80920.18
Concurrent with Going Down and Luck of the Irish
-=Roof of The Farm=-
Reece emerged onto the top floor of the building, a tiny phaser in hand. He had ducked around patrols but had no luck as of yet finding anyone from the Sera crew. Some areas had been restricted and he had not been able to access them. He could only hope if what he was looking for was there, that someone else would have had better luck.
As he approached a junction in the corridor, he heard the sound of frantic voices and what sounded like someone beating on a door. He crept up to the corner and poked one brown eye around the bend to see what all the commotion was about. Still, no sign of any of his friends, but what he did see was a large group of men and women in surgical gowns trying to open a door labeled "Roof access. Staff only."
"Someone should really teach these people that those things can be tied shut in the back." Reece said to himself with a shudder. Apparently sound traveled well in this facility, as two of the men turned around and saw Reece peeking around the corner.
He zipped back into hiding but it was too late.
"You! Please help us!" Reece raised his phaser in case the natives were hostile, and knelt on the floor, waiting for one of the patients to come around the corner. A large strapping man skidded to a stop as he rounded the bend and saw Reece ready and waiting to drop him.
"Do you feel lucky, punk?"
"Wait, please." The man begged, holding his hands in the air. "They're going to do away with us all unless we can get out of here. They want to kill us all and harvest our organs. We were lucky enough to escape but if they recapture us... You have a weapon, can you please help us? Look."
The man slowly opened the palm he had been holding shut, to reveal a small photograph. He let it drop to the floor, and stepped back to allow Reece to approach and pick it up.
"That is my daughter. Please don't let her grow up without a father."
Reece looked at the girl, and the man. Having been a father before, Reece knew there was no greater concern for a parent than knowing a child may grow up without the mother or father they needed to guide them.
"Geez dude, do I look like I'm made of stone?" Dabin asked, handing the photo back to the man. Even if he could not locate the Sera crew, perhaps this group of patients was just the distraction Dabin would need to buy Liis and company more time to find Carrick. "I know what it's like to be afraid that your child may grow up without you."
"You're a father too?"
Dabin both shook his head and patted his stomach. "Dabin is not, but Reece has been, and there's nothing quite like it. Come on, let's get you home to your girl."
Reece pushed his way through the crowd that had been watching the exchange. "Who wants to get the hell out of this place?" He shouted, trying to stir up his newfound companions. A hearty cheer went up, and Reece smiled. "Great! Then get away from the freaking door please!"
Reece brandished his weapon, and the patients all backed off away from him. A quick burst, and Reece melted the latch. The door flew open and the group spilled out onto the roof of the medical complex. Dabin jogged over to a flag pole near the ledge, and leaned over to look at the street below. He saw two men who looked like law enforcement strolling down the street and decided the time to turn this three ring circus in a full blow cluster-bleep was right now.
He set his phaser down to minimum power, essentially to fire a glorified harmless laser beam, and shot a blast about ten meters in front of the officers. They froze, turned to look up at the roof, pointed at Reece, and scrambled for cover.
"HEY ASS-BUTTS! LISTEN UP!" Dabin shouted, waving his weapon like a maniac. "Do you people have any idea what's going on in this hospital! These people..." Dabin pointed behind him, and realized the officers couldn't see any of the patients. He waved for them to approach the edge. The steady breeze on the roof was not helping the situation with gowns that had not been tied shut, and Dabin was forced to use the mental relaxation tricks Vol had taught him on Betazed to deal with the staggering array of body parts that assaulted his line of vision.
Dabin stepped away from the ledge, then back again. "Don't go away! I have demands to be made. BRB!" He noted that one of the men was already speaking into his wrist, presumably calling for backup. Again he left the edge of the roof, and approached the group of patients.
"Ok, if this is going to work you need to not look like a bunch of psychotics. Tie those gowns shut, fix your hair a bit and for goodness sake, if you see any snipers about to take a shot at me from somewhere, feel free to let me know."
Reece ushered them to the edge, so the officers could see. "These patients are being killed off and their organs taken. I demand you help get them out of this facility, or so help me..." Dabin stepped up onto the parapet, one hand on his phaser, and the other on the flag pole to steady himself. "I'll jump!"
A vehicle approached, and another group of officers joined the first two. A man who appeared to be in charge got the update on the situation from his men on the scene. They talked, pointed at Reece, talked some more, shrugged, shook their heads, and even laughed a bit.
"Hey! You guys can talk about last night's Daily Show some other time! I'll jump if you don't answer my demands!"
The "Chief" boldly stepped forward into the street, and put his hands on his hips.
"Go ahead!" He offered. "Why should I care?"
Reece thought for a moment. "That's a damn good question! And I've got a good answer for you."
*No I don't. Shit.*
Dabin looked back over his shoulder, and his eyes met those of the man who had the photo of the small girl. He looked back over the edge, at the Chief.
"Do you have any children, Chief?" Dabin shouted.
"Why?" He asked.
"Because I do. A beautiful baby girl. She's a treasure and she deserves to grow up with a father who loves her. But," Reece gestured to those around him, "These people all have children too. And all of them are going to grow up without mothers or fathers if I don't do something to help them. If you turn a blind eye to my demands, a lot of children are going to lose the parents who love them. What would you do in my place? Would you take the cowards way out and save yourself, or would you stand up?"
Dabin had no child himself and frankly had no idea if any of these people had children either, besides the one man. He was merely playing out the bluff and hoping the Chief didn't play and gambling games.
"Would you sacrifice your own family life to protect twenty others, and accept that even if your child grows up without a father, that she will at least know her father died with honor, doing what was right? How could I ever look my daughter in the eye knowing I condemned all these men and women to death, just because I was too worried about my own needs to have the guts to help them."
The Chief was silent, he stared up at Dabin Reece for a long while. Reece decided he needed to sell it just a bit more.
"They may take our lives, but they'll never take, OUR FREEDOM!" He threw his phasered hand in the air and roared, and the patients behind him let out a bellow as well. Reece turned and whispered to a woman standing near him, "Too much?"
She shrugged.
The Chief raised his hand, and gestured for Dabin to back off. "Step away from the ledge son. I'll send my men in, and we'll look into your claims."
"Boo yeah!" Reece shouted. Apparently the term was lost on the Universal translator, and the Chief merely shook his head.
Another large vehicle approached, and police in riot gear spilled out into the street. The Chief ordered them into the building.
Reece stepped away from the edge. "I thought you didn't have any children?" The man with the photo asked.
Reece laughed, "Perhaps someday my friend. I just drew on my symbiont's experiences, and it was easy to know what I would do and how I would act if Dabin did have a child."
Commander Dabin Reece
Chief Science Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
NRPG: This is what happens. Give Reece an opening and he puts it in the back of somebody's hospital gown...~ZL