One of a person's prized posessions is his individuality. Captain RoBobby McMillan always believed so, anyway. The ability to be yourself, to know that, despite the infinite amount of lifeforms in this complexe and amazing galaxy, there was only *one* person who'd he address as 'me'. Himself. He was unique. Everyone was unique. With their own minds, their own thoughts, their own failures, their own qualities.
That was why the Borg were such a major threat. With the Borg, there were no individuals. Just drones with a hive mind. McMillan knew from experience what that was like: he had been assimilated by the Borg two years ago. Luckily, his crew had come to rescue him before it was too late. Nevertheless, he still had nightmares about the entire time he spent in the Collective.
Right now, Captain McMillan felt as if he was back in the Collective again. He couldn't read anyone else's minds, but his sense of individuality was gone. Behind the Sickbay forcefield lay a man who looked exactly like him, talked exactly like him, felt and thought exactly like him. On that biobed lay. . . a clone.
As the forcefield dropped to allow him in with his clone, Captain McMillan pondered about how he had gotten to this point. A few hours ago, the USS Gibraltar had responded to a distress call. It appeared to be Federation in origin, but was located on a planet that no Federation ship had ever been to. Well, except the science vessel Flemming, but it had to turn around just when they were to scan that world. 'Called back for refit', the reason had been. Looking back, McMillan wondered if this wasn't to prevent the Flemming from discovering what the Gibraltar had discovered down there... a crashed shuttle, and a Borg outpost!
The outpost had been deserted. Not even the Borg alcoves were in use. And yet, power had been running for quite a while. In what appeared to be a Federation stasis pod - Federation, not Borg! - the Gibraltar crew found a man. The very man who now lay on the biobed. Captain McMillan's clone.
An argument followed, and questions were asked. Who was this clone, why was he created, did he pose a threat? XO Fearguis and Security Chief Westland believed that it might be best to refrain from taking this clone on board, but how could McMillan resist? He wanted answers! He had been violated: someone had taken his DNA and accellerated that DNA's growth. From tests conducted just now on board the Gibraltar, it seemed that whoever had created that clone, had done more than that: they had created and *upgraded* RoBobby McMillan. Titanium skeleton, internal Borg implants... this clone might look and talk like the original, but it was much better, in many ways.
The forcefield got turned back on behind him as Captain McMillan walked towards his clone. It turned towards him, and for a moment, both men just looked at each other. It was weird, seeing his own eyes stare back at him. "I don't believe this." the clone finally spoke up. "Are... are you a clone?"
McMillan shook his head, allowing a faint smile to appear on his face. Life could be so cruel and ironic at times. "No." he said in response. "I'm afraid you are."
"What is the last thing you remember?" Fearguis, the Gibraltar's XO, asked the clone.
"I... I was lured into an ambush," the clone answered. "By the Borg. I remember them beaming me up, into one of their assimilation chambers, and. . ."
A shudder ran down McMillan's spine, and he could tell that the clone was feeling a similar experience. The memories of his assimilation still haunted him at times.
"The Borg must have taken my DNA at that time." McMillan said to his XO. That still didn't explain the presence of a Federation stasis pod there.
As he turned back to his clone, McMillan wondered what would happen now. Fearguis obviously saw the clone as a security threat, and McMillan knew his XO was probably right. But try as he might, he couldn't see his clone as anything else than 'another me'. It was impossible to keep an emotional distance from this, even though he knew that as CO, he probably should.
"Can I get out now?"
The question from the clone made McMillan sigh. The clone probably felt the same was that McMillan did, with the exception that McMillan could just walk away... the clone was still held for observation. "I'm sorry." he said, looking in his identical eyes. "Not until we are certain that you aren't a threat. I'm sure that if our positions were reversed, you'd do the same thing."
The irony of this wasn't lost on the clone. "Probably."
McMillan swallowed. He pitied the clone, for he understood how he was feeling. McMillan would feel the same way, if he had been trapped behind a forcefield, on a biobed, like that. "I'll come back to check on you later." he said, knowing he had to get out, away from this clone. If he'd stay longer, he might give in to his own feelings, and let his clone out. And while that *felt* right, he knew he couldn't take the risk. Not right now.
As the forcefield dropped, and he walked out, McMillan wondered who created the clone... and why. No matter what though, he swore to himself... he would find out.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Episode 31: "The Angel is calling..."
The eyes. Captain McMillan would never forget the eyes of the statue, even though he only ever saw the back of it. But the image that it had caused in his mind had been so much stronger than he'd ever realised. It was threatening to take him over, to speak through him. It was killing him, slowly. If nothing were to happen, he and Commander Fearguis would soon be the latest in a long line of accidental victims of this entity. . . this Angel. For it was calling. . . calling out to them.
A few hours earlier...
A ship leaving spacedock was always a great moment. It was a tribute to the spacedock's engineers and to the crew of that ship. And it looked great, too. Captain McMillan had seen numerous ships exit spacedock in his time in Starfleet. But to command the Gibraltar now, once again, as it made its way out of spacedock for the final time... it was amazing.
The Gibraltar had been fully repaired and overhauled. All systems were working perfectly, and all the latest glitches had been fixed. The Gibraltar was ready for duty, as was its crew. McMillan was only one of the original crew, along with Lt.Cmdr. Braveheart and Cmdr. Fearguis. To have the latter as XO would take some getting used to, but hopefully Mr. Fearguis had figured out how to command at other assignments, before returning to the Gibraltar.
And he would need to have these skills, as the Gibraltar would soon be put to the test again: Starfleet had a mission for the Gibraltar crew, after all. They were to set course for Bengal IV, where rumours of a smuggler base coincided with some marvellous ruins of an ancient civilisation. McMillan and his crew were to go there, study the ruins and see if the rumours of smuggers, were true.
The trip to Bengal IV went smoothly, so before long the entire Bridge crew materialised on the surface of the planet. Starfleet had been right: these ruins were amazing. The scientist in McMillan wanted to stay here to study them, but he also knew he had to be on the look-out for smugglers. Nevertheless, he allowed the crew to explore a bit, which caused them to find the remains of a building, which was damaged by the hands of time.
In the middle of this building lay a circle, filled with some sort of light. Outside of it, with its back turned to this circle, stood a statue of an Angel. This obviously had been some sort of temple, in long lost times. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, until both Captain McMillan and Commander Fearguis stepped into the light... and were suddenly overcome with an urge to go to the Angel. The Angel was calling...
It didn't take the Gibraltar crew long to beam their CO and XO back to the ship, where CMO Talax and Nurse Mathy did every scan in the book. And while McMillan's condition improved, Fearguis' condition deteriorated. Before long *he* wasn't in control of his body anymore... the Angel was.
It seemed that the Angel was actually some sort of gasceous lifeform, trying to return to its own people. It had been trapped here, and had tried to communicate with the smugglers on the surface. Unfortunately, its way of communicating often lead to death... and that was where Fearguis was heading towards as well...
Luckily, Science Officer Portal managed to establish a transporterlock on Fearguis, dematerialising both him and the entity, after which she re-materialised only Fearguis. He was cured, but the entity's 'friends', which surrounded the ship, came in and took the entity away from the Gibraltar crew. It was home once again.
A while later, in the Captain's Ready Room, McMillan closed his eyes. He could still see the bright burning eyes of the Angel, calling him. Fearguis had it even worse: he could remember the entity's thoughts. We have been lucky, McMillan realised. Any longer, and they would have died. But what did this entity want, except going home? And why was it ready to kill for that? Those were questions he figured he might never have answered...
Well, such was the life of a Starfleet Captain. All he could do now, was to go on, towards the next mission. Because whatever Starfleet had planned for the Gibraltar, it would probably be big...
A few hours earlier...
A ship leaving spacedock was always a great moment. It was a tribute to the spacedock's engineers and to the crew of that ship. And it looked great, too. Captain McMillan had seen numerous ships exit spacedock in his time in Starfleet. But to command the Gibraltar now, once again, as it made its way out of spacedock for the final time... it was amazing.
The Gibraltar had been fully repaired and overhauled. All systems were working perfectly, and all the latest glitches had been fixed. The Gibraltar was ready for duty, as was its crew. McMillan was only one of the original crew, along with Lt.Cmdr. Braveheart and Cmdr. Fearguis. To have the latter as XO would take some getting used to, but hopefully Mr. Fearguis had figured out how to command at other assignments, before returning to the Gibraltar.
And he would need to have these skills, as the Gibraltar would soon be put to the test again: Starfleet had a mission for the Gibraltar crew, after all. They were to set course for Bengal IV, where rumours of a smuggler base coincided with some marvellous ruins of an ancient civilisation. McMillan and his crew were to go there, study the ruins and see if the rumours of smuggers, were true.
The trip to Bengal IV went smoothly, so before long the entire Bridge crew materialised on the surface of the planet. Starfleet had been right: these ruins were amazing. The scientist in McMillan wanted to stay here to study them, but he also knew he had to be on the look-out for smugglers. Nevertheless, he allowed the crew to explore a bit, which caused them to find the remains of a building, which was damaged by the hands of time.
In the middle of this building lay a circle, filled with some sort of light. Outside of it, with its back turned to this circle, stood a statue of an Angel. This obviously had been some sort of temple, in long lost times. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, until both Captain McMillan and Commander Fearguis stepped into the light... and were suddenly overcome with an urge to go to the Angel. The Angel was calling...
It didn't take the Gibraltar crew long to beam their CO and XO back to the ship, where CMO Talax and Nurse Mathy did every scan in the book. And while McMillan's condition improved, Fearguis' condition deteriorated. Before long *he* wasn't in control of his body anymore... the Angel was.
It seemed that the Angel was actually some sort of gasceous lifeform, trying to return to its own people. It had been trapped here, and had tried to communicate with the smugglers on the surface. Unfortunately, its way of communicating often lead to death... and that was where Fearguis was heading towards as well...
Luckily, Science Officer Portal managed to establish a transporterlock on Fearguis, dematerialising both him and the entity, after which she re-materialised only Fearguis. He was cured, but the entity's 'friends', which surrounded the ship, came in and took the entity away from the Gibraltar crew. It was home once again.
A while later, in the Captain's Ready Room, McMillan closed his eyes. He could still see the bright burning eyes of the Angel, calling him. Fearguis had it even worse: he could remember the entity's thoughts. We have been lucky, McMillan realised. Any longer, and they would have died. But what did this entity want, except going home? And why was it ready to kill for that? Those were questions he figured he might never have answered...
Well, such was the life of a Starfleet Captain. All he could do now, was to go on, towards the next mission. Because whatever Starfleet had planned for the Gibraltar, it would probably be big...
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Personal Log, Captain McMillan
USS Gibraltar, Captain's personal log.
Captain RoBobby McMillan reporting.
I thought we'd never get out.
The Gibraltar has been dragged in and out of spacedock for the better part of a year. The pursuits of Slade, and the Borg missions, had left the ship in quite a mess. Nothing was broken, per say, but nothing worked the way it should, either. When a ship has been through whatever we have been through, it's no surprise that shipyard engineers find something wrong with it. But never, in my wildest dreams, had I thought that they'd found so much.
Sure, a little R&R was fun. But I even had to accept another position, in order to keep busy! And when I returned to the Gibraltar, I found that most of my crew was reassigned, and the repairs were far from complete! Luckily, I managed to get several crewmembers back, including my Chief Security Officer. We've got some new crewmembers too, like my new First Officer, a certain Dave Fearguis. It'd be interesting to see what he's got to offer to the ship.
But crew changes were the least of my worries, the last few months. No. . . there was talk of scrapping the Gibraltar, since apparently a few engineers had screwed up. Luckily, lots of repairs and a couple of testflights later, the ship is once again as good as new. Everything works... or well, so I hope.
I've just received my orders, too. I am to take the Gibraltar out, the day after tomorrow. Monday, August 15th... we're to go to see if rumours of a smuggler base are true, on a planet with lots of archaeological findings. This should be good. It'd be a good testrun for the Gibraltar, as well as her crew. Let's hope we don't get into much trouble. . .
And let's hope that in the near future, we'll finally be able to catch the renegade, Slade. She's been eluding us for too long. Perhaps it's a good thing we haven't heard from her... but then again, her laying low might be even more cause for alarm than us finding out where she is. In either case, if she's up to something, we'll find out eventually. And I'm sure we won't like it, whatever it is.
Well, I've got a final inspection of the ship, to give my official 'okidoki' to the shipyard's engineering team. Let's hope they haven't screwed up now.
Captain RoBobby McMillan, CO USS Gibraltar,
signing off.
Monday, 1 August 2011
Episode 30: "Hot and cold"
USS Gibraltar, Episode 30: "Hot and Cold"
31st of July 2011
Crew:
Robobby McMillan, CO (Captain)
Sereana Westland, Security (Commander)
Gokyu Ugajin, OPS (Lieutenant)
Richardjrn Weatherwax, Helm (rank unknown)
Observer:
Kathryn Shaufer
Summary:
It'd been a while, but the Gibraltar has finally been released from spacedock. There have been updates to various systems, so the crew takes the Gibraltar on a testflight. However, they quickly receive a distress call from a tropical world: Alpha Tangea IV. It's a relatively young colony, set up as a tropical paradise.
When the Gibraltar arrives, they find a strange device in the upper atmosphere, which jams communications. When the crew beams down, they don't find a tropical paradise, but an arctic mountain. However, the mountain, and the snow on it, don't reach further than 15 kilometers, where the snow just stops abruptly. This, Commander Westland realises, is very unlikely.
It gets more unbelievable as they go along. Inside the mountain, in a cave, they find a ladder which leads to a cavern, filled with palmtrees and a hot spring. It's warmer in there than on the surface. It's impossible that this can exist here.
In order to not freeze to death, the crew take as many readings as possible, before heading back to the Gibraltar. There, the crew discusses what this means. They find that the device in orbit emits holographic signals... the mountain and the snow and all are a very sophisticated hologram! But why? The obvious question is quickly asked: could it be Slade?
However, speculation would need to wait for later, since the crew tries to find a way to disable the device. They quickly find one, and as the device is disabled, the holograms disappear. The planet turns back to normal, but the device explodes just as it's brought to the cargobay. Unfortunately, there's no way to know who did this and why...
31st of July 2011
Crew:
Robobby McMillan, CO (Captain)
Sereana Westland, Security (Commander)
Gokyu Ugajin, OPS (Lieutenant)
Richardjrn Weatherwax, Helm (rank unknown)
Observer:
Kathryn Shaufer
Summary:
It'd been a while, but the Gibraltar has finally been released from spacedock. There have been updates to various systems, so the crew takes the Gibraltar on a testflight. However, they quickly receive a distress call from a tropical world: Alpha Tangea IV. It's a relatively young colony, set up as a tropical paradise.
When the Gibraltar arrives, they find a strange device in the upper atmosphere, which jams communications. When the crew beams down, they don't find a tropical paradise, but an arctic mountain. However, the mountain, and the snow on it, don't reach further than 15 kilometers, where the snow just stops abruptly. This, Commander Westland realises, is very unlikely.
It gets more unbelievable as they go along. Inside the mountain, in a cave, they find a ladder which leads to a cavern, filled with palmtrees and a hot spring. It's warmer in there than on the surface. It's impossible that this can exist here.
In order to not freeze to death, the crew take as many readings as possible, before heading back to the Gibraltar. There, the crew discusses what this means. They find that the device in orbit emits holographic signals... the mountain and the snow and all are a very sophisticated hologram! But why? The obvious question is quickly asked: could it be Slade?
However, speculation would need to wait for later, since the crew tries to find a way to disable the device. They quickly find one, and as the device is disabled, the holograms disappear. The planet turns back to normal, but the device explodes just as it's brought to the cargobay. Unfortunately, there's no way to know who did this and why...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)