Dark Angel : Future History
Story One
The Recovery
Welcome to story one of my Future History of Dark Angel. I took the idea from Robert Heinlein collection of short works as I've been writing DA stories for over two years now, but only recently discovered fan fiction on the internet. I hope you enjoy.
The usual disclaimers apply. I own nothing.
Chapter two
It was dark and cold. The uneven floor made everything uncomfortable and the constant adjustments to temperature and ceiling height made rest impossible. Twice now, Renfro had shoved her into this box and left her alone for the week without food or water. She was certain she was going to die the first time, but it didn't happen. She was dehydrated and had suffered, but she had survived. It was the way she was built after all.
The first time they let her out, she truly believed she would see Logan standing there. She believed she would fall into his arms and he would carry her to the cabin and everything would be just fine. They could live happily ever after without care or concern for the broken world. When it opened and she saw Renfro's smiling face, she realized she had just been in a delusional state from not having any food or water for days.
"Well." Renfro started. "You're alive. We didn't expect that." She seemed pleased with herself.
"Bite me." Max said but she couldn't even hear her own voice.
"Take her down to the infirmary and check her. When she is stable, bring her to my office." Renfro turned and walked away. Guards in white lab coats with stun batons dragged her across the floor and out into the hall. She was unable to resist.
A day passed. The only reason Max knew a whole day had passed was the clock hanging on the wall that she focused on while she was undergoing tests in the lab. Her thoughts kept drifting and every time the door opened and someone walked in she found herself wishing it was Logan. She found herself praying to the Blue Lady that Logan would rescue her like he did in Cape Haven, wishing he would save her like he did after the red series nearly killed OC.
Needles and probes and tests were run. She noticed she was nude and hadn't remembered loosing the gown she had been wearing which made her wonder how long she had been out.
Another half day passed before she was lifted and placed into another gown and taken to Renfro's office.
"State your designation." She said.
"Max." Max smiled.
"That is not your designation." Renfro said.
"It's my name."
"State your designation." Another order commanded.
"My name is Max."
"That is not your designation."
"It's my name."
"STATE YOUR DESIGNATION!" Renfro Commanded.
"MY NAME IS MAX!" She yelled at the older Blonde. "Nothing you can do will ever make me forget it."
"Take her to Psy-ops." Renfro ordered turning away and picking up her telephone.
It went on for days. Torture here and mind games there. The box and then the lab and then more torture and mind games forced upon her. She could feel herself slipping every now and again, but thoughts of Logan and his scruffy beard and wild blue eyes out there somewhere, looking for her always brought her back to her own mindset.
She had grown used to it. She had grown accustomed to the sessions they visited upon her each day. She had come to look forward to it. The electro-shock therapy and the water torture were worst. The laser and propaganda reels were boring, but effective. They always left her shaking and agitated. She had no memory of her stays in Psy-ops and that worried her the most, but they kept taking her back there and eventually she would end up in the box or in some other lab somewhere undergoing experiments.
One day, the guards brought her to Renfro's office and she stood there outside the door with her hands cuffed behind her in the dull gray gown they made her wear. The guards were quiet, but she could hear inside. They had designed her hearing to be far above average.
"When did this happen?" Renfro asked.
"Just last night. I saw it when I got home." A man said. "I had the computer lab hack it from the news footage and got it up here as soon as they were finished."
"Good job. Play it." Renfro said.
The sound burned her ears when she heard it. That familiar hiss and crackle of the snowy dissolve into those eyes. Those eyes only she knew.
"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom satellite hack of the Eyes Only Informant Net. This hack cannot be traced. It will not be stopped and it is the only free voice left in this broken world. Some of you have heard the rumors. Many of you have read the stories. A few of you know the truths. For some time now, the government that is supposed to be helping you rebuild has been diverting funds from various programs and pouring them directly into a research project. This project called Manticore is at its core, a covert genetics lab where embryo manipulation and gene-splicing have been used to create a breed of superior soldier straight out of Star Trek and its infamous Eugenics project. Many of you are thinking this is all some sort of fantasy just like Star Trek was. It isn't. Project Manticore takes the embryo and implants it into a young woman and she is forced to carry it to term. These newborn children are then subjected to a severe regimen of intense training and propaganda until they are turned into perfect killing machines. These children are not given a choice. They do not have a childhood. They do not have a family.
When they are old enough, the project and our government utilizes these perfect soldiers to assassinate their enemies. Their enemies are those who disagree with the Project's Core or merely know too much. The time has come for this to end. Six weeks ago, Eyes Only led a group of soldiers to the DNA lab in Gillette Wyoming and destroyed the lab. I am responsible for taking down their breeding facility, but I did not have the knowledge to take down the entire project.
Eyes Only will not rest until these children are set free. Eyes Only will not rest until these kids can live their lives like the rest of us. Eyes Only will find the new facility and all subsequent facilities and destroy this program once and for all. This will not stand. Eyes Only will destroy Project Manticore and save those children. Peace. Out."
Max listened but the door opened soon after the hack ended.
"Bring her in." Renfro ordered.
"Tell me what you need." Logan said. He was watching a smallish blonde woman with a captivating smile. She was staring intently into his eyes.
"I don't really need anything, but if you could tell me what to get, Krit and I could use your new contact number to locate the others and get them into the program. You need our help."
"I will not risk any lives other than my own." Logan said. "Four of you went with me and only two came back."
"It wasn't your fault."
"Everything is my fault. I should have locked down the barracks. I should have dropped an order into the mix to draw them away, but I didn't and two of you died. That's five all together that have fallen. I will not let anything else happen to the rest of you. You have the contact number so call me when you need me." Logan said. "When I get more of the mini computers, I'll send them to the safe house in LA."
"Logan! Dammit! You're not a soldier. You can't do this yourself." Syl argued, but Logan disconnected. "I know where you live." She said just before Logan flipped the switch to disconnect. He stared into the screen for a minute before taking a note to find more of the minis to send to the rest of the Rogues.
Original Cindy was standing behind him when he spun in his chair to begin preparations for his latest sat-hack. "Oh, Hello." He said.
"Whassup?" She asked. "You looking out for the rest of them now?"
"I got Max and Zach killed. It's the least I can do."
"You had nothing to do with that."
"I had everything to do with that. I was the one that had access to their internal security. I was the one that had access to their systems. I could have locked down their entire system." He said.
"Why didn't you?" OC asked.
"I didn't know how. Now I do. It's so simple it's ridiculous."
"Exactly. You didn't have the knowledge then. You couldn't have helped, then. Just like Max blames herself for your spinal injury, you blame yourself for her bullet wound and face facts, Logan. It's not your fault."
"But…"
"Shut up." OC said. "You need to chill. Relax for a while. Dinner's on me tonight." She held up a bag of Chinese food and gestured for Logan to follow.
"I've got work to do."
"You've got to eat. I know you better than you think. Max used to tell me how she would come in here some nights and find you asleep on the keyboard. She would take your glasses off and set them aside and then she would just watch you ducking into the shadows when you would finally move for the sofa."
"She did, huh?"
"She did." OC said. "She Loves you. She needs you to be strong and rescue her."
"I don't have proof that she's even alive. I can't move until I find her location and…" He stopped halfway to the kitchen and stared out into the rainy Seattle day through the window Max had broken so long ago. He turned and walked back to the computer. He was staring at the screen when OC turned and followed him. She was about to speak when his fingers began tapping the keys. Window's opened and closed. Information was running rampant on the monitor. OC watched as Logan implemented a search for certain keywords before turning back to her and standing.
"You're onto something."
"Not really. I was just running a search on all the information I have on the rogues and a few former members of the project." He said.
"What will that get you?"
"Only more info, but I may be able to trace that info…" He stopped when the computer beeped at him.
"What now?" OC asked.
"Incoming vid." Logan said. "It's probably Sebastian. I'll be out in a minute." Logan said sitting down in front of the computer again.
"Hey, Sebs. What's up?" He asked.
"Logan. I have some information for you." Sebastian's disembodied mechanical voice announced. "I am uploading some satellite footage to your server. You need to study it."
"Is it Manticore?"
"I don't know. It's definitely military. It has no records that I can find, but it does have a large civilian medical population."
"Could be a VA hospital."
"No VA hospital in the area." Sebastian said. "I can't find anything on the books in the DOD records either."
"Where is this building located?" Logan asked.
"It's not a building. It's a compound. There are soldiers training on site daily. I've been watching for a week."
"What are you saying?"
"The soldiers are very young." Sebastian said. "Study the upload. Save the children."
Original Cindy walked in with a plate of food. She set it on the table and pulled Logan to face her. "I'm going to eat like a civilized human being. You at least need to eat."
"I have to study this upload." Logan said.
"You have to eat. The upload isn't even complete." OC said pointing at the progress bar. "You have time for some food."
He knew she was right. He grabbed the plate and followed her into the kitchen.