A/N: Yeah, I know it's been a LONG while for this fic. But I have a bit more free time - in between going down to the university and filling out bursary applications - so I can focus a bit more on my fanfiction writing. And you might have some questions about things. Read on and you're gonna get some answers....and some more questions. ^_^
Be sure your sin will find you out. ~ Bible, Numbers 32:23
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Chapter Five - P-18666
"Ah, going back to Tenrei," Aisha smiled as she folded her arms behind her head. "Can't say that I'm complaining."
"Yeah, you aren't." Gene grumbled. "I have to do work again."
Jim chuckled. "Oddly enough, you do more work when we're on Tenrei more than any place else."
"That's a news flash." Gene rolled his eyes. "Mel, how much longer is this trip going to be?"
"Approximately three and a half hours left Gene." Melfina chuckled slightly. "Want to get off the ship that much?"
"You bet. I'm tired of dealing with that wretched woman and her constant demands. She's like a fucking harpy. 'Gene, you're not doing it right!' or, "Gene, you should have listened to me!' She's annoying as hell when she's awake. Thank God she's asleep now."
Gene scowled darkly as he sighed and sagged back into his seat. All this running around was merely to just get some simple answers reminded him of the whole Leyline adventure they had gone on. Of course he had to admit that going back to Tenrei and not being able to enjoy some of its benefits wasn't doing much to help his current mood.
"Well, at least I know it's not my charming personality that you're trying to escape Gene." Gillam said as he floated in.
"You're here. That means you either want something or have something for me to so," Gene mumbled. "What is it?"
"Well, our 'friend' is getting somewhat impatient in his cell." Gilliam said.
"He's right." Melfina said. "I can hear him down there. He's not too happy. He has been there for the week Gene. Perhaps now is that time to go and talk to him."
Gene muttered a curse and rolled his eyes as he rose easily, stretching his arms. "Come on Jim, we're finally gonna have a talk with our Harry look-a-like. Think he's stewed long enough."
"All right Gene. Cover for me Aisha." Jim said as he hurried from his seat.
Gene started walking down the hallway, fingering the butt of his Caster gun. "Do you want to do the talking?"
"That might be best," Jim paused, glancing at the Caster. "Besides, you have better aim than me."
"True enough." Gene laughed as he started down the ladder to the second level below. "And this guy is bound to try and pull something."
Jim's lips quirked for a second but he didn't say anything. Gene looked at him from the corner of his eye before he reached over and rumpled his hair. Jim smacked his hand away with a laugh. A few moments later, they stood outside the cabin door, trying to sober up their expressions.
"You sure you're up to this?" Gene asked.
"Positive. I want to know why Khujesta is in a bigger mess than she's letting on."
Gene smiled and nodded as he unlocked the door and opened it. The room was plain and rather small with only a bed jutting out from the wall, a small shelf and a toilet near the foot of the bed. The lights in the room were on low, creating pockets of shadow all around. Gene walked in warily, watching the hunched figure seated on the bed. The door closed, Jim walking up closer to the man, his blue hair painfully clear to see. He rested his hand on the butt of the gun, ready to draw and fire in a moment's notice. The man's voice was so quiet that he almost didn't notice it.
"I was starting to think that I'd need my own company. I'm not exactly in the habit of talking to myself."
Jim glanced back at Gene before he regarded the man in front of him. Whoever he was, he was the spitting image of Harry MacDougall. The hair, the eyes, the posture, even the way he was now casually brushing a lock of his hair behind his shoulder, it was all Harry MacDougall. The man rose easily enough, startling Gene and Jim with his height. He was taller than Gene by at least a good five inches. He may have looked like Harry MacDougall, but he certainly didn't have his height.
"So," Jim said, his eyes never leaving the man's. "We'll start with simplicities. Name?"
"Sebastian. Sebastian Delacour." Sebastian gave a slight bow.
"Hm. Do you realise something about your…'appearance'?"
"I'm the spitting image of Harry MacDougall." Sebastian's lips twisted into a weird smile. "I've been told that far too frequently; I don't need to be reminded of that again. All of this is not the work of some plastic surgeon."
"So you're just another cyborg, then? Or an android?"
Sebastian shook his head. "Believe it or not, I am not the copy. He was."
That made Gene grasp the hilt of his gun, eye narrowing. Sebastian's eyes flickered to Gene's gun before he met Gene's eyes and looked back at Jim. Gene gave something of a hard snort.
"And we're supposed to believe that?" Gene scoffed. "For all we know, you could be lying to us to save your hide."
"If I was lying, why was I trying to save you from it?"
"'It'?" Jim asked. "Don't you mean 'her'?"
Sebastian shrugged. "Call 'it' 'her' if you want. But the fact of the matter is, is that I can't change any biases you may have held against my inferior copy."
"How was the Harry MacDougall we knew a copy of you?"
"He was firstly cloned from my DNA. However, he was raised in a lab for the first few years of his left. Then his memories of that experience were wiped out; new ones with Ron MacDougall were transplanted."
"Wouldn't Ron know the difference?" Gene asked. "He's not a stupid man by any means."
"No, he wasn't. He almost did," Sebastian said, his voice wistful. "Ron MacDougall was my half brother but I was a young fool and told him he was my full brother once when I managed to escape. When I disappeared, the clone Harry, the one you all came to know, was made as my replacement."
"So you and Harry MacDougall are exactly the same?"
"Physically, exactly. Psychologically, we share very few traits. It all really depends on how one was raised." Sebastian leaned back against the wall. "And Harry was one interesting piece of work."
"Do you know how he ended up like that?" Jim asked.
Sebastian shrugged. "Only Ron would know. And he won't be very talkative, seeing as how's he's crippled and his tongue was ripped out."
"How did he even end up like that?" Gene asked; he had paid a visit to Ron before leaving Earth and had been shocked by what he saw. Confined to a wheel chair, unable to speak or even write basic sentences. Melfina wasn't exactly happy with what she saw either. "It was her wasn't it?"
"Yes. Ron took on a job of trying to protect a Styx scientist. She maimed him and killed the scientist. I think it was Mia or someone like that." Sebastian gave a harsh laugh. "I'm probably the only person in the universe who can handle her."
"What makes you say that?" Jim asked.
"My body," Sebastian said as he rubbed his ribs. "Is far from normal, as is hers."
Jim didn't step back when he saw the gleam of a dagger's edge in the light. All that he heard from behind him was Gene cocking the gun, the sound of the drawn back hammer echoing through the room. Sebastian moved slowly, placing the edge against his palm and drawing it down in a hard a vicious stroke. Jim and Gene watched as the blood oozed out thick and slow, a deep red in the low light. Jim blinked for a second as he had a sudden mental flash of someone drawing a scalpel across someone's pale white flesh, but it vanished away. He shook his head, watching Sebastian. After five minutes, it stopped oozing, the blood migrating back to the wound. When it pooled back into the wound, the flesh started to move together slowly, no scar tissue forming as it closed up. Ten minutes later, he hand was as good as new. Sebastian flexed it, giving them a grin.
"And my rate of healing is far lower. She can heal almost instantaneously, should she choose to do so. You are in far over your head Starwind. She wouldn't hesitate to kill you if you irritated her enough."
"I would imagine." Jim said in a dry voice. "So, the Harry we knew was a copy and you are some sort of enhanced human?"
"Yes. But I wasn't born in some test tub. I was sold to Styx when I was an infant. I guess you could say I've been training since I was young."
"That's revolting." Gene said.
"There are people and corporations that have done worse than parents selling their own children." Sebastian said in a grim voice.
"But you said you're related to Ron MacDougall." Jim said. "And yet you were raised by Styx and he wasn't?"
"I am. We just have different mothers." Sebastian said with a sigh of exasperation. "I just happened to have the mother who would sell her own children for drugs and alcohol."
"So when you managed to escape, you went to the only family you knew of. How did you know Ron was your half brother if you spent your entire life raised by a corporation?"
"I hacked into the system files. They have information on everything and everyone possible." Sebastian yawned. "These beds are godawful and there's no decent pillow."
"That's why we stuck you in here." Gene said in a snort. "So who paid you to come after her?"
Sebastian looked at Gene. "You know, you're really naïve when it comes to complicated matters such as this."
"Naïve, huh?" Gene said in a dead voice. "Not naïve enough to engage her directly in hand to hand combat."
Sebastian simply inclined his head slightly. "Is there anything else you wish to know?"
"It'd help if you answered Gene's question." Jim said.
"Come now," Sebastian slid forward until he was just on the edge of the bed. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you Jim."
Jim didn't flinch as he looked into Sebastian's eyes, trying to remember that this was a person completely separate from Harry MacDougall.
"Well, if you work for Styx, then you can tell us what P-18666 is. And why Khujesta was freaking out that…she destroyed Khujesta's last vial." Jim said slowly.
"Ah, P-18666. That is, quite frankly, none of your business. But tell me, how is dear old Khujesta doing?"
"What does it matter to you?" Gene asked.
"Won't tell me? Fine, I'll guess."
Gene muttered a growl of discontent; this Sebastian seemed to have far too many ready answers that would be virtually impossible to check. He moved directly behind Jim, blocking the light that had fallen on Sebastian.
"Khujesta is probably asleep right now, and has been for most of the week. The times that she is up, she's irritable, snappish or just downright belligerent. She sweats sometimes as if she's too hot or shivers as if she's freezing."
Jim and Gene didn't say anything, not wanting to let Sebastian know that he was right. Sebastian looked between the two of them before he settled back against the wall, a pitying expression on his face.
"So, you mean to try and deny what you yourselves have seen. Bigger fools than I thought."
Gene didn't even say anything as he grabbed Sebastian by the collar and wrenched him upwards and pinned him against the wall. "I already don't like you to begin with. And the way you were looking at Melfina back on Earth doesn't win you many points in my book. I don't need your cocky attitude on my ship, so cut it with the shit and don't give me any more reasons to hate your guts. What does Khujesta need the P-18666 for?"
"Prone to violence as well; small wonder Khujesta picked you. You're so foolhardy that there's no way for-"
Gene balled up his free fist and buried it deep into Sebastian's stomach, feeling a few things give beneath the force of his blow. Sebastian gave a thin hoarse gasp as Gene let him go and fall to the bed. Jim gave Gene a reproachful look but didn't move to help Sebastian at all. After a good twenty minutes, Sebastian finally rose, though a bit shakily, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Let's try this again," Gene said as he aimed his gun directly at Sebastian. "What does Khujesta need the P-18666 for?"
"It's a liquid drug that's an enhancer." Sebastian said in a rough and somewhat empty voice.
"An enhancer in what respect?" Jim asked. "Physical, mental-"
"Physical and mental." Sebastian said. "It enhances a person's biological systems as well as their mental capacity. But in terms of the biological systems, it simply renews them."
"Much like a fountain of youth." Jim murmured.
"Exactly. The only problem is that once you start taking it…" Sebastian let his words dangle in the air.
"You can't…" Jim's eyes widened as he turned to look at Gene. "You stay here with him. I'm going to go and see Khujesta."
Gene didn't even have a chance to stop Jim; he was gone out the door in a blink of an eye. He glanced over at Sebastian, not saying anything, Sebastian was still holding his stomach, his breath raspy and laboured. Gene gave a smirk of satisfaction; if something like that could slow down Sebastian then he was fine whenever he had to fight this girl face to face. He grumbled something unintelligible as he shifted on his feet; the looks Sebastian was giving him was somewhat disconcerting; it was eerily like the way Fred looked at him whenever he stopped by to make a loan payment.
"What?" he snapped after a few moments.
"You know, Red Riding Hood," Sebastian said softly. "You look horrible; you really should get a decent haircut."
Jim walked into the room slowly. As far as he knew, Khujesta was still asleep. He paused by the doorway before he turned the lights on slowly to a gentle glow and pulled up a chair beside the bed. He looked at Khujesta; her once black hair had turned virtually white, a few black strands left. Khujesta stirred and turned on her side, exposing her face.
"Dear God, Sebastian was right." Jim muttered to himself.
Khujesta's face was completely wrinkled and folded over in old age. She had looked as if she was only heading into her forties when they boarded the ship. Now she looked twice her age, almost a hundred. He sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do. He reached forward and shook her gently.
"Khujesta. Khujetsa." He said softly, not wanting to hurt her.
"Hm? Jim, what are you doing here?" her voice trembled as she pulled the blanket over her face in a vain attempt.
"We know Khujesta." Jim said sadly as he pulled the blanket away slowly. "Why don't you just tell us the truth? Why did you work for Styx? Why are you on the run now? Why is she so determined to kill you?"
Khujesta's face wrinkled with sadness as tears glimmered in her eyes. "I was so young once, believing the foolish ideal that people wanted help from scientists. But in the early days of outlaws, scientists were something to be feared. That's why I worked for Styx; it was the only safe haven at the time."
Jim winced as Khujesta broke off into a hacking cough. "You can start again when you feel ready."
"No, I don't have much time left." Khujesta managed. "The trouble started with the Rebirth Project almost twenty years ago."
"Rebirth Project?"
"That was when Styx first formed and they were trying to come up with a suitable pilot for the XGP." Khujesta paused, her breathing laboured. So they created her, as well as making her the perfect soldier, the perfect killing machine. But she had one flaw."
"What was it?"
"We aren't too sure still. Nothing that they tried could erase it. Brainwashing, subliminal messaging, it all failed. And then one day, we saw what the flaw was."
Jim could only listen as Khujesta talked as fast as she could. He didn't dare interrupt her again.
"A mate was created at the same time for her, so that Styx could breed an army of super soldiers. Where she had the brawn, the mate would have the mental capacity. But during one routine test, something when horribly wrong."
Jim simply nodded, wanting to hear the rest.
"He was in pain and she heard him. She demanded that they stop. But the others in the team didn't listen to her all except me and one other. She destroyed the facility and he blew up it up with his psionc abilities."
"Who was this other scientist?"
"The one who gave her the jade necklace. She resides on Tenrei in an exclusive resort for women." Khujesta broke off into a hacking cough again. "I was always harsher with her than I was with him."
"What is she searching for? It is just revenge or her mate? Or something else altogether?" Jim asked in a soft voice.
"For both and for something." Khujesta looked at Jim. "Let Sebastian do as he wishes, please Jim. For all our sakes."
"What are you talking about?" he was completely puzzled.
Tears trickled out of Khujesta's eyes. "Forgive me. She already has her revenge. Don't let her get the other thing she desires."
Jim didn't move as Khujesta cupped his cheek in her frail hand; her skin felt like dry paper, ready to crumble with the slightest force. Her hand fell back down to the bed as she closed her eyes. Jim blinked as he watched her for a moment.
"Who was her mate, Khujesta?" he asked in a tremulous voice. "Who was he?"
Khujesta didn't answer, her entire body remaining perfectly still. Jim crept forward hesitantly, feeling sadness well up from inside. Khujesta couldn't be dead, she just couldn't be. He still had to ask her things, about Jade, about Styx, about the Kei pirates, and why, just why, did Gene's Caster gun not injure Jade.
"Wake up!" he yelled, trying to not cry. "Wake up! Wake up!"
He couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face as he knelt by Khujesta's side. His fingers curled into the blanket, gripping it tightly. When the door opened, he didn't look to see who it was. When he felt hands settle on his shoulders, he looked up to see Gene with an understanding expression on his face. And it angered him for some reason.
"She's lying! She's lying!" he said, scrambling away.
He glanced out the door to see Sebastian standing outside, his head bent and obscuring his eyes. He ran from the room, not wanting anyone to see him weeping anymore. He ran to his bunkroom and locked the door. He slid down against it, wishing that he hadn't heard Khujesta's final words now.