posted 10-15-99 01:55 PM            

Strange secrets have been revealed, and suspicions are running rampant in the Palace. Has The Rani finally revealed all of her hidden mysteries, or is there more to come? CQ, the mysterious one, managed to get a quick message through, yet his message gave the Hussies no real information on his whereabouts. And is Stacy really who she says she is? The Hussies have gathered in CQ�s computer lab to discuss their next move. They desperately hope to find more Hussies to help them reinstate Palace security, and rescue CQ and the other Rogues.

What will happen next to our brave and intrepid Hussies as they attempt to prevent the destruction of the Palace? Will other Hussies come to the aid of their friends? And still the question goes unanswered�� 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 10-15-99 03:53 PM            

She fights to remember what has transpired, and slips back to black...

Jenna

posted 10-15-99 06:51 PM            

Anya took one of Stacy's arms: "Come on, we won't hurt you. I'm sorry I scared you off earlier. We're just gonna do lunch, like Gail said. When was the last time you ate? You look famished..."

K2 took the other arm. "She means it, don't worry," she reassured Stacy. "We're just gonna buy you lunch. Take your own advice now hon - no more running off on your own. Now where'd y'all say you were from?"

~~~

"Hmmm... Perhaps I was wrong to trust Stacy..." The Rani began.

"Don't start with that paranoia-divert-suspicion-elsewhere crap. Just because she's not backing you up in whatever scheme you're cooking up now..." Gail interrupted. She started cleaning up the area where once again The Rani had removed her IVs by force. She dabbed the antiseptic on liberally, knowing it stung.

Cynaera paced the floor. She needed to buy a few minutes' time for this to work.

Gail slapped yet another bandage on The Rani. "There, not quite as good as new, but it'll have to do since our patient is so uncooperative." She pulled out a humongous syringe loaded with antibiotics. "Now, where do you want your final dose?" She grinned wickedly.

"Look, this good cop-bad cop isn't going to work on me. I've already told you why I need to do this alone..."

Cynaera swung her around so they were face-to-face, inches apart. "You know you can't lie to me. Don't try it."

Gail saw her opportunity and landed the injection like a championship dart thrower.

"Ow!" The Rani protested, rubbing an area that was tender to begin with. She glared at Gail, who smiled cheerfully back. "That hurt me more than you." She chuckled.

"Like hell it did..." growled The Rani.

"Ok," said Gail, "You're free to leave Medlab, just as long as you stay within sight of one of us. Stacy's right. If it's you they want, that's the last thing we're going to give them."

"Now back to business," said Cynaera. "Doubtless K2 and Anya are questioning Stacy. She didn't seem real anxious to back you up... I'd be willing to wager she's already told them what they want to know."

"I'll take that bet," The Rani said.

"Besides," Cyn continued, "they're smart. They'll be able to see through it if Stacy tries to BS them. How do you know they haven't already gotten the whole story?"

"Because I'm still alive."

Gail raised her eyebrows and shot a look at Cynaera, but said nothing.

"So, Gail, how long for the sodium pentathol to take effect?" Cyn asked innocently.

"You're bluffing..." said The Rani, none too sure of herself.

"Might be. Might not. But one thing I know for sure is that we're your friends, and whatever you're hiding, you can share with us. It's can't possibly be that bad..." said Cynaera.

"Can't it? Alright. Since you two won't let this go... The thing that Stacy discovered is that I'm protecting the person behind this."

"You're what?!" Gail shouted, but Cynaera waved her to silence.

"She's the same person who was responsible for Red Cell's experiment in neural networks. I was chosen for that mission because... we knew I could get her to trust me. Because she's my twin sister."

"That's all? Well, of course, if she's your sister, we'll take her alive. That's not a problem. Why did you think..." said Cyn.

"No. You don't understand. I don't want her alive. I want to be the one to kill her."

Gail sat down suddenly. "Why on earth would you want to..."

"Neither of you know why I was brought into Section. Marla... My sister and I attended University together. I was... having an affair with one of our professors. She killed him, out of jealousy, and framed me for his murder. Since everyone's story here is similar, I'll skip the part you already know."

"My God..." murmured Cynaera.

"So now you know. I want her. I owe her. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here." The Rani concluded.

"I don't care what she did!" Cynaera shouted. "I am not going to let you do this! I can understand your feelings, but this won't help anything. It's not going to change the past or bring anyone back. And furthermore, I don't think you want to live with that kind of guilt. I mean, this is family, for God's sake! You'd regret it for the rest of your life."

"But I'm already a murderer. First, because I was found guilty by the courts. Next, because I was recruited by Section. Now... All you need do is go down to the morgue. There you'll find many samples of my work."

"You can't accept responsibility for what Section has forced you to do. You did what you did in order to survive. This... isn't about survival. It's about revenge." Cynaera said.

"Yes. Revenge. Put yourself in my place. Isn't that what you would want?" asked The Rani.



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 10-15-99 09:32 PM            

------------------
Dinky
Rogue #20, WRR #9

posted 10-16-99 10:56 PM            

I can't believe you could kill your own sister. Why let her off so easily? After all this time I'm sure you can find something to help prove she framed you so that she can be the one in jail for the rest of her life. Wouldn't that be a better justice that you can live with???

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

The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain.
Confucious

posted 10-17-99 11:54 AM            

------------------
arwen
HH #342
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.

posted 10-17-99 01:14 PM            

Darkness silences her thoughts and dulls her pain again...

Jenna

------------------
HH #226/RR #23/DD #7/MP #31 - Peach
THUD! Master with the Peach Veil
Keeper of the Kasparaitis
'The only quiet place is inside your soul.'
'Romance is what happens between the eyes, not between the bodies.'

posted 10-18-99 03:24 PM            

You know, I think we had better head back to the computer lab and figure out just what it is we are going to do. Somehow, we have GOT to get ourselves together and come up with a definitive plan of action. I agree with the idea of creating a perimeter and then gradually moving it out. And I think the best place would be the Palace's Tower.

The others look a little leery at heading into K3's "area," but Stacy gives them a stern glare.

Can you think of a better place to hole up? Our most sophisticated equipment is there, we can see everything that is going on in the Palace, and maybe K3 is there right now, and can help us!

Having said that, Stacy heads off towards the computer lab, hoping the others will follow.

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

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-18-99 04:20 PM            

'I know if anyone can find that communique, it's The Rani. Then the Hussies will know BIMBO BRIGADE HAS THE ROUGES!'

Jenna

------------------
HH #226/RR #23/DD #7/MP #31 - Peach
THUD! Master with the Peach Veil
Keeper of the Kasparaitis
'The only quiet place is inside your soul.'
'Romance is what happens between the eyes, not between the bodies.'

posted 10-18-99 06:57 PM            

Gail grins sardonically at the two before reaching into another pocket of her BDU's. Pulling out a full bottle of Hershey's Syrup, she starts to laugh.

What an amateur! She took the bottle that's almost empty!!!

She tips her head back and takes another big swig before winking at her two friends.

Now...let's set up our basecamp.

posted 10-18-99 07:59 PM            

------------------
Dinky
Rogue #20, WRR #9

posted 10-18-99 08:22 PM            

The Rani answered: "To be honest, I don't remember."

"Well, we can fix that." Cynaera said, leading the way to the mess hall.

Gail and The Rani followed. As they walked, Gail said: "I still can't believe you'd do it. There's got to be another way."

The Rani sighed. "She's as far beyond normal 'justice' as I am. You can't just call the local constable to come down and arrest a Red Cell operative."

"I have a different question." Cynaera said. "Somehow, I don't think Anya and K2 would take it lightly if they found out you were covering for this... person. You've put their lives in danger for this vendetta of yours. What are we going to tell them?"

"I don't know." Gail replied. "Anya was absolutely right when she said that all this secrecy was working against us... And you had no right to jeopardize your friends' safety this way..." Gail shook her head. "I'm not sure I'll ever be able to completely trust you again."

Then they ran into Stacy, Anya, and K2, on their way to the Computer Lab.

"So, where are you guys headed?" Cynaera asked.

"Computer Lab, and then The Tower." Stacy replied. "I have a plan."

K2 handed The Rani a brown paper bag. "Here ya go. Hope you like chicken salad."

"Chicken... salad?" The Rani asked.

"Come on." Gail and Cynaera took their friend by the arms and followed Stacy, while The Rani tried to find a surreptitious way to ditch the sandwich without offending K2.



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 10-18-99 08:39 PM            

"So that's where they stashed you." The voice was familar...

"Rani?! Where the hell have you been?"

"Oh... lots of places." The Rani grinned. "Come on. I need your help."

"Are we going after the Bimbo Brigade?" Jenna asked.

"The who?"

Jenna paused. "Didn't you get the Priority One communique warning us about them?"

"Oh sure, that. Don't worry about it. There's something I need you to do for me." The Rani answered.

Jenna held back. There was something wrong here, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Rani... ?" she began.

"What?!" Her friend snapped back. "Just come with me, now!"

Jenna backed away, the hair standing up on the back of her neck. "I don't think so. Not until... " Strong hands seized her roughly from behind.

"Until what?" It was... impossible. Another Rani? Jenna felt lightheaded.

"Bring her." The first Rani gestured, and Jenna felt herself shoved forward, forced her weak knees not to buckle. Two Ranis? This had to be very bad...



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"There is only one war, and it's not the rich against the poor, the blacks against the white, the Federation against the Borg, or the Democrats against the Republicans. It's those who are complete idiots against those of us who ain't." -- from the net

posted 10-19-99 09:34 AM            

She runs her tongue over a scratch inside her left cheek, and realizes this is no dream, but a nightmare of the worst kind.

Are these disguised bimbi or clones?

There's no poisonous smoke emitting from their jumblies, so someone must have sent in some clones...

Jenna

posted 10-19-99 03:13 PM            

The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"Well, the whole story of Gilgamesh never made any sense anyway except as a bizarre code. Everything is code, is it not?"
-- Azriel, Servant of the Bones, by Anne Rice

posted 10-21-1999 03:31 PM            

Jenna

posted 10-21-1999 06:17 PM            

Dinky looks tenderly down at the beautiful woman in his arms.

posted 10-21-1999 06:24 PM            

------------------
HH #487 Wearer of the Moonstone Veil
M - Who at Section asked you to do this?
DS's TP#5, PPO#1, M8Y Quartermaster, WRR#2,
WMS-IM#4, TS1A#29, WT* #3, LMAOPIMP #1, Cuddly Kitten #1

posted 10-21-1999 06:46 PM            

Jenna

posted 10-21-1999 07:54 PM            

I've got an idea, Anya said quietly as they turned into the nearest corridor. It may be dumb, but see what you think about it. I think we should check the offices and closets as we go. I don't think we want to locate any more people we can't verify, but it seems like a prudent idea to keep a 'clean' back trail. If we're going to establish a perimeter based on the Tower, then let's be sure we're not going to get ambushed the moment we get there.

Good idea, Stacy said, and suited her actions to the idea. She motioned Anya and K2 into position, then she quickly jerked an office door open and pulled back to allow K2 to dart through the opening and cover the middle heights. Anya followed, aiming for the higher ranges. Stacy entered last calmly surveying the empty space. No one.

One down, Anya said. Stacy, is there any way to seal the room so that no one can get in here until we get the perimeter established?

Stacy glanced around the room taking in the details of the ventilation system and the door. She sighed. I don't think so. I could recode the door lock but it would only prevent someone from getting into the office. I can't seal off the vent into the room so if anyone came in through the shaft, they'd still be able to get out of the room.

She sighed again and the trio turned to leave the room. I'll try to figure something out, though.

The three friends methodically moved through the building toward the computer lab and the Tower, ever aware that the next face they saw might not be a friend.

------------------
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 10-21-1999 08:34 PM            

Stacy pointed down. Her leg was touching a tripwire of some kind. "I think I just walked into a boobytrap," she said.

Everyone else took a cautious step back, but Stacy remained where she was. The Rani knelt down beside her, tracing the nearly invisible but deadly wire back to a tiny hole in the wall.

The Rani carefully removed a small section of the panel, revealing a bomb.

"It's pressure-sensitive," she announced. "Like a mine, the problem is not when you apply the pressure, it's when that pressure is released."

"Well? Can you disarm it?" Stacy asked.

The Rani looked very pale. "I don't think so."



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"[A]ll information looks like noise until you break the code."
-- Hiro Protagonist, Snow Crash

posted 10-22-1999 05:13 PM            

OK, Rani, come here and place your foot where mine is. Then I can take mine away and disarm the dang thing.

The Rani gives her a wide-eyes look

Well?? I'm sure as heck not going to stand here till the end of time! I'm the only one who can disarm the stupid thing, so someon has got to stand here and take my place to keep the pressure on the wire. It doesn't have to be your foot she added as an afterthought, you could simply grab it with your hand and hold it. Frankly, the foot would be easier...

Stacy waits patiently for The Rani to comply so she can disarm the potentially deadly trap laid for them.....by who?? The clones? Perhaps...but that would be odd, given that they had to walk these halls as well, and only fools set traps amongst their own travel-ways. Hmmmm.....

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

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-22-1999 08:34 PM            

The Rani edged closer to the wire, until the pressure on Stacy's leg was relieved. "OK," she said. "You're free."

Stacy stepped back slowly, but made no move toward the bomb.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" The Rani asked, her suspicion mounting. "You said you could disarm it..."



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 10-22-1999 11:28 PM            

Proceeds to spend the next ten minutes checking the little nasty thing out. The others all watch with growing concern.

Well? Anya finally asked. Can you disarm it?

Stacy looked around the group I.... think so. But there is no guarantee. Given that... she bends down, and proceeds to create some weird contraption around the wire, holding it in place so The Rani can remove her foot. When she has finished, she stands up.

Since I'm really not sure what is going to happen here, I think it best the rest of you get the heck out of here. I'll wait until I see that you are safely out of the way before I try anything, OK? Now, get out of here.

As they turn to go, they can see that Stacy is highly concerned about the upcoming delicate procedure.

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

While I breathe, I hope

posted 10-22-1999 11:59 PM            

Stacy's breath caught in her throat for a second, before she realized The Rani was aiming not at her, but at the bomb.

"I'm going to count to five. Everyone should be well out of the way by then. One," The Rani began her countdown.

"Wait! I can do this!"

"It's not worth it. Things can be repaired. People can't. Two."

"Rani!"

The Rani cocked her head, appraising her friend. "How much kevlar are you wearing? Three."

Stacy elected to exercise the better part of valor. She edged around her friend, who was undoubtedly quite insane. "Aren't you coming?"

"Not until you're out of the way. I suggest you hurry. Four."

By this time everyone but Stacy and The Rani were at the other end of the corridor and safely around the corner. Stacy sprinted for safety.

"Five!"

The others covered their ears, expecting an explosion. Instead, The Rani sauntered around the corner, grinning.

"Hey, I'm not completely crazy," The Rani scolded, and fired off a round down the hallway, severing the wire.

The explosion was much larger than any one of them expected.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - Wearer of the Total Entropic BLACK Veil
"I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she's too young to have logged on yet. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say 'Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?'" --Mike Godwin

posted 10-23-1999 12:10 PM            

The bomb was a propaganda bomb, kind of like a Five O'clock Charlie attack of the Cover Girl Converts.

Floating to the floor and littering the Palace were pamphlets on lipliner, lipstick, eyelash curlers, blush, bronzer, cover-up, foundation, and other cosmetic impliments and devices.

A Maybelline mess of L'Oreal litter...

And perhaps a clue to the location of our beloved Rouges...

Jenna

posted 10-29-1999 12:58 PM            

"Damn," she remarked. "And I don't even use this stuff!"

Her friends were all in pretty much the same shape she was, dusty and shaken, but mostly uninjured. The Rani stepped back around the corner to inspect the damage.

"Where you goin' by yourself?" Stacy had followed her, wondering what The Rani was up to now.

"Nowhere. Not down this corridor anyway."

Stacy whistled when she saw the destruction. The explosion had collapsed several floors into this one, and the hallway was totally impassable.

"Looks like our route to the Tower is blocked." The Rani observed. By now the others had joined them in surveying the damage.

"Kat is gonna be furious," said Anya.

Suddenly they heard a voice calling down from one of the upper floors.

"That sounds like Dinky!" Gail exclaimed.



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 10-31-1999 01:17 PM            

Jenna

posted 11-05-1999 05:56 PM            

"I definitely wasn't expecting THAT kind of bomb," said K2. "Who the heck are we up against?!?!"

"This is getting curiousier and curiouser," replied Anya. "First the rogues go missing, then we've got clones running around, now we've got BIMBOS!?!?"

While the hussies clean up the mess nearest to them, they hear a sound coming down the hallway behind them. Anya spins on her heels and drops into a crouch. K2 hugs the wall and covers Anya's position.

The slow steps of a very heavy person echo down the corridor. A shadow begins to form along the floor. Both women reset their stances and wait for .....

"Dinky! Who do you have there?" exclaims Anya.

"Jenna. She's been held in a small room for the past couple of days with little water and no food," replied Dinky. "I found her a little while ago and then we heard the BOOM. What was that?"

K2 explains to Dinky and Jenna what little the group knows for certain and all of what they've been speculating on.

In the meantime, Rani has darted off another hallway dragging Stacy with her. They round one corner after another, staying ahead of....

------------------
HH #487 Wearer of the Moonstone Veil
M - Who at Section asked you to do this?
Welcome to the Kat House
Cuddly Kitten, DS's TP#5, PPO#1, M8Y Quartermaster,
WRR#2, WMS-IM#4, TS1A#29, WT* #3, LMAOPIMP

posted 11-05-1999 06:23 PM            

Cynaera looks up to see what Anya was upset about. What? D@mn who?

The Rani and Stacy!! They've gone again!! We were so distracted by Dinky's arrival that they took the opportunity to give us the slip again! I'm getting awfully tired of this kind of malarky!

Anya paced the hallway absentmindedly looking at the dust on the floor to determine which way the two ops went.

I guess we'd better check these two out and then head for the Tower. Anybody have any idea where they might be headed?

------------------
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 11-05-1999 07:08 PM            

Her eyes grow wide...

Hey... This is a paper from that prop-bomb. It mentions a place called the 'Curl Up 'N Dye.'

I'll bet my implants that's the Bimbo Brigade front...

Jenna
Who hoping someone will let her and Dinky go to he kitchen so he can feed her strawberries and Redi-Whip...

posted 11-05-1999 11:24 PM            

"Yes, why do you ask?" Gail asked.

"That's not her. She not real. I mean, she's some kinda clone or something." Dinky explained.

"Oh that," Anya replied. "We already know all about that."

"You do?" Dinky was surprised.

"Oh yeah." K2 answered. "That's the real one that just left. Of course, we're no closer to explaining her behavior than we are the presence of the clones, or the bombs, or anything else that's happened lately."

"Huh?" Dinky asked.

"Don't ask." said Cynaera.

"Well, don't you think we ought find her?" asked Dinky.

"No. We have other things to take care of first," Gail said, hand on her weapon. "First, we need to make sure you two are who you say you are."

"Right," said Anya, readjusting her grip on her weapon. "How can we be sure you're you?"

Dinky looked confused. "Because I just rescued her," he indicated Jenna, "and killed two clones?"

"We have only your word for that," K2 countered, hefting her weapon and aiming it in their general direction. "Got anything else?"

Jenna and Dinky exchanged long looks. "Well?" Jenna demanded. "You call this rescuing?"

~~~

The Rani wasn't pulling Stacy along behind her; rather, The Rani had taken off running, and Stacy had made a grab for her and missed narrowly. Now Stacy was in hot pursuit.

"I'm not gonna let you do this, you know!" Stacy shouted.

"That's not why I'm running!" The Rani answered. "Check the surveillance cams - Dinky's been offing my clones left and right. I'm not hanging around and waiting for him to do me!"

"Argh. That I don't believe! There's six of us and two of them! They're not armed! What are they gonna do? Damn it!" Stacy yelled as she dodged rubble from a previous explosion.

They were approaching an intersection. If The Rani got there first, she might be able to erect a security barrier before Stacy could catch her.

Stacy put on one last burst of speed, and tackled The Rani just as they reached the T in the corridor. The Rani fell and skidded into the wall, striking her head. She didn't move.

"Oh hell." Stacy remarked. She began to get up, when she noticed several red dots tracking across the floor, climbing up, centering on her chest... Laser sights.

"Oh hell!" Stacy said. Their captors quickly surrounded them.



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/blish/137/
"There is only one war, and it's not the rich against the poor, the blacks against the white, the Federation against the Borg, or the Democrats against the Republicans. It's those who are complete idiots against those of us who ain't." -- from the net

posted 11-08-1999 08:15 PM            

Dinky rolls his eyes, 'Yeah, right, woman! Like you're ready to go slaying windmills...'

K2 draws an apple, a small bag of Fritoes and a bottle of Coke from her sack. 'Here, down this, and we're off... I've got an extra weapon for you.'

'In the meantime, let's get educated people! Where's this 'Curl up and Dye' place and what do we know about Bimbo Brigade?

Jenna

------------------
HH #226/RR #23/DD #7/MP #31 - Peach
THUD! Master with the Peach Veil
Keeper of the Kasparaitis
'The only quiet place is inside your soul.'
'Romance is what happens between the eyes, not between the bodies.'

posted 11-10-1999 12:42 PM            

One of The Rani's clones approached Stacy. She had the same grim, determined look that Stacy knew so well as belonging to someone else. This would be the leader, Stacy thought.

The clone had a huge angry-looking bruise on her jaw. She stopped, a half-pace away from Stacy, an implicit challenge. "You did this to her?" The clone pointed at The still unconscious Rani.

"Yes," Stacy acknowledged. "But it was an accident. I didn't intend to knock her out, just stop her from... making a big mistake."

"You're her friend?" The clone asked.

"Yes. I'd like to think so, anyway. She... doesn't trust easily." Stacy answered.

"Then you do know her well. You might be just what we're looking for." The clone started to turn away, gesturing for her lieutenants to bring their two captives.

"Excuse me," Stacy interrupted. "What do you mean? What are you looking for?"

The clone hesitated, considering. "We need someone... One of you, an original, to speak for us. The others, when they see us, see only numbers, not people. Things... to be disposed of." She rubbed her jaw, remembering her last attempt at securing an original to help them. "We have to try another approach."

"To speak for you? Why?" Stacy asked.

"That's what I'd like to know." Several clones helped The Rani to her feet, steadying her, inspecting her for damage. It was a very strange sight. Stacy repressed a grin.

"What do you want from us?" The Rani asked.

"You are undamaged?" The leader asked.

"I think so, relatively." The Rani replied.

"Good. Come with us. I will explain later." The leader turned and strode off.

The clones made it very clear that Stacy and The Rani were to follow.

~~~

"Well, this place certainly looks familiar," The Rani observed. They were back in the underground dungeon where The Rani had been held while tissue samples were being taken.

The clone leader waited until everyone was assembled, and the captives pushed front and center, as if for a military-style inspection. She picked up a small cassette recorder from one of the lab benches, pressed a button.

It was The Rani, speaking to Stacy in Med Lab.

"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."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as the tape ended.

"Do you still feel that way?" The leader asked.

The Rani smiled sadly. "You know me almost as well as I know myself. You can answer your own question."

"Yes. Now put yourself in our place. What would you do?"

The Rani sighed, avoided Stacy's searching gaze. "You know that answer too."

"You are our mother, in a sense. Will you help save your children?"

The Rani replied: "I am not your creator. I am not responsible for your existence. That which was used to make you was taken from me without my consent."

"But the fact remains that it was... is yours. Therefore, whether you like it or not, the responsibility for the outcome has been thrust upon you. Will you help us?"

"And if I refuse?" The Rani inquired.

"We'll let you go, and continue the fight alone." The leader answered.

"Stacy too?" asked The Rani.

"Stacy too."

Stacy felt an odd sense of dislocation, as if she had been ripped from reality and placed in a movie. She wanted to say: "And your little dog too!" Stacy had to stifle an almost hysterical giggle.

"Don't decide yet. I'll give you some time to think about it. One hour." Clones took Stacy and The Rani, searching them again, finding the weapons and tools they missed the first time. Having learned from a prior encounter, they even took their captives' shoes. The Rani and Stacy were locked in two adjoining cells, and left alone. The Rani noticed that the bars she had sawed through the last time had been replaced and reinforced.

After the lab doors were sealed behind the leader, who was the last to leave, Stacy turned on her friend.

"You're not actually thinking of helping them, are you?" she demanded.

"She's right. Whether I want it or not, I do have a responsibility. I have an obligation to do something. I may not have consented to having my DNA taken, but they didn't ask to be created, either."

"That's faulty reasoning. No one could have asked them before they existed. They've offered you an out, I say we take it." Stacy said.

"I can't walk away now. If you want to, I'll make your release a condition of my help."

"That's not..." Stacy sighed. "Even after what you told me, you think you can trust them?"

"No. But I have to try. Here," she said, turning around, backing up against the bars separating them. The Rani pulled her shirt up to reveal another of her flexible, daimond-coated saws, taped to her back. "Take this. In fifteen minutes or so, you'll be free. I'll stay here."

"You really are crazy," Stacy observed, taking the offered tool.

~~~

It took her a little longer than fifteen minutes, but Stacy was free. She started working on the cage holding her friend.

"Stacy, I've told you, I intend to stay." The Rani protested.

"And I'm telling you that's not an acceptable answer," Stacy replied.

The Rani sighed. "I won't go with you."

Stacy decided to play her last card. "What if I promise to help you get the revenge you want so desperately?"



The Rani [email protected]
HH #210 - http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/blish/137/
"Morning people may be respected, but night people are feared." -- Unknown

posted 11-11-1999 12:09 AM            

Besides, I don't agree with your logic. It's faulty.She cocked her head to the side to look at The Rani at an odd angle.

Oh? And how is that? The Rani arched one eyebrow and gave Stacy a skeptical look

You're saying that just because it's your DNA, you owe these people....creatures... whatever, something. Why? The one has nothing to do with the other. Not to mention that I am not going to allow them that excuse.

Huh? What excuse? The Rani looked puzzled.

The "You made me, so my actions are your fault" excuse. It's wrong, and it's incorrect. It would be the same as saying that because your parents abused you as a child, you have a right to go out and torture people, and it't not your fault and you shouldn't be punished. That's bull****. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. THEY choose to act the way they do. So, they were created under dubious circumstances - so what? They have the choice to rise above it and make of themselves something better, or to sink to the hells below.

Now, get your butt out of that cage. You don't owe them anything. Stacy sighed Not that all this sawing is going to make any difference. I'm sure they are watching us. I only hope they got a good earful of what I just said! Stacy said this last with her head pointed to the ceiling, perhaps at some imaginary listening device.

Sure enough, as The Rani left the cage, the door opened and the clones appeared.

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HH #389
DD #1
LFN Gamemaster

While I breathe, I hope