Freegate Spin off – Episode 2

Whatcha Got

Opening (Freegate I timeline) 01,149.9

"So this is where you're hiding." Ensign Teresa walks into the lab. I put down a Zetatester, and look somewhat guilty for what I was doing. "Councilor Veronica has been looking all over for you, have you just been down here for this time?"

My attempt to justify my anti-social behavior, "I've been busy looking over some of the technology you have here. I myself have made a few discoveries."

"Why haven't you wanted to see your team, GT-4 they are a lovely bunch of people." She was looking at the mess of items around the place. It looked like this is where I've been staying since they brought me to Chevron 1, after of course they zapped me. "Common you can't stay in here forever." I responded with a simple grunt. "I'm sure you'll find them rather intelligent."

I gave her a quick smirk "Define intelligent."

Ensign Teresa pointed at me, "You're a jerk you know that."

"Isn't this what you call small talk?" I sounded like my voice was groggy, and dry.

"And you're lousy at it, whatever happened to clone T7-45? Even named her yet?" She picked up a small vial of blue liquid and tried to examine it with her eyes. I just turned my back on her and went back to work on one of my latest creations. The sparks were flying a bit as I was welding. The humming sound of welding got her attention again, "Hey I was talking to you."

"And I was working." I stopped working and turned slightly to look at her.

Teresa pointed once again, "I'm going to make it an order for you to get out there and meet your team."

"You're an Ensign, you can't order me around."

"Maybe not, but now I know where you are, Veronica could order you to do so."

I gave her a mean look, "I bet you wouldn't be able to if there were a hand at your throat."

"You wouldn't." She stepped back closer to the door.

"I'm one of the best; even though you're so close to that door I could snap your neck before you could open it."

"Is that a threat?"

"Maybe not," I threw back at her and turned around.

"Well." Her head looked up at the blue strip that the optical computer was hooked up to. She then left the lab not saying a word.

Just a few minutes later exactly what I had anticipated would happen, happened. "Veronica to Nexus."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes."
"Please report to the gate room."

I clenched my jaw, "Yes ma'am." I then turned out the door and went out to the gate room.

When I reported to the room I stood at attention, in front of the gate obviously where Veronica was. "Great Mr. Moore you've arrived. It's nice to meet family isn't it?" I wasn't surprised by her mention of this. "What surprised I knew about us being family? I read your file; I know how good you are with a weapon, tactics, science and flying. I know how important you'll be in the fight against the wraith. I'd like you to meet your team."

"Dr. Jonathan Slither, at your service." He held out his hand to be shaken I just looked him in the eye and kept my hands to myself. He looked at me strange and stood back.

"Dr. Slither is an expert in medicine and biology, his expertise has already been found useful to explain some of the bio-technology that the wraith uses." Veronica explained. I chuckled to myself. "What's funny?"

"Biology and medicine is as much of a science as witchcraft."

My comment disturbed the team and Veronica greatly. "I'm sure that opinion will change once you get out into the galaxy. You'll have to excuse Mr. Moore; he's not a very social person. Now I'd like you to meet one of our greater ambassadors, and one of your team members Dr. Julia Height."

Julia stood near me and she looked to be like she was in her forties, quite experienced in negotiations. This I knew from my own experience, I met her once on Terra Prime just before I set up a crude plastic explosives bomb on a door to open it. "I think I remember you. You stole secret government documentation on Terra Prime. Why did you do that?"

I shrugged, "I needed good toilet paper."

She was disgusted with me, yet again the rest of the team. Julia moved to stand by Dr. Slither, and Veronica continued to introduce people to me, "I'd like you to also meet Corporal Thomas Hash." I looked, he was black, I didn't have much respect for colored people, and I think I even killed a few just because they were. "Corporal Hash is expert in forensics, and has proven himself to be an excellent tracker and field operative. He also has the most amount of experience against the wraith than all four of you combined."

He stood up to me and instead of giving me a handshake he gave me a salute. "I'm also a pretty good marksman, I think once you get to know me we'll be pretty good friends."

"I doubt that, you're black."

A moment of awkwardness amongst the group, Veronica broke that silent awkwardness by clasping her hands together "Well you're dismissed." The team turned and walked a little ways to speak amongst each other. I turned and headed back for the lab. "Accept you, Mr. Moore come back here."

I turned and stood yet again in the same spot, "Yes Ma'am."

"What the hell is that called? These people are good people, and you have to be a jerk about it." Veronica got pretty angry, "What the hell is wrong with you? What tell me?"

"These people are inadequate to conduct a proper mission."

"And how do you know that? You haven't been on one mission yet. Do you know why?" She screamed out, and got everyone's attention, "Because you're too full of yourself. You're a one man team when it comes to shooting and blowing crap up. What good is that? What good are you when you can't even work with this team?"

"Blow the wraith out of the sky Ma'am."
She got even madder, "Yah that's nice when they come. But since what you're trying to do is save people's lives before the wraith come, what good is that? You have to work together with your team. You're so smart, why can't you do that? You know why, you're useless." She went on for the next half an hour telling me how useless I am, and more reasons that I shouldn't be part of the team than I had never thought of.

The screaming and yelling from Veronica put the whole base on edge, people just watched, and drop their data-pads on the floor. I could see out of the corner of my eye how many people just stood there and their jaws just hanging loose from the nasty things she said. Something a person of power and respect was not supposed to say about anyone. The screaming and yelling stopped almost instantly when her scancom went off "David to Veronica."

She picked up the scancom and headed out, "You're dismissed, and I have to take this."

I went to my quarters and tried to relieve some tension. Whatever I had done was undone when I heard the door chime. "Come in."

The Clone opened the door and came in then she shut the door. "I heard what happened in the gate room." A certain part of me laughed at that idea, I doubt anyone at the base didn't here Veronica going on. "Did you want to talk about it?" I grunted to answer her question. "Some people bottle all that up inside and when they can't take it anymore they explode and have a breakdown."

When this clone said that, it felt like she knew me somehow. It was something beyond just reading my profile. "I'm one of those people, and I explode constantly upon my enemies."

That didn't seem to shock her nor surprise her, "and how does that make you feel? Does it make you feel good when you kill people?" I gave her a grunt, she continued as if it was a positive answer. "It feels like the pain someone gives to you, you give to your enemy, and that feels good to you."

It felt like she was pulling what I felt, and thought out from my soul. Whatever little soul I had she managed to see that in me? "I have great pain inside."

"That's why you don't talk to people. That's why you hurt people. That's why you hurt me, because you've been hurt too."

A weird thing happened within me, I felt strange within the small of emotions I knew. My memory went back to all the times I've been hurt, or yelled at. But instead of a regular rage that filled me up, instead of my heart beating faster I felt very strange. My right eye just started to feel wet. This was new to me, and that feeling quickly vanished once I realized this was happening and I was afraid.

"Awe." She then came closer to me and sat on the bed. She then leaned over and gave me a kiss on the lips, it was a sweet kiss.

I put my hands up to her shoulders and pushed her off of me. "What are you doing?" I was surprised that even after what I had done to her that she would get close to me.

She smiled, "I'm supposed to reward your social behavior."

"I do not want such reward." I pushed her slightly so that I could sit up. I then left the room.

Councilor Veronica was standing in front of my team. "This is an average mission through the gate. The Servo gave us some useful information about the area. The inhabitance is known to be called the Neium and their language is similar to that of our own. They are people within the renaissance age, and they may have more information about the Genii. Yes?"

Julia Height had a question, "What kind of resources can we bargain with?"

"Medical assistance, food, shelter." A moment passed so that there weren't any more questions to come. "Any more questions?" She nods, "Alright dial her up."

The ring then showed bright colored lights in several patterns, the patterns spun around until it stopped at one of the locking like mechanisms. More lights showed up and the pattern was locked in place. Another symbol spun around in opposite direction, reminded me of antiquated locking mechanisms that I've run into. Seven patterns, showed and when the final pattern was locked in place the ring emitted some sort of plasmatic fluid that exploded from within then came back to the gate and stabilized and glimmered with intensity.

"Yah its cool wait till you go through it." Corporal Hash tapped me on the shoulder. Then jumped into the shimmering light, to disappear within the plasmatic fluid.

It was like something out of science fiction. Though since we left Terrain space it's just been one non stop fantasy. "Whatever race built this is beyond me." I watched Jonathan walk through the gate. "Wow." I said as I was next to walk through it.

I saw the stars open up then they rushed towards me as if I was going several times faster than light. A vortex of blue plasma swirled around me like I was in a tunnel. The tunnel twisted and turned then in a flash of bright light walked upon a new surface of a planet, it was day.