Deus Ex Machina
Posted on Wed Jan 6th, 2021 @ 1:00am by Taryn Stephenson & Lennon Stephenson & Robert Stephenson & Genevieve Stephenson & Alan Butler
3,540 words; about a 18 minute read
Mission:
Chapter III: The Hunt is On
Location: USS Victoria
Timeline: 238701.24
Trigger Alert: This post contains a small amount of moderate violence. Please skip past the section following the section which takes place in the observation lounge if you don’t wish to read this.
The battle simulation had gone well, and now Robert was preparing for the Victoria’s next mission which would take them on a long range patrol of recently identified smuggling routes. He had still not informed Starfleet about the capture of Taryn and her shuttle, however this was something he planned to do the following morning after the senior staff briefing. Although the senior staff knew the truth, those on duty in the brig were informed Taryn had been arrested for smuggling and was due for onward transfer shortly.
It was the early afternoon, and Robert was taking advantage of a quiet spell to catch up with reading departmental status reports as well as gather his thoughts. The regular away missions aboard Pinto had kept him away from Victoria for longer than he would have liked, but they were a necessary evil if he and his crew were to complete their assignment successfully. Thankfully, it looked like a faint light was now visible at the end of the tunnel, and Robert was looking forward to getting back to exploring the galaxy again.
As he sat down with a fresh cup of tea, Robert heard the chime echo around his ready room.
“Come in” Robert called, surprised to see his wife was his unexpected visitor.
Genevieve sat down in one of the two seats in front of Robert’s desk.
“Have you told her yet?” Genevieve asked.
Robert sighed. “No, not yet”
“Robert, you need to. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this” Genevieve responded.
Robert nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll tell her at the end of her duty”
“Promise?” Genevieve replied, offering her right hand with her little finger extended.
After a short hesitation, Robert reached out across the table and wrapped his own right little finger around Genevieve’s, sensing his wife’s patience with him on this particular subject was running out at an increasing rate. Robert had always found excuses, but now, there were no more options left in the book of excuses.
“Yeah” Robert confirmed, retracting his finger and then his arm.
Genevieve nodded. “Good. Would you like me to be here as well?”
“That…might not be such a bad idea. I’ll ask her to meet me here after her duty finishes, so we should be ready to go by 16:15 at the latest” Robert responded.
Genevieve again nodded, and then left to return to the bridge.
After her duty shift ended, Lennon made her way up to the bridge. She had finally begun her second year of training, which began aboard Victoria and would take her back to the Academy in a few months’ time. Lennon had taken a leave of absence to join Robert and Alan for their mission, which was granted on the condition she made up the time afterwards. As she made her way to her uncle’s ready room, Lennon considered what it was Robert had wanted to talk to her about. Normally they would meet in less formal surroundings, such as the bar, mess hall or the Stephenson family quarters.
Once she had reached Robert’s ready room, Lennon pressed the chime. She was summoned into the room almost immediately, finding Robert sat behind his desk and Genevieve sat in one of the vacant chairs in front of the commanding officer’s desk. This looked far too formal to be a catch up, especially as Genevieve was also present. Lennon immediately felt her mood change from being content yet cautious to one of deep dread.
“Lennon, thank you for coming. Please, sit” Robert said, gesturing to the remaining vacant chair in front of him.
Lennon sighed, and did as she was asked.
“I thought this was going to be some sort of catch up, but obviously not. This is when you tell me that Lieutenant Joyce thinks I don’t cut the mustard, and that you’re sending me back to the Academy early, isn’t it?” Lennon said.
Robert sighed and clasped his hands together on his desk. He'd known for a long time that this day would come eventually, and now it had arrived, he felt completely and utterly powerless.
“Yeah, of course it is. When am I leaving?” Lennon asked.
Genevieve sighed. “Tell her, Robert”
“Tell me what? TELL ME!” Lennon demanded, looking at Genevieve and then Robert.
Robert spoke with his head bowed. “Whoever the plant is has told their handler about your…status, and I expect that it’s only a matter of time before…”
“Before they come and take me away and dismantle me, just like Taryn” Lennon replied.
Robert nodded. “Yeah. I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, but I fear that there is very little I can do now other than stall for time. I promise you that we will find out who did this”
“Thanks, Uncle Robert, but that’s not much use when Starfleet analyse me with a fine-toothed comb and then take me apart once they’re done. I guess I should go and say my goodbyes to everyone before the inevitable happens. Thanks for the heads up, and thanks for giving up on me again, I really appreciate it” Lennon replied.
Before anyone had a chance to respond, Lennon stood up and left the room. She had a lot of people to say goodbye to before the inevitable happened, and time was no longer on her side.
That evening, Lennon had read a final bedtime story for her cousins Ellie and Lena, who were both upset about the fact Lennon would be leaving and never coming back. After they’d eventually fallen asleep, Lennon had made her way to Victoria’s observation lounge, and sat looking at the stars rushing past as the vessel travelled at low warp towards its next destination, where Lennon would likely meet her fate. She knew that deep down, Robert would have fought as hard as he possibly could to protect her, but the odds were overwhelmingly against them. As she sat in silence, Lennon heard the door open.
“I’d ask if you were struggling to sleep, but that’s a stupid question to ask a synth” Genevieve said.
Lennon shrugged. “I can ‘sleep’ whenever I like, but it seemed like a waste of what little time I’ve got left before I end up in pieces like all the other synths. I figured I’d spend that time doing things which I enjoyed the most, such as reading Ellie and Lena a bedtime story, watching the stars go by and playing my guitar”
Lennon’s guitar was placed against the bulkhead nearest to her, and she had been playing some of her favourite songs up until a few minutes before Genevieve arrived. She had always had a good relationship with her auntie, who felt more like a mother. Even though her parents had designed and built her with assistance from Kenneth Barrow, Lennon knew that they would never truly see past the fact their daughter was really a machine designed to replace a child they'd lost in a tragic accident.
“I’d probably do the same if I was in your shoes” Genevieve replied, walking up to her niece and standing around a metre or so away from her.
Lennon sighed. “I knew this day would probably come eventually, but it’s the waiting and not knowing that makes it harder. I suppose on the other hand, Uncle Robert giving me an advanced warning has given me a chance to say goodbye to the people I love and care about, rather than just disappear into thin air. I suppose that’s a silver lining to the growing cumulonimbus”
“One day, things will change and the law on synths will be changed. Perhaps that day will come a lot sooner than you think. In fact, maybe you can be the one to change minds. Yes, synths were responsible for the atrocity on Mars, but you’ve shown to me, your uncle and your cousins that not all synths are bad. I think you can do the same, too” Genevieve responded.
Lennon wished she shared her auntie’s optimism, but she now felt that the battle was lost and her fate was imminent. She knew that she alone wouldn’t be enough to change the minds of those who made the decision to ban synthetic humans in the first place.
“I guess they’re going to pick up Taryn at the same time as me” Lennon mused.
Genevieve nodded. “I would imagine so, yes, however we haven’t heard anything from Starfleet yet. We know that a transmission was made to a flag officer who shall remain nameless, and the reason we found out was because it was marked ‘urgent’ but the sender must have taken leave of their senses because they forgot to encrypt it”
“I could have shot her on her shuttle, but I didn’t” Lennon whispered.
Genevieve replied. “I know you could have, but the fact is you didn’t. You and I both know that unless it was a case of life or death, you would never do anything to hurt anyone. Especially someone you cared about”
“I didn’t think I could ever be happy, and now I’ve managed to throw it all away. The thanks I get for helping Starfleet is being analysed, taken apart and recycled. I actually thought I’d make a half decent officer one day, but because I’m a machine the actions of others have led to me and many others being rounded up and deactivated” Lennon responded.
Genevieve didn’t know what to say, and instead placed a reassuring hand on Lennon’s shoulder.
“I don’t want to die, Auntie Genevieve” Lennon said, bursting into tears.
Down in her holding cell, Taryn had sat in the same position staring at the exact same spot on the bulkhead opposite for days, or at least it looked that way to anyone else. Instead, Taryn had lost herself in her mind palace and lost herself in the many happy memories she had formed back at the research lab with her creator. Atkinson had given Taryn this ability in order to help her experience dreams in her “sleep” and therefore feel more human, but the synth had found her mind palace to be a useful feature to help her pass the time, particularly during long journeys aboard her shuttle when she could go weeks without interacting with anyone else.
On duty in the brig that evening was Lieutenant Raan, however he was unexpectedly called away from his post to assist with an altercation in main engineering.
“Lieutenant Raan, can you come to engineering please?” Alan asked.
Raan responded. “I’m on duty in the brig, alone. Can you not find anyone else?”
“No, that’s why I’m asking you” Alan replied, matter-of-factly.
Raan sighed and confirmed he would be there shortly.
“On my way. Raan out”
After another curious look at Taryn, Raan left the brig and made his way down to engineering. After exiting the turbolift on the nineteenth deck of the Excelsior-class starship, Raan made his way down the quiet corridor, which was to be expected at this time of the day.
Raan then turned down the next corridor and stopped in his tracks.
“I didn’t expect to see you here” Raan said.
Robert raised his phaser. “Perhaps not, but I’ve found out you’ve been feeding information to Rear Admiral Johnson about members of my crew”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Raan countered.
Robert nodded. “Oh, I think you do. You’re going to tell the Admiral that you got your wires crossed and then you’re going to request a transfer off my ship”
Raan smirked before taking Robert by surprise, charging at Robert like a bull at speed, knocking him to the floor. Raan then punched Robert in the face twice, receiving a sharp knee to the groin as he prepared to strike again. The knee to the groin caused Raan to roll onto the floor, giving Robert a chance to get back up again.
As Raan got back up again, he walked up to Robert menacingly before attempting to strike him again, striking Robert in the stomach before the commanding officer retaliated with a punch of his own, breaking the security officer’s nose. After Raan had wiped his bloody nose, he launched another punch, which was swiftly blocked by Robert who then powerfully headbutted the security officer, stunning him.
Robert then grabbed Raan by the shoulders and threw him into a master systems display which was mounted on the bulkhead to their left. Raan’s head crashed straight through the console, causing it to shatter and knocking him for six. He then called for Alan, Commander Tolan and Lieutenant Joyce to help clear up the mess and get Raan taken up to the brig.
“That’s for forgetting to encrypt your messages, Lieutenant” Robert said, stepping back.
The plan to arrest Raan had been concocted by herself, Robert, Alan, Isobel and Tolan earlier, however it would now prove to be a sufficient distraction.
“You’re free to go” Genevieve said.
Taryn looked over to find Genevieve had removed the forcefield.
“What’s the catch?” Taryn asked.
Genevieve replied. “Let’s walk and talk”
“Why should I trust you?” Taryn countered.
Genevieve walked around to the cell, standing just outside the entrance.
“I don’t think all synths are bad, Taryn. In fact, I believe that despite being a machine, you are just as human as I am. You had nothing to do with the attack on Mars, and neither did many of the other synths who Starfleet have relentlessly rounded up and deactivated. I’m not going to stand by and let Starfleet do to you what they’ve done to countless innocent synths before. I’m risking my career by doing this, so if you want a second chance at life, I suggest you let me escort you to the shuttlebay before someone finds I’ve lowered this forcefield” Genevieve said.
Taryn listened to Genevieve’s words, and after pausing for several seconds, she decided to trust the Lieutenant Commander and stood up before following her outside. As they walked down the corridor towards the turbolift, Taryn was still intrigued by what the catch was. Surely this wasn’t as easy as it seemed so far.
“You didn’t tell me what the catch was, Commander” Taryn said.
Genevieve replied. “I’ll tell you in a few minutes”
As the doors to the shuttlebay parted, the sheeting which had been placed over Kestrel when it was brought on board had been removed. She watched as Robert climbed out of the craft, followed by Alan, Isobel and Lennon. The moment Lennon’s eyes made contact with hers, Taryn knew exactly what she’d been feeling. She practically ran over to Lennon, and crashed her lips against the other synth’s, feeling Lennon’s arms wrap around her waist. When their lips parted, they shared a brief embrace.
“I love you so fucking much Lennon Marie Stephenson” Taryn whispered.
Lennon smiled. “I love you too, Taryn”
As the embrace parted, Commander Tolan arrived to say his own goodbyes to Lennon. He had overseen Raan being taken to the brig before coming down to the main shuttlebay. The Suliban had also opened dialogue with his contacts at Starfleet Intelligence, who would expose Johnson first thing the next morning.
“Oh, the catch is that you look after my niece, otherwise a lot of people will be pretty pissed off with you” Genevieve said.
Taryn nodded. “I owe you my life, Commander. I’ll spend the rest of it keeping that promise”
“I’m sorry, Taryn. I hope that one day when things are different, I get the chance to get to know you” Robert said, offering his right hand out to the synth.
Instead of shaking Robert’s hand, Taryn embraced the man. They had very much got off on the wrong foot, but clearly the whole idea of allowing Taryn to escape with Lennon was either his or was given the green light by him. After parting from the embrace, Taryn looked at Robert.
“I’d like that, Captain” Taryn said.
Robert smiled. “As much as I think you’d make a damned fine one, you’re not a Starfleet officer. My name’s Robert”
“As you wish, Robert” Taryn responded.
After having a similarly brief conversation with Alan, who apologised for his own part in the mission, Taryn then watched as Lennon said her final goodbyes to the senior officers who were present. She started with Tolan, then Isobel, Alan, Genevieve and finally, her beloved uncle. Lennon fought to hold back the tears, but she knew this wasn’t goodbye. It was just see you later.
“I am so proud of you, Lennon. One day, you’ll be able to come back and finish your training so you’ll be ready to take the centre chair over from me when I finally get fed up. In truth, you’ve always been like a daughter to me, and I’ve always loved you as if you were” Robert said.
Lennon sobbed. “I love you too, Dad”
Robert was deeply humbled to be called “Dad” by Lennon. He hated having to send her away, but he knew that with Taryn, she would be safe until things were different.
“Go on, go and be with Taryn. Stay in touch as best as you can, and don’t hesitate to ask me or any one of us if you need anything. We’ll always be here for you” Robert said.
Lennon nodded, and gave Robert one final, tight embrace before letting go and heading for Kestrel, which was now powered up and ready to depart. She had hoped for more time, but Johnson had already dispatched a starship to collect her and Taryn from Victoria, and they didn’t have much time before the USS Innisfail was within sensor range. As Kestrel’s starboard access hatch closed, Lennon waved for as long as she could before heading into the cockpit, wiping away the tears and composing herself along the way.
A few moments later, Kestrel lifted off from the deck of Victoria’s main shuttlebay, slowly moving towards and passing through the forcefield. After safely clearing Victoria’s nacelles and warp field, Taryn set a course for home and jumped to maximum warp.
“I wish I had a father like Robert Stephenson. You are so, so lucky to be able to call a wonderful, brilliant man like him Dad” Taryn said.
Lennon nodded. “He’s been more like a Dad to me than my supposed father”
“I can tell, Lennon. I know how much he means to you, and vice versa” Taryn replied.
After a short pause, Lennon decided to tell Taryn that her earlier statement of them being more alike than Lennon thought was true, even though she probably didn’t need to.
“I guess I should tell you…” Lennon began.
Taryn turned around in her seat. “I know you’re a synth, Lennon”
“Yeah, sorry. When did you work it out?” Lennon asked.
Taryn replied. “When I scanned my shuttle for additional life signs before we made our escape from that bucket of bolts, nothing showed up even though you were on board as well. Still, it doesn’t change a thing and it means we can be together for as long as we remain online, or until you get fed up of me, whichever comes first”
“I’ll never get fed up of you, Taryn” Lennon said, reaching over and placing a hand on top of her lover’s, caressing it gently with her thumb.
For the first time in a long time, Taryn smiled.
“Wow, I’ve never seen you smile before. I’d better take a picture, hold right there while I go and get my camera” Lennon teased.
Taryn replied, still smiling. “Well, you’d better get used to it, because now I’ve got you, I have a reason to. Now, we have got a long trip ahead of us, so how about we go and let you make it up to me after you pointed a disruptor at me?”
“You’re not going to let me forget that are you?” Lennon responded, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and in hindsight, amused, by the experience.
Taryn grinned and stood up, taking Lennon’s right hand, and then led her lover to Kestrel’s living quarters. Before Lennon came into her life, Taryn merely existed and did what was necessary to maintain that, but now she had a purpose in her life, the synth could finally start living as her creator intended, and the five Starfleet officers who had risked their careers told her to.
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