Part 1 Above!Lisa took a seat in one of the nearby chairs, folding one leg under her other one and leaning on the arm of the chair itself. “Pretty big, comfy chairs for such a small base,” she remarked.
“Don't let size deter your thoughts. We've got some of the best stuff this side of the galaxy out here in this little base. Black or cream and sugar?”
“The latter,” Lisa replied. “So, what'd you wanna talk about?”
“Damn, you're persistent and impatient,” McNabb replied, bringing over the cups of coffee. Lisa took hers and sipped it, immediately feeling warm inside.
“Mmmm,” was all she said.
McNabb chuckled. “I make pretty good coffee if I do say so myself. Alright, let's move on to business. You already know we wanted you working with us on this particular mission, and you accepted. But I'm thinking about upping the offer.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, knowing full well what he meant.
Sighing, McNabb folded his hands on his desk and leaned forward. “Well, no skipping around the bush. Your situation is a dire one. You've lost most of your memories involving your adult life. I have a feeling that this was no freak accident. I think this was downright intentional. You possess skills that have no clear origin. On one hand, I want to keep you here till we find out what happened to you and how you came to acquire such skills. On the other hand, I would also like your assistance while we go about that.”
Lisa sipped some more of her coffee and motioned for him to go on.
“This isn't something that could happen overnight. It's gonna take a while. During that time, I figure it'd be good for both us at the base, as well as yourself, to be involved in activities best suited to your nature.”
She had already made up her mind, but she wanted to inquire further. “How would you help me with my memories?”
“Well, the science team leader has been known to crank out some very interesting technology. He's a genius in his own right. I have no doubt that as a powerful man of science, he could help you overcome whatever is blocking those memories. Hopefully sooner than later,” McNabb finished, smiling.
Lisa looked at the floor for a moment, quickly digesting what she'd been told. Didn't really seem like an option, to her. Where else was she going to go? What else was she going to do?
“I accept,” she said, looking the Commander in the eye.
McNabb leaned back at last, his smile now a grin. “Excellent. I'm glad to have you on board. A few papers from now, you'll be an official member of our little group. That's all I wanted to cover, really.”
Lisa nodded. “I better be getting to bed myself, then.” She stood and sat the coffee cup on his desk. “Thank you. You know, for what you've done and what you're doing.”
“Hey, ain't no skin off of my nose. I'm always glad to help a friend. Granted, we haven't known each other for long... but let's just say I have good feelings about a few select people in my life. You're one of them,” McNabb said, winking.
Lisa smiled. “Well, glad to hear that. Good night,” she said, heading for the door. She was almost out into the hall when she remembered something.
“I almost forgot to show you this,” she said, heading back towards his desk. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the picture and handed it over.
“What's th-” he started to ask, but then he saw who was in the picture. He grew still for a moment, then looked up at her, his face expressionless. “Where did you get this?”
“It was under my pillow,” Lisa replied, unable to determine if he was angry or shocked or something else entirely. “Do you... do you know them?”
McNabb looked back at the picture. By all rights he shouldn't tell her about this, but she had skills that they needed. Of course, if he told her what had been going on in the past few years... well, she already knew about the aliens. How could much more hurt her or scare her off? “Yeah, I know them,” he said finally. “The man is Mac Turner. That's his wife Jess and daughter Emily with him. He... he was a soldier here, at this base. There's a couple people who were here then. They'd remember him. Can't forget a man like that.”
Lisa took a seat, again. “Did he... did he die?”
McNabb shrugged. “He left here about 5 years ago, just after the Karith incident. He was a major player in that event, more than you could know. Just a young fellow, mid 20's at the most. He and I got along great, and I almost considered him to be a son.”
“He was one of those few you got along with? The ones you mentioned to Troy?”
Nodding, McNabb continued. “He and Jess got married, and she had the baby, They showed up once or twice a year to visit, and they stayed in that back room. The last time was about two years ago; that picture was taken then just outside the base. If you look closely, you can see a bit of the colony in the bottom right. Anyways, that last time, he and I had a talk and he said that he was probably going to have to stay low for a while. Word was that Karith was royally pissed off and wanted his ass dead for what he helped do to them. So we said our goodbyes, for then, anyways, and he pretty much vanished. I haven't seen any of them since.”
Lisa cocked her head to one side, a quizzical look on her face. “You keep mentioning the Karith incident. What happened?”
“You realize...” McNabb started to say, then hesitated. “Well, you realize if I tell you this, you can't repeat it to anyone? Not even your closest friends. We've been ordered to keep all info and property regarding that event in lockdown, and that includes whatever we may say. Like I said, a few of us here at the base were here then, but no one dares to speak of it to anyone else. Mum's the word, darling. Total silence. Can I trust you?”
Lisa closed her eyes, then nodded. She didn't remember ever being a dishonest and otherwise untrustworthy person; that was good enough for her. Whatever those hidden memories contained, though... well, that was a bridge that could be crossed later.
“I might have to show you a few things as well, but first, the story.” McNabb leaned back and composed himself. “Actually, I think we could use some more coffee. We're gonna need it.”
He got up and walked over to the pot. “The day I met Turner was a rainy one and a loud one. The ship that brought him in set off the damn earsplitting alarm...”
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“...and that brings it to a close. Mac and Jess left to raise their little girl, and then the things I told you about earlier happened and I haven't seen them since. I wish I knew where they were, though. Those are the kind of people you don't meet more than once in a lifetime.”
Lisa broke out of her trance. She'd been completely captivated. “So everyone here at the base helped fight the alien scourge?”
“Well, some of them have moved on, but yes, quite a few,” McNabb replied. He knew by her facial expression what question was next.
“But how is that possible?” Lisa asked. “There's not nearly enough soldiers here to pull off such a thing. Also, to have them all so well trained? I doubt it.”
McNabb made a grimace and sighed. “Well, this is where the showing part comes in, I guess. Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
McNabb said nothing and walked over to the wall. He slid a picture to the left, revealing an electronic keypad built into the wall. He pushed a few keys and part of the wall slid back, revealing a tunnel. “Come on.”
She had no choice but to follow, and her curiosity had gotten a hold of her. After a couple feet, McNabb began to speak again.
“I've been talking with a few commanders at other bases stationed around this area, and they've reported Karith activity as well. They weren't wiped out completely, it seems, just made to be very low key. Nothing like the corporate giant we fought back in the day, five years ago. No one knows what they're up to, as the whole alien incident was kept low key and pretty much only mentioned in top secret government files. I have an idea, though.”
“So they created and bred these aliens?”
McNabb shook his head. “No, they didn't create them. We don't know where they got them from. Nothing in their records about that, and the ones that represented the company in the trials didn't disclose any info about that either. During our galactic expansion, we've never seen any, so any ideas on our end would be complete guesswork.”
“I see. Where are we going?” Lisa asked again.
“This is a back passage to the important science labs. It's where the files and such on the Karith incident are kept, as well as the place the experiments were performed. Those files aren't allowed to be in the base's public database, if you were wondering why they're in the science lab.”
“No, I think I got the idea that they're super top secret,” Lisa replied, smiling.
“Good,” McNabb said, opening a door ahead of them. They emerged into a bright room full of white light. Desks and tables covered most of the floor, with a row of file cabinets against the far wall. Across the room from those were plexiglass cages with holes cut in them. “The aliens were kept there. None of them were small enough to squeeze out through the holes, but we could drop stuff in there. Food and the like. They were awfully fond of rats. And over there, through that door,” he continued, pointing, “is the refrigeration units.”
“Where today's find has been locked away,” a new voice said. Lisa and McNabb turned around. There, behind them, was a man in a wheelchair. He had white hair and a beard to match, and he was still dressed in his lab outfit. “You don't come down this way much, John. These young students and their newfangled ideas rattle me up sometimes. Wish you'd come around more often so we could talk about the good old days.”
McNabb laughed and stepped forward, patting the older man on the shoulder. “Well, I'll do that. Lisa, I'd like you to meet the head of the science team, Dr. McGregor.”
Lisa smiled and shook his hand. “It's nice to meet you. The Commander here says you're a genius. Everyone could use one of those around, right?”
The two men laughed. “Yes, I'm something of a science wizard, if I say so myself,” McGregor replied.
“Also, considering what you know, Lisa, I think you can drop the commander thing and just call me John,” McNabb said.
“Well, ok... John,” Lisa said, then looked at McGregor. “What put you in that chair, if I may ask?”
“Nasty incident with a dragoon,” he replied. “The thing broke one of our plexiglass containers and took a nice bite out of my left leg. We had to put the thing down, of course. It was too voracious and deadly to try and capture it in such a closed in area.”
“Oh,” Lisa said, looking at the floor. She tried to imagine being without one of her legs and winced. It would be a horrible life, for her. To be constrained to a chair... that was no fun.
“I've got something to discuss with you,” McNabb said, looking at the lead scientist. “I've been talking with the others in our command circle, and they've reported Karith activity as well. They unanimously agreed that we should send out a spec ops team to investigate. I'm sure you understand who they mean when they said they wanted the best of the best.”
McGregor frowned, then nodded. “Yes, I suppose it's time for that again. I was itching for some action anyways. Shall I go ahead and wake them?”
McNabb nodded. “The sooner the better.”
Nodding, McGregor wheeled over to a desk and began typing at a computer. Slowly the lights began to dim.
“You know, John... you're pretty crafty when it comes to avoiding my questions,” Lisa said, smirking.
“Oh, is that so?” McNabb replied, smirking right back at her.
“Yeah, it is. You never explained how you took down Karith with just this base full of soldiers and scientists. You also said Mac had a very large role in taking them down. How does one man and a military base take on a huge corporation?”
The room was now almost completely dark, but behind Lisa, blue and white lights began to glow.
McNabb crossed his arms. “Well, in some ways Mac was one man... and in others, he wasn't one man at all.”
“What?!” Lisa asked, bewildered. “What are you talking about?”
“I,” McNabb replied, motioning behind her with his head, “am talking about them.”
Lisa turned around, her eyes widening. Panels on the wall had opened, revealing tanks full of light and what looked like some clear, liquid chemical. Above each tank was a distinctive number. But it wasn't the numbering system or the tanks themselves that made her suddenly gasp, but what was floating in them.
“Meet the Turner clones,” McGregor said, wheeling up next to them.
“Oh my God,” Lisa said, walking forward. She touched the glass carefully, almost as if it would break. “They look just like him.” She looked up at the number over the tank. It read: #13.
“They also adopted his combat traits, which is what we really wanted. A lot of them fought beside him too. The best soldiers in the galaxy, right here,” McNabb said. “We're going to hand pick a few of them to form the spec ops team and investigate these reports. That one there is a bit tougher than the others, so he'll be team leader. Always had a knack for wanting to get the job done. Remember when he disassembled the cloning machine, McGregor?”
The scientist chuckled. “Won't ever forget it.”
Lisa stepped back and took a place next to the others, thinking:
This is something amazing here. Three days ago, I was completely lost and had no place in life. Now I'm heading for a new and brighter future, all in no time. I'm not even sure if I'll want to remember who I was pretty soon. Maybe that's what they should be... forgotten memories. I'll... I'll just make new ones.“Are they waking up?” she asked.
McNabb nodded. “In a second or so.”
“This is amazing,” Lisa said, repeating her earlier thought.
McNabb nodded. “Yes... yes, it is.”
Yes, that's what I'll do. Make new memories. And the person that I was... well, she can stay dead. Time for me to make a new life... time to become someone new and better.Inside the tank, #13's fingers began to move.
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The End
