Disclaimer: Earth: Final Conflict is copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Co. (1998). No infringment of rights is intended.
Summary: Da'an and Boone are kidnapped by another faction of the Resistance, who believe the can perfect Doors virus.
We apologize for taking so long, to those of you who knew we were working on this. It is not only our first attempt at writing together, but the first time for either of us to write something that is intended for posting. Please e-mail us with comments, suggestions, ect. Jenn: shadow_girl2@yahoo.com Cache: sydney_dog@hotmail.com
Matthew Lodges, Lizzy Stevens, and Chris South are all of our own creation. You are welcome to borrow them, as long as you notify us and let us have a copy of the story.
"I don't like this, Lodges." Lizzy Stevens sat down at the table. "Don't you remember what happened with Doors' virus? People were hurt, and the Taelons became the heroes."
"Doors is an overzealous idiot," Matthew Lodges turned to face Lizzy. "He didn't think his plan through, and definitely didn't have the people we do." He motioned to Chris South, their leading computer expert.
Chris leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his hand. "I've made improvements to Doors' virus. It infects only Taelon systems and won't get out of control. Even if it does, I can easily disengage it. Lodges is right, Doors had idiots working for him. I don't know who designed the original virus, but…" He paused for a moment, not finishing the sentence. "Don't worry, nothing is going to go wrong. What happened to Doors, won't happen to us. The good guys always win, remember?"
"Promise me, Lodges, that you aren't doing this to get back at Jonathan Doors," Lizzy said.
"Not revenge, no. This is a demonstration of our strength to the Taelons and Jonathan Doors. To Doors we will show that we can succeed where he has failed. We will show him that he should not have been so quick to exclude us from his Resistance. But it is not a personal attack on him or his movement. He fights for the same thing we do, freedom, and I refuse to fight someone on our side."
********
Lili knocked on the door to Boone's office. Without waiting for an answer, she went in. Boone was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. "You okay, William?" Lili set her briefcase down next to his desk.
"Headache," he replied simply, not opening his eyes.
"I thought Dr. Belman had already replaced your CVI."
"She did." The room was silent for several minutes.
"Doors received a message from Lodges today." Lili broke the silence. Boone didn't answer. "He's up to something, Boone, and I don't like it. Lodges is going to destroy our movement."
"And we're not doing a good enough job of that ourselves?" Boone stood up, buttoning the sleeves of his jacket. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a prior commitment with Da'an." Boone walked out of the room, leaving Lili alone in the office.
********
Boone walked up the ramp towards Da'an's office. Finally he would be learning how to fly a Taelon shuttle. It had been a real inconvenience to always have to contact Lili in order to complete the jobs Da'an assigned him. Boone stepped into Da'an's office and waited patiently for Da'an to acknowledge his presence. Da'an finished his conference with one of the Synod members, erasing his image with a wave of his hand.
"Commander Boone, it pleases me greatly to see you. The Synod looks favorably on your request to learn to operate one of our shuttles. Shall we commence to the shuttle pad area?" Da'an punctuated his question with a delicate hand gesture.
"Of course, Da'an. Lead the way."
********
"I'm uploading the virus now." Chris touched several keys on the board in front of him. "Da'an and his implant should begin to have a very bumpy ride as soon as they jump into inter-dimensional."
"Now, you're sure that once the virus completes we'll have total control over where the shuttle lands?" Lizzy tapped her fingers nervously on the desk. "You know how Doors' virus affected the shuttle."
"We will have total control over the shuttle, once it enters inter-dimensional. I know what I’m doing," Chris said, annoyed that she would doubt his abilities.
"Relax, Lizzy." Lodges placed his hand on her shoulder. "Even if we do lose control, it will just be one less Taelon to worry about."
"One less Taelon to worry about?!" Lizzy spun around to face Lodges. "Are you that narrow-minded? And what about the implant?"
"His mistake was in joining the Companions in the first place."
Lizzy stormed out of the room. Chris looked up at Lodges, questioningly. "Continue as planned," Lodges said. Chris turned back to his computer.
********
Boone slowly set the coordinates as he prepared for the inter-dimensional leap. "Is my performance satisfactory?"
Da'an stepped forward and looked the display over. "I am pleased by how quickly you have learned to operate one of our craft. Proceed into inter-dimensional and you shall have completed your lesson for today."
Boone made the necessary arm and hand gestures. Beautiful swirling colors filled the viewscreen. Suddenly, a sharp jolt jerked both of them forward. Boone glanced up in surprise, "Da'an?"
After analyzing the display, Da'an made eye contact with Boone. "Some unknown force has taken control of our shuttle. We are not to land in the Midwest, as we had previously planned." Da'an was about to say something else, when the shuttle suddenly flew out of inter-dimensional, and started to plummet toward the ground. Both Da'an and Boone were thrown forward. The last thing Boone saw was the ground rushing up to him, before everything went black.
********
"Commence evacuation of the facility immediately." Sandoval looked around him, as the lights dimmed and flickered once again. The man he was speaking to moved off, another taking his place.
"Sir, other embassies report similar problems. Based on the performance of the last virus to infect Taelon systems, I advise that communications be shut down to prevent any further spread of the virus and that we evacuate any human facility that is linked to Taelon technology," the man said.
"Affirmative. Take every precaution in doing so." Sandoval opened his global and linked to Boone's office. Lili answered.
"Go." Lili glanced around at the slowly failing lights.
"Where's Boone?"
"I thought he was with you and Da'an."
"Captain, neither Da'an or Boone is with me. It was to my knowledge that Da'an was teaching Boone to pilot one of the Companion shuttles. However, they were scheduled to return here half an hour ago."
"You don't think that the virus affected them before they could land, do you?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I believe."
********
Boone opened his eyes slowly. He lay on the floor of the shuttle, Da'an kneeling above him. "Where are we?" Boone groaned, and reaching up he touched his forehead, his fingers coming away red with blood.
"Our position is somewhere in the mountains of Colorado." Da'an paused for a moment. "In our landing, you have inured yourself."
"It's okay. I have to get you out of here, it's not safe." Boone started to stand and regretted it instantly. With a groan he collapsed back down again.
"May I offer some assistance?" Da'an asked.
"No, I'm alright. I just have to take it slow." Boone stood up and stepped down from the shuttle. Da'an followed.
Boone surveyed the area around him. The shuttle was in a rocky clearing, with a thick forest of trees on three sides. A string of thunderheads was building in the west, and a brisk, cool wind warned of rain. There was no sign of people around. "Whoever took control of the shuttle knows where it is. We must get as far away as possible." Boone limped as quickly as he could toward one grouping of trees, Da'an following closely behind.
"Stop right there!" Several men with guns materialized from the underbrush. Hands raised, Boone turned to face them. Keeping a gun trained on Boone, one of the men tied his hands behind his back, making it impossible for him to use his skrill. Another tied Da'an's hands behind his back. The men pushed them on through the forest.
After hiking several miles, the group came to an abandoned gold mine. Upon entering, one could tell that it had been converted to a headquarters of some importance, as it was furnished with the most advanced technology available. Generators provided light and ran computers that lined the walls. People occupied every computer station in sight. The men pushed Boone and Da'an through the cavern and forced them into an empty room, locking the door behind them.
********
Lili burst into the Resistance headquarters, causing heads to turn in her direction. Doors looked up from a computer console he was analyzing. "I assume you heard the news about Lodges' virus." Doors' calm demeanor was the perfect compliment to Lili.
"Yeah, and what are we going to do about it?"
Augur suddenly appeared behind her and leaned close to her ear. "I'm working on a counter virus that will neutralize Lodge's virus. It should be ready in three hours."
"Hope it's better than the last one," Lili mumbled under her breath.
"What?" Augur asked, knowing perfectly well what she had said.
"I don't know if we have three hours, Augur," Lili replied. She spun around and stalked back out again.
********
Lizzy looked through a window that allowed her to see their captives, but did not allow them to see her. The implant, whom they had identified as William Boone, sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Da'an stood but a few feet away from him, looking very concerned.
"I told you I could pull it off." Chris stepped up beside her. He was gloating again, as usual.
Lizzy rolled her eyes, and turned towards Chris. "Doesn't it bother you to keep a Companion and an implant captive?"
"Not necessarily," Chris said with indifference.
"Or that Lodges would be willing to kill a Companion? How is that going to further our movement? McIntyre and his men already tried, and the Synod didn't flinch."
"Stop worrying, Lizzy. Lodges knows what he is doing, he won't lead us into any danger. I trust him, and so should you." With that, Chris left the room.
"Did I interrupt anything?" Lodges entered the room just as Chris was leaving. Lizzy remained silent, her attention focused on their captives. Lodges shrugged, and sat down at a computer console.
"What do you plan to do with them?" Lizzy continued to look through the window.
"Trade them for documents proving Taelon experimentation on humans and the existence of a moonbase." Lodges turned away from the monitor.
"And what makes you think that the Synod will comply?" Lizzy turned to face him.
"If they wish to see these two alive…Lizzy, don't," Lodges pleaded as Lizzy turned back to the window, not wanting to argue with her. "It's no different than what they are doing to us. They are killing us with their experiments. Their moonbase shows that they plan to take us over. With the documentation we will get from this, we will be able to prove to others the Taelon's true intent.
"In a movement such as ours, it's inevitable that some must die. Some of ours, some of theirs. We must show our strength and power, and that we are willing to go as far as we need to in order to achieve freedom." Lodges rose and joined Lizzy at the window.
"Since you are so concerned for their wellbeing, I will put you in charge of them. It could be several days before we know what must be done. Do something with the implant." Lodges motioned to Boone. "I don't want it to appear that we have harmed them, yet."
********
Sandoval hurried down the walkway to the old warehouse that they had turned into a temporary headquarters. It had been almost three hours since Da'an and Boone had been scheduled to arrive back to the Embassy. Sandoval burst into the room that Captain Marquette had been using in the search for the missing shuttle. "Have you found anything on their whereabouts yet?"
Lili turned to Sandoval. "No, I can't locate the shuttle's signature, the tracking device must be turned off. However, I have been able to determine that their last position was over Colorado, before the other facilities lost track of the shuttle. That seems as good a place as any to begin a search."
"Good work, Captain." Sandoval checked the pocket watch he held, then replaced it in his jacket pocket. "Zo'or will be arriving shortly to lead the investigation."
"The Synod sent him here?"
"Zo'or has volunteered his services in dealing with these crises. Meet me in his office in fifteen minutes. Zo'or will be waiting." Sandoval turned and left.
********
Lizzy hesitated before entering the room, she wasn't exactly looking forward to this. All she had said was that she didn't think they deserved to die, not that she wanted to take care of them. But by no means was she going to let Lodges know that his 'order' bothered her. Lizzy took a deep breath and motioned to the guard at the door.
As the door closed behind her, Lizzy felt a wave of fear engulf her. Though it was irrational, something about being locked in the same room with a Companion and implant made her uneasy. Lizzy quickly brought her fear under control; the quicker this was done, the quicker she could leave. Attempting to ignore Da'an who stood nearby, she moved towards Boone, who was against the far wall.
Kneeling beside Boone, Lizzy sat down the bowl of water she was carrying and took a bag from her shoulder. Taking a washrag from it, she began to clean the cut on Boone's head, which stubbornly continued to bleed. Boone appeared not to know she was there; he did not move, and his eyes remained closed. Da'an knelt beside the two, distancing himself from her as much as possible. Lizzy glanced up and met his eyes. Suddenly her fear was gone. Though he showed little emotion, Lizzy could tell he was worried. It was evident that he cared for the man before her, and was troubled by his condition. But it also seemed that Da'an knew of Lizzy's fear of him, and consciously honored that; keeping a distance between them, giving her room to think and act.
Lizzy took her eyes off of Da'an, and again turned her attention to the gash on Boone's forehead. With fear no longer blinding her, she could more accurately evaluate his condition. She could tell there was more wrong with him than a blow to the head. He was covered in sweat and hot to the touch, but shivered slightly as if cold. Most importantly, he should have woken at her touch, but remained unconscious. Lizzy finished cleaning the wound and took an ointment from the bag she carried, applying it to the cut. "I'm going to try to help him," she said to Da'an, who tilted his head slightly in response but remained silent. Lizzy gathered her things and hurried out of the room.
********
"Come on, come on." Lili frantically hit buttons on her computer keyboard. Despite her efforts, the screen flickered and went blank. "Great! Now what am I supposed to do?" Lili glanced at her watch; it would have to wait, she was late for her meeting with Zo'or. It wasn't something she was looking forward to. All the little smirks and cold stares Zo'or shot at her gave her the willies. With a great effort, she wiped the sour expression off her face as she stepped into his presence.
Zo'or's 'office' was actually a small room within the huge warehouse that they had temporarily made their headquarters. Zo'or was seated behind a desk, trying to look as important as possible.
"You are late, Captain." Sandoval stood at Zo'or's side.
"Sorry, I seem to be having computer trouble." Lili tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
"What is the summary of your findings?" Zo'or asked to neither Sandoval or Lili in particular.
"All available Companion agents and police force are searching Da'an and Boone's last known location," Sandoval stated quickly.
"Colorado," Lili added, not allowing Zo'or the satisfaction of asking. He shot her a quick sneer, but she pretended to ignore it.
"When do you anticipate in finding them?" Zo'or turned to Sandoval.
"We're searching as fast as we can, Zo'or. However, Colorado is a large chunk of territory to cover, and with the majority of companion agents and police assisting those whom the virus has affected, we have very limited resources," Sandoval answered.
"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything more from human contacts." Zo'or smirked at both of them. "Report back if you find anything of interest."
********
"Something's wrong, Matthew." Lizzy burst into the room, interrupting Chris and Lodges' conversation.
"With what?" Lodges asked, turning in his chair to face Lizzy.
"With the implant, Boone. He's hurt worse than we thought. He needs a doctor."
"Come on, Lizzy. He's an implant." Chris put aside the papers he was looking at. "We have more important things to worry about."
"Like what?" Lizzy snapped. She was tired of Chris' attitude.
"Like the fact that our dear friend's virus is no longer under his control." Lodges motioned to Chris.
"After the virus took effect the Taelons immediately shut down communications between their facilities, including human facilities using Taelon technology. Doors' virus moved through the communications system, that was one of it's flaws. They would expect mine to act in the same way, so…" Chris paused a moment, rethinking what he was going to say. "It's too complicated to explain, but my virus travels through the computer system, the Taelon intranet, certain programs in particular. Containing the virus to the Taelon intranet is how I was avoiding infecting human systems. It's not that it couldn't infect them, but that it would never be exposed to them."
"And?" Lizzy asked, impatient. Chris was stalling and she wanted to know what had gone wrong.
"The Embassy in Washington has opened a temporary facility. Not only did they reconnect to the Taelon intranet, they connected to the Internet." Chris squirmed in his chair. "The virus is no longer under my control, and it's spreading like crazy."
Lizzy quickly sat down. "You mean it's spreading through people's computers all over the world and you can't do anything about it?"
Chris nodded. "Don't worry about it, Lizzy. We'll think of something."
Lizzy jumped up. "Don't worry?! That's what you've been telling me all along. Well, guess what? I was right! But I'm not going to worry about this, because I have a man dying in the next room."
"It's not like I planned this!" Chris sprung up from his chair to meet Lizzy. "I didn't want it to happen! It just did, sometimes you get the unexpected."
"Calm down, both of you." Lodges spoke only just above a whisper. Both Lizzy and Chris fell silent to hear what he had to say. "Chris, your job is to figure out what went wrong with the virus and fix it. Leave Lizzy be. Lizzy, do what you can for the implant, and don't worry about Chris. We're going to have to work together to salvage this, and we have to do it quickly. Now, get to work, both of you." Lizzy stood up and left without a word and Chris turned back to his papers.