PROJECT: THESEUS
By Faria
AUTHOR'S MINDLESS RANTINGS: YESSSSS! It LIVES! *maniacal laughter* …Um…heheh. Anyway…as you can see, I FINALLY got this sucker started. There IS a reason it took so long to get the first chapter up, but I won't bore you with the details. And Chapters Two and Three should be out real soon, 'cause I've had a month to work on them. Big apology to EVERYONE, especially The Gar'En, for taking so long. And I know this Chapter isn't very good…I suck at beginnings ~_^
DISCLAIMER: The ZP charas...not mine. The story concept...not mine. The idea was originally spawned by fellow fanfic author and ZP fan, The Gar'En. Worship him in awe; his stories are much better than mine will ever be. ^_^
DEDICATIONS: This baby's for a lot of people...first of all, to all the other Zeta authors out there, especially Zee's Girl (aka Ro) for her amazing capacity to write long fics like there's no tomorrow...seriously, folks, go read some of her work, it's good. Also to PallaPlease, who made me wanna (later) portray the whole West/Lee relationship in a romantic light (her fics are so CUTE), and to Spider Girl, who listened to my ranting via e-mail and gave me lots of Zee/Ro support, as well as some good ideas. Lastly, and most of all, to my friend The Gar'En, who as I mentioned, was the real brain behind Theseus. He also put up with my ranting and procrastinating...we all know how long I've been putting this one off... ^_^;
So, without further ado...enjoy!
Chapter One: The TRUE Creator
Dr. Jeffrey Harper.
That name had been running itself over and over in her mind, tearing her out of half-sleep with its unyielding refrain. Dr. Jeffrey Harper. Dr. Jeffrey Harper.
It was the name that Seleg had given them when, two days ago, they'd found him.
"Dr. Seleg?" The awe was apparent even in Zee's synthetic voice, awe tinged with shock tinged with childish curiosity. The grandfatherly old man looked first at Ro, then at his creation, doing a double-take at Zee as though he recognized him. That made Ro wonder a little—no human should be able to see through that hologram.
"You're…Zeta," he said softly, a smile touching his lips. The first man they'd met who didn't automatically assume Zee was out to kill them. Ro liked him immediately. Which was good, because it had been quite a chore to track him down.
"Why, yes, I—how did you—"
"I'd know that face. I was wondering when you would find me."
That made Ro a little suspicious, but no more than that. Despite what she'd learned from her travels with Zee, this old man hardly seemed the type to turn them in."I hear you've become quite a fugitive," he said into the silence. His eyes returned to Ro. "And, let's see…you must be Miss Rowan, then."
"Yeah, but how—"
"Occasionally I pay attention to things outside my research. But since our time is short, I'm afraid I must tell you now—I'm not the one you should see. If you truly want to break away from the government, that is."
Needless to say, Ro had not been pleased when the esteemed doctor had informed them that their year of work was, more or less, in vain. Zee had been disappointed, too, though he hadn't shown it much…just that slight downcast expression when he thought she wasn't looking.
Dr. Jeffrey Harper.
Seleg had had to leave after telling them the name, but before he walked away, he'd slipped a piece of paper—for a doctor, he sure was primitive—into Ro's hand.
"That's where he lives, now. I've had that address with me for months, hoping you'd come. He's probably expecting you, as well."
Dr. Jeffrey Harper.
A loud snore interrupted her thoughts, and she rolled her eyes. Of all the synthoids in the world…But she could cope with that. There were much worse things than Zee's snoring. She couldn't think of anything at the moment, but there had to be something.
The blonde girl didn't bother to continue that line of thought—no use in getting stressed this early in the morning. Instead, she sat up in her hotel bed, looking herself over with a critical eye. Her sheets were tousled from all the tossing and turning she had done, her clothes and hair in total disarray. Just like yesterday. Probably what tomorrow would be like, too.
Dr. Jeffrey Harper.
Deciding sleep was out of the picture, Ro slowly pulled herself out of bed, moving her right shoulder around to work out the stiffness—she'd been laying on it for the last two hours or so. The icy floor against her feet woke her completely, and she calmly stood and went into the bathroom, checking the time on the way: it was two in the morning.
"Not like I have a set schedule or anything. Heaven forbid I should be normal," she said sarcastically, slamming the bathroom door. She'd given up all hope of a normal day, of a normal life, of anything even resembling a normal life, the day she'd saved a certain synthoid from the feds. That was okay, though—she was Ro, after all, and had always been on the rebellious side. A little adventure never went amiss.
She grabbed a brush, the latest in a string of brushes that she'd had to replace since their journey began, and began raking it through her tangled, sweat-soaked hair. She'd have to shower eventually, but it was so much more satisfying to hear the scraping of bristles against her scalp, to feel the satisfaction of winning a battle against a particularly stubborn tangle.
They'd been on the run for more than a year, now. More than a year, and nothing to show for it, except various bruises, scrapes, and a whole new appreciation for hotels that were open at all hours of the night. And the name and address of a man who could be their savior, or just another elaborate trap.
Another snore could be heard in the room Ro had just left, and she rolled her eyes. A nice gunshot might wake him up, but short of that she didn't know what would. Two in the morning and I've already thought of feds and guns.
"It's gonna be a really long day…"
*
Zeta didn't dream. He'd never dreamed, and it was one thing he was grateful for. If a synthoid can truly be grateful, that is. Judging by Ro's reaction to them, these dreams were not the most pleasant experiences. One of the prices of being human, I suppose. I wish she would tell me about them.
He was awake, of course. Technically, he'd never been asleep to begin with—his power supply was simply recharging, while he went into standby. Similar to the human concept of sleep, but not quite the same thing.
"Zee?" Ro was suddenly standing right over him, hands on her hips, already dressed in her usual attire. Her blonde hair was sticking out in all directions—static electricity, if he was reading it right—and her eyes were as bright as if she'd been up for hours.
"I know you're awake."
His holographic projector started up almost on instinct, and he felt the familiar form of the human "Zee" spread over him. Ro was looking impatient. That meant it was time to go.
"How did you know I wasn't still recharging?"
"I didn't hear any snoring."
"Oh." She stepped back as he rose out of his chair, giving her a little half-smile. "Should we be going?"
"Well…actually, I thought we'd do a little shopping first…" He would have refused, but her innocent eyes and that wide, oh-so-Ro grin momentarily stunned him, and before he knew it she was leading him out the door, credit card in hand.
*
"We know the unit is somewhere in this city. I want you two to find it, and don't try to apprehend it. Don't even let it see you, if you can help it."
Agent Lee nodded, knowing this particular procedure was mostly for her partner's benefit. So far, Agent West had managed to secure a perfect record of screwing up—not one, not two, but every attempt to secure the Zeta unit had been single-handedly foiled by him. One of their own people. She knew Bennet had a short fuse, and it was only a matter of time, now, until he blew up, and West was gone for good.
"And you," Bennet said, looking directly at the red-haired rookie, "are to follow Agent Lee's orders. Do not make a single move unless she tells you to, you understand?"
"Yes, sir." He looked like he wanted to salute, but a warning glance from Lee stopped him in his tracks. Bennet nodded, seeming satisfied for the moment, and handed Lee a small device—some kind of hand-held tracker. West would have asked what it was for. Lee, however, figured it out for herself.
"I want you back here at 1300 hours, whether you've found the synthoid or not. Now, go, and don't mess this one up."
The two agents nodded in unison before turning and heading for the exit ramp that had just started to fold down. They had landed just outside the city, so as not to attract any attention. As soon as they were on their way, West looked at Lee.
"I don't see why we can't try and get our hands on him. I almost had him last time!" He made a grabbing motion with his hands, earning a slight smile from the raven-haired woman. Yes, he was an idiot...but there was something cute about the way he always insisted he'd done nothing wrong, that the next time would be different. He was a strange one, West. But in a good way.
"Just try and deal with it, West; it won't do you any good to get caught disobeying orders." Again, she added silently. West gave her a sheepish grin.
"Sorry. Seems like we're always getting in trouble for that, huh?"
"Just you, West. Just you." Before he could reply, she was all business again, walking ahead of him and holding the tracker out in front of her. It still didn't seem quite right to her, chasing the synthoid, who only wanted freedom. Zeta was no terrorist, and Lee was aware of that. Maybe that was why she didn't mind so much when West screwed up. Maybe.
That will have to change, though,
she thought as they entered the city. Bennet'll only let us mess up so many times.*
"So…" Ro tried, unsuccessfully, to hide a yawn before continuing. "What do you wanna do about this Harper guy?"
Their shopping spree hadn't lasted nearly as long as she would have hoped—most stores hadn't opened yet. Which just sucked, in Ro's opinion.
"I want to find him." The surety in his voice surprised her. The blonde girl paused, and turned to find him staring at her, daring her to oppose him. His "mouth" was pressed into a hard line, like a pouting child. Kind of cute, actually. She'd never seen him look like that before. Still, they couldn't throw caution completely to the winds.
"You don't think it's a trap? And you don't think Bennet can track us there?"
"I want to find him, Ro." Wonderful. She knew by now that Zee could be unbearably stubborn, and this didn't look like anything he'd be willing to back down on. She shrugged.
"I guess it wouldn't be the stupidest move we've ever made…pretty close, but…" Zee's face broke out into a smile, and she couldn't help but smile back as she fished the address out of her pocket.
"California, huh? What d'ya think, Zee; train, plane, or car?" At least he took some time to consider that question. So he wasn't totally out of his electronic mind.
"…Train."
"Any reason why?"
"Well…" He looked thoughtful. "Stealing a car is too much trouble, and the last time we rode a plane, Bucky followed us."
"And the last time we rode a train," she pointed out, "we almost got caught by feds, almost got separated, and I almost got killed."
"But those were all 'almost', Ro. Nothing actually happened."
Raising an eyebrow, she shook her head, then linked her arm in his. The pair started walking toward the train station, unaware that two federal Agents had watched them go.
"They're taking a train, sir," Lee spoke into her comm. Her red-haired partner took this opportunity to leave their hiding place and go over to the spot where Zeta and the girl had stood. His eyes fell upon a small piece of paper—what were they doing with something that primitive?—at the same time as Lee told Bennet, "No, we don't know where they're going."
"Look at this!" He picked up the paper and took it back to his partner, who glanced it over once and then gaped at him, openmouthed.
"Where'd you find this?" she hissed quietly.
"They had it, I think."
"Wait, sir, we might have a lead—Dr. Jeffrey Harper, 24 Carolyn Drive, Eastern Talus, California."
Bennet gave them clearance to investigate further, and ended the transmission without yelling once. Lee shot West an approving grin. He'd actually done something right.
*
A little girl pressed her palm against the window, comforted by the feel of the warm, smooth glass. She could picture that window perfectly, and the scene through the window, too, even though she hadn't seen it in years. Her small mouth curled into a smile. Father said they were coming.
"…I can't wait to meet you, Zeta…"
Soon.
~*End of Chapter One