Full Summary: In 1993, the government began secretly working on a project that would help them solve the problems of the nation. The project was forgotten a few years after the Pulse... until now. The Committee, desperate to end the transgenic situation, sends for the project and is surprised with what they receive. And what happens when the project falls into the transgenics' hands? And why do the Familiars care?
Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, ain't that a shocker? The only thing I own and care about it Aaron. The other characters I make up along the way... well, they're mine to but I don't care if they end up robbing banks after this story, so long as they stay good for me now. :)
A/N: I've had this idea for a looooong while, and I decided to put a DA spin on it. It's "watered down" so to speak to fit in the DAverse, and there are fewer elements of it, since, hello, this is Dark Angel, not my idea. In the first few chapters Max and the gang don't appear, but they come in soon. Also, no 'ships for a bit. Undertones though. But I won't tell you who cause I want you to read despite the 'ship.
Dr. Alan Tiede walked along the well-lit, sterilized corridor swiftly. He didn't need to think about his path anymore; the route had become so familiar to him that his feet automatically carried him to his regular destination. He passed many doors, which led to empty rooms, on his way and not once had he ever glanced at them. They all looked exactly the same, even the courtesy of numbering them hadn't been put into play.
He stopped in front of the nineteenth door, the only door which led to a room with something in it, and looked at his watch. 9:15am. He jotted the time down on the sheet safely secured to the clipboard he was carrying, then curtly rapped on the door three times.
A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a man of twenty with bushy hair and piercing blue eyes. He said nothing and just stepped away from the door so the Doctor could enter. The Doctor smiled and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.
"How are you doing today Aaron?" The Doctor asked and took a seat in the only chair in the room.
"Very well, thank you." Aaron replied sat on his bed. He was very used to the Doctor's visits by now and knew what he wanted to hear. After all, that was what he was best at: knowing.
"That's good to hear." The Doctor said in an offhand matter. He scribbled something down on his clipboard, then looked up at Aaron, the smile still firm on his face. "Did you sleep well? Any dreams?"
"Very well." Aaron told him. "I statistically had as many as seven dreams last night, as all humans do."
The Doctor sighed, just barely audible. "I know, but what dreams do you remember?"
"I dreamt of a dog." Aaron recounted. "This dog, it was a mutt, it spoke to me in Polish. I'm not sure what it said to me, since I did not learn Polish. After he finished telling me whatever it was that he was saying, he barked and ran off and I felt upset."
"A talking dog?" The Doctor repeated as he wrote it all down on his clipboard.
"Yes, sir." Aaron replied.
"That was certainly an odd dream." The Doctor said and looked at him.
"Yes, sir."
The Doctor smiled and stood up. "Well, that will be all for this morning. I will escort you to breakfast."
"I would like that." Replied Aaron, though he showed no signs of that being true.
Of course, Aaron rarely responded to things emotionally. He had been conditioned since birth to not be emotional and not let emotions interfere with his thinking. His thinking was most important, especially to the government, and they didn't want anything to jeopardize their progress.
The Doctor opened the door and allowed Aaron to go first. They walked along to the cafeteria in silence for most of the way, but the Doctor couldn't help but ask the question that he had been working on with Aaron since the year before.
"Aaron, tell me, how do we bring the economy back to its former status, before the Pulse?"
"You will receive the answer when the time is right, Dr. Tiede." Aaron replied.
It was the same answer he had received every time he had asked the question, and that was a flaw in Aaron. He had been designed to solve the nation's problems, but he had never been conditioned to solve them when requested to. True, he did solve many of the problems brought to him, but few questions he insisted the world was not ready for their answers. And he never explained why.
"Here we are." Dr. Tiede said when they stopped in front of the swinging double doors that led to the cafeteria. "I will see you this afternoon, Aaron."
"Thank you." Aaron said and gave a small nod, then disappeared through the doors.
Dr. Tiede lingered for a moment, then turned to walk back to his office and file his latest report on Aaron, but when he rounded the corner, he came face to face with Colonel Walsh. He stopped in his tracks and looked over the Colonel, wondering what he was doing in this wing of the hospital.
"Dr. Tiede." The Colonel greeted with a nod of his head.
"Colonel." Dr. Tiede replied, nodding himself.
"You'll have to come with me." The Colonel told him.
Without objection, Dr. Tiede followed him down the corridor and into an empty office. But the office wasn't so empty after all. The Vice President himself, Jon Emerson, was seated behind the oak desk and two high-ranking military officials Dr. Tiede didn't recognize were flanking him.
The room was suspiciously dark, the only light coming from a small desk lamp that gave the Vice President an eerie presence. He motioned toward the forest green suede chair in front of the desk. "Sit."
Dr. Tiede gave a nervous nod and moved over to the chair. His stomach did a leap when he heard Colonel Walsh close the door behind him with a tiny click that somehow seemed to echo throughout the foreboding room.
"You are, I'm sure, wondering as to why you are here. Am I correct in saying this?" Emerson spoke.
"Yes, sir." Dr. Tiede mumbled.
"As you are aware, the administration has had much interest in Project Voltaire since its conception."
"Yes, sir."
"Recently," Emerson continued. "The Project has been discussed, and though it had been found to be useful in the past, it was decided that the man -"
"Aaron." Dr. Tiede interjected. He could have sworn he saw Emerson's lip curl into a sneer, but the dim light made it impossible to tell for sure.
"Yes, Aaron." Emerson continued. "It has been decided that he hasn't made any great contributions to the nation, as was the plan for him. I regret to inform you, Dr. Tiede, that your presence will no longer be required on the Project any longer, because we're terminating it."
"What?" Dr. Tiede blurted out. "You're terminating it after twenty years? You can't do that."
"I'm afraid I can, and have." Emerson said and stood. "It's been a pleasure."
"But -"
"The decision is final." Emerson interrupted. "The papers have all been signed, everything is official."
"What - what will happen to Aaron then?"
"I suspect he will be terminated." Emerson told him. "We cannot afford to lose him to a foreign government, as I'm sure you can understand. Now, you have the rest of the hour to pack up your things and leave this hospital. The Colonel will be in touch with your new assignment this evening. Good-bye."
With that, Emerson and his military escorts left the office. Colonel Walsh stared at Dr. Tiede for a minute or two, before he grunted, "You'll have to leave now."
Dr. Tiede just nodded and left the room. He wandered the halls, deep in thought. He could not let the fact that he had spent twenty years of his life working on the Project only to have it ripped from underneath him in a nanosecond go. He cursed when he remembered he had left his clipboard in the office. He sighed when he realized that he wouldn't need it anyway.
It was then he realized where he was: at Aaron's door. He looked at his watch, knowing that Aaron would be in his room, waiting for their next session. He looked up and down the hallway, then slipped into the room.
"Hello, Dr. Tiede." Aaron greeted.
"There's no time for pleasantries now." Dr. Tiede said hurriedly. "We - we have to get out of here."
"But why?"
"The Project's been terminated." Dr. Tiede explained in a hurry. "They're going to terminate you as well."
"That would not be for the best." Aaron said and stood. "I've just gone through the scenarios and the most likely -"
"Not now boy!" Dr. Tiede said. "We've got to go!"
Aaron nodded and the pair slipped from the room. They crept along the halls, careful not to be seen by Emerson or any of the military he had brought with him. They managed to reach the back exit of the hospital, and Dr. Tiede put a hand on the door knob, but Aaron grabbed his arm.
"There is a silent alarm on this door." He said, then pointed to the window above the door. "I will give you a boost."
Dr. Tiede nodded, then allowed Aaron to lift him up to the window. He managed to climb through, with some difficulty. After Dr. Tiede was through, Aaron managed to clamber out himself, and landed much more gracefully on the pavement than Dr. Tiede had.
Dr. Tiede smirked. "I guess that's a plus of being genetically engineered."
Aaron only nodded, then a moment later tore the lab coat off Dr. Tiede. "It is too suspicious."
Dr. Tiede nodded, then led the way to his car. They were able to hide behind a group of nurses and orderlies who were just dismissed from the hospital, and managed to slip into Dr. Tiede's car and drive off unnoticed.