The Runaway

GONE FOR GOOD

USS PALADIN

Brian awoke and instantly knew he was inside, probably lying in an infirmary back at the hospital. Though he was awake, he didn’t move a muscle. Slowly, he opened his eyes, just enough to get a small view of his surrounding. He could tell he was secured to a table with what appeared to be sophisticated monitoring instruments beside him. To any nurses or attendants, Brian looked as though he was still unconscious. As his mind became clearer, he readied himself.


The Paladin’s Chief Medical Office, Doctor Jake Floyd, had thought he had seen it all. But every time the ship started a new assignment, it ed hed he saw something new. After 34 years in Starfleet, that was quite a statement. He thought retirement would kill him with boredom. The USS Paladin was now above the Earth, but as far away from home as a man could get. 400 years in the past! The Romulans had really messed things up. At the very least, Starfleet Command would haul the Paladin in for an inquiry into the incident. Dr. Floyd readied the hypospray, and walked over to the unconscious man lying on the table. Why the away team brought this fellow back, he didn’t know. He didn’t look like a Romulan, but then it might be a disguise. Well, that wasn’t his department anyway. He walked over to the table, and glanced at the readouts. Just as he thought. Human. Not only that, but he was already conscious. Playing possum, huh? The doctor spoke to him.

“You can open your eyes, pal, I know you’re awake. We’re not going to hurt you.” Doctor Floyd had a friendly, paternal quality that most of his patients responded well to. His Texas accent, never lost through all his journeys in the galaxy, sounded casual.

Brian opened his eyes and looked at the man standing next to him. His brows furrowed a bit at the sight. The man wasn’t wearing a white lab coat, but rather a black suit, except for an aqua blue color around the shoulders. There was a medal of some sort on his left breast. On his collar, there were three gold circles on the right side. “I’m Doctor Floyd. What’s your name, my friend?”
Newman was confused. They scoured the European countryside looking for him, and this guy didn’t know his name? Brian didn’t know whether to be curious or insulted.
“Abraham Lincoln,” Brian said dryly. He tried to move just a tiny bit, but the restraints were on solid.
“Really? You look a lot different than in the history books, Abe,” said Floyd. “How are you feeling?”
“Peachy, now let me ask you some questions. What the hell kind of uniform is that?” Newman asked.
“It’s my Boy Scout uniform,” said Floyd. “Now, I’m gonna give you something to help you recover from the stun blast. Won’t hurt, or anything. If you behave, I’ll even give you a lollypop,” he smiled.
The Doctor prepared the hypospray for the correct dosage, and injected it into Brian’s neck.
Brian felt a strange cooling sensation in his neck, but didn’t feel the needle.
Almost instantly, he felt a little better. He looked at the Doctor. “So can I talk to your Scout Master? You guys at least owe me that much before you put me away.”
Just then another man walked into the room, and came around to where Brian Newman could see him. He was dressed in the same style uniform as the Doctor, but with a red coloration. He also had 3 gold circles on his collar. The man looked at Brian, then the Doctor. “Is he well enoug tal talk?” he asked.

“Yep. But you may not want him to,” said Floyd. He flamboyantly waved his arm at Newman. “Commander Lyson, we have a celebrity aboard. Let me introduce Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator.” Floyd rolled his eyes and then turned and walked to another part of the room.
Lyson looked and Brian and said, “I’m Commander David Lyson, Executive Officer of the USS Paladin. I can tell you there’s no way you’re escaping from here, so you might as well cooperate. I want to know wherur sur ship is located, your commander’s name, and your orders. I’m sure we can work out some kind of exchange.”

A Navy ship, Brian thought. Smart. It would be tough to escape from here. But most naval ships had nuclear reactors….
“
Well, I might be more cooperative if I were sitting up,” said Brian. In truth, he had no idea what this Lyson character was talking about, but it didn’t matter now. Lyson looked towards the entrance of the room and made a small head motion. Then two other men dressed like Lyson came into view. Security guards, judging by their…. What kind of sidearms were those, Brian thought. The restraints were released, and Brian slowly sat up. He got his first good look around the room, and it was amazing. There were panels and readout the likes of which he had never seen before. “Is this how the navy builds ships these days? You guys really have it made,” Newman said. He didn’t know that much about US Navy vessels, but this was something different. It didn’t have that ‘military’ feel to it.

“Commander,” Doctor Floyd called, “Can I see you a moment?” Lyson walked over to Floyd, and the two men started speaking quietly, and gesturing over to Newman. Brian looked at the two guards in front of him, sizing them up. He stretched, grunting slightly, as if he hadn’t stretched in days. The guards flinched, but seemed to keep their cool. They weren’t new to this. Probably Marines, but there’s no way they would have gotten rid of their uniforms to look like sailors. Curious. Floyd and Lyson same back to Newman. Lyson looked disturbed. “We’ll take you to more comfortable quarters, sir. In a little while, we’ll start over with the questions and answers.” Lyson looked at the guards. “Take him to the starboard side of the ship. VIP suite.”

One of the guards said, “Aye sir. This way,” and led Brian out into the hallway. The other guard followed behind.

After they left, Lyson said, “Are you sure he’s not a Romulan?”
“Positive. Ran the DNA scan 3 times,” said Doctor Floyd. “What you got there is a gen-yu-wine, run o’ the mill human.”
Lyson wasn’t happy. “He’s wearing the Romulan tracker. How’d he get that? He must be at least helping him”
“Don’t know,” said Floyd. “But I think we’d better get that fella back down where he belongs.”
“We have a bigger problem than that Doctor. There’s still a cloaked Romulan ship in orbit somewhere and a Romulan spy loose on 20th Earth. And I have no idea how we’re going to find either one.”

If Lyson had known whom they had brought aboard, he would have definitely changed his priorities.

USS PALADIN – VIP QUARTERS

After Brian was brought to his ‘cell’, his perspective on his situation changed dramatically. He contemplated incapacitating the guards, which he could have done pretty easily, but then what? He had no idea how this ship was laid out, or how far from shore they really were. If the Paladin had a helicopter on board, he might have a chance. But without a clue where he was on the ship, he had no chance at all. Once left in his room, he wondered if they might have accidentally taken him to the Admirals room. It was more plush than any military berthing he had even heard about, even by Air Force standards. Regardless, it was no time to get comfortable. Newman began to glance around the room for possible escape routes. There was a porthole, a rather large one for a ship, but it was no good. Portholes on ships only led to ocean, and while he could swim for it, he still didn’t know how far shore was. Only as a last resort. He looked deeper into the window, and something was odd. He saw nothing but stars, from the top, down to the bottom past his line of sight. He couldn’t see the darkness of water at all. It was as if he was staring straight up. The doorway chimed and then slid open (another odd trait) and a distractingly beautiful Asian woman came in. Without a guard.
“My name is Judy Li. I’m the ships counselor. I thought I might be able to answer some of your questions,” she said. She was dressed like the doctor, he noticed. He figured that this was his chance to get the information he needed. “Thanks,” he said. “I’d offer you something to drink, but I haven’t seen a refrigerator in here.”
“Allow me,” she said and walked over to what looked like a drink dispenser on the counter. “What would you like?” she said over her shoulder.
“Uh, water will be fine,” Brian said.

“2 Waters, 10 degrees,” she said.
“What?” Brian asked. When Li turned around, she had two glasses of water in her hand. “Here you go,” she said smiling. She sat down on the overstuffed sofa. Brian drank deeply from the water (he was very thirsty) and sat across from her in a chair. “So, do you feel like telling me your name, or should I really call you Abraham?” she asked. He smiled. Brian Newman was an expert at manipulating people. He could charm a snake into giving him its rattle. He put on his most charming and cordial persona, all the while plotting his options for escape. But information came first.
“Call me Brian, Brian Newman. So are you here to give me information, of vice versa? If you’re here to psychoanalyze me, you’re wasting your time. For the last few months shrinks have been talking to me, and frankly, if you guys haven’t found anything yet, it just isn’t there,” he said, smiling his best smile.
“What would you like to know?” she asked. “And call me Judy.”
“Ok, Judy. First what kind of ship is this? And those uniforms? What has the military been up to these days? If this is some kind of top secret project, you can tell me. I’m cleared for it,” he said.
“Well, I guess I could tell you the truth, but you might not believe me,” she said.
“The truth is always the most terrible of things, isn’t it?” said Brian. “Harsh and unforgiving. But, in this case, why don’t you try me,”
She took a breath. “Ok, this is the USS Paladin, a Galaxy-class starship. We’re a starship in the service of the United Federation of Planets. We have come from 400 years in the future, from your point of view, to track down a renegade…alien…and to bring them back to the present. I mean, our time.” Judy smiled and said, “That harsh enough for you?”
Brian stared at her. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you, Judy. Maybe you’d like to try again and lie this time?”
“I don’t expect me to believe me. But that’s probably for the best. Most likely, we’ll put you back where we found you and you’ll never see us again.”
“I’m not a lost puppy, Judy. Would you mind telling me why I’m here anyway? Let me guess: Alien abduction, right?” he said smiling. “Shouldn’t you guo too to a trailer park or something? Oh, and while I’m on the subject, forget any ‘probing’ ideas you might have,” he laughed.
“You’re here because our team thought you might be the alien we were looking for. Mistaken identity,” she said.
“Do I look like an alien?” Brian asked.
Judy smiled. “No, but you were wearing his transponder, I understand. But Doctor Floyd says you’re as human as can be, so I think after we get things straightened out, you be sent home.”
*The shadow man. He must have slipped something on me while we fought, and I didn’t notice. I’m losing my touch,* he thought. “So what’s there to straighten out? Obviously, I’m human and I should go home, right?”
“I’m sure it won’t be long. In the mean time, you can make yourself as comfortable as possible. I can show you how the refreshment service works, and you can shower and rest, if you like,” she said.
Brian seemed to think things over. “Seeing as how I’m going to be sent back, and no one will believe me anyway, do you think I could have a tour of the ship? It’s not everyday I get to see a spaceship,” he asked in his most charming voice.
“I’ll ask the captain, but I’m sure you can be eted ted to a few places.” After a few pleasantries, the counselor left, and Brian was left alone again. A look around was all he needed. He didn’t know what kind of game the government was playing here; it seemed to serve no useful purpose. Were they gauging his response to unusual stimuli? Why didn’t they kill him for escaping? The most reasonable answer that he could think of was that he had some vital information. Some evidence that made him too valuable to kill. He didn’t know what it was, he had told the review board most of what he knew. He didn’t know of any other intelligence operation going on. So what then? He didn’t have a clue. But these people certainly seemed more trusting. At the most, he only had two guards to deal with. Brian thought he would play this farce out. Let them ask questions, it didn’t matter. All he needed was just a look around, the right opportunity, and he would be free. This time, he would make it permanent. He would make sure his captors would be discouraged from finding him. If this ship did have a nuclear reactor…. He lay down on a comfortable bed and closed his eyes. A plan started to form.