Dr. Anya Hansen aka Seven of Nine of Abyass took stock of her medical and research lab. Van Kliess had spared no expense in obtaining the most cutting edge technology for his private doctor. MRI, CAT Scans, X -ray, surgical instruments, you name it she had it. Her lab equipment would have Dr. Holiday drooling in envy. Currently her android helpers were attending to one of her three patients, the broken, female collector known as Breach.
The androids, which looked completely human except for yellow eyes and needle like hands stopped what they were doing. The head android, which she affectionately called, Doc, handed her the medical chart on the girl. When Biowulf and Skalamander had discovered their missing Pack mate five weeks ago she had been on the brink of death. Half her body was stuck in her personal dimension and the other half was fused with top of cliff face in Hawaii. It had taken a good two hours to carefully extract her body from the rock face. She then had Doc use her full spectrum laser to forcefully close the portals.
Anya read the chart pleased. "The new skin graphs are doing very well, replacing the old damage skin at accelerated rate due to the extra oxygen causing her cells to regenerate. Keep up the morphine drip. How's her cortical stimulator? We can't afford for her to have a mental breakdown again."
"The cortical stimulator you installed just behind her right ear is performing beyond expectations. It continuously stimulates her pleasure center while keeping the parts of her broken psyche under control. I also ran a full body scan to check on organ, nerve, and nanite function. We're at ninety percent. I do believe another round of treatment and Breach will be back in action."
"Thank you Doc, I knew I could count on you. Nurse! Orderly! Have you finished removing the implant from Circe yet? Until I work out all the bugs in it I don't feel comfortable leaving potentially dangerous tech in my patients."
"The implant has been successfully removed from her jaw. I have minimized the scar and gave her a round of antibiotics. I'll do an X ray to ensure the bone wasn't infected by its placement," Nurse responded. She had used a local anthesthia and used a simple scalpel and some three stitches to remove the device. She helped Circe sit up from the examination table and started checking the girl's vitals.
"I've taken some blood samples Dr. Seven of Nine. Should I begin running the full genetic analysis like Lord Van Kliess commanded?" Orderly inquired, holding up several tubes of fresh blood for her to see.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? Yes, begin the process and while your at it get me my research on modifying nanites from my office. "I thought I programmed these androids better. Forgive me dear, how are you feeling? Any side effects of using the implant you have to report? No jaw tingling, no numbness, your face isn't paralyzed?"
"No, nothing except my jaw aches a little. Your implant worked. It modified my power by altering my vocalization when it comes out of my second mouth. Those symptoms you listed? Do you think that that will happen to me? Is that why you had it removed?" Circe asked her eyes bored into the EVO doctor. She was scared, but she wasn't about to admit it.
"I removed the device because I'm not done perfecting it. If Lord Van Kliess hadn't pushed our agenda ahead of schedule by two months I never would have put inside you. I rather the plan fail then lose your life," Anya told the teen placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about the ache. You can take two Vicodian and I want you to spend the rest of the day resting okay?"
I mean don't you need some help with his exam or with whatever Lord Van Kliess has planned for him?" Circe quickly said. Her eyes darted towards the med bay were Rex was lying unconscious being prepped by Intern and Med Student for his exam. By the looks of things it would not be a simple physical.
"I can assure you my dear Circe I wouldn't dream of harming your little boy toy. Rex is far too valuable to my plans to have die during one of our dear Seven of Nine's medical exams," Van Kliess assured her as he entered the lab. He ignored Anya growling and gave Circe a small smile. "My dear now that you've been cleared why don't you go get something to eat? I assure you Rex will be up and about in few hours or so." He watched his little minion scurry away before focusing his power hungry and a little lustful eyes on Anya. She had just dismissed Orderly back to the research lab after he got her data. "Ah my dear Seven of Nine you are looking lovely today aren't you?"
"Why do you insist on calling me by that derision monocular? I am not a stupid Trekki! I was the world's leading expert in cybernetics and robotics with advance degrees in biology, medicine, computers and mechanical engineering. I hold two patents, one for designing a new medical robotic assistant for surgery and the later for my improved cloning method. I happen to speak over 6 languages and have an IQ 190. If it wasn't for me designing that biodata chip you wouldn't exist right now. Your clones' body would have been a blank slate without the chip containing your life experiences. Heck if wasn't for my foresight to clone your body, keeping it in honey cryolization, and transfused it with your nanites then you wouldn't even have had a chance to be reborn. So why do you insist on calling me by that nickname?"
"For two reasons my dear Anya. All my subordinates need codenames in our war against Providence and the world. Two, you have to admit it was ironic your nanities went activate at a sci-fi convention where you were lecturing about making technology from sci-fi books and shows a reality. The crowd thought you had performed the perfect illusion to further your cause, but Providence hunted you down. All your former colleges betrayed, rejected you. Your research and lab was confiscated along with your data. Anya, my dear, if Biowolf and Skalamander hadn't brought you to me when they did what would you have done dear old friend? Could you really accept being locked up and studied by your peers? That was not the girl I knew in collage, not the girl I dated for four years."
"Cut the crap Shaka. You didn't help me out of the goodness of your heart so don't guilt me into thinking you did. Whatever we had between us you blew. Your right I have no place else to go, but don't think you can control me like the others. I'm your equal in this fight and I will help you to save EVOs because it benefits all of us, not out of revenge and power like you. For the record I will accept the codename Seven of Nine, but in my lab I am Anya Hansen understood?" Anya told him brandishing her surgical arm at him. Van Kliess glared angrily at her and the ground rumbled, but he nodded in agreement. "Good, now I assume you're here for Rex's procedure correct?"
"Yes, I'm eager to see how are new recruit is doing. What did the initial physical exam reveal? I wouldn't put in past White Knight and his organization to tamper with their weapon to make sure he can't be used against them."
Anya tapped picked up a mini data pad and tapped a few instructions in it. Instantly Rex's data popped up. She scrolled through the data, her mutated eye reading and comprehending the data at inhuman speeds. After only thirty seconds she was finished and looked up at Van Kliess. "According to my associates aside from the need to eat healthier he's in perfect health. His personal physician seems to be doting on him. His nanites are at a hundred percent I haven't found anything unusual yet, but I can't discount the possibility that Rylander did something that I haven't picked up on. I'll have do further testing."
"You can do that later right now we have procedures to perform," Van Kliess assured her. He gazed fondly at Rex who was still unconscious. The androids had finished attaching him to the monitors and were prepping him for the surgical procedure. "How is it that you kept him asleep for so long? Even with your implant amplifying and modifying Circe's powers he shouldn't still be trapped in a delta wave chance."
"I used a strong anesthesia gas to keep him out. For good measure I'm playing a recording of Circe song to keep up the illusion his mind created. He still thinks he's in a temple with Circe about to have his past revealed to him. Don't worry he's not going to sleepwalk. Using my own nanites I mimicked Rex's own electronic tag signature and placed them in inert state for the time being."
"Clever, I knew you were smart Anya. How about my requests? In order for my plans to precede Rex's nanites and mine have to merge, not to mention I need certain parts of his DNA written. What about his memory? Are you sure you can…" Van Kliess was rambling until suddenly was tied up and had a razor edge close to his throat curtsey of Anya's mutated leg responding to her aggravation. "Alright I get the message. Shut up and let you explain. No more questions unless necessary. Now kindly remove your coils please?"
Anya removed her coils and gestured for him to follow her into her research lab. Her research lab was a cross between the Richard Reeds and a Star Fleet lab complete with holographic computers, WIFI, and tons of cool toys including the world's most powerful electron microscope. She approached the device and from her wrist two tubulars shot out and deposited something onto four slides. She slid them under the microscope and connected her eye via a cable hook up into a data port. Instantly the data was downloaded into her mind and projected using holograms for Van Kliess to see.
"What you see displayed here is different nanite samples I've taken from four different individuals. The first one here," she said using a laser pointer for emphasize, "belong to Rex. As we suspected and Rylander confirmed Rex's nanites are different from the rest of the worlds because they're from a different batch. I haven't had a chance to fully study them yet, but I'm willing to bet based on my observations and your personal experiences that Rex's nanites are more fully developed. They're programming is more complex and their electronic data tag is different as well leading me to believe Rex's potential is unknown."
"Electronic data tag? What is that Anya?"
"All devices have an information tag engraved on them. It helps companies keep track of inventory for recalls and other such purposes. In medical devices the tags also serve the duel purpose of recording information about function. In the case of the nanites when the event occurred the nanites were not finished being programmed. My analysis shows that Rex's tag is sending out a signal, waiting for further instructions. As you can see from the rest of the samples the tags are different making programming them harder."
"That is very interesting indeed Anya. I assume this makes it easier for you to merge my nanites with Rex's correct?" That is what you've been working on for the past month per my request. I want Rex's and my nanites to become one. Surely you have solved that problem Anya? I gave you all the guinea pigs you needed for this project," Van Kliess purred.
"Your "guinea pigs" were EVOs you snacked on that you hadn't finished. They were in such sorry state they might as well have been cadavers for all intent purposes! They're samples were so degraded it hampered my efforts. All I was able to learn is why it hadn't been done before. For example, your nanites exist in state of flux, probably due to rushed production, making them highly unstable. That's why you need to consume fresh nanites to keep your nanites functioning properly," Anya explained.
She furiously tapped a few keys on a keyboard. Instantly another projection appeared in the air. This one showed Van Kliess nanites attacking the normal EVOs nanites ripping them apart and using the material to repair his own nanites. The projection then changed to show Rex's nanites when they cured an EVO. The nanites touched the activated ones and sent out an electronic pulse deactiving them, but their tag didn't change. This proved that when he reabsorbed the "cured" nanites inside him they weren't "his" nanites. This explained Rex's mutations when he had surplus nanites. Unfortunately it didn't help solve Van Kliess problem. "From what you've shown me there is no way to merge Rex's nanites and mine together. My plans depend on this Anya."
"Then you won't be disappointed Shaka. The key to solve the merging problem is to create a triple layer nanite using my own as the middle layer. You know that my nanites can mimic others electronic tags so they don't resist or attack them. My solution is during the procedure to use the same treatment of an autologuos blood transfusion. During the surgery I'll extract Rex's nanites, run them through the biofluid where they'll mix with both of our nanites, then back into his body. I'll have an assistant monitoring the process and ensuring controlling the merge. He'll have to be monitored for signs of rejection, but I'm confident the procedure will work. By day's end Rex will be the only person alive with two sets of nanites working as one."
"Excellent! Rex has the ability to change the course for EVOs, but not the initiative. With my guidance and a little assistance he'll bring about a future that will bring about the end to Providence for good! What about the other two requests? Will they be as difficult?"
"Not as hard as the nanite problem. Since nanites are embedded in our molecular structure they have literally become part of our DNA. All I have to do to alter the key genetic structures in Rex is inject DNA into those nanites and resequence their structure following the new pattern. As for rewriting and erasing his memory? The amnesia works in our favor because then I only have five years to rewrite. It won't be easy Shaka. The brain is still a big mystery. I'll be using my newly designed brain probe on Rex. I designed it after some tech I saw in Star Trek Voyager. It will allow me to manipulate his memories and hide the truth while at the same time download new memories in their place. This is the history I've come up with so the rest of the Pack should memorize it so they don't mess up and trigger something."
"I'll see to that personally. How long will the procedure take? I'm very eager to introduce Rex to his new family."
"I'll need at least a day and half from the time I start to the time he wakes up completely recovered. Don't worry my Lord. Everything is under control," Anya told him. After that she shooed Van Kliess out of her lab and prepared for the long haul.
It was not an easy surgery. They had to shock Rex's heart once when he started convulsing as his nanites were reintroduced to his body. They also gave him a small blood transfusion during the resequencing. The part with his brain was a nerve wracking process, but finally hours later Rex was done. He was wheeled into recovery where Intern and Med Student monitored him closely.
A full day and a half after Rex arrived in Abysus his eyes opened and he tried to sit up, but found himself strapped to the bed and tube down his throat helping him breathe. He started to panic and tried to pull out the tube, but silver hands stopped him.
"Please don't struggle child! You just had major surgery and you'll tear out your stitches if you keep this up!" Intern pleaded, wondering if she should give him a sedative. "Med go get Dr. Hansen! Hurry!"
"Right! I'll be right back!" Med said, scampering off as fast as he could.
"You have a tube in your throat because we had to control breathing at one point in the surgery. I know you're scared, but Dr. Hansen will explain everything once she gets here. I need you to stop trying to activate your nanites and relax or I'll have to sedate you alright?" Intern asked. Rex nodded and she released him. He eyed her confused for a few seconds but then his eyes widen as Dr. Hansen entered the room.
"It's good to see you awake Rex. I was beginning to wonder how long you were going to stay out. Now take a deep breath and blow out," Anya said, removing the tube. She started checking his vitals noting everything was in the normal range. "How do you feel Rex?"
"Like a semi hit my head? I don't get it Dr. Hansen why was I in the med wing having surgery? Why are my memories so muddled and how did I get that laser burn?"
"You received injuries when we rescued you from Providence. Those fools had kidnapped you and altered your memories so you would work for them curing all EVOs instead of just the ones to far gone to be helped by our Lord. I had to give you a fresh infusion of nanites to counteract their control agent inside you. I also had to go in and undo what they did to your memory. Your head will ache for awhile, but you should be fine. Now why don't you change into those clothes over there and follow me. Our Lord is waiting."
Upstairs in the throne room everyone was getting anxious. Biowulf was muttering under his breath about how recruiting Rex was waste of time and so was memorizing this new history. Skalamander was still trying to memorize it and Circe and Breach were having a little girl time. Van Kliess was waiting on his throne patiently. All noise stopped when Seven of Nine entered the throne room followed closely by Rex.
Rex old clothes had been destroyed. He now wore green leather pants, a brown and gold t-shirt with a green jacket, gold gloves and combat boots. Curiously he also now sported silver studs in his ears. His hair now had a white streak going through it. He smiled happily at Van Kliess. "Hey Dad, it's good to see you again."
"Welcome home son. Its good to see you again too," Van Kliess said, smirking evilly. Phase One was complete. Time to move to Phase Two.
