – the demons are already sharpening their claws. Obviously you opened the box and have been haunted by it demons yourself. I want to know the how and why.”
Ramius sighed. There was only one other man alive who knew his secret. Ramius trusted that man with his life and had done so for more than thirty years. Now that there were others involved in his messy affairs that would need the truth to help their understanding. He still wasn’t sure about trusting Akina. The man was fine in character and loyalty to the fleet, but could easily report his knowledge to Starfleet authorities which would likely end Ramius’s career and the honored career of another in the upper echelons of Starfleet Command. A calculated risk, to be sure, but Akina seemed driven to ruin NeoDyne and expose their crimes. Ramius was confident the man could keep a secret especially since he was now directly involved and on the radar of the powerful technology conglomerate.
“The demons you referred to a moment ago”, Ramius said quietly. “Many of them are on the payroll of Neodyne or its subsidiaries.” Ramius turned back in his chair to face Akina and look the man straight in the eyes. “The other two demons – perhaps the worst of the bunch were 'created' when pandora’s box was opened over thirty years ago.
Those two demons are none other than myself and my identical twin brother. We are the threat. NeoDyne is just a facilitator. They want us – both of us. If they should somehow obtain the two of us together the balance of power in the quadrant would forever change. Neodyne would become nearly invincible and would become a major power broker among the galaxy’s races. The Federation, Romulans, Klingons, Breen, perhaps the Founders themselves would have no choice but to cower before the company’s will.
“I don’t believe it”, Akina replied. “What could you and your brother possess that could so radically change affairs on a galactic scale with such far reaching effects?”
“You’ve already seen one in action Captain when you were in the NeoDyne Lab on Astate”, Ramius answered coolly. The experiment you fought, a teenager I believe you said, was just a deviant, a reject, half of the equation. He was created using an old, but nonetheless viable sample of my brother’s DNA obtained years ago from his youth.
“Impossible”, Akina muttered. “What I saw, what I fought was..”
“Something you know nothing about and have no understanding of”, Ramius interrupted harshly.
Reaching into his drawer, Ramius produced a small, marine knife of some sort with a razor sharp blade. With a quick motion he pulled the knife across his palm as the blade cut deeply into the flesh of his hand. Ramius seriously injured himself all without flinching, changing his expression, or uttering a single sound. It was if Ramius was unable to feel pain or was somehow able to block its effects. Akina, shocked and surprised at the Captain’s behavior, could do nothing but watch in a macabre awe.
Ramius squeezed his injured hand as several drops of his warm blood fell from his fist and landed on his glass desk. Moving a finger in the small pool of reddish liquid he stared at it rubbing it between his fingers. Uncoiling his hand and displaying his palm to Akina revealed only a pink mark where the vicious cut had been only moments before. The injury was practically healed and Ramius himself seemed unaffected by its disappearance or by the initial injury itself in anyway.
“This”, he said staring at the drying, sticky blood on his fingertips.
“This is the real demon. Modified against our will over thirty years ago it has been a curse and a burden my brother and I have had to carry for eternity. Death surrounds us as a powerful few seek us out to obtain our secrets. Try as we might to forget out past and leave it where it belongs – there are others who never sleep in their relentless pursuit of us.
Ramius tossed the knife back into his desk drawer and leaned backwards. “I suppose you’ve earned the right to know. But be warned – the truth will make you a marked man. So long as NeoDyne exists you must forever watch your back and choose your friends and allies with unrivaled caution. They know you’re involved and should they capture you – your knowledge could endanger freedom and peace everywhere for generations.”
“I accept the danger and the responsibility. I must know the truth Ramius. After what I saw in the NeoDyne labs – I have to know. You have no idea what they did down there - those children...” His voice trailed off as silence filled the room.
"I can only imagine", Ramius answered after a time with a sullen tone.
“Very well”, the captain replied with an icy, foreboding tone that sent a shiver down Akina’s spine. “Since you have accepted the warning I shall tell you my family's dark secret that haunts my brother and I every second of every day.”
An Unusual Partnership - Part II
“What do you know about Indirian System”, Ramius asked from his ready room desk.
“Indirian”, Akina repeated. “I’ve heard that name – wait, it’s a small class M planet, there’s a small space port, some limited colonization, and from what I remember, NeoDyne has a significant scientific presence there although I could never conclude why. If memory serves the planet is on the fringe of the Federation’s established borders. Why do you ask?”
Ramius’s continued his story with an expressionless gaze.
“Indirian II, to be exact, was a struggling Federation colony thirty years ago which was founded nearly eighty years before that. Colonized by a group of adventurous individuals who sought a simpler existence, they struck out and founded a small community which grew into several small, but thriving towns and a central city. At its peak, there were several thousand residents. However, as time passed, times became hard. Several droughts and disease cut the population in half. Lacking the resources and technology to cope with ecological changes – the colony finally contacted the Federation for assistance. Assistance came and so did fresh faces bringing with them more adventurers seeking fortune, fame, or just a place to get away from it all.
The planet’s population grew again and Indirian’s population again multiplied aided by advances in technology brought by the Federation and others to the colony.
Ramius continued the story leaning back in his chair with a quiet tone as if relating the information to Captain Akina was in someway painful or difficult to talk about.
“Thirty five years ago, a small team of dedicated geologists unearthed ruins of a long past civilization on Indirian. The race, to my knowledge, was never identified. However, the beings that inhabited the planet eons ago had been an advanced species. It’s hard to say how advanced, given what little information I have been able to cobble together, but regardless they had significant technology. Nothing remains of their civilization on the surface, that is if they even lived above ground – I cannot say. I’m not even sure what these beings may have looked like. But they existed – and they were found on Indirian II by sheer accident.
The find was quite amazing. As the scientists dug deeper they uncovered a small underground facility that had survived the ravages of time encased by layers of solid rock that took nearly a month to blast through with explosives and phaser drills. Upon entering the small facility, the scientific team found a facility filled with artifacts, advanced technology, and ultimately an ancient and long forgotten key to the gate of hell itself, yet no one knew at the time – or could have known the discovery would have such dire consequences years later.
The alien race, had used their technology to preserve themselves, perhaps to escape and wait out some cataclysmic planetary event, or as part of some ritualistic burial. In any case, the scientists opened Pandora’s box that day thirty five years ago. What they found were corpses of the lost alien race in essentially perfect stasis. Dead for millennia the bodies were preserved by systems powered by the planet’s perpetual geothermal energy.”
Akina interrupted Ramius. “This story is fascinating Captain, but I fail to see how this discovery could be so cataclysmic and dangerous to the present and future as you claim it to be.”
“Have I finished”, Ramius tersely asked.
“Forgive me”, Akina answered leaning back on Ramius’s couch.
“Finding the alien race wasn’t the event that has so endangered the future– its what they did with the discovery”, Ramius continued. “From the bodies, the scientists sent the remains to a small, poorly funded university on the Indirian colony. To the science teams surprise they were able to obtain and sequence the alien genome having been able to extract well preserved cells which contain DNA – which as you know are the building blocks of all organic life. The scientist’s work continued with a few papers published in prominent journals, but they received only trivial attention from the scientific community at large. The small team of scientists continued their work despite the lack of press, fame, or attention. However, there were some at the university who were not content to sit on the find – they lusted for recognition and fame. Quietly they formed alliances and discussed what to do with their findings.
Tourism became popular on the colony and even Starfleet eventually took notice of Indirian. The planet was close enough to Romulan borders to warrant a small intelligence outpost and a few dedicated officers who didn’t mind working on a small, backwards world collecting modest intel on Romulan activities in the area.
My father was one of the intelligence officers assigned to the planet, where he met my mother. They fell in love, married, and had two children - twins. Myself and my identical twin brother Aiden.
We lived in a small, country home with several acres of land on the outskirts of Indirian’s largest population center. Two years after our birth however both my brother and I were diagnosed with a rare and incurable birth defect. The doctors at the time gave us both about nine to twelve months to live. Devastated by the news, my father used every contact, his fleet position, and connections to find the best doctors in the Federation. The finest surgeons in the Federation reviewed our files and the answer was the same – no hope, no cure, no chance. Our fates were sealed according to every doctor, practitioner, or healer my parents could contact.
With only a few months remaining it was then my father learned about the interesting research being conducted at the local university on Indirian – research that involved the alien cells. The scientists, patiently working on their discoveries, had learned the alien’s genetic makeup had an incredible resistance to disease and multiplied at a rate far surpassing most humanoid species due to an increased metabolic process that wasn’t fully understood. More amazing still was that the scientists had successfully cloned living alien cells. The cells were incredibly resistant, and could duplicate themselves again and again without error due to an enhanced error correction mechanism in their genetic code. Resistant to disease, radiation, poison – the scientists were amazed at the discovery. The biological findings alone could have far reaching implications – new medical treatments, cures to diseases, perhaps even the ability to enhance or extend human life itself!
“Whoa, wait a second”, Akina broke in. “These guys found something like this and no one ever heard about it?”
“You can thank the scientists for that – or perhaps you can blame NeoDyne. It was the company who quietly and carefully erased everything I am telling you. They swept it all under a large rug away from the public on the edge of the frontier.”, Ramius answered.
“Well don’t leave me hanging – continue”, Akina said having unconsciously moved to the edge of the couch. His interest was peaking at Ramius’s continuing story of past events.
An Unusual Partnership - Part III
Captain Taverain Ramius sat at his desk in his ready room as Intelligence Captain Zane Akina listened to Ramius recount a story that began nearly a half century before. The story was amazing with facts that seemed almost unbelievable.
Akina continued to listen as Ramius continued to speak.
“My naive father learned about the experiments at the University through his intelligence contacts. The knowledge wasn’t exactly public, but the scientists were not hiding what they had found or what research they were conducting. Facing the loss of his children he made contact with the scientists. After several weeks of convincing and persuasion, my father convinced a handful of some of the less ethical members of the research team to attempt an experimental cure based upon the unique, restorative properties of the alien DNA. Some testing had already shown that the DNA might be used to enhance the regenerative properties of other species cellular structures. Much like a dermal regenerator stimulates skin cells to reproduce and heal a wound – it was my father’s hope that the alien DNA could be harnessed to induce repairs to his dying sons.
Blinded by his love for my brother and I, he made a pact with a small group of less than ethical scientists at the universty. They could use his sons as test subjects to attempt a cure. If they failed, any experimental data on the children would be theirs to keep and the matter would be quietly forgotten. However, if they succeeded, it was possible his children might go on to lead normal lives and my father promised the scientists they could observe us if indeed they were successful to further their research or personal quests for glory, fame, and recognition.
The small team of scientists, having made a bargain with my father, began work on a treatment utilizing the miraculous qualities of the alien DNA. After months of research, failures, and dismal reports the scientists contacted my father and indicated they had a possible solution. They had solved the primary problem that prevented any treatment from working on a human. Human cells reacted violently to the alien tissues and treated them as a disease – a typical immune response. The scientists achievement was their ability to modify the alien cells so that they were able to fool the human immune response and thus peacefully co-exist in a human body without being rejected.
My father again, somehow convinced my mother to go along with this nonsense, and my brother and I were taken to the university and administered carefully manipulated forms to the alien DNA in a reckless and illegal attempt to save our lives from our own defective genes.
Ramius paused for a moment his gaze distant. “Both of us should have died from our conditions, but fate decided to play a cruel trick on the galaxy. Within days of receiving the treatments, our conditions improved. Within a month, much to my parents and the scientists, amazement, no trace of our prior condition was evident in any scan or test the scientist ran. We had been completely cured from our ailment.”
Akina could barely believe what he was hearing. “So, you and your brother, were genetically altered?”
Ramius frowned on the word altered. “I prefer to say augmented. The scientists weren’t trying to change what we were, just attempting to cure us by introducing the alien cells. Perhaps its more like a vaccination – only not to prevent disease, but to cure it.”
“Does Starfleet know about this?”
Ramius fell silent. “Is this an interrogation Captain, or may I continue?”
“By all means”, Akina replied finding himself staring at a genetically altered human which was forbidden by dozens of treaties, laws, and regulations across dozens of cultures including the Federation.
My brother and I survived the experiments. As we grew older it became quickly apparent that my brother and I were faster, stronger, more intelligent, resistant to common sicknesses, and perhaps most incredibly virtually immune to injury. Cuts, bruises, broken bones – they healed in minutes or days as opposed to a normal child with similar injuries.
But there was a dark side to the miracles. The scientist’s original treatments were partially flawed – not so much flawed as the scientists had yet to figure out the second half of the problem, but devised a counter measure that was crude but effective. The techniques they developed masked the alien cells from the human immune system, but only so long as the alien cells remained few in number. A severe injury or a sudden burst of speed or physical feat caused the alien cells to multiply rapidly to repair the damage or provide the required energy for our bodies. As they rapidly multiply the scientist’s genetic trickery wears off – the body begins to attack the invaders to reduce their numbers. This was engineered by design – the scientists could trigger the alien cell growth, but they couldn’t find a way to stop it once it started. So they cheated – they crafted their cure so that after a certain point the human immune response would recognize the alien cells and begin destroying them until their numbers were reduced. Engineered to go dormant when threatened the alien cells regain their cloaking abilities after a time and stay dormant until triggered again where the process repeats itself.
I’m no superman as a result. While I can do things the human body was never created or evolved to do – it comes at a high price. I can’t maintain the enhancements for long before my body begins to literally destroy itself to purge itself of the increased alien cells.
It’s like a severe allergic reaction. The experience is extremely painful and can last several minutes to several hours. It’s quite possible that if I pushed my abilities hard and long enough that the stress on my body and the resulting immune response could kill me – in fact I sometimes wonder if I haven’t danced closed to that edge before on a few occasions.
Akina rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was all too much. Ramius’s revelations were something out of a science fiction novel. If he hadn’t seen NeoDyne’s research first hand he’d honestly think Ramius was insane.
An Unusual Partnership - Part IV
Captain Akina replicated a glass of water and drank the cold liquid in one gulp. Standing in Ramius’s ready room aboard the USS Corsair, he had been confronted by a story that seemed impossible bordering on insane. Ramius was far from finished so he allowed the captain to continue as he replicated another glass of water listening with incredulous awe at the captain’s improbable tale.
“That’s the technical, medical explanation”, Ramius continued as Akina returned to the couch with a large glass of water.
“So what are you”, Akina asked bluntly.
Ramius expecting the question had often asked himself that very same thing.
“I’m a human”, Ramius answered. “I’m just as human as the next man with all the problems, emotions, and issues our species inherits. I didn’t choose what was done to me. I’ve wrestled with this issue for several years – I didn’t learn the truth about myself until only a few years ago.”
“It makes some sense”, Akina said sipping on his water. “You are a highly decorated combat pilot with one of the best combat records of all time. I would venture to say your unique abilities are the reason for your many commendations, awards, successes and feats of unprecedented skill and daring.”
Ramius’s expression soured slightly. “I only use my talents when an extreme situation calls for them - I just seem to end up in dangerous situations more often than I'd prefer. In combat, dire circumstances occur daily as a combat pilot – life or death hangs on a decision or indecision – a reaction or inaction. Where I have used my abilities it was to save lives or save my own – never to attack or kill and certainly not to rack up a wall of shiny medals and awards.
“But yet you were a combat pilot – killing was your job. You cannot tell me you've never used your enhancements to kill.”
“I don’t regret who or what I am Captain Akina. I’ve had to live with my actions as you no doubt must live with yours in the intelligence field. Can you honestly sit there and tell me you’ve never interrogated someone, used techniques that perhaps are unsanctioned to obtain information, put others in positions of distress or pain to get what you want? I'm sure you've killed a time or two in the past - I can see the look in your eyes. It's the same look every combat pilot has after they score their first kill - and once they've tasted blood that look never leaves their eyes. It becomes a part of them. Don't sit there and lecture me on killing. I'm sure we've both done our fair share on our own personal battlefields when duty called upon us to be soldiers."
“Point taken”, Akina begrudgingly replied. “Forgive me, if I have offended you, but it is in my nature to ask difficult questions. Now that we’ve covered you – what about the colony and this research? What happened to it all? It just vanished one day? How is it no one has heard of any of this? Such a cover up seems too clean even for NeoDyne and its resources.”
Ramius nodded. “To make a long story short, one or two of the scientists unwilling to wait for fame and fortune, exposed their research and findings to NeoDyne operatives who immediately became interested. Within months, NeoDyne had invested billions of credits into the Indirium colony. A new research facility was built, the university was transformed almost overnight, the colony thrived, and a new space port was constructed.
NeoDyne employees and researchers came to Indirian like a swarm of locusts. However, it soon became clear to many of the original scientists who had not sold their souls for money or fame that NeoDyne’s interests were far from noble. In closed door sessions – talks of weaponizing the alien cells began. It didn’t take long for certain individuals within NeoDyne with insatiable lust for power and influence to recognize the enormous potential of the find. Genetic manipulation of the alien genome could produce not only medical miracles which they could sell to the sick or dying for a king’s ransom, but it could also be harnessed to create soldiers that needed less sleep, could fight on despite serious injuries, were immune to minor wounds and pain, and who could outlast their opponents on the battlefield in the harshest of conditions.
It was that realization by NeoDyne’s founder and president that led them to begin a project of horrific magnitude. So unethical and illegal were their actions that steps had to be taken to ensure the project, dubbed Ares after the mythical Earth God of War, remained absolutely secret. Members of the original Indirian teams who had found the alien site vanished or were found dead under mysterious circumstances. The colony was suddenly flooded by swarms of NeoDyne security forces. Curfews were enacted by local leaders. Freedoms were revoked. The company bought the politicians or replaced them until their rule on the colony was absolute. It was at that point the colony that I had known and grew up on ceased to exist.
My home is now overrun by my enemy – I’ve not seen it since I was eight years old except in a few pictures that survived.” Ramius’s voice trailed off and Akina could tell that something had happened to the captain in his youth that caused the man a great deal of pain. Akina was an expert at reading people’s faces and gestures from years of intelligence training and experience. "Neodyne practically owns Indirium now - they constantly survey and comb its surface day after day endlessly searching for another hidden site which might contain more traces of the long lost alien civilization forgotten by time and history."
Ramius stood for a moment and moved to his window where he stared quietly out at the stars for several moments as if the memories he was recounting were too painful to put into words.
Akina retrieved another glass of water as the captain returned to his seat to continue his story.
An Unusual Partnership - Part V
Captain Ramius rubbed his head. Recounting his life was a time consuming process which was fraught with emotion and memories he would rather leave buried in the past where they belonged. However, Captain Akina, needed to be told the truth and thus he had to wade through his own tormented past to recount the events that had occurred so long ago.
Ramius continued with his story and explanation.
“The few original scientists, now under the employ of NeoDyne, finally came to terms with their horrific mistakes. Showing exceptional courage the remaining scientists and a handful of trustworthy researchers secretly devised a plan to deny NeoDyne its ultimate prize. A superhumanoid, if the research had been perfected, could be sold to governments and empires and thus alter the balance of power across all four quadrants. An entire race of genetically superior beings could be created and sold and in order to maintain parity with other powers, the Federation, Romulans, Klingons and others would have to purchase these enhanced beings despite the ethical pitfalls to keep another empire from crushing the other. Much like the old cold war in Earth history between the Soviet Union and the United States in which fear of atomic weapons maintained the peace – NeoDyne’s superhumanoids would become the next superweapon that no government could say no to for fear other governments would acquire the technology – and use it.
NeoDyne in essence would become the galaxy’s ultimate power broker, with an army of superhumans at its disposal, to sell, retain, or use at it saw fit. The corporation would itself become a king maker, an empire in and of itself. NeoDyne’s ultimate ambition was to become the single most powerful and influential entity in history.
Superior humanoids would no doubt resent normal humans and vice versa – beyond the military implications was the possibility of a new race being created. One superior, one not. The scientists realized this might occur if enough units, as NeoDyne referred to them, were manufactured in labs and deployed. NeoDyne had managed to overcome the need for a surrogate parent using a technological process – humans could be mass produced in test tubes and machinery without the need of a mother to carry a child to term.
“My God”, Akina suddenly blurted. “Just like the Eugenics Wars in Earth’s past only more sinister. Fabricated human? Synthesized, manufactured life on assembly lines?"
“It get's worse the more you think of the implications”, Ramius replied coldly. “Imagine an entire galaxy filled with those who are superior and those that are not – can you imagine the implications? War would ensue eventually, perhaps not at first, but it would come to pass in time. It would escalate in violence in which billions could die the result of my father’s inability to accept fate and a handful of scientists who were willing to play God to tempt it.”
Ramius slammed his hand down on his desk his temper flaring. “Damn my father”, he muttered.
Akina’s jaw was slack as Ramius continued on with the impossible story.
“The few remaining scientists banded together and devised a plan to destroy the original alien bodies, tissue samples, and as much research as they possibly could within the NeoDyne facility upon fully realizing the implications of their mistakes. Quiet plans were set into motion.
Samples were slowly corrupted, original cell lines were destroyed by accident or other means. In a final act of defiance, the scientists knowing what had to be done, built in secret, several small, but powerful nuclear devices. They smuggled the bombs into the heart of the labs containing the recovered alien bodies from the original dig site find. In a surprising show of courage, the men and women detonated the devices within the main research labs destroying the original alien samples and ensuring that the released radiation would ruin any organic materials beyond their reach. Not only did they destroy all traces of the alien samples, but they sacrificed themselves as well – for they were the keepers of the knowledge which had originally stabilized the DNA sequences – a feat NeoDyne had yet to master. They were the ones who created the cells that saved my brother and I – and they sacrificed themselves so that knowledge would never fall into NeoDyne’s hands.”
Akina stood up from the couch. It was a lot to take in – even for a seasoned intelligence officer like himself. “Let me get this straight – a few scientists find some aliens that have been dead for thousands of years, clone their DNA, and find out it has amazing medical properties. Your father, seeking a cure for you and your brother, allows the scientists to experiment on his own children who benefit from the procedure and go on to survive. Word of this leaks out to NeoDyne who shows up, realizes what it has, and takes over with a secret project to create a superhuman bio-engineered race of super-soldiers making it possibly the galaxy’s most feared, wealthy, and powerful organization of all time?
And the scientists who started this project, feeling some sort of remorse or guilt, destroyed every trace of the original research. That about it?”
“A fair, if not entirely accurate, summary”, Ramius replied.
“So then what? NeoDyne just abandoned the project?”
“Yes and no. Forrester Merikai, NeoDyne’s founder and President was the architect of the Ares Project. Much to the galaxy’s benefit he was killed accidentally in a collision with another ship at one of his own spaceports. After his death the project was shutdown and quietly forgotten for many years.
However, Merikai’s son climbed the ranks of NeoDyne and is now its chairman and top executive. I believe the two of you are acquainted?”
“You mean that traitorous bastard Alistair Merikai”, Akina sneered. “The man whose company sold weapons technology to the Breen and others against all treaties, regulations, and duties to the Federation. The man who would sell his own soul to the devil himself if he thought he could make a profit on the deal...”
“The very same.”
Akina pondered the information for a time. He paced Ramius’s ready room quietly for minutes. Looking up he finally spoke.
“It all makes sense now. Yes. I understand. Back at the NeoDyne laboratory I discovered on Astate before it was destroyed, I read some of the head researcher’s notes. They didn’t make much sense to me, but now they have more clarity. NeoDyne and Alistair Merikai have restarted the Ares Project. Just like his father, Alistair intends to follow through with his father’s insanity!”
“Right again”, Ramius answered with an almost amused tone to his voice. It was somewhat amusing to watch the intelligence captain's thought processes slowly put the peices into the correct order like a child getting excited when they finally figured out square pegs fit through a square holes.
“The researcher kept referring to keys”, Akina stated as he paced the room. “He kept mentioning a pair of keys, but never elaborated. His notes were erratic, but he stated he had one key, but was missing the other. He was quite passionate in memos to NeoDyne staff that they obtain the second key for his research to be a success. I think I finally understand!
The keys he was referring to in his notes weren’t keys at all. They aren’t keys in a literal sense – they’re the keys he needed to unlock something. WAIT!”, Akina shouted. “If he was going to unlock something that would mean he needed something to unlock the original research! The original technique the scientists used to stabilize the alien genetic material for introduction into human specimens! That's what they were doing! They were trying to overcome the replication problem you mentioned before and the allergic response triggered by human cells!
And since you said all the original samples had been destroyed by the scientists by nuclear devices and espionage - that must mean!
“YOU ARE THE SECOND KEY”, Akina shouted pointing at Ramius. “Your brother is the first! Damn, it could all happen again if they somehow got their hands on you! NeoDyne might actually be able to finish what it started thirty years ago!”
Ramius nodded as the intelligence captain finally fitted the puzzle pieces together for himself. Ramius was quite impressed with Akina’s deductive reasoning.
"The picture now becomes clear", Ramius stated at a troubled looking intelligence captain. "You now see why NeoDyne must be stopped and why this cycle must finally be brought to an end - if it's not it will just continue to repeat itself again and again so long as there are those who seek power and samples of the alien cells persist to be found and utilized."
An Unusual Partnership - Part VI
Captain Zane Akina paced Ramius’s ready room with a severe sense of worry and concern building within him. He had experienced NeoDyne’s atrocities firsthand and while that research had been obliterated by their own blood stained hands; before him sat the one man whose blood contained the clues NeoDyne needed to restart their mad quest for power. Alistair Merikai had to know the Ramius brothers’ secret and had to be doing everything in his power to capture them. It appeared that Taverain’s brother, Aiden, had already been captured by the company hence the experiments Akina had uncovered, but Taverain himself, a Starfleet officer was a much harder target than a normal civilian. Well trained, educated, and with superior abilities, the man knew he was being hunted which made him only that much more unpredictable and dangerous. If Starfleet knew of this – Ramius would never have sat in the captain’s chair. His career would be over – and so would his life in many ways. Akina didn’t have time to ponder the ramifications. Taverain Ramius was a clear and present danger to the fleet and to the Federation, let alone other species. Akina’s duty was clear – he had to take charge. His duty demanded he report this danger, however fantastic, to fleet command.
Akina reached into his civilian garment and produced a type I phaser pointing it squarely at Ramius.
“NeoDyne isn’t the actual threat, though I wouldn’t mind seeing the company destroyed, it is you Ramius. You are what the are after. You and your brother are the real threat. Your blood contains the remnants of the alien cells – the last viable samples known to exist. Your brother must have been captured by them already, but he wasn’t enough. The scientists must have used differing techniques between the two of you to reduce the risk of failure which is why NeoDyne was unsuccessful capturing only one of you. They need you both to complete the research! One of you isn’t enough!”
Ramius clapped quietly at his desk. “Bravo Captain”, he said quietly. “And now you know. You know the burden I carry, the curse I was handed, and the reason why NeoDyne must be stopped and destroyed at any cost.
As you’re now pointing a weapon at me, I am curious as to how you will react. If you kill me, my first officer will have you arrested and charged with murder. You’ll be court martialed and sent to a rehabilitation colony where the doctor’s there will scramble your brains with drugs and therapy and you’ll emerge a few years later a different person, an empty shell with few memories of what you did or what you have learned here today. Hardly a happy ending, but an ending nonetheless.”
Akina continued to point the phaser at Captain Ramius. “I ought to kill you now and destroy NeoDyne’s ambitions with the pull of a trigger!”
“The needs of the many huh”, Ramius mumbled. “Don’t hand me that worn out old dogma! We both know it sounds good, but in practice, life and fate make it an utopian ideal. It's never that simple and we both know it!
The question before you know is whether you will commit murder to ‘potentially’ save billions of lives. Will you honestly throw your entire career and life away on a possibility? NeoDyne doesn’t have me yet – and if we work together as a team against them – it is possible they will never get the chance. We both have positions that make us difficult targets even for an influential and powerful corporation. I have a starship, its resources, and weaponry to defend myself – and you have contacts, people who hear things, who know things, who can obtain information and items of value. Information is power and you’re one of the best intelligence operatives out there with networks of informants and information I could never hope to obtain in a lifetime.”
“Forget it”, Akina replied. “I’m not keen on throwing away my career so why don’t you do the galaxy a favor and end the nightmare yourself”, Akina shouted. “Why haven’t you killed yourself already and simply put an end to it all! It’s called taking one for the team! ”
Ramius stood from his chair, cautiously, he did have a phaser pointed at him.
“Because I didn’t choose to be what I am”, he shouted back. “It wasn’t my choice, it wasn’t my decision. I t was my father’s and a bunch of misguided scientists who made me what I am! Am I supposed to pay for their crimes and lapses of judgment? Should I have to sacrifice myself for a crime I didn’t commit? You have no idea how long I’ve been tormented by this Captain Akina! NONE! No one can possibly understand what I’ve been through and what I must contend with every second of my existence!
You weren’t there when NeoDyne, realizing it had lost everything, discovered there were two living specimens still alive. You weren’t there when crack NeoDyne storm troopers arrived at my parent’s home to claim us as property so they could salvage their outlawed and illegal research. You weren’t there when they killed my parents in cold blood, and abducted my brother for their insidious plans!”
“How did you escape them at such a young age”, Akina asked gripping the phaser tightly.
“A family friend. My father had warning of NeoDyne’s intentions and entrusted us both to his care while he bought time along with my mother for us to escape.”
Akina couldn’t take much more. It was if he had looked into the sun and had been blinded by the intensity of the light. The whole thing sounded too incredible to believe.
“This family friend – he’s your adoptive step-father correct? Commodore James Valtren of Starfleet intelligence based out of Starfleet Command in San Francisco on Earth – am I right?”
“Yes”, Ramius replied without any trace of emotion in his cold response.
“And he knows of this”, Akina shouted.
Ramius nodded in the affirmative. “He’s the one who saved me from NeoDyne those many years ago when they killed my parents where they stood and burned our home to the ground. They managed to kidnap my brother and nearly captured Valtren and myself. If it hadn’t been for the Commodore, NeoDyne would already have its prize and I assure you the present would be a far, far different place!”
“A ranking fleet official and he hasn’t said a word to anyone about this? Hasn’t lifted a finger?”
“Who would believe him”, Ramius shouted. “Look at you holding a weapon on me! You only believe it because you’ve seen it! You’ve seen what NeoDyne is capable of and what terrors and atrocities it has already committed. You’ve seen it’s dark secrets and now you know mine! What other officer would buy into such a grand story? They’d call you delusional, unbalanced – they’d laugh at you with little proof, but that of your own testimony. Do you really expect anyone to believe such a nightmare?
Ramius straightened his uniform receiving no response from the shaken intelligence captain aiming a weapon at him.
So what shall it be Captain Zane Akina? Will you pull the trigger and end this here and now – sacrifice yourself for the good of galactic peace? I have no wish to die – nor any intention of committing suicide to rid the galaxy of a terror that was injected into me as a child. I want to live – I want to live long enough to see NeoDyne and those that destroyed my family and threaten peace everywhere destroyed. That is my mission, my ambition, and my destiny. I will not rest until NeoDyne is exposed for the devil it is and utterly ruined and bankrupted for its atrocities and crimes!”
So will you kill me or join me? I want NeoDyne destroyed more than any man alive, but I’ve come to realize I can’t take on the company alone. I need allies - powerful allies who understand what is at stake. You could kill me here – now and rid the world of my existence and the threat I pose, but by doing so you would be no better than NeoDyne! That’s the easy way out - the easy solution. I intend to live for as long as I can, whatever fate has in store for me. If I damn entire generations then so be it! At least I lived fighting against my enemies for a noble and righteous cause. If you too are going to damn me – then damn me based on my character – who I am, not what I am!”
“I have a duty to the fleet and to protect the lives of Federation citizens”, Akina shouted his voice unsteady as he was torn with emotions he hadn’t been prepared to face. “You represent a serious threat to peace and security. No I won’t kill you Ramius, but you can’t continue to gallivant about the cosmos. Under my authority as a Starfleet Captain and the powers vested in my by Starfleet Intelligence, I’m placing you under arrest.”
“For what crime”, Ramius shouted back.
“For willfully withholding crucial information vital to the security of the fleet and to the Federation. I’m also charging you for the deaths of the children on Astate which you could have prevented since you had some knowledge of NeoDyne’s activities there – if you hadn’t, you and your ship wouldn’t have rescued me. And lastly, I’m arresting you as a serious threat to interstellar peace, stability, and security under Interstellar Law.
As of now, under Intelligence directive seven, section twenty two, I am taking command of this starship and relieving you from command duties. You will be confined to the brig until I notify Starfleet of everything that I have learned and request further instructions.”
Akina waited for Ramius’s response, but none was forthcoming. The captain simply stood motionless saying nothing in his defense. His entire stance had changed. Something was different about Ramius, but Akina wasn’t sure what it was. Then it hit him. He’d seen this before – the teenager in the NeoDyne lab! Depressing the trigger of the phaser – the weapon discharged exploding against the wall of the ready room however Ramius was nowhere to be seen – the phaser beam had missed its intended mark.
Akina soon felt compelled to drop the phaser as Ramius, having moved with uncanny speed, held the Intelligence officer in a deadly grip far stronger than anything Akina had ever felt. It was clear that Ramius could snap every bone in Akina’s body with ease, break his neck in a heartbeat, and kill him faster than he could push a phaser’s trigger. Yet – the captain hadn’t killed him.
The phaser fell to the floor as Ramius release Akina and retrieved the weapon. In a demonstration of strength, Ramius crushed the phaser in one hand rendering it a twisted metallic mass despite it severely injuring his hand to do so.
“I spared your life Akina”, Ramius replied the wide pupils of his eyes dilated black his corneas as red as blood. “However, this matter goes no farther than this room ever – or else your life is forfeit. I won’t have Starfleet place me under a microscope and turn me into a lab rat like NeoDyne did to my brother. I’ve done nothing but uphold the principles and values of the Federation and the fleet since I put on this uniform and I’ll be damned if I’m going to be condemned for something that I had no hand in. I’ve given my life to the fleet and will continue to do so, but I will end the menace NeoDyne represents my way!”
“You’re the menace”, Akina shouted back as he could hear security personnel attempting to gain access to the ready room from the detection of the weapons fire.
“To whom? I do my duty, I command with distinction. I also watch my back. NeoDyne has come after me before and they will no doubt continue to do so, but I have the advantage. As you’ve just seen yourself, it isn’t easy to get the drop on me given my talents so I will again make you one last offer – help me. Help me destroy NeoDyne! Starfleet cannot know about this – you’ve seen what NeoDyne had done, much as I hate to admit it, Starfleet would exploit my brother and I as well if they knew about us and the research.
The knowledge is too dangerous and too tempting to simply let go – like I said it’s a pandora’s box. Nothing but evil can come from the knowledge that courses through my veins. The temptation to explore the secrets inside me is impossible to resist! The knowledge of the alien cells is both a blessing and a curse at the same time – it has the potential to both save and destroy on immeasurable scales. Too many people already have tried to play God – and look at the results!”
Akina leaned against the wall staring at the Captain who was more than he seemed. The man was certainly sincere and devoted to his cause. “If the box has been opened and the demons released what are we left with Captain? What possible alternative do we have to close your pandora’s box if you or I am unwilling to destroy the demons that were released?”
“We have hope Captain. Hope. It’s all I can offer and all I can promise.”
The doors to Ramius’s ready room flew open as the Executive Officer, flanked by a platoon of security officers burst into the room.
“Captain”, the XO shouted. “Are you ok? We registered weapons fire and the doors wouldn’t respond to overrides.”
“I’m fine Commander. Please, Mr. Akina and I were having a discussion and there was a slight accidental weapons discharge. It was my fault, I was demonstrating something to the captain to prove a point.”
“Some point”, the commander replied with a touch of annoyance. “Are you sure…”
“It’s ok, number one”, Ramius answered. “Please, the Captain and I still have much to discuss.”
With an angry look directed at Akina, the XO, marched out recalling her security team. She trusted the captain and wouldn’t argue with his decisions this time.
The doors again slid closed as Ramius took a seat. His eyes had returned to normal, yet he now seemed tired almost frail compared to his superhuman self which had overtaken Akina in less than a second only moments before.
“So which is it”, Ramius said with labored breath.
“Will you help me or not?”
Akina shook his head. “I..I don’t know. This…this is a lot to think about. I’ve based my entire career on doing what’s right.”
Ramius smiled. “You and I aren’t that different. We both bend the rules when needed to achieve goals. You bend them just as much as I do to get what you want. Don’t get sanctimonious with me Captain. We both know our duty and would die to defend it – yet I am not ready to throw in the towel. I have to see NeoDyne destroyed. The snake must lose its head so that the entire, poisonous, slithering mass dies slowly behind it.”
Akina could tell Ramius was fighting something. His expression now appeared pained his breathing accelerated and rapid.
“I need some time to think”, Akina stated.
“You have 30 seconds”, Ramius replied. “Make your decision – you accepted the risk, I’ve told you my secrets – but I cannot permit you to leave without your cooperation. You’re the only person who might understand me – I had hoped we could forge a partnership. I didn’t want this to end like this!”
Akina stared at a man he now both admired and hated. How could one reconcile such differences? Ramius was both a devil and a saint in the same body – he had to have an incredible force of will to cope with what he had been through and what he had learned about himself. Akina figured that most men would have broken under the stress, yet Ramius was in command, and seemingly commanded well.
And then there was his own commitment to duty. His duty demanded he inform Starfleet of what he had learned, but Ramius had saved his life and spared it a moment ago. Who was he to ruin this man’s life when the evils he had been subjected to were not of his doing? It was obvious Ramius had gone to great lengths and at great personal risk to tell him his story as well as hunt NeoDyne to repair the mistakes of his father. He could tell Ramius was a noble, fair, and just man. Akina sensed no ill will or hidden agenda.
“Alright Captain Ramius. I do owe you for saving my life back on Astate and again for not killing me a few moments ago. I suppose I can bend the rules this once provided we work together. I won’t get involved in revenge if this is what this is about!”
“Not revenge”, Ramius painfully replied. “I must admit I fight that urge constantly, but this is about righting wrongs that were committed by my father and a few misguided scientists who let curiosity overwhelm their sense of right and wrong. I must atone for what was done – I have to restore my father’s good name and undo the terrible mistake he made.”
“Ramius”, Akina replied. “I never met your father and I’ve never had any children, but I’m not sure he made a mistake. He did what any parent would do – what any father would do to save his children. I’m not sure I can blame him for trying – perhaps you should forgive him as well – what he did, however misguided, he did for you and your brother – to give you both a chance at life.”
“Perhaps . But at what cost? And it doesn’t change the current situation if I forgive him or not”, Ramius answered with a pained tone.
“Captain, are you alright”, Akina asked approaching Ramius.
Ramius held up a hand. “Please, just leave me in peace. The penalty I mentioned for using my other half – I’d prefer to be alone now that I have your answer.”
“Should I call a doctor”, Akina asked.
“No, hell no”, Ramius shouted. “I’ll be fine, this will pass, it’s nothing I haven’t been through before. Please – just inform my first officer I don’t want to be disturbed for the next two hours.”
Akina suddenly had a great respect for Ramius. He had used his unusual abilities simply to prove a point and now was paying a high price for doing so. “Captain – I…”
“Mr. Akina, your sympathy is appreciated, however, I’m in quite a bit of pain at the moment as a result of demonstrating my abilities to you. You’ve seen your share of torture I’m sure, there’s no need for you to remain to see this.”
“Perhaps a painkiller would..”
“They don’t work – I’ve tried everything”, Ramius muttered as he sat shivering in his chair. “Please Akina. Just let me be – this is my cross to bear, my reward for being more than nature intended. I’ll be fine.”
With powerful emotion coursing through his own body, Akina heeded the Captain’s request and left the ready room issuing Ramius’s instructions to the first officer.
The XO, disturbed by the unusual activities inside the ready room, reluctantly accepted Captain Akina’s relayed instructions. She glanced at the now closed ready room doors and wondered what business the captain had with the man who was entering the turbolift. She had quietly determined, with the ship's doctor’s assistance, who the man was. Ramius had deviated from their orders to make the trip to Astate, had lied about engine problems to remain there, and had risked much to bring this man aboard, but to what end and for what purpose? She never openly questioned the captain, but she would speak with him about this situation when time permitted. Something odd was going on - odd even for someone as unorthadox and unusual as Captain Ramius.
Leaving the bridge, Zane Akina, tried to figure out how he had walked into this situation. It was like a dream or perhaps even a nightmare. He'd just given his solemn word to help a man he hardly knew with abilities that both terrified him and at the same time intrigued him. He needed time to think. What he had just heard was so overwhelmingly sensational and terrifying that even he, a seasoned, intelligence veteren who had thought he had seen and heard it all could just barely make sense of it all.
Ramius's passion for destroying NeoDyne was pure. His motives were noble and his cause was just. Akina himself had gone up against the massive company himself ten years ago exposing their treachery to Starfleet and the Federation. Despite his best efforts the company had survived the public scandal and had recovered under Merikai's son's ruthless leadership. Zane had no idea how Ramius intended to go after the company. All they had was the name of an ambassador which they were currently racing to intercept who was somehow connected to both the facility and explosion on Astate and to the powerful commercial NeoDyne corporation. It was their only lead - perhaps their only chance to find something they could use to strike back at the massive galatic company and its many subsidiaries.
There was the data Akina had recorded from the NeoDyne computers from the research lab on Astate before the explosion. Ramius had half of the Corsair's computer system working on breaking the encryption codes, but that could take days, weeks, or even months to crack depending on the encryption's sophitication. Such proof could strike the knockout blow they were looking for, but only if the data could be recovered. Only time would tell.
Zane needed a stiff drink and some sleep. Perhaps some of this would make sense later on with a clear head. Right now he wasn't sure of himself, his duty, or anything. For the first time in his life he felt his confidence waiver, his loyalty to the fleet and to his own ideals in jeopardy. Had he done the right thing? Which evil was worse? Helping Ramius to destroy a mutual enemy without the support of Starfleet or the Federation or destroying one man and perhaps his brother - runing their lives forever by divulging what he knew to the authorities.
Too many questions filled his head - he needed sleep. Perhaps he could find some solace in his dreams assuming they didn't morph into nightmares. He already felt he was living one now - but the funny thing was he didn't know how he felt about it. Right now he just wanted someone to pinch him so he could wake up from this nightmare of conflicting emotions and responsibilities.
An Unusual Partnership - Part VII
Five hours had passed since Ramius and Akina had last spoken in the Corsair’s Captain’s ready room. Ramius, looking haggard and tired, sat silently in the captain’s chair on the bridge having suffered through his painful ordeal at the use of his darker half. Exhausted from the torment which had lasted nearly an hour, he had returned to the bridge and maintained a vigilant watch at his post as his ship cut through space toward the Versailles starbase at maximum speed. The bridge shook and vibrated as the ship reverberated from the immense stress of extreme warp.
“Time to Versailles”, Ramius asked his helmsman with a hoarse voice.
“Four hours and thirty seven minutes present speed captain”, came the response.
His teeth set, Ramius could think of nothing else but getting to that station. Aboard was his only lead to NeoDyne and a young ambassador, who could under the right conditions expose NeoDyne’s intentions and give him a sword in which to smite the evil corporate beast that plagued the living. In a few hours he was scheduled to board the USS Charon and report aboard as its diplomatic advisor. According to his sources, the Charon was due to depart Versailles sometime in the next five to six hours.
“I have to get more speed”, Ramius suddenly muttered. “We can’t be late!”
“Sir, we’re already pushing her beyond design specs – she’ll tear herself apart if we push her any further”, the helmsman nervously replied as respectfully as possibly knowing it was not what the sometimes temperamental captain wanted to hear.
“Yes I know”, Ramius reluctantly replied. “I know you are all doing you’re very best. Just hold her together long enough for us to reach Versailles.”
“She’s fighting it sir, but I think we…”
A massive shudder suddenly tore through the ship throwing crewmen to the deck as every surface of the Corsair vibrated with gut wrenching gravitational forces. The lights on the bridge went dark replaced by the dim reddish tinge of emergency lighting. Alarm klaxons suddenly sounded as crewmen ship wide sprang to the emergency tone of general quarters.
“REPORT”, Ramius shouted gripping his chair as his ship violently shook around him. “SHUT THOSE DAMN SIRENS OFF”, he bellowed as the alarm klaxons wailed around him.
“Power loss in main engineering”, the OPS officer shouted from his station as the hull creaked and groaned. “Structural integrity fields are beginning to fail as well as internal dampening fields!”
Lieutenant Commander Grange, turned in his seat to face the captain. “Sir, we have to reduce speed or the ship will tear itself apart in less than two minutes!”
“NO”, Ramius shouted. “We can’t stop! Not now!”
“Sir! We must!”
“Engineering to Bridge”, came the frantic voice of the chief engineer as it filled the bridge’s comm. system.
“Chief, what the hell happened down there?”, Ramius asked his tone both urgent and stern.
“Sir, it’s one of the warp coils, it partially shattered under the stress. It’s possible it had some micro-fractures that were overlooked during our last overhaul and inspection. Normally, such a slight defect would never cause a problem, but the way we’ve been driving the engines – it’s pushed the coil to its breaking point. If we don’t reduce speed the entire coil could shatter and destroy the entire right engine nacelle. We’re losing power due to the uneven plasma flow – I’ve had to bleed off plasma which is reducing our power output in order to reduce the stress on the coils. I’m sorry sir, but we’ve have to slow down. The engines just can’t take the stress given the damage.”
“How long will the damage take to repair chief”, Ramius asked as the ship shuttered and convulsed around him.
“Five or six days at least – and that’s at a properly equipped space dock. I can’t repair warp coils without a spacedock sir, the entire nacelle will have to be overhauled due to the damage.”
Ramius’s fist hit the side of his chair with a force that could have snapped a human arm. Fate had again, with cruel irony, cast misfortune before him. If it were him alone in a fighter – he’d chance the engine malfunction despite the risk, but he was in command and this wasn’t a fighter. It was a massive starship with hundreds of lives aboard which he was responsible for preserving despite his own personal agenda. He had a duty to them and to the fleet to safeguard their lives and the safety of the ship. The Ambassador, due to depart on the USS Charon, in mere hours would simply have to wait for another time and another place.
With a pained tone Ramius relented. “Chief, shut down the engines. Helm cut warp power and switch to impulse. Chief we’ll run at sublight speeds until you give the ok to restart the warp drive.”
“Aye sir. It will take my teams a few hours to clear the nacelles of any debris and assess the damage. Given the current data, I think we can probably manage warp 2 or three if we’re careful in three or four hours. We should be able to limp back to starbase for repairs. I’m sorry sir, but that’s the best I can promise without a better picture of the actual damage.”
“It’s not your fault Chief. If anything, it’s mine for asking you to over extend the engines . Do what you need to do to effect repairs. Use anything and anyone you need to assist. Keep me posted on the repairs. Bridge out.”
“Helm answering full impulse”, the helmsman reported as the USS Corsair slid from warp back into normal space. “We’re still on course for Versailles.”
“Hull stresses have returned to normal levels”, the ops officer indicated. “IDF and SDF fields have stabilized. We’re free and clear to navigate normally now sir.”
“Helm, alter course, hard about – set heading to 214 mark 112. Best possible speed”, Ramius said with a reluctant tone. “Set course for Starbase 145. We’ll dock there for repairs and resupply.”
“Aye sir”, came the reply.
Ramius stood staring at the viewscreen. If fate were a tangible thing sitting outside his ship he would have ordered the weapons officer to immediately fire a full barrage of phasers and torpedoes into its very heart. He’d been dealt a setback, but such was the game of life. Setbacks could be overcome with positive thinking and friends in high places.
“Open a priority channel to Starfleet Intelligence on Earth and get me through to Commodore James Valtren on the double. It’s urgent.”
The communications officer acknowledged the order.
“I’ll be in my ready room. Commander Grange, you have the conn.”
An Unusual Partnership - Part VIII
Location: Alpha Quadrant
Planet: Rigel IV
NeoDyne Industries LTD – Corporate Headquarters
"A Growing Tempest"
Dark clouds gathered in the distance over one of the largest population centers on the planet Rigel IV. The sun was setting on another day as people scurried about their normal routines. A scheduled thunderstorm was announced with the city in need of a soaking rain. Federation meteorologists had altered the planet’s weather modification nets to allow a sizable rainstorm to form within the next one to two hours.
As the sun slowly sank behind the horizon its orange glow glinted off the obsidian black skyscraper of the corporate giant, NeoDyne Industries Limited. The monolithic structure stretching upwards into the clouds like a black, glass razor was the tallest structure on the planet and one of the tallest buildings in the entire Alpha Quadrant. Its massive size cast a shadow over a sizable portion of the city and only on the clearest days could a person gaze upwards and see its towering end which usually remained obscured, hidden within the clouds. The mega-corporation, a goliath in aerospace, medical, defense, and weapon technologies had constructed their Mount Olympus, their shining tower of Babel, on Rigel IV as a symbol both of their immense wealth and power.
At the top of the towering metal and glass building sat the penthouse living quarters and corporate offices of the company’s top executive. President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, the company and its activities were driven by the desires and will of one man – Alistair R. Merikai.
Despite the late hour, Merikai sat at his ancient wooden desk, a valuable Earth antique crafted in the early 1700’s for a European prince. The desk alone was worth millions of Federation credits – a priceless collector’s item. A museum piece in his massive office; one of many trophies which demonstrated his wealth, Merikai’s office was lined with rare and valuable antiquities from across the galaxy.
Carefully scrutinizing the slides for an upcoming defense presentation his terminal flashed indicating an incoming message. With a grimace, the top executive tapped his computer console at the interruption.
“Yes what is it? I left instructions not to be disturbed”, he said not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. “Sir, Mr. Shinran is here in the lobby. He is insisting to speak with you. He says it is most urgent.”
Merikai sighed and saved the presentation for another time. Another boring demonstration of modest technology for Starfleet brass– the contract his company was seeking to mass produce a new line of torpedo systems was only marginally interesting given other company interests. “Very well Ms. Parker. Send him in.”
Merikai stood from his desk adjusting his hand crafted business suit and tie. At six feet three inches tall – Merikai was a dominating man with a strong build, piercing blue eyes, and sandy blond hair which ran well groomed, gracefully down his back. Unconventional and dynamic the company’s son, as he was nicknamed, had filled in where his father had ended rebuilding the damaged company’s reputation, name, and power. Under his leadership, NeoDyne was larger and more profitable than ever before.
The President looked up as the doors to his office opened. A single man, dressed in military fatigues, quickly moved toward him his boots echoing loudly on the black marble tile of the floor.
The man stopped at Merikai’s desk and saluted. Rai Shinran was head of NeoDyne’s vast security forces which protected and oversaw security for the company’s many interests. A loyal and dedicated employee for many years, Merikai knew that if Shinran was here on urgent business something unpleasant had occurred that demanded the President’s attention.
Merikai bowed slightly at his security chief out of reverence and moved slowly to his bar where he took a glass and poured himself a small amount of whiskey.
“What brings you here this night Shinran, especially with a storm on the way”, the President asked as he poured himself the drink.
“I sincerely apologize for interrupting you sir, but I have urgent news”, the chief replied.
“May I offer you something to drink”, Merikai asked.
“No thank you sir.”
The President returned to his desk and sat holding the drink in his hand. “What is this news? You appear quite concerned Rai.”
“Sixty two hours ago, facility 372X, was destroyed using protocol RXD-One.” (RXD = Radiological Extermination & Destruction Protocol)
Merikai’s eyes opened widely as he quickly set down his glass his mood shifting from one of relaxed interest to extreme concern tinged with anger.
“Astate!”
“Yes sir.”
“Continue with your report.”
Shinran continued. “Our local operatives report the facility as a total loss. The RXD protocol left little for Starfleet or the Romulans to find from our initial information, however the atomic explosion has drawn the eyes of Starfleet, the Federartion, and the Romulans. Currently, several starships and high ranking officials are conducting intensive investigations. Starfleet Medical has also been dispatched to deal with the radioactive fallout.”
“Fallout! That’s exactly what we have here”, Merikai shouted. “If Starfleet finds anything linking us to that site… What the HELL happened! I ordered the facility sealed four months ago – we had plans to reopen the facility next quarter once we could be sure the threat there had been neutralized by time.”
Merikai stood from his desk his anger growing. “I’m the only company official with the capacity to order the use of RXD protocols! Who made this decision and how did they do it!”
“I suspect our operative Marine Colonel Ventris may know what occurred sir, but we have been unable to contact him upon learning of the Astate incident.”
Merikai grit his teeth touching his computer console. “Ms Parker, get communications to open a secure line to Astate and do it now! I want to speak with Colonel Ventris immediately! Have someone find him if he isn’t available, but get that man on the line even if they have to hold him at gun point!”
Closing the line, Merikai rubbed the bridge of his nose. A clap of thunder rattled the windows as the growing storm grew closer to the building in the distance.
This news was most troubling. The RXD protocol had never been used and was only for use when all other alternatives had been exhausted. It was an end-game failsafe to protect the company at facilities where top secret or special activities were being conducted which could compromise the company if their activities were in critical danger of being exposed. With Starfleet poking its nose into matters after such a serious incident things could become bleak for NeoDyne should they discover anything linking NeoDyne to the explosion. Merikai had some faith, as the RXD protocol – a thermonuclear explosion of incredible power generated by the facilities own specially designed fusion generators, was powerful enough to obliterate everything in an area five miles square with a 99.9% destruction and contamination factor, but there was still a slight risk. A risk he hadn’t authorized and one that had to be answered for.
A pet project of his, the Astate facility had cost billions of corporate credits, which had quietly been moved off the books. The research labs on Astate were a continuation of his father’s dreams and aspirations to make NeoDyne a formidable force. Having learned of his father’s ambitions only a few years prior, Merikai had embraced them. His father’s plans were beyond brilliant and if they had succeeded, NeoDyne would be the most powerful force across four quadrants and he the most powerful and influential man in the Milky Way galaxy. Empires would bow before his company all scrambling to obtain the technology and science secrets he would possess. Neodyne would become the chessboard master with the Federation, the Klingons, the Dominion, the Romulans, the Cardassians and all other species and races as its chessboard pawns to move and play against one another as it saw fit – as he saw fit.
The loss of the Astate facility was an unexpected and sudden blow to his plans.
“Sir, we’ve managed to make contact with the Colonel. I’m connecting you now.”
Merikai touched his desk where a nearby wall vanished becoming a giant viewing screen. A loyal employee on the NeoDyne payroll, Colonel Leon Ventris of Astate’s 145th Marine Battalion appeared on the screen. Merikai had found the man competent and astute having placed him in over all command of NeoDyne’s Astate operations. The colonel had done a fine job – that is until now.
“Colonel Ventris, what in the HELL is going on! I want a full explanation and I want it now”, Merikai shouted his blue eyes blazing with rage. “Why the hell wasn’t I informed of this sooner? My own security chief has to tell me that RXD protocol-one was initiated without my authorization! Start talking colonel as my patience on this matter is running quite thin.”
“Starfleet has been everywhere”, the colonel replied seemingly appearing out of breath. “I didn’t want to risk a transmission given the intense scrutiny. I wanted to inform you, but had to wait until things calmed down.”
“Calmed down? We wouldn’t have to wait for things to calm down if RXD hadn’t been initiated! Who gave the order! I want a name!”
“I initiated the destruct sequence sir”, the colonel replied.
“You! How dare you over step your authority!”
“Wait sir, I can explain! The circumstances warranted the action that I can assure you!”
“What possible circumstances could exist for me to forgive such a blatant act which could endanger the company and its existence Colonel? Answer me that!”
“The facility was compromised by a Starfleet Intelligence operative. He somehow managed to locate the facility and gain access. I’ve been tracking his movements, but he evaded our spies and informants for a time. We didn’t pick him back up until he had landed on the island and entered the facility which tripped our alarms. My men and I went in after him, but discovered he had made contact with several of the experiments that were still alive. He managed to convince them he was there to help and attempted to escape with them – I couldn’t let that happen and given what occurred at the facility three months ago, my men and I were uncertain we could eliminate all of the threats given the circumstances.
You saw the video tapes – only two of the experiments killed over seventy researchers and employees many of them armed. I couldn’t take the chance we might fail. I ordered the facility computer to initiate the RXD destruct protocol – to protect the company and to protect you sir!”
Merikai, still seething with anger, was having trouble accepting the Colonel’s explanation. “Who was this Starfleet intelligence Officer? You said you had been following him?”
“A Captain in Intelligence, his name is Zane Akina. I can send you his files.”
“Akina”, Merikai whispered his eyes growing wide. “Zane Akina was on Astate and was in one of my facilities!”
“Well yes sir – why? Do you know this man?”
“Know him! KNOW HIM”, Merikai exploded in a fit of rage. “Colonel, that man was the Lt. Commander who exposed NeoDyne’s sales of weapons to the Breen a decade ago! He infiltrated our company, gained access to our secrets and then turned state’s evidence! I had to watch him for weeks at my father’s trial sit at the witness stand as he crucified this company and my father with his damning evidence which was nothing but lies and fabricated information!
He nearly ruined this company ten years ago and I BLAME HIM FOR MY FATHER’S DEATH! If it hadn’t been for Akina’s meddling, my father would have never traveled to Earth to defend himself in court where his shuttle was damaged in an accidental docking collision with another shuttle! If Zane Akina was on Astate then he obviously is back to his old habits of sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong!”
“I’m sorry sir, I had no idea the man posed such a threat or else I would have had him eliminated sooner.”
Merikai fumed every time the Colonel spoke. The mention of Zane Akina sent both fire and fear shooting through him. Merikai feared nothing – except perhaps Akina and that fact alone only served to further fuel his explosive anger.
Taking a deep breath, President Merikai swallowed his emotions. His usually cool demeanor slowly returned until he had buried his anger and hatred for another time and place. He had business to conduct here and decisions to make. Critical decisions which demanded a cool head and calm, rational thought.
Pushing a lock of his long, blond hair back over his ear and shoulder, Merikai glared at the massive viewing screen on his office wall.
“Given the circumstances Colonel, I am most displeased at your lack of communication, however, your actions in the matter appear justified given the stakes. Akina was a serious threat. I’m pleased that his existence no longer threatens NeoDyne’s interests. The loss of the facility and its research is a great loss, but we shall recover. I expect you will do better to inform the home office of your activities in the future Colonel.”
Merikai saw the Colonel shift uncomfortably on the screen.
“Is there something else you need to say Colonel Ventris?”
“Akina wasn’t killed in the blast sir. He managed to escape and was able to get far enough away from the initial blast to avoid the brunt of the shockwave and radiation. My men and I were prepared for the contingency and intercepted him as he attempted to leave the island in a shuttle.”
“Go on”, Merikai said with a chillingly cold tone.
“I was about to eliminate him personally, I had twelve snipers poised to kill him, but before I could give the order he was beamed away. My men and I fired, but it was too late.”
“HE ESCAPED!”
“Sir, how could I have anticipated a beam out? There weren’t any starships scheduled to be in Astate orbit for weeks.”
“Did you trace the transmission”, Merikai quickly asked. “Was it a Starfleet starship?”
“Yes. USS Corsair. I couldn’t get any more information on it. It’s mission, personnel, it’s all classified beyond my clearance level. I do know it wasn’t supposed to be there!”
“Of course it wasn’t supposed to be there you idiot”, Merikai replied. “Akina works for Intelligence. The ship must be assigned to the Intelligence Division which is why its information and orders are classified. Colonel, why didn’t you report this immediately?”
“As I said sir, the magnifying glass is large here on Astate, getting a transmission out was difficult given all of the emergency Starfleet communications and I couldn’t risk being detected.”
“You couldn’t risk it? I’ll be the judge of the risk involved especially when a member of Starfleet Intelligence escapes one of our most secret facilities possibly with evidence which could bury us all! I believe we’re finished here Colonel. Out!”
The Colonel’s image faded and Merikai’s wall returned to its former impressive and expensive form as the holoprojectors in the walls terminated their projections.
Merikai paced the floor for several moments his hands clasped tightly behind him as his security chief stood at attention awaiting orders from the President.
Several more moments passed until Merikai suddenly stopped cold and turned his head to look at his security chief. Shinran was slightly startled at the intensity of Merikai’s gaze his blue eyes seemed to glow with an aura all their own in the dark room. Rain and wind slapped against the windows as the thunderstorms rolled in. A crack of lightening briefly illuminated the room with a flash. The sudden brightness blotted out everything for an instant with the exception of Merikai’s burning blue eyes.
The NeoDyne president slowly turned and took a seat at his desk placing both hands on its polished surface. His gaze shifted from his security chief to the far end of the room where his eyes took on a blank stare as if he was thinking about something, but not actually looking at anything.
“I want the Colonel eliminated tonight”, Merikai suddenly said. “See to it personally Shinran. I want no more mistakes. Do it quickly and quietly. The man knows too much and can no longer be trusted to remain silent. I don’t need any additional liabilities at the moment.”
“Yes sir, I’ll see that it is done”, replied the chief.
“Shinran. Use our contacts – find out everything you can about this starship USS Corsair. I want to know everything about it; it’s officers, its crew, its current assignment, and most importantly its present whereabouts.”
“I will use every resource possible to obtain the information.”
“You’re dismissed”. Merikai said coolly not bothering to look at the man his gaze still distant as if in a daydream.
Shinran saluted and quickly retreated leaving the NeoDyne President alone in his office as the fury of the outside storm battered the windows of his towering building.
Chairman Alistair Merikai President, NeoDyne Defense Corporation
Colonel Leon Ventris Marine Colonel, Astate Colony
Rai Shinran Director, NeoDyne Security Operations