Past Prologue, Part 16

Posted on Fri May 31, 2019 @ 7:21am by Commander Caleb Ryan

1,377 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Things Past
Location: USS Winchester/Federation Space near the Klingon Border
Timeline: FLASHBACK: 2375/Toward the End of the Dominion War

Artemis was recovering remarkably quickly from his ordeal, at least physically. The horrors that he had seen on that rogue planet were a lot harder to get over. It had been three days since they last had word from Starfleet Intelligence. No orders had been given. Absent them, the ship was at a loss, so Artemis had told Lodoric to patrol the border. It was boring, tedious work, made worse by the fact that Artemis was still on enforced medical leave.

“Captain, you shouldn’t be up,” Dr. Desatu said as she approached him.

“I need a walk, Doctor,” he said, cracking his neck. “I’m feeling caged.”

Desatu pursed her full lips, scrutinizing him with her dark, ageless eyes. “Very well. Your recovery has been going well. I can let you out for a little bit. But then you need to rest.”

“Can I at least be released to return to quarters?”

“Can I trust you to take it easy?”

Artemis gave a disarming smile.

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Of course not,” she said. “Fine. I will sign your discharge papers. But you’re back in here and flat on your back if you have any relapse.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

As Zoe filled out the paperwork, Pierce pulled on a fresh uniform, moving gingerly. Once the formalities were completed, he eagerly left sickbay.

===

Artemis exited the turbolift on the senior officer’s deck and headed toward the bow of the ship. He spotted the two security officers he had ordered stationed outside the VIP quarters. They quickly straightened to attention as the captain approached.

“At ease,” Pierce said. “Anything?” he asked, nodding toward the door. It was secured not only by the control panel but also with an additional security override disk.

“Nothing, sir. Not a peep.”

The ensign held out a padd, which was tapped into the internal sensors. Pierce looked into the room via the hidden camera he’d had installed. The girls sat in a circle facing each other, still as death, only the slight rise and fall of their breathing giving them away.

“They hardly move from that position, sir,” the security officer reported. “They move to retrieve their meals at the preprogrammed time the replicator creates them. They exercise in the morning and read in the afternoon. Use the facilities. And then they just…sit there.”

Pierce frowned. “That seems…unusual behavior.”

“Sir?” the security officer asked.

Pierce nodded, glad that word hadn’t spread about the girls.

“Any indication of violent behavior?”

“No, sir. Perfect angels.”

Artemis tapped his finger against the padd, thinking. “I’ve seen that position before,” he mused. “Isn’t that a Vulcan meditative technique?”

The security officer shrugged. “I don’t know, sir.”

“Open the door,” Caleb said, handing the padd back to the ensign.

“Yes sir.” The other officer moved to the security lock and punched in the code. He yanked the seal off and handed it to the first officer. Then he entered the access code on door panel and it slid open.

As Artemis entered the room, the girls opened their eyes. Seeing him, they all stood up and fell into a line, as if at attention. They were dressed identically in white trousers and tunics with simple white shoes, the basic clothing pattern of the replicator. It made the three clones even more indistinguishable, though Artemis thought he perceived a bit more tightening around the eyes of the third child as they stared at him.

“At ease…” Artemis tried, and the girls immediately slid into a more relaxed stance, feet a bit apart, arms clasped behind their backs, which were still erect, and they still stood in perfect formation.

What had Section 31 done to these girls?

“Do you know who I am?” Pierce asked.

“You are the captain of this vessel,” said the first girl.

“Yes,” Pierce said.

“You should be dead,” the third girl said.

The second girl gave her a warning look.

“Yes, I agree,” Artemis said. “I should be. But apparently I’m damn lucky.” He gave a rather wan smile. “Was it you who put the knife in me?”

The third girl stiffened. “I have never before failed,” she said angrily.

“Well, I won’t tell anyone if you won’t,” Pierce said dryly.

The girl scowled, confused.

“That is the past,” Artemis said with a wave of his hand. “You killed a lot of good men.”

“They were intruders.”

Pierce had to give a nod of acknowledgment. “Nevertheless, I have a lot of letters to write now. Family to contact.”

He saw the confused looks on their faces.

“Family. Mothers. Fathers…” He closed his eyes. They were clones. They had no concept of such things. “Sisters…” He gestured between the three of them.

“We have many sisters,” the first girl said. “What happened to them?”

Artemis hid a wince. “They…were killed,” he said.

The girls narrowed their eyes. “You killed them?”

“Yes,” Artemis said simply.

They paused to consider, and then simply nodded.

Artemis let out a breath. He was in no condition to fight these three off again if they decided to attack him, and he doubted his security officers were better than the Marines the girls had killed.

“How old are you?” he asked.

The girls looked at each other, considering, and then back at him. “One year,” the first one said.

“Good Lord,” Pierce replied. “Accelerated aging?”

The second girl shrugged.

Pierce made a mental note to have Dr. Desatu check on that, see if the altered genes were still active and stop the process before it went out of control.

“I’m Captain Pierce,” he introduced himself. “But you can call me Artemis.” He crouched down to their level, wincing as his recovering muscles protested. “What are your names?”

“E1.”

“E2.”

“E3.”

Pierce blinked and stared at the girls. They must have interpreted his surprise for a desire for further explanation.

“Experiment,” E2 said. “The doctors and trainers found it easier.”

Pierce nodded. He felt anger bubbling inside. These were intelligent, living beings. He forced himself to smile.

“Well, those won’t do at all,” he said. “You need real names.”

E3 frowned at him. He was beginning to recognize the perpetual scowl. “Why?”

“Because everybody needs a name,” Pierce said. “How about…Elisa…Eden…and Eve?”

The girls frowned, pondering the names.

“I…like it,” E1 said.

“Me, too,” E2 said, smiling shyly.

E3 scowled. “I guess it’s okay,” she said, crossing her arms.

Pierce smiled. “Wonderful.” He straightened and looked around the room. “I bet it’s pretty boring in here,” he said.

“Yes,” Eve grumbled.

Eden dug her elbow into Eve’s side and Elisa gave her a disapproving look.

“Well, let me see if I can do something about that.”

Artemis went over to the replicator. He hit a few buttons and the device whirred. Then he reached in and pulled out the three rag dolls. “How’s this?” He handed a doll to each girl.

Taking the dolls, they tentatively studied the red yarn hair, the stitched face, the motley dress. “What are they?” Eve asked.

“Dolls. Little girls. Like you,” Artemis said, crouching down again. “And they’re special, just like you.”

“How?” Eden asked, her dark eyes widening. Elisa looked interested, too.

“Whenever you feel bad, or sad, or lonely, or scared, you just tell your doll and she will give you a big hug and make you feel better. And when you sleep, she stays awake and keeps you safe.”

All three girls, even Eve, stared at him in astonishment, and then looked down at their dolls.

Pierce smiled. “Like you, they’re going to need names,” he said. “So why don’t I leave you to think about it and I’ll see if I can get you some more toys.”

“Okay…” Elisa said quietly.

“Thank you, Cap—Artemis,” Eden said.

Eve didn’t say anything, but she hugged her doll tightly as she stared up at him. Maybe her scowl wasn’t quite as deep.

TBC

Captain Artemis Pierce
Commanding Officer
USS Winchester

Lieutenant Doctor Zoe Desatu
Chief Medical Officer
USS Winchester

E1 (Elisa One)
Augment clone

E2 (Eden Two)
Augment clone

E3 (Eve Three)
Augment clone

 

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