Post by Kossuth on Feb 28, 2017 14:16:40 GMT -5
During the Klingon-Federation War...
The Klingons were merciless... they seemed to transport in endlessly; or at least, it seemed that way to the security staff of the Starship Paramount. The normally pristine halls of the refit Galaxy-class ship stunk of burning flesh and carpet and uniforms and metal, and that vague scent of ozone that always seemed present after the discharge of an energy weapon in close quarters. The ship was being torn apart on the inside by the boarding parties, while the ship simultaneously tried to fight off the attacking Klingon vessels.
Lieutenant Gabriel Frame, one of the security officers of the ship, hadn't received new orders in some time. Maybe his commbadge was broken; after all, he had been knocked around quite a bit. A torpedo hit the saucer section, he thought, because it threw him all the way across the room and into the bulkhead. Or maybe the commbadge broke when a Klingon soldier tossed him into a support pillar. Or maybe his commanding officer was dead, which was a possibility.
At this point, it didn't much matter to him. He fought from hall to hall and from room to room, taking a moment to identify his target. If it moved, and if it wasn't wearing a Starfleet uniform, he opened fire. He didn't feel pain, probably due to the adrenaline, but he knew he was hurt bad if only due to the sticky wetness that coated the left side of his body.
He pressed onward, alone, doing damage and taking damage, until he found himself trapped behind a set of cargo containers in one of the ship's bays. As he took cover in order to catch his breath and plan his next move, his eye caught a small silver cylinder drop to his side with a clank. He recognized it instantly as a photon grenade, and closed his eyes just as it went off...
***
"What the hell is this?" Doctor McMae, one of the physicians at the Polus IV medical center, looked skeptically at her assistant. They had been treating the survivors of the Paramount, which had limped back to Polus IV after barely defeating its opponents.
"It's orders from Starfleet. I know, it's unusual. But I've verified it three times already and it's legitimate." Her assistant informed.
She read it aloud. "By order of Rear Admiral Arak Verdaan, you are instructed to keep the body of Lieutenant Frame in stasis until a courier arrives to take charge of Lieutenant Frame. This is a priority one order." She added her own input at the end: "I can't believe this! It's unethical to leave him alive." She looked over at the biobed on the other side of the room, which held the remains of the Lieutenant... which weren't much, really. A head. Part of a torso. Part of an arm. The brain was barely alive, kept together only by the stasis field.
The assistant shrugged. "Not sure what we can do, Doc. We have to comply with the order."
The doctor slumped into her chair. "I guess you're right."
A few moments later, a young Lieutenant walked into the medbay. He slicked down his hair with one hand as he glanced around the room, eventually focusing on the Doctor. She sighed and looked up at him.
"You must be the courier." She said.
"That's right." He nodded with a small smile, prompting a sigh from the Doctor.
"The Lieutenant's remains are right this way, Mr...?" She asked as she stood up.
"Springfield." He said as he fell in behind her.
***
Gabriel woke up with a start, in a biobed in some hospital he didn't recognize.. The last thing he remembered was taking a photon grenade point blank, but he looked down and... everything seemed fine. Not a scratch on him.
"Am I dead?" He wondered aloud.
"No, you're very much alive, Mr. Frame." The voice came from the other side of the room, where a Bajoran admiral sat. He smiled at Gabriel. "My name is Arak Verdaan, I'm an Admiral with Starfleet."
Gabriel blinked. "Sir!" He started to climb out of the biobed to stand at attention, but as he grabbed the durasteel rail on the side of the bed, it crushed in his hand like a tin can. He immediately stopped, looking puzzled.
"Don't stand up just yet, Mr. Frame. No need for formalities right now, given what you've been through."
Gabriel withdrew his hand and looked at the crushed durasteel. "What's going on, Admiral?"
"This might be hard to hear, Mr. Frame, but you nearly died. You took too much damage for Starfleet to bring your body back. But we had a medical program we call the Synergy Program... it involves placing a humanoid brain inside an android body. And that's exactly what happened in your case."
Frame was stunned. He looked at his hand and then his arm and his legs.
"But it feels so real. It doesn't feel like... I'm an android." The young officer seemed mystified.
"I know. The interface is very advanced. You need to get used to your own strength. You'll find that you're able to run faster, jump higher, lift more weight than you had ever dreamed of before. And we have a few other features that we will brief you on soon."
"So once I'm ready, you're going to send me back to the War, right?"
Arak took a breath. "No, actually. We have another job for you."
Frame shook his head. "I can't abandon the War, Admiral... I just can't turn my back on it."
The Admiral considered his response. "You see, Mr. Frame... there are some dangers out there that are not public knowledge. Things too advanced for Starfleet to study. My job is to contain them. I've been trying to assemble a hazard team to deal with these kinds of threats, and I think you're the perfect man for the job. You'll be serving Starfleet, but in a different way. And make no mistake, it's a very vital way. There are others to continue the war. You have a different destiny."
Frame laughed a bit. "Who am I to argue with the guardian angel that brought me back from death?"
Arak smiled. "All I did was give you the chance to be a guardian angel for others. Let me tell you about what we call Project Avalon..."
[End]
The Klingons were merciless... they seemed to transport in endlessly; or at least, it seemed that way to the security staff of the Starship Paramount. The normally pristine halls of the refit Galaxy-class ship stunk of burning flesh and carpet and uniforms and metal, and that vague scent of ozone that always seemed present after the discharge of an energy weapon in close quarters. The ship was being torn apart on the inside by the boarding parties, while the ship simultaneously tried to fight off the attacking Klingon vessels.
Lieutenant Gabriel Frame, one of the security officers of the ship, hadn't received new orders in some time. Maybe his commbadge was broken; after all, he had been knocked around quite a bit. A torpedo hit the saucer section, he thought, because it threw him all the way across the room and into the bulkhead. Or maybe the commbadge broke when a Klingon soldier tossed him into a support pillar. Or maybe his commanding officer was dead, which was a possibility.
At this point, it didn't much matter to him. He fought from hall to hall and from room to room, taking a moment to identify his target. If it moved, and if it wasn't wearing a Starfleet uniform, he opened fire. He didn't feel pain, probably due to the adrenaline, but he knew he was hurt bad if only due to the sticky wetness that coated the left side of his body.
He pressed onward, alone, doing damage and taking damage, until he found himself trapped behind a set of cargo containers in one of the ship's bays. As he took cover in order to catch his breath and plan his next move, his eye caught a small silver cylinder drop to his side with a clank. He recognized it instantly as a photon grenade, and closed his eyes just as it went off...
***
"What the hell is this?" Doctor McMae, one of the physicians at the Polus IV medical center, looked skeptically at her assistant. They had been treating the survivors of the Paramount, which had limped back to Polus IV after barely defeating its opponents.
"It's orders from Starfleet. I know, it's unusual. But I've verified it three times already and it's legitimate." Her assistant informed.
She read it aloud. "By order of Rear Admiral Arak Verdaan, you are instructed to keep the body of Lieutenant Frame in stasis until a courier arrives to take charge of Lieutenant Frame. This is a priority one order." She added her own input at the end: "I can't believe this! It's unethical to leave him alive." She looked over at the biobed on the other side of the room, which held the remains of the Lieutenant... which weren't much, really. A head. Part of a torso. Part of an arm. The brain was barely alive, kept together only by the stasis field.
The assistant shrugged. "Not sure what we can do, Doc. We have to comply with the order."
The doctor slumped into her chair. "I guess you're right."
A few moments later, a young Lieutenant walked into the medbay. He slicked down his hair with one hand as he glanced around the room, eventually focusing on the Doctor. She sighed and looked up at him.
"You must be the courier." She said.
"That's right." He nodded with a small smile, prompting a sigh from the Doctor.
"The Lieutenant's remains are right this way, Mr...?" She asked as she stood up.
"Springfield." He said as he fell in behind her.
***
Gabriel woke up with a start, in a biobed in some hospital he didn't recognize.. The last thing he remembered was taking a photon grenade point blank, but he looked down and... everything seemed fine. Not a scratch on him.
"Am I dead?" He wondered aloud.
"No, you're very much alive, Mr. Frame." The voice came from the other side of the room, where a Bajoran admiral sat. He smiled at Gabriel. "My name is Arak Verdaan, I'm an Admiral with Starfleet."
Gabriel blinked. "Sir!" He started to climb out of the biobed to stand at attention, but as he grabbed the durasteel rail on the side of the bed, it crushed in his hand like a tin can. He immediately stopped, looking puzzled.
"Don't stand up just yet, Mr. Frame. No need for formalities right now, given what you've been through."
Gabriel withdrew his hand and looked at the crushed durasteel. "What's going on, Admiral?"
"This might be hard to hear, Mr. Frame, but you nearly died. You took too much damage for Starfleet to bring your body back. But we had a medical program we call the Synergy Program... it involves placing a humanoid brain inside an android body. And that's exactly what happened in your case."
Frame was stunned. He looked at his hand and then his arm and his legs.
"But it feels so real. It doesn't feel like... I'm an android." The young officer seemed mystified.
"I know. The interface is very advanced. You need to get used to your own strength. You'll find that you're able to run faster, jump higher, lift more weight than you had ever dreamed of before. And we have a few other features that we will brief you on soon."
"So once I'm ready, you're going to send me back to the War, right?"
Arak took a breath. "No, actually. We have another job for you."
Frame shook his head. "I can't abandon the War, Admiral... I just can't turn my back on it."
The Admiral considered his response. "You see, Mr. Frame... there are some dangers out there that are not public knowledge. Things too advanced for Starfleet to study. My job is to contain them. I've been trying to assemble a hazard team to deal with these kinds of threats, and I think you're the perfect man for the job. You'll be serving Starfleet, but in a different way. And make no mistake, it's a very vital way. There are others to continue the war. You have a different destiny."
Frame laughed a bit. "Who am I to argue with the guardian angel that brought me back from death?"
Arak smiled. "All I did was give you the chance to be a guardian angel for others. Let me tell you about what we call Project Avalon..."
[End]