Missions of the Retrieval Team - Kilt and Kilt Again

[davedove]

Commercial Break

Kitchen, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

We see Arlen looking around the room with a look of distaste.

Dee walks in and sees Arlen. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Can’t you smell it?” Arlen replies.

Dee sniffs the air and immediately frowns. “Yes, what is that awful stench?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to find the source all morning. It seems like it’s only in the air.”

“Have you tried the Odor X-tinct?” Dee asks.

“No, what’s that?”

Dee goes over to the cabinet and pulls out a spray can. “Odor X-tinct,” he says, showing Arlen the can. “It’s a new product from I.C.E. for neutralizing odors. The all natural ingredients actually combine with the odor molecules in the air and trap them, leaving the air completely fresh.” Dee sprays the product throughout the kitchen.

“Take another whiff,” he tells Arlen.

Arlen again sniffs the air and smiles at the result. “Amazing,” he says, “The odor has disappeared.”

“That’s the Odor X-tinct,” he says. “It works every time.”

[davedove]

Scene 1

Infirmary, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

Jamie and I walked down the hall with Dee. We had been summoned back to the Great Hall when intruders were discovered in David’s lab.

“There were two,” Dee was telling us. “Ensign Mender was the first to respond to the alarm. One was alive, but unconscious; the other one was dead.”

We came up to the door where Ensign Mender was standing guard.

“He’s still out,” Mender told us.

“Do we know who he is?” I asked.

“No idea,” answered Dee.

“I want to see him,” Jamie said.

“Of course,” Dee responded, “But there is something else you should see first.”

“What’s that?” Jamie asked.

“The dead man, you really need to see who it is.”

We followed Dee down the hall to the next room. He opened the door and led us in.

“Both men were found on the floor of David’s lab,” Dee explained. “As I said, one man was unconscious, but the other was dead. The dead man had been hit by several rounds from an automatic weapon. However, the Doc says that the bullets alone shouldn’t have killed him.”

“Then what did?” Jamie asked.

“He didn’t know, but he explained that the man had suffered some sort of shock to his system. That shock weakened his body enough that the wounds killed him. The other man shows signs of the same sort of shock.”

We stepped up to the bed where the dead man was lying, covered with a sheet.

“Prepare yourself,” Dee said.

I wondered what Dee meant from his warning until he pulled back the sheet. Jamie and I both gasped when the man’s face was revealed.

Although it was a bit older, the face of the man was my own.

[Sionnach]

And so this tale twists on!

[Ancienne Alliance]

hoooooooooh ..... !

[Wompet]

Hmm - not an alternative reality, but a possible future timeline. I did not see that coming.
Where did I but the number for that doctor with the big blue box? He's supposed to take care of these sort of things ...
There it is! Oh, - dogs can't dial phones!

Well, Dave, it looks like it's up to you.

[Kilted_John]

Intelesting...

[davedove]

Scene 2

Media Room, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“So what is going on?” Jamie asked us.

He had assembled all those present into the media room to discuss the situation.

“Is the dead man a double, someone altered to look like Dave?” Bradley asked before taking a drink of his Ritchbrew double espresso. “We already know that Ivana Rulital had Dr. Newface make duplicates of her.”

“That doesn’t appear to be the case,” Ms. Starling answered. “The dead man shows no evidence of cosmetic surgery. Plus, the fingerprints, dental configuration, even the retinal pattern are identical to Dave’s. We have not yet completed the DNA examination, but it seems that the man downstairs is our Dave, just a few years older.”

“How did they get into the lab?” Jamie asked.

“We simply don’t know,” Ms. Starling answered. “Ms. Swan and Ms. Raven have been going over all the surveillance records, but there is absolutely no sign of the two men until they appeared in the lab. They didn’t pass through any doors or windows. There’s no sign of them even coming up the mountain.”

“They couldn’t have appeared out of thin air,” Jamie protested.

“That is exactly what it appears they have done,” Ms. Starling rebutted.

I remembered my own past experiences. “Could they be from an alternate universe?” I asked.

“Possibly,” Ms. Starling conceded, “But as I said, this man is older than you. If he were from an alternate world, he should be the same age.”

“What about the other man, the one who lived?” Bradley asked.

“We’re doing a search on him now, but so far we’ve had no luck. There are no public records on him. But, that’s not conclusive. He could be a simple law-abiding person who never needed to be fingerprinted.”

We were interrupted by Dee, who had paused to speak on his in-house radio. “We may be able to get some answers,” he reported. “Ensign Mender says the man is awake and is demanding to see the Moderators.”

[davedove]

Scene 3

Infirmary, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

“Open the door, Ensign,” Jamie ordered.

Ensign Mender opened the door so that Jamie and Bradley could walk inside.

As they entered the room, the occupant sat up on his bed. He seemed genuinely surprised to see the two Moderators.

“Jamie, Bradley, is it really you? Are you really alive?” the young man asked in astonishment.

“Of course we’re alive; why wouldn’t we be?” Jamie responded.

The young man shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. “I’m sorry,” he said, “But what is the date?”

“June fifteenth, why?”

“No, no, what year is it?”

When Jamie told him, the young man’s eyes flew open. “We made it,” he said in wonder.

He then saw me as I entered the room behind the Moderators. “Dave!” he said with joy, “You’re okay! When that man fired his weapon …”

“I’m not who you think I am,” I told him as I shook my head. “The man who came here with you is no longer alive.”

The young man’s face fell at this news and he paused a moment to compose himself. “Can I see him?” he asked.

I glanced at Jamie, who nodded and replied; “I suppose there’s no harm in that. Come with us.”

As we walked out of the room, Ensign Mender fell in beside the young man. We walked down the hall to the area that had been set up as the morgue.

We entered the room where the body was being kept. The young man walked up to the table and gently pulled back the sheet.

“The doctor tells us that this man was shot with multiple rounds, but he should have survived longer than he did,” Jamie explained. “They say his system took some sort of extra shock that weakened him too much. Can you explain that?”

The young man replaced the sheet and turned back to us.

“It must have been the passage through the chamber,” he said. “It was never designed for two people.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “What chamber?”

“This is going to be a strange explanation,” the young man answered, “But here goes.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. “My name is Ryan.” He gestured towards his dead comrade. “That man and I came back through time to give you a warning and hopefully prevent the destruction of X Marks the Scot.”

[Livingston]

This couldn't be....


No, not......


XMarks is safely in ....

Steve's hands?

[Kilted Jeeper]

jonesing for the next installment.....