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Chapter 1 It's Physical


"Annual physical? What annual physical?"

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Rose, nice try. We are all scheduled for annual physicals. You know this. Everyone has to do it, no exceptions. I've had this appointment on your calendar for a month."

She pulled several crumpled spreadsheets and a rolled-up compound map from Roses clenched fists. "Stop whining and just go to medical. Maybe MM will let you go to the front of the line. Maybe." She shooed Rose out the door of the office. "Ask her. Just be nice about it! Everybody gets cranky at annual physical time."

Rose heard the lock of the office door click and knew that this time she couldn't escape the calendar. Grumbling all the way to the medical building about imminent financial deadlines, the budgeting process and the design phase of the compound landscaping and building refurbishment plan, Rose couldnt help but grimace at the thought of taking the annual KAG physical and assessment. This had been a long winter, emphasis on the word long, and she hadn't been swimming in the mornings since New Years. She couldn't remember the last time she had been on a treadmill. She no longer counted carbs or calories and her entire closet of office suits were feeling a bit tight. That was only the medical portion. If she had to pass a weapons assessment she'd probably lose her KAG status. She doubted if she remembered how to fire the pulse plasma cannon, even if Carol or Moopey would let her.

Damn! Double damn.

"Well, hello to you, too, sunshine." Inside the medical building reception area, MM handed Rose a clipboard. "Fill out the forms and don't miss anything. If they're not complete you'll have to start over. Head to exam number seven and you'll find gowns and drapes on the table. We'll do a complete lab, so we'll draw a couple of vials of blood and we'll need a urine specimen. One of the clones will take a blood pressure reading and weigh you."

"One of the clones?"

MM smiled an evil smile. "Don't worry, its a Riddick, he won't tell."

"Those scales better have been recalibrated or people will complain they're inaccurate. How much is Peggy paying you to get me to the front of the line?" asked Rose without looking up from the paperwork.

"I get an additional ten grand in the budget," said MM with great glee. "It's amazing what a typo in the form of an extra zero will do. And she thought maybe a few more days of vacation, too."

"You're making up that part about the extra vacation."

MM laughed. "You can't blame a girl for trying."

As Rose headed toward one of the exam rooms, Shags exited from another, along with a Riddick clone in a white lab coat.

"Absolutely, positively NO WAY is that my weight. Anyone who says that's my weight will get a thermonuclear bitchslap that'll send them back to the seventeenth century. I've been on a diet since I was thirteen years old. I'm a lady, we always diet. That is not my weight. The scale is wrong. Period."

The Riddick clone simply looked at her, a carefully constructed blank expression on his face, accompanied by the ghost of a smile.

"Anyone who says that is my weight will reap some bad juju, you hear me? There will be voodoo involved, my dear man. That person will rue the day. There will be lawsuits for defamation of character."

Shags took a black Sharpie from the clones lab coat pocket and made a big X on the paperwork on his clipboard. "There, that takes care of that! You just write in 115 and we can all sleep tonight knowing there's an accurate weight on that report. Just because the other KAG are out of shape doesn't mean it applies to everyone." Shags smoothed the fabric of her dress across one hip. "Lucky for all of them I have kitchen duty this month. I am completely revamping the menus. Everyone will eat healthy with my recipes. I must go and order supplies, we will need goat meat..."

MM waited until the echo of Shags tirade faded down the hall, then looked at the report from the clone. "Keep the original weight on her chart."

"Gee, thanks," growled the Riddick clone. "Remind me to invest in some Mickey D certificates this month."

MM laughed heartily, then went into her office and looked at the pile of physical reports on her desk and her gut clenched. Her report to the board on the KAGs medical and physical status wasnt going to be pretty. She picked up the phone and dialed the Armory. Wraith answered.

"How is it going up there?" asked MM.

"Worse than we thought." Wraith took a deep breath. "Only about 67% have passed the archery test. Lexy still has some folks out on the vehicle course but she said its obvious people haven't driven some of the newer tanks and ATVs yet. We don't have final results from the target range, but what I've seen is nasty, some can't even reassemble the weapons in the maximum time duration. BT is really pissed about the chopper assessments, somebody almost crashed his best ride. Hows it looking from your end?"

"Just as bad," said MM. "I don't know who in the world will pass tomorrow's obstacle course except for maybe some newbies and three-month recruits. Looks like people will be signing up for retraining like they're buying lottery tickets. The Holodeck is gonna have to operate overtime or well never be able to accommodate everyone."

"The Holodeck?" Wraith groaned. "I thought we were gonna shut that puppy down and build a new one. I remember hearing something about state-of-the-art refurbishments and stuff."

"Yeah, well, that depends on the budget, doesn't it?" MM switched the phone to her other ear and rifled through paperwork. "What was your gross margin last month?"

"Whats a gross margin?" asked Wraith.

"I rest my case," responded MM. She looked up as Dia walked into her office. "Gotta go, Dia's here." She hung up the phone and sank into the desk chair. "How are you?"

Dia twirled one long chestnut curl around her index finger. "Fine. Well, okay, I guess."

"Oh, you got your physical results back, huh?"

"You don't have to look so cheerful about it," said Dia, clearly irritated. "I am going to be on a treadmill for days and I wont be making baklava for Easter."

MMs smile faded. "No baklava?" she said in a small voice.

"Get used to the disappointment. Who is doing your physical?"

MMs face went blank. "My physical?"

It was Dia's turn to smile. "Yes, darling, your physical. Go to exam number four and get ready. Ill send in the clone to take your blood pressure and weight... right after I'm finished with him..."

As Dia left the office, Crash walked in and dropped into a side chair, sulking.

"You'd think we'd get more exercise, considering all the clone activity around here," MM said. She turned her attention to Crash. "What's up with you?"

"Stupid physical."

"Oh, you, too? I told you to stop eating all that crap. Too much junk food and not enough fruits and vegetables."

"Yeah, okay, thanks mom."

"That can't be the only thing bothering you."

Crash moaned and held her head with both hands. "I thought I was getting vacation. Riggs and I were gonna go away..."

"Just the two of you? Wow, that's a switch."

"And now Ive been put on Holodeck duty!"

"Holodeck duty? Oh, Crash, bummer."

"And to add insult to injury, on third shift!" Crash shook her head. "It's gonna be a drag. The last time the Holodeck was used was for a racquetball court! That piece of shit console hasnt worked right since the transformer blew and sent everyone back to the Wild West. The field manipulator programs are held together with bubble gum and shoestring. Me and Wraith gotta go this afternoon and check it out, test out a few of the grids, see if the console trips up any."

"Better hurry and get it done." MM waved some paperwork in the air. "There's gonna be a lineup for immersive retraining simulations once these reports get to the board."

Crash snorted. "Yay. Can't wait."



At the Holodeck, deep underground in Building 2, the training bays were closed, the electric grids turned off, the stainless steel pneumatic doors locked and silent.

A single spider laboriously created a web in Bay 3.

All was quiet, yet with an expectant hush in the air, as if someone or something was waiting, listening, waiting for activity.

Waiting for a visitor.

Longing for someone to come.

Just a little update...




Chapter 2 Gross Margins and Goats

"Here you are, I've been looking for you everywhere." Rose slid onto the empty barstool next to Dia and ordered a Cosmopolitan.

"No." Dia shook her head at the KAG on bartender duty and then looked expectantly at Rose.

"Huh? Oh, crapweasel. Okay, I'll have a... uh... glass of wine? A nice Riesling or maybe a Pinot Grigio..."

"No." Dia said again. "She'll have a sparkling water with wedge of lime. Didn't you get your physical report back? Why are you ordering such high-calorie drinks?"

"Yeah, I did get my report and that's why I'm here, to drown my sorrows about my weight. Until I ran into you."

Dia smirked. "It's for your own good."

Rose snorted, sipped her tonic water and grimaced. "I'm tired of things for my own good. I need a vacation, preferably a long one and in a place where I can't be reached; where my biggest decision of the day is whether to order a pina colada or a strawberry margarita."

"Always the high-calorie cocktails."

"I know, I cant help it. Im a high-number kind of gal. Gross margins. Revenue. Carbs or calories. All big numbers."

Dia smiled. "Not the gross margins."

"Yeah, you're right. Not the gross margins. Not last month, anyway. How did your medical report turn out?"

Dias smile faded. "No baklava for Easter."

"Now you really have spoiled my day. And here I thought it couldn't get worse."

"It can always get worse," Dia said. "Shags has taken over the kitchen and is ordering sides of goat to be delivered fed ex..."

Rose held up her hand. "Stop. I can't take any more. I'm going to the chapel to say penance and have a moment of silence for the sugar in my diet, which I assume I won't be seeing for a long, long time. Are you ready for the obstacle course tomorrow?"

"Of course, I have kept up with my strength training. Unlike others who no longer have any clones of their own for motivation."

"Ouch, don't rub it in."

"Don't say rub." Dia smiled.

"Just like the old days," Rose said, "When I was young, thin and still knew how to fire the pulse plasma cannon."

Dia patted her friends hand. "Don't worry. If you like, we can partner up for immersive retraining on the Holodeck. We should do it soon, others will have the same idea and there might only be third-shift spots left. Of course, we could always pull rank but... what's the matter?"

Rose groaned. "Oh, God. The Holodeck."

"Don't tell me its not fixed!"

"Okay, I won't tell you."

"Rose! There are ten bays that will be needed for training! It has to be operational right away, quality assurance checks, everything." Dia scowled. "This is very bad."

"Just like the gross margin last month."

"The cloning lab made a profit."

"Yes, it did," Rose acknowledged. But sales didn't match assumptions for Valentines Day. The next big holiday rush is months away. Utilities are over budget by thirteen percent, gas prices are probably going to four bucks a gallon by Memorial Day, and Shags is ordering goat meat from the islands that will be fed exed! We spend money around here like water."

"Do we have enough to have the Holodeck fixed?" Dia asked.

"Yeah, sure. I budgeted for it, but I just didn't think we'd do it this month. Crash and Wraith are gonna look at the system tonight. Im keeping my fingers crossed that maybe its just something minor and a couple of AA batteries will do the trick..."

"Dreamer." Dia smirked.

"Just call me Pollyanna."

"C'mon, Pollyanna. Come with me."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"We're gonna sign up for Holodeck training before all the good times are taken."

"Oh, thank God. For a moment there I thought you were gonna make me order a clone."

It's great so far, keep it up!

Came back to read MM's revised contribution. Good job! Loved the segue, now we can start with the "training". I think I may write a little bit about Dia and Rose on the obstacle course...

Is anybody else writing a segment?

Chapter 5. Bubble Gum and Shoestrings

The screams of Howler monkeys, the tweet of birdcalls, the hum of large insects and the splash of a distant waterfall filled Bay 2 on the Holodeck.

Crash frowned as she fiddled with the controls on the console.

"Crash…" No longer encased in cranberry stilettos, MM's feet were now wearing a pair of serviceable Nikes. One foot tapped its rubber sole impatiently on the floor. Arms akimbo, she glared at Crash. Next to her, Mark hid a grin behind his hand.

"I know, I know! Just give me a minute!" Crash pressed a sequence of commands on the keyboard and stared intently at the monitor. Suddenly the sounds of the rain forest were replaced by the unmistakable hum of heavy freeway traffic, honking horns, and screaming sirens, which was followed by the screeching, metallic crash of a multi-vehicle fender-bender.

Foletti looked around at the dark urban setting--an alley filled with dumpsters, trash cans and assorted debris from a long day in the city--and shook her head. Behind her a New York streetfront boasted strip clubs and bars, with brightly-colored neon lights flashing a female figure on one building and a martini glass with an olive on another.

After fifteen minutes at the console, Crash had yet to match up the sound effects with the setting.

"Crash!" MM continued to tap out an irritated staccato with the toe of her Nike.

Mark hung back, leaned against a grey sedan parked at the entrance to the alley, arms folded. He glanced over at Wraith who found something extremely interesting to look at on the ground and wouldn't meet his eye.

Abruptly, the sound of rolling thunder, lightning strikes and heavy rainfall replaced the freeway noise.

"Damn!" Crash threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know why it's not working! It was fine last night."

Foletti lifted the lid of the nearest virtual dumpster and peered inside.

Odd.

It was half filled with bubble gum wrappers and torn blister packs of shoestrings. As she opened her mouth to ask Crash about the contents of the trash bin, a tiny arrow shot past her ear and clicked against the dingy brick façade of the building behind her.

"Geez! What the hell was that?" MM cried as she pulled her Glock and trained it down the dark alleyway. She strained to see something, anything, in the shadows.

Foletti picked up the miniature arrow. "It's made of wood, lightweight. Hand carved. Looks like there's some type of waxy substance on the business end of the stick."

"Don't touch it!" MM cried. "It could be poisoned!"

Another tiny arrow flew out of the alley and hit the sedan door next to Mark's thigh.

"What the--!? Why are there poisoned arrows flying out of a New York alley?" Mark shouted to no one in particular as he scrambled for cover behind a dirty, dented garbage can.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Foletti squinted down the alley. "I can't see a thing but something smells…"

"…funny. Something smells funny," added Crash. "But familiar, like the perfume my friend's great-Aunt Tildy used to wear. A cloying, musky scent in a funny shaped bottle, big on the bottom, narrow on the top. Like a genie bottle. What was it called…"

"Tabu?" MM offered.

"Yeah! That's it!" Crash beamed with the memory. "A black bottle…"

Wraith rolled her eyes and dodged a small arrow that whizzed past her shoulder. "While you're all waxing nostalgic about Aunt Tildy's ancient perfume, we've got a bigger problem on our hands! And I don't just mean these arrows, either."

Crash yelled an oath as she looked to where Wraith was pointing.

The console inside Bay 2, along with the monitor, drive and keyboard, had disappeared.

"How will we get out?" asked Foletti.

There was no time to answer as their attention was drawn to a small shape that appeared at the dark end of the alley.

___________________

"You call this a lunch?" Rose scoffed as she twirled a forkful of field greens in the air. "I don't even see a slice of avocado or a shrimp in here."

Dia sipped a mineral water and grinned. "That's because there isn't any. You'll get used to new foods on this diet. In time, your palate will change and you will no longer hunger for all those fatty foods."

"Wanna bet?"

Dia glanced at her watch. "Come on, we have to go if we're going to make our time on the Holodeck. I don't want to get bumped and we will if we're late."

"It can't be two o'clock already!" Rose complained. "I haven't had dessert yet!"

"No time for carbs, calories or chocolate, we have about seven minutes to get to Bay 3."

Rose grimaced. "Bay 3? We've got Bay 3?" She put on some speed to match Dia's gait. "How can you walk so fast in those heels?"

"Practice. What's the matter with Bay 3?"

"Oh, nothing. Uh, it's the bay on the Holodeck that Meg and Rick were in when we all got sent back to the old West…"

Dia looked startled.

"…but I'm sure it's okay! By now, anyway. I mean, there haven't been any more incident reports since that one stray cat went missing…"

Dia almost growled at her as they arrived at Building Two. They took the elevator down several levels below grade to the Holodeck.

The hub of activity was located at the center of a four-pointed star consisting of short corridors with the entrances to the training bays off each one. A number of KAG and KAD wearing training gear checked weapons in the corridors before entering the bays for immersion training. Amber and Seraph manned the control room at the center of the Holodeck. Seraph waved as Dia and Rose headed to the lockers to change into gear.

"How are you guys doing?" she called.

"Great!" Dia answered. "How's the training from this morning going?"

"Perfect. A couple of groups switched over at noon. Crash, MM, Wraith, Foletti and Mark went early this morning but they're not out yet. I think they're gonna go again."

Dia walked over to the bank of monitors and looked at the split screen images supplied by the multitude of cameras in each of the bays. Crash and Foletti were arm-wrestling, MM was reloading her Glock, Mark was retying a shoelace, and Wraith looked to be scraping gum off her shoe.

"You're in Bay 3." Seraph said, checking the electronic registration sheet.

Rose looked around. "Is anyone else here yet? We're supposed to meet Peggy and Ben…"

"Here we are!" Peggy pulled her hair into a ponytail and gestured to Ben, her Riddick clone. "He was late."

"You were late!" Ben drawled as he adjusted a pair of goggles over his head. "Let's go. We're in Bay 3, right?"

"Here!" Dia handed Rose a piece of bubble gum.

Rose unwrapped the pink gum and put it in her mouth. "What's this for?"

"In lieu of dessert!" Dia smiled.

"Go on in, guys." Seraph entered the code to unlock the pneumatic doors of Bay 3.

The four entered the immersion training room without a clue that they would not exit for many days to come. The doors hissed shut behind them as the lesson began.