Reviews

kuriboh1233

I never liked the Borg, they were kind of cool to start with, but they became cyborg zombies and very lame.

Glad you liked T'Maz

bluesnowman

Thank you.

Augment Gothic

Part 9

The Institute, Earth.

As I walked up the driveway I took in all the details of my surroundings. The house looked old, although it was in a good state of repair. The easy access to replicators in this time had made making repairs rather easy. For example, all that old woodwork that would have to be painstakingly crafted in my time could now simply be designed and replicated in next to no time at all, complete with finishing, stained and painted to match and ready to be immediately installed.

I figured that it had been built by someone with more money than sense, like a 20th Century pop star or some hedge fund billionaire, because it was far too large to be a personal home in this time, which was most likely why the Federation government had turned the place into a mental hospital. The people just didn't think like that anymore, though I personally had no issue with building some palatial estate when I decided to put down roots eventually. I had big plans for a large scale training facility, full sized holodeck, armory, hanger bay for my ship, the works!

It was just starting to rain lightly as I neared the front door. I could hear the first drops of water as they hit the roof and the rain soon started pouring heavily down from the sky, like it was the start of a biblical flood.

Before I knocked on the door I tilted my head back in curiosity and tasted the water. It was significantly different than what my memories told me rainwater should taste like. I figured that this was because no one dumped chemicals anymore and Earth had long been restored to a near pristine state after the terrible damage done by wars past. Communist hippies they might be, but humanity really had come a long way from my time.

I rang the old fashioned doorbell and a moment later a Starfleet officer answered the door, which was a bit odd as while Starfleet wasn't a real military, as it acted more often like NASA then a true space navy, they really shouldn't be taking care of the mentally ill.

The Starfleet officer and I, who was named Karen Loews, exchanged mild pleasantries, then she offered me an umbrella that matched her own.

"Thank you," I said, slightly confused at the need for it, "but isn't this the hospital?"

As it turned out there was more than one building on the Institute's campus so we left the old house and began to walk across the grounds to another building. This one was far more modern and near the edge of a beautiful lake.

It was hard for me to clearly see everything, due to the heavy rain, yet what landscape I could make out gave me the impression that this was probably quite a relaxing place to visit when the weather cooperated. I wouldn't want to live here, though, as it was still an insane asylum of sorts.

Nothing about the building that housed the people I was coming to visit suggested that it was a secure unit, designed to keep its residents separate from the rest of society. Yet I knew that appearances could be deceiving and that it did have somewhat of a sinister purpose.

"I thought a few months here on rotation would be a good experience for me. Something to broaden my experience in this field," Loews explained to me, "and something interesting to pass the time before I received my next posting. But there's just something about the work here that I find very appealing. I think I'm going to stay on".

Personally, and no offense to her, I hoped that I wouldn't be around here long enough to find out if Loews stuck around. The last thing I wanted was to end up spending my life locked up at this funny farm, no matter how lovely the grounds likely were on a nice day.

Karen Loews then went on to explain that The Institute, as it was known, was in fact a civilian run and operated institution, but some of its staff, like Loews, were Starfleet personnel. In practice, therefore, the Institute wasn't wholly civilian. However, Karen Loews and the other Starfleet types that worked here were medical personnel and science types, not security or command folks. Knowing this made the place seem a bit less sinister.

That impression lasted right until I heard a familiar sound in the air. In order to confirm what I thought I was hearing, I picked up a small stone lying on the ground and flicked it hard. As expected, it hit an artificial barrier and was vaporized, for a brief moment bringing the force field into full visibility.

"What did you do that for?" asked Loews.

I would have thought that that was patently obvious.

"To confirm a suspicion," I replied with a harder look in my eyes, "and now that I know what's there I know that this isn't just a hospital".

This place also served as a prison, meant to keep dangerous people separate and away from the general public, at least in their minds. Whether that was mostly out of prejudice remained to be seen.

"Can you tell me about the patients you want me to meet?" I asked the Starfleet officer.

Loews went along with the shift in conversation, happy to speak of something less unpleasant.

"First, there is Patrick," she said, "he's the oldest. According to his records, he was sent to the Institute at a very young age, and he's been institutionalized for over fifty years. This shows in his behavior. He's almost child-like in temperament and the way he interacts with others, likely because of the lack of social skills he's been able to develop in this setting. He's also overly emotional and rather shy, though no danger to anyone in my opinion. If he wasn't an augment he'd almost certainly be living in a community care home, were he could be looked after while still being a part of society. In my view he shouldn't have been institutionalized in the first place, but the laws on genetic enhancement being what they are..."

She didn't need to finish that sentence. The laws were strict and rather unforgiving when it came to augments, which was putting it nicely. The note of shame in her tone was appreciated, though. Her personal interactions with these people had obviously tempered any cultural prejudice she might have had prior to this posting.

"Then there is Lauren," the Starfleet officer went on to say. "The main reason she ended up at the Institute was because of her inappropriate behavior, particularly with regards to the opposite sex. She's not a direct danger to people, but in the past she did attempt to seduce several men, which caused a lot of problems as they were all married. Mostly she was sent here because when she started trying to seduce married men she was only 11 years old".

That I could see being a problem, but why on Earth was she still here then? A hyper sexual adult woman seducing married men was not illegal nor something she should still be hospitalized for. Again, I had a suspicion that prejudice was at work here again.

"The other two, Jack and Sarina, have much more serious problems," I was told. "Jack is unpredictable and highly volatile emotionally, and can be violent at times, although he's never actually killed anyone. Even he's injured people deliberately, it was never truly out of malicious intent".

Since I had already heard about and seen these characters in action on the show Deep Space Nine I knew a little about all of them, but it was good to hear things directly from her as even my memory wasn't perfect and this wasn't a TV show. Reality could be different than fiction, as I'd found out the hard way several times so far.

"Now, Sarina, on the other hand, is totally harmless, but her treatments left her unable to interact with anyone or to take care of herself. The doctors who did her enhancements made a real mess of things. To put things simply, she can't process the information collected by her senses. Although she can carry out some basic tasks, she's essentially cut off from her surroundings."

Now that we were about to enter the building that housed my fellow augmented humans I felt distinctly nervous. Not about meeting Patrick, Jack, Lauren and Sarina, as I could handle them, at least I hoped I could. No, what really worried me was the idea of potentially not being allowed to leave this place afterwards.

This was probably an irrational fear. If Karen Loews, or anyone else, for that matter, wanted to lock me up for being an augment, they'd have done it already, probably at phaser point and certainly long before I'd gotten my hands on a ship of my own. Plus they wouldn't really need to resort to the subterfuge of luring me here under the guise of helping other augments as they could have just beamed me here whenever they wanted.

With that in mind I figured I would spend an hour or so with Loews's patients, get to know them a little, and see if they reacted to me in a way the hospital personnel thought was healthy.

While thinking about that I also closely watched Loews as she placed her palm on a nearby security panel and then typed in a password. The security here was high, but it wouldn't stop a determined augment like me, or even four damaged augments. Perhaps it wasn't truly meant to; there could be other deranged people here after all. Federation medical knowledge and technology was good, but they hadn't cured all mental illnesses, so there could be regular humans here who were ultimately much more dangerous to the public than the augments.

"This way," Loews instructed as the door opened.

She led me down a clean and empty hallway and then through a set of heavy oak doors, and I couldn't help but notice that while not all the doors were locked a few at least needed a number code in order to open. That made the atmosphere inside the building seem oppressive. Loews might have grown to like it here, but she was free to come and go as she pleased, and she seemed utterly oblivious to my growing discomfort.

Next we walked up a flight of stairs and along a gallery that overlooked a recreational space. Then we stopped for a moment so that I could look down on some of the 'inmates.' A few were seated alone, while others sat in small groups, the noise of their activities and talk seemed normal enough. When I examined the crazy people more closely I saw that they were playing games, watching videos on computer padds, or just chatting amicably with each other, not unlike a room full of children would when hanging out.

I did not have empathic powers like Deanna Troi, but my senses were super human, so when I studied the people here I found no signs of abuse, such as bruises or marks on their arms that would show that they had been long restrained. In fact it all seemed terribly normal, with not a single sign of some enhanced ability that transcended baseline human norms.

"None of the people here are augmented," I said with conviction.

I wasn't sure how I knew that. The feeling was not just from what I'd seen, but in my gut somehow.

"No, these patients have more natural problems that we haven't been able to cure yet," I was told. "Unfortunately, most of them will be here for the rest of their lives without some breakthrough being made".

Now I understood why there were two buildings. The old house was for people with a good chance of recovery. This building was meant to be the prison for the lifelong whack jobs, I thought rather uncharitably.

Loews then guided me to a room, which wasn't locked or guarded, but I got the impression that it sometimes was.

"Ready?" she asked me.

I wasn't, as I really didn't know what to expect.

"As I'll ever be," I said.

She walked right in, but I hung back, waiting to be invited inside. However, it was Loews who gestured for me to enter, not the room's occupants. Perhaps they didn't even feel they had ownership of their own space in this place.

The room was larger than I had expected. Within it there was a table, some empty shelves, but no beds, so I assumed that this was a day space. A place where the augments hung out with each other.

In the middle, somehow dominating the space, was a large divan on which a very attractive woman lounged decadently. Lauren, it had to be. She looked relaxed, much like a lioness would while resting between hunts.

I didn't need introductions to identify each of the inmates, but I was given them anyway, and soon after they were done I felt as if I was now a patient being examined.

"He doesn't like it here," said Patrick in that child-like voice right out of the show.

Given that I was doing my level best to keep my expression strictly neutral I wondered how he'd figured that out. Perhaps it was something in the way I stood that made it look as if I was ready to bolt at a moment's notice, some unconscious tensing of the muscles as if combat could break out at any moment and I'd need to escape.

"He's worried that he's going to be made to stay," Lauren stated, looking particularly sexy, her gaze locked on mine with a laser-like intensity. Have to admit, in that moment, I was wondering if I could tame that proud lioness with my superior cock, if I could break that augmented hyper sexual woman and make her beg for more. I doubted there were many others who would be able to keep up with her after all. The slightly wicked look that entered her eyes and her lips lifting a minute amount made me wonder if she realized what I was thinking. We were two sexual predators eyeing each other up and finding we liked what we saw.

Well, they were insightful if nothing else.

"He doesn't want to be with us. He wants to be back in the world, living like them," Jack stated in a fast-talking manner, just like in the show. "He doesn't want to be with the clever people, hmm, hmm."

I wasn't sure how smart they could actually be if they weren't able to fool people into thinking that they were completely harmless. They were not very sociable either, but that might be a result of spending so much of their lives here.

Sarina just stood over by the wall, giving no indication as to whether she understood anything that was going on. As for Karen Loews, she seemed helpless, obviously unsure whether to intervene or not.

"So why did your parents have you enhanced, hmm, hmm?" Asked Jack as he circled me, closely examining me. "No, wait, they didn't do this to you".

Unless he'd read the file Starfleet had on me, he shouldn't have known that and certainly shouldn't have seemingly been able to figure that out just by freaking looking at me. It was unnerving, to say the least.

(Line Break)

I soon discovered that talking with my fellow genetically enhanced humans was like playing a few high level and fast paced chess games at the same time, but at a speed most people played table tennis.

The conversation bounced around randomly, and sometimes I felt as if I was being attacked from all directions. It was challenging and kept me on my toes. Once I had gotten used to the back and forth rhythm and chaos of it all, Loews faded into the background. Sarina may have been listening or perhaps just looking in my direction without even knowing I was here, but she definitely looked in my direction. I couldn't tell which was the case. Hopefully I'd run into her when Bashir did his thing and cured her in a few years' time.

We had to skip current events in our warp speed conversation, such as the brewing Klingon Civil war that dominated the Federation's news cycle for a while now, as these four didn't get to see the news, so we discussed things more personal.

"So what do you do?" Jack was now asking me.

That wasn't something I could answer truthfully, at least not totally.

"I work in a library," I told him. "I sort through old books".

In truth I was many things, including a spy, a mercenary, a special forces operative, a soldier, a killer, but I couldn't exactly come out and say any of that.

"You don't seem sure about that," said Patrick. "You look unsure. You sound unsure".

I hadn't truly lied, but I had withheld information and somehow they'd picked up on that.

"Why is that?" asked Lauren.

I came up with a truthful answer of sorts.

"I'm not sure what I want to do," I admitted. "My career options are somewhat limited by law, and life on Earth is a bit dull for me, so I've been thinking about moving elsewhere".

Which was all true, so they accepted that. This led to them rattling off a list of things I wasn't allowed to do under Federation law, and since I knew all of this already I found myself examining their Spartan accommodations. I soon wondered how they managed to stop themselves from going completely fucking crazy... well crazier, due to sheer boredom.

They had no books, no computer access, no screens for something like TV or its equivalent, no holo-games. It was just so dull. For people who had had their minds enhanced, it was probably torture for them.

"What do you guys do all day?" I asked, getting rather uncomfortable with their living situation.

That question seemed to upset them.

"We're not locked in here, you know," Jack replied defensively.

"We're allowed onto the grounds," Patrick insisted.

"Sometimes we go out," Lauren said.

"Not today, though," Jack added.

"It's raining today," Patrick remarked.

My hair and clothing had gotten slightly wet so that must have tipped them off about the rain. The weather outside otherwise couldn't be seen or heard from in here.

"They couldn't keep us in here," said Lauren quietly, obviously able to discern my feelings a bit better than the others. "Not if we really wanted to leave".

It certainly wouldn't hold me for long. I knew the number code Loews had used as we moved through this facility and a force field could be dug under, or brought down through other means.

"Nowhere is truly a prison, if you can escape it," said Jack, in a voice he obviously thought made him sound wise. It was true, though.

He crossed his arms over his chest, and began to look a little defensive. That was when I understood why the security here wasn't truly a match for the mind and abilities of an augment. It didn't need to be because they weren't truly imprisoned here; they didn't want to leave. Is a place really a prison if you didn't actually want to leave it?

"What would you know about being locked away, anyway?" he then asked.

(Line Break)

I was distracted for a moment when the Starfleet Officer left the room, that combined with the sheer speed of the conversation meant that I missed something.

"What was that about contraceptive implants?" I asked.

I had mentioned having a girlfriend and that had somehow led to discussing children, then somehow we'd moved onto birth control. Did I not mention how chaotic this conversation was? Or how no topic was seemingly off limits due to societal conventions or taboos?

"They're very good!" Patrick said excitedly, though I doubted he's had an opportunity to test their effectiveness here. Somehow I suspected that Lauren was not banging any of these guys either. "They are more effective than injections, with risks of side effect even if the initial operation is successful, which it was, we're all fine, thank you for asking. It's preferred by less than 10% of the human population, though, since fertility is lowered even if the implant gets taken out later on".

The condom was totally obsolete in this era, which made me happy as I'd never liked the damn things. STDs were almost entirely wiped out or cured by this time as well.

"So if you're planning to have a baby, you'd be better off with the injections," Patrick was now saying. "Are you having a baby? Can we come and see it?"

I wasn't, but it was something to consider for the future. I was aging slower than normal humans and with my aggressive immune system and the medical care they had in the Federation I could be sexually active for a century or two to come. Which meant I might want to start a family one day.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jack snapped. "The creation of genetically enhanced individuals through breeding or resequencing is illegal under Federation law. He couldn't have a baby even if he wanted to".

When studying the laws and history of augments I'd not paid much attention to issues of reproduction, now I was rather wishing I had.

"Oh, honey, that's a problem, isn't it?" Lauren said.

It was now, though given my extra dimensional origins it could be argued I wasn't truly subject to those laws in the first place. I hadn't really sought to rock the boat on this issue as it wasn't truly worth it and I was able to do pretty much everything I really wanted to, but this issue might be worth taking up that fight.

"I take the injections," I told the group. "So there are no long-term fertility issues. I'm just wondering about the legal ramifications down the road if I ever decide to start a family".

That information was soon supplied.

"Jail!" Jack proclaimed. "Steep fines! Public humiliation and disgrace!"

Those were bad things indeed. Although I didn't know how I'd be fined since no one Earth used real money. I figured that they could take my Federation credits, but they weren't really worth anything to me since I got the things I really wanted from Section 31.

"You don't know that," Lauren argued. "There hasn't even been a case to test that law's continued validity in over 80 years".

Again, the conversation moved fast.

"Of course not!" Jack replied. "Everyone lies about the resequencing, and everyone who doesn't lie about it is whisked off here and neutered for the convenience of ordinary people and their ordinary society!"

Lauren rolled her eyes, obviously having heard this argument many times before.

"You make it sound like a conspiracy," she said. "But then, you always do."

I had to ask.

"So you guys have the implant?"

Everyone other than Sarina nodded.

"They nagged," Jack said. "Oh God, the nagging!"

"I agreed," Lauren said with a shrug and a wink at me. "At twelve, who wants a baby?"

Given that she'd been trying to seduce men at the age of 11, perhaps in her case it was a good thing that she didn't have a choice when it came to baby making, at least at that point. It became far more murky a proposition now to prevent her from exercising her most basic and fundamental right to have a baby of her own. She was an adult woman after all. Even in my time those with Downs Syndrome were allowed to have children, just like anyone else.

"I was fifteen," Patrick said, "but I didn't want it because I like babies. They're cute. But they're a lot of work, and very messy, so I wouldn't be able to handle one I was told."

He was, after all, akin to a big toddler, so it was hardly surprising he'd have been encouraged to do that.

"I hate babies," Jack declared in a disgusted tone. "Smelly, noisy, illogical creatures. But it was the principle of the thing! They weren't looking out for my best interests when they recommended it; they were frightened, plain and simple. Still, I let them have their way, in the end. Choose your battles and all that".

Well, they could hardly breed an army of augments between them, so I doubted fear had been the main issue. Prejudice, though, was far more likely.

"Lauren?" I called aloud to get her attention. "What about now? Would you want the implant taken out?"

I soon got an answer.

"With my vibrant personality?" Lauren said. "They'd never let me out of the room if they thought that that was a risk. It's better this way, though maybe if I found the right man, who could keep up with me, tame me, than maybe it'd be worth the fight".

Well, that was an intriguing response, especially with the way she was eye fucking me and subtly licking her lips.

Jack wasn't so calm about this issue. Being so incensed, thankfully, he missed the little byplay between Lauren and myself.

"This isn't about him, though, now is it? It's the creation of a whole new person. Now, he may be content to toe the line, to aim for mediocrity and let his mind rust away, but who's to say what the child will do? That's what they truly fear!" Jack was arguing. "Maybe it will strive for excellence. Maybe it will lust for conquest, like Khan Singh! Superior ability breeds superior ambition!"

Jack then relaxed a little.

"But don't worry," he said to me. "Any major side effects such as acute megalomania would have been evident in the first generation. Felt like conquering any worlds lately, hmm, hmm?"

I had, but I didn't confirm that.

"Come with me," Karen Loews said when she returned to the room a while later.

(Line Break)

After making my goodbyes to the group, I allowed myself to be led from the room and down yet another set of corridors. As we walked the Starfleet Officer discussed things with me.

"Why don't they have access to any of the news stations or any form of entertainment commonly available to any Federation citizen for that matter?" I asked Loews during a lull in our conversation.

She didn't look happy talking about that, almost shameful, but to her credit she did answer my question.

"The head of the Institute thinks it might be dangerous," she said lamely.

I'd not expected to hear that.

"How so?" I asked.

Again, it was crystal clear that the woman was uncomfortable talking about this, but she still did.

"He feels that knowing about current affairs might...overstimulate them," she told me. "I worry that their intellectual needs aren't being met. And it's not good to separate them from the rest of the population in every way".

This was worrying.

"Am I understanding this correctly, are you saying that the only intellectual stimulation they get, or any contact with others really, is from interacting with each other?" I asked. "For people with their enhanced minds and intelligence that seems akin to torture," I stated, a bit horrified at my fears being confirmed.

Loews didn't reply, instead she led me into a small, utilitarian office and then sat down behind a desk. The office itself indicating to me that she wasn't the ultimate authority in this place, nor even that high up in the hierarchy yet.

"I was listening in on your conversation," she said. "They've rarely spoken to anyone as much or as freely as they did with you. I'm hoping you'll come back again soon. Perhaps we can book something on a regular basis, getting to talk with you even on a monthly basis could do them some real good. You're an augment who lives a normal life, that could be inspiring for them".

"Why inspire them in that way if they wouldn't be let go anyway? Lauren, for example, was seemingly institutionalized for being hyper sexual at age 11. Ok, kind of extreme to institutionalize her for that for years on end, but I can somewhat understand it while she's still very young. The problem is that she's an adult woman now and has every right to be hyper sexual as an adult and sleep with any consensual partner she wants. That's the right of every adult citizen of the Federation. Why hasn't she been allowed to leave this place?" I asked seriously.

Loews looked down at her desk at that, obviously not sure how to respond, but now looking thoughtful. That was a partial victory in my mind.

Somehow I doubted them knowing I existed would change what was wrong with them, at least the ones with the more serious problems, but on the other hand it might at least give them something to do one day out of the month.

"Sure," I answered once it became clear that no answer was forthcoming from the doctor. "But I do go off Earth sometimes so I can't promise to visit regularly or on a set schedule".

Loews nodded and I decided it was time for me to leave. I needed to check out a few things.

(Line Break)

Space Dock. Earth Orbit.

From behind a transparent and obviously reinforced metal barrier I watched some remote controlled worker robots attach one of two micro torpedo launchers to the front of the Flighty Temptress, with external magazine storage for the warheads to be fed into the launchers when the previously loaded torpedoes were fired.

It wasn't a starship grade launcher as it appeared on the shows; it was the smaller scale model that Starfleet runabouts used. The 'micro' part of the torpedoes didn't imply that they were smaller than normal torpedoes just that the delivery system was much smaller to account for the ship's smaller size. A larger starship used large magnetic accelerators along a long tunnel to launch their torpedoes at incredible speeds with the torpedo then using its own smaller onboard thrusters to adjust their trajectory to hit their targets. Micro torpedoes, on the other hand, utilized an attached micro fusion thruster for propulsion, so they couldn't be launched at the same speeds, though their range was still very high. Because a long tunnel full of magnetic accelerators wasn't needed for this torpedo type, the launchers could be mounted on a retractable swivel mount and could be fired forward or backwards, in fact directly at a target no matter where it was in relation to the ship, so no dedicated torpedo tubes were needed for firing in a certain direction like on a larger starship.

Still, the addition of these torpedoes would give my ship a significant increase in both firepower and options during combat, and that was what I ultimately wanted. If I had had them during my fight with those Collector fighter craft I could have done what that Bird-of-Prey had done and fired a couple of torpedoes into the middle of their formation or even at that ship holding the rift device. That ship was fast, but torpedoes were faster and had a much larger effective range.

"Sloan," I greeted, without surprise, when I saw the agent's reflection. I was expecting this meeting eventually and from the shows I knew the man loved to show up unexpectedly for meetings. "What can I do you for?"

As ever, Sloan wore an incredibly dull suit that made him blend into the background simply by being too boring to look at for long. At least someone acted somewhat practically in this universe.

"Section 31 has another mission for you," the spy said, "and this time we won't be sending anyone to babysit you. In fact, you'll be running your own show as it were, completely on your own and independent, should you accept it".

Now that sounded rather interesting, though I wouldn't have minded being paired up with T'Maz again. There were certain very nice benefits to missions with her, I'd found.

"What's the mission?" I asked.

Sloan took me over to a nearby beverage replicator and ordered himself a black coffee before saying anything else. No doubt he was trying to make it look as if two friends were casually meeting, in case anyone noticed us talking, so I ordered a drink as well to keep up the image he was trying to create. Sloan then led me over to a table and started to talk.

"The mission is on Bajor," he told me. "Your ship is perfect for a little smuggling operation we have planned. It's fast, near impossible to see on long-range sensors, and well-armed, at least enough to make any pirate think twice about trying to take your cargo by force".

I assumed I'd be smuggling weapons to the Bajorans, but there had to be more to this mission. They wouldn't bother wasting my talents on a courier mission. And again, seriously, was the universe fucking with me?! Bajor? Talk about suspicious good fortune given how much I knew about the planet and its future from the show DS9.

"You'll be taking vitally needed supplies and a large number of weapons to Bajor to place in the hands of the Resistance," I was told. "Once you're on Bajor you'll meet up with a Resistance cell and try to get them to accept you into their ranks".

Sloan stopped talking and stirred his coffee.

"It won't be easy," he explained. "They don't trust outsiders, for good reason, but with your skills and abilities you should be able to prove your worth," he said with a grin.

Given that a few dozen augments had once nearly taken over most of the planet Earth back in the 1990s I could see how even a single augment could be a valuable asset to a resistance movement. T'Maz must have also really sung my praises when it came to how badass I was in combat too.

"The hard part will be getting them to invite you to join them without seeming too eager," the spy went on to say. "We can't have the Cardassians even suspecting official Federation involvement with the rebels, so you'll have to act like you're working independently, in fact you'll receive no further support on Bajor until the Occupation is over".

I now had a question.

"What is my ultimate goal for this mission and how will I make contact with the rebel cell?" I asked.

Sloan sipped his drink before replying.

"Your goal is to make things difficult for the Cardassians and assist in bringing the Occupation of Bajor to a quick conclusion. Make it uneconomical through any and all means. Help the Bajoran Resistance succeed. The removal of Bajor's resources from the Cardassian military should slow construction of new ships and assets and put pressure on the Cardassians to accept the treaty with the Federation which will grant them new worlds to explore and mine."

That certainly made sense to me. The US had fought a very successful proxy war with the Soviet Union in my time through the Afghani freedom fighters after the Soviets had invaded that country. The money and resources the Soviets had spent in that failed campaign was something that they simply couldn't afford, and led almost directly to the fall of the Soviet Union when they were forced to pull out. Section 31 obviously felt the same way, that by secretly helping the Bajorans give the Cardassians a bloody nose it'd prove costly enough to force them to leave the planet, weaken them enough to cause some political upheaval and ultimately force them to sign the treaty with the Federation.

"Using our criminal contacts we managed to arrange things so that a few Bajoran resistance cells, who were off-world looking to buy weapons, will be directed to 'gun runners' who are actually all our agents. You are just one of the agents that we're sending in that way, but you'll each be working separately, with no knowledge of who else has been planted. Because you'll be out of contact for a while you'll need to make your own decisions as the mission progresses," he explained.

I could be gone for years, but perhaps only months, depending on how things went and where in the timeline I was. So I would have to say goodbye to Anika soon, and come up with a convincing story as to why I was leaving. I doubted she'd wait for me this time, but I really didn't want to settle down yet. For someone like me that would be a total waste of my talents.

"This isn't exactly freelance work," I pointed out.

Sloan actually smiled, it was barely noticeable, but he did smile.

"Well, you could go back to the library and wait until I have something easier and shorter term," he offered, "but we both know that's not what you want".

Sloan then leaned towards me and spoke more softly.

"You were made for this kind of work, Gothic," he said. "I read the reports about those aliens you encountered, the ones you called 'Collectors'. Do you think any part-time agent could have done what you did, had that kind of success, even with T'Maz's help?"

He had a point there. I did have a talent for the spy soldier stuff.

"I know you're not the biggest fan of the Federation," Sloan went on to say, surprising me in the fact that he knew that and yet didn't seem to care. It was a credit to him and his organization that its agents didn't have to drink the Kool-Aid to work for them. A healthy dose of cynicism might actually be a boon for them, now that I thought about it. "But without it humanity would lose its proper place in the galaxy, and we could even end up just like the Bajorans. While its citizens and even Starfleet might be blissfully unaware of the hard realities of this galaxy, we are not".

Again, he'd made a good argument, and I found myself agreeing with him. Without the Federation and the protections it offered, Earth and so many other member planets would be vulnerable to the predations of the many true evils in this galaxy.

"So, go do everything you can to undermine the Cardassian forces on Bajor," Sloan ordered.

I wouldn't mind killing some of the spoonheads on Bajor. Their occupation of Bajor distinctly reminded me of the actions of the Nazis, and even here on Earth we had heard about the horrors of the labor camps and the whole scale plundering of the planet by the Cardies. Things like that should be fought against.

"With the weapons we'll provide the Resistance and your active support, at most you'll be done in two years, maybe a year if we can get them enough support without the Cardassians noticing our involvement," Sloan assured me. "By then we predict that the Cardassians will have signed the treaty with the Federation and withdrawn their forces from Bajor. That will be followed by the Bajorans forming a provisional government who then invites the Federation into the system to help them rebuild. This will be followed by them eventually joining the Federation within 5 to 10 years. You can play a big role in making that happen".

And I'd be right there when the wormhole was discovered and opened, assuming I lived that long. Things would be very interesting on DS9 in the years to come and far more fun than living here on Earth full-time. Right now Bajor was a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere, far from anything of true importance. But after the wormhole was discovered… the future of the quadrant would be decided there and I'd be right in the middle of the action. With my knowledge of the future, I'd have many opportunities for fun and profit. So, a fun and challenging adventure fighting evil space Nazis and the perfect positioning for the future? Yep, sign me up.

"I'll do it," I told the spy.

Sloan's smile was again brief.

"Before you leave on the mission there are some holodeck training programs I'd like you to run through," he said, "but that shouldn't take long. Afterwards, I'll send you instructions on where to fly your ship so you can pick up your cargo and the Bajoran rebel who was tasked to buy weapons for their cell. Once you're on Bajor itself you'll be alone, so hide your ship well because we won't be able to extract you until after the withdrawal. If you need to leave the planet, you'll have to do it on your own".

The ship would be good for missions against the Cardassians, so that was another good reason to keep it in one piece.

"I'll send you additional information on the Occupation once it's compiled to help with your planning," Sloan told me as he stood up, "and the upgrades we promised for your ship will be done by the end of the day. I've even ordered some extra weapons for your personal armory, and a few gadgets you'll find useful on Bajor".

Before I could ask more about that Sloan was already walking away and we hadn't even discussed my price. Ah well, they were good for it, and depending on the outcome I'd be able to price it better anyway. Well, it was time to get everything in order. I should probably go and break up with Annika and her giant boobs as soon as possible. I had a feeling that that was not going to be easy.

(Line Break)

San Francisco. Earth.

A few days later I was back in my apartment, preparing to leave, and my very soon to be ex-girlfriend wasn't at all happy with me, to put it mildly.

"You're just going to leave," Annika said as she watched me pack away my things. "That's crazy. You can't just disappear off into space!"

Actually I could.

"Well, I have a ship of my own, so yes I can," I told her, "and I might not be gone that long. Depends on what I find out there".

I couldn't exactly tell her I was going to Bajor. If the authorities found out I was going to fight the Cardassians on Bajor then someone would definitely try to stop me, so it was best to make it seem as if I had no overall plan.

"That doesn't mean you should go," Annika implored. "You need to stay here, where it's safe. There are Romulans out there, and Klingons".

Those weren't the aliens which concerned me at the moment.

"I can handle the Klingons," I assured her.

It was the Cardassians that I had to worry about, and maybe the Bajorans depending on how much of a shine they took to me.

"Well I'm not waiting here this time while you go out there and get yourself killed," she threatened.

That was exactly what I had expected her to say.

"I understand," I told her, and I really did.

My calm acceptance of our break up made her very upset, so Annika stormed out of my apartment and left me to my packing.

"That went smoothly," I said quietly to myself, with a bit of a chuckle.

I'd imagined screaming and things being thrown about, so all-in-all I was actually rather pleased by how things had ended between us. I was going to miss those boobs, though. Perhaps I should have taken some naked pics of her while I had the chance. Hell, maybe that was too old school, maybe they didn't do naked pics anymore, but naked holo videos. A holo sex tape, now that would have been forward thinking! Ah well, missed opportunities.

I also realized then that I wouldn't get to see my fellow augments again for a good long while, so I decided to go for a quick visit and let them know I'd be gone for a while. I doubted they'd handle my leaving very well, but that was okay as I didn't want naked pics of them, well, maybe of Lauren. I still had a feeling that that girl would be one wild ride that might just wreck me.