The Calm Before the Storm
Brin Londo sat on a fallen tree trunk in the vast Raulian forest; the clearing he was currently occupying dappled with shadow from the noon sun, and sighed heavily.
It was so boring here.
What was the point of living out here in the middle of nowhere on this dirtheap? No one ever came expect the occasional automated supply delivery, and Dad was always off with his boring co-workers doing something scientific.
And he missed his mom.
His mom would have loved it here, on Raul. She had been into xenoflora and –fauna her whole life. She'd been a naturalist before some thugs had jumped her in an alley on Zuun and beat her to death for her money.
His dad had been lucky to get this assignment, really. He didn't have much of a background in naturalism, but some planet or someone somewhere had decided a research station out here was a good idea, and had decided Dr. Mar Londo was the only man for the job.
They'd needed the money and the change of scenery. The house was full of memories; and the bank accounts had been sucked dry by the thugs when they decided to use the credit vouchers they'd taken.
Brin reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small holo-picture his father didn't know he had.
'No reminders', he'd ordered when packing up for the move. 'We're going someplace new, and we're both going to have a new life'.
But Brin couldn't let go that easily. He thumbed the tiny button on the base of the oval-shaped projector and a slightly-grainy image of a woman with brown eyes and short brown hair greeted him.
I miss you Mom, he thought. It's been almost a year now- you missed my sixteenth birthday. I know you wanted to be there for that. Dad's been getting a little better, though. He smiles more, like he did that day we all went to the park together. Remember? You took that picture that Dad's been carrying around everywhere.
He sighed and pocketed the holo-picture, then stood and stretched. He'd been out in the woods all day –again- and he was ready to go 'home'.
It was past mid-afternoon on Raul when Brin finally forced his way through the last of foliage and into the clearing in front of the research station. It wasn't an interesting place to live, and it would never be home, but it was what he had to deal with now.
Eventually Dad will get a real job and we'll be able to move back to civilization. At least it'll be new there- I've been here so long that there's not an inch of the forest within half-a-day's walk that I don't know. I wish I could get more range.
He keyed in his entry code and walked into the building, boots clicking against the hard floor, the sound of the door closing booming off the metal walls.
He flopped down on his bed, not bothering to take his dirty boots off, and flung an arm over his eyes. He'd run more than walked today to try and get some of his frustration out, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
After a few moments of restless silence, Brin forced himself off his bed and into the bathroom. He turned the cold water on and cupped some in his hands, splashing it on his face to get some of the forest grit off and wake himself up.
He reached over to turn the water off and looked up, catching sight of himself in the mirror.
Thick jacket for deflecting the whippy forest branches and warding off the chill of the deep woods; or for the times when dark fell early. Long brown hair, streaked with white, too easily tangled and matted from hours in the forest. Brown eyes too tired for the time of day.
Brin grunted to himself, threw the towel he was using at the mirror, and stalked out the door back into the paneled hallways.
By now, Brin knew the layout of the research station even better than the tracks and contours of the forest. He ran on automatic, his body taking over the mechanical motion of walking while his brain shut itself off for a while and paid attention to nothing more than the rhythm of his stride.
Eventually a change in the rhythm jolted his mind back into thought.
Brin stood still for one bewildered moment as various parts of his brain lined up explain why he'd suddenly turned around and walked back up a hallway.
-restricted area. 'Don't disturbed me at work'. Right.
Out of obstinance, he turned around and walked back down the hallway a few yards before entering the short hallway that led to the base's hangar.
The hangar was oversized compared to the rest of the research compound. It took up almost three-fifths of the square footage of two floors.
Why do we even have this, anyway? Brin though, disgruntled. It's not like we ever use it for anything. And no one ever visits.
He glared at the empty space and continued on his walk.
Dinner was a few hours later.
Brin, his father, and the rest of the research team sat around a long rectangular table, either side lined with chairs.
The meal was silent, as it always was, except for the clinking of silverware against plates and the occasional scrape of chairs.
Before he'd started eating, Brin had thought he'd stop in the kitchen and eat the rest of the cookies the latest delivery had brought. But as the meal went on, he had to fight with himself more and more not to fall asleep.
This is ridiculous. I didn't do that much today.
Brin waited until everyone else was mostly done before shoving away from the table and taking his used dinnerware into the kitchen for the drones to clean later. If he fell asleep at the table, he'd be so humiliated that he'd have to hide out in the woods to avoid his father and the look he'd get.
Dr. Mar Londo finished his dinner and sat back in his chair and waited for the rest of his team to finish.
"Are you sure those drugs took hold?" one of the other men asked irritably. "He didn't look ready to drop."
"He only left to avoid looking foolish," Mar said. "He's a teenage boy- what else would you expect?"
A scientist farther down the table muttered something about people not being predictable.
Dr. Londo stood.
"Everyone is predictable. I've lived with the boy his whole life- I know what he's like. There's nothing about him I don't know."
A large man leaned back in his seat.
"You sure about this, Doctor? He is your son."
"All my research has focused on transforming a human into something more than evolution could achieve. He is human. Using him prevents the need to kidnap someone off another planet and keeps this whole operation quiet-"
He looked out at the other men he worked with and raised one eyebrow. "-and isn't that what your employers want?"
The large man got out of his chair.
"You just remember never to tell what's really going on here, Doctor- and you won't end up like your dear departed wife."
"You choose to threaten me with that?" Mar asked coldly. "A poor choice. She was killed through no fault but her own."
He turned towards the door.
"There is no reason for concern. You will get your super-soldier- and I will get my revenge on Keely."
The light spilling into Brin's room didn't stir him at all.
The large man strode into the room and stood over the unconscious boy, hands on his waist.
Mar Londo walked in after him, arms clasped behind his back.
"Well?" he asked.
The large man leaned down and hauled Brin out of bed, clamping him in his arms.
"Hm- you do good work, Doctor. Usually they wake up around now and I have to keep them from screaming."
"That won't be necessary."
It was midmorning on Raul, but it was impossible to tell in the laboratory.
Mar Londo stood next to the table Brin had been strapped to, surgical mask over his face, syringe in the other. The other scientists bustled around the room, clearing away the used equipment and setting up for the next stage.
The large man took a step forward and grabbed Mar's wrist.
"You sure about this?" he growled. "You've been talking about how much stronger and faster and bloodthirsty this is going to make him and you're going to wake him up?"
"To proceed with this next stage the anesthetic must be expelled from his system. If this is not done, he will die, and our employer's time and money will have been wasted."
The man stared at him for a long moment.
"But this will not occur if I can't get this chemical into his system," Dr. Londo said pointedly.
The man let go and stepped backwards. Mar inserted the needle carefully into Brin's shoulder and pushed the chemical slowly into his system.
"Mask," he ordered, drawing the syringe out. One of the other scientists held out an medical breathing mask attached to a gas tank poking through the ceiling.
Dr. Londo switched the syringe for the mask.
The chemical kicked in and Brin stirred, waking slightly. He opened his eyes slowly, expression vacant.
Mar turned quickly and secured the mask.
Across the room, one of the other scientists flipped a switch. Gas started to hiss through the hose from the tank into the mask.
The sudden change in the air quality shocked Brin awake. His eyes widened and his chest heaved as he tried to get more oxygen into his system.
"Stand back," Dr. Londo said. "The Zuunium gas shouldn't leak, but the projected radiation will. Anyone stupid enough to get caught in it will not be helped."
He pushed a button.
There was a mechanical whirring as the Zuunium radiators descended.
Mar Londo allowed himself a slight smile as his son's transformation became visibly apparent.
The large man frowned.
"You never said anything about fur- or claws," he said in a low voice.
"In a galaxy of millions of different species, do you really think anyone will notice?" Mar asked dryly.
The large man snorted.
"You still need to make your report."
Mar turned and walked for the door, pressing the release pad.
Behind him, there was a feral roar and the screech of warping metal.
The large man dove forward and yanked Mar to the side, shoving him against the wall.
Dr. Londo couldn't see anything but the wall pressed to his face, but he could hear just fine.
Roars, and screams; and the various noises of the captive animals, chittering and screeching in their fear.
The large man, standing behind him, yelled in pain, and something large rushed past them and out the open door.
After a moment, the man moved away from Mar, wincing in pain as the scores across his back and left leg pulled and bled, staining the floor a wet, sticky red.
Dr. Londo turned and stared in wonder.
His 'research team' littered the floor, sporting gashes made by claws and teeth. Their blood mingled on the floor and congealed into muddily-colored pools.
This was-
This was-
"You should've kept him out," the large man growled, limping towards the grievously-wounded scientists. Mar followed him in a daze.
"Look at this," the man said, gesturing to the shredded restraints on the table. "It broke right through."
Mar drifted to a stop on the other side of the table, where he had so recently been standing, conducting the experiment to make the ultimate living weapon.
"I'll have to tell the boss," the man grumbled. "And he won't be happy. He hates it when people fail."
He started limping for the door, but Mar stepped in front of him, hand out.
"Wait."
The man scowled.
"For wha-arg!"
Dr. Londo put his foot back on the ground and grabbed the man's collar as he leaned forward in agony from the blow he'd received to his injured leg.
With the other hand, he drew a recently-cleaned scalpel across the man's throat- and let go.
The man fell to the ground, clutching his newest wound, blood seeping through his fingers.
"Murderer," he accused, voice bubbling unpleasantly, eyes glaring.
"Think of it as a mercy killing," Mar told him. "There is no proper equipment for treating your injuries-"
He smiled widely. The expression was touched with mania.
"And did you really think I'd let you inform your employer of my glorious success? My son is too great to be sold to a man such as your employer. No, I will catch him; or hire someone to catch 'the beast in the forest'. They will be none the wiser. With my son, I will have my revenge on Keely. This is what they threw away, a year ago. They will see what I have brought about, and they will realize the my true power."
He realized he was speaking to a dead body and stopped, expression melting from his face.
Dr. Mar Londo looked out over the room, to where the rest of his provided help, colleagues of the man lying dead on the floor, still lingered in life.
As he walked forward, scalpel still in hand, the first roar of the monster he had created echoed off the trees in defiance of the pleasantly-warm noon sun.