by David Smith
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Dave looked at his Science Officer. Then he looked at his other Science Officer.
The two versions of Aisling O’Mara sat regarding each other carefully, but they looked less worried than fascinated.
Doctor Mengele completed her assessment. ‘I can find no difference. They are completely identical.’
Hollins sighed. This was going to take some explaining to command. ‘So which of you is the real O’Mara?’
They looked at each other and both started to speak at exactly the same time: ‘I’m not sure.’
Hollins rolled his eyes. ‘How can you not be sure??’
Ruiz gave his account of the incident. ‘She stepped onto one of three discs on the platform of some weird alien contraption. The machine operated, and when the lights faded we had two O’Mara’s stood in identical poses on the other two discs.’
Moon nodded. ‘I would assume the machine broke O’Mara down into her constituent subatomic particles, converted them into data then recreated two completely identical copies. In that respect, neither of these is the real O’Mara, just in the same way that you’re not the “real you” if you go through a transporter.’
Hollins rubbed his eyes. It was four in the morning and it had been a dreadfully long day. ‘So we have no way of knowing if either of these is the real O’Mara? Our O’Mara?’
‘Hey, I am here you know!’ grumbled both O’Mara’s at exactly the same time.
They’d been doing that since he’d got to Sick-bay and it was wearing thin. ‘Look, I’m going to speak to you one at a time just to stop the synchronised answers.’
He pointed to the O’Mara at his right. ‘You. What’s your cousin’s name?’
‘Cousin?? Which one?? I’ve got fecking hundreds!’
Hollins sighed and pointed to the other ‘You. What’s your favourite drink?’
‘Guinness. Duh!’
He narrowed his eyes trying to find something more personal that only “his” Aisling O’Mara would know. ‘When we were stood on the Main Engineering Deck trying to work out which formula to use to cold-start the warp engines, what was the last thing you said to me?’
Both of them began to reply, but stopped and suddenly blushed bright, bright red and looked away silently. They both looked hideously embarrassed. He sighed. ‘Yeah, they’re both her.’
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Down on Deck 10, PO Okocha was relating his story as an amusing anecdote to his team-mates when Chief Money walked in and caught the tail end of the story.
Intrigued, he asked Okocha to repeat the story and as he did the Chief stopped him occasionally to ask the odd question.
When Okocha had finished the Chief stroked his chin thoughtfully. There was an opportunity here. His man could operate the transporter, he could bribe Modric . . .
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Both Aisling O’Mara’s were mightily fed up of people asking stupid questions trying to ascertain who was the “real Aisling O’Mara”.
They were also struggling to come to terms with the fact that they had a constant shadow now. The Captain hadn’t seen fit to restrict their actions in anyway as they both seemed to be the real deal, but both of them kept trying to undertake the duties of the ship’s Science Officer, and thus getting in each others way. Both were equally determined to be logical about things and talk frankly about their position, as it seemed neither could do anything to change it.
Things finally came to head when after a long and frustrating day they both headed back to Aisling O’Mara’s quarters on Deck 4. They sat on the large double bed looking sideways at each other.
‘This is ridiculous!’ said one.
‘Isn’t it just?’ agreed the other. ‘We can’t both do the same things. We need to work out someway to split up our duties.’
‘We’re both Aisling, we’re both clever. We must be able to work out some compromise?’
‘And it’s not like we’re short of things to do is it?’
Both were uncomfortably aware that their thought processes were still very, very much aligned even though they’d stopped speaking in unison. They were essentially, and literally, talking to themselves.
‘No. This is a huge scientific opportunity. There’s been so much speculation about nature versus nurture . . . ‘
‘And all the research has focused on how identical twins react in differing circumstances . . . ‘
‘Whereas we are literally identical, and can offer and entire new vista for research in that field!’
‘Biologists could have a field day with us! Just think of all the experiments we could be crucial for!’
‘And psychologists too; don’t forget the soft sciences!’
‘No, of course not! I think we should begin experiments too, you know stuff that we’ve always been curious about . . . ‘
Both nodded in agreement and then both blushed brightly and looked away as identical thoughts occurred to identical minds at an identical moment.
Both knew exactly what the other was thinking and eventually both started to speak.
‘Yeah, I . . . we’ve always been . . .
‘Bi-curious . . . ‘
‘Which isn’t easy when you’re a good catholic girl’
‘Or a bad one!’ replied the other, eliciting a nervous giggle from both.
‘But . . . well . . . we’re both . . .
‘Consenting adults . . . ’
‘And it’s been over three years since we last . . . well . . . you know.’
Trembling in anticipation, they moved closer. At least that resolved the issue of who would sleep in the bed tonight.
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Hollins stared around the table of the Briefing Room, still vaguely disconcerted by the fact that the Science Department was now represented by two versions of Aisling O’Mara.
Considering how wary they’d been of each other yesterday, both O’Mara’s seemed really, really chirpy and up-beat today. They certainly seemed to have resolved any issues they had with each other. He put the matter to one side and returned to the business at hand. ‘So aside from creating a spare Science Officer, yesterday’s raid was a bust?’
Ruiz sighed and nodded. ‘There’s no definitive evidence of illegal activity, although they are using some kind of alien technology as part of what they’re doing.’
‘Isn’t that illegal in itself?’
‘It’s a grey area’ sighed Ruiz. ‘They should bring such technology to the attention of the authorities, but there’s no legal obligation to do so unless the technology poses a threat to life, limb or society. Even if we could get a legal judgement in that respect, it wouldn’t come quickly.’
‘Is there any advantage in going back for a second raid?’
Ruiz nodded ‘Possibly, but I think we’d need to take more risks and try to access the sixth level, or make direct access to their computer system. There’s a much greater chance we’d be discovered in either case.’
Doctor Mengele interjected. ‘I’ve just spoken to Doctor Hardaker down in the facility’s medical department. He is still treating Crewman Chowdhury and is making progress. His assessment is that she is beginning to recover but he would like to keep her under surveillance for at least another week. I would suggest that if you wish to stage another mission you should plan to do it within that time-frame.’
Hollins nodded. That would focus everyones attention.
‘Ok. We need to move quickly. Commander Ruiz, work on a mission plan, co-opt whoever you need. Speak to ASBeau, Modric and Okocha about the possibility of accessing Level 6. Commander Romanov, I need Park Si-Yung and Lieutenant Sato to work on what we’ve already got on their computer security. If accessing Level 6 isn’t physically possible, the only other option is to risk hacking their computer system and looking for incriminating evidence there.’
She nodded but then glowered as one of the O’Mara’s said ‘If you need help, one of us can come down to assist your tea
m.’
She still hadn’t forgiven O’Mara for her attempt to bypass her authority with the Jekylls and was singularly unimpressed by the offer. ‘I don’t need any half-assed suggestions from the science team: even if its two half-assed suggestions, that just makes you a complete ass.’
O’Mara was normally a push-over who hated any form of confrontation, but she was too bubbly and happy to even notice the engineer’s scathing dismissal. Smiling broadly, one of the two Aislings stated ‘My colleague Lieutenant-Commander O’Mara would be more than happy to give the engineers the benefit of her genius!’
‘Go fuck yourself’ growled Romanov.
‘Oh, I’ve already done . . . ‘
O’Mara suddenly shut up and the beaming smile disappeared from her face. Both versions of O’Mara suddenly turned incandescent red and looked down into their laps.
The rest of the Senior Officers were left looking around the table at each other in wide-eyed, open-mouthed shock and amazement at the implication. There were silently mouthed questions and shrugs passed between all of the officers, and more than one unhealthy grin.
After a pause that was so pregnant it had given birth, gone through the baby and toddler stage and packed the little pause off to school, Hollins cleared his throat, pushed a really disturbing image to the back of his mind and tried to break the interminable silence.
‘Yeah. Anyway, um, mission. Please.’
After burbling he pulled himself together and ordered his thoughts. ‘Yes. We need to plan for a second raid, and also to hack into their network. Time’s limited, so pull in whatever resources you need to make this happen. Dismissed.’
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PO Okocha rushed down to the swimming pool on Deck 21. He’d overslept after a couple of draining nights taking part in two away missions, only one of which had been sanctioned by the Captain.
He pushed through the crowd, aware of the excitement generated by the evenings special sporting event brought to the crew by Big Money Events Co©.
As he reached the front of the crowd he saw that PO Starr had achieved his part of the plan, draining the pool and installing a boxing ring at the bottom, with rows of temporary seating rising away from the ring to form an amphitheatre. Over one-hundred and fifty of the crew had squeezed into the pool, waiting for the most eagerly awaited event in Tiger’s long history of illegal sporting extravaganzas. Hundreds of credits were being spent on beer and snacks but more importantly, hundreds of thousands of credits were changing hands in wagers not just on Tiger, but across the sporting galaxy.
Playing master of ceremonies in the centre of the ring, PO Rick Starr announced, ‘In the blue corner, weighing in at ninety-three kilograms and with a record of sixty-eight wins, three defeats and two draws, from Boston in the good ol’ US of A, it’s SEEEEEAAAAMUS DONELLY!!!’
The crowd went wild as the the huge, tough and cerebrally challenged crewman held his hands up to acknowledge the cheers.
Starr allowed the crowd a minute to show their appreciation before continuing. ‘And in the red corner, our challenger, weighing in at ninety-three kilograms and with a record of sixty-eight wins, three defeats and two draws, from Boston in the good ol’ US of A, it’s SEEEEEAAAAMUS DONELLY!!!’
The crowd went even wilder as a second version of Donelly did a little Irish jig and acknowledged the crowds appreciation. A hushed, but tense silence followed as the referee briefed the boxers and clarified the rules for the bout. They stared at each other with murderous intent, refusing to be intimidated by the other man, standing toe-to-toe, battered nose-to-battered nose.
The bell rang, the crowd cheered, and thus began one of the most epic fights in illegal bare-knuckle boxing history.
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Shruthi Kanesh had returned to the facility out of morbid curiosity. It had hurt her feelings that her ex-lover had decided she couldn’t or wouldn’t share the details of a success that was in part down to her own efforts. Efforts that had seen her serve a sentence in a Federal Correctional Facility while the directors of Astrakhan had walked away scott-free.
She was still thinking of ways to wheedle more out of Jang and had been spending what free time she could with the other woman. Much to her own shame she’d even considered sleeping with Jang in an effort to get her to open up.
They were in the biochemistry lab discussing recently developed techniques for controlling cell-reproduction when a deafeningly loud klaxon sounded and the whole laboratory was bathed in flashing red light.
‘Oh no. What have they done now?’ mumbled Jang to herself before turning to Kanesh and saying ‘Stay here, I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
She turned and left and Kanesh noticed the medics seemed every bit as anxious as Jang had done although they tried to carry on with their work.
Kanesh wanted to stay where it was safe, but her curiosity got the better of her and she realised that she’d never get a better chance to get into the secure areas of the facility. As no-one was particularly interested in her, she borrowed a discarded lab-coat to hide her uniform, slipped out of the lab and headed towards the lifts.
There were a gaggle of people already queuing at the lift and eventually someone shouted ‘They must have locked out the controls! Head for the stairs!’
Kanesh joined the crowd that moved like herd of worried sheep down the stairs to Level 6. She noticed with some concern that while some of them carried fire-extinguishers and medical equipment, others were wearing heavy black body-armour and were armed with phasers, tasers and night-sticks.
She stayed at the back of the crowd as someone opened a secure door onto the main corridor of Level 6, and followed the crowd through. To her surprise they didn’t pause but headed straight through the level, not stopping until they reached the far end.
Here, the leader of the security men paused and seemed to prepare himself. He reached up and opened a small hatch in the wall that concealed another iris scanner. As he looked into it there was a beep and a door opened in the wall. The door had been so skilfully hidden that Kanesh hadn’t even noticed it, but it swung open wide to reveal yet another long corridor beyond it. As it did, acrid smoke billowed out with a bizarre undertone of dung.
The leader of the armed group found a scientist lying propped against one wall just inside the door and stooped over him: ‘What happened?’
The scientist was clutching one arm and barely conscious, but the angry security man shook him, eliciting a groan of pain. Kanesh was too far back to be certain, but the security man’s actions seemed to be inspired by fear rather than anger.
The wounded scientist gasped. ‘It’s Leonardo. God, he’s brilliant. Managed to make a taser from one of the lab lights, some power cells and a PAD. He zapped me then Marie started lobbing some kind of Molotov cocktail around . . . ‘
‘Where are they?’
There was no answer, and the man in black stopped shaking the scientist as he realised he’d passed out and couldn’t answer.
Looking terrified, the man stood up. ‘Ok, we got ourselves a situation here. At least two of the class have gone rogue and are now armed. Set phasers for stun, give the tasers to the non-combatants. We split as we reach the junctions, clear each section before moving on. Security staff lead, non-combatants watch their backs. Move out!’
Kanesh followed along and was slightly surprised when a little man in a white lab-coat handed her a taser. He looked terrified and whispered ‘If you see one, don’t take chances: shoot first ask questions later. Don’t forget, some of them are evil little bastards.’
They reached a junction and Kanesh noticed that this floor differed from the other floors she’s seen. Although it was arranged around one central corridor like the other floors, here each room or passage leading off this was secured with a heavy-looking metal gate. There were security cameras at every corner and what appeared to be force-field emitters spaced at regular intervals down the corridor.
At the junction, the leading securi
ty man nominated two of his team to enter the passageway leading away from the main corridor, followed by a pair of terrified scientists carrying medical supplies and fire-extinguishers.
There was an interminable wait before one of the four shouted ‘Clear!’ and returned to the main corridor. They edged down the corridor to the next junction and were just about to repeat the process when there was an ominous thud, followed by another that was accompanied by an animal bellow of rage.
Suddenly, all hell broke loose. One of the doors into the corridor flew outwards, smashed from its frame, and a terrifying creature rampaged through the smoke towards them, bellowing in fury.
The security guards fired at the beast, but this only seemed to anger it more and it charged directly at them. In the confusion, Kanesh got the impression of a hugely powerful biped, grey coloured with a vicious looking horn in the centre of its forehead.
It thundered into a guard, throwing him down the corridor. He was saved from a fatal injury by his body armour, but a couple of the less fortunate scientists were trampled underfoot and most of the rest of the group were thrown to the floor by the rampaging beasts.
Another of the black-clad security men was thrown sideways, and the few white-coated scientists still on their feet screamed in terror and scattered. At a series of shouted commands, the remaining security guards re-grouped, stepped back, wound up the power settings on their phasers and fired again and again.
The beast howled in agony and now it was closer, Kanesh could see that the grey colour of the beast was actually the remains of some kind of business suit, stretched to bursting point by the creature’s muscular frame. It span around, lashing out as it did, sending a guard flying into Kanesh and knocking both of them to the ground.
Lying on the floor in a daze she heard the tweet of a phaser being fired, and then another, each drawing another bellow of anger and pain. She lay there watching the creature’s feet dance as it turned to face whatever threatened it. She blinked in confusion as she saw that the creature appeared to be wearing the remains of a nice pair of patent ladies heels, that were dangling from it’s thick, powerful ankles by thin straps.