PHAGE: PART ONE (1.1)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Janeway shifted in her seat, then looked over at Neelix, who was spooning out heavy soup into Torres' bowl. Torres dipped a bit of flat bread into it, bit down on it, then winced, her eyes slowly narrowing. Neelix chuckled. "I...did say it was my first try with this stuff," he said.
"Hey, Neelix," Janeway called out.
"Hmm?" he asked.
"Get over here," she said. "We need to talk."
"You say that so ominously, Captain," Brian said, sipping his coffee.
"Amazing," Harry said, looking down at the machines. Glowing blue liquid flowed through thick tubes towards metal machines that whirred and hissed softly. "What's the blue stuff?"
"We use a proprietary base material, the composition of which is classified," Erixia said, shrugging one shoulder. "You must understand, we depend heavily on imports."
"Why is that?" Amy asked. "Your Pod seems self sufficient..."
"During the Plague Years, our species was infected with a strain of virulent chromaphages - DNA eaters," Erixia said. "The long term damage to even the survivors means that our population levels are perpetually dropping unless we take special care to swell our numbers. Every Vidiian works overtime to make sure that we remain viable as a species - but even with all our best efforts, child birth is...difficult, requiring a large amount of technological support systems and automation that we can't make." She shook her head, slightly. "We buy transporters and ionic stabilizers from the Talaxians and the Haakonians, for example. Then there's the less...savory support we need. Kazon warfleets need their bribing, after all."
"I see," Amy said.
"If you can't tell us the exact specifications, can...you at least give us a hint?" Harry asked.
Erixia laughed, her eyes sparkling. "Oh you are a charmer," she said, patting Harry's shoulder, making him flush hard. "I suppose the basic idea is...it is a kind of highly mutable, highly complex soup of biological possibilities that we just need to tweak into what we want."
"Like genetic Legos," D-91 said.
"What's a lego?" Amy and Erixia said at the same time.
Erixia chuckled. "Come on, lets see some of the final products - maybe even get a demonstration!"
She led them into the next series of rooms - where Vidiians in white lab coats were boxing up vials of the chemicals they produced - many of them a dizzying array of hues. Harry tried to subtly draw out his tricorder, but before he could take any readings, Erixia took his arm, dragging him excitedly to a side passage of the gantry, which looked down at open air white cubicals, where several aliens were sitting back in chairs, waiting. "Here, some people need such tailor made, exotic variations on our product that they need to be injected immediately on site, before the compounds fail."
"Do they mind us watching?" Amy asked.
"There's nothing invasive going on," Erixia said as a white suited lab tech entered one room where a very old looking Talaxian was laying back, wheezing. "This is CEO Banoax. He's one of the Haakonian Order's biggest industrialists, helped to rebuild the moon of Rinax. He's also one hundred and thirty six galactic standard years old. Watch."
D-91, Amy and Harry stepped to the railing as the lab tech injected something into the man's arm. The white haired, fluffy cheeked Talaxian hissed, then groaned - and before their eyes, his skin rippled, and the wrinkles on his features smoothed away, his hair growing straighter, and color returning to it. He laughed, sitting up - and smacked the ass of the tech, who squeaked loudly enough to be heard at the railing.
"That's a universal anagathic!" Harry exclaimed. "That's like...something out of a sci-fi novel!"
"In here, we turn science fiction into science fact, Mr. Kim," Erixia said, cheerfully. "Mr. Banoax now has the body of a thirty year old Talaxian - and we have more contracts renewed for cheap transporter components. Now, come on, let me show you some of the cheaper, mass market versions of our product."
Which was why...it felt so damn odd that he was sure he was being followed. He glanced back a few times, subtly, but saw no sign that anyone actually was following him. Just nerves, he thought, but...well, he had been trained to keep an eye out for certain surveillance technologies that were in a technological range that the enemies of the Talaxian people had.
The Vidiians were in that range.
And he didn't see any of the tells.
And yet...
He slipped into one of the narrow side tunnels, came around a bend - and rather than an open space like he expected, he saw a closed bulkhead. He frowned, stepped backwards - then heard another bulkhead close. He whirled around, looking for cameras, but he didn't see anything that might have spotted him. Worse, he saw that there was a third exit from this little newly created cul de sac...and it had four masked Vidiians in it. They held stunsticks in their hands.
"Talaxian...B-Type," one said, fanning left.
"Yeah," another said, fanning right. "Dibs on the lungs."
"Excuse me?" Neelix asked, feigning innocent. "I was trying to get to the-"
"Neelix, Talaxian Commando Operations, serial number 908-118, long term assignment on the Okampan Homeworld." The middle of the four men said, cocking his head, his mask eyes flickering as if a HUD was playing across his vision, fast. "He's trained in Den Bok. Watch the claws."
As one, all four men advanced. Neelix had no time to wonder how the fuck they knew anything about him - let alone his rank and assignment. Instead, he drove towards the man who had called dibs on his lungs. He ducked a swing of the shock-stick, then brought his palm up, not his claws. The man twisted - and he smashed a glancing blow against the mask, jarring his wrist and elbow. The mask flew off and the Vidiian grunted - and Neelix's eyes widened.
Rotting flesh. Gray, sightless eyes. Dessicated lips. Yellow sharp teeth, the smell of rotting breath, the wheeze of a living corpse-
One of the masked ones came up behind him and slammed the shockstick at him. Neelix twisted aside at the last second, lifted his arm - but another was coming at him, the baton smashing into him. Sparks flared and his arm went numb. Then another slammed into his belly and he was down, groaning, his body nerveless. He tried to get his arms up, but the Vidiians were around him, even the one with the mask off. He was grinning the worst, his voice a rough, raspy growl.
"We're all getting a full shot of Product for this, Talaxian," he said as one of the Vidiians slammed down a glass box on Neelix's chest. The edge of the box had tech built into it. There was a kind of targeting reticule built onto the back of the box, but the Vidiian using it barely seemed to need it - he shifted the box slightly against Neelix's clothing, then pushed down on two triggers and-
Agony.
Neelix tried to scream. Instead, blood poured from between his lips. He tried to breathe, but it was just more agony. He lifted his head-
And saw, suspended in the glowing orange of a Kazon derived transporter beam, something red and pulpy and still twitching in the glass box. The box shifted aiming down at his belly as one of the Vidiians laughed. "Belly, we need stomach lining next. Oh, no, get his-"
Neelix blinked.
Between blinks, the world had gone dim, but he saw the comforting yellow lights of the medical bay. The Doctor was leaning over, speaking fast. "I need a rapid-pump oxygenator immediately."
Neelix passed out.
It could have been carved with a 3d printer or robotic system, but something about it spoke of haunting emptiness...hollowness that drew the eye and made Janeway feel an ache in her chest.
Nurel reminded her of the statue. Handsome, with long dark hair and rich warm eyes - but something about him seemed almost too well made. Part of it was his uniform. It looked a bit like a janitor's outfit that had been rent apart and left ragged and bedraggled, smeared artfully with dirt here and there, but then adorned with a sash and a belt holding ceremonial weapons - a dagger and two needle pistols that, thankfully, weren't loaded.
Seeing her look Nurel explained: "This is the dress uniform of the Podmaster class. The Plague Times...we like to think we're past it in many ways, but it falls on the Podmasters to remember what we lost and what we gained," he said.
Janeway nodded. "We have something of a similar tradition - we don't wear the uniforms of the era, but we use the rank structure of the same military that destroyed our planet. We try and bring some honor back to the traditions." It wasn't quite true - it was closer to the fact that the structure of Starfleet and the structure of Pre-Eugenics Wars militaries were similar because both served similar functions. But diplomacy was, in large part, about finding similarities between yourself and the other.
"It seems we have a great deal in common," Nurel said, taking his seat.
"Yes, we-" Janeway started, before her combadge blipped. "One moment." She tapped it. "Janeway here, what-"
"It's Neelix, captain," D-91 said.
"What's wrong?" Janeway asked.
"He was attacked, no idea by who. His lungs have been removed."
"...his lungs?" Janeway asked.
Nurel winced. "Let me guess - one of your crew has been found missing their organs?" he asked, quietly. "Damn! Damn!" He stood and started to pace back and forth.
"Is he stable?" Janeway asked, her finger hovering over the combadge.
"His combadge detected the med-alert and Voyager's computers beamed him over automatically. The Doctor got him hooked up to oxygenation before any brain damage was suffered - we're working on repairing the damage...but...his biology isn't in our computers. It may be impossible."
"Understood, keep me appraised." Janeway tapped her badge as Nurel turned back to face her. "Your travel advisory mentioned some gang problems, but-"
"The organleggers have been a thorn in my side since I was granted control of this Pod," Nurel said, his voice tight and angry - she could see fury that he had been embarrassed mixing with clear concern for Neelix...but...there was something else. Before he continued speaking...there was the smallest flash in his left eye. A flickering light, that looked for all the world like small, fast scrolling text. His eye twitched, like he was skim-reading it, before he continued. "...and...they are an unfortunate byproduct of our history." He sighed, then took his seat once more.
"You see," Nurel continued after a moment. "The...Phage that destroyed our society. It's still around. We never found a cure. We merely treated it. And those that have missed their treatments are damaged by it, sometimes without any chance for us to repair them. They turn to desperate means, including stealing the organs of other species that are compatible with our biology." He shook his head. "We had no idea that your species were even close, we've never met you before."
"The crewman who was attacked was Talaxian," Janeway said, quietly.
"Damn," Nurel said. "Talaxians, we warn to never travel in certain parts of the Pod - our security cannot be everywhere. I...I have to make this right. We can work with you to...well, is your crewman alive?"
"For now," Janeway said.
"Then, please, allow us to assist you," Nurel said, nodding. "If we work together, our medical technology can easily repair this damage - and, moreover, it will be free of charge. If anything, we should provide even more to make up for this unforgivable lapse!"
---
CURRENT MOMENTUM: 0
CURRENT TRUTH: "This Podmaster...is lying about something..." (Away Team), "Neelix HAS NO LUNGS!?" (Ship)
What do!?
[ ] Accept the offer - but keep an eye on the Vidiians.
[ ] Decline the offer for medical tech, but continue trade negotiations
[ ] Demand to be allowed to deploy security to find the Organleggers
[ ] Demand the locals find the Organleggers, with your security's help
[ ] Write In
"Hey, Neelix," Janeway called out.
"Hmm?" he asked.
"Get over here," she said. "We need to talk."
"You say that so ominously, Captain," Brian said, sipping his coffee.
***
D-91, Amy and Harry followed after the smiling Vidiian woman named Erixia, who led them through the gantry that swept out over the vast chemical processing facility that was the heart of the factory. "Here, the final biological products of the system are combined, synthesized, and undergo their final protein matching checks," she said, gesturing out with one hand. "The Emergency sells bioproducts to more than fifty six distinct species, each with dozens of ethnographic variations, some of which are so stark they require near total rewrites on the protine coating of our medicine. But in exchange, they get health, wealth, and long life."
"Amazing," Harry said, looking down at the machines. Glowing blue liquid flowed through thick tubes towards metal machines that whirred and hissed softly. "What's the blue stuff?"
"We use a proprietary base material, the composition of which is classified," Erixia said, shrugging one shoulder. "You must understand, we depend heavily on imports."
"Why is that?" Amy asked. "Your Pod seems self sufficient..."
"During the Plague Years, our species was infected with a strain of virulent chromaphages - DNA eaters," Erixia said. "The long term damage to even the survivors means that our population levels are perpetually dropping unless we take special care to swell our numbers. Every Vidiian works overtime to make sure that we remain viable as a species - but even with all our best efforts, child birth is...difficult, requiring a large amount of technological support systems and automation that we can't make." She shook her head, slightly. "We buy transporters and ionic stabilizers from the Talaxians and the Haakonians, for example. Then there's the less...savory support we need. Kazon warfleets need their bribing, after all."
"I see," Amy said.
"If you can't tell us the exact specifications, can...you at least give us a hint?" Harry asked.
Erixia laughed, her eyes sparkling. "Oh you are a charmer," she said, patting Harry's shoulder, making him flush hard. "I suppose the basic idea is...it is a kind of highly mutable, highly complex soup of biological possibilities that we just need to tweak into what we want."
"Like genetic Legos," D-91 said.
"What's a lego?" Amy and Erixia said at the same time.
Erixia chuckled. "Come on, lets see some of the final products - maybe even get a demonstration!"
She led them into the next series of rooms - where Vidiians in white lab coats were boxing up vials of the chemicals they produced - many of them a dizzying array of hues. Harry tried to subtly draw out his tricorder, but before he could take any readings, Erixia took his arm, dragging him excitedly to a side passage of the gantry, which looked down at open air white cubicals, where several aliens were sitting back in chairs, waiting. "Here, some people need such tailor made, exotic variations on our product that they need to be injected immediately on site, before the compounds fail."
"Do they mind us watching?" Amy asked.
"There's nothing invasive going on," Erixia said as a white suited lab tech entered one room where a very old looking Talaxian was laying back, wheezing. "This is CEO Banoax. He's one of the Haakonian Order's biggest industrialists, helped to rebuild the moon of Rinax. He's also one hundred and thirty six galactic standard years old. Watch."
D-91, Amy and Harry stepped to the railing as the lab tech injected something into the man's arm. The white haired, fluffy cheeked Talaxian hissed, then groaned - and before their eyes, his skin rippled, and the wrinkles on his features smoothed away, his hair growing straighter, and color returning to it. He laughed, sitting up - and smacked the ass of the tech, who squeaked loudly enough to be heard at the railing.
"That's a universal anagathic!" Harry exclaimed. "That's like...something out of a sci-fi novel!"
"In here, we turn science fiction into science fact, Mr. Kim," Erixia said, cheerfully. "Mr. Banoax now has the body of a thirty year old Talaxian - and we have more contracts renewed for cheap transporter components. Now, come on, let me show you some of the cheaper, mass market versions of our product."
***
Neelix was fairly sure that no one had noticed or remarked on his arrival on station - it had been done entirely outside of the security network of the Vidiian Emergency. He just contacted a loyalist Talaxian ship, beamed there, walked off as if he was one of the crew, and started into the station, his combadge security hidden.
Which was why...it felt so damn odd that he was sure he was being followed. He glanced back a few times, subtly, but saw no sign that anyone actually was following him. Just nerves, he thought, but...well, he had been trained to keep an eye out for certain surveillance technologies that were in a technological range that the enemies of the Talaxian people had.
The Vidiians were in that range.
And he didn't see any of the tells.
And yet...
He slipped into one of the narrow side tunnels, came around a bend - and rather than an open space like he expected, he saw a closed bulkhead. He frowned, stepped backwards - then heard another bulkhead close. He whirled around, looking for cameras, but he didn't see anything that might have spotted him. Worse, he saw that there was a third exit from this little newly created cul de sac...and it had four masked Vidiians in it. They held stunsticks in their hands.
"Talaxian...B-Type," one said, fanning left.
"Yeah," another said, fanning right. "Dibs on the lungs."
"Excuse me?" Neelix asked, feigning innocent. "I was trying to get to the-"
"Neelix, Talaxian Commando Operations, serial number 908-118, long term assignment on the Okampan Homeworld." The middle of the four men said, cocking his head, his mask eyes flickering as if a HUD was playing across his vision, fast. "He's trained in Den Bok. Watch the claws."
As one, all four men advanced. Neelix had no time to wonder how the fuck they knew anything about him - let alone his rank and assignment. Instead, he drove towards the man who had called dibs on his lungs. He ducked a swing of the shock-stick, then brought his palm up, not his claws. The man twisted - and he smashed a glancing blow against the mask, jarring his wrist and elbow. The mask flew off and the Vidiian grunted - and Neelix's eyes widened.
Rotting flesh. Gray, sightless eyes. Dessicated lips. Yellow sharp teeth, the smell of rotting breath, the wheeze of a living corpse-
One of the masked ones came up behind him and slammed the shockstick at him. Neelix twisted aside at the last second, lifted his arm - but another was coming at him, the baton smashing into him. Sparks flared and his arm went numb. Then another slammed into his belly and he was down, groaning, his body nerveless. He tried to get his arms up, but the Vidiians were around him, even the one with the mask off. He was grinning the worst, his voice a rough, raspy growl.
"We're all getting a full shot of Product for this, Talaxian," he said as one of the Vidiians slammed down a glass box on Neelix's chest. The edge of the box had tech built into it. There was a kind of targeting reticule built onto the back of the box, but the Vidiian using it barely seemed to need it - he shifted the box slightly against Neelix's clothing, then pushed down on two triggers and-
Agony.
Neelix tried to scream. Instead, blood poured from between his lips. He tried to breathe, but it was just more agony. He lifted his head-
And saw, suspended in the glowing orange of a Kazon derived transporter beam, something red and pulpy and still twitching in the glass box. The box shifted aiming down at his belly as one of the Vidiians laughed. "Belly, we need stomach lining next. Oh, no, get his-"
Neelix blinked.
Between blinks, the world had gone dim, but he saw the comforting yellow lights of the medical bay. The Doctor was leaning over, speaking fast. "I need a rapid-pump oxygenator immediately."
Neelix passed out.
***
Janeway had to admit one thing about the Emergency. They built one beautiful habitat. The garden that she was meeting Senior Podmaster Nurel in was utterly gorgeous - with green and black and red plants in profusions that mixed together, creating a kind of gentle, soothing panorama, split only by two stark examples of Vidiian artwork. The first was their river, which flowed gently...past what seemed to be odd, oblong white stones that were planted among the stream at steady intervals. The second was the statue. It was abstract but...upsettingly angular and oddly detailed, like a collection of geometric shapes that had been rendered again and again into finer and more fractal details, until it was millions of polyhedrals that were all somehow still the same object - they were a singular piece of stone, not fitted.
It could have been carved with a 3d printer or robotic system, but something about it spoke of haunting emptiness...hollowness that drew the eye and made Janeway feel an ache in her chest.
Nurel reminded her of the statue. Handsome, with long dark hair and rich warm eyes - but something about him seemed almost too well made. Part of it was his uniform. It looked a bit like a janitor's outfit that had been rent apart and left ragged and bedraggled, smeared artfully with dirt here and there, but then adorned with a sash and a belt holding ceremonial weapons - a dagger and two needle pistols that, thankfully, weren't loaded.
Seeing her look Nurel explained: "This is the dress uniform of the Podmaster class. The Plague Times...we like to think we're past it in many ways, but it falls on the Podmasters to remember what we lost and what we gained," he said.
Janeway nodded. "We have something of a similar tradition - we don't wear the uniforms of the era, but we use the rank structure of the same military that destroyed our planet. We try and bring some honor back to the traditions." It wasn't quite true - it was closer to the fact that the structure of Starfleet and the structure of Pre-Eugenics Wars militaries were similar because both served similar functions. But diplomacy was, in large part, about finding similarities between yourself and the other.
"It seems we have a great deal in common," Nurel said, taking his seat.
"Yes, we-" Janeway started, before her combadge blipped. "One moment." She tapped it. "Janeway here, what-"
"It's Neelix, captain," D-91 said.
"What's wrong?" Janeway asked.
"He was attacked, no idea by who. His lungs have been removed."
"...his lungs?" Janeway asked.
Nurel winced. "Let me guess - one of your crew has been found missing their organs?" he asked, quietly. "Damn! Damn!" He stood and started to pace back and forth.
"Is he stable?" Janeway asked, her finger hovering over the combadge.
"His combadge detected the med-alert and Voyager's computers beamed him over automatically. The Doctor got him hooked up to oxygenation before any brain damage was suffered - we're working on repairing the damage...but...his biology isn't in our computers. It may be impossible."
"Understood, keep me appraised." Janeway tapped her badge as Nurel turned back to face her. "Your travel advisory mentioned some gang problems, but-"
"The organleggers have been a thorn in my side since I was granted control of this Pod," Nurel said, his voice tight and angry - she could see fury that he had been embarrassed mixing with clear concern for Neelix...but...there was something else. Before he continued speaking...there was the smallest flash in his left eye. A flickering light, that looked for all the world like small, fast scrolling text. His eye twitched, like he was skim-reading it, before he continued. "...and...they are an unfortunate byproduct of our history." He sighed, then took his seat once more.
"You see," Nurel continued after a moment. "The...Phage that destroyed our society. It's still around. We never found a cure. We merely treated it. And those that have missed their treatments are damaged by it, sometimes without any chance for us to repair them. They turn to desperate means, including stealing the organs of other species that are compatible with our biology." He shook his head. "We had no idea that your species were even close, we've never met you before."
"The crewman who was attacked was Talaxian," Janeway said, quietly.
"Damn," Nurel said. "Talaxians, we warn to never travel in certain parts of the Pod - our security cannot be everywhere. I...I have to make this right. We can work with you to...well, is your crewman alive?"
"For now," Janeway said.
"Then, please, allow us to assist you," Nurel said, nodding. "If we work together, our medical technology can easily repair this damage - and, moreover, it will be free of charge. If anything, we should provide even more to make up for this unforgivable lapse!"
---
CURRENT MOMENTUM: 0
CURRENT TRUTH: "This Podmaster...is lying about something..." (Away Team), "Neelix HAS NO LUNGS!?" (Ship)
What do!?
[ ] Accept the offer - but keep an eye on the Vidiians.
[ ] Decline the offer for medical tech, but continue trade negotiations
[ ] Demand to be allowed to deploy security to find the Organleggers
[ ] Demand the locals find the Organleggers, with your security's help
[ ] Write In
2s for D-91 and company...versus diff 3, dice nihilio
1s for Nelix versus diff 2...oh no!!!
Badman Ambush V Neelix: 4 Organleggers
Organleggers: First Organleggers uses his tactical skills to create the Advantage of "neelix...surrounded!?" He fails!
Neelix: Uses Punch! He gets 1s ...and 1 complication! The other guy gets 1s. This is a successful hit since, while they are tied, Neelix was the aggressor! He got 3s - not enough to take the man down and he gains the complication of "Ouch, my knuckles!"
Organleggers: Enpunched Organlegger man attempts to stun Neelix with his taser stick. He gets 1s, Neelix gets 1s, but since Neelix is at diff 2 rather than diff 1, he fails, and the other guy succeeds. He gets 3 damage with 2 effects, which bumps it to 5 thanks to his weapon's vicious quality. Neelix can either take an injury, or he can buy it off by giving them 2 threat. He does so!
Organleggers: OLs go again cause...Neelix has acted the number of times he can act! They get 1s against him for one attack and he gets 1s to resist! Oh no! They do 9 damage - an injury! He cannot resist! Worse, since his stress hits 0, he takes a second injury and he's K-K-K-KO'd!
TALKY SCENE: Senior Podmaster Nurel rolls 2s on deception. Janeway rolls 2s on spotting it. However, Nurel got a complication! While Janeway doesn't know WHAT is up - she knows something is up...
1s for Nelix versus diff 2...oh no!!!
Badman Ambush V Neelix: 4 Organleggers
Organleggers: First Organleggers uses his tactical skills to create the Advantage of "neelix...surrounded!?" He fails!
Neelix: Uses Punch! He gets 1s ...and 1 complication! The other guy gets 1s. This is a successful hit since, while they are tied, Neelix was the aggressor! He got 3s - not enough to take the man down and he gains the complication of "Ouch, my knuckles!"
Organleggers: Enpunched Organlegger man attempts to stun Neelix with his taser stick. He gets 1s, Neelix gets 1s, but since Neelix is at diff 2 rather than diff 1, he fails, and the other guy succeeds. He gets 3 damage with 2 effects, which bumps it to 5 thanks to his weapon's vicious quality. Neelix can either take an injury, or he can buy it off by giving them 2 threat. He does so!
Organleggers: OLs go again cause...Neelix has acted the number of times he can act! They get 1s against him for one attack and he gets 1s to resist! Oh no! They do 9 damage - an injury! He cannot resist! Worse, since his stress hits 0, he takes a second injury and he's K-K-K-KO'd!
TALKY SCENE: Senior Podmaster Nurel rolls 2s on deception. Janeway rolls 2s on spotting it. However, Nurel got a complication! While Janeway doesn't know WHAT is up - she knows something is up...