"Computer, begin personal log,
Commander... no, just Kieran Braveheart... I think. I don't know who
or what I am anymore. I am alone. Alone on this ship, that I thought
I knew so well. The crew is dead. What am I to do? Perhaps... perhaps
if I send this log out, someone will find it. Someone will read it,
and someone will understand what happened here today. Because people
have to know. We cannot just be forgotten."
"It all started... I don't know
when, actually. We became aware of it just a few hours ago. We, the
crew of the USS Gibraltar, were just minding our own business,
returning after having scanned another planet, when we received a
message from Starfleet Command. The news wasn't good. Apparently,
when we boarded the USS Troudell a while back, we caught a virus and
brought it back to the Gibraltar. Starfleet Medical was
working on the issue, so Command told us, but in the meantime they
put the Gibraltar under medical quarantine. We had to drop out
of warp, and simply... wait. Captain McMillan didn't like that."
"According to Starfleet, this
unknown virus caused people to go through behavioural changes and
severe headaches. It wasn't something to look forward to, that was
certain. But, orders were orders, and the Captain told us to stand
down, and check all the systems, just in case."
"I joined Ensigns Miyaki and
Johnson to check things in Engineering: what we found there wasn't
good. Apparently this virus, whatever it was, seemed to be
*manufactured*, rather than created naturally. We hurried back to the
Bridge to report this, at which point Captain McMillan just... lost
it."
"The Captain started complaining
about severe headaches: he wanted the light level lowered, even
though it hadn't gone any brighter or anything. He also went on
responding out of character... becoming agitated by normal reports,
and even shouting at the officers under his command. That wasn't like
him. It was the first sign that something was wrong... terribly
wrong."
"Captain McMillan was brought to
Sickbay with respiratory problems, while I worked with the rest of
the crew to find out what was going on. I didn't have much time
though, since before I knew it I received a call from Ensign Johnson
down at Sickbay... telling me to get down there immediately. When I
got down there, I heard a tone I hoped I'd never hear: the flat line
tone indicating that a patient's heart had stopped beating. I looked
at Ensign Johnson, who was bringing out the medical devices used to
stimulate the heart once again."
"But it was no use. The Captain's
heart had just given up. Captain RoBobby McMillan was no more."
"As I called down the rest of the
senior crew to give them this sad news, Ensign Johnson –
heartbroken, and understandably so – started running a scan of the
late Captain. None of us could believe it: Lieutenant Weatherwax even
suggested that it might be some sort of stasis, but there was no
doubt about it: the Captain was dead. And as it turned out, he
wouldn't be the only one."
"Ensign Johnson seemed to have
found something... but she wasn't able to show what exactly. She too
began complaining about the bright light, and started acting
irrationally. It wasn't long before she too, died... in the arms of
the man she loved, Lieutenant Weatherwax. There was no time to grief
though: it was clear that the virus was spreading, rapidly. So I
ordered Weatherwax to go over Johnson's findings, while Ensign Miyaki
and myself went over to the science lab to get some answers."
"We were quickly recalled to
Sickbay, where Weatherwax found something. Something that would rock
our world. It turned out that both McMillan and Johnson were...
clones. But that wasn't all. After using the results of Johnson's
scan, he determined that the rest of us were clones too. We all were.
Even the ship was a copy."
"It was hard to take in. It still
is. Clones... us? I still have all the memories of Kieran Braveheart:
how I worked on the Borg taskforce for Admiral Janeway, how I left
the Gibraltar and later joined again, how I became the XO...
how could I be a clone? I couldn't accept it. I still can't."
"Not long after Weatherwax told us
this, his program suddenly started to destabilise. We couldn't do
anything about it: he just vanished. A few seconds later, Ensign
Miyaki collapsed to the ground. She too, had died. I found myself
alone in a room filled with corpses... people who used to be my
crewmates. Or not, if they were all clones."
"I don't know what to do anymore.
Someone has made this virus, that much is certain. And if we're all
clones, then someone must have made us too. Whoever reads this,
please... forward this log to Commander Kieran Braveheart of the USS
Gibraltar. They need to know. They've *got* to know. Our deaths
cannot have been in vain."
"Computer, save log, and send it
out on all frequencies."
<>Unable to comply.
Communications array has been disabled.<>
Kieran brought his fist down on the
desk, in anger. No, this couldn't be. All his crewmates had died, and
even though they were all clones, this was still mass murder. It was
a terrible tragedy: something people needed to know. He stood up, or
was about to, when he too found his head bursting with pain. The
virus was getting to him as well.
All of a sudden, he heard a voice
coming from the comm... even though the computer had just said that
the array had been disabled. =/\=Just accept it, Braveheart. You're a
clone. You'll die. And we won't miss you: I'll just make another
you.=/\=
The pain was almost overwhelming, but
Kieran stood up anyway. "Who are you? Identify yourself!"
=/\=Let's just say I'm your
creator.=/\= said the voice. =/\=I made you, and the rest of the
clones. However, your batch was defective. Too perfect: you actually
thought you were the Gibraltar crew. You lost track of our
mission. So I had no choice but to eliminate you.=/\=
"You created the virus!"
Kieran stated, leaning against the desk. It was hard to concentrate
now: the headache was getting worse.
=/\=Well done Braveheart, you figured
it out. Now, accept your fate, and kindly die. This was your
Creator... out.=/\=
Kieran moved to the chair, and sat
down, squinting his eyes. "I will not give you the satisfaction
of watching me die," he murmured. "I will not die laying
down. I... will not..."
A few seconds later, there was no
living sole left on this fake ship. Everyone on board was dead.
((At the same time, a few systems away,
on board the USS Gibraltar))
Captain RoBobby McMillan sat back in
his chair. "Any word from Starfleet yet?"
Commander Braveheart nodded. "It
seems that they've analysed what we brought back from the Troudell.
There's some rather interesting scientific data there. They commended
us for getting it."
McMillan smiled. "All in a day's
work." He looked at the viewscreen, which showed the stars
flying by. "Now... let's go back to finding those clones, shall
we? I've got a feeling they're nearby..."
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