thor Flt. Capt. Kells: The Gallery

[Alieth]

As much as Teller is guiding one of the scenes of this mission to a adrenaline filled and high paced scene, @Tony, aka Kells
Here shows us the other side of the Coín with a cold, restrained and Intelligent scene with a slow by highly dramatic pace, a challege of linda with our main antagonist. GORGEOUS

 

 

(( Anroc's Private Villa, Level 801, Saldanian Corpate Hegemony HQ ))
 

Kells: (deadpan) You mentioned something special.

 

What would be special, Aron thought, was a straight answer, and a quick exit. But he listened to what Anroc had to say. Anroc, however, didn't have anything to say in the moment. Instead, he led Aron to another room, through a door Aron would have sworn wasn't, and into a long, narrow room, framed with frozen Zet and capped at the far end with what Aron could only describe as a throne.

 

Anroc: Welcome to my gallery, Aron. These (gesture to the frozen Zet) as my private advisors. They'll be participating in our discussion, but I'm sure you won't find them a bother. They don't say much.

 

Was it some sort of stasis? As off-balance as he was, and though he felt that he was walking ever more deeply into a trap, Aron couldn't help the itch he felt for his tricorder. It must have been some kind of stasis, but he'd never seen stasis accomplished like this, without any sign of how the suspended animation was accomplished.

 

He was so focused in that moment that he jumped in the next, as Anroc gestured in a way that controlled some stasis mechanism and many of the Zet came to life, mid-scream. It lasted only for a moment, and the Zet froze again, but their screams echoed.

Anroc: But they mean so much to me. You see, each of these husks formerly belonged to competitors of mine.
 

Kells: These (beat) husks.

 

As with Anroc's earlier references to eternity and immortality and the like, Aron saw that there was something more there, something to do with this biotech the Zet possessed. But what did he mean, husks of his competitors?

Anroc: One of the lesser known uses of the technology that allows for my immortality. But that's a triviality. You're here because you want Eternity, and I'm the one who can deliver it to you.

Kells: (coolly) That remains a bold claim. And this (gesture around) display notwithstanding, I haven't seen much that gives me faith in the greatness of Zet biotechnology.
 

Anroc: Very well, it will be good to relay the history without the propaganda we feed the masses. I was there at the beginning and I'm among the last of the First Eternals. You may recognize this chair (gesture to the throne) You saw one aboard my ship. With it, and a small bioware implant here (a finger on the back of his neck) The mind, the unique being, is never duplicated, they can only exist in one husk at a time. That is the miracle of the active particle refractor matrix.

 

The puzzle came together, and Aron saw clearly for the first time.

 

Kells: You possess -- you have possessed -- multiple bodies. You, and these Eternals, the ones who have chased Eternity, migrate your consciousness between bodies.

 

It wasn't absolutely unheard of. He'd read reports of such things happening, though it was generally the sorts of ghost-story-esque outliers that invoked events like possession by energy beings or inexplicable encounters with godlike entities. To find a prewarp civilization capable of such a thing -- if Aron hadn't been repulsed by Anroc's excesses, he would've been impressed. He was, however, still very curious, and wished again that he had a tricorder.

Anroc: Quite simply, Eternity was an accident. Scientists were trying to come up with a way of exploring our star system or, perhaps, beyond the Edge, by setting up a series of relay stations and data networks, plus the necessary bioprinters to create biologically viable husks.

Kells: (with a slight smile) You lodged your consciousness in your network routers. (beat) And then an accident led to (beat, looking around) this? How? How did you get from there to here? (another beat, then with narrowed eyes) And why have you hoarded it?

Anroc: Quite simply, it was too expensive. Our society could not support the cost of immortality. When the civilian authorities abandoned the project, a group of private corporations stepped in and carried on the research. Except now, the clones wouldn't be going to distant moons or beyond the Edge. We were reborn then...no longer shackled by mortality, the Presidents of the original twelve corporations became the First Eternals.

Kells: (quietly) Your plutocrats became gods.
 

Anroc: Can you imagine it, Aron? To stand at the yoke of your whole species, guiding them with a benevolent hand over the centuries. All that has happened has been by my hand, my will. That is the strength of Eternity.

 

With another gesture, Anroc forced the Zet -- still silent, but no longer frozen -- to bow and scrape. They made no sound whatsoever. The control, Aron noted, was absolute.

 

He felt nauseous.

 

Kells: This is disgusting.

 

Anroc: Response

 

Instead of acting or sounding angry, however, Aron retreated into the cool tone he'd used earlier. His voice was now downright frigid, though as he couldn't read Anroc's face, he doubted Anroc could read his intonation. But never mind: he felt what he felt.

 

Kells: You're a repugnant slaver who has confused longevity with worth. You're a sad accident, and I hope and I suspect that your species and your culture hold you in contempt. No, I don't want this heinous technology, and I'll work to make sure that you answer for the violence and inequality you've visited on your people.

 

Which was all very much what Aron felt, and he also felt better for saying. But, as soon as he had, he was reminded of his position -- not just as a Starfleet captain, but in space and time. Specifically, in Anroc's hidden gallery, surrounded by Zet husks that he controlled.

 

Anroc: Response

 

Kells: You've confused power and authority. I threatened you before with matter/antimatter weapons, but, no, I think you deserve something far worse: the destruction of your markets and the judgment of your people.

 

Anroc: Response

 

Tags! and TBC!

 

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Fleet Captain Aron Kells
Commanding Officer
USS Thor
V238208LV0
he/him/his (character & player)