| Meanwhile, while B'ellana Torres is attempting
to puzzle out the best course of action…..
"FOOL!" shouts the large and menacing royal blue robed and hooded figure that is passing back and forth before two rather pale figures. "I leave you…TRUSTED you to help build a small piece of my rightful Empire….and after hundreds of years….you show up not only a pile of ashes!" (Author's note: this is a strange mix by me from
several other people's episodes and such....)
The hooded man pauses in his triad, and anyone
who was watching would see his eyes flashing crimson for a second, before
the man reaches up and pulls his hood down to reveal a middle aged man
with collar length raven black hair streaked with silver. An angry shake
of his head causes hi symbol of office from so long ago, a kind of circle
with a curved loop behind one side.
Lord Tesla, Mage Lord of the now defunct
Empire of Atlantis….and present Lord of Nod, looks down in disgust at the
groveling pair of vampires before him.
"I sent you out - after giving you eternal life
- to be one of my Lieutenants," the towering man says, looking down upon
Varney. Tesla pauses, draining the life giving amber fluid from his crystal
and baby elfin skull goblet. "All I ask is that you QUIETELY garner followers,
but instead you decided to ally yourself with that Dragon Mage in order
to go the easier….lazy route. You ally yourself with my sworn enemy, and
though you had a large following for a while, but…. (re: 1814)."
He nods towards yet another man, who's dressed
in anachronistic late 20th century grey urban camouflage outfit. A man
only known as Kane to his fanatically loyal band of followers in his paramilitary/terrorist
group known as "The Sons of Nod" breaks in.
"But the dragon burned him, by not lifting a claw
when his other playthings rose up," Kane smiled a cold, cruel smile. "Rose
up and crushed your Dominion. You became the last of you petty little
empire….gone from the Right Hand of the Dragon to Has Been."
Speaking of Right Hands I really must
"correct" that man….he's making a mess of things,
Kane thinks to himself cryptically, worried about recent developments back
on his home world. Allah knows how his Lorship would torture him anew in
his dreams if things fell apart!
Kane both loved Tesla for the doctrine that had
allowed him to rise in power and stature within his centuries old, clandestine
organization. Tesla had founded it on a whim, and had finally come back
after centuries of attending to other matters, to find the time ripe….to
reach out with it….through Kane….and take his rightful place of power!
If only those damn Global Defense Initiative twerps
hadn't stolen from one of Kane's secret research facilities, the ability
of dimensional hopping!
Kane brings his mind back to the task at hand,
savoring the moment!
"Our lord calls upon you….and all you have to
show for all your centuries of effort is this young…..knight?" Kane sneered
as the two vampire before Lord Tesla glare back at him, only the magical
powers of the Undead Atlantian mage hold them in check. "And what was this
about one of MY android units ruining….what was it?….a banquet of blood?"
(re: 1814 again, 2234, 2235, 2505, and 2537).
Kane had every confidence in his robotic minions,
and reveled in listening to the automated assembly computer - which had
been given the voice of his latest consort - whispered "unit ready" every
time even the smallest military asset was drawn forth from the assembly
line! Fact was, he had more faith in some of those eeriely human machine
than he did in some of his human lieutenants!
"My lord," Kane says with a pained voice, turning
and bowing reverently to his master. "You have interrogated me, via your
magical might. Did I betray you? Did I lapse in my duties in allowing one
of my mechanical minions run amuck?"
"No, my servant," Tesla smiles. "From what you
revealed….such had not happened….nor were you lax in your duties and designs.
These robots are very much like my golems…."
Tesla didn't comment on how independent some became
(and dangerous they became) over years and centuries without regular maintenance.
BANG! BANG!
Kane smiles as the silver bullets from his pistol
finish causing the surprised vampires to return to the dust that Lord Tesla
had resurrected them from.
"What now, Master?" Kane nearly fawns.
"There is one thing you can do for me," Tesla
smiles. "Recently, I had a dream fashioned for a rather….unusual acquisition
I had my eyes upon. However, with the collapse of that Terra's slipgates….now
prevents me from bothering to attempt a dream snare. I've been able to
eliminate most of the props…but one in particular has managed to….become
a bit free minded."
"Eliminate it before the hour is up," Tesla commands.
"I may now dwell in the Land of Nod, demi-plane of sleep, dream, desire,
wish, fantasy, falsehood, danger, AND vampires….but I loath to have
to dirty my hands on such a trivial matter. You may go now and do my bidding."
"Yes, master," Kane said with a smile, and left to eliminate the last "prop" on the dream Voyager.
The AI known as Seeker was at a loss.
This place is about as confusing as that….unfortunate
incident back Home! the annoyed AI thinks to himself. At least back
THERE he'd gotten his head out of his A** and actually SEEN the truth of
the matter!
The group of Company conspirators he'd been approached
by seemed sincere in their desire to avoid bloodshed with an upcoming Civil
War with the Military, after the Alliance/Enemy war was over. They'd said
that they wanted to have instead of blood being shed by millions as the
Military tried to wrest governmental control away from the admittedly ham
handed (and ill suited) Company to restore some type of ORDER to Home.
However, though their ideas looks appealing and their plans sound (improving
life back Home by gradual reform and such), Seeker had by chance stumbled
across confidential Company reports about how entrenched the Company official
were in the puppet government….and how clandestine Military operatives
had been eliminated before they even got a chance to contact those in government
who PERHAPS had a chance in hell at changing things (at great risk to themselves)…..
The Company wasn't going to let go of the reins
of power, and even had plans on soon eliminating this group of dissidents
within it's ranks. Even worse, though the aims of these Company Dissidents
were noble….the means that they were willing to use showed them to be as
bad….if not worse….than some the top Executives!
Seeker had turned them down soundly, even warned
them of their problems before leaving them (doing the decent thing…at least).
He was saddened to hear much latter, through unofficial channels, that
the dissidents hadn't heeded his warnings and had not listened….and had
been liquidated by Company mechanics.
Newly "awakened" and now with true intelligence,
Lt. Seeker had secretly struggled with inner conflicts about whether or
not he should stay within the Military (despite what they fought for and
how his memories of Enemy atrocities haunted him)…..all the while putting
forward the appearance of the perfect Military soldier. He finally came
to the surprising realization of what the cliché "lead by example"
really meant. The Military held the company responsible for the grim conditions
back home (lawlessness and rampant poverty OUTSIDE the Company walls).
Seeker had felt that the blame was somewhat warranted, but it overlooked
and discounted individual accountability!
He suddenly realized, after a long personal talk
with his new Unit commander: Colonel Probe, that the cliché actually
did have room for personal accountability IF one remembered that
EVERYONE was a leader in a sense….and everyone a follower. The Company
WAS failing in it's role as leader….and setting a crappy example for others
in it's rampant neglect for those It was charged to look after (but had
no financial vested interest in…i.e. not part of the Company proper). Worse,
the Company had a stranglehold on every aspect of financial matters…..and
used it's monetary might to bludgeon others into doing exactly what was
good for the Company's bottom line (but wasn't necessarily good for everyone
else).
It became clear, the Company must be forcibly
evicted from government before anything substantially good done for Home!
Then….the last embers of hope for a quick resolution
to the war ended when the fifth missile actually released it's deadly atomic
cargo….torching the African landscape and triggering a deadly nuclear winter
on that Tiberium rich world of Terra (re: 2538). The Military, with heavy
heart, had finally decided use Heavy atomics to vaporize what was left
of that dead world….to prevent the Enemy from gaining Terra later in case
they somehow found a cure for that deadly Phage below….
After participating in a disheartening (and admittedly
futile) rescue attempt by Inquirer, Seeker had looked on from high orbit
as Terra's crust melted….and suddenly his entire being had turned on it's
side….and he found himself….here.
Where ever "here" was!
All attempts at Jumping out of "here" ended in
failure, but at least he could still move himself (his spaceship body)
through the murky ether of this realm! Suddenly, from the silence of this
space, a signal!
Torres gave off a few ripe (but soft) Klingon
oaths as she ducked around the corner, fleeing Engineering! She knows that
when she dived for cover, she'd accidentally jarred her combadge awake….broadcasting
everthing that was happening to her to the air.
That didn't matter, however. Some madman was trying
to kill her with an antique pistol, and nothing on the Voyager was working
right! Even the corridors had become alien and menacing as this "Kane"
fellow hunted her down!
Even the phasors didn't work right any more! They
only gave off a trilling whistle and a useless beam of colored light! As
if they were only toys!
|
