U.S.S. Corsair - NX-011979
Nebula II Prototype
“Sic Parvis Magna”
(Greatness From Small Beginnings)
“The Key To Hell’s Gate – Part X”
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(Continued From Part 9…)
Taverain Ramius scowled at the booth suspended high above the cavern. A window was visible from the outside, yet its reflective surface made seeing the interior impossible.
“I expected you would make it this far”, Dr. Ballentine said calmly over the cavern’s loudspeaker his voice echoing off the rocky walls. “You are indeed resourceful and cunning just like your twin brother. I underestimated his abilities years ago however unfortunately for you I will not make the same mistake a second time.”
“Ballintine”, Ramius shouted at the observation booth. Ramius suspected Ballentine had anticipated being overrun and was barricaded high above with a commanding view of the entire cavern. “Show yourself”, Ramius challenged searching the upper levels for any sign of movement.
“No thank you Captain. I am quite content to remain where I am”, Ballentine responded over the speaker system. “It does appear you fared quite well in getting here. I had hoped my experiments would have thinned your ranks, however, I am dealing with the original progenitor whose talents are still to this day remarkable. However, your day, Ramius, is at an end. You’ve interfered with my research and NeoDyne’s plans for the last time.”
“What are you blabbering about”, Ramius shouted silently instructing the marines to fan out to find a ladder or lift to gain access to the observation booth.
“How well you know. However, if you really want an explanation I can provide one since you seem intent on diverting my attention while your men search unsuccessfully for my whereabouts.”
Ramius grimaced. His ploy to keep the doctor talking and distracted was not lost on the cunning doctor.
With a loud hiss, Ramius and his men quickly backtracked as the silver cylinder Ramius had noticed embedded in the black, polished floor of the cavern slowly slid upwards. Machines whirred beneath their feet as a large metal cylinder appeared at the center of the room. Clouds of white mist poured off the tube which appeared cold covered in a fine layer of white frost. The metallic cylinder suddenly retracted sliding back into the floor revealing a large clear tube with bubbling blue liquid. The massive enclosed cylinder churned with fluid obscuring something at its center from Ramius’s view.
“Behold Captain, my greatest accomplishment. It’s taken most of my life to realize. Far too much time I have wasted scouring the galaxy for you and your brother only to have you slip through my fingers again and again. Much time and effort was lost until I realized it was futile to continue hunting for something I might never obtain. I took it upon myself to go back to basics and reexamine your brother’s genetic code. There was once a day when I believed that you and you alone captain were vital to completing my work, but I overcame those obstacles. I discovered I no longer needed you or the genetic information you’ve so viciously guarded these past three decades.”
“You’re mad”, Ramius replied as he and his men searched for some means to ascend to the ruined catwalks high above.
“Am I”, Ballentine asked. “With your brother’s remarkable gift I was able to enhance its essence without your own genetic keys. I filled in the gaps after years of painstaking research and have nearly perfected my work. There are still some minor issues to be solved, but those are insignificant next to the breakthrough I have made.”
“And what is that Ballentine”, Ramius asked scouting the area for stairs, a ladder, something with which to ascend to the platform above. “You’re just being used by NeoDyne and its President, Alistair Merikai. He will use you until he sees no additional need for your particular brand of services. If whatever genetic creation you’ve managed to conjure up from the depths of hell impresses him, he’ll simply use it for his own ends and discard you. Doctor, you are a liability for you know too much. Once your usefulness is over I can assure you Merikai will eliminate you.”
“Spoken like a true intelligence operative. Your words hold some truth, but I didn’t survive these many years to become beholden to one man or entity nor crushed under a boot like an unwanted insect. The Federation ruined my career forty years ago over a few experiments they considered to be ethically border line. Instead of issuing a warning they threw the book at me! They slammed the door on one of their most preeminent minds over a few minor experiments that forty years later the same men would kill for!”
“The only one I see doing any killing is you and your NeoDyne patrons”, Ramius shouted. “Don’t hand me your sanctimony doctor”, Ramius answered. “You won’t get any pity from me. NeoDyne destroyed my family, murdered my parents, abducted and experimented on my brother, and has forced me to look over my shoulder at every turn for the last thirty years. I have nothing but hatred for them and everything they represent and anyone who willingly aids them in their lust for power.”
“Is that all that you care about Taverain? NeoDyne? They are nothing. Merikai wants an army to conquer the galaxy. He’s entitled to it. I care little for such things. However, my research has uncovered something far more valuable than a biological weapon. I’m on the very cusp of unlocking the secrets to immortality Ramius! A fountain of youth resides locked in you and your brother’s genetic code quietly waiting to be released and exploited. It’s taken me a lifetime of research and failures, but I’m one step away from achieving man’s greatest dream – the secret of conquering death itself! Merikai can have the galaxy. I’ll still be here long after the monuments he erects in his name have crumbled to dust.”
“You selfish bastard”, Ramius shouted. “How many lives have you sacrificed? How many have paid the price of your greed? You’re no different from Merikai! In fact, you may be worse using the building blocks of life to play God! How many lives have your actions turned into vicious, soulless monsters? What about their lives and their dreams? What gives you the right to kill with impunity?”
“Right? I have every right! Every human will crave my regenerative process and its effect will touch millions perhaps billions when perfected. What are a few human lives when compared to defeating death? The Federation and its expansion into the galaxy has claimed millions more lives than my own research. The recent dominion war killed thousands, if not more, and for what? Peace?
Peace is nothing more than a rest period for humanity and other races to gather resources, sharpen their spears, and martial forces for the next great conflict. The cycle never ends. Humanity is a pitiful species that deserves to be short lived, but for those elite few who I deem worthy, they can escape their mortal limitations. Men who never die can shape the future of the whole of humanity, mold it, and turn the warring, primitive masses from their destructive path. Such a goal may take centuries perhaps even eons, but however long the path I and others who share such a vision shall one day usher in a new era!”
“I see no future in such a twisted goal”, Ramius shouted back, “only a power hungry old man with delusions of grandeur who seeks to rule a kingdom of humanity forced into slavery and servitude at the beckon call of those humans who’s lives are artificially extended. Your peace would be a peace bought by blackmail with every human in existence begging you for your procedure to cheat his or her own mortality.
Countless men throughout the ages have sought and lusted after your fabled philosopher’s stone Ballentine. The ancient world believed the stone could turn any material to gold through alchemy and even grant humanity eternal life. Men devoted their lives to fabricating or locating the mythical stone, but it doesn’t exist. It’s a legend and nothing more. You’ve wasted your life and the lives of others chasing a fool’s dream! Only the deluded believe they can conquer death. It is every man’s destiny to face death! The inevitability of death Ballentine is what defines us as humans! Knowing our existence is finite is what makes us who and what we are! Removing the eventuality of death would cause humanity to stagnate, making us lazy and lethargic. With no clock ticking we’d never feel the urge to accomplish anything of value! Your plans for the future would bring utter ruin to the whole of humanity, not save it!”
“ENOUGH”, Ballentine shouted with a raspy, anger laden voice over the loudspeakers.
“If you so cherish a meeting with the reaper Taverain, then I’ll be happy to extend you an invitation. Behold, the first generation NeoDyne prototype. Ironic isn’t it Ramius, that the cells coursing through your veins will be directly responsible for spilling your own blood and ending your miserable existence! I’ll enjoy watching how well you perform. You may have been the first, but I’ve improved upon my original methods and far surpassed them in every way. While I have no doubt you will put up a good fight, your life this day is at an end Taverain Ramius.”
“If you kill me Ballentine, what of your research? Kill me and you lose the genetic keys you have so desperately sought these many years. I am your only source and only link to the information you need to finish your work!”
“Not so”, Ballentine answered to Ramius’s surprise. “I believe your brother provided me with just enough information. It isn’t perfect and it’s true your cells would be of great value, but I’ve overcome many obstacles. I simply no longer need you anymore. In any event, I can collect the samples I need from your corpse in a short while giving me everything I need to trump death and perhaps even God himself if such a deity exists!”
“You’re insane”, Ramius muttered.
“Insane or not, I shall live to see time itself come to its end, while your life will be over momentarily. I need some test data to further my research and NeoDyne stooges rarely provide the quality information I seek. They all die so quickly and pathetically. I’m sure your performance will be much more entertaining and valuable to my research. Now behold the ultimate triumph of science forty years in the making!”
A mechanical noise filled the deck around Ramius and his marines. The large tube at the center of the vast white room suddenly began to drain its bubbling fluid revealing the outline of a body within.
“SPREAD OUT”, Ramius shouted backing up toward the room’s wall. “FORM A PERIMETER SO WE CAN SETUP A CROSSFIRE! SET PHASERS TO KILL!”
Out of anger, Ramius fired his weapon at the control booth shattering its glass windows. There was no one inside. Had this entire chase been nothing more than a cleverly designed maze designed by the twisted doctor?
Ramius had no time to contemplate such matters. The doctor’s maniacal laughter filled the room as Ramius’s marines jumped into action surrounding the draining tube preparing for a fight. Ramius felt confident of success, but he was also keenly aware of his own abilities. If Ballentine had somehow managed to augment a human with an enhanced form of the alien genome Ramius couldn’t be sure what to expect. Only time would tell. All he could do was position himself and his men in the best possible defensive position to combat whatever horror the doctor had managed to construct.
Ballentine laughed over the speaker system which only served to fuel Ramius’s emotions. He was doing his best to swallow them, but this mission was testing his limits of self control. He had no desire to use his enhanced abilities and in fact had every reason not to out of fear of exposing his dark secret to the marines. The side effects of unleashing his anger and activating the dormant cells within him were terrible and would render him unable to command after a few minutes. He’d be no use to anyone for sometime until he recovered which could take an hour or more depending on how hard he pushed himself.
Ramius snapped his weapon up as the glass tube cracked. Seconds later the glass exploded as a body emerged from within dripping wet with blue, biomedical ooze giving the being a truly alien appearance. It was clear the being was human or at least had the appearance of one. Ramius feared what the young male was capable of as he stood there glaring at the marines surrounding him.
Taverain swallowed as he stared into the eyes of the humanoid before him. Its eyes were tinged with the same deadly red of his own when he attempted to use his abilities. As he looked on Ramius cringed at what he saw. The humanoid, though much younger, was a duplicate of himself. Eager to put an end to the threat before it had a chance to showcase its talent, Ramius snapped his rifle into position pushing his weapon’s power setting to the maximum, most lethal setting.
“OPEN FIRE”, Ramius shouted to the marines as he himself pulled the trigger of his own phaser rifle determined to bring down his evil doppelganger at all costs.
[ To Be Continued … ]
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Captain Taverain Ramius
Commanding Officer, USS Corsair
Dr. Artimis Ballentine
Chief Neodyne Research Scientist
