posted 10-01-99 01:58 PM            

Stacy, having returned from a long mission, finds that all of the Rogues are mysteriously missing. In her search, she stumbles across some of the other Hussies, and asks them for intel. In their discussion, it is revealed that some terrorist organization has infiltrated the Palace, planting incendiary devices of a diabolical nature and cloning some of the Hussies!! Determined to find the clones and nab the culprits in charge of this dastardly plan, the Hussies have split up and are searching the Palace.

What will happen next to our brave and intrepid Hussies as they attempt to prevent the destruction of the Palace? Where is the "real" Rani? And where are the Rogues? For answers, stay tuned here.

Same Cat Time....Same Cat Channel

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-02-99 01:08 AM            

It was a curiously satisfying sensation, killing your doppelganger. Cathartic even. I'm beginning to understand what they see in this, she thought.

The Rani turned her attention back to her long crawl through the ducts.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." -- Aldous Huxley

posted 10-02-99 09:26 PM            

Not that I'm not grateful, says Gail, but why did you just kill The Rani?

She was going for her weapon. I didn't think you'd want to be the dead one. Right? replies K2.

Gail nods her head, but is still mystified about the change in K2's attitude. Everyone knows her dislike of handguns and her refusal to even carry one except under extreme protest.

K2, asks Kat, why are you carrying that pistol? And don't give us that BS about it obviously coming in handy!

What do you want me to say? says K2 It appears that no matter what I say, you'll figure I'm lying. What's the point?

Rachel chimes in with, And if you're here with us, who was with me in the Abeyance Pool? You can't have been in both places! Who are you?!

While the hussies were congregating around K2, she had slipped her hand into the pocket of her vest. Seeing this, Cynaera tells her to pull it out slowly. She does, but at the same time, she drops her gun, spins on her heel and starts to sprint for the door.

Kat steps in her path and trips K2. As she falls, the anti-personnel device in her pocket goes off. The loud BOOM and bright flash startles the Hussies, but when they're able to focus on the situation again, they see the mangled body of K2.

Does anyone know if K2 has any distinguishing body marks? asks Cynaera. Something only one of you and her would know about?

Anya comes forward and mentions the indentation on K2's left shin. It's not something that would appear on her medical records, but if you run your hand down her shin, you should feel a definite dent in the bone surface.

Cynaera cuts the pant leg and runs her hands down the shin. Nothing. This is just another clone! How many of us are real and how many are clones? How are we to determine the truth before they overtake the Palace or destroy us all?

------------------
HH #487 Wearer of the Moonstone Veil
I'd give my right hand to be ambidextrous.
M - Who at Section asked you to do this?
www.angelfire.com/ca4/k2bonson

posted 10-02-99 09:52 PM            

Like something out of a Sigourney Weaver movie, The Rani swooped down, grabbed Gail, hit the release on her climbing rig, and disappeared back up into the ducts before a single Hussy could draw a bead. No one fired after that, for fear of hitting Gail.

"Well?! Now what?!" shouted an almost hysterical efi. "We stand around like sheep and let her pick us off like sitting ducks?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, this mangled metaphor sent Cynaera giggling to the point of hysterics herself. "Make up your mind, efi! Are we sheep, or are we ducks? Are we mice, or are we men?"

This was enough to provoke most of the others into a little stress-relieving laughter as well. After which, they solemnly resolved to stay out of low-ceilinged corridors...

~~~

The Rani was face to face in a tighly enclosed space with a terrified Gail. She knew her fencing partner's moves well, however, and countered the dagger thrust to her throat with her left wrist. Gail's eyes darted toward the sudden movement, and saw...

A tiny scar, just where it should be. Her relief was palpable. The Rani had to steady her to keep her from slumping over as all the tension of the last day let go at once. She grinned.

"Well, at least we know who's who." The Rani wrapped a clean bit of cloth around her bleeding wrist. Still grinning, she said:

"And that makes two I owe you. Somehow, I don't think that trick will work again... So, here's the plan..."

The Rani hesitated.

"You do realize that you can't go back after this. They'll suspect you immediately, since you've been alone with me. We can verify each other's identity, but no one will believe that now. We'll have to work our way backwards, find someone who can vouch for you, and so on. Are you with me?"



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean no one's out to g+Q@R{>

NO CARRIER

posted 10-03-99 08:28 AM            

"Ooey gooey, rich and chewy inside,
Golden flaky, tender cakey outside,
Wrap the inside in the outside it is good darn tootin',
It's the big... Fig... Newton,
(Here's the tricky part)
The Big.... Fig.... Newton....
(one more time!)
The Big... Fig... NEWTON!!!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming

posted 10-03-99 03:14 PM            

Cynaera's PDA beeped, signalling an incoming message. It read:

PLANREN,

OEVAT TEBHC NAQ ZRRG ZR BA CNYNPR EBBS GB QVFPHFF FHEERAQRE.

GE

Cynaera keyed in the command that would decipher the message. She read it, raised her eyebrows, and handed the PDA around so that everyone could see it.

Anya was the first to react. "This is making less sense all the time. She's picking us off one by one, there's nothing we can do to stop her, and now she wants to surrender?"

Kat answered: "Maybe the real one escaped Red Cell somehow. If so, and she's aware that both sides are looking for her, it's logical to assume she's want us to find her."

Cynaera nodded. "Ok. Stacy, what did Gail tell you about The Rani? What was she looking for when the last clone was killed?"

Stacy, still shaken from her friend's abduction, replied: "Gail said there was a small dueling scar on the back of The Rani's left hand. But I haven't actually seen it myself. The real one is always wearing gloves. Of course, if you think I'm an impostor, you'll have to assume I'm lying..." Stacy met each Hussy's gaze in turn, trying by force of will alone to make them believe her.

"Somehow, just the fact that you said that makes me feel a little better." Cynaera reassured her. Cynaera looked around the circle. It was really hitting home, she saw. They were all realizing just how difficult this was going to be. Each one was thinking about the one thing that someone else might know, that would allow them to prove they were not impostors.

"Well, that's something, anyway. Let's go. Time's a'wastin'!" Cynaera forced a confidence into her voice that she didn't feel. The small group, made even smaller by the loss of three members, departed for the Palace roof.

~~~

The Rani was waiting for them when they arrived on the roof. The Hussies covered one another as they crept cautiously out of the stairwell, expecting an ambush. The Rani held her hands up, and turned around slowly, revealing she was unarmed, ungloved, and unscarred.

"Oh!" efi growled. "Just another clone!"

"Not just any clone," The Rani replied. "I meant what I said about surrendering."

"Why would you? This must be just another trick," Cynaera retorted in disgust.

"Why did my predecessor disarm the bomb? There's something my creators weren't counting on, you see. There's a certain basic integrity to my original, which they haven't been entirely able to eradicate from us. Though they have tried."

"But your predecessor also threatened Gail, and one of you very likely kidnapped her. Is that part of this 'basic integrity' you're talking about?" Stacy fumed.

"We posses much of our original's knowledge, but not all. We are continually adapting, learning how to survive in a hostile environment, learning from our mistakes, learning to make our own decisions. That's something else our makers did not anticipate."

"Alright. If that's true, you won't mind being held and interrogated until we sort this mess out. I for one would like to know where The real Rani is right now." Anya stated.

"No. I won't be imprisoned and interrogated like a common criminal. As the only condition of our surrender, we demand from you what our creators will not give us: To be treated like human beings." The Rani leapt up onto the ledge, just inches from a 7-story fall. "But I'll tell you now what you want to know: Red Cell's plan is to keep throwing clones at you until you are thoroughly demoralized. Look at you now! None of you can even look at me! How will you feel when you see your friend die five, ten, fifty more times?

"And how do you think we feel, being used as nothing more than cannon fodder? Think about that, the next time you see me."

Anya knew what was about to happen, but she and the others were powerless to stop it.

The Rani executed an Olympic-qualifying backflip off the ledge, shouting as she fell: "Whooooo-hoo! They killed Kenny!" Followed by a sickening thud like an over-ripe melon pulped on the cement.

"Ugh. I'm so glad we... don't have to... check that one for scars," said Stacy.

"No. No, I think we'll leave that one for Housekeeping," Cynaera answered.

"Does the fact that they're... evolving scare anyone besides me?" asked Anya.

"That's not all that worries me." Cynaera answered. "How can they know what The Rani knows? Our memory isn't stored in our DNA - it's encoded in our neurons and synapses!"

A confused efi said: "I don't understand. Who's Kenny?"



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Ben Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

posted 10-03-99 03:28 PM            

"Sorry that I've been gone, but someone had to restock the Palace with drinks and food." Schnee says as she hands Kat the grocery receipt.

Kat sees the total and passes out in their midst. Cynaera reacts quickly, catching the mistress of the Palace.

"What's going on? Have you found the rogues yet?"

------------------
Schneewittchen
Heyn's Hussy #139, RR#2
Wearer of the Amethyst veil
"Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce."~Anon

posted 10-03-99 06:52 PM            

------------------
Proud hussy #482

posted 10-03-99 07:42 PM            

"The odds are two to one, and with what Anya just told us, we have a way to verify her identity. If we can do that, we've automatically verified Anya as well. The question is, does she know anything about either of us that we can use to prove who we are, so she'll cooperate?"

Gail answered: "I can't think of anything at the moment. But I'll try." She appraised her friend's condition. "You know, you look like hell. And I just realized, you're not even armed! We should find a weapon for you."

"I think I might actually be safer this way. All my clones have been packing. Besides, I'm not totally defenseless. I have my brain, and my PDA." The Rani gave Gail one of her famous mischievous grins. "I wouldn't mind laying hands on some body armour though."



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"Morning people may be respected, but night people are feared." -- Unknown

posted 10-04-99 11:32 AM            

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-04-99 06:16 PM            

OK, now I have a list of WHO, but what good does that do me? I need one of our real computer gurus to go any further with this info. Maybe they can trace this intrusion back to where it came from � that would give us something better to do than run around being suspicious of each other. If my intuition is right, and The Rani is somewhere in the Palace, where would she be?

She grinned. She had a pretty good idea where The Rani would be, thanks to her everlasting curiosity as well as her innate need to completely know her surroundings. Who else would have spent the better part of two days wandering around the duct system of the Palace? But, before she could head that way, there was something she needed to do. Quickly, she grabbed a disk and placed it in the zip drive. After backing up the most important medical data, she deleted all of the medical records from the network.

THAT will slow �em down�.at least a little. They could still get access, but it will be a heck of a lot harder. Now, to take these disks and my findings, and see if I�m right about The Rani. Thanks to Gail, at least I have a way to tell if it is really her.

Placing the disks in her pack, she slid into the duct system and began worming her way to her destination.

CQ, you better not have betrayed us... her eyes narrowed as this thought went through her mind

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-04-99 07:44 PM            

The Rani went around to the other end, and ripped K2's pantleg to mid-calf.

"Bu... " Gail protested. The Rani shrugged. "She'll never know. She's too drunk." Gail gave her a stern look. "Ok. Ok, I'll buy her a new pair."

The Rani checked the left kneecap. Sure enough, a small dent, just as Anya had said there would be.

"See for yourself. It's K2, alright." The Rani sighed in frustration. "We finally find someone we can verify, and she's out cold."

The Rani checked her surveillance routine's results. "Ok, we still have only one of both Anya and Cynaera. Now we have to get them here, and verify Cynaera. Anya has already been taken care of, since she knew about K2's knee. And I think I know how to insure Cynaera is who she says she is."

"How do we get them to come to us? They were paranoid enough before you did your Alien impression and nabbed me."

"Simple. I've got to be the most wanted Hussy in the Palace right now. I'll be the bait." The Rani flashed another one of her devil-may-care grins, and Gail rolled her eyes.

"You're nuts. You must know that."



~~~

Cynaera's PDA chirped, signalling an incoming live message. She brought up the screen, revealing The Rani (or clone) and Gail.

"I'm losing patience with tricks, whoever you are." Cynaera snapped.

"No trick." The Rani held up her bare left hand to the tiny camera in her PDA. "See the scar Gail mentioned?"

"That's easily faked with makeup, especially at this resolution." Cynaera countered.

"You can check that for yourself. I'm proposing an exchange of hostages, until we can verify some IDs."

"And how do you expect to accomplish that? No one trusts you now."

"Simple. You and Anya will meet Gail and I in Abeyance. You can keep your weapon, as will Gail and Anya. I will come unarmed. We'll verify that with some hand-held metal detectors," The Rani held up two of the devices.

"We have proof right here of Anya's identity." The Rani held the camera on an unconscious K2.

"Hold on a sec! Why is she unconscious?"

"That's the way we found her," replied Gail. "The 'partay' Rachel mentioned."

The Rani continued: "I trust Gail, and once you've seen K2, you'll know you can trust Anya, as I do. They will wait outside the White Room, and you and I will test each other. There'll be no danger to you. As I said, you can keep your weapon. If I'm not me, you can do what you have to do."

"And if I'm not me?" asked Cynaera.

"That's why Gail keeps her weapon." The Rani replied. "See any holes?"

Cynaera considered for a moment. "Just one. I know how dangerous you can be, clone or original. If you'll be locked down in the Chair, then we have an agreement."

Gail started to protest, but The Rani silenced her with a look. "It'll be ok," she said.

"You have a deal, Cynaera. I'll see you in.... 15 minutes?"

Cynaera looked at a worried Anya, who nodded and said: "I've got to get to K2."

Cynaera locked her gaze on The Rani. "Agreed," she said. "Fifteen minutes." The PDA's screen went dark.

Gail said: "Did I say you were nuts? My mistake. I meant to say totally certifiable!"



~~~

"It will be fine, Gail. Don't worry. No matter what happens to me, I've increased our numbers by at least one. For every one I add, you can verify at least one more identity.

"Ok, first we'll show them K2's dented kneecap. Then scan me with the metal detector. You can scan Cyn to prove it's working; I know she carries at least one small hidden dagger, and she'll definitely be packing at least one extra surprise if she's a clone."

Gail gave her one of those looks, but shook her head instead of protesting.

"Anya can lock me down. I trust her, and so can you. Then have Cyn come in. I'll take it from there."

"You'll take it from there. What can you accomplish?"

"I can prove Cynaera's not a clone."



~~~

The fifteen minutes went faster than anyone expected. The Rani tensed up when the shackles were locked down and she was trapped in the chair, but she forced herself to relax. Anya touched her gently on the shoulder and said:

"If Cyn's a clone," she didn't say "if you don't make it," "I'll take care of her myself." Anya smiled grimly and exited the White Room. She passed Cynaera about halfway between the Room and the fence. Anya whispered in passing: "I don't care what you are. Don't hurt her, or you will live long enough to regret it." Then the moment was over, and the White Room door slammed behind Cynaera.

The video feed from inside the White Room was active, and they would be able to hear every word. Gail and Anya stared at each other, then closed the gate and activated the electricity. Either both friends would come out alive, or neither.



~~~

"Hello, Cyn."

Cynaera didn't speak at first, just knelt down by the chair and inspected The Rani's left hand. As Cyn took her hand, The Rani gave it a quick squeeze.

Cynaera sighed. The scar was real enough. The clones hadn't been in existence long enough to be wounded and have healed so completely.

"You ok?" asked The Rani. Cyn nodded, wiping away a tear.

"Alright. Now I have a question for you: Think back to your first crypto tutorial. What was the first encryption program to which I introduced you?" The tutoring session had taken place between just the two of them. It was different for everyone, depending on their level of experience. A clone could guess correctly, but the odds were against it.

Cyn hesitated. That had been several months ago. As so often when the body and emotions have been repeatedly stressed, her mind went blank.

The Rani forced herself not to clench her hands, or in any other way betray her tension. Just breathe, she thought. Breathe, and wait.

Finally, Cyn had it: "Ciphersaber!"

"That's right. Now... What algorithm did it use?"

Now Cyn was truly at a loss. She knew this was the answer Gail was waiting for. She couldn't look at her friend. "You n-never told me."

The Rani exhaled and went so limp that for a second Cyn thought something had happened to her.

"What?! Don't do that to me!" Cyn cried.

"It's ok. You're absolutely right, I never told you. But your clone would have tried to finesse her way out."

"Oh! I'm gonna get you for putting me through this!"

"Fine. Anytime. But could you just do one thing for me now?"

"What?" Cyn asked.

"Let me out of this damned Chair."

Cyn chuckled, enjoying her moment of revenge. "Oh, I dunno. I think you look good there. It works for me. It really does."



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
Some mornings it just isn't worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.

posted 10-05-99 12:56 AM            

Meanwhile, K2 has awoken. Rubbing her eyes and holding her head, she looks around in confusion.

How did I get outside the White Room? Last thing I remember is sharing a soda with Rings waiting for Rachel to finish with Dominque.

She looks around and sees the four hussies talking animatedly about...she's too far away to hear. Slowly getting to her feet, she staggers into the White Room and asks what's going on.

Gail gives her a look of disgust and says, What happened to you?! You are a disgrace to Hussydom! If you'd been more alert and not obsessed with a movie character and drinking yourself unconcious, you'd realize that the Palace is under attack!

K2 rubs her forehead, more confused than ever. You guys know me. I don't drink that often, and then not that much. I had one glass of champagne at the beginning of the partay, but that was it! In fact, I stuck with soda from that point on! How can you think I'd be so irresponsible?

Anya steps forward putting her arm around K2's shoulder. Honey, I'm sorry. I should have known better.

Turning to the others, she says, Maybe the soda was laced with something. That would explain her stupor and the clone.

WHAT?! K2 screams. CLONE? What's going on here?

While Anya and Gail explain the current situation, The Rani and Cynaera work at the PDA transmitting messages and retrieving data. They discover that the medical files have all been erased, but they don't know by whom.

------------------
HH #487 Wearer of the Moonstone Veil
I'd give my right hand to be ambidextrous.
M - Who at Section asked you to do this?
www.angelfire.com/ca4/k2bonson

posted 10-05-99 09:54 AM            

"There's just one thing I need you to explain. One of your clones said that they possessed some of your knowledge. That can't be part of the cloning process, so how is it possible?" Cynaera asked.

"Red Cell has developed a technique for transferring knowledge from a human brain to a bioengineered neural network. About eight months ago, I was part of one of their experiments." The Rani replied, sipping her triple espresso.

"That's odd. I don't recall you being captured on any of the missions we've run in the last year," said Gail, frowning.

"I wasn't. I volunteered for the experiment." Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared slack-jawed at The Rani.

"Oh, this is the last straw! I am sick and tired of being jerked this way and that, first you are and then you're not a traitor!" Anya shouted.

K2 groaned and put her hands over her ears, trying to reduce the volume to something that wouldn't cause her head to explode.

"I volunteered," The Rani explained calmly, "as part of a deep cover mission to assess their level of technology and determine how big a threat they posed to Section. You can ask K3 about it when we find her."

The Rani sighed. "Had I known this was the use to which these neural nets were going to be put... I never would have consented. Of course, even then they were having trouble getting the nets to behave the way they wanted. Even then, they had a mind of their own. If you'll forgive the expression. I thought..."

The Rani grimaced in pain, and tried to pretend she had burned her mouth on her lukewarm coffee. Cynaera wasn't fooled.

"What's wrong?"

The Rani didn't answer. She was pale and sweaty. Gail reached over and touched her cheek.

"She's burning up! She's got a fever!" Gail thought she knew what was wrong. She reached down and gently took The Rani's left hand, which The Rani had been cradling in her lap. The Rani hit the edge of the table so hard with her other hand that the others made wild grabs for their coffee, expecting the table to be upended. Gail looked at the bloodstained bandage around The Rani's wrist, where she had intercepted an otherwise lethal dagger thrust.

"Good God, woman, why didn't you mention this wound was infected?"

"I'm sorry Gail. I've been a little busy ... " The Rani's eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted.

~~~

Stacy at last located The Rani in Medical, back where she started. What a wild goose chase! She looked down on the apparently unconscious woman from her perch inside the same ducts The Rani had been using for the last two days to move undetected around the Palace. Stacy listened to the shallow, even breathing for a few minutes, to be certain The Rani was asleep. Obviously, her left wrist had been re-injured; the IV antibiotics hinted that she probably had a raging infection as well. Unfortunately, the new bandage obscured the old wound Stacy was looking for. She would have to get closer. Silent as a cat, Stacy dropped down from the ceiling. She approached the bed, and ever so gently, pulled back a corner of the gauze, to get a better look.

"You look familiar. Have we met?" The Rani's soft voice startled Stacy, but she didn't pull away. She felt a tiny pinprick on her neck just above the carotid artery. Her peripheral vision revealed The Rani's right hand, holding a small stylus, the point of which was not intended for writing, but which was instead a short Exacto-style blade.

"Yes, we've met."

"I don't suppose you can prove that just now," The Rani asked.

"No. I could, but it would take some time."

"Pity. I don't think I can hold my arm up much longer." The pinprick withdrew. The Rani laid her arm down on the blanket. Very slowly, Stacy reached out and took the stylus from her.

"I've already pressed the silent alarm. If you're a clone, you only have a few seconds to escape."

"That's alright. I'll wait here." Stacy touched the tiny stud that retracted the blade, and handed the stylus back.

"Hmmm. Remind me never to play poker with you," The Rani observed. "I'm bluffing. There was no alarm."

"I just want to ask you some questions," Stacy began. "Someone has accessed the Hussy Medical Records undetected from outside the Palace. If you were going to attempt it, how would you go about it?"

"What you're talking about is a 'covert channel'." The Rani answered. She closed her eyes for a moment, thinking. "The simplest explanation I can come up with is this:

"Suppose you are a shopkeeper. You have a window in the front of your store. You place a mannequin in this window. On the first day, the mannequin wears a scarf. On subsequent days, either the scarf is present, or it is not. In this way, if you are patient, you can transfer a series of bits: either a 1, when the scarf is present, or a 0, when the scarf is absent.

"This series of bits represents information. In this example, it takes a very long time to communicate anything meaningful. The bandwidth in this case is very low.

"But consider instead of a mannequin in a storefront, a series of networked computers. There are many of these so-called covert channels one could exploit, each with a much greater bandwidth than my simple example. Due to the nature of this network, covert channels are nearly impossible to guard against."

The Rani sighed. "In short, it will probably not be possible for you to work backwards from these many possible channels and prove that all series of bits that have been transferred in the last few months have been entirely innocent. They might have been encrypted, in which case the series will appear as random noise. I suspect that's not the answer you were looking for."

"No." Stacy sighed, deflated. "Would something like this require the help of an insider?"

"Not necessarily, but that would make it easier."

"Would CQ know how to do something like this?"

"Yes. And so do I."

"How many others here?" Stacy asked.

"That's difficult to say. Not more than three or four, all told."

"How about if we checked everyone's files for programs like the one you described?"

"These basic types of things are part of every hacker's toolkit. You'll find programs that could accomplish this in my files, for example, but you'll never be able to prove how I may have used them. The person who could do this would not be one for amateurish mistakes. In fact, I'm surprised you found any traces at all."

"Thank you, Rani. Even though your answer wasn't what I wanted to hear." Stacy cocked her head. "How did you know I wasn't a clone?"

"I didn't. How do you know I'm not lying?" The Rani grinned weakly.

Stacy turned to leave, then had a sudden thought. She told The Rani what the last clone she encountered said before committing suicide.

"If it were you in that position, what would you do?"

The Rani closed her eyes again, for so long this time that Stacy thought she had fallen asleep. She was about to leave, when The Rani spoke:

"The two most powerful imperatives that drive any species are the instinct to survive, and to perpetuate your own kind. That can leave little or no room for the niceties of ethics and morality.

"Remember, they may look like me, and think like me, but they aren't me. They were created as fully formed 'adults'. Think of it this way: Athena, the Greek goddess, supposedly sprung fully formed from Zeus' thigh. Now, I suppose she was alright as goddesses go, but considering the circumstances of her 'birth', could she have been fully human, psychologically?

"CQ... and Sunny, of course, would be better able to answer this question. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't trust the clones."

They heard muffled voices approaching. Stacy thanked The Rani once more, and vanished back up into the ducts. When the door opened, The Rani once more feigned sleep. No more questions, she thought. A woman just can't get any sleep around here...



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"The problem with you hackers is you never stop working." -- Y.T.
"That's what a hacker is." -- Hiro Protagonist, Snow Crash

posted 10-05-99 04:15 PM            

SHOW THIS MESSAGE TO NO ONE ELSE. I know you are not a clone. Meet me in CQ�s computer lab in fifteen minutes. Bring no one else with you. I will meet you there and tell you my plan. Be wary, for there are clones of you still here in the Palace. You can expect to see others show up as well. They will also be "originals" and not clones.

Signed,

Starshadow

Finished sending her message, Stacy headed towards CQ�s lab, thinking to herself as she went.

Well, these guys made verifying themselves easy for me. The others may not be so simple. Now that they are wearing my tracking devices, I can easily keep track of who is the real person, and who are the clones. She chuckled as she thought of how easy it was for her to plant the trackers on each of them. Hopefully, they will show up at the lab, and we can use the medical records I have, plus any personal info we have, to form some kind of a plan for verifying the rest.

And, hopefully they will remember that Starshadow is my code name and not shoot me on sight. The only snafu to this is that there is no easy way for them to verify me. That could make the little meeting very interesting.

sighing, she continued crawling

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-05-99 06:08 PM            

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Proud hussy #482

posted 10-06-99 10:27 AM            

The message read:

FGNEFUNQBJ,

ARRQ VAGRY. JURA JRER ZRQVPNY ERPBEQF NPPRFFRQ? NYFB: JUVPU BARF?

GE

Now she would just have to wait for an answer, something The Rani wasn't very good at doing.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson

posted 10-06-99 04:33 PM            

On a hunch, The Rani picked up a handheld UV generator. She ran it along her left arm and a small dot fluoresced briefly, congruent with her dueling scar. As she suspected, Stacy had 'tagged' her with a small amount of radioactive isotope, doubtless so that she could be tracked. The thought rankled. Her eyes narrowed. Its removal would require a stronger solvent than was available in Medlab, or a surgical laser. It would be painful. The ultimate price, of course, would be the loss not just of some skin, but of The Rani's instant identification. No longer would she have this distinction from her clones. Furthermore, the act of removing enough of her flesh to remove the isotope might actually predispose others to think she was a clone who had deliberately tried to mimic The original Rani's scar. If Stacy noted that The Rani's movements brought her close to one of the other labs, she might realize The Rani was on to her, and suspect that The Rani was attempting to circumvent her tracking method. This would require some thought.

Stacy was entirely too clever for her own good, The Rani growled deep in her throat. Still, she had to admire Stacy's audacity; she had been very cool considering The Rani was holding a knife to her throat while she was applying the isotope.

The Rani knew she was at the top of almost everyone's list of suspects, nevertheless she resented being tracked. She didn't intend to allow herself to be a virtual prisoner just because there was as yet no way of establishing her innocence.

It had been one thing to place herself at Cynaera's mercy in order to prove neither of them were clones, but this... It was too much. The Rani never permitted herself to be in a vulnerable position unless she was certain of the outcome.

Likewise, it was time now to rid herself of another constraint: she would tolerate being tethered to this medical equipment no longer. She realized something had to be done about the infected wound, but now that she was out of immediate danger, the IVs constituted just another weakness, restricting her freedom and limiting her ability to defend herself.

Furthermore, now that she had assembled a small nucleus of Hussies well able to defend themselves, and to increase their numbers by verifying others, she had other work ahead of her. The Rani began packing those items from Medlab that might be of use to her. Yes, it was time to vanish once more, from all but one radar screen at least.

Then she found what might be a temporary solution: Two pairs of lead-lined gloves used by the radiologic technicians. The Rani grinned and tucked those into a hidden compartment of her backpack, which could be easily overlooked in a cursory examination. She wouldn't use those just yet; no sense in alerting Stacy to the fact that The Rani knew what she had done. The Rani also packed several rolls of medical tape.

As for Stacy's attempts to restrict The Rani's movements... Stacy would realize soon enough the futility of her effort.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"When choosing between two evils, I always like the one I haven't tried before." -- Mae West

[This message has been edited by The Rani (edited 10-06-99).]

posted 10-06-99 05:54 PM            

Cripes! OK, time to switch gears for a second.

She stopped in the ducts right above the computer lab. Peeking through the vent, she could see that no one had yet arrived. She quickly let herself out, then replaced the screen. Quickly, she sat down and typed out a message to The Rani's PDA:

ENAV:

RZRETRAPL PBIRE PD GENV TRG GB ZRQYNO NFNC NYY DHRFGVBAF NAFJRERQ GURER

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-06-99 07:00 PM            

They came in with weapons drawn; when they saw that Stacy was alone in the room, all of the weapons drew a bead on her.

Easy, there, Stacy said as she raised her hands to show she held no weapons (not that it meant she had none).

Why did you call us here? K2 asked, looking suspiciously around her, as is she expected people to come walking out of the walls.

Because the four of you are the only verified originals - besides The Rani who is...glancing at her screen, she saw that The Rani had left the medlab and was on the move...hopefully on her way here.

How can you be sure some of us aren't clones? countered Gail

Because I was present at your little tete-a-tete at the White Room. I marked each of you and have been tracking you ever since.Stacy answered

How could you have done that? We never saw you!Cynaera accused as she started looking at her clothes, trying to find the tracing device.

Never mind looking - without a UV light, you won't be able to see it. As for how...let's just say I have my ways. Of course, it's a heck of a lot easier when the intended target is unconscious. Stacy arched one eyebrow at K2, who blushed a little.

Let's get down to business. Have any of you taken a look at the message board recently? All four shook their heads Well, CQ managed to get a message through to us. His message confirms my theory. She looked around; all were looking at her expectantly.

Before I get into that, let's wait for the last definite original to arrive. She should be here any minute. Stacy glanced down to check The Rani's progress.

Anya's eyes flashed as a thought suddenly came to her. Hey! How do we know that YOU aren't a clone?THe others looked at her, their eyes narrowing, and Anya began to raise her lowered weapon.

Stacy sighed Actually, that's a very good question....

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HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-06-99 07:35 PM            

Stacy slowly turned in her chair to face Anya. She knew Anya well enough to know that her 'boast' wasn't an idle one. So what should I say that you would believe?

Anya glanced briefly around the room. Anybody here know Stacy well enough to know is she's the real 'thang' as we say down south? Or is she one of them?

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Anya
HH# 446, RR# 24, HR# 36, WW# 135
Wearer of the Onyx veil elegantly flecked with silver and gold metallic threads
Where ever you go, there you are... and they'd better have La Femme Nikita!

posted 10-06-99 07:42 PM            

"Even with four of you, you really must learn to watch your backs. I might not always be around to play rear guard."

The Rani uncrossed her arms, and the four Hussies lowered their weapons slightly when they saw the bandage.

"The Rani, presenting herself for inspection," she snapped out like a drill sergeant, extending her left hand for verification.

"You shouldn't be out of bed yet," Gail scolded.

"Alright, it's The Rani," announced Anya. "Now tell us - how can you be so sure that's Stacy?"

"Because she's not the only one who's been tracking people." The Rani was pleased to see that Stacy appeared surprised to hear this. Gail, having seen The Rani's surveillance setup, nodded.

"I've been tracking Hussies since long before I grabbed Gail. There has been only one Stacy in the Palace since that time. Now I can't be absolutely certain that the real one isn't being held somewhere else, but I am very curious to hear what she has to say. We can afford to hear her out." The Rani turned her attention to Stacy. "We're listening..."



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"Americans [have] the right and advantage of being armed -- unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust their people with arms." -- James Madison

posted 10-06-99 11:12 PM            

OK, bear with me because this could get a little long. Several of the Hussies were up on the roof. As I was looking over the side, I suddenly had a thought about where all of the clones were coming from. It's not like they can pop out of thin air, right? So, since I had no idea who was a clone and who was not, I headed for the medlab. Sure enough, with a little digging, I discovered that some of the medical records had been accessed from outside the Palace. This happened almost a week ago. Not only that, but certain DNA samples were also missing from one of the refrigerator units. So, I saved all of the medical files to disk, then wiped them off the network. I'm hoping it will discourage any further tampering. From somewhere within her clothes, she pulls out several zip disks and places them on the table.

OK, I spoke with The Rani about who could do it, and her name and CQ's were at the top of that list. My intuition told me it was CQ, and that he was under some sort of duress. Something The Rani said clicked, and I realied this must be true. She told me that anyone who could do this would have to be really, really good, and she was surprised that I found any traces at all. I think CQ was forced by whoever is holding him to access our medical records. He left those traces so hopefully we would be able to help him. And, just now, he managed to send a message to us.

Here is what I think happened. Somehow, CQ was captured by Red Cell - who knows, maybe they have all of the Rogues, although that possibility is scary. He was forced to access the medical records and goodness knows what else! Now, it's time for the second part of the mission. I know The Rani was sent on an undercover mission within Red Cell.At the shocked look from The Rani. Stacy shrugsAnyhow, that's when they cloned her. They sent in one of the clones, who snatched our DNA samples and took them to Red Cell so they could clone the rest. Only somehow she got interrupted in the middle, so she didn't get all of the samples.

I marked each of the five of you so that there would be some way to tell the originals from the clones. Here, you can download my tracking program from my PDA to yours so that you will have the same info I have. What I thought we should do is try and use the information from the medical records as well as any personal info you might have on the others to verify the other Hussies. As we do that, we can "mark" them as I've marked you, and so we will be able to tell who is real, and who is clone.

Of course, the problem here is that you have no absolutely positive way to tell if I'm a clone or the real thing. I don't have any recent distinguishing marks that Red Cell wouldn't know about. The Rani is right in that there aren't multiples of me running around the Palace. My medical records were accessed, but my DNA sample is still in one of the remaining refrigerator units. Of course, if I was a clone, I could have replaced the DNA sample, and fixed the rest to make it look like I am the original. Stacy shrugged I don't know what I can say to convince you that I'm really me, and not a clone. But, now you have access to all of the intel I have. It's up to you five to decide what to do with it. Stacy passed her PDA to The Rani

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HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-07-99 11:24 AM            

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Leave your mark
HH#501
TS1A#18

posted 10-07-99 02:25 PM            

The Rani read Stacy's message:

quote:

---

RANI:

EMERGENCY COVER CQ TRAI GET TO MEDLAB ASAP ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED THERE

---

Obviously Stacy had been in a hurry, and had omitted a letter. Equally obviously, since The Rani was in Medlab already, Stacy meant the Computer Lab, but was trying to throw infiltrators off the trail. It probably also meant Medlab would have visitors soon. "All questions answered there"? While waiting for Stacy's reply to her earlier query, The Rani had verified what Stacy had told her about the hack into the Hussy Medical Records. The Rani had recognized the familiar signature of the hacker behind it, but it wasn't CQ.

That could only mean Stacy was laying a trap for her, but who could resist a pitch like "All questions answered"? The Rani followed her pack up into the ducts, and headed for CQ's lab.

Stacy spoke, interrupting The Rani's reverie: "But first things first. CQ has found a way to leave us a message. Rani, I need you to cover his tracks, so Red Cell won't know he has made contact with us."

Now, The Rani was certain of two things. Four well-armed Hussies expected her to help CQ, and there was no polite way to refuse. She was equally certain that CQ's trail didn't need covering, since CQ never left a trail.

The Rani sat down at the terminal Stacy indicated, and began working. She had a nagging suspicion that the methods she was using were being cataloged, assessed, and compared to those traces that Stacy had uncovered in the Medical Records. Two individual hackers might both accomplish the same task, but their styles would necessarily differ. The Rani knew that even as she worked to "save" her friend, she might very well be handing Stacy enough evidence to bury her.

A few surreptitious checks were all she needed to confirm her suspicions. A keyboard sniffer was in place, recording her every keystroke. The logs were being mirrored to another machine somewhere on the network in real time. There was no way to disable those and cover her tracks, not with Stacy watching over her shoulder. Not only was Stacy analyzing her every move, but she would have some very convincing evidence squirreled away just in case no one believed her.

The Rani worked quickly, but she couldn't outrun her own footprints.

~~~

"There. I have erased all traces from our system and Red Cell's of ... any intrusion." The Rani announced.

"Thank you again, Rani." Stacy replied. The Rani stepped away from the terminal, and waiting for the other shoe to drop. With four shooters, it should be quick, at least.

"Now, there are still a few things I don't understand. Not everyone who was cloned had samples missing from cold storage. The Rani, for one. K2 is another who we know was cloned, but whose samples are still right where they should be." Stacy paused, waiting for The Rani to say something.

The Rani, puzzled by this tack, finally replied: "That's easy. They took my sample after I was ambushed outside the lounge. Cynaera will remember the incomplete message I sent. It was incomplete because I was tranqued before I could finish it.

"No, Red Cell took that from me here, inside the Palace, less than two days ago. If you like, you can still see the wound inside my cheek, where they took the sample." Where was Stacy going with this? She already had all she needed...

Stacy frowned. This was something she had not anticipated.

The Rani said: "You are also wrong about my deep cover mission with Red Cell. Their purpose at the time was not to clone the body, but the mind. The 'brains' not the 'brawn'."

Stacy sighed. "Then I am wrong. There is a Red Cell operative inside the Palace."

"Yes, the one who darted me." The Rani confirmed.

Anya jumped in. "You mean you really don't know what's going on here?"

"No, I guess I don't have all the pieces yet." Stacy answered. "Are you certain they didn't obtain your DNA during your deep cover mission?"

"I suppose it's not totally impossible. Why?" The Rani asked, very puzzled now.

"It's something your clone told me. They're learning, evolving, making their own decisions. Then when you told me that the two prime motivations of any species are survival and reproduction, I became convinced they were working on their own. But now you say you were darted by a Red Cell Op..." Stacy shook her head, confused.

"Wait a minute." Gail protested. "When did The Rani tell you all this?"

"While she was tagging another 'unconscious' original, in Medlab," The Rani answered, her jaw clenched. At Gail's puzzled look, The Rani said: "I'll tell you about it later, ok? We have other more... pressing matters."

"The clones are reproducing?" Cynaera asked. "Why would they need your DNA then? They already have that - it's part of them!"

"For the same reason you don't make a copy of a copy if you are reproducing an audio tape or a computer disk. Errors creep in. Since the DNA of a clone is the same chronological age as the host DNA, it is thought that clones may be more prone to cancer and other diseases which have genetic precursors. You don't want to compound that problem by copying from anything but the original." The Rani replied.

"So... " Gail was putting it all together. "We have three factions inside the Palace. There's us, there's at least one Red Cell Op, and there's the clones, who are working independently now?"

Stacy answered: "I don't think Red Cell is a part of this, if they ever were. I mean, they were the ones who originally cloned The Rani, but I think the clones broke free from them and are doing this on their own. I think The Rani was darted by one of her own clones."

"Then where are CQ and the other Rogues?" Cynaera asked.

"I think we have two totally unrelated attacks going on simultaneously. Perhaps the clones noticed that our Rogues were missing, and thought this gave them a better chance of succeeding in their plans." K2 said.

"That means we'll have to split up. Divide our forces and combat two different enemies," Anya concluded.

Gail nodded. She had been checking The Rani's video surveillance routines while the others debated. "It's only logical that Anya, Cynaera, K2 and myself go after our missing Rogues. Our identities have been verified, and we know there are no more clones of us. Can you two handle the clones?"

"I believe we can take care of that," The Rani answered. This was an excellent opportunity. She had some things she wanted to... discuss with Stacy, alone.

"You trust her?" Anya asked, indicating Stacy.

"I can handle myself." The Rani answered.

"All right then, ladies! I say it's time to take the fight for our Rogues to Red Cell!" K2 rallied her forces, and the four departed for van access.

Stacy braced herself for what she knew was coming.

~~~

As soon as they were alone, The Rani turned on Stacy. It was all the more frightening because she never raised her voice.

"Ok, I gave you what you wanted. I had no choice. So what are you waiting for? Why go to all this trouble, and not use any of this evidence?" The Rani slammed her fist into the side of the monitor she had used for her hacking; it flickered and dimmed. "You had witnesses, hell, more than that. A firing squad in the making. You wouldn't have had to lift a finger, just turn me over to them. Why didn't you?" She growled.

Stacy cringed. The Rani's anger was justifiable. Stacy knew how she must have felt when she discovered she'd been tagged, knew how she must have felt when Stacy tricked her into displaying her hacking techniques.

"Because I know that there are other reasons why one person's style might resemble another's. Just because those traces I found in the medical records looked like your work..." She took a deep breath, decided to just drop her bombshell before The Rani lost patience and killed her.

posted 10-07-99 07:35 PM            

Anya stopped suddenly in the hallway. The others turned and looked at her questioningly.

What gives? K2 asked, genuinely puzzled by Anya's obvious irritation.

Is it just me and my exacerbated sense of suspicion, or were we just manipulated? she said, looking back toward Medlab. What if that really isn't Stacy? We've left The Rani there alone. I know she's good, but she isn't exactly healthy, ya know!

Anya, your paranoia is running away with you. It was your idea to split up in the first place, remember? K2 said, rubbing her temples; her head was pounding. Whatever drug she'd been given with was giving her the mother of all headaches.

I know, I know, but I can't get rid of the feeling that Stacy wanted to get rid of us.

Anya looked around at her companions and arched an eyebrow. So what do we do now? I know we have to find the Rogues, but I have a real bad feeling about splitting our few resources. The Rani is our best hope of hacking into any computer program.

Cynaera paced for a moment trying to come to a decision. She knew Anya wouldn't have voiced her concern without there being a kernel of truth to it. But what were they to do?

I don't know, Anya. The Rani and I go way back; I hate going off and leaving her too, but what else can we do? I guess we're just going to have to trust her to take care of herself... and Stacy.

Well, then, can we send a coded message to The Rani -- using a different code than the one Stacy's been using -- just to tell her to watch her back with Stacy?

Anya was close to tears, her frustration apparent to everyone. She hadn't felt as out of control as she did right now in a very long time. And she knew it was going to be a long time before she felt safe and secure again.

------------------
Anya
HH# 446, RR# 24, HR# 36, WW# 135
Wearer of the Onyx veil elegantly flecked with silver and gold metallic threads
Where ever you go, there you are... and they'd better have La Femme Nikita!

posted 10-07-99 08:01 PM            

While Cyn's doing that, any ideas where we should start with our end of theses missions?

Anya swipes her eyes wearily, then looks up with determination. I got to thinking about something The Rani said. About her being taken while inside the Palace. How were we infilatrated?

Gail thinks hard, then as if a lightbulb went off,...Do you remember the Thud Partay?

K2 shakes her head slowly, she remembers all right.

Do you realize, that could be how Red Cell, or whoever it is, got in here? They could have been part of the catering group! Does anyone know if Rings is still around? Maybe she'll be able to shed some light. Do you think she kept a list of the catering staff?

K2 nods her head. Rings is always good with the details. She may have gotten a bit out of control (she laughs softly) during and after, but before, she's on top of things. Cyn, when you're done with the message to TR, would you send one to Rings too?

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HH #487 Wearer of the Moonstone Veil
I'd give my right hand to be ambidextrous.
M - Who at Section asked you to do this?
www.angelfire.com/ca4/k2bonson

posted 10-07-99 10:56 PM            

"How could you possibly ... ?"

"Know? I didn't. I guessed." Stacy replied. The Rani seemed to have shed all her anger with that one breath, but Stacy stayed well out of reach, in case that deadly rage returned.

"I don't understand."

"You were my number one suspect throughout most of this. No matter how hard I pushed, you never denied that these things were within your capabilities. You never tried to divert suspicion, even though you could have done so easily. In fact, you've been very careful to look like the perfect suspect. Too perfect, actually.

"You've had at least two chances to kill me, but you haven't done that either. And I've provoked you, I know that. I can only hope someday you'll forgive me.

"But most important..." Stacy paused. The Rani just stared wearily at her.

"Most important, you haven't said who it was who darted you two days ago. I've given you several opportunities, but you won't say. And I can prove you saw them. It wasn't a matter of darkness or of them catching you from behind."

Stacy reached out and took a small tape recorder from a drawer. She had run across this snatch of audio from the surveillance system, but the camera had been at the wrong angle to capture The Rani's attacker. There was nothing wrong with the audio portion, however. Stacy placed the recorder on the desk, and touched the PLAY button.

There is the sound of someone running, gradually slowing to a stop. There are the tiny beeps of a message being keyed into a PDA. Then, a slight rustling noise. The Rani's voice, "You!" It's unmistakable. The hiss of a dart, and the thud as a body falls to the ground.

Stacy switched off the tape. The Rani sat motionless with her head in her hands. She wouldn't look at Stacy.

"This whole ruse to get you to backtrack through the system and erase the traces left by the person who hacked Medical Records - and again I apologize for backing you into a corner like that, but you don't make things easy for those who try to help you - that just proved the rest of my theory."

"Which is?" The Rani asked.

"That while your style might be similar to our hacker, you're better than she is. You wouldn't have left any tracks."

The Rani looked pale and miserable, but said nothing.

"Your clone was right. There is a certain basic integrity to the original Rani. One that can't be erased from the original, no matter how hard you try. There's only one explanation that makes sense when you consider the whole picture: You're protecting someone.

"I'd like to know who that someone is. I know you're not feeling very trusting right now, but... I'd like to help." Stacy noticed that blood was seeping through the bandage on The Rani's wrist. She was cradling it again, as Stacy had seen her do in the mess hall.

"But first, I think we'd better get you back to Medlab." She approached The Rani as she would have done a wounded animal. "Will you let me help you?"



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"We are what we pretend to be." -- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

posted 10-08-99 11:06 PM            

quote:

---

UCTSQ ATHHU OEHEH CJPRX HKSTN EKXSE KSQST DEALX HKSTD GFXCE XCJNT ARFXQ DXJPT

---

While they waited for Cyn, the three debated. Gail said: "I dunno guys. I got the impression it was The Rani who wanted us gone."

Anya replied, exasperated: "Gail... Come on. What are you saying? I checked her myself. It's Rani. Why would she want to split us up?"

K2 argued: "No, she's right. That's the feeling I got, too."

"You don't suppose," Cynaera said, "she knows something about Stacy that we don't, and is planning on..."

"Doing something crazy?" Gail completed the thought.

"Yeah, that sounds about right." K2 agreed. "And trying to keep The Rani from doing something crazy is like..."

"Like trying to keep the sun from coming up in the morning." Anya concluded.

"The Rani doesn't just think outside the box," said Gail. "She doesn't even have a box!"

Cynaera had been staring at her PDA, willing her friend to answer her message.

"Um, guys? I have a bad feeling about this. The Rani's not answering the message I sent..."

"That's it then, we're going back. The Rogues will just have to take care of themselves a little while longer." Anya decided.

~~~

The Rani's PDA beeped. She took it out, balancing it precariously on her leg as she tried to type one-handed. The message was from Cynaera, but ROT13 wouldn't decode it. She tried several other codes before she found the one that worked.

"Hmmm. That's odd. They seem to think I shouldn't trust you. Do they know something I don't?"

"They've let their paranoia get the better of them, that's all," Stacy replied. "Come on, let me get you back to Medlab."

The Rani made no move to accompany her.

Stacy sighed in frustration. "Ok, fine. I'll just wait for you to pass out from the pain and fever again, and then I'll drag you back. That'll actually be easier."

~~~

Anya, Cynaera, Gail, and K2 returned to CQ's computer lab. They hadn't been gone more than 15 minutes, but by the time they got back, Stacy and The Rani were gone.

"Oh, man. I don't like the look of this," K2 observed. "It looks like there was a fight." She pointed to the monitor The Rani had been using. It had been struck hard enough to separate it from its base, and the screen was flickering and sparking.

"That's not all." Anya had found several spots of blood on the floor. "I think we were right to be suspicious. I think something happened to Rani."

Gail said: "I didn't like this from the start. Stacy knew The Rani was injured. Why lure us all away from Medlab? We could have brought a computer to The Rani, instead of making her come all the way here. She wanted to get The Rani alone, and we let it happen!"

"Ok. Where do we start looking?" asked Cynaera.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"I would rather spend one night with Dracula dead than with my husband alive." -- Woman at the opening of the Broadway version of "Dracula" starring Frank Langella

posted 10-09-99 02:59 PM            

Stacy shrugged and led the way back to Medlab. As they walked, The Rani had lagged farther and farther behind. Stacy rounded a corner and stopped. The Rani stood before her. "You shouldn't be wandering around by yourself," she said. She was holding a stungun.

Alone? thought Stacy. She shot a quick glance behind her. There was another Rani, unbandaged, behind her. "Yes, a person could get hurt doing that," The second Rani affirmed. This one held a dart gun.

But where was her Rani? Stacy wondered. Had she anticipated this ambush, and decided rid herself of the problem Stacy posed? At least the weapons they held were non-lethal. Then a darker thought presented itself. They want me alive. For my DNA.

Stacy dropped into a fighting crouch, flicking her wrists to trigger the spring-action wrist-sheathes that delivered a dagger into each hand. She wouldn't make this easy for them.

~~~

For some time now, The Rani had the feeling they were being watched. The hair was standing up on the back of her neck. Exhausted, she had been trailing further and further back, and now she stopped, all senses on red alert. Stacy had rounded a corner up ahead, and The Rani could hear her own voice from that short section of corridor.

She turned and sprinted back to the point roughly halfway between Medlab and CQ's computer lab. She snagged her pack from the ceiling tile where she had stashed it in case she needed to make a quick escape from CQ's lab. She placed the earplugs in her ears, and readied two small grenades while running back to the place where Stacy had been ambushed.

The three were circling warily around each other, the clones trying to get a clean shot, Stacy trying to insure one was always in the line of fire of the other. Stacy caught movement out of the corner of her eye: a bandaged Rani gesturing for her to hit the deck. She dropped.

The Rani tossed a flashbang where Stacy's head had been a moment before, at eye level, equidistant between the clones. She pulled back around the corner, covering her eyes and ears as best she could.

After the flashbang exploded, The Rani made her way around the corner. The clones were writhing on the ground, blinded and deafened. The Rani checked Stacy first, rolling her over. She was conscious, and The Rani asked: "You ok?"

Stacy couldn't hear. The flashbang had temporarily deafened her, but she knew what The Rani must be asking. She nodded, pointed to her ears. The Rani helped her to a sitting position, then dealt with her clones.

Each one received a swift thrust upward from under the jaw straight into the brain. Once she had taken care of the second one, The Rani wiped her blade on the clone's shirt. Then The Rani braced her back against the wall, and lowered herself into a sitting position on the floor.

During the crawl through the ducts to meet Stacy and the others in CQ's lab, she had stressed her wounded wrist and the cut had broken open and begun bleeding again. The sprinting had made the wound and her head throb unbearably.

Without warning, Stacy was pulled to her feet and slammed against the wall. She was face to face with an enraged Anya. Anya was shouting something at her, but Stacy couldn't read her lips. Anya let go of her, stepped back, and drew her dagger left-handed. Stacy closed her eyes.

The Rani was shouting: "Anya! Don't do it!"

K2 grabbed her friend's arm, pulling her away from Stacy. When the fatal blow didn't land, Stacy opened her eyes again, and saw Anya, K2, and The Rani arguing. Gail and Cynaera were checking the clones to make sure they posed no further threat.

Stacy caught Cynaera's eye, and said, probably too loudly: "Flashbang," and pointed to her ear. She must have been shouting, because everyone stopped arguing and stared at her. Stacy grinned sheepishly. Cynaera nodded, said, exaggerating her pronunciation so Stacy could read her lips: "Don't make any sudden moves." Stacy guessed what she was saying, affirmed that she understood, and kept her hands where everyone could see them.

Gail helped The Rani to her feet, asked: "What the hell happened back in CQ's lab? There's blood on the floor, and someone smashed the monitor."

The Rani showed Gail her blood-soaked bandage. "Nothing happened. I broke it open again crawling through the ducts."

Cynaera asked: "What about the monitor?"

"I just... took some of my frustration out on it, that's all." The Rani answered.

"Now why don't I believe that?" asked Gail.

"I don't believe it! Rani's actually covering for her!" said Anya, gesturing at Stacy.

From watching the interplay between them, Stacy could guess what was being said. It was a classic Mexican standoff. The Rani wouldn't tell them what Stacy had done, because if she did, Stacy could expose what she had learned about The Rani.

"And you!" Any turned on Stacy. "I'm gonna see you in the Chair yet!"

K2 once again interposed herself between Anya and Stacy. "Ok. You'll get your chance to question her, but first things first."

Gail said: "I agree. We have to get The Rani back to Medlab. Then we'll question them both."



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." -- Nietzsche

posted 10-09-99 07:04 PM            

The door to the medlab was in front of them. Stacy glanced at the others, who were still giving her an inordinate amount of attention. Slowly, they all walked into the medlab, and the others got The Rani sitting down and were re-bandaging her wrist.

You should just give her a mega-shot of antibiotics, Stacy said, slowly inching her way to a cleared space.You know, it might be a good idea for all of you to stick together, since you know you can trust each other. Maybe you can devise a way to verify the other Hussies and get rid of the clones from the Palace. As for me...at this, Stacy let a small smoke grenade slip into her left hand and pulled the pin out with her middle finger...I think it 1 best that I 2 go it alone.3

With that, she heaved the grenade into the midst of the four Hussies and it immediately went off, covering Stacy's escape from the medlab.

Sorry guys! Stacy shouted as she ran down the hall and back into the vast corridors of the Palace.

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-09-99 09:19 PM            

Lord, I hate those things! she wheezed. They really screw up my allergies! Got any oxygen masks in here?

K2, The Rani, Gail and Cynaera all were fanning the space in front of them trying to clear the air. Cyn moved to clip a hose into the outlet and handed Anya a mask.

Hit the vent switch, The Rani suggested, breathing through her t-shirt.

Gail groped for the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks.

As the smoke cleared, she took stock of their situation. Why did she do that? What does she think she can accomplish alone that we couldn't help her do?

She doesn't think we trust her, The Rani said quietly.

She's right, growled Anya behind the oxygen mask. I trust her about as far as I can throw her!

She's okay, The Rani said quietly. She's not a clone and she hasn't turned.

Then why did she run? Gail turned to The Rani, her face reflecting her inner confusion.

------------------
Anya
HH# 446, RR# 24, HR# 36, WW# 135
Wearer of the Onyx veil elegantly flecked with silver and gold metallic threads
Where ever you go, there you are... and they'd better have La Femme Nikita!

posted 10-09-99 10:34 PM            

Cynaera and Gail had to both grab The Rani to keep her from going after Stacy herself.

"If Stacy's not a fake, then why did she take off?" Gail repeated.

"I don't know why she took off," The Rani answered. It was true enough. Stacy could have easily bought her life with The Rani's own. Why didn't she? Unless... she really had wanted to help... had really been willing to keep The Rani's secret...

"But I'd bet any amount of money you can name she's no fake. My clones ambushed her. They wouldn't have attacked one of their own. Now we've scared her off, back out there. If something happens to her now..." It will be my fault... The Rani tried again to get up, follow Stacy, but Gail and Cynaera pinned her down.

"No way are you leaving Medlab until you're well." Gail said. "Cyn, look over in that cupboard, I think there's some restraints there."

Hearing this, The Rani stopped struggling.

"That's better. Now, first we'll get these antibiotics restarted. After that, we're going to discuss what happened in CQ's lab."

The Rani waited until Gail was occupied with the IV meds, then ...

Cynaera saw that look in her eyes, slowly shook her head. "Don't try it."

"Gail, you have to let me go after her."

"Why? You're in no condition to go anywhere."

Because she'll know she can trust me... because she's got my life in her hands... "Because I think I can convince her we won't hurt her. Right, Anya?"

"Look, I was just trying to protect you, ok? What was I supposed to think when I saw the lab, with blood all over the floor and the both of you missing again? Hell, I still don't know what happened in there! Why don't you tell us?"

"Ok, Anya, let's just back off for a second. You wonder why Stacy's scared? You should see the look on your face right now." K2 tried to reason with her. "We're all on edge, we haven't slept in two days... We all just need to back off."

"Alright, if you won't let me go to her, then you four have to leave, so she'll come to me. She can track us. She'll know I'm alone."

"You trust her enough to be alone with her?" Cyn asked.

"I've already been alone with her. That's not what worries me. Her getting killed out there worries me."

The other four exchanged looks. "How far away do we have to be?"

"I dunno. At least five minutes, so she'll feel reasonably safe... Why not just go back to the mess hall and get some lunch?"

"Lunch!" Anya scoffed. "I'm not hungry."

"Look, what can I say that's gonna convince you? How's this: I don't want her blood on my hands, ok?" The Rani was exasperated.

K2 said: "Ok, gang, let's go do lunch. Just one thing - how will we know you're ok?"

"Use the surveillance cameras. I'll re-route the video feed into your PDAs" The Rani answered. She pressed a few buttons on her own PDA, linking it to the other four. She only linked the video, however; what she had to discuss with Stacy had to be just between the two of them.

Cynaera handed her weapon to The Rani. "In case someone else shows up," she said.

~~~

The Rani was back in bed and hooked up to the IV meds. She had coded and sent the following message:

quote:

---

FGNEFUNQBJ,

JR ARRQ GB GNYX. FVAPR LBH PNA GENPX GUR SVIR BS HF, LBH'YY FRR GUNG V NZ NYBAR. LBH UNIR ZL JBEQ LBH JVYY ABG OR UNEZRQ. GUR FNZR PNAABG OR FNVQ VS LBH NER PNCGHERQ OL ZL PYBARF. V UBCR LBH JVYY FRR GUNG GUVF VF GUR ORFG - GUR BAYL JNL.

GE

---

Now once again, she had to be patient and wait.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself."
-- Nietzsche

posted 10-10-99 01:24 AM            

The Rani slowly picked up the weapon Cynaera had given her, being careful to keep it aimed at a neutral point on the ceiling, ejected the clip, removed the single cartridge from the chamber, and handed it to Stacy.

"Why run, Stacy? You had nothing to fear from them. All you had to do was show them the log files - show them I'm covering for the person behind this."

"Because that's not what I want! If you're so bent on self-destruction, so willing to give your life for this person, why not tell them yourself? You don't want my blood on your hands? What makes you so sure I want to be responsible for your death? If you still don't trust me... Then we have nothing more to discuss." Stacy turned to leave.

"So, if I don't tell you, you try to get yourself killed? This is the worst sort of blackmail."

"It's not blackmail." Stacy replied. "I offered my help. For that, your friends want me in the White Room."

"Aren't they your friends too?"

"Of course they are. Or would be, under different circumstances. But right now... If there's nothing I can say or do to get you to trust me, how can I ever convince them? I'm better off taking my chances with your clones."

The Rani sighed. She checked her PDA to make sure the audio portion of the surveillance feed was still blocked. She checked the camera angles to be certain that no one down in mess hall could read her lips.

"There's another possibility that you didn't mention, why one person's hacking style might resemble that of another. Two disciples of the same master often share what they know, and their styles will reflect that." The Rani began.

"So... You were fellow students at one point?"

"Yes. Her name is Dr. Marla Cantwell. We go back a long way, we were the best of friends - we roomed together and studied under the same professor at University. She is the one working for Red Cell, who developed the technique of using an existing person's brain to train a neural net to think the same way. That's why I was chosen for the deep cover mission. She knew me, and we figured I could get her to trust me again.

"Also, I'm not protecting her because I want her to live. I'm protecting her because I want to be the one to kill her."

~~~

"That's it? That's what this whole thing has been about? You're afraid we won't let you kill her? Hey, she's all yours. I'll even gift-wrap her for you."

"No, that's not all. Think about this: Would you trust someone who told you they wanted to kill their very own twin sister? Or would you suspect her motives once you found out she's been covering for her all this time?"

"What has that got to do with... Oh." Then it hit her. "She's your sister?! Why on earth would you want to ... Ok. I'm beginning to see the problem."

"At least now you know where they got the DNA in order to produce clones on such short notice. It was hers all along. Until two days ago, anyway.

"So, you wanted to help. There's the problem statement. Oh, and, one other thing: We also have to give my four ... guardian angels something. A reason why you ran, why they can trust you now. I've been a little preoccupied. I haven't thought of anything that's going to satisfy them." The Rani concluded.

"In other words, help you prove I'm me, so we can continue your deception, so you can kill your twin... Hey, no problem... I'll get right on that."



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"As I always say, one must never be afraid to look deep down into the darkest depths of oneself where the light never reaches." -- Elizabeth the Vampire in the film "Daughters of Darkness"

posted 10-11-99 01:44 AM            

"Anyone know what happened to Kat? Last I saw of her was in the lounge when the K2 clone blew herself up," said Cyn.

"No," replied Anya. "I haven't seen her. If I remember correctly, she was leading the other hussies on a mission through the bowels of the Palace to trace the Rogues."

"That's right. K2, what's happening with The Rani? Can you tell what's going on?"

K2 scrutinizes her PDA and responds, "No, The Rani has her back to the camera and what I can see of Stacy's side of the conversation doesn't make sense."

"Why?"

"She's saying something about blackmail and taking her chances with the clones. It doesn't look good. But it also doesn't make sense why The Rani would trust Stacy if things weren't okay. I admit, between the sleeping draught, lack of food and all this excitement I don't understand what's going on."

Anya pats K2's shoulder. "Honey, you're not alone. You also bring up a good point. Stacy wouldn't try to hurt The Rani and The Rani wouldn't allow Stacy to blackmail her. There's got to be some other explanation.

"Cyn, you're probably the closest to the Rani, what could possibly be the reason for her actions?"

Cyn thinks intently, getting up to pace around the table. As she's facing away from the others, a look comes over her face...a possible answer, but does she share it or wait to verify?...by the time she rounds the table again, her face is composed. Cyn shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders. Nothing.

------------------
HH #487 Wearer of the Moonstone Veil
M - Who at Section asked you to do this?
www.angelfire.com/ca4/k2bonson
DS's TP#5, PPO#1, M8Y #4, WRR#2

posted 10-11-99 12:35 PM            

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-11-99 10:16 PM            

What? You just thought of something, didn't you, Cyn? Tell us.

Cyn turned to face Anya, her expression inscrutible. She was annoyed -- with her body for betraying the thought -- with Anya for noticing the betrayal. It was hard, but she didn't respond to Anya's pleading eyes.

We've got to stop being so secretive, Anya continued, her voice betraying her own emotions. That's what's causing half our problems right now! Can't you see that?

Anya was barely holding her emotions in check; she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. And she knew everyone else was too. Something had to give soon or they'd be at each other's throats before long!

I know I've been on edge since this whole mess got started. As soon as The Rani signals, we'll go back to them and I, for one will apologize to Stacy for the way I've behaved. My only excuse is my wrist. I really want a pain med, she said sheepishly. but I don't dare. Not 'til we establish some sort of control around here. Pain meds knock me out. And I don't want to be unconscious and wind up getting cloned!

Yeah right -- K2 said with a huge grin. -- and if you think we believe that I've got some oceanfront in Arizona I want to sell you! We know you better than that -- you just don't want to miss any of the action, Gail and Cynaera laughed at Anya's semi-outraged expression. Then she started laughing too.

I guess y'all do know me pretty well! Then her face turned serious again as she looked searchingly at Cynaera again. Cyn, I haven't forgotten that you think you know something about this whole thing with The Rani and Stacy.

At Cynaera's almost imperceptible nod, Anya continued. Okay, let's work it this way. When The Rani let's us back into the medlab with them -- and we've all kissed and made up -- then Cyn, however you'd like to do it, ask The Rani to confirm or deny your suspicions -- whatever the heck they are. But before you do, I'm going to repeat what I've just said. That we have to trust each other... we can't keep haring off on our own tangents. The only way we're ever going to find out who's creating the clones and why and what happened to the Rogues is to work as a team!

Gail almost let out a cheer. When the others looked at her curiously, she said, Well, it sounded like a half-time pep talk to me!

Cyn, can you signal The Rani, K2 asked decisively, and find out if they're ready for us to come back. Gail and I'll scrounge up something for them to eat while you're doing that.

Cynaera immediately pulled her PDA out and tapped out a brief message. She turned to Anya and gave her a quick smile. I think I know what it is that The Rani is doing. But I want her to be the one to tell you all what it is.

I understand, Anya said.

Hey, Anya, I found some Extra-strength Tylenol. Will that help? Gail called from behind the bar.

Bring me four!!! Anya called back gratefully.

------------------
Anya
HH# 446, RR# 24, HR# 36, WW# 135
Wearer of the Onyx veil elegantly flecked with silver and gold metallic threads
Where ever you go, there you are... and they'd better have La Femme Nikita!

posted 10-12-99 11:05 PM            

suddenly, Stacy stops, and her eyes narrow

Did you hear that? she says, in a much quieter voice

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-13-99 01:42 PM            

The Rani pulled an identical weapon out from under the blankets, grinning. This one was loaded. She also retrieved another grenade, similar to the smoke grenade, except that this one would release an anesthetic gas. With both friend and foe running around the Palace, it might be best to start with non-lethal measures.

The Rani tossed the grenade to Stacy, and indicated that she would force the duct open and cover her, while Stacy should be ready to toss the grenade inside.

~~~

Cynaera had just started to key her message to The Rani into her PDA, when all four were startled by the sound of automatic weapons fire coming from Medlab.

"Oh blast it! Now what?" Anya cried.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"If you wish to drown, do not torture yourself with shallow water." -- A Bulgarian proverb

posted 10-13-99 09:45 PM            

Oh great! Next time, we shoot first and be nice later! she shouted as she pulled out another gun from the massive arsenal strapped to various portions of her body and fired through the ceiling up by the duct, hoping to hit something that would stop the strafing fire now raining down from the ceiling

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-14-99 06:36 PM            

Gail slowly approached the person hanging half out of the shaft, her weapon pointed at the head, just in case they weren't really dead, but one look into the lifeless eyes disabused that notion. Gail looked to the others.

It's a clone of Jenna. Now we've got to find a way to identify the real Jenna.

K2 rushed over to have a look. How do you know it's not Jenna?

Gail's eyes twinkled with humor. 'Cause the real Jenna would have come through the door.

She looked over at Cynaera. We need to set up a perimeter. Is there any way we can get the schematics of the Palace?

What good will that do? asked Stacy. We all know the layout.

Gail placed her mini-cannon on a countertop. We need to know the layout of the airducts so we can block them and keep the clones out. As we secure a room, we'll keep stretching the boundaries of the safety perimeter.

She glanced around at the others. I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of these clones popping out all over. We need to establish a base camp and make sure nothing can get in. At the same time we need to regain control of the Palace.

Who's with me?

---------------------------------------------

Each day I examine myself on three counts: whether or not I am loyal to those in whose behalf I act; whether or not I am trustworthy in my dealings with friends; whether or not I practise what is imparted.

posted 10-15-99 01:17 PM            

"Wait a minute. 'You five'? Where do you think you're going?" Gail asked.

"I'm not in the same sort of danger you are. Look at the pattern of shots fired. They were aiming for Stacy. Never me. Once Stacy got behind the gurney with me, the clone had to leave her cover in order to get a clear shot at Stacy, and be sure she wouldn't hit me. That was a fatal mistake on her part.

"But the point I'm trying to make is that they want me alive. I'll be in less danger out there than anyone else. The fact that I'm here, with you, means they'll just keep attacking here until they get what they want. So I'll also be drawing their fire away from you.

"You have a good group here," The Rani continued. "Your next task should be to secure the area, and think about how to verify the identities of some more Hussies to increase your numbers. That optical recognition program I set up has had plenty of time to work. Check out its results. Those Hussies that appear in only one place in the Palace are almost sure to be originals and not clones. Have them rendesvous here, and verify them. Then, expand the area you can hold. Meanwhile, ..."

Now it was Anya's turn to interrupt. "Why are you in such a hurry to split from us? What are you trying to pull?"

"I'm not trying to 'pull' anything," The Rani replied. "I'm trying to draw the attacks away from you, give you time to solidify your position. Are you implying that I have another agenda?"

At this, Anya backed off, but K2 said: "We're not implying anything. We just want to know what your plan is."

"I think we can infer from the fact that the clones knew exactly where to find me, and when I'd be most vulnerable, that we are not the only ones with the means to monitor and track individuals. I won't tell you what my plan is, because I might also be telling ... whoever it is that's stalking us." The Rani said.

"I don't like this," said Cynaera.

"You don't have to like it. You just have to trust me to do what I have to do. I think I can end this faster if you let me do it alone."

Anya nudged Cynaera: "Ask her," she whispered.

"Ask me what?"

posted 10-15-99 01:44 PM            

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-15-99 01:47 PM            

------------------
HH #389
DD #1 - Davenport's Darlings

While I breathe, I hope