Hive IC Story

[Vev]

(I'll use my real persona, Wujiang can be manipulated around by all of us and he would have no know idea what is going on )

Comrade Vev was in his office and was reading in interest the various reports he had received. One particular report stood out and Vev immediately reached for a pen and start writing a message. He was fond of the old style communication, makes the recipient feel special too. Afterwards he intercommed to his secretary.

"Cancel my meeting at 2:00, I need a message delivered, oh and make me cup of tea."

[Nubclear]

OOC: So are you changing Wujiangs name or creating a completly new character.

AND IM NOT DONE YET!!!!! You must wait for me to finish

[Nubclear]

-=PART 1=-

Tassadar awoken......Was is 0300 already? It seemed like only a few seconds ago he went to sleep.......He looked over at his clock which was ringing in a low volume. It was 0315!!!! His clock woke him up late!!! This meant he only had five minutes......Not enough time to get dressed or ready.......He quickly put some shoes on, and got his weapon, a small disc, and a large stack of papers......And left his room for the last time. Only four minutes remained until the secuirty net would be back up.....And he will have missed his oppritunity to escape.

He began to walk through the corridors.....Normally it would be marginally acceptable if a civilian saw him, but considering he was still in his nighttime clothing (or lack thereof )...it would not be acceptable.

He continued walking through the corridor until he reached the main centre of the building. The main center had electronic road branching everywhere including to the exit, which is where he had to go. He began walking towards it when he heard footsteps.
".....e have to patrol the area. Engineering reports that the secuirty network had been shut down somehow. Theyre tracing the error and repairing the network, so we should be able to retire in about 5 to ten minutes." Said one soldier to another. They were coming closer. Tassadar had to hide!!! He found a bathroom stall and hid in there....The soldiers walked by without ever turning a head. Tassadar exited the bathroom and went towards the exit. Suddenly alarms began to go off.
"****!!! I shouldve had more time!" Tassadar yelled. He looked at the large clock in the middle of the room......He had 1 minute left. What was going on? The lasers protecting the exit door were still off......
"Now or never." Tassadar said as he ran towards the exit. he opened the door, and walked out. Just as he walked out however, he heard a soldier say something about,
"....traced it to CyCon spies!"

Finally......outside the base. Now, what, only a few hundred miles till hive territory? Tassadar parked a small rover at the edge of University territory, only about 10 miles away. Further still, Tassadar had a small scooter-vehicle about 1 mile away. It was so small that unless they were running a deep scan, it would not be detected.

Tassadar began to run towards it.....

As he ran, he heard and saw many frightening things. Large fundicidal towers, animals howling.....And he even heard what seemed to be people screaming as mindworms infested their brains. The mindworms would go in, began burrowing and laying eggs....And the victim would hallucinate his worst fears coming true all the while. Sometimes death could take hours.....Hours of pain, torture, and horror.......

No! Tassadar shook his head. He musn't dwell on what could be out there, for anything is better than the death the University had planned for him........

Within about 13 minutes he got to his little scooter. It was a pretty fast for its size....about 20 miles per hour. Tassadar got on it an activated it's shields and internal stabilizers which would keep him in one position even if it ran into rocks, etc....The power it consumed would be huge, enough so that the University Base could detect it, but they would dare not send another team into the xenofungus.....The thing began to speed up, and within thirty minutes, he was to his rover...

Unfortunately, as he turned on his rover, he learned a startling fact.....There is xenofungus nearly everywhere and if he were to attempt to go around it....He would go into uncharted territory.
He turned on the gas to go THROUGH the Xenofungus. The ride began without a hitch.....The autopilot charted the course, so all Tassadar had to do was sit and wait.

(25 Minutes later)

"Hmm....Well.....Wasn't that shortly after Bush the Horrible invaded Canada on the premise of 'ridding the world of stinky cheese'?" Tassadar asked the computer.
"YOU ARE 4 YEARS OFF. ADDITIONAL HINT: BATTLE OF MOSCOW." the computer yelled. Aha!!!
"I see.....So this is when China tried invading Russia?"
"CORRECT. 1 POINT. TOTAL: 4 POINTS." the computer said. Tassadar was getting quite bored of this game....Nothing much to it at all.
"WARNING. UNKNOWN ENTITY CLOSING IN ON VEHICLE." The computer said suddenly. This surprised Tassadar, but he was ready. The rover's autodefenses began to fire, and soon the mindworm was killed. But more were coming! Larger ones!
"WARNING. 3 ENTITIES CLOSING IN ON VEHICLE." The computer yelled. The autodefenses kept firing, but more and more were coming.....Tassadar closed his eyes and began to meditate. The mindworms were quickly overwhelming the defenses, and Tassadar was convinced he would have to rely on his psychic training for this one...

He began to feel his etheric body seperate from his physical one.....The mindworms exist here too.

Go away....leave me be....I am no harm to you...

They seemed like they had partial control of what they were doing....Some stopped, some kept attacking. Tassadar watched as the mindworms ripped through the vehicle and began to mindrape Tassadar.....

Tassadars etheric body slammed right back into his physical one, and he lost conciousness.......

* * * * *

"Wake up man!!!!"
".....Come on, wake up!!!"
"....PIGDOG, WAKE UP OR ILL NERVE STAPLE YOU!!!"
"....Finally!!!"
Tassadar felt someone slap his face.
"Wha...?" He asked, getting up. He noticed his arms and face were covered in blood.....The strange man picked him up and carried him into a hive holding cell.........

-=PART 2=-

Comrade Jianx began walking down the corridor......He was sweating heavily, both from the psychical exercise his commander put him through as punishment for not being "communist enough", and anticipation of meeting with the Deputy Chairman. The Chairman was busy, so the chain of command dictated that the second in command be contacted in case of minor emergencies. But as Jianx would find out, this would not be a "minor" emergency....

He walked down the hall, coming closer to Jamski's office. He had just taken a University scientist prisoner and was going to request further instructions. He finally got to the door....

"SIR, Comrade Jianx of the First Glorious Infantry divion requests permission to enter SIR!!!" he yelled. Even though he was physically exahusted, his yell boomed with machismo and power.
Jamski turned and pressed the door-open knob inthe arm of his swivel chair.
"Hello Comrade Jianx" he said without turning "I highly recommend that you do not come any closer for if you do, the next breath you take will be your last."
"Yes SIR!" Comrade Jianx yelled.
"Good....," Jamski said in an authoritarian voice. "Now....What is it?" he asked calmly.
Jianx inhaled. "SIR, we have captured a prisoner from the Looniversity SIR!" He yelled.
"A prisoner?" Jamski asked, rising out of his seat. It was a rare sight to see him openly show his interest toward any subject at all.
"What kind of prisoner?"
"SIR, he claims to be a scientist SIR! My superiors have ordered me to classify him as a spy SIR!" Jianx yelled.

"A prisoner from the University.....This could have massive political consequences.....But it could be useful as well." Jamski thought. He looked at Jianx.

"Who else knows about this?" He asked.
"SIR, Holding Cell Commander Mao and Commanding Officer Kozlov SIR!" he yelled.
"Hmm....." Jamski said, getting out a small memo-tablet. He put the two names onto the pad.
"Who found the prisoner?"
"SIR, this soldier found the prisoner SIR!" Jianx yelled.
"Really? Where?" Jamski inquired.
"SIR, the prisonder was found inside Xenofungus Area #21 SIR!"
"What?!" Jamski yelled. "What in Lenin's name were you doing inside a XENOFUNGUS AREA?!" Jamski yelled.
"SIR, Commanding Officer Kozlov ordered me to do drills inside the xenofungus as punishment for counter-revolutionary thought SIR!!!" Jianx yelled. He began to sweat a little bit more and to the trained eye one could see he was definately getting nervous.
"Pah..." Jamski said. He sat down again. "Why do you decieve me? Nobody can survive outside the base for more than an hour or two." Jamski said, his voice growing louder.
"SIR, this........" Jianx began, but was interrupted by a fist slamming onto a desk.
"WHY DO YOU FEED ME SUCH CAPITALIST LIES?!" Jamski yelled, so loud that one could actually feel the vibrations in the room. "I COULD NERVESTAPLE YOU FOR SUCH DECEPTIVE INSOLENCE!!!!" he yelled, his voice continuting to climb in decibles.
"SIR, THIS SOLDIER SWEARS ON COMMUNISMS NAME THAT THIS SOLDIER FOUND THE PRISONER IN XENOFUNGUS AREA #21!!!!" Jianx yelled in a loud but quivering voice. Jamski looked away from Jianx. He could tell that Jianx was telling the truth.

"What would a scientist be doing such a long way from home?" Jamski thought.

"SIR, this soldier begs forgiveness from the Glorious Deputy Chairman!" Jianx said, as he bowed down.
"All is forgiven, Comrade." Jamski said. "Did the pigdog give any explanation for his presence in Hive territory?"
"No SIR, he demanded to speak with higher officials SIR!"
"And you accept demands from a prisoner? Hardly something a communist would do....." Jamski said. The room fell silent.
"What was your rank again, soldier?" Jasmki asked, though he knew full well the answer to his question.
"This soldier is LOWER-COMRADE RANK 1 SIR!" Jianx said, with a bit of humbleness in his voice. Jamski got up from his chair, and walked over to Jianx. They were seperated by only an inch.
"How would you like to be a Peoples Example.....First class?" Jamski asked. Jianxs' face began beaming.
"YES SIR, this soldier would DEFINATELY like to be a PEFC!" Jianx yelled. Jamski let out a small snicker.
"Then you will do three things." Jamski said.
"YES SIR, anything SIR!"
"First, you must bring me the prisoner." Jamski said. "Second, you will reassign Holding Cell Commander Mao AND Commanding Officer Kozlov to the recycling tanks PERSONALLY." Jianxs' face began to beam even more as Jamski mentioned 'assign' 'recycling tanks' and 'Command Officer Kozlov' in the same sentence.
"YES SIR!!!" Jianx yelled. Jamski's smile grew larger.
"And you must never speak to ANYONE about this event, not even the Chairman. If you do......Well, let us say it would be unfortunate if you were to disappear." Jamski said. "Do you understand what I am saying?"
The room yet again fell quiet......

"SOLDIER, DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING?!" Jamski yelled, becoming angry.
"Sir, I apologize however I am not in this room, and I have never been in this room today." Jianx said. Jamski smiled and calmed down.
"You learn quickly, Peoples Example." Jamski said. Jianx began to turn around when Jamski stopped him.
"Wait......Did you pass a guard perhaps being with a young lady?" Jamski asked.
"NO SIR! I did not pass a guard carrying a young lady who appeared to be unconcious SIR! I have no memory of such an event SIR!" Jianx yelled.
"Good." Jamski said, putting another name on the list in his memo-pad. He looked up. There was Jianx....and right below him was a small little puddle.
"Your still here?! You're sweating on my carpet. Go NOW!" He yelled. Jianx quickly left.....

-=PART 3=-

Yet only thirty seconds later, there was a knock on the door...

"This had better be good Comrade!" Jamski yelled, opening the door. It was Jianx again.
"SIR, here is the prisoner that does not exist SIR!" He yelled, as he threw Tassadar into the room. Jianx quickly left and the door closed.
Tassadar looked up to Jamski.....His face and arms had massive injuries. It was a gruesome sight. Jamski pulled a silver salt shaker out of a drawer, poured some salt into his hand, and threw it at Tassadar.
"Pigdog! Your spying days are now coming to an end!" Jamski said. Tassadar resisted the pain.
"Tell me what you are doing here now or else......" Jasmki opened a small drawer, filled with things such as a manhood-ripper, needles filled with nervestapling fluid, and other torture devices.
"You need not show me such imagery, for I know what will happen if I do not divulge all information..." Tassadar said in a humbled voice.
"Then you should tell me RIGHT NOW, for I have other business to attend to." Jamski said in a very stern voice. Tassadar began struggling to get up.
"I....I wish to defect." Tassadar said.

Jamski began laughing, and his laughter reverberated all around the room.
"YOU? You wish to join the glorious hive? HA!" Jamski said. "Why would we ever waste resources clothing you, feeding you....taking you in?"
"Because! I have....." Tassadar took in a deep breath. "I have information, knowledge, and intellect that will benefit the hive and more importantly, COMMUNISM." Tassadar said.
"Really? Well, tell me the information." Jamski said, suddenly changing into a serious tone of voice.
"The University...." Tassadar began.
"Looniversity." Jamski corrected. Tassadar smiled.
"The UNIVERSITY......has been working on........" Tassadar turned his face away. He began thinking about all his comrades back at the University that he would be betraying......That he would be stabbing in the back...

"I don't have all day." Jamski broke into his thoughts.
".....A project." Tassadar completed.
"Really? And what KIND of project would that be?"
"We were attempting to unlock the hidden intellectual and psychic power held within the human brain.....It was code-named 'Psychosis Schizoaffective PD'. I was the lead scientist...." Tassadar said.
"What did you say your name was?" Jamski asked. He began to walk toward his console near the view screen.
"Tassadar."
"Oh, THE Professor Tassadar? Facinating...Very facinating." Jamski said as he began to type. Within seconds, a picture of Tassadar appeared on the screen. The difference between the picture of a healthy, fed man and the beaten, starving wretch on the floor was remarkable.
"You look.......quite different." Jamski said with a smile.
"They tried doing horrible things to me....and then the mindworms..." Tassadar began, attempting to justify the disparity between him and the person on the screen.
"Save me the sob story, pigdog." interrupted Jamski. "You want to come and work here?"
"YES!" Tassadar said, almost jumping at the words.
"I'm sure you have your reasons........But I don't wish to hear them. The important thing is that I have you. I will have you know that some of our best scientists have been attempting to replicate your studies.....But now, we have the man himself. I shall give you a choice. Either you work for me under an alias, or you get to become soup d'jour in the communal kitchens. The choice is yours." Jamski said.
Tassadar thought for a moment about Jamskis words....
"How about this...Either you let me work for you under the same name, or you kill me and the University shall always be ahead of the Hive in terms of both psychic and intellectual capacity." Tassadar said. "The choice is not mine, but YOURS." he added, as a sly smile appeared on his face.

"DONT EVEN THINK......." Jamski burst out, but he began controlling himself.
"OK, call yourself what you like. You will be sealed in a seperate section of the base, so no one will care expect for the rest of the team. In return for doing you all these favors, the least of which being keeping the Crimson Guard off your back......I expect RESULTS."
"Sealed in a seperate section of the base? I do not think so!!!" Tassadar yelled. "I demand to be part of the general population of this base, do you understand me?" He boomed.
Jamski laughed.
"You're hardly in a position to be making demands." Jamski said, grabbing the salt-shaker again. "However.....I will grant you this wish. Only the scientists in your team even know who Professor Tassadar is, and they won't believe its really you. The common drones will have no idea at all who you are."
"Thats better..." Tassadar said. He reached into his pocket and removed a small disc.
"I'm surprised your thug didn't take it off me the second he snatched me. You really must train them a little more." Tassadar said, walking over to Jamski.
"This disk contains military data i was able to obtain from University Computers. I covered my tracks and tried to implicate CyCon." He said. Jamski reached to grab the disc, but Tassadar pulled away.
"However do not think by obtaining this disc that you can eliminate me....We both know I am far more valuable than your little drones that you control so 'benevolently'." Tassadar said. He smiled again. Jamski grabbed the disc and put it in his pocket.
"I'm very glad we could discuss this like gentlemen. Now, you will need these...." Jamski said pressing a few buttons on his computer. Within seconds a badge and a red form appeared. He handed them to Tassadar.
"The form will entitle you to a scientists cubicle on Level 18....That is the closest to the surface I can get you, as you will learn about soon enough.....The badge will grant you access to Lab25-75c. I've already cleared you to work with mindworms." Jamski said.
"You will be working under the direction of Comrade Doctor Wujiang - an excellent scientist with much experience in this field. He will give you a full briefing after you show him your form. Also, I'll TRY to keep the commissars off your back, but they will eventually ask questions especially if you flaunt yourself in public. Remember : This is the Hive. You are here to work. If you slip up once and betray my trust, you will die. Any questions, COMRADE?" Jamski asked.
"No COMRADE....However, I do have one more request. There is a person in the University named Natalia Slutskaya. I want you to make sure she is NEVER harmed by the Hive EVER." Tassadar said.

"Do not try my patience......Some things are beyond my power anyway." Jamski shrugged.

"If she is ever harmed, I will hold YOU personally responsible. Understand?" Tassadar said calmly, though on the inside he was both angry and depressed that he was away from her.
"As you wish....I am a very busy man, and I have a number of important things to attend to. A guard will escort you to your lab." Jamski said, as he pressed the button that would summon a guard.

"Introduce yourself to Comrade Doctor Wujiang... Goodbye Comrade Tassadar."

A guard entered the room, and began to escort Tassadar away.....

Tassadar entered the lab....It was much more modern than he was expecting. Expect for the computers. They were still using Windows 4000.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Tassadar asked, searching around. The lab was quite large, but nobody seemed to be in it?
"Hello?" Tassadar asked. Suddenly, someone came out from a corner.
"Uh.....Hi. I'm.....Wujiang." He said. Tassadar went over to shake his hand.
"I'm Tassadar. I am a scientist who will help you with the mindworms." Tassadar said....

OOC: Yay! Finally finished, after 3 hours.

(some small editing from Jamski - good work Tass )

[Rokossovky]

The air was amber, whisking by as the rover moved through the streets. The Marshal sat, pondering the present, the future, and the past.

What was a low level non-commissioned officer doing “escorting” two officers to the recycling tanks… Rokossovky checked his recent orders on the MilCOS he carried with him. a nerve stapling…a “disappearance”… nothing regarding prison officers… oh dear, Comrade HongHu is going to have her work cut out for her… what is going on?

The car stopped outside the only “fancy” restaurant in town; the officers mess at The Hive Garrison. … ah… at least I can put this all behind me… a nice evening with Comrade Claire SHOULD occupy my mind for a while… As the Marshal stepped out of his car looked up a tone of sadness consumed his face. … the stars….that is what I miss most about he front, the outdoors, the stars. Here we are in civilization, protected, or so they say. What is protection if we cannot enjoy something as simple as the stars… the day will come when this planet is safe… the revolution will spread, the fungus will die, and the chains will be broken The beeper on the MilCOS rang loudly. Ah… I see Comrade Jamski wants to meet… something is definitely going on… BUT WHAT?

[Nubclear]

OOC: SHAMLESS PLUG: http://www.civgaming.net/forums/show...9465#post69465 JOIN AND GO VOTE FOR RASBELIN NOW HE IS A COMMUNIST OUT OF THE CAPITALISTS!!! WE MUST HELP A COMRADE IN NEED!

[Vev]

(Wujiang stays, my inital idea was to use him as a field agent whereas Vev as comissioner of General Security will have more a desk role pulling strings behind the scene and a few odd field moments thrown in.)

[Jamski]

Jamki sat down again in his chair...

This really was turning out to be an interesting afternoon - to think I was bored earlier - the opposite case now, really...

He didn't know if he'd solved a problem or created a new one. Professor Tassadar was a total surprise, but he could certainly be useful, Wujiang should fix up Claire in time for the broadcast, perhaps. He grabbed another memo tablet.

...before I forget...

A quick memo to Commisar Vev should stop him asking any questions about Tassadar, the bigger problem might be explaining to the Marshal that he'd lost two, no - three soldiers today, and another had just got promoted...

Jamski posted the memo tab into the dataslot and pulled on his jacket again. He was going to pay a visit to the Marshal, and then he'd better collect Claire from Lab25-75c. He looked at the clock counting down on the screen and checked it against his watch...

3 hours 46 minutes 34seconds... 33... 32... 31... 30...

Jamski left the room at a run, buttoning up his jacket as he went. The steel door slammed closed behind him...

(OOC)Its really over to you now at the moment Vev. Wujiang has Claire AND Tass to deal with at the same time(/OCC)

[Vev]

Comrade Claire was laid on a surgical bed, in a sterile lab and behind a heavy plexiglass screen. In event of an accident heavy emergency doors would hermetically seal the room, and then sprinklers would douse the room with flammable liquids before incinerating the unwanted elements. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but you could never be too careful.

Wujiang knew about the mind-altering properties mindworms possessed, as he like other patrol team members, witnessed many mindworm attacks. But to use mindworms for controlled persuasion, that would be very interesting, and the possibilities it could offer. Unfortunately, mindworms were not known for their co-operability. If he could find the appropriate stimulus for the mindworms, maybe the mindworms would respond in a controlled predictiable manner, producing the desired results.

With the backing of this Jamski, Wujiang would have the resources and access to various materials not found in regular projects. However, Jamski expected quick results and wouldn’t tolerate failure. On such a beautiful and important subject, Wujiang dreaded making a single mistake. This was an uncomfortable situation to be in and he needed to tread lightly or else he would be visiting the recycling tanks.

“I need your keycard,” said a female voice behind Wujiang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comrade Claire Forlani watched in amusement as Wujiang half jumped.

She coughed to gain his attention. “My face is up here,” she said noting that Wujiang was gentleman enough to blush.

“You will give me your keycard so that I may leave,” she stated confidently.

Wujiang seemed to gather his wits about him and shook his head. “I can’t,” he finally said. “Jamski has ordered me to perform the experiment. On pain of death I can’t disobey.”

Claire had earlier contacted HongHu who was currently arranging a replacement test subject. She should be arriving any moment now. However, Claire’s pride urged her to see what she could manage on her own.

“I’m certain that we can come up with a better plan.” Claire stepped closer to Wujiang while listening to his sudden intake of breath. She could see Wujiang longing for her. She had seen it before many times in many other men, they all dreamt about her. The way he looked at her with eyes filled with a mixture of ecstasy and astonishment. The way his adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he tried to remove the lump from his throat.

She moved in closer and stroked a finger along his cheek. It affected him like a nervestapler. He was so innocent.

Wujiang awkwardly disengaged and fumbled for the phone, much to Claire’s chagrin. “I need to speak to Jamski,” he stuttered.

“Put the phone down!” The command inherent in the voice spoke confidence that brooked little argument. HongHu strode into the room followed by two guards carrying a replacement female test subject.

Indecision washed over Wujiang’s face as he first stared at HongHu then at the phone. It was obvious he did not know what to do and was now torn by whether to obey her or report to his superior. While HongHu had already walked away after issuing her order, Claire continued to watch Wujiang. She walked forward and placed her hand over Wujiang’s hand, which lay trembling on the table. He looked up at her with conflict and fear in his eyes. She calmly stared back and slowly some of the fear and conflict leeched away. The phone was placed back on the hook.

HongHu had finished arranging the replacement test subject. She looked around the lab and seeing everything to her satisfaction nodded to Claire then left with the guards.

Claire and Wujiang were alone again.

“Why are you still here?” Wujiang queried hopefully.

“I can be wherever I want to be!” Claire shot back haughtily before departing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vander arrived moments after Claire left. Wujiang was shortly informed that the notable scientist Tassadar would be also joining him in his research. Wujiang had the opportunity, but failed to mention the switching of the test subject. He hoped he could first produce some results that would placate Jamski.

When Tassadar arrived, Wujiang greeted him at the door. "Tassadar, good to meet you. Wujiang here. Would you care to discuss various methods of mindworm application for our next project?"

While Wujiang and Tassadar agreed or disagreed over the various mindworm usage, an anonmynous envelope was left on Wujiang's desk back in his room.

[Vander]

What am I doing? Why did I ever go along with this? It seems like an eternity since I was back in my quarters; kilometers away from this. How does a low level science assistant go from prepping the night's dinner to prepping this woman for mind worm injection?

My name is Comrade Antonius Vander III. My family has been with the Hive since before landfall and have eeked out living on this desolate planet only through the comforts of this socalist bastion.
I know not of the inner workings of the CCC nor what happens to dissidants. I guess it figures, though. I never needed to think of the others that came to this planet. How could I? What is better than Socialism?
It was early in the morning when I got the call. It was Comrade Wujiang.
"Vander, I need you."
"What for Comrade? What time is i-"
"Too late if you don't hurry!"
"What? Where?"
I was rushing to get dressed. I had always respected Wuijang. He was a faithful superior and a good friend. I didn't know what happened to him the day before, but I'd bet all my EC's that this call had something to do with it.
"Come to Lab25-75c. Don't tell anyone or leave anything that could trace you here."
"Right"

"You came unfollowed, right?"
He was nervious. The sweat was streaming off him.
"Yes Comrade. What is this about?"
"You are not going back to your quarters for a long while. Welcome to your new home."

It was a large lab. Even given that, Wuijang seemed claustrophibic in front of me.

"We are doing something that not even the Chairman knows of. This is a secret mission given to me from the Deputy. You are not to do ANYTHING without my permission. Understood?"
"Yes Sir!"


And that was it. Ever since, I have been researching mind worms. Well, the dead ones, anyway. But this was new: We were going to put LIVE mindworms into this woman. I don't even recognize her. This is deep stuff. I think it is best if I keep my head down and follow orders.

While I prep her, I can't help but see her for her beauty. She has to be the most stunning woman I have ever seen. I do my best to not look distracted while I admire. I get a sublte joy from "prepping" this beauty.

Just then, I cought sight of someone new entering the lab. Who was this man? He seemed injured, or at least recovering from injuries. He also seemed to know more about what we were doing that we did. After he and Wuijang started talking, the seemed to start argueing. I finished what I was doing and made my way to the two men. They were still argueing when I approached. Wuijang stopped to address me.
"Yes?"
"The subject is prepped and ready sir!"
I hope she isn't hurt too badly
"Good. Comrade Tassadar, this is Comrade Vander, my assisstant.
"Pleasure to meet you."
He offered his hand and was very nice about it. Who is this Tassadar?
"Same to you, comrade."

Wuijang interrupted, "If that is all, comrades, then let us begin."

[Kody]

Comarde Claire laughed as Kelvin said something particularly witty.

“…. and did you know that, because of rumors that mind worm husks being a particularly good aphrodisiac, the party is sending detachments into the fungus to collect husks,” Kelvin said.

Claire laughed again, her voice twinkling like the morning dew that lay heavy on the grass where they were having their picnic.

“They’re having trouble keeping their own ten child policy, because every one of them is old and senile,” he said with amusement in his voice.

“Oh Kely. I’ve never met anyone that so smart and witty that I could just talk to.” She began to lean forward parting her lips. Kelvin leaned forward too and …. WAS WOKEN UP BY A BLOODY ALARM CLOCK!!!!

“NO!!!”

Kelvin thumped the pillow before realising by doing that he was just waking himself up more. He tried to lie quietly and go back to sleep, but it was no good.

He stared at the ceiling, the grey concrete used everywhere in the hive was sort of like his life, dull and boring. Why did the party have to put pictures of Claire everywhere making Kelvin start dreaming about her. Then again being sixteen he would probably just start dreaming about some other girl.

He went through his morning routine of getting dressed, eating, avoid his nine other siblings, then headed off to work. His friend Radanr was outside staring at a wall while waiting for him. Frequently nerve stapled kids tended to find the dullest thing interesting. His parents, against popular opinion, were against nerve stapling and so Kelvin had gone relatively unscathed through childhood. Except for that one time when he had… no he rather not remember that.

“We’re off to the factory to bring glory to the party,” Radanr said excitedly.

“Yes comrade,” Kelvin mimicked Radanr’s excitement. ”To bring glory to the hive with the boots we make that go on the feet of our glorious soliders. That lay down their lives for the greater good of the people.”

Kelvin inwardly sighed. There weren’t many people that you could trust in the hive. He liked Radanr, but Radanr was just too dumb to trust not to blurt things out. Kelvin knew he was too intelligent for his own good. While he never complained or said a word to anyone, his mind was always questioning. Asking the why rather than just mindlessly accepting like his peers.

Today they arrived at the factory without incident, it looked like it was going to be a better than average day. To make matters even better the foreman announced that Comarde Voltaire was giving a speech today at the central plaza and that they were all given eight hours leave while Voltaire talked.

The crowd of workers turned and stampeded out the exit of the factory, leaving Radanr and Kelvin behind in their haste.

“Hurry up!” Radanr complained, hopping up and down. “We’ll miss the speech!”

“Party members never get up until 10am so we have two hours at least”, Kelvin said plodding along.

Radanr looked rather miffed at Kelvin as they slowly made their way through the greasy hallways of the industrial sector.

“I’m going ahead to save you a spot to stand.” Radanr announced naively.

Kelvin slowly nodded as you would to a small child, before Radanr started bounding away like an insanely happy puppy.

Sometimes Kelvin wished he had been nerve stapled frequently as a young child. Now he was forced to make decisions, and he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. As mandated he had turned up to the army selection course when he turned sixteen. After he had pointed the gun at himself and asked where the trigger was they had sent him to the factory instead. The factory was nice and safe, far away from the vicious mindworms that populated the surface, but he wasn’t happy.

Kelvin looked around and realised he didn’t have a clue where he was. The tunnels he had been walking in were deserted and completely unfamiliar. It seemed rather damper than usual and a thin layer of dust was building up on the floor.

A chill worked its way down the back of his neck, as he finally put two and two together.

“I thought they had guards at all the entrances to sector N589,” Kelvin croaked desperately trying to retrace his steps.

Up ahead there was talking and the sound of footsteps. Kelvin turned around looking for somewhere to hide, but he happened to be caught in a long hallway. If he ran they would hear him and he would look very guilty. That would bring on all kinds of torture. So he steeled himself and hoped for a quick death.

(Note: I think N589 is the restricted section where the mindworm experiments are happening? I sort of gathered that from one of the Pavada posts)

[Snowflake]

OCC: Ok here's my contribution to the IC story. Apologist for my limited English vocabulary, so everybody is welcome to edit it to make it more fluent and fiction like.

[Snowflake]

(This part of the story was moved and rewritten so it fits in better. I did my best to keep the original ideas in the new section of story.)

The delicate butterfly attached on her black dress vibrated. She disliked that HongHu had also made it a tracking device, but that had been useful just earlier. Comrade Claire Forlani knew that she was already late for Comrade Marshall’s dinner appointment. He could wait. They all took it an honor to wait for her. In fact those restaurants in town would offer the guest a free drink if it was known that he was waiting for Comrade Forlani. Plus, the good Marshall would be delighted to learn that Comrade HongHu had not been wasting her time and have been on top of whatever scheme that old deputy chairman Jamski was up to. Oh poor old man, he was really convinced that Forlani was unconscious over there. She really almost gave him a heart attack! And he thought nobody was watching him those three hours … Didn’t he know that she was a famous actress before she joined the Hive? Forlani walked briskly. She didn’t bother to hide her appearance from the old man. It was not her fault if he got another heart attack upon seeing her alive and around.

[Snowflake]

…

“Was that Claire Forlani?” A brisk shadow slipped through Deputy Chairman Jamski’s eyes over the far corner of the corridor. Why? She should be in Wujiang’s surgical bed right this moment. Jamski hastened his steps and followed around. She was entering Comrade HongHu’s private quarter. The door was left ajar. Couldn’t restrain from his growing curiosity, Jamski sneaked closer, pretending he was just walking by. He heard light-hearted laughter from the women. What was that woman up to? This question bugged Jamski like a snake in his heart. He could never see through Comrade HongHu. Being the only other deputy of the CCC, HongHu’s private quarter was the only one other than the one of Chairman Voltaire himself that he couldn’t get to through his monitors. He had tried to persuade her into his side, but HongHu had never mentioned that she had got his private message. She talked and laughed with him just as usual. Made him wonder if his private message was lost. At least she did not report it to the Chairman. But again, was the Chairman simply waiting for him to take the final fatal step? The thought was so chilling he immediately stopped it. Well, at least judging from the Chairman’s trust in him it didn’t appear he had any knowledge of what was going on behind him.

“Let him play.” Comrade HongHu was amused hearing Claire’s adventure through the jungle of men. She had long navigated through the narrow water between the men, especially between the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, and was quite successful in making them believe that she was quiet, innocent and harmless. That private message was a hasty mistake of the old man, but she simply pretended that she never knew anything about it. “He doesn’t have many days left, poor old man. He deserves a little more fun for himself.” Florlani chuckled when she tried to reply, "Oh, I don't know if he could take the fun he has right now as it is. The other night when he invited me to discuss the new issue of Pravda, he fainted even before I took off my coat. Too excited from anticipation, I guess." The women laughed again. And the laughter became wild when the little sneaky shadow behind the door was seen.

“Women are hysteric.” Jamski cursed when his face started to feel warm. He couldn't hear what the women were talking about but he had a feeling that he had something to do with the subject of the talk. He clenched his fists and walked away.

[Jamski]

Jamski was seething.

Why was Comrade Forlani in the private rooms of HongHu? What had Wujiang and Tass done with her? Did she remember being shot with a dart gun?

That Comrade HongHu was always a problem for him, she was the only woman who he couldn't control, who he couldn't order about and instruct to do his bidding....

Dammit... perhaps she's the only woman who's my equal in this whole base...

Despite her innocent appearance, the young beauty was up to something. He was sure that Claire was visting her very regularly, but what could he do? Forlani was popular and HongHu was powerful. How could he act against them? The two women could be a problem for him... especially if Claire had found out anything about the work going on in Lab25-75c...

"Comrade Jianx?" he spoke into his commstud.
"Yessir?"
"I have a mission for you, of the highest importance"
"Yessir!"
"You will report to one of my labs in sector 75 for preparation"
"On my way sir!"

Perhaps the only way to find out what these women were up to was with another woman... perhaps with a woman that was really a man... a man who was a soldier....

Jamski chuckled to himself. Then stopped suddenly :

Damm - look at the time! PRAVDA broadcasts in 35 minutes. Claire had better be there on time, or...

The meeting with the Marshal would have to wait...

-Jam

[Snowflake]

OCC: Where is our webpage? Shouldn't we publish this GLORIOUS story there?

Now that Comrade HongHu has stepped into the picture, the whole story suddenly becomes very interesting to me ...